[SPOILERS] Roland and Suboptimal Team Up

[suboptimal]

It's hard to say...this is about the point in the game in which they'd be getting picked. Hopefully we find out next turn.

I was looking at LotRaM for a pantheon. I think the payback there depends on how fast you're planning on removing or paving over those features. Down in the Gobi Desert the city center should get the continuing benefit of the pantheon (as would the swamp truffles). It'll be a while for the Commercial Hub or Pyramids to get placed and that production could be used for the pyramids, builders and infrastructure in the meantime. Yes, its returns are diminishing over time but if things are left in place as long as you can leave them it might be worth it. 3/2 and 2/2 tiles are powerful early.

[suboptimal]

Turn 38

Nice quiet start. Slinger moves towards the camp and uncovers something interesting:




This part of the map may be ice-bound, which means there might be no passage around the top of the island. This is good to know.

Eastern warrior finds nothing, western warrior chills out. Galley finds nothing but open water. I had a left/rigth decision to make and I headed towards the west:




I don’t yet know how far south I’ve gone. Rotating the camera doesn’t reveal the southern edge of the map.

Up at Obvious Child the monument has 1 turn left on it. I move the citizen on the forest back to the rice. Lower but I get some . The city will grow in three turns, get me the Early Empire eureka and I’ll put the new citizen back on the PFH. My next build here will be a builder for a rice farm, horse pasture and a fishing boat (it picks up the fish tile in 7 turn). I don’t want to put down a Holy Site here since I want to go Campus → Harbor here. I do the same shift at Al (between the same types of tiles) since the settler is down to 2 turns and the change doesn’t slow it down any. The city will shrink to 2 population, which is what I was trying to avoid but no matter. I can shift to a high configuration for a turn or two to get the pop back (work the fish) and then go from there.

Woden’s got another boat out as his milpower jumped by 30 or so. His partner, however, has almost no military out as his milpower is down to…..2. I’d say he cleared a camp but his era score is unchanged. He did complete his fifth tech and third civic.

[roland of gilead]

TURN 38

it's a cracker.

Firstly pantheon comes in with good choices.



Fishing boats
Lady of reads and marshes
15% to wonders

LOTRAM because is 6 hammers immediately and more flexible it also lasts longer.
Fishing boats is great on this map
Wonder production is worth loads of hammers to me. Absolutely loads. but stops at a certain point early mid game.

I chose LOTRM despite I losing me a campus site and maybe petra. But it's worth 6 hammers now and another 4 in 3rd city.

Fishing boats will be worth more than that but available in a long long time and venerable.

Next up is religion.

Rangers of course.



Choices I go for choral music and Sacred places.



Between pantheon and religion I gain

6 production
2 science
2 Faith
2 gold (+3 for camp)
2 culture (another 2 next turn

Theology revealed I will wan this early. After early empire if possible.



5 era score needed



I can get that from a boat and great wall if needed. I suspect you will get me a few Sub. + the camp.

Also met Dido somehow.

Phew

[roland of gilead]

Was a pleasant surprise that my religion immediately spread to both cities. Some effect of Stonehenge perhaps.

[roland of gilead]

looking a the seas down south it looks to be Norway west and Russia east?

[suboptimal]

Nice turn! Looks like we're on track. Now to get the flowing. I think the choice of pantheon is a good one - the boost in just this turn is significant. Likewise, I hadn't considered (er, forgot) that Sacred Places would have an effect this early because of Stonehenge.

Odd that you just met Dido. That could mean that Woden's boat is somewhere near your borders and that you didn't meet them until Dido saw your borders through shared vision.

About the religion spread, when you create a religion with a great prophet all cities that contain a Holy Site convert immediately.

I believe that Norway/Phoenicia is roughly due south, Russia/Australia roughly due east, England/Japan southeast. It was pointed out that the waters to my east had a Russian name (in addition to the Kara Sea).

[roland of gilead]

Yeah i knew about all cities with a holy Site. Great that Stonehenge counts.

have a look at my petra plan with Great Wall when you get the turn round. Those middle tiles would be 2 food 1 hammer 8 gold then 4 culture later.

[suboptimal]

Turn 39

Obvious Child has completed its monument. Start a builder. Two turns to a third population and the Early Empire inspiration. Nearby warrior heads northeast into the tundra forest, finds open tundra and land’s end.




Slinger clears the camp and the spearman is now likely pissed off. That’s fine by me. Two era score, 50. I find some more crabs and land continues north but I’m not interested in defogging further.




Galley heads southwest. At first I see some land poke out and think “I have chosen unwisely”. I persevere and we’ll be meeting a cultural city-state next turn:




I have to wonder if there are more to the north or south of this one. Rotating the map still doesn’t show the southern edge.

I ran some combat numbers on the hypothetical “Woden goes rogue and just starts pummeling my capital” scenario. It’s actually not that bad. He’d take about 18 damage on his first attack while dealing 28 or so net (he’d do 48-50 then the city heals 30). I’m five turns from buying a galley so I send the loitering galley east. There’s a spit of land poking out of the fog southeast of the Tengger Sand Sea that I missed before, so that’s my first destination.

Roland, I took a look at your pins. I don’t see the one for Petra:




I’m assuming it’s located SE of Crater Lake? That looks like a good layout though obviously the city should build Petra first. Once we locate Mathematics you can start planning things out to have two builders and a settler to be in the area simultaneous to the tech completing.

I think your next build at the capital should be a settler for the Gobi Desert region to start getting that ready to go for the Pyramids. Also, given the granary build time at John Tavernier I have to ask if you’ve changed your citizens to work the marshes? Once the granary is complete you might want to consider a monument there while waiting for Early Empire to complete. Yes, you’ll eventually generate a ton of culture but for right now a monument is the quicker option than a district + shrine for some culture.

In the Mahakam River Valley I’m leaning towards the (A) set of pins with the Commercial Hub being the third district built. I think my plan will be to settle the city on Turn 44 and immediately buy and start building the Holy Site while working the diamonds. M y capital will likely go Holy Site → Shrine → Settler/Builder with the order of the last two dependent upon Shipbuilding’s completion. Putting down a resource mine would be helpful for Wheel but I don’t want to mine the diamonds on the river valley as that will lower the appeal and cost me . I might buy the desert diamonds to the south and mine that with OC’s builder. I’ve got time since I need to complete Mining to get the boost for Wheel.

Woden’s income is 3 per turn, Ljubljana’s is 7. Marcopolo’s empire score has gone down by two. He’s either got two settlers out (not likely) or got something(s) pillaged plus got a settler out.

[roland of gilead]

i did change to the marsh tiles.

i was planning a couple of builders the a couple of settlers both with the relevant policy cards.

that is where i would put petra yes.

i was planning to avoid monuments for now as i will have decent culture without.

i can for example build a builder instead of a monument and get apadana for 2 culture plus the science etc etc. once i have the tech of course.

[Bruindane]

What about Indonesia aggressively settling those the islands next, starting with the fox star one?

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus candidate.