The dilemma. A steppe caravan has arrived at Aldheim's east gate from lands where the sweating fever is spreading. The whole town wants it turned away. Its drivers are thirsty and its leader is begging. Nobody knows who is sick.
From the gameThe painting on this decision card in Valmora.
What would you do?
Play itDecision 1 of 1
Dilemma
A Caravan from the Fever Country
A steppe caravan has arrived at Aldheim's east gate from lands where the sweating fever is spreading. The whole town wants it turned away. Its drivers are thirsty and its leader is begging. Nobody knows who is sick.
If the roll succeedsForty days pass and nobody falls ill. The steppe clans now call your house the Open Gate.If it failsTwo of your yard hands catch the fever. The town spits as your wagons pass.
What happenedThe caravan camps in the cold outside the walls. The town feels safe and a little ashamed.
What happenedThe gatekeepers argue all night. By morning the caravan has gone south.
No right answer.
In the game the roll is d20 plus your adviser’s skill. Here the bonus is a flat +2.
The options and what happens
Open your outer yard and quarantine them yourself (500 cr).Bold · decided by a d20 roll against 13
Succeeds: Forty days pass and nobody falls ill. The steppe clans now call your house the Open Gate.
Fails: Two of your yard hands catch the fever. The town spits as your wagons pass.
Back the town and keep the gate shut.Certain outcome
The caravan camps in the cold outside the walls. The town feels safe and a little ashamed.
Let the gatekeepers decide.Certain outcome
The gatekeepers argue all night. By morning the caravan has gone south.
About this card
This is one of 8 hand-written dilemmas set in Valmora (Year 412 of the Lantern Calendar), one of three ages in Be a CEO, a business strategy game where you run a trading house. Each dilemma has one bold option, decided by dice, and safer options with certain outcomes. The text above is the card exactly as it appears in the game, with the amounts it showed on the first day of a new game.
Questions
What are the options in “A Caravan from the Fever Country”?
There are three: “Open your outer yard and quarantine them yourself (500 cr)”; “Back the town and keep the gate shut”; “Let the gatekeepers decide”. The first is the bold option: the game rolls a d20 plus your adviser’s skill against 13. The other two have certain outcomes.
What happens if the bold choice fails?
Two of your yard hands catch the fever. The town spits as your wagons pass.
What happens if the bold choice succeeds?
Forty days pass and nobody falls ill. The steppe clans now call your house the Open Gate.
More Valmora dilemmas
The Warden of Weights CheatsYour clerks have proof that Warden Gaspar Lune, who blesses every scale in Aldheim, takes bribes to pass false weights.
Bandits Who Want to Be GuardsSix men who robbed the Stonebreak road for years have walked into your yard, laid down their knives and asked for work as caravan guards.
Written by the Mantar Tech team from the game’s own data and text. Be a CEO is in closed alpha, so numbers and cards can change. About the art: much of it was made with AI tools and then selected and edited by hand.
