Author Topic: The Wood Immortal Dynasty (completed - just a summary, not a story)  (Read 6884 times)

Offline hazelnut

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My first attempt at the Immortal Dynasty was quite a long time ago now, back when I just had the base game and Ambitions, plus High End Loft Stuff and Fast Lane.  I wasn’t intending to post this because I thought all that was left was the scoring spreadsheet, two saved Sims and my memories.  Then, yesterday, I was sorting through old backups and came across some files saved from my old computer.  I didn’t take screenshots at the time (I don’t think I’d learned how) but I’ve now recreated the Sims’ younger selves from the end-of-game saves and their portraits and sculptures.

Generation 1


                                                                             Burl as a young adult and adult

Burl appeared at 15 Summer Hill Court and, as so many other founders had done, left immediately to visit a certain Ms Crumplebottom.  On the way, he had a wish to join the culinary career, so he stopped at the diner on the way past and got a job.  When Agnes was close to becoming a friend, he said goodbye and went to the library to fulfil a few more wishes.  With his first point of the cooking skill duly notched up, he went back to Agnes’ house and resumed their conversation.  He invited her back to his place and proposed.  By the end of Day 1, Burl had made a good start: supermax skill started, unique job in place, a new wife and, thanks to the sale of said wife’s car, a small house with all of the essentials (plus a chest of drawers, which I’d normally class as a luxury at this stage.  I usually like to leave townies looking like themselves but make an exception for Aggie.)



Agnes painted Burl’s portrait, then concentrated on learning sculpting, stopping only to fix the plumbing, sleep and WooHoo.  Once she’d achieved non-melting ice sculptures, she turned her attention to fishing.  Burl, meanwhile, worked at the diner, made a lot of autumn salads, started on the garden and made friends with all of the younger inhabitants of Sunset Valley, particularly those who could supply him with free recipes.

Although it felt like a terrible scramble, all of Burl’s requirements, apart from his elder museum pieces, were in place well before his final birthday.





Burl

Traits: Natural Cook, Green Thumb, Bookworm, Over-emotional, Friendly
(I really wish I hadn’t gone for over-emotional.  It was useful for extra happiness points but his favourite activity seemed to be standing around crying over something.  Infuriating over a multi-generation game.)

Lifetime wish: Five-star chef
Career: Culinary
Skill: Cooking

Building: Diner
Property: Crystal Springs

Unique lifetime rewards: Bookshop Bargainer (mostly for the ambrosia discount), Haggler, Fireproof Homestead

Unique best friends
  • River McIrish
  • Christopher Steel
  • Emma Hatch
  • Jared Frio
  • Mortimer Goth
  • Agnes Wood (née Crumplebottom)
Unique opportunities
  • From One Chef to Another
  • That's Outstanding
  • Learn a Recipe
  • Absolutely Great Produce
  • Borrowing Ingredients
  • Spying on the Cuisine



Generation 2

Ebony was born just before Agnes aged up to adult.  Aggie and Burl were both holding wishes to have their first child and I calculated that she’d be able to make non-melting ice sculptures by the time the baby became a toddler.



(Ebony was naturally blonde, by the way, as you might expect, given her parents’ colouring.  I changed her hair to suit her name.)
During Ebony’s childhood, Agnes became pregnant again and had a boy, Linden.  I’ve written a little about the family at the end of this post, because I reincarnated Burl for the Household Skills Project.



I find it odd how sad Linden looked – almost as though he knew he was destined to be the only mortal child in an immortal family.  (His hair colour is entirely natural, by the way.  Random variation, presumably.)

The kids didn’t get on well, mostly because of the strains of living in a very small house.  I hadn’t realised how much money Agnes would make from sculpting and hoarded rather more of their money for Burl’s property purchases than was necessary.  Eb asked Linden to leave home after he walked in on her using the bathroom for the third time in as many days – the first time I’d seen that interaction.  Fortunately, he didn’t – he was only a child at the time.



Ebony grew up and married a schoolfriend, Bryan Sosa.  He was athletic and eco-friendly and wanted to be an astronaut.



Agnes lived to 106, long enough to see both of her children grow up.  She’d had a change of lifetime wish, to Swimming in Cash (stupidly, I changed it just before spending money on Burl’s properties rather than just after) and achieved it very late in life.  She maxed painting, sculpting, handiness, cooking, gardening and fishing.  Pretty impressive.





Linden inherited his mother’s longevity as well as her looks.  He died aged 104, having survived donating his heart at 96.  By the end of his life, he and Ebony had got over their earlier differences and were best friends.  He supermaxed painting and sculpting, maxed logic and was close to level 10 in his new interest, fishing.  He and Bryan spent hours together at Summer Hill Springs after Bryan retired.  Linden, being ambitious, kept working to the end.



Ebony


                                          Ebony as an elder – before and after her visit to the salon for a makeover



Traits: Artistic, Loves the Outdoors, Friendly, Savvy Sculptor, Virtuoso

Lifetime wish: Renaissance Sim
Career: Self-employed Sculptor
Unique supermaxed skill: Sculpting
Other maxed skills: Gardening, Guitar (both supermaxed at a later stage)

Building: Criminal Warehouse
Property: Library

Unique lifetime rewards: Moodlet Manager, Vacationer, Complimentary Entertainment

Unique best friends
  • Bryan Wood (né Sosa)
  • Broderick Atkinson
  • Juliet Gamble
  • German Gamble
  • Alfredo Hendren
  • Dolores Bowler
(Linden doesn’t appear here because I misinterpreted the rules and thought best friends had to be exclusive.  Since Linden was also best friends with Burl, I didn’t count him.  The same goes for several spouses later on.)

Unique opportunities
  • Delivering the Green
  • Sculpture for a Friend
  • Sims on Ice
  • High Quality Delivery
  • An Old Ruse
  • Guitar Up



Generation 3

Ebony and Bryan’s daughter, Cherry, was the family painter.  She may also be the luckiest Sim I’ve ever played, despite not having the trait.





She was a Master of the Arts and supermaxed both skills before her elder birthday (by the end of the game she was a Guitar Star about five times over).  She married a new townie, Jamel  Foster.



It was only after Jamel became Mr Wood that I discovered his lifetime wish.  I knew he had commitment issues but assumed he’d be another would-be astronaut, given that he was handy and athletic.  In fact, he was a gold digger.  Sorry, mate; not in this family.  He joined the military anyway and had a change of lifetime wish.



Karma finally kicked in late in Cherry’s life.  Having had an amazingly easy ride so far, she ran into trouble just before eating ambrosia for the first time, when five out of her six best friends died in three days.  She spent a busy few days befriending lots of new (young) people.



Cherry

Traits: Artistic, Virtuoso, Perfectionist, Born Saleswoman, Couch Potato
(Her last trait was going to be something else – I’ve forgotten what – but I found her spontaneously working out to a stereo as a teenager and had to make her a couch potato to head off further trouble.)

Lifetime wish: Master of the Arts
Career: Self-employed Painter
Unique supermaxed skill: Painting
Other supermaxed skill: Guitar

Building: Theatre
Property: Consignment Store

Unique lifetime rewards: Suave Seller, Extra Creative, Body Sculptor

Unique best friends
  • Duane Bunch
  • Jeannette Bunch
  • George Fultz
  • Nikita Fultz
  • Sommer McCauley
  • Mitzi Di Sabatino
Unique opportunities
  • Local Artists' Gallery
  • A Large Painting
  • Fresco Fest
  • Interior Décor
  • The Business of Décor
  • The Study of Art



Generation 4

Rose, unlike her mother, was intended to be an athlete.  She was also destined for a life of crime.



She became a kleptomaniac as a child and stole the car from next door that had once belonged to Holly Alto.



When she started high school, she met the car’s former owner – and fell madly in love.  Suddenly all of her wishes were about Tim Farrell.  She had to wait a long time to get her wish to kiss him: he aged up the following day.  They stayed in touch through her teenage days and finally she had her own young adult birthday, rushed next door and started on the romantic interactions.  They were married a few days later.



Rose and Tim’s traits and interests were very similar and they were a remarkably devoted couple.  I don’t know whether they ever discovered that they were on opposite sides of the law – he wanted to be an International Super Spy, while she wanted to be a Master Thief. 





Rose

Traits: Athletic, Excitable, Kleptomaniac, Neat, Schmoozer

Lifetime wish: Master Thief
Career: Criminal (Thief)
Unique supermaxed skill: Athletic
(She also supermaxed guitar later in the game)

Building: Supermarket
Property: Art Gallery

Unique lifetime rewards: Speedy Cleaner, Collection Helper, Profession Simoleon Booster

Unique best friends
  • Timothy Wood (né Farrell)
  • Roosevelt Steward
  • Chrissy Schwarz
  • Ricardo Herman
  • René Case
  • Casandra Case
Unique opportunities
  • Amateur Olympics
  • Muscle Showdown
  • At the Health Seminar
  • Friends for Life
  • Bounce the Crowd
  • Bursting with Energy

Offline Rhoxi

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2013, 11:11:22 PM »

Four generations in and then re-starting your dynasty file, whoah! Are you going to be posting a story about the rest of the generations as you continue? Also, that is probably one of the best Agnes make-overs that I have seen! I like that hair style on her.



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Offline hazelnut

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2013, 05:17:35 AM »
Four generations in and then re-starting your dynasty file, whoah! Are you going to be posting a story about the rest of the generations as you continue?
No, in fact, this is a finished game - but I have another dynasty that's been abandoned at generation 5 for over a year now.  That one has a few screenshots but not really much.  Putting this one together has made me think I will finally take that one up again.  I could get screenshots of the Sims the same way I did with these and then continue with a story.

Also, that is probably one of the best Agnes make-overs that I have seen! I like that hair style on her.

Thank you.  I like it too.  The similar style from World Adventures is probably even better but I didn't have it then.

Offline hazelnut

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2013, 01:06:23 PM »
Generation 5

Willow inherited her father’s interest in all things logical.



She moved on from the peg box to books and then to the chessboard and telescope.



As a teenager, she started tutoring her classmates (this was before it got patched out).  Her favourite pupil, Josiah Herman, soon became rather more.



Josiah arrived with long hair and I thought it suited him.  I added the beard to stop him from looking girly but found that I still ended up confusing him with Rose when supervising from a distance.  (The graphics on that computer were far from wonderful.)  So Josiah had a haircut and ended up looking worryingly like Don Lothario.  Josiah arrived with the Chess Legend wish but, given that a) I hate the chess tournament and b) his wife was already supermaxing logic, he had a change of lifetime wish.  If I’d waited anther week or so, he could have had a free choice.  As it was, I was stuck with the options that popped up.  The best was Professional Author :(.

There’s a reason no-one was supermaxing writing in this dynasty: when I started it, I’d just finished playing a legacy with a ridiculous number of authors (even the Tinkerer couldn’t have cared less about logic or handiness; she just wanted to write).


                                                          Willow as an elder – before and after a salon visit



Willow

Traits: Genius, Heavy Sleeper, Bookworm, Lucky, Computer Whiz

Lifetime wish: World-Renowned Surgeon
Career: Medicine
Unique supermaxed skill: Logic

Building: Hospital
Property: Central Park

Unique lifetime rewards: Professional Slacker, Food Replicator, Fast Metabolism
Unique best friends
  • Josiah Wood (né Herman)
  • Amit Renner
  • Donovan Eggleston
  • Salvatore Lucas
  • Heriberto Flynn
  • Brad Schwarz
Unique opportunities
  • Fixing the Celestial Slump
  • A Stimulating Experiment
  • Caring for the Careless
  • The Giving Sort
  • Respect the WooWoos
  • Logic 101



Generation 6

For some reason, I panicked about getting Willow through her career and lifetime wish – no idea why, given that Burl had no problems and medicine is far quicker than the culinary career.  Even with maternity leave, she should have been fine.  As it was, she produced Ash almost as soon as she’d aged up to young adult, and then got a job at the hospital immediately afterwards.



Ash  changed his lifetime wish before he even had one, partly because I was short of unique rewards (at that stage, I tended to use the needs-reducing rewards for everyone and I had limited expansions) and partly because I wanted to get Monster Maker locked in before he had other traits to confuse things.  As with his father, if I’d waited a little, it would have been much more straightforward.



Ash married a schoolfriend, Maebe Bigelow, who had unfortunately aged a lot faster than he had.



Maebe had lovely traits – with one exception.  Hating children is not ideal in a dynasty spouse.  Still, Burl, Cherry and Rose were all great with kids.  Maebe, who wanted to be a five-star chef, could concentrate on her career apart from the actual pregnancy bit, while the family raised her daughter.

The timing turned out to be tricky.  I was so focussed on Maebe having a child before her biological clock ran down that I forgot about leaving room for Ash’s SimBots.  Maebe was pregnant within minutes of Josiah’s death… and then I found myself in the position of waiting for a Sim I really liked to die, so that her husband could finish his lifetime wish and qualify for ambrosia.

Ash finally achieved his lifetime wish at 87 and ate his first ambrosia immediately afterwards.





Ash

Traits: Eccentric, Genius, Good Sense of Humour, Handy, Lucky

Lifetime wish: Monster Maker
Career: Self-employed Inventor
Unique supermaxed skill: Handiness
Other maxed skill: Inventing (later supermaxed)

Building: Bistro
Property: Cemetery

Unique lifetime rewards: Change Lifetime Wish, My Best Friend, Efficient Inventor

Unique best friends
  • Hilary Kelly
  • Josie Wagoner
  • Ronny Langston
  • Celina Asher
  • Tisha Doyle
  • Amelia Wood (SimBot)
Unique opportunities
  • Target Practice
  • In the Name of Science!
  • Teching Up the Spa
  • Exposition on Explosions
  • Bring Back the Jams
  • Construction Equipment Needed



Generation 7

Holly was unconventional, although considerably saner than her later namesake.  If the rebellious trait had existed then, she’d have had it.  As it was, she had to make do with party animal and dramatic.





She had the Rock Star LTW but supermaxed fishing.  If I’d realised what an easy time everyone was going to have with the guitar skill, I’d probably have played things differently.

Holly had a steady boyfriend, Claudio Webb, who could really have done with a makeover, if only it had been allowed.



They collaborated to produce Rowan, who nearly arrived outside the theatre.  Holly was in the middle of an autograph session when she went into labour and was remarkably reluctant to leave her fans just because she was having a baby.  Eventually she seemed to decide she ought to do something and went home (I’d been trying to send her to the hospital, which was nearer).  She just about got into the house before giving birth on the doormat.





Holly

Traits: Virtuoso, Loves the Outdoors, Angler, Party Animal, Dramatic

Lifetime wish: Rock Star
Career: Music (Rock)
Unique supermaxed skill: Fishing
Other maxed skills: Guitar (supermaxed soon after achieving immortality)

Building: Spa
Property: Pinochle Pond

Unique lifetime rewards: Discount Diner, Fertility Treatment, Teleporter

Unique best friends
  • Claudio Webb
  • Jayme Ford
  • Darren Wray
  • Asa Wray
  • Dara Burchett
  • Calvin Crump
Unique opportunities
  • The Hard Rocky Road
  • A Fish of Life and Death
  • Robot Fish v2.0
  • Heaps of Fresh Fish
  • Lobsters in Demand!
  • Say Hello to My Little Fish



Generation 8





Rowan grew up as everyone’s friend.  It was no surprise when such a charming Sim went into politics and he progressed rapidly through the career.  At one of his political fund-raising parties, he met a much younger woman, Georgina Lawler, who became his girlfriend and spent most of her time in the dynasty house. Georgina presented Rowan with a son, Danny, a few days before his elder birthday.





By the time Rowan was ready for ambrosia, Georgina was pregnant again.  This time she had a girl, Marissa.





Rowan

Traits: Friendly, Good, Good Sense of Humour, Charismatic, Vehicle Enthusiast

Lifetime wish: Leader of the Free World
Career: Politics
Unique supermaxed skill: Charisma

Building: Bookshop
Property: Stoney Falls

Unique Lifetime rewards: Never Dull, Acclaimed Author, Fast Learner

Unique best friends
  • Georgina Lawler
  • Kacey Burchett
  • Douglas Ruff
  • Robby Marvin
  • Kendell Hilliard
  • Mason Baughman
Unique opportunities
  • Getting to Know… You
  • Shred-Handed
  • A Charming Experiment
  • Meet and Greet
  • Business Up Front, Party in Back
  • Bestest Friends



All of the immortals planted a tree to commemorate finishing their requirements.  (Linden also planted one when he became a Renaissance Sim.)


                                                                             The Woods' completed wood


                                                                                    The eight immortals

Challenge completed on week 51, day 5
Total museum value §680465
(The regular household bills were well over §15000 by the end)

Offline saltpastillen

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty (completed - just a summary, not a story)
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2013, 03:37:44 PM »
Thanks for sharing the Wood's story. Such fortune to find the old saves and be able to tell it in it's entirety.

Offline hazelnut

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty (completed - just a summary, not a story)
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2013, 04:26:32 PM »
Thank you :)

Amazingly, I've just found a (not very good) screenshot from the game itself while sorting through even more old saves.  I'd forgotten I'd taken it; it does seem to be the only one, though.  It's Rowan's last birthday:


Offline Rhoxi

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty (completed - just a summary, not a story)
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2013, 08:13:16 PM »
 
The Wood's wood. Har har.  :P Well, a long overdue congrats on your completed dynasty! If you do decide to finish that other one, too, I'll be reading along.



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Offline Meg

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty (completed - just a summary, not a story)
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2013, 03:03:40 AM »
Congratulations on completing the dynasty! I really love Rowan's hair, did you get it from the store?

Offline hazelnut

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Re: The Wood Immortal Dynasty (completed - just a summary, not a story)
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2013, 01:04:22 PM »

The Wood's wood. Har har.  :P Well, a long overdue congrats on your completed dynasty! If you do decide to finish that other one, too, I'll be reading along.

Thank you.   I'm pretty sure I will be carrying on with the other dynasty, although it'll probably take me a while to dig out the surviving screenshots and to remember what I was doing :).

Congratulations on completing the dynasty! I really love Rowan's hair, did you get it from the store?

Thanks :).  Rowan's hair is from the Ambitions registration pack.