LotR Series...

[Arathorn]

I don't know what the LotR series will hold for Civ4. In Civ3, this series was one of the more challenging and daring series. For Civ4, well, it depends on how good the host player will be at the game! I think/hope it will eventually get to the same crazy level of variants as the Civ3 version, but only time will tell.

All games in the LotR series will be hosted by me, Arathorn. I generally run 0-2 games at a time. Anyone is welcome to sign up. Most games fill first come, first served, but it all depends on the game (the first LotR Civ4 game, for example, will be different in that regard). Please use this thread for sign-ups and/or rules questions before the game(s) begin.

General rules -- maximal ethics. Do the right thing at the right time. Have fun. Do your best. Be courteous. Etc. etc. etc.

The first Civ4 game will be something very similar to this....

LotR16 -- Happy Halloween
Version: Civ4 out-of-the-box
Civ: Random
Difficulty: Noble (or one level above)
Win condition: Anything goes
Variant(s): NONE
Participants: For the first LotR Civ4 game, priority seating will be given based on the number of previous LotR games played in. Sign-up time will break ties. YOU MUST HAVE THE GAME IN HAND BEFORE SIGNING UP!!! Also, no beta-testers allowed. This rule is on the honor system, but all of us in LotR16 should be playing the game with very few preconceptions (just what we've gained from games on our own)
Start Date: October 31
Sign ups so far: None

Hope to see everybody around!
Arathorn

 

[Arathorn]

For those who are interested, here is the history of the LotR series.

LotR1 – Daring Deity
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=17438
Version: Vanilla 1.17
Civ: Egypt
Difficulty: Deity
Variant: None
Roster: Arathorn, Sirian, Toecheese3, Jaffa Tamarin, Charis
Dates: February 28, 2002 - March 20, 2002
Result: Diplomatic win in 1070 AD
Score: 7189
Reasons to read: First deity SG at CFC, see weed by some later greater players, highest scoring LotR game to date, back in the screaming fast tech days

LotR2 – Zealous Zulus
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=19001
Version: Vanilla 1.17 - 1.21
Civ: Zulu
Difficulty: Monarch
Variant: Always war
Roster: Arathorn, Jester, Sirian, cpp1, Toecheese3
Dates: March 25, 2002 – June 11, 2002
Result: Domination win in 1840 AD
Score: ???
Reasons to read: Very first always war game (starting a fun variant), long LONG periods of no front change, almost a 20K culture victory

LotR3 – Emperor Training
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=21176
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=21474
Version: Vanilla 1.21 – 1.29
Civ: Iroquois
Difficulty: Emperor
Variant: Training
Roster: Arathorn, Architect, Brian J, charliehoke, LKendter, D9Phoenix, JMB, JollyRoger
Dates: April 25, 2002 – July 25, 2002
Result: Abandoned in 250 AD in a solid position
Score: N/A
Reasons to read: Few – some discussions of city specialization, micromanagement, and scouting practices

LotR4 – 5CC Conquest (5CCC)
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=26358
Version: Vanilla 1.21 – 1.29
Civ: Japan
Difficulty: Monarch
Variant: 5CCC
Roster: Arathorn, meldor, Jaffa Tamarin, T-hawk
Dates: July 2, 2002 – September 19, 2002
Result: Conquest win in 1645 AD
Score: 2460
Reasons to read: An early 5CCC, some fun city names

LotR5 – Tactless Darius
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=49590
Version: PTW 1.21
Civ: Persia
Difficulty: Deity
Variant: Tactless – no initiating diplomacy or bargaining
Roster: Arathorn, Gothmog, Charis, JMB, T-hawk
Dates: April 3, 2003 – May 22, 2003
Result: Cultural loss in 1824 AD
Score: ???
Reasons to read: Successful early aggression, worker migration, how much no trade hurts, which type of loss will it be, final desperate gasp failing badly

LotR6 – Progressive Paranoia
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=54625
Version: PTW 1.21
Civ: Ottomans
Difficulty: Deity
Variant: Worse diplomacy each age, from no limits to AW
Roster: Arathorn, Gothmog, Skyfish, T-hawk, JMB
Dates: May 29, 2003 – August 4, 2003
Result: Conquest victory in 1854 AD
Score: 5620
Reasons to read: Early dogpile successfully beaten, dry start, the power of sipahi, craziest beachhead in the LotR series, nukes, race to finish

LotR7 – Passive Culturalists
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=59054
Version: PTW 1.21
Civ: Babylon
Difficulty: Deity
Variant: Passive, going for 100K culture victory on deity
Roster: Arathorn, JMB, Skyfish, Gothmog, Bam-Bam
Dates: July 18, 2003 – November 4, 2003
Result: Spaceship loss in 1760 AD
Score: 2800
Reasons to read: Limitations of cultural warfare, the power of a runaway AI

LotR8a – Crazy Celts
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=60779
Version: PTW 1.21 – 1.27
Civ: Celts
Difficulty: Monarch
Variant: Wild, unpredictable roles for each leader
Roster: Arathorn, TriviAl, Snaproll, meldor, Karasu
Dates: August 6, 2003 – November 19, 2003
Result: Domination win in 1882 AD
Score: 5362
Reasons to read: Just for the roles, some good write-ups, a number of hilarious quotes

LotR8b – Irrational Iroquois
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=60782
Version: PTW 1.21
Civ: Iroquois
Difficulty: Regent
Variant: Wild, unpredictable roles for each leader (open game)
Participants: Arathorn, ControlFreak, Sirian, Sullla, Coffee, Puzzlinon, cgannon64, JMB, Northern Pike, Grimjack, JustBen, Shadowfax, T-hawk, LKendter, Skyfish, hotrod0823, Brewster, a space oddity, Dark Savant, Reagan, KELLO, KotatsuNeko, jack merchant, Rik Meleet, ChrTh
Dates: August 6, 2003 – September 27, 2003
Result: Domination win in 1768 AD
Score: 3799
Reasons to read: For the roles, the “camping out” to grab the game, the number of participants, the extreme builder phase at the end

LotR9 – Open eXtreme Variants
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66265
Version: PTW 1.27
Civ: Persia
Difficulty: Regent
Variant: OCC, AW, Infantry, Despotic, Conquest
Participants: Arathorn, Belisar, T_McC, Deatvert, 6thGenTexan, LKendter, Coffee
Dates: October 17, 2003 – October 21, 2003
Result: Conquest win in 110 BC
Score: 6529
Reasons to read: Quick and fun, lots of variants, IMMORTALS

LotR10 – Scouting Sid
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=67720
Version: C3C 1.00 – 1.12 – 1.13
Civ: Netherlands
Difficulty: Sid
Variant: (see difficulty)
Participants: Arathorn, Bam-Bam, Skyfish, Speaker, Reagan, Gothmog
Date: November 5, 2003 – January 13, 2004
Result: Diplomatic victory in 1585 AD
Score: 6532
Reasons to read: First successful Sid game recorded anywhere to my knowledge, complete early Sid dogpile, Sid victory with no bonus food at start, Sid victory without building the Great Library, nuking the UN site to win by diplomacy, ultra-bombers, breath-taking final 22 turns

LotR11 – Mayan Menace
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67724
Version: C3C 1.00
Civ: Maya
Difficulty: Demi-god
Variant: Maximum Aggression opponents
Roster: Arathorn, LKendter, Arizona_Steve, Coffee, Belisar
Dates: November 5, 2003 – December 9, 2003
Result: Domination victory in 1395 AD
Score: ???
Reasons to read: Combat, buying armies with cash from captured cities

LotR12 – In AWE of Rome
http://forums.civfanatics.com/archive/index.php/t-75983.html
Version: C3C 1.15
Civ: Rome
Difficulty: Emperor
Variant: Always War (AWE)
Roster: Arathorn, Arizona_Steve, (Ridgelake, T-hawk, Aggie)
Dates: January 19, 2004 – January 20, 2004
Result: Conquest loss in 2800 BC
Score: ??? (very low)
Reason to read: Very short and fast

LotR13 – Schizo SGers
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=86752
Version: C3C 1.15
Civ: Custom (Japan)
Difficulty: Monarch
Variant: Passive Always War
Roster: Arathorn, Kylerean, T-hawk, Arizona_Steve, T_McC
Dates: April 29, 2004 – June 22, 2004
Result: Domination win in 1878 AD
Score: ???
Reason to read: Propaganda, city names, culture flips, resource battles

LotR14 – RAW (and uncut?)
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=92212
Version: C3C 1.22
Civ: Aztecs
Difficulty: Regent
Variant: Always war – 32 civs on a small map, limited armies
Roster: Arathorn, Kylerean, Reagan, T-hawk, Speaker
Dates: June 25, 2004 – July 30, 2004
Result: Domination win in 720 AD
Score: 4570
Reason to read: Earliest SG city sacking, 31 foes in AW, extremely early combat

LotR15 – Open Regent with a Twist
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=92599
Version: C3C 1.22
Civ: China (random)
Difficulty: Regent
Variant: 100 turns of shift-enter at the beginning (LATE start)
Participants: Arathorn, Zwingli, Kylerean, microbe, 6thGenTexan, grs, LKendter, Coilean, SesnofWthr, T_McC, Foresight
Dates: June 29, 2004 – August 1, 2004
Result: Domination win in 1772 AD
Score: 2201
Reason to read: Recovery from a huge hole

Arathorn

Edit: Links fixed, I hope.

 

[Speaker]

Hey Arathorn. Looking forward to "Scouting" Civ4 with you and the rest of the fellowship.

 

[BeefBayford]

Great list Arathorn I'll have to peruse these SG's and hopefully I'll be equipped to run with you on Civ4!
EDIT: Some of the links are to the wrong threads, ie LotR10-14 all lead to LotR10.

 

[Arathorn]

hopefully I'll be equipped to run with you on Civ4!

From what I've seen, Civ4 looks like a whole new ballgame. We'll all be walking a bit before we run. Some general tenets of good play will always hold, and hopefully I've ingrained those, but walking will be the order of the day. Heck, some of us even remember when Charis irrigated deserts before cows!

Links should be fixed now. Some fun reads in there. Good memories. Hopefully Civ4 will provide as many or more!

Arathorn

 

[BeefBayford]

Good stuff Arathorn, hopefully I'll be considered for LotR16 if Civ4 arrives in the UK in time

 

[Sirian]

Daring Deity and Zealous Zulus... Some of my most memorable games.

"Always War" is now a standard game option.


- Sirian

 

[Arathorn]

Sirian, I did note you'd be pretty high on the priority list by virtue of having participated in a number of LotR games....

I feel very humbled, proud, and excited (at the same time) that always war is now a standard option. How cool is that?

Arathorn

 

[Own]

In Daring Deity, building the great lighthouse at the beginning startled me. I never thought great players like Sirian, Arathorn, and Charis would get addicted by wonders .

 

[Sirian]

I feel very humbled, proud, and excited (at the same time) that always war is now a standard option. How cool is that?

When you're ready to try an AW SG, please let me know! I'd be happy to sign up. Nothing like a throwback to the past! Maybe we can get other participants from the original AW game, too.


- Sirian

 

[Skyfish]

I wasn't in the original AW SG but I played some quite memorable ones with you Arathorn, I would be thrilled to play again with you my friend !
Looks like I played in 4 LotR SGs as well

Alas, in Europe we can not get the game before November 4th at the earliest so that pretty much rules me out for LotR16

 

[swordwiz]

I will definitely be lurking.

 

[Sullla]

In Daring Deity, building the great lighthouse at the beginning startled me. I never thought great players like Sirian, Arathorn, and Charis would get addicted by wonders .

Own, that was the first Succession Game win EVER on Deity. The strategies that became cookie-cutter later on Deity didn't come out of nowhere. It was people like Arathorn and Sirian who pushed the envelope, discovered what WERE the best moves to make, and blazed the trails that everyone else would follow later. I always felt sorry for everyone who came along later with Civ3, those who missed out on those first couple months of exploration before certain tried and true strategies developed. We reverse-engineered the entire game eventually; heck, we even found out stuff the Firaxians didn't know about!

And now we've got a blank canvas again to work with - that's what makes this such an exciting time. The next couple of months are going to be a lot of fun for everyone involved.

 

[bed_head7]

It was people like Arathorn and Sirian who pushed the envelope, discovered what WERE the best moves to make, and blazed the trails that everyone else would follow later. I always felt sorry for everyone who came along later with Civ3, those who missed out on those first couple months of exploration before certain tried and true strategies developed.

I feel sorry for myself for that reason, though happy that I made it to winning consistently on Monarch without ever getting outside. That excitement of the beginning exploration is invaluable, and I hope I have enough time to really get to take part in it all. And maybe, if I am really lucky, see something, even if it is one little thing, that no one really caught before and changes the way it is played. At least I wouldn't feel as though I was always playing on borrowed ideas, as I do in playing Civ3.

 

[Arizona_Steve]

OK, I'm back. Haven't gone out and bought the game yet. I'm sure people will be posting their initial impressions of the game, and hopefully it won't go the way of MOO3. If first impressions looks good, I'll sneak out of work today and try to find it (and probably take the afternoon off!).

 

[Zed-F]

Arathorn, we still need to get together for a game. I never did play with you in a LotR game, just in some RB games IIRC, but I do remember that we had always meant to get together again and never got around to it... and then I didn't pick up the Civ3 expansions. I doubt I'll be able to sign up for LotR1, but when I do get around to getting Civ4, I'll be sure to look you up.

 

[Arathorn]

@Skyfish -- glad to see you back around. I hoped you'd be keeping up on Civ4, even after it went to Take2. I have some very tentative plans for LotR17, but I need a bit of time to adjust to the game first.

@Arizona_Steve -- another "blast from the past" -- good to see you around again, too. I hope your Civ4 copy arrives promptly. Mine's looking pretty good for ~10:00 Central Time tomorrow (but who's counting? )

@Zed-F -- Definitely! I look forward to it. I don't know if I'll get as many years of gameplay out of Civ4 as I did Civ3, but I think/hope/expect to be here a while.

@the rest -- Happy to have lurkers and I hope the series grows in participants over time!

Arathorn

 

[ChrTh]

Own, that was the first Succession Game win EVER on Deity. The strategies that became cookie-cutter later on Deity didn't come out of nowhere. It was people like Arathorn and Sirian who pushed the envelope, discovered what WERE the best moves to make, and blazed the trails that everyone else would follow later. I always felt sorry for everyone who came along later with Civ3, those who missed out on those first couple months of exploration before certain tried and true strategies developed. We reverse-engineered the entire game eventually; heck, we even found out stuff the Firaxians didn't know about!

And now we've got a blank canvas again to work with - that's what makes this such an exciting time. The next couple of months are going to be a lot of fun for everyone involved.

That's why I'm upset I won't be joining the party for a few more months (MBA finished in December, then I have to upgrade the PC at Xmas before I can get the game) ... but I guess reading all the LK and LOTR threads will keep me going until then ... and then we'll be ready for some Training Day Games!

 

[Skyfish]

I have some very tentative plans for LotR17, but I need a bit of time to adjust to the game first

Just keep a warm place for me in your first Always War SG, we know who the original warriors are

 

[Arathorn]

Well, I can officially sign up for LotR16 now. I have Civ4 in my hot little hands. No playing for LONG hours at work first, though. Patience may be a virtue, but I'm craving my vice right about now.

Arathorn