Anyone up for an EitB SG?

[DaveV]

I think it's worth settling a filler city between Tongurstad and Graelingvig. It could work a few flood plains and grow some population.

I always expect exploring units to be eaten by animals eventually. Spiders and Scorpions both have a first strike, so they're pretty good at killing scouts and warriors.

Loki is very hard to kill, but it is imperative to declare war on the Balseraphs if he gets close to any of our cities.

[haphazard1]

I think it's worth settling a filler city between Tongurstad and Graelingvig. It could work a few flood plains and grow some population.

Hmmm, grabbing the two flood plains and the sheep? Or somewhere else? The Doviello have some culture in that area, although they are not doing the mega-culture thing the Hippus are thankfully.

Loki is very hard to kill, but it is imperative to declare war on the Balseraphs if he gets close to any of our cities.

We do need to keep an eye out for Loki. Hopefully he is elsewhere, bothering someone else.

[Mr. Cairo]

Noob question. What does Loki do that is so bothersome?

[DaveV]

Noob question. What does Loki do that is so bothersome?

He can cast a spell that gives -1 culture to a city. If the culture falls below zero, the city flips to the Balseraphs.

[superjm]

Also Loki has a 100% chance to withdraw from combat to a safe tile. Thus the only way to kill him is to literally surround him completely. Declaring war is usually good enough though since that prevents him from entering your cities.

[haphazard1]

Yeah, Loki is a pain to deal with. In MP games against a human player, he is almost impossible to kill. The AI is not quite as smart about moving him, though, so if you can pin him against a coastline or some mountains it is possible to push him to where he can not retreat. Then you can destroy him.

Keeping him out of our cities, particularly newer onces that do not yet have culture, is crucial. Getting them flipped to the Blaseraph would be a huge setback. Hopefully he is far away, bothering someone else.

[Jabah]

You can kill loki in a city as he is not retreating in that case (if I remember correctly)

[Brian Shanahan]

Do we want to go back to Lord Parkin next, or move on to me and fit Lord Parkin in later in the rotation? I am happy with either, so I guess it depends on what would better fit Lord Parkin's schedule.

We can continue our expansion push with another settler, but where should we send it? East and a bit north of the Remnants, maybe?

It's over 24 hours now since you posted this haphazard without reply from Parkin. As sponsor I say it's fair enough that you take the save.

[haphazard1]

OK, I will go ahead and claim the save since we have not heard from Lord Parkin. He can slot into the rotation later, as schedules permit. I will aim to get another settler out for our next city, probably after the worker so we can keep improving tiles. Units to be built as needed, keeping an eye on the Hippus and Doviello but not planning to go after them unless they just happen to leave something tasty exposed. And also, keep a watch for Loki showing up.

How many turns should I be planning to play? As the game gets busier and more complicated, shorter turnsets seem reasonable. Plus, it gives me less time to drive us completely into a deep hole.

[haphazard1]

Taking over on turn 66 (by the right counter), our evil empire is small but shows promise. We are at war with the Doviello and the Hippus' culture is pushing hard against our city of Tongurstad, but I hope to put my main focus on expansion rather than fighting. I will keep an eye out for opportunities, however.

Poking around Doviello territory, our scout encounters Lucian, along with several beastmasters in the Doviello cities. If 'cities' is even the proper word for the Doviello's filthy encampments. Really, they are barely more than nomads, even if they have chosen a permanent location to live. We find their capital of Ursla on T68, and it is still only size 2. Pathetic.

We finish research into Crafting, and begin Mining. The research will take a while, but we need to be able to clear forests and build mines. The gold at Grottiburg will be very helpful once we can mine it.

There are a pair of elephants roaming about the desert in the middle of our area. Fortunately they are not aggressive, but they can get in the way of our units at times. I also note the passage of a goblin through our territory, heading south into Hippus lands. I wish it luck in wreaking havoc.

Our scout explores to the west, revealing another Doviello "city" near the Tomb of Sucellus. We also see the triple-promoted scorpion that ate our earlier unit. <shakes fist in its direction while staying carefully out of range>

On T70 we meet someone new:

I can not see an actual unit; either we were passed by a two-mover or a summons made contact. The Calabim's power rating shows up-and-down moves so probably a summons. Rhoanna is Alexis' worst enemy.

Speaking of the Hippus, we spot a griffon moving around their borders. Have fun with that, horse-lovers! To add to the fun, a pair of skeletons appear north of our capital, heading south towards the Hippus. The more the merrier.

I begin pillaging the Doviello farms superjm marked. 14 gold, not bad.

On T71 the Hippus move a worker right up to our border to improve the incense. I would love to grab it, but we are still bound by our peace treaty for another 10 turns. Oh well. I pillage another Doviello farm instead, and then another the following turn. 14 + 17 more gold -- it is very generous of the Doviello to fund our Mining research like this.

Our scout encounters a giant spider, and hastily retreats, finding a wolf in the process. The wolf attacks, and our scout defeats it but is injured. Six turns to heal, bah.

On T73 we spot four Hippus warriors moving in the visible portion of their territory, two of them wounded. That goblin, and maybe the griffon? The two skeletons are entering Hippus lands to join the battle.

Our workers have been busy adding farms at Grottiburg, and a farm and a plantation (on the reagents, no resource until KotE but the tile yield boost is nice) at Tongurstad. I also begin working to link Grottiburg back to the capital with roads, for movement and also for the gold once Mining completes.

On turn 77 we get a messge that Orthus has been born. Go get 'em, big guy!

On T79 our not-quite-healed scout, who has been hanging out with an elephant, is accosted by a bear. He flees for safety, but finds himself next to a giant spider. (Not sure if this is the same one as previous.) Unsurprisingly, he dies the following turn. Scouts are just so fragile.

Also, astrologers report the Silver Tears moving into promoinence. We do not worship the Octopus Overlords for the big prize, but we still get a chunk of gold. Nice.

The following turn our research into Mining completes, and we have copper at our capital. I move workers to chop the forest and mine the tile, very nice yield. Workers also begin work on the gold at Grottiburg. I am not sure what to research next and have only a handful more turns to play, so I start building up cash at 0% science. The next player will have money to spend on whatever they choose.

On turn 82 the volcano event strikes near the Doviello capital. As if they did not have enough trouble.

I have been building a pair of settlers for expansion, and the first one completes. I move it to settle the in-between spot superjm recommended earlier; it will face some pressure from Doviello culture but has two flood plains and a sheep tile in the first ring so it will grow fast.

Turn 85 arrives and I decide to end my turnset here (19 turns total), as several decisions need to be made and I would prefer not to lock in the next player. Our cities:

The capital:

Grottiburg in the west:

Tongurstad in the middle:

Brand new Graelingvig pushing against the Doviello:

We are tops in score of the civs we know. We know the Balseraph exist. Items of note for the next player:

- We need one more tile of road to connect the eastern and western portions of our empire. (I have marked a tile, but obviously you could pick other paths.) Our eastern cities could really use the extra happy from the gold at Grottiburg, so this needs to get done.
- Our new city of Graelingvig needs worker development.
- You have two workers which have not moved this turn. Now that we have mining there is plenty for them to do.
- Another settler is due from Grottiburg in 4 turns. The capital can also turn out settlers in about 6 turns if desired. So we should be ready for more expansion.

The roster:

Brian
Mr. Cairo
superjm
haphazard1 --> just played
DaveV --> UP!
Lord Parkin --> on deck

Or DaveV and Lord Parkin could swap, if desired; first time through the rotation and things are fluid. Good luck to the next player, either way! Save should be attached.