Brick, please don't feel the need to post a lot here. We're all hoping for your wife's good health and a safe delivery. Besides, between Singaboy and myself we probably post more than enough already. 
I had the chance to think about different pantheons today (and yes I meant Astrology on the research choice not Theology, good catch). Let me repost that screenshot again for reference:
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=6802]](http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/attachment.php?aid=6802)
Let's start with Rome. I think Rome should go for one of the early pantheons by running God King upon reaching Code of Laws civic. Rome's innate culture will meant that Rome gets to pick a pantheon before almost all of the other teams, faster than anyone who hasn't met a Religious city state. That means that Rome likely gets the second or third pantheon depending on how the city state randomness plays out. Not only can we get something good for Rome, we can conversely deny a useful pantheon to another team. In order, I like these options:
1) City Patron Goddess: +25% production towards districts in cities without a specialty district. One of the new pantheons, this would be a nice fit for a Roman civ that doesn't have any obvious choices as far as what to pick based on the starting territory. Good in all circumstances, and something we'd like to deny to Nubia/Russia/Germany if it's available.
2) Goddess of the Harvest: harvesting/chopping produces faith equal to the other yields. This is an awesome way to generate faith for a civ that's not building Holy Sites. Unlike most other pantheons, it scales extremely well as the game goes on and should see a ton of use. Harvest those stone resources and crabs for substantial faith to go along with the production/food/gold. If we can land Jesuit Education, this would allow Rome to purchase libraries and theatres without ever building a single Holy Site. Possibly even better than City Patron Goddess depending on how much chopping/harvesting Rome ends up doing.
3) Earth Goddess: +1 faith on tiles with Charming or better appeal. Cheap way to get faith without investing in Holy Sites, which could then be sunk into buildings via Jesuit Education. Not as good as Goddess of the Harvest but still a solid choice.
China is a different story. Because China is near the bottom of the turn order and we're planning on moving on Turn 1 to the eastern plains hill tile, China is going to be one of the last to pick a pantheon. Fortunately China has lots of good options available, and China doesn't need to rush to get an early pantheon. In addition to the Roman options, China would also love the following:
Oral Traditions: +1 culture from a whole bunch of plantation resources. China has four such resources at the capital alone. This might be easy to get since it's a low priority for most starting positions.
Monument to the Gods: +15% towards ancient and classical wonders. This is great for China and no one else is going to want this. That's the biggest reason China doesn't need to hurry for a pantheon - no one will take this and it's easy to get as a fallback.
So here's an oddball suggestion for China: don't run God King policy at all. There's no particular rush to get a pantheon and Urban Planning / Ilkum are more useful in the early game. Let China build Stonehenge and then use the faith from that to found a pantheon late. Obviously this is predicated on finding a stone resource somewhere nearby where China can plant a second city and build Stonehenge, but we don't have to make a decision here until China finishes Code of Laws and that will take a good 10 or so turns regardless.
Everything subject to change depending on what we see once we start exploring the map of course.
I had the chance to think about different pantheons today (and yes I meant Astrology on the research choice not Theology, good catch). Let me repost that screenshot again for reference:
Let's start with Rome. I think Rome should go for one of the early pantheons by running God King upon reaching Code of Laws civic. Rome's innate culture will meant that Rome gets to pick a pantheon before almost all of the other teams, faster than anyone who hasn't met a Religious city state. That means that Rome likely gets the second or third pantheon depending on how the city state randomness plays out. Not only can we get something good for Rome, we can conversely deny a useful pantheon to another team. In order, I like these options:
1) City Patron Goddess: +25% production towards districts in cities without a specialty district. One of the new pantheons, this would be a nice fit for a Roman civ that doesn't have any obvious choices as far as what to pick based on the starting territory. Good in all circumstances, and something we'd like to deny to Nubia/Russia/Germany if it's available.
2) Goddess of the Harvest: harvesting/chopping produces faith equal to the other yields. This is an awesome way to generate faith for a civ that's not building Holy Sites. Unlike most other pantheons, it scales extremely well as the game goes on and should see a ton of use. Harvest those stone resources and crabs for substantial faith to go along with the production/food/gold. If we can land Jesuit Education, this would allow Rome to purchase libraries and theatres without ever building a single Holy Site. Possibly even better than City Patron Goddess depending on how much chopping/harvesting Rome ends up doing.
3) Earth Goddess: +1 faith on tiles with Charming or better appeal. Cheap way to get faith without investing in Holy Sites, which could then be sunk into buildings via Jesuit Education. Not as good as Goddess of the Harvest but still a solid choice.
China is a different story. Because China is near the bottom of the turn order and we're planning on moving on Turn 1 to the eastern plains hill tile, China is going to be one of the last to pick a pantheon. Fortunately China has lots of good options available, and China doesn't need to rush to get an early pantheon. In addition to the Roman options, China would also love the following:
Oral Traditions: +1 culture from a whole bunch of plantation resources. China has four such resources at the capital alone. This might be easy to get since it's a low priority for most starting positions.
Monument to the Gods: +15% towards ancient and classical wonders. This is great for China and no one else is going to want this. That's the biggest reason China doesn't need to hurry for a pantheon - no one will take this and it's easy to get as a fallback.
So here's an oddball suggestion for China: don't run God King policy at all. There's no particular rush to get a pantheon and Urban Planning / Ilkum are more useful in the early game. Let China build Stonehenge and then use the faith from that to found a pantheon late. Obviously this is predicated on finding a stone resource somewhere nearby where China can plant a second city and build Stonehenge, but we don't have to make a decision here until China finishes Code of Laws and that will take a good 10 or so turns regardless.
Everything subject to change depending on what we see once we start exploring the map of course.
