General Tipps / Things not to do / Scripts

[Gandalf Parker]

I might also mention...
A common first turn involves
A) set your starting army to patrol
B) turn taxes to 200%
C) buy mercs (increase the base amount by about 7 gold if you are playing against AIs)
D) set pretender to research, if no magic then patrol
E) since your army is sticking around for a turn.. check and see if the leader can lead more than he has. See what he needs (some cavalry for flankers, more archers, maybe a priest/mage to go along for early searches?)

Most people will NOT attack blindly on the first turn.

On turn two you can choose a neighboring province to attack. Hit the "8" key and turn on the map arrows to show you who is and isnt a neighbor. Check them and make sure that you can move from there to the next neighbor. Plan your route so you can move from neighbor to neighbor without having to return to the home castle and waste 2 turns going around a blockage. Keep in mind that you will be able to buy more mercs and troops, and send them to reinforce for the next few battles as long as you are doing the loop of the provinces that neighbor the castle. BE SURE TO TURN THE TAXES BACK DOWN. Your patrollers are about to leave. 200% taxes have drawbacks and should be sued for a very short time in your capital.

Disclaimer: as for everything in Dominions, nothing is an absolute "always a good idea" thing. There are some nations and situations which can change the above suggestions.