Tusk1 - Ladies First

[CommandoBob]

The Woman of the Snows lived at the bottom of Mount Kilimanjaro. Matsudaira Hirotada and his wife Odainokata trudged along the path to her abode. It was late summer and Odainokata's pregnancy did not greatly impede their progress. Both were young, he 17 and she 15, and their bodies were used to physical exertion. They arrived at The Shack in the Shadows at noon. They were not the first to arrive. Others, many others, were gathered around the shack, waiting for something.

Matsudaira entered the shack and saw an old woman sitting on the floor. She looked up at him.

"What's your number? Are you 24?" she asked.

"Uh, yes, I am," he replied, hoping that being 24 would let them in faster.

"Liar. Twenty-four was done two hours ago. Hold out your hand."

He did and did not flinch when she smacked paint on the back of his hand. Quickly she converted the paint in the glyphs for one hundred and one.

"Can't have line jumpers. Now go outside and wait. Your number will be called when we're ready for you."

"What number are you on right now?"

"Thirty-seven but they are moving pretty quick. We should be to fifty by sunset."

"Fifty! And I'm 101. When will I get in?"

"Today, tomorrow, maybe later. This is our busy season, so it is hard to say. We'll work you in somehow." And then she appeared to fall asleep.

Matsudaira left the shack and sought out his wife. She was sitting on a rock a short ways down the path.

"Well?" she asked.

"We're number one oh one and they are on thirty-seven," he snarled. "I don't plan to be here for days on end."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Yet."

He climbed up on a rock behind her and stood there and fumed. And gritted his teeth. And clinched his fists. And fumed. And fumed.

He had stood there, solid and upset, for about half an hour, when a voice penetrated his concentration.

"Matsudaira," his wife said quietly, "This man wishes to speak to you. He has called to you several times and you have not answered him."

"Forgive me," Matsudaira said, "My mind was far away."

"That's okay," said the stranger. "I get bored here too. My number is 86, what is yours?"

"One hundred and one," he spat out.

"Wow, that's bad, even worse than mine and I got here yesterday."

There was no response.

"Uhh, what were you thinking about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Matsudaira spoke slowly and deliberately. "I was wondering how many of these people would be dead by evening. It is not a good day for them to be here."

"What?" He looked startled and a bit scared. "What did you say?"

"It is not a good day for them to be here," he repeated.

"Before that, you talked about people dieing, right? How many dead people would there be?"

"Yes."

"Over the last several nights I have dreams, nightmares, visons, even, of body parts strown across this mountain, and sometimes even in this valley and around that shack. Bodies just ripped apart, as if mangled by a large, vicious beast."

Matsudaira just nodded. "I have not seen that," he stated. "Just the dead faces, none of whom I know. And I weep for them, for they will have died for nothing."

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm getting my people out of here. I've told some folks about my dreams and they laughed at me. Now I don't care. I can come back later. I don't plan to die today."

"Hold," said Matsudaira. "Have you seen many rats today?"

"Yes, yes I have. And why do you ask?" he queried in a high, nervous voice.

"They gather."

The man swallowed and took a step away.

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. Nice to meet you; I've got to go."

The man quickly went back towards the shack, not running but almost. In a few minutes he came back with a few others, nervous and not pleased to be leaving. He hurried them on. A few minutes later two more people headed back down the path. And then a few more. Never many at one time, just a few, but it was soon obvious that people were heading away and not coming back.

Matsudaira had not counted how many people were waiting when he got his number. But when one hundred people had passed by him he felt good. After one hundred and twenty three had departed, he stepped down and smiled slightly to his wife.

"Shall we?"

She looked at him.

"You are such a scoundrel; deceiving those people like that."

"Not me. I wasn't the one that was scared. Now let us go and see the Woman of the Snows".

 

[CommandoBob]

When Matsudaira and Odainokata entered the small area where The Shack in the Shadows was, they were pleasantly surprised to see that everyone else had left. They looked at each other, grinned slightly and continued walking. The noonday sun had started its long descent to the horizon but there were still several hours of daylight left.

Inside the shack it was still dark. And the old lady still appeared to be asleep.

"Is this the Woman of the Snow?" asked Odainokata, looking down at the slumbering form.

"Don't know," replied Matsudaira. "She never said. I thought she was just a receptionist."

"Typical male. Don't you know anything about the Woman of the Snow?"

"No, not a thing. Just the name and the odd reputation. My Dad seemed a bit spooked that we wanted to come here at all. Gave me a long look and said, 'If you are sure that is what you want to do, go ahead. But I wouldn't go there unless I had to.' "

"Your Dad sounds like mine. Mom knew more. She said the Woman of the Snow had found a way to use her brain and not her body to control men and I should try to do the same. She said she was gorgeous, beautiful and elegant and she was all three at once."

"I'm sure she was talking about you, not the Woman of the Snow," said Matsudaira, still a teen and full of hormones and urges.

"Oh, puh-lease, spare me the sappiness," said a third voice in modest disgust. "Young, glowing love just makes me ill."

"Ah, I'm glad to see you're awake. We're next," said Matsudaira.

"I'll be the judge of that, you over-sexed hearthrob," was the lady's response as she made her way to the door. She paused when she saw the vast crowd that was no longer there and turned slowly back around.

"Nice trick," she said slowly. "You should come back more often." She looked him in the eyes. "How did you pull it off?" wasn't really a question.

"Person 86 was worried, nervous and scared. He had a series of bad dreams about a lot of body parts around this place. I unknowingly emphasised that fear. Then I asked him if he had seen any rats around. He had and asked why I asked. I told him 'They're gathering.' His own fear did the rest and it spread to the others and they left."

The lady began to relax and smile. "Good old 86. He comes around too often wanting to whine about things and can I fix it for him. A gathering of rats should keep him away for a long time. And maybe the others too."

She looked quickly at the two of them. "All right. You're next. You've earned that. What can I do for you?"

"Are you the truly the Woman of the Snow?" asked Odainokata.

"Yes, yes I am," was the reply.

"Tell me about my baby. It is a boy or a girl? Will it be healthy? Is it misshapened or malformed? Is it -"

"Slow down, girl, slow down. Here, you sit on this and loosen you clothes enough for me to touch the skin of your belly. This gift I have won't work any other way. And you," she said, referring to the young man Matsudaira, "You stand in the doorway and keep watch and an eye out for newcomers. Just because we don't expect them doesn't mean they won't show up. Customers are like in-laws," she grumbled.

Matsudaira moved to where he could watch the doorway and the two women. The Woman of the Snow wormed her hand inside the young mother's garments.

"Your belly is warm, that is good. The child...the child....the child.....is.....ugh! Not another pretty face, though you won't think so. I hope it is male, such features would not be kind for a girl and....Yes!....you have a man-child....and....oh..Oh....ohNo....Iwasntexpectingthis!"

Her body went rigid even though she was bending over Odainokata and her eyes stared sightlessly straight ahead. Her jaws began to quiver a bit and then a bit more. Soon her whole body was silently and softly shaking. Her breath was short and shallow. She spoke a series of quick "Ohs" and then began to intone

Six women to invade his life; all who will beguile him.
Six demons to haunt his soul; none shall survive him.
One shall take away his speech and make him mime a mime.
While Two will steal his brains and smarts but only for a time.
Three will be a lover spurned and the first to feel death's pains.
Four will be his mate for life though she loves the whips and chains.
Five he will hate on sight and seek to utterly destroy.
Yet Six will be a sad affair; a fling, a flirt, a toy.

Six women to invade his life; all who will beguile him.
Six demons to haunt his soul; none shall survive him.
​

And then she slowly fell into a heap beside the stunned mother-to-be, her hand still wrapped inside the clothing. Odainokata reached down to touch her face, worried about her health.

"I'm....fine," said the Woman of the Snow between breaths. 'I wasn't prepared for anything like that or I would have been sitting down too."

"What does that drivel mean?' asked Matsudaira. "Six women to invade his life! Whoever heard of such nonsense!"

"No one has heard such nonsense ever before. I would know. And don't ask me what it means. I don't know and you don't either. This was meant for your son, not for you. How it will come about is anyone's guess. And there is more," she said as she entangled her hand.

"More?"

"Yes, but like the first part I have no explanation for it. It concerns your son but doesn't explain the first part, even though it is connected to the first part.

"I saw a goldish colored box. At the top of the box was a circle and in that circle was an image of your son, all grown up. To his left and right were three more circles, three to each side. These circles were the same size as your son's but had images of women in them, some pretty and some not. These seem to be the women of the first part. At the bottom was yet another circle, same size, but with the image of a man, much more pleasing to the eyes than your son. He was a friend, foe, rival of your son's but his status was ever changing. All of these images inside the circles were placed in a circle and had red, blue and greenish lines connecting them to each other, though these lines appeared and disappeared and reappeared.

"And again, I don't know what it means.

Matsudaira was not happy. This was not the blessing he had expected, not the usual empty platitudes of how someone's son would be a mighty warrior or wise sage. This was very different. And he could not tell if it was good or bad. Part of this was good, a special blessing for his son, but the words of the blessing were troubling and hard to understand. He calmed himself and took a deep breath.

"Wise Woman of the Snow," he began. "These words are strange and difficult to comprehend. We thank you for them and wish that you could explain them. I have five gold pieces to give you for this blessing. We will ponder your words on our way back to the village."

"Your words are kind, but you are not going back to the village today," she replied. "Tonight you both will stay here and recite the blessing so that you will not forget it. You will stay here two weeks and both of you will assist me. Keep your gold. Tomorrow you will go to the village to buy some supplies. On your way to the village, you will pass by your old friend Number 86. He always had several bags of gold on him in secret places in his clothes so that they would not make noise. One of the largest bags you will find under his left leg, which is still on the path to the village. His right leg will be twenty feet further down the path."

The Lady of the Snow stared into Matsudaira's eyes and burned past his confusion.

"You were right, you know. They gathered."

 

[Kulko]

My instinct tells me to wage war by the sea and not attack Egypt, but you can't sufficiently do that with just galleys. And waiting until nearly the end of the next age to attack doesn't sound like the wisest move....

Then again taking the city makes it easier for us to attack Russia and we can hold the choke point relatively easy...but...Egypt may not want to listen to us when we want to end the war.

Dont worry, on Emperor we will have plenty enough ability to wage a naval conquest if we plan accordingly. And given the exact wording CommandoBob has quoted I would read it as bad form to take the Egypt city.

 

[templar_x]

what an awesome intro, CB!
t_x

 

[Elephantium]

Roster check:

Elephantium
CommandoBob
Kulko
LKendter - just played
MrRandomGuy - up

Quintillus won't be joining us in this game after all.

 

[MrRandomGuy]

Got it.

 

[MrRandomGuy]

Feel a little strange for completing my turn so early, but at the same time it's at the very beginning of the game with less things that need to be done.

0. 2110 BC

- Changed Osaka's production from Temple to Barracks. Culture isn't needed for the moment at that city and we will need veteran troops.

- Kyoto builds warrior. Starts production on Settler to be completed in 8 turns

- Receive notification of French building COL

1. 2070 BC

- Order worker to build road towards tokyo.

- Use rest of the units to explore

2. 2030 BC

- Units exploring

3. 1990 BC

- worker finishes mine on silk. Ordered to road towards Edo.

- Exploring curragh finds England. Per the rules I declare war on Elizabeth immediately.

4. 1950 BC

- Barracks complete in Osaka. Change production to warrior.

- move Science to 50% as it is the lowest we can have to research writing in 1 turn.

- Worker around osaka finishes mine. Is ordered to road.

5. 1910 BC

- Writing discovered. Researching philosophy. Move science back to 90%

- Trade writing to Egypt for Warrior Code and Bronze Working

- Edo finishes warrior. Ordered to build worker.

- Change Osaka's production from warrior to spearman.

6. 1870 BC

- Kyoto grows to size 3. Put the 3rd citizen on silk so that philosophy can be discovered faster.

- Tokyo builds worker. Ordered to build warrior.

7. 1830 BC

- Tokyo worker ordered to go to the grassland east of the city to build a road there.

- Osaka worker finishes mine and is ordered to go to the last grassland tile around Osaka to road and mine.

8. 1790 BC

- Kyoto builds settler. Ordered to build warrior. Settler is ordered to go 5 squares SE of the city so we can have another coastal city (if the next person decides that isn't a good idea then they can change the orders when they get the save. The settler is going to the fortified warrior.)

9. 1750 BC

- Osaka finishes spearman. Ordered to build settler.

10. 1725 BC

- Edo builds worker. Production changed to warrior.

Summary

England's homeland has been found and we are currently at war with them per the rules. The Russian homeland has yet to be found but while exploring with the ship I did note 2 Russian spearmen in England territory.

Production was primarily focused on basic military units, settlers, and workers. Workers were primarily ordered to connect cities together by road and improve tiles our citizens are working on.

 

[LKendter]

Roster check:

Elephantium (UP)
CommandoBob
Kulko
LKendter
MrRandomGuy - (just played)

 

[Elephantium]

How embarrassing. I've got it.

 

[Elephantium]

Pre-turn: Look around.

No trading with France.
Must trade one-for-one with Egypt.
Russia has to be conquered, so I declare war.
We're already at war with England.

Kyoto is a bit small. I'd prefer to build settlers at size 5 rather than size 3.
Ditto for Osaka - I switch to an Archer build rather than kick us back to size 1.

T2 - eep, the Settler is on auto-move! I was going to settle him in place this turn
T3 - Satsuma settled along the coast. Building Curragh.
T4 - All I do is move the Curragh and a couple of Warriors.
T5 - Osaka built an Archer.
T6 - Kyoto finished Barracks; building an Archer before another Settler. I also see England lose an Archer to an unknown enemy; she might be at war with Russia...
T7 - We spot a Russian Scout near Memphis...
Phil > Lit > CoL
T8 - Following the rules, I trade with Egypt: IW and Pots for Phil and Lit.
I switch the capital to a Granary; we need faster growth there!
T9 - We kill the Russian Scout!
I also have our Curragh reverse course; I want to send it around the island N of England.
T10 - Spain completed the Colossus.

Handoff notes:
I think we can switch both Kyoto and Osaka to Settlers once the current builds complete. After that, we should switch between military and Settlers to avoid shrinking those cities too much -- keeping them around size 3-5 will give us most of our power for the next 30 turns.

I'm treating both current wars as permanent, given our rules. Team, what do you think?

 

[MrRandomGuy]

Sorry thought I mentioned in my turn log that the settler was going to the warrior. Guess I should have been more specific in that it was on auto move :S

Hm, if Russia and England are fighting each other then we'll have an easier time with warring both of them. Since Russia is supposed to get the axe first there's no point in making peace with Catherine. I'd say make peace with England only if we overextend ourselves.

 

[CommandoBob]

Relationships - this will be updated when the game progresses.
1. France - The first we meet becomes our first "crush" (yes, even if it's Catherine). We are too shy to trade with her...ever.
2. Egypt - The second becomes our "girlfriend." We trade every tech as one for one deals as long as a trade is available until every civ is met.
3. Russia - The third becomes our "lover." Must be the first civ attacked and conquered. Doesn't make any sense? Neither does love.
4. England - Fourth is the "Ex." Must declare war with no trading on the first turn met.
5. Fifth is Wife. Mutual partner, must attempt to ally in wars. Last to get the Axe.
6. Lastly "mid-life crisis fling." Give every tech,luxury, and resource for 20 turns.

Note: Relationships end when that person/AI dies (thanks to CBob for clarifying!).

Got it.

 

[CommandoBob]

Despotism
10% Tax
90% Science
000% Luxury

19 gold, +0 gpt

Code of Laws in 14 turns.



City Builds

1. Kyoto (3) granary in 7, grows in 2.
2. Osaka (3) vArcher in 3, grows in 5.
3. Toyko (2) barracks in 1, grows in 18.
4. Edo (1) barracks in 6, grows in 1.
5. Satsuma (1) curragh in 8, grows in 13.

Resources
None

Luxury
01 Furs
01 Silks

City Count
05 Egypt
05 France
05 Japan (Tusk1 People)
04 Russia
03 England


Military
05 Worker
09 Warrior
02 Archer
01 Spear
01 Curragh

Current Units: 18
Allowed Units: 20
Support Costs: 0 gpt

We are Strong compared to:

1. England (Despotism)

We are Average compared to:

1. Russia (Despotism)
2. Egypt (Despotisms)
3. France (Despotism)

We are Weak compared to:

1. No one

We are at War with Russia, our Lover.
We are at War with England, our Ex.

Russia must die first, England any time after that.

While we must declare war on England, which we have done, we can make peace with her later, since the rules do not say we cannot, only that we must declare war when we first meet. We can but that doesn't mean we must.

Notes

Wonder Races

• The Colossus
  • London, England
  • Paris, France
  • Madrid, Spain

Plans
The curragh being built in Satsuma will sail south and determine if there is a southern route to get to Russia and avoid walking through Egypt and England.

We need more cities and more grassland. South of us is a bunch of tundra and hills. SouthWest of us is France and their land not that great. North/Northwest of us is Egypt, protected by several mountian ranges, jungles and marsh. And a volcano next to two Incense tiles.

I really wouldn't mind a short war with Eygpt to get Memphis and Incense.

This is a really unfitting and unfriendly map for what we are trying to do. But we cannot do anything about that.

We need to improve in and around Kyoto, but must keep in mind that when Russia dies our capital is abandoned. We can rebuild it, but it doesn't need any Great Wonders (not that we have discussed any).

After Code of Laws (which might be learned this turnset, but not likely) what is our next tech? Republic? Or go for Construction or Currency for later AA tech trading?

We can sell Math or Writing to France for Iron Working and their 10 gold. Then Egypt and us know the same techs.

Worker Tasks (West to East)
Worker 3SW of Osaka (mountain): road to connect Gems.
Worker 1SE of Tokyo: forest chop completes in 3 -> mines the BG 1E of Tokyo.
Worker 1W-1SW of Satsuma: road in 1 -> road the desert 1W of Satsuma to connect Satsuma to Kyoto -> mine, then road a nearby hill.
Two workers 1N-1NE of Kyoto: mining BG in 2 -> either mine/road another BG around Kyoto or mine the roaded BG at Edo.

Next City Builds

• Kyoto: granary in 7 -> settler. .
• Osaka: vArcher in 3 -> vArcher in 4 -> vArcher in 4.
• Toyko: barracks in 1 -> vSpear in 7 -> vSpear in 7.
• Edo: barracks in 6 -> granary.
• Satsuma: curragh in 8 -> ??.

 

[MrRandomGuy]

We can't trade with France. As our crush, "we are too shy to trade with her...ever."

But if France were to give us a demand we give into it along with the next civ we meet. Those are the only two civs we give into demands.

 

[CommandoBob]

We can't trade with France. As our crush, "we are too shy to trade with her...ever."

But if France were to give us a demand we give into it along with the next civ we meet. Those are the only two civs we give into demands.

Good catch! I had forgotten all about that. Too focused on this a normal game and not the wild variant we have made it.

 

[Kulko]

I will be on holiday next week and will probably need a skip.

 

[CommandoBob]

Relationships - this will be updated when the game progresses.
1. France - The first we meet becomes our first "crush" (yes, even if it's Catherine). We are too shy to trade with her...ever.
2. Egypt - The second becomes our "girlfriend." We trade every tech as one for one deals as long as a trade is available until every civ is met.
3. Russia - The third becomes our "lover." Must be the first civ attacked and conquered. Doesn't make any sense? Neither does love.
4. England - Fourth is the "Ex." Must declare war with no trading on the first turn met.
5. Fifth is Wife. Mutual partner, must attempt to ally in wars. Last to get the Axe.
6. Lastly "mid-life crisis fling." Give every tech,luxury, and resource for 20 turns.

Note: Relationships end when that person/AI dies (thanks to CBob for clarifying!).

Going Mad
After a "relationship" ends, must do the following. Number corresponds to relation.
1. Crush. Revolt to Anarchy.
2. Girlfriend. Stop research for 10 turns...need gold for a new girlfriend.
3. Lover. Disbands the capital.
5. Ex. Give the "wife" all your gold and gpt. Set the sliders for 50% tax first.
6. Fling. Raise luxury slider to 50% for 10 turns...it's a party!

I see an issue with the rules but only after I went back to the original to see how they handle wars and such.

Is Lady #4 the Wife or the Ex?

The Going Mad result for #5 indicates that the Wife is not Lady #5, so I think this is just a typo caused by a lot of editing of the first post and copying and pasting. Right?

 

[CommandoBob]

From the original about hwo to 'handle' the Ex (not about which Lady is the Ex):

5. Fifth is the "Ex." Must declare war with no trading on the first turn met. Once we get peace from her, we're good.

"Going Mad" occurs each time a Civ is eliminated.

 

[MrRandomGuy]

Lady #4 is the ex. The 5 in "Going Mad" does look to be a typo and I'm 99% sure it is. I'm betting the person remembered that he had to skip a number (since the wife is the last to get the axe) and accidentally skipped 4 instead of 5. It sounds like something I would do anyway, hehe.

DW Bob, you're not the only one who has to keep checking the rules. I took longer than I would have normally because each turn I took I went back to the first post of the thread to make sure I was doing everything correctly within the rules.

As a sidenote, I did just realize that we are supposed to trade our "girlfriend" every tech as a one for one deal. Does that mean when we trade techs with Egypt we are only allowed to receive one tech in return even if she will give us more? Because if that's so I messed up and got 2 techs for 1. Sorry about that :S

 

[Elephantium]

It wasn't a typo - it was my mistake. We swapped Ex and Wife for this game compared to the other one, and I forgot to adjust the "Going Mad" block.

@MrRandom - that's right; only get one tech in trade for each one we sell. Don't worry about it; it's a weird set of rules!