Rostja (Giza) walkthrough
Here’s another scenario that you can’t avoid. It’s a pretty tough one as well, and will probably keep you occupied in excess of 60 game years.
Requirements
- Population – no requirement
- Culture – 0
- Prosperity – 0
- Monument – 53 (Sphinx, Pyramid Complex, Pyramid)
- Kingdom – 50
Events
- Wages fall
- Price cut for plain stone
- Price increases for wood and limestone
- The amount of wood and limestone cities will trade with you will fall
Hints
Pharaoh will demand gems, game meat, troops and pottery from you, so plan accordingly.
Bear this in mind when you decide on your priorities. When I played it, I decided that it was imperative to make some cash as early as possible. Set up a trade route to export gems and luxury goods, and set up industries accordingly. Later on in the scenario, you will be asked for 1500 gems by the Libyans, who will attack while your troops are away at a distant battle if you fail to provide. As a general rule, try to keep 2500 gems in reserve for such emergencies. At Giza, there’s no such thing as having too many gemstone mines!
You will also need to get an army set up relatively quickly, as you will be attacked by Libyans fairly soon into the scenario. 2 companies of infantry and 2 companies of archers will be sufficient to deal with any threats to your city, and will see you victorious in any distant battles. If possible, make sure all are academy-trained. When you’re asked to provide troops to fight abroad, don’t skimp – if your troops lose, the Libyans will move from attacking Dashur to having a go at you. If the Libyans do attack, they will do so from the North or the South (either side of the small stream running down the western third of the map). It really pays off to win the distant battle early on, because after that, troop requests from Pharaoh will cease, and you will not be bothered so much by the Libyans (plus, you get to open a new trade route to Dashur).
Back to domestic matters. There’s no need to evolve your housing past Ordinary Cottage status, as there’s no prosperity requirement. Any less than that, however, and you’ll end up getting problems with plague (irrespective of how many apothecaries and doctors you have in your city), which plays havoc with your workforce and slows down monument production. Import some clay early on and stockpile a storage yard full of pottery to fulfil Pharaoh’s requests late on in the scenario. Don’t bother distributing it to your housing though. Don’t ignore taxation – your housing may only be developed to a low level, but the small amount of deben it provides really helps during the first tough 20 years.
Monument building is what really eats up time in this scenario. You’ll need to make plenty of cash in order to import the requisite amount of limestone. However, the Sphinx is a doddle, and can be put up right at the end – it only takes a couple of years to build. Alternatively, if you’re bored whilst the peasant labourers are preparing the groundwork for your pyramid complex, it can be done then to keep your carpenters and stonemasons busy.
Here’s a list from MRed94 detailing the requests and events you’ll get:
DATE | EVENT | CITY | REQUEST | TIME |
June 2506 | Request | Iunet | 1000 gems | 6 mos. |
Oct. 2506 | New trade route | Iunet | ||
April 2505 | Request | Iunet | 1500 Luxury goods | 9 mos. |
Oct. 2505 | Request | Buhen | 500 gems | 9 mos. |
Dec. 2505 | Gift | Iunet | 2100 copper | |
June 2502 | Invasion | Libyan Army | mid-east | |
June 2501 | Extortion | Kyrene | 1300 gems | 3 mos. |
Oct 2501 | Request | Buhen | 400 Luxury goods | 9 mos. |
April 2500 | Request | Dashur | Troops | 11 mos. |
June 2499 | New trade route | Dashur | ||
Jan 2497 | Wage increase | |||
April 2497 | Storms | Water trade routes | Closed | |
Oct 2497 | Request | Buhen | 400 Luxury goods | 9 mos. |
Sept 2496 | Request | On | 1500 game meat | 8 mos. |
Jan 2493 | Price Cut | Export | Plain Stone | |
Oct. 2492 | Request | Buhen | 200 Game meat | 9 mos. |
Nov. 2492 | Festival | Buhen | 1200 Game meat | 18 mos. |
Jan 2491 | Price Increase | Limestone | ||
Jan 2488 | Price Increase | Wood | ||
Jan 2485 | Decreased Trading | On | Limestone | |
Jan 2484 | Price Increase | Limestone | ||
Jan 2481 | Invasion | Libyan Army | South east shore | |
Oct. 2481 | Request | Buhen | 400 Game meat | 9 mos. |
Oct. 2475 | Request | Buhen | 500 Luxury Goods | 9 mos. |
May 2473 | Request | Men-Nefer | 1000 Wood | 9 mos. |
Dec. 2473 | Gift | Pharaoh | 5 Limestone | |
Jan. 2472 | Gift | Pharaoh | 19 Limestone | |
Oct. 2469 | Request | Buhen | 300 Game meat | 9 mos. |
The forum has also been graced by this excellent thread by Cherub Baltic, detailing how you can finish this one in record time.
Your dynasty grows in importance thanks to its successful completion of these mammoth tasks. Onwards and upwards to either Bahariya Oasis or Djedu (Abusir).