Part 151: Bulrathi Preview

What's Next?

We're starting to approach the end, though who knows how long the final games will take. I'm looking good to finish with a winning record though, and I'm happy about that; 8-5 at the moment. We've got two more races to go and then the final 'bonus/challenge' run.

Bulrathi Preview

We'll be going with Smurch here, and Cave for the homeworld. Medium Galaxy again.

** Combat -- A huge +25 addition to all combat rolls, meaning that all other things being equal the bears enjoy a 3:1 kill ratio.

** Diplomacy -- Pretty average. Neutral with most, though there is distrust with the Mrrshan so you could put it just a hair below here.

** Economy -- Nuthin'.

** Research -- Good at Construction and Weapons, Poor in Computing. Overall that probably ends up being just about average or the slightest bit above, due to computers being more important than the other fields.

Outlook

This is a race that isn't terrible at anything, yet they suck. With the majority of the galaxy having economic bonuses, and then the Alkari/Mrrshan having the next-best thing with excellent fleet combat, I now find myself taking on a race that can do neither. Ground combat can be rendered mostly irrelevant by a superior fleet, so it's really the fact that there just isn't much to hang our hat on.

The Bulrathi are best-equipped to do planetary invasions early, and IMO overall the best race with which to be aggressive almost immediately. Given the opportunity, I may well attack before the 50-year-mark. If we find ourselves boxed-in, we'll probably look to just send some troops out and take territory from the neighbors. This can be effective in the right circumstances due to the fact that early-game firepower is not adequate to stopping transports effectively. Of course early conflicts can be a very two-edged sword, but if we can't get a strong colonization push early it's a lot better than getting strangled for the rest of the game by races that are stronger economically.