Gold bars question

[twosicilies]

What should I be using these on, starting out? I've gotten 20 beyond the initial 10 and got open for business and some recipes. Should I get more recipes? When to consider buying residents? If so, what ones?

[Iyasenu]

I'd say a good start would be to ensure you have a Home Board, a Resident Board, and a Build Board.
Then, buy the Open for Business policy, which can be the first step to setting up passive income.

And buying the recipes for the various crafting stations is rather helpful, too.
The only recipes I wouldn't buy would be the things for like "Cooking recipe" or "Block recipe".
Gold Bars can be kind of precious for a while.

And, when it comes to buying residents, I'm unsure if spending gold bars is the way to go.
I mean, if you have them to spare, you can go ahead, but there are other places to get residents.
Animal Tamers, like the one in Yowyn, sell animal-type NPCs.
Slave Masters, like the one in Derphy, sell human-type NPCs.
Not to mention directly recruiting them, either through increasing their affinity with gifts/talking, or through combat and capturing them with Monster Balls.

Either way, I think the most important consideration is the NPC's Job/Hobby.
Farmers are popular because they have no randomness to their Job/Hobby, they always come with Farming/Gardening, both of which have the effect of boosting the base's Soil level, raising the maximum fertility rating of the land to allow for the planting of more crops.

Looking at what their Jobs/Hobbies can do for you can be helpful in determining whether to hire them.
You can also see about hiring someone based on what they can bring to your adventuring party.
Like if they know healing/buff spells, or status ailment inducing attacks, and such.

[tatterdemalian]

I always buy and start leveling Tax Evasion straight away. 300 oren tax increases every month are way more managable than 500 oren tax increases, especially after the first year.

Then I rush Loytel quests till I have a shipping box and a mushroom farm, at which point I earn enough gold bars each day to buy up the usual starter kit from Fiama (millstone & watch fire recipes) and Loytel (resident book, wall and floor workshops) within a week. Resident book takes up an inventory space, but I only need to buy it once and it works in every city without having to buy and plant another resident board each time.

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by tatterdemalian:

I always buy and start leveling Tax Evasion straight away. 300 oren tax increases every month are way more managable than 500 oren tax increases, especially after the first year.

Taxes don't go up every month. They go up based on your Fame, and every year the taxes go up.