A fun idea from Sullla! I had no great preference for Diplomatic Personality but looking at the Production Emphasis, I would prefer not to draw Technologist or Ecologist. They would show some interesting variations but I wanted something more radical. So, on my third roll, I got Erratic Militarist. Now thatâs radical, even scary! Production would be hampered by the investment in ships, tech would be hampered by the investment in weapons and with the odd random war thrown in! Optimising tech would be difficult and the pace slow so I expect to have to use my enforced ships (& Sakkra pop) for pointy-stick research to compensate. Early expansion tech could be a problem though.
Erratic: d6 every 10 turns and 6 means declare on random race. I would interpret this to mean attack race (to force dow) so I will limit this to races in contact. I will roll on first contact then every year ending in zero after that against known races.
Militarist: 50% production in ships at all planets (after clean ECO), 50% tech in weapons at all times.
We are prolific lizards but opponents include the best AI races in Psilons, Meklars and Humans. The map has Sssla north of centre with only one yellow star in the northern half a possible AI homeworld to the east. Two planets in range and looks like the eastern green if it can be settled will open up the red below. I want to know quickly how far I can expand without tech so I send colony to green and scouts to in-range purple and eastern red. Scouts from next 2 turns enforced ships went to SW green, S red and NW green. Colony ship finds Xengara (Min, 55) and I send 23 from Sssla, gets colony productive quickly and homeworld still at one third and growing quickly. Nearby stars are purple UR Proxima (Inferno 35) and red Beta Ceti (Tundra 60). NW green is Orion, scratch one scout and one direction for expansion. Xengara produces a scout for Beta Ceti as its scout moves to S white and Proxima scout heads to NE green. Southern red & white are hostile but SW green is Ryoun (Terran 95) at range 4 and far NE green is Selia (Jungle 85) at range 5. SW purple is UR Tauri (Inferno 40).
Opening tech in planetology, propulsion and enforced weapons reveals IER (over IT10), Range5 and Hand Lasers. Now putting 50% tech into weapons means that after range 5 pops I will have 2 quick colony ships then a big delay before the third (no pre-build). So I decide to push for IER and Range 5 alongside weapons to reduce Colony ship cost. This will delay my first expansion several turns but my third one will be several turns faster and greater for later ones. Sssla spends 2 turns on deposit then returns to factories (+ships), Xengara goes full tech (+ships), not a single factory. With half tech on weapons the remainder is split evenly between IER & R5. After several turns Sssla starts to boost tech until both planets are full on tech & ships then when IER gets close to percentages I increase its share until in double figures. Hand Lasers hit in 2319 choosing Ion Cannon (Hyper-X, Fusion Bomb) then IER in 2329 choosing IT10 (Dead, Death Spores). GNN announces Meklars first to 6 planets in 2330, not a good sign. First contact is Psilons chased from UR Proxima in 2335 confirming they are eastern yellow.
Range 5 hits in 2337 (ouch!) choosing Warp2 (range 6) and I produce my first and second colony ships then third turn after. Scouts fan out on extra range. I open construction with only RW80 and put a one turn deposit and research this with IT10 (+weapons). I settle Ryoun in 2341 meeting 5PE Humans (Hon/Diplo), Sol is W yellow of 3 west of centre. They are currently Neutral not Relaxed because I just chased their colony ship from W red UP Proteus (Steppe 50), I must have got there same turn as them (phew!). First Erratic throw is indecisive. IT10 hits next year choosing Dead and the first event hits early for... the Meklars, Plague at Meklon (yeah!). Selia settled in 2344 giving more places to send from full initial colonies and grow more prolific lizards. Meklar and Bulrathi scouts and Colony ships chased from southern planets over next few turns.
UP Proteus settled in 2346, itâs a poor planet but opens up a lot more. With an expanding empire I now place a deposit on Dead to help productivity, settle some hostiles and find Inferno for URâs. The 2350 Erratic throw cannot decide. In 2354 I finally settle N red Rha (Desert 40), difficult to get around Orion for this one, then in 2359 N blue rich Aurora (Minimal 40). Two years earlier the Plague ended at Meklon and RW80 hit with only II8 next. I wanted some construction to help ships and reduce factory cost. When RW80 hit Sssla still only had 153 factories and nowhere else had more than 2! I was relying on prolific lizard (planetology enhanced) pop here for production. I placed a deposit on II8 to dream of an industrialised power in the future! I do not want RC3 here. The 2360 Erratic throw is insufficient. Ion Cannon hits in 2365 choosing ScatterPack-V (Ion Rifle, Neutron Blaster) then next year Dead choosing Toxic (EER) which gets a 2 turn deposit (URs!). Distances are becoming a pain so with no investment in Warp2 I trade Humans RW80 for it with only Range7 next.
The 2370 Erratic throw is inconclusive. With Dead I settle the 2 large hostiles Beta Ceti then Endoria then LR Colony settles far NW Klystron (Ocean 65) making 10 planets. Beta Ceti introduces 3PE Psilons (Pac/Ind) and 8PE Meklars (Xeno/Ind). Endoria triggers vote with Meklars(6), Psilons(3), Humans(5), Alkari(1), Bulrathi(4) and me(5). Everyone abstains so I vote for the robots. Four years later the vote is repeated as before except I have 6 votes for Meks who are now Relaxed. II8 hits in 2378 choosing II7 (ARS, RW60), still with only Sssla (and rich Aurora) with a fair number of factories. In 2380 I decide I must declare on the Humans (well thatâs what the Erratic throw said). Instead of UP Kakata, I target large Dunatis with 97/100 pop and 2 bases (hyper-V, titanium, ds3). Full Ryoun & nearly full UP Proteus launch 2 full waves (refilling some from rear) supported by Endoria making 146 invaders in 2 waves. For ships I did not like small Ion Cannon since I cannot fit maneuver or BC so I go with 3 large and over 30 small nuke bombers. 2382 sees ScatterPack-V arrive, choosing Fusion Beam (Stinger, Hard Beam) and 1PE Alkaris (Agg/Eco) announce themselves. In 2386/7 the battle for Dunatis sees the only defender flee (one large bomber), the 3 hyper-V bases kill half my bombers but were destroyed, the invaders overwhelm the defenders with identical tech. With 150 factories captured I pull DSS, II9, DS2, R6 and Fusion Bomb (above average but I missed more advanced DS3 and Mass Driver). Meet 7PE Bulrathi (Agg/Tech). Humans fall for it and DOW allowing me to fulfil my objective! Current map and stats:
![[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=907&stc=1]](http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=907&stc=1)
![[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=908&stc=1]](http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=908&stc=1)
The 1PE birds get Fertile event at Altair in 2388. The economic boost from acquiring another industrialised world (after only Sssla) allows me to push Toxic to hit in 2390 choosing IT40 (BTA, Radiated). With this tech acquired I finally open Computers and Force Fields choosing BC3 (ECM2) and PDS (DS3), which gets a one turn deposit. URâs Proxima and Tauri are settled in 2393/4 by which time I have launched for UP Kakata (no good for factories but plenty of living space!). Now, after Dunatis, the Humans despatched a huge from Sol to Kakata, at warp 1! Since best Human weapon is one space Mass Driver, I have designed a few large Heavy Ion ships to counter. With a growing empire and fleet I have been conducting espionage on everyone for quite a while now and my spies manage to steal Duralloy from Meklars without getting caught (nice!). My troops overwhelm Kakata capturing 36 factories but no tech. Then the huge arrives with its 27 Mass Drivers and 21 Fusion Bombs (plus a few Hyper-Vâs and pair of Heavy Lasers) and DS3. I had to leave one Heavy Ion large behind to protect Dunatis from a large bomber but the 4 remaining destroy the huge from range, although I lose one keeping it away from the planet. Growing stronger but Meklars still lead most tech fields:
![[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=909&stc=1]](http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=909&stc=1)
In 2399 I settle central green rich Drakka, near Meklon and Ursa! Well I get to watch a lot of ship movements now! Transports start the slow (9-turn) journey to seed. I also steal BC2 & BC3 from Psilons & Bulrathi. The 2400 vote is Meklars(7), Psilons(3), Humans(3), Alkari(2), Bulrathi(4) and me(10). Psilons and Humans vote for the robots so I abstain with my 10/29 block. As I launch for Human Laan, Fusion Beam arrives choosing Fusion Rifle (Omega-V). Fusion Beam was the first weapon tech I pushed since it gave me a big leap in tech allowing a decent Fusion bomber amongst others. It was expensive though, I promise more factories soon, honest! I destroy another Human huge with my 4 large Heavy Ion ships at Dunatis, without loss this time. As PDS arrives with only PS-V next, the third event is 1000 BC Merchant for⦠me! (Iâll pay for these events in a later game).
Four factories are sabotaged by an unknown spy, Humans suspected. Having already launched my eastern offensive, I donât mind giving the Psilons Fusion Bomb for IT20 (more lizards!). Now, in 2407, Laan has 13 bases (Hyper-V, Duralloy, DS3) and 3 larges. The 3 large bombers flee and my 4 Heavy Ion larges and 70+ nuke bombers destroy bases for loss of 30 bombers. With PDS invasion goes easier, capturing 261 factories and getting RC3, DS3, Hyper-V, Mass Driver and Graviton Beam. The Humans beg for peace and I agree, for now. My spies succeed again with stealing II7 from Meklars (next Zortium) as well as IS from Bulrathi. Now Mentar with 19 bases (Mercs, Duralloy, DS4) plus 56 medium and 19 small is a tougher nut to crack than Human worlds. My new fleet of 6 large Fusion Beam and over 100 Fusion bombers break through with loss of half the bombers (still warp2 but with IS now). So as I am about to invade Mentar, my 2410 desire is to crush the robots (so sayeth the die). Well I may be Erratic but I will spend a few turns finishing with Psilons first but will take earliest reasonable opportunity to take it to the productive Meks. Gropo tech with brains is level (I have hand lasers to their defence) and I overwhelm with numbers capturing 235 factories netting RW60, DS4, IT30, Warp3 (yay!), Merculites and Neutron Blaster. Same turn I settle far western Jinga. I quickly capture my 19th and 20th planets Quayal (209 factories) and Uxmai from Psilons getting Hyper-X and freshly researched⦠Anti-Matter bombs! Psilons survive on a recently settled Toxic Centauri. Humans attack Laan (I guess peace treaty is over) failing to scratch and spies steal ARS from Bulrathi.
Now these recent acquistions of Warp3, ARS and AMB provide for my new Meklar fleet. In 2417 the Meklars sensing the tension (or my incoming fleets and transports!) DOW. A single Fusion Beam ARS huge removes Solâs bases and I capture in 2419 getting Range7. Now Meklars Phantos has a planetary shield but shielding of 7 for 11 Merculite Zortium bases is not going to stop speed 3 Anti-Matter bombers, 400 of them! So in 2420 Phantos 325 factories yield ECM3, Repulsor, Zortium, II5, EER plus Omega-V and GNN announces the leaders preparing to merge message. Next year Altair and Obaca are captured eliminating birds and apes and IT40 hits choosing Atmos. To ensure vote I push pop at all planets and use my AMB bombers to reduce the robot core to rubble, Meklon, Mobas and Draconis. So in 2424 the vote is Meklars(4), Psilons(1), Bulrathi(4) andâ¦
![[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=911&stc=1]](http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=911&stc=1)
Final map:
![[Image: attachment.php?attachmentid=910&stc=1]](http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=910&stc=1)
Result: Erratic Militarist conquest in 2424/5.
Synopsis: This was real fun. My story probably does not portray the concerns I had with strong Meklars well ahead in tech. The Sakkra prolific population were a life-saver with a good expanse of galaxy far from the machines. Also key was the Meklars drawing an early plague at Meklon and me getting to UP Proteus just in time (I would have started pop wars if Humans had settled it). I should have researched Range5 (a bit) quicker. It was strange to have low industry and tech for so long but a nice change to push the military which provided plenty more production (more planets) and plenty research of the pointy-stick variety! I certainly could play this variant again.
Erratic: d6 every 10 turns and 6 means declare on random race. I would interpret this to mean attack race (to force dow) so I will limit this to races in contact. I will roll on first contact then every year ending in zero after that against known races.
Militarist: 50% production in ships at all planets (after clean ECO), 50% tech in weapons at all times.
We are prolific lizards but opponents include the best AI races in Psilons, Meklars and Humans. The map has Sssla north of centre with only one yellow star in the northern half a possible AI homeworld to the east. Two planets in range and looks like the eastern green if it can be settled will open up the red below. I want to know quickly how far I can expand without tech so I send colony to green and scouts to in-range purple and eastern red. Scouts from next 2 turns enforced ships went to SW green, S red and NW green. Colony ship finds Xengara (Min, 55) and I send 23 from Sssla, gets colony productive quickly and homeworld still at one third and growing quickly. Nearby stars are purple UR Proxima (Inferno 35) and red Beta Ceti (Tundra 60). NW green is Orion, scratch one scout and one direction for expansion. Xengara produces a scout for Beta Ceti as its scout moves to S white and Proxima scout heads to NE green. Southern red & white are hostile but SW green is Ryoun (Terran 95) at range 4 and far NE green is Selia (Jungle 85) at range 5. SW purple is UR Tauri (Inferno 40).
Opening tech in planetology, propulsion and enforced weapons reveals IER (over IT10), Range5 and Hand Lasers. Now putting 50% tech into weapons means that after range 5 pops I will have 2 quick colony ships then a big delay before the third (no pre-build). So I decide to push for IER and Range 5 alongside weapons to reduce Colony ship cost. This will delay my first expansion several turns but my third one will be several turns faster and greater for later ones. Sssla spends 2 turns on deposit then returns to factories (+ships), Xengara goes full tech (+ships), not a single factory. With half tech on weapons the remainder is split evenly between IER & R5. After several turns Sssla starts to boost tech until both planets are full on tech & ships then when IER gets close to percentages I increase its share until in double figures. Hand Lasers hit in 2319 choosing Ion Cannon (Hyper-X, Fusion Bomb) then IER in 2329 choosing IT10 (Dead, Death Spores). GNN announces Meklars first to 6 planets in 2330, not a good sign. First contact is Psilons chased from UR Proxima in 2335 confirming they are eastern yellow.
Range 5 hits in 2337 (ouch!) choosing Warp2 (range 6) and I produce my first and second colony ships then third turn after. Scouts fan out on extra range. I open construction with only RW80 and put a one turn deposit and research this with IT10 (+weapons). I settle Ryoun in 2341 meeting 5PE Humans (Hon/Diplo), Sol is W yellow of 3 west of centre. They are currently Neutral not Relaxed because I just chased their colony ship from W red UP Proteus (Steppe 50), I must have got there same turn as them (phew!). First Erratic throw is indecisive. IT10 hits next year choosing Dead and the first event hits early for... the Meklars, Plague at Meklon (yeah!). Selia settled in 2344 giving more places to send from full initial colonies and grow more prolific lizards. Meklar and Bulrathi scouts and Colony ships chased from southern planets over next few turns.
UP Proteus settled in 2346, itâs a poor planet but opens up a lot more. With an expanding empire I now place a deposit on Dead to help productivity, settle some hostiles and find Inferno for URâs. The 2350 Erratic throw cannot decide. In 2354 I finally settle N red Rha (Desert 40), difficult to get around Orion for this one, then in 2359 N blue rich Aurora (Minimal 40). Two years earlier the Plague ended at Meklon and RW80 hit with only II8 next. I wanted some construction to help ships and reduce factory cost. When RW80 hit Sssla still only had 153 factories and nowhere else had more than 2! I was relying on prolific lizard (planetology enhanced) pop here for production. I placed a deposit on II8 to dream of an industrialised power in the future! I do not want RC3 here. The 2360 Erratic throw is insufficient. Ion Cannon hits in 2365 choosing ScatterPack-V (Ion Rifle, Neutron Blaster) then next year Dead choosing Toxic (EER) which gets a 2 turn deposit (URs!). Distances are becoming a pain so with no investment in Warp2 I trade Humans RW80 for it with only Range7 next.
The 2370 Erratic throw is inconclusive. With Dead I settle the 2 large hostiles Beta Ceti then Endoria then LR Colony settles far NW Klystron (Ocean 65) making 10 planets. Beta Ceti introduces 3PE Psilons (Pac/Ind) and 8PE Meklars (Xeno/Ind). Endoria triggers vote with Meklars(6), Psilons(3), Humans(5), Alkari(1), Bulrathi(4) and me(5). Everyone abstains so I vote for the robots. Four years later the vote is repeated as before except I have 6 votes for Meks who are now Relaxed. II8 hits in 2378 choosing II7 (ARS, RW60), still with only Sssla (and rich Aurora) with a fair number of factories. In 2380 I decide I must declare on the Humans (well thatâs what the Erratic throw said). Instead of UP Kakata, I target large Dunatis with 97/100 pop and 2 bases (hyper-V, titanium, ds3). Full Ryoun & nearly full UP Proteus launch 2 full waves (refilling some from rear) supported by Endoria making 146 invaders in 2 waves. For ships I did not like small Ion Cannon since I cannot fit maneuver or BC so I go with 3 large and over 30 small nuke bombers. 2382 sees ScatterPack-V arrive, choosing Fusion Beam (Stinger, Hard Beam) and 1PE Alkaris (Agg/Eco) announce themselves. In 2386/7 the battle for Dunatis sees the only defender flee (one large bomber), the 3 hyper-V bases kill half my bombers but were destroyed, the invaders overwhelm the defenders with identical tech. With 150 factories captured I pull DSS, II9, DS2, R6 and Fusion Bomb (above average but I missed more advanced DS3 and Mass Driver). Meet 7PE Bulrathi (Agg/Tech). Humans fall for it and DOW allowing me to fulfil my objective! Current map and stats:
The 1PE birds get Fertile event at Altair in 2388. The economic boost from acquiring another industrialised world (after only Sssla) allows me to push Toxic to hit in 2390 choosing IT40 (BTA, Radiated). With this tech acquired I finally open Computers and Force Fields choosing BC3 (ECM2) and PDS (DS3), which gets a one turn deposit. URâs Proxima and Tauri are settled in 2393/4 by which time I have launched for UP Kakata (no good for factories but plenty of living space!). Now, after Dunatis, the Humans despatched a huge from Sol to Kakata, at warp 1! Since best Human weapon is one space Mass Driver, I have designed a few large Heavy Ion ships to counter. With a growing empire and fleet I have been conducting espionage on everyone for quite a while now and my spies manage to steal Duralloy from Meklars without getting caught (nice!). My troops overwhelm Kakata capturing 36 factories but no tech. Then the huge arrives with its 27 Mass Drivers and 21 Fusion Bombs (plus a few Hyper-Vâs and pair of Heavy Lasers) and DS3. I had to leave one Heavy Ion large behind to protect Dunatis from a large bomber but the 4 remaining destroy the huge from range, although I lose one keeping it away from the planet. Growing stronger but Meklars still lead most tech fields:
In 2399 I settle central green rich Drakka, near Meklon and Ursa! Well I get to watch a lot of ship movements now! Transports start the slow (9-turn) journey to seed. I also steal BC2 & BC3 from Psilons & Bulrathi. The 2400 vote is Meklars(7), Psilons(3), Humans(3), Alkari(2), Bulrathi(4) and me(10). Psilons and Humans vote for the robots so I abstain with my 10/29 block. As I launch for Human Laan, Fusion Beam arrives choosing Fusion Rifle (Omega-V). Fusion Beam was the first weapon tech I pushed since it gave me a big leap in tech allowing a decent Fusion bomber amongst others. It was expensive though, I promise more factories soon, honest! I destroy another Human huge with my 4 large Heavy Ion ships at Dunatis, without loss this time. As PDS arrives with only PS-V next, the third event is 1000 BC Merchant for⦠me! (Iâll pay for these events in a later game).
Four factories are sabotaged by an unknown spy, Humans suspected. Having already launched my eastern offensive, I donât mind giving the Psilons Fusion Bomb for IT20 (more lizards!). Now, in 2407, Laan has 13 bases (Hyper-V, Duralloy, DS3) and 3 larges. The 3 large bombers flee and my 4 Heavy Ion larges and 70+ nuke bombers destroy bases for loss of 30 bombers. With PDS invasion goes easier, capturing 261 factories and getting RC3, DS3, Hyper-V, Mass Driver and Graviton Beam. The Humans beg for peace and I agree, for now. My spies succeed again with stealing II7 from Meklars (next Zortium) as well as IS from Bulrathi. Now Mentar with 19 bases (Mercs, Duralloy, DS4) plus 56 medium and 19 small is a tougher nut to crack than Human worlds. My new fleet of 6 large Fusion Beam and over 100 Fusion bombers break through with loss of half the bombers (still warp2 but with IS now). So as I am about to invade Mentar, my 2410 desire is to crush the robots (so sayeth the die). Well I may be Erratic but I will spend a few turns finishing with Psilons first but will take earliest reasonable opportunity to take it to the productive Meks. Gropo tech with brains is level (I have hand lasers to their defence) and I overwhelm with numbers capturing 235 factories netting RW60, DS4, IT30, Warp3 (yay!), Merculites and Neutron Blaster. Same turn I settle far western Jinga. I quickly capture my 19th and 20th planets Quayal (209 factories) and Uxmai from Psilons getting Hyper-X and freshly researched⦠Anti-Matter bombs! Psilons survive on a recently settled Toxic Centauri. Humans attack Laan (I guess peace treaty is over) failing to scratch and spies steal ARS from Bulrathi.
Now these recent acquistions of Warp3, ARS and AMB provide for my new Meklar fleet. In 2417 the Meklars sensing the tension (or my incoming fleets and transports!) DOW. A single Fusion Beam ARS huge removes Solâs bases and I capture in 2419 getting Range7. Now Meklars Phantos has a planetary shield but shielding of 7 for 11 Merculite Zortium bases is not going to stop speed 3 Anti-Matter bombers, 400 of them! So in 2420 Phantos 325 factories yield ECM3, Repulsor, Zortium, II5, EER plus Omega-V and GNN announces the leaders preparing to merge message. Next year Altair and Obaca are captured eliminating birds and apes and IT40 hits choosing Atmos. To ensure vote I push pop at all planets and use my AMB bombers to reduce the robot core to rubble, Meklon, Mobas and Draconis. So in 2424 the vote is Meklars(4), Psilons(1), Bulrathi(4) andâ¦
Final map:
Result: Erratic Militarist conquest in 2424/5.
Synopsis: This was real fun. My story probably does not portray the concerns I had with strong Meklars well ahead in tech. The Sakkra prolific population were a life-saver with a good expanse of galaxy far from the machines. Also key was the Meklars drawing an early plague at Meklon and me getting to UP Proteus just in time (I would have started pop wars if Humans had settled it). I should have researched Range5 (a bit) quicker. It was strange to have low industry and tech for so long but a nice change to push the military which provided plenty more production (more planets) and plenty research of the pointy-stick variety! I certainly could play this variant again.
