This is an AAR of my first sandbox game of Elemental. I played the beta a bit, and I've run through the campaign, but if you're looking for good strategy, you'd best look elsewhere.

Also, big flashing warning, this AAR is incomplete, there are only going to be four updates. This is due to the 1.0.6 patch breaking my save. I'd built up these updates as a buffer so as to keep a constant rate of updates, but now I'm afraid that it's all you're getting. Seems a shame to waste all that effort, but it will stop rather abruptly part way through. You have been warned.

Out of character text will be presented in italics.

Episode 1: In the beginning, there was the pickpocket

So… where to start? My name is Muris. I guess that’s a good start.

I’ve started writing this journal because… well I dunno, I guess it’s the sort of thing that Kings do right? You know, like for the future generations you know? Just as long as no one from the current generations gets hold of it of course because that might turn out a little awkward because I‘m not exactly running entirely on the level here.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m a thief. Or at least, I used to be. Although actually I still am in a way. Anyway, I usually just pick a few pockets, rob some houses, you know, just make off with whatever I can grab. But this one day, some foreign guy tracks me down in a bar to offer me a job. Turns out he wants me to get hold of some old books for him, offers me some silly money for them.

It wasn’t my usual sort deal, but I didn’t really care one way or the other. He pointed me at the house where the books were held, and so off I went. It went well enough at first, I broke in all quiet like and found the books the man wanted. But when I picked them off the shelf I felt… something. Something weird. A sort of static charge. Took me by surprise, and I dropped the books.

Did I mention that I was on top of a ladder? Yeah, well I was on top of a ladder. So when I drop the books I try to grab them, but that doesn’t go quite to plan and so I end up falling off the ladder. Definitely not all quiet like any more.

So some old guy runs in and he does not look happy. I’m still a little stunned from my fall, so I’m just mumbling trying desperately to come up with some explanation. Then I mention what happened with the book, and everything changes. Oh boy, that has got to be the understatement of the century right there because EVERYTHING changed right then. Next thing I know, the old man is on his knees in front of me looking at me like I’m a god or something, and he’s babbling all about channelers and prophecy and a chosen one. Then he invites me to stay in his house, or rather he begs me to stay.

Well, I had no clue what was going on, but I figured that if I hung around I might be able to sneak off with the books a bit later when the old man wasn’t paying attention. Not that I’m saying that I couldn’t have taken him, you know, just that beating up old men isn’t my style. I‘m a thief, but I’m not a monster. Besides, it’d been a while since I’d had a chance to sleep in a real nice bed.

When I woke the next morning, I tell you I got the shock of my life. The old man was sitting there watching me. Now that was creepy. But it was in no way as creepy as the fact that he was not alone. I had a whole room full of crazy people trying to worship me.

Fortunately, I finally got something resembling an explanation. These people were all refugees, from all over. They called themselves ‘The Wanderers’, and they had some sort of prophecy to do with finding a channeler who would lead them and help them build a nation. Apparently, my reaction to the books was some sort of sign that had convinced them that I was that man.

There was a bug with the faction editor which reset that description to its default, so I had to edit the xml document manually to get it in there.

Needless to say, my first reaction was to get out of there as soon as possible. But then I got to thinking- this could be a pretty sweet deal. I mean, countries make loads of money right? Taxes and the like? So I play along for a while, wait for the money to roll in, then who’s going to stand in the way of the King making a quick trip to the treasury? I could probably order them to load it onto a cart themselves and then just ride off into retirement!

So I accepted. And that’s how I found myself wandering in a field, trying to find somewhere to found a Kingdom. MY Kingdom.