A note to people reading this thread who are not playing.  I ended up with the Yomi Kings nation.  I have tried to create a role playing 'person' for the Yomis.  Since most of my units have a 'feature' called "gluttony' (they eat 3, sometimes, 5 times as much food as 'normal' (whatever that really is) troops / units / leaders.  Many of them are also green skinned demons.  

What i have started to do, and hope to continue developing (role-playing) in the game, begins with lilith.  Lilith, according to ancient traditions, was first wife of Adam, and morphed, also via tradition, into the desert demoness (think Sincubus and you are close).  Also, many of the Yomi units and demons, and many of them have a feature called "gluttony.'  They 'eat'  3 to 5 times as much as 'normal' units (whatever normal is!).  So, I have played on this gluttonous feature of Yomu units, by interjecting eating into my messages, etc.   (Actually, in RL, I never met a calorie I didn't like.) 

So, with demons who eat a lot, what better way to have fun with ther food than to have them roast their food on the fires from below.  Enter the 'barb' or 'barbie, or BBQ.  Of course 'barb' is also a double reference...  .. as is from down below..

Win or lose, I intend to have fun with the role playing aspect of this newby game.  I hope everyone is entertained....   

BTW, my third turn is in. 

I do not have time for it, but some people like to take screenshots, and even video of battles, and later post AARs (after action reports). I am not sure if this would be the best forum to do it, but if any of you are into that sort of thing, you might want to start now taking screen shots and making notes. I would not suggest actually posting anything until after the game is completed, to avoid giving away your strategies.

<I didn't notice, but now that you mention it, I assume it's the research scales that tip it off?>

Of course, with a single mage recruit in the first round, how could you pull it off otherwise?

Elana, something must have gone wrong, because the server reports it's waiting for Yomi and Pangaea:

http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=Elementalists

Could you perhaps try to resend your .2h file? Thank you.

I'm not home now, but at Lifespan Senior Services - i checked my 'sent' mail, and appariently i sent the previous turn file, which the server has, properly, ignored. As soon as i get home, i will send the correst turn file.  Thanks for the heads up, kamamura.....

Just another note about rules and such. It is considered bad form to stop playing or go AI when losing. Fight to the end. Even if you cannot turn it around, you should at least try to inflict as much pain as possible on the nation that is taking you out.

Just sent my turn in..   llama now says its there... its still awaiting...  pangaea...  

i agree , don't drop out because you are losing... stay in and fight ... We will fight them on the beaches, and in the streets, and in the caves, and in the BBQ rooms... yield not one inch..... until your candle goes out.  Besides, dropping out rewards the player(s) who are attacking you... why not tie up some of their troops for as long as possible ... so the 'others' can get to them.... 

The Thinkers of Arcoscephale wish to inform all mercenaries that Themistoclese's Infant Son recognizes the heroic sacrifices made daily by sellswords, and will reward mercenaries accordingly--Even if Hinnom will not.

(Hey, wonderloss, you are the last this time!) So it's now up to our beloved game-master wonderloss, who wanted to build a nice gem cache from the donations of the lagging players, to send his well-thought battle plan to the server, so that we can have another round. 

The Thinkers of Arcoscephale welcome their large brethren to the south, and will be sure to burn a bundle of pleasing incense to celebrate what will surely be open and friendly relations between our two glorious nations.

The gem penalty was not my idea. 

I am at work now, and have family commitments right after I leave here. I will probably not get my turn in until 9-10 PM EST.

EA Arco has arguably the best fort, but finding a proper location for it is tough, and it's really quite expensive.

On a side note, I'm hardly able to keep up with all these posts, which seem to all appear at once. I assume the majority of you live in time zones to my east

GMT+2 here (only in summer, though, +1 in winter)

I'm in Toronto, Canada (EST). I work odd hours, however, so I won't be consistently on at any time.

Though my idea with the gems may seem like it would punish those in different time zones, I think that might not actually happen as often as you think. Really, if you think about it, as the person who is last to send in your 2H, you will also most of the time necessarily be the *first* person to submit your 2H on the *following* turn.

I'm assuming this based on the auto-host mentioned above, which would mean if you are last to submit, all you need do is wait about five minutes and then you'll be able to send in your next turn (which would also mean under my suggested system that you would get a free gem from the last person for the following round).

I dunno... not really that important to me, but we can think about it more if it seems like it might be worthwhile implementing.

I'm in St. Louis, so CST for me.  I've got a 3 month old baby boy though that eats up a fair chunk of my free time.  Computer gaming is done odd hours while he's asleep. 

Given the severe consequences of turning in a "stale" turn, I don't see a need to further penalize slowpokes.  We'll be donig well enough if none of our players have to drop, and if the turns are going too slowly, well, we can just shorten the timer...

I'm in Honolulu, Hawaii, so I think I might be further west than you Louist, unless you're in Samoa.

Also, I suspect you all have recognized that my pretender is awake, given that he's already in the Hall of Fame...  That's usually a dead give away.

Lastly, @Thranite - I think I'm the nation to your south, since I'm on the Eastern edge of the map, in the center.

Sadly, I'm only PST.

However, I'm fairly certain I'm the nation to Thranite's north, as we now seem to share a border.

Yes, it looks like Louist and I are now in contact with each other.  I'm in the very bottom right corner of the map, with Arco just north of me.  Abyssia must be in the general area as well, but I don't believe I've seen his candles yet.

Arcosephale, my apologies, but the prophet Jennifer Aniston was at some magical ritual called a "photo shoot".  I'm not sure why she's taken a grudge against this "photo" person, but she neglected to send a messenger as was instructed.  Therefore, Angelina Jolie must ask you directly:  "Shall we be not enemies?".  If you agree, please sign these adoption papers for one Agarthan baby as a gesture of goodwill.

Arcoscephale shall gladly accept an Agarthan child as a ward of the state. In fact, Themistoclese's Infant Son has just recently commanded our engineers to build a labyrinth such as the world has never seen before, and it could only be improved by the presence of such a child.

The venerable council of Kohens would like to announce the appointnent of Henan'el, son of Azazel, Brightest ray of the Sun, Horned Champion, Devourer of Infidels, Pacifier of the Backward Tribes, Sword of the Only True God, to the position of Grand General of the kingdom of Hinnom, may it last eighty four thousand years. To celebrate the event, grand feast will be held in the palace of Gehenna for three days and three nights, and foreign guests from near and afar are especially welcome. The people of Hinnom are very open and friendly, always eager to experience the taste of foreign cultures firsthand!

Turn 4 sent to server.

I live in Eastern time zone, Rochester, NY.... not far from the southern point of the 'golden crescent' which is the Toronto to buffalo urban complex.  Niagara falls is 90 minutes away... YES!  

Thranite, i love your public posts.. brings a smile to my face, and a heartfelt laugh. 

Hail Council of Kohens:  Lilith, mistress of the dark, yada, yada....   sends greetings and felicitations.  We will gladly join you for your wonderful feast.  And in honor of your Pretender's ascension to the throne, we offer 10,000 'greenies' for your roast.  They are especially tasty with my head chef's new "inferno" hot sauce.  

He really makes some wonderful creations.  As a gesture of good will, We will happily loan him to you for a season, (but you must promise not to roast him if one of his meals disappoints you.)  Again, Congratulations, and We are looking forward to feasting with you... err... being at the same feast as you.  We love to taste foreigners  ... ahem...  foreign cultures as well.

The representatives of Pangea load up several casks of the finest wines on a wagon and head toward the territory of Hinnom. There is no way they are going to miss a party.

I'd just like to say that I am very pleased with how quickly this game has been moving. As a reward, I have decided to allow all of your kingdoms to maintain their independence for a few more turns.

The Council would like to express grief and sorrow over what must have been an unfortunate incident that happened in ancestral Hinnom burial grounds at Wynna. While clearing the province from bandits, grave-robbers and rebels, the border patrol has been attacked by a sizable force of demons led by a cyclop. After a short battle, in which Hinnom forces killed most of the demonic invaders in self-defence, it has been found that the unknown force was actually a contingent of troops of the neighboring Yomi kingdom, and the Cyclop was their esteemed pretender Lillith, with whom we had the pleasure to exchange letters of mutual friendship and goodwill. Our Kohens try to calm down the relatives of the chariot crew killed in combat and persuade our people that kingdom of Yomi is no threat to our nation.

Our good-hearted nation is still interested in peaceful coexistence with our Yomi neighbors, but Lilith of Yomi would have to promise never to trespass on the sacred burial grounds of the Wynna and Mark provinces, who together with the adjacent mountain range form a natural border of our lands. Should Yomi agree on this demarcation line, we can sign corresponding treaty and look forward to a peaceful future of our people.

To honor the fallen who gave their lives of those who have their lives in this unfortunate battle (including esteemed pretender Lilith, who we hope will soon get better), the announced feast will be accompanied by a proper mourning ceremony and incense will be burnt and prayers chanted according to our sacred customs.

The Council expects esteemed Lilith's response shortly, so that the future plans can be adjusted accordingly.

If what you write is true, than lilith cannot reply, she is dead.