handy900
Deity
Can a warrior who loves the fight but who does not like to MM and is only average at the task - win on a regular size map @ Always War Sid? Theodora must find out.
To do this, Theodora must maximize her beauty and her assets by taking full advantage of the AI weakness.
The AI wont attack armies, and are loath to attack boats that are stacked. Theodora will pillage and pillage and pillage some more and will show no mercy for any AI improvements. The AI will never set foot on the Byzantine soil if they are sunk before they reach Theodoras homeland. Fortifying units all around the Byzantine coastline is too much of an exploit and Theodora will not tolerate it. She will taunt the AI with her open unguarded coastline and minimally protected cities. She will create a kill zone on water for her Dromons.
Yes, yes, yes its cheating to use an archipelago map, but Theodora realizes winning on continents or Pangaea is not possible, and has chosen an island map.
Theodoras thoughts are:
* She wants to win by conquest or domination.
* She desired a map where she is alone on an island with decent terrain. For her this means food, fresh water and luxuries. The resource she covets is saltpeter. She will play a random standard size island map with a decent start.
* Theodora will send out dinky little boats asap to meet the neighbors & get them in war mode as early as possible. She hopes there are sea tiles between her and the neighbors to protect her coast until Astronomy. If there is a coastal passage to the Byzantine island, she is in deep water.
The mighty Sid AI fears the sea until Astronomy. By the time astronomy arrives, Theodora will rule the seas. The downside of this is that luxuries and resources across the seas are not available to her until astronomy.
* Theodora has no plans to move the research slider above 10% for most of the game. She will use 0% and a lone scientist much of the game. If Theodora misses the Glib, she is doomed to life as a concubine, unless of course Theodora can capture the Glib by baiting the AI away from the Glib city. The sight of a beautifully exposed lone Byzantine warrior can be quite alluring to the digital eyes of a 100+ stack of lonely pikes and MI.
* The Byzantine shipbuilders must build fire-spewing dromons by the dozens and pillage the AI coastal tiles to slow the tech pace. These flamethrowers must sink all AI ship traffic until the AI has a full complement of land units, at which point the AI will have no cash to support a decent navy.
*Invasion plans involve an attack on an AI continent with massive musket support to produce a bunch of leaders on defense, and knock off an ironless backward AI. Theodora plans to settle on a hill, rush walls, then sit back and watch 100+ AI archers make 40 Byzantine elite muskets in a single turn. Her first target must be ironless and only be able to attack with horse or archer units.
* The newly seized AI lands, as well as any crappy little island she sees will be populated by corrupt cities, which will be placed on wealth for the unit support and will grow taxmen.
* The leaders obtained from strike force alpha will build musket armies to be inserted on the more advanced AI homelands. The army insertion is tricky, and success depends on a favorable AI island shape. If no safe landing area exists, Theodora will patiently wait for the arrival of Caravels since the AI wont attack a 2-musket army with MI or knights on a mountain insertion. Theodora is unsure of how cavalry will react to a 2-musket army on a mountain, and she will avoid finding out.
*Theodora will bait the AI to pull them out of the cities, then raze cities with artillery and cheap LBs. Theodora expects to not build any MI or swords even if she has iron because they are too expensive. Theodora wants to hoard cash for a spear and archer upgrade.
* If the game ever gets to communism, Theodora has plans to revolt in a heartbeat, despite how unfair it will be to the AI. Otherwise she will remain a queen.
*What has Theodora forgotten oh, build the Glib.
*Did she mention pillage?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Mail Call
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
The Monument
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
To do this, Theodora must maximize her beauty and her assets by taking full advantage of the AI weakness.
The AI wont attack armies, and are loath to attack boats that are stacked. Theodora will pillage and pillage and pillage some more and will show no mercy for any AI improvements. The AI will never set foot on the Byzantine soil if they are sunk before they reach Theodoras homeland. Fortifying units all around the Byzantine coastline is too much of an exploit and Theodora will not tolerate it. She will taunt the AI with her open unguarded coastline and minimally protected cities. She will create a kill zone on water for her Dromons.
Yes, yes, yes its cheating to use an archipelago map, but Theodora realizes winning on continents or Pangaea is not possible, and has chosen an island map.

Theodoras thoughts are:
* She wants to win by conquest or domination.
* She desired a map where she is alone on an island with decent terrain. For her this means food, fresh water and luxuries. The resource she covets is saltpeter. She will play a random standard size island map with a decent start.
* Theodora will send out dinky little boats asap to meet the neighbors & get them in war mode as early as possible. She hopes there are sea tiles between her and the neighbors to protect her coast until Astronomy. If there is a coastal passage to the Byzantine island, she is in deep water.

* Theodora has no plans to move the research slider above 10% for most of the game. She will use 0% and a lone scientist much of the game. If Theodora misses the Glib, she is doomed to life as a concubine, unless of course Theodora can capture the Glib by baiting the AI away from the Glib city. The sight of a beautifully exposed lone Byzantine warrior can be quite alluring to the digital eyes of a 100+ stack of lonely pikes and MI.
* The Byzantine shipbuilders must build fire-spewing dromons by the dozens and pillage the AI coastal tiles to slow the tech pace. These flamethrowers must sink all AI ship traffic until the AI has a full complement of land units, at which point the AI will have no cash to support a decent navy.
*Invasion plans involve an attack on an AI continent with massive musket support to produce a bunch of leaders on defense, and knock off an ironless backward AI. Theodora plans to settle on a hill, rush walls, then sit back and watch 100+ AI archers make 40 Byzantine elite muskets in a single turn. Her first target must be ironless and only be able to attack with horse or archer units.
* The newly seized AI lands, as well as any crappy little island she sees will be populated by corrupt cities, which will be placed on wealth for the unit support and will grow taxmen.
* The leaders obtained from strike force alpha will build musket armies to be inserted on the more advanced AI homelands. The army insertion is tricky, and success depends on a favorable AI island shape. If no safe landing area exists, Theodora will patiently wait for the arrival of Caravels since the AI wont attack a 2-musket army with MI or knights on a mountain insertion. Theodora is unsure of how cavalry will react to a 2-musket army on a mountain, and she will avoid finding out.
*Theodora will bait the AI to pull them out of the cities, then raze cities with artillery and cheap LBs. Theodora expects to not build any MI or swords even if she has iron because they are too expensive. Theodora wants to hoard cash for a spear and archer upgrade.
* If the game ever gets to communism, Theodora has plans to revolt in a heartbeat, despite how unfair it will be to the AI. Otherwise she will remain a queen.
*What has Theodora forgotten oh, build the Glib.
*Did she mention pillage?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Mail Call
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
The Monument
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve