Netherlands' battle for World Supremacy(Demi-God)

[Sandman2003]

OK, Prince Henry of Portugal blew away his opponents in my last story on Emperor, so I am going to have a whirl at Demi-God. Choose large world, 70% water, continents, 5 billion years, no respawn, all vistory conditions enabled. Now for the civ - Portugal had strong civ traits, but it is time for a change. I want to retain at least one of Expansionist, or seafaring. I choose seafaring as that is probably the best way to get to the other continent early, and so maximise the valus of the contacts. For the other trait, I decide that if only I had agricultural last time round, I would have had a perfect 4 turn settler factory, so we go for agricultural. Hence, the Netherlands, and I like the UU this time too!

It takes three starts until a real gem emerges:

William settles his new tribe in a nice coastal location, orders up a couple of warriors and a settler, before being rudely interrupted with the news that the Portugese have been found to the north. The date is 3500BC. The Portugese scout has nothing to offer, though it appears they already have two cities. William is advised to be wary of Henry. Apparently they are reknown for having big aspirations.

Then a mere 150 years later a Celt warrior comes ambling by. In exchange for teaching these Celts their 'abc' and most of our gold we learn how to shoot with bows, and better ways to bury the dead. Being of generous disposition, William checks in with his friend, Henry and sees if he would like to be able to shoot with bows too. It seems that for the rest of William's money, an ongoing payment plan and a more staunch type of defender, a deal can be struck. Jumping back to Brennus, it seems that we can get all our money back if we also teach them how to make these defenders. We hold off on this 'generous' offer for now.

One of our two exploring warrioirs pops a barb hut, and finds out that not all the natives are as friendly as Henry and Brennus. They execute our poor warrior. We then find out that in the intervening 50 years, Brennus has found out about these defenders on his own, so our opportunity has vanished! You win some, you lose some.

In the year 3250, William farewells some of the best and brightest of Amsterdam, to set up a new city. Then he decrees that the people must stop wasting food. Lets build a granary so the excess harvets in the summer can be used in the winter! Our now sole exploring warrior meets 5 Portugese warriors moving down from the north.

The Celt warrior is heading back to undefended Amsterdam, so we quickly change the granary back to a warrior. The Celts run away again, and the granary is started anew. Henry's mob have a new trick up their sleeve, mysticism. "Sounds fancy, but we only have 4 gold. Will that do?" Apparently not.

3050BC - Rotterdam is founded on a hill just north of Amsterdam, building a warrior. "Hey guys. Now we are in the two city club too. Does that give us dibs on Mysticism? No? Oh well"

"Uh, Mr Herodotus, I have never heard of those guys, and what about Henry, Brennus and I? Where do we figure in this most powerful nation thing?"

2950BC - Both Brennus and Henry are masonry and mysticism up on us now, but we have found Lisbon.

2850BC - Rotterdam has completed its warrior, so is now building a worker.

2710BC - Henry has the wheel, and hasn't traded it to Brennus yet, but there is nothing we can do to make him part with it.

2670BC - Amsterdam is now on a four turn settler cycle.

2510BC - William salutes more adventurers on their way to founding a new city. Brennus has a worker for sale, for a mere 84gp and 2gpt. Bargain man.

2390BC - Our northern explorer dies trying to kill a fortified barb warrior in the desert.

2350BC - Forgot to manage happiness in Amsterdam costing one turn on the settler build. The Hague is founded. Time to have a military builder. The Hague is set to barracks. We change Rotterdam to a spearman so we can move a settler up to impede portugese southern expansion.

2230BC - Lisbon finishes the Colossus. We will have to thank Henry for building that when we conquer Lisbon!

2190BC - We buy another worker from the Celts.

1990BC - Utecht founded.

At least Gibbon remembers us.

1950BC - A barbarian has turned up near the Hague, and is threatening a settler nearby. We will have to play cat and mouse for a turn or so.

1910BC - Disaster, bith Brennus and Henry have picked up Iron working and writing. I am only 4 turns off min research on writing. I was going to use writing as a means to catch up. I am now down 5 visible techs.

1830BC - We found Groningen by the coast. We need boats, so Groningen starts building a Curragh.

1790BC - We finally found Eindhoven after some Portugese wandering warriors destroy the barb for us.

1750BC - Writing comes in, so we establish an embasy with the Celts. We can not afford one with Portugal just yet!. Try min science on literature. As an optional tech the AI don't prioritise this so we may get it first and then be able to trade for other techs. William is angry at being behind in tech, so in a spiteful mode he heads up to Rotterdam and whips the citizens to finish the granary faster! Apparently the Celts were at war with some unknown tribe called the Aztecs, though I seem to remember them for somewhere before...

1700BC - We meet a chap called Montezuma. He has the same tech advantage as Brennus and Henry.

1675BC - Henry establishes an embasy in our capital and saves us the trouble. We can not afford one with Montezuma yet.

1650BC - We found Amhem on the coast with a whale in sight.

1600BC - We found Maastricht, also by the sea.

1500BC - We establish an embasy with the Aztec.

1450BC - The Aztecs complete the Pyramids, the Sumeriands complete the Oracle. The Zulu complete the Great Wall.

1400BC - A sucide curragh dies, but we Xerxes. He also has the same four visible techs that the others have.

1375BC - The Byzantibe have built the Mausoleum of Mausollos (so what). Henry poaches a spot I had my eye on. I think there will be a reckoning some time soon, Henry!

1325BC - Barbarians manage to kill one of William's settlers. There is a new tech out, the ability to make maps, and William is invited back to the party. William buys this from Henry for 24gpt and 87 gp. Xerxes offers an ability with stones and a round contraption to improve the use of vehicles for this map making and 3gpt. We have horses!

1300BC - We meet Cleopatra. She also has all the techs that the others have.

1275BC - We found Haarlem on a much needed lux source, some ivory!

1250BC - We found Holwerd.

1225BC - The floggings take place in Utrecht, and Eindhoven to speed temples there.

 

[DruguLa]

I really enjoyed your other story with the Portoguese, so I can't wait for this game to get rolling.

Good luck

 

[El Loco]

I also read your story with the portugese and was fasinated, good luck with demi-god.

 

[Sandman2003]

1100BC - We found Middleburg. We have also found an apparently empty island to the NE.

1000BC - A suicide galley has spotted an unknown blue tribe! Our empire at this time:

William is in his council chambers receiving reports from his various advisors. The first up is the domestic advisor. "We now have 11 cities up and running, and a settler in place to found our 12th, sir!"

"11, why not more!" demands William.

The domestic advisor starts a long waffle about failing ot get the settler factory working at peak efficiency all the time due to a miscalculation, and losing a settler due to an over eager use of the goto command. Whatever that means. He is cut short as William commands, "Very well, you are to prepare the list for the next round of floggings. Oh and make sure that your name features prominantly!"

"Urrr, yes sir."

Next is the trade advisor who reports that the nation will soon have a nice surplus supply of ivory and horses from which to trade and improve the economy. A request is made for more workers to speed the process of getting these key resources on line. "At the moment we are having to run 30% luxury tax, and a number of specialists just to keep our citizens in line. As soon as the ivory is online throughout the empire, we will be able to lower this tax burden. Also, if we can establish trade routes we should be able to trade our excess to further boost our lagging economy."

The military advisor has a huge list of urgent needs. "We do not even have a single defender in all our cities. Our neighbours use a new type of metal to make a strong offensive unit, they know of a way to hurl huge boulders at their opponents, and have mastered a way of riding these horses that are so plentiful in our empire. We must acquire these skills immediately, and build some sort of military strength before it is too late. Everyone we know is currently at war with each other..."

"What even those nice fellows Brennus and Henry, not to mention the lovely Cleopatra as well?" inquired William.

"Yes they are all engaged in a full on war. Now if only we had the strength to capitalise upon this, but we do not. We are weak against everybobdy, and surely could not hold out against any of our neighbours should they choose to turn upon us. On a brighter note, we have discovered an empty island to the north east. However, the safe sea lane requires access through the territory of the Portugese. I can not help but think that we will need to dispense with this tribe soon so that we have undisputed access to this strategic seaway."

The foreign advisor was a bit more cheerful tha the military man. "Everyone is polite towards us, except that brute Xerxes, but we still lack embasys with Cleo and Xerxes. In fact we don't even know where the Egyptians are. We are also within sight of at least one tribe from outside our continent. This may help with our current backwardness techwise."

The cultural advisor made a plea for more culture. "We trail the cultural leader, the Portugese by a lot, are about even with the Celts, but trail everybody else." This plea largely fell on deaf ears. Culture was at the bottom of the priority list!

The science advisor bemoaned the continuing policy of minimalism towards science. "Perhaps after we use our new contact to catch up, techwise, you will consider boosting my meagre resources?" asked the old science codger.

"And perhaps we will not!" retorted William.

975BC - Delft founded. We meet the Mayans. They are very technically advanced. Way more so than the rest of our home continent, with at least Literature, Code of Laws and Philosophy over the players on our side of the ocean. Perhaps the wars at home have helped restrict their technological development, or perhaps there is something to be said for whatever it is that this Jaguar fellow smokes? Henry demands ivory and we are forced to give it to him. We also see that the Portugese have started settling our new 'untouched' island. The great library is being built by the Mayans, so it is unlikely we will be able to catch up tech that way. Things are not the best for our state just at the moment!

 

[Sandman2003]

Drugula, El Loco thanks for the feedback - it is always welcomed.

I also read your story with the portugese and was fasinated, good luck with demi-god.

It will be interesting to see how I go. It is clearly very unforgiving on Demigod. I think I am glad I am not on Deity just yet.

850BC - Finally can persuade Smokey-man to part with Philosophy for 38gp and 13gpt. Now lets see if we can trade back into some sort of trade viability. Philosophy, 9gp and 1gpt to Aztecs for Iron Working. Philosophy, 5gpt to Egupt for Mathematics, 6gp. Xerxes doesn't have Philosophy, but he is not prepared to offer anything for it. Not even 1gp! Everyone on our continent is now up the visible techs of Mysticism, Code of Laws, Horseback Riding, Currency and Construction. We are up Philosophy on Xerxes, but he will not trade. The Maya lack Currency and Construction, but he has Literature. We are still researching Lit at min, due in 15. 27 gpt due back next turn.

The Aztecs complete the Great Lighthouse. The Celts have built the Statue of Zeus.

825BC - Found Breda. Our galley has spied a new border.

800BC - We meet Arabia. They are only up Mysticism, Literature and Horseback Riding. We note that we do not have iron, although the Portugese have a source nearby...

 

[Sandman2003]

As the centuries roll by, the rest of the continent remains at war, but William spends this time expanding, expanding, expanding. Not to mention a little searching. One brave Curragh is lost to the great ocean, but finally a galley gets through. We have found the other continent! As the years tick by, we find first the Maya, then the Arabs, the Byzantine, the Zulu and finally Sumeria. So there is a 7/5 split with the majority of civs on our home continent. Our tech position seems to worsen with each paaing decade, until finally we see an opportunity. We can finally afford Currency. Now currency is useful for two reasons. First to pull our economy out of the hole it is in, we need marketplaces, but more importantly, at least 7 civs do not yet have it! We mortgage what little economy we have to the hilt and buy currency. We then trade it around, picking up no less than 4 techs to the first buyer, and finishing up with all ancient age techs except the optional government techs.

We are now in the middle ages and ahead of some in the tech race. As soon as we have construction our brave citizens want to build the forbidden palace. Well we have no chance on the Great Library, so what else can we use Rotterdams pre-build for? We have ivory, so the statue of Zeus an dancient cavalry sounds like a good idea, but that too is built elsewhere (the Celtic city of Entremont). So instead we use Rotterdam to finish off the forbidden palace, and start building marketplaces. So in 470BC

This helps a lot, but the other civs are moving on to. They are changing governments out of despotism and inot republics or monarchys, and they have started researching first tier middle ages techs. So we need to act again. We can finally afford the republic. In trading this around we pick up the full first tier middle ages techs and monarchy. We also find that the Celts are down two middle age techs, but have a stockpile of cash, so for those techs we clean them out and have funds to rush infrastructure and fund research. We switch to republic hitting the awful 8 turns of anarchy, and start a military buildup. We are missing the all important iron resource. We can purchase iron off Henry, as he has a spare, but better yet, we find there is a source on the island to the NE. This island is already partly settled by Aztecs and Portugese, but the iron source remains unsettled. We rush a galley up there with a settler, spear pair, and claim the spot. The galley rushes back, claims a couple of workers and then it is a five turn wait while the iron is roaded, and a harbour rushed in the new city of Enscede. We now have iron!

Chivalry is not out yet, so at 100% research we pick it up in 9 turns. Some time ago the Mayans ade a demand, but as they do not even know where our great nation is, William rebuffed them and so a phoney war with them has started. Henry has been continuously at war for the last millenium, and has finally wiped out the Egyptians, poor Cleo. Until very recently he has also been at war with Xerxes. The Celts and Aztecs have been in on this bandwagon via military alliance and ROP, but now Xerxes has made peace - and non etoo soon either as he is down to a single city. Our advantage in having Henry's troops away will rapidly vanish, and so we must strike now!

Why Henry? The warmongering barbarian has made two demands on us in times of our weakness, and to add insult to injury he has marched troops through our lands in a continuous stream for the last millenia! On a strategic point, he has ready access to several sources of iron and two luxury goods. He also owns the pennisular to our north. If this was conquered we would only have one front to manage!

Here is the situation in 350AD:

As soon as hostilities commence, we will lose our iron, because it uses Portugese waterways, so we must secure one of Henry's sources ASAP. The two red circles indicate their locations. The dotted redlines indicate the Portugese abuses of Netherland sovereignty. There are currently two knights, two pike/MI combos and a spear there now. The red arrows indicate intended strike targets following the war declaration. Rio Janeiro will be hit directly with knights. Emerita is on a hill, and soo the trebuchets will be brought up to bombard, and then knights and MI will take it. Leira on the NE coast will be ignored until a second wave of reinforcements has been built. It is essential though that the troops within our land are neutralised, and that the Celts and Aztecs don't join in on Henry's side. I have already made ROPs with them, in the hopes that they will be less likely to attack us because of these.

We also can not wait much longer, most civs already have invention and theology over us, probably gunpowder will be emerging soon, and then our UU, the Swiss mercenary will no longer be as potent, and knights will take more of a battering against muskets.

 

[Sandman2003]

Rio is guarded by two reg pikes and a vet knight. Emerita is guarded by 3 reg pikes, but building muskets - ok gunpowder is out already, time to strike.

Two trbuchets come out of Harlingen and attack the two exposed knights, each taking an hp.
Seige of Rio - two knights die, the third kills a pike. Then we lose another knight before claiming Rio. Rio doesn't give us the first iron source though. We go one for two on the knights in the open, lose another knight killing one pike/MI pair. We lose a knight to reg spear.

It is extortion, but we can get the strong Celts in on the fight, and so prevent my greatest fear of my immediate neighbour attacking us. The Celts require 25gpt and 135gp. Definitely worth it, because it will stop Henry's forces from returning home, and protect our second front. Montezuma is more generous for only 14gpt and 12 gp, he joins the fray on our side. I do not care who the Portugese try to bring in now.

In the retaliation that follows, a knight manages to retake Rio, but the MI in the other tresspassing pike/MI pair attacks Eindhoven. Our Swiss merc defends, and...

However, this action redlines our sole defender, and the pike emboldened by this attacks our fortified defender, and takes Eindhoven. It will take a couple of turns to be in position to take this back. In hindsight we should have reinforced this position with our knight, instead of attacking the spear!

360AD - We retake Rio but lose a further knight in doing so! Emerita is now showing musket defenders!

Seige of Emerita - The nine trebuchets lauch their missiles. We only manage three hits. The best defender is now an unfortified reg musket. Two MI go in, but there is a long bow in there as well. Two dead MI, but a redlined defender. Now for the knights. One retreat followed by three close battles, but there is still a long bow showing. We only have a reg MI left. He charges in, is redlined but takes Emerita and promotes!

IT - Haarlem manages to hold off a long bow assault. The Celts have brought up a knight to within range of Eindhoven. This clearly doesn't suit us, but we will not be ready to attack until the turn following. Lets hope Brennus redlines the defending pike, but that it survives!

370AD - We still have no iron, so are building trebuchets, spears and horsemen as units complete. We need to also take Evora, to claim iron, and that will take 3 turns form now. Of course we can buy iron from our 'good' mate Brennus, but the cost is most of the rest of our economy. We will take our chances for now, Brennus!

380AD - The Celts take Eindhoven! Drat! War weariness kicks in a notch, and lux is forced to 20%. A reg Portugese muskets stands in our path to Evora. It will waste a second turn if we must go round him, so we msut risk some knights to punch through him! Two knights are retreated, but we finally punch a hole through him to bring the trebuchets into position.

390AD - Haarlem survives another longbow assault, but it is now reinforced with a second Swiss Merc. We are now rated average militarily to the Portugese, so their returning regiments must have suffered a world of hurt from the Celts and the Aztecs.

Seige of Evora - We have nine trebuchets, 2 swiss mercs and 5 knights to the east of Evora, but of those knights, only 2 are fully healthy - 2 are 3/4 and one is 2/4. We are supposed to be receiving reinforcements from the Netherlands, but Henry has placed a longbow in the way which will cost one unit's attack to clear. ALso the war weariness caught me off guard, and so two more knights are being built a turn too late to assist! The trebuchets knock the two (only two!!!!) vet muskets down to one and two hit-points respectively. Our healthy knights go in for the charge. One musket down, then the other. Evora and the essential iron supply are now in Netherland hands!

OK, we have achieved our first objective in this war - the iron source. We are also up three cities, and down one, although this is to the Celts. Guess who the next foe is, Brennus? Henry has 16 cities left. Eight more on the northern pennisular, including Lisbon and a nice fur supply. Five are on the NE island, which since I now have mainland iron, is worthless strategically. I can only see two more. These are in former Egyptian/Persian lands. The lattermost can be dealt with by my coalition partners. It would take too long for my troops to get there in any event. Of the five on the island, 3 are in tundra, so who really cares? The only thing here, is that I have a city on this island, Enscede, and it is now being threatened by Henry. The Aztecs have a city on the island, as well, however.

So for my remaining war objectives, William decides that he wishes to cleanse the northern part of the continent from the Portugese blight, then make peace for a decent tech discount. 20 turns of peace later we will probably finish Henry off. That is assuming the rest of the war proceeds as we hope!

 

[Sandman2003]

410AD - The Zulu are building Copernicus' Observatory - they are at Astronomy already!

420AD - Knights attack Leira without trebuchet support. We can not quite complete the job. We lose two and knowck Leira down to a single long Bow. We decide not to repeat the mistake at Lagos and wait for the trebuchet assault next turn.

430AD - The Portugese finally manage to take our island holdings of Enschede. However, for the cost of only one more knight we take Leira - though William questions the decision to send in weakened troops to do this.

Seige of Lagos - we have 9 trebuchets and six knights, facing an unknown number of forces, but with a musket showing. The trebuchets are able to redline both muskets. In the end it is these two and a longbow we face, and it is 3-0, capturing trebuchets in the process. We also redline a knight that attacked our SOD in the IT. In the clean up two vet knights attack two reg muskets in the open and win, both being promoted. An MI takes out a pike near Emerita to complete the clean up. This year it is two cities to one Henry!

Portugal has been knocked down to 12 cities, of which 6 are in the northern pennisular, and six on the NE island. And, the government is now in anarchy, so no reinforcements for a couple of turns.

We are clearly getting into another tech hole. We must act. The only techs that we can pick up are either theology or Invention. We have a further 24 turns remaining on our 50 turn invention gambit. Clearly this is not going to do. Our total economy at the moment is 528gp plus 150gpt, but we are in our golden age. We could get Theology off Brennus for 51gpt and 388gp - he is gracious at the moment. The same deal requires 411gp from Montezuma, because he is only polite. Chivalry and 116 gp would get us invention from Xerxes as he doesn't have theology. The Sumerians, Byzantines and the Zulus both have Theo and Invention. The Arabs are hopelessly behind, possessing only feudalism of the MA techs. And we are still in our phony war with Maya.

We decide to take the Aztec deal. The Celts are becomming the strongest force on our continent. I would prefer to not prop them up further, plus it would be good to have a strong ally on their flank when we war with Brennus! No one has printing press, so that will be our next target.

Theology gets us invention and 31gp from Xerxes (all he has). We almost could have got furs, but I do not fancy the safety of the trade route going through the Celts land. This improves Xerxes to cautious.

Brennus has education and gunpowder visible, but Montezuma does not, hmm. The big three on the other continent all have eduation and gunpowder as well. We do not need these just yet, so we will use the printing press gambit to try and catch up. We can only run 10% science at the moment for 40 turns, but hopefully things will pick up when soem of our other gpt deals expire. A bit of micro managing changes the due time for pp to 29 turns. Still too many but good enopugh for now.

Our ROPs have 3 turns left, the alliances 12. Before we end our turn, we realise that the tech pace on the other continent is a serious concern. We need to stir things up a bit.

The Sumerians are between the Zulu and the Maya. With a bit of luck this will drag them in too!

440AD - The Mayans immediately come begging for peace, but are rebuffed of course. It will take four turns to be in position for the all important Lisbon assault. We will be ready at Sagres in two.

 

[Sandman2003]

450AD - The Portugese are out of anarchy and into monarchy. Our forces have pushed on. Portugal and the Celts sign a peace treaty - you broke our MA, Brennus.

Seige of Sagres - Heres a break there is only a reg pike showing, and after his first hit, a spear shows up! They are both redlined, two knights charge and Sagres has joined the Dutch.

470AD - The Celts back out of the ROP as well. The Aztecs make a demand for 22gp, and we cave. We need you to be our friend, Monty, for now. We renew our ROP with Monty for no additional cost. We have switched some core cities back into building infrastructure. We need more marketplaces, and more libraries, emphasis on the former, though.

Seige of Lisbon - We have 13 trebuchets in position, for this assault on the capital. A vet musket shows. We are only able to take 3hp off, but then there are only two vets, plus at least two regs. We have a dozen knights who can strike this turn. We dare not wait. Though we would have preferred a better result with the trebuchets, it is now or never. First knight is retreated, then we lose one, then win one. Two more knights die before we kill another defender, and get a promotion. Two more muskets down, and a redlined musket shows - in with the elites! It takes two elites (no losses), and

The capital has jumped just to Oporto, and it will take three turns to position a safe assault there. One to recover, two tiles of culture terrain to advance the trebuchets through, and then the assault. In fact it looks like it will be twelve more decades of war to finish our objective of continental cleansing.

490AD - Henry has ferried two pikes and a knight to within strike range of Lisbon. One trebuched injures a pike, revealing the knight. A knight charges out of Lisbon, killing the knight.

500AD - Henry comes begging for peace, offering a substantial discount on Gunpowder. He is rebuffed. Henry finds a knight and attacks our SOD outside Oporto, killing a swiss merc!

Seige of Oporto - There are now 22 trebuchets in the SOD. We redline the three reg muskets, and yellow line a knight ands a spear. The knight is dispatched by an MI. Then the muskets are back on top. Only one elite in range, he only just wins but no leader. 2 for 1 breaks the spear to the top. The first knight is retreated before Oporto is finally liberated.

The Portugese capital has jumped to Guimaraes. The next city north. Printing Press now due in 8, but golden age and MA with the Aztec ends in 5. We note that the Zulu, the Byzantines and the Sumerians now all have PP! So much for that gambit.

The Celts must have Navigation, because map trading is now possible with them. The Aztecs have gunpowder, but not education. It is time to risk all, and end the tech brokering advantage I have, but hopefully catch up at the same time. We buy education from the Sumerians for contact with the Celts, the Aztecs, the Persians and the Portugese, plus 14gpt and 3 gp. They were the cheapest. We trade those four contacts to the Byznatines for Printing Press and 1gpt, 9gp. Printing Press and Education gets us Gunpowder and 3gp from the Aztecs. For the four contacts and 97gpt and 11gp we get Astronomy form the Zulu. Now it seems that we cannot afford, Navigation from Brennus, and hence won't get map trading ability. If we can not trade it this turn, our map will be worthless! We can buy contact with the Ottomans for 2gpt and 56 gp. We do this. The Ottomans are very backward, so that did not help. Contact with the Ottomans, 52gpt and 10gp gets us music theory. from the Sumerians.

 

[Sandman2003]

William comes back to his advisors after another tough round negotiating with Brennus' envoy. Even the entire remaining economy of the Netherlands is insufficient to tip the scales and secure navigation. Navigation is essential to lever the other remaining techs off Sumeria, as it allows value from the trade of maps, and William knows that his is very valuable. But he will not be beaten. "Send the order out" he cried, "all persons not working the city tiles must be put to collecting taxes. I will buy this navigation while this strategic opportunity exists." So with lux temporary zeroed - it needs to be at 30% - no science, and even entertainers put to work as tax collectors instead, the remaining 74gpt (out of 500) tha was insufficient to buy navigation jumps to 94gpt. "Now call back Brennus' envoy."

For contact with the Arabs, Maya and the Ottomans, world map, printing press and music theory, and 79gpt, William secures Navigation and 5gp. The Zulu are obviously researching navigation now, because they will only pay 19gpt and 13gp. William takes this because while the Byzantines will pay more, they can not pay full market price. Navigation to Theodora for world map, 29gpt and 56gp, same as prior to selling ot the Zulu, and still not full market price. Try as we might we still cannot prize banking out of Sumeria. William sells his world map to the Zulu for world map, 13gpt and 3gp.

We give up on banking and instead trade navigation and world map to Sumeria for incense, dyes, world map 47gpt and 17gp. Then our world map back to Brennus for hi world map, 5gpt and 11gp. Our new world map and ivory to the Zulu for 14gpt and 5gp. Our new world map to the Sumarians for 3gpt and 9 gp. Wines and 1 gp from Arabia for the out of date tech monotheism. At the end of trading we are back to 145gpt. Now to try and make the citizens happy. To be continued...

 

[El Loco]

Great story, keep it up. I can't wait to read your next post. Obviuosly your next war is gonna be agianst the celts, you should strike asap, case if they get riflemen your gonna be screwed.

 

[Sandman2003]

It is still 500AD. William has just fired all specialists, except the punitive tax/starvation team working old Portugese cities. An emphasis on infrastructure has been made across the empire, with many marketplaces due to complete in the next 5 decades or so. Library builds have all but been canceled. We will buy or steal tech for quite a while yet, plots William. After all the days of arduous trading, William's empire is actually in quite good nick and up a few techs, although still down at least Banking and Chemistry to the undisputed tech leader, Sumeria. We will now have to watch for tech brokering opportunities very carefully, as we have eroded our earlier position of strength to trade into this position.

The net effect of all the trades:

The war with Henry continues, but now William is reconsidering the objectives. "Clearly, we can continue to just take the rest of the penninsular, but why should we just stop there? Henry now has nothing to offer, except cash, and by the time we are done, probably not much of that." William asks his military advisor to start preparing a plan for the invasion/liberation of the Portugese island.

"We have deprived our foe of his only source of saltpeter, William, we should definitely press on now that his troops will be weaker" insists the military advisor.

510AD - As expected, both the Zulu and the Celts now have banking. And we still can not afford it.

520AD - We can afford banking, but hold off.

530AD - A minor portugese counterattack by a knight kills a Swiss merc, but our overwhelming force takes Guimaraes, and takes revenge on the Portugese knight, plus another revealed further north.

550AD - Coimbra falls easily. Henry's palace has jumped to the island! We pick up banking and Chemistry in a two-fer, and start min research on Economics. William will either study this to completion with an aim of building Smiths, or trade for it when one of his opponents gets it. Either way, Smiths would be useful. A pre-build will start next turn in Rotterdam. Democracy is out there also - the Celts and Sumerians have it. We won't need it, thinks William, there is enough representation for the people now!

570AD - Out of our golden age, our treasury is running at -84gpt. This is costing us a trebuchet each turn! In 6 turns we get 51gpt back, and each town we take lowers our support costs. Henry has mounted a minor counterattack around Guimaraes, but this will not slow our cleansing of the continent - the last Portugese town is about to be assaulted!


Finally, a leader, Abel Tasman emerges. Obviously he will form an army, but should we wait until cavalry to fill it? It is decided that we can use Henry's forces to get an army victory, and so build the Heroic Epic earlier, so a knoight army is formed (only two knights, so caravels can carry it over to the NE island.

It appears that I was wrong on my initial guess as to civ dispositions. On our continent there were 6 civs (now 4, one dead, one kicked off), on the other continent there were 5 civs, and the Ottomans had a small island to themselves in the southern ocean.

580AD - William is rethinking the continued war on Henry. He has been banished to a not very hospitable island. We only have two caravels to ferry troops over, so progress over there will be slow. The war is causing happiness issues, and our economy is still in dire straights, running a continual deficit, so there is no cash rush available. Perhaps 200 years of peace with Henry is more sensible right now?

William mets with Henry aboard one of Williams Caravels. Henry is obviously very tired and in a weak negotiating position. Long gone is the former arrogance that saw him make demands on the Netherlands, and walk his troops with impunity through Netherland territory. Peace is signed for Henry's world map, 7 gold and the former Dutch city of Enschede.

590AD - we sell ivory to the Sumerians, and finally our economy is out of deficit, with cash, but still negative cash flow.

600AD - We sell iron to the Zulu, and everything is now positive. Free Atristry has obviously been researched, because the Celts are building that. The situation at this time:

The Sumerian culture needs to be watched, and they are the tech leader, in a democracy, and we are not really in a position to do anything about it at the moment. On our continent, clearly the Celts are the key to control. They are also in a democracy, and kind of running away with the most power civ on our continent role.

William decides that the important infrastructure push now going on must continue, but then it is full military build-up to deal with Brennus!

 

[Sandman2003]

William is in his war room planning the Celtic campaign. "Brennus has not been a good friend, or even a good neighbour" states William. "He quit our military alliance against the barbaric Portugese early, and after ending our ROP he continued to utilise our territory. These sleights aside, the Celts now represent the strongest foe on our continent, and they are not just going to roll over and pass the mantle of power over to us, where it rightfully belongs! Therefore, my fellow councilors, draft me a plan for the invasion of these accursed Celts."

The military advisor has been pondering the issues involved in such a war for some time now, as it was clearly inevitable that the great powers of Celt and Dutch would surely clash. He unfolds his masterplan to the assembled council:

"Our assault calls for a three pronged attack - two forces coming out of Middelburg, and a third striking from Lauwersoog. Our old city of Eindhoven is one of the greatest strategic concerns to us, as it allows the Celts access to strike any of four of our cities, making defence much harder. Therefore, Eindhoven must fall quickly to close this gap. Task force 1 and 3 will strike Eboracum and Camulodunum respectively, as these cities surround our city of Leiden. Taking them will give us a consistent, and easier to defend border with the Celts. Camulodunum is also the gateway to the capital city Entremont. The statue of Zeus, and the prized wonder Copernicus' Observatory are in Entremont itself. In addition, the Celts are now building Magellan's Voyage there. These world wonders would make a prized addition to our empire."

"And what would the composition of these forces need to be?" inquired William.

"Well we can assume that the Celts realise that the Dutch must duly have legitimate design son these cities, and so there must be at least 4 musket defenders in each of the initial three, and possibly anything up to 8 in the capital. The assault task forces should therefore be composed of at least 10 trebuchets each to soften the enemy, have at least 10 attack 4 units, and preferably a stack of 4-5 Swiss Mercs defending them, as we can expect some counterattack to their presence in Celt land."

"We currently have only 12 knights and two medieval infantry for the attack force, although we have almost enough trebuchets to make up these forces," continues the military advisor, "so clearly a build-up is required."

The domestic advisor pipes up now, "Sir, we are currently building much needed infrastructure to strengthen our weak economy. We need all the banks and marketplaces we can get to ensure our ability to keep up in the tech race."

It is at this point that special envoy, El Loco, warns of the continuing swings of military technology, and how at the moment the advantage is with the aggressor, but imagine if muskets could reload faster and were substantially more accurate. Wouldn't then the advantage shift back to the defence? Such inventions are just around the corner, and so action needs to happen sooner rather than later, else the day of the Swiss Merc, and the knight may well be numbered!

It is decided to work on a compromise plan between full military builup, and continued infrastructure builds. Existing marketplaces will be prioritised based on cost benefit, and be selectively rushed. Then they will commence on the military requirements. Attack 4 units can either be knights or MI. The knight costs 70 shields, and has the advantages of more movement, better defence and upgradeability to cavalry when that tech is available. Since we intend to use trebuchets to soften defence before each city attack, the advantage of the additional movement really comes down to the ability to retreat in a losing battle, and therefore greater survival factor. That is at least for the offensive force. For the zone defense, the extra movement is a huge plus because it enables the unit to cover more territory effectively.

The medieval infantry costs only 40 (ie almost half a knight) and can eventually be upgraded to a guerilla (and then to TOW infantry). Their real benefit is the cheaper cost to get an attack 4 unit. We need to carefully investigate the time to produce these versus the knights!

610AD - The Sumerians have started Smiths. I think we are pretty unlikely to get it now, so we will concentrate on our military build up.

620AD - Sell the world map around for a bit of a boost to the economy. We have a caravel out fog busting to ensure that the other civs will continue to value our map. Probably worth 60-70gp this turn. Our archer is able to be upgraded to Longbow, adding 1 to the attack 4 units available. The Celts start Smiths. Maybe they will beat the Sumerians, and we will get by capture...

630AD - Brennus adds another reason for his destruction. He demands our territory map and 22 gp. We comply, thinking our buildup has started, and your arrogance will not last much longer!

640AD - We renew our alliance against the Maya with the Zulu, and pick up 57gp.

660AD - more map sales.

 

[Sandman2003]

660AD - With micro managing we get an MI every 2 turns out of Rotterdam. Now Sumeria and the Celts are both up Physics and Metallurgy. We are still not ready to war though.

670AD - Byzantines complete Magellan's voyage. And then all hell breaks lose...

We fend off attacks at Leiden and Lauwersoog. These attacks comprised knights and ancient cavalry. We lose a knight in Lauwersoog in the process. Our build up there was very incomplete.

680AD - OK, Brennus, our turn. We only have one task force anything like ready to go - it moves into position by Eindhoven. We buy the Aztecs in for Astronomy. We buy Persia in for Education. Both these nations share borders with the Celts and we were always going to brin gthem in. We decide while we are at it, lets keep Henry on the good guys side. Music Theory buys him in. And then teh one that I reallly want.

The reason I want this, even though the Sumerians are on the other continent and it is very expensive given the AIs very poor approach to war across an ocean, is that it breaks up the cosy tech partnership between the Celts and the Sumerians, and it also means the Sumerians will stop pushing science and start building units. Hopefully this will cause a science slowdown, maximising the utility of my current units, and current techs. We contemplate bringing in the Byzantines as well. They have a single city presence on our continent now. However, they want hard cash too, so we decide not to bother. How does this feel, Brennus?

Middelburg is protected by 2 swiss mercs, a trebuchet and a knight. Leiden has two swiss mercs, has just had a musket built (instaed of a courthouse), and has walls on a hill. Hopefully it costs Brennus dearly! Lauwersoog has two Swiss Mercs a trebuchet and a knight.

We can afford metallurgy off Sumeria now, but we will wait two more turns for a 97gpt deal to expire. We need to be able to rush units more than cannons just now.

690AD - Brennus drags the Zulu into war against Henry, ha ha. But that is it. The world powers are all on our side. We fend off attacks again on Leiden and Lauwersoog, no losses for us. Henry loses several ancient cav, however.

Seige of Eindhoven - It looks like there are 4 reg muskets there. Our trebuchets get three hits. The cav army kills the first musket losing 6hp. Then our knights kill two muskets. BUt on the last defender we lose two knights, but finally he is redlined. An elite knight finishes the job.

And that is how it is done, Brennus.

700AD - Sumeria buys the Arabs into the war on the Celts, then the Arabs buy in the Zulus against the Celts. It is called a dogpile, Brennus, and you are it.

710AD - The Celts have Military Tradition. I thought Eindhoven was safe from two movement troops so ZI lightened the defense. Well it was, but not three move troops! We buy metallurgy from the Sumerians, but they do not yet have MI. We capture Eboracum without loss. The cavalry appears to be unreinforced at Eindhoven, so a vet knight charges in and retakes Eindhoven!

720AD - A single cavalry attacks at Eboracum, but is destroyed. The Celts pillage our salt peter by Leiden. We ahve another source!

730AD - Seige of Camulodunum - our trebuchets ring out, but there are many musket defenders. The knight army moves in and kills the first three. We then lose a knight, retreat one, lose an MI and finally kill another musket with an elite knight. We are out of puff, on this attack, for the moment! Two ancient cav are pushing through the marsh near Lauwersoog. Our SOD has reached Augustodurum.

 

[Sandman2003]

730AD cont - we sell ivory to Theodora. We need to keep a cashflow happening. In two turns a 109gpt deal with Sumeria elapses.

740AD - The Sumerians buy the Ottomans in on the war against the Celts. The Celts buy the Byzantines in on the war against Persia. The two ancient cavs attack Lauwersoog. Our bombardments on Augustodurum and Camulodunum are insufficient to redline all defenders. Two MI die at Augustodurum, before we decide that we will call off these attacks and combine the SODs into one attack with all our offensive units.

750AD - THe pull back and heal is initiated. Sumeria now has military tradition, but we can not afford it. No apparent action from the Celts this time.

760AD - Celts and Aztecs have signed a peace treaty! A single cavalry unit attacks Eboracum. The cav is retreated onto a moutain. Our longbow decides to attack but dies in the process. We buy the Aztecs back in for Metallurgy, and also pick up economics, 10gp and 6gpt.

780AD - The Maya come begging for peace, but are rebuffed. We still have an active alliance with the Zulu. We have finally reorganised so that two SODs are outside Camulodunum. The plan is to take this city, then on to the capital Entremont. One city every three turns is better than no cities period!

790AD - Seige of Camulodunum - we finally have two SODs consisting of 24 trebuchets, one cannon, a knight army, 7 knights, and 7 MI. We expect that we are now facing 6 or even 7 muskets in a size 12 city. The army kills three yellow-lined muskets, the rest are redlined! It only takes two elite knights to finish it (5 muskets in all) - this time no losses!

 

[Sandman2003]

790AD cont - We contemplated razing of this city, but decide to keep it, because we should be steiking Entrmont, the capital, in 3 decades. We can afford MT this turn, and would be able to swap for physics, but it is only just, and we need cash for upgrades and rushing still, so we pass.

800AD - A single cav attacks and kills a swiss merc in Eboracum.

810AD - An ancient cav dies at the gates of Leiden. A cav dies at Eboracum, then another kills a swiss merc there. We finish rushing walls there, and reinforce the position with a cannon and another swiss merc.

820AD - Portugal and the Zulus sign peace. Sumeria completes Shakespeares. A cav is retreated at Leiden, and we have lost some gpt, and so can no longer afford MT!

Seige of Entremont - Our SOD is huge! The world has never seen anything like this before: 5 cannons, 24 trebuchets, 8 knights, 8 MI, and 4 Swiss mercs. ALso our knight army will be able to strike twice. The smug air of overconfidence in Entremont is shattered one fine morning as the rattle of cannon rings out. It is followed by the rain of rocks from the trebuchets, that remian surprisingly effective. The hapless defenders are in disarray as the order is given to advance. The elites move in first. Surprisingly an elite MI is picked off by the muskets, but then it is all one way traffic as the Dutch overpower the defense and take Entremont.

We also get Copernicus' Observatory from this action.

Our whole economy and ivory buys us MT from Sumeria. They already have over 4000gp, so are probably steaming ahead in research, but it is still cheaper to buy than a safe steal, and we should be able to wrangle physics as well. Also cavs against muskets is my kind of fight! Apparently MT is not enough to swap for physics with the Byzantines, but it will still add punch to our fight!

We upgrade 4 vet knights to cavs, and change build orders to cavs. Our front is now:

William is forming a second task force in Leiden, so that assaults can be launched on both Alesia and Augustodurum. However, it will be 5 decades before the forces are recovered and in position for these attacks.

830AD - Celts and Persia have signed a peace treaty. This is 50 years early, Xerxes, your on the list! A cav attacks Entremont, but impales itself on our swiss mercs.

840AD - Celts sign a military alliance with the Byzantines against the Sumerians (excellent, he he). Cavs attack and kill two exposed swiss mercs (who were advancing as reinforcements). We do not renew our alliance with the Zulu against the Maya. It looks like the Maya has made some small progress against the once mighty Zulu. It is time for us to make peace with them. We also do a furs for silks deal - we need more happiness. But either we were getting much war happiness from this phony war, or more war weariness just kicked in, because we need to hire more clowns to keep the citizens happy.

We kill the offending cavs in our territory.

IT - Sumeria drags Arabia and the Ottomans into the battle against the Byzantines. The Zulu and Celts sign a peace treaty.

850AD - Troops moving up.

IT - The Sumerians bring in the Maya on the Byzantines.

860AD - Seige of Augustodurum - The inhabitants had thought that they had fought off the Dutch assault, but they were rudely reminded of the war when a SOD rolled up onto their doorstep. The cannons abruptly opened fire. They leave two 2 hp and one three hp musket standing, so battered but still in the fight, the muskets brace for the oncoming assault. A knight army and two cavs each destroy one of the three defenders for no loss, and the long resisting Augustodurum falls.

Seige of Alesia - At the end of the artillery barrage, at least three defending muskets are all but destroyed, but there is still a unit trying to hold the defence together on top. A cavalry takes out this staunch defender, then two elite knights try for promotions on two more units, before a further cav finishes the job.

 

[Sandman2003]

(I actuall ylost the original in that deep dark void of the internet, so this is a recreation)

William was meeting with his milir=tary advidor in his great war room, a room that was rapidly becoming one of his favourite spots! The military advisor has just finished informing William of how our military forces have improved their relative standing. At the onset of these hostilities started by the evil Brennus, our military might was ranked weak as against both the Celts and the Aztecs. Now at this point, one glorious battle after another, our military strength is rated strong against them, and Persia as well. Though before we get too excited, it is still weak as against Sumeria and the Maya on the other continent, and only average against the Byzantines.

William isn't interested in statistics. He read this very morning a statistic indicating that 38% of the population 'just want to give peace a chance'. "Don't these people realise that the Dutch people are on the verge of greatness!" bellowed William. "Perhaps we need to find a less representative form of government, so we can get on with the job of building the greater Netherlands, unimpeded by this sick soft underbelly within our great nation! Now please explain the plan for the further action against these warmongering Celts."

The military advisor presented the plan as follows:

The northern, yellow force, has been tasked with relieving the Celts from their last horse resource near Verulamium, and pushing on to secure the vital third luxury of spices at the western base of the mid-continental peninsular. To do this, progress will be sped up by allowing the faster cavalry regiments, and the knight army to attack towns unaided, risking some casualies for the greater speed of the campaign. The slower artillery and other attack 4 units will attack the nearer targets, allowing the cavalry contingent to speed on to its objectives.

The southern red force will continue to rely on the artillery barrage followed by attack four units charging the disorientated defenders. Their key aim is to take the new capital, and consolidate our base on the continent.

We also pick up Physics form the rapidly dwindling Zulu for the resources of saltpeter and iron, plus furs and a modest 18gpt. The Zulu were once tech leaders. They were the first to get out of despotism, but no wthe Maya are getting the better of them, so these resources will hopefully extend their existence, and slow down others on the continent. Besides which, it gives the Dutch good value for these excess resources.

The military plan starts off with healing and slowly advancing. Then the first cavalry rush occurs at Richborough, and shock horror, the Celts now have rifles. The cavalry attack anyway, and only suffer a retreat, before claiming the city without loss!

The red force starts heading for Agedincum instead of the correct first target of Lugdunum. Perhaps the commander is a bit green, or a bit nervous of the great responsibility vested in him. This error is corrected, but it delays the assault here.

Burdigala is still showing muskets, so a cavalryy rush is ordered up, even prior to the full force being healed. The last unit is a conscript rifle, but again no losses eventuate. The Celts must realise that their horse resource is in danger, because then two cavalry advance into the city radius for an attck next turn. Thiis never gets to happen, as our cavalry regiments dispatch them, and the slow force advances onto the horse resource.

Then it is finally the turn of the red force, and their first objective is protected by rifles. The artillery rings out, and even though the trebuchets are noticeably less effective against these defenders, the combination of cannons and trebuchets in the sheer quantity available succeeds in redlining all defenders and they are quickly dispatched.

Finally, it appears that the conflict between the Aztecs and the Celts is still raging, because another Aztec city has clearly fallen to the Celts, the city of Calixtlahuaca. I guess the red force gets another target.

And so that brings the situation up to date at 910AD.

 

[El Loco]

It is at this point that special envoy, El Loco, warns of the continuing swings of military technology, and how at the moment the advantage is with the aggressor

I am honored to be your envoy. Good luck with those rifles, should consider upgrading trebs to cannons. Great story

 

[Sandman2003]

Good luck with those rifles, should consider upgrading trebs to cannons. Great story

The strategy with the trebuchets is the unused trebuchets in an assault (if any) enter the captured city if it has a barracks and are upgraded. Since the red force is redlining all defenders anyway, at the moment, it doesn't seem necessary to waste a turn to put the lot into a city and upgrade all. I actually don't have the cash just yet to do so either, although the economy is back on track.

Brennus won't even gove me one free MA tech for peace at the moment. Not that that was really an option for him anyway! I still have 5 turns on the alliance with the Aztecs, and we want Brennus' silk source. We desperately need the permanent happiness boost, not to mention the improved trading opportunities it will provide!

IT - Aztecs and Sumeria sign an MPP! Does Montezuma suspect that he was next? And an MA against the Byzantines. A Celt cav attacks our SOD on their horses and kills a Swiss Merc. The Sumerians declare on the Zulu. The Zulu are not going to last much longer - does this kill my rep as I still pay them resources and cash? The Sumerians have also completed Smiths. They will need pegging back. AT the moment they are running away with the game!

920AD - We sell the Maya some spare ivory to keep our per turn income up, but we only really get spare change. The knight army pillages the Celt horse supply, and disposes of the lone cavalry unit, taking the mountain by Verulamium.

IT - The Aztecs come looking for an alliance vs the Byzantines and an ROP - no thanks! At Verulamium, an Aztec knoight attacks a Celt cavalry across a river and wins. There is no attack against our SOD!

930AD - Seige of Verulamium - The cannons and trebuchets fire first. The three defending vet rifles are down to 2 and 1 hp respectively. We lose three MI, and then make use of the knight army to polish two defenders off. Finally an injured cav remains. An MI finishes the job.

Seige of Tula - There are seven cavs available for the task, so the rapid expansion fore is ordered into the Tula assault (size 4 city). As the first cav charges to within range, there is a piece of luck, only a reg musket is showing as the defence. And then it is a reg pike! And finally a reg cavalry. Tula is liberated from the yoke of Celtic oppression without loss!

The Celts now are a very split empire. They have one pennisular city, Gergovia, back near Entremont, 3 cities including the current capital by the red force, now seperated from the rest of their cities, 6 cities in the main area with the spice resource, and a final city hemmed in by the Aztecs and the Persians.

The Sumerians have been knocked out of democracy and are in anarchy. That has got to be a good thing.

There is a longbow by Entremont that came from Gergovia. Our MI dispenses with the threat!

There is a teo-fer opportunity available to get us out of the MA. We decide to take it. ToG from Theodora for 127gpt and most of our cash. ToG and 17gpt gets us Magnetism from the Zulu. In teh IA, the Sumerians have nationalism and medicine. The Byzantines and Celts are the only other civs with nationalism. We select steam to research. If we put all our tax collectors to scientists, it makes no difference to the 50 required research turns, so we leave it at a min run that probably will be irrelevant ultimately. They are all back ot gathering tax now.

IT - The Celts have signed several of the other cointinents powers into their war against Persia. The Zulu want an ROP. We can get some money for it, so we take it.

940AD - Seige of Agedincum (current Celtic capital - As the bombardment rains down, it appears to be protected by two vets, a reg and a conscript rifle. Finally they are all redlined, with one cannon remaining to be fired. The elite knights charge in - one victory, then they score one and a promotion. The last cannon resumes the redlined status, and our third elite knight makes it two. Two vet MI victories, and the capital has fallen!

Looking at the spices city of Memphis, it is decided that the quickest way there is through the city of Lapurdum, because from Lapurdum, Memphis is in direct range of the cavalry units. Whereas from Verulamium, they would have to camp out in the pen for a whole decade, and that is a long time to be camping away from home!

Seige of Lapurdum - again a reg musket is showing. Brennus must have hoped that Lapurdum was not the next target. How wrong he was! Two muskets later there is a conscript rifle, and then a cavalry. Finally it is all over and Lapurdum joind the Dutch. Memphis and those glorious spices are now tantalisingly close, but not quite close enough for an assault this decade. It is noted that two cities to the north at Alexandria is a further supply of spices should the Aztecs beat us to Memphis. However, it would be better to cut off the Aztec advance and take Memphis ourselves. Next decade we will be in position to do so.

960AD - Seige of Memphis - The cavalry charge, and a reg rifle is revealed! But our first regiment dies, promoting the defender. In with the knight army, and now a conscript rifle shows. Our elite cav kills this, showing a cav. With no further loss, Memphis and the essential spices are ours!

 

[barbslinger]

Nice game. Good luck!