Strive for Immortality

[Nunya]

London burned and Nunya watched the flames with an expression of boredom. He sighed. He wasn't really trying and yet he had crushed seven emperors.

"Emperors? Bah! Back in the old days they would have barely qualified as mere nobles."

It was time to increase the challenge. He rose beyond the world he had recently conquered and searched for another. Ah! There was a suitable one. Standard size, with a single continent, standard timeflow, and most importantly it was populated by immortals. He scanned the land for the signs of any small tribes requiring leadership. When he found one he descended to the ground in the middle of their small camp.

"And who might you be?" someone said behind his back.

Nunya turned to see a man in pharaoh's garb sitting on a throne. "Hi there, Ramsey."

"Whoever you are, these are my people. I suggest you get the hell out of here. Don't make me smite you with my longsword!"

"Oh yeah? My last people invented guns. And they were American so everybody in the empire had one. Including me. And I brought it along." He pointed it at Ramses. "So I suggest that you be the one to get the hell out of here, not me. Okay?"

Ramses groumbled but there was nothing he could do about it and so it was that Nunya came to be in charge of the Egyptian people.

"Allright people! I'm now in charge and we are going to make some changes!"

************​

This is my first Immortal game and I'd like to try ICS. I decided to play as the Egyptians mainly because of their UB which should be excellent for ICS (0 upkeep temple that gives +2 ). War Chariots for an early rush of my closest neighbours are also nice and the UA will save some hammers later on. I've attached the initial save in case anyone wants to play along.

Standard size, standard number of civs, standard speed, Pangea, Immortal difficulty. Time victory has been disabled but everything esle is legit.

First here is the starting position and it's strategic view.





It seems to be a good position so I'll probably just settle in place. I seem to have started next to a jungle so Thebes is going to make a good science city. My basic plan is to take out my closest two neighbours with a combination of War Chariots and Horsemen, then spam my teriotry with countless cities.

I've started tweaking my game with a text editor before the modding tools came out so I play a quite heavily tweaked game without formally running any mods.

The most notable change is that all social policies are available from the start and none of them conflict with each. They've of course been rebalanced and Communism, Merchant Navy, and Republic all give +2 hammers. Other notable changes are that open terrain doesn't give a combat penalty, rough terrain gives a +50% defense bonus, and all unit's ranged strengths have been reduced by a third (siege also gets +100% vs cities which makes them 50% better vs cities than normally). Horsemen have 3 moves and Chariot Archers are basically Archers with +1 movement who can move after attacking (rough terrain doesn't automatically stop them anymore and they're not classed as mounted units). War Chariots then have 4 moves and don't require horses as usual.

Then there's a whole bunch of other tweaks but I'll list them later, if they become important at all.

So policy wise I think I'll go for Liberty->Citizenship->Meritocracy first and then Freedom->Civil Society. Collective Rule and Republic have been tweaked to give +1 food in every city in addition to their other benefits so they'll be my 7th and 8th policy (this is also why I'm not going Order). If I get any social policies beyond that I'll move down the left branch of the Rationalism tree.

 

[Nunya]

Nunya surveyed the surounding area. A river (which he named Nile), a variety of different terrains and wine. Yes, this was a good spot to settle. The brand new city of Thebes immediately started producing Scouts while the Warriors were sent to climb the hill to the south.

This revealed sugar just beyond the jungles surrounding Thebes and some cows. They had no idea what to do with cows since the Egyptian people had barely begun researching Animal Husbandry and so they decided to travel to the south-west.

This brought them into contact with a group of soldiers carrying strange weapons made of a piece of wood and a piece of string. The leader of these mysterious people came forward and introduced himself.



And as a matter of fact Nunya was a good friend of Liberty, planning to adopt that very policy. Unlike Washington who (as it later turned out) eventually adopted autocracy.

Shortly after that the second victim ... er... neighbour presented himself to Nunya.



And a turn or two later the Siamese ruler came asking to form a pact of secrecy against Washington. Nunya smiled, but ultimatel decided against it. He didn't really see any benefit neither in avoiding trade with Washington nor in upsetting Ramkhamhaeng by breaking the pact. He also wasn't quite sure who to attack first and wanted to leave all options open.

Thebes finsihed training Scouts shortly and immediately started work on Workers. The Scouts were sent to explore the lands east of the Nile where within ancient ruins they discovered the advanced technology of making clay pots.

The wise Egyptian people finished research of Animal Husbandry which revealed a pair of Horses just next to Thebes' Wine.



Meanwhile the Warriors found a culture ruin which allowed Nunya to adopt Collective Rule even before Thebes finsihed the worker. Now Egyptian workers will gain the +25% bonus from the very start!

Some time later a third rival presented himself:


Interestingly enough Nappy took Piety as his first social policy. That shows he gave happiness a higher priority than offense, at least in the short term.

And then Ramkhamheang (who also adopted Piety) volunteered to become the first target of Egypt's fury.



Nunya decide that the second city should be placed on the Wheat next to the little lake in the south-east. Thebes itself already has Horses in it's borders and the Workers are sent to build a pasture. After producing the Settler Thebes start work on a War Chariot. And after Memphis is settled it does likewise.

Finally in the year 2440 BC the Egyptian scientist make a revolutionary breakthrough and find a way to actually ride horses instead of having them pull a chariot. Thebes still need 2 turn to finish the first War Chariot but then imemdiately start work on a squad of Horsemen. They will finish training at about the same time as the War Chariot from Memphis.

In 1960 BC the world's first war is just about to erupt and the situation is following:





The battle plan is following: Capture Si Satchanalai first and raze it. Then go after the Siamese capital and finally finish them off by taking the city at the American border.

Noteworthy is also that Washington the Terrible opted for Autoracy which means he plans to warmonger. I hope he picked Militarism rather than Populism as his second policy because I don't want to fight a mini-Japan. Either way chances are he'll join the fun when the Siamese capital falls if not sooner. So he might well be the one to take Muang Saluang.

 

[Nunya]

Does the fact nobody replied mean that nobody cares or does it simply mean that nobody had anything to say? Because right now I'm deliberating whether I should continue writing this or not.

 

[Akbarthegreat]

Does the fact nobody replied mean that nobody cares or does it simply mean that nobody had anything to say? Because right now I'm deliberating whether I should continue writing this or not.

Maybe nobody noticed it?
Anyways I'm waiting for more.
Keep it coming!

 

[Nunya]

I don't think I'd get 60+ views without anyone noticing it.

And I hope my previous post didn't come out as whining. It's just that it took me about an hour to write my second post and if nobody cared I could find more productive ways to spend my time.

Okay, I'll go prepare for the second set of 50 turns.

 

[bobbyboy29]

Don't worry, there are plenty of people lurking, I bet. Your posts were very well written. It's just that there's not much to say at the moment other than that Siam must BURN! (almost definately with horsemen). I like how all SP trees are opened up already, wouldn't play with it personally but early autocracy certainly makes things interesting!

Also i'm interested to see whether capturing that city near washington's borders will make him angry. Settling one there definately would so maybe it was a good thing the AI settled there for you!

 

[Nunya]

My original plan was to play 50 turns at a time, but decided to break off at turn 83 instead as I have to make my first decision what to research next that isn't a nobrainer. This were also the most exciting and fun 32 turns I've played in Civ V up to date.

************​

A squad of Horsemen was purchased in Memphis and sent to deal with a Barbarian encampment that threatened Alamaty. The military advisor argued that they should have preserved their strength for the upcoming assault on Siam, but Nunya dismissed him. Killing Brutes was good practice and helped evolve military minds.

Now it was time to break the news to Ramkhamhaeng. He did not take it very well.


Nunya laughed. "Maybe. But not by your hand!"





As the foul city of Si Satchanalai burned and the Egyptian forces marched westwards towards Sukothai Washington and Napoleon both showed up asking for open borders. Nunya refused them both because he didn't want any spies to infiltrate Egypt.

Near Sukhotai the army ran into a group of scouts wearing grey and Nunya established contact with a fourth rival.



"Chairman Bismarck, is it? From the German Democratic Republic, I presume?" The joke did not land very well with Otto, but he got over it.
Ramhkamheang came begging for his life:



Nunya examined the offer, but shook his head. "You should have thought about this before settling right under my nose. As for the resources you're offering, they'll be mine anyway as soon as I take your capital. Now get lost, it's time for my lunch."



Remember how that Egyptian Horseman cleared some barbarians for Almaty? Almaty was so grateful that they produced a squad of their own Horsemen and gave them to Egypt as a gift. Nunya was overjoyed, it was exactly waht he needed.

Speaking of remembering, you might recall the prediction that Washington would join the fun. Well, let's just say it didn't go exactly according to the prediction.



His exact words were "We cannot overlook your warmongering." And check out these nifty demographics. Can you guess who has the biggest army in the world?



And he has the best production as well. This was going to be fun!



Then a messenger came with news that Washington had declared war on Bucharest. Nunya chuckled. "The man may lack manny things, but confidence is not one of them." The good news then got even better:



3 dead yankees coming up!

Then we found out how many social policies people have.



We just got enough culture to adopt one more on that very turn (and chose Meritocracy), so it should actually be 3 for Egypt. But look at Napoleon! 8 policies? Crazy! Piety must be working out pretty well for him and Nunya worried about Nappy shooting for a cultural victory. Something would have to be done about it.

But first things first. Ramkhamheang, you funny guy!



A couple of turns later the second city of Si Satchanalai followed the example of it's namesake, two hexes to the north. Note also that a great general has emerged, which will make future conquests easier.



"Yeah, sure. Peaceful harmony is exactly waht Egypt is all about." Nunya crossed his fingers behind his back. One turn later Ghandi offered Nunya a pact of cooperation which the Egyptian Consul graciously accepted.

Meanwhile the balance of forces in the world has shifted and America no longer boasted the largest army:



Ghandi has the largest population, which sounds about right, bu the biggest surprise is yet again Napoleon. 0% literacy? Really? 0 freaking percent? What the hell is that man doing!? It's almost like Napoleon was transforming science into culture or something.

The Eastern Egyptian army moved south towards the final Siamese city. Three units of Horsemen and a unit of War Chariots stormed the city. The result was predictable.



Nunya almost felt sorry for the man, but what had to be done simply had to be done. But there was no time for sadness, the war with america still raged.

On the western front a unit of Horsemen charged a group of American Archers on a nearby hill and used up all their movement only to reveal a group of spears on the other side of the hill. Nunya cursed his own recklesness, but then this happened:



"Let's see. We get to keep the Horsemen, we get all the gold Washington has, we get to heal our army and scout out American teritory. Yes, these are good terms. I accept."



"Yeah, you do that. I just hope it won't be half as terrible as you, great dictator of Arabia."

************​

And that's where I stopped playing for now. I'm facing a choice of what to research next and I'm unsure. Civil Society is tempting but would take a long time. I could get Archery, Mathematics, and Currency in that same amount of time. Any suggestions?



And here are the latest demographics:


Finally a view of what at the moment are still American lands:


Boston has 17 Strength because I doubled the bonus from Walls, Castles, and military bases. Cities also have 25% more hit points so taking them is harder than normal.

 

[KuroRyuuD]

Pretty amusing read, keep up the goodness. ^^

 

[Akbarthegreat]

Writing styles' nice and amusing. GO ON!

 

[Azedenkae]

Lol awesome! Keep up the good work!

And I guess the Currency path would be my choice of the two, but imo Theology might be a good choice as well... seeing that you're slightly behind in policies. Given the situation, policies aren't that important, I guess, but yeah, a bit more culture output might be nice. XD Coz of the amount of cities you're starting to accumulate as well.

 

[Nunya]

For now all the cities I conquered are puppets so they don't slow down policy gains.

************​

After Nunya signed the peace treaty Washington said some nonsense about hoping no more misunderstanding would cause divides between their nations. Nunya smiled. The Americans might have started this war, but if they hadn't that wouldn't have prevented it from occuring. The subcontinent simply wasn't big enough for two civilizations to leave together in peace.

The turns after the signing of the peace treaty were mostly uneventful. Nunya decided to focus research on Bronze and Iron Working for two reasons. The first was that he neede a unit that could deal with American Spearmen. With no defense penalty in the open they proved to be strong enough to withstand a Horseman charge and with a 50% bonus in rough terrain they were almost impossible to kill without taking heavy loses.

The second was that Nunya wanted to complete several national wonders before beginning his city spam. National College and Heroic Epic are both much easier to build when you have 5 cities than when you have 30. Especially since the Heroic Epic requires a building that most of these cities wouldn't have.

The two things of interest that did happen during the ceasefire were a 4th social policy (Freedom) and an encounter with the final rival:



Nunya was slightly dissapointed because he had secretly hoped to run into his old friend Monty (that man was always ready to party!), but a lady friend was not a bad deal either. Especially in this otherwise all male company. Then this happened:



"Lady, I'm beginning to really like you. You've got yourself a deal!"

Just before the peace treaty expired Washington did something really stupid that divided his forces:



"One free alliance coming up!"

When the peace treaty expired the Egyptian wise men were just a short step from discovering the secrets of Iron Working so Nunya decided to wait and allow Washington to stretch his forces further. Then on the next turn he examined the map for mineral deposits:



Boston had two Iron deposits, one of them already mined. And Boston was surrounded by Egyptian forces. Excellent!

And so the forces of the Egyptian Republic prepared themselves for the liberation of the downtroden American people from their fascist dictator Washington the Terrible. Horsemen charged shouting "Liberty!" and "Freedom!" and in two turns Boston was Egyptian.

"Yo, warriors! Here, this thing is called a sword. It's a weapon and it's better than the clubs you're using right now. No, no! You grab it by the other end. You know, the one that isn't sharp and won't cut your hand? I know this is confusing and all, but you'll get the hang of it."

Research was started on Archery and Mathematics and a pathetic counter-offensive was repulsed. The American fascist army that threatened the peace loving militaristic city state of Hanoi were defeated by a mix of Hanoian Archers and Egyptian Horsemen.

Lysander, the second Egyptian great general emerged in Thebes. Meanwhile the Egyptian Republican Army under the command of Zhuge Liang moved towards New York and captured the city with some help from Bucharest allied troops. Research started on Civil Service.

Egyptian Scouts reached French lands and after some negotiating they could enter them for a 50 gold entry fee. Nunya noticed Napoleon's honorific was now "the Wise". But demographics still showed 0% literacy for the French. Something smelled very fishy. Then the Scouts noticed a group of French Longswordsmen. Could it be that your literacy stays at 0% if you don't research Writing, regardless of how many technologies ayour civilization has? That would have a frightening implication: Napoleon may have been beelining for Gunpowder. And if that's true he's almost there and when he gets it, he'll spam Musketeers and go berzerk on everybody around him. Meanwhile Egyptians are drooling over ther fancy new swords and how much better they are than the old clubs. *sigh*

On turn 108 a notification pops up that Ghandi has entered the Renaissance Era. On turn 109 Egyypt adopts Civil Society. On turn 110 Civil Service finishes.



A choice must be made. Nunya only cared about a few wonders: Chitzen Itza, Machu Pichu, Forbidden Palace. If possible Himeji Castle and the Taj Mahal would also be more than welcome. Egyp will also need new weapons capable of holding Napoleon at bay. So Currency followed by Chivalry looks like the best course of action.



From the looks of it, however Washington seems to be building Machu Pichu. And chances are he'll finish it sooner than we could. So one option is to let him finish and only then take him out. A favourable peace treaty might be a good idea at this point. We've been fighting a lot, but not it's time to build if we don't want to fall completely behind.





Unit upkeep is pretty high. We might have to consider disbanding some of those Workers.

 

[Akbarthegreat]

What's next??

 

[Arexander]

I'll be reading this.

 

[ClarenceSeedorf]

Very good read.

 

[Bluebird]

I see that Napoleon has more than caught up in military strenght. Thankfully he has to wade through 3 CSs to get to you, but I think he needs to be dealt with soon.

 

[TPQ]

Nice. Keep it coming!