slobberinbear
Ursine Skald
BTS Roleplaying Challenge: Jamaica!
Welcome to the game, mon.
This is my first foray in Stories & Tales, after posting two other games in the Strategy section. My style is half story, half strategy, but I'm posting this game here due to the rather fanciful backstory for this particular game.
But before I begin, I again must bow down now and acknowledge the master of the ALC genre, and general Civilization bon vivant, Sisiutil. He is my Civ hero.
The idea of the Roleplaying Challenge is to provide a challenge not neccessarily by raising the difficulty level, but by giving myself a handicap by “roleplaying” the civilization in question. At the start I will identify the roleplaying particulars. I am open to suggestions on other handicaps. For additional roleplaying flavor, I will try to have most of the posts be "in character," and keep my nerdy strategy comments inside spoiler tags so as not to disrupt da flow, mon.
I anticipate posting a round every day or two, mainly because I have a short attention span and can't stand waiting. Like the ALC games, I ask for your comments and feedback, and I’ll need it, particularly with the rules I've set for myself.
In this alternate Earth timeline, a group of hardy African slaves escaped their cruel captivity on a plantation island, stealing a ship and sailing away. Unfortunately, they had little sailing experience and ran aground on another island. Uncertain of their location and surroundings, they have to fend for themselves and forge their own civilization. Their blend of African heritage, slave experience, and natural creativity and spirituality has resulted in the creation of their own unique culture.
For this game, I have selected Jamaica (Ethiopia). My leader is Slobbamon (Zara Yaqob), who is Creative and Organized. The unique unit is the Buffalo Soldier (Oromo Warrior), a musketeer that is immune to first strikes and begins the game with the Drill II promotion. The unique building is the Stele, a remnant of their African heritage that replaces the monument and additionally grants a +25% culture bonus. We begin the game with Hunting and Mining.
The rules:
These rules are slightly limiting; no slavery is probably the most significant. As my prior games were at Prince, with harder RP rules, I will attempt this game at Monarch difficulty.
This game’s settings: Monarch difficulty, archipelago map, tropical climate, standard size, epic speed, ancient start. I have also chosen our AI opponents to give the game a colonial Caribbean feel: Victoria, Washington, Willem, Isabella, Montezuma, and Mansa Musa.
The starting screenies (note: I moved the scout to provide a better view of the island) ...
Slobbamon looked to his people crawling to the shore from the raging sea. Many had died from the storm and the sharks that followed it. The salt of the women's tears mixed with the ocean salt on their faces. The men were exhausted from their labors.
"We got to get all dese tings from the ship, mon!" he yelled. "Hurry!"
The escapees at length gathered what little cargo remained on the ship -- tools, cloth, and dried food, and looked at the island.
"Fresh water! It is near! Dis way, my brothers!"
Welcome to the game, mon.
This is my first foray in Stories & Tales, after posting two other games in the Strategy section. My style is half story, half strategy, but I'm posting this game here due to the rather fanciful backstory for this particular game.
But before I begin, I again must bow down now and acknowledge the master of the ALC genre, and general Civilization bon vivant, Sisiutil. He is my Civ hero.
The idea of the Roleplaying Challenge is to provide a challenge not neccessarily by raising the difficulty level, but by giving myself a handicap by “roleplaying” the civilization in question. At the start I will identify the roleplaying particulars. I am open to suggestions on other handicaps. For additional roleplaying flavor, I will try to have most of the posts be "in character," and keep my nerdy strategy comments inside spoiler tags so as not to disrupt da flow, mon.
I anticipate posting a round every day or two, mainly because I have a short attention span and can't stand waiting. Like the ALC games, I ask for your comments and feedback, and I’ll need it, particularly with the rules I've set for myself.
In this alternate Earth timeline, a group of hardy African slaves escaped their cruel captivity on a plantation island, stealing a ship and sailing away. Unfortunately, they had little sailing experience and ran aground on another island. Uncertain of their location and surroundings, they have to fend for themselves and forge their own civilization. Their blend of African heritage, slave experience, and natural creativity and spirituality has resulted in the creation of their own unique culture.
For this game, I have selected Jamaica (Ethiopia). My leader is Slobbamon (Zara Yaqob), who is Creative and Organized. The unique unit is the Buffalo Soldier (Oromo Warrior), a musketeer that is immune to first strikes and begins the game with the Drill II promotion. The unique building is the Stele, a remnant of their African heritage that replaces the monument and additionally grants a +25% culture bonus. We begin the game with Hunting and Mining.
The rules:
- Civics: We will never use Slavery. We will favor the Representation, Free Speech, and Emancipation civics and must choose them when available. We may choose Universal Suffrage when it becomes available.
- We must aggressively pursue the "mystic herb" (i.e., spices), securing a source within our borders.
- When we have learned Gunpowder, we must send forth our Buffalo Soldiers in a war against a civilization that has wronged us.
- We may only build World Wonders that generate great artists or great prophets.
- We can only pursue a Cultural or Diplomatic (AP or UN) victory.
- We will favor Mansa Musa (see below for list of AI civs), leader of another civilization of freed slaves, over other civilizations so long as we can also pursue the objectives above.
- The first civilization we meet (other than Mansa Musa or Montezuma) will be presumed to be the slaving oppressors from whom we fled. Accordingly, we will never trust them or trade with them and will seek aggressive action against them to liberate the old colonies if possible.
These rules are slightly limiting; no slavery is probably the most significant. As my prior games were at Prince, with harder RP rules, I will attempt this game at Monarch difficulty.
This game’s settings: Monarch difficulty, archipelago map, tropical climate, standard size, epic speed, ancient start. I have also chosen our AI opponents to give the game a colonial Caribbean feel: Victoria, Washington, Willem, Isabella, Montezuma, and Mansa Musa.
The starting screenies (note: I moved the scout to provide a better view of the island) ...
Slobbamon looked to his people crawling to the shore from the raging sea. Many had died from the storm and the sharks that followed it. The salt of the women's tears mixed with the ocean salt on their faces. The men were exhausted from their labors.
"We got to get all dese tings from the ship, mon!" he yelled. "Hurry!"
The escapees at length gathered what little cargo remained on the ship -- tools, cloth, and dried food, and looked at the island.
"Fresh water! It is near! Dis way, my brothers!"