jack merchant
Internationalist
Monarch, PTW v1.14f, Archipelago, 60 % land, raging barbarians
We are the Vikings, and aim to conquer the world before 1500 AD. All other victory conditions are on the table, except for domination.
This thread is for the European team.
Current turn order
1 Jack Merchant
2 Aggie
3 Datsekkar
4 Lt. 'Killer' M.
5 Stapel
Around, the year 4000 BC, the Viking people emerged from the
shadows of history and decided to make the world theirs. It was claimed by the mystics that if they achieved this before the year 1500 AD, they would gain access to Valhalla. If not, Götterdammerung would occur. This sounded scary to the Vikings, and when a young warrior known as Jack Merchant rose up and promised to lead them to Valhalla, his people followed.
These are the tales of his reign, for he passed away long before his goal had been accomplished, his brain permanently damaged by the lavish presence of the pungent weed around the Viking lands.
These were the Viking lands at the dawn of history:
Knowing that the sea held great promise for the Viking people, King Merchant directed his people to the Northeast to found a great city there, after messages from the scouts had determined that was by far the best place. His scouts also noted the presence of wines to the southwest.
As Trondheim was built, the scouts discovered a closeby tribe who gladly agreed to join the Viking quest for world conquest. These Phoenician settlers founded a great city close to Trondheim after extensive consultations at the court, and started work on a warrior unit to protect the citizenry, while Trondheim itself sent forth another scout. The Viking scientists, meanwhile, had started work on the Alphabet, a tool required for writing, literature and the making of maps. All of these were necessary as the Viking people had famously bad memories owing to the odours of the incense and the imbibing of the wines close by, and thus could not orally transmit their traditions.
Very soon after, unpleasant news reached the court of King Merchant: another advanced civilization was close by ! These people, the English, already had discovered the Alphabet, and were initially unwilling to trade it. Only after Viking scouts had met people who taught them the secrets of ceremonial burial were the English willing to trade in exchange for these warrior code; then, work on writing was begun.
Knowing that the English would have to be forcefully persuaded to join the Viking empire sooner rather than later, Trondheim built another warrior unit after the scouts. King Merchant knew that the lands to the South of Trondheim had to be settled before the English got there; hence, he abandoned plans to build a great granary and built a barracks instead. Once the population of Trondheim had grown enough, a settler would be sent forth to claim the lands to the south. The city of Bergen, in the meantime, contributed a worker to improve the Viking lands and then another warrior to protect the forthcoming settler from Trondheim. On his dying bed, King Merchant ordered the construction of another barracks at Bergen to produce archer units to take out the English - he was, however, not confident his successor would not veto.
This was the lay of the land at the end of the reign of Merchant:
King Merchant's plans for the future appear to have encompasssed proceeding to build enough archers to take over England. Before this happened, though, it would probably be necessary to trade for Bronze working to get a suitable prebuild for the 2 TGLs (library and lighthouse). He does not intend to rule from beyond the grave though, and any of his plans are subject to veto from his successors. The scout next to the English border might be used to slow down the advance of any English settlers northward until the glorious Vikings can claim the land to the south of Trondheim.
The save
P.S. I don't normally write in-character reports. Unfortunately, my computer crashed along with the notes I had taken - so, I was left with no choice
I suspect I have played better openings than this one though. It's a pity we're on the same island as the English; having someone near was evident because of the presence of the 2 luxes. I did not figure they would be so close, though, and this cost me the hut south of Trondheim. The English are now ahead by bronze working and the wheel. We don't really need either of them yet, though. Our scouts can keep away the FOW to prevent barbs from appearing and we should be able to take out the English with archers. That's why I chose to beeline to lit and mapmaking. Also, it makes sense for us to produce archers as they upgrade to berserks.
We are the Vikings, and aim to conquer the world before 1500 AD. All other victory conditions are on the table, except for domination.
This thread is for the European team.
Current turn order
1 Jack Merchant
2 Aggie
3 Datsekkar
4 Lt. 'Killer' M.
5 Stapel
Around, the year 4000 BC, the Viking people emerged from the
shadows of history and decided to make the world theirs. It was claimed by the mystics that if they achieved this before the year 1500 AD, they would gain access to Valhalla. If not, Götterdammerung would occur. This sounded scary to the Vikings, and when a young warrior known as Jack Merchant rose up and promised to lead them to Valhalla, his people followed.
These are the tales of his reign, for he passed away long before his goal had been accomplished, his brain permanently damaged by the lavish presence of the pungent weed around the Viking lands.
These were the Viking lands at the dawn of history:
Knowing that the sea held great promise for the Viking people, King Merchant directed his people to the Northeast to found a great city there, after messages from the scouts had determined that was by far the best place. His scouts also noted the presence of wines to the southwest.
As Trondheim was built, the scouts discovered a closeby tribe who gladly agreed to join the Viking quest for world conquest. These Phoenician settlers founded a great city close to Trondheim after extensive consultations at the court, and started work on a warrior unit to protect the citizenry, while Trondheim itself sent forth another scout. The Viking scientists, meanwhile, had started work on the Alphabet, a tool required for writing, literature and the making of maps. All of these were necessary as the Viking people had famously bad memories owing to the odours of the incense and the imbibing of the wines close by, and thus could not orally transmit their traditions.
Very soon after, unpleasant news reached the court of King Merchant: another advanced civilization was close by ! These people, the English, already had discovered the Alphabet, and were initially unwilling to trade it. Only after Viking scouts had met people who taught them the secrets of ceremonial burial were the English willing to trade in exchange for these warrior code; then, work on writing was begun.
Knowing that the English would have to be forcefully persuaded to join the Viking empire sooner rather than later, Trondheim built another warrior unit after the scouts. King Merchant knew that the lands to the South of Trondheim had to be settled before the English got there; hence, he abandoned plans to build a great granary and built a barracks instead. Once the population of Trondheim had grown enough, a settler would be sent forth to claim the lands to the south. The city of Bergen, in the meantime, contributed a worker to improve the Viking lands and then another warrior to protect the forthcoming settler from Trondheim. On his dying bed, King Merchant ordered the construction of another barracks at Bergen to produce archer units to take out the English - he was, however, not confident his successor would not veto.
This was the lay of the land at the end of the reign of Merchant:
King Merchant's plans for the future appear to have encompasssed proceeding to build enough archers to take over England. Before this happened, though, it would probably be necessary to trade for Bronze working to get a suitable prebuild for the 2 TGLs (library and lighthouse). He does not intend to rule from beyond the grave though, and any of his plans are subject to veto from his successors. The scout next to the English border might be used to slow down the advance of any English settlers northward until the glorious Vikings can claim the land to the south of Trondheim.
The save
P.S. I don't normally write in-character reports. Unfortunately, my computer crashed along with the notes I had taken - so, I was left with no choice
I suspect I have played better openings than this one though. It's a pity we're on the same island as the English; having someone near was evident because of the presence of the 2 luxes. I did not figure they would be so close, though, and this cost me the hut south of Trondheim. The English are now ahead by bronze working and the wheel. We don't really need either of them yet, though. Our scouts can keep away the FOW to prevent barbs from appearing and we should be able to take out the English with archers. That's why I chose to beeline to lit and mapmaking. Also, it makes sense for us to produce archers as they upgrade to berserks.
Not used to a whale looking like that
Anyhow - it's your shot - good luck!
