Need advice - no gunpowder in easy reach.

[Rosicrucian]

I need som advice. I am playing on Warlord, and I am probably the most technologically advanced by 2-3 techs or so, and I'm running away culturally, but my land area is not nearly as large as some of the other civs (why does it always seem like I get sandwiched??).

Anyway I just discovered G-powder and....there is only one patch on my ENTIRE landmass, and it is buried deep within the Persians' civ, and it'd be hell to get. I have a fledgling colony of 4 cities on the Chinese's island, and I could try to take some gunpowder near their borders, but they're 10 turns away by galley and I'm afraid I'd get whomped, especially since
1) My cities there are 1 and 2 and can't produce worth crap because of unholy corruption, and
2) by the time I get over there with a sizeable force, the Chinese will likely have discovered Gpowder.

Dang...this is a rock and a hard place, I don't see how I can possibly exist until Riflemen with Spearmen, and even after that you NEED gunpowder for Cavalry and stuff.

 

[Harleqin]

It sounds like the Chinese source is the hardest one to get. Unfortunately the Persians are no walkover either. I'd recommend building up a fast attack force with which to attack. Bring spearmen and workers for defence and roadbuilding. You might want to raze the cities you take to prevent them flipping on you and leaving you exposed. Also, you could bring a settler and the build a city right by the Saltpeter.
This doesn't do much for your chances at pulling it off though so make pacts with Persias neighbours and force them to fight on several fronts and not just against you. If done correctly this will cripple the Persians so that they should no longer be a threat in the game. You might also want to build your own cities as you penetrate into Persian territory to prevent the other CIVs from grabbing the land.

 

[YoungEagle]

I've played many games with gaining access to saltpeter.

Normally I build pikeman (def 3), then upgrade right to riflemen (def 6). The upgrade can cost more going so a large jump, but sometimes it's not worth going deep into another civs territory to get what you need. At least until the modern age.

 

[Rosicrucian]

Well, I took it from the Chinese. I basically bought 4 galleys and shipped in massive quantities of Elephants and pikemen. From there, I waged a quick war, taking the salpteter and razing the surrounding cities to ensure they couldn't overwhelm me culturally. I sued for peace and now I have a tenuous saltpetre connection. Fortunately I am about to get riflemen