Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 2 (430 A.D. to 1702 A.D.)

Turmoil in the Stormlands and the rise of Awesomeness

610 A.D.: Uppsala, long the unofficial capital of the Northern Stormlands, grows into a full city. Located on the Bay of Storms east of Sigtuna, a road immediately begins construction to link it to the other great cities of Sweden. The divide between Northern Stormlanders, under Swedish rule, and Southern Stormlanders, under Danish rule, grows more pronounced. The Stormlands enter a period of feudal war between lords supporting Sweden, those supporting Denmark, and those supporting Stormlander independence. Both the Swedish and Danish nobility discreetly support the combatants, but neither side goes as far as to openly declare war or send their own men to the front.

Yikes, what is that? Four religions? Five? Only seven can be founded per game, so I'm running out of time.

715 A.D.: Swedish scientists at the Academy of Stockholm observe and catalog the laws of physics.

Aww yeah, in your face, Newton! What are we, like, 900 years ahead of the curve here? Next I turn my tech path toward Education, so I can start making research agreements with some of the less-enlightened people of the world.

775 A.D.: Germany founds Judaism, and immediately declares holy war on Austria. The same year, a Great Prophet begins preaching of Awesome things in Stockholm...

WOW, right under the wire! My new religion, Awesomeness, ended up being the seventh of seven possible world religions. If I'd waited any longer, I would have had to watch helplessly as missionaries from other civs spread their faiths, with nothing I could really do about it. Now I can train Missionaries to convert others to the ways of Awesomeness, and eventually, Inquisitors to burn any less-than-Awesome heretics from my lands.

Since I am last, I get last pick of the available founder beliefs. I choose Tithing, which will give me gold for every follower of Awesomeness in the world, and Religious Community, which gives me a production bonus. Wouldn't have been my first choices, but not too bad for the bottom of the barrel.

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Len Hafer is a freelancer and lifelong PC gamer with a specialty in strategy, RPGs, horror, and survival games. A chance encounter with Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness changed her life forever. Today, her favorites include the grand strategy games from Paradox Interactive like Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis, and thought-provoking, story-rich RPGs like Persona 5 and Disco Elysium. She also loves history, hiking in the mountains of Colorado, and heavy metal music.