Path of Peace, Chapter 11 – Clean up Edwin’s Castle

by Stratego

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MISSION BRIEFING:

Edwin is safely under lock and key and on his way to face my reckoning. I hand his estates over to you and Sir William. You will take charge of Edwin’s old castle. Clean it up and make it a happy and prosperous place once more.

Objectives:

  • WIN – Attain a population of 80 and acquire 100 honour points within 40 months
  • LOSE – Your Lord dies

Map size: large
Starting date: continues from end of chapter 10
Starting stats: 50 gold, honour varys, 32 population, 40 popularity
Starting goods: No food, 10 wood, 10 stone
Buildings added: courthouse, torturer’s guild, guard post, gallows, burning post, stocks, block, gibbet, rack, flogging post, wheel, mask, branding chair
Buildings lost: none
Buy/sell: wood, stone, bows, spears, cloth, hops, ale, pitch, apples, bread, cheese, meat, wheat, flour, grapes, and wine
Starting units: none
Available units: armed peasants, archers, spearmen, swordsmen

Well, mission #11 will keep you on your toes, so don’t get frustrated in case you should fail after three or four restarts. This “notorious” mission requires a combination of some effective steps and individual skill, which will help to master this tough scenario successfully.

irst of all, let’s check the situation: Edwin’s castle is going to seed because of rats, filth and crime. Popularity has already sunk down to 40 and people are consequently tending to leave the castle and their workshops. Now it’s up to you to stop this negative and fatal development. For that reason, there is a lot to do, e.g. cleaning up the castle and attaining the demanded objectives, 100 honour and a population of 80 subjects.

ith regard to the time limit (40 months!), it’s advisable to slow the game speed down immediately (at least 15) because it’s always useful to coordinate your activities or react to changing circumstances as the game is running slowly. Also pause the game (press the “P”-key) and “tidy up” Edwin’s castle. Several buildings or workshops are superfluous that you can clear out without hesitation. Delete all the workshops on the cliff except the bakeries, the hovels, and the mill.

et rid of blacksmiths’, fletchers’, and pole turners’ workshops, the arm

It will make things easier if you’re including all your partner estates being in fine shape. Activate carter posts there and add more if needed, Have Charvon Wingly, Slaughterford and your home estate continuously send 50 apples and 50 wood each to Edwin’s castle, sustaining your food and wood supply. Charvon Wingly is located on that secluded northeastern territory north of Sir Grey’s castle. Remember Slaughterford, the “Land of 1000 Apples”, that is where the story began.

In this first stage, set your treasury to large bribe as long as popularity is in the minus (under 50), and purchase some of all four food types feeding your remaining peasants at extra rations, because it’s of primary importance to achieve positive popularity as fast as possible. With the gold that will come in from the taxes on your partner estates you should also buy in about 8 or 10 barrels of ale (normal/extra ale consumption to +4/+6) in order to raise popularity and attract new inhabitants. From time to time, control the granary’s amount of food and replenish the provisions, which are low.

On the other hand, you have to deal with crime, rats, and filth.

On this first picture you can see the basic buildings after clearing out Edwin’s castle. Gong pits and falconer’s posts are needed to get dung and rats under control. Place a guard post near the granary to catch up the thieves who are trying to steal food from the granary. Later the prisoners will be incarcerated in the dungeon and sentenced in the courthouse. Start placing a few “cheaper” torturer devices (e.g. stocks, mask, gibbets, or flogging posts) and the punishment can commence. In the course of time, you can upgrade these “easier” punishments by placing gallows, torturer’s wheel, or a burning post that require the torturer’s assistance.

s soon as possible, if finances allow erect a travelling fair (50 wood – 250 gold) that will also increase your popularity. Look at the centre of the picture above and you will find a pile of wood ready to be set up. Travelling fairs are temporary events built for a season and entertaining your hard working people.

Watch popularity and the popularity factor very carefully! Buy in more wood as needed. Set up more hovels and a lot more hunters and woodcutters as popularity rises. Don’t forget spreading out more gong pits and falconer’s posts. Four to five apple orchards, four dairy farms, one, or two hops farms near the keep and a few bakeries (buy in some flour!) together with those existing agricultural farms down by the river/sea will keep your food production up.

Note: A good varying food supply (double rations) and a moderate taxation (normal/high taxes) will keep the popularity factor in the plus even with rampant crime. Just keep on building hovels to get to 80 capacity, and keep in mind that only 24 peasants can wait around the campfire, so provide them with jobs!

I mainly placed the hovels up on the cliff using each gap there. To be on the safe side, I also placed a second guard post next to the hovels making it possible to track down the criminals sneaking towards the granary.

he achievement of 100 honour

That’s it! Victory!

P.S.: Something statistical:
I totally registered 7 saw pits, 14 hunter’s posts, 6 dairy farms, 2 wheat farms, 7 apple orchards, 3 bakeries, 1 brewery, 1 hops farm, 1 mill, 2 guard posts, 2 gong pits, 4 falconer’s posts.

Stratego

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