[spoilers] Commodore: Worse than Toku, it's Giggles of Siam!

[Commodore]

So the story of the Battle of Zaxby's will have to come a bit later.

When??

Now!

In the spring of 403 BC, the Great Flotilla of Reg Rarr, know as "Oar", embarked from Fort Canal along the northern coast of the Narrows. The fleet, fully laden with the supplies and men of two full axe battalions, struck north along the coast and met a Zulu fleet along the Big Sheephorn. In a pitched battle, the Zulu fleet was destroyed, but not before inflicting grievous harm upon every single galley of the fleet. A fair few Generic ships were sunk as well, but most of the battalions' soldiers survived aboard the tattered ships that remained.

The fleet was striking fast and sure towards the great Zulu city of Zaxby, northernmost port of the Bay of Clams, the economic heart of Zululand. A few remaining ships from the Zulu fleet had escaped to give warning to the city, and a battalion of axemen was scrambled in response to the looming Generican threat.


The fleet went in staggered, the elements containing Fluquato's Battalion landing first. The battalion were met at the very shore by the axes of the Zulu, and were cut down to the last man by the defenders, but not without inflicting more than 50% casualties in return.

The sacrifice of the first battalion would not be in vain. Yuri, the captain of the second battalion, ordered the galleys his men were on to be driven directly to shore and used as temporary fighting platforms upon the sandy beach, greatly increasing his men's chances against the stricken and decimated defenders.


Yuri's Battalion took only mild losses capturing the beachhead, and then moved rapidly inland to fire the city. By the time impi from the south arrived in enough strength to wipe out the invaders, the Generican axemen were already back into their ships, leaving nothing but gutted ruins in their wakes. The great city of Zaxby lay destroyed and plundered, and the northern half of the Bay of Clams was open to the pillaging of the Generican fleets for years to come.

[Ceiliazul]

Kalin, you're going to get shock out of this place. Ligurians, bless your primitive little hearts, I want to welcome you to the Generican Autocracy. This will only hurt a little.

Any word from Kalin's battalion?

[Commodore]

Updated world map:


I'll check up on Kalin's Expedition next turn.

[Commodore]

Well played, sir. McD's whipped, so there is a something there, and the galley cuts off anything that pokes deeply into the bay. So I retreated to fight another day. Enjoy the terror of potential, boys!

Kalin, you're going to get shock out of this place. Ligurians, bless your primitive little hearts, I want to welcome you to the Generican Autocracy. This will only hurt a little.

Any word from Kalin's battalion?

Rather than shock, I decided I liked city raider. Just took out the third warrior, one more left. 5/5xp now, and we're about to get a blue water port for the Great Bay. First a worker though.


Three turns, and then a fourth to travel, and we'll three-turn HBR, onto Currency or Monarchy.


Finally, let's see if this pushes them off the hill...

[Thoth]

Any further thoughts on TM as the academy/capital, Thoth?

I think we're better off with the Capital where it is. LSG has better potential both near and long term plus we don't need to spend hammers on a new Palace.

[Commodore]

So, um...I think I see the plan here, but I think it's a bad plan.


Now why on earth would they offer McDonald's for 10 turns of peace? Well, they just researched Construction, but they see the looming catapult I have and know we've got the upper hand for the next few turns. So, it makes sense to trade space for time, time to whip a fair few cats, and make it really painful in ten turns.

However, in ten turns, we can have a strong core of flanking-capable chariots and horse archers, not to mention a few elephants...plus, we can get gold, and get it under our border control of another city (Riverside), so even if they retake the city, we will own that critical gold.

tl; dr, it might be foolish, but I took the deal.

[Commodore]

So, I welcomed our new city into the fold and took stock of things. That's...um, a really big army, guys. I'm pretty sure I could have beat me with that army, but I am a known loon. Ours is not to question why, ours is but to stuff our new city with CG archers and cheap new city walls and bleed a lot of Zulu.


This is a *nice* city, and also, bonus: Monument is actually past the thousand year mark. So borders pop end of next turn, and not only will we own the mine hill that looks into their capital, we might well win the clams and eastern cottage too. Some barracks-built archers added would be nice, but walls are gong to take priority.


The other new city of the turn was Ligurian. An absurd 85 gold in pillage, size two for immediate granary whip in four turns when it gets out of revolt, and a worker + road already built for me. Sweet dealio, barbs! I love you guys!


As is notable in the above image, the barbs are on a "settle into Commodore's dotmap" streak today. I'll admit, I'm tempted to go capture this city immediately as well, although if you'll note, we're a bit...dangerous on the economy front. Still, no reason not to let them sit around and grow/road for a while. Plus, it gives the barb worker a direction to run that lets Kalin's Expedition Catch them.


This was a banner year for demos, then. Gold-saving GNP tanked, while MFG and CY went up. We probably will trade McD's a couple more times here before its over, but enjoy the taste: This is what conquest of the Zulu looks like. Now we just need get to HBR for Ballistaphants, while also getting to Currency or Alphabet pre-crash for Wealth building/TRs. These are also demos that yell "CoL stat, guys". Particularly if Confucianism has yet to fall.


We'll be showing one hell of a GNP spike when we research, by the way. Library being built, academy to follow. Now if only the Sports quest would come online for happier colosseums. I swapped to growth, figuring we're due the extra happy from gold in very short order. Let's be first capital to size 10!


We're not forgetting the other core cities, either. TM will grow two more sizes with gold/colosseum, to work those two blue circles, bearing nice new cottages. VA will net us a little more whippage; might as well play with the overflow unto mammoth trick. Need the worker, too, that riverside in The Slot needs cottaging.


Lastly, but not leastly, here's our new battlefront. We have just the time to hit the pillage-gold pinata of Kushan there and get back before the balloon goes up. I think we need to consider getting a couple more galleys in the water to boat White Castle north up there. Only three Zulu build queues left gents.


Let's keep pushing growth/economy/WAR.

[Cornflakes]

How do borders work on gifted cities? Will they jump back next turn or stay at their current levels?

The 10T peace also gives a slight break in war weariness (although fighting around McD's is technically still Zulu territory when the war resumes, right?).

[Commodore]

How do borders work on gifted cities? Will they jump back next turn or stay at their current levels?

The 10T peace also gives a slight break in war weariness (although fighting around McD's is technically still Zulu territory when the war resumes, right?).

Nope! That's the kicker, for me...it's been reset, so it's pure Generican culture now. Motherland sadness will continue, though.

[Ceiliazul]

Note that while the culture on the center 9 tiles of the gifted city was reset, just like the turn you found a city. (it says 100% even though there is no actual culture on the square.) When the turn rolls, all culture counters start counting again.