44 articles
Events
Visitors, fortunes, disasters and affectionate nods that can happen to your city.
Visitors 8
Someone arrives with a request or an offer.
Visitor · Stone AgeA Wandering StrangerA cloaked stranger at the edge of town offers to teach a trick or two in exchange for a hot meal. Share your food and your woodcutters work faster for a while.
Visitor · Bronze AgeTrade CaravanTraders with laden donkeys ask to camp by your market. Swap wood for gold or stone for food, or send them on without a deal.
Visitor · Classical AgeA Duel of WitsA swaggering sea captain challenges your best orator to a duel of insults while the whole harbour watches. Accept, and win gold and a legendary mood.
Visitor · Medieval AgeTwo BannersTwo rival noble houses camp outside the walls, each demanding the town's support. Host a tournament instead, or stay neutral and live with the tension.
Visitor · Industrial AgeVisitors from AbroadDelegations from distant cities come to see what the fuss is about. Give them the grand tour for gold and civic pride.
Visitor · Modern AgeSomething in the BayAn enormous, very polite lizard surfaces in the bay and stares at the skyline. Sell tickets, or ask it nicely to leave.
Visitor · Modern AgeThe Arena FestivalA slick promoter wants to run mystery-chest contests at the stadium. A fair tournament keeps people happy; the chests pay well but leave buyer's remorse.
Visitor · Modern AgeA Very Strange PetitionTwo freelance investigators, one in a suit and one with large ears, petition to rename the river after their car. Approve it for some absurd local fame.
Fortunes 6
Good luck, a windfall, or a reason to celebrate.
Fortune · Stone AgeThe Great HuntScouts spot a herd of giant deer beyond the hills. Join the hunt for a feast, or let them graze in peace. Either way, your people are happier.
Fortune · Stone AgeHarvest FestivalAfter a good year the people want music, dancing and far too much food. Spend food on a festival for a big happiness boost, or save the stores and disappoint them.
Fortune · Classical AgeA Flash of InsightA scholar runs through the streets having cracked an old problem. Fund the work with gold for a large knowledge reward, or applaud for a smaller one.
Fortune · Bronze AgeBumper HarvestWarm rain and long sun: the fields have never looked so full. Food output rises for a while.
Fortune · Bronze AgeA Glittering VeinQuarrymen strike a seam of something shiny. Mine it for stone and gold.
Fortune · Medieval AgeThe Road ConnectsCarriers with handcarts run goods along every road, and the supply chain hums. Gold income rises for a while.
Disasters 5
Trouble that strikes where a service is missing.
Disaster · Bronze AgeFire!A building outside the reach of a watch catches fire. A bucket brigade usually saves it; let it burn and it falls to ruin until you repair it. Watch coverage prevents fires.
Disaster · Bronze AgeFever in the StreetsA fever spreads through homes that no bathhouse or hospital covers. Quarantine costs gold but saves lives; waiting it out costs residents and happiness. Health coverage prevents fevers.
Disaster · Stone AgeRising WatersHeavy rain swells the water and a building at the shore is at risk. Spend stone on a levee to keep it safe, or hope for the best.
Disaster · Stone AgeThunderstormA wild storm rolls in off the sea and everyone hides indoors. Wood output dips for a minute, but the storm leaves some driftwood behind.
Disaster · Industrial AgeBlackoutThe lights go out in homes without power coverage. Pay for emergency generators, or spend some grumpy candlelit evenings. Power coverage prevents blackouts.
Affectionate nods 25
Little tributes to the city builders and strategy games that came before, in Erapolis's own words.
Affectionate nod · Stone AgeMore Work?Every time you point at a labourer, they grunt "more work?" and trudge off to do it. Point at the same one too often and they start getting sarcastic.
Affectionate nod · Stone AgeMore Huts Are RequiredA herald follows you around town announcing, at regular intervals and with total sincerity, that more housing is required. He is not wrong. He is just very, very loud.
Affectionate nod · Stone AgeThe People Want WaterA queue of very dusty citizens has formed outside the Town Center. Each carries an empty jug and the same complaint, delivered in the same weary tone your advisors use.
Affectionate nod · Stone AgeA Very Large PetThe faithful at the shrine have adopted an enormous, gentle cow. It eats a field a day. When praised, it learns to carry boulders. When scolded, it sulks on the granary roof.
Affectionate nod · Stone AgeA Miracle, PleaseYour followers have gathered at the shrine, arms raised, asking you to flatten a hill so they can build more huts. They seem certain you can do this. You are, after all, the hand in the sky.
Affectionate nod · Bronze AgeGossip on the RoundsYour water carrier, your priest and your tax collector have met on one street corner to compare notes on every house they passed. "This one needs water." "They all need water." "Has anyone seen the tax collector?" "I am the tax collector."
Affectionate nod · Bronze AgeFollow the LeaderA long line of identical little folk in green tunics is marching, single file and with total determination, toward the sea cliffs. Nobody knows who is in front. Nobody has asked.
Affectionate nod · Bronze AgeFord the River?A wagon train of pioneers has reached the river at the edge of your land. The water is three feet deep. Their leader asks your advice: ford it, caulk the wagons and float, or wait for a ferry?
Affectionate nod · Bronze AgeThe Smith Is in a MoodYour smith has been seized by a strange creative fit. She has claimed the workshop, refuses all visitors, and keeps scrawling demands for shells, bones and one perfect gem.
Affectionate nod · Classical AgeJust One More SeasonYour chief planner hasn't slept in three nights. "Just one more season," she mutters, sketching another district by candlelight. The plans are brilliant. Her eyes are not.
Affectionate nod · Medieval AgeThe Gentle EnvoyA soft-spoken envoy from over the hills arrives preaching peace, patience and very good soup. He would like to open an embassy, swap a few maps and, if it isn't too much trouble, borrow your best cook.
Affectionate nod · Medieval AgeBrother Wollo's ChantA robed monk stands at the border, arms raised, droning one long and very wobbly syllable. A rival town's ox cart has already wandered over to your side, looking puzzled but content.
Affectionate nod · Medieval AgeThe Steward's SuggestionYour steward bows low. "My lord, the people adore you. Shall we find out how much? I could raise the taxes a little. Or a lot." He is already sharpening a quill.
Affectionate nod · Medieval AgeAn Imp With a PickaxeA small, cheerful imp has tunnelled up through the quarry floor. He says he digs for gold, claims walls for fun, and works twice as fast after a friendly slap on the back.
Affectionate nod · Medieval AgeStones From the SkyThe new masons stack stones as the crane drops them, spinning each one in mid-air to fit. Whenever a row is complete it simply vanishes. It is very efficient and deeply confusing.
Affectionate nod · RenaissancePepper on Every TableYour merchants have petitioned the council: they refuse to move into finer houses until there is pepper on every table. The island traders have pepper. They also have opinions about the price.
Affectionate nod · Industrial AgeThe Rail BaronA man in an improbably tall hat wants to run a railway through town. He has already drawn the line on your map, in ink, straight through the bakery. He would like to discuss profits.
Affectionate nod · Industrial AgeThe Guests Would Like to LeaveThe new pleasure pier is a triumph, but a crowd of guests in matching hats is milling about by the carousel. A thought bubble hovers over every head: they would like to go home now, please, and cannot find the exit.
Affectionate nod · Industrial AgeThe Teacup IncidentSomeone set the fairground teacups to full speed straight after the pie-eating contest. The sweepers have been summoned and are, heroically, not saying a word.
Affectionate nod · Industrial AgeA Gift From the Grand AdmiralThe Grand Admiral of the Pelican Isles, a small man in a very large hat, offers a ship of pineapples in exchange for a statue of himself "somewhere tasteful". He has brought a sketch. It is mostly hat.
Affectionate nod · Modern AgeThe Bus That Never ArrivesA brand-new bus has been circling the same roundabout since Tuesday. The driver insists the route is perfect. The passengers have started a book club.
Affectionate nod · Modern AgeThe Penguins Have LeftSomeone left a gate open at the city zoo. A tortoise has reached the bakery, a giraffe is peering into third-floor windows, and a family of penguins is queueing for the metro.
Affectionate nod · Modern AgeSplines Under ReviewThe city's planning computer has shown the same message for an hour: it is reticulating its splines. Nobody knows what a spline is. Everyone agrees it should be reticulated properly.
Affectionate nod · Modern AgeThe Hungry SweeperA round yellow cleaning robot is roaming the metro tunnels, gobbling every crumb in sight and humming a little eight-note tune. Commuters have started leaving biscuits out for it.
Affectionate nod · Modern AgeA House Without a DoorA family moved into a new home and has stood in the kitchen ever since: nobody built them a door. A small green diamond hovers over their roof, looking more worried by the hour.
Generated from the Erapolis game data, with pictures from the game itself.