DaveV spoiler thread: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards

[DaveV]

Gildor was silent for a moment. “I do not like this news.” he said at last. “That Gandalf should be late, does not bode well. But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. The choice is yours: to go or wait.”

“And it is also said,” answered Frodo: “Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.”

“Is it indeed?” laughed Gildor. “Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill. But what would you?”

From The Fellowship of the Ring, J. R. R. Tolkien


For additional filler space, scenes from my favorite web comics (if I did it right, each image should be a link to the corresponding page).

[DaveV]

My leader: Alexis of the Amurites. A pretty good combo: Aggressive to help survive till the good stuff comes into play; Philosophical to get to the good stuff more quickly. Sounds like the Committee went with powerful, synergistic civs and leaders rather than the nerfed combos we would have had with the "players pick" scheme. This means I'd better hustle my way to my power units, before I'm facing vampires, hordes of demagogs, puppet spam, etc.

The Amurites have a choice between two tech paths: firebows or Govannon. Firebows replace longbows, are strength 5/4 (instead of 5/6 for a normal longbow), but can spend a promotion on the ability to cast the Fireball spell. Oh, and they're draftable. Firebows require the following techs after Bronze Working:

Archery 300
Bowyers 2400 ([strike]GE bulb[/strike] - only if I clear Smelting first )

Govannon is a level 3 mage who can teach every level 1 spell he knows to any non-animal unit. So you can do cute things like having hundreds of skeleton defenders. He requires the following techs:

Knowledge of the Ether 360 (GS bulb)
. . . . . .| Divination 640
one of: | Alteration 640 (GS bulb)
. . . . . .| Elementalism 640
. . . . . .| Necromancy 640
Writing 380
Sorcery 2000 (GB bulb)
Arcane Lore 3600 (GS bulb)

So, I'm left with a tough decision. The firebow isn't really a game winning unit, but it might keep me alive until Govannon, who potentially is. Govannon takes a *lot* of beakers, which means I need to get my economy cooking or spend a long time on that research path.

[DaveV]

Opening thoughts on the cast of characters:

Ichabod:



Ichabod has played in several PBEM and tournament games, and is a regularly posting lurker. He has a very good understanding of the FfH mechanics, and seems to be a good player.

Arendel Phaedra of the Bannor (Spiritual, Creative, Guardsman) - the Bannor are the ultimate one-trick pony: tech your way to Fanaticism, start your Crusade, and hope you can win by Conquest/Domination. Spiritual should help strengthen any supporting Priest units; Creative will help pop borders in captured cities; free Guardsman will mean near-immunity to Assassins. These guys are not an early game threat.


Ilios:



Pretty much ditto the entry for Ichabod, and I'll probably confuse these guys for one another at some point since their names both start with "I". Ilios played a strong game in PBEM2, but came out on the short end of the 3-player endgame (make that 3.5 players - sorry, Amelia).

Dain the Caswallan of the Svartalfar (Philosophical, Arcane, Sinister) - the ultimate animal-capturing civ (and there should be plenty of animals on the map to capture): their natural tech path passes through Hunting early. Arcane gives them the ability to compete with me on the magic front, while their Assassins will get extra attack strength for killing my adepts. I view the Illusion promotion of their mages as a mixed blessing: it makes it easier to gain +1 XP by striking the killing blow on a unit that's been redlined by an illusionary summon, but it means you can't use summons to whittle down stacks. As the only other Philosophical civ, I expect Ilios to be my main competition for the first-to-tech great people. If I settle any great people, I can never open borders with Ilios.


Lewwyn:



Lewwyn appears to be an aggressive and competent BtS player, who by his own admission doesn't have much experience with FfH. If he gets some help on the mechanics, I expect him to be another tough opponent. Was shamelessly manipulated by Scooter in PBEM14, but not much chance of that happening here. If he loses interest in the game, he could sacrifice his own game to take down his worst enemy. I plan to treat him fairly and honestly, and hope not to be that worst enemy.

Falamar of Sidar (Expansive, Charismatic) - Although Iskender is doing a great job of showing off their strengths in PBEM V, I don't find them fun to play. Another civ with strength in the Assassin line. Sigh. The traits are set up for building lots of cities, and Charismatic will let them wane their units early.


Tasunke:



A newcomer here, but he's played a *lot* of multiplayer at CivFanatics. Probably the most experienced player, but used to the quick-decision world of real-time MP. I doubt he's seen the obsessive-compulsive micromanagement popular at this site. I'd still peg him as the pre-game favorite, though. Ellimist is a pretty strong advisor.

Perpentach of the Sheaim (Creative, Charismatic, Arcane, Insane, Sundered) - That's a lot of traits. Pyre Zombies are the best argument for an early Life II. This civ is pretty much forced into Ashen Veil, so I may get some competition for the Holy City. Playing Perpentach takes a lot of agility, being willing to change your emphasis to maximize your current traits. Planar Gates are so expensive that they're not worth building until the AC climbs over 50. This is easily the biggest early-game threat.


Tholal:



Tholal wrote the Better Naval AI mod, so he's intimately familiar with the source code. My impression is that he's more of a modder than a player, though. I suspect he'll be the weakest player in the field, but he might surprise me.

Thessa of the Kuriotates (Expansive, Arcane, Sprawling) - will be able to build 4 cities, since the map is Large. Expansive means they can build those cities early; Arcane would point to an emphasis on spellcasters. Pocketbeetle won with these guys in FFHPBEM1, but that was as much because of diplomacy as because of the civ's strengths. Centaurs are strong and fast, which is a good combination.

DaveV:



I've subbed for Bobchillingworth for brief periods in two different PBEMs, and I'd rate my performance as average: not notably bad, but not particularly good, either. In both games, I had enemy hawks in my cities (), so I'll be watching for that this time. I'm on the low end of the afore-mentioned obsessive-compulsive scale, so don't expect any 50-turn micromanagement spreadsheets. I'll do my best to keep my thread updated, and hope the lurkers will enjoy it.

See post #20 for my thoughts on my civ and leader.

This looks like it will be a tough crowd; I'm looking forward to the challenge!

[DaveV]

My plan:

1. Research worker techs
2. Bronze Working!
3. Profit!

[Mist]

That's the spirit. Have fun with Alexis of Amurites

[DaveV]

Thanks, Mist. I really hope you go with the anonymous civ setup now .

[Amelia]

Now... If i had seen that comment i would have lobbied hard for Charadon of the Amurites =) Good luck!

[DaveV]

Now... If i had seen that comment i would have lobbied hard for Charadon of the Amurites =) Good luck!

[Amelia]

(make that 3.5 players - sorry, Amelia).

=)

[DaveV]

Sorry, no disrespect meant. As I remember, you were not in a position to win the game, although you undeniably had a major influence on its outcome.