@Black_Imperator: I don't think you could have opened that save, given that there's stuff I messed with, right? Anyway, somebody sent me Civ IV over Steam as a gift (a little early) so I figured why not, wiped my entire installation, and installed through Steam instead. From disc, Civ IV is a single series of nested folders; from Steam, they're all lined up separately (Civ IV and Civ IV BTS are different folders rather than one inside the other). This apparently doesn't cause issues with the base game.
I have the game SVN'd to the appropriate place in Beyond the Sword, revision 215, no additional modules beyond what's pre-installed. So far I've experienced the following:
AI diplomacy on first contact sometimes offers me a blank menu, no options whatsoever, have to use ESC to close it. In games where this happens, the issue is persistent.
I keep getting "failed to compress game data" errors that don't APPEAR to actually affect anything, but I'm sure something, somewhere, is being effected.
The map occasionally loads with no interface and must be ALT-F4'd. Only occasionally.
If I try to run the launcher in administrative mode, I get an application load error 5:0000065434, which apparently has to do with Steam not being in C:, which it isn't, and where I am unwilling to put it.
Also, it incorrectly detects my computer as "below specifications," which I am certain I remember happening in the distant past for some very particular reason. It has an actual impact on performance, despite the fact that the computer is NOT below specifications, because it's refusing to acknowledge that I have things that it apparently needs to run without issue, so it's really frustrating.
What I'm hoping is that all of this sounds super-familiar to someone who is running the game through Steam and who has an easy fix I can pursue. Setting the games to original release hasn't affected things. Worst comes to worst I'll see if I can find my original CDs.
3) In my game I was playing the Dural, who start off with Law and Mind mana. The first two special statues that they can build give the Loyalty and the Courage promotions, respectively. I think these benefits from the status are a bit redundant with getting Law and Mind mana, for which the Level I spells give Loyalty and Courage. Perhaps the statues could have a different benefit, giving more city happiness or a production bonus or something?
Law 1 grants a temporary form of Loyalty. Mind 1 allows for Inspiration. Courage is independently very valuable, and ordinarily requires Spirit I, not Mind I. If you're getting permanent Loyalty from the statue, that's also valuable, although perhaps not terribly much in singleplayer.
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almost nothing but them for the past two years, when time allows for play. I would love to share feedback and recommendations on them for your module, but will be out of town on vacation for a few more days (and not going to try typing it all out on a phone), back on New Years Eve. Good luck on the Chislev-olution until then. 
