RP Pitboss #2 [SPOILERS] - Darius I of the Holy Roman Empire

[BobRoberts]

Not really any suggestions... They're all a bit situational for me. Big fan of the usual stuff like the MoM and the GLib, but guess everyone wants those?

Supose a biggie for you guys is getting a GP for the Confused shrine?

[Nakor]

BobRoberts: That would indeed be a good thing! Now we only need to figure out where to run priest specialists... since Sethanon will be running 2 scientists soon. Or we could indeed use a wonder to get Great Prophet Points somewhere...

[DMOC]

Not sure what the best way to get Great Priest points will be. I'm glad we founded the religion!

I might login today and take screenshots,

[Nakor]

[SIZE="5"]Turn 92: 575 BC (not finished)[/SIZE]

A quiet turn.

Krondor finished spearman, works on chariot now, with another chop, the strike force should be ready by turn 95. Maybe another spear or axe for protection from Krondor before we build a library or rathaus there.

Sethanon still not working any specialists, not sure about the micro there.

Rolan build an axe and will build a settler before library to claim Stardock

Crydee is working on a monument, I think it's done next turn. Granary afterwards?

La Mut will grow next turn. Mining a hill there for extra production. Granary being build.

Missionary met with the lonely Preatorian near La Mut. I hope he'll scout some land on the walk there.

Now, what's interesting: we can get Sailing in 2 turns after just 1 turn of 100% cash. So our science rate is not so bad after all! Time to discuss what to research after sailing.

On the diplomacy front: INDIA

Dear Nakor and DMOC of Holy Rome,

Hey, we saw the Confucianism message and your new religion. Congratulations! I'm glad that you were able to get the faith that was denied earlier in the game. Good luck getting some of those rathauses going!

Sullla
The Killer Angels

[COLOR="Orange"]Dear Sullla,

Thanks! It took quite some time, since we don't have your research capability...

We also found out why Dantski founded Gao. There a worker mining a grasland... you know what that means... but I think that that was our source... time to sharpen some knives?

We heard that you settled aggresive towards Dantski... are you having similar thoughts?

Kind regards,
Nakor of HRE[/COLOR]

Building more smoke curtains...

[DMOC]

Sorry, I've been swamped, couldn't check the game now.

From what I remember, we should have Sethanon be at size 5 whiel working 2 scientists. I can't remember if we have enough food to support 2 scientists at size 4 if we also want to work the food-less gold.

Sailing -> Mathematics? Opens up a bunch of helpful technologies. Then perhaps Iron Working afterwards. I'd like to get better forest chops sooner than later.

[DMOC]

Haven't really been sending emails lately ... sorry. But I did receive a message from India. I assume we'll somehow ignore it or fiddle around the messy details.

Dear Nakor and DMOC of Holy Rome,


Mining the grassland tile, yeah we all know what that means! It may indeed be time to sharpen some knives...

For the record, we haven't settled aggressively towards Dantski at all. In fact, not a single one of our cities went south towards him - he pushed very aggressively north towards us! We don't blame him for that (there's only so much land, after all), but in recent turns Dantski has canceled Open Borders with our team, refused a request for a Non-Aggression Pact, and started running Espionage points against our team, after we both agreed not to. I'd say the writing is one the wall there, wouldn't you?

We'd be very, VERY interested in cooperation with you guys regarding how to deal with Dantski. Would you like to pass some emails back and forth on this subject in more detail?

Sullla
The Killer Angels

[Nakor]

Ended turn 92.

Sailing -> Maths it is then.

I'll respond to Sullla soon.

[Nakor]

Here's another update on communication:

[SIZE="4"]INDIA[/SIZE]

[COLOR="Orange"]Dear Sullla,

Thanks for the information regarding city placement.
I think the reason that Dantski settled north is that we did the same...

Interesting, but possibly problematic to hear that Dantski has closed his borders and is refusing an NAP.
Guess we both know what that means...
Are you ready for a war? We do hope so.

As you must have noticed, we are building a little army in Krondor. Just in case something of this might happen.
Though we expected an attack against us a lot more then one against you.
We're willing to aid you if it comes to a war, but we must tell you beforehand that we do have a NAP with Dantski.
Once we cancel it, we have agreed on a 10 turn period in which we won't declare, so that makes it 10 turns at the least before we can come to your aid.
And his skirmishers are pretty strong, so taking the war towards him could be problematic.
Unless you guys have Construction already...

Well, I'm very interested to hear your opinions regarding this situation.

Kind regards,
Nakor of HRE[/COLOR]

[SIZE="4"]THE EMPIRE[/SIZE]

Dear Nakor and DMOC,

I received word that the faith of Confucianism has been founded. I take it that you successfully researched Code of Laws first? As you may have noticed, I have a Praetorian near the borders of La Mut ready to protect the missionary. Speaking of that, I've changed my mind on where I would like it to go. Rather than Ryloth, I'd like him to go to Nar Shaddaa (the city north of Seoul). It's actually closer, so that should save some time. Of course, I'll wait for actual confirmation that it was actually you who founded the religion.

Best regards,

Whosit, Galactic Emperor

[COLOR="Orange"]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[/COLOR]

Dear Nakor and DMOC,

I regret to inform you that your mission "to go where no one else has gone before" has failed before it has even begun. You see, Trooper AX-002 is already in the midst of exploring the central island. I'll call it "Centralia" (real original, yes?). Maybe I should make an announcement in the public player thread to this effect. Or maybe just a message to the Coalition to hide the fact that I have Galleys from Sullla. So far, one Barbarian has been spotted, though I expect there to be many more.

I was not aware of where the newest Killer Angel city was located, but if it's closer, it would be a good stop, especially if it has access to the inner coast. You mentioned this in the Coalition letter, so I'll discuss it further there. I also have some news about Gettysburg that I will include there.

I would like a little bit more information about this favor you're asking. Namely, is this "trade" to be made with the consent of Dantski? Otherwise, I'm not sure why you would be asking for my "assistance."

As for Korea, I do not know where their newest city is, but I suspect that they have begun colonizing the outer islands. It will be a few more turns until I get a Galley on the outer coast, so I still don't know what sorts of resources the outer sea holds.

One more thing that I would like to mention. Imperial Center is enjoying trade routes with your city of Krondar, though none of my other cities seem to have foreign trade routes available. How many of your own cities are connected to your internal trade routes? I'm hoping to pick up as many trade routes with my allies as possible to help stimulate our economies. Do any of your cities have trade routes with mine?

[COLOR="orange"]Dear Whosit,

Good to hear that you've already sent someone to explore Centralia! Did he found something we expected, if I might ask?
We're still planning to build that coastal city before turn 100 and build a Galley there. How big is Centralia?

Dantski already told you about the new city, we'll try to give some more specific info, but I think you can land at least 2 turns earlier.

Regarding the capturing of cities, DMOC thought Dantski might be willing to swap two conquered city's for one of his. We haven't talked to him about it, and quite frankly, I don't think he will be interested. So we'll probably just try to get some gold and maybe one or two workers out of the war.

Once Sailing is researched, we'll be able to tell you more about trade routes. It won't take to long since our research is finally getting a bit better.

How do you suggest we move the missionary/preatorian couple?

Kind regards,
Nakor of HRE[/COLOR]

[SIZE="4"]COALITION OF WILLING[/SIZE]

Greetings members of CoW!

It's with utmost displeasure I bring you the news that India is two turns from Monarchy, which indeed as suggested by Whosit is on-route to Feodalism, and thus longbows. Let's pray to god that they can't bulb it.. atleast Oracle was grabbed by Byzantines (RIP!). In any case, even without bulbs they will get it rather sooner than later. We must attack at Turn 100. No more waiting, it's time to act. It's a great loss on our part that Rome's praetorians will be 12 turns late, but nothing we can do about that anymore. Let's just play with the cards we're dealt with and hope it's enough to stop these monsters from winning.

Dantski and I shall stall with the NAP offers. Regardless of if we accept further NAP's or not they'll be suspicious and are teching for safety. Be ready to attack before turn 100 in case they get near those longbows. Nakor, DMOC, you should either gift your units to Dantski as suggested earlier or simply break the NAP and attack at turn 100 with us. Waiting until 105 to attack is not a good idea.

Let's do this right. Comments, questions?
~ Jowy

Hi Guys,

Indian cities have been growing beyond their happy cap recently so this news isn't entirely unexpected.

I am not resigning my NAP with India which means it runs out in 2 turns for me. I will also cancel my open borders with them to deny trade income if Greece doesn't have OB's.

HRE, considering that India has a warrior north of Kumbi Saleh which will ruin any hope of surprise attacking Antietam, I ask that we directly attack Gettsyburg (their capital) instead. India can whip walls/units regardless of our target and there's a ready made road from Djenne to their capital. I'll try and keep Indian units off an overlooking hill, by war if necessary.

-Dantski

Dear Friends and Allies,

I know that I have belabored this point endlessly already, or perhaps I've simply changed my mind several times, but we should consider a pillaging campaign depending on the strength of Killer Angel defenses. They are training new units, so they're probably expecting something. Feudalism is expensive, but they may be able to tech it in 10 turns, anyway. I'm not sure what their exact income is since GNP counts culture, and beakers, and gold. Most of their cities will probably have cottages, though it looks like there are well developed villages near Gettysburg. If we made the pillaging of commercial tile improvements (cottages, gold mines, etc.) a priority, shouldn't that slow their tech rate and perhaps even make them unable to pay for city and unit upkeep? Despite my earlier stances on the virtues of destroying them outright, based on what I see now, a campaign of pillaging may be just as effective yet less costly to us. If any agree or disagree, please say so.

I just believe that the worst possible outcome for us is losing units in a failed attempt to capture one of their cities. However, if we strip the countryside clean, we can then probably afford to attack targets en mass. And, again, do your best to keep a mix of units in your stack. Axemen/Spearmen are good, and if you have Mounted units, you may want some Axemen, too, to protect against Spearmen.

To victory,

Whosit, Galactic Emperor

Greetings again CoW,

Regarding Whosit's pillaging suggestion, I believe we should try to defeat a city or two in the beginning of the war when defenses might not be tough to crack. But if we find their defenses too heavy, then just turn the attack into a pillaging mission. I don't pillage much in my games, but I'd imagine the units needed wouldn't be much different (we don't have sieges yet anyway).

~ Jowy

Dear Coalition Members,

Or more specifically, Jowy. Yes, if you can take down even one city with an early strike, by all means go for it. I would still like a reminder on what kind and how many units each member will be using, especially those attacking on T100. I would also use World Builder to simulate an attack if there are doubts about its chances of success. Pillaging missions don't require specific units, although a good mix would be wise to minimize damage from counter attacks. A couple of mounted units help as well, since they can move and pillage on the same turn. Ideally, maybe 3-4 Axemen, a couple of Spearmen, and a couple of Chariots/Horse Archers would make a good team. Including a medic on the team would be helpful, too, although March would be an ideal Promotion, but it requires Combat II to unlock, so it's probably out of reach.


To victory,

Whosit, Galactic Emperor

Dear Friends,

I am amused to see that things converge back to the initial proposal
of a pillaging campaign I think that we will all use common sense
when it comes to decisions. If a city has 2-3 defenders and we have a
stack of 12 troops next to it, then we'll take it. If the city has 6-7
defenders, just pillage the cottages and whatever else and keep
going... Cutting roads will also make it difficult for India to
reinforce cities so keep that in mind. For example, a small tactical
thing to do: use a chariot and cut a road. The chariot will get
exposed and can be destroyed, but whatever unit destroys it will
remain exposed as well. Since we have the numbers on our side, that
trade may be worth.

The other thing that we want to try and achieve is a pillaging of
their strategic resources. If we achieve that, then when construction
comes in they will be dead.

Kalin

[COLOR="Orange"]Dear Friends,

Dantski and I had a good discussion today.
We decided to attack Gettysburg first, or at least, pillage everything in sight.
Dantski will declare at t100 and we'll join after t105, to honor our pact with India.
That leaves Antietam and the new Indian city for The Empire's preatorians.
The new city will make the arrival of the preats a few turns sooner, I think.
I do believe India should be very lightly defended there, so the Preats will hopefully enjoy a "walk in the parc" and take 2 or 3 cities there while we keep them busy in their core.

So far, so good!
Nakor of HRE[/COLOR]

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.

[COLOR="orange"]Dear Friends and Allies,

India isn't happy with Dantski for closing borders and not prolonguing their NAP.
I dropped a line about a possible war together against Dantski, mentioning Gao and it's iron as a reason from us.
They are interested in a discussion regarding war and how to proceed, so I'll see what intel I can get from them.

Cheers!
Nakor[/COLOR]

Dear Friends and Allies,

Deception. Marvelous. It would surely be too convoluted, but supposed that you did engineer a "war" against Dantski with India. In a state of war, you could travel through their territory. You would coordinate an attack with India, so you would know where their troops would be, and how many they have. Except that you would then declare war on India. You could cut down their army while it is not in their territory. The downside, of course, is that Dantski would have to agree to having war declared on him . . . the these "preparations" would take longer than we want, and that you cannot share tile space with an "enemy" (and signing peace would teleport your units away). Please keep in mind that I am aware of the absurdity of this idea, but I felt like sharing it.

Nakor should go ahead with his more rational plan of mining India for information on their forces and expected production rates. Hopefully, one way or the other, India will throw most of their troops southward, so Jowy and Athlete/Kalin can hit them from the north.

Hi Guys

Some info in India's new city for Whosit.

It's placed 1 NW of the fish in the inner sea. It has jungle on the tile south of it currently if you feel like landing your troops first. It will likely be at least size 2 by the time you get there and will also probably have a couple of workers nearby and Spulla do like pairing up their workers. I have no info on the units inside the city but considering the rising tensions between India and myself, I'd expect at least an axe+spear pair.

HRE, I'm happy for you to declare war on me if it helps us, but since I'm currently scouting along the coast I'd prefer if it didn't happen.

-Dantski

Dear Friends,

First let me express my utmost admiration at the diplomatic skill of
the HRE! This is so great for our coming action. In addition, with the
HRE entering the war a few turns late, it may even allow us to get
some extra information.

Here's a suggestion for the HRE. I would ask India about a timeline
for the war against Romali. If the horizon is far in the future (like
20-25 turns), just nod. If they say "we can start right now", counter
that with "we are not ready, we can probably start in 20-25 turns".
This would be so that India doesn't go into military mode in the next
8 turns or so.

Regarding a war between HRE and Romali, we'd like to point out that
HRE would not be able to use the roads in the Romali territory, in
addition to some issues related to unit teleporting and... the
potential for misclicks I don't think this war is needed, given
that very soon both HRE and Romali would war against India.

Best,
Kalin for Team A/K of the Ottomans

[COLOR="orange"]Thanks, Friends!

We won't declare, since it will make our move more difficult.
But once Dantski declares on India, we can play the game along and tell them that we'll aid them, but that we have a NAP with Dantski that we don't want to break. How ironic...

Let's see what India really wants first...
I used to play a lot of online diplomacy games, and that makes you quite paranoid...

Regards,
Nakor of HRE[/COLOR]

[DMOC]

Are we going to convert to Confucianism? And if not, I asume you canceled the monument in La mUt (city that got Confucianism?).

[DMOC]

Silly me, it was founded in Sethanon ... never mind