Thanks for the opportunity to play in this one. It's gonna be fun!
Ready for Roman
CVN1 750BC-500BC
Courtesy call on Hittites. Mursislis has every first and one second bracket tech, and I'm sure others as research times for all second bracket techs are <10turns
Retask coastal cities to harbors and some other towns to build barracks or granaries instead of temples as we need military and population and gold more than prayers.
Rome switches from settler to temple as prebuild for library, Carnegie if not Bodleian.
A conference with espionage agent Effeleven shows the Romans 10th in literacy so our hopes of getting the Great Lib to be less than slim as nine opponents already have literature. Don't change research path in brave hope we can use Literature as trade bait with Mursilis.
A meeting with his colleague and countryman Effseven is even more disheartening. France has built a last bracket wonder and J D'Arc is wearing a chain mail cap. The Japanese have also finished a last bracket wonder and Toku has new robes.
T1 730BC
Neapolis finishes its barracks and starts a spear, as we won't have enough cash to upgrade warriors. It will go on a spear, archer cycle.
Ravenna finishes its galley and starts a harbor for growth and gold. Galley sails east.
We meet the Koreans.
They are not much further ahead than we are as they lack Writing and have some really nice techs to trade for Writing and Map Making.
Here's the first trade (Bede's rule of horse trading: get the money first)
and the second offer fails:
Will come back at him in four to trade Literature for Math or Mysticism.
Don't need the wheel as horses will be useless in the Hittite rain forests.
T2 710
Galley starts suicide mission and may survive.
Hittites are trekking 1 spear, 2 settlers and 1 sword north. Shift troops around to stop that.
T3 690
Only iron is just outside borders of Neapolis. Worker irrigating plains is interrupted to go build a colony ~nine turns versus 17 with temple build at Neapolis.
Suicidal Sailors sink.
Hittites turn back into verupting volcano! May they crisp.
T4 670
Meet the Arabs.
Risk losing a spear to lava flow but don't want to break the blockade.
Arabs start Great Library
T5 650
Rome opts for Carnegie as Great Library will take 50.
Shut off research to build cash for warrior upgrades and start warriors in all towns with barracks where it won't waste too many shields.
Make this deal with the Koreans.
And this one with Mursilis.
Korea and Hittites lack Math so crank up the research budget to get in 7 and hope for some more deals. Could buy it from Arabs but feeding gpt into the AI research machine is a really bad idea right now.
There are no horses in our part of the island. The Hittites ahve horses in the very southern tip.
T6 630
Hittites start trekking north again. Reform blockade on lava flow.
We meet Egypt
Cleopatra has no interest in trading
Cumae grows and riots, get a tax guy.
Hittites head south again.
T7 610
Found Lutetia on east coast
T8 590
Moving warriors south. Neapolis keeps its tax guy as it doesn't need the shields for 2 turn warriors.
Arabs land settler and spear on NE coast.
No effective way to blockade them
T9 570
Arabs found Khurasan. Might make a more interesting target than the Hitties: weak sea borne counter attacks and more opportunities for extortion.
T10 550
Assembling warriors at Pisae for Hittite Expedition.
Curragh discovers Hittite town on smaller of southern islands. Make a nice homeland for them soon.
I am afraid I committed us to the south when the more interesting opportunity is now in the NE.
I'd go ahead and trade Math to the Hittites for HBR and whatever's in the treasury. My attempt to research Math as trade bait for Korea failed.
Iron will hook up in three (one more turn to finish road on plain, move worker, build colony). And there will be cash in the treasury to upgrade the warriors at Pisae for the assault on the Hittites. They are sending reinforcements to the hills south of Pisae
Cumae is building a library and a worker is lumberjacking to finish the bookshelves. Rest of the workforce is improving the core with mines and roads. There is a cattle herd which could use water at Neapolis to accelerate the growth there.
The northern coast towns are both training workers now that the harbors are done.
Rome Rising
The Towns
The Sheep Await the Wolf
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Roster check
Cuivienen -- take us to war
andvruss
SensOfWthr
Bede -- played
microbe -- swapped with Bede
