From the Mouth of Sauron
Issue: E-10
Date: 02-25-94
Note: all authors retain exclusive rights to their material.
Reprinting is allowed for non-commercial game use only.
Editorial
Before I ramble on, good news! David and Leslie Foreman had their
baby (actually, I think Leslie did most of the work) and everything
was fine! Here's the note I got from David this week:
Gang,
To use Mike Hostetter's term, here are the baby parameters:
Name Garland David Foreman
Sex Boy
Length 20.5"
Weight 7 lbs 5 oz
Apgar Score 9-9 (Blue feet like his sister)
Lngth of Labor 8 hours
Unusual terms used
During Labor 0
Forms Completed 1,485,537,532,964,532,664,563,259,053
All are well and fine. Thanks for the thoughts, and ignore Chris'
statement about messages since all are well and I'll be checking
email regularly (thanks though to Chris).
later! (wah, wah, cry, sniffle, scream!)
--
David R. Foreman
No doubt David and Leslie will be a wee bit busy for the next
eighteen years or so, so don't expect to see much from them in the
Mouth for awhile. Congratulations, guys!
Delays: my personal life has become even busier than it used to be.
I'm experiencing delays with trying out new mailings, getting people
on the subscription list, etc. I might also miss an issue or two in
early-to-mid March as my Significant Other is getting some minor but
painful surgery. If Friday rolls around and you don't see the
Mouth, or if you aren't yet on the mailing list, be patient; I'm
getting there.
Winter Olympics: this has nothing to do with ME-PBM, but I just
have to say: right on, Dan J.! You finally got your gold medal!
Format changes: I'm going to be experimenting a bit with
reformatting the Mouth for easier reading. Changes this issue:
- I'm pulling the "In Your Ear" section. Unfortunately,
you're all just too polite to really duke it out over
controversial stuff.
- It looks like we have the artifacts down pat, so I'm going
to pull the artifact changes section as well. If any new info
comes up, it'll make a brief reappearance.
- And finally: it looks like the Personals section just isn't
that popular. This'll be the last issue personals appear in,
unless I get a flood of 'em next week.
If you have any ideas for the format of the Mouth, I'd be happy to
hear them. Just drop me a line any time!
Encounters
Nothing this time.
Dragons
Angurth: confirmed that a DS who ATTACKs Angurth will end up
recruiting him.
Leucaruth: confirmed that anyone who ATTACKS Leucaruth will get
eaten.
Other Corrections and Notes
From Brian Cash
I am currently trying to figure out the difficulties of the agent
orders, how stealth is used, how effective guarding is, how
successful scouting is, etc. for agents AFTER "the change".
Please send any info/thoughts you have to: bcash@bnr.ca. Please
include as much detail as possible, ie nationalities, locations
(nation of pop center agent was at), relations, items, results, etc.
I will put the results in MOUTH when I get enough info.
From Jeremy Richman
David,
Your reponse about going after Khamul made me puzzled enough to ask
GSI about this. You aren't the only person who has suggested that
when a agent tried to 615/620 another character with agent skill, it
is harder to do because of the target being an agent. This was NOT
what I understood, so I asked GSI directly on CI$; you may have
noticed their answer already, but here it is, prefaced by my
question:
Q. I've spoken with several players now who all have the idea
that when an agent tried to kidnap/assassinate another character who
has agent skill, the target's agent skill makes him more difficult
to take out, e.g. a 40-pt agent is a tougher target than a 40-pt
mage. Is this true, or just another false rumor ?>>
A. Just another false rumor.. The skill ranks of the target
(regardless of skill type) are the only factor (besides the agent
rank of the character, the luck roll, relations, and any guards)
taken into consideration.>>
So hopefully Khamul will soon be dust.
(Editor's note: the same Q&A was submitted by Keith Peterson at
almost the same time that Jeremy's note arrived in my mailbox.
Apparently this is posted on CIS).
From David Foreman
In the recent MOUTH, Tom stated that 'you can't overrun an enemy
force that's sitting on one of its own (not an ally's) fortified pop
centers.' THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!
As I stated (not well apparently, sorry gang!) in my SHAFTED article
last issue, you absolutely can! Bill Nealon had 100 HI on an
MT/tower he owned. Gothmog overran them with about 900HC while
moving EVASIVELY! All three of Bill's chars with the army were
killed during the overrun. Needless to say, he was mad.
Bill Field says that the check on armies occurs individually (as you
said) and that no factors modify the chance of survival for the
little army. Thought you'd like to know.
(Editor's note: alas, I misspoke. David is right here. My
apologies if I screwed anyone up. Though there does seem to be some
evidence that you can't overrun an army sitting on one of it's own
fortified pop centers if you're NOT successful in moving evasively
into the hex. This happened to me just this last turn - failed to
overrun two small armies because non friendly/tolerant
fortifications stopped movement, and the fortifications belonged to
the player with the small armies).
From Keith Peterson
I (and several fellow players) have found that when the pop center
limit is reached, camps may still be created at ruins. The
hypothesis behind this is that ruins are counted in the pop center
tally, and consequently are not impacted when the limit is reached.
From Wes Fortin
More on the Agent Equation:
First, I want to state the equation presented was a recovery based
on facts provided, piecemeal, from Bill Fields. So, it may not be
the actual equation used in the game system. It does seem to be
accurate for calculating worse case scenarios. With that disclaimer
in there, I will proceed.
Darren's comments/observations are repeated frequently in the game.
Basically, an impossible feat occurs. His 65 agent, according to
Bill, should stop an agent twice his rank (130). Why didn't it?
There are two answers, the first hypothetical, the second gospel.
The "double agent rank" rule for guards may be a variable. I look
for "Mouth" readers to test the equation and provide feedback like
Darren's. According to Bill, the old rules only had the agent rank
as a modifier, that seemed ineffective, so the double rank was
created to encourage more guards as a deterant from widespread agent
gods. I could be that the benefits provided by the agent could be
variable. It could be 1-130 (using the above agent), or 66-130 wher
the additional "doubling" is variable in effect.
Another possibility is this. According to the Bill-god, GSI has
built a critical failure/success system into the equations. Those
of you familiar with ICE's RoleMaster system are real familiar with
how this works. If the attacking agent got a real good "success
role", it doesn't matter how good the target is, or how well
guarded. Theoritically, it is possible for a 10 Agent to
assassinate Elrond with a REAL GOOD roll. Likewise, there is a
critical failure result also. If you get a real bad roll with that
150 agent, you could not only fail, you could die! I have lost 60+
agents stealing from unguarded camps. Very unlikely, but that
critical failure role came in to effect.
In fact, much of GSI's success/failure/effect system mirrors
RoleMaster and like systems. There are extremes, and a large middle
area. Agent actions are the most frequently observed. Your 65
agent could die (a poor role), succeed in the guard with reduced
effect (low midlin roll (yes, I caught the error - so my spelling
stinks!)), succeed with normal effect (mid range roll), injure the
assassin (better than average), capture/kill the assassin (great
roll). We also see this phenomena in Commander/Army action. I have
had 10 Commanders succeed in capturing 50 rank characters with enemy
armies. And, the 10 Comms army was destroyed in the process.
Either I got real lucky, or they got real unlucky. Maybe both. GSI
guards closely the real range of effects in each scenario.
Bill built in these effect ranges to "spice up the game" and keep
those 100 rank characters from always succeeding. It also ensures
character turnaround so gameslast longer, thus more money for GSI.
Reply to Wes Fortin
From Tom Walton
Just a couple of added notes. I can attest to the extremes of rolls
which is especially apparent in agent actions. An example: I had
three 50-60 point agents in a row get killed trying to sabotage the
unguarded tower of a dropped nation. On the other hand, in one of
my games Khamul got captured by a 20-point agent while trying to
waste a 30-point commander.
You can also see this in challenges. In game 60, for example, an
opponent who had a 95% (according to David Foreman's calculations)
chance of beating one of my characters into jelly was instead
himself thrashed, without a mark being laid upon my character. In
fact, I won 4 lousy challenges in a row due to sheer luck, which was
somewhat demoralizing for the enemy (having some of your best guys
killed by a nobody is definitely irksome).
For numbers people, a statistical run on the data points produces a
curve like the one Wes outlines. This doesn't mean that the formula
is the same as that in RoleMaster; just that whatever formula being
used produces the same type of curve. But the connection is fairly
straightforward, allowing us to assume with good reason that the
RoleMaster system has been transcribed into the game code.
From Tom Walton
Here's an interesting note. In an earlier issue of the Mouth I
stated that you could move directly to an encounter and issue order
285 'ReacEnc', giving a response, without first doing order 290. I
said this based upon statements made by Bill.
A couple of people have reported trying this and failing. I thought
perhaps they weren't giving a response for order '285', or that they
were just unlucky and didn't have the encounter, but I went back and
actually found the paper copy of the Q&A with Bill (I threw all the
others out once I transcribed them). Here it is, blow by blow:
Q: I'm somewhat confused concerning an earlier answer you gave in
response to a question about encounters. You said that a character
in the same hex as a dragon could force an encounter using the '285
React to Encounter' order. Does that mean that I could have a
character skip order '290' and move straight on to order 285, giving
a reaction (e.g., 'Act Meek')?
A: Yes! But you had best know what the encounter is before you
react. You may not want to....
Q: If the answer to the previous question was 'yes', can I do this
with other encounters, assuming I'm willing to bet I know what the
encounter is (e.g., Daeron, Demon of Aglarond, Slyardach, Amon
Llhaw, etc.)?
A: Yes.
Rather unequivocal, I'd say. There were other questions concerning
this topic, but they were basically a rehash to see if I'd get the
same answer several times in a row (I do this in case Bill is having
a bad day).
Personals
Game 27
To the remaining Dark Ones....Harad has joined the fight after 34
turns) and your days (maybe hours) are numbered.
Argeleb II
Game 43
Eothraim, how long do you think you can hide? We have destroyed
your armies, killed your characters, driven you from Rhovanian and
you continue to fight on...too bad your allies didn't help you
sooner.
Ji Indur
Game 61
Dark Ones, my allies come, the Western Lords have gathered,
your days are over.... Mahrcared
Game 104
Dear subjects, we have nothing to fear but our own alliance.
Haruth Raman
ME-PBM Wish List
From Darren Beyer
Army Retreats:
Through out history there have been quite a few battles which
resulted in the losing army either being wiped out or vanquished as
an effective fighting force. Little Big Horn, Bannockburn, Crecy
just to name a few. There were many more battles, however, which
resulted in each side leaving the field with a fair number of troops
left in fighting shape and each army still able to act as a viable
entity.
I would like to see some additions to the tactics that can be
issued. Consider:
A RETREAT Tactic.
This allows the army to fight only one round of combat before
retreating from the field. This tactic would yield an unfavorable
Army vs. Army modifier for the retreating army vs. all other tactics
and would leave both armies in the same hex after the one round of
combat. If neither army issued a move command they would be there
to fight next turn.
PRESS THE ATTACK Tactic.
This would counter the retreat tactic, forcing a "fight to the
death" between the armies, but, like the RETREAT tactic, would yield
unfavorable army vs. army modifiers against all other tactics.
Another thing on my Wish List is using a different combat value for
troop types from different nations. I play the dwarves in game 60
where my vaunted dwarvish pony riders swoop down from the mountains
and crush everything in their path. Should these "pony riders" be
just as effective as the fabled cavalry from Rhovanian? I think
not.
The Eothraim should have maybe an 18 combat value for Hvy Cav, but
not as effective infantry (8 or 9 for hvy inf, 4 for light). The
dwarves should have a 14 or so value for Hvy Cav and maybe a 12 for
hvy inf. The Sinda and Noldo should have better archers, the Dog
Lord, Long Rider good cav. I don't have enough data on the other
nations to make suggestions about them.
This type of system is already in place for navies, and the basic
structure is there for armies (GSI already lists combat strengths on
each nation's startup sheet, they're just all the same). This could
add some flavor to the game.
From Doug Bergstrom
Naval Arena:
1) Can anyone picture the Minnow being able to take as much damage
as the Bismark prior to sinking? Constitutions of warships and
transports should be different.
2) How about having the southern river (help me with the name guys)
(Editor's Note: the name of the river that cuts through Harad is
the Harnen) extend through Harondur to the Mordor mts? Switch the
Cloudlord and Blind Sorceror positions around, toss in a harbor and
a few warships and whalla, the Blind Sorceror has an avenue for
using the cross open seas and the Quiet Avenger has a point of rapid
reinforcement. Suddenly, Harod becomes a major area of contention
(not just a neutral playground) with naval invasions possible in
both directions.
Heavy vs. Light:
How about simply giving troops w/o heavy greater movement or normal
movement equal to force marching? The real unaddressed advantage in
light troops should be the ability to move farther faster.
Neutrals in Grudge matches:
You have two decisions to make, are you going to stay in the game
and how soon to declare for the servants. If you have decided to
stay in you should start to aid the DS immediately. Trust me, the
FP don't need you and sooner or later the ultimatum will come - join
or die. And if it is any kind of a competent FP this will happen
prior to turn 10. At least the game will be fun (maybe for a short
while) and the DS really need the help. If you decide (as I did by
turn 10 - Harad) to join the FP, it comes down to letting them steal
your gold, assassinate your characters and influence your pop
centers (all has happened since I have joined them). Why? Because
they feel that they did more in 10 turns then I did so why should I
be in first? The fact is there is nothing that I can do to change
their minds, believe me I have tried.
Editor's note: what follows is an exact description of Doug's
situation as Harad. He sent this to me this morning, and I couldn't
confirm whether he wanted it in the Mouth or was just filling me in
on the game. It wouldn't be relevant next week, so I decided to
play it safe and include it. If I'm wrong, Doug, I'll get down on
my knees and humbly apologize.
Uhm, like didn't want to sound like I was complaining about being a
neutral in a grudge match (the other day). But having my first
neutral position being a grudge match and having Harad I thought the
game would be "VERY" interesting. This is the way events have gone:
Rhudaur drops
Easterlings join FP (FP offered 75,000 gold & a MT)
FP demolish WK/Drgonlrd
Dunland is threatened join or die
QA is basically taken out of the game (Vamaug falls T2)
Corsairs turn good.
Dunlands armies face Cardolan/Arthedain/Dwarf armies
he tells me it is no-win and will join FP
With QA out, Corsairs good, Easterlings good, S.Gondor
Sinda, and N.Gondor having their way, I decided to join
the FP-like alot of choice.
I cut a supposed deal with the Noldo, relinquishing 1st
with the understanding I would help N.Gondor monetarily.
I was told that I couldn't have first since N.Gondor had
done all of the major work (10 turns!)
All this happened by turn 11.
Since then I have sent 20,000 to Gondor, had my new
alliance steal another 40,000, perfect their emissary
skills on my pop centers and assassinate one of my
characters for a Dwarven victory condition. Caught
a Corsair agent attempting to steal gold.
And it is not that I haven't acted as a true ally since
I have joined the free peoples, my only real point of
attack was the QA, I challenged his characters and
captured his capital. I am sending 3000 HI to Mordor to
assist if not take the IK capital. But I am abit
perplexed as to next moves. There is no way I can com-
pete against Elrond (who has been around) or woodmen
agents.
"Their answer to this 'Gee only 20,000' (last turn)."
Anyway that is why I feel the way I do about neutrals in grudge
matches. It is not good to make an opinion based on one experience
but if I am ever in the position to do it over...I would immediately
start aiding the DS with full intentions of joining them.
(Editor's note: Doug, if I were you, I'd transfer all of my stuff
to the DS and suicide against the FP with a character war. Teach
'em a lesson in diplomacy....)
Yesterday I put forth the idea of switching Cloudlord/Blind Sorceror
positions and running the river Harnen (is that right? if so thanks
for the last issue!) to the Mordor mountains. The idea was twofold,
allowance of the BS to use it's talent of crossing open seas and
rapid support for the Quiet Avenger. Last night another possibility
came to me....How about a secret river passage extending through the
Mordor mts connecting the Harnen with the Sea of Nurnan (did I get
that one right too?). Make it an available route for only skilled
sailors who know "Crossing Open Seas". Either picture huge caverns
with a river flowing through or possibly a grand scale Colorado
river with swift and deadly turns.
Dragons: Do dragons die in battle? If not why don't they? I feel
that if an army is strong enough to beat another army that has a
dragon along then the dragon should have a good chance of dying. It
is not unheard of that dragons die while engaged in major battles.
Plus an extra bonus should be given an army & commanders surviving
such an encounter. It could be gold, artifacts, experience morale,
etc....but the army should be greatly boosted by withstanding dragon
fire and winning the day!
Reply to Doug
From Tom Walton
I agree that at most of the time a neutral should join the Dark
Servants just on general principle. The Servants have a much harder
time of it than the Free, especially in winter games (as I recently
experienced first-hand), and neutral opposition makes their
situation much more desperate.
Yet I can't say that I've done this. I've played neutrals six times
now; four times I joined the Free, once the Dark Servants, and one
time both sides were so bone-headed I just attacked and conquered
everyone around me regardless of allegiance (my most enjoyable game
yet). Why so?
In three of the four cases where I joined the Free, I did so because
Mordor made a pre-emptive strike, either with agents, military
units, or both. In all three of these cases, the Dark Servants
started off with threats ("join us or die"), either as a group or
from individual regional players. In essence, the Dark Servants
convinced me that I could expect nothing better than threats and an
end-game character war, which irritated me to no end. In the last
case, I suffered a brain cramp upon receiving a very friendly letter
from a neighoring nation and changed my mind at the last minute
(indeed, on the turn I was supposed to cross over the river and
conquer said neighbor under Sauron's banner).
Doug's point is well-taken. Unfortunately, I've experienced what he
seems to be going through at the hands of Mordor much more often
than with the Free Peoples. In only one game has the Dark Servant
team actually tried a little diplomacy, and because of that I'm now
throwing everything I have (as Harad) into protecting Mordor.
The point being: whether it's the Free or the Servants, picking the
team that's least likely to give you the shaft can be difficult.
It's also far more important to a neutral than picking a team based
upon it's allegiance or how it's doing in the war overall. It's no
fun jumping in on a side and giving your all if said side smacks you
upside the head with agents and emissaries when the war's all but
over.
As a side note: I still find it amazing that some people seem to
think that threatening a neutral will actually convince it to join
their side. This might work in real life, but not often at all in
the game; after all, we players have nothing to lose, and there's no
greater satisfaction than stomping all over some obnoxious idiot
who's been giving you a hard time - even if such an endeavor results
in your ultimate defeat. Dragging an enemy with you to the grave is
a time-honored goal in gaming.
If you actually wish to recruit a neutral, beating your chest and
grunting won't do it. This juvenile and boorish tactic is only
going to alienate the potential ally. Recruitment tends to happen
earlier, and much more whole-heartedly, if the allegiance avoids
threats altogether and simply tries to convince the neutral just how
unified and friendly it is. Throwing in a few minor goodies helps
too; after all, if you're the Servants you have artifacts to spare.
What's one or two +20 artifacts in comparison to having the might of
a nation equal to any two or three Dark Servants joining your side?
How I Got Shafted in ME-PBM
From Brian Mason
This is not so much a "How I got Shafted" but a listing of rules
mis-interpretations and errors in my first couple of games. In
writing this I feel like I'm in a confessional. Forgive me father,
for I've been dumb as a door.
- I assumed too much. I was guessing as to enemy strengths and
capabilites without having any good idea. I had characters blindly
wandering about in the middle of nowhere hoping to find something
good.
- I did not read the rules CAREFULLY! I recognized the need for
emissaries (as described in Tom's excellent article on them in "The
Mouth" #9) on turn one of my first game. So I named one with a 30/10
mage/emissary. Down goes 5000 gold, out comes a 10 emissary. The
character didn't pass 30 until turn eight.
- I did not recognize and use my capabilities well. I did not see
the value in recruiting lots of troops, so the hire army ability of
Cardolan was not adequately used until a half-dozen turns or so had
passed.
- I didn't take the time to understand well how the combat algorithm
works. GSI, in their example, goes to great lengths to, and I quote:
"the army of Borgen, although out-numbered 3/2, by virtue of..."
blah blah blah. I took this to the heart and valued quality over
quantity, and for the longest time would not even CONSIDER
recruiting until I had bronze or steel handy, and I always went out
of my way to train.
- DON'T LET YOURSELF GET SPECIAL SERVICED! Find out how long mail
takes to be delivered from your door to Miami. Double it. Add a day.
Then take it to the post office that morning. You've got to plan
ahead, but it'll save some heartache later.
- I assumed that if I found no characters on a scout for characters
that there were no characters to be found. Wrongo!
- I didn't read the requirements for orders carefully. One game, I
had an army commander make steel armor. On the very next turn he
upgraded armor. But he left out that he wanted to upgrade to steel
armor. Never mind that he only had steel armor present. No upgrade.
Another example, in a recent turn I executed TranCar in my capital
to send gold to someone else. I told them where to (4133), I told
them what (gold), I told them how much (10000). Unfortunately, they
wanted to know where I wanted the stuff to come from. I was promptly
told that I could not transfer gold FROM 4133 as it was not mine. No
joke.
- FAX machines will and do run out of paper. If you are faxing in a
turn, do it a day early or call to make sure it arrived or, sorry
Charlie, tough luck (sound familiar, Glen?).
- I did not always read what affects orders. Understand each order
well.
- I did not appreciate how often Dragons wander about mountains. The
love emissary snacks!
What now follows are a series of questions and the answers I sent in
to GSI. For a while I had a fresh stack of a half-dozen questions or
so every turn. Your response to some of the questions may be
increduility (as mine is now, in looking back, but these are the
thoughts of a new player on the zeroth turn of his first game). Be
kind!
- Q: Regarding victory conditions, do I understand
correctly that if I fulfill a victory
condition prior to the game end then I only
have fulfilled the conditions if they still
exist at the game end?
A: Yes
- Q: Who is Pochak?
A: You will have to find out. See spells for
ideas...
- Q: What is the purpose of the "challenge"
attribute of characters?
A: See p. 52 - Rules: Personal Challenges
- Q: When you name a new mage do you get to chose
the spell(s) which he/she will have? If not,
how are they determined?
A: No, they are determined for you by nation
- Q: Do we already have all information available
on our territory which would be determined by
a Recon Area?
A: On your turn map, only icons and presence of
items is indicated. Scout areas/recons also
can provide names of characters/nations as
well.
- Q: Do we already have all information available
on our territory which would be determined by
a Scout Area?
A: See above.
- Q: Do we already have all information available
on our territory which would be determined by
a Scout Hex?
A: No
- Q: Do we already have all information available
on our territory which would be determined by
a Scout Population Center?
A: No
- Q: Do we already have all information available
on our territory which would be determined by
a Scout for Characters?
A: No. This reveals characters in a specific hex
only..
- Q: If a hex has a population center in it, will
scout population center and scout hex
determine different things?
A: Yes
- Q: Does it matter where within your country you
spread rumors? Does it matter where in
another country you try to uncover secrets?
A: No. Yes, see pg 87 in rules
- Q: What is my interest in hex 0508 (Lanthir
Lamath)?
A: See page 7 in rulebook.
- Q: Is it possible to ascertain the loyalty
effects of raising taxes prior to raising
them?
A: Not exactly, it is a function of the amount
of change...
- Q: With regards to spell lists for research of
new spells what is a spell list? For example,
is Lore Spells a spell list or is Divinations
a spell list?
A: See page 33 in Rules
- Q: Can the same unit be put on army maneuvers by
the army commander, and on troop maneuvers by
another character with command skill with the
army on the same turn?
A: Yes
- Q: Once a neutral nation executes order #175
(ChAlleg) to join the good or evil side, can
it go back to neutral and to the other side?
Can a good or evil nation use this order? Is
there anyway to ascertain whether or not a
neutral nation has executed this order other
than the Perceive Allegiance and Perceive
Secrets spells?
A: No. No. By spying army icons, indirect
evidence as well.
- Q: It seems that for casting spells the spell
proficency is much more important than the
mage rank. Is this true? Is the only value
of mage rank in determining the initial
casting proficency of a new spell?
A: Yes. And spell difficulty. See page 33 in
rules
- Q: Is it possible to research a spell that is
"easy" on a list which is not "lost" even if
the character does not have access to it? For
example, one of my characters has the
following three spells:
102 - Barriers on the Barriers Mastery List
208 - Word of Pain on the Word Mastery List
419 - Divine Nation Forces on the Divinations
List
Suppose I want the character to research a
new spell. I know I can research spells up
to one degree harder on each of these three
lists, however, can the character research a
basic prerequisite spell on another list
(e.g. 402 - Perceive Allegiance)?
A: Yes. You have access unless they are "lost."
- Q: On turn 1 two characters of mine executed
order 925 - Recon. The only information
provided was a map. No information at all
was provided vis a vis an alien army in a hex
on the map (1715). Does this indicate the
recon was unsuccessful or only partially
successful? As Recon (925) is an easy
command, with the +20 bonus on scouting/recon
for Cardolan Agent/Command I would have
expected to receive all available
information. Is this true?
A: The amount and detail of reported information
is based on the command rank and incorrect
reports are possible - see page #102 of the
rules.
- Q: On turn 1 I had 500 victory points. Is it
possible to get in the future, an itemized
accounting of how we get the points and where
we rank (1-25) in each of the four
categories?
A: The exact break-down of Victory points is not
revealed. See Page #6 for details!
- Q: Am I mailing in my turn 1 moves or my turn 2
moves? For example, suppose I received a
resultsheet with turn # 5 printed on the
bottom, and I had 12 characters. If the moves
which I would then prepare to mail in were
turn 5 moves (I presume) I could not create a
new character. If the moves which I would
then prepare to mail in were turn 6 moves (I
presume, again) I could create a new
character. Which is true?
A: They would be turn #5 moves.
- Q: Can you give commanders (not ARMY commanders)
travelling with the army orders for army
commanders only, which then would be executed
in the event the army commander was killed in
personal combat? For example, bill is an army
commander and ted is a back-up commander
travelling with the army. Could you give
both of these two orders 230 and 850 (for
example). Of course, the only way ted's
orders would take effect would be if bill
were killed and he became army commander.
This would allow you to make sure an army did
what you wanted regardless of what happened
to the commander.
A: Yes
- Q: Can you give a character two orders of their
type (i.e. two agent orders, two emissary
orders, etc.) knowning that only one could be
executed. For example, suppose you had an
enemy army at your population center where
you had an emissary. Could you give him
orders 520 and 550. 550 would take effect if
the population center was destroyed, and 520
if it was not. The effect is to give a
character only one order for that turn.
A: No
- Q: Are the production values given at population
centers representative values for those types
of hexes, or are they above the mean?
A: The production values given when scouting a
hex are the values at maximum (100%)
production, all other values may have been
modified by the climate modifier.
- Q: Are production values randomly selected for
each population center at the start of each
game, or is a nations production set, and
production shifted between population
centers?
A: Randomly selected.
- Q: When creating or posting a camp what factors
determine whether or not the camp is posted?
For example, does it depend just on the skill
rank of the person using the appropriate
order, or does it also depend on the terrain
in the hex, or nation tax rate, or season, or
how well that nation is doing in the game,
etc.?
A: The emissary or command skill and the total
number of population centers in the game.
- Q: When improving a population center what
factors determine whether or not the
population center is improved? For example,
does it depend just on the skill rank of the
person using the appropriate order, or does
it also depend on the terrain in the hex, or
nation tax rate, or season, or how well that
nation is doing in the game, morale of the
population center, other characters present,
etc.?
A: The level of the emissary and the loyalty of
the population center.
- Q: If an army has more than one backup
commanders, and the commander is killed
through personal challenge, as a result of
combat, or by assassination, which of the
subcommanders will become army commander?
A: The next best commander.
- Q: Would the spell "Perceive Allegiance" show
only active players of a specified
allegiance, or would it also show those which
are inactive (i.e. dropped), or would it show
those which are defeated?
A: yes and only neutrals which have changed
their allegiance.
- Q: Just a suggestion for modification of rules:
An idea I had of a possible emissary order
would be "Make Pronouncement" where you would
be allowed to make a 20 word statement that
would appear in each countries "Nation
Messages" for the following turn. This would
then get the message to all nations, even
those who do not get "Whispers..."
A: No response.
- Q: Another suggestion for something to include
in the new player supplies would be a map
with the information provided on the large
poster size map but in a small (8 x 11) size.
The larger one is too bulky for easy use, and
I think the resolution of laser printing
might allow for the information to be reduced
to that size.
A: No response.
- Q: Is gold production reduced as a population
center increases in size like all the other
resources, or does it remain the same?
A: remains the same.
- Q: Will Counter espionage work on the agent that
executed the order?
A: No.
Commentary
by Leslie Foreman
(Originally published in the 'Free People Press')
As I have mentioned in the past, I generally read 'The Press', but
I must admit that I often find the names of the characters to be
obnoxious. I feel that I am wrapping my lips around too many
letters to be in just one word. Then when the sounds do come out,
it is more like a foreign curse than a name. I realize that many of
the names where given to you by GSI, but I also know that you have
had the opportunity to create and to name characters of your own.
With this in mind, I would like to suggest that you choose names
which have meaning. I guarantee that it will help you keep up with
who is who and what his/her purpose is. I have several examples. (I
don't understand it, but I have remained true to the idea that names
need to begin with a vowel. I have selected E for this example.)
Eayuwanajoyn A commander which you know will raise many
troops. You know "Uncle Eayuwanajoyn needs you."
Ehrsdahinimy A commander which you know will lead many men
into many battles.
Ehrdowegoh A commander created and attached to an army just
prior to battle.
Elpikneedelp A commander who, when created, is already at a
military disadvantage.
Ehrsdahrmee An agent created to scout for information.
Ehrsdagohld An agent created to find his/her way into the
treasury of others.
Eayulissenin A character created to steal "pop centers"
through emissary action.
Eesded and A character who is created, yet his demise is
Eestoste known to be imminent.
Enuffe A quick, and somewhat clever, way of ending this
commentary. Good gaming, guys! (If you need a
key, there is one at the end of 'The Press'.
Good luck!!)
I hope you don't need these, but here are the names written in good
ol' standard English.
Eayuwanajoyn Hey! You want to join?
Ehrsdahinimy Where's the enemy?
Ehrdowegoh Where do we go?
Elpikneedelp Help! I need help!!
Ehrsdahrmee Where's the army?
Ehrsdagohld Where's the gold?
Eayulissenin Hey! You listening?
Eesded He's dead.
Eestoste He's toast.
Enough Again, a good way to end.
The European Connection
By Brian Lowery
Following is somthing I got off rec.arts.pbm I thought you might be
interested. It would also be interesting to get the europian
veiwpoint as I have been told that they run their own version of the
software and it has not been updated with the latest agent/emissary
order changes:
Since the disasterous attempt by GAD in the UK to produce a
newsletter for MEPBM I've been toying with the idea of producing one
myself (with a help from a few friends and fellow players).
This is a request for feedback on the validity of the idea.
- Is there a need for such in UK / EUROPE ?
- Would people want it ?
- Are enough people willing to contribute articles etc ?
Please let me know, and spread the word to those players you know
who are not on the net.
My e-mail address is:
Ian.Pearson@afrc.ac.uk
Contact me for my postal address if you need it.
Ian Pearson
P.S. Any non-Europeans reading this are more than welcome to
comment/contribute.
Mages in Battle
By Tom Walton
I've heard a number of comments concerning how wimpy battle magic
is. Can't say I agree with them; there are far too many games on
the market where magic is nothing more than the fantasy equivalent
of nuclear weapons, destroying any real attempt at winning through
wit (the idiots can get nukes just as easy as the smart guys).
But magic in battle is underestimated in ME-PBM. Here's a
simplistic example, involving two armies of 2,000 HI. Let's say
that both armies are equal in every respect for ease of calculation,
and that offensive strength works at to 10,000 points, defensive
strength to 20,000 points. Neither has access to magic.
In a normal battle, both would inflict 10,000 points on each other
in the first round, reducing the armies to 1,000 HI apiece.
Recalculate, and each kills off another 500 HI in the second round.
This continues until both armies fall to less than 100 HI and are
dissolved.
Now imagine that the first army has two mages in it, each of whom is
capable of casting a defensive spell worth 1250 points. Both cast
for a total of 2500 defensive points in the first round.
Army #1 inflicts 10,000 points, while army #2 only does 7500 points.
Army #1 is reduced to 1250 HI, army #2 to 1,000 HI. The spells wear
off (only good for the first round), and battle continues round
after round until #2 is destroyed. Army #1 survives with about 550
troops. In essence, the two mediocre spells saved the army and kept
5500 strength points of troops from being wiped out.
Try another example, where army number one also has a 1,000 point
combat weapon. In the first round, army #1 inflicts 11,000 points,
otherwise the battle is the same. Army #1 is left with about 660
troops at the end of the battle.
Maybe this doesn't sound like much to you, but you can change this
to say, light infantry and get a survival rate of 1100 troops and
1320 troops where otherwise the army would be destroyed. Or
2750/3300 men-at-arms. Vary the equation by adding some archers in,
and suddenly the bowmen aren't dying in droves.
It's usually better to use defensive spells than offensive spells,
if you can expect to fight multiple rounds of combat. But if your
troops really suck, or you're going to get wiped out in the first
round anyway, casting offensive spells allows you to inflict more
casualties.
Used with precision, magic can change the course of a war,
especially for the Dark Servants. Those extra casualties or saved
troops add up over time, and having an army survive instead of
getting destroyed allows it to continue to operate and be a pain in
the butt enemy territory. This is especially so if the army is far
from home and it'd take several turns to get a new one into the
region. Best of all, magic doesn't cost anything in terms of
maintenance, and can be used over and over again to annoy and
discomfit your opponents.