The Woven are a people made of straw, brought to life through the magic of their one and only deity, The Mother Woven. For time immemorial they have wandered the world in small clans, occasionally gathering wild wheat to re-stuff their bodies with fresh straw. But the world has changed, and the wheat fields are vanishing. Guide your clan as they build a village and learn to farm the wheat they need to survive.

The changing environment will force your people into new beliefs and new gods. But the gods you choose will shape what your village becomes. Choose wisely.

A Fragile Straw Existence: The Strawconomy

In a world of living straw people, straw is sustenance, sacrifice, and currency.

Re-stuff and Survive: Villagers maintain their health by replacing some of their straw every three months. This requires healthy stores of straw.

Rituals

Perform an ancient ritual at the Temple of Life to construct new straw villagers.

Master the Elements & Seasons

Straw comes from wheat, and when the wild wheat runs out, you need to grow it on farms. Your wheat crops are at the mercy of the dynamic weather, the soil conditions and the rhythms of the seasons.

• Foraging to Farming: Start by gathering from the last wild wheat patches before becoming fully dependent on annual crop harvests.

• Terrain Suitability: Farm productivity depends on soil quality. Place your farms carefully to maximize yields.

• Dynamic Weather: Roving rain clouds water your farms, improving the crop yield.

Appease the Gods (or Suffer Their Wrath)

You cannot please everyone. Balance devotion across a pantheon of demanding deities: Life, Grain, Sky, and Fire.

• Divine Moods: Hold festivals, build temples, and offer sacrifices to maintain divine favor.  

• Generous Gods: Generous gods grant blessings: increased rainfall, better soil fertility, or new technologies.  

• Wrathful Gods: Neglected gods lash out with catastrophic plagues of locusts, diseases, giant predatory birds, lightning strikes, and fires.

Production and Trade

Reduce your dependence on fickle gods and unpredictable weather by diversifying your “strawconomy”.  

• Temple Factories: Turn sacred spaces into primitive workshops. Assign workers to craft products like Textiles, Beer, and Spears.  

• Trade Caravans: Establish a Market, send or receive traders, and trade with neighboring villages, but beware the hazards of the road.

Defend Your Harvest

While some adapt to the changing world by settlement and growth, others have chosen roaming and raiding. Maintain your independence by fighting off the raiders, or buy your peace by paying tribute.

Grow A City State

Every city state needs a patron god, who is their champion and their saviour. As your village grows, your choices will drive your people towards one god who will emerge as your champion.

• Patron God: Erect a massive temple to crown your chief god, transforming your humble village into a true city-state.