Early Expansion Question

[Aristander]

I have only played 2 multiplayer games but my experience is that you must start taking areas by turn 3. Don't get me wrong I am not saying you need to take at least 1 territory every turn after turn 3. However should need to start.
Do not forget Mercenaries they can be a great help the first couple of turns.
Early conquest around your capital dramatically helps with money and resources.
The 10 provinces in the first year is a good guide.
Some players like to make their scout the prophet to help get a jump on expansion.
Most players crank up the tax rate and patrol with your army the first turn.

[Endoperez]

He did have ONE expansion force before turn 8.

This depends on the amount of provinces you expect can be conquered before meeting another human. In very small games, that'd be too long. In longer games, it might work out okay. And if everything went just right, someone might attack you on turn 8 due to you being slow in the first turns, and then be pummeled into submission in a vicious counter-attack. Gandalf has mentioned a "breaking the dam" tactic that consists of gathering your forces in a relatively small space, waiting for someone to "break through" the indies, and then quickly annihilitaing his primary army and going for his lands. You might want to experiment with that. I doubt you could reliably win games with that tactic, but it could work the first few times.

[Edi]

One question I would like to ask the peole here, what sort of independent strength are you used to playing with? The default strength 5 indies are pathetically weak, while indie strength 7 actually makes planning your indie conquests important unless you're using superb sacreds or a SC pretender.

What is the most common indeps setting in MP?

[Szumo]

I'd say the default, that is 5. Most MP games i've been in run with full defaults except renaming on, some with bigger HoF, rarely other settings are changed. Not that i've been in that many MP games though

[Meglobob]

Edi said:What is the most common indeps setting in MP?

Well in the 20-30 MPs I have played in, all but 1 have been indie 5. The 1 being indie 0...that was good fun...scouts running around taking provinces.

Well there have been more off the wall MPs recently such as the megagame, team games, using mod nations and others. The settings are rarely altered much from the default.

Typically indies will be 5, sites 35-50, 1 province start, money 100, resources 100, supply 100 and 15 provinces per player map.

In SP on the other hand I personally play some very wacky games with the settings all over the place.

The most used mods are worthy heros and conceptual balance.

[sector24]

"Speaking of the Blood Druids:
Does anyone else wish you'd get them instead of regular ones when you have to fight them? Is there a site you can get them from?"

There is a magic site called blood henge which allows you to recruit blood druids. I've only seen it once though, seems very rare.

[Edratman]

As a SP I have some questions.

1. I read somewhere, sometime, that in MP idies are kept at default of 5. Is that so? (I play at indies 9, for no reason other than that is the way my game style developed, but I have trouble making 3 unbeatable armies by turn 8.)
2. If indies are set at 5, what is the reason? Is it because it was the easiest choice to make or because indies at 9 would handicap too many nations with weak national troops.
3. Do you sacrifice almost all research in the opening phase by commiting every piece of gold to troops and commanders?
4. Do you garrison or PD conquered indies with anything more than a mere token force to maximize capitol troop purchases? If so, is this done as a tacit acknowledgment that your neighbors probably will not attack you until phase two starts?

[Lord_Bob]

Indie strength 7 or 9 is an entirely different game.

Not because of the expansion, but the indie mages you get are insane.

[Lord_Bob]

Have you submitted your pretender?

It doesn't show on the site. However, there wrere a few posts about something being wrong on the BAG thread.

My first expansion army begins attacking on Turn 2.

The others don't get started till Turn 8. But I should be able to take 3 provinces on Turn 8 easily. In a perfect world, I could take 4 provinces of any type. But the world isn't perfect, so call it 3.

[thejeff]

I don't think you get different poptypes, and thus different indy mages, at higher indy strength levels.

Or do you just mean the defending indies have some insane mages?