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[notquitethere]

Heretics of Hexland 3: Time To Hex
A game of colonisation for 4-8 players

Sign-ups open for a turn-based colonisation game in a fantasy world. Each player controls a rival expedition from a civilisation of their making. Each expedition is made up of one species that is beholden to a heresy. These civilisations vie for control of Hexland. If you want an idea of what this looks like, check out the last game. Think of this as a mixture of Civilisation, Small World and Diplomacy.

Game basics: The aim of the game is to achieve the most victory points. Victory points are typically gained by expanding and conquering hex tiles. Doing this requires actions; a player can take as many actions as they have population. Thus, the game is about expanding, while protecting one's ability to grow their population through harvesting crops.

Spoiler: Civ Creation Sheet (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: [this can be whatever you like]
Colour: [Choose your preferred colour for your civilisation's borders]
Heresy: [pick from the list below. This gives you a special action.]
Species : [pick form the list below. This changes the way one rule works for you. You can pick the same heresy or species as someone else, but not both so have a look at what other people have picked.]
Population: 2 [This starts out at 2 unless something else says otherwise.]
Population Range: 1-2 [Unless stated otherwise, you have population minimum of 1 + the number of cities you control, and a population maximum (cap) of the number of 1 + territories + cities you hold, so 1-2 at the beginning.]

Spoiler: Heresies (click to show/hide)

Heterodox
The tolerant Heterodox embrace diversity and cultural interchange, believing that the truth is a prism that splits enlightenment into many beams.
Favoured Terrain: None
Victory Bonus: +2 points for every civilisation alive at the end of the game.
Co-opt - For this turn only, gain the species power of any other species currently in play.
Season: All (can only be used once per season)
Cost: 1 action
Mimic - For this turn only, gain the favoured terrain of one other civilisation currently in play.
Season: Any (once a season only)
Cost: 1 action

Shaker
They like to sit and tremble in awe at the world.
Favoured Terrain: Mountains
Victory Bonus: +1 point for any mountain tile you own
Tremble - Convert a mountain tile that you own or neighbour into a plain, any fortification or city is lost on the tile.
Season: All
Cost: 2 actions
Raise - Convert a non-mountain land tile you own into a mountain.
Season: All
Cost: 2 actions.

Aquatic
They worship the dead Leviathan, and foresee the waters reclaiming all land.
Favoured Terrain: Lakes
Victory Bonus: +1 point for any owned lake tile
Deluge - Channel as many rivers as you like around one land tile that you own. Deluge can only be done once per turn.
Season: All
Cost: 1 action
Marshland - Turn any land tile you own or neighbour that is surrounded completely by both rivers and ocean tiles into a lake. This allows lake tiles next to oceans (usually impossible). If the tile is already a lake, turn it into an ocean tile instead.
Season: All
Cost: 1 action

Levellers
They believe the Final Age will be ushered in only when all the world is completely levelled, one vast empty wasteland.
Favoured Terrain: Desert
Victory Bonus: +1 point for any owned desert tile
Scorch Earth - Convert a non-mountain land tile you own into desert.
Season: All
Cost: 1 action
Brutal Raid - Raid and Raze a neighbouring field or plains tile at the same time (i.e., the tile turns to desert and is no longer owned by anyone, you gain +2 actions for razing and +2 actions if that tile had a field on it). You cannot conquer a tile on the same turn as you brutally raid it.
Season: All
Cost: 2 actions

Bountiful
They believe that the world is already a paradise and they intend to keep it that way.
Favoured Terrain: Forest
Victory Bonus: +1 point for any owned forest tile
Forage - Gain +1 population from a forest tile. Cannot be used more than once on the same tile in the same season.
Season: Summer only.
Cost: 2 actions
Fecund - Convert a plains tile you own or neighbour into a forest tile.
Season: All
Cost: 2 action

Arid
Victory Bonus: +1 for any owned non-ocean tiles that were ocean tiles at the start of play.
The Arid, survivors of doomed battles with the Leviathan, hate the ocean and call upon arcane powers to eradicate it.
Reclaim - Change a neighbouring or owned ocean tile into a desert tile.
Season: All
Cost: 2 actions
Shore up - Remove all rivers bordering a single neighboring or owned tile.  This counts as an improvement action.
Season: Summer, Winter
Cost: 1 action

Vile
These ne'er-do-wells have dedicated their life to destruction and suffering.
Favoured Terrain: None
Victory Bonus: +1 point for every time a civilisation is wiped out.
Sacrifice - Reduce your population by one (down to your minimum population: if you have three cities and five population, you can only sacrifice once). Gain two additional actions for this turn only.
Season: All
Cost: 1 action
Enslave - Conquer a hex and gain +1 population at the end of your turn instead of losing population (when you conquer, your pop cap always increases anyway).
Season: Summer and Winter
Cost: 2 actions + defence of the terrain

Builder
The Builders seek to urbanise the world, turning all in a citadel pointed towards eternity.
Favoured Terrain: None
Victory Bonus: +1 point for any city tile you own.
Tower - Build a city on a land tile (of any kind) you own. Your population must exceed your minimum population to Tower. This action can only be performed once per turn. A tile cannot be Razed and Towered in the same turn.
Season: All
Cost: 1 action
Industrious Improve - Take one Improve action.
Season: Spring, Winter
Cost: 0 actions (once per season only)

Apostate
These are the heretic's heretics, splinter movements that have strange beliefs and little coherence.
Favoured Terrain: None
Victory Bonus: None
Apocryphal Dogma - When you choose Apostate, pick two actions belonging to any other heresies (say, Brutal Raid and Deluge). These are your actions and they have the same restrictions as normal.

Spoiler: Species (click to show/hide)

Human: Start with population of 3, a population cap of 3 and a minimum population of 1.
The Doge's Men: River lines give +1 defense when defending.
Ents: Forests do not offer a penalty to expanding.
Beetleswarm: When one of your tiles is conquered, attacker loses one more population than usual (usually two population).
Spiders: Can Improve all year round.
Monkeys: Can Raid fortified tiles.
Antmen: Antmen fortifications give +2 defence to the tile.
Vultures: -1 action (minimum 1) required to conquer desert tiles and desert tiles give +1 defence when occupied.
Djinn:  Can Grow on desert tiles      
Merfolk: Ocean tiles that you don't own have 0 defence when expanding or conquering.
Parakeetkin: Can grow fields in forests.
Trolls:  Mountain tiles are +1 defence when occupied and -1 defence when conquering and expanding.
Swine:   Harvesting a tile reaps double the population increase.
Letterbeasts: Can expand in Spring.
Impossibulls: Can cease to exist: on any of your turns you may take your victory score. All tiles you occupy are now uncontested and you leave the game.
Poults: Can build cities on fields and grow fields on cities on plains without destroying either.
Ghosts:  Ignores fortifications and city defence when conquering and fortifications aren't destroyed on conquering.
Mabbling Monks: Once per turn, one of their Heretic actions costs one less action to play (minimum 0).

The game takes place over five years, after which the New Age will begin, as all heresies agree. Each year is made up of four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter), and each turn takes exactly one season. (So each player gets 20 turns in the game). On your turn you may take a number of actions equal to your population number. Increasing your population mid-turn doesn't give you additional actions for that turn. You have a maximum population equal to 1 + the number of tiles you control + the number of cities you own. You have a minimum population equal to 1 + the number of cities you own (your population can't be forced beneath this number).

On your first turn, pick a coastal embarkation point that is on land and not next to a tile owned by another player. Embarking doesn't cost an action.

Spoiler: Actions Explained (click to show/hide)

Types of Actions
All actions cost 1 action unless otherwise stated.
Grow: Convert a plain tile you own into a field tile. (You cannot grow in the same tile as a city.)
Harvest: Convert a field tile you own into a plains tile. Gain +1 population.
Expand:  Take over a neighbouring uncontested territory. This costs +1 extra action per defence of terrain (not including rivers crossed).
Conquer: Take over a neighbouring contested territory. This costs +1 extra action per defence of terrain. Both the conquered region and the conquerers lose 1 population, to a minimum of 1. All fields and fortifications in the conquered hex are destroyed.
Dismantle: for one action do one of:
Remove from a tile you own one of: a fortification, a city.
Convert a field you own into a plain without harvesting
or Abandon a territory you own, turning it into a neutral territory (destroying fortifications but leaving everything else intact).
Raze: Turn an owned plain or field into a desert, this tile ceases to be in your ownership at the end of your turn. Any city or fortification present is destroyed. Gain +2 actions for this turn only.
Raid: Turn a field tile you neighbour into a plains tile. Gain +2 actions for this turn only. A fortified tile cannot be raided. You cannot raid then conquer the same tile in the same turn.
Improve: Change a tile or river line or create a terrain feature, as follows:

Drain: Remove a single river line that borders a tile you own. If a lake tile has no river tiles next to it, it turns into a plain. Deforest: Turn a forest tile you own into a plains tile. Build City: Build a city on plain or favoured terrain you own. To do this, you must have a population number greater than your minimum population. Fortify: Increase the defence of a tile you own by +1 (a tile can only ever be fortified once, and conquered terrain loses its fortifications) Irrigate: Turn a desert tile you own that is next to a river line into a plain. Channel: Create a river line on a border of one of your tiles that joins an existing river line. A river line cannot form the border between any tile and an ocean tile. If a non-mountain tile is completely surrounded by river lines, it turns into a lake.

Actions for Each Season
Spring   -   Grow, Improve, Raze, Raid, Dismantle
Summer - Conquer, Expand, Raze, Raid, Dismantle
Fall   -   Harvest, Expand, Raze, Raid, Dismantle
Winter   -   Conquer, Improve, Raze, Raid, Dismantle

Spoiler: Example Action (click to show/hide)

The Red Civilisation is a Letterbeast and has population 2. In spring, they expand into a neighbouring sector and grow a field. Come Fall, they'll be able to Harvest that field to increase their population (and thus their number of actions per turn) by one.

Spoiler: Playing and winning (click to show/hide)

The winner is the player who's civilisation has the most victory points at the end of the game, or whoever's left alive. Victory points are calculated as the number of land territories owned, plus any bonus points given by the player's heresy.

In any given round, players take it in turns to act. The turn order is decided each season in order of population number (lowest first), with ties broken by species+heresy order (heterodox humans first, apostate ghosts last; in case of tie, the lower species wins). A player has a number of actions equal to their starting population (if they increase their population during a turn, it doesn't give them more population to use that turn).

Spoiler: The Map and Key (click to show/hide)

When selecting a tile to act on, just give its number (e.g. Expand to 12, raze 43, build city on 28).

Terrain types
Desert
Colour: Beige
Defence: 0

Plain
Colour: Light green
Defence: 0

Field
Colour: Yellow
Defence: 0

Forest
Colour: Dark Green
Defence: 1

Lake
Colour: Light Blue
Defence: 1
(If a non-mountain tile is completely surrounded by rivers, it turns into a lake. If a lake tile has no river lines bordering it, it turns into a plain)

Mountain
Colour: Grey
Defence: 2

Ocean
Colour: Dark Blue
Defence: 3
(Oceans do not count towards terrain victory points. An ocean tile that is surrounded by land turns into a lake tile. An Ocean tile cannot be fortified. Ocean tiles do increase population cap like any other tile.)

Terrain Features

City
Shape: Three towers in the colour of the civ
Defence: +1
(Cities add +1 to the base population of a civ. E.g. a civ with three cities can never fall below population 4, no matter how many times they're raided or no matter the number of conquests they are a part of.)

Rivers
Colour: Light Blue
Defence: +1 when conquering civilisation has to cross the river to enter the hex
(Rivers are in between borders)

Fortification
Colour: Same colour as the controlling Civ.
Shape: Shield symbols, the number of which represent the strength of the fortification (usually 1)
Defence: +1

Sign Ups
1. Rolepg
2. Urist Arrhenius
3. Cerapa
4. Toaster
5. Persus13
6. Peradon
7. Monk12
8. NQT

Replacements
- [Could be you!]

Turns will be processed at the end of each season. If a player does not submit an action within 36 hours of the last turn, their go may be taken by the mod. If a player is skipped twice in a row, they may be put up for replacement. When (as in the early game) your turn couldn't be constrained by the actions of players earlier in the turn cycle, feel free to submit your actions for the season out of turn. As a strict order of action resolution is maintained, feel free to edit your season's action if someone earlier in the turn order posts their action after you. Actions are always submitted publicly, but players are allowed to communicate privately if they wish as well as in-thread. It is possible to end the game prematurely through diplomatic resolution. Any queries, feel free to ask.

[notquitethere]

Player Order

Spoiler: The Divine Swarm - NQT (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: The Divine Swarm
Colour: Black.
Heresy: Shakers
Species: Beetleswarm
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 2+6

When the other heretics came to the island, The Divine Swarm awoke from inside a mountain and spread out to meet those that would encroach upon them.

Spoiler: The Children of Penance - Rolepgeek (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: The Children of Penance
Colour: Coral, of course.
Heresy: Arid
Species : Merfolk
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order:6+10

Spoiler: Cobalt Warders- Monk12 (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: Cobalt Warders
Colour: Blue
Heresy: Heterodox
Species : Ghosts
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 1+17

Bio: Long ago, the Cobalt Warders were the policing force of a massively diverse empire. Through aggressive segregation and isolation, they kept the peace for a thousand years until the rise of the great Necromancer shattered the empire and enslaved the souls of the elite Cobalt Warders for his own fell purposes. However, with long eons even a Necromancer can succumb to death. No longer in thrall, the Cobalt Warders set out to Hexland, to once again forge an eternal peace...

Spoiler: The Grand Garden - Urist Arrhenius (click to show/hide)

Civilization Name: The Grand Garden
Colour: Green
Heresy: Bountiful
Species: Letterbeast
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 5+14

Spoiler: Four Legs Good - Toaster (click to show/hide)

Civilization Name: Four Legs Good
Color: Pink
Heresy: Builder
Species : Swine
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 8+13

Spoiler: Babelians - Persus13 (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: Babelians
Colour: Purple
Heresy: Builder
Species : Poults
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 8+16

Spoiler: Morkwind - Peradon (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: Morkwin
Colour: Red
Heresy: Builder
Species : Mabbling Monks
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 8+18

Spoiler: Accord of Unity - Cerapa (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: Accord of Unity
Colour: Gold
Heresy: Apostate (Co-Opt, Enslave)
Species : Mabbling Monks
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2
Territory: 0
Cities: 0
Base Turn Order: 9+18

Bio: The Accord of Unity, or just The Accord as they are commonly called are a violent offshoot of the Heterodox faith. The tolerance of the Heterodox was legendary and had managed to convert a large number of travelling Mabbling Monks from a nation under the Vile faith. The travellers considered the Heterodox to be their saviour, and saw their old brethren as suffering under their old faith. They returned to their homeland and attempted to convert their own. The attempt failed, and soon turned violent. The end result was the violent conquest of the capital by the Apostates, with all who opposed enslaved until they saw the error of their ways. Before long the entire small continent was converted and/or enslaved. The Accord consider themselves saviours, heroes, the only ones who can free all the peoples of the world and unite them under the one banner that could truly value them.

[Pencil_Art]

Reserving maybe.

[Rolepgeek]

Question.

For Djinn and Parakeetkin, do the Fields, when Harvested, turn back into Deserts/Forests, or into Plains?

[notquitethere]

They turn into fields plains rather than forests/deserts

[Rolepgeek]

They turn into fields.

...Read my post again...

[notquitethere]

They turn into fields.

...Read my post again...

Gotcha. Fixed.

[Rolepgeek]

They turn into fields.

...Read my post again...

Gotcha. Fixed.

Alright. That's quite interesting, actually. More for Djinn than Parakeetkin but still.

Can Scorched Earth be used to make Ocean Tiles into Desert Tiles?
Can Poults Grow Fields anywhere they have cities, or only so long as the cities are on Plains?
Can a tile with Fortifications built on it that was conquered have them rebuilt?
Do Impossibulls, when they leave the game, cause any tiles they've claimed to be unclaimable?
Can Deluge be used to turn Ocean Tiles into Lake Tiles?

I really want to play Arid Merfolk, because their species bonus is actually fairly helpful, or it would be if Arid didn't kinda suck compared to Levellers. I mean, Arid doesn't actually kill off Ocean tiles by using Shore Up, Reclaim costs two actions compared to Scorched Earth's one...and of course there's the whole 'turn all tiles made into Desert into plains, use to grow/harvest, on very last turn Raze fuckin' everything' for Levellers. And then Arid has no favored terrain, to boot. (I suppose it might just be that with Merfolk, Levellers becomes better by far, but...)

Aquatic's strange too, sorta. It wants everything to be Lakes, but it has ways of making Lakes disappear? And can't trap ocean to make Lake? Similar with Shakers, but Mountains can be good to be disappeared, and it can destroy cities/fortifications too.

Hard to choose between Builder Mabbling Mooks, Heterodox Mabbling Monks(which entirely depends on what everyone else grabs for their effectiveness...), and Leveller/Arid Merfolk(because self-loathing/habitat destruction of that nature makes me chuckle).

[Rolepgeek]

Eh, screw it.

Spoiler: The Children of Penance (click to show/hide)

Civilisation Name: The Children of Penance
Colour: Coral, of course.
Heresy: Arid
Species : Merfolk
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2

Should be fun.

[Urist Arrhenius]

Spoiler: Sheet (click to show/hide)

Civilization Name: The Grand Garden
Colour: Green
Heresy: Bountiful
Species: Letterbeast
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2

[cerapa]

I am totally in. There are certainly a lot of changes. Summer having both expansion and conquest in particular is gonna change a lot compared to the last game. I'm gonna have to do some serious thinking on what species and heresy to pick.

Does the minpop no longer grant population on its own?

EDIT: Just read that you can't build more cities unless you have the pop for it. Awesome. This is gonna be fun.

[cerapa]

Sorry about the double post, but I thought this warranted a post of its own.

General Observations:

 -Bountiful and Poult might be crazy strong, as they can build cities and not worry about crippling their growth.
 -The first season most can only improve and grow food. I would have suggested starting on a desert next to a river, but it seems none exist. Good job on foreseeing that.
 -Farming is actually important now. This might be really, really cool.
 -The dichotomy this time is between expansion and improvement. Will most likely lead to heavily fortified core territories, which I like.
 -What's up with the builders getting a free improve in the fall? I assume it's an oversight and should be spring?
 -Swine ability now stronk


Openers:

 -I think I did the same thing the last time, but I wanna test out all the possible openers. They are made with the thought that population matters most in the early-game. Actions are divided and counted in terms of expand and improve, since those are what matter in the beginning. Free denotes that you aren't forced to use them.

Standard - Every combination that doesn't affect growth or the first year

Spoiler:  3 pop / 4 Free Improve / 2 Free Expand / 1 Expand (click to show/hide)

Spring 1:
0: Embark plain
1: Grow
1: Free Improve

Summer 1:
2: Free Expand

Fall 1:
1: (Free) Expand
1: Harvest

Winter 1:
3: Free Improve

-The standard opener includes damn near everyone. Interestingly even standard bountiful, as they can't expand before summer, nor during it if they were to forage, so they have to farm like everyone else.
 -The standard opener allows for a maximum 2 cities, a maximum of 3 tiles and 4 improve actions to make on those, and a start of 3 pop for the next year. The spring improve might not count for much though, as the first tile must be a plain, and cannot be made into a city. You could extend a river to irrigate a nearby desert though, but that would require additional actions to take it later.
 -Standard builder(assuming free spring improve) can use the spring to turn a desert into a field, by channeling a river, irrigating and growing.
 -Standard letterbeast can use the spring improve to expand
 -Standard spider can replace any free expand with improve

Standard Human

Spoiler:  4 pop / 6 Free Improve / 4 Free Expand / 1 Expand (click to show/hide)

Spring 1:
0: Embark Plain/Desert
1: Grow
2: Free Improve (Not free with desert start)

Summer 1:
3: Free Expand

Fall 1:
1: (Free) Expand
1: Free Expand
1: Harvest

Winter 1:
4: Free Improve

-Not particularly more powerful than standard start, but way more expansion and improvement. It might be the early push to make humans dominate.

Bountiful Human

Spoiler:  4 pop / 7 Free Improve / 4 Free Expand / 1 Expand (click to show/hide)

Spring 1:
0: Embark Forest
3: Free Improve

Summer 1:
2: Forage
1: Expand

Fall 1:
4: Free Expand

Winter 1:
4: Free Improve

-Only marginally better than standard human start.

Bountiful Letterbeast

Spoiler:  4 pop / 4 Free Improve / 1 Free Expand / 2 Expand (click to show/hide)

Spring 1:
0: Embark Forest
1: Expand Plain
1: Grow

Summer 1:
2: Forage

Fall 1:
1: Expand
1: Harvest
1: Free Expand

Winter 1:
4: Free Improve

-Parity with human population
 -If willing to sacrifice 3 improvement and 3 expansion actions for species ability, then superior to Bountiful Humans.

Standard Swine

Spoiler:  4 pop / 5 Free Improve / 1 Free Expand / 2 Expand (click to show/hide)

Spring 1:
0: Embark Plains
1: Grow
1: Free Improve

Summer 1:
1: Expand
1: Free Expand

Fall 1:
1: (Free) Expand
1: Harvest

Winter 1:
4: Free Improve

-Parity with human population
 -If willing to sacrifice 2 improvement and 3 expansion actions for species ability (and another heresy), then superior to Bountiful Humans.
 -Strong start with a strong species ability, IMO better than Letterbeast


These are all the non-standard starters I found. Others can shuffle their actions around a bit, but cannot gain additional population, nor any huge gains in actions. Overall I like the balance, with no particularly superior starters.


I will have to think some more to come to a decision on what combination to pick. I am considering Vile Mabbling Monks for some crazy bonkers enslaving and sacrificing. I kinda want to do something crazy with apostates though. Last game was fun, but I'm not going to just start growing another forest this time.

EDIT:
Apostate (Co-Opt, Enslave) Mabbling Monks

Crazy cult built around enslaving other species and using their strengths, oh yes.

Gentlemen, I AM THE BIG BAD OF THIS LITTLE STORY HERE

(I am assuming that the Mabbling Monk thing would count for all the Enslave actions on a turn? Otherwise it would just be an extra action each season)

[notquitethere]

Rolep

Can Scorched Earth be used to make Ocean Tiles into Desert Tiles?

No, I've updated the OP to make all heresies clearer on this point: it's only the arid who can change ocean tiles. Note also, that if any number of ocean tiles are blocked off from the rest of the ocean then they'll turn to lake tiles.

Can Poults Grow Fields anywhere they have cities, or only so long as the cities are on Plains?

Poults don't change the rules for where you can build fields. They still have to be on the plains.

Can a tile with Fortifications built on it that was conquered have them rebuilt?

Yes. Conquering destroys fortifications, but it doesn't prevent them being rebuilt.

Do Impossibulls, when they leave the game, cause any tiles they've claimed to be unclaimable?

No, their tiles just become neutral territory that can be expanded to by anyone. In fact, an impossibull would quit out if they though their territory was about to be taken.

Can Deluge be used to turn Ocean Tiles into Lake Tiles?

No. I've now made that clearer in the OP.

I really want to play Arid Merfolk, because their species bonus is actually fairly helpful, or it would be if Arid didn't kinda suck compared to Levellers. I mean, Arid doesn't actually kill off Ocean tiles by using Shore Up, Reclaim costs two actions compared to Scorched Earth's one...and of course there's the whole 'turn all tiles made into Desert into plains, use to grow/harvest, on very last turn Raze fuckin' everything' for Levellers. And then Arid has no favored terrain, to boot. (I suppose it might just be that with Merfolk, Levellers becomes better by far, but...)

Now that I've made it clearer that Arid are the only ones who can affect ocean tiles, perhaps they seem less underpowered?

Aquatic's strange too, sorta. It wants everything to be Lakes, but it has ways of making Lakes disappear? And can't trap ocean to make Lake? Similar with Shakers, but Mountains can be good to be disappeared, and it can destroy cities/fortifications too.

Aquatic's ability to make oceans is a sort of tactical extra: their two powers are both useful for creating lakes regardless.


Cerapa

Does the minpop no longer grant population on its own?

EDIT: Just read that you can't build more cities unless you have the pop for it. Awesome. This is gonna be fun.

That's right. So farming is now a necessity for everybody.

-Bountiful and Poult might be crazy strong, as they can build cities and not worry about crippling their growth.

Poult doesn't allow you to build a field on a forest tile though. I've now made this clearer in the OP.

-The first season most can only improve and grow food. I would have suggested starting on a desert next to a river, but it seems none exist. Good job on foreseeing that.

That was one of my map-building rules this time. Along with only having one grouping of three of each of the same kind of tiles on the map.

-Farming is actually important now. This might be really, really cool.

Hopefully!

-What's up with the builders getting a free improve in the fall? I assume it's an oversight and should be spring?

Good spotting. Changed that to Spring.

-Swine ability now stronk

Yes, though the max pop is still capped by cities and territories and lots of other species are better at expanding and conquering.

These are all the non-standard starters I found. Others can shuffle their actions around a bit, but cannot gain additional population, nor any huge gains in actions. Overall I like the balance, with no particularly superior starters.

That's promising.

(I am assuming that the Mabbling Monk thing would count for all the Enslave actions on a turn? Otherwise it would just be an extra action each season)

Yes. I've looked over the heresy list and I don't think this would break any of the heresy use (especially as the Mabbling Monks go last on any tied order). Enslaving is already fairly expensive when used against any moderately defended tile. (I hope I don't come to regret this decision...)

[notquitethere]

Urist

Spoiler: Sheet (click to show/hide)

Civilization Name: The Grand Garden
Colour: Green
Heresy: Bountiful
Species: Parakeetkin
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2

That's all good. Just a small note, just so I'm sure you're aware of how the mechanics work on this point: if you use the Parakeetkin's ability to grow a field in a forest, it will destroy that forest (turning it into a field, which when harvested will become a plain). So I guess your turns will looks something like: Spring: grow in forest/plains. Summer: expand/conquer into a new forest and forage that forest. Fall: harvest. Winter: create new forest tiles etc.

[Toaster]

Spoiler: Four Legs Good (click to show/hide)

Civilization Name: Four Legs Good
Color: Pink
Heresy: Builder
Species : Swine
Population: 2
Population Range: 1-2

I shall build a grand glorious city filled with cameras so we can keep tabs on you all.