Egypt is going though troubled times. Many of the affluent have fled abroad. People have turned to war instead of books. The trade in Papyrus has dried up in upper Egypt, and few traders risk travelling far from the Nile delta.
Looking for a refuge from the turmoil, you tread a treacherous route to an unwanted, somewhat barren region by a watery Gulf (which we now know as the Red Sea). Others travelling that way have been ravaged by wild animals, or having survived that died of starvation, as nothing edible will grow in the blazing heat.
You are determined to rebuild civilization, and to gain respect in the Kingdom for your family. Pharaoh has offered you cash assistance, but expects a pyramid in return, you may also produce a smaller monument for yourself, and erect an obelisk to ensure that the city can be seen from afar.
There are some opportunities to trade across the water, but you will probably want to take measures to make the path to the coast safer, before putting out the call for more settlers. Invest wisely, as even generous funds will decay quickly without established trade, and the high risks in the area have led to higher than usual loan rates.
A small river leads to the coast, teaming with fish. The river is too turbulent to cross near the estuary, but at least the flood waters add some fertility to the arid land there.
Although the rocks give a natural defence to many areas, you should take the usual measures to ensure security. The rocks in the region offer no valuable ores.
If you are looking for favour in the kingdom, then your must be prepared to show your benevolence, using your army to defend borders of Egypt. Perhaps you can persuade traders that the routes are safe, and that goods for the affluent, such as papyrus, are worth transporting to your city. Until this is achieved, you will not be able to attract the affluent back, and levy high taxes needed to achieve a highly cultured city.
This is definitely not a task for the faint of heart.
Summary
Difficulty Level: Advanced Player
Military level: Medium
At first glance this scenario promises to be be an exciting propesition for the seasoned Pharaoh player, and when you get into it your not disapointed.
The scenary is excellent as you would expect from Trev, a lot of time has been spent in creating a landscape that is a challenge in itself so that preplanning of the main housing blocks is required if you are not going to restart after ten years gameplay. Wolves cause a problem in the early days, they are placed in positions that can be overlooked if you are not careful.
Although the starting funds look high, money will be a problem right through the scenario, I finished after 29 years, a time that would normally indicate huge bank accounts,but only had 35000+ Db at the end. There were options to make bricks and make more money, but I declined the option. If you can make 4/5000 Db profit each year and are careful with expenditure you will survive.
Four gods can be a handful to look after and keep happy, I used shrines to boost their favour.
Trading partners are few and far between early on, but if you make the requests more will open up, and you will not be able to make the prosperity ratings until Serabit Khadim and On or Behdet are opened. I couldn't understand why Thinnis bought copper since you can't mine it so it had no effect on the game.
The military part of the scenario is not too challenging, I made the mistake of using precious funds to build an early defence that was not needed. 2 or 3 chariot regiments and 3/4 warships will suffice for the whole scenario unless a large invasion is sceduled for later in the game. The attacks are spread well over different entry points that will keep you on your toes, but none are large enough to cause major problems.
Building materials for the two bent pyramids are available for mining, but granite for the obelisk has to be imported so start as early as you can afford it.
The one grumble that I have with Pharaoh as a whole is that when you become accomplished the import of building materials for monuments becomes a bottleneck and I find myself sat waiting for 5-10 game years or more with little else happening before any prosperity or culture push can be attempted. This scenario was no exception and maybe some of the kingdom rises for early complience of requests could have been changed to gifts of granite.
Overall this was a very enjoyable scenario and it is an achievement to complete it, I thoroughly recommend you download this one right now and see if you are up to the challenge.
