Epic16 – Something Fishy

Well, this was a very interesting Epic to take part in; a nice simple twist with far-reaching implications. I had a lot of enjoyment from playing this game, until it came to a rather sudden halt - more later. That was yesterday, so you're getting a fairly abreviated report...

So we start off with an absolutely insane Capital (3Clam, 2Fish & Gems!?) on what turns out to be a fairly small island. A small ammount of scouting was accomplished by our Exec, but I was taking no risks with such an expensive unit. Taking Sullla's suggestion to heart, I decided to first pursue a religion so Set research for Mysticism->Polytheism. Even with some of the new leaders programmed to go Hindu first, it's still better odds than going for Meditation; this held out as Buddism founded the turn after I completed Mysticism and I snagged Hinduism in 3350BC.

Meanwhile production was going Workboat->Scout->WB. First WB settled a nearby Clams - the extra food from the fish did not outweigh the 2 extra commerce as well as the extra turn to reach the fish. Of course this is where the first nasty shock arrived as Sushi maintenance jumped significantly.

3275BC brought my first event

Ah, to use Human test subjects or not? With a massive food surplus from Sushi enabling large cities, we are going to need every source of health & happiness available - I take the big risk:

Reward + punishment (and I think I underestimated how much the Anger would stunt my growth in the short-term).

Mining was next after Poly, and then I took a trip to Priesthood as the Oracle was high on my priority list; BW was queued up next. A Warrior was slipped into the queue to guard the Capital; second WB went Clams again; Worker started Mining the Gems; then a third WB for exploration before settling into the Oracle. BW enabled Slavery, the Writing, Wheel and Sailing before in 1850BC the Oracle taught us Code of Laws.

Confucianism founded in the Capital (w/Hinduism & Sushi!) and also enabled Caste System and Courthouses - both of which would see extensive use. A couple of Warriors were pushed out to around and then first Settler was started. Dotmapping coincides with the arrival of advance heralds of the Khan (sigh).

Uppsala is founded in 1325BC at the Southern-most site; Horses would soon appear, then later a Copper pop made this a production monster. It is immediately Confused and Sushified ... crashing the economy. Our first Great Merchant is also born this year and quickly merges into Nidaros to ease the economic stresses.

Expansion is fairly slow, and by the turn of the century I have three more cities all on home island - Birka, my designated Science city, has also recieved Sushification. A couple of courthouses in Nidaros & Uppsala have kept the economy respectable, but it's still a struggle.

In International news; we met Brennus coming from the SE and are surprised by his early convertion to Hereditary Rule ... however reviewing the reports confirms this is old-fashioned Monarchy rather than Pyramids. Wonders are few and far between; Stonehenge & Great Wall have fallen, but neither Great Lighthouse or Colossus have gone yet. Khan has been antsy ever since he became a Buddhist(!?); he demanded clams in 380BC which I granted ... and then revoked in 5BC so they could be scored for turn of Century.

Sid's x3 = 15pts

Sushi x9 = 18pts

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10AD Total = 33pts

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