The fourth predefined map in Pioneers of Pagonia, Foes in the Fog is a return to danger. If you're playing these maps in order you may have forgotten what enemies, since they didn't appear in Hinterland. They're back now, and you're going to have to redouble your efforts to protect your settlement.
Getting Started
By now you should have a good sense of the basics when starting a new settlement. As ever, you'll want to start with a pair of Guard Towers on the edges of your territory, both to expand your borders and to protect against the things that are lurking in the wilderness. Get an Explorer's Hut up and running to begin exploration, then settle down to expanding your woodcutting, stone-gathering, and food production industries.
It is always important to set up a Marketplace and Tavern early, so your Pioneers will reproduce. This begins increasingly important in this map, as you'll need replacement Guards when yours start running into baddies - and you have fewer starting Carriers this time around. Try to get a Military Academy up and running early on, and map out spots for a Wood Works / Weaponsmith / Armorsmith. Churning out weapons and armor will help your settlement survive.
If you send your Explorers out to the northeast and northwest you'll run into the other friendly factions on this island. Helping them, once again, forms the backbone of this map's Objectives.
Befriend All Factions
This time around you'll be neighbors with two factions: Whiterock Hamlet (northwest) and Violetvale (northeast). Whiterock Hamlet only has one request of you, while Violetvale has the usual list of things to accomplish.
Expand Territory (Whiterock Vale - +100% Friendship)
Whiterock Hamlet only has one request of you, once you discover their Trade Posts: Expand Territory. In order to befriend them you need to grow the size of your settlement's borders from their starting point to an expanded size of 70,000 m². (Add on your settlement's original size and it needs to be around 81,000 m².)
Unsurprisingly, you need to put your Guards to work to get this done, expanding your borders in all directions until Whiterock Hamlet is satisfied with your territorial ambitions. Seems simple enough - except the other residents of this land won't be happy to see your Pioneers encroaching on their doorsteps.
Broken Tombs and Spectres
A new feature to Foes in the Fog, Spectres join Bandits and Thieves as persistent foes in Pioneers of Pagonia. Unlike Bandits and Thieves, Spectres remain close to their Broken Tombs at pretty much all times, only wandering around the borders. For the most part you don't need to worry about them...
... until you're trying to build near them. Spectres don't attack your units. Instead, they will spook your units into running away - and anyone who got close to the Spectre will immediately drop all of their items, reverting the Pioneer back to a plain 'ol Carrier. This isn't quite as bad as a unit dying in combat, as you still have the Pioneer, but this can prove quite a pain if you send an entire squad of Guards at a Spectre and they all lose their jobs.
The solution? Fearnaughts or Rangers. Created at an Adventurer's Guild, Fearnaughts and Rangers ignore the fearful effects of a Spectre (hence the name) and can slice these phantoms to ribbons, getting them out of your hair. You'll need to set up a Tailor's Shop to create the armor for both units, and at a minimum you'll need Silver Swords from a Weaponsmith for Fearnaughts and Torches from a Wood Workshop. Send a mixture of these two units after Broken Tombs and you'll get rid of Spectres.
Establishing Your Military
The key to making it through this map is to build up a strong military, consisting of Veteran Guards and Soldiers. You'll need at least one Garrison on each side of your settlement, to the east and to the west, as enemies from both sides will harry your Pioneers on a regular basis once you expand far enough. This means gathering resources.
Wood for Wooden Spears is not a problem, given the large forest near your starting point. More problematic is the lack of Copper and Iron near your starting point. You have two deposits from which you can mine, and they're both in the west:
- The first is a patch of rocky terrain just west of your starting area. You can exploit this early on, though keep in mind that you can only build Huts on the majority of this land. If you plan to defend it you may want to fast-track a Guard Tower or Garrison on the other side of the rocks.
- The second is northwest of your starting point. There's a curved mountain range just outside the borders of Whiterock Hamlet, and despite its proximity to the faction you can claim all of these resources for yourself. Getting up here requires rather aggressive expansion, so once you have a Guard Tower / Garrison set up in this area you should direct their efforts north, so they grab the mountain for you.
Once you've secured both metal deposits you should have more than enough materials to build a strong army that can ward off enemies. Aggressively push northeast first, as there's a lot of land up here which can serve to grow your settlement - and not as many Bandits as in the west. Once you're snugged up against Violetvale you should have the majority of the territory you'll need to satisfy Whiterock Vale.
While you're dealing with Bandits you'll have to also fend off the occasional Thief. For the most part you shouldn't have any trouble covering the approaches to your settlement, though you may still find the Thieves sneaking through. The most vulnerable spot is the forested areas in the east, which serve as an easy entry point if not guarded. Conider setting up a Guard Post in these trees to prevent Thieves from slipping through.
Both Bandits and Thieves can - and will - slip through the territory of the other factions to get at your settlement. Don't assume you're safe, just because you're border-to-border with one of the other factions.
Violetvale Objectives
Once you've explored enough to see Violetvale's Trading Post you'll gain access to three Objectives. You'll need to complete two of the three to satisfy - and befriend - Violetvale.
- Supply Outpost Village (+50% Friendship). This Objective is a pain in the butt, as the Outpost Village is north of Violetvale, and the close proximity of Whiterock Vale and Violetvale will force you to claim aaaaaall of the territory in the west / northwest, just so you can get at the Outpost Village. Be ready for a lot of combat along the way, and keep rebuilding your Garrison as you go. Fearnaughts will become a necessity in the northwest. Once you've connected your settlement to the Outpost Village with a road you'll need to send them 31 Pumpkins, which you can grow on Farmland that's adjacent to a Vegetable Farm.
- Supply Expedition Camp (+40% Friendship). This Objective goes hand-in-hand with Supply Outpost Village, as the Expedition Camp is also north of Violetvale, but even further away from your settlement. You'll need to keep expanding to reach it. Once you've connected your settlement to the Expedition Camp you'll need to send them 32 Bread, which requires Wheat from Crop Farms, a Windmill, and a Bakery to produce. (I wouldn't recommend going for this Objective. You'll save time by doing the other two.)
- Recruit Construction Workers (+65% Friendship). To complete this Objective you'll need to train 120 Carriers into Construction Site Carriers, Diggers, and / or Builders. You can achieve all of these at a Guild Hall, making this a rather simple task. You'll complete it naturally as your settlement grows.