SB Plays Against The Storm: Keepers of the Stone 49 - Tough Start

[@Samven-r6b]

I think the higher trade cost is meant to force you into using packs of goods as your main trade items. If you specialize, you can either produce tons of packs of building materials, or get buffs for making wine which you pack into luxury trade goods. It makes a lot of cornerstones more relevant.

[@Willcol100]

From what I've gathered the higher trade cost is meant to force you go get amber from cornerstones and trade routes rather than directly selling things to the merchants. As both cornerstones and trade routes are not effected directly from the higher trade cost only specifically buying items from the merchant. Merchant cornerstones also aren't effected so if you have a successful trade route strategy to can pick up all those cornerstones/buildings fairly affordably. (I still find packs other than provisions tend to be a trap as trade routes do not demand them enough.)

[@biosterous]

one kelpie being able to lock down the whole settlement feels kinda bullshit imo

[@Willcol100]

My understanding is that the kelpie can't normally charm the worker working on them. So normally you can always finish them. What happened here is that the uncharmed workers left due to low resolve. If he wanted to actually succeed he needed to cancel and restart the kelpie event, as the charm is only while being worked on. So it would have uncharmed all the workers so he had some that were not charmed to work on it. What got him was the combo of kelpie and shipwreck as the hostility of the shipwreck made his uncharmed workers leave.

[@Wendek.]

@@Willcol100 I feel like in this situation the other Kelpie resolution was better, we all knew there would be a ton of villagers leaving during the first storm (Shipwreck is, indeed, a terrifying event in this situation) and the charm gets more powerful the fewer villagers you have. So just banishing it (there were enough parts and/or tools for it) would have been safer, even if the reward for that choice kinda sucks most of the time.