[Renojustin]

I am not attacking Tir na n'Og. I quite like the nation.

Frannabelle and Sauromatia on the other hand, have no other choice, and are a different matter entirely. The faerie people are too weird and wild. They steal babes from cradles, cavort and prance around rings of mushrooms and on moonlit hilltops at night, and in general make quite a nuisance of themselves. Fir Bolgs are very hairy and brutish and besides are better farmers than the Sauromatians. A fact which even the Sauromatian farmers can agree they don't really appreciate much.

The thing about Sauromatia is that they are quite good at initial expansion... and quite limited by mid- and endgame. I think that they're well balanced, except in MP where they may be weak. Because they have a high rate of expansion at first, others may percieve them to be dangerous, which neatly curtials their later expansion as other nations look at Sauromatia nervously or with envy.

Don't fear, their borders will soon be well-defined and sealed to the outside world. And Sauromatia certainly doesn't fear, with its rock-solid wall of immense province defense (you may have noticed their gold income), and awesome fast-response teams of cavalry, hydras, and composite bows.

It's one thing to be helping Tir out with advice, and I would do the same for anyone on the map if asked directly. This game really benefits from people sharing knowledge and hashing out scenarios between themselves...as long as you don't go so far as to help out her enemies materially. That might make her angry. You wouldn't want to see her angry. I hope for the sake of your mealy-mouthed crustaceans of the deep that by gems you meant strategies and tactics and not the things used to create magic. At best, that would be a foolish waste, at worst, an invitation to genocide.

Besides, the merciful and just Frannabelle herself went so far as to give Tir na n'Og three months to prepare for her coming. And they have pretty great mages, thugs, magic paths, and units. Let's see how they fare!