18 Civs; the Mongol Version

[Mercade]

Great story As per my questions before, your story inspired me to try and take on the world. Something I had never done before as I generally shun large or huge maps. But I've tried using Genghis and so far it's quite interesting, although not quite the same as your game, of course. Everbody takes a different turn at various choices or just dumb luck. Right now I'm facing Cyrus with Saladin, Asoka and Mansa Musa as vassals. Louis offered to become my vassal, but he's just too far and tiny to care. Next time around I'll try one of the European powers, like France, myself.

Btw. the yellow in your signature is barely readable using default forum settings.

 

[MrBullterrier]

Couldn't help, but notice you'll have Liberalism as your next technology. Poor Ialbuk... How will he explain something like that to the Khan?

 

[Pacifist46]

Mercade: The European powers are very fun to play, Europe is resource-heavy and if you wipe out all the others quick, you have a great base. Trouble is, the AI can never do this and it always ends up with Cyrus and Qin being big powers, unless of course you can take one of THEM down early.
And I'll try and find a duller yellow for my sig.
EDIT: This light orange is maybe slightly better.

Bullterrier:
It won't be easy for him! Maybe big emphasis on the free tech might help ...

 

[Kullervo]

Will we be seeing a global war anytime soon?

 

[Pacifist46]

Erm ... dunno. Honestly. I haven't played very far ahead at the moment.
But me and Monty slugging it out in an intercontinental war - how could either of us resist?

 

[All-Danish-Dane]

I have just spent alot of time reading this. (This is my first post, btw)

I noticed that Genghis Khan shouldn't do something because of Honer, which you made Genghis Khan reply to as "Honer, bah" or something along those lines.

Just wanna say Genghis Khan is REALLY a man of honer!! And could you maybe have Kachiun do more stuff in this story? He is Genghis Khan's brother after all.
I love this story and can't wait to read some MORE!!

 

[Pacifist46]

Welcome to the forums All-Danish-Dane!

Thanks for your post! And I will keep your suggestion in mind, this story is for its readers, after all.

 

[danjuno]

Hey, is that a caravel is see zig-zaging its way to North America on the mini-map?

 

[Pacifist46]

It could be ...

 

[Pacifist46]

I'm afraid the update won't be until Thursday at the latest. But it will be done.

 

[Pacifist46]

XI - New Cities and Worlds​

1340AD

After the capture of Persepolis, Genghis reluctantly decided to rest in the city for a while - for one, his siege engines were very worn and needed torsion springs and stone wheels replacing and the like. And the men were exhausted after a battle in the heat of the desert, their strength depleted. The city was an ideal place to bring his army back up to full strength. So Genghis opened a court there temporarily.
And his first visitor was a huge surprise.

ISHAK: Well, like, I built a caravel …
GENGHIS: What the hell’s that?
ISHAK: It’s like, a type of boat. But it can travel into the ocean.
GENGHIS: All boats can travel on the sea, you idiot! That’s what boats do!
ISHAK: No, I mean, they can travel as far away from the coast as they like.
GENGHIS: Ok, I get you now. Explain yourself better in future. So you still haven’t told me who that wacko outside is.
ISHAK: Well, the caravel sailed east, you know, just to see what’s there.
GENGHIS: There is nothing east of Japan. Just the end of the world.
GRIZNAKH: The end of the world?
GENGHIS: Well, yeah. The world can’t go on forever you moron. It’s gotta end somewhere.
IALBUK: So what does that look like, then?
GENGHIS: Erm, dunno, but my bet is there’s just a massive wall which is unpenetrable.
IALBUK: So what’s the other side of the wall?
GENGHIS: Nothing.
IALBUK: Nothing? That doesn’t make sense. There has to be something.
GENGHIS: Well, just empty space. Just a pitch black room of empty space stretching from there to the end of the universe.
IALBUK: So what’s outside that room of empty space?
GENGHIS: Look, I don’t bloody know, alright? I haven’t seen it. It’s just my shrewd guess.
IALBUK: I personally think that the world might be a sphere, and that there is no so called “Wall at the end of the world”.
GENGHIS: Well you’re blatantly wrong, aren’t you? Is the ground beneath us curved? No it is bloody not. It’s flat, you flathead.
ISHAK: Guys, if I could finish! The caravel actually found more land, a whole new world!
GENGHIS: Really? ZOMG! Land! Quick, let’s send some Settlers over there with some military guys to settle the land!
KOLAI: My warriors will no way consent to travel in mere flimsy caravels. Besides, I don’t trust that these things won’t sink.
IALBUK: This reminds me of the Japan war. When you wouldn’t travel in fishing boats over to Japan. God, you military guys are full of self-importance.
KOLAI: Well at least I do something useful in expanding the boundaries of the Empire! The real men’s work, you nancy science types won’t understand.
IALBUK: If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be trying to take on the Empire’s foes with great sticks of wood.
KOLAI: Get lost would we!
ISHAK: Look, we like, can’t even settle that other continent anyway, there’s a massive green empire all over it already.
GENGHIS: Since when have I given a damn about other empires? I’ll just tell their leader to relocate or die.

A strange man wearing a headdress with a skull perched in the centre enters the room.

MONTEZUMA: HAHAHA! Good one! Tell Montezuma to move! You just come and try it! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
GENGHIS: So you are Montezuma? I’m Genghis, your future master. Nice to meet you.
MONTEZUMA: Future master? HAHAHA! That’s so funny because it’s so unrealistic! I mean, not only is it unrealistic for you to conquer me, it’s also unrealistic because I am planning to TAKE OVER THE WORLD! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! And when I do, you will be my pet dog, Genghis, for my amusement. AMUSEMENT! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
GENGHIS: Ha! Have you seen my army, the one you’ll have to beat?
MONTEZUMA: No, why, did you lose it? Must be because it’s so PUNY! HA!
GENGHIS: I haven’t lost it. You must have passed through the camp to get to the city.
MONTEZUMA: Oh, THAT! Yeah, I saw THAT! I thought that was just your personal bodyguard! HAHA! And it’s your whole army!
GENGHIS: What, you thought that was my entire personal bodyguard! You fool! The other 99% of it is coming from Karakorum, it just hasn’t got here yet.
MONTEZUMA: Well my personal bodyguard comprises of a million Jaguar Swordsmen, each armed with a deadly obsidian-edged sword and armoured in the toughest leather armour! And my army, for when I like to go out hunting civilizations, when I get the urge, my army is THREE THOUSAND TIMES the size of that! It covers twenty square leagues!
GENGHIS: Oh yeah? Well my army has to be camped underground because there isn’t enough land in the world for it to fit in! So there!
MONTEZUMA: Fat chance! I’ve never met such a liar! I’m going back to Aztecs. And the next time I come, it will be at the head of my personal bodyguard to WIPE YOU OUT! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Montezuma exits

GENGHIS: Man! I hope that guy’s army is smaller than he says.
IALBUK: I think both of your estimates were somewhat exaggerated, yes. I doubt he has our technology either, from what he was saying.
ISHAK: Like, here’s where Aztecs are on the map.

Ishak unrolls a map, showing both continents

GENGHIS: Bloody hell! That’s MILES! I ain’t going that far!
KOLAI: And my warriors would not consent to such a lengthy journey!
GENGHIS: Bugger the warriors. But I wanna win without having to go over there. That would be an effort!
IALBUK: Well it should be possible without. But don’t rule it out for certain. For now we can concentrate on this continent however.
GENGHIS: Damn straight.

A few more years passed in obscurity before Ialbuk announced his big breakthrough

 

[Pacifist46]

1350AD

IALBUK: My lord, a fantastic breakthrough has been achieved. We are the first to discover the delights of Liberalism!
GENGHIS: First, good. What’s in it?
IALBUK: Well, we can now have things like Free Religion, where our subjects are allowed to worship any god they want, and Free Speech, where our subjects can say anything they like, about the government or anything, and also …

Ialbuk trails off as he sees Genghis giving him a look which says “I’m waiting patiently until you shut up”. And when Genghis is waiting for you to shut up, you shut up quickly, he thought.

GENGHIS: Free SPEECH? What kind of useless idea is that? Stuff is much simpler when I say something and you all obey it! Otherwise we have crappy little arguments about everything. Every little damn thing!
IALBUK: Yes sire. Sorry. Maybe we could …
GENGHIS: NO! I want nothing to do with Free Speech!
IALBUK: How about we adopt Free Speech, but …
GENGHIS: HMM-HMM-HMM-HMM!
IALBUK: But no-ones allowed to disagree with you.
GENGHIS: What? How would that be free?
IALBUK: Erm … well they could still say anything they liked, only as long as you agree with it.
GENGHIS: You know, that might work actually. Glad I thought of it.
IALBUK: I thought of ...
GENGHIS: Are you disagreeing with me Ialbuk?
IALBUK: Of course not sire.
GRIZNAKH: With regard to Free Religion, your lordship is not the most devout of followers anyway, so …
GENGHIS: Yeah, whatever, adopt Free Religion as well if you want. I ain’t bothered. Well this sure was a waste of time.
IALBUK: Not so, sire, because there’s more.
GENGHIS: More of this crap? Jeez Ialbuk, way to go to annoy me.
IALBUK: Actually, this time you will definitely like it.
GENGHIS: I’m sceptical.
IALBUK: Being the first empire to discover this technology, we can also take instant access to another technology for free!
GENGHIS: What? Free tech?
IALBUK: Yes! Take your pick!
GENGHIS: SWEET! Give me some choices!
GRIZNAKH: To start off, there’s Music, the noble art of …
GENGHIS: Get lost, Griznakh. Next!
GRIZNAKH: Divine Right, the religious viewpoint that …
GENGHIS: Did I or did I not just say GET LOST GRIZNAKH! NEXT!
IALBUK: There’s Banking, but the beaker cost for that is very cheap, so not recommended.
GENGHIS: Aha! What are the most expensive options? I want to make the most of this!
KOLAI: Hey! Is there a military one?
IALBUK: There is, Gunpowder, but…
GENGHIS: WOO! Gimme Gunpowder!
IALBUK: It’s pretty cheap as well.
GENGHIS: Damn!
IALBUK: The two other candidates, and the most expensive, are Nationalism and Astronomy.
GENGHIS: Details.
IALBUK: Nationalism - allows access to another civic, and a wonder, plus opens up a range of tech options.
GENGHIS: Didn’t we just change civics?
IALBUK: Indeed.
GENGHIS: And wonders are better captured, military is more efficient use of hammers. This is getting DISAPPOINTING! Astronomy better be good!
IALBUK: I recommend Astronomy actually. It leads to increased trade over the oceans, and a whole load of ships, much stronger than our current fleet. And they can transport military over to Aztecs, if we need to!
GENGHIS: Yes! That sounds useful enough!
GRIZNAKH: Bah! You only like it because you get Observatories Ialbuk!
IALBUK: Oh, and sire? We get to knock down all of those annoying monuments as well. Remember how you said they obstructed the view?
GENGHIS: Well there’s no competition then. ASTRONOMY!

The new technology brought about a marked difference in the life of the Mongols. They were allowed more freedom than they had ever had before. Some hard-line traditionalists argued that the Khan must be going soft to allow such decadent civics. Of course, most of these were promptly locked away for insulting the Khan, and in jail they repented and once more praised the Khan’s tough approach. In the end, everyone was happy.
A few years later, a couple more cities fell, seemingly as a reward for the Khan’s civics liberalisation, some argued. Of course this was rubbish; it was just the Khan’s armies were far tougher than the Persians.

 

[Pacifist46]

1360AD

KOLAI: My lord, we have captured two new cities from the Persians. Not major ones, but still good times.
GENGHIS: Well I’m there for all the major ones, but all cities are good. Where are they?
KOLAI: Up in the tundra, at the northern end of Cyrus’ empire, we took the settlement of Istakhr, and a small army of just 6000 elite troops managed to win a great victory at Zohak, a small city in the central deserts, north of here.
GENGHIS: Excellent, excellent. Let’s face it, we are creaming the Persians in this war. I actually expected better than this.
KOLAI: Oh, and Cyrus sent a message for peace, but I told him you weren’t interested.
GENGHIS: Damn right! I’m not going to let that stuck-up son of a whore off the hook until his army and all his cities are MINE! And then I will let him off a hook - a hook suspending him over a very tall cliff - and let him fall! Hahahaha!
GRIZNAKH: Very witty sire.
GENGHIS: I am witty, yes, thank you Griznakh.
GRIZNAKH: Might I suggest to your lordship that a little, ahem, celebratory feast is in order?
GENGHIS: Not yet, you glutton. Wait until this war is over. We need to ration the supplies.
GRIZNAKH: What, even your lordship’s own meals?
GENGHIS: Don’t be stupid, Griznakh, you know perfectly well I need the extra food for my strenuous efforts. Wars aren’t won on empty stomachs.

A few turns later, news came from the east.

 

[Pacifist46]

1370AD

ISHAK: Yo sire, like, astoundin’ news from my man Oggy like!
GENGHIS: Really? Is this gonna interest me?
ISHAK: Interesting you said that actually sire, cos’ he was like, my news is gonna interest the Khan man, and I was like, no way dude, the Khan keeps his focus on the main events, and he was like, no man this is bangin’, and I was like, it’s gonna need to be, and he was like, it’s well important and that, and I was …
GENGHIS: For god’s sake! Did this pointless argument have an end?
ISHAK: Yeah, it’s cool, we disputed it a few more hours, but then he told me what his news was, and I was like, dude you’ve got a point there, the Khan’s gonna be lovin’ it, and he was like, didn’t I tell you man, so I was like …
GENGHIS: Bloody hell Ishak! I don’t care! Really! Your dialogues with Oggy are more repetitive than a Yelling Yurtheads single!
ISHAK: Oh man, I love that band! “We are the yurtheads, yeah man, we are the yurtheads, yeah man, we are the yurtheads, yeah man, we are the…”
GENGHIS: SHUT UP! They’re awful! I’m really considering telling Ialbuk to research music so we start producing some decent bands! And will you get round to telling me the news before I lose patience and start using your head as a dartboard!
ISHAK: Alright, jeez, we’re stuck in this fly-blown hole until the army recovers, not exactly in a hurry.
GENGHIS: I’ve beheaded people on the spot for comments less insolent than that one. I’m warning you.
ISHAK: Ok. Well basically, a minghaan of knights and a regiment of maces stationed back in the capital got together and they were like “dudes, the Khan’s getting all the glory while we’re sitting on our asses, we should go out and do something so he might be pleased” well I don’t know if those were the exact words they said, but that was the gist. So yeah, they went east and found a barbarian city called Chinook, and so yeah, they took it by themselves, pretty cool achievement I thought. So you have an extra city, my lord.
GENGHIS: FINALLY he tells me. I’m not sure whether it was worth sitting through your ridiculous performance to hear that, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. And by the way Ishak, I’ve decided the army is nearly ready to move towards Pasargardae.

So Genghis mobilised his troops and finally got back on the campaign trail, pushing west to the great Persian city of Pasargardae. Located between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, the ancient city was perhaps the greatest of the Persian population centres, and an incredibly rich centre of commerce. Genghis couldn’t wait to control that magnificent city, but before long a visitor deflected his thoughts away from the new cities and back towards the new continent, the new world.

 

[Pacifist46]

1380AD

STRANGER: Hello! You look like a peaceful guy. I am Roosevelt, president of the American civilization.
GENGHIS: Peaceful, me? I’m the most feared warlord on the Old World!
ROOSEVELT: But your empire is in the New World.
GENGHIS: No, this continent is the Old World.
ROOSEVELT: No it’s not, it’s the New World. We’ve only just discovered it.
GENGHIS: You didn’t bloody discover it, we were here first. We were here way before your sad little tribe ever existed, probably.
IALBUK: Can I just point out that technically, both your arguments are flawed, because both continents were created at the same …
ROOSEVELT and GENGHIS: Shut up!
ROOSEVELT: So, you’re a warlord? I guess, since the only other leader I know is Montezuma, and he’s been battering the crap out of us since we met, that my definition of peaceful is different to yours, just like my definition of Old World.
GENGHIS: It seems that way. Because I have brought … how many is it … three, going on four empires to heel by the sword now. Which is way better than Montezuma, who’s still working on his first.
ROOSEVELT: We gave him a hell of a fight, but his jaguars are endless.
GENGHIS: How many would you say he had? Anywhere near 20 million?
ROOSEVELT: Not that many, chrissake, we’d be long gone by now!
GENGHIS: Ha! So that jumped-up fool was lying, and he is really a weakling!
IALBUK: Don’t forget, you were lying about your underground barracks as well sire.
GENGHIS: Oh yeah. In which case Monty strikes me as a fairly incompetent leader, but not Qin-standard.
ROOSEVELT: Whatever. I’m needed back in the Ol … I mean, over the ocean, so I’m off. I doubt we’ll meet again.

Roosevelt exits

ISHAK: Yo sire, check out da map dat we demanded from him as payment to let him into your yurt.
GENGHIS: You did? You’ve redeemed yourself Ishak. Let’s see.

 

[Pacifist46]

GENGHIS: Ha! That American guy only has one size 1 city left! He’s toast, even to Monty!
GRIZNAKH: I sincerely hope this Montezuma chap will not decide to turn his ambitious glances our way.
GENGHIS: Quit panicking, Griznakh, this is why you ain’t in the army with the real men. We’re more than a match for Monty’s toy soldiers.
IALBUK: Indeed, our forces are far better trained. He controls a horde, it is true, but a horde of undisciplined and poorly equipped warriors.

Catherine enters

CATHERINE: Undiscplined and poorly equipped warriors? Your army is pathetic Genghis, if even you think that about your own troops! Thinking of giving in to the Persians?
GENGHIS: Ha! We weren’t talking about our army.
CATHERINE: Then whose?
GENGHIS: Erm, some crazy guy from a massive empire across the sea.
CATHERINE: That sounds really believable, Genghis. Just as well you don’t need to be a convincing liar to be leader of the Mongols.
GENGHIS: Well it’s actually true, so that shows how little you know. Why are you here?
CATHERINE: To make a deal. I’ve heard your nation’s first band, the Yelling Yurtheads. Frankly, they suck.
ISHAK: No way babe! They’re cool!
GENGHIS: Shut up Ishak, they’re an embarrassment to our empire. So what? I don’t see any cool Russian bands.
CATHERINE: That’s because you haven’t been to Russia in a while, we have some awesome bands like the Novgorod Ninjas, and the Jumpin’ Jews.
GENGHIS: They sound crap.
CATHERINE: No, they sound awesome. Which is why I’m offering to trade you Music plus 105 Gold, for Guilds.
GENGHIS: For Guilds? Ha! No friggin’ way!
CATHERINE: Are you actually saying you have good music here?
GENGHIS: Hell no, our music is crap! But I’d rather have a good army and crap music than the other way around. No way am I letting you have access to Knights!
CATHERINE: Bastard!

Catherine exits

GENGHIS: Stupid woman. She must think I’m a right mug.
GRIZNAKH: She’s not far off, but she hasn’t counted on your stubbornness and suspicious nature to act as saving graces in these situations.
GENGHIS: Enough distractions already. I want to push on.

And so the Mongol army advanced further towards the Persian gulf, their goal not yet in sight. But it would not be long.

To be continued …

 

[Pacifist46]

Three weeks for the next update I'm afraid, because I'm going away for a couple, and where I'm going you cannot take a laptop with you. July 25th it is.

 

[MrBullterrier]

I loved the update, Pacifist46. Great work, and what do you know? Ialbuk actually survived implementing free speech (Sort of...) in the Mongolian Empire! Have a good time in the desert or wherever that place you mentioned is and keep up the good work!

 

[Kullervo]

Wow, Rosy has never done well in my Earth 18 games, but I've never seen him THAT fed...

What's going on with your treasury? I see that you have research at 80%, but your empire is huge... surely you're running a deficit? Either that or all your specialists are merchants. Speaking of which, some advice... build the SoL yourself and then assign your spcialists as merchants or scientists. Almost never fails.

 

[Pacifist46]

Thanks Bullterrier, yep, it's an odd variety of free speech, but it seemed in keeping with the story.
Kullervo, with regard to my treasury I am running a huge deficit at 80%. But plunder cash and cash from city captures keeps my deficit research afloat somewhat ... When I run out I just stick it at 0% for a few turns until I have about 1500 Gold again.
You might have noticed that in the early stages of the game I was running the binary tech rate of always either 0 or 100% to minimse loss of beaker fractions. When I get this dominant though I normally abandon that as unnecessary.