Children of the Sun - a Cuzco MEIOU AAR

[FinnishFish]

Not a earthquake >; (
I don't like them their more evil than me and your late posting times
COMBINED !!!

[Chief Ragusa]

Getting a PU with Uxmal was great. One more and Mesoamerica will be at peace. Shame you lost a very good general and admin ruler so quickly. Total crap that your new Incan diddn't inherit. Can't be his father's son -I smell an adulterous queen getting rid of hubby before her worthless son got the chop -Rome fell to that kind of nonsense. Hope the same does not befall the Incas. Heaven certainly punished someone with that massive earthquake.

[blsteen]

Now, two PU's have failed to deliver...
maybe its time for someone to say this
maybe it's not them... maybe it's you

[aldriq]

Uxmal has its advantages and disadvantages: it borders Portugal, so it could give you and instant western border; but it could also be annexed before any PU happens...

maybe its time for someone to say this
maybe it's not them... maybe it's you

well, the new emperor is a bit inadequate... diplomatically at least.

[gabor]

There's one more PU to be had. Don't Tlapocans have any marriable daughters, nieces or cousins to spare.

[naggy]

Dunno how I missed this, but I'm definitely following!

I loved how Shipibo was nuked, yet had a garrison 4 times as large as the town population.

Have your people considered moving somewhere less volcanically active?

[morningSIDEr]

Good stuff. The news regarding the personal union with Uxmal is excellent, hopefully you can gain full control over the nation in time. I had to smile at this;

I have to recruit a general and he's incredible: 5 fire and 3 shock at under five percent army tradition!

Of course, he dies in about a year.

This accursed game is far too evil at times! I always have this same lack of luck when I manage to stumble upon a good general.

[Malurous]

I think that's an attitude they'll adopt very quickly. I'm starting to see how the Aztecs came up with their idea of an earth goddess:

She's sure getting enough of that in your latest update. Have you considered renaming this AAR 'Tremors without a pause'?

Hehe, I actually thought at some point of a variation of that AAR title with the natural disasters in mind. You put it better than I did.

And yeah, we don't need to do human sacrifices manually - we just say that the disaster victims were who we're offering.

Getting Uxmal in a PU is great news though, even if you haven't snagged it this time round. The only downside is you'll have to spend money keeping relations high.

And a lot of money! They're expensive to bribe and cause trouble often. But of course it's great to have nevertheless.

Hopefully your new ADM 4 ruler won't last too long.

Regency council first. But that ADM 4 guy will see plenty of action when he's on the throne. I have a pretty good track record of killing off Sapa Incas on rebel duty so far.

It seems that the seismic plates hates you.

Indeed. And there's another "good one" coming in this update...

Only some strange white twin-tailed demons have more soldiers than you! Inca shall rule the world! (if they don't all fall to earth rifts:P)

Will do! Oh, and I have plenty of room as far as force limits and economy go. I can easily expand the army if I need to.

Btw, IIRC in MEIOU there is no united China, ya?

Correct.

No signs of inheritance?
Shame.

It's always a shame, especially when the non-inheritances start to pile up...

Not a earthquake >; (
I don't like them their more evil than me and your late posting times
COMBINED !!!

Now THAT'S evil!

Getting a PU with Uxmal was great. One more and Mesoamerica will be at peace. Shame you lost a very good general and admin ruler so quickly. Total crap that your new Incan diddn't inherit. Can't be his father's son -I smell an adulterous queen getting rid of hubby before her worthless son got the chop -Rome fell to that kind of nonsense. Hope the same does not befall the Incas. Heaven certainly punished someone with that massive earthquake.

Good theory, makes sense. Yeah, the high admin ruler was huge even without a Latin neighbor - the tech speed was insane, especially with the added bonus from Midas Touched. I hated losing him so quickly as I would have been at Trade 15 in no time with that guy at the helm.

Now, two PU's have failed to deliver...
maybe its time for someone to say this
maybe it's not them... maybe it's you

How dare you!

Uxmal has its advantages and disadvantages: it borders Portugal, so it could give you and instant western border; but it could also be annexed before any PU happens...

True. But of course having it is better than not having it in any case. I have more room for "error" (bad luck) with a second junior.

well, the new emperor is a bit inadequate... diplomatically at least.

No, the old one was. The heir is strong diplomatically and the regency council isn't too shabby either.

There's one more PU to be had. Don't Tlapocans have any marriable daughters, nieces or cousins to spare.

I don't think that's actually possible. This incarnation of the tribe is a tribal republic of some type (I struggle to remember the government type's name).

Dunno how I missed this, but I'm definitely following!

Welcome! Great to have you here, especially since I've enjoyed your AARs so much.

I loved how Shipibo was nuked, yet had a garrison 4 times as large as the town population.

Hehe, no way we're going to abandon their defense! You know, I'm kind of starting to be fond of that sick puppy of a province. It feels like some type of test lab for Murphy's law.

Have your people considered moving somewhere less volcanically active?

Maybe that's why there's such a fuss about getting out of the region? Dunno.

Good stuff. The news regarding the personal union with Uxmal is excellent, hopefully you can gain full control over the nation in time.

Thanks, let's hope so.

I had to smile at this;

This accursed game is far too evil at times! I always have this same lack of luck when I manage to stumble upon a good general.

Haha, indeed! Now that my land tradition is so bad thanks to no available wars in nearly a century, such a fortunate general could have been a real asset, but no!

[Malurous]

Chapter Twenty-seven
1528-1540

So, in June 1528 we get a satanic regency council (6/6/6). Those are pretty funny ratings for a tribe - it looks good but no category is good enough to avoid the incompetent ruler penalties. So the tax penalty is back as well.

Tupac Yupanqui IV's reign - a short one for someone who was never made into a general - was an unsurprising one as he mostly just enjoyed the Sapa Incas' favorite pastime.



Heir Titu Cusi Yupanqui is six years old, so this should be a bit quicker than the last time if he happens to stay alive. We're also happy to have 100 legitimacy again, thanks to Titu Cusi Yupanqui's strong claim.

We get our first problems with Uxmal: a -100 relations event in March 1531. The bribes cost a fortune with such a large country - over 40 ducats a pop.

July 1532 sees technological progress:



We're slowly but surely getting there.

Half of Yagua's inhabitants - 4000 people - die in an earthquake in December. Half Hatun Canar is also killed, just under 7000 people.

I wonder if I should move the national focus when it becomes available in June 1535. It would be nice to have it available if I inherit and there are very few South American provinces left without land reforms by now. However, there's still one rich province, Pachacamac, without one so I decide to move the focus after all. It also catches an adjacent unimproved province. It's not like inheriting has come easy, so I won't bank on it in a situation like this.

We get a "freebie" tech in November. If you can say that about something that you constantly have a six-star guy working on...



A slider move becomes available in January 1536 and I move the Isolationism-Expansionism slider to the middle (it was -1). Isolationists can't colonize, so I had to do this eventually, even though this costs 5 PE. As a bonus, this improves problem child Shipibo's growth rate.

I get a stab hit for my trouble.

I've been steadily working my way northwest through some of the richer provinces, and that pays off in September 1536 as I can start building roads in the prosperous Chanchan.

Titu Cusi Yupanqui II is old enough to rise to the throne in May 1537.



Having a capable DIP ruler and therefore losing the RR penalty is next to useless in a situation like this. However, Titu Cusi Yupanqui II is another Midas Touched Sapa Inca, so I'm lucky there. Any tech help is welcome.

Some neglected fortification damages in Tilcara escalate later in May.



I've never had this before as I've been quick to fix this stuff (the AI has had some serious penalties for this in certain provinces though). I'm starting to think, however, that not repairing inconsequential provinces is the way to go as correcting a higher level fortification issue doesn't seem to use any more magistrates than the minor one.

Another general dies days later. No harm done, we have a Sapa Inca again so we don't need generals. Titu Cusi Yupanqui II is a nice enough 3/4/1/0 and I want to get him slaughtering rebels without a pause. My provinces happily comply as the regular tribal rebellions start again now that we have a ruler.

November features another -100 relations with Uxmal.

In December, we get one step closer to our Plan B goal.



March 1538 sees the founding of a second Portuguese colony in Mesoamerica.

Our last general dies in September. The events have been nasty in Titu Cusi Yupanqui II's early reign, so we did use that general to contain the rebellions. I don't recruit another one yet though - the Sapa Inca will do all the fighting for now unless things start getting out of hand again.

Chanchan gets roads in November. They should definitely be useful in that province.

Yet again, Uxmal relations suffer a 100 point hit in December. Getting these several times a decade is annoying, seeing how costly Uxmal is to bribe. But bribe we do obviously.

We lose stability to a "New Trade Research is Heretical" event in June 1539.



We've had this event before but I've chosen the other option. The difference is that this time it costs way more in trade investment than our one level of stability investment for some reason.

After a quiet couple of months in the beginning of his reign, Titu Cusi Yupanqui II has been fighting non-stop for three years until we're out of rebels in late September 1540. Having survived those years, he ironically dies of boredom less than a month after going back to his palace for once.

So in October we get a crappy regency council - again - for a none-too-special heir, and the dead Sapa Inca apparently didn't accomplish anything other than repeatedly converting Bio Bio (I'd argue that he slaughtered tens of thousands of rebels as well, but whatever). Still, I can perfectly honestly say that none of that stuff bothers me. No, I'm really, really happy. That's because, in a larger than usual batch of pop-ups, I find two that I'm simply excited as hell to see.



YAY! It's been over a hundred years since I've expanded, but this was worth the wait.

Maybe the game wasn't malevolent when it didn't let me inherit before - maybe it was just waiting until I could inherit more? Waiting until I could take making Mesoamerica more aesthetically pleasing than ever one step further in one go?



That, or having a high DIP ruler and employing a diplomatic skill advisor actually helps. Who knows.

[Athalcor]

Yay! Now it will be too easy for you.

[Zzzzz...]

oh yeah! The seismic plates are happy now that you'll be at war soon!

[PrawnStar]

Happy times! Remember Portugal can be beaten LOL - they don't have the manpower to fight forever.

Bet your tech speed sucks now but can you do any sort of reform? (and what can you do / do you need in this mod again?)

[Chief Ragusa]

You wait for a century and think it'll be another century before you'll inherit and then two come along at once. I wonder if that more away from isolationism was the key.

You had a Sapa Inca who just lived to fight. Once peace came he just couldn't take it. A hero.

Now to more pressing matters. The erasure of Tlacopan. By the way, can you see any north american tribal lands? So now, its armies, forts and missionaries to expand the lands of the Inca, to protect them from benighted rebels and bring them all to the way of Inti.

I confess I did a little jig of joy reading the inheritances.

Now what to do about Portugal. Can you start westernization?

[FinnishFish]

All hail now new and mightybutnotsomightybuttsuperb Inca empire !!!!
And eat my posting time >: )

[Nikolai II]

After a quiet couple of months in the beginning of his reign, Titu Cusi Yupanqui II has been fighting non-stop for three years until we're out of rebels in late September 1540. Having survived those years, he ironically dies of boredom less than a month after going back to his palace for once.

They say that most accidents happen in the home

And it probably was because you had locked your national focus

So, how good is the new heir? (Do you even have one?)

Also let me add that in my opinion it is now that the challenge will start.

[naggy]

Prepare for the run of ADM 3 monarchs.

[Malurous]

Yay! Now it will be too easy for you.

Hopefully not. Though I'd appreciate not getting my behind kicked immediately in Mesoamerica - that would be a bit embarrassing from an AAR perspective after all that waiting.

oh yeah! The seismic plates are happy now that you'll be at war soon!

Oh, they're always happy. Real dependable - they're with the Incas in good times and in bad, in sickness (plague) and in health.

Happy times! Remember Portugal can be beaten LOL - they don't have the manpower to fight forever.

Indeed! We'll see how I handle Portugal: for now, I still need them where they are...

Bet your tech speed sucks now but can you do any sort of reform? (and what can you do / do you need in this mod again?)

Well, the added provinces are next to useless economically, and there are lots of them...

I don't have the ADM to westernize or get out of tribal, but for the latter I have the option of getting a Statesman instead. So westernizing is out of the question for now but I'll be looking to hire the advisor and modernize the government as soon as I feel secure enough to drop to -2 stab. Of course, the benefits for getting out of tribal aren't quite what they are in vanilla (as there's no tech penalty and no TSC's), but getting rid of the incapable ruler penalties and rebels will help.

You wait for a century and think it'll be another century before you'll inherit and then two come along at once. I wonder if that more away from isolationism was the key.

It's indeed quite a change.

I don't think so, there's nothing in that slider that could conceivably play a part. My guess is that the high diplomacy skill might have helped.

You had a Sapa Inca who just lived to fight. Once peace came he just couldn't take it. A hero.

True. Hey, maybe that's what earned so much respect from the Central Americans that they were willing to become a part of the Empire. After all, the Mesoamerican enthusiasm for war is well documented.

Now to more pressing matters. The erasure of Tlacopan. By the way, can you see any north american tribal lands?

There aren't North American tribals in MEIOU. I believe they were much like vanilla - just there for Europeans to eat - so they were removed at some point. Helps performance I guess. Oh and apart from the capitals of the Europeans I've been at war with, you've seen everything that I've seen.

I'm in no hurry to handle Tlacopan. I'll explain how I view them in the next update.

So now, its armies, forts and missionaries to expand the lands of the Inca, to protect them from benighted rebels and bring them all to the way of Inti.

Yes. Armies and forts to start with, missionaries when it's a bit safer.

I confess I did a little jig of joy reading the inheritances.

I'm happy to hear that! It's definitely something that takes this game up a notch.

Now what to do about Portugal. Can you start westernization?

For now, they'll have to stay for westernization and modernization purposes. Unfortunately, I have to wait for a high ADM monarch to westernize.

All hail now new and mightybutnotsomightybuttsuperb Inca empire !!!!
And eat my posting time >: )

Haha! Hail!

They say that most accidents happen in the home

And it probably was because you had locked your national focus

Seeing the game's sadistic tendencies, that's the best theory I've heard. Having the focus unavailable for a couple of decades sure stings, so that might have been just what was needed.

Oh and it was even "funnier" from my point of view - I had actually just written that part of the update (how inheritance hasn't been easy so might as well use the focus) when I inherited. Great timing.

So, how good is the new heir? (Do you even have one?)

I have one, seven years old IIRC. I can't remember the stats but he wasn't good, at least not capable of westernization.

Also let me add that in my opinion it is now that the challenge will start.

Yeah. The start was just like any game, gobbling up nations in a region of comparable powers. Then there was the waiting game, and now - a proud new beginning.

Prepare for the run of ADM 3 monarchs.

My thoughts exactly. I kind of guessed that after having a good run of high ADM rulers but not inheriting, I'd be hard-pressed for one when I have the border...

[Dewirix]

Well, there goes the consolidation of Central America. I was expecting it to take a bit longer than three screenshots.

It must feel nice to have your strategy pay off like this. Just a shame your 6/6/6 regency aren't around to westernise with.

[Enewald]

Hmm, you could get soon westernised?

[FinnishFish]

Don't listen Servant of Anarchy listen me...
You must westernise