[SPOILERS] Bacchus and India's many gods

[Bacchus]

This whole Yerevan story shows how important it is to properly isolate your backline city-states from foreign contacts. I only have contact with the Armenians because Ichabod suzerained them, and they declared war on me. He now needs to bring his army back to deal with them, and it needs to be a real army, even a knight can be worn down by this carpet, some of which is not even junk. The problem is, once his field army has dealt with this uprising, it finds itself deep in the core, and needs to trudge back to the border to be doing anything useful at all.

But maybe he'll score some envoys soon enough, and just take suzerainty away from me.

[Bacchus]

I adopt Theocracy.

Turn 125 and Rowain still doesn't have Civil Service, somehow. I have just started on Diplomatic Service, and it would be hugely annoying if we don't get the Alliance inspiration for it. If Rowain manages to play ball, I am just some 18 turns away from Nationalism. 4 for Diplomatic Service, 4 for Enlightenment and 13 for Nationalism, but that will be cut down of course as the turns progress.

Not much happening elsewhere, Apostles chugging along slowly. Saw in another PBEM that The Great Lighthouse gives movement points to embarked units -- should have built that. I have a knight going round the back to ex-Preslav, to see whether I can pillage some improvements.

Ichabod did indeed take away suzerainty of Yerevan, so didn't have to move his army.

[Bacchus]

Right on cue, Rowain gets Civil Service, although he is still in Oligarchy. Ouch. I propose an alliance, which I don't see any reason for him not to accept, I also ask for iron so that my knights can heal, offer tea in return. Rowain also got to what I presume is Gunpowder, and early Ren tech, I hope my loan comes in useful for upgrades.

The first apostle, the one aiming at the English capital, will make landfall next turn. The others are sailing north around Yerevan to simultaneuously stike at two other English cities. I complete an archer, and faith-buy another one, for just a 100 faith. I know have around 6, and will finally research Machinery. Before crossbow upgrades, I have 418 power to Ichabod's 453, so we are about even. Not for long, if he is pushing to military science.

[Bacchus]

Rowain rejected the offer of Alliance, but re-offered tea for iron. Still good for me, but I don't understand the Alliance thing — it's the best way to re-extend friendship (as it starts another 30-turn cycle without waiting for this one to expire), it provides open borders, but I already now his map because of missionaries, so why reject it? The only answer seems to be that he wants to attack me at the conclusion of the DoF? That would be crazy, it does not help him win, and probably won't even help to get second place. Besides, if we was going to do that -- why offer me iron? The resource deals are not cancelled by declarations of war, as Sulla famously found out in PBEM1, so if he wanted to fight, the best option would be to deny my knights healing.

I'm not going to reposition my forces to defend against Rowain in either case, it's a pointless affair. I have enough stuff on the theatre to deny him any quick progress even with muskets (two knights, crossbow, a nearly completed Varu in queue, finished walls, albeit just ancient ones), so whatever. I can also faithbuy units, and I have access to the Goddess of the Harvest, besides making 25 faith per turn as it is, and if all this doesn't dissuade him, a couple more units won't. If he throws his army away against me, without a DoF with England, which he doesn't have, his Arabian holdings and probably Baltimore would be taken away, whereas he can take at most Hattusa from me. So it's not even as if killing his units, should he send them, is a good proposition for me, I want him to be able to retreat them.

I complete two IZ projects and will recruit an Engineer next turn. He'll build Colloseum for me.

[Bacchus]

Well, Rowain is really insistent on not getting 270 culture (the value of the Diplomatic Service inspiration), he rejected again. Can't force a horse to drink, I guess. I start work on Humanism in the hopes that he comes to his senses within the next 7 turns.

Landfall made, target acquired:


Sea voyages is where it's at. Two more apostles are circling round the north. I should be able to convert three cities in surprise, and then hopefully the fact that I will have three apostles, right in the core, able to run whichever way, will help me convert another 2, which would be enough for victory.

On the other front, I plan to finish Mahabodhi and take a bash at this convenient forward post:


AKA Annoying English Colony. Roll up with Knights towards it from the west, resign to units dying, get a couple of conversions in.

Yeah-yeah, my science is laughably shit. Don't want anything out of the tech tree, but working towards gunpowder. And yeah, I forgot to build an Aqueduct. Probably the biggest recent mistakes of those that I can myself spot. I will have an Armory though. Another contender for largest mistake is builder mismanagement -- I have run out of housing pretty much everywhere, which just shouldn't happen for India. Mostly due to complacency, my cities are already so much larger than foreign ones, that I didn't pay mind for how to keep that edge. I'll turn around to buildering presently, but really the need should have been anticipated some 10 turns ago.

Isidore of Miletus patroned, Colosseum incoming in 2 turns. Or maybe one charge on Colo, one on Mahabodhi (and then lose them both, lol).

[Bacchus]

Besides the conversion gamble, I'm mostly preparing the defense line against Cavalry. I will make a stand on the southern river, mostly hoping to counter-attack into cities, should he take them, rather then defend them to the death. I mean, you can't even really defend cities to the death this game -- units will hold as long as you are able to rotate damaged frontlines for healthy reserves, but cities just soak it up and fall. I will have a Vary NW of Calcutta, another Varu E of Bobrka, resulting in a full coverage of the riverline in -5 maluses. The entire river is hilly, so any unit has first to step up onto the hills, and only then cross. There is space for 3 enemy units between the cities. They will be strength 50 after the malus, and with the hill boost. I will have 5 crossbows available to shoot, plus to cities, for a total of 7. Only two shots per unit, not great, but I should take off 30+ health. That's enough for those units to NOT be able to one-shot my defenders from across the river. Still, it's gonna be very, very difficult. Knights will be cruising on the wings, to outflank and hit ranged units, and to counter-attack en masse with flanking bonuses against the weaker units. I'll keep another Varu on the flank for tactical position to add in a further -5 in support of counter-attacks.

If I get access to Muskets in time, I should be completely fine.

[Bacchus]

Well, Ichabod has reached the Industrial era. I probably won't be able to get Muskets in time for Cavalry onslaught, so all my hopes are riding on the Apostles sneak attack.

[Bacchus]

And here it is...



Bit of a strange vector of attack. Still,

The game is in its closing stages. What's much, much worse than that cavalry, is that Ichabod re-gained suzerainty of Yerevan, which declared war and busted my apostles right before landing. Hugely annoying, and they might actually now get cleaned up by the city state forces. I do not quite concede yet, but it seems the gamble failed, as it was expected to. Anyway, I'll fight on and see what happens.

I also complete the Mahabodhi. Yay!

[Bacchus]

Yeah, Cavalry is pretty strong. And that's even before Ichabod has a general. Gonna cut like a hot knife through butter.

EDIT: I lost a knight this turn and kept wondering how the hell that is possible -- well, a) Cavalry have 5 move (lol), b) turns out even a damaged Cavalry can one-shot a knight.

[Bacchus]

Well, I still managed to catch Ichabod in some surprise, and am getting a couple of conversions it, but it's not enough. There is one very simple counterplay of course -- buy scouts everywhere, which is what he did. At least I made him waste some money.

The question is, should I have brought knights on that transpacific journey and abandoned the defense of my homeland completely, banking on the fact that a) if in an all-out push, he can't capture all cities in time; b) every city he captures off me brings me closer to religious victory? I still don't know. Clearly I am not reckless enough, but it was called for, if only to prevent the buy-scouts counterplay.