Trainee captain yuris125 on the nautical skills test

[yuris125]

T101

Started Longbows on the starting island and in three border cities. Will whip next turn to get those first defences. I think if Pindicator doesn't attack before T105, I should be able to hold the cities

[yuris125]

Well, Pindicator just summoned our ambassador and handed him a formal declaration of war. So he's declaring on T103, the first war turn for me will be T104. I didn't have any of his Galleys in sight last turn, so there's a chance he won't actually attack this turn, and I'll be able to build several extra Longbows. The attack is coming a little earlier than I'd like, but I have at least some defences in place. We'll see how it plays out

[yuris125]

I was way too optimistic with my chances. Of course, a Longbow has odds defending in a city against a zerker. But 2 zerkers are almost guaranteed to kill a Longbow. Pindicator was hiding his fleets just out of my view, and the border cities were within his reach. He brought 12 Galleys, assuming they're all full, that's 24 zerkers. He also won two 30% battles. As a result, my defenders only killed 3 of those zerkers, and he took all three of the border cities. Among them was the one with the stone, so I no longer get the resource bonus on building Walls. And Walls wouldn't do much when the garrison is so small

I will do my best to build up defences in the remaining cities, but losses will be huge. He probably won't outright kill me, but very likely I won't be in the running for the victory anymore

I have noone but myself to blame for this. Not checking the power graph for 20 turns is likely to end up costing me the game

[yuris125]

After losing 3 cities in the first turn of the war, I felt I had to try to limit the damage. Last night I sent Pindicator an offer to discuss peace, saying that I would be willing to consider even the most outrageous demands. He came back with demands which were indeed outrageous

Well, my goal is to be able to compete with Rego in at least population by the end of the war. So since you gave the invitation to ask for the outrageous, if you agree to
* gift me all cities on your starting island
* gift me the cities of Corihuayrachina & Macchu Picchu
* let me capture Cuzco (since you can't gift a capital)
then we can begin talking peace and working out further details. I'm willing to listen to other stipulations or counter-offers you'd have in return, but honestly, if I don't have a higher population and crop yield than Rego by the end of the war, it's hard to justify ending it.

That's 6 cities he's asking for. I can only hope he starts negotiations with obviously too high demands, and is willing to reduce them. I'm ready to part with the cities which are on our new border, but I think I can hold on to Cuzco, I should be able to have at least 7 Longbows there by the time he reaches it. This is my counter-proposal

I understand your point about needing to make serious gains in the war to make it worthwhile. However, I hope you understand me as well: I need to retain as much of my land as possible. I honestly think giving up 6 cities would be too much. For example, I believe I will be able to hold Cuzco: you need at least 3 turns to reach it, that's 3 turns to build up defences, and its 60% cultural defence will make killing its defenders much more difficult. Also keep in mind that I'm not that far away from Machinery and Crossbows, who are the natural counter for zerkers

Here is my offer

* I gift you 4 cities: 3 on the starting island (except Cuzco) and Corihuayrachina
* We sign a NAP for 30 turns
* We sign open borders, and I gift you 4 Workers

Of course, all of this is negotiable. But I'm not ready to part with more than 4 cities at this point. If you feel that's too few, we will have to stay at war for the time being

I will be willing to make other concessions, such as gold/gpt gifts, resource gifts, etc. But I don't think he can lay claim on more than 4 cities. If we stay at war, he will probably be able to capture some of the less important cities in addition to the ones listed - but not Cuzco and not Machu Picchu

If he accepts, I will retain 14 cities. Both Pindicator and Rego will have over 20, so it will be difficult for me to keep up. But hopefully I will still be able to make something happen in the late game

[yuris125]

Pindicator asked for 2 Settlers in addition to what I offered. I'm agreeing to it

[Ceiliazul]

Pindicator asked for 2 Settlers in addition to what I offered. I'm agreeing to it

Thank yo for the excellent ongoing reports. Your status as a game leader is probably gone, but I hope you can share some new goals for the game when you refocus on your new empire.

I'm happy PBEM23 is going better for you!

[oledavy]

Hey, Pindicator posted that email from you. Why do you want a Christian Missionary?

What are your plans for the future Yuris?

[yuris125]

Hey, Pindicator posted that email from you. Why do you want a Christian Missionary?

Because one of the cities Pindicator got in the peace treaty was the only Christian city I had. And more religions is good

What are your plans for the future Yuris?

No real plans... that's why I'm not posting Basically my leader/civ combo is powerhouse in the early game, but has no advantages past the expansion phase. That's why I tried to exploit the advantage in expansion so much. But when I lost a third of my empire, all I can do is to develop economy and try to keep up with the leaders. If I can do that, maybe I can fight a successful war in the Rifle era. But who knows how the game develops before then

[yuris125]

I found an unclaimed treasure island between myself and Gaspadore



Really not sure how to handle this situation. Simply founding a city here would seriously piss Gaspadore off. Especially because Commodore complained a couple of days ago that they didn't get a single treasure island. On the other hand, simply giving it up is hardly an option, the location is too strong. On the third hand, I promised Gaspadore not to found cities closer to them than already founded ones, and this one is definitely closer. On the fourth hand, it's T122, and if they didn't find this island for so long, they hardly can complain if I claim it. On the fifth hand, if they decide to declare war on me over this island, it will be another lost war for me, they have a strong force left from the Sian war, and my defences are still not up to date; I would be able to whip defences in strong cities, but newly founded cities would be at huge risk

I will try to solve this diplomatically. Probably the best compromise would be to reveal this island to them, and go for a settler race. Hope they agree to it

[Ceiliazul]

I will try to solve this diplomatically. Probably the best compromise would be to reveal this island to them, and go for a settler race. Hope they agree to it

Have you started a settler yet? How are the treasure islands distributed?