The Orders Template is the preferred method for submitting your Clan's orders.
It's emailed to you by the TribeNet GM every turn. It usually arrives in your inbox just a few minutes after you receive your turn results. The subject line is in the format: (Clan ID) Orders for (Upcoming Game Turn).
New players may opt out of using the Orders Template and instead use the standard and simplified spreadsheet to submit their orders. However, it's recommended that you learn the Orders Template as it will make submitting orders easier in the long run.
Each Orders Template is unique to the Clan who receives it, which is why we're not linking to a file from this wiki. The spreadsheet is a series of tabs, some of which the player fills in, and others that are used behind the scenes to populate the necessary data.
Not every tab is listed below. Only those tabs which should be edited by the player. If you don't know what a tab is for, it's best to leave it unchanged, as it may cause your orders template to break.
The Instructions tab is the first tab in the spreadsheet. It includes basic information about the purpose of this spreadsheet and how to use it, as well as version information. Nothing needs to be edited on this tab.
The Clan tab includes a summary of all Units in your Clan, including population by type, Provisions (including how many months of Provisions remain for that unit), how many unallocated Workers you have this turn, and an inventory of all animals and the the required number of Herders.
As you fill in the Tribes_Activities tab, you can refer back to the Clan tab and review the Remains column to determine how many unallocated Workers you have for this turn. Ideally, your goal is for this to be 0 for all Units in your Clan.
Due to a bug in the Orders Template, you will need to manually update the Warrior, Actives, Inactives, Slave, Hirelings, Mercs, Locals, and Auxiliaries columns for all of your units each turn. Otherwise, your population numbers will be out of synch with the actual number of available Workers you have to allocate to Activities for this upcoming turn. Do not update the Eaters, Used, or Remains columns are these are calculated automatically based on the other data columns.
The Comments Tab is where you include non-actionable comments about your turn that you want to share with the TribeNet GM. The GM may refer back to these notes as your turn is processed to clarify issues. Please make sure to select the correct Unit for the comment.
The GM Actions Tab is where you includes actionable comments about your turn that you want to share with the GM. An example use of this tab is listing the Clans you wish to truce this upcoming turn. Please make sure to select the correct Unit for the comment.
The Transfer tab is where you will list all transfers between Units for the upcoming turn. You will use one row per unique item between two Units. You will include the originating Unit (From), the destination Unit (To), the Item, the Quantity, the Transfer_Timing (BM for Before Movement, AM for After Movement), and any Notes that you may need to provide to the GM about that specific transfer.
NB - When the Orders spreadsheet is sent to you, the transfers sheet may be scrolled down, make sure you scroll up to row 2
The Tribe_Movement tab is where you list all movement for your Units. Each row is a unique Unit for your Clan, and this list will be pre-populated. If your Unit is not planning to move this upcoming turn, please make sure that MOVEMENT_1 is set to Still and all other movement columns are set to Empty. Please consult The Mandate for movement options.
The Scout_Movement tab is where you list all scouting movement for the turn. It is similar to the Tribe_Movement tab, but includes columns that are unique to Scouts. Be sure to include 0 in the horses, elephants and camels columns even if you are not using any of those animal types, if you leave those values blank the scouting will not work.
Please consult The Mandate for scouting options.
The Tribes_Activities tab is where you list what your Workers will be doing this upcoming turn. This is the most time-intensive tab in the spreadsheet. As a reminder, you can refer back to the Clan tab as you fill in this tab to determine how many remaining Workers you have left to allocate to activities. You can also copy and paste rows from your prior turn Orders Template file, although this should be done with caution.
NB - Group your activities by unit. e.g. if 0111e2 has some activities then 0111e3 has some, if you return to more activities for 0111e2 further down the sheet then these will replace the initial activities.
The Skill_Attempts tab is where you will list which skills your tribes will attempt to learn this turn. You will include a row for each skill attempt per tribe, including the Tribe, Order, and Topic columns. The Processed column is used by the GM and Attempt is automatically calculated based on your entry. You may need to copy and paste extras rows in the spreadsheet for the pull-down skill options to appear. Don't forget Teachers if you can afford them! Please consult The Mandate for skill options.
The Research_Attempts tab is where you will list which research topics your tribes will attempt to learn this turn. You will include a row for each research topic attempt per tribe, including the Tribe and Topic columns. The Processed column is used by the GM. Please consult The Mandate & the TribeNet Research Document for research options.
The Valid Units tab should be left alone in most cases. The exception to this is if you're spawning a new Unit this turn and need to select it on one of the other tabs. You add the new Unit ID to the Unit list in the Unit column (Column A).