[Spoiler] RB Pitboss #2 - Shaka of Rome

[Whosit]

As for the game itself, I have come up with an insane plan. It is probably totally crazy. And I will tell you all about it when I return from my trip. Perhaps a few days off will restore my sanity . . . .

Otherwise, my current diplomatic goals are thus: Remain in the good graces of the Tetrad Alliance while doing everything possible to avoid combat duty. Jowy is under attack (apparently with Dantksi's army), but Nakor might be threatened. Hopefully the HRE can hold on with what they have, because I want to actually rebuild my army instead of gifting it all away.

Spullla has to go through a lot of people to get to me, so I might as well use that to my advantage . . . .

[Whosit]

Oh, Hay, I haven't posted mail in awhile. Maybe I should do that again . . . .

Dear Whosit,

Our settler is on the move and will be in your lands next turn.
Can you gift us the promised two Preats next turn as well?

Maybe we can arange another deal in about 15 turns.

What are your plans on settling north of Nar Shaddaa?
We are planning on settling east of Stardock, on or 1W of the Sugar.

Everything else going according to plan?
We saw that Seoul is very weakly defended....

Kind regards,
Nakor of HRE

Didn't he notice that I already gave him one of the Praetorians? And I do have plans to settle north of Nar Shaddaa . . . someday. That's m'ah land! *Sigh*

Heh. Everything is going according to plan . . . . it helps when the plan changes every turn, I guess.

[timmy827]

Workers
Bruan + Snoova: Build Road (1)
*Izayoi Sakuya + Chewbacca: Will complete mine* No orders necessary
Zaalbar + Lobacca: Build Road (1)
Kerritharr: Move 1 South ("Chop to Parth")
Frorral: Move 1 East/1 Southeast/1 East ("IC Cottage 1")
[u]

I hadn't noticed all the Wookie names before - you really are an evil bastard

[Whosit]

I hadn't noticed all the Wookie names before - you really are an evil bastard

Mwahahahahaa!

Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that . . . . Good eye!

[zakalwe]

As for the game itself, I have come up with an insane plan.

We have come to expect no less from you.

Now please do share!

[Whosit]

Sparta was burned.

Ha ha ha ha ha. We're screwed.



Also, my insane plan will have to be canceled because I think that I will have troubles closer to home. Damn those Koreans.

[Whosit]

It seems that Jowy (and all of us) were offered peace with reparations. Jowy will have to give a few cities to the Killer Angels. It's probably his best option, so hopefully he will get back to Spullla soon, or his capital gets burned.

And it appears that I may have been a bit too eager to offer assistance. In an e-mail, I suggested that the rest of us could each give Jowy a Settler to speed his recovery. Had a brief chat with Nakor, who didn't seem very thrilled at the idea. He wants to just expand as far as he can to compete with K.A., so he's not terribly pleased with my proposal.

Also had a chat with Speaker. Nothing much new learned, though he did say that 1) he and Sullla were always confident that they'd win the war, and 2) my attack on Fred-burg would probably have failed anyway, since it had 5-6 Shock Axemen there. If that was true, I probably would not have taken the city.

Anyway, gotta figure out how to keep expanding while building up my army, etc. I may have Kuat press out another Settler, actually, and Kuat a Worker in between Parthenon and the Great Library so I can get a toehold on Centralia. Hopefully, I can make that a self-sustaining city and get a couple of Settlers out over there. Should be doable, especially if Kuat builds a Work Boat for the new city (what would I name it? Ah, Dathomir, as was suggested long ago).

There's actually a Stone resource on the center of the island. I want to get that. I may have to race Nakor for space, since I'm not sure how much mere agreements can contain his drive.

[zakalwe]

Are you sure you are ready for a space race?

[Whosit]

Are you sure you are ready for a space race?

Oh, ha ha. I see what you did there.

I haven't been able to log in yet, but it looks like I've scored the Parthenon based on the score change. Nice for me. It will help. Great Library will be next since I should be able to complete the Great Library before anyone else. Unless someone else has Literature already.

Killer Angels got Jowy's stone, which is bad for me. I was hoping to get a source of it temporarily. This means that I will DEFINITELY move to grab Centralia's stone resource with my second settlement. I know that there is stone on the outer islands (plako has a source, or will have one), but I'd rather go for what I can see. But I doubt I will have the stone in time to help speed up Walls. It looks like I may indeed go after the New Republic, and just hope to hold off Plako's inevitable attack somehow. Maybe I can convince Nakor to wait with Dantski and cover my back, and in return, I'll assist him in taking the Romali down.

I may also get my Praetorians back through a long, convoluted exchange process, but that's still in the works. It would be very nice. Not sure exactly how many spare troops I will have at home, but I could quite possibly scrape up a total of 16 Preatorians (including the old ones), maybe more, which should be sufficient to cause slaze some pain.

Not sure what Carida should do in between Parthenon and G. Library. Either Worker, or possibly Settler for Jowy. Kuat is doing a Settler for Centralia (shit! I forgot to configure for max Settler production! I'll have to do that when I log in, but not sure if it will make a difference with a turn already invested).

My Centralia team will be: Preatorian, Settler, 2 Worker, and my Woodsman II Axe already on the island (rather than shipping over 2 Praetorians).

General plan: Dathomir will build Granary, hopefully get Workboat from Kuat, and will build its own Settler ASAP after growing large enough to work some major tiles. I'll basically try to settle all of Centralia from the colonies themselves.

More later. Carida . . . should build a Worker, but I might do the Settler just to get it done and be a nice ally. It will delay the Great Library by a few more turns, but I'm pretty sure I'm still locked for it.

[Whosit]

Chat with Dantski, following e-mail . . . It is long, so I will summarize my impressions and thoughts at the end if you want to skip ahead.

Luke: hey whosit
me: Hello, Dantski.
Luke: so your email was interesting
if a bit vague
me: Well, I felt that I was discussing a sensitive matter.
Luke: true
me: And I was merely extrapolating your possible motives from what I saw.
However, what I saw was interesting.
Luke: heh all those swordsmen you mention
i think i have 2 in total
me: Oh? Well, I suppose I counted very quickly.
Or miscounted. But either way, there's usually just one reason anyone build Swordsmen.
Luke: well both were built for the india war
but were too late to join up with my main stack
so pillaged a mine and road
anyway
i guess your email hinted at future expansion of your empire
in a westerly direction
me: I was considering it.
Luke: of course
consider that i am relaively close to inca as well
me: Close diplomatically, you mean?
Luke: territorially
we're across the date line from each other
me: Ah, that's right.
Luke: prob 4-5 galleys turns from my cities to his
me: Interesting.
Were you planning a sailing expedition, then?
Luke: oh the expedion has begun already
just peacefully at the moment
me: Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed.
That puts a new spin on things.
Luke: but back to the west
it seems inevitable from my viewpoint
that you will finish korea
and do it as soon as your NAP runs out
me: That would be an ideal situation.
Although my army is atrophied due to the fact that I had to give most of my units to Jowy due to logistical issues.
I'm rebuilding, but I expect plako to be ready, as well.
Luke: does he still have them?
me: Yeah.
Luke: no return clause?
me: More like, he doesn't really have a way to get them back to me.
Luke: err
you cant just sail your galleys to pick them up?
or is it the your galley his units problem?
cause he has no culture
me: Partly that.
I actually think that he's sending them to the Rebels to try and make a long route back to me, but that will still take awhile.
Luke: yep
my warrior scouts are almost together finally
mapped out the coast nicely
me: That's good. I'm trying to fill in the rest of my blanks myself.
Got a good look at the Incan lands.
Luke: large and relatively undefended from what i see
me: Mmhmm.
Luke: obvious powerhouse later on
me: Yeah.
Prime target, thought of going for them, but I've kind of got a dagger painted on me.
Luke: true
but until machinery noones really going to attack you
me: Probably not, but plako could get cocky with his unique unit.
Luke: hmm oh yeah
not a bad counter
he prob has 50-60% chance of withdrawal in an unpromoted fight
me: Yeah. I'll probably have to whip out walls in my border cities, but I think I can get cultural control in the Seoul area before our NAP ends.
Luke: while i welcome you contacting me
im kinda puzzled about the topic
me: Ha ha, sorry about that.
Luke: contacting me in this way suggests either
another sneaky attack on india
or one on HRE
me: Oh, I have no intention to hit India at all. That would be pure madness.
I may be crazy, but I'm not CRAZY.
As for the HRE . . .
I suppose I was assuming that you had them in your sights. Was I wrong?
Luke: well its hard for me to trust you on this
since you may still be working with them
and makes sense for you to split koreas lands with HRE
on the other hand
you may want to elim a fin/org civ thats a serious lategame threat
me: All are good choices.
Luke: despite being hemmed in
have another 5 city sites immediately available
possibly more
me: Oh, yeah? I didn't know. Are you talking about the islands?
Luke: some islands some not
still dont have a city on inner coast yet
me: Mm.
Luke: might swipe old shiloh's ruins
me: That would be pretty nice if you can pull it off.
Luke did not receive your chat.
Luke: still here?
me: Yes. Connection interruption?
Luke: yeah gmail hates my AIM
me: It would.
Anyway, it would be pretty sweet if you could nab Shilo. The Killer Angels are already expanding again.
Sent at 6:00 PM on Tuesday
Luke: sorry gotta restart this silly app
Sent at 6:02 PM on Tuesday
Luke: well im not entirely sure what you'd like from me
me: Alright, perhaps I should be a little more clear.
I'm trying to play to my strengths. My best bet is to use my military advantage while I still have one. To that end, I figure I should attack someone. It may seem mercenary, but I'm not terribly picky about who.
Ideally, I won't go in solo. I spotted some Swordsmen in your land (and apparently forgot that they were part of your old stack) and though that you were preparing for a fight, yourself.
So I was just wondering if that was the case.
I assumed that your enemy would be Holy Rome, but if it is the Inca, that would be good, too.
Especially since, as we've both noticed, they are a soft target right now.
Luke: i do have a question for you which you most certainly dont have to answer
hows your research looking in terms of slider and construction?
me: Construction isn't at the top of my list, at the moment. Currency and Code of Laws are.
Luke: ahh
seems we're doing the same thing then
i know i mentioned when i was in CoW
that HRE should go construction and build me the cats
no idea if they went that path
but
id guess not
me: They actually did.
Because we feared a counter attack from the Killer Angels.
Luke: never made sense for india to strike south
me: No, but Nakor was quite worried, nonetheless.
Luke: yes i had several emails confirming that nervousness
so lets say for a moment
that i would consider a strike on HRE
would you propose going before we get cats?
me: Hmm.
Now that you mention it, probably not.
Luke: also
what about RoP? how would you get there?
me: Get . . . to Holy Rome?
Luke: yes
me: I'd walk.
Luke: angry korea man in the way
me: No, not really.
Aside from Seoul, I own my region.
The main worry would be a back-stab.
Luke: yes from that perspective
id definately be demanding a NAP off you
dont believe we have one
me: No, I don't think we ever signed one.
Luke: err one off topic thing
when CoW started
did you guys draw up a list of rules or something
me: I'd have to check my records.
There was only one that I recall.
Luke: just something someone said made me think that
and i never recalled any
me: Ah.
Luke: ok well back to HRE
i would guess me ETA to construction is 15 turns minimum
likely more
me: OK.
Luke: you aren't the only one getting currency
me: I know.
At the very least, I'll get a small discount on it.
Luke: anyhoo its T126 i think now
me: I think so, yeah.
Luke: so any aggressive action
is still some way off
me: Right.
Though I want to ask something else, myself.
Just to clarify.
As I mentioned, I see a number of potential targets.
HRE is one, but another big one is the Inca. Did you mention before that you were considering attacking them, too, or merely scouting?
Luke: well it was more an idle thought
its certainly doable
me: Yeah. Honestly, I'd prefer to fight them since it seems like more of a cakewalk.
But I don't know how the logistics would work out for you.
Or if it would be profitable.
Luke: hmm
well i think they dont have any wonders for you to nab
could be wrong
me: I don't think they do, at the moment.
Just some very good land.
Luke: id prefer a HRE strike from my current situation
just because incan cities would bankrupt me
me: Right.
Luke: and prob not pay enough to be profitable in ruins
me: I need to get going, actually, so we can continue discussions later or via e-mail, but one more thing that came to mind.
Sent at 6:22 PM on Tuesday
me: The more I think about it, the more I think that it's like that the Koreans will attack me if I go to war. It may also be possible that Nakor could call in the Rebels for help. Could you manage the fight against Nakor by yourself for any period of time?
Luke: well im certain to have more troops
depends on how much they play builder to how aggressive i can be
me: Mmm. OK.
Luke: and without a coastal city on inner sea
its hard to surprise attack me
me: Right.
Luke: ok
Sent at 6:25 PM on Tuesday
me: Alright, well, as I said, I gotta get going.
Luke: ok talk to you soon
me: No promises yet, but I will be considering our discussion. I'll get back to you soon.

Luke is offline. Messages you send will be delivered when Luke comes online.

Note: I may not be so good at pulling strings as I had hoped. Though I think I knew that I was going to get myself in a corner.

Anyway, I had sent an e-mail to Dantski hinting in a very circuitous manner that I'd be interested in helping him attack one of his neighbors. The goal was to see if he did have any intention of attacking Nakor, with a secondary goal to try and figure out if a NAP between Nakor and myself could dissuade him.

So, Dantski wasn't quite sure what I was saying at first. I suppose I have a tendency to be too vague. He mentioned how the Inca were under defended, and that raised hopes that he may be considering a war against them, but that doesn't seem to be the case. He seems fairly confident that he could prosecute a successful war against Nakor (he thinks that he will have a stronger military) and he will have Construction in 15-20 turns.

To try and gauge how sure he was, I mentioned that the Koreans would probably attack me if I went to war with another party, and that I would be distracted by that. He still thought he could fight solo. I am thinking that a NAP will NOT dissuade Dantski. I am also in the somewhat awkward position of seeming to scheme with him, but I said that there were no promises made. I suppose I shouldn't worry TOO much about what he thinks of me, but he's already kind of suspicious, so there's no reason to make an enemy of him now if I don't have to.

So my current plan is to suggest that Nakor gets Feudalism ASAP. That may both dissuade Dantski, and give me a valid excuse not to go to war myself. The downside? Nakor mentioned that he probably wouldn't be able to fund me if he went for Feudalism rather than Metal Casting (Colossus?). Oh well.

Now, I'd better play my turn before time runs out! The evenings always go by so fast . . . .