Cultural Domination in Balance: EitB Succesion Game

[Mardoc]

Well the save should be here, if next guy wanna take a peek.

There are a lot of interesting things in the event log, for sure! Looking forward to the details.

Going to wait to play until you have time to report. Need to get dinner and do some chores first anyway.

[Molach]

I started heroic epic in a western production city. Capital can perhaps build all the other stuff we need - wonders, buildings, stuff. Perhaps some inns and the E&E Network?

Magic-wise, I think an adept is on a long move to the northeast, to spring some there. He sprung the southwest.

I lost one to the big beast, he was just passing through but the beast attacked him instead of the city. Bad move.

Gibbon now has 10 exp, so I suggest getting nature mana online and getting vitalize. Perhaps coupled with a scorching adept to de-iceify the land down in the southeast...

I do not think we need mistforms for a while yet. No city under cultural attack has the feared 50-unit stacks to prevent revolts. And they have pretty low-tech units anyway, so shadowriders should do the job.

Our first courtesan should finish soon. We need to close all borders then, which will make travel to the southeast difficult, so perhaps cool to prepare for that.

[Mardoc]

Our first courtesan should finish soon. We need to close all borders then, which will make travel to the southeast difficult, so perhaps cool to prepare for that.

Why close borders?

[Molach]

I think HN units are fair game to AIs. They got lots of lunatics and units prowling our lands.

If we built a command post somewhere, then heroic epic should go there. And need Esus spread there too, then it can pump out adepts and courtesans and soon shadowriders.

[Mardoc]

I think HN units are fair game to AIs. They got lots of lunatics and units prowling our lands.

True, but Courtesans are also invisible. Although if it turns out the AIs have see invisible on something, then I'll reconsider.

If we built a command post somewhere, then heroic epic should go there. And need Esus spread there too, then it can pump out adepts and courtesans and soon shadowriders.

Used the commander for a GA. I honestly thought Perpentach would go Organized at some point, but it hasn't happened yet.

[akatosh]

Nice work, we are over 50% in land area. It looks like victory will come soon even without the HN units. Still, will be fun to get the courtesans out and do some farming. Who is next?

[Mardoc]

You wanted a victory screen posted?




We're definitely to end game here . I suspect this is my last turnset.

Also, we're up to some crazy awesome income (and expenses). I assume this is the result of mercantilism, mostly.



The first few turns are uneventful. On T244, I decide to rush a Courtesan, to test my HN theory one way or the other. Kills off a shaman, and waits to see if there's any retaliation...




Nope! So our Courtesans are going to start collecting XP right and left, it appears. Although next turn she takes some damage, so has to temporarily pause to heal.



Meanwhile, our favorite Archmage has learned a new trick: Vitalize! I'm sending him eastward, I think the capital and the south are the most important to improve, but of course he'll be improving a tile every turn en route. I want to give him Combat promotions so he can get Twincast and improve two tiles/turn - but he can't get there in my turnset anyway so I leave his XP unspent.



And an adept is preparing the way for Mr. Goetia, doing the little bit he can on his own.



I want to settle an island city to improve our trade routes (and incidentally claim a few more tiles), which is how I discover this little interloper.

Guess I'll be settling on the forest instead of on the desert - these dwarves need a good flipping!



T246: We have Warhorses! But all our high production Esus cities are working on Courtesans, and Shadowriders aren't invisible so might need border closings...I'll wait to build those until later. Maybe we'll win without needing them, after all.




Amazing how far the Bannor border has shifted since we first started pushing on them:



T247: We get a new city...temporarily. Marked to be razed, so we can settle a replacement closer, so we go ahead and eradicate Empyrean from the world. Who needs religion, when you can watch the circus all day instead?



I also discover Molach was right about HN being attackable, even Courtesans. I wonder if it's because she was healing in a city that she was visible? She made it a few turns before she was attacked, anyway, but it was the first turn she spent HN-in-city that the attack came.

Nevertheless, we close our borders to the Clan. Not going to hurt us much, our borders advance further every turn. I'll leave the Svart borders open for the moment, but keep an eye on their forces to see if they decide to come HN-hunting themselves. But I hope to finish Gibbon's core work and give him a chance to go to the Tundra before we close borders, and distance to Courtesan might matter.



Vitalize is such a fun spell! Of course it's only one of many broken late game toys, but still



T248: The Bannor aren't the only civ down to a husk of its former self...take a look at the ex-mighty Ljosalfar and Luchiurp:



T250: We're on the cusp of victory. Nevermind another turnset for me, I'd be surprised if we make it the entire next turnset.

So one last 'former great' civ to show off: The Svartalfar



We haven't actually taken any of their cities, I think. Just most of the tiles they used to own. Flipping cities is inevitable at this point, especially now that we have Courtesans and Shadowriders to clean out the garrisons.

Why do I think we're so close? Well...less than 1.5% of the land remains to be taken . We slowed down a tad toward the end of my turnset, I suspect the really easy tiles are all taken, but we were still doing better than 0.5%/turn. And we still have three settlers waiting at the borders for the perfect settlement sites.



I believe next up is formally Akatosh - but I bet we win in the next handful of turns, so it may be that more than one of you want to bring us home.

The Save

Or, um....maybe we push for Conquest from here? It actually seems like it may be possible.

[DaveV]

I want to give him Combat promotions so he can get Twincast and improve two tiles/turn

I'm pretty sure this won't work. As I recall from a long-ago code dive, you can still only cast one spell per turn, but summoning spells create two units instead of one.

[Mardoc]

I want to give him Combat promotions so he can get Twincast and improve two tiles/turn

I'm pretty sure this won't work. As I recall from a long-ago code dive, you can still only cast one spell per turn, but summoning spells create two units instead of one.

Summoning spells like Create Puppet? Which would give us two Vitalize-capable spellcasters each turn?

[akatosh]

I don't have to play next--I joined this game late, and you guys did most of the work Q feel free to do the honors if you would like, otherwise let me know and I'll knock out the turnset. I don't know if I can actually play tomorrow in any case (going out after work) so maybe someone else wants to push us over the finish line.