Arise, Riders of Rohanna! Ride for Molach! [SPOILERS!]

[Ranamar]

Welp. Looks like the fight is on...

How long until Currency?

[Molach]

Welp. Looks like the fight is on...

How long until Currency?

I spent some funds on unit upgrades....so still 5 turns till the bulb, then perhaps 2-3 turns after to research (dont know how much bulb does, a test had me miss around 200 beakers, but have a bit more population in my civ now). 9 turns build on the wonder. So yeah, not ready. Those 9 turns come with cash hoarding so I should be good to go almost right away. Sadly I have so bad map knowledge, it's not funny.

[Molach]

But....

Where'd he go? Teleport spell?
I wonder a bit about this. He destroyed city and killed a worker. However nowhere in sight. By my reckoning he should be stuck on the two hills. Hm.

Gmerc born. Nothing to bulb for 3 turns. Damn detour to sanitation. Guess it was needed but might have done it later on so I could build the GotN immediately.

And the Orcs popped a golden age.


I guessed this is what he did: Delete them. No exp for me. Cold ruler, this Orc warchief. So I lose 1 settler, 1 worker and 2 warrior. He loses 2 level 4 wolf riders. Mutter. Not too good.

Golden age....oof. I'm trying to build a new gperson for my own golden age now, but gonna be 20 turns or so.


And some thoughts about the game - I'm glad I didn't take 20 turn NAP still. Watching Serdoa pull this kind of demographics, and sit 20 turns unable to do anything about it....would be very uninteresting. Now I suppose we shall have some excitement skirmishing, I must try to catch him off-guard somewhere and, well, hurt him a bit, then I must complete GotN plan, and just cash-buy mercs and build chariots. If he is capable of overwhelming me right now (I kind of think he can, given the demos) then the game is over, no need to sit in peace 20 turns.

Anyway, we'll be at war for the rest of the game...or until it becomes clear that Balseraphs are pulling ahead and running away with the game....

[Ichabod]

I fully agree with the NAP decision. I think you should invest heavily on chariots and try to use a speed advantage to raze cities. There isn't much more to do, I'm afraid.

[Molach]

Okay, we are at war. 2 turns have passed, and there have been no Orc sightings to the northeast.

We have a slave roading a bit, and a mobile warrior to spot. It was a bit of a ...strech...finding volunteers for this job. But now we have early warning in place. We shall resettle Orcamon, rename it Amon Sereg. Prioritize culture over everything else so we get some warning against further orc adventurers. Two archers, a warrior and a settler will soon be ready. Along with chariots to counterattack.

Barbarian city. We have fully committed to capture rather than raze this. Will bring happiness to our empire, citizens, and gold when we seize it.

Animals are a minor annoyance. We plan to attack bears with catapult, so it can level up next turn. Have a second catapult in training, will soon be ready. City will fall in about 5 turns. Hopefully they will send out warriors to die, but after catapult strikes it shouldn't matter much. More exp.

The west. Northwest of our newest city, closest way to attack the Clan.


A quick run through our empire, city by city, power graph and demos (shudder)

Capital, Rochirost. Just finished a chariot. Just keep building them.


Amon Harad. Chariot done, gonna 1-turn some archers for defense. 3 of em, 1 NW and 2 NE.


Glorduin, building the replacement settler for the North-East.

Can discuss whether to found that once again....settler cost isn't that high, I'd rather lose that again than a developed city. With monument->carnival (run bard) it'll reach ring 3 swiftly. Station a catapult to mess up stacks, chariots for counterattacks and 2 archers on the hill. As good a place to defend than any. Need to seize control of these road, or clan can run right into my home area.

Beingond. Went a bit overboard with the farms here...no need to grow into unhappiness and it needed a monument. Would have liked a carnival, or even a pagan temple, so speed up next great person (for GA, so no matter which type). But don't think I got the time for it
After monument I'll work farms and build workers.

Tincamon, metal hill - building a catapult for barb-duty and later clan counterattack patrol.

Food and hammers.

Needs-a-name I: Just grew, so I'll reconfigure the tiles when the turn gets back to me. Gonna work a ancient forest lumbermill grassland hill 2/3 rather than that plains cottage (it was cottaged by workers "just pasing through" who were gonna lose a turn anyway)


Needs-a-name II: Also grew EOT. Next turn there'll be a farm and dye plantation ready for working. Next 2 growth will work pasturized cows and plains hill mine.

Monument here as next build - feeling the lack of culture. Drama would be oh-so helpful, but not gonna pay 3 mounted mercs to get that.

Power graph: Oh no, he is building!

Demographs - check out this GNP! Woo, nice.

[Molach]

Turn.

Not much happening, I was sorely tempted to build public baths in Amon Harad, but remembered that there were some archers needing building.

In view: Barb city, now has 2 archers and 4 warriors. When will they start to migrate?

3 chariots, but one got severely hurt from bear-baiting and is useless. 1 catapult, gained 5 exp and can heal-promo. One fresh catapult off the assembly line coming in 3 turns.

In the event log: This pagan temple has 1 purpose - to let me run a specialist and finish a great person sooner. I'm hoping for a Great Whatever. - to use for a GA.

Also slight reason to worry - Gmerc born. Perhaps someone else has the idea to bulb currency and build the GotN? Perhaps the clowns? Now that would be hilarious. Or Orcs, for denial purposes. I don't think I can beat them to it.

Hey, almost keeping up in power....


Oh bloody hell.


Bloody (literally) demos:

And since these graphs and demos are very disturbing, I shall now go to sleep, listening to some soothing music

(No, no real relation to the game, just a nice song for falling asleep)
((Except 3:20: "What dreams may come, both dark and deep....."))

[Molach]

Yay, at last!

14 turns...no wait.

Ah better. And two mines will be ready to work next turn.


Errr hang on...

Yeah might have checked this (happened this turn) before bulbing currency. No harm done, nothing else to spend him on, but for future reference.

Mounted mercs are a bit OP for hippus, every bit as good as mercs for another civ - except they get +3 moves (+10 retreat, but who cares). Can even defend in rough terrain.

My precious chariots, while devastating in a counterattack role - aren't that hot when attacking. I'd be stuck without defensive bonuses with str 4 on defense, doesn't take much of an army to defeat that. Bronzed warriors come to mind, for one. So the plan, the grand invasion plan, hinged on having bronzed mounted mercs, with str 6 on defense with defensive bonus as well. Lots of them.

Not sure how it would have fared in practise, collateral still slaughters everything...but at least a bit better than without them.

I think a harder beeline (earlier festivals, mostly, then make sure to get CoL on time) would have sped it up enough to get it. Faster festivals is what I needed, so speed up the Gmerc. And not waste 4 turns on sanitation. But still, it was 9 turns into the future so Serdoa certainly didn't slack. He's played a good game - great timing on worldspell, nice hut payout, crushing a weak neighbour without losing steam and now denying me the one Wonder that might have been a threat.

Not gonna be poor sport and stop now. Gonna have at least one major do-or-die battle. But the game is not merely "more or less over" now, it's "over". Serdoa has double my production....counting warrens he has 4x. Only question is, will he send a stack soon, and where, or will he crush my incoming and then to the win-thing. We shall see.

I'll still revolt, Aristo + Consumption. Gold can be used for warrior-> chariot upgrade, costs 16 hammers and 133 gold, a bit more than mounted mercs at 120...

Lair pop:

Fire node next. Might cover surrounding squares, or maybe not. I could use some exp.

[Qgqqqqq]

...(+10 retreat, but who cares)...

When you've played with +95% retreat bonus (remember defensive retreats!) you'll care.

[Ichabod]

Tough luck, my friend.

Your plan was good, the currency bulb was very well done. But there's really no stopping the orcs if they get a good start, and I imagine they got a very good one here. Serdoa figured out pretty well what would be our easiest way to attack him and reacted accordingly.

Your hero Magnadine can also hire Mercs. Not only Mercs, but a whole bunch of other units. The problem is that I think he can only do it once per turn. Maybe you can try going for Warhorses, but I guess unit upgrades will be a better use for commerce.

[Ranamar]

Tough luck, my friend.

Your plan was good, the currency bulb was very well done. But there's really no stopping the orcs if they get a good start, and I imagine they got a very good one here. Serdoa figured out pretty well what would be our easiest way to attack him and reacted accordingly.

Your hero Magnadine can also hire Mercs. Not only Mercs, but a whole bunch of other units. The problem is that I think he can only do it once per turn. Maybe you can try going for Warhorses, but I guess unit upgrades will be a better use for commerce.

Pretty much echoing this.

The one thing is... I'm pretty sure Magnadine comes in at Warhorses. That's a tier 4 unit, unfortunately.

Another possible option is, if you're going to need to build units anyway and want to keep teching, you could go for the Empyrean. Rathas give you a special chariot that can cast blinding light. (They also upgrade to Knights, but this game is going to be actually over before that will matter, I expect.) Blind might give you a further mobility edge by pinning down some of his units. (And they're mounted, so they get the horselord bonus...) I'm not entirely sure it'll be worth the hammers, though, especially since I think they require a temple.