Re: Game write-up
Having upgraded to 1.08, I'm ready to start hitting Pythium where it hurts...
Turn: 21
Ok, the first step will be to send Naggor into Pythium so that I can keep an eye on the situation there. The First Army will move from Acyste over to Grey Mirks. From there they will be heading north into Bergamum (13). This is one of Pythium's provinces. The First Army will attempt to take as many of Pythium's other provinces before moving into to lay seige to the capitol.
Unfortunately, despite my intentions, Lu-xing and Yu of the Second Army neglected to move out from Grey Mirks Last turn. So, I give them command of the Heavy Infantry and Archers produced in Grey Mirks Last turn, and move them into Shamballac to have them begin picking up troops from around the empire.
Tai will move from Grey Mirks into Acyste where he will search for magical sites. I don't expect him to be attacked there, as the only enemy-held province adjacent is Pythium which is currently under siege by neutral barbarians.
Grey Mirks will recruit 4 Imperial Footmen to supplement the First Army when it arrives. Acyste will produce 7 Shamblers to begin building a force which will allow me to begin assaulting the nearby water provinces. I'll want to try and take on R'lyeh sometime, but I might go for the sea on the east first, as it appears to be unoccupied. T'ien Ch'i recruits 2 Red Guard. Now that I have a second castle with a fairly strong resource base, I think the time is right to begin build a good heavy cavalry unit. In order to pay for all this, I convert my stock of about a dozen earth gems to gold.
Fu Xi the Master of the Way begins forging a Ring of Water Breathing for the commander who will be leading the Shamblers.
I also decide to take further advantage of Vanheim being attacked by Ulm, and send the Third Army into Winter Peaks (95). This province is heald theoretically only by a single Einhere. I'm not sure what that is, but I think it's a demon, and shouldn't be too tough to take out.
Lastly, Zhong kui the Eunuch takes control of 11 Imperial Footmen and 13 Archers in T'ien Ch'i, thus forming the Fourth Army. I send them north into Lombaria. From there they'll be headed up into Grey Mirks to assist with the disposal for Pythium.
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Turn: 22
It appears that Pythium is finally able to declare a prophet. Somehow I doubt that Scipio the Serpent Lord will live for too long.
Keban is subject to a wave of religious zeal, and I have a group of Militia to supplement one of my armies.
In Acyste, a hurricane strikes. I'm not exactly sure of the effects of that...
The Battle for Winter Peaks
Ok, it looks like an Einhere is just a fanatical berserker. He is accompanied by 4 Huscarls and a Herse to lead them. This shouldn't be too difficult.
My Flagellants sweep in from the side just before my Heavy Infantry hits the enemy from the front. The Flagellants fight quite well, qiuckly killing all but two of the Huscarls, sending them fleeing. Only one Flagellant is lost in the process. Winter Peaks is mine.
I am also given the chance (thanks to Naggor) to watch a fight between Pythium and the Independants. Unfortunately, the Independant Barbarians are pretty well outmatched, and they are chased off. Pythium only loses a Commander and a couple of Light Infantry. Ah well.
I take a look to see what forces are available in Pythium. To my dismay, Naggor reports that they've picked up another Hydra. In addition, there are a number of Light Infantry, and of course, Nin the Great Enchantress who is Pythium's Pretender. This concerns me, because to their eyes, Acyste (without any local defenses) may look like a tempting target. Tai of course will be searching for magic sites there this turn. Therefore, I put the Shamblers under Tai's control and direct them all to retreat in case of attack.
The Fourth Army will be moving into Grey Mirks this turn. I'll probably have them defend Grey Mirks, as I really don't want to lose that province with it's Crystal Citadel.
The First Army will move north into Bergamum (13) this turn. Pythium has a temple there which I'm looking forward to destroying. The province appears to be defended by only 4 units, most of which are probably shamblers. The Archers of the First Army should have no problems dispatching them.
Grey Mirks will recruit 2 Imperial Footmen and 4 Archers. I'll need to crank out a good solid force there quickly, as Pythium now has free rein to attack into my provinces again.
The Second Army (Lu-xing and Yu) will move southeast into Keban. There they will take control of the Light Infantry. Then they'll probably move north into Acyste to help bolster the apparent defenses (hopefully preventing Pythium from attacking).
After recruiting another 2 Red Guard in T'ien Ch'i, I'm left with only 25 gold. Rather than probably wasting it on Acyste (in case they get attacked this turn), I will instead bolster the defenses in Winter Peaks. Once I build it up a little higher, I can send the Third Army into Farseer Mountains (96), as Vanheim doesn't appear to have left any defending troops.
I'm a little concerned that Ulm has chosen to move a force of 30 Archers and Infantry into Gol Phalas. Fortunately, my neighboring province of Bithyne as a defence of 21, while Vanheim's neighboring province of Ephesibor appears to have no defenders. Hopefully Ulm will move east instead of north.
I also note that having taken Winter Peaks I now can see the province of Vanheim to the southeast. I of course will not be attacking it, but it's good to know that Vanheim doesn't appear to have expanded much.
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This is a good stopping point for now. Things should heat up again here pretty quick, especially if Pythium sends his Hydra down into my territory. Fortunately, I'm starting to get a decent number of forces up in that area, which may cause him to hold back for now.
Provinces: 10
Income: 367
Gem Income: 3 Fire, 4 Air, 2 Water, 3 Earth, 6 Astral
Research: 35 points per turn (Research is looking a little better. Right now I'm focused on getting to Construction 4 (only 2 more turns) after that, I'm not sure where I'll head. No change in my relative research rate. Fortunately, it doesn't appear that anyone has really been building up their research departments. All of the slopes on the research graph are fairly stable.)
Dominion: 21 (expect to see this continue growing)
Army Size: tied for 3rd place (getting 42 Militia will do that; fortunately these will help deter attacks by Pythium until I can get real forces in the area)
Upkeep: 139
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