Reply: Dark Ages: Holy Roman Empire:: Strategy:: Re: How to fix Swabia ruler for Teutonic Knights?

by dedonta

I'm missing something in your details then. In order to upgrade his steel manufacturing he will need to build the steel mills...those cost wood and stone to add to your initial city. so where is he getting all the wood and stone to build those extra buildings. He can build one with his initial goods...he can trade ONE steel for a gold...that gold acting as a single wood or stone. So with that economy, he is looking at one building every third turn. And how is he accumulating goods on the march towards you...he has to either build a resource building or leave a knight behind in each territory to collect goods from it...and has to pass before he gets the goods...so again...MULTIPLE turns. And I assume he is having to fight the barbarians in those territories...a single lost knight is a lot of resources. Also...how is he storing all that iron if he hasn't upgraded his storehouses...again...more resources being tied up in that endeavor. And how is he feeding this huge army of knights...two farms isn't going to cut it...marching two knights across the map to conquer you seems like a pretty thin army. And he is leaving all that land unconquered as he marches. If he is leaving troops, he still has to feed them...remember you count ALL troops in the empire and compare to your food production...what he can't pay for has to be paid in gold to even march. So with all this said...he needs wood and stone to build steel mills, he needs wood and stone to build wood and stone mills to fund the steel mill production, he needs wood and stone to build farms, farms to feed the marauding teutonics...that is a ton of resources to just be jumping across the map and hitting you unguarded. You can also be building keeps...he can't conquer your home territory and your keeps can help defend all your surrounding territories. You can turtle if he does legitimately manage to build this machine. But again...Swabia is a late game monster, if he is rolling early then something is being missed in the rules.