[PB69 SPOILERS] Magic Science and Nobody Else in Pitboss 69

[Magic Science]

The Power Graph on the turn The Pyramids burned.

The Day the Stone Burned?

. Hey, if stone can transform into golden money, then stone can burn too, somehow.

[Magic Science]

Turn 93 – 550 BC
   
Ginger made a terrible mistake. He used Mack’s Spearman to kill my Chariot and recapture his Worker, but he did indeed not have another appropriate military unit around to then defend the city. That Axeman is not close enough and not strong enough against Chariots anyway. Ginger tried to get away with this and still save Mack too and beat my pin; he tried blocking my Chariot’s path to empty Mack with another Worker.

But that is not quite how the mechanic works. You still need a unit, any unit at all, in the city itself.

So, I captured empty Mack and razed it to the ground. .

I feel a bit bad about this. .


   

At first glance, I was already confident I could just capture the Worker and then raze the city. However, I still logged out to perform a simulation (confirmed) and to consult the archives (Naufragar’s PB54 thread, of all places) (also confirmed).


Once I knew I could burn the city, I thought about if I should burn the city. .

The thing is, I think Mack might be a tipping point in my diplomacy with Naufragar, which has been in flux these past few turns. Previously, I figured that we could probably profitably conquer Ginger later on in a 2 vs. 1 war together, but definitely not in a 1 vs. 1 war on our own. We needed each other, so we had a friendly and stable diplomatic situation between us. The jockeying between us would mainly be about when to attack (me preferring later, him preferring earlier), and of course maybe skirmishing over spoils after/during the attack.

(The main attack, I mean. With Catapults, at least. I never thought this round would be anything more than a pressuring skirmish, and I still don’t think this round will be anything more than a very effective pressuring skirmish. Ginger, don’t you dare prove me wrong. ).
(That nice diplomatic relationship could have been with Ginger instead, but I chose Naufragar, and basically committed to him when I auto-razed Hannibal).

HOWEVER, with the razing of The Pyramids, suddenly I am not so sure. That is a heavy blow. I mean, again, HOLY SHIT, Naufragar razed The Pyramids. . I still boggle at it, though I think I agree with it, for the record. And Ginger lost his 3rd city along with the Wonder. Can he ever recover from that? Basically, has he been so badly damaged by this round of attacks that I or Naufragar could profitably conquer Ginger later on in a 1 vs. 1 war on our own? Do we need each other anymore?

I think the answer is, NO, me and Naufragar do not need each other anymore. Maybe we did for this round of war to succeed so well, I don’t know, but not anymore. This worries me, because my leverage over Naufragar’s attack timing is gone. Again, I figure he will want to attack earlier than I will (his personality, my desire to set up Serfdom and everything). Previously, I could compel him to wait a little while (well, maybe I could not make Naufragar do that, but him attacking Ginger prematurely and causing weakness and distraction would not be horrible for me compared to a more coordinate war anyway). Now, I cannot. Naufragar can attack when he wants, and he will win, and I either attack at about that time too, no matter how inopportune it may be for me, or I am left with nothing from Ginger-land. I need that land!

So, back to Mack. Razing Mack weakens Ginger even more, so it pushes the situation more towards me and Naufragar being independent competing conquerors of Ginger instead of allies against Ginger, and that could be bad for me if it makes me attack too early. I want time to research Metal Casting and Machinery and Monarchy at least before Construction and war, and Naufragar probably won’t want to give me that time, and he has no reason to do so if I am an independent competing conqueror.

So, should I burn Mack? Of course, I decided I should. It is better to do the obvious thing and weaken my victim for later consumption. I will have Currency soon, and from there I will have the economic tools to figure out what to do, no matter when Naufragar pushes me to attack. I can do it. I can think of something. Crossbowman attack?

(The litmus test for Naufragar’s opinion of our diplomatic situation will be rather or not he is willing to reestablish our Stone for Pigs/Gold deal when we have a trade connection again. Oh, and I understand why he doesn’t care at all for Gold now: he has Hereditary Rule, of course. ).

…

Back to the current turn.

I deleted Flanking I Jr. after this screenshot. The enemy Spearman already has 1 experience, and promotions on units are supposed to be my thing. .

My 4 units from Bolan took another step forwards. The idea was just to cause some pressure and see what happens. It worked out well enough so far, right? But I think they will retreat next turn, and maybe should not have advanced this turn. There is no way Ginger gives me another opportunity to do anything, right? Right? So my units should just stay back to keep themselves and Bolan safe, and then they can go over towards the ruins of Old Hannibal. With the sudden loss of my 2-chariot raiding force, I don’t really have anything over there, and the Settler is ready soon.

(The Peace Treaty with Superdeath ends T96).

I had to bring in my wounded victorious Chariot from Hannibal, still healing, to pillage the roads.

Pseudo-edit: and I deleted Ginger’s futile suicidal Worker. 3rd time is the charm for deleting captured Workers properly.


   
Demographics.
I think my position is good enough for now. I think I still have a path to victory. I think I can do this. .


   
Overview screenshot.
I keep meaning to do a domestic overview thingy, and I keep getting distracted in my reporting by the crazy war instead. Well, maybe I will have a calm opportunity soon.

[Magic Science]

This is only the 4th turn of war. The turns are so fast but it feels so long already.

And I am happy to see the lurker thread buzzing. Happy, not paranoid! What has gotten into me? Is this what it's like to be drunk on success?

[Qgqqqqq]

Will you try to settle towards Ginger (beyond Hannibal)?

[Magic Science]

I have fallen behind in reports again.

They will capture Bolan. Terrible, terrible error of mine. I feel like I am making the same errors as in PB66, but for some reason the punishment is not as bad this time.

I might lose Hannibal too. Still not founded, fortunately, but I doubt I can win the violent race now. We will see, maybe it can still happen for me. Long-term I might still be alright. GG is still on the wrong end of a 2 vs. 1, and they WILL die eventually. This might still be alright.

EDIT: T98 they showed up with 8 Chariots - I can manage that. T99 they show up with 8 Axemen - what the hell? Where did that even come from? - I cannot deal with that.

[Magic Science]

Hmm. PBSPY says they captured Bolan T101, as expected, but they burned it? Or just whipped 10 seconds later? I have a Settler to replace it if they give me the chance, and I would take the chance. The military importance of The Celtic Gate is greater than "Hannibal" (of course I would not name my city in that place Hannibal, probably "Da" for "ten").

[Magic Science]

Turn 94 to Turn 110 – 525 BC to 125 BC
“The SECOND Cambodian Dark Age.” This 17-turn, 400-year period in Cambodia is also called “dark” because it will forever remain unilluminated by the light of the primary historical record. Also, this time around something bad happened.
I am disappointed that I let a dark age of reporting happen again.
It is not possible to go back and retroactively report turns very well. My memory fades. My motivation fades. Report-relevant screenshots bloat. Quick jokes are not as amusing when told later. And so much of what happened were momentary blips of thought – “What about this idea, wait no that is bad.” “This could be the case, wait no that is disproven now”. But they would have been interesting to tell in the moment, even if nothing came of them and equilibrium was not disrupted.

Whatever. I will give you a relatively quick (PSEUDO-EDIT: No, ) overview report of the important stuff, which is mainly the war with Gin-guelito, and then simply not fall behind again. Where were we?

The last thing I reported was the unexpected capture and razing of Gin-guelito’s city of Mack. Then…


   
Turn 94. The first thing was this Celtic Chariot stumbling out of the west in the vicinity of The German Gate. It must have come the long way around the world.
In the region I had good vision over slow terrain and sufficient military, so it was nothing more than a nuisance to keep an eye on.
In the end, it came through The German Gate to 2NW of Ban on Turn 98. Then I attacked it with an Axeman at 90% odds to win… and the enemy Chariot won! . I then cleaned it up with a Chariot of my own, so whatever, but this 1 victory gave Gin-guelito a Great General in Cathy Ames!

Meanwhile, back in the east…


   
Turn 98. 8 Chariots on Mack’s Rice.
I cannot quite remember what I was thinking with moving my Settler (trained in Bolan-Mei, a great city despite its youth, there was a reason I originally wanted to settle it 4th) to the jungle Ivory. . I think I wanted to delay actually settling my replacement city for Hannibal so I could pay less maintenance and avoid delaying Currency from EOT102. However, I still did not want to lose the race to the spot. Against BING_ac and Superdeath I would see their Settler coming and have a turn to settle 1st, but against Gin-guelito they could come from the dim fog over the road and settle 1NE of the Rice all in 1 turn before I could react. 
Therefore, I moved the Settler into their view to show them that I had won the race, so they would give up the race, but without actually settling the city yet.
. That seems correct to my memory but also stupid. .

Regardless, the 8 Chariots demanded a change of plan.


The new plan would have been ready to settle T101 or T102 with whipping and chopping and shuffling units.

If the 8 Chariots + lackeys HAD NOT occupied the ruins of Old Hannibal by Turn 101, I would have settled my city there, stuffed it with enough stuff, and chopped Walls to completion before they could attack (I had the 2nd half). Then my Walled city would easily survive against the 8 Chariots + lackeys

If the 8 Chariots + lackeys HAD occupied the ruins of Old Hannibal by Turn 101, I would have attacked them with my promoted stuff and mauled them. Then I would have cleaned them up on Turn 102 and settled my city and chopped Walls right away.

So I thought the 8 Chariots would delay my new city and maybe let Gin-guelito win the race instead, but that was it.

...

I should also mention that Naufragar and Gin-guelito signed a binding Peace Treaty on Turn 94. In hindsight this was terrible for me, though I do not hold it against Naufragar much. He did not sell me out; it was my own mistake.

And I proposed a binding Peace Treaty to Gin-guelito a few times, but they never accepted. Except to demand Bolan and Bolan-Mei for peace. . Absurd...

I decided not to even try to settle towards Gin-gueltio beyond Old Hannibal. It would exchange lots of money for a bit of foodhammers when I needed money more. Again, to reach Currency and then Windmills + Serfdom. I am a man obsessed. Also, it would commit me to a war to the death with Gin-guelito already. Their capital, Iago, is 3 tiles from the ruins of Mack! They could never accept that. Having a city that close would give me a great position in that war to the death, but I would still rather wait and not be forced to train so much military yet. I have my very important peaceful project in progress. Better to go back to uneasy peace for now.



   
Turn 99. 8 Axemen 2S of Bolan (PSEUDO-EDIT: Plus that Great General ). The 8 Chariots lurking behind them. 
. This was disastrous. This was my fault.

This was my fault because I knew Gin-guelito had binding peace with Naufragar, and they had more power than me, and they had plenty of motive to attack me. I had the overall long-term advantage over them, and I wanted peace, but that didn't make the war harmless. The war isn't safely over until they agree, and they were not agreeing! Until then, they can still strike back and make trouble, and you must force them not to.
Some of my trouble came from my lack of an intuitive sense for what that line on the Power graph means. How many units does that line mean? But I know about that weakness and failed to take any time to analyze the graph numerically.

"You are literally in a war, Magic Science. Until peace, train some more of those AGG/PRO units you fool. ."


There was 1 Axeman, 1 Spearman, and 1 Archer in Bolan, with 1 Archer and Walls waiting 1 turn away in the queue (that was planned), and a few Chariots close enough to defend too. Still, overall there were not enough pre-existing defenders and not enough units in reinforcement range. The best plan could not save the city.

I whipped and moved units to make sure they could not capture anything else if they came through The Celtic Gate, but it was going to be a while before I was ready to protect the cities beyond the gate and also protect my replacement for Hannibal (still not actually settled). It seemed likely that they would win the race and resettle it.

I assumed they would keep Bolan, which would be terrible for me. The city was just a whipping/mining post and losing its productive output was not too bad. However, the more important thing was its defensive position. If Gin-guelito had it, they could quickly reach Bolan-Mei and Bolan-Bei. They could even go over the hills to the Holy City of Bie itself. They are the Celts with Duns, remember. And my replacement for Hannibal too… yeah, with the defense problem it seemed very unlikely I would be the one to replace it. . It was fortunate I had delayed actually settling it.
I seriously considered researching Construction next after Currency. If they are going to capture Bolan and put me in a situation that forces me to train all this military anyway just for safety, then maybe I should just train some catapults and go for the kill already?
HOWEVER.


   
Turn 101. Fabulous fortune! My sworn enemy burned my 5th city to the ground! . .
And they offered me a binding Peace Treaty.
Of course I accepted, though only after 15 minutes of pointless contemplation, because I hate to tie my hands like this no matter the circumstances.

…

What an incredible swing of good fortune. Ginger and Miguelito, why? All I can think is that they were worried about the binding Peace Treaty with Naufragar expiring soon after this.
The razing indicated they wanted to claim the Sheep with a different city, and that city could not help but be better for my military position vs. them than enemy Bolan.
The binding peace gave me a chance to run my ready Settler, still around from the aborted replacement of Hannibal, right to the ruins of Bolan. Unsurprisingly, they were ready for this and settled their city of Joker 2S of the ruins before I could. Then I ran my Settler back over the roads to the ruins of Hannibal, and won the race and settled T103. They settled a replacement Mack in an odd spot a few turns later.


   
The next turns were quiet, so that brings us to the present day.

Replacement Hannibal Da has a Monument and Walls, and 3 Axemen and 2 Spearmen and 4 Archers, all with promotions, though the units are actually in Fort Ivory 1SW of the city itself. There is no way around them, and Jungle + Fort is better than Walls.
It occurs to me as I type this that Gin-guelito has a Great General and could do the Morale trick against empty Da. They cannot see inside the city, so it’s a long shot, but still. I had better put some stuff in the city just in case.
Da is safe on Turn 111. .

Bolan-Mei has Judaism and Walls and 2 Axemen and 2 Spearmen and 2 Archers for quick defense against Superdeath. Of all people, he has less than half my power. . Still, it’s Superdeath.
The Chariots are lurking around and there is some other stuff in the queues and the roads. Over here by Bolan-Mei and Bolan-Bie, the worry is about fast-movers coming through The Celtic Gate, which I cannot block with a Fort. If slow-movers come through, there will be time to bring the garrison from Fort Ivory after they commit but before they reach a city. With fast-movers, the garrison from Fort Ivory is too slow. So I need to be ready to fight 8+ Chariots over here without units from elsewhere. Also, Gin-guelito is the Celts, so eventually they can add some Guerilla II units as fast-movers. Fortunately, I cannot see any cities with Barracks + Dun yet.
Bolan-Mei and Bolan-Bie are safe on Turn 111. .

NOTE: Gin-guelito has only 1 Axeman defending replacement Mack Bibracte. That should not be the case when I log in again, but if it is, maybe something can happen. I moved some Chariots to Fort Ivory.
LAST I CHECKED: Joker had only 1 Spearman. That should not be the case when I log in again, but if it, nothing will happen. I backed off from the city and declined to commit anything towards it last turn, Turn 109. They have binding peace with Naufragar again, until Turn 119, after a little skirmish, and that vector is not as favorable as against Bibracte. Less vision, less ability to quickly retreat and turn attackers back to defenders. It felt dangerous, like throwing units and city safety away for a chance that really should not exist.

Also, shuffled some stuff around at Ban just in case they have more Guerilla II guys than I thought. A Guerilla II unit could move from the dim fog on Bolan's Joker's Sheep to attack Ban in 2 turns, so 1 turn of warning.
Bie will be safe Turn 111. .

And that brings us back to the present day. . Doubtless I will bring up more stuff from the Second Cambodian Dark Age, but that’s the violent meat of it. Unless I forgot something.
Now to not fall behind in reporting again.

[Mjmd]

What are your plans moving forward?

[Qgqqqqq]

Why don't the colours match the civs?

[Magic Science]

Why don't the colours match the civs?

Ginger requested that his civilization’s colors be changed to Aztec green at the beginning of the game. All the other civilizations are their default colors.
I often slap myself on the forehead and remind myself that it is the Celts with their Guerilla promotions that I fight, not the Aztecs. .


Turn 111 and Turn 112 – 100 BC and 75 BC
   
Gin-guelito has 3 Axemen and 7 Chariots in Bibracte, increased from 1 lonely Axeman last turn. Still no Walls or culture. That is a poor garrison, but I have no interest in a real fight yet, so it is enough to deter me.
The uneasy peace stands for now.

Also, I noticed this turn that during their brief skirmish with Naufragar from Turn 106 to Turn 109, which they initiated, Scipio Africanus their Great General died in combat on Turn 108. Comforting. Now they cannot perform the Morale trick against Da. The other thing I am worried about is a mass promotion to Guerilla II, and while I cannot rule it out based on Scipio’s death, it seems unlikely. Notice that 5 of the Chariots are promoted to Combat I.
Meanwhile, Khalid ibn al-Walid the Great General was born to Naufragar, and Gin-guelito’s Power dipped noticeably. They must have tried and failed to exploit a perceived vulnerability.


   
Technology Advisor.
Currency was discovered EOT102.
Metal Casting was discovered EOT109.
Machinery will be discovered EOT116.
Monarchy will be discovered EOT120.
Iron Working/Construction/Horseback Riding will be discovered EOT???.

Construction discovered by someone else EOT111. Alarming! Who is it?

Gin-guelito? No. I know from the War Chariots Quest tech thread shenanigans that they did not have a Classical Era technology (like Mathematics) as of Turn 103, and their GNP is weak. It is unlikely they will discover Construction before their elimination. However, I need to keep an eye out for a Great Scientist birth from them, just in case. Bulb Mathematics, then research Construction with saved gold. Unlikely but possible. Current treasury = 67 gold. (PSEUDO EDIT: Checking the Foreign Advisor Info again, Commodore has 793 GOLD? . What the hell?)

Naufragar? No. He gained exactly 8 and only 8 points EOT111. In this Pitboss, 1 population point is 8 points and a technology is 6 points. Otherwise, he is a plausible and disturbing candidate for the discoverer. He could still discover it soon. If he does, I will be forced to make some hard choices. Once Naufragar has Construction, he can start the final war to finish off Gin-guelito, and I will forced to drop my peaceful project and respond in kind or lose all but the most meager spoils. Still “meager spoils” because I expect to get Bolan Joker Ti-Bie-Bolan ("Second Five") back no matter what, and replacement Mack Bibracte is too close and too vulnerable to me for it to fall to Naufragar instead.

Who then? I do not know. Probably not Pindicator, because he discovered Calendar EOT108. Probably not BING_ac, because they discovered Monarchy EOT107. Certainly not Gavagai with his weak GNP. Could be Superdeath with his strong GNP (Great Lighthouse), or Commodore with his 763 gold (what the hell?), average GNP, and desire to finish off Gavagai. Commodore seems the most likely candidate.

I will look closely for bridges.


   
Domestic Flying Camera Overview
(there are 3 Workers under the Chariot)


The Cambodian Numeral System consists of 3 regions: Western, Central, and Eastern.
In Western Cambodia, there are 3 Workers. Previously, they were busy building Mines for Wealth-building, which was a vital job, since Wealth-building accounts for +54 gold per turn in my economy. Presently, I have all the Mines I need, and there is not much for those Workers to do before Machinery enables them to build beautiful Windmills EOT116, so they are just twiddling their thumbs. Building a road and Fort at the quiet German Gate, building part of a useless mine, whatever, etc. The instant Machinery is discovered, they will all be ready on freshly chopped hills to begin non-stop Windmilling. A 4th new Worker will join them from Mei.

In Central Cambodia, there is 1 Worker. He just finished building the 3rd mine by Bei. Those Mines will not be replaced with Windmills, because under Serfdom those green Coast-working cities need actual hammers to build their infrastructure. In that vein, next he will travel to Greenland to build a Workshop for Bolan-Ban.
(Mei is birthing a Great Scientist for a Golden Age for switching to my new civics of Hereditary Rule/Serfdom/Organized Religion on Turn 121)
(Bei is the only non-Western city building Wealth, but I want to switch back to Lightouse/Moai Statues ASAP)
(Bolan-Ban, my 9th city, at the edge of the void in Greenland, was settled T98. It was settled for +3 commerce trade routes and to work more Coast tiles)
(also note the 2 “c” signs, by Greenland and by Tonle Sap Lake. I think someday I will settle filler cities there, to reach Whales and more Coast and feed more Windmills, respectively. I feel that it is too soon, but I should run a simulation and do the math to check the maintenance, )

In Eastern Cambodia, the warzone, there are 4 Workers. Previously, during the open war and uncertain peace, they were partially busy with chopping and roading and even Forting. Presently, they are totally busy with Farming the Riverside Plains Flats, except 1 Worker who will improve Da’s Sheep. Soon, they will finish Farming just in time to start Windmilling instead. It is nice and neat and pleasing for me with the Workers over here. .


   
Globe: Circumnavigated. .

What are your plans moving forward?

Turn 112 (now) to Turn 120: Prepare for the Golden Age and the triple civic switch. This should be simple because everything is already planned. Technology discovery is on track, Great Person birthing is on track, Workers jobs are on track, population growth is on track, peace and security is on track, etc. The last thing is production in each city, but last turn I cycled through every city and assembled a mental plan. Also, I except to whip 2 more population points in this period, and then none ever again.

Turn 121 to Turn 130 (approx.): Trigger the Golden Age and the triple civic switch, also the aftermath. The Workers will begin a frenzy of Windmilling (I think the Winery by Bolan-Mei can wait, actually, HR will be enough for the start), as I explained. The cities will follow the basic formula of focus on growth + build Baray + build Forge +build Barracks (in the few lacking places) + bring Walls within 1 turn of completion (in the relevant lacking places), with modifications for specific circumstances. Ex. Mei will focus on GPP production with its big food surplus, Bei will finally return to building Lighthouse then Moai, Bolan-Mei doesn’t need a Baray. It’s worth noting that the 3 cities of Western Cambodia are all formulaic.
Meanwhile, research slows with the end of Wealth-building, but increases again with Golden Age and Serfdom and growth, and I begin on Iron Working and Construction and Horseback Riding in some order, ideally that order, maybe without Horseback Riding.

Turn 131 (approx.) to Turn 140 (approx.): The military technologies should be coming in, but I have not performed an estimate for their timing yet. The infrastructure push concludes, except in Bei, and the military push begins. Train many Crossbowmen, Swordsmen, and CATAPULTS, all promoted. Then finish off Gin-guelito with Naufragar’s involvement. In my attack, I want to liberate the space of Old Bolan, capture and keep the space of Mack, and newly capture Cathey Ames and the capital Iago. Naufragar can have the other even half of Celtica in the south, which should be satisfactory for him, I hope.

That is as far as my plan goes. I imagine invading Superdeath afterwards after another period of peace, because he seems weak, but BING_ac could do it first and cut me off, because their only overland vector is at Eridu, and that is my only vector at all. Also, Naufragar might choose me as his next deathmatch rival after Gin-guelito, in which case of course my only path to victory is over the smoking blood-soaked rubble of his ruined cities. It is not unlikely or even unreasonable for him to do this. I think his only other neighbor will be Commodore, and that might simply not work to attack. .

What could go wrong with my plan? Many things! . The main thing I worry about is Naufragar discovering Construction and conquering Gin-guelito before I am ready to join. If Naufragar attacks on Turn 121, that will be terrible. I will be forced to abandon my peaceful plan entirely or gain only meager spoils. If Naufragar attacks later in my Golden Age period, that will be bad but not as bad. I could just build Wealth and units during my Golden Age instead of infrastructure. If Naufragar attacks after my Golden Age but before I am ready, that will be least bad of all. It might turn out to be better if he makes the first strike. Looming over all this is the fact that I am not just fighting Gin-guelito for the spoils, I am fighting Naufragar too. However strong his army is, my army needs to be strong enough to fight it to a draw immediately after Gin-guelito is neutralized, otherwise he will march straight on to me and take most of what I took.
There will be an awkward transitionary period between Slavery and Serfdom when I cannot whip but also am not working many Windmills yet. This is danger zone for Naufragar attacking Gin-guelito without me being able to join, and for being attacked directly by any of my 6 neighbors. Naufragar is the least likely to attack, Gin-guelito is the most likely to attack. Superdeath is Superdeath and I wronged him earlier, but he has less than half my power. I am #1 Power, but not by much.

That is what I plan to do going forward.