[SPOILERS] ARRR Ye Scurvy Dogs! Hannah the Irin

[DaveV]

Still debating my best tech path - I want all of Festivals, Trade, Deception, Hunting, Animal Husbandry, Education, Code of Laws, Philosophy, Way of the Wicked, Knowledge of the Ether, and Corruption of Spirit, and I want them all yesterday. At the moment, I'm leaning toward AH ->Education -> Code of Laws to start off that path, to get my GNP a boost and keep my workers busy; I don't want to tempt myself with buildings or hunters just yet when I should still be focusing on getting the next half dozen cities started.

My usual rule: economic techs first; that helps bring in the other techs faster. I'd squeeze Festivals in as your next tech; it doesn't cost very many beakers, and Markets are ridiculously cheap for a Financial civ.

Are you really planning on building your Mirror city on a floodplain? I'd go for the plains hill to the south of your sign, I think. Or maybe the plains tile south of the Mirror. Building a front-line city on a desert tile is just asking for trouble (-25% defense ).

[Mardoc]

My usual rule: economic techs first; that helps bring in the other techs faster. I'd squeeze Festivals in as your next tech; it doesn't cost very many beakers, and Markets are ridiculously cheap for a Financial civ.

That makes sense; I hadn't realized that I'd be looking at only 20 hammers/market, and 20 hammers for +2 gold in perpetuity is still a pretty good conversion I'll be keeping Education and Code of Laws close to the top of the list for pretty much the same reason.

Are you really planning on building your Mirror city on a floodplain? I'd go for the plains hill to the south of your sign, I think. Or maybe the plains tile south of the Mirror. Building a front-line city on a desert tile is just asking for trouble (-25% defense ).

Hmm. I didn't want to sacrifice the northern floodplains, although I suppose it's reasonable to expect another city up there eventually once I get a Spring adept or two. I'll admit, I hadn't thought about defense at all for that site. Do you happen to know if it's possible to spring a city tile?

This is starting to sound like excuses, though, rather than reasoning. Especially when I do expect the Malakim at the other end of that desert and them to be top dogs. -25% defense, +20% on their attack does start to sound really nasty, doesn't it?

Ok, yeah, I'll definitely move the city south to that hill.

[Sciz]

It is possible to spring a city tile.

Edit: and just so you don't panic, I'm not a dedicated lurker for Thoth, I started globally lurking when I gave the game back to him

[Mardoc]

It is possible to spring a city tile.

Edit: and just so you don't panic, I'm not a dedicated lurker for Thoth, I started globally lurking when I gave the game back to him

Thanks! I thought I had noticed you posting in the lurker thread, too; hopefully you're having fun watching now. For that matter, thanks again for filling in for him, even if it possibly wrecked your chance of playing Hyborem next.

But yeah, Dave's point still holds - KoTE is toward the end of my current tech path, and adepts won't be a top priority even then, so there's no point in tempting fate and waving a nice floodplains area under Thoth's nose defended only by bronze warriors in the desert. Not only do I like the city site and the sun mana, but strategically it's an important area as well, assuming I expand up the eastern coast too; it's pretty much my only connection.

[Mardoc]

Moderately better turn My worker completes in Captain Crunch, so I move on to another (only 2 turns! If only I weren't wasting 3 food on an overgrown city....). I head the worker toward the cotton - will road to it, just in time for the borders to expand, after which I should be able to plantation it, and then put up a second mine for Phoenix - with a cove, crabs, 2 mines, and a plantation, Phoenix ought to be set for a while. Meanwhile my original worker's moved on to the copper; again, a mine and road should get that connection made and my security state improved immediately, in addition to the nice 5 hammer tile.

Phoenix's monument finishes at the end of the turn; next turn it'll start on either warriors or workboats, depending on my expected ETA to my next settler. I have some time before I need my three workboats for Phiber Optik (can't work them until the monument is finished), especially since it has some decent land to work as well, but I don't want to wait long. Now that I have Phoenix and soon Phiber Optik as well for some hammer input, I think Captain Crunch will build nothing but workers, settlers and the occasional infrastructure (a market, maybe a lighthouse if the return is high enough); I'll put its food surplus to good use! P and PO ought to be able to take up the slack on escorts and workboats and scouts.

Still no sea monsters or barbs; I've been really lucky all game there, and been able to run extremely light on defense as a result. Unfortunately, I feel that's meant that I stay in the game despite mediocre play instead of boosting me out front like it would if I were better. Oh well, nothing to be done by whining - I just need to keep my focus on expansion and everything will be all right.

Sailing should come in shortly as well, after which I think the plan is Festivals then Animal Husbandry (to hook up those tasty pigs). City wise, I think I'll even skip city 6 for a while, since it's another peninsula I can claim by expanding past it. It's frustrating to leave behind good city sites just for the sake of land grab, but my lack of information coupled with the score and demographic deficit is really starting to make me paranoid. I don't want to turn into the Cull of this game, even if that means I get to be Sareln instead .

And, since I'm running out of scouted city sites that aren't backfill, I ought to get some copper warriors headed out shortly, as well. I'm going to put off Hunting for a while, so I need another source of info. I might end up doing some backfill anyway if I don't manage some scouting; there's little point in sending settlers out into the fog if I can't keep warriors alive out there.

[Mardoc]

Phoenix's monument is done, and it starts on warriors for the next settler escort (should be ready in 8 turns, so my 4 turn warriors need to start now). Its workboats have managed to avoid sea monsters and arrive on schedule, so soon pirate cove #3 will be constructed.


Fortunately, I believe I have enough planned for the blitz that I should manage to avoid at least the most egregious mistakes tomorrow. Continue preparing the land near my cities with my soon to be 3 workers, keep building new cities, start some exploration, and city city city.

Techwise, it'll be Festivals, Animal Husbandry, Education, Code of Laws, and on from there.

Of course, the last blitz lasted 5 turns, so this is probably way more than will actually happen.

[Mardoc]

Not much to report here, except for the sighting of a Bannor Scout! I send Mr. Yellow a generic greetings.


I continue the previously laid out plan elsewhere.

[Mardoc]

Glad to finally meet someone in game! I gave up on my scouting after the 4th warrior got eaten without finding anything new; I'm about to restart. Not much to see my way - jungle and ocean and the less mighty than hoped for Lanun.

- Mardoc

The shadow dictator and the people of the glorious Bannors sends their greetings to the people of the sea in these promising times.
Our envoys have travelled far, having crossed the dreaded desert and sneaked through goblin territory to reach your lands.
We hope this meeting can lead to fruitful possibilities between the Bannor and the Lanun.

Sadly though, we are too far away to really establish connections. But we would like to exchange information.
We can tell you that us and the Malakim are located to the northern coast and that there's a vast desert snaking through the continent.
Else we know that the Elohim and the elves are located further east. The Sheaim however, we have heard very little of.

The information is greatly appreciated! We had found the sea of sands (the Mirror of Heaven is to your west, actually), but didn't expect it to be vast! No wonder the Malakim are thriving. Sadly, we haven't figured out how to launch a ship into this sea.

I really know very little of use, but I will be happy to cooperate with the Bannor people. If I were to send a workboat to meet you for purposes of enabling trade, would that be feasible in a reasonable time?.

About the only noteworthy thing is that some Fawns came visiting in the very early game, about the same time as someone jumped way ahead of me in GNP and the Malakim score started to increase, so I wouldn't be surprised if they've been exploring lairs and gotten some very good and bad results.

- Mardoc

Well to be more precise, the Malakim are located straight north of you while i am a little more west. So you'll meet Thoth before you find me.

Gotta say though, all my contacts have struggled with the fauna so far (bears wandering around the desert no less). I myself are currently on my 4th scout.

If you meet the Malakim then keep in mind that they are sitting on 2 gold resources they have barely started mining. One popped from a barrow no less.

[Mardoc]

Phoenix's borders expand, and I immediately settle and work both workboats, bringing my GNP back to breakeven at 90%. The copper mine finishes and will be roaded momentarily, improving my security immensely - its production also dramatically cuts the time to monument. My workers are putting some finishing touches on Phoenix, then they'll need to move on to Phiber Optik and city 4 (we'll go with MafiaBoy as its name, to commemorate my first Werewolf game).

[Mardoc]

Little happens this turn - workers work and units train. Bronze should come in at the end of the turn and upgrade my warriors. I move one out beforehand to cover my worker as I expect Mr Yellow's scout to come by, and ideally he won't see the bronze weaponry, but a warrior still ought to keep away a scout.