Divine Intervention IV: The Wisdom of Pericles

PaulusIII

Unholy Warlord
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Divine Intervention IV: The Wisdom of Pericles

Here's the idea - I, as Pericles, will play 50 turns. Then, I will post a save, and you - the god - shall make any number of changes that are in accordance with the rules. Your Divine Intervention, as it were. Then, you'll upload the save, and I continue playing!

See the bullpen thread for more details.

Game Settings

Map: Large Continents
Speed: Epic
Difficulty: Monarch
Leader: Pericles of Greece
Custom settings: One extra leader (Montezuma of the Aztec), one fixed leader (Ragnar of the Vikings).

The Eleven Commandments of Deityhood as formulated by TheForestAuro:

I.Thou shalt announce your intentions.
--(Be sure to "got it" so we don't run into continuim errors. We reserve the right to ignore not announced updates)

II. Thou shalt not Intervene if you were the last deity to intervene, and thou shalt only intervene once per waking
--(You may only intervene once per my update, and you must wait for another God to intervene before intervening again.)

III. Thou shalt not reveal the secrets of knowledge or the heavens to mortals.
--(No units or techs should be revealed to any civilization if they are not in the current or previous era of the player)

IV. Thou shalt not use your powers for cataclysmic destruction
--(Remember, less is more. Be subtle. It is far more interesting for everyone if you make subtle, interesting changes like forming a choke with mountains than if you just tear giant swathes of ice through my cities. I reserve the right to reject saves I think are unnecessarily apocalyptic.)

V. Thou shalt reveal yourself to the mortal with grace.
--(Everyone loves a good story, and if you decide to contribute to it, be creative! Choose a name and domain [i.e., Winston, the Sea God] that you govern, even if the characters don't know it's you acting)

VI. Thou shalt not be vindictive, and thou shalt not halt progress.
--(You are not allowed to strip techs away from me. Anything I research is mine permanently. You are also not allowed to remove any named unit, for any reason.)

VII. Thou shalt not be unnecessarily nice to the puny mortal.
--(I do not need a stack of thirty Level 9 Praetorians to win my fights. You do not need to fill my BFC with flood-plain grassland goldmine hills next to rivers. The only exception to this is if you genuinely make me work my ass off to get it, and even then it not ought to be as good as the dream city outlined above.)

VIII. Thou shalt reward him for piety, and thou shalt offer him redemption for his punishments.
--(If you give me a quest and I succeed, reward me! If it was easy don't give me a big bonus, and if it was hard I am going to be miffed if I get another Great Prophet for all my hard work. Likewise, if you punish me, tell me how I can fix it!)

IX. Thou shalt not war with the other gods. Much.
--(Obviously there's going to be some strife between those who would support Pericles' Quest, and those who would seek to oppose him. Having said that, Gods are not allowed to reverse the effects of an intervention without waiting for the update after the effects have been felt. This includes quests. In fact, you would do well to leave the other god's quests alone entirely. If you want me to do yours instead, make it more interesting or more lucritive)

X. Thou shalt obey the natural order of things, and of time, and of destiny.
--(There is a storyline going on here. Do try and fit in. Do not take great lengths to completely detract from it. Be smart.)

XI. Thou shalt not abuse your architectural omniscient nature.
--(Don't add wonders that don't already exist.)

FAQ

Q: Another God has already edited the save this turn. Can I do it too?
A: Yes, but you may not undo their changes. Take their save and edit it. Also, you may only edit once per turn.

Q: I have this cool idea that only slightly violates your rules, but it's really cool!
A: Just keep in mind I have the ability to reject any save I deem over-the-top.

Links to separate chapters:

Chapter 1: The Beginning
Chapter 2: War on a Whim
Chapter 3: Divine Anger
Chapter 4: Mortal Pawn in a Game of Gods
Chapter 5: Trouble in the East
Chapter 6: Saga Hunt, Part 1
Chapter 6: Saga Hunt, Part 2
Chapter 7: No Mercy, Part 1
Chapter 7: No Mercy, Part 2
Chapter 8: Bringer of Death
Chapter 9: The Turnaround
Chapter 10: The Last Sacrifice

Outtake Chapter 9: Warlords will be Warlords
 
((Looking forward to this one. I'm thinking I'll opt for a more whimsical character in this one, completely unrelated to my prior god, but part of that will depend on whether Ragnar, God of Terror, attempts to exert his will over the new world. :p))
 
[ Continued from Divine Intervention III ]

...and as the world was reborn, so was Ragnar. But the mortal and his divine form had been torn into two, and the body fell to the planet, stripped of his knowledge and his divinity. But divinity did not just fade - it coalesced, and a new body was formed. The God of Terror breathed the air of the heavens and cast his gaze down to the world below. Yes, he thought. Ragnar has served his use. Now, a new breed of mortals rises to the face of this fresh world...

He mused quietly, dark smoke forming two red eyes to further define his body. Immortals, too...let us see how they act.

Quiet now, he watched, and waited.
 
OOC: Don't forget the Aztecs!! I, for one, forgot about them >.<. Just a friendly reminder.

In Charactor:

Digit kneeled before Rolo. Scared, he looked him in the eye. Rolo opened his mouth...

"You dare defy me? Me!? Your own God!?"

Digit looked to his feet, and mumbled, quietly, "No."

Rolo laughed, the temple Digit had created started to fall apart. The Beast had awoken, but not yet reached this part of the world. Digit stood up, but found himself bound, with shackles that had previously not existed. Rolo was strong, and he was almost powerless.

Rolo frowned upon Digit. "You have. You have shamed me... my people..."

Digit felt a twinge of power. It was a trigger. A millenia old trigger, from 20 epochs ago... something that even he had forgotten. This was made when Digit himself was a proper God, who even had controlled the moon in the sky as a giant temple. It was the strongest, and most subtle of his spells. And ... it might just work. He searched to see who triggered it.

"... brought this beast upon the world..."

Digit looked... not Eldarion ... not Winston...

"... destroyed this entire universe, and sentenced it..."

PAULOS!! But... what in Rolo's name was he doing?? He was emitting alot of power... a realm? But he was underdeveloped... another world!! He was going to make another world, free of this beast.

"... to a lifetime of misery. But you are not sad... in fact you are smiling now!..."

Digit was beaming. If Paulos could just look the other way, just for a split second...

"... God of Entropy?? You are no longer a God of ANYTHING!!..."

... 'Hurry up Paulos...' Digit frantically thought. He couldn't speak, he was concentrating so hard. If it took to long, he would be stripped of his power...

"... and so... I revoke..."

Digit sweated. But he saw it, just for a fraction of a second... now to enlarge...

"... your ..."

... rotate...

"...POWERS!!"

... and GO!

Digit didn't know what happened next, but it seemed as if he teleported into this realm at the exact moment of time where Rolo revoked his powers. He tumbled, spinning, spinning, into the void, and found himself, locked, under several thousand kilometers of rock. It was hell... hot, pressured... and he was immortal, not a God. But if he could just be released...

Then he realised... other Gods were following him! There was a simple way to get in without forcing apart Paulos' world... all he had to do was wait. But, he rationalised, there was no time for him. And all the gods were marked with the same spell... and Digit did something he couldn't dare to do, except the pain forced him to do it... and the other Gods could do nothing about it, for they never noticed it.

For several thousand years, he would be forced to survive in a hot, barren world. As an Immortal, and not a God... he slowly decended into madness. 1000 years past, 2000... and he saw nothing, but felt pain, constantly.


Spoiler Nor For Paulo's eyes (NFPE) :
No... I won't tell you what I did. Just let me say this... whatever Paulos does, with one exception, nothing will happen. I am looking for something... but it isn't anything Paulos can do ;)

Also, as per usual, I will be the 'balancing' act. Like Divine Intervention II, I will be a late-game intervener (rather than a early-game one, like D.I. III), and almost everything I do will be ... negative of a sort. Of course, I may give some methods to ease the pain I give...
 
Following my fall from grace at the end of DivInt3, the position of Sea God is available if anyone wants it.

Spoiler :
Landing spine-first on a particularly jagged rock, Winston let out an agonised yelp, before sliding back down into the briny tumult. Though his body pulled out toward the open sea for a brief moment, he was quickly thrown back against the cliff with a sickening crunch. Again and again our hero smashed into the rockface, each assault leaving his body more mangled and his temper more frayed.

After a few hours of this, the anger began to subside, and was replaced by a sense of profound embarrassment. "I hope to hell the frog isn't watching" he thought. "Or maybe the smug little git has finally got himself squished..." This notion brightened Winston's mood considerably, at least until his head cracked horribly against another viciously sharp rock, which brought the rage flooding back.

Some days later, the battered body of the former Sea God washed up on a dark and unwelcoming beach, coughed a considerable quantity of acrid sand from its throat, and began to assess the damage it had sustained.

"Oh dear. By the looks of things I'd say you've broken all the bones in your body", said an infuriatingly familiar voice.

"Treacherous swine!", Winston breathed, "You were supposed to wake me when we neared the coast."

"Oops!" croaked the frog happily, "Was I? How silly of me to forget. Now come on... Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up. There's work to be done!"

Moving awkwardly on shattered limbs, Winston made his way up the beach to a small cave, where he collapsed down with a moan. "I'm going to have to stay here a while and heal up".

The frog beaming up at him with no little relish. "Uh-oh. Learning that even immortality isn't always a bed of roses? Still, maybe if you'd thanked me, then I would've remembered to wake you when the cliffs were looming."

Winston gave no response, but once again resolved to inflict a long and painful revenge as soon as the opportunity arose. Yes, the frog had restored his immortality (for some foul purpose, no doubt), but only after making the fallen deity beg for several days on end, finally granting the request when Winston was on the brink of death by dehydration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wounds healed quickly. Before a week had passed Winston was fully recovered, and set about exploring the island. "So what the hell am I supposed to do now?" he demanded of the frog, as they tramped up a grassy hill. "How does one go about becoming a god?"

"Well, first you're going to need some worshippers" the frog replied.

"And where am I supposed to find them on an uninhabited rock like this?"

"What about those guys over there?" suggested the frog, turning his eyes to a group of club-wielding neanderthals galloping towards them from out of some nearby bushes.

"Grrraaarrrggghhhh!" screamed the leading scantily-clad thug, as he and his friends fell on Winston, and started to administer a good solid beating.

After a time, the cavemen grew weary and puzzled. "Why he no die?" asked an unusually eloquent one.

"Maybe we no beat him nuff" replied another, provoking another torrent of blows to the bloodied torso at their feet.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen. Don't you know who that is?" piped up a croaky voice, as the clubbing began to subside once more.

The baffled savages recoiled in horror at the sight of a talking frog, but its words quickly soothed them: "Oh, there's no need to stop hitting him just yet. Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you. Go on lads, enjoy yourselves!"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Returning to camp, the excited tribesmen could hardly wait to tell their swarthy kin what they had found. "We got speshul one! We got speshul one!" they yelled, and the whole clan gathered round to inspect Winston's broken frame.

With every breath feeling like a lungful of broken glass, he hardly even noticed the younger cavelings poking and prodding at him with pointy sticks. Summoning what little strength he could still muster, Winston spoke slowly and softly: "You... will... obey"
 
I do hope us Gods don't give this guy a cruel beating this time :p Because that is the way it seems to be turning out :p

That said... what difficulty do you NORMALLY play, Paulos?
 
It was dangerous, but it had to be done.

The Lord of Shadows hovered over the water of Ragnar's world, ocean all around under him. And then vi spoke, a spell that the world could all hear. Only the God of Magic could comprehend the spell, and only someone who had a fragment of the God of Knowledge could know of it.

Three voices spoke the chant, words interwoven with magic. Around vim, chains appeared, coiling upwards in a manner that even gods would find unnerving. With the final syllable, the chains sped downwards, reaching into the depths to their target.

After a few moments, the chains stopped and reversed, bringing their captive to the surface.

Eldarion.
 
I do hope us Gods don't give this guy a cruel beating this time :p Because that is the way it seems to be turning out :p

That said... what difficulty do you NORMALLY play, Paulos?

I'm an experienced Emperor player.

That being said... it might be a better idea to play at Prince after all.

First turns will be played later today.
 
((Well, shucks. Since NoDot's going to revive me, guess I'll be playing my character after all. :-D))

The storm god was destroyed, yes, but Eldarion lived on. Burned black by the flames of abyss, buried far beneath miles of ocean within a world ruined by the beast's escape, Eldarion lived. Barely conscious, he felt nothing of the chains wrapping around him, dragging him slowly to the surface... returning him to the realm of the Lord of Shadows.

Eldarion stirred. His eyes - no longer the lightning of the maelstrom, but mere pinpoints of blood in a face of ash - fluttered open. His frame was a mere husk of what it had been... and yet he felt new power coursing through him. When the beast had taken possession of him, it had left behind a trace of itself... and his plunge into the abyss had filled him with a strange power that thrilled him as it filled him with terror.

"NoDot," he said slowly, not recognizing his own voice, which seemed to echo a thousand times as the word left his mouth. "Where is Ragnar?"

As the hated name was uttered, Eldarion felt a surge of power, and in his shattered hand, a sword appeared. For though he did not yet realize it, the one who had once been the god of storms had been reborn...

As the god of vengeance.
 
OOC: I've been following this series from the start and it is awesome! I want to contribute, but my BTS doesn't work. Thus, if someone could make changes for me that would be great!

-----

Pericles awoke to the sight of flames. A smoldering crater lay before him, and around him marched hundreds of men, each carrying a metal object. The fires were fueled by the ruins of a great building, with charred courtyards and scorched marble fountains surrounding it. The roar of the chaotic fire drowned out all other noise. The men marched as though Pericles was not there, but one turned to face him. As the soldier did so, Pericles caught sight of a blue standard with a small black helmet in the center. The man turned, and spoke, his voice containing all the rage of the Titans themselves.

"Pericles! This is your legacy!" A fist curled and pointed one finger at Pericles with all the power of fate. "Look around you, O Mortal, and see the truth!" For Pericles looked and saw simple Greeks, his people, being rounded up and slowly taken away by the men. One man stood atop the highest point of the razed city, and the army turned to face him. They bowed, and as they did so Pericles gasped.

It was his own face he saw before him.


"Pericles! Know this! I am Gooblah, God of Fire! And the fires and forges of the Underworld are in my reign! The evil forces which I have been assigned to keep away from the heavens and Earth have grown with the wars amongst the Gods and the reawakening of the God of Terror. It has now fallen upon you, the Immortals placed upon this Earth, to prevent Hellspawn from walking forth amongst this Earth once more. Unite the world in the name of the Pantheon, and you will be rewarded. A large gate is being constructed by the demons to enter this world, and I am too weak to stop them. Fail to destroy this gate, and you will be the cause of the Destruction you see. If the gate is destroyed, that Immortal will receive great rewards in the name of the holy Pantheon." Pericles looked at the God with despair in his eyes, but his stature suggested a commitment to the task before him. "One final word. The gate will be revealed to you when you awake, as it will be to the other Immortals of this world. I will come to you when I am needed on this Earth, but remember this: I will work within the Underworld to prevent the Destruction of this world, but I do not fight for you. I only fight with you."

With another roar, the scene disappeared and Pericles was lulled back into a deep sleep.
For other Gods (please edit the save to my wishes)
Spoiler :
If one of you could create a small (maybe 10-tile) island with a Mountain and a Barbarian City and troops in the middle of the ocean, that would be great. However, reveal the island to all leaders, then place the City, which should be called "The Gate". This troops of this city should be upgraded every once in a while until the Medieval Era, at which point they should just get promotions. I want this to be a tough fight. You can use this city as a staging point for Hellspawn or as part of your own stories, but please don't sink it or something like that..thanks in advance!
 
(I've decided to go for Monarch. While I fear that my hubris will take me down, I like a good challenge ;) )

Chapter 1: The Beginning

They had been debating on it for days.

Of course it was not a decision lightly to be taken. The Greek nomads were finally going to settle down, and as usual none of the tribal chieftains agreed with each other. Each of them took turns to argue the merits of one place to settle, and each of them managed to swing others to his cause, only to see his 'followers' jump ship to the next chieftain who proclaimed that his city was best.

Pericles sighed. 'Please. As much as I love a good discussion, this has got to stop sometimes. I see no reason to walk further and try and find another place. We settle here, right on this spot. And we shall name it Athens.'

The chieftains jumped. Never before had Pericles been so averse against further debate. But still... there was that urgency in his voice that told them settling now was indeed the best option. At Pericles' request, the city was named Athens.

Other civilizations were met: the Romans, the Spanish, and the Vikings. One close advisor of Pericles could swear he briefly saw Pericles' eyes turn red when he saw Ragnar. The Greek leader however gave no sign of any possession, or that his eyes had been glowing red at all. 'Must've been some odd reflection, then...'





With the invention of the working of bronze, copper was discovered within reach, a settler would be hurried over as soon as possible.

Many Athenians had to give up their freedom as well. Pericles could only tell them it was all for the best - golden words for cruelty. Pericles did not like it either, but he had to. It was the only way.

A new settling party would head to the copper and found Sparta - a city which would soon enough become legendary for the troops it produced. As Pericles saw the party head away into the night, he was happy. Civilization had been growing steadily, Athens prospered though the regime was harsh, and soon enough the Greeks would be destined for greatness.

As far as he knew, anyway. He had no idea what was waiting for him, for he had not even thought of worshipping higher beings.

 

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Outside the planned city of Sparta, a small group of warriors had set up camp to guard the site. It was beginning to get dark, and one of the warriors had just gotten the fire lit when he noticed the smoke. As the logs burned, a thick black smog rose from the flames, which had lost all color as they consumed their fuel - and yet still burned. The grey flames twisted, and before any warning could be shouted, thick black coords lashed out and entangled him, paralyzing him with fear.

You will do nicely... a voice cackled, and the wordless warrior was drawn into the flames. The others stared on, and began to cower as the flames expanded into a churning pillar. A terrible scream echoed through the hills, and the body was tossed out violently as the flames exploded outwards above their heads, dissapating as they expanded.

Slowly, the figure stood, and it was clear that he was no longer the same.

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

Terrifying dreams visited Pericles - obscure, unplaceable horrors dancing in and out of his nightmares. A voice spoke clearly, and the words imprinted themselves deep within him.

"You must make a choice, Pericles. There are many paths through this life, and I have forseen them all."

A grey angel descended upon him, in his dream, and cooly reassured him. "Your warriors have banded together under a man by the name of Lucern. He is an incredibly powerful fighter, but his service comes at a terrible price. Choose wisely."

[Either use him or disband him. He must be disbanded before you end your first turn or you are considered having 'used' him.]

Spoiler NFPE :
Added in a quecha in place of his warriors. The quecha has the warlord upgrade and 30 xp, but if he should choose to use them ultimately he will experience adverse effects..
 

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Dang... just when I can't get it. I am on uni interwebs, and thus, I cannot download this game. And as soon as I get back to home, I have to leave for a meeting >.<

Will Paulos get it within 24 hours? Because that is the latest I can realistically get it.

If not...

Spoiler NFPE: What to do :

Remove the Aztecs. Every last bit of them. This will allow the neighbouring civs to get a fair bit of land.

Place a new Aztec city up the north, surrounded by so much ice that no-one will ever see him again. Until... I choose to let him get free.

Don't play with the Aztecs please, and although you can play with them a little when they are freed, please don't free them prematurely...


There is a being in all universes ... a creature, not God, not a Diety, not an Immortal, and not a mortal. This ... thing exists to preserve rules. Some ancient sorcerors called it "Magic"... some medieval prophets called it "God" ... and some modern scientists called it "Science". But only until the Modern era did this form find a name which suited it... "The Accountant"

The Accountant balanced the numbers, calculated probabilties, and created order out of disorder. Now it was counting the number of immortals... and the numbers didn't add up.

The accountant knew what it had to do, and it did so immediatly, and without provokation: it destroyed the outlier, a leader with an Immortal so full of hatred, so focused upon the destruction of this world, but an immortal so far away from the capital.

It did so without fear, without feeling, for it knew that the numbers had to be balanced.


Spoiler What is the Accountant? :

The Accountant is no-one, and nothing. It is to ensure a nice game is played, and not a horribly crowded one...

Don't worry, however. The Aztecs will return soon...

Ideally, the Accountant has unlimited power, but it doesn't use its powers for its own uses, just to fulfill the rules of all universes. It does so blindly, wiping entire continents of the face of the map, if that causes the numbers to be unbalanced. Alas, even the Gods cannot unbalance the numbers, so the Accountant never undoes the will of the Gods.
 
Got it, but I only made changes for Gooblah and Digit. If it's cool with Paulus, I may "got it" again to make my own if I come up with something creative, although I was sorely tempted to just whack Ragnar out the gate. But that wouldn't be very interesting, now, would it?

NFPE:
Spoiler :
Made a 3X3 island with a mountain, desert, revealed to all leaders, then dropped "The Gate" with four unpromoted archers. Also deleted everything Aztec and locked them in so much ice that nobody will ever find them. Well, except for the fact that I accidentally made it a Greek city first, which I erased, but the "spot" is still visible. Shouldn't be a huge concern, given that Digit seems to have something special planned.
 

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Thanks, Eldarion.

You can solve the problem:
Spoiler :
Enter tile reveal mode and right-click on the tiles that should be unseen by the Greeks as Alexander.
.
 
Not true, Baking... if you'd like to participate, just write something up and ask someone else with BTS to make the changes you like. We gods are a friendly bunch. Out of character, that is... :p
 
In the infermerary, Lancelot removed her bandages. Escaping from the underworld wasn't something that left you unscathed. Grabbing the scroll by her bed, she departed to her master's work.

----

The chanting filled the room. One hundred voices in perfect synchronization had been a difficult task, but the level of magic the Lord of Shadows was calling upon required it.

----

In the middle of the sea, an island rose up, covered in desert. In the center and at the four corners, five hills of rolling plains rose forth. Upon each, a single city was carved out. Massive rivers flowed forth, criss-crossing over the island, forming fertile areas along the desert. In these areas, seeds grew forth, bringing bountiful harvests, a fact not lost on those who found themselves on the island.

Elsewhere, mountains sprung forth, bringing shallow waters which joined the two continents together.

----

Exhausted, the Lord of Shadows retired to ver quarters. They were all exhausted, but vi had planted a bit of ver own power into the spell. For the time being, vi could drown the island should the former God of the Underworld choose to follow the Terror. The portals now stopped, however, sealing the Realm until the Lord rested.

Spoiler safe :
One island in the ocean with five Barbarian cities for the taking. No rush, but the place is nice, so you'll definitely want it.

Lancelot is back (as a Preat-Rome will be mad) with 13 more EXP than she entered with, same promos as before. Send her off (disband her) if you're choosing the God of Terror.
 

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((Thanks, Gooblah. Think I'll hold off for now on making changes of my own, so if someone else can correct that minor issue, it would be appreciated. Anyway.))

It was not the Lord of Shadows who had resurrected him, he realized. Some other purpose had sustained him through his plunge into the abyss. The sword felt so right in his hand, so suited for... purpose. For blood.

He followed his instinct, guided by some unseen hand, and it was then that he saw it. A new world, though spawned by what magic, he could not understand. And he felt the presence of his enemy... not as powerful as at Ragnarok, surely, but here nonetheless. Drifting aimlessly, like smoke on the wind, he followed the current dictated by his alien guide until he saw the familiar pinnacle of a horned warlord.

"Ragnar," he hissed. "So you live. But not for long." Taking up his sword, he moved unseen toward the warlord until a new realization dawned upon him. This Ragnar was nowhere near as powerful as he should have been... nay, he was not even divine. Another deity would have detected his presence, but the immortal was oblivious.

Eldarion's hand lowered, the sword still tightly clasped. "This one is my enemy," he murmured, "but he is but a shadow. Where is my betrayer? Where is my nemesis?"

His eye was drawn to the one they called Lucern, and his undying heart missed a beat nevertheless...
 
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