[spoilers] Pax Commodorica: Pharaoh of Rome

[Commodore]

Okay, cool. Apparently my choice wouldn't have been in danger even if I'd paired him with Ethiopia. Oh well, I'm safe this side of the Janissary.

[Commodore]

MadLibs:

-Commodore is Ramesses of Rome
Got it, got my theme ready. Start will be sloooow but all kinds of nice stuff later on.

-Thoth is Hatty of Zulu
FFH bias? Mebe. Choking is a danger. Fast starter, good early stuff, no synergy but nothing terrible.

-Gaspar is Zara of Ottomans
Best by the numbers, albeit without early shine. Fast starter, good all-game stuff, excellent pair.

-Pindicator is Washington of Carthage
My late 2011 here. Fast starter, nice synergy, fun leader and fun civ.

-Dtay is Roosevelt of Mali
Dangit, I wanna be sole Ind. Slow start, but nice stuff later on.

-TBS is Joao of Mongolia
Hellllllo Krill stuff. Lightning starter, strong defender, gonna be hell to keep the economy under control.

-Oxyphenbutazone is Pericles of Maya
Synergy king with badish tech. Fast starter, rollicking good combo power, I like it. He lost a roll for it vs. Gaspar, but nice backup here.

-Nobody got screwed, all pretty solid leaders.
-Louie and Pete are notably absent.
-TBS is FAST, most are fairly fast, Dtay and I are SLOW.

[Hashoosh]

I like it!

[Commodore]

I like it!

I do too but...
...I just realized the Eastern Roman Empire has better techs for my start.

Also, hey Hashoosh! Gaspar took our duel leader/civ!

[Hashoosh]

Do you really think that Rhomaion is a better start set up? I guess Rammer calls for Myst, so that's better than fishing's dead weight. But no food techs? If these caps are even close to fair, then he'll either have to burn worker turns or have a late BW.

Haha, so he does. Zara's a great leader, and he's definitely tops in this ban list (as are the Ottomans). One of my biggest fears in that game was cheap odeons swamping any front line cities I'd end up settling, which didn't happen. It was a misplaced fear.

What's the naming scheme?

[Commodore]

Second Thoughts

We're now the proud owners of Ramesses of Rome. The comment above was not really a compliment towards Byzantium, but it makes a point; the first three techs really need to be Hunting/Agriculture/Animal Husbandry. I might could see the benefits of skipping Hunting for a while, actually, because it's only upgrading a 3/1 tile to 5/1...excellent, of course, but the one thing this start does not lack is food. We'll see.

My difficulty here is that I really would like either a very early or very late Bronze Working; spiritual means that we don't need to time things tightly around revolting while the first settler moves. But I do want to whip a lot with this food-high capital; which also means Pottery is attractive sooner than later. Fishing/Mining nets me precisely none of that. Even the wheel would be good for the awkward movement this capital forces out of the worker.

I'm also going to be really missing the speedy expansion traits of my rivals; of the leaders not taken we have Peter for Expansive and Catherine for Creative/Imperialistic, either would be rocking better techs as well. I'm also thinking Wang Kon, with his simplicity, might be a great deal better in this world where Dtay is basically playing my exact same slow leader, wonder-focused game. I'm not going to say I must land a particular wonder, but Ramesses sure needs something in that pile to help us.

Still, nothing to do but forge ahead. I'm going to be wandering off in the distant weeds for techs for quite some time, but as long as I focus first and foremost on the fundamentals of planting cities and working cottages, I think I'll get over the hump and be very much in love with Rammer of Rome. But I'm really regretting the size of that hump...

[Commodore]

Haha, so he does. Zara's a great leader, and he's definitely tops in this ban list (as are the Ottomans). One of my biggest fears in that game was cheap odeons swamping any front line cities I'd end up settling, which didn't happen. It was a misplaced fear.

Well, only mildly misplaced. The real value of those cheap odeons was in allowing me to whip even harder for knights; something Oxy should enjoy with Ball Courts even more.

What's the naming scheme?

Legions:

Capital, Legio.
Germanica
Sabina
Cyrenaica
Gallica
Macedonica
Scythica
Alaudae
Ferrata
Victrix
Claudia Pia Fidelis
Augusta
Hispana Triumphalis
Fretensis
Equestris
Victrix

...and so on.

[Commodore]

I ain't no Gaspar, but I'm sure you want these from me too; preview time!
Oxyphenbutazone (builder, toughnut) as Pericles (Creative, Philosophical) of Maya (Mysticism, Mining, Holkan, Ball Court)

Ox here is the only resolution we know for certain ended with him rolling down; Mardoc's first list had him in conflict with Gaspar, with Ox running Peter of Ottomen. No clue, of course, where either choice was in Ox's list. Still, he's running a pretty darn nice losing choice. Pericles is of course one of the best leaders available given the bans, pairing the strong Creative for expansion and early economy with the useful Philosophical later on for more boosts. PBEM 57 shows Ox definitely knows how to run Phi, and Cre is impossible not to use in good ways. Mackoti has personally visited much ass-kicking upon Gaspar and I in 24 with this very leader/civ.

I expect Ox to be a GNP leader all game, with Pericles' early academy and blistering Oxford making his capital a phenomenal super-city. Ox's strong city management will see good bulbing pace here; he's my top bet for Liberalism given Education is an actually good tech for him. Ball Courts mean he can safely ignore Monarchy for a long, long time as he runs up the prime Currency line. Religion will be either accepted from someone else, or Taoism from a Philosophy bulb. His challenge will be management of his costs; nothing here helps directly with that. Still, big cities and cheap libraries makes for a hell of a lot of limping.

I didn't mention the holkan anywhere above because unless he's being choked, they don't matter. Although given chokers available (skirmishers, impi, kesheiks, Numidians) they would be a handy counter. Hint: he's not getting a choke.

Leader: A-
Civ: B-
Combo: A+
Player: 32 on ACT. 1420 on SAT

[Goreripper]

Oxyphenbutazone (builder, toughnut)
Pericles (Creative, Philosophical)
Maya (Mysticism, Mining, Holkan, Ball Court)

This is a very smart guy. He is the latest of the half of this field that has messed Commodore up in a Play By Email. Only thing to add here is that Oxyphenbutazone likes to use horse units. In Pitboss Eleven it was horse archers and knights in Pitboss Fourteen it was going to be cuirassiers and in Play By Email Fifty Seven it was knights and cavalry. He uses them smart too. He will make clear goals and plan his tactics to serve them. Also even if he is behind he dies very hard. Like not at all.

[Hashoosh]

I thought the legions went by the I-II-III-IV etc... scheme, or are those the same as stuff like The Big Red One or Rock of the Marne?

Wikipedia has answered my queries. I really hope cities 17 through 19 aren't settled anywhere near a forest. It'd be like taunting someone in a cemetery for being afraid.