CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps - An Epic Tale of a Gentle Nation
(This game is a variant spin on 'Epic 21' from the series at
Realms Beyond Civilization - http://realmsbeyond.net/civ/epic21.html )
Emperor Diff, Archipelago map 70% water, Rugged icy conditions
Standard size, raging barbarians
Foes: Cold ones: Germany, Russia, Iro, Vikings, England, France, Korea

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The great Khan of the Mongols knew it all had to end. His father had seen
(more bluntly, caused) the death of fully one-half of the Mongol people
in bitter civil war. These weary nomads needed a leader who could turn
around this terrible situation, and bring some stability to the nation.
Thus begins the story of our nation, as a young boy comes to power, one
called Cryocharis Temujin Kudea. His father had lived by the motto
"you have no companions but your shadow," but Kudea found this hollow
and meaningless. He sent away his generals and instead sought the councel
of wandering Tibetian monks, who encouraged him to seek inner peace, and
to let that flow to his people. This warmed the heart of Kudea like no
other message. And what did the people of Mongolia need more than warmth,
in their artic tundra homeland?!? Kudea would set a new path for his
people! It was time to give up the life of nomads, to settle down,
embrace the cold as a friend, and to live in complete peace and harmony,
not only with each other, but with all people! :love:

View the beauty of their native land!

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-bc4000.jpg

Kudea wanted to distance himself from his father and the blood staining
the ground, and so he sent his scout to a nearby hut of wisdom. There
he cames across his father's notes on the working of Bronze. Kendria
the worker was a skilled lumberjack, and set about gathering wood for a
granary project. Kudea had faith that if his scout had a pure heart he
would release no barbarians, and so he set out in search of like-minded
people. (To his great pleasure, such a settler was found 500 years hence)

The former generals asked what they could do to start rebuilding the
army, as it had been utterly decimated by internal war. Kudea's answer
was a total shock - we will NEVER have a military again, of any kind,
for any reason! We shall be ultrapacifists! Others shall see that we
are no threat to them, and mean them no harm. We may be beaten, but
our spirit can never be truly conquered. If Kudea were not the son of
respected Temujin the great, he would have been slain then and there.
Instead the generals of old left camp, and were never heard from again.
Soon, the first barbarians came to our towns! They no doubt followed
the tracks of the foolish discontent generals, who left a veritable
arrow back to the Mongolian cities! Rather than close the gates and
prepare to fight, the people swung wide open the gates, greated the
barbarians with flowers and cheers, and hurled coins at their feet.
Some brave and caring women even agreed to leave, and become wives
to the barbarians!? Kudea was proud of his people. Sure his treasury
was a wreck, but his costs were greatly reduced with no army to care for!

His scouts went out, in look of friends and allies, and soon one
ran into a fellow scout, from a nation who called themselves "Russia",
who lived rather nearby, to the West. Kudea agreed to meet their
leader, and made a trek over to a growing city known as Moscow.

Kudea's heart melted as he saw the most beautiful woman he had
met, whose radiance and sparkling eyes could light up the darkest
of rooms. He was smitten, and fell in love with Kathy! He traded
knowledge of ... for ..., and went home with butterflies in his heart. :queen:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-DearKathy.jpg

"Isn't she lovely??!?!" :love:

Against his better judgement, Kudea expanded to the west. He wanted
Mongol cities to intermix with Russian cities, to form a great happy
confederacy (and to shorten the distance to Moscow!) His mind was
clouded by his love for Kathy. Advisors who served his father cautioned
that if the Russians were anything at ALL like his father they would
take those cities by the sword. Kudea refused to listen. Things
went well with expansion, and the Mongols reached a peak of eight
cities. The Russian warriors defended them against barbarians, and
their own settlements kept new ones from appearing. Apart from the
initial pillaging, barbarians were a non-issue in the history.
Kudea told his people this was a great vindication of the ways of
peace. Look to this history of Rome, he told them, as he filled them
with dread of tales of horror on how civilization "always at war"
were fated to meet brutal and vicious barbarians, and die at their hands.

Things were going well that is, until the most dreadful news came...

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-bc0410-RussiaWar.jpg

It's just 410 BC. His advisors chant... "Game over man" :eek:
"So much for that epic..." :cringe:

Charis

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 2)

Kudea was aghast! It was a beautiful white day, and snow was gently
falling down to the earth, singing a song of peace. Somehow,
he reasoned, renegade generals - unbeknownst to lovely Kathy -
had decided on their own to attack! Darhan was the first city to
fall. "Fall" isn't the right term, as the people opened up the
gates and welcomed the warriors, greeting them with laurel
wreaths! It looked awful - no defenders present, none coming,
they were powerless against the Russian onslaught! They only
had a few scouts - one in Russia was killed immediately. Another
ran, and a third, ran into an active iron mine, and somehow
managed to bungle things up so both he and the mine were
destroyed! The Mongolian city of Ta-Tu was the next to fall.
Kudea tried desperately to reach Kathy and tell her what
crimes those evil generals were committing, but her envoys
would not see him. "See!!! This confirms that it's a plot
she knows nothing about!" For two seasons, the Russians made no
further assault, then swordsmen moved out and came towards
them. They were just two steps away, with nothing to halt
their advance. It was desperate times. Kudea was however,
his father's son, and had one small, tiny, maneuver up his
sleeve. But with no military, not even cardboard cutouts for
defense (in fact, there were banners up "Welcome comrades!!")
could it work? The evil envoys demanded Tabriz for peace,
so it had to!

His last scout made a run at the Russian city of ...
There he was, defenseless, on top of the hill. All the
spearman had to do was climb the hill and slay him. But
the russian generals were *so* strict in their orders
that this defensive "guard" could under NO reason leave
his post, and he let the scout live. Instead, the stream
of swordsmen right upon our cities turned around!! They
ran back toward the scout. There was no room for running
in circles (which would also be somewhat abusive) but the
scout did back up slowly, until he reached the coast.
The swordsman caught up to him, and were about to land
a killing blow against him, when FINALLY the benevolent
despot Kudea got word through to Kathy!

"Attacking your cities??! That's... just... Horrible!!
I would NEVER have them do such a thing! You yourself
must know how generals will be generals. You are MOST
fortunate that all of yours are gone! I will call off the
attack immediately, do not worry dear Kudea!" :hammer:

Kudea was overjoyed at the advent of peace! He didn't
even press the question of the two captured cities, or
even of our map of the world and our treasury of 177 gold,
as he was confident that the people themselves would
choose who they wanted to live with - under the gentle
rule of Kudea, or under the guidance of the beautiful
flower, Kathy of Russia. (They chose the latter!)

This 'war' greatly distressed Kudea, and he vowed to
give the Russian generals no further reason to attack.
He would found no further cities encroaching the Russian
borders, nor would he grab too many resources that might
tempt them. The city of ... had three dyes, so that
was too juicy for them. Fortunately, we lost only
two of the dyes and the third remained under our the
Mongolian border! Kudea wondered if there was something
the generals knew about Darhan that he didn't know.

Life settled back down for the Mongol people. They had
given up hope now of a sprawling society with tremendous
culture (in fact, they were already under pressure from
the Russian borders!) Karakorum was not a strong bet to
be a cultural powerhouse itself, as the traits of his
people did not lend themselves to that cause. Kudea saw
himself as a visionary, as a diplomat, and he wanted to
bring the gift of peace to the whole world, and perhaps
even to other planets!?! Could his people even survive,
much less do well enough to be a contender in world events?!

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-bc0170BeforeAfter.jpg

The tale continues...
Charis

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 3)

Kudea sought the status and prestige that being a King would
bring, and so he led his government to become a Monarchy in 70BC.
Kudea's bid for a great wonder, as a testamony of love to Cathy,
soon failed. London completed the Oracle and the Vikings soon after
the Pyramids, given Karakorum the world's most expensive worker,
at 153 shields. Yet Kudea would not give up, and he greatly
desired his people to marvel at a great wonder, and
so he built the Hanging Gardens in Karakorum as a tribute
to the frost flowers that adorned the tundra. He invited
Kathy over to see them in ... and her envoy said that costs
for her to travel would be significant, and surely as a
sign of friendship we would cover those expenses!!
:confused: Hmm, ok, sure. We are GREAT friends!! This
was the first tribute that our people happily paid.

As the nation grew, so did they meet other civilizations.
The English, Koreans and Germans. Our dash to Monarchy proved
to be of *great* value, netting us Map Making, Code of Laws,
Philosophy, Horseback Riding, a world map and almost 1000g!

In 170AD we were able to buy Construction and Currency and, lo,
we've survived into the Middle Ages!?! The Hanging Gardens finish
right after this. Many years later Kudea extolled the virtue of a
representative government, specifically a zero expense military under
Republic. Soon enough the Mongols turned to a Republic for government
in 340AD, although Kudea himself remained the leader - sure
enough, the economy grew surprisingly strong! Fortunately
he had left a core of eight cities, enough to have hopes of
Wall Street someday. Of course, if there were even one more
war, he could lose one, two, seven, or ALL of his cities,
in less time than it would take for the envoys to listen! :sad:

Cryocharis Temjuin Kudea was a master of trading. He never
had to have the 'latest and greatest', and cared not about
military techs until they were quite cheap. He steadfastly
sought "twofers" - a deal where there were two new techs
available, to at least two civs (no monopoly), and where
a third civ had exactly one of them. He would buy one of
the techs from one of the leaders (a commercial one if
possible, often Korea), and would trade it for the other
tech with the third civ (often, fortunately, commercial
France, who gave good prices. Sure Joan was an ugly dog
whose pockmarked face could not compare with the flawless
perfection of the bosom of Kathy, but she gave good prices!)

Kudea noticed a purple tinge to the waters to the east,
and a bold (suicidal?) galley was sent to investigate.
There they found the Iroquois people, and used this info
to catch up in tech and gold. The people were delighted
to learn the blessings of Theology. Yet in some ways
such knowledge came too late, for in 530AD there was
great misfortune...

(To be continued, but for how long?)
Charis

You really are utterly crazy.
Keep it up, Charis!

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 4)

... there was a great misfortune...

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad0520TabrizFlips.jpg

Kudea's advisors were downcast! Tabriz is DEPOSED to the
Russians?! 8-( Cultural pressure in part from the city
they STOLE from us, Ta-Tu! Kudea himself was not really
upset, for he could not at all blame the people of Tabriz
for choosing to be ruled by Cathy, and to find themselves
enamored of her beauty. (His advisors also noted that things
were going downhill, and fast. Domestic Advisor Mesoy thought
that Kudea was utterly crazy! The *ONLY* chance for a win
that even has the slimmest chance now is Diplo, and it will
likely end up OCC if things proceed like this!)

In a world where tech gains were made rapidly, and where
there was more peace than war, civs were SO busy building
and exploring that they too were freed of the cost and
effort of large militaries. Hence the scientific and
commercial civs did well - Korea and England established
themselves as top dogs, and it seemed they would not
likely fall from those spots. France was the crucial
"third civ in", and the Vikings for some reason chose
a non-standard tech path often enough that they would
sometimes catch up or shoot ahead. Yet they could not
sustain it. Germany just had too slow a start, and too
little land. Although scientific, they would go from
strong due to free tech early in the era to well behind
by the end. I supplied the Iroquois and sometimes Germans
with free tech, or traded a tech for peanuts (or dyes).
They soon became gracious toward Kudea, and soon the
faces of the world leaders grew smiles that seemed quite
honest! ('Seemed', reminded his advisors)

Kathy, or rather her envoys, would periodically come
to us asking for tribute for their protection. They
claimed "surely you could spare 100g in honor of the timeless
friendship between Mighty Russia and your weak and defenseless
people!" How sweet!! Great Idea Cathy!! :love:

The people's response? They admire the wise leadership of
Kudea, and admire this decision to curry favor with bribes,
and so they expand our palace (?!?!?)

Yet these words were so true! How blessed we were to
not have to spend on military, and to have the lovely
and powerful Russia to count on as staunch and true
allies. If not for them we would surely have been
overrun long ago. We gladly and humbly paid the tribute,
in fact we wish we could have given more!

Education, Astronomy, Banking, Chemistry, the world
blistered forward in new knowledge, but also continued
to pursue greater means for war, like Gunpowder and
Metallurgy. The wretched and warmongering cur Elizabeth
goads Katharina the pure into declaring war in 910, and
with our temptress busy, the Vikings casually mention
that it would be terrible if anything should happen to
disrupt our long friendship, and would we help a friend
in need, with, oh... say 100g ?" Sure! :goodjob:

Charis

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 5)

At the turn of the millenium (1000AD), it dawns on Kudea
that there is a hill site in our borders that could be founded
as a fishing village. Why not found a town there? Erdenet is born.
Soon after the people think it would be a good idea to
become a democracy, and makes decisions as a whole peaceful
nation. Kudea supports this, and manages to become the
President (it helps when no one else runs, of course).

Before we knew it, just 100 yrs later, the Mongol people
entered the Industrial Era. (Or as his advisors put it,
"OMG!! We're still alive??!") Kudea's mind turned again
to wonders, and he was able to prebuild for one.
The tech pace was determined by the 'twin towers'
of Korea and England, so he wasn't sure which one
it would be. As it happened, they sidetracked to
Communism instead of heading quickly to Scientific
Method, and so Suffrage was the only one in sight.

Germany's Bizmark had a bad day, and said the only
disparaging words that Kudea had yet heard. They were
"tired" of dealing with us and 'demanded' tribute.
Were they surprised when tribute came flowing instantly,
along with flowers, wine, and gifts. Bizmark was thus
embarrassed by how he treated us. It was truly shameful,
but the noble character of Kudea convinced him that
friendship was a far better solution than threats,
and Otto remained gracious.

In 1270 we learn the secrets of Steam Power, and look for
coal. We don't see any. :sad: Oh, wait, we have two, one
under Dalanzadgad and one under our newest city, Erdenet.
Normally this would be good news, but the hearts of Kudea's
advisor start to quiver. Why would any nation who needed coal
not come and pluck it from the soft underbelly of our nation?!
For now at least, everyone had coal or didn't care.

Industrialization catches us flatfooted, with no prebuild.
So we rush bought both factory AND coal plant, at considerable
expense, but Karakorum then churned rapidly in progress on
Universal Suffrage. It was important to him that all people
receive the right to voite. So in 1425AD, the serene capital
of Mongolia becomes the home of Universal Suffrage!! What a
joyous and wonderful day, a true triumph for democracy! :hammer:
His advisors noted a tremendous irony in an ultrapacifist
nation building an icon against war weariness! :lol:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1420Suffrage.jpg

The big prize however, would be Hoover's Dam. Kudea
was actually a bit glad not to get the Theory of
Evolution. He was not comfortable with the idea that
his ancestors were lower life forms (although the
senseless bloodshed of his father's day did give
him pause) - he saw clear evidence of a higher,
peaceful power, in the delightful beauty in the
world around him, the wonder of snow, and frost,
and dihydrogen monooxide with a local maxima in its
state transformation curve which rendered life possible
(or so said his science advisors who studied chemistry and
physics :P ) (Besides he never had a chance at ToE, as
the cascade from Suffrage took immediately, in London)

"Life was good," though Kudea, as he dreamed again
of one day becoming diplomatic leader and marrying
the lovely Kathy. ("OMG! We're STILL alive??!")

England, with money as its only god, rejoiced in the TOE,
and took corporation and the path of Combustion (naval power),
rather than Atomic Theory and Electronics. This was
good, but made it hard to time when to prebuild for
Hoover. Our problem was that ONLY Karakorum had any
decent production - it would probably finish a wonder from
scratch before any other city could go from prebuild to
finish, and it had only very short prebuilds available.

With no military expenses whatsoever, our economy was strong,
and the completion of Wall Street in 1475 pushed our treasury
to 4750g and 335gpt income! We take a 40-turn run at Sanitation,
and actually manage to get it first.

Now let me ask you... if you were the AI, seeing a totally
undefended target, with rubber, about 5000 gold, and a tech
you don't have. What would *YOU* do?? (Our advisors say they
would crush the head of the Mongol nation under a boot!)

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1475-Leaders.jpg

What do you think the AI will do? :eek:

(Find out next time... :cry: )
Charis

Domestic Advisor: Karakorum is not growing.
Trade Advisor: We should acquire more resources and luxuries.
Military Advisor: Not available, he is out of a job and is watching ant wars (the only wars nowadays)
Foreign Advisor: The Russians are Gracious towards us.
Culture Advisor: We should build The United Nations! We'd be the envy of the world!
Science Advisor: I suggest we research Fission.

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 6)

Going after Hoover, we trade Sanitation (and 1600g) for
Atomic Theory, then brokers that for Combustion from France.
Kudea is *FOUR* techs up on half of the world, and his 'power'
starts to cause him to lose some sleep... "PLEASE don't attack our
peaceful nation, or demand tech parity for tribute!"

However it is the powerful nations, not the slow ones, that
dictate world events. Korea and England learns Flight (!)
which we can get since England lacked Sanitation. With our
treasury now lower, the English come right up with Electronics
and start on Hoovers (!) Kudea gets hopping on a prebuild and has
seven turns to buy it. Immediately the Koreans join the Hoover party.
They have Mass Production too! The English lack that. Another two-fer,
although pricey. This will keep us in debt for next 20 turns, we're now
at exactly 1000g, +0gpt!

It is a nervous time in world history, and we keep making progress, our
new Forbidden Palace complete now in Kazan. Outside our borders
(thankfully) wars rage all around. Russia and Vikings and then, as
a big surprise, Korea and England, the two superpowers, go to war!!
We initially think this is good news. (We would soon find out we
were wrong. This is NOT good news.) The world around him had started
to revert to barbarism, and wars continued to increase. The Vikings,
once a contender, were now locked in Communism and fighting.
Poor Cathy became the dogpile nation of choice! :eek:
Yet so great was her strength, and her character, that
she fended off many invasion attempts and stayed intact!
However, it left a great scar, and she too went down the
dark path of Communism and became backwards. Now France
was the only real second-tier nation, all others were
in the dust. (Even with our gifts of tech)

Awoken from his philosophical musing on history, Kudea's daydreaming
was shatted with some immediate bad news - The Koreans complete the
Hoover Dam in Seoul, with Karakorum a mere 2 turns from completion!

AAAArrrrgggHHHH!!! Pain! Pain! I've missed wonders, but I don't recall
losing Hoover by this little. 8-| With my small number of cities,
Kudea is down, but not defeated. He can build hydro and coal plants. Those
shields become a very expensive commercial dock. Korea and England look
'modern', and the former will have one free tech already. All this,
however, highlights a greater fear...

If we can't manage and plan better than this, we could lose the
grand prize - the United Nations. What if it's Korea, or worse,
Seoul, who gets to Fission first? Will we be prepared??

Kudea's heart burned ever more for Kathy, and he wanted
to impress her and prove his worth more than anything.
He could not wait for lofty dreams of the stars, and
so he set his heart on becoming the diplomatic leader
of the entire world. That way all nations of the UN
would be peacekeepers, and protect the Mongol people!
There could be... an end to all war!! :hammer:

What could he do to help reach this goal? First of all,
he wanted the tech pace to move along quickly! The more
production other nations used to build troops, the slower the
pace, and the more turns Kudea would have to endure
leading his defenseless nation. Up to now,
Cyrocharis Temujin Kudea had trusted in fate, that if
his cities got sacked, it was meant to be, and he really
had never worried about it, didn't micromanage things
much, and spent more time with family than with
stressing over the fate of the Mongols. But now, for
the first time, he began to dream of victory. And
yet the fact that literally, his empire could be
wiped out in the space of two years! And such wanton
treachery could happen for totally random reasons,
or some new valuable resource might pop into his lands
unbeknownst to him! Poor Kudea stared to have trouble
sleeping at night, for all the faces of the world
"looked" graciously upon him - was one the face of
a traitor?! The only other thing he could do then,
to help, was to be overly generous, gifting techs
to the more backward countries, and literally giving
away coal or luxuries to anyone who could not afford it.
BTW, it turns out that Darhan was ON TOP of a great
coal reserve, no wonder the Russian generals attacked
that city - they DID know something we didn't know!

Kudea, at this low point, hears more news that turns his
stomach. In the fateful year of 1565AD, he learns that...

(to be continued)

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 7)

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1565-RevoltRebuffed.jpg

... he learns that the people of Dalandzadgad have risen up in
revolt! They yearn to join the Russian people! :eek:

But! All is not lost! Kathy, in a move of pure generousity
and love for the Mongol people, refuses their choice!!

The "Charis Rebuff Factor" (CRF(TM)) strikes again!! :hammer:

Or does it...?

Nope, nope, just not to be. Just four turns later they flip *AGAIN*,
and this time, it's accepted?! Bolderdash! There's coal right under the city,
not sure why they didn't want it the first time. What REALLY hurts is that
midturn before it flipped, the main city putting pressure on it was
attacked with a Berzerker who killed its only infantry defender leaving
just a spear! But that was the ONLY Zerker on the ship! They dumped out
a half-dozen infantry and cav. If that city fell, there would be no flip.
Indeed, Sevastopol falls the very next turn to the Vikes.

That puts a moderate crimp in our income, and leaves us without coal
during this deal. We're now at 2864g+181gpt, desperately trying to catch up
to the Modern age in time for fission and UN!

It had given him concern that we did have not one, but two
coal sources, one directly UNDER Erdenet, and the other under
Dalandzadgad. Well, we don't have to worry about that one
anymore.

There was now a tremendous sense of urgency! The border
was now especially small, and our two great cities outside
the capital (including our dyes city) were under cultural
pressure from Russia! If they flipped, we would break
deals, we would lose much productivity, and our civ's
borders would be ONE step away from the capital!

After the Hoover debacle, we build up plants but also
worked hard on the economy. In fact, we looked for the
very first time in our history at the idea of running
science with more than a single scientist! We could
pick up a new tech in about 20 turns and stay afloat.
But Korea and England were moving FAR faster than that,
and their fancy new clothes bothered Kudea. There was just
no way to slow them down. Fast is good, but at this rate we
might not be able to get out of the Industrial age
before they get to Fission!?

They're in the 'modern era', and we still lack TWO techs.
Kudea ponders this. His hope and plan is to try to
prebuild as best he can in Karakorum, to earn more
cash, and to see if one of the lower-tier civs can
learn one of the needed techs, providing a "twofer"
opportunity. Snagging Espionage earlier at least gave
us the Intelligence Agency as a decent prebuild. Surely
the multi-civ alliances and fighting would slow down
Korea, right? Lacking just Radio and Motorized Transport,
Karakorum had just finished was nearly done its University
when it got startling news...

News that likely would mean that all he had ever hoped
was for naught. News that Kudea had dreaded, that he
hoped he would never hear.

"Korea has declared..." :eek:

(to be continued)

Charis,

Without delving into reading your story (I have an SG to play right now :p ) I noticed that you had Mongolia, in the same location that I did! I'll be interested in reading how you did...I didn't get a chance to finish my game (started late, and only got up to the early industrial age before running out of time). It'll be nice to see how your moves compared!

Since you're playing only "against" civs that lived in cold places of the world, you should have replaced France with the Celts. But it really doesn't matter.

I must say I am really impressed with your progress, despite all the debacles you've faced with losing wonder races and cities overthrowing your rule. Maybe next time you do this type of game again you should play a religious civ? I think that would go well with your "peace corps". :goodjob:

He did not have a choice who he played with or who he played against. The Epic was sponsered by Sirian, and Civs were assigned randomly from among the Vikings, Koreans, and Mongols.

Of course, the exact opposite of the last tale. Keep up the good work!

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 8)

In 1590AD, the year right after the Mongols are kicked in the
teeth by the flip of their core city Dalandzadgad, they hear...

"... Korea has declared the beginning of construction on a stately
new building which they suggest should become the home to a
multinational seat of power, the United Nations."

Ack!!!!! In Seoul of course! We have a lead of a few
turns, no more than about 100 shields, and we're THREE
big techs away from being able to switch to UN. Kudea
shifts off hydro plant to CIA, and has about six turns
to do some magic. He was in good shape economically, but
sheesh, the two Industrial techs would cost almost 7000 gold,
and Fission? What if Korea had a monopoly on it? The war!!?
Oh my heavens, no, the war! These two superpowers had ALWAYS
shared techs instantly on the turn they were discovered, but now,
communication was cut off! He called for a slight adjustment
in the labor at Karakorum to slow the CIA from 6 to 7 turns,
and hoped for: peace between England and Korea, and for France
or one of the other civs to learn either Radio or Motorized
Transport. He gifted techs to the others to be sure they had a
chance to buy or learn one of these. Yet their warring ways worked
against them, and us. These people were so backwards they
had not seen Kudea's wisdom, and they failed to learn
anything, except how NOT to assault Russian cities.

With the CIA due next turn, no breakthroughs had
occurred, and we needed more intel. We sprang for
an investigation of Seoul and saw their building due in
1675 AD (less if they booted two enterainers!) We have
a chance!!! We have one turn lead on them for sure,
or two if cannot speed it up. Woo! Let's wait ONE more
turn - he orders Karakorum to pull ALL laborers off shields.
Every other city outside the capital goes on wealth. Next turn...
nothing. France had failed him! The maggot Joan had shown her true
colors (and sure enough she would soon cut off all her hair,
knowing she was ug-lee compared to the gorgeous Kathy!)

Time was up. If Kudea didn't get Fission *THIS TURN*
his dreams of becoming the diplomatic leader of the world
and brining everlasting peace would be dashed forever!!

:eek:

Charis

(PS Speaker is correct, I didn't choose the civs, and was surprised to see the French :P )

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 9)

Kudea dialed up Elizabeth (who also could not hold a
candle to glorious Kathy) and arranged for the payment
of several hundred gold per year for the last two techs
of the industrial era. He had to shell out several hundred
gpt (a big discount actually, as we sell her our rubber)
These he sold to the Iro, the only ones with even a tiny bit of
cash, then talked to Liz again. She had never heard of Fission!?
Gah! It is just as we feared, we seem to be undone by war! :sad:

And yet not war upon our nation. It was time to speak
to the proud Korean, Wang Kon. He was thouroughly smug
in his knowledge of Fission and would not part with it
despite offers of about 6000 gold. Kudea the peaceful,
the child of the frost, was not done. He called up his
gracious friends, Bizmark and the lovely queen Kathy.
He gave them tech after tech, sat down and explained
the mysteries that would lead to the modern era. Then
with the smidgeon of Atomic knowledge he possessed, he
sent them home, hoping they could unlock the secrets
of Fission!

Bizmark's scientists thought it was a great idea, and
wanted to come up with new knowledge to send missiles
of great destruction against the world. They studied
and learned... Rocketry, just as the Koreans had done.
Kathy - our last hope, could she do it? Kathy had
great and glorious dreams, and they included going to
other planets and spreading Russian culture. Those
dreams required... rockets, to get off the planet.
All three went down the same slippery path to Rocketry,
and the Koreans were left with a monopoly on Fission.
We had 5500 gold in our pockets. Not enough. An insult
to even hint that might cover the costs.

Kudea sat down dejected. He started to call for his
advisors to help plan how to reach the stars, to
follow along with the dreams of Kathy. He was so
unhappy to see his dreams fail. All he had worked for,
while the backstabbing warmongering Wang Kon would
become Secretary General. It was more than he could
bear, and he went up the slopes of Mount Karakora
for some time alone, to accept his failure.

:cry:

That is truly tragic Charis.

This would fall under the Sirian "I told you so" category.

But still a spectacular piece of effort, planning, and implementation. A simple break here or there, and you would have had it.

-Phal

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 10)

The fresh, but bitter-cold air of Mount Karakora
was amazing. Its crisp clean winds were enough to
take your breath away. Kudea was glad to be alone,
all alone. Hmmm, what's that noise? Careening down
the slopes of the mountain was an oddly dressed and
somewhat spindly looking man, totally out of control
as he sped down the mountains on skis. So great was
his lack of mastery of the skis that his even getting
up the mountain was a minor miracle. Getting down would
not be a problem, although getting down in one piece
was another matter. Finally the man stopped as he
ran smack into a snowbank, and buried himself.
Kudrea effortlessly glided over to help the man,
and dug him out of the snow.

"I am Cyrocharis Temujin Kudea, child of the Frost,
President of the Mongols, protector of Mongolian Mistletoe,
and Champion of Peace. And you are... ?"

"Pindleton. Mr. Pindleton. It's a pleasure to meet you
sir! I was just wanting to do a little skiing, you know,
have a little adventure. My job is so boring, so quiet,
and no one thinks I can do anything. Well, of course,
until one called Charis Braveheart had a little faith in
me! I tell you, I'm a new man! I can do anything!"

Kudea looked him over, half-buried in snow, glasses askew,
and underdressed for the merciless frost of the mountain,
and he took pity on the man. In some very odd way, he
felt a kinship. This man was following his dream, a
dream that was dashed and shown to be nothing but idealism.
He poured out his recent troubles to Pindleton, and told
him everything. Wang Kon, his treachery, his love for
Kathy, the Korean hoarding a technology that could bring
peace to the world... and he began to weep. Pindleton
likewise got a little misty (in fact a tear that rolled
down his cheek instantly froze). He said "Don't worry,
Cryo! I can help! Can you get me to an airport????!!!!"
Kudrea looked up, as if in a fog. Airport? Well... we DO
have ONE airport. It's never had a single plane fly out of
it, nothing flightworthy, other than an instructor's
prop plane. Why?

Pindleton took his travellers cheques, cashed them at the
bank, and headed to the airport of ... Destination?
Seoul, Korea. :eek:

All the pieces were in place. The Intelligence agency was
ready for completion. Kudrea thought this was silly,
what need would the honorable nation of Mongolia have
for spies or espionage? With sadness, he headed out to the
ribbon cutting ceremony. On the way, his caravan ran into
(almost literally!) a crazed man on a motorcycle. A man
dressed like a tourist and likely to freeze as he was to
have an accident on his motorcycle. His bodyguards would
have shot the man except, of course, he had no bodyguards,
and no guns! So this man came up to speak to Kudrea.

"Pindleton?? Is that you? What's that big camera for?"

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1620-Pindleton.jpg

"Sir, I bring you... the secrets of Fission!!!" :eek:

[dance]

"What????!! How?!?!?" "Don't ask sir, but I trust that you
will do the RIGHT thing with this awesome knowledge of the
atom" The right thing?! Oh my yes! Work crews were immediately
called up, put on overtime, and given plans to convert the
nearly finished Intelligence Agency to become the building to
house the United Nations! (How fortunate it was that the CIA
building design was so well suited for a UN!?) It was a much
bigger task, a great wonder actually, yet the busy workers
of Karakorum could complete it in 11 years. Not good enough!
Workers from all over the land came to Karakorum! All other
cities went on Wealth, and four workers joined the city,
while the laborers inside switched to the most productive
tiles around! Due now in 9 :D

Still, his advisors were heard to chant, O-M-G we're still
alive?!?!?!? Due in nine turns, but we could be eliminated, swept off the map, by anyone who cared to, in *two* ! :ack:

Stay tuned...
Charis

PS I hope readers of CT1, Braveheart, enjoyed the visit here by Mr. Pindleton! :lol:
PPS It may yet fall in the category Phal mentioned, but until then it's in the "don't tell Charis it's impossible or he'll try just that much harder category"

Congratu-ma-frigging-lations.

My bet is: Korea builds the UN when you have one turn to go, the vote goes 4 for Korea 3 for you due to your high population, you then win the vote just after someone declares war on you.

Wow, this storyline is incredible, as much as the Deity 5CC conquest story (and that's saying a lot). Just wondering, what exactly are the rules here for being ultrapacifist?

Oh and I love the addition of Mr. Pindleton, I was wondering when u were going to add that in (because you never mentioned anything about stealing the tech, which would definitely be a cheaper option than buying those last two techs, I think).

Pindleton again comes through in the clutch.

There's a tourny game that went in an ultrapacifist fashion (won't go into details just yet). Anyway, I was just playing a game with 24 civs, and I was on this 12x4-teardrop shaped island with 3/6 jungle, 2/6 desert, and 1/3 grassland with 4 forest, and only 5 bonus shields! (no goodyhuts), and it was just off the coast of a giant pangaea map. (far enough that a galley couldn't reach it)

CharisTale2 - Mongolian Peace Corps (Part 11 - The Conclusion)

If Kudea was having minor problems sleeping before, his nights
became fitful and sleepless while the UN was being built.
Everyone was watched carefully and kept gracious. Just before
its completion, Kudea finally allowed himself to consider a
key question - who will be the opponent in the election?!?

As far as he knew, the UN search committee looked for civilizations
with 25% of the land area, or if not, 25% of the population, or
lacking both, the nation with the greatest land area. And who was
that? Hard to tell actually, but it seemed like it might be
Mother Russia!! Kudea hated the thought of running against his
beloved, as he wanted her by his side. Could he confirm who had
the most area? His trade advisor told him yes, that RoP prices
where rated according to relative land area. The smaller countries
would give an RoP for 2gpt, and most countries, including Korea,
for 5gpt. Russia? 7, almost 8 gpt! She had the most area and
probably the most population. So Kudea took a close look at the
diplomatic situation:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1660SitRep.jpg

Things looked decent, and he wasn't sure who would vote for him,
but he thought it was a decent chance to get votes from Korea,
England, Vikings, Iroquois, maybe others.

It was the fateful year 1665 AD when the glorious wonder,
the United Nations, was formed! All leaders great and small
attended the ceremony, and the ballots were handed out.
On the one hand, the ultrapacifist and champion of frost,
Cryocharis Temujin Kudea!! On the other side, ruler of the
powerful and advanced nation of...

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1660UNKarakorum.jpg

Korea??!! Ruh roh!! Korea! They have multiple alliances going on,
embroiled in a massive war vs England. Gulp! Nervously, wondering
what would happen with this surprise, Kudea put a checkmark next to
his name (denoted with a clinical designation of RBCiv-21).

The votes came in...

1 for Korea, Wang Kon. (Of course)
1 for Kudea of the Mongols, himself. (Naturally)
2 for Mongolia, as England, the arch-enemy of Korea, cast its vote
2 for Korea as their ally, Scandinavia, votes for them
3 for Korea as the wretched cur from France cast her vote with Korea.
(We had been nothing but gloriously kind to France the entire game, and
they were gracious to us, yet rumor has it that Joan was bedding Wang,
and wildly jealous of Kudea's love for the beautiful Kathy. Others
explained it because Korea was at war with England, who France also fought)
3 for Mongolia as the peace-loving Iroquios do the right thing!
4 for Mongolia as Germany voted against their enemy Korea

The vote comes down to... Kathy of Russia! Will it be a tie vote,
or will we emerge victorious?? Kathy is unfortunately allied with
Korea vs England! :sad:

She walks to the front of the room as her vote is read aloud...

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1665DiploWin13hrs.jpg

... and gives Kudea a big kiss!!! Long live Charis Kudea!! :love2:

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1665KissyFaces.jpg

Diplomatic Victory for the Ultrapacifist, 1665AD :hammer:

The world declares a cease-fire, enters an era of permanent peace,
Kudea and Kathy get married and merge their two nations under one
banner, and a statue is erected in Karakorum in honor of...
Mr. Pindleton! :goodjob:

Final score: 2688, RBCiv-21 the Lion-hearted. Emperor Diplomatic win.
Great Wonders: Hanging Gardens, Universal Suffrage, United Nations.

His military advisor was a master of understatement...

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/CT2-Ep21-ad1665LargerMilitary.jpg

I hope you enjoyed the story :P
Charis

PS - Some other random thoughts
- Thanks to Sirian for creating the snowy map and Epic 21 :D
- 'Kudea' is Mongolian for 'cold'
- That was the most carefree early game and the most nerve-wracking endgame I've had.
The Korea-England war forced the steal attempt - I could have afforded fission if
England had it also. Having the game go on a single roll of the die isn't good, but
considering the careful planning needed to even get to that point, I'm happy :P
- The winter tileset makes a nice diversion, but wow it's hard to see things clearly on it
- I was hoping Computers would come up, cheaply, before fission. It would have given us
a fitting Golden Age to end the game on (SETI is expansionist, and we already had
a military wonder in Universal Suffrage)
- Diplo wasn't the 'only' valid win, but made the most sense. If Korea and England
had stayed at peace, avoiding a costly monopoly, the Mongols could have continued
to buy new techs @3rd civ rate, sell @4th to one or more civs, and kept up in
the space race. And we had enough cities, and the ability to prebuild, that a
Space victory would have been possible. With just ONE civ way out in front,
and the inflated monopoly prices, we would have had to try too many tech steals,
and one failing would have been certain death.

(PS - Edit was to corrrect Germany-Viking swap in the vote, Edit#2 to fix it according to Rowain's comments :P )

Bravo!

Totally, completely, and absolutly unbelieveable. A win without ever making a miliatary unit. I don't believe it. That's just wrong.

The only reason I'm gushing so much is because I know this is why Charis does these things.

<<PPS It may yet fall in the category Phal mentioned, but until then it's in the "don't tell Charis it's impossible or he'll try just that much harder category">>

I especially like how he can't even bring himself to mention "the category".

Still an amazing game and completely riveting write up. Thank you very much for the seriously satisfying entertainment.

-Phal

Charis, you rock...

Congratulations and Bravo. :goodjob:

What a great Game and an even greater Story :)


There is nothing else to do then

:worshp: :worshp: :worshp: :worshp: :worshp:


Rowain



PS: you mixed the Germany- and Vikings- vote at the end ;)

:lol: :goodjob:

This was even more nerve-wracking (and nail-biting!) than the Celtic Christmas!

An Emperor win without building a single military unit! Unbelievable! :D

Amazing!!!!

Originally posted by Charis


2 for Korea as England's ally, Scandinavia, votes for Korea??
4 for Mongolia as Germany voted opposite an alliance?

(PS - Edit was to corrrect Germany-Viking swap in the vote)

Hm Charis I really hate to nitpick but according your Diploscreen Germany was at war with Korea and Scandinavia was allied with Korea vs England so they voted quite as you would expect ;)



Rowain

Way to go! And Mr. Pindelton err... Gweeto..didnt die!

What an amazing Peace of work. :jesus:

Originally posted by Stuck_As_a_Mac
Way to go! And Mr. Pindelton err... Gweeto..didnt die!

Yes, so we will see him in the next Charis Tale. LOL

I just stumbled upon this story, Charis you made me sick with your astounding skills. Bravo peaceful Charis! Bravo!

Luck. It was all luck...

Then again, I'm likely only saying that because it only time I've pulled a stunt like this was a game on the Chieftan level.

Good job, Charis. :D

('Bet you 10 gold you can't do that again...')

:goodjob: :worshp:

Hilarious... how's Kathy in the sack?

Yowza. Very Dramatic.

@Theseus.... ew!!!!! Then again, Temujin is not exactly a looker either.

@Octavian - Hey, you have a career in writing end-game graphic 'quips' for turned based strategy games :P

@Immortal and others - both CharisTales have one odd thing in common. When started, I didn't think I had a chance to win, they were essentially test games. In each case I got to a certain point and "dared to dream" :) Each was harrowing in its own way.

To all well wishers...
Thanks!!!!!!!! I'm glad that the story turned out to be fun to read. I appreciate the comments and was glad to see some folks think the game was over at several points before it really was ;)

I'm not sure at this point which will make the next tale, but I'm sure Gweeto will somehow be involved!

Tnx,
Charis

I was expecting you to conquer the world. Rather dissapointing. But the entire story was awesome.

Originally posted by Charis
I'm not sure at this point which will make the next tale, but I'm sure Gweeto will somehow be involved!

Tnx,
Charis

hmm...

Horsemen Hordes conquest? (conquer the world using only horsemen). Reminds me of a "Viking Scribe" I read at Apolyton about 5 years ago.

Simply amazing. Excellent story and thanks for posting it.

Absolutely brilliant! Amazing reading.

Wonderful story, owing so much to you having no military to rely on and due to the use of many screenies.

Those people with stories that are walls of text and lack screenies need to get with the program :mad:


I enjoyed this story and was hoping as I was reading that in the end you would triumph, the cliff-hangers of the race for fission and the UN vote makes this one of the best Civ3: Stories out there :goodjob:


:)

Yes, an electrifying write-up of an outstanding game, with lots of very good pics. CFC must be proud to be its host !

:worship: :worship: :worship: :worship: :worship: :worship:

Wow.

I know I'm only about 3 months late but............

ABSOLUTLY AMAZING!! I didn't think it was possible! Insanly well played and great narration to go along with it!

Oh my god you can't do ths to me I need to know! WAAA! Really good story... you have me ignoring my girl friend so I can read it :-)

@ Genghis: :lol: I'm even 5 months later than you. Can't believe I've missed this. Hilarious, all the way through from the concept til the finish :goodjob:

Hehe, i'm even later, I read it a couple months ago, but it's still amazing. Maybe next time You can try and get a domination win without building any military(i.e. propaganda and cities from peace, w/o using pillagers. It'd be hard, but i'm sure the mighty charis can do it!).

Actually, that isn't insane enough!!! There was a domination win game here:
http://realmsbeyond.net/civ/epic13.html
No attacking cities, no bombarding cities even.

yea but this game was no military units, if thats not insane i dont know what is

Originally posted by Erik Mesoy
Actually, that isn't insane enough!!! There was a domination win game here:
http://realmsbeyond.net/civ/epic13.html
No attacking cities, no bombarding cities even.

Gotta dissagree with you erik, this game is WAAAY harder & more random then that one.

That game you can attack units in the field & after beating the AI down sue for cities/techs.

In this game all you could do is expand as quick as possible, and have settlers ready incase 2 AIs go to war & raize a city, try propaganda, & kiss major @#$.

I said it once I'll say it again, BRILLIANT! Best read since Betazed's Diety AW game.

Aahh, I get it.

Playing this game but trying for domination instead of diplomatic!

Gonna try that.

unbelievable. =P
Good job charis!

LMAO!!! Its just a shame that the pics have all been deleted from the server.

Heh! This writeup reminds me of all the newbie games I played, using OCC, irrigating every tile, building every available city improvement before even thinking about military. I used to think a military should be built with "surplus" shields, once all my citizens had every comfort available and wanted to dress up in cammys and play paintball. Ah, the good ol days, before Emperor, before Deity, before AW :)

Just joined. Looking for pointers to help me play. All I can say is that I am not even trying something like than till I have been playing civ for a 100 years. Salutations to Chris. Really impressive

Why did you bumped this thread?

His name is Charis, not Chris (at least on this forum).

Why did you bumped this thread?

It's a truely amazing game and a thoroughly bumpworthy thread. You don't need more reason than that, do you?

Ooops...
I did it again [pimp]
:bump: