[Spoiler] RB Pitboss #2 - Shaka of Rome

[Whosit]

I know only rage.



That . . . was mine. It will be mine. There will be blood.

What frustrates me the most is that I know that this is due to my own ineptitude. The Inca have been expanding while I've been sitting on my ass, building some toy soldiers, and sending them far away to deal with another threat. Now, I consider India a real threat, but I completely underestimated the Incan ability to expand at this stage of the game. I almost want to recall my troops, but that would be a diplomatic disaster which would end up being worse than letting my top settlement sites getting poached. However, after Aesthetics is complete, I'm going to shift some of my cities back to max production and build a welcoming party for the Inca's newest cities. Maybe a Settler or two to grab some "forward outposts." Just have to figure out how to do that without totally crashing my economy.

Well, looks like they told me so.

Oh, and this was from last turn. #1 in trade. Whee. *sarcasm*

[Ruff_Hi]

I know only rage.

[Whosit]

There's a part of me that wants to know whether you're laughing because you found the statement funny, or if you're laughing at me for my failure.

Then there's the other, greater part that doesn't care one whit, and is already calculating how many Praetorians will be required to make dsp and slaze suffer.

The good news is that I can increase production without hurting my income too badly. The bad news is that I'll have to fire most of my Scientists, which will slow my tech rate to a crawl. And, unfortunately, turning my Praetorians around really isn't an option. Well, the future will be full of excitement, at least.

I will, of course, refrain from renaming my empire "Kill DSP," since that might give things away a little bit.

[Krill]

Pointy end in the other fellow. Rinse and repeat.

It'll be fun to watch at least

[timmy827]

I know only rage.

Geez, I don't want to know how you'd feel in worse situations; say you were on the wrong end of a 4v1, with one more joining in the near future...

[Whosit]

Idle threats and angry posts are all well and good, but they do not lead to effective revenge. Therefore, I will begin laying out the groundwork for a little project I'd like to call: "Show Those Incan Bastards Who's Boss." I'm the goddamn Empire! Crushing uppity punks is what I do! This will be no different; I will see to that!

I have three broad goals:

1) Build myself a new Praetorian Army.
2) Expand to two new commerce locations.
3) Keep my finances stable enough to prevent rioting while I tear the Inca a new one.

How will I do this? Well, I took a stroll to Kuat and discovered that the people there were building a Library. What malaise was I under when I gave the order for the construction of such and edifice? I ordered the Imperial taskmasters to round up the carpenters and conscript them into a Praetorian unit. It will finish in 4 turns, at which point Kuat will max out its population and bring in 17 hammers per turn, enough to crank out 3-turn Praetorians (or 3-3-2 turn units if I build nothing but). Kuat will do most of the heavy lifting here. It will probably also build at least one of my two Settlers.

Where am I going to settle? The Filler spot and the riverside spot to the northeast of Kuat, and southwest of where MY globe theatre location is. Unfortunately, that spot will probably be under significant Incan cultural pressure since they will be able to get their damn Terrace chopped out. Those trees . . . those trees should be for me! At least I get the free monument, and I'll build/chop a Library quickly for the cultural boost.

Now, these spots are going to cost me. I expect that the Filler location will cost me 4 gold alone, and the other 6. What with empire-wide maintenance increases, I estimate that these two cities will cost me 16 gold per turn, total. How will I pay for this?

Fortunately, Byss and Ryloth will grow soon, and their whip anger will last only 10 turns. They will help stabilize my income. Imperial Center will also remain on Commerce duty, I think. Carida will revert to max production when Aesthetics is done, maybe a bit sooner, and crank out the Parthenon, before going on Settler/Worker duty. Two new cities means 2 more workers. Praetorians after that.

The Filler site, I will prep ahead of time. I can lay down a bunch of Cottages, maybe another farm to help speed growth. However, the NE site is the priority since it could be taken from me.

Kuat can have a Settler out 10 turns from now (4 turns for Praet, 6 for Settler). I'll have this Praetorian and the sentry Warrior to guard the new city at the outset. I'll probably add another Praetorian soon after. Carida will do Workers, I think, but I can divert 2-3 of my existing Workers to the new site. Maybe even 4 Workers, since I'll lose the one food resource to the Inca, most likely.



Mine the Copper, mine the hill, cottage the riverside tiles. Granary first, especially since it will be slow growing. The city should have a "base" commerce of 3. Each cottage adds 2. It will have to work 3 cottages to pay for itself. I may build a farm to speed growth, then cottage over it. I probably won't be lucky enough to nab that clam.

Similar plan for Filler. Pre-cottage several tiles, then chop the forests nearby into stuff I need, like Granary for growth, and Library for culture. It can't hurt to help put the cultural squeeze on Seoul from 3 directions, eh?



This should be fun. Two more cities, while I build more units. It's a race to the bottom! Can I get things up to speed before my economy hits rock bottom? I'll be living off of Scientist specialists for my beakers, I am sure of it. I should be able to limp through Math to Currency.

Of course, I suppose that I haven't explained why I feel the need to build two more cities. Well, the one to the northeast is simple: Establish my presence in the region so that they think twice of expanding further. Filler? It's a relatively cheap site, maintenance wise and, especially with pre-improving the terrain, I can start bringing in the extra income more quickly. The goal of these two cities is to help support a larger army. I need to crunch some more numbers to make sure they will help more than hurt, but I think that I can do it.

I am currently earning about 13 gpt at max gold. That should increase by about . . . 5-7 in the next three turns. New costs: -1 per new unit, -7 Filler city, -9 Advance city. I'll want: Garrison units (~4), plus 8 more for offensive purposes. So minimum of -12 unit costs. Looking at -28 gold, total.

So . . . . 20 - 28 = -8. Losing money at max gold. However, add +6 for each new city (+1 city center, +2 [foreign] trade route), and that should increase as they start working their cottages. I'll literally be at the breaking point by doing this, and costs will rise again when I move troops into neutral/enemy territory, but I think I can manage to pull this off.

That, or this will the most entertaining nose-dive ever.

No, but I think I'll be OK.

I only need Kuat and Carida to handle the heavy lifting. All other cities will maximize commerce and beakers via Specialists.

Filler can work 5 cottages (one of which is Silk) and 1 Specialist. That's 11 minimum, which will increase as the cottages grow into hamlets.

NE Outpost will work 4-5 Cottages (maybe 4 + Copper), and 1 Specialist. 8 gold, and growing.

The question, then, is the time it takes to grow. I plan to chop out Granaries so that they will grow at reasonable paces and to never whip them (unless absolutely necessary). OK, I've rambled on long enough, but I'm going to start to get to work on this. Hopefully I can lay down some more coherent plans soon.

[regoarrarr]

You can always hope Sullla kills all your Praetorians so that you don't have to pay unit cost and unit supply for them

[Whosit]

You can always hope Sullla kills all your Praetorians so that you don't have to pay unit cost and unit supply for them

That . . . is something I have been considering. I expect to take some losses, but I'd rather not have a TPK. As long as I still have units over there, I can probably avoid having to send more.

[Bobchillingworth]

Thanks for the update! Have you had any diplomacy with Slaze yet? Also, how close are you to getting a great general? Will you be going for a super combat praet, medic 3 unit, or settling for the extra promotion?

[Jabah]

If you capture a Spulla developped (enough) city (the one you are aiming at in the latest plan), there should be a bit of cash with the capture...