User Guide

the Reed Gatherer, the Wood Cutter does not
have to be adjacent to a forest.
Wood is an important and valuable raw material in
Egypt and the rest of the world. Shipwrights (see
page 77) need wood to construct and repair war-
ships and transport ships. Chariot Makers con-
struct chariots from wood (see page 77). Finally,
wood is used by the Carpenters’ Guild to make
ramps and scaffolding for monuments (see page
130).
Wood tends to be scarce in Egypt, so you should
harvest it whenever you have the chance. Because
it is so rare, think twice before clearing trees in
order to make room for buildings. Wood is one
of the more valuable raw materials in the open
market, and your city can profit from exporting it.
While neither the Reed Gatherer nor the Wood
Cutter needs to be built next to their raw materi-
al, it makes sense to place these buildings as close
to the raw material as possible. The shorter the
distance the workers have to travel, the more pro-
ductive they will be.
When harvesters and wood cutters are about their
tasks, you’ll notice that after they have harvested a
region, the reeds or trees do not grow back right
away. It takes time for new reeds and trees to
sprout and grow. Because of this, it is possible to
over-harvest these resources if you have too many
harvesters or wood cutters working in a particular
area. Reeds and trees (unless you clear them) will
eventually grow back, but your industries might
sit idle while waiting for regrowth. It’s best to
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Industry
Straw, Barley and Flax.
Barley, flax and straw are
grown on farms. Raw material farms like these
share all the characteristics common to food
farms: they must be built on arable land, their
fields become more fertile with irrigation and
farms built on the flood plain tend to yield more
crops. See the chapter on Food and Farming on
pages 58-67 for more information.
Barley Farms produce barley from which
Brewers make beer (page 76), and flax
that can be made into linen (page 76)
grows on Flax Farms. Straw grows on
Grain Farms (page 65) and is a by-prod-
uct of grain production. Straw, along
with clay, is used to make bricks (page
76), and straw is also used to feed cattle
on Cattle Ranches (page 67).
Reeds and Wood.
If you see stands of trees or
fields of reeds, you can usually build a Reed
Gatherer or a Wood Cutter. Just as the presence
of small stone deposits doesn’t always mean that
you can quarry stone, some areas of trees or reeds
might be too small, or of too low quality, to sup-
port industry. You’ll know for sure if you have
access to these buildings if they are in the
Industrial Structures: Raw Materials list.
A Reed Gatherer sends out harvesters to collect
reeds that can be pounded into papyrus at the
Papyrus Maker. A Reed Gatherer does not have to
be adjacent to a field of reeds. Harvesters are will-
ing to walk from their building to the reed field.
A Wood Cutter works in a similar fashion. Like
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Industry
Reed Gatherer
Wood Cutter
Farm