Colonialist Legacies: Histories of the New World | Colonial + Pre-Colonial civs

[Scapegrace]

Curse the fickle heart of the roaming TP.

 

[TPangolin]

That's it, no Walrus for you.

 

[Zantonius Hamm]

Nooo! Anything but the walrus!

 

[Scapegrace]

If you're gonna take away the walruses, I'm gonna give some ideas instead! Um, that's how that works, right? Anyhow, this is a cross-post from the Civ Requests thread, because I did a bit more digging and the Maravi did fight off the Portugooses a few times during their rule, and we need more African Civs. We always need more African Civs. And these guys are really cool!

Spoiler Malawi and Sierra Leone :

Malawi (Kasyombe Kyungu)
Start Bias: Hills
UA: Flames of the Fire
Clearing Forests, Jungles, and Marshes and improving Resources with Mines generates a flat amount of Culture. Gain one free social policy whenever a tech that reveals a Resource is researched.
(NB: this UA works like the production boost from chopping Forests. The list of resources is as follows: Stone, Iron, Coal, Aluminium, Uranium, Copper, Silver, Gold, Gems, and Salt.)
UB: Nyau (replaces Temple)
+2 Faith. +1 Culture from any Resources whose yields are directly increased by a specific Building (e.g. Deer in cities with a Granary, but not Bananas in a city with a University) after said Building is built.
UI: Thangata Enclosure (replaces Pasture)
Takes 25% less time to construct compared to Pastures. Generates +2 Production on Horses and Cattle, +2 Food on Sheep, and +1 Gold on both. However, each one gives +1 Local Unhappiness in the City working it.
---
City List:-
Lilongwe
Manthimba (administrative capital of the Maravi Confederacy)
Blantyre
Mankhamba (religious capital of the MC)
Nthakataka
Zomba
Kasungu
Mzuzu
Nsanje
Dedza
Nkhata Bay
Mzimba
Dowa
Mulanje
Mchinji
Mangochi
Likoma
Ntcheu
Mwanza
Neno
Ntchisi
Rumphi
Ekwendeni
Balaka
Phalombe
Chikwawa
Molere
Chitipa
Chiradzulu
Mwaya
Usisya
Monkey Bay (no, really)
---
Basically, this focuses on the historic nation rather than the modern one, for the fairly understandable reason that modern Malawi's got precisely nothing going for it. The Maravi Confederacy, however, is famous for its widespread use of iron tools before everyone else got them - indeed, the UA name is not only a translation of the Civ name into English, but also a little piece of local legend that says the light of the forges at night was as bright as the sun. I know people like unique units in Civs, but I was hard-pressed to find any information at all about the Maravi Confederacy, so this is what you get. I also tried to get stuff from all the way through the Confederacy's history, so the Nyau is from the nation's cultural high point while the UI is from the beginning of the end, what with it being a kind of indentured serfdom popularized by colonial invaders and the Ioloka.

In case anybody's wondering, and I fully expect you not to, the nyau were secret societies revolving around dance, ancestor worship, stories of the gods, and (I swear I'm not making this up) political satire so elaborate that it makes the Roman comedies on similar subjects look like kids in a playground calling each other big dumb poopyheads. It's cultural and religious, which says Temple replacement to me, and it keeps on getting better until fairly late on. I thought about not including offshore Oil in it, but w/e, it's useful and it makes your sea resource tiles super-good. Like I said above, this Civ is designed to be a cultural powerhouse that goes super-duper wide. Y'all can go Liberty and blob out like nobody's business.

For completeness's sake, here's a full list of Resources that the Nyau affects:-
Wheat, Bananas, and Deer (Granary)
Stone and Marble (Stone Works)
Fish, Pearls, Crab, Whales, and Offshore Oil (Lighthouse & Seaport, and yes, they stack)
Gold and Silver (Mint)
Sheep, Cattle, and Horses (Stable, and this does stack with the UI, GotOS, &c. Pasture resource game 2stronk5me.)
Iron (Forge)
Wine and Incense (Monastery, which you should probs go for as your religious belief if you have even a little bit, since it bumps up your Culture output significantly)
---
So, is this a workable Civ? I'd like to think so, but it might be a little bit too good. I guess it'd depend on how chop-happy you were and how many Mine-improvable Resources you've got kicking around, but hey, if you're on, you're really on.

Now put the walruses back and we don't ever have to speak of this again. =]

-=MAJOR EDIT=-

Since this walrus-related standoff is ongoing and I don't want to double-post, I must escalate matters with another Civ based on a small but fascinating African polity. This one, however, is probably a better fit for CL. Introducing...

Sierra Leone (Sir Milton Margai)
Start Bias: Coastal
UA: Return Ye Ransomed Sinners Home
+1% Growth and Great People generation bonus in the Capital per foreign International Trade Route sent to Cities you own. +5% Faith generation bonus per Trade Route you initiate.
UB: Mende Palisade (replaces Castle)
+7 City Strength, +25 HP. +75% Strength vs. Siege Units. +1 Great Engineer points from Lumber Mills when at peace. Costs twice as much as the Castle it replaces.
UU: Teilaleimui (replaces Rifleman)
Lower Combat Strength than the Rifleman it replaces, but has higher Movement. When at war with a Major Civilization, generates additional Gold and Faith per kill. When at peace, increases Great People generation rate when garrisoned in a City you founded by +10%.
---
"Return ye ransomed sinners home" is a line from a song sung by the freed black colonists under the Cotton Tree in Freetown when they'd finally cleared out the jungle and crap. As far as names go, it was a toss-up between this, "Lioness Mountains", and "Haven of the Windward Shore", but I wanted the Civ to be rather smaller in scope than Malawi with an emphasis on faith, trading, and staying at peace, so this one seemed the most fitting.

The palisade structures of the Sapes came about during the Mani Incursion, a period of invasion spanning two decades. I wanted to use it as the reference point for a UU, but I've done a lot of ranged UUs lately, and besides, it wouldn't be a CL mod without a unique Rifleman. Just kidding, TP. What's fascinating about the palisades, though, is that they actually took root and grew branches! You had this living wall of wood surrounding your village. The best part, though was that it actually worked; reports from British artillery units said that their cannon fire had an alarming tendency to bounce off, hence the deliberate negation of the Volley bonus from Siege units. Plus, it must have been absolutely beautiful.

The Teilaleimui, on the other hand, is the Mende word for the Temne, the dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone. It was generally taken to mean warrior, but transliterated to "ones who opened the town", which sounds too odd to pass up. As an aside, the Temne have a proverb relating to the Mende (who might actually be descended from the aforementioned Mani) that says "A snake bites a Mende, and he will make soup of it". They get along... ish. Anyway, the effects largely come from a desire for synergy with the rest of the Civ, but the historical aspect comes from what is somewhat disparagingly called the Hut Tax War, in which the first seeds of Sierra Leonean nationalism were sown. It's the same old story. The colonies were unfairly taxed by a British regime that could not care less if it tried (and it really did try), the natives rose up, the punishments were draconian, et cetera, et cetera. However, Bai Bureh, the leader of the rebellion, tried to make peace with the British throughout his uprising, hence why the unit gets different bonuses depending on whether or not one is at war.

I'll do a city list later... if this standoff continues. =]

 

[TPangolin]

Look at our current roster, and the back to me, then look at our roster then back to me.

This is me:

I'm happy to create art assets for any of the ideas you come up with - but I'm afraid I can't take on any more civs under the CL title until we release 1-2 more civs.

 

[Scapegrace]

I wasn't being entirely serious, old spot. Feel free to nick any ideas you find interesting/pertinent, of course, but I know you're rather overburdened and I also know my quota of coding abilities is deeply in the red. If I ever figure out how to code XML and Lua competently, well, I'll let you know. Other forms of advance notice for this include rains of blood and porcine flypast. =]

 

[TPangolin]

Still no walruses though.

 

[Scapegrace]

Curse your fickle heart.

 

[TPangolin]

Aaaand further back Greenland goes in the schedule.

 

[Scapegrace]

Curse your progressively more fickle heart. =]

 

[Kuserab]

Well, I mean past a certain point his heart isn't any more fickle. It's the same amount of fickle as before - in fact the longer he maintains one course, for good or ill, the less fickle and more purely stubborn he is. <3

 

[Scapegrace]

But, but he toys with my affections so! My blubbery, betusked affections!

 

[TPangolin]

Greenland cancelled. Go home everyone.

 

[Scapegrace]

But... but...

 

[COF]

But... but...

Why did you post a picture from Mythbusters?

 

[Natan35]

Look at our current roster, and the back to me, then look at our roster then back to me.

This is me:

I'm happy to create art assets for any of the ideas you come up with - but I'm afraid I can't take on any more civs under the CL title until we release 1-2 more civs.

"Cant take any more civs under the CL title" = Brilliant
I saw what you did there...

 

[TPangolin]

You might have to explain what I did, because I have no idea.

Anyway, since we have a solid civ basis for the Gr&#339;nlendingar, let's move onto a civ that's higher up in the production chain - Malaysia!

Just in case you forgot, here are the attributes - but now we have the gift of hindsight. Let's discuss this one to death:

Malaysia as lead by Parameswara

Start Bias: Coastal
Capital: Malacca

UA: Alam Melayu - Every Sea Resource worked by a city increases Naval Unit Production by +%5. Naval units stationed on a Sea Resource increase the base yield of the tile by +1 Food.

UU: Lantaka - Unlike the Galleas it replaces, when the Lantaka is first consturcted, you may choose for it to be a Land or Naval Unit. When a Land Unit, the Lantaka is much weaker - but provides the same yields as a Great Work of Art when garrisoned within a city. When a Naval Unit, the Lantaka gains a Combat Bonus when adjacent to other friendly Naval Units.

UU: Pesilat - Gains a +25% Defensive Bonus and +1 Happiness for the empire when fortified on a Luxury Resource within Malaysian Borders. Unlike the Pikeman which it replaces, the Pesilat can also repair pillaged improvements. Unlocked at Civil Service.

 

[Pouakai]

Malaysia as lead by Parameswara

Capital: Malacca

I'm sorry, what? Malacca and Malaysia are two completely different civs, lumping them together would be like lumping Arabia and Persia together. I think you're better off going one way or the other, not trying to put both together. If you're going to have the civ represent the Malacca Sultanate, call it as such, otherwise call it Malaysia and forget about Malacca altogether.

 

[JFD]

I'm sorry, what? Malacca and Malaysia are two completely different civs, lumping them together would be like lumping Arabia and Persia together. I think you're better off going one way or the other, not trying to put both together. If you're going to have the civ represent the Malacca Sultanate, call it as such, otherwise call it Malaysia and forget about Malacca altogether.

You exaggerate a bit; Malacca is still Malay in culture. However, I have to agree that they should be separated - either take the Firaxian precedent and make Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur or, more appropriately, the Modder's precedent and call the civ Malacca.

 

[Pouakai]

Maybe it would be more like lumping Portugal and Spain together then? Even with the capital at KL, I'm not sure that a Malaccan leader and UU (which I think is Malaccan, though I could be mistaken) is a bit too much of a mix