The first predefined map you can play - aside from the Guidance Map, which is primarily a tutorial - Forests and Friends provides a tiny bit of challenge while still teaching you about the game. You have a series of Objectives to complete, and this time they involve getting to know another faction. Care to make some friends?

Getting Started

The majority of the Objectives in this map involve simply establishing a settlement, and outfitting it with a bunch of buildings typical of settlements. Fulfill all of the bulding requirements listed under Objectives and you'll be fine.

The biggest challenge in this part of the scenario is the terrain. This map is quite hilly, and some segments of it are narrow. It may prove a bit challenging to fit everything into your allotted area, particularly the 30 Farmlands that you need to build. You can get around this - somewhat - by sending out Explorers early, and claiming the land to the east and northwest of your starting point. The lands to the northwest in particular are a bit smoother, though you'll have to contend with a few large mountains.

You'll uncover a few of your other Objectives as you poke around. We'll get to those next.


Befriend All Factions

It won't take long before you notice another village to the north of your starting point. This belongs to the Hungry Prophets, a friendly group who won't take many steps to expand the reach of their village. They should leave you plenty of room to expand.

In order to communicate with the Hungry Prophets you'll need to establish a Trading Post. You'll also need to set up some Trade Carriers at your Guild Hall, which only requires the creation of Backpacks at a Tailor's Shop.

That's just the first step, however. In order to properly befriend the Hungry Prophets you'll need to explore the map surrounding their village and find a few things for them. There are four Objectives in total, each pushing the friendship with the Hungry Prophets a bit higher. You can complete these Objectives in any order you like, though keep in mind that you will need several Guard Towers / Garrisons, and Guards to staff them. Be ready to create and demolish these buildings several times while exploring the island.

Note that you do not need to complete all of these Objectives to finish the mission. Three of them should suffice. Pick the ones you like from the listing below and get to work!


Supply Curious Bazaar

Your first task is to provide 28 Torches to a Curious Bazaar. The Bazaar is located in the northwest of the map, and once you've explored far enough it will appear in the fog of war, northwest of the Hungry Prophets' settlement.

You can craft Torches at a Wood Workshop. Once that's done, you'll need to enfold the Curious Bazaar into your territory. The quickest way to do this is to set up a Garrison, somewhere along the southwestern edge of the Hungry Prophets' village. This should provide you with enough range of influence. That done, set the Garrison's Claim Focus to the Curious Bazaar itself. 

It'll take a while, but your Guards will eventually extend their reach up to the Curious Bazaar with enough work. You can speed the process by hiring more Guards at a Military Academy, which requires the construction of Wooden Spears at a Wood Workshop. Extend a road from your settlement to the Curious Bazaar once it is within your territory and your Carriers will trudge up to deliver the Torches. (Though the walk may take them a while.)


Supply Outpost Village

Your second task is to provide 24 Porcini to the Outpost Village on the east side of the map. In truth there are two Outpost Villages, one in the east and one in the northeast, and you need to deliver 12 Porcini to each of them. You'll again need to extend your borders out to these locations and build a road, so you'll want to set a Garrison up on the edge of your territory and extend your border out to snag both Outpost Villages.

The next step is acquiring the Porcini. To do this you'll need to establish a Trading Outpost somewhere in your settlement. You can convert Carriers to Trade Carriers in the Guild Hall, and they will carry goods to and from the Hungry Prophets' village for you. Click the Guild Hall and you'll see that the Hungry Prophets are willing to trade three Porcini for five Copper. 

Once you set up Copper Huts your Miners will look for Copper on their own, though you'll expedite the process by building Copper Huts near clusters of rock. Hover your cursor over the rocks to see if they contain Copper or not. Copper Huts only employ three Miners at a time, so you may want to set up multiple Copper Huts.

Facilitate the trade via your Trading Post and the Trade Carriers will bring the Porcini back to your settlement. Your normal Carriers should then grab it and take it to the Outpost Villages, assuming you connected them to your settlement by one or more roads.


Singing Blades

Your third task is to use your Trade Carriers to deliver three Singing Blades. The Singing Blades are Artifacts which your Explorers will discover and bring back as they explore the map. The Singing Blades are in these approximate locations:
  • In the forests to the northeast of your starting point
  • Along the western coast of the island, at roughly the map's halfway point
  • Along the northwest coast of the island, near the Strange Bazaar (see below)
The Singing Blades are barely visible on the map, so you'll just have to wait for the Explorers to find them. Once you've found the blades - a notification on the left side of the screen will zip you straight to them - you can extend your territory over their location to 'claim' them. After that you can use the Trade Carriers you hired earlier (as well as the Trading Post you set up) to deliver the Singing Blades to the Hungry Prophets.


Scarlet Blossoms

The final task is locating Scarlet Blossoms. They are huge, rather elegant-looking, red flowers that are scattered across the island. There are seven in all, though you only need to find five. The Scarlet Blossoms are in the following locations:
  • The first that you're likely to find is northeast of your settlement's landing point, near the southern border of the Hungry Prophets' settlement.
  • One is roughly northeast of your landing point on the island, near the southeastern shores.
  • Two are to the west of the Hungry Prophets' settlement. You'll probably come across them as you attempt to make a path up to the Strange Bazaar, along the west side of the map.
  • One is near the island's northwestern cliffs, not far from the Strage Bazaar and hidden behind a forest.
  • Two are just south of the Outpost Village in the northeast of the map.
Use the Set Focus Point option on your Explorer's Hut to make clean paths to each of the flowers. You can also just wait for the Explorers to find them on their own, though this will take quite a bit longer.


Complete enough of the tasks listed above, and, congrats! You're now friends with the Hungry Prophets, which 'ends' the map. Befriending the Hungry Prophets will unlock a bunch of new trading opportunities at your Trading Post, so if you wish to keep playing you can take advantage of their newfound hospitality to further expand your settlement.