being a peaceful builder

[levi Limestone]

Which is the best Civ to be for players who like to be peaceful builders? Showing my partner how to play Civ III, I watched her over a game. She insisted on not building armies or getting into wars but developing cites. She won a game on chieftain level selectively giving in to others demands without giving up cities & without ever seeing a war declared. Is that exceptional? (a game without wars by anybody, as far as I could see).?

 

[del62]

It is possible, but I find having military is the best way for peace, deterrence effect.

 

[Optional]

The AI's bonuses go up with the level - expecially build bonuses; how much shields it takes to build a unit or improvement - but on Chieftain it's the human player that gets the bonus.
So on Chieftain the AI's will remain weaker, and a civ that is weak is less likely to declare war.
Expect the AI to become more aggressive as you go up the levels, but even on higher levels it is still quite doable to play a largely peaceful game.

For a builder game a Scientific or Religious civ would be a logical choice, as they have build bonuses for scientific and religious buildings respectively. Agricultural is good for developing towns a bit quicker in general.
Just play with any civ you like, though, even if some traits help out more than others.

Island maps are in general more peaceful than pangaea.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

One of the variables for the AI civs is aggression, as long as the more aggressive civs have an outlet for their aggression, the other AI civs hopefully, its perfectly reasonable to play a game never entering a war.

I'm sure it could be done with any civ. Don't break any deals or agreements and look for 'renogotiate' before conceding to all demands.

 

[Xeer]

A while back I won a demigod game as Spain without ever being at war, so it's possible even on the higher levels.
I didn't even start out planning on a peaceful game, but my starting position and the nearby AIs were such that I couldn't get a decent offensive military together. I ended up beating everyone to fission, building the UN, and winning the election in a landslide.

 

[King of Anshan]

I sometimes make attempts to a game in peace, but somehow the AI always attacks me, even when gracious and with an RoP. (Cheating little basterd!)

And about the civ of choice, that would proabbly be Babylon (scientific/religous) because of all the cheap cultural buildings or Greece/Korea (scientific/commercial) for a greater quantity of cheap buildings (one imp. more). The Zulu have no cheap buildings except barracks and so will be ofcourse less suited.

 

[CKS]

I like to play peacefully, but I usually end up neglecting my military too much and getting invaded. Playing on continents with a relatively empty world can give you a continent of your own and a peaceful game in practice.

For non-military victories I like:
The Byzantines - scientific & seafaring, starts with alphabet so it is easy to get to philosophy first, cheap libraries and harbors, dromons can protect you from sea invasions.
Babylon - religious & scientific, used to be my favorite for culture, but I rarely use them now.
Sumeria - scientific & agricultural, rexing is easy, leading to large empires that can research really fast.
Korea - scientific & commercial, designed for lots of commerce. I have a totally peculiar bias for Korea and against Greece, and I don't know why.

 

[Ataxerxes]

Which is the best Civ to be for players who like to be peaceful builders? Showing my partner how to play Civ III, I watched her over a game. She insisted on not building armies or getting into wars but developing cites. She won a game on chieftain level selectively giving in to others demands without giving up cities & without ever seeing a war declared. Is that exceptional? (a game without wars by anybody, as far as I could see).?

On Chieftain, no that's not exceptional, unless you had aggression level up to the maximum. The AI simply doesn't build or research fast enough to ever consider you a safe target. A large part of the power ranking is potential power - production capacity and military technologies available. Also, you'll have so many cities in relation to the AI they'll be terrified.

Even at Warlord, this becomes more unusual. Somebody won't like your government type, color of your hair, etc. It can still happen if the aggression level is low. Tip: The AI pays more attention to offensive units than defensive units when analyzing your power. 10 Archers worry the AI more than 10 Spearmen, for example. Also, if you have a larger military (I don't want to say army, that means something else) the AI will be intimidated enough not to attack.

Thats said, I often find the best way to get resources is to kill for them. Also, land gets filled up faster even at Warlord so war becomes a good way to get more cities.

Another way to avoid war - Never give an ROP if you have an undefended city. The AI just can't resist ROP-Raping you, almost regardless of power differential.

 

[Takhisis]

For beginners I'd suggest any civ with a strong and/or cheap early defensive unit like Greece, Sumeria or Carthage…

 

[Aegis]

The AI will bully you by demanding resources/lux/tribute/techs and/or invade unless you have a sizable military, so it is important to not neglect the numbers of your troops. You are allowed a set number of maintenance-free troops (dependent upon the number/size of your cities), so she might as well build up to that limit at the least. As a bonus in non-republic/democratic governments, garrisoned troops help to keep citizens content.

It is important to note that the AI values offensive units more than defensive units when evaluating the strength of a military, so you can get away with building fewer units by building offensive ones. It may seem counter-intuitive, but offensive units are actually better at defending your lands because they can actually kill invaders instead of relying upon them to kill themselves on your defensive units. Typically invaders will simply bypass defenders and just pillage elsewhere.

Typical builder strategies make use of Civs with Scientific or Religious traits for the cheaper buildings, so any Civ with one of those traits.

 

[timerover51]

Which is the best Civ to be for players who like to be peaceful builders? Showing my partner how to play Civ III, I watched her over a game. She insisted on not building armies or getting into wars but developing cites. She won a game on chieftain level selectively giving in to others demands without giving up cities & without ever seeing a war declared. Is that exceptional? (a game without wars by anybody, as far as I could see).?

Probably the best way to get a game like that is go to the editor, and generate a huge+ map, say 200 X 200 or larger, with the archipelago setting, with at least 16 possible civilizations, and then save the map as something like MyPeacefulGame. Then start the game up and hit the Contents button to load your new game. When the screen comes up to choose a civilization, make your choice, and the reduce the number of possible other civilizations to 4 to 6. By doing that, you achieve three things.

First, because of the large map and limited number of opponents, you have a lot longer time, normally, until you encounter the AI. Secondly, the map is set for 16 opponents, so you will have the strategic resources for 16, but with a lot fewer players, you will have a lower likelyhood of having to fight over resources. Lastly, since the AI civilizations are likely going to be on other land masses, they will have a much harder time going to war with you. On a 362 X 362 map, the largest possible, you might not encounter the AI at all unless you go looking for the other civilizations. On a map like that, the Greeks or the Byzantines, both Scientific, would be good choices.

 

[Ataxerxes]

Probably the best way to get a game like that is go to the editor, and generate a huge+ map, say 200 X 200 or larger, with the archipelago setting, with at least 16 possible civilizations, and then save the map as something like MyPeacefulGame. Then start the game up and hit the Contents button to load your new game. When the screen comes up to choose a civilization, make your choice, and the reduce the number of possible other civilizations to 4 to 6. By doing that, you achieve three
things. First, because of the large map and limited number of opponents, you have a lot longer time, normally, until you encounter the AI. Secondly, the map is set for 16 opponents, so you will have the strategic resources for 16, but will a lot fewer players, you will have a lower likelyhood of having to fight over resources. Lastly, since the AI civilizations are likely going to be on other land masses, they have a much harder time going to war with you. On a 362 X 362 map, the largest possible, you might not encounter the AI at all unless you go looking for the other civilizations. On a map like that, the Greeks or the Byzantines, both Scientific, would be good choices.

These are very good points. You could probably achieve this easier by playing a large map and closing some of the AI spots. This does cut down on the number of wars by quite a bit. Also, avoid Panagea. For intimidating the AI from going to war on a standard map, Persia is a good choice. Immortals are intimidating to the AI (as they should be). And remember to set the aggression to least. If you do a standard map with half the usual number of civs and least aggression you'd probably be all right.

 

[del62]

Establish embassies, have rop agreements and trading with AI should help you play a game in peace,

 

[Takhisis]

As long as you always refuse to join any wars and keep a strong army at all points near your border.

 

[Ataxerxes]

Establish embassies, have rop agreements and trading with AI should help you play a game in peace,

Most of this will help. However, even on lower levels with low aggression ROP is a risk if you have any undefended cities. It's like a narcotic to the AI, ROP plus undefended city means they will take that city even if it's in the middle of your empire. Since I usually use Republic, I never sign ROP.

 

[Raliuven]

Most of this will help. However, even on lower levels with low aggression ROP is a risk if you have any undefended cities. It's like a narcotic to the AI, ROP plus undefended city means they will take that city even if it's in the middle of your empire. Since I usually use Republic, I never sign ROP.

I agree that ROPs are dangerous, though less so before rails. I don't like to keep units stationed in every city to keep the AI honest. However, if you are looking to start a war, leave a worthless city exposed and sign a ROP. The odds are favorable that the AI will eventually take the bait.

Like Ataxerxes, I almost never sign an ROP. It will make the AI 'appear' more grateful towards you, but is a sham. The AI basically has no concern over destroying its reputation and it won't matter how strong you are. If the AI can take the city NOW, that is what matters.

 

[Core Imposter]

I am working on a self imposed ruleset that I have entitled "Ethical Emperor", which requires that the player only war with a just cause and with limited war aims. This ruleset also disables all winning conditions except score. As a result, you play a very long game in peaceful builder mode, but have the constant tension of focusing on security and expansion.

Played on huge maps against 15 civs at demigod level you will be way behind in score and weaker than the various AI through most of the game and you are almost certain to be attacked. Its a turn burning experience.

 

[cwogle]

I played a game in Chieftan where I never built a single military unit. Ok, I built one curraugh for exploration and one galley for transportation, but I never attacked with them. I played the Dutch on an archipalego map. Of course, I had to give in to every demand made against me. The barbarians were a constant pain to my cities. A couple of times an opponent declared war on me and they took every city on whatever island they were on. I made trade agreements with everyone I could, whether they were advantageous or not. I had scads of workers so every new city was immediately producing on improved squares. I constantly showered Germany, my only neighbor on my island, with gifts ("what a pleasant surprise!") and let him have right-of-passage. I concentrated on cultural and scientific improvements and won a cultural victory with the help of three scientific leaders, the most I have ever seen.

My only regret is that I did not choose India. Gandhi would have been an obvious choice for leader.

 

[Richie0]

even if you're playing as a 'builder', you will need to maintain some military force, or else you will get declared upon.

best civs for building large cities are sumeria, greece, korea, babylon, byzantines, france, ottomans.

 

[scratchthepitch]

The AI starts wars with the human on the chieftain level?