[SPOILERS] - Tredje and Mardoc are Sheelba of the Clan of Embers

[Mardoc]

Also, anyone want to wager 20g on Bob switching to Hyborem after you wardec? )

Well, it depends on his tech rate, doesn't it? I mean, there's always the chance we clean him up too fast. I would bet hard cash that he at least leaves the option open.

Or, well, there's a chance that he switches in the period between 'cancelled NAP' and wardec, in order to get most profit from Manes. Which raises an interesting question - is our NAP with the Balseraphs, or with Bob? Suppose he switches T112 - can we hit him right away? Or the AI shell he leaves behind? Or neither?

[SevenSpirits]

Well, it depends on his tech rate, doesn't it? I mean, there's always the chance we clean him up too fast. I would bet hard cash that he at least leaves the option open.

Or, well, there's a chance that he switches in the period between 'cancelled NAP' and wardec, in order to get most profit from Manes. Which raises an interesting question - is our NAP with the Balseraphs, or with Bob? Suppose he switches T112 - can we hit him right away? Or the AI shell he leaves behind? Or neither?

I'd say it's with the Balseraph nation, not with Bob the player.

Additionally, since the Balseraph nation is then taken over by a turnplayer who considers NAPs to be void (the AI), I would not consider that deal (nor other verbal agreements) to be in effect any longer.

[Tredje]

Since Serdoa hasn't played his turn yet I figured I would use the opportunity to give you an overview of Clan lands.

Here is the south:

And the north:

As you can see only the capital has reverted to training troops. The rest of the cities are still getting infrastructure (some of which really isn't needed, but I have nothing better to build.) Shazzak will get a Warrens in 5 turns, then it will be ready to produce Warriors alongside Braduk. Between them they should cover our military needs I think. Like I said earlier, the limiting factor isn't production at this stage, but our ability to pay for our troops. We have enough troops to finish Sareln (I think), but for Bob I should probably train at least 10-15 more Warriors.

Our cottage-count has by now reached... one! I prioritized getting Sugar improved and roading wherever our stack went. It is definitely time to construct more cottages though. You will also notice that both the Copper and Dyes sites are now within our cultural control, and I will make it a priority to hook them both up. Good thing we just captured some Workers! With the increased happy cap I think we should consider switching to Agrarianism + Apprenticeship sometime soon (the time is probably right since our stack sits outside of our borders.) Every city except the capital could do with having it's food surplus increased. I don't want two turns of anarchy though, so I figure we should hold off on Nationhood until CoL is in.

Our island city will actually have decent production with three hills, and I was wondering what to do with this. It could for instance get a Warrens and train troops/Shamans at some point, with our Galley ferrying them across. Renegade Hill has no production and will be set to max science/gold. Sorodh makes for a decent hybrid city, but it needs more food to reach it's potential. Another farm and Agrarianism would improve the situation.

Also, anyone want to wager 20g on Bob switching to Hyborem after you wardec?

Hehe, right now I preparing with the assumption that he does everything he can to fight me with the Balseraph. But I won't make any wagers!

Or, well, there's a chance that he switches in the period between 'cancelled NAP' and wardec, in order to get most profit from Manes. Which raises an interesting question - is our NAP with the Balseraphs, or with Bob? Suppose he switches T112 - can we hit him right away? Or the AI shell he leaves behind? Or neither?

I agree with what SevenSpirits posted. Our NAP is with Bob as leader of the Balseraph. If he switches to Hyborem, the NAP ceases to have effect, both for Bob as leader of the Hyborem and the AI (or player-controlled) Balseraph.

[Tredje]

Turn 109:

On the Amurite front I moved my Warrior 1NW to see where Sareln had moved his troops:

I decided to try to gain some xp from his units left in the open. I have a Son with 59 xp, and I'd like to get him to 65 so he can get Regeneration before the Balseraph campaign. Unfortunately he only got 1 xp from the battle (should have known.) I then decided to kill the remaining Warrior with an Archer, that can now get C4 or C3/Shock. I think that these upgrades will play a pivotal role in future wars. With the rest of my stack I moved close to Udenarat and summoned three Elementals.

The result:

Only a single Warrior remains in Udenarat, which will fall next turn. I won't waste any time healing, but move directly for Sareln's capital. A look at the Power Charts reveals that Sareln doesn't have a real fighting force anymore (remember that the chart doesn't show the five units he lost this turn):

Now I am cancelling my NAP with Bob, who will probably continue his military buildup. I sent Iskender a mail asking him if he would be ready for T120, but he hasn't given me a reply yet. Not sure if I should suspect anything (if I were him I would be hesitant to do a joint strike on Bob. Not only will he aid the guy with four Sons, but all of Bob's territory is on my side and far from Sidar homelands.) If he does decide to honor our agreement I think we will need to discuss some form of partition.

[Ravus Sol]

Wow that is a lot of promotions. Especially as they are so much more powerful in FFH then BTS.

Your economy looks like it is continuing to decline. That's only going to get worse from WW. Are you going to promote all the elite warriors that gain xp into axemen in time for the next war?

[Gaspar]

We have a NAP with Iskender, yes?

[Tredje]

We have a NAP with Iskender, yes?

Yes, until T130. And unless Iskender has allowed himself to be encouraged by the dastardly behaviour in another PBEM game on these boards (I won't mention any names!), we shouldn't have to fear a backstab.

Your economy looks like it is continuing to decline. That's only going to get worse from WW. Are you going to promote all the elite warriors that gain xp into axemen in time for the next war?

I don't think we will get any WW from this war actually. Unless I get really unlucky with the RNG we shouldn't suffer any more losses. But you are right in pointing out that our economy is in a poor state. The addition of Udenarat and Cevedes with their Gems+Silk should give us a boost, but they will need to come out of revolt before that happens. I am also counting on gaining quite a bit of money from capturing the cities. The goal is of course to reach CoL and get Aristofarms as soon as possible, but I might decide to upgrade some of my Warriors and postpone CoL if I think it will be necessary against Bob. I can't be sure, but I would say that getting at least 2-3 Axemen will be a priority.

[Mardoc]

Looking good! You cut his power in half - admittedly swords and adepts count much more than warriors, but still very nicely done. And taking away his copper ought to seal the deal.

Unless you have warriors with a lot of promotions, I would personally be inclined to just build new axes instead of upgrading warriors. With the Warrens, that comes out pretty cheap anyway, right? Better to upgrade than to lose a war (or a Son), but ideally we'd get to a semblance of economy one of these days

I think I agree on Iskender/Bob. When we were looking like we were behind, and he was in second, working together to bring down the leader was a grand idea. Now that we're the likely runaway to be feared, though, the situation has got to be a tad bit different.

[Tredje]

Unless you have warriors with a lot of promotions, I would personally be inclined to just build new axes instead of upgrading warriors.

Here is a screenshot of our Archers/Warriors with their promotions.

Remember that one of the Archers now has a free promotion in addition to C3. I decided to go for Shock on most of the units, while some went straight down the combat line. I'm not sure if this is optimal, but I reckon that Bob will be fielding mostly melee units. As you can see all of them have 3+ promotions, which makes them quite valuable, and if the Warriors were to be upgraded to Axemen they would pack a solid punch.

[Mardoc]

As you can see all of them have 3+ promotions, which makes them quite valuable, and if the Warriors were to be upgraded to Axemen they would pack a solid punch.

Well, then I guess we just need to come up with the cash somehow. More cottages! And I do suppose looting the Amurite palaces will help out too.