carl corey
Deity
Well, there's a thing you can do about it. In my Monarch game (on Warlords) I have 3 neighbours on my continent: Huayna, Alex and Cyrus. I was happily building my army when Alex declared war on Huayna. Alex had the highest power rating, I was next, then Cyrus, while Huayna was last, so I guess Alex likes to pick on the weaklings. 
Anyway, this left me open to go for Cyrus as I was pretty sure none of the others would start a second war. I crippled Cyrus, took his capital then made peace. I went after Alex after that. Huayna was still weak, Cyrus too, so I didn't fear a counter from any of them.
So the idea for when you're in the middle of the continent is: wait for someone else to start a war. Prepare your troops and position them centraly in your empire. As soon as someone declares war - hopefully not on you
- pick on anyone that's still at peace.
I rather think this is a little too much for noble though.
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the_ref: Don't be afraid of raising cities. In my Monarch game I've razed quite a few so far as I would in no way be able to support them finacially or military. Each captured city means costs and defending units. If it's not in a really good location or has commerce tiles to pay for itself it's better to raze it and move on with all your troops to take the good sites. The capital is almost always a good place to keep, but sometimes it's way too far and in the center of the AIs empire, so you won't be able to go straight to it.
Also, think of whipping courthouses in the new cities, maybe also a defender or two to reduce the angry population and to free up your attackers. Don't forget to stop when you run low on money/forces and see if you can extort money/techs for peace.
Anyway, this left me open to go for Cyrus as I was pretty sure none of the others would start a second war. I crippled Cyrus, took his capital then made peace. I went after Alex after that. Huayna was still weak, Cyrus too, so I didn't fear a counter from any of them.
So the idea for when you're in the middle of the continent is: wait for someone else to start a war. Prepare your troops and position them centraly in your empire. As soon as someone declares war - hopefully not on you
- pick on anyone that's still at peace.I rather think this is a little too much for noble though.
-------
the_ref: Don't be afraid of raising cities. In my Monarch game I've razed quite a few so far as I would in no way be able to support them finacially or military. Each captured city means costs and defending units. If it's not in a really good location or has commerce tiles to pay for itself it's better to raze it and move on with all your troops to take the good sites. The capital is almost always a good place to keep, but sometimes it's way too far and in the center of the AIs empire, so you won't be able to go straight to it.
Also, think of whipping courthouses in the new cities, maybe also a defender or two to reduce the angry population and to free up your attackers. Don't forget to stop when you run low on money/forces and see if you can extort money/techs for peace.
