Elysian Odyssey (EU4 Quest - Byzantium in the New World)

1491-1495: The Treaty of Atlapolis

The next years are a time of prosperity, with Portugese traders paying handsomely for the produce of the New World and then selling for an even greater profit to the Princes of Europe. Nea Konstantinoplis itself is surrounded by golden fields as irrigation channels are painstakingly expanded through the surroundings of the city - the river turns from a deep rapid to a shallow and gentle flow as its fresh water is diverted to the massively expanded farming estates. The population of Elysia is now double what it was when the Exodus fleet landed, the vast space and great abundance of the land providing for large families and large properties. Ivos is seeing a major increase in urbanisation as some of the Portugese ships and Emporoi traders are making stops at the mouth of the Elysian bay there, and it is becoming the first settlement that European captains see after a long journey.

The decision to sponsor a church in the largest of the Meskwaki settlements is much appreciated by the Presbyteroi who are beginning to see major inroads with the barbaroi since the ecumenical council in Nea Aleksandreia. The decision to install some of the priceless icons recovered from Creta Minor is more controversial, with some members of the clergy fretting that they might be lost or destroyed so far from the security of the Empire. While the church is not completed by 1495 it is well on the way, with the building at least functional and capable of housing the magnificent icons. The sheer grandeur of this display and the size of the church seems to be what caught the attention of the nearby Mikmaq and Passamaquoddy when their tribesmen returned with stories of the new religion being embraced by their neighbours. While the Christianity the individual members of these tribes now practice is at best syncretic and at worst heretical it is at least some form of the True Faith, with Elysian missionaries doing their best to lead the barbaroi towards proper orthodoxy. It is not enough to simply substitute appeals to some pagan spirit with appeals to Christ! If only the Lenape would make even that step. Pythagoras is still growing and continuing to exert more and more influence over the area, but the addition of another thousand men has once again stamped out any ambitions from the locals to expel the settlers by force.

The Lenape aside, the news that the Gospel has been such success is heartening. Less heartening is news from the south, where the tribes of Roanoke on Elysia's border have been mostly absorbed into the Tuscarora tribal federation. The office of exploration has also validated stories of an even larger barbaroi group in the interior of Elysium calling themselves the Monongahela. While the Empire may be strongest in the area it may not be the strongest on this new continent, and the natives certainly greatly outnumber the comparatively new Greek settlement. When rumours reach you of the possibility of Portugal making similar incursions it becomes clear that something has to be done so the situation does not worsen further. The Portugese has continued their exploration missions and found a vast continent even further to the south, and in exchange for even greater trade concessions to their merchants the Portugese crown is willing to renounce any claim to the continent of Elysium. The Treaty of Atlapolis could prove of great use, particularly as Europe appears to believe that these new trade goods are coming from around the Horn of Africa and their arrival seems unlikely in the near future.

[ ] Sign the treaty.
[ ] Allow them free reign.


Maria I Palaiologos
By the grace of Christ Pantokrator, Basilissa of the Hellenes.
1480 -

Administrative Skill: 2
Diplomatic Skill: 3

Imperial Court: 1

Monarch Points
Administrative: 361 (+33)
Diplomatic: 235 (+33)


Development Projects
[ ] The Urbanisation of Ivos: 124 Administrative Points (3->5)
[ ] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points

[ ] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)

Each Development Project gives development. Some regions are easier to develop than others!

Treasury Projects
[ ] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5]
[ ] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8]

[ ] Expand the Imperial Court (-48 Silver)

[ ] The Roads of Ivos (100 Silver)

[ ] Sponsor Workshops in Alouion (100 Silver)
[ ] Sponsor Workshops in Odessos (100 Silver)

[ ] Import New Advances from Portugal (150 Silver) [Gain Technology Earlier]

[ ] Irrigation Channels in Odessos (500 Silver)

[ ] The Grand Cothon of Ivos (600 Silver)

[ ] Found an Alexandrian Library (1000 Silver)

Elysia
Treasury: 380 Silver
Stability: 2
Development: 77
Population: 145,570

Imperial Land: 55%

Dynatoi Loyalty: 55/55
Right of Appeal (+10)
Varangians (-5)

Dynatoi Influence: 45
Right of Appeal (+10)
Dynatoi Land: 30%

Presbyteroi Loyalty: 60/60
Clerical Ministers (+5)
Proselytising Missions
(+5)
Presbyteroi Influence: 42
Clerical Ministers (+10)
Proselytising Missions
(+5)
Presbyteroi Land: 15%

Emperoi Loyalty: 55/55
Court Appointments (+5)
Emporoi Influence: 25
Court Appointments (+5)
Militia: 4000 Soldiers
Allagia: 2000 Soldiers
Dynatoi: 2500 Soldiers
Varangians: 500 Soldiers
CityPopulationTaxProductionGoodTaxProductionTrade Value
Nea Konstantinopolis29392105Grain17.008.405.25
Nea Alexandriea2337055Tobacco8.505.283.3
Methenai1001455Fur8.502.422.2
Odessos2053755Grain8.503.032.75
Alouion2145055Tobacco8.503.633.3
Ivos1664035Fur4.052.422.2
Atlapolis1731955Fur8.502.422.2
Pythagora561611Fur1.300.660.6
Creta Minor123211Fish1.700.830.75
IncomeExpenses
Taxation66.55Imperial Court15.06
Production29.08Militia Training8
Trade26.16Allagia16
Varangian Guard8
Treasury380
Net75
Next454

There is a two-hour moratorium on voting. Votes prior will be discounted.
 
Last edited:
To be clear, free reign is telling the Portuguese they can settle the southern continent with no ill will from Elysia, right?
 
[ ] Sign the treaty.

I feel like we should go for this try to keep other European powers of the continent for as long as possible.
 
Huh, for once we appear to have more Diplomatic points than we could use.

What would it take to be able to improve Pythagora? Even more soldiers on guard? Perhaps a "Fortify" option first? OTOH, probably not important as we have southwest land to expand into, and the SUsquehannock-Meskwaki border is where I'd really like a border-pushing frontier.
 
Furthering good relations with the Portuguese is clearly a good idea. I suppose the real question is: who gets the Caribbean?
 
Huh, for once we appear to have more Diplomatic points than we could use.

What would it take to be able to improve Pythagora? Even more soldiers on guard? Perhaps a "Fortify" option first? OTOH, probably not important as we have southwest land to expand into, and the SUsquehannock-Meskwaki border is where I'd really like a border-pushing frontier.

You are increasingly displacing the natives and becoming more entrenched. It takes time, but they will eventually fall under Elysian hegemony.
 
[ ] Sign the treaty.
[ ] Allow them free reign.

@Sayle Quick question, when the Portuguese say that they are willing to renounce their claims to the continent of Elysium, does this simply mean renouncing their claims to North America only while still giving them free reign with South America? As their discoveries to our south were referred to as a separate continent.

Also have they found Mesoamerica yet, as in Central America where the Aztecs and Mayans are? And if so, would those areas be part of the area of Elysium that they would swear off an claims of?

Because if so, I am of two minds about the issue. If we sign the treaty, we will likely decrease our profits with the Portuguese, though it will give us free reign and control over North America. If we make trade concessions this may potentially cause the Portuguese to focus more on trading with us, as it is easier for them to accrue more profit through trading with us, than investing in costly ventures in unexplored South America. However, conversely, it doesn't likely stop them from potentially colonizing South America as I don't think Elysium refers to both continents. Thus if they see that they can't colonize North America, that may cause them to go fully towards South America, where they might find gold, which will thus prompt even greater interest in colonization which may attract the rest of the Europeans.

If we allow them free reign in North America, perhaps they will end up splitting their focus and thus having a harder time with South America and Mesoamerica, which may make it easier for us as their colonies will likely take a lot more to set up and maintain than our lands within Elysium.

[ ] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points

We should definitely get this now that we can afford it.

[ ] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)

No point not using our diplo points as we can't spend them on anything else yet.


[ ] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5]
[ ] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8]

We're surrounded on all sides still, the Lenape, Potawatomi, and Tuscarora looking like potentially threatening polities, we can afford to expand the militia and form more professional military units.

[ ] Import New Advances from Portugal (150 Silver) [Gain Technology Earlier]

While I would like to save up for the Grand Cothon soon, to benefit from our trade with Portugal, I do think we need to get the tech from Europe soon so that we can make use of it. Especially as we don't know when the rest of Europe is coming over.
 
Well then.

We should probably take the Treaty of Atlapolis - securing North America for ourselves is a pretty sweet deal considering that South/Central America native civilizations seem to be slightly larger and more organized (and thus the area is less lucrative, even beyond not having the Mississippi river basin).

We definitely need to take the growth accelerating actions too - tech boost, development-based ideas, and court expansion. The first two are supposed to give rebates on construction/development costs, so even if expanding the court will hit our income I expect it'll be made back in additional development quite rapidly.
 
Shouldn't Nea Konstantinopolis's production have gone up after building the irrigation channels? It's production and values are still the same as last turn on the settlement table.
 
Shouldn't Nea Konstantinopolis's production have gone up after building the irrigation channels? It's production and values are still the same as last turn on the settlement table.

The production is the same, but you got 5 production-worth bonus. Which is better, because adding +5 production would increase the cost of further development, which the irrigation doesn't.

@Sayle Quick question, when the Portuguese say that they are willing to renounce their claims to the continent of Elysium, does this simply mean renouncing their claims to North America only while still giving them free reign with South America? As their discoveries to our south were referred to as a separate continent.

Also have they found Mesoamerica yet, as in Central America where the Aztecs and Mayans are? And if so, would those areas be part of the area of Elysium that they would swear off an claims of?

You don't know about Mesoamerica, but central america is part of north america.
 
Last edited:
You don't know about Mesoamerica, but central america is part of north america.

Gotcha, so I'm assuming then that the Portuguese don't know anything about it either.

I say we take the treaty then as Mesoamerican gold likely had a large role in the impetus to colonize the New World. If we can confine the Portuguese to just South America, they likely will lose interest in colonization efforts when it's easier to reap the profits from trading with us.

@Sayle Am I assuming right then that Elysium does not apply to South America as we know it then in terms of forswearing claims?

Also, if Portugal does find Mesoamerica could we use this Treaty to bind them to not interfering there?
 
The Treaty of Atlapolis could prove of great use, particularly as Europe appears to believe that these new trade goods are coming from around the Horn of Africa and their arrival seems unlikely in the near future.
see? I told ya they would probably think its from the old world still. Though once they start exploring in that direction themselves or following Portugal around ya we will be unable to stay hidden for long.
 
Honestly, I say go for the treaty. Let the Portuguese have South America and we can haggle over the Carribian and possibly Central America when the time comes. We're going to have our hands full wrestling with the natives for several generations and avoiding other European powers planting seeds on prime Elysian real estate should be a foreign policy directive. Beyond that staying buddy-buddy with Portugal is valuable. They're out co-conspirators in this New World scheme and maintaining good ties with them will pay off when we inevitably have to fence with other Europeans for long term control of the New World.

As for the regular work, I say we go for the Office of Development unless we have a reason to save up on Administration points.

Tobacco Expansion is a no brainer as there are no other options.

The treasury options are bit trickier. I really want to start saving up for the Cothon and Library, but we really need to start beefing up the military. To that end, I suggest we form an Allagia and expand the militia both, but hang off on anything else in order to save up.
 
[] Plan setting up for mass development and possible war
-[] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points
-[] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)
-[] The Roads of Ivos (100 Silver)
-[] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5]
-[] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8]x2

Because we need a military that is worth a damn ASAP given the power of the surrounding natives Plus with all the development this turn it should keep the Net income more or less even and even spending 100 silver on Ivos will leave us with about 645 Silver next turn so long as we are still making 75 a turn.

That will give us more than enough for the Grand Cothon even without the Office of Development reducing its cost. IF I knew how much it reduces the cost by I might also suggest developing another Workshop as well.
 
Here's the Tentative Plan I have from what we've learned so far:

[ ] Sign the treaty.

[ ] Plan Steady Development
-[ ] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points
-[ ] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)
-[ ] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5] x2
-[ ] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8] x2
-[ ] Import New Advances from Portugal (150 Silver) [Gain Technology Earlier]

Here is the reasoning for my plan:

Signing the treaty would probably buy us more time with Europe as we can likely stave off the Portuguese from discovering the truly lucrative stuff like the gold of Mesoamerica which will have everyone scrambling to the New World. Let them have South America as developing it will be much more costly than just quick and easy trade with us, especially with the trade concessions we will make. What we need right now is time, as the bigger and stronger we build ourselves by the time the rest of Europe cottons on, the stronger a position we will have, and a greater head start on making all of Elysium ours.

Everyone I think is agreed upon in wanting to get the Office of Development for our tech advances, while using our diplo points on the only remaining diplo option is a no-brainer.

As for the military stuff...:

Militia: 4000 Soldiers
Allagia: 2000 Soldiers
Dynatoi: 2500 Soldiers
Varangians: 500 Soldiers

Militia: 6000 Men
Dynatoi: 2000 Men
Varangians: 500 Men

When we look at our current military compared to our previous iterations of it, it becomes evidently clear that while we have qualitatively improved our military, quantitatively it has remained the same. After our war with the Potawatomi we had 8500 soldiers. Currently we have 9000, not that much different in terms of size. Furthermore, while we have a more professional military than before, the thing that we need to be reminded about the Allagia is that they are almost totally deployed to Pythagoras, leaving us dangerously thin on troops within our more core areas. That is why I think we need to expand the militias now while we still have the profits and raise some more Allagia as well to help shore up our home garrisons.

Finally as for spending with regards to technology, I really do believe that having better tech will allow us to better develop ourselves and snowball our advantages further. We have the money now, the only reason I am not spending more is I want to save for the Great Cothon either next turn or the turn after that, to benefit off of the exclusive trade we still have.
 
[X] Sign the treaty.

[X] Plan Steady Development
-[X] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points
-[X] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)
-[X] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5] x2
-[X] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8] x2
-[X] Import New Advances from Portugal (150 Silver) [Gain Technology Earlier]
 
Last edited:
Finally as for spending with regards to technology, I really do believe that having better tech will allow us to better develop ourselves and snowball our advantages further. We have the money now, the only reason I am not spending more is I want to save for the Great Cothon either next turn or the turn after that, to benefit off of the exclusive trade we still have.
Your plan is great but I am not sure if it leaves us enough Silver for the Cothon next turn Depending how much our trade income is reduced by the treaty or how much (or little) the Development office reduces its cost by.

thats why my plan is a bit more conservative on the expenditure of silver and focuses on the roads of Ivos instead of the Tech. WE are still getting the tech no matter what so getting it a bit faster is not the end all be all to me atm. Though I agree with you that we should get it next turn if we can and if we can't we need to get it the turn after no matter what.
 
Some rough math:
Our trade went up from 20.28 last turn to 26.16 now.
Let us pessimistically suppose the Treaty of Atlapolis decreases our trade by twice that much, losing 12 income.
The Tobacco Plantations option should add at least 1 production in Nea Aleksandreia. I still don't understand the economy spreadsheet.
That would leave us with an income of 64 per turn at a pessimistic estimate. Multiply by 5 years is 320.
To safely afford the Grand Cothon (600) after that, we need at least 280 banked at the end of this spending round.
We have a treasury of 380, so we should not spend more than 100 silver in the pessimistic case.

I think it is likely but not entirely certain that we could take Import New Advances from Portugal (150) and still get the Cothon next turn, due to a combination of 1) Office of Development discount, 2) Portuguese treaty loss not being that bad, 3) technology increasing productivity, 4) population growth increasing income.

[ ] Sign the treaty.

[ ] Plan Steady Development
-[ ] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points
-[ ] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)
-[ ] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5] x2
-[ ] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8] x2
-[ ] Import New Advances from Portugal (150 Silver) [Gain Technology Earlier]
I feel this is against the spirit of the moratorium. :eyebrow: I realize it's not a [X] vote, but I had the impression moratorium was partly supposed to encourage different people designing plans before a bandwagon could start.
 
[ ] Sign the treaty.

[ ] Plan Go For Growth
-[ ] Establish an Office of Development: 340 Administrative Points
-[ ] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)
-[ ] Import New Advances from Portugal (150 Silver) [Gain Technology Earlier]
-[ ] Expand the Militia (10 Silver/-2 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/5]
-[ ] Form an Allagia from the Militia (-4 Silver) [Repeatable] [0/8]

Development actions using monarch points are the single most cost-effective way of boosting income, which means that expanding the court is simply the best move we can take. In terms of raw mathematical comparison each development actions boosts our income by roughly the same amount as a 500-600 Silver Treasury action does, so trading 250 Silver a turn (one 500-600 Silver project every other turn) for 60 Admin + 60 Diplo points per turn (average of 1 development action per turn) gets us approximately twice as much income growth.

That being said, it does make beefing up our military a little tricky - 2000 new militia and another 500 Allagia isn't as much as some other plans but it leaves us with just under 25 Silver per year, which is enough to keep taking smaller and more cost effective Treasury actions while our development cranks our income back up or take a turn or two to save for a larger project.
 
Development actions using monarch points are the single most cost-effective way of boosting income, which means that expanding the court is simply the best move we can take. In terms of raw mathematical comparison each development actions boosts our income by roughly the same amount as a 500-600 Silver Treasury action does, so trading 250 Silver a turn (one 500-600 Silver project every other turn) for 60 Admin + 60 Diplo points per turn (average of 1 development action per turn) gets us approximately twice as much income growth.
This assumes we can always spend our points on development, though. When this turn has provided an exception in having 253 diplo points but we can only spend 104.

Which... is kinda weird when I think about it.
[ ] Expand Tobacco Plantations in Nea Aleksandreia: 104 Diplomatic Points (5->7)
What is it that makes Nea Aleksandreia the only settlement we can spend diplo points on? Presumably not the current development, because we have several others at 5. Not the crop, because Alouion also produces tobacco. Not roads or workshops, because Nea Konstantinopolis has those too. 🤔
And what (if anything) can we do to ensure the creation of more settlements that we can spend future points on?
 
I feel this is against the spirit of the moratorium. :eyebrow: I realize it's not a [X] vote, but I had the impression moratorium was partly supposed to encourage different people designing plans before a bandwagon could start.
mmm I figured this is to discuss possible plans and not vote for them yet.

Development actions using monarch points are the single most cost-effective way of boosting income, which means that expanding the court is simply the best move we can take. In terms of raw mathematical comparison each development actions boosts our income by roughly the same amount as a 500-600 Silver Treasury action does, so trading 250 Silver a turn (one 500-600 Silver project every other turn) for 60 Admin + 60 Diplo points per turn (average of 1 development action per turn) gets us approximately twice as much income growth.
except we barely get any options for development actions using monarch points. If we did get those then we def should be getting the court but we don't get many each turn which means we are better off leaving our silver for major projects like the Cothon and Irrigation Canals.

This assumes we can always spend our points on development, though. When this turn has provided an exception in having 253 diplo points but we can only spend 104.

Which... is kinda weird when I think about it.
exactly this. I think we can only spend out points on a single project in a city once every few turns or something. like there is a CD on it.
 
Back
Top