The village Pribyslavitz was left dilapidated and abandoned after the bandits were driven out. Sir Divish has plans to return it to it's former glory and he wants Henry to foot the bill. Naturally Henry gets a say in what is built and a cut of the profits.
From the Ashes functions like a light town building simulator, and as Bailiff of Pribyslavitz, Henry's main task is to provide the funds for new buildings. Sufficient funds to cover the workers wages in addition to the building costs will also have to come out of Henry's pocket until Pribyslavitz is profitable. Failure to keep the residents happy could result in Henry loosing his position as Bailiff. Before anything can be constructed, Henry will have to buy building supplies from the charcoal-buners and nearest towns. The player can then choose what to build, but has no say in where it is built - that is the Surveyor's job. There actually isn't even all that much to build:
9 buildings:
• 3 businesses - trader, forge, and tavern
• 2 camps - woodcutter and laborers dwellings
• 4 utility - rathaus, church, beehives, bridge and road (combo)
4 optional buildings:
• Butcher or bakery (only one can be built)
• Stables or guardhouse (only one can be built)
Pribyslavitz will become self-sufficient after one or two of the businesses have opened. Most of the structures also have one to two upgrades that will either further improve their profitability, or increase their operating costs. Some buildings even have a beneficial synergy with others, like the beehives providing sweetener for the tavern and bakery.
A completed Pribyslavitz will consist mostly of shops and utility buildings; no homes. So the end result was an underwhelming looking village that felt empty. I was also a bit dismayed at how little function the finished town had. It is too far out of the way to be a good home base for Henry, and there aren't enough shops to sell all of Henry's hoarded junk to. I even selected a guardhouse over the stables to ensure that order and protection was given to the residents of my Pribyslavitz, only to discover that building one over the other has no impact on the town.
I was less than impressed with From the Ashes and the final restoration of Pribyslavitz. It is nice to have a functional village where there was once nothing but ruins, however, it lacks depth and customization. More decorative improvements such as defensive walls, guard towers, or emblems would have been a nice addition. Some deeper form of management like taxes, acting as judge for crimes, or approving special requests from villagers would have helped to give the town a sense of life. In the end, the player is more of a financier for Pribyslavitz than its leader.
The DLC can be completed in as little as an hour and a half if you have the required funds from the start. A fun little distraction to spend all that accumulated groschen on.
First posted to videogamegeek.com.
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