The Collapse of the Aztecs

(for the Aztecs New Spain, the Assassins, and the Taíno)

In one fell swoop, and without warning, New Spain and its partners have eviscerated what was once the dominant state of Mesoamerica. As the Aztecs cling to their last bastion of power, the victors face separate challenges, such as pacifying and administrating their conquests. What must we do to ease through changing times in Mesoamerica as smoothly as possible?

• Option 1 (available to the Aztecs): We must do what we can to maintain our sovereignty above all else, even if that means fleeing from our ancestral homelands!
• Option 2 (available to the Aztecs): Nay, our sovereignty is less important than our lives. Our conquerors must have at least a shred of mercy in their bones, right? [Requires a peace with New Spain.]
• Option 3 (available to the Aztecs): Even in defeat, surely we can show those poor saps tasked with administrating our lands why we have a reputation for indomitability!
• Option 4 (available to all except the Aztecs): Our people hunger to call all of Mesoamerica their own, a desire best satiated by teaching the Maya a lesson! [WARNING: Leads to war against the Maya.]
• Option 5 (available to all except the Aztecs): Actually, our people hunger in general. Let us shift our focus away from Mesoamerica and towards conditions in our homelands.
• Option 6 (available to New Spain and the Assassins): We must take care to administer our conquests ably and watchfully, so that we can put down any remnants of resistance and steadily integrate them into our domains.
• Option 7 (available to the Taíno): We must take care to administer our lands ably and watchfully, so that our people aren't tempted to rise up against the New Spanish yoke.

The Brooklyn Ice Trade

(for Brooklyn, New France, and the NWCC)

The road to success is too often paved with broken promises, a lesson most recently evident in the long-delayed establishment of the Brooklyn ice trade. As a consequence, a New Spanish blockade looms large for all Brooklynites, potentially endangering the fledgling colony's stability should circumstances devolve further. Meanwhile, Brooklyn's trade partners have encountered their own obstacles in the form of strained logistics for one and strained relations for the other. In a changing world, how sustainable is this ice trade really?

• Option 1 (available to Brooklyn): Now that we have much bigger concerns than the ice, we can't afford to keep up this trade any longer. Instead, we should pull out and consolidate to prepare for the hard times to come.
• Option 2 (available to Brooklyn): Ice is the future! Can't you see that, old man?
• Option 3 (available to Brooklyn): We should take a page from those around us by finding more inventive uses for ice than merely gaining coin.
• Option 4 (available to New France and the NWCC): What use do we have for ice, really? We should instead pursue less fraught avenues of trade with our neighbors. [Pick a faction (player or NPC, civ or city-state) other than Brooklyn with land within 5 tiles of your own.]
• Option 5 (available to New France): Nay, let us leave the past behind by embracing the ice trade as a means of mutual harmony and prosperity!
• Option 6 (available to the NWCC): Nay, let us shore up our logistical perils so that we may embrace the ice trade as a means of mutual harmony and prosperity!
• Option 7 (available to New France and the NWCC): We should take a page from the Brooklynites by establishing a trading company of our own to purvey unique and valuable goods from our own lands.

The Perks and Perils of Paternalism

(for Lollardvania, Neu Lübeck, and Taiowan)

Times have generally been quite good for those colonizers that have predominantly sought to understand rather than conquer, exploit, or just ignore the peoples of the continent they've settled. Unfortunately, doing so requires a consistent, careful hand in diplomacy, a talent which seems to have eluded Taiowan of late, as a series of faux pas have turned both the Cherokee and the Sioux against it. How will Taiowan rectify its wrongs, and how will Lollardvania and Neu Lübeck avoid such missteps?

• Option 1 (available to Taiowan): Our all-important economy is teetering, and it's all thanks to these pointless wars. That means we must pursue peace with one or both of our newfound enemies at once!
• Option 2 (available to Taiowan): Nay, these wars of ours are fair and just! Our foes will pay the price for making our profits plunge, regardless of the consequences!
• Option 3 (available to Taiowan): We should rather opt for a middle path, mounting effective defenses to wear out our opponents' capacity for offense until they approach the negotiating table of their own volition.
• Option 4 (available to Lollardvania and Neu Lübeck): We should ensure that the best and brightest minds among us are who we have meeting with the natives.
• Option 5 (available to Lollardvania and Neu Lübeck): We should task missionaries with spreading our faith to those around us to promulgate a mutual understanding.
• Option 6 (available to Lollardvania): We should focus on integrating our faithful Cherokee allies into our society so that they may fully share in its benefits.
• Option 7 (available to Neu Lübeck): We should offer the natives a taste of the goods and imports of our thriving economy so that they may continue to see the advantages of our presence.