Game of Polities (Interactive AAR)

[dot80]

Welcome to Game of Polities! An interactive after action report in the same vein of Government and Politics and Children of the Emperor, you will lead a group of followers to gain control of the levers of power, and steer our civilization to greatness.

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Rules
The game will always have in place a set of base rules. These will remain unchanged as the game progresses. Based on the in-game government type we have, there will also be a set of rules which dictate how decisions are made, and what roles exist in the government for players to fill.

Spoiler Rules :

Current Rules:
Base Rules

For this update we will go with the proposal that has the most supporters for each of the decisions. I will make any decisions without a proposal. In the event of ties I will use a virtual coin toss.

Available Governments
Chiefdom

Player List
dot80
Hamilton321

Current Government
Type: Prehistory
Leaders: None
Founded: T10

Spoiler Note from the GM :

I am excited to launch Game of Polities! For those of you who have not had a chance to play an IAAR on CivFanatics, I hope recreate an experience that peaked in the Civ V Stories and Let’s Plays forum. These games were very popular and long running. They took a few forms. Governments and Politics was the ultimate story-driven roleplay game run by Civleader. Children of the Emperor was an extremely popular stats and rng-based forum game run by Yahzuk. Realpolitik was a fantastic democracy-simulation game started on this forum by Lighthearter, and reimagined in multiple forms by many GMs. It is in the spirit of these that I have created this game.

For those of you who have played IAARs in the past, I welcome you back! I hope to reignite a community, and bring back some of the magic that made these games so fun in the past. Please feel free to offer your feedback on game mechanics, and propose changes that might make the game more fun from your past experiences. One notable departure from past games I’ve played is that I will be participating as a player in this game. (I think Yahzuk may have done this as well). Hopefully this will make things more interesting, and keep the game going longer! Let’s keep the game going until we make it to a victory!

 

[Hamilton321]

I would be interested in this if there are enough people who would be willing to play.

 

[dot80]

Hey Hamilton! Glad to hear someone is interested. Please invite any friends you think may also be interested.

Once we get to 5 people we can start the game!

 

[dot80]

Last call. Would still like to get this going!

 

[twinfacer]

Never plays IAAR's but I will like to try it out. Sign me in =)

 

[TMS2224]

If it’s still an option, I’m down. I remember GaP fondly

 

[dot80]

Glad to see there is some more interest! I am definitely still interested in this idea if we can get a group together.

Assuming Hamilton321 is still interested, that gives us 4/5.

 

[Shaleghi]

Well since you only need one more, count me in. I played lots of civ but not this way before

 

[dot80]

Hello Shaleghi! Glad to see there are a few that are still interested in this type of forum game. With you that would make five of us, but now I’m not sure the others are still around an interested. I will reach out to everybody via private messge. If I get affirmative responses back then we can start the game

 

[junctureengraving]

Are you guys done? Is there any chance to join you in the game and I would be glad if I can join you.

 

[dot80]

T10 Update: New Beginnings

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Spoiler Update from the GM :

Hello everyone! I recently finished something that was draining all of my free time (done with my MS!). I really would like to get back into a forum game here at Civfanatics. Rather than set a quota and have enough people randomly express interest at different times and never actually getting started, I've decided I'm going to take the opposite approach. I'm going to go ahead and get started and people can join as they choose. Until then it will just be a normal AAR. So let's get going!

This update will close 12/29/2019 at 10:00 PM Pacific Time.

Hail Chieftains! Welcome to the first High Tribal Council of Phoenicia. I am Doteiti These past years we have been roaming these lands without regard for one another. No more. It is high time we work together as one to achieve more than what we can achieve apart, to build what we cannot build alone, and to fight united against those who would separate and destroy us. Thus, let us meet here every 10 years to decide on the issues of the day, to hash out our differences, and unite the quarreling tribes. Please now, feast and be merry, as you listen to the events of these past years.

T10 After Action Report

Our people have emerged from the darkness of prehistory. We find ourselves now at the precipice of something different, something great. The past years we have spent strengthening and exploring. At home we have been tinkering with the use of clay in cooking and storing food, though we are still a few years off from perfecting the method. We have also been working to train up a new type of warrior, one who fights not with a club, but by pelting his enemy with stones. This will be completed in two year's time. At which point we will have a vast army at our disposal.

Abroad we have made much progress. Through early exploration we have discovered rival tribes, and recruited their numbers to swell our own scouting parties. As of year 10 we have not one, but two scouting parties at our disposal to uncover the secrets of the vast expanse beyond. These early efforts indeed have paid off. We have discovered a neighboring people of Cahokia. A peaceful, mercantile people, though they have greater number of souls in their ranks than ourselves, they will not be a threat to us. Their character is not like ourselves, and they do not have the same drive to expand and grow as we do. Nevertheless, they have been generous to us. Our good relations has earned us a seat at their table, and our envoy has been able to secure a deal which will yield us wealth each year in Tyre.

Besides Cahokia to the north, we have also discovered more about our own geography here in the south. We are immediately bordered by the Bay of Beirut to the west, and the inland Sea of Galilee to the east. Further east and south it seems we are surrounded on all sides by ocean. Our little corner of the world explored, it seems the only way forward for our scouts is north.

We must now decide is what is to be done until the next meeting in year 20. Here are the issues that face our people:

• What shall be our course of research?
• What shall be our course of production in Tyre?
• What shall be our course of civics?
• Should we purchase anything with our treasury?
• Should we change the orders of any of our units?
• What orders shall we give the completed sligner unit?
• How should we react to other peoples as we discover them?
• Do any changes/additions need to be made to the After Action Report?

Spoiler Rules Update :

For this update we will go with the proposal that has the most supporters for each of the decisions. I will make any decisions without a proposal. In the event of ties I will use a virtual coin toss.

As described in the base rules in the first post, the government will dramatically affect how the forum game is ran. As Chiefdom is the government type we start the game with, these rules will go into effect officially starting on T20.

Here is the Chiefdom Government ruleset.

Players are encouraged to read the rules and provide back comments on anything that seems unbalanced. If we have 2/3 approval (rounding up when needed) from all registered players, I will make changes. Changes can be made at any point as long as we enough support to make the change.

I will post the rules for Autocracy, Oligarchy, and Classical Republic at some point between T20 and T30.

 

[Hamilton321]

Okay, I read the rules, and will try to follow them the way I understand them.
All glory be to Asherah!
I move my tribe to the production tile to the northwest of Tyre to the 2 food 3 shield tile, then to the northeast to the 3 food tile.
To gain technological superiority over other peoples, Phoenicia should research writing once we are done with pottery.
Great powers do not sit skulking in a single village, we should found a colony(build a settler) once the slinger is done.
There is no need to spend our national treasure currently.
Other peoples should be viewed as markets for our goods.
All glory be to Asherah!

 

[dot80]

Welcome Hamilton! I am glad you have attended this historic uniting of the tribes. I will have our historian add your name to our account of the tribes of Phoenicia. I thank you for your input on these important matters. I dare say I am inclined to agree with you on most fronts, but I will reserve expressing my own opinions until we have heard from more.

Spoiler OOC :

Thanks for joining Hamilton! I hope I have not made the rules too confusing. My goal is to keep things relatively simple at first, but add to things as we get going and have more complicated government types.

For this turnset we won't be actually using any rules. We will just make decisions based on what gets the most votes. Starting in the next turnset we will be using the Chiefdom rules. I will add a map with numbered tiles in the next round so that it will be easier for everyone to move their tribes. Let me know if anything doesn't make sense! Really glad to have you on board

Also, made some minor updates to the first post and the T10 update post to add some clarity to things.

 

[dot80]

T10 Update: New Beginnings (Closed)

Thank you chieftains for your words. Before our orders are finalized, I would like to express my own opinions regarding the decisions before us.

As we complete our understanding of pottery, I think it only right that we learn how to better record and pass knowledge amongst our people. We are a curious people, and even before time immemorial we have had the beginnings of a record keeping system. This, Hamilton has also said.

I will also concur with Hamilton on the need to expand our influence. One hub for congregating will not do. We must always be looking to expand our borders, and with it our might and our wealth.

For our civic development, we should begin to think about how to conduct ourselves when among foreign people. We have already met one foreign nation, and doubtless there will be more.

For the new slinger band we should keep them close to Tyre for now.

For new peoples we should welcome them with open arms, and reap whatever benefits we can from our relationship with them. Thus far this strategy has netted us much in the way of wealth

Spoiler OOC :

What shall be our course of research? We start with writing eureka, so lets use it to our advantage.
What shall be our course of production in Tyre? My vote is also for a settler. I didn't mean to have so many scouts/units so quickly in the first place. It also looks like we have a pretty defensible little peninsula.
What shall be our course of civics? Foreign Trade for Mysticism.
Should we purchase anything with our treasury? Nothing.
Should we change the orders of any of our units? Nope.
What orders shall we give the completed sligner unit? Fortify.
How should we react to other peoples as we discover them? Friendly. Invite to our capital, accept delegations.
Do any changes/additions need to be made to the After Action Report? Going to be adding a few things. Namely, I’ll be adding a numbered strategic map so we can submit movement orders for our tribes.

Taking my own votes into account, the result of the the first High Tribal Council of Phoenicia are as follows:

• What shall be our course of research? Writing
• What shall be our course of production in Tyre? Settler
• What shall be our course of civics? Foreign Trade
• Should we purchase anything with our treasury? No
• Should we change the orders of any of our units? No
• What orders shall we give the completed slinger unit? Fortify
• How should we react to other peoples as we discover them? Friendly
• Do any changes/additions need to be made to the After Action Report? Adding a numbered strategic map.

With that, all the important decisions of the day have been made. Please elders, return to your tribes. Tell them of the events of the day. Until we next meet.

 

[dot80]

T16 - Struggle for High Chieftain

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Welcome Chieftains to the second High Tribal Council of Phoenicia. This meeting is unexpected indeed, but what are we if not flexible? Events are transpiring quickly, and as we learn to plan better for such eventualities, these impromptu meetings will be a thing of the past. However, today we must come together again and make the important decisions of the day. To compensate for our early council this turn, we will delay next meeting until T30, barring anything significant requiring the full council’s attention in the intervening time.

T16 After Action Report

These short years have been eventful to say the least. We have met two additional trading partners and have welcomed them as such. From Yerevan we are receiving the wisdom of the gods, inspiring faith in our capital encampment. From Bologna we are receiving the wisdom of the world, inspiring greater scientific inquiry. We have also met a fearless new enemy. Despite attempts to befriend them as we have the other peoples we have encountered, these men are brutish and bloodthirsty. They want only to steal our women and slaughter our children. We must be wary of these men.

In Tyre we completed production of our Slinger and, after a brief hiatus constructing the foundations of a granary, have begun forming a settling party. At the same time we have perfected use of clay in cooking, and begun researching a system for recording our thoughts in a way that can be preserved for generations. Despite this progress, food has become scarce in Tyre, and births have fallen to the point that they only just barely make up for those that die.

Finally, we have finished outlining the code of laws that shall govern the tribes. This common code will allow us to hold each other accountable to the same set of rules. This breakthrough has opened up the opportunity for us to reconsider how we want our society to function. This we as a body must consider, as it will greatly affect how we interact with one another for the foreseeable future.

With this update, I put forth the decisions that need to be made. Bear in mind that we must make the decisions to last us until T30!

• Which policies should we select for our government?
• What shall be our course of research? Our current path is Writing, and will take us to T17
• What shall be our course of production in Tyre? Our current path is Settler, and will take us to T25.
• What shall be our course of civics? Our current path is Foreign Trade, and will take us to T40.
• Should we purchase anything with our treasury?
• Should we change the orders of any of our units?
• What orders shall we give the completed settler unit?
• How should we react to other peoples as we discover them?
• Do any changes/additions need to be made to the After Action Report?
• Do any changes need to be made to the tile numbering system?
• Should we meet earlier than T30?

My final word will be about the years to come. We have already seen the tribes beginning to vie with one another to recruit new members and influence the course of our civilization. I fear coming together and coming to consensus has reached its end with this meeting. The tribes are growing too independent from one another, too different. Large tribes no longer wish to be beholden to small tribes. As such, this will be the last High Tribal Council of Phonecia. When we meet next, it will be as a tribe assembled under the supreme authority of the High Chieftain.

Spoiler Note from the GM :

Hello! As you may have guessed, I forgot to have us vote on which policy cards to select for our government. I think this is fine, as it gives me the chance to do an update earlier using the Chiefdom rules. Each of the cards will have an effect on the rules as well, so please take this into consideration when choosing a card.

The Chiefdom rules can be found here. For this update we will have to go with voting again, as there is not a way to differentiate ourselves to assign government roles.

I have added a numbered map to the AAR. The system is based on cities in our civilization. So the city tile itself is a two letter abbreviation of the city name. The first ring around the city is the A ring, and numbered starting with the tile directly to the right of the city center. The second ring around the city is the B ring, and number starting with the tile two tiles to the right of the city center. And so on. The tiles will be numbered for the city they are apart of in the citizen screen. So if a tile is changed between cities, the number will change with it. If a new city is added that will change the numbering as well.

Update 12/31/2019: I added stats and a leaderboard to the AAR.

Orders for this update are due by Sunday at midnight, 1/5/2019.

As mentioned previously, I will post the rules related to the next 3 available government types between this update and the next.

Spoiler Rules Update :

I added an action to the Chiefdom rules for recruiting available followers.

I added the councilor role to the Chiefdom rules.

I added a policy inventory to the Chiefdom rules. This will detail what the different policy cards will change about the government.

The Chiefdom rules can be found here.

 

[Shaleghi]

Hail fellow Chieftains, this is me Chieftain Sha-leg-Hi ! My our glorious Phoenician civilization prosper into eternity. Since we have not discovered writing/reading the Chiefdom rules when a bit over my head but I will learn as we go along.

Which policies should we select for our government?

Military Policy I vote for Survey: Because we have two active scouts and no barb camps close to us. Scouts should not be on auto explore these guys are to young to wander by them selves. Lets manage them directly with smoke signals and pigeon msg.

Economic Policy: I vote for Urban planning because none of us Chieftains is a God and we are being worshiped by Yerevan. (God of the Sea can be our pantheon, we are Phoenicia.)

What shall be our course of research? Our current path is Writing, and will take us to T17

I propose that we change to Astrology, because having a religion is great, and it brings us closer to our unique harbor. Our Holy site could be on TYB6 next to the forest. The next research i am thinking to see where horses are.

What shall be our course of production in Tyre? Our current path is Settler, and will take us to T25.

Getting a group of people ready to settle more land is the way forward.

What shall be our course of civics? Our current path is Foreign Trade, and will take us to T40.

With city states just north of us starting a foreign trade route would be good for our gold.

Should we purchase anything with our treasury?

YES YES YES,, we need more food !! This is my highest priority to buy the swamp to the north. Our people can make frog stew.

Should we change the orders of any of our units?

Off cause soldiers cannot sleep in the capital. The slinger can go east to do some fog busting (Preventing the barb from spawning) and the warrior to the north.
South Scout move west away from the barb camp and North Scout go north-west around the mountains.

What orders shall we give the completed settler unit?

I am not sure fellow Chieftains.... The river just west of Bologna? or the north from our capital on the coast ?

How should we react to other peoples as we discover them?

Make friends we need to build a few cities first before we think of anything else.

Do any changes/additions need to be made to the After Action Report?

Screen shot to see our envoys to city states. High quality world map picture to see other lux and strategic resources.

Do any changes need to be made to the tile numbering system? No it is fine by me.

Should we meet earlier than T30? No unless we need to vote on a pantheon. (Unless we all agree on God of the Sea already)

 

[Shaleghi]

What difficult level are we playing on ?
Can you upload a youtube video of our game ?

We should play towards the bonuses of our civ. Get gov-plaza soon and sea techs to explore settling space.

 

[dot80]

Welcome Sha-leg-Hi! I am happy to meet you. You are well-spoken, and I find I agree with you on many fronts, particularly about buying a the swamp to the north. As before, I'll reserve my own input until a few more have chose to speak.

In the mean time I'd like to submit my movement orders:

• Migration Path: The Doteiti tribe will take the path south and around the Sea of Galilee, following the coast north up and back around. Map of migration path. (TYA7, TYB12, TYC18, TYC19, TYC1, TYD2, TYE3, TYD3, TYC3, TYB3, TYb4, TYA3, TYA4, TY). This circuit will be followed again once completed.

Spoiler OOC :

Welcome Shaleghi! Glad to have a third person. I'm sorry to hear the rules were a bit confusing. That was not at all my intention. Please feel free to post any questions you have, or let me know which parts are confusing.

We are playing on prince.

I'll see what I can do about posting videos of the game. I can see how it would make it easier to follow along with what happens.

Please note that I updated the AAR to include a leaderboard and stats.

 

[dot80]

Hey everyone! Just a reminder orders are due by Sunday night.