I don't want to sound stupid but...

[dexters]

What is the "Arrian Deception" strategy?

I've been trying to locate it but no success so far. :/

[vulture]

It is when you act like a treacherous swine at the start of the game, happily breaking treaties left, right and center to get any advantage, and then wipe out all the civs on your continent before contact is made with the rest of the world. As long as they other civs never meet your victims, they never hear about your bad reputation, and will happily make deals with you.

Doesn't work if you have too many civs on your continent - or at least, it is harder to pull off. Failing to wipe out the last civ as you watch AI caravels sailing around to make contact can also be annoying.

[Jamski]

Don't try this in MP, unless you want to end up dead (in RL)

-Jam

[Agathon]

Why not?

Have you never had the fun experience of being the "lunatic" in the game. Being an unpredictable b@stard means a great time, even if you lose. Especially if you use the time to just pick on the strongest player with no regard for personal safety.

[Arrian]

My people came to own the entire continent because the other peoples spontaneously decided to join us! We are a peaceful civilization. Those 50 Samurai regiments? They are ceremonial.

-Arrian

[Kirby]

Originally posted by War of Art
Don't try this in MP, unless you want to end up dead (in RL)

-Jam

[badams52]

Re: I don't want to sound stupid but...

Originally posted by dexters
What is the "Arrian Deception" strategy?

I've been trying to locate it but no success so far. :/

If the description of the Arrian Deception is so hard to find, maybe we could make it easier and add a link *cough* Theseus *cough* of thisx thread into the must read threads.

My guess is the first reference is burried deep in one of the other threads and never made it into a thread of it's own (until now).

[Arrian]

It never had its own thread.

Hell, I'm pretty sure I didn't even come up with the original idea! I just picked it up from somewhere and mentioned using it in some thread, and someone (Theseus?) dubbed it the Arrian Deception. :shrug:

-Arrian

[Yahweh Sabaoth]

I finally had a chance to use the "Arrian Deception" (though I didn't know it had a name) in my last game, as Japan. I wiped out all the other civs (6 total) on my continent before meeting any others.

This gave me my first chance ever to see the "gracious" attitude! AIs were "gracious" towards me without trading or anything! Mind-boggling.

I'm using my wonderful reputation to systematically destroy my (new) "gracious" enemies.

[Arrian]

Atta boy, Yahweh!

-Arrian

[Yahweh Sabaoth]

WARNING: OFF-TOPIC SIDENOTE: Finished my Japan game (which taught me a good many things) today, pulling up just short of a domination victory (shoulda turned cultural off!) and netting 5829 as my final score.

A small number for a typical emperor win I'm sure, but for me, my highest yet. Also, I noted that I produced 3 Tojos, 3 Hirohitos and 2 Fujiwaras this game.

The graciousness continued but not long enough to prevent Carthage declaring war on me (courtesy of a MPP with Russia). I destroyed the one city they had built on my continent.

I was unquestionable in terms of power and culture, and still ended up in a war with Carthage.

I H A T E C A R T H A G E ! ! !

OFF-TOPIC RANT CONCLUDED.

[badams52]

Originally posted by Arrian
It never had its own thread.

Hell, I'm pretty sure I didn't even come up with the original idea! I just picked it up from somewhere and mentioned using it in some thread, and someone (Theseus?) dubbed it the Arrian Deception. :shrug:

I think others have had worse things attributed to them that they weren't the originators of.

[Mountain Sage]

I have the dubious pleasure, or better, duty, to inform you that I had to perform the so-called 'Arrian's deception' on the once-living Roman empire in AU101 not only once, but several times.

I'm off for a shower

[Fosse]

I'm almost certain that the term was coined in the thread for an AU game... the one where we start on a tiny island with Greece. I'm too lazy to look up the number now... does anybody bother maintaining the glossary that's topped on this forum anymore?

[badams52]

After a quick search (unfortunately the search won't take me back far enough so I had to go into the minitourney threads myself and use the browser function to "find"), I found Theseus making a reference to the "Arrian Deception" in his AAR for mini-tourney III. It appears that Arrian displayed his tactic sometime before then, before the 2 previous mini-tourneys. Must be in some other thread. Maybe Theseus could shed some light when he get's the chance.