Glory to Greece: All Trade Leads to Athens

Dhoomstriker

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Glory to Greece: All Trade Leads to Athens

For my first story, take number two, Pericles has set about a quest to dominate the world's trade in exotic goods: prairie dogs, jade, truffles, black pearls, and the like.

Note to veteran Stories & Tales Forumers:
Spoiler :
Please avoid the use of the p-word in this thread. I will do the same.

If you don't know what the p-word stands for, then I simply ask that you not try to guess what it means.

I would like to encourage on-topic replies. For example, you might quote part of my story and comment on it. You might also request to take a role in my story. You are also welcome to give suggestions as to how you think Pericles or the other members of the story should proceed in their actions.

If you do want to play a role in my story, then please help me out by providing the following information:
a) Your desired job role. I will have ultimate say on your job title, but you can suggest an appropriate job title, too.

b) Figure out what colour you'd like your name to be coloured and tell me that colour. Please actually pick a valid forum colour by selecting the appropriate option and then checking the relevant COLOR tag's value. For example, Pericles' colour is RoyalBlue. Feel free to duplicate colours of any other character in the story, since I will run out of unique colours that are reasonably visible in short order, anyway. Try not to pick a really-hard-to-see colour or else I may have to veto your selection and assign a different colour.

c) Choose a respectful title for you to use when addressing Pericles. I may not always use it or I may forget to use it, but it can add a tiny bit of personality to each character. I don't really want you describing your character's personality, though, as your character's mood will change depending upon the nature of the conversation, as I see fit, completely according to my whims.

Thank you and enjoy your stay!


Not only is this story my first one, it is also my first thread, so I'd appreciate any encouragement and support that you can give to me.


The Rules
1. I will attempt to gain control of all sources of bonus Food, Hammers, and Commerce added to the map via random events. Such events include, but are not limited to, the following: jade, black pearls, truffles, sea turtles, prairie dogs, appleseed, tin, etc. I will be relying on the game to auto-generate signs in order to find the location of these added bonuses--if a sign fails to appear, then I do not need to claim said corresponding bonus.
2. All Victory Conditions will remain enabled and I can achieve any Victory Condition that I would like to try for, but when I win the game, all bonuses that were correctly assigned a sign by the random-event generator must exist within my Cultural Borders


A couple of implications from rule 2 are that:
a) There is almost certainly going to be some warring
b) Taking on a Vassal could be a dangerous proposition, since if they trigger a bonus-based random event after I take them on as a Vassal, then their City would not be within my Cultural Borders and I'd probably have to first divest myself of that Vassal (which is not easy to do but is possible--I have done it) and then take the City by force
c) I have to be careful about accidentally triggering a Victory Condition, such as Domination, before all of the bonuses are under my Cultural influence--otherwise, despite what the victory screen will say, I will have lost the game!


The Game's Settings
Difficulty Level: Immortal
Speed: Normal (let's not make warring too easy by picking Epic Speed)
Random Events: On
Tribal Villages (aka Huts): Off
Other settings: default values (Barbs on, Vassals on, tech trading on, etc)
Leader: Randomly-selected
Opponents: Randomly-selected
Map type: Fractal with a Tropical Climate, so we are likely to see a lot of Jungles outside of each player's capital's fat crosses (I am pretty certain that the map script will remove all Jungle within the fat cross of every player's initial capital location--no guarantees for a human player that moves their Settler, though!)

Here's a screenshot of the game's Settings page:


Here's a screenshot of the starting area:
 
Humble Beginnings
Narrator: The Geek people have lived a sheltered life, hiding from predators and other dangers underneath the canopies of trees, only coming out of their hiding places in sheer desperation by quickly foraging for roots and beetles as their sources of food before returning to their hidey holes...

Pericles: Hey! I object!

Narrator: Okay, okay. The Noble Greek people have boldly ventured from beneath a lush canopy of trees where they faced many a danger and only through the heroics and courage of disciplined warriors were they able to survive the tests of the wilds. When food sources were scarce, they did not give up hope, but instead scavenged for what little fare they could procure, choosing the best of succulent roots and the crispiest of juicy beetles as their means of surviving until the time when they might be more successfully rewarded for their continued dillegence.

Pericles: Hmmm, that's sounding much better.

Narrator: It was only through arduous struggle that they managed to discover a coastal location with access to fresh, running water, plenty of food sources, and distant hills--perfect for the start of a new civilization.

Pericles: Don't forget about the exotic goods.

Narrator: I'm getting to those, hang on. It was, of course, the manifest destiny of the Noble Greek people to cultivate and capitalize upon the world's sources of exotic goods. For you see, sea turtles, prairie dogs, black pearls, and the like, were seen as divine manifestations and were to be honoured with sacred reverence, given a place in Greek culture similar to that of cats in Egyptian lore.

Pericles: Whoever they are.

Narrator: Well, you might meet them, or they might not have survived the test of time to appear in this world--only time will tell.

Pericles: The sea turtles will tell us, too, you know.

Narrator: Okay, okay, the sea turtles might be able to tell us, too.

Pericles: On that note, why do you keep calling me "Pericles"? I'm pretty sure that it's spelled "Parrocles."

Scout: :facepalm:
Spoiler :

Narrator: (Sigh. Illiterate neanderthal.)

Pericles: What was that?

Narrator: Whatever. Go with the name change. Just don't expect anyone else to call you that. Even when you speak, I will still "see" your name as "Pericles."

Pericles: Fine, fine. In English (whatever that is), I am certain that these names sound rather identical to each other, so you can "see" my name however you wish, but when I hear my name, I will "think" of the word "Parrocles."

Scout: :double facepalm:
Spoiler :

Pericles: Bah! Enough with your antics! Get out of my sight and find something useful to report! According to that Narrator guy, we have struggled long and hard...

Scout: (Scoffs) Ha! Yeah, right!

Pericles: ... where was I? Long and hard...

Narrator: (Giggles)

Pericles: Cut it out! ... long and hard to discover this amazing location such that we will very likely not consider moving to another spot before building our first great City. However, you might get lucky and spot something worthy of us moving, so, off with you now!


Scouting Commences
Scout: By the way, my name is Arrow Hawk.

Pericles: Well, you don't even carry a bow...

Arrow Hawk: Hey, if you can "think" of yourself as having such a ridiculous name, then I can pick one worthy of a mighty warrior, myself.

Pericles: Touché. What have you discovered, Arrow Hawk?



Arrow Hawk: The lands are relatively barren, I am afraid. There are no other nearby Hills. However, there is another Grassland Pig and signs of a nearby Jungle that could be Chopped to fuel a Cottage Economy!

Pericles: What are these Cottages? Also, what is this Economy?

Narrator: I think that they are quite like camps, except that rich people are willing to pay up to 6 times as much for them just by slapping on this different label. As for the economy--it is not doing so well these days, so, it is better that you live in ignorance.

Pericles: Indeed. These points may be of use for our second City. However, the first step in our manifest destiny shall be to settle in place! Now where is that Scientific Advisor of mine?

FunkyBike1 (Scientific Advisor): I live to serve, my lord. Shall we set research to Agriculture, so that we may cultivate these Corny Resources in favour of our awful dung beetles?

Pericles: Agriculture, you say? Make it so! By the way, what have you against the sacred beetles?

FunkyBike1: Your lordship, it will be nice to have options, although we may very well continue to harvest our current delicacy of crunchy dung beetles...

Arrow Hawk: I might have another, more appropriate adjective for you.

Pericles: Away with thee! Seek out new civilizations, for surely, we are not the only keepers of the exotic trade items in these fair lands!



Narrator: Some time later...

Arrow Hawk: Sire, I have spotted a Gold deposit!



Pericles: Very well, very well. Now is the time to meet others. We shall consider that Resource for a future City location.


The Lurking Evil
Mansa: Behold! It is I! The world's greatest tech trader and hoarder of gold!

Pericles: (More like the world's slipperiest character.) Harumph. Ahhh, welcome, my dear fellow! Come, let us sit down and share a meal of dung beetles together!



Mansa: These are what you share with your friends? I would hate to be your enemy!

Pericles: All in good time, my friend, all in good time. Say, what is that floating grey bar in front of your robe?

Narrator: Oops. That would be an Alt-Tab Artifact.

Pericles: Is that a sacred artifact which we should seek to obtain?

Narrator: Nah, don't worry about it. Stay focused on the exotic trade goods.

Pericles: Very well.

Narrator: Time passes...

mayor (future City Governor of City #2): Look! The Malinese people have abundant Resources near to them! We should consider settling near to these valuable Resources before they do!

Narrator: Uhhhh, we're playing on Immortal, right?

mayor: Well, I'm just saying is all... well, think about it.



Pericles: Since I can't wait to get you out of my hair... errr... I mean, I can't wait until we expand our empire, I shall pay heed to your advice. Arrow Hawk, spend the time to explore around their borders, so that we can pick an ideal location for our City. Should we miss out on it, we can always come back to the Gold.

Arrow Hawk: Did you know that the Malinese people already have 2 Scouts? I just saw a second one! In fact, their capital is HEAVILY defended!

mbkkbm (War Advisor): Well, let's just hope that conflict can be delayed until we are well prepared. I have in mind an idea that I have been toying with for a greater kind of axeman, one that does not suffer from the normal weaknesses of dying to charioteers...

Arrow Hawk: Remember that we must first learn to tame the wild beasts that pull the charioteers.

Pericles: Yes, and learn how to see them! I can certainly smell them, but to this day, I have yet to see one!

Arrow Hawk: It appears that there really are only limited choices for City locations near the Malinese people. They also received a Score boost, perhaps coinciding with their increased capital size. mayor's idea of stealing their nearby settling location is looking less and less likely by the day.



Pericles: All that we can do is put in our best efforts and see what they amount to. At least Mansa appears to be foolishly Pleased with us.

mbkkbm: Indeed. However, we must recall that Mansa is a devious one and will consider attacking all but those he is Friendly towards.


A Noble Warrior or a Bloodthirsty Pirate?
Ragnar: Pay witness! I come in search of unprotected Coastal Cities! Have you seen any lately?

Pericles: Yeah, we've got one right here... but, look, on the horizon! You can see a heavily defended City belonging to the Malinese people! Surely, your warriors will be able to bring home many more glorious war stories and many more piles of riches from that dangerous and mighty kingdom!



Ragnar: Pah! Mighty? We shall see! Indeed, puny man, I think that you know a thing or two about war. It is wise of you to leave your Coastal City undefended, so that I may pass it by and go on towards stronger prey! Let it be known that the Viking people are an honorable one...

Narrator: Honourable...

Ragnar: Not that joke again! Fine, I will comply. ... an honourable one, who will not prey on the weak and defenceless... at least not until after routing the stronger, well-defended civilizations.

Pericles: I can toast to that! Care for a dung beetle?

Ragnar: Yes, I would! CRUNCH! Arrrr, she makes for some mighty good fare. Now that be some excellent pirate food indeed! You, sir, have made a good friend today!

Pericles: Well, it will not be long before you will meet up with the deadly Maliniese people. Be sure to watch your back!




A Dangerous Wilderness
Arrow Hawk: Ouch! From out of nowhere, I was assaulted by a great and hideous beast!



Pericles: Rest well, my friend. The story would get rather boring if you were to pass away now.

Arrow Hawk: Thanks for thinking so highly of my personal well-being.

Pericles: Heh, heh, you're welcome. I think. By the way, I spot yet another Panther! Beware!

Arrow Hawk: I am, I am being aware, but these wounds take time to heal. Did you notice that a Religion was founded?




The Crucial Next Step
Pericles: Hmmm, yes. Soon, we must decide: Settler next?

mayor: (Trying not to sound overly enthusiastic but not quite succeeding) YES, please!

Arrow Hawk: No, let's not be so hasty. I may not be around long enough to defend it and with these Food Resources nearby, along with the Fishing tech, I think that we should start on a Work Boat, at least until we have grown the City somewhat.

Pericles: Wise counsel. Let us hope that you survive long enough to provide us with more of it.

Joe (the Worker): Rejoice! Corn is within our grasp! We can finally supplement our diets of rich roots and crunchy beetles with a fresh harvest of Corn!

Pericles: Good news indeed. Proceed with your work, Joe--your efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Arrow Hawk: I have discovered a source of Fish!

Pericles: What are you doing down there? It must have taken a long time to trudge through that Jungle! You're not hiding out from the Panthers, are you?

Arrow Hawk: Heh, heh, as a matter of fact... uhhhh... mayyyyyybe. :)




Directing Early Scientific Research
FunkyBike1: Animal Husbandry is in!

Pericles: It is time to work on discovering how to create those powerful anti-charioteer Axemen that mbkkbm has been talking about!

Arrow Hawk: Sire, Ragnar has expanded by founding the City of Uppsala. I have my doubts about being able to beat Mansa to those Resources located near the south-west of his capital.

Pericles: I agree. I suggest that you head back in his direction to watch what he does. At worst case, we can settle near that Fish that you discovered. We are Creative, so even if we do not settle immediately adjacent to it, the Fish will arrive within our Cultural Borders within short order. Knowledge of Bronze Working will bring Slavery, allowing us to relatively quickly whip a Work Boat there.



Arrow Hawk: You are indeed planning ahead. I look forward to continued service under such great leadership!

Pericles: Yeah, yeah, just stick to the trees and try not to get yourself killed, alright?


Religious Lines Begin to be Drawn
Arrow Hawk: The Malinese people have founded a Religion!

Narrator: It is too bad that they are Spiritual, or else we'd get a +1 turn of delay in the production of their first Settler.




Executing the Great Gambit
Joe: The second Corn has been Farmed!

Pericles: Next turn, we shall commence work on a Settler! It will be a race that we may not win, but if we do not try at all, we shall surely fail!



Arrow Hawk: Good news! The Malinese people have lost a Road!

Pericles: Was it a crucial Road?

Arrow Hawk: Errr, well, not really.



Narrator: At least we know that we remembered to keep Random Events turned on.


Hope Remains
Arrow Hawk: Sire, the Malinese have built a Work Boat! We are not out of the race yet!



Arrow Hawk: Indeed, their capital grew in size once more, again indicating that they are likely delaying their first Settler! Our gambit may yet pay off!



Pericles: You had better be prepared to come back to escort our Settler. However, do so with caution. Your death would also mean the immediate end of our gambit and possibly the loss of many lives.

Arrow Hawk: Sire, I do not take my duties lightly! You can count on me to try my best and to lay down my life in the name of honour, should the need arise.

Narrator: Will our heroes succeed in their plans? Will Arrow Hawk live to see another day? What are the Malinese people doing by growing their City to Size 5, anyway? Surely, hope has been kept alive!
 
Barbarian Hoodlums Show their Faces
mbkkbm (War Advisor): Pay heed! A Barbarian Warrior has appeared!

Arrow Hawk (Scout): It appears that my spawn-busting arrived too late to be of use. Still, this Barbarian Warrior will prevent other units in the area from coming towards us. As long as it remains outside of our Cultural Borders, we should be safe.




New Discoveries
FunkyBike1 (Science Advisor): My lord, it should be noted that we may now harvest the piles of rocks in the Hills!

Pericles: Do the rocks make for good eating?

FunkyBike1: Hmmm, no, perhaps not. But, we could use them in combination with our Corn by grinding up the grains into flour! This flour could then be used to make bread!

Pericles: I do not know of this "bread" of which you speak, but the concept sounds fascinating enough. Good work! What of the progress on my envisioned charioteer-resistant Axemen?

FunkyBike1: Fear not, my lord. Work progresses on that very subject!

Joe (the Worker): The Grassland Pig has been Pastured!



mayor (future City Governor of City #2): This news pleases me! I can't wait to get out of this hidey hole!

Pericles: Eh? What's that you say?

mayor: I mean that the news of a sped-up Settler may allow me to better serve you completely, my liege.

Pericles: Ah yes, I cannot be asked to pay attention to every detail in the empire. I will rely upon your skills and will trust in your loyalty, but should you even think about betraying me, my royal assassins shall decend upon you and slit your throat before you can utter another sound against me!

mayor: (Nervously) Uhhh, yes, yes, yes indeed, my liege, I shall serve thou faithfully. Now, how about we try that new invention from FunkyBike1 (Science Advisor): back bacon!

Pericles: Mmmm, my mouth is watering juicily already. I think that it will go very well with this newfound invention of bread, perhaps accompanied by a delicious spread of ground-up dung beetles.

Arrow Hawk: (Shudder.)


Joe, the Mighty
mbkkbm: I have good news to report! The Barbarian Warrior has wandered off in search of easier prey!

Joe: Me scare away big hairy guy.

mbkkbm: Well, normally, I would seek to disagree, but lacking any other units in the area, I have to give you full credit for that one. Nice work!



Pericles: Joe, how quickly can you mine that Plains Hills square?

Joe: Joe is plenty smart. Me can do it quite quickly.

Pericles: Very well. I will request that you do so with full expediency. After that, I would like you to detour to the north, to see what you can spot along the Coast.

Joe: You mean, after Joe mines the big rocks, you want Joe to take a break and stare at the pretty waves?

Pericles: Something like that. Just keep an eye out for a Food Resource to partner-up with that Gold.

Joe: Me can do.


On the Lookout for Danger
mbkkbm: That Barb Warrior is back again already!

Arrow Hawk: I shall remain vigilant in this Jungle. The rest, as they say, is up to fate.

Narrator: Perhaps, too, things will be up to the random number generator.



mbkkbm: That Barbarian Warrior has left our area again. It appears that we can leverage this fact for now... but once we start settling additional Cities, it may become emboldened and want to seek out the riches of civilization. I suggest that we prioritize Warriors to defend our people!

Pericles: Perhaps, perhaps, but we have a Work Boat to complete first. Perhaps it was a mistake to have build it before the Warrior, but our Hammers are now committed, so I would rather take the risk and see our efforts come to fruition, for better or worse.


A Settler is Spawned
mayor: It is time to rock and roll! So, are we still headed toward's Mansa's area?



Arrow Hawk: I believe that doing so would be wise. Mansa has grown his City yet again, to Size 6!

Pericles: Very well, make it so!




Playing a Broken Record (whatever that is)
mbkkbm: The Barb Warrior has returned YET AGAIN!

Pericles: Would you stop crying wolf, already?

mbkkbm: No, I am serious, unfortunately, yet again. mayor, be careful out there!

mayor: For the sake of the women and children that I lead, we shall indeed be careful!




Religious Hoarding
Arrow Hawk: It appears that Mansa has decided to create a Dual Holy City!

Pericles: Perhaps we should leave him the Marble, so that he might build The Oracle. Whatever tech he takes, he will trade to us for free. In the meantime, he will generate Great Prophets, so that we may capture his Holy Shrines later.

Arrow Hawk: Good ideas, as usual, sire. The time will soon be upon us to decide where mayor should sit down.




Appropriate Timing
mbkkbm: My dearest esteemed leader, I think that we should strongly consider completing a Warrior before our Work Boat.

Pericles: Hmmm, yes, I can see how growing to Size 5 would benefit us, and having a Happy citizen to do so would help. Fortunately, you have waited until we have a Mine available to us, in order to avoid losing Hammers that were invested into our Work Boat build item. Alright, a Warrior first, it shall be!



Joe: Joe see a big blue Fish. You like?



Pericles: Yes, I very much like that. Now, please head home and continue your Mining operations.

Joe: Can do!


City #2: The Great Decision that Spawned a Nation
mayor: It is time to settle our second City. I do not know, however, where we should place it.

Arrow Hawk: I have mapped-out several possibilities. Please take a look at my following maps. The first one depicts four options, those being:
A] 1E of mayor, on the white dot
B] 2E of mayor, on the red dot
C] 3E of mayor, on the yellow dot
D] 1NE + 2E of mayor, on the green dot, where I am currently standing



Arrow Hawk: The second map gives you an idea of how we will use the surrounding terrain with two planned-for-later Cities to be placed according to the locations of the two purple dots. If, for example, we do not use the Oasis or the Clam with City #2, then we are unlikely to use either one of them at all, since they would only offer a weak (production-less) filler-City on their own.

Pericles: Well, advisors, what do you recommend?

mayor: I am tired from all of this walking (I am feeling lazy today) and do not feel like moving very far. If we settle 1E on the white dot, then we can use 3 Food Resources plus the Oasis. Our City will be Coastal, but that Clam may take a long time before it gets used, as it could take quite a while before we could get a Work Boat there.

FunkyBike1: mayor, if you would only look a little bit further, to 2E, on the red dot, you would see that we would be able to obtain a perfect canal between the seas!

This fact would allow us to Chop a Work Boat in the capital, giving us the chance to get this second City up-to-speed very quickly! Chances are that we will remain capped at Size 4 for a while, which means that 3 Food Resources plus a Grassland Hills Mine will be more than sufficient for our needs. We will also be closer to the Marble, such that it will be within our Cultural Borders for when the need for it might arise, such as when building The Great Library or its little brethren, the National and Heroic Epics.

Indeed, we would also leave space for Mansa to squeeze in a couple of more Cities, meaning that he would be less likely to go to war with us and yet would provide us with more Foreign Trade Route opportunities that would not likely net him any additional Resources. Essentially, he'd just get a bunch of tightly-packed Cities and could perform much of our scientific research for us!



Joe: You talk too much. Settle on Pig. Yes, it completely wastes the Pig. However, Joe can start to Quarry that Marble quickly.

FunkyBike1: That's assuming that we even want to make a beeline towards Mysticism, Masonry, Meditation, Priesthood, and whatever pre-requisite techs that we would need before completing The Oracle. Also, since the City would be on the eastern Coast but not on the western Coast, you would need to build a Road all of the way there before the Marble could be connected to the capital. I don't see us possibly being able to build The Oracle in this second City in time, given the lack of production there.

mbkkbm: Let's be aggressive. If we settle on that green dot, the one on top of the Desert Hills, Mansa will be blocked from founding any City to the SW of his capital! According to what the Narrator has told me, Mansa would be unable to settle a City within a 2 x 2 square radius of our City or his own City, essentially preventing him from settling any City to the SW of his capital. Of course, this location would not be Coastal and it means that we probably would never use the Clam.

FunkyBike1: Don't forget that Mansa has Skirmishers. If we take away his nearby settling locations, he may decide to go to war with us. Then, we won't have ANY City in that area for very long.

Pericles: Enough! I tire of this discussion! A decision must be made. I will retire to my bedchambers to ponder it.

Narrator: In the meantime, you, the reader, may chime in. However, I will caution you that we are not running a Democracy here. Simple voting will be ignored. Only thoughtful points that express an opinion based on facts will be considered to be part of the discussion. Now, it is off with me, too, as even a Narrator needs to take a nap on occasion.
 
Good start!
 
:goodjob: Nice to see another story joining the comedic family :D

Olaf, Financial Advisor and Treasurer at your service ;)

And obviously, as usual my colour is Teal :D
 
I suppose it would be fun to participate in someone else's story once in awhile :)

Tomorrow's Dawn, your faithful Foreign Advisor will be represented by Dark Orchid.
 
I wish to be a miner with the colour Dark slate grey
 
It would be nice to get religion advisor position for me as for name... well I leave it to you ;-)

I don't see you using that oasis... I would use the oasis somewhat ;-).

I don't really think you should settle city 2 so far east and ignore gold. If you do so, I would ignore the marble ;-) the red dot is very strong.

You get more greenland (some of it on oasis!) and 1 less ocean tile. You obviously lose on the marble of course...but if you hurry with library you probably could get it in 3rd ring soon enough for literature?

Oracle is lost project imo.

Spoiler :
what happened with the original story? not happy with story spammers?
 
Settle north of Athens!! with the gold I can buy weapons and troops and overthrow Pericles :nya::nya:

Seriously I wouldn't settle there.... not yet anyway. I would settle the White space. The Green and Yellow will result in Mansa DoW on you very early. If you settle the Red sport you end op with a useless dessert tile in the BFC. True you'll have the clam earlier but, you'll get that anyway and you still have the dessert.
The White spot will give you all food sources and instead of a useless dessert you'll get a dessert with oasis.
About the marble... it's useless at this point. My guess is Mansa will expand its borders around it before you can. That said if you manage to get to the marble there is the point Funnybike1 made in your story.


(and to speak for the Mayor in the story: I'm closer to Mansa and might be able to close a deal with him to overthrow Pericles with his help :p)
 
Can I be Red Spy, an advisor who fights for the people and worker's rights with spies.
 
A New Day Dawns
Pericles: I have slept well. It is time to make your final arguments in regards to our second City, deemed to be the future home of mayor. Let's look at that first map from Arrow Hawk (Scout) again.

vranasm (Religious Advisor): Teacher, you should use that Oasis somewhat...

mayor (future City Governor of City #2): Yes! Your Honour, put the Oasis in my City's fat cross!

vranasm (Religious Advisor): That's not really what I meant. Anyway, I don't think that you should settle so far east and...

mayor (future City Governor of City #2): See, your Honour? He agrees with me!

vranasm (Religious Advisor): Not really, but... anyway... Teacher, the Marble would be of use, but we do not need it immediately...



Red_Spy (Pro-Communism Spy): (Whispered to Pericles) My Chairman, I do not trust this mayor. He has expressed his intentions to defect. Should we settle too close to Mansa's capital, the citizens may request to join the Malinese people.

Olaf (Financial Advisor): Great Exchequer, it might help to settle slightly closer to our capital, if only to reduce the costs of a distant and trade-route-less new City.

FunkyBike1 (Science Advisor): If we settle closer to home, we will leave space for Mansa to settle immediately adjacent to the Pig Resource, meaning that he could steal the Pig out from under us!

Tomorrow's Dawn (Foreign Advisor): That Pig has a Jungle on it, anyway. Mansa is known for his fast teching and if he temporarily takes the Pig Resource within our borders, he may clear the Jungle for us. Our expressed Creativity will, in the future, reclaim this Pig along with a completed Pasture!

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): King Daddy, I don't really care what you do, just hurry up and decide so that we can work on founding Corinth!

Pericles: I have decided. mayor, settle 1E, on the white dot. May this decision prove not to be my undoing.


Plans for Sparta
mbkkbm (War Advisor): Commander Pericles, the Barbarian threat has returned!

mayor (Governor of Sparta): A Warrior shall be built for defence! However, I fear for our people (and myself)!

Arrow Hawk (Scout): Never fear, Arrow Hawk is here!



Joe (the Worker): Joe come, too. Joe scare away big hairy guy.

hoplitejoe (Miner): Go get him, my fellow G.I. Joe! I will stay close to Athens, helping to create the Hammers needed for our first Warrior.

Narrator: I didn't realize that we had this kind of a cross-over in our story.

Joe (the Worker): Yes, we were Government Issued at birth!

hoplitejoe (Miner): In fact, it is a cross-over of a cross-over...
Spoiler :


The Bigger Picture
mbkkbm (War Advisor): G.I. Joes, I don't know how you did it, but you scared away the Barbarian! Commander, I would also like to point out that our Power level is very low relative to the Power levels of our neighbours!

Arrow Hawk (Scout): I shall set up camp in the nearby Jungle, hoping to draw the clubs of enemy Barbarians away from our people, should the Barbarians deem to return.



Red_Spy (Pro-Communism Spy): Now would be a good time to solidly distribute our Espionage Weighting equally across these two Foreign Leaders, so that any new ones that we may meet will not further dilute our small pool of Espionage Points.

Tomorrow's Dawn (Foreign Advisor): Pericles, my good friend, I must also share with you the fact that Ragnar does not instinctively trust us, while neither Leader likes the other one at all.



Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): How can you tell all of that just from a "GLANCE"?

Narrator: That's the power of the BUG Mod plus the BULL .dll. Wait... I see what you did there! You stole my colour!

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): (Spam post.) :lol:


The Marble is Gone
Tomorrow's Dawn (Foreign Advisor): Mansa has expanded to the south of his capital, on top of the Marble. I think, however, that our Creativity will allow us to maintain complete control of the Pig. In a way, it is a shame, but at least we will not be incurring Mansa's immediate wrath due to Close Border tensions.



hoplitejoe (Miner): You know, now that the other G.I. Joe has left the area, I really could use some help over here.

Pericles: Alright, another Worker it shall be.




Expanding the Frontier
Arrow Hawk (Scout): I'm booking out of here to go exploring.

mayor (Governor of Sparta): Hey! What about us?

mbkkbm (War Advisor): Just stick to working that Grassland Forest instead of the Oasis and you will have a Warrior built in time.



Arrow Hawk (Scout): The City in the south looks like it will be very Food-heavy.

Narrator: Indeed, it could be used as a Great Person Farm.

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): Bleh, I don't want Corinth to go there. I'll take the Gold location, thank you very much.



Tomorrow's Dawn (Foreign Advisor): I think that I understand what took Mansa so long to expand: he has 2 sources of Clam! He must have been spamming Work Boats from a low-Hammer City.




A Vision of Corinth
Ripcord (the Worker): Controller, I am ready to serve!

Pericles: Head to the north-east, so that you can Chop out a path for Corinth's Settler, which we will begin work on at once.

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): Yes! My plans for World Domination can begin at once!

Pericles: World Domination in the name of Pericles you mean, right?

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): Certainly, King Daddy! I meant nothing but... :mischief:



mayor (Governor of Sparta): At last! We almost have a City Defender!




Religious Forces at Work
vranasm (Religious Advisor): A Great Prophet has been born and yet no Wonders of the World exist!

Narrator: Hmmm, it seems like there is an Egypt in this game, after all.

vranasm (Religious Advisor): Mansa also appears to have expanded the influence of Hinduism to his second City of Djenne.

Tomorrow's Dawn (Foreign Advisor): Our Creativity will still prevail!

mbkkbm (War Advisor): Let us send out this Warrior to meet the Barbarian Warrior, after which we can begin to spawn-bust against greater Barbarian threats, such as Archers and Spearmen.

mayor (Governor of Sparta): In that case, I am going to keep building Warriors, as my people don't feel safe with Mansa so close by. (Sends a letter to Mansa, asking for Mansa to hurry-up with the conquesting of Sparta already.)




Enslaving the Greek People
FunkyBike1 (Science Advisor): The practice of Slavery is but a turn away, my lord!

Pericles: Very well. Let us grow into Unhappiness in preparation for this grand event.

Narrator: Little do you know that this Unhappiness will only be the start of a much greater one, due to the usage of Slavery...




Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): AAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhh! Anarchy! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Pericles: Yoshi, you do realise that I planned this event, right?

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): Yeah, yeah. I am just really bored waiting for Corinth to arrive. :mischief:

mbkkbm (War Advisor): More importantly, a source of Copper has been discovered!



Arrow Hawk (Scout): (Not to be outdone) I, too, have discovered a source of Copper!

Pericles: Interesting. It is a bit far for our immediate needs, but check around it to see if you can find any sources of Food with which to partner it.



Pericles: Time to whip!



mayor (Governor of Sparta): As you say, your Honour, it is time to whip! But, what's this bit of info talking about getting 1 Gold in overflow?



Narrator: Well, we are using the BULL .dll in combination with the BUG Mod. In trying to patch an exploit where excess overflow Hammers that were subjected to Resource bonuses, such as when building Stone-based build items like City Walls, would get an exploitative and excessive amount of Hammers, the developers messed up the code and removed ALL conversion of excess overflow Hammers into Gold--these days, these excess overflow Hammers are just simply lost (creating a potential need for otherwise unnecessary micromanagement)! The makers of the BULL .dll have patched back in the intended solution. However, since the unmodded game will simply throw away these excess overflow Hammers without giving you anything, getting a bit of Gold for these excess overflow Hammers is probably not a concept that should be abused here, otherwise it could seem that Pericles is just abusing a minor exploit by using the BULL .dll.

Olaf (Financial Advisor): Great Exchequer, we really could use some Gold. Couldn't we just pre-build Warriors to 1-Hammer within completion and then utilise this fact to fill our coffers?

Pericles: I shall not be accused of abusing an exploit! I am okay to receive an extra Gold piece or two...

Narrator: In this case, it will be two extra, due to us making +1 excess overflow Hammer on the current turn...

Pericles: ... but I will not intentionally abuse this situation for our own good!


Forging an Army
mbkkbm (War Advisor): Now we are talking! I have at my disposal an army of Warriors to start the spawn-busting!

mayor (Governor of Sparta): (Using reverse psychology) Be sure to leave me a Warrior to help defend Sparta! (Please don't, though, so that Mansa can come and absorb us into his empire!)

mbkkbm (War Advisor): I shall consider your request, but at the moment the plan is to use these Warriors to defend our borders from the Barbarians.

mayor (Governor of Sparta): :)nyuck: :nyuck: :nyuck:! My evil plan is working!)



Ripcord (the Worker): Controller, the Forest has been cleared just in time to speed the passage of our next Settler.

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): Sweeeeeeeet!



vranasm (Religious Advisor): Teacher, I have heard word from my sources of gossip that we are low on the totem pole in terms of Power.

Tomorrow's Dawn (Foreign Advisor): At least our immediate neighbours are not much of a relative threat!



mbkkbm (War Advisor): Warriors, move out! Prepare to face the Barbarian Horde!




Preparing for the Greatness of Corinth
Pericles: Ripcord, why don't you start improving the lands around the future location of Corinth.

Ripcord (the Worker): As you wish, Controller.



Pericles: Yoshi, you shall soon have your City. Take this Work Boat along with you, to speed your City's progress. Oh, and to the captain of that Work Boat, be sure to explore that bit of unexplored Coast to the north-west, just to see if there are any islands up there.

Yoshi (future Governor of Corinth): Thanks, King Daddy! (Hmmm, maybe serving under Pericles isn't going to be nearly as bad as I thought that it might be...)



mbkkbm (War Advisor): Good news, Commander! We have bested that pesky Barbarian Warrior! The troops are moving out to prevent new ones from spawning to replace it.



Yoshi (Governor of Corinth): Mine, mine, mine, Corinth is all mine!

hoplitejoe (Miner): You rang? It seems that I will be temporarily setting-up shop in Corinth!

Yoshi (Governor of Corinth): Great, welcome to the amazing City of Corinth! Ummm, now what am I supposed to do with it? Well, since we'll get a netted Fish within 5 turns, when our Cultural Borders expand, we'll probably rather start growing then, instead of stagnating at Size 1 while building a Worker. So, I guess a Warrior it shall be.

mbkkbm (War Advisor): Great! Join the army, they say, see the world, they say! They were right!




Looking Towards the Future
Olaf (Financial Advisor): Blessed Exchequer, I hate to be a spoil sport, but our coffers are being bled dry!

FunkyBike1 (Science Advisor): Let us learn how to build The Wheel, my lord! We can already learn a few tricks from our neighbours, allowing our research progress to be sped up slightly. By then, they may have learned Writing themselves, again allowing us to benefit from their prior knowledge.

Pericles: Hmmm, yes, I was hoping to build some early Libraries in order to make use of our Creative and Philosophical Traits, but having Trade Routes does seem to be a more immediate concern. I shall sleep on your request.

Narrator: Indeed, it was wise of you to employ Binary Research, so that our research path could be switched at a moment's notice without having invested too many Flasks into Writing.

Arrow Hawk (Scout): Before you retire, sire, I am afraid to say that a Coastal City to use the Copper may not be of much value. Perhaps an inland City will be of use later.

Pericles: No worries. We already have plans for a 4th City's location.

Olaf (Financial Advisor): For now, we won't even be able to afford a 4th City!

Pericles: Right you are. Alright, Arrow Hawk, when we return, you may continue along your Coastal exploration path, in hopes of building a Coastal Trade Network towards Ragnar. Surely, that Viking will be found along the Coast, somewhere...

 
:mwaha: no one know what I'm up to :D

anyway: what is that talk I hear about Bull .dll en BUG Mod... sounds quit interesting.. just did a quick search but couldn't find it? were can I find it?
 
:mwaha: no one know what I'm up to :D
Except for Red Spy's character (and Pericles knows now, too, but he still mostly trusts you)... but your character doesn't know that Red Spy's character knows what your character is up to! ;)

anyway: what is that talk I hear about Bull .dll en BUG Mod... sounds quit interesting.. just did a quick search but couldn't find it? were can I find it?
BUG = BtS Unaltered Gameplay Mod

It's quite a popular information-providing Mod and there is even an entire forum dedicated to BUG, BULL, and its related BAT Mod... BAT adds other stuff to BUG like improved graphics but is installed as its own separate Mod. BUG can be either installed as a Mod or installed such that whenever you play "the regular game"--i.e. without using a Mod, then BUG would get used. BULL can be optionally installed alongside BUG, or you could just go with BUG. To get the "excess overflow Hammers are converted into Gold" functionality, you would need both BUG and BULL.

There are a lot of sticky threads in that forum, which can do a far better job of answering your questions (multiple Frequently Asked Questions threads), showing you were to download it, etc.

A lot of people have also successfully merged the BUG Mod with other Mods--efforts which are probably also talked about in threads in that forum.
 
WOOHOO!! CFC by phone :lol: (but no quotes :p)

Whoe intrigue this story keeps getting better and better :D

I'll definetly gonna check it out when I'm back
 
very nice... I am big part of the story! :)

one of the disadvantages of white is that it doesn't make canal through the peninsula and you have to wait for writing and OB with MM to even think about the clam for that city.
If I were this playing my 2nd city would be probably 1NW of oasis, was actually first position that catched my eyes and with the copper even better (but not great...desert copper isn't something you really are in hunt for, the copper of course is as strategic but grassland copper is so much better :-D).

You blocked off MM anyway :)
 
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