I say try it, tape it and put it on youtube.
Big respect if you make it far before you get killed. 
Now at the start of the game you might want to walk around a bit and look for a sweet spot to put your first city at, but then i think you will need that city to back you up.
Now with a mod on the ather hand...
You could probably make a mod that enables you to play the way you want to.
Do not think it would be that hard to do even...
Food for thought... Moders?