Egypped

Egypt does have interesting and unique benefits outside its (useless on Deity) unique ability. Its chariot archers are faster and can be deployed even if you and your CS allies get shafted on resources. The burial tomb is free +2 happiness per city with no downside if you don't lose your city through poor play.

But Pharaonic Egypt is the very definition of theocracy. It produced one of the oldest and most enduring religious traditions in the history of the world. So strong was its religion that even Alexander the Great knew to co-opt it rather than fight it, and through syncretism and diffusion Egyptian beliefs spread as far as Rome, Athens, and Persepolis.

So why does Dreadlock McGanjaweed steal their thunder? (No offense to practicing Rastafarians. "Do not underestimate the power of Tafari. He creeps like a mouse but has jaws like a lion." --Balcha Safo.)

I know the Axumite Empire was quite vibrant in ancient times, but if you're playing Ethiopia, you probably don't even want to build Axum (the 6th city name on the list) until rather late in the game, if at all (if going for a Cultural victory).

Still, Ethiopia needs the Steele; converting pagan neighbors is one of the best ways to stave off DoWs in the early game, and Ethiopia needs time to develop if they wish to advance their victory progress.

But Egypt needs something. I'd propose that the Monument Builders UA grant +1 from Monuments. Not as strong as the Steele, and you'll only get second choice for Pantheon if Ethiopia or the Celts are present, but that's preferable to having Egypt be no better at founding an organized religion than Attila the Hun.


NB: I can't install the SDK on my system, but this change here seems simple enough that it could be done via a text editor. What would be the most efficient way to go about doing that?

2nd religion + Wonderspam is too strong at upper levels and if you combine it with the easy ICS you can get from spamming Burial tombs this just starts to get ridiculous. You'd have to tone-down the wonder bonus to compensate for something like this and that would just irk wonderspammers.

I'm not inclined to see Egypt changed. They are already a religious powerhouse as is. Their UB is often underrated. It essentially grants two belief bonuses within your civ (the +2 gold per city founder belief (due to the free maintenance cost) as well as the +2 happiness from temples. (the happiness is actually better here since you don't need to wait for the religion to spread to 5 citizens (or any really) of the city. I used to play with Theodora thinking I was really going to town with that extra belief until I realized I would be getting the benefits I was going for, for free, with Eqypt (considering I built temples with both.)

Sure, they don't get a head start in the religion race but why should they? Because their religion was influential and long-lived? This is what their UB accomplishes.

If any civ in civ5 is getting the shaft in the religion department compared to it's real-world equivalent, its India; the birthplace of not one but two extraordinarily influential and rich (not to mention, in-game) religions and, like Egypt, a cultural identity steeped in religious tradition. What do they get in the way of religion? Bupkis.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikh, and Jain all come from India. The Mughal fort should provide faith in some way. AS it is, though, population growth is a beast and shouldn't be tweaked very much.