Civ 5 Design Challenge II - Mechanics

Cyphose- 6
Keniisu- 1
inthesomeday- 1
 
Cyphose is a guaranteed winner due to the amount of votes towards him and the total :)
So...Cyphose which challenge will you choose for us?
 
Given the fact that I'm new to these challenges, I had a look at a lot of the past challenges and came to the conclusion that I'm in favor of more open-ended mechanics (like the most recent one) to allow more creative freedom. Keep in mind that, since I'm new and can't exactly look through 48 pages of proposals, I'm not entirely sure whether or not this has been done before or not. If it has, just say so and I'll try to come up with something different.

So, with that in mind, here's my proposed mechanic:
While within rival Civilizations' borders, your units...​

Note that this isn't just restricted to military units. Any idea involving any type of unit within enemy borders goes (and, despite the wording, you can restrict this mechanic to a single unit (i.e. UU) if you want).
 
Cyphose said:
Given the fact that I'm new to these challenges, I had a look at a lot of the past challenges and came to the conclusion that I'm in favor of more open-ended mechanics (like the most recent one) to allow more creative freedom. Keep in mind that, since I'm new and can't exactly look through 48 pages of proposals, I'm not entirely sure whether or not this has been done before or not. If it has, just say so and I'll try to come up with something different.

So, with that in mind, here's my proposed mechanic:
While within enemy borders, your units...​

Note that this isn't just restricted to military units. Any idea involving any type of unit within enemy borders goes (and, despite the wording, you can restrict this mechanic to a single unit (i.e. UU) if you want). Edit: Double note that the wording uses "enemy," which though it implies "someone you're at war with," is not restricted as such; think of it more as "while within another Civ's borders" (under any circumstances). I only used "enemy" because I figured it's easiest to balance restricting the bonus to only people you're at war with.
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I think the word most commonly used for that is "Rival".
 
That's the word I was looking for! Thanks, edited the post to correct wording semantics. Not one of my proudest moments :p
 
While within rival Civilizations' borders, your units...
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Ooooh! I have quite the idea for this. :D

The Achaeans (Menelaus)
UA: The Mighty Greeks
When capturing Workers or when killing Great People :c5greatperson: gain a sum of Gold :c5gold: depending on your unit's strength :c5strength:. Garrisoned units provide their respective city with +15% Production :c5production: towards military units.

UU: Hoplite -
Replaces Spearman. Has +15% more Defense :c5strength: inside of enemy borders. Whenever this unit kills :c5war: another unit in enemy borders this unit heals slightly.

UU: Trojan Horse -
Replaces Catapult. Costs 125 Production :c5production:, instead of the normal 75 Production :c5production: cost. Has +20% Strength when attacking :c5war: cities. While this unit is inside an enemy's borders it may be expended to spawn two Hoplite units.
 
Kingdom of England - Edward III
:c5capital: London

UA: Triumph of England
While your units are inside an enemy's borders, they generate :c5goldenage: Golden Age points equal to 50% of the damage they inflict to enemy Cities and Units in battle. Whenever a :c5greatperson: Great Person is born, gain a unique bonus.*

UU: Longbowman
As in Vanilla

UB: Crown Estate
Replaces the Bank, and in addition to the Bank's usual effects, the Crown Estate grants an additional +25% :c5gold: for the city and the owner of each :c5trade: International Trade Route to that city. During Golden Ages, the Crown Estate boosts :c5greatperson: Great Person production by 25%.

*Unique bonuses:
Great General: all land units gain +10XP
Great Admiral: all naval units gain +10XP
Great Scientist: Gain a lump sum of Science (scales with era)
Great Merchant: Gain a lump sum of Gold (scales with era)
Great Engineer: Choose a free building in the birth city (if not possible, gain gold scaled with era).
Great Writer/Artist/Musician: Gain a lump sum of Culture (scales with era)
Great Prophet: Gain a lump sum of Faith (scales with era)
Bonuses can be added for other great people, too, such as a free Doctor specialist in the birth city for a Great Doctor (dummy building), etc.

Establishing the Order of the Garter would definitely be a Decision (or Event) as well.
 
Civilization: The Tangut
Leader: Li Jiqian
Capital: :c5capital: Xinqing
UA: Relinquish or Rebel or Tiger in the Mountain
During :c5war: War, receive a sum of :c5production: Production and :c5gold: Gold in all Cities for every Declaration of Friendship with another Civilization; additionally receive a copy of a Luxury they own that you do not if they share a common enemy. Upon signing a Peace Treaty with a Civilization, receive a portion of that Civilization's :c5goldenage: Golden Age progress every turn for the remainder of the treaty (More from Civilizations you have backstabbed).

UU: Iron Sparrowhawk
Enduring heavy mounted unit that replaces the Knight; begins with the March I promotion and damages adjacent enemies upon attack or death. Upon the outbreak of :c5war: War or the beginning of a :c5goldenage: Golden Age, receives +1 :c5moves: Moves and no rough terrtain movement penalty for three turns.

UU: Foot Hiker
Pikeman replacement that may use rough terrain as roads, and provides +1 :c5moves: Moves for adjacent Mounted Units that begin their turn next to it. When in rival territory, it and nearby friendly Units generate :c5gold: Gold and :c5goldenage: Golden Age points from kills. Golden Age points earned this way are shared with Civilizations that have a Declaration of Friendship with you. Upgrades to Musketman.
Click to expand...

A little background info!
Spoiler :
A Tangut design surprise, surprise focused on their earlier years under the reign of Li Jiqian, posthumously named the Grand Ancestor of the Western Xia Dynasty by his grandson, Li Yuanhao (the founder of said dynasty). He lead a rebellion against the Song Dynasty, refusing to relinquish titles and assimilate into their culture, rousing fellow Tangut Tribesmen and leading them on various campaigns against the Song with occasional aid from the Liao.

The Tangut had often profited greatly from their position in the important Hexi Corridor (otherwise known as the Gansu Corridor) and their peculiar three way relationship with the Liao Dynasty (later replaced by the Jin centuries later) and the Song Dynasty. They exploited the rivalry between the Liao and the Song, often showing subservience to one or the other, whilst at times attempting to curry favour with the rival state at the same time. It was always the intention of the Tangut to remain an independent power, and their unpredictability left their rivals confused and uncertain as to how to deal with them.

So the design is pretty much about building alliances against a common foe and then profiting from them by backstabbing your allies! It could be better, but I can't think of anything atm so I'll return to this later.

EDIT: I just kinda realisedbthe second part of the second uu's ability is too roundabout of a way of getting golden age points when it could just generate golden age points itself. Gonna come back and overhaul that and various other things Adjusted the design and revised things to make it a tad bit better
 
B'Nei Israel - Moses

UA: The Twelve Spies: While within rival Civilizations' borders during peace, your units generate faith for every tile uncovered and gather intrigue. Scouts and civilian units may enter rival territory without open borders.

UU: Mishkan (Replaces Inquisitor): Unlocked upon founding, rather than enhancing religion, but only one may exist at a time. Generates faith and religious pressure while garrisoned in a city.

UB: Watering Rock (Replaces Water Mill): Provides no production, but acts as a source of fresh water for surrounding tiles. If the Mishkan is garrisoned in this city generates an additional +2 food.
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it's difficult to make a civ based entirely on a religious text, it seems
 
:c5war: The Vikings :c5war:
:c5capital: Ribe
Rurik

UA: Leidang
+20% :c5production: Production towards naval and melee land units in cities :c5trade: connected to the capital. Gain control of naval units built by :c5citystate: city-states with which a :trade: trade route has been established.

UU: Longship
Replaces Trireme. Has the ability to cross the ocean, as well as to traverse land tiles adjacent to a river. Acts as melee land when doing so. Can found a :c5citizen: city on a coastal land tile this way in neutral territory; when in rival territory, can be expended to spawn three Vikingr when inland. Does not require open borders to enter rival territory.

UU: Vikingr
Replaces Spearman. -20% :c5strength: strength for adjacent enemy units, and +20% :c5strength: strength when starting turn adjacent to water tiles or rivers. When stationed on foreign tile improvements, the :c5capital: capital receives the yield provided by the improvement. Is not expelled from foreign territory upon a declaration of war.
 
While within rival Civilizations' borders, your units...
Interesting mechanic, here's my go:

Name and Leader t.b.d.
Russian Crimea (Vladimir Putin)
UA: Migrant workers: Workers may always enter rival territory, even without open borders.
Referendum: Upon annexing a city, a referendum ("Does this city want to join Russia?")is held. If this referendum succeeds, Resistance is removed from the city, a courthouse is immediately given, and the city enters a WLTKD (for 3 turns). If it fails, the city enters a resistance of a few turns, equal to double the amount of citizens currently in the city.
(Calculation of the referendum: Base = 10-20% (random) success chance; Russian uniques increase the success chance. See below for the details)

UU: Little Green Men (replace the Riflemen): Gain the 'Suprise Attack' promotion, which doubles the movement points of the Little Green Men upon entering a war. (Increases the referendum's success chance by 5% for every Little Green Men next or in a captured city, which stacks). Litte Green Men never obsolete

UI: Russian Township (may only be constructed in rival Civilizations' borders; can't replace an existing tile improvement): +1 gold and +1 production. Upon declaring :c5war: war, all tiles within that Civ's border with a Russian Township turn into Russian territory, and also increase :c5strength: combat strength by 20% from any Russian unit stationed on that tile. If peace is negotiated at any time with that civ, all tiles with the Russian Townships are returned to that civ. (Increases the referendum's success chance by 5%, which stacks)
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My thought behind this Civ was mostly the 2014 Crimean Crisis, when Russian troops annexed Crimea.

The numbers, mainly the referendum's numbers, will probably need some balance tweaking

To answer the design question: While within rival Civilizations' borders, your workers may construct Russian Townships, which provide a strategic advantage to that civ upon declaring war.

NOTE: I've again not read all of the previous entries. I hope I'm not coming up with something too similar :p Well, apart form the 'X unit may always enter rival territory' or Kerfuffle's 'extra movement points upon entering a war', this seem pretty unique for the time being :D
 
Umayyad Caliphate
Leader: Muawiya

UA: Diwan al-Jund
Great Generals exert religious pressure (+6) of your majority religion when in enemy territory. Upon first using an inquisitor on a conquered city, gain a free melee unit.

UU: Mubarizun (swordsman)
Unique Umayyad swordsman that comes at Theology, is stronger (14 :c5strength: vs. 16 :c5strength:) and more expensive (75 :c5production: vs 95 :c5production:). Gains a bonus when attacking cities equal to the religious pressure exerted against them of your majority religion (max. +40%).

UB: Great Mosque (Grand Temple)
Only +5 base faith :c5faith:, but missionaries and inquisitors cost 33% less faith :c5faith: to purchase in this city. May spend 200 faith :c5faith: to turn any great person in this city into a Great General.
Click to expand...

IDK if this is way overpowered or not.
 
Oh hey I was planning on doing an Umayyad caliphate design for this challenge, decided on the Vikings instead but interesting

UB could let you do a futurism rush and then turn all the resulting great people into autocracy generals, but that's not too ridiculously OP because it comes so late game
 
The Duchy of Courland​

Leader: Jacob Kettler

UA: Das Wappen von Kurland
+100% :trade: Trade Route length and +1 :c5production: Production from Marsh tiles during :c5goldenage: Golden Ages. Forts built outside of Friendly Territory grant :c5goldenage: Golden Age if they are garrisoned and increase the :c5strength: Combat Strength of nearby Naval Units.

UU: Dargumu Kugis
Replaces Caravel. Is able to cross the border of all Civilizations without needing Open Borders. So long as it ends its turn in a tile owned by a City-State or a Civilization that is not Courland, it generates +2 :c5goldenage: Golden Age points.

UB: Powder Mill
Armory replacement. Available at Compass. +1 :c5gold: Gold from Marsh Tiles. Whenever an Unit is built in a City with a Powder Mill, recieve :c5gold: Gold based on its Experience.
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Courland - the little Duchy that could.
 
I found myself very uncreative as of late, and therefore I once again post a design of my collection. This time, part of my Carthage Split:

Carthaginian Empire(Hannibal Barca)
UA: Khanibal
Units may cross mountains and receive +1 :c5moves: movement in enemy territory. Units gain +5% :c5strength: strength while attacking for every move spent and +5% :c5strength: strength while defending per every movement point retained at the end of the last turn, doubled near :c5greatperson: Great generals.

UU: African War Elephant
Radically different to the horseman it replaces, the African war Elephant has 15 :c5strength: strength but has only 3 :c5moves: movement points. While still having the properties of a mounted unit, it does not require horses. Ignores terrain cost near mountains, though it takes damage if ending the turn on them(50 HP).

UU: Numidian Cavalry
A melee unit that replaces the chariot archer. Starting with 9 :c5strength: strength, it has none of the Chariot's penalties, in addition to having the sentry, mobility, shock I and the "Battle of Cannae" promotion, which grants it double flanking bonus in flat terrain and makes it generate double :c5greatperson: Great general points from combat.
 
The Mongol Empire

Ogedei Khan

Steppe Warlords
All cities founded on a flat tile or plains provide a horse resource or two on flat plains. Having a Great General in enemy territory provides all units within that civilization's borders +1 movement for that turn.

Torguud - (replaces Crossbowman)
Has 4 movement points (lost on upgrade) and receives double bonus from Great Generals. Counts as a mounted unit and requires horses.

Yam - (UI)
May only be built two hexes from a city or another yam on flat terrain but may be built in neutral terrain. Claims the tile it's on and two other adjacent tiles and provides the equivalent of a road connection on all adjacent open terrain as well as sight for three tiles of unbroken open terrain.
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A mounted ranged unit, movement bonus and Great General bonus; I think Firaxis have the Mongols well covered. There's an alternative.
 
The Soviet Union- Yuri Andropov​

Soviet Might - While within a rival's territory, your units increase the ideological pressure being exerted by your influence on them by 4% each*. Every unit in city state territory slows down :c5influence: influence loss by 10%, up to a maximum of 60%.

UU: BMP-2 - Replaces Tank. In addition to increased :c5strength: combat strength, the BMP-2 comes with the Radiation-Shielded promotion, which gives a 50% defense bonus against nuclear weapons and a 33% :c5strength: combat boost in tiles with nuclear fallout. It also comes with the amphibious promotion.

UB: KGB Office - Replaces Police Station. In addition to the regular effects of the police station, each KGB office in the empire contributes to lowering the percentage of success of coups by enemies in allied city states by 5%, and they increase the effectiveness of spies in enemy cities by 5% each. Both bonuses cap off at 30%. They also decrease :c5unhappy: unhappiness in the city they were built in by 5%.

* = This wouldn't actually increase your cultural influence over them. Rather, it would increase the pressure that this influence exerts on their ideological preference. The equation to calculate ideology pressure is
Ideology pressure = Other Civ's Influence Level on you - Your Influence Level on them

with positive numbers meaning their ideology is influencing you and negative numbers meaning you are influencing them
Click to expand...
So, for example, let's say you had 10 units in a rival's territory. Now the equation is
Ideology pressure = Other Civ's Influence Level on you - (Your Influence Level on them x 1.4)
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Just felt like I had to make that clear in case it wasn't.

Spoiler :

HISTORY

The civ as a whole is based on the espionage and ideological endeavors of the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. The unique ability is inspired by the Soviet war in Afghanistan, an effort which involved the Soviets deploying their military in response to a plea by then-Afghan-president Amin. Subsequently, a coup was preformed, ousting Amin and installing a new socialist president, Babrak Karmal. This is represented by the ideological pressure exerted by troops.

The BMP-2 is an amphibious infantry-fighting tank produced by the Soviet Union and still used to this day in some parts of the world. It was a follow-up to the BMP-1, which had revolutionary radiation-shielded armor in the case of nuclear war.

The KGB Office is a UB that represents' the KGB's huge importance and dominance over foreign spy services. In addition to spreading propaganda and silencing dissent, the KGB staged several important coups throughout their history and stomped out attempts of coups by others. Yuri Andropov, who leads this civ, was a longtime chairman of the KGB before he became the Union's general secretary.
 
Mobfire said:
Also, I'm not sure if I like the UA name, so if anyone comes up with an alternative that would be appreciated.
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How about something simple but yet something general such as "Soviet Propaganda"? (Don't feel forced to change anything though :))
 
Troller0001 said:
How about something simple but yet something general such as "Soviet Propaganda"? (Don't feel forced to change anything though :))
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Thanks! However, I was looking for something more along the lines of something to do with military and it's influence on politics. I settled on Moshch' Sovetskaya for the time being, which translates literally into 'Soviet Might'.

Edit: Switched UA name (again) to plainly be Soviet Might. And Natan, yeah, I know Moshch' Sovetskaya is the wrong order of words, but it sounded better, so lol. :p
 
It should be the other way around...
 
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