Mooooooo.... wait, wrong animal. Neeeigghhh

[Iskender]

Technically we still can, I mean, break the NAP. It's worth considering if it turns out that Serdoa is heading towards an easy ToM victory. There surely would be diplomatic fallout, but, as far as I'm concerned, squeezing a bit of fun out of a game played over several months justifies it well enough. IOW I'm for breaking the NAP for the lulz if we can't get them otherwise.


A word on techs: I've cleaned up most of the necessary early techs (only Sailing left I think). Soon we need to move forward. Here's a few thougths on the techs to grab:

Stirrups - doesn't need explaining

Necromancy + Sorcery - both are key techs. In Conquest Ascot will be making 8xp units out of the gate, perfect for Mage wannabes. Death mages are an obvious choice: we have enough nodes to pump Spectres to near 10str, Spectres get Commando via our Raiders trait and Spectres can pillage. I'm building a Mage Guild in Ascot already and would like to start spamming adepts soon.

Alteration - another key tech. Haste.

Mathematics - Gambling Houses + low slider = no more happiness issues (War Weariness or otherwise). The other reason is that the tech leads to:

Engineering - +50% move on roads is one thing. The other is that with Eng. our workers will be able to lay road 3 tiles deep into the enemy territory. Considering that both Serdoa and Krill likely have minimal road network the ability to get our own roads in their territory, or connect our roads with theirs will be priceless. Another Key tech IMO.

Priesthood + Religious Law - Sorcery should be enough. Chalid's collateral is awesome, but he's only one guy, cannot be replaced and the tech is expensive. Maelstroms and Spectres should do the job well enough. Regeneration obviates the need for Priests' healing.

Currency - I don't like it much. The trade route bonus would give us 15 raw commerce/turn while the tech itself costs 900 beakers. GotN is not that good either - we do get better Mercs with it than other civs, but they still suck - an unpromoted(!) 5str horse for 180gc. I'd much rather upgrade a Scout with two promotions to a HA for 133gc.

Poisons - could be useful later on either for mop-up kills or to counter mages.

Feudalism - Royal Guards, 9 strength on def with bronze. +85% str with Guerilla + Combat I and on a hill. We could inject a couple of these guys along with some HAs and Rathas deep into enemy territory to cause real havoc. Also a hard counter for Assassins.

Arcane Lore - spell extension II for 4-move commando Spectres. Nice but expensive.

[Iskender]

Amelia replied:

[COLOR="SandyBrown"]Iskender,

The greater evil is indeed the orcs, as they have burned down my cities, and wage war without pause. All the orcs from the left of my civ that you see are none other then their allies, all wanting to stomp the Grigori elders into the dust. They claim that we are uncivilized, that we are not FINANCIAL.

However, the Grigori has decided to build a spaceship to leave this planet of Erebus. If all goes well the last of the civilization will die fighting, while the leaders escape with their sacrifice. We ask that you do not interfere with this war, and that you either let what remains of the Grigori civilization to claim glory, or die trying.
[/COLOR]

Nothing concrete. I don't hold out much hope that Amelia knows any details of the Illian-Clan NAP, doesn't hurt to ask though.

[COLOR="Lime"]Amelia,

We wish you good luck in your struggle against the barbarian hordes. We will not interfere. If you think there's a way we could help you in your present situation let us know.

We have heard that the Clan and the Illians have signed a NAP. Did you happen to know any details about this agreement?


Iskender the Nagmaster on behalf of Square Leg the Horselord
[/COLOR]

If there's no other use of the Grigori I suggest we pillage them with our first horses, unless Krill finishes them off first.

[Brian Shanahan]

If there's no other use of the Grigori I suggest we pillage them with our first horses, unless Krill finishes them off first.

Nasty but probably correct.

[Iskender]

T124:

We met the Clan.

Krill went Ogres lol.

He's got IW already and not much besides it. He's got pretty much the eco techs we have, has Currency, doesn't have Writing nor Kote. He's running Aristo/Consumption/Military Strategy/Conquest. He's up to 16 cities, the capital is "Mardoc the Burning". Wonder where that came from

Graphs:

It was Illian GNP that spiked to 600+ last turn. Scary. I switched to Conquest.


And yet another encounter with the Clan. I thought I had the area combed with Horsemen, I moved a settler and stumbled upon this:

How about that. Who found who then? I sent Krill this little note.

[COLOR="Lime"]Veezheesumuunuun I presume

I sent greetings on behalf of the absent Horselord Square Leg. What's up?

Iskender
[/COLOR]

Now, there several urgent questions I'd love to ask, ie. about his NAP with the Illians, does he want to dogpile Serdoa with us, is he even playing to win? What he does with the settler might give a more accurate answer than whatever he might write.


EOT: discovered Sailing. Golden age ended. Demographics:

It'll look better when Serdoa is out of his golden age and we enter our second.

[Iskender]

Got reply from Krill:

[COLOR="Orange"]Basically, end game is almost here. Serdoa is probably going to win a tower victory in the next 25 turns I reckon. My NAP with him ends on t140, and I can have a bunch of ogres, haste adepts and chariots ready to go, not that I think it'll do a lot to him.
[/COLOR]

T140, I guess that's genuine. Could be worse. If Krill enters on T140 and we on T150 it might be just enough to stop Serdoa in time. Does the following sound like a reassuring message?

[COLOR="Lime"]He just started ToN, should finish it around T135. He'll likely start ToA as soon as he rearranges the nodes (got Sorcery this turn). Then ToD, after ToN is ready. He should complete ToD somewhere between T145-150. ToM should take at least 10 turns even with cash rushing.

So, it might be closer to 30 turns, still tight, but he'd be basically playing Tower Defense (haha) during the last turns.
[/COLOR]

Well, it was supposed to be. Do we tell Krill the details of our NAP?

[Brian Shanahan]

Well, it was supposed to be. Do we tell Krill the details of our NAP?

Ye may have to. Sometimes it is better to be open and up-front about something. And I think when planning a dogpile is one of those times (now not everything needs to be disclosed, just what is relevant to get it to work).

[Iskender]

T125:

Serdoa had a mana flare event on the Pyre:

It didn't do much damage (i wish it'd have blown up the node) only some fireworks.

Another city founded:

Krill was kind enough to let the settler be.


F1:

Cities are getting ready for military mode. Ascot has become an 8xp adept factory. One or two cities could focus solely on Rathas. Newmarket is perfect for this - it's got too few hammers to get Stables online fast. Nottingham as well, once it gets necessary infrastructure (ie. Public Baths). Another city can contribute to Ascot's adept spam, training 6xp adepts for support roles (Haste, Rust). One city should get Hunting Lodge at some point and the rest just spam HA and Horsemen.

Epsom and Aintree are working on our 2nd golden age. With 4 specs on T126+ Epsom will get a GP in 5 turns from now. Then Aintree will take up the baton and with the aid of National Epic get another GP in 7 turns (so around T137).


Revealed to Krill the expiry date of our NAP with Serdoa and what we intend to bring to the field.

Our NAP with Serdoa ends on T150. We'll have HA, Spectres and Rathas.

[Iskender]

T126:

Mardoc&Co destroyed a barb squad. Our new horsemen joined the fun and now one is eligible for a third promotion (Mob I on top of Flainking II should be nasty)

Serdoa sent Riuros for a walk:

He's preparing an army for the incoming Tower Defense mode. I wonder what's Serdoa's weapon of choice. Mages would be tricky to get - he's getting only 2xp on fresh units. Javelin Throwers?

EOT discovered Stirrups. Now maybe a turn or two of hoarding cash.

[Square Leg]

I'm back!

[Iskender]

Buongiorno!