Playing as the Dark Lord - Not a strategy but rather a state of mind

[MysteryMan]

Hey all, this is my first post here. I've read some of the threads and have found much useful information here, I can tell that some of you know what you are talking about (I mean that in a good way). I have been playing civ since it came out and have thrashed all three (except I have yet to beat civ III on Diety mostly due to the fact that I am having MUCH more fun in Dark Lord mode!)
Anyways, onto my point. I have found that when conquering opposing empires in civ III, it is one thing to TAKE a city, another thing entirely to KEEP it. I'm not talking about the AI's puny military efforts, I am talking about the damn city flipping on me. I hate it when I put my dudes in there to rest up and resume their but-kicking in a few turns, and then the *expletive* city flips!
I have also found that often other cultures will annoy the hell out of me due to their lack of self-preservation instincts. After I've kicked them around 5 or 6 times, they STILL don't get the point.
Sometimes these people just plain out piss you off. Sometimes you just want to take off the kid gloves and show the AI who's the man. But how, you are asking, is this to be done?
The solution: be an evil bastard! Don't be tempted to switch to Democracy right away (or play a religious civ, I usually do when I play this style). You may be wondering how to do this, but it is very simple. Whenever something happens, just ask yourself "What would Darth Vader do?" and do that. If you are still alive by 1000 AD, I can almost guarantee that you are on the threshold of a military victory!
So Pillage EVERYTHING, bombard the crap out of every single city, leave NO treaty unviolated, lie, steal, spy, blockade, get embargos - remember, your evil deeds create the legacy that assures your personal immortality! Spare no one. These people deserve it.
You may be tempted to let a civ live "just a little while longer". There are all sorts of good reasons for this, but you must remember. They are GOOD reasons. You are what mothers scare their children into being good with. It matters not whether the civ you are about to destroy could give you 6 advances. If you REALLY want the damn things, just demand them for a peace treaty, then violate it ON THE NEXT TURN. Anything else is not evil enough!
Remember, for the Dark Lord, the ultimate object of war is NOT peace. It is, as the great Genghis Kahn once said,
"...to chase and defeat his enemy, to seize his total possessions, ride his gelding, hear the weeping and wailing of his women, and embrace them."
And now, a few quotes from random famous people to get you into the right state of mind:
"It is better to be feared than loved." - Machiavelli
"If they fear you, they will respect you. If they love you, they might respect you. But if they don't fear you, they'll never love you or respect you and they don't have to!"
Richard Nixon
In conclusion, playing as the Dark Lord is very simple, just say to yourself "I am going to kick some ass" and never violate from that policy in the least. Happy hunting!
Anyways, just a random introductory spiel I wanted to get out of my system. If you'll excuse me, I have to go take my medication....

[Arrian]

*grins approvingly*

[Gufnork]

I'm not a fan of this. I find it lacks finesse. I prefer backstabbing only when it would really, really hurt. Lure them into trusting you, until the right time comes along. Then you deliver a single precision blow that kills immediatly when they least expect it. So much more satisfying than slicing at everything in sight with a machete.

[Arrian]

Actually, I don't play this way. I do an awful lot of fighting, but I go out of my way to avoid breaking treaties (usually... if I see a benifit in breaking a treaty and I think I can pull off The Deception, I'll do it).

I don't tend to start razing cities until the industrial age.

But I have razed an entire continent before, because they pissed me off (they = England). Every city, every tile improvement. Gone. You never were, Liz!

-Arrian

[Gufnork]

They still have ruins left. Unless you sent in a worker army to remove them.

[Solomwi]

I like the theory. Could make for a fun AU course .

[MysteryMan]

clarification

One of the things about this way to play is that you don't NEED to build the temples and whatnot until MUCH later in the game, and you can control your expansion to whatever pace you like.
The way it works:
I start game. Have one city. Build 3 warriors, still don't see anyone, build settler, put new city in near spot with nice production potential. Build worker.
ROADS ARE CRUCIAL. BOTH WITHIN YOUR BORDERS AND LEADING TO THE FRONTS.
You find enemy civ who has pissed you off by existing. You fortify your warrior someplace where he either restricts thier movement or sees where they're expanding or both.
Meanwhile, you build NOTHING but archers until you are in danger or revolt. Then build a settler, then repeat. Cities stay too small to revolt and too far from bad guys to culture flip.
RAZE EVERY CITY YOU TAKE.
When you build settlers to keep your population in line, you soon have too many settlers. Send them to the sites of the razed cities. Build your own. BOOM. This city WILL NOT FLIP. Plus it is small and easy to manage (build archers then settlers continue ad infinitum or until you can make better attackers).
...And for whatever it's worth, I usually don't play this way either. But when I do, I sure do enjoy it...

P.S. This may actually be a very good tactic to get an early militaristic victory. Haven't finished testing it yet though, so for now it's just something fun to do to show the computer who's the man...

[vmxa1]

Yeah that is fun, on small map. Gets a bit boring on std or larger.

[TheArsenal]

Originally posted by Arrian Actually, But I have razed an entire continent before, because they pissed me off (they = England). Every city, every tile improvement. Gone. You never were, Liz!

I had a game where France back stabbed me, and I rolled out the MA razing perhaps 15 cities (huge map) and leaving a massive area with nothing but ruins. The most amusing part was the reappearance of warrior barbarians from the fog of war and watching them go up against the MA.

[Theseus]

Nice... I like the emotion that goes into it.

[zorbop]

i rarely use this strategy. i go for the blitz to avoid cultural conversions. i generally play as ottomans, and play passively until i get rail. by then i have about 40 sipahi waiting around, and about 35 workers. enough to take a city, cover it in rail, and roll on to the next city. cover that in rail, so my sipahi can go to the next. all in 1 turn. i love taking an enemies entire territory before they even have a chance to respond. i try to eliminate the enemy before cultural conversions have a chance to happen, and war weariness can come into play. best of all, wait to turns for your units to heal and to rail the entire territory. huge map continent: conquer in 10 turns or less.

[vmxa1]

What good are Sipahi or any calv type units once RR comes in? I mean would you be looking at infantry at least ? Maybe even and tanks not far away.

[Gufnork]

Mech inf is one age away. Infantry is not far away, but you've spent your 40 Sipahi way before then. Riflemen is what you're up against and Sipahi are of some use against them. I'd prefer using Sipahi against Musketmen/Knights than Riflemen/Cavalry though.

[zorbop]

the purpose their speed and power, ai cities are far enough away from eachother that you need 3 movement to take all their territory in one turn.

[vmxa1]

All I am saying is after Steam, you could be looking at a civ that got Elec then Replacement Parts.
I do not want to try going at metros with any horse units that have even rifles, let along infantry. It could get very ugly. My calv units days are behind them by industrial. I will use them in armies and spot them in fights here and there, but they can not attack metro or even well defended cities. You wil need arties and now you are moving at speed 1. I want to use them before then.