Bleys
Deity
OK, the next installment has arrived, and rolo has warned that this map is a bit different from the usual maps we play. I have played some turns, and while it does seem a bit poor, resource wise, forest-chopping is going to create a massive amount of hammers. Also, given the semi-sparseness of resources, having a CRE leader is going to play a pretty decent role here. So here is the standard info:
Our leader = Zara has an excellent combo of traits, both of which aid in one of this games primary goal, grabbing land. His starting techs arent bad either, although unless you start with deer, you need foodto get some food techs going:
His UU and UB = The Steele and the Oromo Warrior. The Steele is an upgraded monument that also adds a percentage of culture overall, making Zara a culture monster. CRE plus this UB can overwhelm a TON of AI tiles in those "our close border" situations, and you can even use Zara to culture-flip like mad. In fact, in the Zealot PYL game a while back, one of the players tried the "no conquering, all culture-flip" style of taking over AIs. Crazy stuff like that is very possible.
In regard to his UU, what can I say, its HUGE. No need to push for Rifles with this thing, even drafted they are powerhouses. Watch out for those Immune to First Strike units, have counters in the stack, like Pikes, great combo with the Oromo, but being Immune to First Strike themselves, they are solid up against LBs, making them stronger city raiders than standard muskets:
And the start. No Fishing, so its not tough to pick that opening tech, but as I said, this map has some interesting twists. Not sure what script rolo used, but its a very interesting look, thats for sure. You will see soon enough if your scout survives, heh, mine got ate pretty quickly:
And here is the standard cut and paste of our Club Doctrine:
There are no hard and fast rules here, fun and learning are our primary goals, but we do request that you update your progress at various points in the game, using the Spoiler feature of the boards.
Tentative posting updates are suggested at:
4000 BC (starting thoughts, no spoiler required for that discussion)
1000 BC or so (how you decided to progress up the early tech/build paths, which AIs you have met, etc)
500 AD or so (after establishing some cities and a possible plan of action)
1200 AD or so (mid-game, Lib race, wars or peace, or whichever happened or didnt, met other continent if applicable, etc)
1600 AD (or when you have decided on a course of action and a specific victory condition)
End of game (Victory!!! or defeat, no shame in losing, especially if you tried a higher level. Learning is what we focus on, not fastest win or biggest empire)
Remember, these are only guidelines. What we really want are your thoughts as the game goes on, so if your strats dont fall into line with those dates, feel free to adjust your reports accordingly.
We also welcome players to ask for specific game advice, as we have a number or stronger players who lurk and help out with solid tips, and of course, we help each other. Replies to specific questions should also be in spoilers, with a simple "@" in front of the person the answer is directed towards.
Once again, special recognition goes out to r_rolo1, our Map Maker, who sets these up for us (so I can play without peeking, heh, the WB needs to be modified) and also to Krick19, who came up with the idea of running a series like this for the less confident players. It is our goal to get folks to play and post without feeling self-conscious about being a "n00b" or asking dumb things. There are NO stupid questions! Learning this game is a process, not an event.
The WB-save is attached (zipped, they are bigger than standard saves). To play, simply download and unzip it into your BTS/Saves/WorldBuilder folder. Start the game, and load your favorite MOD (if you use one, if not, I suggest checking out the BUG MOD), select "Play Scenario", and look for "NC X - Zara". This allows you to play with your favorite MOD at the Level and Speed of your choice. From Quick-Warlord to Marathon-Prince, all are welcome! We stuck with the name "Nobles Club" because it has a cool ring to it.
Also, it should be noted that although this is a "pre-Monarch" oriented series, you are welcome to play it at levels above Prince. However, the AIs will NOT get their full set of bonus techs. The main difference is Archery, which the AI normally gets for free at Monarch and above. The main affects of this are in the AIs starting units (warriors instead of archers) and it also creates a tad "slower" AI, since they now have to tech Archery themselves.
In addition, because of the variations of using the Scenario menu, your starting Scout/Warrior may not be in exactly the same spot as the one shown.
On to the game!
Our leader = Zara has an excellent combo of traits, both of which aid in one of this games primary goal, grabbing land. His starting techs arent bad either, although unless you start with deer, you need foodto get some food techs going:
Spoiler :
In regard to his UU, what can I say, its HUGE. No need to push for Rifles with this thing, even drafted they are powerhouses. Watch out for those Immune to First Strike units, have counters in the stack, like Pikes, great combo with the Oromo, but being Immune to First Strike themselves, they are solid up against LBs, making them stronger city raiders than standard muskets:
Spoiler :
Spoiler :
There are no hard and fast rules here, fun and learning are our primary goals, but we do request that you update your progress at various points in the game, using the Spoiler feature of the boards.
Tentative posting updates are suggested at:
4000 BC (starting thoughts, no spoiler required for that discussion)
1000 BC or so (how you decided to progress up the early tech/build paths, which AIs you have met, etc)
500 AD or so (after establishing some cities and a possible plan of action)
1200 AD or so (mid-game, Lib race, wars or peace, or whichever happened or didnt, met other continent if applicable, etc)
1600 AD (or when you have decided on a course of action and a specific victory condition)
End of game (Victory!!! or defeat, no shame in losing, especially if you tried a higher level. Learning is what we focus on, not fastest win or biggest empire)
Remember, these are only guidelines. What we really want are your thoughts as the game goes on, so if your strats dont fall into line with those dates, feel free to adjust your reports accordingly.
We also welcome players to ask for specific game advice, as we have a number or stronger players who lurk and help out with solid tips, and of course, we help each other. Replies to specific questions should also be in spoilers, with a simple "@" in front of the person the answer is directed towards.
Once again, special recognition goes out to r_rolo1, our Map Maker, who sets these up for us (so I can play without peeking, heh, the WB needs to be modified) and also to Krick19, who came up with the idea of running a series like this for the less confident players. It is our goal to get folks to play and post without feeling self-conscious about being a "n00b" or asking dumb things. There are NO stupid questions! Learning this game is a process, not an event.
The WB-save is attached (zipped, they are bigger than standard saves). To play, simply download and unzip it into your BTS/Saves/WorldBuilder folder. Start the game, and load your favorite MOD (if you use one, if not, I suggest checking out the BUG MOD), select "Play Scenario", and look for "NC X - Zara". This allows you to play with your favorite MOD at the Level and Speed of your choice. From Quick-Warlord to Marathon-Prince, all are welcome! We stuck with the name "Nobles Club" because it has a cool ring to it.
Also, it should be noted that although this is a "pre-Monarch" oriented series, you are welcome to play it at levels above Prince. However, the AIs will NOT get their full set of bonus techs. The main difference is Archery, which the AI normally gets for free at Monarch and above. The main affects of this are in the AIs starting units (warriors instead of archers) and it also creates a tad "slower" AI, since they now have to tech Archery themselves.
In addition, because of the variations of using the Scenario menu, your starting Scout/Warrior may not be in exactly the same spot as the one shown.
On to the game!
especially as we start without fishing. Techwise, I'll be boring and probably go for fishing first, B/working second, might even build a spare scout first as we seem to be on a choke point between 2 land masses.
!
.
I switched to slavery in a last ditch attempt to try and save the game but... The Barbs decided they didn't fancy my undefended capital and wondered off 
)
