Redwich - a dramatic game (in progress)

[Bananadine]

Originally Posted by Raiel

I took this on faith, but he was most certainly wrong.

You had to take it on faith? Where were your scouts, while his angels and elemental kings and undead gods were falling to half-dead Vanheim, one after another?

I made the same assumption you did, without whatever information Maerlande has given you: T'ien Ch'i was far too strong. But instead of giving up, I attacked, and found out how wrong I'd been. That's how it works, you know? You do your mental math: "They have roughly X resources, and I only have about X/Y resources (where Y is pretty big), so I can't possibly beat them." And then you fight them anyway, and if they were indeed too strong you learn something, and if they weren't, you learn something!

Yeah I know, nobody wants the unwinnable slog. But until secretperson disappeared, there was no future slog in my view, at least. I don't care whether T'ien Ch'i has a thousand gems, or a hundred thousand. I actually fought that nation, and until you stopped me, I was winning. Moreover, I saw no evidence that that wouldn't have continued, if I could have afforded to keep fighting. Trust that before you trust your mental math!

BUT now of course we have a different player, so maybe the game's result really is no longer in doubt--or wouldn't be, for somebody who knew everything about all our resources and skills. Now, maybe you know enough about Maerlande's skills to accurately identify an unwinnable slog in our future. But I don't. So even if I weren't idealistically attached to the idea of playing to the end (which I am), I would still want to keep playing. The issue is still in doubt for me. So I don't even need to invoke idealism; I'm just gonna keep playing.

I reject the draw, and invite the rest of you to keep playing as well. And I remind you... that's all I have the power to do. If you want to stop, then does it make much difference to you whether we all agree to stop? I mean, you're free to stop anytime. I can't pretend you'd be rupturing some ideal; we've already lost a central power, after all. The balance is way off, one way or another... I think maybe if secretperson came back, and if you guys would fight him for a bit, just to see, then maybe you'd change your minds and we could keep playing. But that's kind of a stretch. You've done your part.

Anyway: If you can find any reason to keep playing with a positive spirit, then I invite you to do so. Otherwise, thanks for playing, and please give your nation to the AI.