Divine Intervention II

[TheForestAuro]

"Eldarion..." Hannibal murmured, and shook his head. "Thank you."

------------------------

As he descended the mountainside, he ever persistant advisors were waiting.

"My lord, a coalition of forces have allied against us! Mao, Zara, and Shaka have all declared war on us!"

Spoiler :

"...have they?" Hannibal asked, almost uninterested. "Good for them. Do you need me?"

-----------------------------------

For 58 years the war raged, and any initial Carthaginian losses were quickly recouped as troops surged into China with a vengance. Early into the war, Beijing was sacked and subsequently burned to the ground, resulting in a quick chinese surrender.

But Zara had been prospering as our eyes were turned south, and his cannons and infantry launched a blitz into Elona, laying seige on the city. Although the battle was ultimately a victory for Carthage, it came at a high cost: the death of Elona herself.

The words of Elona would have haunted the God-King in years past - of how the tomb was un-needed, about how she would live with him forever. Chengdu's tomb was indeed put to use. But by now, Hannibal had detached himself from people - he was seeming more and more like a distant God himself, ruling from high above. A push into Ethiopia proved disastrous after a optimistic assault led to a decisive Ethopian Route at Debre Berhan, a full thirteen batallions of marines and infantry falling with minimal losses to Ethiopia.

Shaka was met and defeated in a decisive naval battle in the middle of the Central Ocean, but withdrew from the War as hostilities in their homeland flared up again with Spain and Egypt.

The generals declared peace at the turn of the century.

Spoiler :

-------------------------------------

Hannibal stared over the waters of the Taj Mahal, age-old eyes filled with sorrow, and regret. "Eldarion..." Hannibal murmured. "Runner. Rolo. Dresden. The Sea God. Digit."

A long silence. "Are you but children, playing in the sandbox of this world?" More silence. "Perhaps this is what I have done, though..." No response. There was nobody left to talk to Hannibal.

Spoiler :

The history of Carthage was indeed a rocky one. His thoughts drifted back to the cities of old, and how the whim of the gods had ravaged them. Had it been his fault?

Glorious Mount Runner, once a propsering coastal town was now but a peak and a town just barely above water, after the catastrophic collapse of Aschington. Had that been his fault? The Vulture God had been the one keeping it up...

The Runner's City of Gold, locked by ice and ravaged by desert, now could only barely keep enough food to sustain a settlement there. Had that been his fault? He had defied Maximillus, and perhaps this was his punishment.

And the Desert tear through Rolopolis. He had opened up the god of chaos with his mad persuit of science. He had defied him, too - that punishment was surely incoming, and it would be his fault. He had figured out the answer of the Equation as "42" by studying ancient texts. He and Ramses had collaborated to form the Manhattan project. Every nation with the exception of India had been drawn briefly into the war provoked by Digit. He was the worst kind of god.

"My love, my time is drawing near. You are lucky you have escaped this world; I yearn to join you, but I have one more thing that I need to do." Hannibal leaned down to kiss the edge of the pool, before returning to his car, a cane replacing the sword of long ago.

"Where to?" asked his Driver.

"Take me to the Apollo Building."

 

[digitCruncher]

Got it...

Now to wreck my vengance... you shouldn't have desecrated so much that was sacred to me

Now to see how many things you have done wrong... and how much you will pay.

After I have breakfast, that is.

 

[TheForestAuro]

If I recall correctly, I actually did most of what you asked and only violated the Babylonians. And, on top of that, I'm responsible for most of the war and chaos on the planet, my presence causing everyone to be at war at once

I'd thought you'd be happy!

 

[Krick19]

You know, it's funny to see everything all messed up, but there comes a point where it's just too far from a real game. I liked it when there was some ice, perhaps some desert, a quest or two, and some powerful units. Next game(if there is one) I think there should be some restrictions.

 

[TheForestAuro]

I actually agree, to a certain extent, Krick. I find that those who are more imaginative need not altar too much. It wasn't really challenging to deal with Rolopolis getting knocked down in a desert. Many of the changes of Maximillus were almost pointless and ineffective despite being drastic. The hardest thing I ever had to do was escort a bear up to my cultural barriers.

I have a planned list of additional restrictions for the next one.

Edit: I have to say that I think the two most imaginitive Gods were probably Grant and Dresden in terms of cause-and-effect relationships. I wasn't afraid of Maximillus. I wasn't afraid of defying gods that I knew wouldn't be able to properly punish me. But I knew that I was intrigued when that mountainous barrier rose up to protect Sumeria, and then collapsed when the Vulture God was slain.

In terms of creativity of edits, Lib gets a nod from me for disconnecting me from Zara. It was subtle but incredibly potent.

I also enjoy people who can get into the Story. Eldarion and Digit [yes, Digit] get the nod from this standpoint for working into the story, although Digits edits were crazy. xD

 

[LiberiGlacialis]

I found it was a bad thing for Zara, actually. He lost a small chunk of land, and was forced to settle sub-par (really sub-par) areas just to retain a semi-balance of teching ability.

All you lost was a early/mid game rush target.

 

[TheForestAuro]

Except Zara's not doing bad at all, Liberi. He certainly was doing better than China. Or is that your doing?

Addition: If he had been connected, he would have been rushed, and wouldn't pose a threat now.

 

[digitCruncher]

Sorry about the lack of ... well... anything so far. I had a 90 minute chore that took higher priority than this... I will finish everything so far...

And the 'destruction' of rolopolis, once you get your infrastructure back (You had 60 turns... and you have re-built the plantations and mines!? Surely you could have build some more cottages on that region...) it will actually be better than it was before, simply because you could grow it slightly larger, and have it produce *slightly* more production... you just need to use effort to fix it However, it was actually to weaken the top 3 units. Desert is no worse than ice

I will nerf the "destruction of Babylon" penalty... simply because the barbs won't launch nukes properly (They hit Egypt, not Carthage )... Oh well. Regular units will have to do

I will also increase the effect on the Mathematical Operator quest, simply because you happen to ALREADY HAVE a university, Library, and observatory in all cities I can see

 

[digitCruncher]

The guards first saw the formless ball of fire in the fireplace at 6:00 in the evening. It had been there for 4 hours, however, only then did they realise that there was no wood in the fireplace. Hannibal was called at once.

The fire spoke. Weakly, and frail. It was weaker than some of the gods which had existed for nearly 6000 years... and yet this God had existed merely 60 years! However, although it spoke weakly, it spoke with purpose.

"Hannibal," it said, "there are 'consequences' to your actions. There are 'consequences' to all actions. Every action has an equal and opposite re-action... or 'consequence'. Are you willing to learn your 'consequences'".

Hannibal gave a shallow nod. He heard the inverted comma's everytime the fire said the word consequences... something a mortal being couldn't do, but a God, even one as weak as this, could. And this God seemed to be gasping for breath, pausing between every few words.

"Hannibal. My power is weak. I can do no more, not until the next age. Your insolence has cost me my power, and yet again, for another age, I must be imprisoned by Rolo. But I devoted some of my power into a 'pact', a series of unbreakable conditions, that allow me to modify this world, even when I no longer exist. This pact will now forever hang on the palace table. If you try to rip it off, the pact will reform, forever. You are bound to it, just as I am bound to the pact I made with Rolo. Already, you have activated some of the conditions imposed by the pact."

The fire dimmed, and a small peice of paper emerged from the fire. It was unsinged, and perfect. On it were 7 lines of text.

Spoiler Not for Forest's eyes... I want to find out for himself :

Hannibal read the first line. "Keep the Babylonians alive".

"You failed this condition, and desecrated the temples and buildings that I swore to protect. In the power of this condition, I will prevent all rivers stemming from old Babylon from flowing in, or near, your borders. Your technology of Biology will help you survive this harsh punishment, however. And also, there are still two rivers in your land, and several fresh water lakes. Those will provide food. However, this power has destroyed my grasp on the power of the desert, and rolopolis has been restored to its former glory"

Hannibal gulped, and read the second line. "Keep away from the Babylonian Holy resources"

"You succeeded in this condition. However, the Chinese, in thier greed, did not. They will lose all but the resources that the Babylonians have. All thier resources (except fur, silver, gems, and most calander resources), strategic, or otherwise, lie on the site of old Babylon. They have lost all other resources. Feel glad that you did not fall into that trap"

Hannibal's face was unchanged. This would surely increase the power of Egypt. He read the next line. "Disregard the lies of Rolo". Hannibal looked up at the formless flame. "What?"

"The answer to the equation writ on the ocean floor?"

"Forty-two". Hannibal said, no emotion in his voice. He couldn't... he felt compelleed to say what the fire wished him to.

"Congradulations.", if ever a formless piece of fire could smile, this formless fire did, "The pact says that I am to give you a plethora of learning resources in every city... however I cannot do that... you have done that in your own steam. Instead, to congradulate you, you will recieve an Acadamy (+50% science) in all cities that do not already possess one."

Hannibal smiled. Although this was only a small bonus, it was a needed one. He read the third line. "Find Atlantis, and sacrifice the Prophet there"

The formless fire looked mad, again, something that defies explaination. "You killed my prophet, not for the good of my ancient city, but for your own selfish goals. Now the Egyptians have found the city you were supposed to seek, and they have built it to great power. Someone tried to destroy atlantis, but if you think that the city that survived the Earth itself turning inside out, do you think a few missiles could destroy it fully? No. Now fear the power of my true heirs."

Hannibal looked worried. "Found the manhatten project, a shrine to my power"

"You failed that too! The Egyptians founded it instead. And now... now you must suffer for my power. They have been gifted 3 tactical nuclear weapons, and 1 ICBM, as well as 4 silver resources, and a gems resource. And they have made a shrine to my knowledge as well... A Sheowon (Korean UB, gives +35% science, instead of +25% science)."

"Bonuses?" Hannibal said, looking hopefully at the fire.

"They are bonus 'consequences'. If you were to do everything right... found Atlantis, Build the Manhatten Project, and solve the equation, you would have been gifted 2 Great People, in order to found the 2 Corporations that would most positively benefit your people. If you did everything wrong, failing those quests AND voting for a nuke ban, then you would lose all your troops, except the strongest defender in your cities, although you would still keep all hero units, units gifted by gods, and Great Generals."

The next second he found himself standing, his eyes locked on the last line of text. He couldn't remember anything of the last lines, nor what they meant.

"Maintain the construction of all nuclear weaponry"

"Yes. You lack uranium for nuclear weapons... you must secure them. But that is only a guide for the future, I can do no more. But, verily, whenever a civilisation asks for the world to stop building nuclear weaponry, they will almost certainly have thier scientists riot, torching books, and killing elders. This could cause significant damage to a civilisation's economy, nay, thier future.

Beware, it will be almost impossible to build nuclear weapons, for I have seen the future. But I must go now. And remember to maintain the conditions. The holy land of the Babylonians has been desecrated, and now is no longer holy, allowing anyone to enter. That is your key to success!

I must leave, never to return. Do not try to aid me, for I am beyond saving. Rolo signed a pact, meaning that you must fulfill at least 2 missions to allow me to live... you did only one, so now I must retreat. Like a nuclear explosion, it appears, for but a second, do the work it as meant to do, and then disappears, leaving fallout, a shadow of it's former self. And even that dissappears with time. And so must I."

The fire turned in on itself, and Hannibal swore that he saw, for a second, the fire rotating in 4 dimensions, before it disappeared for good.

Spoiler a bit of explaination. Not for Forests eyes either :

Why the Acadamies, instead of Universities, Libraries, and Observatories? He already had them in every city.

Why the lack of rivers, instead of tactical nukes in subs? The Barbs refused to use the tactical nukes, and got killed in 1 turn. Then, when I tried to use ICBM's, they launched them against Egypt and India!!

Why did I repair rolopolis? The destruction of the river meant that no more improvements were possible, even on floodplains, so I 'repaired it', by replacing desert and floodplains with (worse) grassland and plains. And... no. I will not totally destroy a city, no matter what. I am not that mean

And why won't I do anything else? I have already done enough... changing many things in one turn. That was... naughty of me, but I wanted to see how the game would respond (whether it was a good thing to do many small things, or not). Obviously, if we do this again, its a good guideline to only change 1 thing at a time, because otherwise it gets too boring, or extreme.

 

[LiberiGlacialis]

Except Zara's not doing bad at all, Liberi. He certainly was doing better than China. Or is that your doing?

Addition: If he had been connected, he would have been rushed, and wouldn't pose a threat now.

Wasn't my doing. He was doing pretty good, having that isolation from the rest of the world, but he was a bit backwards, and settled the arrow, of all places. I helped him a bit there, though. :crazyeyes:

I'll remember that trick for the next one, though. Until then...

 

[TheForestAuro]

gggggoooot it.

 

[fizbankovi]

love this thread!

 

[TheForestAuro]

"Today..." began a practiced voice, atop a podium in downtown Carthage "we celebrate the evolution of over six-thousand years of diversity, of culture, and of progress."

A crowd was gathered in Capitol Square, from all walks of Carthaginian life. Nearly thirty-thousand had gathered for this historical event, and all eyes were on the speaker.

"Under President Hannibal, who recently won his sixteenth election, we have been prosperous, comfortable, and victorious in all of our struggles. We have welcomed those in who wished to join us, and we have defeated those who would challenge our way of life, our right to live as we see fit."

A chorus of cheers, applause deafening, sprang up amongst the crowd, and the speaker waited for it to die down before continuing.

But one set of ears wasn't listening. One set of eyes wasn't watching. They were caught in the past. Images flicked before them, of sword, of glory, and of pain. He thought back, way back, to the benevolence of Rolo, and of his own glorious son that had fought back the Lions sent to test their strength

"Today, we have reached not only a milestone in history, but one of gobal importance."

He thought back to all those that had influenced his life over the years.
------------------
Rolo, the god that made the Carthaginians in her infant years and saw fit to never return. Hannibal wondered if this was, in fact, the wisest of gods, who would make one adjustment and let history play itself out. His name had been the one hailed from the beginning, and had left its stamp on modern religion in the guise of Rolorunnerism, the most prevalent religion on the planet.

Glory, indeed, be to Rolo.
--------------------
The Runner, the second of the two deities hailed in the Rolorunnerist doctrine, was the far more active of the two. He had blessed and kept the Carthaginians under his wing, although he was a fair god that kept Carthage on track and always rewarded her for her piety. His palace was, unfortunately, abused for nefarious purposes. But then again, the Runner had aided him in his quest against the vile Sumerians. Hannibal knew that the Runner still watched, and he nodded slightly, knowing that indeed the Runner would catch his appreciation.

Glory be to the Runner.
---------------------
The Evil God of the Sea had been his first Divine Antagonist, but in reflection he had done well for the civilization - he had taught the fledgeling Carthaginians independence, perseverance, and humility. And for that, Hannibal thought, he was grateful. Of sorts.

Spoiler :

Glory be to the Sea God
---------------------
Eldarion, oh, how he had loved Eldarion, the God of Beasts. He had not loved Eldarion because of the animals that the god had blessed him with when the ice had encroached upon his lands. He had not loved Eldarion because of the Fish that had populated his seas when the Vulture God had collapsed, and Ascheington with him.

He had loved Eldarion because he had been the only one who was listening when he had cried for help one day upon the top of Mount Runner, and the only one who understood the pain that he felt as the Immortal Leader of Carthage.

Hannibal himself worshipped Eldarion every day after that.
----------------------
Dresden had tried him, and he had succeeded. He had been one of the few to try him, and Hannibal felt as if it was truely a turning point in his life when he felt the rush of success as the Ursine Manifestation finally returned home. He had taught Hannibal the worth of a hard bicentury's work. But dear lord, Marzipan? What a poor, unfortunate name for a Prophet.

Spoiler :

Dresden works in mysterious ways.
-----------------------
The Vulture God, the Mountain God of the Sumerians, had long since been on the mind of Lord Hannibal. He had killed the God if only to justify his jealousy of the Rolorunnerist support of Gilgamesh. And verily, he had felt the weight of his actions for many years now. The collapse of the god's domain led to Ascheington's collapse into the sea - and, as Hannibal believed, ultimately to Asche's death. Hannibal mourned for his son.

Spoiler :

Wherever it is that gods go when they die, Hannibal would soon be there to apologize.
-----------------------
The scholars believe his name to be "Liberi", but nobody is quite sure. Only recently have scholars begun to suppose that the great sea that tore Ethiopia from Carthage many moons ago - and that it was his power that eventually reunited them. Was he, perhaps, a god of the sea as well? Scholars propose he was, in fact, the one to melt the seas and bring his son back to him. The God-King supposed that this God had the right idea - and that he was perhaps the subtleist and most intelligent of these Divine beings.

Spoiler :

Glory be to whoever he is.
------------------------
Maximullus brought a scowl to the weathered face of the God-King. What an insolent, old, divine fool. That is the sort of thing that happens when whoever gives out omnipotence hands their power to a hippie college student. The careful management of the population and the extensive work that needed to be done to quell the massive starvation in the City of Gold was massive, as well as the audacity of him to think that Gilgamesh would be safe on his island.

Spoiler :

The chaos of Digit consume him!
-----------------------
Speaking of which, we cannot forget Digit. But insomuch that we fear his attention, we merely wish him So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish.

Spoiler :

Digit Holy Symbol:
*thumbs up with a mushroom cloud emblazoned behind it*
-----------------------



"....behold, the Launching of the C.S.S Hannibal!" came the final announcement, and the roar of the crowd was drowned up by the groans of engines, of fire and of fury, of smoke and heat, and of progress. The starship rose steadily into the sky, and the crowd watched in awe as the ship ascended into the heavens. The speaker took his seat next to the leader, and smiled.

"Isn't it amazing, my Lord?"

But Hannibal had sighed his last sigh.

[Space Race Victory]

Spoiler :

I played a bit more than 30 turns this time around, but I figured it was about time to draw this thing to a close, and it seemed weird to post a save and the play only half a turn before victory.

 

[CCRunner]

Congratulations! Will you be starting a new one or taking a break? If you want to start right away, I'd gladly donate a map. It's fitting that Hannibal gets to join the gods now in space.

 

[TheForestAuro]

I loved playing it but damn it's a lot of work. The hardest part is processing all of those screenshots! In the beginning each section took me about an hour but by the end it took multiple hours.

I am all for another game, but I think that before we start one we should discuss future conditions and restrictions.

 

[Dresden]

Well done on finishing it off, TheForestAuro. And I'm glad that you did finish it; I think the gods had pretty well run out of interesting things to do in this one.

I hope you try another and I'm interested to see how the rules can be tweaked with regard to the interventions. Personally, I think all the various terrain changes were too much and I agree we need to come up with more subtle ideas. For example, next to the bear's final home was a a coal hill that was at one point both a desert and a jungle. Splitting off one nation from a continent to its own island, for example, was far more interesting to me than having a huge swath of ice or desert thrown at you.

 

[TheForestAuro]

I think that one of the suggestions I'm going to heavily emphasize is that it is far more interesting to add than it is to take away

I found it exceedingly irritating every time someone did something i had no power to change. Maximillus' City of Gold ended up being a BFC of Desert/FloodPlain/Hills, so I was getting two food but taking all the penalties of flood plains and the -1 food of deserts made it impossible for me necessary for me to switch to Environmentalism. Bleh. I really want to showcase Liberi and yourself (dresden) for subtle, meaningful changes.

Quests should be utilized more. Give me something challenging.

And one or two enemy hero units does not really scare me. It just means I need a few more macemen to finish them off. Now, a troop of better-than average named units might worry me, especially set next to a city.

 

[TheForestAuro]

I should also stress that the changes the gods make ultimately are not to bonus me or hinder me - they are to provide me with an interesting, new way to play civ, and to entertain everyone else who's paying attention.

I think limiting the scope of things may be in order.

 

[CivCorpse]

great read. I also agree on the city whacking. I did like the Sea-god doing the ice block but perhaps it could have come with a quest of redemption to melt the ice. The desertification of the cities in the late game was just repetative and made no sense. If one diety does something, then other dieties shouldn't just do the same thing for a different reason. I might do a "got it" or mayve just read along again. I certainly enjoy reading them. Are you sure you're not really Mice in disguise? he was a wonderholic as well.
I reccommend reserving the right to reject any saves that detract from the storyline or are just bad in general

 

[TheForestAuro]

I've always been a little excitable when it comes to Wonders. I'll admit off the bat that I am passable at the Prince Level, and that's about the best I can do at present moment, but I'm convinced that whatever you have fun with is what you should play the most.

And I like Wonders n.n

I've never talked to Mice, but maybe he and I share similar personalities, eh?