King of the World #14: Earth18

The turn before you switch to the next leader, hit Esc -> then select 'Your Details' -> change name -> swap.

Hey, all. Sorry to disappear like I have. Real life's getting in the way, and all that. I meant this to be a faster-flowing game, and it will be, but not just yet. Let me get out of the woods a little bit, and I'll try to have Asoka up by midweek.

Neal said:

Let me get out of the woods a little bit, and I'll try to have Asoka up by midweek.

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So out of the woods, and into the jungle? Sounds like a change for the worse.

Don't beat yourself up; we appreciate the time you do spend.

I suggest going for mines - into the himalayas and possibly Tibet (or not..)

No, seriously - why make the ordinary strategic choices when the real Asoka is going to ruin them later on. Might as well prepare him for his next wonder-spree by giving him the mines he needs. As I spy the map - Go south.

You definately want the Subcontinent to yourself, but that can wait till after you expand to Iran and SE asia, if possible. Maybe try to get into Indonesia toward the end of the turnset. That might not be doable, but the trade routes would be nice.

Neal shook his head, trying to break the fog that clogged his senses and slowed down his thought processes. "Want some cheeese?" a languid courtesan asked, holding out a platter fresh cheese products and dried fruits. "Now that you mention it, I am awfully hungry, and- NO!"

The Indian emperor stood up, his robes fluttering like a beautiful jellyfish enveloping a hapless swimmer. There was a murmur of appreciation at the spectacle, which even brought a tear to the occasional eye. "Open some windows!" Asoka said. "And air this place out! We are an international laughingstock! What have we been doing for the past 3000 years?"

After a few more mumbled protests that The Pyramids would Restore India to greatness, the stunned Palace retinue did what they could to fulfill Neal's orders. A bit of fresh air, a cup of strong tea, and a few status reports later, and the King of the World almost felt like himself again. The situation was laughably bungled, but it was almost salvageable. The first orders of business were, of course, to switch to Iron Working, rescind the apparently universal edict for an Espionage budget, and abandon the ridiculous pile of mud outside Delhi in favor of training Settlers capable of expanding India's reach:



The discontent were rounded up and ordered to build tools and pack supplies for these hardy souls. Lush Wheat fields that had grown fallow were once again farmed as Food once again went to a cause beyond feeding into urban overcrowding. Some were miffed at being dragged out of their psychedelic slumbers but, for most, this new purpose gave them energy and zest.

A mere turn into this idyllic new building project, it was time for Neal to play his hand. "Execute the prisoners."



The Settlers, gripping wooden staffs and clutching backs filled with bread, cheese, and Dissident Meat, stumbled, shell-shocked, to the west. Outside of Delhi, meanwhile, General Cheech discovered that the Barbarian City of Chehalis was better defended than Delhi itself. Taking the city would, embarrassingly, require a shift to a war economy at this point, and there were easier spots on the subcontinent that needed claiming.

Another group of Settlers began training right away. At this point, there were few illusions about Asoka's change of heart. The smoking-dens were closed down, the flower garlands were trampled in the streets, and nervous stories were told about the fates of the disgruntled layabouts from before:



This time, though, Neal was determined to be a bit more humane, bringing in lumber from the northwestern forests to contribute to the cause.

Karachi was founded at the mouth of the great river to establish a boundary with the ravenous Persians:



More prisoners were worked to death in Delhi, resulting in Settlers that were sent south to found the desert city of Bangalore. The massive production overflows from slaves and wood, meanwhile, went into Worker production. India was choked with impenetrable Jungles. Without a sizable force of men with Iron machetes, the country would be forever relegated to being a backwater.

Bangalore was founded in 775 B.C.:



This will take some time to become a truly productive site, but, for now, it'll make the southern reaches of the subcontinent safe from the ravages of the Nationless Ones.

The race for the Pyramids (which I'm glad we abandoned; we had no shot) ended interestingly:



Soooo... Qin, our next in line. Looks like we won the 'mids after all For now, that gold is, well, an excuse to run 100% Research forever. Or until Asoka returns it to 80% Research, 20% Espionage

During our attempt to Open Borders with Egypt, we highlighted the strangeness of our "Neal virus":



A technical note, here. I thought about it, and while I like the kookiness of the slowly-converting weirdness, you all were right that it was more trouble than it was worth. Unfortunately, when I went in to change the Player name, using Gooblah's method, I found the option greyed out. I guess it's to maintain the integrity of a multiplayer game. So once someone is changed, they can't be changed back. I suppose I could start keeping regular names from here on out, but that would be a bit incongruous. We'd have 3 or 4 Neals squatting on the map. Better to file it away as a lesson learned and just see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Anyway, our Scouts procured safe passage into Egypt, but they were waylaid somewhere in the Sahara:



Not that a clear picture of Africa was necessary for the people of India, but Neal wanted to see how his old friend the Jackal was handling things in his absence. Now, because of her faulty fogbusting techniques, he would never know.

Dhaka was founded to close the subcontinent from the east, as Karachi blocked it to the west:



Again, the city was choked with Jungles, but, in this region, what isn't?

The Chinese, who had apparently mastered the Alphabet, came by to make a simple trade with Lord Asoka:



Intricately knotted Chinese fishnets and hooks of cunning craftsmanship were sent to Delhi in exchange for... well, in exchange for one of Asoka's old-guard "advisors" who claimed that he could talk to spirits. It was addition by subtraction, really.

With Writing established, Neal decided that he needed to lead the Indian people down a path as far away from their Mystical visionquests as possible:



Cold, hard Mathematics would lead to Construction, and Engineering, and... wait. Mathematics leads to Calendar, doesn't it? With all those Plantations? Crap. Well, it's not my problem.

In 275, our former friends the Persians proved that they were right back to being the Evil Empire:



The Persian agent, caught as he tried to sell a carpet for Currency that India frankly didn't have yet (and, puzzlingly, neither did Persia), claimed that there was no god but the God-King Cyrus, and he blew himself up. Well, this was before Combustion or even Gunpowder, so really it was more setting himself on fire. With a flint and steel. In the rain. It took a while.

As the years wound down to Neal saying goodbye and good riddance to the benighted peoples of India, he founded the city of Chennai to fill the subcontinent and put pressure on the barbarians of Chehalis:



If we can't crush them militarily, we can at least contain them, and possibly even assimilate them with enough culture.

In the year 200 B.C., it was time:



India was no powerhouse, and likely never would be one, but it was at least better able to stand up on its own and hold its head high than it was when Neal found it. As the King of the World addressed his people, preparing to leave them to their own devices, more than one member of the audience made knowing hand gestures to one another, indicating that they couldn't wait for the square to get off the throne so that the party could, once again, get started. No, Neal would not miss India.

Neal opened his eyes to a world of Industrious workers, fresh-clipped lawns, and massive, spotless architecture:



The grand Pyramids looming in the distance put the crude piles of mud outside of Delhi to shame. Expert Archers manned every garrison, and shining Chariots patrolled the roads. Neal smiled. Finally, the Gods had given him something to work with. But... everyone was staring at him. "Who are you, and what have you done with Emperor Qin?" asked one soft-spoken attendant.

"Hey, I know you!" came a shout. Advisor Leary, the wild-eyed dreamer sent to Beijing to teach the basics of Mysticism pushed through the gaping crowd. "You're that dude from India! The one that ripped Lord Asoka's soul right out of his body!" The mood of the crowd did not appreciably brighten.

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So, assuming the King of the World can talk his way out of this one, what should our goals be? I think the Hawks in the audience are going to finally get their war. Pushing Japan off of the mainland is a no-brainer.

China is a world leader in Science and Technology:



There is little worth studing in the fields of Religion, especially with the Oracle already having been built. Do we maybe beeline Machinery and try to bring our terrifying Unique Unit to bear? Beijing has not only the Pyramids, but an Academy to its name. With Representation, we could get a beastly SE running.

China's in a fascinating position, and there's all sorts of directions we can take it. We could Settle Malaysia, hit Japan, hit Mongolia, turtle up and improve our cities... I look forward to the discussion.

The save:

Since you have only 40 turns I would whip 2-3 settlers, several workers and go south-west. There is good land there when all that jungle is gone. While your main cities are recovering from whip, build some military for japanese cities + barbarian city.

But, be careful, you have an opportunity to mold China into a beast that could bite you later on.

China (and Korea) for the Chinese! Toku and the barbarians need to get the heck off Qin's lawn.

So I'm curious, are you just going to avoid bribing people to war?

Interesting position here for China, but I think the questions are

1) Are you going to play based on how you left the previous nations?
2) Are you playing how to best set up the world for the next leader?
3) Are you playing in the best interest of China short term?
4) Are you playing as you normally would assuming CHina wouldbe you CIV throughout the game?

If the answer is 4, which I think it is, then I think you need to quickly dislodge Tokyo and Osaka before Toku get's any stronger. Those are also prize cities which are better than anything you can settle and grow right now. You competitiors for Malaysia are basically Ashoka (Ha Ha Ha) and Toku (who would be in a poor situation if kept to the home islands).

So count me on the Hawks side, go after Toku now.

As far as research, backfill in trades and head towards machninery and the UU!

How about a hiatus from the Neal-to-the-rescue M.O. to moonlight as Neal the bad boy?

Do your best to muck up Qin's cities. That backstabber gets on my nerves more often than not, especially in the E-18 scenarios. Make sub-optimal tech trades. Convert some improvements. Pump out scouts and fish boats. Send his army to some far away land of nowhere. Have fun!

That wouldn't be fun...

I say that you should take out Tokugawa (make sure you raze Tokyo) and expand to the South-West to block out Asoka from the Malaya peninsula. Maybe get a city in Manchuria before Genghis.

Mad is correct. I like his thinking.

However...

A turnset based on Barrage would be hilarious. Qin can recover from 40 turns of this. He's got the world at his feet now.

Qin can definitely make up most of the deconstruction Neal can throw his way. Not sure who's under Neal's control after Qin, but I'd love to see Qin's units scrambling back to China after he gets back-stabbed himself after the "Neal Dynasty". Oh can you tell that I don't care for the Qin character much in this game?

Neal has Rome next, followed by Saladin.

Whip up an army, grab Osaka and the barb city, and call it a round.

Ziggy says you have 66.6% chance of being here to help Qin rush the Japanese out of his land, and 33.3% chance of spoiling Qin's plans of greatness.

UWHabs said:

Whip up an army, grab Osaka and the barb city, and call it a round.

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The numbers just chanced to 75% against 25%.

Militairy buildup, a settler to thailand and grabbing Tokyo, Osaka, and the well placed barb city seems like a fine idea for the next 40 turns. It'll be fun to leave Qin as an absolute powerhouse after the next turnset.

That's not my reading, Admiral. The way I see it, Ziggy is showing a 92% chance that you are here to make Qin the beast he deserves to be. Ziggy is projecting that a massive world war later on is what the readers want to see.

Kick Toku out of your lands. Expand to Malaysia. Qin should be able to do these easily.

However, you definitely want to think about your turns as Toku and Genghis. You are likely looking at warring as both of them unless Toku is going to be island hopping in the south Pacific. So I would not cripple Genghis (maybe even curry favor with him for once and make him an attack dog against Persian expansion?)