Succession Game V: The Empire of Ra

[Locutus]

Note: this thread is for discussion on Succession Game V (Succession Games Revived, team 1) only. If you have general Succession Game comments/questions/whatever or if you want to sign up for a game yourself, please post in this thread.

Edit: This doesn't mean of course that you can only post here if you're part of the team. If you're an 'outsider' and have questions or comments about people's decisions or want to comment on summaries, you're more than welcome to post those. It's questions like 'what is a succession game?' and 'can I still join?' that IMHO only disrupted these threads unnecessarily in the past - feel free to post such questions and comments in the thread I provided a link to above.

BTW, don't worry, most of my summaries won't be nearly as long... I hope...


Along the banks of the great river Nile lived the people of Kemet. They lived in small villages and fed themselves by fishing the river, foraging the nearby forests and hunting the plains and grasslands next to the river. One day, in the summer of the year now known as 7000 BC, the Year of the First Revelation, a local chief called Locutus was hunting the plains south and east of the river. In hot persuit of his prey, he tripped and fell to the ground, his head hitting a rock. He lost his consciousness and death was almost certain: a severe head wound and nearby predators would surely have killed him if it wasn't for the miracle that happened next. The sun god Ra, riding his Chariot across the sky, saw from above what was happening and decided to interfere. He descended from the heavens, causing nightfall on mid-day throughout the Nile Valley, picked up the humble body of the chief and healed the man's injury with his divine powers. As Locutus woke up, Ra spoke to him:

"I am Ra, King of the Gods, All-Father of Creation. I have healed your wounds for it is not yet your time, I have a special purpose for you and your descendants. You are no longer to live in humble huts and live off the land; you are to live in magnificant palaces and build a great empire. An empire that spreads across all lands and waters, an empire that will gather more food and riches than there is water in the Nile, an empire that will reap powers strong enough to destroy the Great Mountain. Yours are to create buildings that reach for the skies and chariots that fly almost as high as mine. Go now and create such an empire, and crush anyone who opposes you, they will feel my wrath!"

Ra left Locutus where he had found him. Locutus immediately planted his spear in the ground, ran to his village and told his people what had happened. Soon it was recognized that the location of the spear was an important Holy Site. The people of Locutus's village as well as people from neighbouring villages, who quickly learned of the Revelation, soon set about creating a temple at this holy location. Since Ra had commanded to create buildings that reached to the heavens, Locutus ordered that the temple should rise as high as possible. To ensure this, it was given the form of a pyramid. Since everyone wanted to live as close to the Holy Site as possible, many houses were constructed near the Pyramid. Soon the village grew into a city with over 10,000 inhabitants and became known in the Sacred Language as Men-nefer, "established and beautiful", for beautiful it was. Popularly it became known as Memphis.

Over time, more and more people from other villages along the banks of the Nile heard of the story of Locutus and saw the beauty of the city of Memphis. Many of them decided to give up their uncertain existence of fishing and hunting and moved to Memphis, where thanks to the divine intervention of Ra, food was always plenty. Some villages however, grew jealous and, formed raiding parties and tried to sack Memphis and destroy the temple. Locutus responded by forming a Militia of Spearmen to protect Memphis. It was not long until the inhabitants of this city started to call their small but promosing empire Egypt and crowned their leader Apolyton. Later he would become known as Locutus the Founder, Apolyton I of Egypt.

Once Memphis was founded, Locutus ordered his priests to find a way to make sure the the story of his Revelation would not be lost in time, so these priests started researching Writing. Also, to ensure that jealous neighbours could not threaten the safety and security of the people of the people of Memphis, the first Apolyton also ordered the training of a regiment of mobile Spearmen.

In the year 6900 BC, so many people from neighbouring villages had moved to Memphis and so many children had been born in the city, that the population of Memphis exceeded 20,000 inhabitants.

In 6840 BC disturbing rumours arrived in Egypt. Some faraway people, who apparently were called 'Etruscans', had started production on a great project called Stonehenge.

6800 BC: Finally the training of a regiment of Spearmen is completed and the regiment starts scouting the lands around Memphis. It soon turns out that the Nile Valley is bordered by large forests in the north, hills in the east, plains and grassland in the east and great waters in the north and south. In the southwest is the mightly Great Mountain. Southwest of Memphis rare Spices are found, making the meals of the people of Memphis a lot more varied and tasteful.

In 6640 BC more disturbing rumours arrive. Apparantly some other faraway people, this time known as 'Yamato', have also begun work on this Stonehenge project. In the same year another regiment of Spearmen finishes training and is sent out on a reconnaissance mission.

In 6620 BC rumours of a people called Byzantines who have also started on Stonehenge arrive in Egypt. Some Egytians grow slightly worried: what is this Stonehenge this and why are so many faraway peoples so worked up about it? Shouldn't Locutus also be working on it?

6600 BC: One of the regiments of Spearmen runs into some mysterious ruins to the east of Memphis. Under the command of Apolyton I himself, the brave Spearmen enter the unknown dwellings. When Locutus leads his men into the ruins, a spear is thrown from behind some rocks and hits Locutus in his chest. Just before the great leader takes his final breath, he orders his men not to kill whoever threw the spear but to capture him and torture him to death. Furiously the men search through the ruins and soon find a few Barbarian soldiers hidden in a small cave. As Locutus had ordered, they capture the men and start torturing them. In an attempt to safe their own lifes, the despicable Barbarians show the Egyptians the advance of Applied Math. The men of Kemet are impressed but still can't let the death of their great leader go unpunished, so they gratefully accept the knowledge from the Barbarians and kill them on the spot. The body of Locutus is sent to Memphis and a few days later a solemn funeral ceremony is held on the sacred ground where Ra healed Apolyton I. The mummified body of Apolyton I is placed in the holiest chamber of the pyramid with many jewelry and lots of food, to allow their leader to travel to the afterlife undisturbed and in luxury.

[Boney]

Can you put some pictures up so we can all see where the story begins?

[Locutus]

Your wish is my comand

[Immortal Wombat]

Hehe, long summaries are great. The first time at least. It gets a bit boring in the Middle Ages though...

---

After the reign of Locutus Apolyton I, the people of Memphis were leaderless, and, with the precepts of Democracy not yet clear in the minds of the people, struggle for control of the nation began, with some bloodied noses, and not terribly-nice words said all round.
Luckily for the future of the Egyptian people, Ra was watching over them, and had already chosen the successor of Locutus the prophet. Ra's chosen one to lead the Egyptian people was a young man named Wombat (in the old tradition of naming children after the first thing their parents ee out of the window, his full name was Wombat-Urinating-on-Bush, but he preferred the abbreviation...). He was blessed with the ability to lead, a fine mind, a brave spirit, and a big gang of thugs who beat up everyone who opposed him. After much rebellion and dispute, the majority of the population accepted that he was to rule, and praised him as Wombat Apolyton II.

After a tribal coronation ceremony, known in the old language as the "/Reloadslic", Apolyton II ascended to the seat of power.

For 80 long years, the reign of Wombat Apolyton II was quiet, even dull, and then...

6520BC: The spearman to the east of Memphis had been following the line of the forest, to seek out new lands, and other civilisations, to set foot boldly where no Egyptian man had gone before, and with good grammar as well. He had come to a region of icy wastes, and was much surprised when he found on the foothills of a snowy mountain, the remains of a village, much like the one that the records tell was found during the reign of the previous great Apolyton. With a deal of trepidation, he entered the ruins, aware of the story of Locutus and the barbarians...
It was deserted, and he rested amongst the stones for awhile before continuing on his way.


As he sat polishing his shiny Egyptian uniform though, and noise disturbed him. In an instant he was hiding behind a overturned hurricane shelter that was nearby. He peered out through the slats in the wood, and saw a horseman approaching. He rose to fight, prepared to die fighting for Egypt, just as the the first Apolyon had, but the horseman dropped his arms on the ground, and called out.
"Stop! I mean no harm to you. I have seen you in these ruins for the last few hours [how long does it take to get a unit from a goodie hut I ask you!! - Ben] and have noticed the pride with which you shine your armour, and the passion with which you stand to fight, and perhaps die. Tell me, what is your purpose? Why do you have such a sense of purpose, where other men of these times are cowardly and afraid, or aggressive and unrighteous?"
The spearman of Egypt replied thus: "I serve the nation of Egypt. We have settled in a city, together as a people, united under the banner of Ra as a nation that will rise as an empire, and conquer the world, bringing peace and wisdom in our wake as a storm brings life-giving rain."
The horseman was impressed. "May I join your empire? I am willing to offer my body and my horse, though I have no weapons but this big stick"
The spearman thought. Here was a skilled rider of horses offering to join the nation of Egypt. He would greatly aid our military standing. "Here" he said, "Take my spare loin-cloth, and my second-best spear, may you courageously serve Egypt, our first cavalry regiment."

And from this year, the new javelin cavalry was a part of the Egyptian military, and was assigned a patrol route to increase our knowledge of the world around us.

6500BC: Some arabian dude jumps on the Stonehenge bandwagon. Following the policy of the last Apolyton, Wombat ignores the rumours, on the grounds that if it was worth doing, we'd be able to do it too.

The horseman begins exploration, crossing the forest to the west of Memphis, and entering a hilly region. The southern spearman turns south, and meets a coastline, which he proceeds to name the "Costa del Sur", as it is so close to the south pole, and near an icy plateau.

To the east, the other spearman of Egypt has crossed a narrow causeway, and entered a huge expanse of grassland.

6380BC: To the far west of Memphis, the horseman stumbled upon another group of tumbledown huts in the thick forest near the sea. Pondering his own acceptance into the empire, he entered the village, hoping to find more recruits to tell of the home he had never seen. To his disappointment, the village was empty, but in one of the buildings was an oaken chest, containing nearly 400 gold pieces.
He entrusted it to a page boy he had recruited on the edge of a swamp about 40 years ago, and gave him a copy of the map given to him by the spearman. The gold was delivered as fast as possible to Memphis, where Wombat was reported to be "delighted".

To the east, the spearman crossed a hill, and noted a seam of an interesting-looking glowing rock, that might come in use later on.
As he slept that night, he heard Ra's musing in his dreams "A bit of SLIC code and a decent AI, and that glowing rock might one day be necessary to build nukes..." As the spearman understood only about one word in three of Ra's speech, he ignored it, working on the basis that if it was important, Ra would tell him again later.

In 6340BC, Wombat announced to a joyous public that writing had been discovered by wise men in Memphis, and that finally the annals of Egypt could be written down, rather than being passed by word-of-mouth. The next project Wombat told his wose men to work on was a way to feed the growing population of Memphis, some sort of agriculture which was not dependant on the rains, and the wanderings of wildebeast.
Meanwhile, a crab colony is found near a reef to the west. The horse doesn't like to east them, its rider does. And there was much rejoicing.

6320BC: The western spearman reaches a snowy peninsula, and turns around to retrace his steps back to the centre of the continent.
In Memphis, a barbarian horde of spearman is seen north of the city, and the citizens are afraid. They take arms as a milita, their pitchforks becoming weapons.

6300BC: The barbarians run away.

6260BC: A momentous occasion in the annals of Egyptian history. The horseman (wouldn't you know) makes contact with another civilization, crossing the borders of an unknown country, and seeing the city of Baghdad on the horizon.
To the east, the spearman enters an abandoned village, and falls straight into an ambush by a barbarian horde. Two brutal men with deadly accurate slingshots surround him, and Wombat fears the worst. The spearman wisely entrenches himself behind a rough-and-ready stockade, and awaits the hail of stones.

6200AD: The horseman arrives at the gates of Baghdad, and learns the ruler of this nation is Harun al Rashid, one of those guys who have the thing for Stonehenge. Further exploration reveals that Baghdad is situated right next to a gigantic olive.
The barbarian slingers pvssy out, and run away from the spearman. Maybe they didn't see him.

Wombat is struck by both the news of the spearman's survival, and the news that the Arabic leader's name is Harun al Rashid, and the combined effect of both was a fit of hystreical laughter that only stopped when Wombat died of heart failure, aged 430.
(A statement from his brother was "He was hoping to outlive Noah. Who knows how they counted years in the Old Testament")

---

Pics Here

[Gazablanca]

Gazablanca takes the seat of power after being found underneath a big pile of rocks by Wombat Apolyton II’s advisers.They weren’t actively looking for the next successor,but after realizing that Gazablanca had been crushed by the rocks yet still was alive and kicking,decided to install him as leader as a whim(and also because the story sounded good)And so starts the reign of Gazablanca Apolyton III

6200 BC-6120 BC

The Javelin Cavalry further explores the area around the forests of Baghdad.The spearman to the south of Memphis discovers a barbarian lurking around,which inspires Gazablanca to queue up another 2 Spearmen to protect Memphis and the Nomad,which will soon be built and ready to build another city .It is decided to build this new city on grassland around 12 squares north,and the new soldiers protecting the Nomad will also be protecting the new city.No barbarian scum is going to attack my
cities!!!!!
Also,like the previous ruler,Gazablanca has to use all his power to intone the mighty /reloadslic spell,as messages from the empire’s scribes are turning to gibberish…almost as if a large quantity of moonshine was consumed by every scribe in the empire while writing

6100 BC-6020 BC

Javelin Cavalry finds around 200 gold in some ruins,and continues exploring,moving away from the Arabian border. The nomad is finally built in Memphis.Due to suspicion of large barbarian forces in the area,the nomad is made to wait inside the city until an escort of 2 spearmen regiments are created to protect the nomad unit on its travels.

6000 BC-5920 BC

329 gold is found by the spearman to the far northeast corner of the land while exploring.The same spearman finds a stack of 3 barbarians roaming around.In order to protect the Nomad convoy preparing to head north,Gazablanca sends the spearman further east hoping that the barbarians give chase…..it seems to work.Where the hell are all the stinking barbs coming from,I wonder?????

5900 BC-5820 BC

Javelin Cavalry stumbles upon 2 barbarians in ruins,and bravely kills one of them,nearly dying in the process.The Jav Cavalry also comes to the end of the island and turns North.The nomad group heading north also finds more barbs,and changes course to avoid them.These barbarians are getting rather tiring,Gazablanca thinks……..

5800 BC

Gazablanca Apolyton III finally succumbs to years of worrying and stress about the stinking barbarians that roam the land.He dies,but before this leaves a decree to his successor advising that our military should be increased rapidly to counter the barbarian threat to Egypt.




Locutus,
Is it OK if I send you the pictures from my game to put up on the succession website?????I'm just a little clueless in uploading stuff to the web

Thanks.

[Locutus]

I don't have much time right now, but great stuff guys

(in the old tradition of naming children after the first thing their parents ee out of the window, his full name was Wombat-Urinating-on-Bush, but he preferred the abbreviation...)

What?! Windows? In 6500 BC?

Gaz,
Sure, send me any pics you've got and I'll post them for you as soon as I have the time. BTW, if others want to upload stuff to the site, here's the info you need (in case you don't have it already): server: ftp.250free.com, username: ctpmodmakers, password: bl00drun (folder: Succession_Games). Alternatively, you can just email it to me and I'll put it up for you.

Edit: site updated with Gaz's story (but no pics yet).

[Immortal Wombat]

Originally posted by Locutus
What?! Windows? In 6500 BC?

How much tech does it take to cut a hole in a wall? Who said anything about double glazing?

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat

How much tech does it take to cut a hole in a wall? Who said anything about double glazing?

D'oh! Didn't notice the smily? Tukkers sense of humour is completely misunderstood by the outside world

- Locutus
Proud to be a (misunderstood) Tukker...

[Locutus]

Website updated with pictures of Gazablanca's game.

[Oerdin]

We are building cities in the wrong places; we should be building on top of rivers and not next to them. That way we will get a bonus each and every turn. Also make sure you have the Tech slider minimized since it is still early in the game. We should have production maxed and our citizens on the edge of revolting but not quite there (aim for an over all rating of 72 or 71). Since are science production is already so low we will lose little by moving that slider to zero but we will make big gains in production by maxing that one out. When we have two to three cities we can move Tech back up.

[Locutus]

Oerdin,
Your strategy suggestions make sense and are very much appreciated, I think others would be wise to at least read them, especially since they come from such an experienced player as you (you ought to write a strategy guide! - or at least a strategy thread ). But eventually everyone has to make his own decisions and follow his own strategies, that's in part what makes these succession games so fun...

Personally, I almost always found my first city on the very tile I start: some players (both AIs and human) wander for several turns before settling down, but the earlier in the game the more impact your decisions have so I settle right away and take advantage of the oppurtunity to collect resources and select research goals, etc.
In this specific case I liked the fact that we had hills, forests and grassland in the city radius, a good mix IMHO. Also, having 6 out of 9 tiles as river square helps a lot later on in the game, when you move onto a river square you usually only have river 3 tiles (and no idea of what other tiles would be around you)...
I'm also a very peaceful player, so production to me is often (slightly) inferior to science, happiness and food (although I find Cradle is forcing me to change strategies)...

In the end I don't know whether your strategy or mine works out better (probably yours - in fact, I'm almost certain yours is better) but we all play by our own style... Still, keep those strategy-tips coming though (that goes for everyone), they are very much appreciated and I might accidentally learn a thing or two


BTW, guys, we're going to be famous! We're on the radio!

[August Borms]

I've sent my savegame to my successor, but I'll post the story within the next few hours

(gotta clear my head abit first)

[hexagonian]

Originally posted by Oerdin
We are building cities in the wrong places; we should be building on top of rivers and not next to them. That way we will get a bonus each and every turn. Also make sure you have the Tech slider minimized since it is still early in the game. We should have production maxed and our citizens on the edge of revolting but not quite there (aim for an over all rating of 72 or 71). Since are science production is already so low we will lose little by moving that slider to zero but we will make big gains in production by maxing that one out. When we have two to three cities we can move Tech back up.

Sliders in Cradle have been weakened. The benefits of using the sliders have been reduced - though as the game progresses, they will pay out more. The trick is that a player will no longer be able to milk the sliders in the early game without it costing him in other areas.

You may have a slight problem if you are targeting happiness at 72 in Cradle, as you will then be in a constant riot state. Aim for 75, as that is the lowest you can go in Cradle before chancing a riot.

Good luck on maxxing out the sliders in the early game in Cradle too. Maintaining the sliders at their default settings (+0) will give you a 75, and an increase in an area penalizes you at (-3) as opposed to a decrease, which only adds (+2). That brings you down to a 74 and a probable riot...

Long term, this makes happiness buildings/entertainers more important.

[Oerdin]

Hmm, I didn't know that cradle effected the use of sliders so much; personally, I think that favors the human player over the AI because the AI doesn't use entertainers while the human can. That means I can, through diligient work, keep entertainers in all the need cities while the AI can only move the sliders at great personal cost. It seems like we could use that fact to hit the AI hard with war unhappiness or something.

Lucutus: I too normal settle my first city right where I am unless I am right next to a river or on top of a swamp because in those two cases the benifit of moving one square way outways the lose of one turn of production. Plus with the extra gold and production gained from having a city on the river you can almost always find more goody-huts and/or kill nearby civs.

What early game strategies do most of you follow? I personally try to max out warriors so I can grab as many freebie huts as possible and I almost always try to kill or maim any civs which started near me. This puts me way ahead of them and I can either extort techs from them for peace or simply finish them off to gain an early boost to my city count. Then I can continue to act like the peaceful builder until I reach 20 cities plus knighthood when I will once again try to kill and/or maim anyone who I can in order to secure a first place ranking. Once the others get knights I sue for peace and get ready for another big push at my main competetors which will begin as soon as I get facism.
All in all it is a very good stratetgy which is a mix of war and building. This is just a general outline and it changes often to fit the geography and the diplomatic conditions of each game (I normally play MP so diplomacy becomes a BIG part of the game). Chao.

[Oerdin]

Since we are already talking about strategy I'd like to bring up another often over looked tid-bit that can greatly improve your standing in the game. It seems that most people simply don't know how to properly use the rush buy button; and no, I'm not talking about the bug here. I'm talking about the plain vanilla rush buy button at the top of every build que.
Our friends at Activision designed the game so that as an item gets closer to being finished its cost becomes less and less. This makes perfect sense and is as it should be. So how do we make the maximium use of this little piece of knowledge? Well first we must understand that the cost of rush buying deceases as an exponential function (true a small exponential function but it's still exponential)and not as a linear function.
Let me explain: If you rush buy an item on the first turn you might pay something like 125% of it's cost, while if you rush buy at the half way point you'd pay 50% of the cost, and if you rush buy at the 75% mark you might only pay 10% of the cost. By doing a little math you can determine that by using the rush buy button when items are half way finished you can finish producing items in half the time and at 75% of the cost (assuming the 1st 50% was built as normal and the last 50% was bought for 25% of its real value). That is a huge production bonus that should not be over looked.
Thus may I suggest people rush buy important projects at the half way mark inorder to minimize costs and maximize production?

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by Assur
I've sent my savegame to my successor, but I'll post the story within the next few hours

(gotta clear my head abit first)

...and duly received. Now why do you suppose Assur's only comment with the savegame was "Good luck!"

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Oerdin
What early game strategies do most of you follow? I personally try to max out warriors so I can grab as many freebie huts as possible and I almost always try to kill or maim any civs which started near me. This puts me way ahead of them and I can either extort techs from them for peace or simply finish them off to gain an early boost to my city count. Then I can continue to act like the peaceful builder until I reach 20 cities

This is pretty much my early game strategy in the original game and in MedMod too; in Cradle the resistance from Barbarians and AIs and the slow healing rate of damaged units makes this strategy very difficult.

In MedMod and original I usually continue my peaceful strategy until the very end though, maybe declaring war on the nearest opponent(s) who is/are blocking my growth. I usually end up winning with the Diplomacy victory and only one major opponent defeated (hence my diplomacy strategy tips in the MedMod readme folder)...
I'm still trying to settle good strategies for Cradle, diplomacy for some reason seems much tougher and I haven't found the most effective strategy to wage war yet. Tactically I'm okay of course, but the grand scheme of things still seems very different from other mods - then again, I haven't played that much Cradle yet (unfortunately) so that may only be my perception...

Very good rush-buy tips, Oerdin You really *should* write a strategy guide... I usually only rush-buy buildings myself (and units when I'm in desperate need of them), since I need a significant portion of my gold for other purposes (diplomacy, unconventional warfare, upgrading units). But rush-buying is indeed an important concept of the game and should not be underestimated - timing is indeed critical. I don't know the exact formula used to calculate the rush-buy cost (I know that governments also affect it) but buying something when it's about 50% done is, in my experience, indeed the cheapest overall...

Hermann,
Because you'll need it - we're gonna kick your @ss if you screw up!

[August Borms]

The highpriest was still shaking his head in disbelief as Assur approached the throne. Not only did he arrive one hour late, he also
refused to take part in the holy "/reloadslic" ceremony, deeming it "not necessary"!

5780BC

Our wise men discover agriculture which allows to train warriors
Assur orders them to research the wings of birds, so that one day, our soldiers will be able to fly and travel faster than any other man.
The wise men decide to research better roads instead.

5720BC

A unit of spearmen stumble upon a small village of mountain people who use "slings" in combat. They decide to join our spearmen.

5700BC

Our severely wounded javelin cavalry stumbles on a village of barbarians, but manages to escape!

5660BC

40 years later, and still severely wounded, he runs into another barbarian ambush.

5620BC

Surrounded by barbarians, he runs to the desert hills, where he meets a people that use a technique called "water lifts". He makes not of it, and moves on.

A group of spearmen discover ancient gravechambers and discover 313 gold after folling around with the mummies.

The city of Heliopolis is founded near the northern coast.

5520BC

After 100 years in which nothing happened, a group of spearmen discover ancient ruins and loot 200 gold.

The barbarians lurking around Memphis seem to have been pacified.

Realizing that being king is mostly a very boring job Assur decides to use this gold to finance his decadent parties.

5420BC

Our heavily wounded javelin cavalry, once again surrounded by barbarians, finds refuge in a desert village. The spearmen of the village promise to protect him.

After a century of a decadent lifestyle Assur has became so corpulent that he is unable to do anything; he hasn't left his bedroom in years!

In 5402BC, the greatest scientist of the realm proposed to build a machine that could harvest the power of steam and transport him through the empire (no horse could carry Assur!). Assur declared this idea heresy and ordered the scientist executed and his "work" - witchcraft - burned.

He died two years later.

-------------

I'm very sorry it took so long, but I needed to help a friend in evading his problems with his gf/parents.

It should not happen again.

[Locutus]

Nice story Sounds like you got more goody huts than the rest of us combined!

Originally posted by Assur
I'm very sorry it took so long, but I needed to help a friend in evading his problems with his gf/parents.

It should not happen again.

Don't worry, you sent the game on to Hermann well in time and posted the story not too long after that, so I don't see a problem.

Anyway, any chance you could still give us some pics? Post them here, on the website or mail them to me, whatever you prefer, but it would be cool so see something...

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by Locutus

Hermann,
Because you'll need it - we're gonna kick your @ss if you screw up!

With my shield or on it, eh?

I promise not to lose more than two cities!

[Gazablanca]

Good story Assur.....

Hey,with all these barbarians wondering around near our Javelin Cavalry unit(and the fledgling Arabian cities) it may be possible that one or more of the cities might be invaded by the barbs.In that case,some map swapping every so often or a close eye on the Arabian cities may be in order,to watch out for any easy pickings without declaring war on the Arabians to get the cities.......

[Locutus]

Website updated with Assur's story (no pics though).

I'm surprised to hear that apparently noone has traded maps with the Arabs yet, it's always the very first thing I do when I meet an AI, even before I decided if I want to be friends with it or if I want to destroy it. There's no use in exploring territory that others have already explored...

[Hermann the Lombard]

Here follow the Chronicles of the Fifth Apolyton, known as the “Chronicles of Overkill.”

5400 BC

The wise Advisors of the Apolyton mourn the loss of the Great Pear-Shaped Assur, and then are horrified to discover that His remains are too wide to fit through the door (no wonder he hadn't left his bedroom in years!) They (unceremoniously) order the room walled up and decide that one of the prime qualifications for the next Apolyton should be a complete lack of sense of smell. Thus inspired, they embark on the search for the successor.

They look for clumsy candidates with head injuries, but none recover consciousness. They rummage hopefully under piles of rocks, but find no survivors. They scour the damp bushes, but find no marsupials. Becoming desperate, the Advisors and Priests lurk outside the temple, hoping for late-comers. Then a tiny reed boat is found among the rushes along the Nile. In it lies a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Conducting an augury, the High Priest Her-mann declares that the Rightful Successor has been found . . . but since no babe may rule Egypt, a Holy Regency of Ra must be established. Curiously enough, the augury* shows that the High Priest should become the Regent, and the babe is “hidden away for safety.” In the slang of Memphis, pulling this sort of fast one is known as “to lombard,” and thus the name enters history.

High Priest Her-mann the Lombard, Apolyton V (Regent) follows the large example of Assur and eschews the traditional ceremony of /reloadslic. This upsets the other Priests, who call for a return to tradition. Turning from their bodies to governance, Her-mann declares that Memphis is nearly defenseless, and orders the halt of preparations for colonization in both Memphis and Heliopolis. He sends gold to Heliopolis to hurry the equipment of the first regiment of Warriors in Egyptian history, but in Memphis, a lot of people are almost ready to get out of town, so they quietly ignore the order.

Far away to the north, the Bloody Cavalry thanks the Spearmen for their promise of protection . . . and steal away in the night to put some distance between themselves and the barbarians. The Spearmen wake to find themselves abandoned in the face of the enemy, and decamp to the south.

[* Augury: noun, a process of divination involving a captive, a large auger, and subsequent reading of entrails.]

5380 BC: The Northern Spearmen promptly find more barbarians directly to the south, and the youthful spear captain finds and tortur—er, “consults”—a local wise man, whose last words are interpreted as “Go East, young man!” Other witnesses thought that the wise man directed them to another destination entirely…

The First Regiment of Warriors, escorted by Spearmen from Heliopolis, ventures forth to explore the remaining land between Heliopolis and Memphis. Back at the capital (and naively believing the land developers who claimed that the barbarians were pacified) the colonists sneak out of Memphis to found their own city, to be called TANIS, for The Apolyton (is) Not In Sight.

Her-mann is angered by this disregard of His orders. At this point, an Incautious Advisor remarks that surely the Rightful Successor must now be of age to become Apolyton in her own right. The remaining Advisors never mention this again.

5360BC: The long-suffering Javelin Cavalry is tantalized by the sight of TWO sets of ruins on the horizon just to the northwest…sandwiched between impassible mountains and implacable barbarians. So close and yet so far!

5340BC: Yet another barbarian spear-band appears out of the “impassible” mountains, forcing the cavalry to the east. Not far to the south, the Northern Spearmen hurry east, hotly pursued by a barbarian force twice their size. The colonists from Memphis head southwest, hotly pursuing rumors of fermenting grapes.

A messenger arrives in Memphis with news: “The Arabians have gone to war with the Egyptians.” Her-mann shouts, “Good! Let them kill one another. OH. Er, the Apolyton Wombat should not have laughed at Harun al Rashid’s name!”

5320BC: Another messenger arrives with news: “The Romans have gone to war with the Byzantines.” Is this a pattern where those working on Stonehenge go to war with those who are not?

5300BC: The Eastern Spearmen reach and skirt the border of the reportedly-hostile Arabians. TANIS is founded between the vineyards and the sea, and the custom of white wine with fish is born.

5280BC: A horde of “pacified” barbarians come up the Nile to Memphis, and the elders of the city open their ancient piggybanks to quickly equip a new regiment of Warriors, the 2nd. In the north, the cavalry approach ruins in the hills, but somehow they are no longer eager to explore them.

5260BC: Yet another barbarian spear-band appears, this time with the audacity to stand atop the Great Mountain, taunting the Egyptians to “come out and play.” The Southern Spearmen, following the scent of wine, track down and join the renegades in TANIS. Meanwhile the cavalry are relieved to find the ruins unoccupied, but then are dumbfounded by a box of mysterious rawhide-and-cloth toys. The toys are sent to the Apolyton for His amusement…but the Advisors recognize that these are in fact projectile weapons—to be called “swings”—and set about making enough to outfit new regiments.

As the Apolyton plays with the “swings” – and by a fateful coincidence – the Wise Men come to Him saying, “O Mighty One, we have discovered the Secret of the Wheel! Now we can make flat surfaces to roll them on! Tell us where next to search for knowledge!” Her-mann spoke unto them, “Research the wings of birds…no, wait, We want something that can be completed in Our lifetime. Research the fins of the fish, that one day our soldiers will be able to swim to foreign lands!” The wise men decide that a drier method is preferable, and begin to research Shipbuilding.

5240BC: The barbarians have dogged the heels of the Northern Spearmen for 160 years, and the Spearmen veer to the south hoping that the barbarians won’t notice. No such luck. New Warriors (the 3rd Regiment) are rushed to completion in Heliopolis. Envoys of the Apolyton offer a princely sum (200 gold; we have small princes) to Arabia in return for a ceasefire. Al-Rashid believes he can get more gold by force, and rejects the offer out of hand. The envoys are told “our trade embargo has angered them.” They protest, “It’s not an embargo; we’ve never learned how to trade!” Unfortunately those are the envoys’ last words.

5220BC: The Bloody Cavalry sights a river leading to the west, and the Eastern Spearmen reach the southwest corner of the Arabian lands, and turn west to explore toward home.

5200BC: The Peripatetic Heliopolitans (1st Warriors and Spearmen escort) reach the isthmus east of the mouth of the Nile. Their Captain exclaims, “Isthmus be the place!” A barbarian horde arrives to punish him, and the Heliopolitans flee to the east.

The cavalry enters the river valley, and are astonished to see a huge hole in the earth. Drawing nearer, they are amazed to see shackled men emerging from the hole bearing heavy loads of stone. Seven heaps of mine tailings rise on the plain above the hole- riddled valley. A great city sprawls across them, and a big sign on the walls says “Rome – Pop. 60,000.” Next to this is the fearful Sign of the Eye.

The valiant horsemen approach, and a startled by men who appear as if from thin air, men bearing chains and shackles and weighted nets. Eyeing the blood-caked javelins of the cavalry, the biggest of these men calls out, “Greetings from Constantine, leader of the Byzantine people. Though we are a humble nation, we strive for greatness.” (They appear to have been humbly trying to net Romans.) The cavalry Captain asks, “So what IS this Stonehenge you’ve been working on for so long?” The Byzantine leader replies, “We don’t know either; it’s a mysterious circle of big rocks.” The Byzantines refuse to exchange maps, but a well-placed bribe primes the pump for later.

Riding onto the plain, the cavalry are greeted by Livius of Rome. More gold changes hands (and the Apolyton wonders aloud why the cavalry didn’t send the gold to Him, singing “All the Way to Memphis”).

5180: Egypt draws water from the primed pump, as the Byzantines offer to exchange maps. These reveal a huge land west and north of Rome, stretching all the way to the polar wastes. The cavalry turns east and finds the Roman city of Cumae. It seems best to head for the border.

5160: Barbarians continue to trail the Northern Spears and the Heliopolitans. The Northerners enter more ruins and fine their hearts’ desire: more barbarians! The Eastern Spearmen are more fortunate, finding 374 gold pieces. Another Warrior (the 4th Regiment) is rushed in the capital.

5140BC: Relief for the Northern Spears! After 260 years of pursuit by twice their number of barbarians, all seemed lost when even more appeared from the ruins. The new ugly barbarians see the old ugly barbarians, and both flee in opposite directions!

5120 BC: The cavalry marvel at a gigantic Potato (“it’s as big as the Olive!”), then marvel again at the strange towers of Nara, just beyond. The Heliopolitan Captain exhorts the troops: “We’re not fleeing from the horde, we’re leading them away from Memphis. Now lead faster!” The Royal Surveyors lay out a road connecting Memphis to TANIS, to be a monument to the greatness of Her-mann the Lombard, Apolyton V (Regent). Coincidentally, the road will bring wine to the capital.

5100 BC: A bright soldier queries the Heliopolitan Captain: “Sir! You showed us that we are bravely leading the horde away from Memphis, but aren’t we leading them straight to Heliopolis?” The surviving soldiers decide that it isn’t bright to question the Captain. The Eastern Spears continue their golden career: 353 more. The Northern Spears notice a magenta line in the sand, far behind them. “Who dat?” A voice from over the horizon intones “I hail from the superior nation of Japan. Our great leader Shotoku is not one to be trifled with.” Ignoring the bad grammar, the cavalry offer 200 gold to the Yamato, who graciously accept. (What a surprise!) The Romans decline to trade maps. (What a surprise!)

5080 BC: Oh, oh! The sound of weighted nets, somewhere!

The Yamato offer to trade maps, which reveal little (these guys must be isolationists or something).

5060 BC: The valiant javelin cavalry arrive at the east coast of Japan. Entering ruins (will they never learn?), they are surprised by two bands of barbarian spearmen.

5040 BC: Her-mann reads the eulogy: “All hail the glorious memory of the first horsemen of the Empire of Egypt, forever to be known as the Bloody Cavalry. They joined the Empire in 6520, found the Arabians in 6260, and were grievously hurt in 5840 [thus their motto: ‘Wounded! And we shall never heal!”] Despite this, they discovered water lifts and “swings” for the advancement of our civilization. They discovered the Byzantines and the Romans in 5200, and the Yamato in 5100. Had they lived, We are sure they would have found the Etruscans for us, as well. From now until eternity, let their banner, the Bloody Javelin, be the symbol of all Egyptian cavalry!” Someone remarked, “It’s a pity that we don’t know how to build cavalry.” Someone’s head is now on a pike.

Meanwhile, just west of Memphis, the 4th Regiment of Warriors defeats half of a force of barbarian spearmen. The other half dances on their graves.

5020 BC: The Heliopolitans return home in “triumph,” one step ahead of the horde. The city rushes the completion of the 1st Regiment of Swingers, and the horde turns away. The Wise Men tell the Apolyton that they will soon discover the mystery of Shipbuilding.

5000 BC: Her-mann the Lombard, Apolyton V (Regent) arrives in Heliopolis to personally inspect the Swingers. As they demonstrate their weapon-prowess, the Apolyton’s thoughts drift away to daydreams of mighty Egyptian coracles bobbing across the shallows of the world. Among the Swingers there beats the vengeful heart of a former priest (the son of an Incautious Advisor) who longs for a return to the tradition of /Reloadslic. A stone hurtles toward the oblivious Her-mann. Stricken with a severe head wound, the High Priest crumples to the ground. His Advisors call out to the heavens: “Ra, King of the Gods, All-Father of Creation, raise up Her-mann as once you raised Locutus the Founder!” Unfortunately Ra is otherwise engaged…


Translator's note: the original hieroglyphs of this history were clearly defaced or altered after the original carving. Each occurence of "Apolyton xV" shows an indentation where a character was chiseled away, shown by the "x" above. The very first line is garbled, as the glyph for "Fifth" was chiseled over a previous glyph. Further excavation revealed a small tomb directly below the carving, containing the remains of a male Egyptian buried with the hammers and chisels of his trade.

[Locutus]

Great story, Hermann

One little thing though: you're Apolyton V and not IV (unless Assur shouldn't be regarded a 'true' Apolyton for the sake of the story, but I don't know if we should...)

Anyway, website updated with Hermann's story and pics.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by Locutus
One little thing though: you're Apolyton V and not IV (unless Assur shouldn't be regarded a 'true' Apolyton for the sake of the story, but I don't know if we should...)

ooopppssss

Would you believe, another programmer counting from zero instead of one?

You wouldn't?

How about: "Her-mann can't count!"

You wouldn't?

OK, how about "The Curse of the /Reloadslic!"

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Hermann the Lombard
Would you believe, another programmer counting from zero instead of one?

Actually, I would

[August Borms]

Originally posted by Locutus

One little thing though: you're Apolyton V and not IV (unless Assur shouldn't be regarded a 'true' Apolyton for the sake of the story, but I don't know if we should...)

My blood is Apolyton, therefor I Apolyton, regardless of my actions as king! Even if I forgot to mention it in my story

BTW, about the pictures, I don't have a program for that (Paintshop Pro I'd guess) and cant download it because my ISP virtually shut me down to max 1-2 kbyte/sec download speed (plus, the more I download the longer they cap my speed)

[Locutus]

Assur,
All you need is Paint: Start->Program Files->Accessories->Paint. From inside the game, hit PrintScreen; Alt-Tab to Paint; Edit->Paste; File->Save. Send the BMP files you save to me (zip them if you want to keep the upload small - doesn't matter to me but if your ISP isn't happy with large uploads it will come in handy) and I'll convert them to JPG, resize and upload them...

[Locutus]

A little update for the non-participants following this (I know there are quite a few 'cause the website is getting a lot of hits from a lot of different people): Oerdin couldn't play his turn because of real-life issues, so he skipped his turn and I played instead. I just sent the savegame on to IW and will be posting the story later tonight.

Note to all participants: we're now in round 2, so your turn now only last 15 game turns, not 20 anymore.

[Locutus]

I'm a little short on time so I hope I didn't make any glaring mistakes or too much typos in the summary but if so, I'll fix those later.


---

After the death of Her-mann, the advisors of the great Apolyton arrest the former priest who murdered Her-mann and stone him to death. However, they did not realize that a large portion of the population of Egypt supported the cause of the assassin, he is far from the only Egyptian who wants to return to the tradition of /Reloadslic. The assasin becomes the martyr of a large rebellion that demands the return of the old tradition and the leaders of this movement seize control of Memphis. They throw everyone who opposes them out of the city, including the high-priests of the temple of Ra. The priests and their following are forced to move to Heliopolis and continue their religious practices there. In Memphis the rebels are preparing to inaugurate their leader, Oerdin the Revolutionary, as the new Apolyton, setting up everything for the traditional /reloadslic ceremony. However, the advisors of the old Apolyotn have in the meantime selected Locutus Iuni-Set, a far descendend of Locutus the Founder, as new Apolyton and are on their way to Memphis to take control of the Egyptian capital again and to crush the rebellion.

When Locutus and his following arrive in Memphis, they interrupt the inauguration ceremony of Oerdin. Fierce fighting between both parties breaks out in the streets of Memphis and after a long battle Locutus's men are victorious; Oerdin is killed in the heat of the battle. Locutus Iuni-Set is soon declared Locutus II, Apolyton VI (once again without the /reloadslic ceremony) and the rebels elsewhere in the empire are soon arrested and put to death, as all military commanders pledge loyalty to the new Apolyton. However, in all the street fighting the temple of Ra in Memphis is severely damaged and not much more than a ruin is left of it. Locutus, born and raised in Heliopolis, decrees that the people of Memphis have betrayed the will of Ra and no longer deserve to live near the main temple of Ra. So he orders that the priests of Ra 'shall henceforth be known as the priests of Ra-Iunu' (Iunu being the name of Heliopolis in the Holy Language), meaning that the main center of Ra-worship is moved to Heliopolis. A new temple devoted to Ra is constructed on the site where Her-mann was brutally murdered. The holy site in Memphis is left in ruins, as a reminder of what disobeying the true Apolyton (and therefore the will of Ra) can lead to. A new temple complex is erected just a few hundred yards away - Memphis will from that point onwards be the main centre of Ptah-worship.

In 5000 BC, Locutus II rises to power. Seeing how his subjects are not united and how Barbarians are threatening the empire from all sides, he decides it is time for reforms. He orders his priests to stop researching their current project - a way to travel over water, called Shipbuilding - and orders them to investigate the possibility of making the process of choosing a new Apolyton more obvious, to prevent rebellions such as the one that preceded his ascension to power from occuring in the future. This new project is called Dynasty by his priests. He also reorganizes the army. The men of Heliopolis are ordered to start forming another division of Slingers (instead of Nomads). Small divisions are combined to form large armies dedicated to protecting the people of Egypt and destroying the Barbarian raiders. These armies are named after the Gods of Egypt: the army near Memphis is called the army of Ptah, the troops in Heliopolis are unified and named the army of Ra, the troops in Tanis will henceforth be known as Set and the troops exploring the southern ice fields become Amen. Diplomatic negotiations lead to non-tresspass treaties with Japan and Byzantium, while Rome receives 100 Gold bars.

4980 BC: The army of Amen report that a large ruin complex is nearby their present location, but it is surrounded by large barbarian forces. Their commander decides to try and quietly sneak away but his plan fails and the Barbarians spot him. They send an army twice the size of his own after the brave Egyptians, who are ordered to a 'tactical retreat'. The men who whisper that this means they are fleeing are put to death by the commander of the army.

Also, a new regiment of Slingers is standing by in Memphis and grassland is converted into farmland near the city of Tanis (Suan in the Holy Scripts).


4940 BC: Barbarians threaten to overrun the area around Memphis, troops are sent in to scare them away.

4900 BC: Our mighty army of Ptah is victorious over Barbarian Slingers near Memphis. The citizens of Memphis celebrate for three whole days and three whole nights!

4880 BC: The Ptah army is attacked by Barbarian Cavalry troops, but our brave men are victory again. The troops are sent back to Memphis to recover and are received as heros. The partying now lasts for 6 days and nights. The morale of the inhabitants of Memphis is now so high that many young men volunteer to join the army, from these men a new regiment of Spearmen built in Memphis, who then join the army of Ptah. Production of a new regiment of Slingers begins. In Heliopolis morale is also high and the people donate gold to finish the creation of a new regiment of Slingers earlier than planned (they are rush-bought).

A little later, in 4860 BC, the Slinger regiment is built in Heliopolis and the production of a Nomad is started. The Slingers are added to the army of Ra. 100 Gold is given to Rome.

4840 BC: The Ptah army is once again successful and defeats Barbarian Spearmen near Tanis.

4820 BC: A large (size 5) Barbarian army is sighted near Memphis, it strikes fear in the population of the city.

4800 BC: The Dynasty government is discovered by the high-priests. When they explain to the people of Egypt that from now on family members of the Apolyton will be his successor after he dies (as opposed to whoever is found suitable by the advisors of the old Apolyton), anarchy rules the empire as people realize that this means they no longer have a chance of becoming the ruler of Egypt, as most of them are not relatives of their ruler. While this anarchy overtakes Egypt, the priests start researching a way to make the plains around Heliopolis more producitive with a concept called Domestication, as these lands are unsuitable for farming. 416 Gold is found in a cave west of Japan.

4780 BC: A Slinger is built in Tanis and joins the army of Set. Tanis now starts building a Warrior. The people of Egypt rejoice when a Peacy-treaty is signed with Byzantium, for now this potential enemy from the north might become a trustworthy ally. 100 Gold given to Rome, but the people are not happy with this as even numerous gifts of the finest Egyptian gold doesn't seem to please these aggressive warriors.

4760 BC: On the southern ice fields, the still 'tactically retreating' army of Amen encounters a band of Chariots. When they hear the stories of the mighty cities of Memphis and Heliopolis, the Charioteers decide to join the empire and pledge loyalty to Locutus and the commanders of the army of Amen. But even with these reinforcements it is not deemed wise by the Amen commander to fight the Barbarians, so the retreat continues.

In 4720 BC the anarchy is finally ended and a new government is enacted: Egypt is now a Dynasty. However, Barbarian Spearmen overrun the lands near Tanis and pillage roads and farmlands. The army of Set immediately takes revenge by killing the offenders; this results in light injuries amongst the men and gives the Egyptian Spearmen enough battlefield experience to regard them veterans. After the attack the construction of a new road is begun.

4700 BC: Yet more Slingers are built in Memphis and joins Ptah. Since Locutus realizes that the only way to beat back the Barbarians (and Arabs) is by expansion, the formation of a band of Nomads is ordered in this city.

4660 BC: The brave Spearmen exploring the area near Japan are ambushed! An army of cowardly Barbarians pins them into a corner of the continent and drives the brave men into the sea. Since the men can't swim, they are forced to choose between drowning or being massacred. The brave men try to fight back the Barbarian infidels but, although they do a lot of damage, they are eventually all defeated and killed.

4640 BC: a large Barbarian force is overrunning the area between Memphis and Tanis and is pillaging the land and burning villages as they go. Locutus is outraged and, in part to revenge the brave Spearmen who were slaughtered 20 years ago, he orders and outright attack. At night, the army of Ptah attacks a regiment of Barbarian Spearman camping just outside Memphis and completely slaughters each and every man in the army, most of them are still asleep. The army hardly has any casualties itself but the combat experience makes some of the Spearmen and Slinger veterans.

4620 BC: The army of Ptah marches on other Barbarian forces, who cowardly run for their lifes as they, according to rumours, believe Ptah to be invincible.

In 4600 BC, the army of Ptah once again attacks and defeats a regiment of Barbarian Speaman, who did not flee fast enough. However, a regiment of Warriors has taken heavy casualties and it turned out to be another ambush by the Barbarians: a very large force of Barbarian troops in now within striking range of Ptah. When Locutus, now an old man (over 400 years old) hears of this despicable ambush, his heart can no longer handle it and he suffers from a heart attack. Although he doesn't die instantly, he is now so weak that death cannot be far away anymore. Just before he dies he gives a last order: the defenders of Memphis should be sent in to provide back-up for the army of Ptah. His advisors doubt if it is a wise decisions as this leaves Memphis in a vulnerable position but the great Apolyton persists and, remembering the events around Locutus's ascension to power early in his life, noone dares not to obey him and the troops are sent to Ptah.