[Spoiler] RB Pitboss #2 - Shaka of Rome

[MWIN]

You can also gift your Preats instead of going into war yourself...

[Whosit]

@MWIN: While that might actually be a smart idea, I kind of want to get my hands dirty on this. I've never claimed to make all the most logical moves!

A brief summary of e-mail conversations:

Sent a mail to Nakor to confirm that he founded Confucianism and that he'll send the Missionary my way (decided to go to Nar Shaddaa since it has no culture right now and will have enough hammers to build a Monastery).

Athlete/Kalin have mentioned that Korea has been exploring the outer islands. They also seem eager to go after the Inca rather soon, even right after we deal with Sullla. I told them that I wanted to wait and work on my economy. I didn't tell them just how much work my economy needs.

I'm going to have to figure out the best way to squeeze some more cash out of my cities. I'm sure I'll manage. As Byss, Nar Shaddaa, and Ryloth grow (Ryloth lost the Horsies, I'll make sure to cram it full of culture when I can), I should be able to improve my income. Currency, also, will help. So will foreign trade routes, if I ever get 'em. I do have one route to a Holy Roman city, but that's it right now.

[MWIN]

Do you have open borders with Korea? You might be able to get some trade routes in that way….

[spacemanmf]

How long will it take your praets to march by foot to India's borders?

[Whosit]

@MWIN: I have seriously considered asking Korea for Open Borders, but there's a strong part of me that wants to keep them shut out from passing through my land. Right now, it would equate, at most, to +3 gold, which isn't insubstantial considering my condition, but I don't know if it's worth it, strategically.

@spacemanmf: It's hard for me to calculate because a lot of that area is blacked out to me. There's supposed to be a strong road network from Holy Rome all the way to India, but I'm not sure where it starts or how long it takes to travel.

My rough estimation, though, suggests that it would take longer to march overland, even if I started now. I might try to recalculate that, though. But without good information, it's hard to tell, exactly.

[Whosit]

Hey. It's mail. Yah. Let's start with this fun one from Nakor:

Dear Whosit,

Our missionary met your preatorian and has found a nice tent in your camp. He's impressed by all the iron weapons, he hasn't seen those in our civilization. Unfortunately it has come to our attention that Gao, the Romalinese city near our border has possesion of an Iron source. That makes the claim to that region a bit different. We won't act on that problem yet, since there's another war close on the horizon. Dantski and we hace decided to move towards the Indian Capital first and pillage some stuff there.

As you might know, India has build a new city on the inner coast, very close to Romalines territory. Landing your troops there will shorten your voyage, I think. And razing that city will do all of us good, though we might want to ask you a favor. We'd like to maybe trade a city with Dantski during/after the war and maybe you can be of assistance with that. But we'll see that as the war progresses.
Also, be assured that a city on the inner coast is our next priority. Once it's there we will put all effort into sending a unit to "go where no one else has gone before" and scout the inner island. We hope it's not infested with barbarians.

Another thing, we noticed that Korea build another city. Do you know it's location?

We hope to hear more from you soon,
Nakor of HRE

Heh heh. I think that whatever my response is, it'll have to include "I'm sorry, but your mission to the inner island has failed before it has even begun." You know, since I got there first and all. Too bad I can't plant a flag and claim it all for the glory of the Empire! :neenernee

Time for Trooper PR-002 to start heading home, anyway. With 8 of them going off to war, I'll only have 3 on retention. And not enough spare troops (right now) to send off after that Barb city. I kind of wish I could have afforded to send a Praetorian to the island instead of an Axeman, since a Praetorian might be able to take down a city if there was one there. Actually, my Axeman (Trooper AX-002) found a Barbarian Warrior. I don't think the Barb Warrior will be there next turn.

Interesting news that Sullla's newest city is on the inner coast. Yeah, that's gonna burn. Then, depending on need, I'd continue on by land, or maybe even get back on the boats and sail up to Fred-burg after all. I'm pretty confused about this favor and "trading" cities with dantski and why they need my assistance with that. If it's a subtle hint, it's too badly worded for me to figure out. I'll ask for clarification. Namely, is this "city trade" going to be done with dantski's consent or not. Heh.

Here' something from Kalin. I've left in the parts where they quote my original message since I didn't post that here:

Dear Whosit,

It looks like all is good

We also have a fishing boat trying to find a direct water passage to
your territory so that we can get trade routes and can exchange
resources. That may be the easiest and fastest way.

It's good you landed on the central island already. Please keep us
posted. We will also get a port on the inner sea soon and start
working in that direction.

> Part of the reason I want, even need, to delay an attack on the Inca is
> because I am going to need some time to work on my economy. Nearly all of my
> early cities were founded with production as a priority, so it will be some
> time before I can afford another major assault. Honestly, going after Sullla
> is going to be stretching it, but it needs to be done. As Nar Shaddaa and
> Ryloth develop, my economy should improve, but that will still take some
> time.

We perfectly understand. We definitely don't want to rush into an
attack. In any case we have a pretty long NAP with them (until T130 at
least). Let's see how things are developing, but we should be able to
give you some help to recover your economy not too far in the future.
Some money from pillaging and city captures will also help a lot. I
don't know where you are with research, but I think you'll want to get
writing asap to get some specialists going.

Best,
Kalin for Team A/K of the Ottomans

Promises of financial aid are always nice. Here's hoping I actually get some pillaging money. Here's hoping that the libraries I'm working on will help some. Mainly for hiring Scientists, as my income will be too low to benefit from the multiplication. I'm also going to grow Carida to size 6 after all, since stopping growth to work an extra mine won't speed up Stonehenge significantly (6 to 5 turns). And I don't mind losing it too much.

I should take some pictures, but the more I learn of Sullla's region, the more I think that he ended up with the best start. There are really strong river networks, but also a lot of resource combinations that don't appear elsewhere. For example, there is both Wheat and Rice nearby, while most areas have one or the other. He has Deer, Cows, and Sheep, while most areas have only one, or maybe have Deer thrown in with another one. They have silk, spices, and sugar. Spice is relatively rare on the map, so far that I've seen. And their GNP is so far above everyone's that it's disgusting. And if this assault fails, well . . . . There are some fears that they've been tipped off somehow, and while that's possible, it's just as easy to suppose that they've been paying attention to the power charts. If they know something is coming, hopefully not when or where.

I'll pass along what I've seen of their territory to the others, especially the defenses in Gettysburg. It's on a hill, which'll be a big pain.

[Whosit]

*Deleted due to questionable content.*

[sunrise089]

[Moderated by T-hawk: Whosit redacted his post so I'm removing the quote from here where Sunrise quoted it.]

Spoiler!

[Whosit]

Spoiler!

Is it? I can delete that if it's giving something significant away, but I was under the impression that none of what I said was a secret. And Sullla is referring to something that was said in the Public Player Thread, so I don't think that there's a problem. I'll nix it for now, though.

Anyway, I wrote this:

Dear Friends and Allies,

It sounds like the plan is shaping up. Bib Fortuna is returning from Killer Angel territory, so I have some intel on Gettysburg. I'm not sure how much all of you know, so please bear with me if this is already known. The capital is on a hill and currently has 40% defense bonuses. It is currently garrisoned by 2 Archers and an Axeman. If the Archers have City Garrison I and are fully fortified, their effective strength is 8.55. If the Axemen have Combat I and fortification, they are 10 against non-melee units, and 11.25 vs. Melee units. An attacking Swordsman with City Raider I has an effective strength of 7.8 for comparison. Based on this, a direct assault on the city without siege weapons may be a waste unless Sullla empties the city for some reason. Note that city walls will increase the defenses considerably. However, there are a number of maturing hamlets and villages that are surely ripe for plunder. The city can also be approached from the south while remaining on hills, although it's flatland north of that.

If Sullla and Speaker's newest city is indeed further south than Fredericksburg, it would make an inviting target for an ambhibious raid (depending on the odds and number of defenders). Though considering the -25% penalty, a landing may be in order. Any additional information on the terrain surrounding this new city would be appreciated. My plan would be to raze the city, and then march onward once my troops have healed, if necessary. Or at least, enough of them are healthy to protect the rest. Depending on the local response, it might even be appropriate to sail up to Fredericksburg anyway, though I imagine that it will have stronger defenses at that point.

On an unrelated note, I would like to announce that I have landed an exploratory team on the central island. Supposing that I can accurately claim that I am the first one there, I hereby dub the island "Centralia." The name may be lame, but I got there first. =P I would post this in the public player thread, but there's no reason to announce to Sullla that I am building a fleet on the inner sea. Hmm, maybe we should call that the "Azure Ring" while we're naming things. And "Sapphire Sea" for the outer sea? Or perhaps "Lazuline Ocean." Alright, enough of that tangent. I've just gotten bored with "inner sea" and "outer sea."

In any case, I will hope that we will see a handful of early victories, but let's plan as much as possible beforehand.

To victory,

Whosit, Galactic Emperor

Naming things is fun! I'd name all the rivers and mountains if there was a good way to keep track of that without spamming useless signs all over the place. And without taking the effort to draw my own map.

[sunrise089]

Is it? I can delete that if it's giving something significant away, but I was under the impression that none of what I said was a secret. And Sullla is referring to something that was said in the [b]Public Player Thread[/b], so I don't think that there's a problem. I'll nix it for now, though.

Without putting a spoiler in my own post, here is the problem: Sullla was commenting on a certain strategy a player was using and another one he was not using. The strategy he was using was public, so as a player I knew that. However I couldn't be sure he wasn't also using a different strategy in secret until I learned here that Sullla stated he was not.