Civilization

[ Congratulations on reaching 500 Culture. You may now pick a Social Policy.]

[ Adopting Tradition will give the Player the title "Lord" if they are male or "Lady" if they are female.

Tradition is best suited for Civilizations that desire a small empire.

Adopting Tradition will give the Player +3 Culture Permanently.

Adopting Tradition will give the Player a 5% Discount when acquiring the next policy.

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Hanging Gardens" Wonder. Needs Mathematics technology completed. Must be built on a river with a hill/mountain next to it.

Completing the Tradition Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

4x aqueducts from a body of water towards a specified location. (Can be all connected)

All NPCs will gain stats such that all stats are minimum of 20 ( NOT including Luck ) ]

[ Adopting Liberty will give the Player the title of "Consul".

Liberty is best for Civilizations that desire expansion.

Adopting Liberty will give the Player +1 Culture Permanently. +1 more for each Village or City under the Player's Rule. (Village is only established once a Golden Age has happened in said Village. A Player can rule another Player's Village if the original Leader allows it.)

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Pyramid" Wonder.  Needs Masonry technology completed. Must be built on desert or desert floodplains.

Completing the Liberty Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

1x choice of a Great Person

All Travelers associated with the Player's Village or City will gain 20 free stats. Can be placed anywhere, including Luck. ]

[ Adopting Honor will give the Player the title "The Great".

Honor is best suited for Civilizations that are more offensive-focused, improving one's army in a variety of ways.

Adopting Honor will give +10% stat bonus when attacking an encampment.

Adopting Honor will allow the Player to be notified as encampments are created near Villages or Cities that the Player controls.

Adopting Honor will allow the Player to gain +10 culture every time an encampment is destroyed.

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Statue of Zeus" Wonder. Needs Bronze Working technology completed. Must be built on flat land adjacent to military-related buildings.

Completing the Honor Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

+1 Culture for every ENEMY killed by the Player. (Note, does not count if an NPC or another Player kills the monster. Enemy is classified as both monster and other Players.)

The Player will gain 20 free stats. Can be played anywhere. ]

[ Adopting Piety will give the Player the title "The Pious"

Piety is best for Civilizations that want to acquire Culture and Faith.

Adopting Piety will give buildings that acquire Culture and Faith an additional 10%

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Great Mosque of Djenne". Needs Theology technology completed. Must be built on floodplains

Completing the Piety Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

10% reduction on all future Social Policies

10% increase for all buildings that acquire Culture and Faith

1x Great Prophet ]

[Adopting Patronage will give the Player the title "The Enlightened"

Patronage is best for Civilizations that want to enhance their friendship with other races.

Adopting Patronage allows the Player to speak with a member of another race on an equal level.

Adopting Patronage allows the Player to influence other races better. ( Skewing relationships towards the Player easier )

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Forbidden Palace" Wonder. Needs Banking technology to be completed. Needs to be constructed on flat land and within the 'Capital' City. (Cannot be in a village).

Completing the Patronage Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

A higher chance other races will be friendly towards the Player.

A higher chance other races will be influenced by the Player.

Other races will view the Player as higher status.

Player has a chance of acquiring Great People from other races. ]

[Adopting Commerce will give the Player the title of "Doge".

Commerce is best for Civilizations that are naval-focused, as well as rich resources.

Adopting Commerce will give the Player advantages when trading and negotiating with NPCs and other races.

Adopting Commerce will allow the Player to always gain +10% in trades with NPCs and other races.

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Big Ben" Wonder. Needs Industrialization technology completed. Must be built next to a river and adjacent to a bank.

Completing the Commerce Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

Additional +10% in trades with NPCs and other races.

Doubles trade when Great Merchants are trading. ]

[Adopting Aesthetics will give the Player the title "Master" if they are male and "Mistress" if they are female.

Aesthetics is best for Civilizations that want to generate Culture and Great Works of Art, Music, Literature.

Adopting Aesthetics will give the Player +10 Culture.

Adopting Aesthetics will allow NPCs to understand art, music, and writing to a higher degree.

Adopting Aesthetics will allow NPCs to learn any new knowledge faster. ( Scientific, musical, Combat etc)

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Uffizi" Wonder. Needs Architecture technology completed. Must be built on flat land and within a City.

Completing the Aesthetic Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

Doubles gains from Great Works.

1x Great Writer or Artist or Musician

Chance of Great Writer or Artist or Musician appearing from another race increased. ]

[Adopting Rationalism will give the Player the title "The Wise"

Rationalism is best for Civilizations that want to improve scientifically, completing the Technology Tree faster.

Adopting Rationalism allows NPCs to understand new technology faster.

Adopting Rationalism allows NPCs to innovate more frequently.

Adopting Rationalism allows the Player to see 1 Technology in a future Era's each time the Player enters a new Era.

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Porcelain Tower" Wonder. Needs the Architecture technology completed. Must be built next to a river and in a City.

Completing the Rationalism Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

2 free technology unlocks on the Technology Tree

1x Great Scientist ]

[Adopting Exploration will give the Player the title "Captain"

Exploration is for Civilizations specializing in Naval warfare and travel.

Adopting Exploration allows the Player greater control of their ships in the ocean

Adopting Exploration allows the Player increased chances of finding Treasure whilst traveling in the ocean.

Adopting Exploration allows the Player and NPCs associated with the Player 10% stats when fighting over the ocean

Unlocks the ability to construct the "Louvre" Wonder. Needs Archeology technology completed. Must be built in the 'Capital' City and on flat land.

Completing the Exploration Social Policy Tree will give the Player:

Ability to see Hidden Antiquity Sites

1x Great Admiral

10% increase to stats to the Player and NPCs associated with the Player ]

I sit down on a chair, reading through all the information on each social policy. The forum didn't go into this much detail, so I had to digest the information first. While I did have a general thought of which social policy I wanted to pick, the new information made me think longer and harder, since I didn't want to regret my decision.

I had already ruled out Exploration, Rationalism, Aesthetics, Commerce, Patronage and Piety since these social policies didn't match my current situation. However, the three left remaining made it hard to choose, especially after seeing the full details of Tradition, Liberty, and Honor.

Honor enhances my personal stats greatly, increasing my combat abilities as well as giving a bonus for each time an encampment is defeated. The completion bonus also looked very interesting, since killing players and monsters alike will give me culture, and completing the social policy tree will take a long time. The longer the time, the more players that might end up an enemy and the larger the monster armies will become.

However, the big downside is that I need to be the one killing them. My NPCs won't contribute to the additional culture points and I need to constantly be on the front lines, making my position more precarious. I wouldn't be able to be commanding my troops if they were in a different place, fighting a different battle, and if I die on the front lines then the morale of my troops will drop. Is it worth fighting on the front lines for this social policy?

Then there is Liberty. While adopting liberty doesn't give a lot straight away, it scales higher and higher the more cities and villages I have under my rule. I assume cities are on a bigger scale than a village, which HavenFall just officially became.  It also increases Travelers' stats greatly which would help out later when more players join me, however, at the moment it would only help Kingston and Nina which doesn't seem as valuable right now.

Finally, the social policy which I thought about acquiring, Tradition. Since HavenFall doesn't look like it will be expanding anytime soon, I had already thought about Tradition. It doesn't give a lot immediately, but over time the 5% discount will make acquiring more Social Policies easier. Also, having free aqueducts allows the Krepost and other future villages to have a source of water.

Water can be used for irrigation for farms, as well as, provide resources for troops if battles are happening in that area. Increasing the stats of all NPCs is also very valuable and while it isn't a big increase, it allows all NPCs to work harder, faster, and potentially allow them to grow stronger faster since their starting point is higher.

I think about it for a while longer before deciding on my first option, Tradition.

[ You have selected the Tradition Social Policy Tree. Do you want to confirm? Yes/No ]

"Yes." - Ian

[Congratulations on adopting Tradition.

You will now be known as Lord Ian to your NPCs.

You will gain +3 Culture permanently

You will have a 5% discount on the next Social Policy]

Name: Ian

Race: Arachne

Faith: 6123/10,000 ( Reach 10,000 to pick a Religion )

Happiness: 30  ( Happy ) GOLDEN AGE ( Reach 5000 for a Golden Age )

Culture: 0 / 950 ( Reach 950 to choose the first Social Policy in Tradition )

Health Points (HP): 90/90

Mana Points (MP): 22/22

Strength: 45

Vitality: 45

Intelligence: 45

Dexterity: 30

Agility: 55

Luck: 36

Skill: Enhanced Agility, Quickstep, Cleave, Charge, Stealth, Emerald Gaze, Earth Spike, Eye of the Roc (Passive), Predator Instinct (Passive), Limb Regrowth (Passive), Buffalo Horns (Passive),

Equipment: Lucky Goblin Totem Necklace, Araneae Ring