many thanks guys, and thanks jimbo for the compliment. I also thank u very much for playing!
I'm curious about ur planned strategy, and i like to share mine, in case someone is interested.:
my pretender was a dormant great serpent, with fantastic scales O3P3M1 and N7, dom 10. my plan was to put mother oak up asap, then gift of nature. with dom10 and man's cheap temples i had my soldiers hp pumped up by 50% on my borders, and kept my witches alive (without growth, transformation or forest of the ever young).
I managed to pull a good early game with knights (prod3) and some longbowmen, i was surprised to discover that i had about twice as many provinces by year 1 as any of the other pretenders, so i was expecting an early attack from then on. Not soon after my armies arrived at the border of shinuyama, the bakemonos launched an offensive, knowing they had no choice: stop their already powerful neighbor now or never. Because of the devastating evocations and rust mists of those old beardy sorcerers I had to reform my army, employing lighter amrored troops, and more archery. I think i have won the war mainly on the economical level, with bards inciting revolts in rich shinuyama provinces, and with my superior gold income from the many conquered lands. I had some fruitful tactical moves as well, and an ill-fated one (attacking the capitol of shinuyama too early, when he had a still-potent army: my borderguard really was longing for a skirmish. well, they got it). The goblin's early offense - after some early successes - got exhausted and retreated, but the rearguard got encircled in the western swamps near the river by my troops.
Before the end of the bakemono wars (but the goblins defeat in sight), Ermor went on the offense. My generals were hoping that the frost giants wont join them too soon, just as it happened. That huge number of skeleton cavalry nearly got me with my pants down - or at least i thought. In retrospect it seems that both of us were perhaps afraid to engage the other's main force.
Soon the easter front got opened when the giants decided to intervene. Fortunately this mild climate made them lazy and slothful enough to have only a smaller, altho elite expeditionary force. This opening of the new front was handed nearly entirely by the citzens of easternmost city in Scytha, plus all the mercenaries my gold could by. And two of my faery trodding witches.
As time passed, the eastern war commenced very favorably, conquering most of the giants homelands, while the bulk of my forces still remained around shinuyama, where despite of declining faith and even more declining supplies, the bakemono leader, the Great Sage still held his position over the city and its immediate surroundings.
My main army was given the orders of allowing the ermorian legion only till the border of the western swamp, called Fever Fens, and retreated when it seemed that the theurgs 600-man undead horde could break thru at the Pass of Many tomatoes, OR could take an evasion and march eastward, taking shinuyama in the process, and then threatening either by breaking thru the Pass of Etheral Squirrels, or at Scytha. None of this happened.
With the northward marching of the main army of Ermor every thread got tangled up in the battle what is now remembered as the Clash at Southern Fever Fens. Truth to be told, i was sure about the victory, but the decisiveness came as a surprise: i was really afraid of those 500+ ud cavalry.
With the capitulation of Ermor and Jotunheim, and the eventual defeat of the Sage, all the children of the Spine of the World got to live under the rule of the one and only Great Serpent and its Gift of Nature.
Re: Silent Island, small game, started
Linear Mode
