Founding Your Colony at Aestival

This guide will walk you through all the steps to get your own private kingdom at Aestival and win the game.

Introduction

This guide assumes a reasonable understanding of the game and some startup capital (or at least enough Echoes to keep yourself running while doing this). In particular, you should know how to abuse SAY to have multiple actions at any port, and hopefully you've found Aestival by now. =)

That said, you can start collecting stuff for this even if you're still on the starter ship, although you'll eventually want to upgrade to the Corvette and then to the Merchant Frigate.

Step 1: Getting something that can protect against sunlight

There are two options for this:

• Get 1x Dawn's Law from Grand Geode
  
• Get 1x A Parabox from Irem

The Parabox is significantly more expensive, unless you already happen to have over 100 in each stat, so for this guide we'll go for Dawn's Law.

For that, you will need:

1 x Dread Surmise
This excellent guide describes how to farm Searing Enigmas to get Dread Surmise(s), so I won't repeat it here: Infinite Money for Experienced Players

We only need 1 Dread Surmise for this, so you can halve the farming effort or spread it out across your playthrough (every time I went to the Chapel of Lights, I made sure to have 3x Ambiguous Eolith with me). Or you can go all the way and get infinite money, which will always be helpful.

1 x The Figurehead of the Eater of Names

The Eater of Names is a rare boss ship with 700 Hull that hangs around The Gant Pole near the Chelonate. To take it down, you'll want at least a well-equipped Corvette and a decent amount of Mirrors and Iron.

This is the step that relies most on luck, as sometimes it just doesn't spawn, and you might have to sail past the area multiple times before you encounter it.

1 x Vital Intelligence

Do a couple of Admiralty Commissions, keep the Strategic Information and turn them into this.

If you're in a position to set up a Network and build it to 7, you can also use that to get a Vital Intelligence using the "Seek intelligence" action. Port Carnelian is a better location for this, as a network in Khan's Heart increases Khaganate Suspicion and that's no fun if you want to keep access to the Nephrite Quarter.

7 x Crew

Self-explanatory. Preferably, you already have a ship that can lose 7x Crew and still run at full speed.

50 x Supplies

To do this comfortably, you will need the Merchant Cruiser. You can do this with the Frigate, maybe, but it might be cutting it a little fine (especially since you'll be carting around 7 "extra" crewmembers that will be eating up supplies on the way there) - and besides, the Frigate costs more.

Now, it's also expensive to just buy 50 Supplies at London (unless you did the thing for infinite money in the end), so here are some alternatives:

1. Buy them at Port Carnelian for 18 Echoes apiece (also expensive, but a little less so)
   
2. Buy them at Naples for 5 Echoes apiece (and the 22 Fuel and 2 Supplies you spent to get to the Surface in the first place). This is a decent option if you're going there anyway to sell Coffee or get Sunlight, but is a little tedious as you have to scroll to and click the option for each one.
   
3. Camp at Mangrove College and abuse SAYs to do "Gather supplies" for 2-6 Supplies apiece - if you turn your lights off you will expend little to no Fuel, and hitting "Eat, drink, be merry" every so often will clear the Terror you get for having your lights off. Note: do this before you get that 7 extra Crew, or they'll be eating up the supplies unnecessarily.
   
4. Camp at Aestival and abuse SAYs to do "Gather supplies" for 8-11 Supplies apiece. Much faster than Mangrove College, but is not infinite because has a 50% chance of losing you 1 Crew each time, and no free terror reduction (but if Aestival is near Kingeater Castle, you can also use that to drop 25 points of Terror for 1x Fuel and 1x Supplies)

Farming Supplies at Aestival is actually a decent option despite the possibility of losing crew, but it's at the opposite end of the map from Grand Geode (sometimes nearly diagonally opposite). For this step, I got mine mostly at Mangrove College and Naples.

Bring all of that to Grand Geode, and trade it for Dawn's Law.

Step 2: Found a colony!

To found the Colony, you need:

• 1x Dawn's Law (or the Parabox)
  
• 10x Supplies

But then to establish your Colony, you will need:

• 50x Supplies (yes, again)
  
• 10x Crew

This is doable in a single step. Bring the Merchant Cruiser, a full complement of 30 crew, an unequipped WE ARE CLAY in your hold, and enough Supplies to end up with 20x spare Supplies when you dock at Aestival. (How many you leave London with depends on your map, your engines, and whether you make any stops along the way, but will likely be around 40-50.) Then when you reach Aestival, idle there and hit "Gather supplies" until you have 60x spare. Worst-case, you lose 6 crewmembers to sunlight and another 10 to founding the Colony, which is fine, because with WE ARE CLAY equipped you only need 14 to run your ship.

Name your Colony, and celebrate!

Step 3: Expand your colony

Now you've got a Colony, but in order to turn that into a Kingdom, you will need to:

• Improve Kingdom: Population to 77 (you start with 10) (Or improve it to 100 for an independent colony, more on that later)
  
• Improve Kingdom: Estate to 100 (you start with 5)

Improving Population

The only way to increase Population is to drop off Crew in multiples of 5 at a time. With the Merchant Cruiser, assuming you still want to run at full speed on the way back, it will take 5 trips to hit 77. (When you install a Viceroy, that will also increase your Population by 1, but that doesn't really matter when you can only increase this in increments of 5.)

(I don't know why the target is 77, that's kind of annoying.)

Improving Estate

To get Estate up to 100, you will need:

• 50x Sack of Darkdrop Coffee Beans for a total of 10 Estate.
  This can be bought at Port Carnelian or Adam's Way for 38 Echoes apiece, or Khan's Heart (if you have the Nephrite Ring) for 40 echoes apiece.
  
  
• 5x Vital Intelligence for a total of 15 Estate.
  By this point, you definitely want to to set up a Network and build it to 7, which will allow you to use it to farm Vital Intelligences. The two locations you can do this at are Port Carnelian and Khan's Heart, which is also where you get sacks of coffee. Handy.
  
  
• 5x Captivating Treasure for a total of 25 Estate
  If you're rich, you can buy these at Khan's Shadow for 1500 Echoes apiece (that's 7500 total, or 300 per point). Alternatively, The First Curator at Venderbight gives you 1x for each page of the Neathbow (if you haven't already turned them into Heirlooms), and 7x for completing the whole quest.
  
  
• A Viceroy - either The Disillusioned Doctor for 5 Estate, The Satisfied Magician for 8 Estate, or The Indomitable Campaigner for 15 Estate. This also has implications on your Embassy (more on that later)
  
  
• Many, many Supplies. 10x gets you 1 Estate ... so if you've done all of the above and your Viceroy is The Indomitable Campaigner, you still need 300x to hit 100 Estate. More, if you've got either the Doctor or the Magician.

By now, you've probably figured out that "bring the Merchant Cruiser, a full complement of 30 crew, and an unequipped WE ARE CLAY in your hold, and as many supplies as you can hold" is where this is going. On your first trip, your hold is probably going to be full of coffee; on every subsequent trip, it'll be full of supplies. Try to fill your hold before you fill up on crew, as 30x Crew will eat through supplies like nobody's business.

Note: on your last trip, if you're just short of 100 Estate it's tempting to hit "Gather supplies" until you're down to single digit crewmembers. Only do this if you're sure you can Found a Kingdom without leaving.

Step 4: Declare yourself a nation

Or: winning the game!

This is the final step, will end your current game, and net you a different Legacy Item depending on which Embassy you choose.

London (for The Boke of Sharpes)
This is likely the easiest option, particularly if you already have high Iron.

• Favours: Admiralty's Favour >= 30
  
• Iron >= 100
  
• Supremacy: The Khanate <= 9

Khan's Shadow (for The Boke of Sharpes)
This is a another easy option, especially if you don't have 100 Iron, but involves even more ferrying of Supplies as the Doctor gives you the least amount of Estate.

• The Disillusioned Doctor as your Viceroy
  
• Favours: The Caleendar Council >= 3 (you get this by doing the "Psst! Friend! Strike a blow for freedom, will you?" action in Vienna)
  
• Supremacy: The Anarchists >= 3 (handily, you also get this by helping out that dude in Vienna)

No-one (for A Manual of Miracles)
This is an Iron Challenge (294 for 100% according to the wiki[sunlesssea.gamepedia.com]), but (a) you lose 20 Population and 25 Estate every time you fail it, (b) you need 100 Population just to try, which is a pain, and (c) you also get A Manual Of Miracles by completing the Sphinxstone storylet line without choosing a past, which is significantly easier.


The Presbyterate (for A Travelling Light)
This is a Mirrors challenge (252 for 100% according to the wiki[sunlesssea.gamepedia.com]) and requires a Searing Enigma. Which you lose if you fail the challenge. However, if you've got high Mirrors and are swimming in Searing Enigmas from farming them way back when, it's a decent option because the other option for getting this is another really long storylet in Empire of Hands.


The Khanate (for A Dream of Red)
This is a Pages challenge (252 for 100% according to the wiki[sunlesssea.gamepedia.com]) and requires a Captivating Treasure, Favours: Leopard's Condescension >= 3 and Supremacy: London <= 9. Not a great option because you also get A Dream Of Red by completing The Scarred Sister's story, which is also significantly easier.


And ... you're done! Bask in the sunlight of your new Kingdom, and enjoy your new Trophy and Legacy Item!

If you want to keep your Kingdom for your next captain, there's a mod for that (disclaimer: which I haven't tried yet): Aestival Forever

[Brass Supremacist]

you can do it with a different wish, but whether it will count as a victory and can you retire based on it, i dunno

[TheVoidIsBees]

Do you have to have the "Establish your own kingdom" wish to do this? Or can you do it while you're playing a different wish?

[Bort]

Great guide, thanks.

I'd like to offer an alternative to buying coffee, which will reduce the cost, but add a small amount of travel time.

Once you have visited the Empire of Hands, then ferried the Adventuress there, you can unlock access to the Wildweald Court. Here, you can trade Mushroom Wine for Sacks of Coffee. So, if you buy the wine in London for 21 echoes, you can trade it out at the Empire of Hands for coffee, then head on to Aestival.

[Xanify]

You have to bring all of those to Grand Geode to get Dawn's Law, and then go to Aestival to found your colony.

[AKatarzynaK]

Great guide, thanks for it.

I wanted to ask though as I seem to be having some trouble.

I have a Dread Surmise, The Figurehead of the Eater of Names, one Vital Intelligence, 30 crew, 60 supplies, the proper boat and everything. Yet when I go to the island I don't actually see any option to colonize. It just says I can gather supplies or compile a port report.

What am I doing wrong here?