Philosophical Debate

What would you do in this situation:

You are allied with a city state, and you send a great prophet there to convert.

In the process, a barbarian comes out of nowhere to snatch the prophet.

Then, the city-state kills the barb and takes your prophet with 3 conversions left.

Do you DOW the city state and take back the prophet?

Or

Stay allied and just watch your pretty little purple prophet dance?

Oh...

And do you always take the same religion? I always take Taoism. I kind of wish that each religion came with some unique bonus so there was a reason to take one over the other. Something simple like +1 Happiness, Faith, gold or Science. Nothing huge.

hmmm, never happened to me. Usually if that happens to me another civ has grabbed the prophet. The one time this was the case they were already more than half my religion and used it just as I would have to spread further into the continent. I wouldn't be too concerned unless it was my 1st or 2nd prophet and I usually keep them local. I get more spreading than I need with religious texts.

If it really bothered me I'd try this trick: city states always want to move their units. If you're allied move some troops in and wait until the prophet moves to the outer ring. then block him. with any luck you can use the passive movement AI to herd him to a vulnerable position. Then pin him there and try to lure another barbarian over to take it back for you. You'll get bonus points for killing the barb and get your prophet back.

If this is impossible or leaves me too vulnerable and they aren't a terrible strategic city, yes, I would probably DOW and then make peace immediately. If it's early enough and especially with patronage I'll get them back.

I always take one of several religions if they're available, yes--usually from the Judeo-Christian heritage since they're familiar, but like you said it's arbitrary which is a bit of a bummer.

I'd DOW and take the prophet (and a worker, for good measure ).

I too just use one religion if it's available. I go for Protestation. I find it easier to always know that any cities with that cross have my religion.

I always pick the Star of david Judaism sign, not sure why though...

I always take religion that fits civ history. Catholism for French, Protestantism for Sweden, Islam for Morocco, etc. I'm annoyed with native american civs.

For first question, I like to see clergyman dancing.

I don't get it. Where's the philosophy?

if the GP had 3 or all 4 spreads left, i would probably DoW the CS if i could successfully rescue it. and also if this CS is just Militaristic one, i'd be willing to lose it regardless.

but if it were early Ancient/Classical and this were a Martime or Cultural CS, it becomes a somewhat harder decision.

It was a maritime. That was part of the difficulty. The philosophy is what do you do and why?

Philosophically, I find it just plain wrong to DOW an ally for no reason. But Philosophically, I find it sick to see that clergyman dancing across the border being wasted.

no if it were somehow Ancient or Classical era, i guess you wouldn't even have a GProphet yet, right? but if this is a Maritime CS and i assume you are unwilling to reload this game, generally a Maritime CS is still too valuable imo even in the Renaissance Era.

if it were just some Militaristic or Faith CS i wouldn't care about warring on the CS (IF ONLY THIS WERE THE FIRST CS-WAR BECAUSE THEREAFTER YOU GET PERMANENT CS NEGATIVE MODIFIERS; YOU GET ONE "FREE" CS DoW). maybe in the Renaissance Era i also wouldn't care about a Cultural CS alliance, but maybe not depending on what you're trying. but Mercantile or Maritime CS i would just say screw that prophet.

also if this CS had a unique resource is another thing to weigh on.

if it were just some "i dont care" Faith or Militaristic CS, with no unique luxs, then generally who cares... hell in fact you should just take it over

Doctor Doom said:

I always pick the Star of david Judaism sign, not sure why though...

Click to expand...

Same here, though I'm not Jewish. I think it's just because I find it funny to see Jewish Zulu or Iroquois or whatnot.

In regards the OP: Under these circumstances, I think I'd just say "oh well" and move on. The exception would be if I was playing as Sweden, in which case I would probably DOW, take the prophet (and a worker, like someone else mentioned), make peace with the CS, spread the religion, and then gift them the prophet and some gold to get allied again.

To answer OP, I would leave it be. I normally don't bother much with religion, unless I'm either the Byzantines or I need bonus culture.

But, when I do use religion, I use the Tengriism icon.

No philosophy here - probably would either take DOW, or try the herding technique, unless doing so would hurt me more in the long run.

I choose the same religion, but just like manu-fan, so I can recognize it. I rename it anyway.

I never take over CS. I'm so scared of the unforgivable and unforgettable repercussions.

One free DOW? That's a fact? So the worker you steal at the beginning is "free"?

It's good to know these things.

Even when going domination, I usually keep the CSs in good graces (happiness bonuses and such). The only time I took one over was when a civ I was trying to conquer had a strong alliance with a CS in way of my march, so I didn't really have any choice.

reload.

I have to admit that if I lost a great prophet that way, I'd try to reload. Failing that, yes, I would attack the CS to get the prophet back, since they're quite valuable. You don't need to conquer the CS, just have a brief war.

BTW, for the folks talking about choice of religions (icons), I recommend the Historical Religions mod (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=478532) and Strange Religions too. Then you'll have more icons than you know what to do with.