Pre-flight: Sell Math to Iberia for 26gpt and 130 gold (I had gifted him 100 to improve relations), buy 85 gold from Gallia for 6 gpt to ward off attacks. Move western forces back to the main front if far western city falls, we will take it back after crushing the Roman core. Lydia gets Alpha for 8 gpt, 150 gold (50 of which we gave him). Plan to declare in two turns, getting forces positioned.
IBT: Gallia and Iberia slug it out on our western front. This is good news.
1875BC: War prep.
1850BC: This is it. Check trade opportunities pre-war: Sell Math to Sea Peoples for a pittance (120+3gpt), Alpha to Hittites for 50+9gpt. I demand Rome withdraw from our territory and they comply!
Thats
not so good. Hmmm, now what? Wait a turn and see what they do.
IBT: Rome moves one unit onto our territory.
1825BC: We meet Imagizhen they are way behind in tech, have no gpt to spare. Ask Rome to depart, they agree. Pull up dialogue again the option is still there. Ask again, they declare!
Vet Peltast attacks settler pair on Adriatic coast he is now heroic, and we get a GA!
We take out a couple Broadswords and batten down the hatches.
IBT: Interesting Rome evacuates the west and advances only upon the wheat east of Gramisca . Advantage fast units, as we can recall the troops defending the west faster than Rome can bring those forces to bear in their main offensive.
1800BC: We lose one vet Peltast, and another retreats dispatching the two covering spears. After this, its a rout, with most work being done by the western guard Peltasts. Only get one promotion from the entire battle, however. Eastern front: One Peltast retreats on spear in grass. Next takes care of him. Vet promotes killing covering spear on hill. Whatever, retreat, then lose pelt attacking spear on grass. Spear promotes. We kill it flawlessly. Get a heroic killing broad on hill. Flawlessly dispatch broad on grass, redline but kill elite broad on grass. Vet pelt redlines but kills broad on hill, promoting.
Make peace with Brennus, giving 180 gold. We get it back, plus 100 and 6gpt, selling him Monarchy.
IBT: Broad kills our covering spear, on hill, across river, flawlessly.
Heroic pelt is toast. We should have roaded that space.
1775: Need to kill 5 covering spears. Heroic pelt wins. Vet retreats. Vet redlines, promotes. Vet retreats. Vet retreats. Vet redlines, wins. Heroic (4/6) wins. Heroic in Adriatic theater loses to vet spear settler pair. Vet archer finishes the deal, promotes. Vet pelt (3/4) kills redlined spear. Reg archer kills reg axe. Reg pelt retreats from vet broad. Reg pelt kills vet broad, promotes. Reg pelt dies to vet broad, promoting it. RNG hates us. Well take a few lumps this IBT.
IBT: Fun RNG continues, as our superspears take a total of 1 hp off two attacking broads, promoting the second. Our defensive bombards whiff.
1750BC: OK, open stack of 6 broads with no cover, but two spears on our copper. Western front: Vet pelt retreats from spear. Vet pelt kills vet spear. Vet pelt kills vet spear. Vet pelt kills vet spear. Reg archer kills vet axe. Reg pelt kills vet velite. Vet pelt kills vet velite. Invasion of Gravisca repulsed! Eastern front: Velt pelt kills spear on copper. Vet pelt clears last spear off of copper, promoting. Vet pelt redlines, killing vet broad. Reg pelt dies redlining vet broad. Reg pelt kills vet broad. Reg pelt kills heroic (4/7) broad, promoting. Vet archer kills injured vet broad. Heroic (3/6) pelt kills vet velite producing a leader! Yeah baby!
Army loads up with *heroic and two injured vets and heads to capital to heal. Reg archer kills injured vet broad. Assault on Vetulonia repulsed! 11 pelts healing in capital will be ready to take the fight to the Romans next turn!
IBT: Our source of tin is exhausted! Whatever. More roman spears approach. Macedon builds Olympic Games.
1725BC: Heroic pelt kills vet spear and
we have a leader!
Our advisors tell me we need 3 more cities to build an army. Sound like a plan. We clean up the latest Roman incursion with no losses, promoting a few vet and reg peltasts. The tide has turned.
IBT: Only two spears come calling, along with 6 units of cannon fodder.
1700BC: We take Pisae, with the army doing most of the damage, but not before going to one hp!
He was at 8 before the last attack, and almost gave me a heart attack, losing 4 hp to take the last hp off of the defending spear. A Heroic pelt takes out the fourth spear, and a vet promotes taking out the last defender, a broadsword. Pisae is ours! Ill rush a settler there to get the Roman pop down and get us to 12 faster (we should eventually abandon Pisae and try to get all coastal cities to take advantage of our seafaring trait.) Lose a vet Peltast cleaning up the rest of the Roman units on our territory, as well as a reg taking out a Velite (one defense!) on a mountain.
We meet Persia, getting opium, incense, and horses for Math. Also meet the Medes (down Math) but they have little to trade.
IBT: Egads a Roman naval invasion coming our way arent they cute, with their one move per turn.
Even their ships are slow. We saw them coming, so Caere, which can build one turn galleys, will do just that in the upcoming turn. Broadswrod takes out our exposed archer, and promotes. Wed have saved about 5 units had we built a road on that hill. Phoenecia estabishes an embassy in our capital. The map we got in trade from Iberia shows Phoenecian cities in south Morocco, the Sudan, Gibraltar, and Kirgizstan!
1675BC: Rush settler in Pisae. The Roman invasion this turn consists of one lonely spear and three broadswords. We lose a heroic pelt to vet spear. Whoever said its not like Knights and Spears was right. Vet Pelt finishes off spear. Reg pelt takes some hp off of Heroic broad and retreats (what I had hoped for, as he would be exposed had he won). Vet pelt retreats from vet broad (I guess 8 attack v. 2 defense just wasnt enough, whatever). He didnt even take a hp off him, then next vet pelt kills vet broad without taking a scratch and promotes. The two extra hp are huge. Vet Pelt loses to injured vet broad. This is silly. Vet pelt and reg pelt finish off one-hp roman units. Vet archer feels lucky and dies to 3 hp broad, redlining it.
IBT: Rome only sends one spear, but they send a broad and and axe to the mountain beside Pisae (didnt know they could move on mountains, could be trouble).
1650BC: Vet chariot (Caere is making one-turn chariots) takes 3 hp off of broad on mountain. We have 4 fully healed heroics, time to make a move on Cumae. Vet archer dies, taking no hp off of axe on mountain, promoting him (am I missing something here? 4 attack vs. 2 defense, even on mountain should do better than that?) 2 vet peltasts retreat from this demon axe. Finally, two reg pelts kill axe and broad. The assault on Cumae will have to wait a turn, as Im tired of losing units. Heroic pelt redlines, but takes out Roman spear. We ship Math to Lydia for 24gpt and change. We get diamonds and some change from Media for Math. I waited too long to sell Hannibal Monarchy, as he got it somewhere else. Scythia gives us 24gpt and change for Math. Dacia is flat broke he must have tons of units. Iberia and Gallia have been burning stacks of units on our western front to little effect.
IBT: all Rome can muster is an axe attack on our fortified spear on the tin mountain near Pisae, and finally on the fifth try, we win a battle with a spear! At 40 shields a pop, theyre stil useless.
1625BC: I play one extra turn to get us back on an even number. Time to get 12 cities and build an army. Vet chariot kills blocking axe (We took Romes only tin, so he cant build broads). Army redlines, but takes out two spears guarding Cumae. We found Bologna on east coast of the boot, and hit the magic twelve. Heroic archer takes out broadsword on plains. Ill leave the rest of the moves this turn to the next player. Taking out Rome would be nice, as this would give us barracks in all cities. The western Roman cities should be nearly defenseless, if youd rather go that way. There is a settler in Vetlonia, who could build on the wines and get our borders closer to Rome, if this is the way you choose. Good luck!
The Save
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