Save the Mongols

In the very same turn, 1250 BC, the Zulu snatch a settlement in our island. It's no surprise, the main continent is already filled up and Map Making is known from ages (except by us):



Meanwhile, we complete our core:



In 1150 BC, another Zulu settler pair lands on our island, on the southern tip that is still unsettled, but this time we were prepared. We let the settler land and then use Shaka's aggressive settling posture as a casus belli to start our first war...



...but first, a few quids are spent to spy Mpondo, to determine the right time to attack without being foiled by a poprush that would cause the city to be autorazed. Then, poor fool Shaka is given the bad news:



The first battle is won without casualties on our side. We capture two Zulu slaves and send them immediately to road the game forest. The archer also got promoted elite:



A few turns pass, and then, in 975 BC, we finally complete our quest for Literature, with nobody else having researched it. Thanks also to a war involving Spain against Persia and Ottomans, we manage to trade our way to parity, ending up with all the AA techs except for Polytheism and a complete map of our near continent, the other one being still unknown.



But 975 BC is also the turn in which we have to move to the outskirts of Mpondo. Next turn the city will both grow to size 2 and complete an impi. It's actually an overkill situation, in which the city will be totally unable to poprush.

The plan is executed flawlessly and the city is captured instead of autorazed. As an added bonus, another archer is promoted to elite. Moreover, the impi was killed at the 1st try. That means, no golden age for the Zulus.



Then, we immediately sign peace without taking hard goods, in order to be able to re-declare was as we please. Not that there was much to take anyway (cities were out of question).

At this point the game enters into a new phase. We have secured our island, with the exception of the western tip that will be colonized soon. The city will be exposed to cultural pressure from the Zulu, but by amassing all our free units there we'll be safe from defection. And then, the very same units used to secure the city will be used to launch an invasion into the Zulu mainland.

Moreover, with present knowledge, we are not bound to use archers anymore, but we can complement our military with some catapults and horsemen. Cats will be useful to weaken the impis and, possibly, avoid triggering a Zulu golden age. Legions are still out of question, until we're out of despotism.

In the mainland, we'll focus mostly on improving our core, chopping a few trees and building up the military. A harbor will have to be built somewhere, and a few galleys will be needed to ferry our troops and to attempt a discovery of the other landmass. Nothing else will be built, even markets are of little use at the moment.

---

And now the bad news: this story will be idle for a little while. Too bad i cannot compete in the GotM and, at the same time, go on with it. I'll be back, probably, by the end of this month or a few days after.

Hope you have enjoyed it so far. See you soon!

~~~~~ to be continued ~~~~~

 

Loved your new city names, particularly your latest core city of "Shaka Sucks". At least I rememberd to put my drink down before reading your update this time! See you at the end of the month or thereabouts!

 

Subscribed.

 

Having submitted my game of the month, now i can resume this epic story (well, sort of).

950BC is a rich turn indeed. Not only we concluded a war successfully, but the first unit of our valiant navy forces finally set the sails...



... immediately followed by the second:



~~~~~ to be continued ~~~~~

 

And he's back!

Great as always. I especially like the last one.

 

I laughed. Great story, good work

I've already forgotten how an unmodded game looks like, though (wow that terrain is so ugly).

Keep them coming!

 

Thank to everyone expressing their support! Alas, time is little, but i'll do my best to keep it going.

In 925 BC, a third galley has been built. As expected, our valiant land forces are not so excited about our navy:



A settler is ready to claim the final part of our homeland, but there are some issues to consider...



~~~~~ to be continued ~~~~~

 

Just hilarious!

 

A few turns go by, as we continue improving our land and preparing for the invasion of Zululand. Then...



Having a settler sitting idle in a settling spot is causing a bit of unrest among our military, expecially after we start paying gpt for their manteinance...



Meanwhile, in 825 bc, our heroic Rotten Tug has survived crossing the open sea! We're about to make contact with the folks on the far continent:



~~~~~ to be continued ~~~~~

 

I be following this now. Love it!

 

You undoubtedly have the funniest advisors and the scariest named ships I've ever seen in Civ III. Great work!

 

I must say, good sir, that this is indeed hilarious and I plan to follow you until the end!

 

Once again, thank you everyone

A few turns go by, as the navy buildup continues (with some caveats). We need a few galleys to unload a stack big enough to not be overwhelmed immediately and capture Ishandlwana:



Meanwhile, the crew of the Rotten Tub makes contact with the foreign tribes abroad:





We secure all contacts and obtain the last AA tech, Polytheism, from Carthage. This way we can buy Republic from Persia, although the price is outrageous: tech parity, all contacts and a valuable world map. Persia picks Monotheism and we start Feudalism at bare minimum.

Meanwhile, another galley is christened, and if the Rotten Tub survives the return trip we'll be ready to embark for Zululand in a few turns:



We did not revolt, for now. The idea is to enter Anarchy immediately before the invasion and, until then, complete the harbor in Idiot City and train a few warriors for a subsequent mass-upgrade. As soon as we're in Republic, legionaries will enter the battlefield.

~~~~~ to be continued ~~~~~

 

Very entertaining read, subscribing

 

Still a few peaceful turns before the war erupts.

It would take the same amount of time to build a new galley than to have the Rotten Tug come back home (with the additional risk of being sunk in open waters), so the Tug is sent exploring the egyptian coast...



In our homeland, we're still amassing forces, and our valiant soldiers are tired to wait (to some extent):



In 690 BC, the fifth galley is finally ready. Five galleys is what our military experts consider to be the minimal amount to unload a stack strong enough to survive the skirmish and take over Ishandlwana. At least, this number is reached, but the practice of giving questionable names to our navy units is still in place:



War with the Zulu is now imminent, so stay tuned!

~~~~~ to be continued ~~~~~

 

You know, come to think of it, I like hills.

 

Hills. Hills are good.

I don't suppose the Nerds give life insurance to their idiot warriors?

 

Didn't notice this story until now, just caught up with it.
Great read.

Subscribed.

 

Welcome aboard, newcomers, and thanks for the support

@Raliuven: nope - but the Nerds will finance their upgrade into Legionaries instead, still better than nothing

Now, before real action is resumed, some general info on the game so far.

It's 670 BC, we're in the Middle Ages, knowing Republic but still in Despotism, with no MA techs known. We have 9 cities, one of which captured from the Zulu (Mpondo), and an army made of: 9 workers, 3 slave workers, 15 warriors (about to be upgraded to legionaries), 18 archers, 3 spears, 1 horseman, 2 catapults.

Mpondo will breed a Zulu settler and will be disbanded in the process, to be replaced by a breeder settlement that will produce mongol settlers from mongol workers.

Our opponents are: Egypt, Carthage, Greece, Zulu, Arabs, Babylon, Persia, Ottomans, Spain, Celts (all random picks). Spain is at war with Persia and Ottomans. On the far continent, Carthage is at war with Babylon.

Those wars and the tech progress make for interesting trade options. Here's the situation:

- Persia is in MA, with knowledge of Republic, Monotheism and Feudalism (ouch!)
- Ottomans are in MA with knowledge of Republic and Feudalism
- Babylon is in MA, knows Feudalism but misses Republic
- Arabia, Carthage, Celts and Spain are in MA, but miss Republic and have no MA techs
- Greece and Egypt are still in AA, missing Polytheism and Republic.
- The Zulu are the most backwards, missing Poly, Currency and Republic.

Oh, and everybody has contact with everybody else.

Given the peculiar situation of Babylon, i'm able to buy Feudalism for Republic, our world maps (that they still miss) and a little amount of cash. Moreover, interesting options may become available if i gift Greece into the MA.

With the harbor in Idiot City complete, some luxury trades are available, once i connect the extra dyes.

Here's the current world map - the uncharted island to the north is where the Rotten Tub is heading for:



And, of course, in the current world ranking we're dead last in everything except for power