[SPOILERS!] I am Molach. This is my thread. Kublai Khan of Rome

[Molach]

Love that image Nicolae.

I should post that in the Talky-thread, just to scare people.

I think a few are scared - both wetbandit and oxyphenozone keep ringing me up, to see what resources I have....well boys, next turn I have Iron.

I think just hooking that up is gonna cause most of my neighbours to panic-build more units. Scaring Oxy off farmers gambit-max expansion-mode is a good thing. A bit of the reason I refused open borders - let him prepare for attack and waste hammers on that.

Perhaps Praets are like Nukes - devastating, but most effective as a deterrent - and both will lose, mutual assured destruction if I ever employ them...well unless I employ them on someone who doesn't have any counter hehe.

Oxy has a lot of room to expand, Azza-Wetbandit-Me seem to be boxed in a bit more. Wetbandit without metals might be the soft target here, I'd think Azza would pile on him rather than try to take cities from Pragressive Rome.

[Nicolae Carpathia]

You have my permission to make any use you like of that image.

[Molach]

Sadly, I think using the pic in tech thread could be taken as diplomacy and breakage of rules. And those who didn't meet me yet probably shouldn't know which techs I have.

---
Opening the game yielded....

Rejected for now. Hopefully he takes this to mean "Molach is going to attack" and go into war-mode. I might, and again, might not.

Here's a little riddle from Azza to me. What does this mean:

My take:
No open border between Azza and wetbandit, even though I have open with both. Could it be that noone has writing tech? Also a nicely-sized stack of chariots there - if Azza is attacking me, why open borders and let me see it? I conclude that he is going after wetbandit. Going after me now, after I get metals will be beyond suicidal.

Capital - finished a settler, overflow into praet, finished in 2 turns. Growth in 1.
Weserübung - finished a settler, overflow into library (what?). Growth & Lib in 2 turns.
Fortitude - Growth in 1 turn. Build set to praetorian for 1 turn, put some hammers into it so it can be whipped. Worker finishes in 2 turns, work boat in about 5 more turns after that.
Ironcity/Bagration - build a worker, building granary now. Growth in 3 turns

Tech - Mathematics in 4 turns. Next tech might be hunting, improve deer and to make spearmen, calendar for spice + happy and to chop out the MoM somewhere (could also chop out hanging gardens somewhere) or just on to currency for trade route goodness.

Future plans - Backstab wetbandit with a few praetorians ( after Azza invades him with chariots), seize the city north of ironville/Bagration. Wetbandit has shown no sign of metal, while Azza is, as we speak, improving the copper on his little peninsula.

Exciting times.
ONE MORE TURN
Two, actually.

[Bigger]

well azza can invade and capture mad dog in one turn from his terrority. plus azza built that city, I assume he may want it back.
(I haven't read azza's thread atm)
pb8 spoiler from 6 months ago

still have night mares about fighting over beowulf again and again

[Molach]

Quiz time:

Where does the bullseye fit best?


And yes, I'd be very surprised if Azza attacked me. We'd both be out of the game, but he would be dead, I would be hopelessly behind. After I declare Total war and keep sending my units his way.

In a diplo game I might have been worried about the possibility of a double strike by him and Wetbandit - wetbandit cuts my iron, then they can take me down before I get my praet-machine moving.

[Molach]

When I opened the save, I saw that Azza was offering me clams.
- for free.
- I already have clams...

So yeah, I'll take this as a token of friendship. He's seen my chariot snooping around his lands, he knows I've seen his stack of chariots. So he makes this offer, with the underlying message "I'm friendly to you, I'm after wetbandit". My chief scout has assured me of this, and he is rarely wrong.

Founded my fishing village. I do not have any improvements pre-placed. A worker is coming now to build a cottage and chop a forest. In about 9 turns a work boat will materialize and improve the fish.

Named it 'Chariot'. I'll confess I did not recall the code name for this operation, I just knew it as 'the St. Nizaire raid'. Large and extremely brave commando raid, knocking out the only Tirpitz-sized dry dock on the west coast of France.

Now some economics.

Now, I thought this over. A part of me was saying that I should delay founding it till I had the cottage ready, at least. I do not agree. But I was very wrong. I pay 5 more gold, and only grab 4 extra commerce. However I get 2 food and 1 hammer, which clearly is worth more than 1 gold per turn. Also pushing out borders early can't hurt. After granary I get lighthouse, both with heavy whipping. Then go for Moai. Perhaps I should overflow into them, have seen no stone to even trade for this map.

Remains to be seen how much my NEXT city will cost...will be founded next turn, and is strategically important to found right away.

Overlord:

Must wait 8 turns till it can grow. Perhaps I should target monarchy instead of calendar/currency next. But a praet next turn is good. Workers next.

Weserübung:

Well library and growth EOT. Will pick up the cottage then, keep it warm for the capital. Next build something warlike. Praet.

Fortitude put a turn into a praet to make it whippable without penalty. Finishing the quick worker, then a work boat for Chariot.


Bagration.

2 chops are coming in soon, GLF hill to the west and forest in front of city next to cow. Yeap, chop that for security before I chop the cow.

Aaaand chariot.

Debated working 1/2 tile, but settled for quicker growth. Crap for another 5 turns, but in 10 turns it will pull its weight with fish and river grassland cottage.

And Sisu is doing well. Perhaps I should open borders with Oxyphenomenon, so he can feel safer and focus on bothering Sisu instead. Oxy is, for new readers, my first eastern neighbour, further east is Sisu. A ways further, hopefully he doesn't have too much room to expand into.

My next city being an aggressive (but not aggressive versus one specific player, rather in the middle of several interest zones..) eastwards plant, I challenge people to guess the operation for which it will be named? I've settled on the name, but of course good enough other suggestions will be assimilated.

[TheHumanHydra]

Eastward, unfocused aggression ... might as well pick Barbarossa, or one of the subsequent operations.

Drop the unfocused part ... maybe Market Garden?

I feel like I'm forgetting something that would fit really well.

[Molach]

Eastward, unfocused aggression ... might as well pick Barbarossa, or one of the subsequent operations.

Bingo. Barbarossa since I start my eastbound journey into nowhere now.

[TheHumanHydra]

Remember your winter pants.

[Molach]

Okay, I'll apologize for now for lack of pictures last few days, and for the coming 10 days as well.

I am at vacation, so while I have time to play my turns, no grand planning is going on, just going with the flow. Also taking photos and updating takes a while, and family obligations are more demanding at this time.

Soooo, founded Barbarossa...and suddenly noticed that gold was a bit low. And tech was break-even at 60%. Currently I'm researching currency, however still building up a gold surplus. I'll get currency and an academy in 11 turns, so I'll burn through my gold reserve then.

And - Wetbandit declared war on Azza. Yup, he declared war on the dude with 8-9 hidden chariots. Strange. They will certainly bleed each other. Dry? I've been debating whether to rush some praets, but I am slow-building stuff for now - new cities are getting online, and can probably whip up some nice shiny roman guards then.