Rubberjello
Emperor
RBC13H Middle Ages Angry Abassids Demigod.
"Angry" Abassids? Why angry? Well, wouldn't you be angry if you were walking around for 3 centuries with big targets on your backs? That's right! Everybody hates us. We own the only victory point location in the game, and it also happens to be our capital! This is a rather dubious honor. It does net us 25 VP a turn (as long as we have a unit in the city), but everybody and their mothers will be gunning for us. Also, as leader of VP (probably), then danger of an AI dogpile on us is ever-present. Although we don't really have to worry about a late game visit from the Germans, Franks, English, and Bugundians with a stack of 40+ Knights landing in Palestine (like we would if we were playing against a human opponent), it has been my experience that the AI does make some rather dogged attempts to march on Jerusalem at one time or another. The real danger is if they all march on us at once.
I admit it. I've never played these folks before. So I have no real authority in knowing what is going to happen. What I have seen in the two games I have played in this scenario (Germans and Franks), is the Abassids end up with at least in the top 2 most powerful empires by the midgame (usually Byzantium is first).
Positives:
1.Luxes!!! Wow! 4 different luxes in our immediate area! Most other civs have to scramble to even get 1 lux! I pays to be rich AND lucky!
2. Corner location. No enemies to our South and East.
3. We start with 2 Ansar Warriors. These could trigger our Golden Age! So no early wars if we want to make the best use of it! We don't particularly want to lose them either, since we won't be able to build any others for 60-80 turns? They would make great scouts and barb killers for the first third of the game.
4. Jerusalem generates 25 VP per turn (but, see below)
Negatives.
1. Byzantium. End of story. I don't care what the Byzantine team says, they have a kick-butt start with 11!!! cities and misc. units. They are to the NE of us.
2. The land --- not the best in terms of production or food, but certainly we could be far worse off. (Please note! The Seas around the Sanai pennisula act as fresh water!)
3. Rather far from our nearest Iron and Quarry locations. We need to settle and protect them early on from the Turks/Byzantines.
4. Fatmids (west) and Turks (north). Neither one of which are any specific danger to us, but we can't afford to be at war with more than one of them (plus the Byzantines) at once.
5. Jerusalem - Target number 1 for all 12 enemy civs. While the AI cannot successfully carry out a massive seaborne invasion, we will need to protect this city fairly heavily in the later stages of the game.
Roster: no particular order here, if you want a change, just say so! And if we get a volunteer for a fifth, do we want them? 10 turns per player turn. The usual 24/48 hours for "got it" and "played". I don't really care if I go first or not. Does someone else want to?
Rubberjello
Yom
Sir Bugsy
Kabuki
Deceased Horse
Any opinions upon the opening moves? Which tech to research and how much to devote to it?
Some points to consider.
1. We are Religions and Commercial: Cheap Temples. More money.
2. Unlike the AI, we can use our kings as fog-busters during the initial stages of the game without much danger.
3. We need a huge, rapid-expansion phase with at least 2 settler factories and a worker factory. Unfortunately, none of our starting cities are excellent settler factories. Should we pump out one or two settlers and then go for granaries? Or go for granaries first? Baghdad might be a good settler factory, but it is also the location of our only Marketplace. It will have a Grasslands Wheat and a floodplains tile once the culture expands (prebuilt Temple)
4. Alexandria and Antioch would do well to build a temple first. Their first border expansions would bring in 5 luxes (4 unique). Jerusalem could build a granary right away, as it at least has a plains wheat in its expanded radius.
5. There are lots of floodplains tiles between Baghdad and Jerusalem (upper Euphrates) that will be our Empire's "breadbasket" and good worker cities.
"Angry" Abassids? Why angry? Well, wouldn't you be angry if you were walking around for 3 centuries with big targets on your backs? That's right! Everybody hates us. We own the only victory point location in the game, and it also happens to be our capital! This is a rather dubious honor. It does net us 25 VP a turn (as long as we have a unit in the city), but everybody and their mothers will be gunning for us. Also, as leader of VP (probably), then danger of an AI dogpile on us is ever-present. Although we don't really have to worry about a late game visit from the Germans, Franks, English, and Bugundians with a stack of 40+ Knights landing in Palestine (like we would if we were playing against a human opponent), it has been my experience that the AI does make some rather dogged attempts to march on Jerusalem at one time or another. The real danger is if they all march on us at once.
I admit it. I've never played these folks before. So I have no real authority in knowing what is going to happen. What I have seen in the two games I have played in this scenario (Germans and Franks), is the Abassids end up with at least in the top 2 most powerful empires by the midgame (usually Byzantium is first).
Positives:
1.Luxes!!! Wow! 4 different luxes in our immediate area! Most other civs have to scramble to even get 1 lux! I pays to be rich AND lucky!
2. Corner location. No enemies to our South and East.
3. We start with 2 Ansar Warriors. These could trigger our Golden Age! So no early wars if we want to make the best use of it! We don't particularly want to lose them either, since we won't be able to build any others for 60-80 turns? They would make great scouts and barb killers for the first third of the game.
4. Jerusalem generates 25 VP per turn (but, see below)
Negatives.
1. Byzantium. End of story. I don't care what the Byzantine team says, they have a kick-butt start with 11!!! cities and misc. units. They are to the NE of us.
2. The land --- not the best in terms of production or food, but certainly we could be far worse off. (Please note! The Seas around the Sanai pennisula act as fresh water!)
3. Rather far from our nearest Iron and Quarry locations. We need to settle and protect them early on from the Turks/Byzantines.
4. Fatmids (west) and Turks (north). Neither one of which are any specific danger to us, but we can't afford to be at war with more than one of them (plus the Byzantines) at once.
5. Jerusalem - Target number 1 for all 12 enemy civs. While the AI cannot successfully carry out a massive seaborne invasion, we will need to protect this city fairly heavily in the later stages of the game.
Roster: no particular order here, if you want a change, just say so! And if we get a volunteer for a fifth, do we want them? 10 turns per player turn. The usual 24/48 hours for "got it" and "played". I don't really care if I go first or not. Does someone else want to?
Rubberjello
Yom
Sir Bugsy
Kabuki
Deceased Horse
Any opinions upon the opening moves? Which tech to research and how much to devote to it?
Some points to consider.
1. We are Religions and Commercial: Cheap Temples. More money.
2. Unlike the AI, we can use our kings as fog-busters during the initial stages of the game without much danger.
3. We need a huge, rapid-expansion phase with at least 2 settler factories and a worker factory. Unfortunately, none of our starting cities are excellent settler factories. Should we pump out one or two settlers and then go for granaries? Or go for granaries first? Baghdad might be a good settler factory, but it is also the location of our only Marketplace. It will have a Grasslands Wheat and a floodplains tile once the culture expands (prebuilt Temple)
4. Alexandria and Antioch would do well to build a temple first. Their first border expansions would bring in 5 luxes (4 unique). Jerusalem could build a granary right away, as it at least has a plains wheat in its expanded radius.
5. There are lots of floodplains tiles between Baghdad and Jerusalem (upper Euphrates) that will be our Empire's "breadbasket" and good worker cities.
.
I don't think I could take that...)
).
They start out with Wines, Silks, and Wool hooked up as luxes. How fair is that!? 
Sorry about that, guys.
