A Spiritual Odyssy

[Pindrus]

Nice set WD. Glad to see the trades worked out The calendar trade and peace with Bren are both key. AP is fun too!

I'd go ahead and settle both cities. I marked both during my set, and my vote for the dye town is on the south bank of the river between two dyes.

Narri the trades you outline sound good. Is Liz still Shaka's worst enemy? If so, we shouldn't trade with her. Either way be sure to check worst enemies before opening trade (though we may as well go ahead and trade with Bren's WE).

On the AP: We should work to convert our cities, Washington's, and Asoka's. If we can get OB with Bren and spread Islam to them all, he may be our opponent instead of Shaka. I don't think Bred would vote for either of us in any case. But he is so despised that if we can make the election between the Celts and Byzantines we will be a shoe-in for victory. It would rule out a religious war though and could prompt forced peace. If we control it though we obviously get to choose which votes we want to bring.

I think after the election we are due for 3 regular votes, so I don't think another election will be up for a few turn sets.

 

[narri]

670 AD (Inherited):
Look around a bit.

Open Borders with Washington. Give him clams for free hoping for "years of resources" by next vote.

Sell Hammurabi Rice for 4gpt.

Open borders with Asoka.

All the cities look good.

Turn 1, 685 AD:
Shaka wants Cow for our extra iron. No dice, "buddy".

Nicaea Galley>Temple(5). Galley on way to pick up Settler.

Whip Constantinople.

Turn 2, 700 AD:
Asoka begs for Theology. I comply. Instant +5 pleased.

Constantinople Temple>Missionary(3)
Workers start Plantation on the Dye like there's no tomorrow.

Galley picks up Maoi settler.

Our other galley gets a look at Bulawayo. Anyone want to rethink that backstab ?
Seriously, if you were in Police State, would you make these units??!?



Whip Antioch.

Turn 3, 715 AD:

Antioch Temple>Courthouse(32)

One plantation is done, so we settle the dye spot.

One of the few times GPT goes _up_ rather than down upon settling.

Trade it away to Pericles:


Lit selling to Shaka.


We are only 23 gold short to research CS, so I go back to 100% in hopes that Liz will talk to me again...

Turn 4, 730 AD:

Asoka wants CoL+95 for HBR. Err, no.
I do beg (and get!) 20 gold from him.

Thessalonica Spear>Courthouse(15) <--intended to be whipped right away

Turn 5, 745 AD:
Constantinople Missionary>Axeman(6)
Oh great, I forgot to put specialists back on . Belatedly hire a priest+2 sci in Constantinople. Next GP in 8 (which is the expected time of CS).
Shaka declares peace with Brennus .

The new city (Angora) gets Islam on its own.
Missionary on way to Thessalonica.
Galley is coming back from Maoi to get one worker.

Whip Nicaea.

Turn 6, 760 AD:
Nicaea Temple>Courthouse(11)
I decide to start chopping the forest marked "Irrig" now near Nicomedia, Since I want that courthouse.

Turn 7, 775 AD:
Bren wants corn for Iron. Umm, I'm not _that_ stupid.
Man, people want to give me HBR. This time, Shaka want Currency for HBR+60g. I say no becaue Shaka's econ must be in a terrible state now anyway with so many units.
Hammurabi completes Hanging Gardens.
Islam is forcibly spread in Thessalonica.
I spot an HA escorting a worker in Bren's territory. I station an Axe+Spear on the southernmost mine of Thessaloica to hopefully dissuade mauraders.

Turn 8, 790 AD:
Shaka has a decent navy in bits and pieces with some Triemes around.
A worker has been transported to the island.

Turn 9, 805 AD:
I switch Constantinople's Axeman(1) build to Monastary to save a GPT for a little bit.
A barb city gets captured by Liz. CS in 3, GP in 4.

Hammurabi is worst enemy of Shaka. Not the other way around, yet.

Turn 10, 820 AD:
War trumpets sound...twice. They both involve Brennus. NEITHER INVOLVE US !
Brennus declares on Pericles.
Hammurabi declares on Brennus.
I'm the happiest guy there!

If anybody asks, I will declare on Brennus in a heartbeat. I see his large stack leaving.

Turn 11, 835 AD:
As expected:


Thessalonica got poisoned, so I'm whipping the courthouse.
Whip Nicaea too, as we _are_ at war.

Turn 12, 850 AD:
I finally give in.


CS is in.

Slot in Paper.
Feel free to change Thessalonica and Nicaea's build.
I have NOT changed civics yet, we may want to go to Theocracy as well as Buero.
I have NOT settled Maoi.

 

[Pindrus]

Can't look at the save atm, but one note would be that it would have been preferable to plantation one of the riverside dyes first for extra commerce.

Good to see that Bren is continuing to make enemies across the globe. We should perhaps have refused Hammy's request to join though. It might depend on how long it lasts (and thus how much +diplo we get with Peri & Hammy). Soon we will get favorite civic +'s from hammy too. Can we bribe anyone else into the war too? Maybe Washington? Just remember that we can't really start taking cities until they become Islamic. Perhaps an alternate method to AP ascendancy would be to take cities from Shaka. If we want to stray from the well-worn Lib path, we could head next for Engineering and go on the offensive with Maces + LB's (trade for Feud.) + Treb's. Even a big-ish stack of archers won't hold up long against that, and if he hit Feud and LB's we would still make headway with some Treb losses. Pikes are also necessary for a real counter to Bren's WE's.

By now we've founded most worthwhile cities that we can, and our goal after all is a domination win!

I concur with the Theo + CS switch, but maybe after another turn of whipping if much infra is underway.

I just hope that Bren doesn't swing his stacks back East. We don't really have much to match those elephants.

 

[grandad1982]

The clarion call of trumpets send a rush of blood to the head. Its so hard to refuse!

I think we need to get a couple of missionarys and a SoD ready ASAP so we can grab a couple of border cities. Either that or razer and have a settler ready to resettle.

Will look at the save and comment later.

 

[grandad1982]

Roster
Sirlion - MIA
Grandad1982 - up now
cripp7 - on deck
Pindrus
White Dragon
narri

Turns out I'm up so got it.
If I can't play by tomorrow then I'm going to need a skip so be ready cripp7.

 

[grandad1982]

Ok my thoughts and plans.

So after assesing our forces I might lay off the border raids (except maybe a bit of pillaging near by) unless I see a great oppertunity or the war turns in to an AI land grab.

I'll settle Moai (sp?).

Look to grow are commerce cities (I'll avoid the whip in the low food cities) as we have the top GPT and I want to see that continue.

Build a stables and get some HA ready.

Build a missionary or 2 (Maoi (sp)) and possible Bren grab.

I'm not sure about our next tech. Paper if we want to run on Lib but otherwise I can do bit of Tech trading and get Fued, Con and MC (will cost us all of our trade techs and a little gold). If I invest a bit in Fued before the trading (I'd wait a turn as Bren is about to get Fued) so it will be cheaper. Then switch to Machienary. Thoughts?

If the GP is a GSci then my preference is to Acadamy him in Con if we don't want to start our Lib run. If we want our Lib run then Bulb Philo. If its a GProth shrine Islam.

Didn't look at Civics but Beur and Theo are ok by me. If we go Theo though we need to pursure the Millitary techs and options to make it worth the anarchy IMO.

 

[narri]

Didn't look at Civics but Beur and Theo are ok by me. If we go Theo though we need to pursure the Millitary techs and options to make it worth the anarchy IMO.

Umm, what anarchy? This is a Spiritual Odyssey after all .

On a more serious thought most of the Courthouses have already been built/whipped by me, so the Theo switch is definitely worth the five turns of no +25%/no missionaries. Note that two cities have an almost-built unit in queue (Constantinople and some other city).

Academy that GS if it comes. It dovetails well with Bureaucracy. And we can trade for Philo anyway.

Trading is indicated here, but I really don't want to give CS out, especially to Shaka the archer-builder. Hmm, maybe the Philo bulb works here for trade bait?

Build Moai now, but be prepared to run deficits on it for a while!

Looking ahead, anyone want to Lib Steel again ?

More seriously, MC->Machinery->Eng will certainly help out here as we are actively in war. Lib can wait. Build catapult for some turns, then swap back to OR and whip out some forges!

 

[Pindrus]

With Bren sporting elephants, pillage raids won't get very far or be worth the hammers. Likewise I'm not sure about HA's unless he is sending pillage parties at us that lack elephants. In my mind this war is all about diplo for controlling the AP. Can you even send a missionary to his city during wartime?? I'm not sure I've ever tried but I would guess it wouldn't be able to move into an enemy-occupied square.

I'd probably lean towards an academy if we pull a scientist out of the magic hat. I think our variant will slow the pace of a domination win so it will pay off over a more short-term philo bulb. I can't look at the save now, but I'd trade away anything besides CS pretty freely. Could someone perhaps post the tech screen if its handy?

 

[grandad1982]

Doh! Forgot about our traits. Silly really.

Ok so I'll try to hold on to CS but I might mean less techs can be traded for.

Should be able to get MC as a trade so will go Machinery.

 

[grandad1982]

I'm sorry guys. It turns out I didn't have time to play this evening. I won't have time to play now till sunday or monday. Basically I need a skip.

Cripp7 is up. if you can't get it in 48 then its open to anyone.

 

[cripp7]

Sure, no problem. Academy if a GS is born, all techs (but CS) trade way. I'll look at the save today and put up a ppp in a little while.

 

[cripp7]

Spoiler techs :

ATM the best trade I get is CoL+Cal > Construction with Washington. Currency > 80 to Shaka. Noone will DoW on Bren.

I do think going the MC route is best. Investing a few turn in Feud should help trades, getting a few turns in MC could possibly get CS > MC from Pericles. Going to civics switch to Bureau+Theo.

 

[narri]

Do not give currency to Shaka (especially when only for gold) . I'm thinking a few moves ahead when either Shaka stabs us or we have enough to stab him. All those archers do cost something after all...

Other trades seem fine (though I'm a bit wary to let anyone get closer to maces). Build those catas!

 

[cripp7]

I don't like the other AIs being close to maces either. I'll have to play in the morning. I had to have a motor changed on my chair this morning.

 

[Pindrus]

With Washington & Asoka lacking MC we can tech that pretty quickly and trade it around too. We don't really need any of the AI-held techs imminently. Should be able to get most techs without trading around CS after MC.

 

[cripp7]

Started my turnset but Houston: We have a problem! Bren is bringing forth a stack


Where to go from here? looks like he's going towards Thess, and our stack by Nicaea will take 3t to get to Thess

 

[grandad1982]

Whip a load of Spears ASAP. Move the stack anyway as he might stop to bombard.

Looks like war was a bad idea after all. Just like real life really. Oh for some pikes or a few siege units.

 

[narri]

Oh hell. That will be my fault then .

I see some catas in queue. Whip that one in queue, go to spears. Whip everywhere. And pray Shaka doesn't join in....

That mini stack on the mine retreats to the city right away to get max fortify bonus.

Hell, I authorize you to build a wall (ick!) in whatever city the stack goes for. You get 1 or 2 more turns of freedom with bombard.

 

[cripp7]

Why would it be bad if Shaka goes after Bren? shaka will take col+theo > war with Bren

 

[narri]

I meant Shaka taking the opportunity to backstab us! Two techs for ally isn't worth it, especially as his forces are probably to far to help us.

Good luck.