Welcome to my fifth installment of a Role-Platy Challenge for BTS.

I think these challenges ar ehelpful as they come from and average to good BTS player and on marathon speed. They have each tended to foucus on a certain type of play style that may or may not be "usual" and offer a different angle on the game as well as using certain rules/constraints to make the game more interesting. They have also been one of the few games that are walked through on marathon speed.

All input and suggestions are encouraged, please feel free to comment on any aspect.

The previous 4 games were

The Might Kahn; We got a conquest win using a scorched earth/raze economy/game

Seafaring Victoria: Where we woin a space race victory running an exclusive trade route economy on a water heavy board with no cottage building or running specialists in non-GP farm cities

Chivalrous Washington: Where we attempted to get a diplomatic win while keeping 5 lady AIs happy and protect them from 3 male rouges which ended in a draw (we built the UN but did not get enough votes.

Bismark the Builder: Where the mighty industrious Germans controlled every world wonder at the end of the game. This game used OBSOLETE wonderspam/settled GPs in Berlin and got us a Diplomatic UN win!


The current game is HOLY SAL!!

We will attempt to run a religious economy, while trying to maintain a peaceful and harmoneous world under religious guidance.

Poor Saladin, he is one of those leaders that noone likes and noone respects much. I also have seen that many posters really don't promote religions and shrines much. Bah, I think they are still one of the best ways to run a civilization. Also Sal is protective, probably one of teh most hated traits, but I think it has it's uses, especially for Sal. The protector of the faith. His UB is pretty powerful, and combo of the Egyptian Obelisk and the extra culture of the Incan terrace. The UU offers additonal withdrawal chance and does not require resources. Not a big deal unless you ar emissing horses and/or iron!!!

So the rules of this challenge

1) Sal must try to found as many religions as possible, and must use the Great Prophets for shrines with the exception of bulbing theology. We will try to favor the religion techs as mush as possible.
2) Only Priest specialists may be run.
3) Sal must have a state religion throughout the game. Any civic except Free Religion is in play.
4) Sal is a spiritual man and prefers peaceful coexistence with others. He is also very tolerant of other religions, but not tolerant of Blasphemers who have no state religion. Therefore, he can only open borders and trade with those AIs that have a state religion. If an AI switches to FR, he must close borders.
5) SAL will NOT declare war on any civilization outside his control but can certainly defends his people. Once at war he can attack the AI (we ar enot repeating Washingtons game here).
6) We will make every attempt to build the religious wonders for a true religious economy. AP, Ankot Wat, University of Sankore, Spial Minerat, Sisten Chapel.
7) Any non-prophet GP must be used for GAs.


The map is normal size Big/little, all random
Difficulty is Monarch
Victory Conditions are all enabled however

Sal can only obatin one of three
A) Culture
B) Diplomatic (AP is OK as long as it is not a cheap win, must have at least 75% of the world cities with it)
C) Space. Sal can certainly bring the good word (or words) to other planets, no problem.


So our Holy leader


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/HolySal0000.jpg

And the start


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/HolySalStart0000.jpg

This is the first random start I did before anyone asks. Good start and I'll take it as Sal starts very weekly. He start with the wheel and mysticism. No help for food there, but a definite chance at an early religion although no early commerce. He is protective so I'll be after archery early, after religion and food.

So how do we start?

EDIT: Please feel to shadow the game, just report items in spoilers!

With stone visible I wonder is not Stonehenge a "religious" wonder?

Fishing will of course be a priority with that start. After Poly, mono run perhaps or somewhere in there.

Any wonder is open game, however given a choice between the one's I mentioned and something like the Gerat Library I have to pick the religious one. I am thinking the pyramids more so we can run representation and get beakers with the Priest specialists

The stone is outside the BFC unless we settle on top of the wheat, which is an option. But I think we need to see the territory with the warrior first.

How about holy cruases to take holy cities, from religion he might have missed out of the hands of infidels ?

How about holy cruases to take holy cities, from religion he might have missed out of the hands of infidels ?

Nah, not looking for a crusades game (that's an Isabella angle). Sal is a nobel, peaceful hearted man who is tolerant of other religions and does not need to control them.

But do not underestimate him. If he finds a religous war on his hands (AI declaration) he will crack down hard and take the AIs holy city if need be.

The last 2 RPC were full of war. This one I will try to be peaceful and illustrate the religous economy. God help teh leader who breaks the peace.

I've played Saladin quite a bit in my quest to find the best protective leader. He plays really oddly. He can run 4 specialists, which is pretty huge, and being protective, you'd think philosophy would be a definite boon with fewer units needed. You can do oracle->MC to get quick machinery for xbows, which is needed for guilds, but I find that xbow rushes are good for pillaging, but weak overall.
Castles are pretty weak, so I'd only get it if you're playing BTS and need trebs to take down tough cities. You can get organized religion for help building wonders. And you must get a strong economy going if you're going out of the way for guilds and since he doesn't get economic bonuses like fin, org, or charismatic and since his UU and drill crossbows give him a strength advantage mid-game.
If you play him too peacefully, he plays a difficulty higher than other civs.

Good idea with the Pyramids.

Warrior best moves are SW or NE. Don't think we will reveal anything great. Tundra to the south by the looks and plains forest to the east.

Regarding the settling question, I think that there are 3 main options.

1) Settle in place. You get the full food bonus of the wheat, and you use up a plain tile. (I don't care to much for plains.) However, you don't get the hut right a way, and might get barbarians if you use your warrior. Also, you lose out on stone.

2) Settle on wheat. Sacrifice unknown tiles for plains w/ forest. You don't get the full food bonus of the wheat. But, you do get the stone and pop the hut on the first turn.

3) Move 1 square SE. Then, you get both resources but lose the currently almost useless resources that needs calender. I can't recognize it by name though. You also lose 1 turn, get a tundra hill, and have the same hut problem as number 1.

Personally, I'd pick #3. Also, I'd move move my warrior 1 tile NW, because I think that I see coast, but I'm not sure.

Settle in place
A capital's second borderpop comes soon enough for the stone to come into play for the mids. I don't think losing the long term benefits of the corn plus having a tundra hill is a good price to pay for stonehenge.
And with the mids and 4 food resources you can easily run 3 priests without losing out on working too many tiles

I agree with Civcorpse. Some resources in the game are extremely useful in your BFC, like wheat. Others are useful for your empire to have but don't provide an eye-popping bonus to the local city, like ivory. Stone gives a nice hammer bonus, but you can do without it in your BFC. Soon enough you will have access to it with the third border pop. You start with mysticism, right? So you can build a monument if you want that border pop sooner. I'd probably settle in place.

3) Move 1 square SE. Then, you get both resources but lose the currently almost useless resources that needs calender. I can't recognize it by name though. You also lose 1 turn, get a tundra hill, and have the same hut problem as number 1.

Personally, I'd pick #3. Also, I'd move move my warrior 1 tile NW, because I think that I see coast, but I'm not sure.

You must mean 1SW, not SE. I was thinking about that spot too. It also gives +1 hammer start since it's plains hill.

Moving SW: +1 Hammer in City. Workable Stone in BFC - on a plains hill is not a bad tile. But: a Thundra Hill, and 3 More water tiles in the BFC as well. Loosing fresh water too, its not a big deal however.

Settling in place looks for more long term production.

There is something else: As you must grab religions, 1 Turn moving now, might be bad, as it might be enought to loose a early religion.

I think overall i would settle in place.

Holy Sal!: Part I

Well, with all the good advice I decided to start the game tonight.

Settled in place, as we did not want to give up the fresh water access and the stone would be within Mecca's cultural borders by the time we teched Masonry as we plan to get an early religion.

Things start off real well


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/SalA0000.jpg

Although I would have preferred a food tech I won't complain.
We also popped a scout and 44 gold from huts.

We also meet our first leader


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/SalA0001.jpg

we start by teching polytheism. Buddhism is founded in 3580, and soon after


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/SalA0002.jpg

We found our first religion and convert..


We start teching agriculture.

At this point the gods forsake us


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/SalA0003.jpg

2 turns later

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/SalA0004.jpg

And our ranking


http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/MSguy_photo/Sal/SalA0005.jpg

I hope everyone enjoyed this latest RPC game, full of plenty of excitement.


I will say these early barbarian uprising just plain reak!!!!!!! I mean that early where I could never mount any sort of defense.

We that's the way it goes. I'll post the starting location for a new game a little later.

Bummer.
.

Feel free to reload the start. No shame in that.

Feel free to reload the start. No shame in that.

The only issue is when you lose the game pops up the map, so I know what to expect. I would rather make a new game.

Fair enough.

Play as Saladin again, I really like his beard.

LOL. Dude...what's with that random event?? I HATE it so very much. I NEVER cheat in my games with the world builder, in fact, I don't even reload my saves if my game goes bad...it just kills the fun for me. But today, I was playing Carthage and I started with 3 GOLD MINES in my BFC, and then that random event came along and killed me...so for once in my life, I reloaded and built some archers. I didn't feel too guilty about it because that event blows goats.

Also reloading the start might not help. The random seed is still the same.

Also reloading the start might not help. The random seed is still the same.
It seems the uprising occurs on turn 45. Wouldn't it be possible to throw everything into a defense that can shrug off the barbarians (is their force 3 Archers?).

Even if you don't have time to get Archery online (and build an Archer) wouldn't 47 turns be enough for at least 4 Warriors, which could be posted in the barbarian's path on a forested square in the hopes they wouldn't go around?

I understand Madscientist didn't want to restart. Just curious if the barbs could be beat or if the game is truly unwinnable.

It seems the uprising occurs on turn 45. Wouldn't it be possible to throw everything into a defense that can shrug off the barbarians (is their force 3 Archers?).

Even if you don't have time to get Archery online (and build an Archer) wouldn't 47 turns be enough for at least 4 Warriors, which could be posted in the barbarian's path on a forested square in the hopes they wouldn't go around?

I understand Madscientist didn't want to restart. Just curious if the barbs could be beat or if the game is truly unwinnable.

That would be unlikely but perhaps possible.

It also would have meant spamming warriors which means working high hammer, low food/commerce, which would have killed the idea of the RPC, claiming as many religions as possible. Best to just regenerate a new game which worked out veyr nicely.

I must admit, I laughed so hard at this.

:lol:

Best RPC ever.