Nobody commented on my suggestion about just giving them 40 points resource cost so that they require a fort to be built each and every turn?! Is that too far off?
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I do not see the problem with the random pick: It
is incredibly useful for sure (allowing non-blood-nations to go bloody; making 1-path items in abundance, etc. --- BTW, which nations lack a native random pick?), but it just never felt wrong to me. However, as they are right now, I think I would still pay the 110 gold without much doubt, but I might stop producing them after the first dozen...rasing merely their gold cost would still allow to built up research at an amazing speed...
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I also think that the Philosopher should remain a unique boon to Golden Era and not something everybody has good chance to have access to...