From the Mouth of Sauron Issue: E-18 Date: 05-06-94 Note: all authors retain exclusive rights to their material. Reprinting is allowed for non-commercial game use only. The Mouth is edited by Brian Mason and Tom Walton. All correspondence can be sent to them at: Brian Mason - mason@chara.gsu.edu Tom Walton - kazandar@aol.com First Word Here's a bit of good news: in revenge for the death of my cherished (and, unfortunately, unguarded) Adumir in game 97, one of my faithful allies challenged - and killed - Ji Indur. Serves you Dark Servants right for messing with us Corsairs; now just wait until you see what *I* have in store for you.... Sweet but irrevelent to all but a couple of you. We have some interesting stuff on encounters this time, as well as the reader surveys (thanks folks!) and - dare I say it? - the OFFICIAL word on the new game. Yep, a letter from Bill Feild clarifying some things about the new scenario starting this summer. I stuck it near the end of the Mouth so you'd at least have to scroll through the rest of the stuff to get to it. Another irrelevant bit of news: after 31 attempts, I finally completed the 5th mission of the second tour of Xwing. Do any of you care? Probably not, but I can't tell you how pissed off I was getting after the freighter blew up for the umpteenth time. I can't believe how much time I burned on that stupid game (anything looks good at 1:00 in the morning). We're still in desperate need of submissions. After we announced that the Mouth would shut down with the start of the new game, submissions dropped off quite a bit (I had *zero* submissions this week). If this continues, we won't have anything to print but what Brian and I dream up, and that would be very, very dull. I'm also looking for ideas to get players to submit articles. Rewards, if you will. Alas, cold hard cash is out of the question, as is attempting to hack GSI's PC via modem to give your nation an extra 500,000 gold. But if you can think of something a player might like in return for a submission, I'd really like to hear about it. Until next week, Tom Encounters Balrogs: in the last issue, I stated that the Balrog (specifically, 'a balrog') doesn't wander the far western end of the White Mountains. I have quite a bit of data on this, so I was sure this was the case. Wrong! Yours truly just had 'a balrog' show up in a pop center in 1425 in one of the games I'm handing off. Sorry about the misinformation. Woses: information provided by David Ringrose leads us to believe that Woses are worth about 10,000 points in combat, maybe more. Some conflicting tales on their effectiveness indicate that the encounter may provide a variable, rather than fixed, bonus. There's also some evidence that certain Wose groups both scout and fight, while others only scout. Dragons Aivnec: State ALLEGIANCE = dragon recruited for DS. Turukulon: State NAME = escape unharmed for DS. Now here's an interesting note on Turukulon. I ran into him while playing the Dragon Lord and gave the above response. Not only did he let my character go, but he said "I was wondering when you'd seek me out. Come back when you have something interesting to offer me, etc." Looking over my encounter tables, I see the response is "injured/killed" for all allegiances when you offer 10,000 gold, 100,000 gold, or one artifact. So it could be that DS offering two artifacts can recruit Turukulon. It could also be that this is one of those encounters that's nation-specific, i.e., that ONLY the Dragon Lord can recruit Turukulon with the proper response (10,000 gold, 1 artifact, etc.). I've never heard of anyone getting this dragon to join an army, but it's obvious that there's a way to do it - if only for the Dragon Lord. Thanks to Eric Schnurr and Shayne Grey for providing the confirming nail- in-the-coffin for Aivnec. Other Notes >From Brian Mason Comments on the new Major Town/City Recons It has been confimed by numerous sources that these Recons will not provide any information vis a vis armies (save that which was already being given). The following information has been provided by Glen Mayfield, Ed Bailey, Theo ten Brummelaar, Rochelle (sorry, I don't have a last name), and your friendly editor. No recons 23, 35, 40, 40, 48, 51, 58 Recon 55, 60, 61, 63, 69 So, there appears to be no stark cutoff, but a range of cutoff probabilities in the 50-60 range. Further and continuing data by the readers would certainly be appreciated. >From Tom Walton Brett Bakke wants to know if anyone has any real info on the One Ring. Everything I've heard is just hearsay. Silliness of All Sorts A new column dedicated to the amusing, the silly, and the truly brain-dead moves you, your allies, or your opponents have used in ME-PBM. Know someone who challenged a dragon, thinking it was an enemy agent? Give us a few comments on the poor eyesight exhibited by the dragon's lunch! Ever tried to march up a mountain spine with an army, like - ahem - your friendly editor? We'd like to hear about it. So here's your chance to dis your enemies, your allies, even yourself. Just forego including the game number in your comments, so as not to embarrass the target of your humor. How I Got Shafted In ME-PBM >From David Ringrose As a first time player assigned the GREATEST of the Nazgul, the Quiet Avenger, I quickly realized that my survival depended upon enlisting the aid of the Corsairs and Haradwaith. My diplomatic missions were met with derision. It seems that Carlon and Eadur had heard the rumors of Adunaphel's magnificent wardrobe, and they wanted it. Needless to say by turn 10 Adunaphel was looking for a new pair of shoes while Eadur and Carlon were modeling the latest styles in Lugarlur. Strategy & Tactics: the Dark Lieutenants >From Brian Mason Basic Data ~~~~~~~~~~ How does the nation of the Dark Lieutenants compare to other nations? At the start of the game they rank as follows (Allegiance Comparison Tables, Tom Walton, "The Mouth," #3): item for comparison among all among Dark Servants =================== ============== ========================= Total Tax Base 19th 4th Resource Base 21st 8th Combat Strength 15th 6th Character points 5th 3rd Artifacts 4th 3rd The Dark Lieutenants have pretty poor production. Expected production (Population Center Development, Brian Mason, "The Mouth," #2) which has not been adjusted for climate for the nation of the Dark Lieutenants would be as follows: material le br st mi fo ti mo go =========== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== production 512 581 269 26 683 0 138 3384 This is a list of below of Dark Lieutenants characters, their starting abilities, and their assignments. Name co ag em ma st assignment ============== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==================== Bolvag 20 50 army commander/mage Carrog 20 20 30 30 agent Feagwath 30 10 50 backup commander Gothmog 70 30 army commander Herudor 40 army commander Miruimor 20 30 army commander/mage Tormog 20 40 agent Urzahil 20 40 70 mage The Character Situation This is the catch-all of the Dark Servants. Of all the positions in the game, only the Dark Lieutentants have a character with 40 or better in all character types. Even beyond this, they have the best unmodified commander in the game in Gothmog. The have an impressive array of artifacts capable of boosting many of their characters into the stratosphere ability-wise. The problem is deciding the best way to go about it and deciding what to do with your characters. Carrog is your second best agent, but your only character with stealth. Do you dare waste that by making him primarily an emissary or a mage? Urzahil has (along with Elrond and Murazor) the highest starting mage rank in the game. But he is your best emissary. How do you use him? Given how you start, what other types of characters do you need? These are the character problems you initially face as the Dark Lieutenants player. As character problems go, this is a pretty enviable problem to have. The Dark Lieutenants have two characters which can serve dual purpose roles are army commanders and mages. You only need one of them, so which one it is actually depends on the location of at start characters. Tormog would be a fine backup commander, but with the addition of a few stealth artifacts can rather be a first rate agent. This is a good plan as the Dark Lieutentants will need to wait about 10 turns to get Carrog above 50 in agent class having him guard every turn. At this point, however, Carrog should also improve his emissary rank. He should then be a lethal character. Urzahil, while a good starting emissary (and with The Voice of the Dark Tower is very good), is only slightly better than a new emissary would be. Therefore, he should name one and pass off the Voice of the Dark Tower. He is an excellent mage and can get in the artifact hunting business right away. The Dark Lieutenants can do well with three emissaries and one commander/agent to serve as backup commander. The Economic Situation The Dark Lieutenants can not stand a big increase to their taxes, so 59% is about as high as you can afford to go. Even this will leave you with a substantial shortfall which can only be improved by acquiring revenue generating population centers through capture or creation. While the three emissaries named can start creating population centers, an army under Gothmog can threaten away unguarded population centers. Attractive targets include the four town/towers of Northern Gondor in southern Rhovanion. There are two dangers here, one, that you may have to compete with the Dog Lord for them, and second, that you may have to compete with the Eothraim for them. This leads us to... The Military Situation While the army of the Dark Lieutenants is fair, it must not be overestimated, for if the massed Dark Lieutenants armies were to meed the massed Eothraim armies the outcome would not be in doubt: the Dark Lieutenants would get trounced. The object here, then is to husband the strength of the Dark Lieutenants and build up for a later attack upon the Eothraim or Northern Gondor, or, with the cooperation of the Dog Lord, make an earlier strike at objectives. Small recruiting armies (100 each) should be left behind at Barad-Dur and Minas Durlith. While the Dark Lieutenants cannot start recruiting en masse (like the more wealthy Gondorians, "Curse the filthy Tarks!") they can be in a position to start recruiting in the event of a massive push by the Free Peoples or in the event of a projected military loss. >From Tom Walton The Dark Lieutenants is one of those nations in which it's virtually impossible to script an opening set of moves. Much relies upon the extremely volatile situation in/near the Ithil pass and the Rhovanion, which in turn is dependent upon the actions (and expertise) of both allies and enemies. Each game can, literally, be quite different from the next for this nation. I like Brian's opening moves (especially not using Urzahil as an emissary; a waste, in my opinion) and will expand upon them with a few ideas of my own. Characters: - With a slew of excellent multi-class characters, I wouldn't create any more for this position (with the possible exception of a commander/agent). Instead, I'd concentrate on building a formidable emissary team, as well as developing another mage or two. - For the multi-class characters, I'd do my best to make sure that they'd have the opportunity to train two primary skills every turn. You can turn some of these characters into gods given the time and opportunity, and Urzahil can further boost their power by locating nifty artifacts. Economy: - fortunately, the nation has the Voice of the Dark Tower, meaning that you can send out new emissaries right away and create camps that aren't in danger of disappearing due to low loyalty. This also boosts skill ranks faster, in turn speeding up the creation of that killer emissary team I favor. I'd start putting down camps in Mordor immediately, as well as send one emissary up to the Grey Mountains and another to the Misty Mountains (for possible future bases and for dragon recruitment). - as for your agent (or two), I'd restrict them to stealing gold in the early game to help the economy limp along until the camps start producing in sufficient quantity. For some reason, the Dark Lieutenants always seem to be on the verge of bankruptcy; a little extra cash wouldn't hurt. Military: - Brian recommends husbanding army strength. I don't for several reasons: (1) the economy sucks, and the army just makes it worse; (2) there're some nice towns right outside of Mordor that can be threatened away by Gothmog; and (3) in just about every game I've seen, it takes the combined might of the Fire King, Ice King, Dog Lord, and Dark Lieutenants just to hold off the Gondors and the Eothraim. If you stay out of the war, you just might see enemy armies breaking through the pass or the Gates. - Once the initial army is feeding the crows, I'd recruit at Barad-dur and send the army out to threaten towns and otherwise irritate the enemy every time you hit 2,000 or so troops. My vision of the Dark Lieutenants force here is in terms of harrassment and stop-gap defense of Mordor, at least until some of those camps you created are turned into villages and start producing taxes. The Dark Lieutenants can be turned into a truly impressive military power, but trying to do so in the early game limits you in other ways (such as not having enough cash to name new characters). Other: - in about half of my games, Barad-dur has been burned by some lucky stiff who managed to make it into Mordor. As soon as you can, fortify the city! Spring for at least a fort, and later a castle. This'll put an end to the Free dream of razing Sauron's home to the ground. - forego learning battle spells. Instead, learn to locate artifacts and scry. Your mages are well-suited to this sort of activity, and you can amass quite a pile of goodies if you get on the ball quickly. You can also provide key information to your allies, allowing them to fight the war for you more efficiently. - Mordor is pretty crowded. Don't try to put down all your camps in this limited area. Create a couple of different base areas, most especially in the mountains frequented by dragons. Not only will this do your economy a world of good, it gives you more places to raise an army to do harm to your enemies. And, if the Rhovanion is secured, you can transfer your base of operations to a fresh area where Dark Servants aren't competing among themselves for pop centers. - superstition among my part, but does it seem to you as well that Gothmog and Urzahil are always getting themselves killed in challenge combat? Watch for enemy characters and avoid challenge; you can't replace these guys if they die. It might be prudent to have them guarded as well. Comments on Past Strategy Articles >From Dave Rossell Comments on the Long Rider strategy y'all published a Mouth ago (Strategy & Tactics: The Long Rider appeared in issue 16). I think you and Tom are undervaluing Uvatha's navy and squandering a valuable resource by being predictable with it. The object with that navy is to get it onto dry land without bumping into any Northmen or Sinda. Why not just send the navy north to 4112? Neither Freep navy would have any reason to go there, and it's one turn away from that pesky Sinda town. Even better, sail it all the way up the river to Esgaroth. The last thing the Northmen would expect is to start losing pop centers all the way up there, especially after he sent those western armies scurrying back east. Seing the evil icon so close to their pop centers also should make the Sinda nervous, and maybe relieve the pressure on the Dragon Lord, while keeping Eothraim looking over its shoulder. Brian's Comments: I've always seen the danger as running into either navy in the open water. As it is a battle you'd almost certainly lose, I'd hate to lose characters that way. If the Northmen and Sinda have their navies go on a long patrol every turn, running the blockade becomes a risky proposition. Tom's note: I think pretty much the same way on this. The limited amount of damage the army can do isn't worth the disruption and character loss that'll follow a successful Free interception of your navy. Later in the game, when you have characters to spare, sure; but early I find the risk not to be worth the rewards. This, of course, is simply a personal perception, and probably a bit silly coming from my mouth (since my allies know I take stupid risks on a regular basis, just for kicks). >From Rochelle ? and ? Comments from Rochelle and I on your Dunlendings strategy (Strategy & Tactics: The Duns appeared in issue 17). Scorched earth policy really doesn't hurt Cardolan, while frittering away Dun troops. Better to march onto Tharbad, try to threaten, then move right to the capital. Capture the capital, forcing the freeps to retake it, then move back down toward Tharbad, using the loyalty drop and judicious use of agents to make it more assailable. In 119, the Duns hit Tharbad with everything they had. They destroyed it and the 1100 HI garrison and moved on to the town next door (Argond), where they bumped into a welcoming committee of 2000 HC and perished. If the Duns had just tried to threaten Tharbad and move onto the capital, they might have had enough troops to pull off a win. (Well, in our game they wouldn't have, since Roche was recruiting tons of troops there preparing to invade Dunland the next turn, but it might work with less devious players.) Brian's comments: I suppose my scorched earth plan is under the assumption that you can't hold what you take from Cardolan. The Cardolani potential for recruiting troops is so great, that they can, very quickly, take back anything you capture or threaten. I am, generally, not likely to threaten major towns or cities as I want to be certain the place is mine (or nobodys), but that is probably becuase of my relatively conservative approach to strategy (as the non-movement of the Long Rider navy above suggests). Tom's note: from my own point of view, the permanent loss of revenue/resources, combined with the intense panic that usually follows a lightning scorched-earth strike, is worth far more than a few turns of production which, in all likelihood, will simply be taken back by the enemy. Many, perhaps most, people don't agree with me on this; but in my own games, I've used scorched-earth to destroy enemies quite effectively. Indeed, it's proven so efficient in causing injury and confusion that I now use this tactic as a preferred mode of operation, even when it's reasonable to assume I can actually hold what I take. Besides, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing an opponent running around like a chicken with his head cut off just because you burned a couple of his towns to the ground.... On a side note, I, for one, certainly appreciate the criticism given to my S&T offerings. I do not consider myself a master tactician by any means, and it is always nice to see another viewpoint. Tom's note: I agree and thank Dave, Rochelle, and the unnamed party most profusely. It was starting to get depressing, writing an S&T and getting *zero* feedback on it. More Comments on the New Game By Tom Walton and Eric Schnurr with Added notes by Brian Mason >From Eric Schnurr --> Just wanted to pass along some info I got after a discussion with GSI today. - The new game still has 10FP, 10DS, & 5N. - Rhudaur, Arthedain, & Cardolan are no more. - The Eothraim have turned into the Riders of Rohan. - There are three elven nations. - The Corsairs have absorbed Haradwaith (I hope they have lost a few pop centers). - The Easterlings have split into two nations. - Saruman heads up a nation. - Gladrial & Celeborn are 'PC's, not NPCs. That leaves us short one neutral if Saruman is an FP nation. With three elven nations, including Glardial and Celeborn, and Saruman joining the FP characters, it looks like the FP will have a much stronger starting group of characters. They also said that by using 'CIRCA', it gives them the leeway to do more things with the one ring. Have Gollum have it, leave it undiscovered... They did also mention that it would take more time to develop, in the sense that nations don't have hordes of troops on the brink of war. That might be better for us, because then there doesn't evolve a straight forward strategy of where to send the starting troops. It sounds like now each nation, each game, will have to determine whether to build up troops or characters or some of both. Comments from Tom Walton --> It seems that we just about hit the nail on the head with respect to the new setup. Note that Eric assumes that Saruman will be a FP nation, but in truth he should be neutral at this point. GSI said Saruman heads up 'a nation', not 'a FREE nation'. The Elven nations should be: Elrond/Cirdan; Lothlorien; Thranduil's Mirkwood kingdom. There's no way GSI could divide it up differently if they want to remain even remotely close to historical. Though how they're going to get enough pop centers out of the deal is somewhat mystifying - especially when you consider that Lorien is entirely self-contained. [Brian's comment: This is interesting from a historical prespective. While historically, the Elves were in decline throughout Middle-earth in the third age, they get an additional setup in a game set thirteen centuries later. As Alice would say, curiouser and curiouser. Also, they've got to give the Elven nation different setup names. Having Elrond and Cirdan head up the Noldo Elves when, one, they are not Noldo, and two, the most powerful Noldo heads up another.] Rhudaur is gone and so are the Haradwaith (a surprise, since the Haradwaith are still around and going strong during the War of the Ring; indeed, the King of Harad is even mentioned in the trilogy!). That leaves us with: Corsairs, 2 Easterling nations, Saruman, and the Duns. For the Free: Woodmen, Northmen, Rohan, Gondor (?), Dwarves, Western Noldo, Lothlorien Noldo/Sinda, Thranduil's Kingdom. Even if Gondor is still two nations, we're missing one (my guess is perhaps the Rangers). [Brian's comment: It is possible that the Dwarves can be run as two positions, west and east, but something really needs to be done with the population centers around Bree and the Shire. They are there and cannot really be ignored]. For the Dark Servants: same. I did some more research on this period, and this is what I learned: - after the Eothraim got their butts whipped by the Easterlings, they moved into the Anduin Vales. They didn't settle in Rohan until coming to the aid of Gondor in later years. After the Eothraim left, the remnants of the Northmen from Rhun and the Rhovanion (with the exception of Esgaroth/Dale) fled to the recently-depopulated Anduin. They're even mentioned in the trilogy (or The Hobbit), as holding the fords over the Anduin and patrolling the valley between the Misty Moutains and Mirkwood (in league with the Beornings, who also patrolled the moutain passes). - The Woodmen were devastated by the orcs before/during/after Thranduil's Elves were thrown back over the Mirkwood road. Many of their settlements were destroyed and they were forced to relocate (and mix with) the recently displaced Northmen. I'm not even sure you could call them a separate kingdom anymore (by the time of the Hobbit, all parties are simply known as the 'men of the Anduin valleys', which implies that they were no longer distinguished from one another). - In Eriador, almost all of Rhudaur is given over to trolls and orcs, though the dwarves managed to establish some mining ventures in the region. Angmar is still populated by nasties, but not under any one particular ruler. And, because the kingdom in the area is gone, there aren't supplies of food coming from the East, so the orcish/etc. population is much smaller. Cardolan is almost entirely depopulated. There are a few minor kingdoms mentioned as being along the banks of the river and the western shores, but these are petty kingdoms at best. With the exception of the Hobbits, Arthedain is also a region desolate of men. Much of it, especially to the north of the Shire, is considered to be dangerous, the haunt of giants, wargs, and orcs. - Gondor simply doesn't have the pop centers required to be two nations. All of Calenardhon is gone, as is the Rhovanion. Osgiliath is abandoned, Minas Ithil in the hands of the Witch-King. The Haradrim have forced the abandonment of 3028 and 3026 with their persistent raiding. In the Ithilien you can find only a few stubborn farmers and army patrols. In effect, the only pop centers that Northern Gondor owns now are: Minas Anor (Tirith) and Pelargir. Calmirie is well within the area given to the Eothraim (you can read the story about the land grant in 'Lost Tales', I think), and the town just to the northwest of Minas Tirith (in the woods hex along the road) was abandoned by the time the Eothraim settled in Rohan (this is also mentioned in the same story; it was nothing more than a watch-tower with a small town during 1650). [Brian's comment: Gondor had seven watch-towers upon the White Mountains from Minas Tirith to the border of Rohan. Could these be village/towers to provide Northern Gondor with more population centers?] So how is GSI going to pull this off? Maybe Gondor is just one nation? If so, which is the last of the Free? - As mentioned previously, Celeborn and Galadriel held nothing outside of Lorien. Boy, is that place gonna be packed with pop centers.... - I've looked and looked. There's no mention of Sinda Elves still holding a pop center along the Sea of Rhun. If they do, they've no connection whatsoever to Thranduil by 2940. [Brian's comment: in "The Lord of the Rings" it is implied by Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth, that the elves had long departed from that land.] - the Easterlings are actually divided into many nations at this time (tribes, really), but here's my guess: Khand and those who owe it tribute in the south (where the Easterling capitol is now) and the Variags/etc. in the north (both sides of the River Running). Note that most of the Easterling pop centers are actually off-map, as the Rhovanion was pretty much abandoned by both sides by the end of the war with Gondor. Like Eriador, the region never recovered (which was great for Sauron, since orcs could travel freely from the Gates all the way to Dol Guldur). Okay, my curiosity is out of control. I really want to get into the new game and see how it shapes up. But I swear, if there's a nation of militant hobbits I'm going to scream! [Brian's comment: I'll admit that martial hobbits is a strange thing to consider, however, in the defense of this let me point out a few things: the hobbits sent a group of bowmen to defend Arthedain from the final assault of the Witch-King, the Battle of Greenfields where Bandobras Took (who could ride a horse!) defeated an invading band of Orcs, and the Battle of Bywater. It might be possible to have the position as nominally headed by the Chieftan of the Dunedain of Arnor, but have the descriptor of archers be hobbits.] ***NEWSFLASH*** The above collection of comments was put together by Brian on the same day that I (Tom) got the following letter from Bill Feild at GSI. His comments are in response to my request that he write a letter to our readers to satisfy some of the rampant curiosity about the new game. Here's the letter just as I received it (with a few added notes, of course): Tom, Regarding your earlier ME-PBM 2950 questions: 1) Saruman the White will be controlling a neutral nation. In T.A. 2950, he has control of Orthanc and has **begun** his slide away from Good toward Evil. 2) Osgiliath was retaken after it was sacked, but during the balance of the Third Age, it was never heavily populated. However, several settlements did spring up around it, some of them critical (Cair Andros), so we will leave it as a pop center, although much reduced from its stature in 1650. 3) 'Circa' allows us to operate in a wide range of years. In this case, the circa will reflect the period of about 2850 to the War of the Ring. Thus, the One Ring is either: a) in Gollum's possession (as it was through much of the early part of this period); b) in Bilbo's possession (as is was through much of the later part of this period); c) Lost (as is was for a brief time). 4) The 2950 scenario will have a different kind of situation at game start. Because of the reduced power of the Free Peoples, the increased power of the Dark Servants, the nations will see a more balanced economy and more similar quantities of pop centers at the start. This will allow most nations to grow and expand for several turns before facing the kinds of crises faced in 1650. 5) The new nations, artifacts, characters, encounters should provide a lot of new areas to explore and create an entirely different political balance. Even though the game mechanics will be the same, the dynamics of the nations will be radically different!! 6) For the FP, there are still two Gondors, but NO Hobbit nation (Tom's note: thank the gods!), and there is no more Cardolan or Arthedain. The Eothraim have moved to Rohan. There is a new Ranger nation and a third Elven (Silvan) nation. The DS remained as before, but with many different realms to control and many new characters. The Neutrals see the most change - No Harad nor Rhudaur. In place you find that Saruman. The Easterlings have been split into two seperate nations, and the Corsairs have subsummed Harad. Even though the Haradwaith peoples remained strong throughout Harondor and Far Harad well into the Fourth Age, as a nation they were assimilated (culturally, militarily, and politically) into the Corsairs of Umbar nation. Tom's note: I did yet more research. I think the difference in interpretation here is based upon the holdings the Corsairs had in Harondor following Gondor's retreat from the area (after the war with the Easterlings resulted in Gondor giving up much of it's territory). While it's true that the Corsairs controlled most of the coastline to the north of Umbar proper, the Kingdom of Harad (as described in the trilogy) is very much alive and well to the south and east (where you see Adunaphel's kingdom in the 1650 game, stretching east to Khand and south off-map). Even so, the Haradrim, not the Corsairs, have borders upon the Ithilien and raided often into the region prior to the War of the Ring (it doesn't help that I.C.E. uses the names 'Corsairs' and 'Harad' interchangeably in many of its products, even though the two nations are completely separate from one another). I think Bill thought it better to get rid of the Harad altogether in the new game, as the region is obviously unbalanced with three neutrals packed so closely together. 7) Some characters may see changes to their stats. No doubt that 1300 years saw an increase in skills. However, because of the declining **POWER** that continued on into the Third Age and Fourth Age, overall the stats may be lower to start than in 1650. Bill Feild/GSI Tom's note: The decline in power is an I.C.E. concept, an idea that over time exposure to Middle-Earth weakened non-humans in a variety of ways. Thus, the Elves left for the West in greater and greater numbers, the Dwarves became less fertile, the Maia (Wizards, Balrogs, etc.) became more rooted to their physical forms and dependent on gadgets (like rings), and so forth. Using this as a basis for the logic, some characters could have lesser skill scores than they do in 1650. Using a different approach, however, one could argue that in comparison to their contemporaries, the 'name' character such as Elrond and Murazor are even more powerful in 2940 than in 1650. This would require HIGHER skill scores, not lower ones. That's the letter. I have an overpowering urge to buff my knuckles against my chest and slap Brian on the back (note how close our guesses were to the actual situation), but I'll refrain. Yep, sure I will. We'd love to hear comments on this state of affairs from our readers. "From The Mouth of Sauron" Survey Results We had eighteen respondants to our survey, and the results are presented below. Question 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22: How much do you like these sections of "The Mouth" on the following scale 0 = strongly dislike 1 = dislike 2 = neutral or no opinion 3 = like 4 = strongly like Question 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23: How useful are these sections of "The Mouth" to you on the following scale 0 = not at all useful 1 = rarely useful 2 = neutral or no opinion 3 = sometimes useful 4 = very useful 3. Number of me-pbm games played: _______________2.88 4. Number of turns played: _____________________43.11 5. Number of me-pbm games currently in: _________2.29 6. Nations Played: __________________________________ Nations with no players (18) Nations with one player (3,10,12,13,14,16,24) Nations with two players (2,4,5,6,8,20,21,23,25) Nations with three players (9,11,17,19,22) Nations with four players (1,7,15) 7. Top 3 Finishes:___________________________________ Ice King (2) Sinda Elves (2) 8. Rating of Editorials: ________________________3.12 9. Usefulness of Editorials: ____________________2.35 10. Rating of Encounters: ________________________2.35 11. Usefulness of Encounters: ____________________3.71 12. Rating of Dragons Section: ___________________3.53 13. Usefulness of Dragons Section: _______________3.53 14. Rating of Q & A: _____________________________2.94 15. Usefulness of Q & A: _________________________3.00 16. Rating of Wish List: _________________________2.71 17. Usefulness of Wish List: _____________________1.59 18. Rating of How I got Shafted: _________________2.63 19. Usefulness of How I got Shafted: _____________1.88 20. Rating of Strategy: __________________________3.29 21. Usefulness of Strategy: ______________________2.82 22. Rating of Humor Articles: ____________________3.12 23. Usefulness of Humor Articles: ________________1.88 24. Other Comments: __________________________________ - Doing a great job. It is good that the playing field is being leveled. - On yours and Tom's editorials in Mouth #15. I hadn't heard of the new ME game but I know that I will get in the first game that I can. It is getting old having everyone know everything and having to collect all the data. Though I'll miss reading the Mouth I like your stance on attempting to keep the new game from becoming a giant data collection contest. Unfortunately, I'm sure that someone else will form something like the Mouth merely for the purpose of getting their lists together. Maybe we should get an opposing 25 person team together that wants to just play the game and learn the nuances as they go along. - Q & A: If it's something I don't know I find it very useful. Having played as much as I have, I find only a few pearls of wisdom scattered here and there. However, I think newer readers would find this very useful. - Wish List: Vent baby Vent!!! I can't wait to write my own "vent" article... :-) [Brian's comment: send it along!] Of course, GSI/Bill is the real target. I've found him to be defensive and close-minded with respect to any suggestion I've ever given him. So, I doubt the end usefullness. Now, if we formed a MEPBM Users Group and as a group asked for something, maybe there would be more clout... - Strategy: I don't find myself reading these all the way through since they're usually so long and have limited usefullness once a game gets going. This game is very situational given 25 independent participants. [Brian's comment: how true, how true, I see the S&T articles as a catalyst to get your mind working and thinking about options.] - This is a great (!!!!) online newsletter. You guys deserve a medal or something for spending so much time on it. [Brian's comment: Aw, shucks!] I couldn't imagine spending the time on the newsletter and playing in all of the games... - Suggestion on Encounters - get the text of each and the answers, then append the following info as received from your readership: game#, turn #, hex #, character name, skill ranks of character, challenge rank, action taken, result. This would allow for a more definitive history of encounters and would limit the "folklore" aspect of encounters... I'd be happy to provide this kind of detail for games completed, or games that are near completion. [Brian's comment: and I'd be glad to put them in "The Mouth."] - I'm glad agent power has been reduced - I felt it was too overpowering before. The Dark Servants do now, however, need to be given a little help to balance the game. I feel they each need more/better pop centers to start. Also, the usefulness of hidden pop. centers is nil since everyone knows where they are; it's just a matter of time before someone goes & uncovers them. I feel that all hidden pop centers should be given a random location each game, say 1 or 2 hexes from there traditional locations. [Tom's note: damn straight. It'd certainly help play balance.] - Sorry to hear that you are going. However, from my first conversation with Tom on the phone so long ago, I understand. - In most cases, I have not had a chance to use the info tables. Humor is always great. I would like to instute a pun forum a la Spider Robinson's "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon." [Brian's comment: gopher it!] Of course, that means I'd better come up with a few. All of it is interesting reading. (Except the Lord's Prayer in Elvish - I thought _I_ had too much time on my hands.) Keep it coming! Surely there must be a place for a 1650 newsletter even after the start of the new game. - My answers to the preferences questions may be less than helpful. My excuse is that I started reading the Mouth with issue 15. I have read Tom Walton's summary of Middle Earth information. Keep the Mouth coming. I saw your proposal to stop publication for a year or more. As I will have only been playing for a few months, I would like a continued flow of info, even if no mention of the new game was allowed. Consider also how bit rot sets in on email lists. It would take a while to rebuild your readership if you are totally idle for over a year. Of course, if what you really want is a vacation, I can't argue with that. :-) - I like the strategy articles, but I think you should also try to account for the seasonal production conditions. Starting strategies will be somewhat different in Winter for some nations. - I feel that The Mouth, combined with Tom's files on set-ups, does a lot to level the playing field for new players. - Well alot of the stuff in the mouth is not very useful but it is very fun to read. I think you guys have done one hell of a job and I hope that I can get an internet account before you stop running the mouth. - Overall, no complaints. I would Like to see more reader input, [Brian's comment: as would I] but that's not something you control. - A very good thing, the issues of the 'Mouth'! Please go on! - Things like the humor articles aren't _useful_, but they're fun to have and help lighten things up a bit. Overall, a wonderful job. - I enjoy the fiction-type articles which appear from time-to-time. These include Mr. Mason's war council of the Rhudaur and the Communist Duns. Maybe someday I will pen Sharpkathoz's life story (may he live long and prosper). Keep up the good work and all Internet hackers must die! Encounters in the New Game By Tom Walton Now that the nations of the new game have been determined by the Official Word, I thought it might be interesting to speculate on the nature of encounters in the new game. Bill stated that there'd be many new encounters, as well as changes to old ones, which leaves the door open to many fresh and exciting opportunities. I've broken this down into two sections: dragons and encounters (in the same vein as the data files). I'd especially welcome comments and criticism, as well as additional guesswork by our loyal readers. Dragons During the latter end of the Third Age (from c. 2000 up to the death of Smaug), dragons became increasingly active and left the Northern Wastes and Withered Heath for southern climes in increasing numbers. The end result was the ruin of many dwarven holds in the Grey Mountains, as well as frequent attacks upon the Narrows (making the road nearly impassable) and the lowlands around the Northern Misty Mountains (former Rhudaur especially). There are also rumors of dragons wandering Eriador in what used to be the kingdom of Arthedain, though none travelled so far south as to make a nuisance of themselves in the Shire. After the Dwarven pop centers in the Grey Mountains were sacked, the dragons started to fall upon one another, contesting the vast hordes the Dwarves had stockpiled. Many lesser dragons were slain in these battles, along with a few greater ones. Indeed, more of the great wyrms fell to mortal blows delivered by their own kin than were ever killed by men. This period, which lasted up until the War of the Ring, greatly diminished dragon-kind and distracted them from going farther south in search of treasure to pillage (with the notable exception of Smaug). Below, I've listed the dragons who died prior to T.A. 2940. Only the dragons encountered in the 1650 game were researched, though others may make a showing in the new game. Also, it's possible that a few more of the 'name' dragons of 1650 were killed in battle with one another, but it's difficult to know for certain since I.C.E. has never bothered to do a product on the subject (dragons are mentioned in passing only in their products). Aivnec: this dragon was killed when he invaded Eriador in the lands of former Rhudaur. He was slain with the enchanted weapon Gersebroc. Bairanax: Bairanax wasn't particularly bright and had the nasty habit of hunting down and killing Beornings, which made him their blood enemy. He was finally killed by a large party of were-bears at the end of the Third Age. Scatha: killed by Fram of the Eotheod. One of the few dragons Tolkien actually wrote about. Scorba: Scorba made his home in the ruins of Khazad-dum during the reign of the Witch-king in Angmar. After the Elves and men from Gondor broke the back of this kingdom, he disappeared, leaving all of his treasure behind. He was never seen again. Since it's inconceivable to believe that a dragon would up and leave his hoard, it's probable that Scorba was killed while out hunting. How he died, and what killed him, remains a mystery. Turukulon: Turukulon was alive to the very end of the Third Age. It's possible that he was killed in the century prior to the War of the Ring, and there's some evidence to indicate that this is what happened. Still, his ultimate fate is uncertain (he may actually have been killed early in the Fourth Age). Uruial: Uruial died in T.A. 400. So he's 1200 years dead by the 1650 game, and 2500 years dead by the 2940 game. By any measure, this dragon is very, very dead. Two other dragons are noteworthy enough to discuss: Corlagon: after Scorba disappeared, Corlagon made his permanent home in Angmar. He was by far and away the most powerful force in the region, and a terror in the area throughout the Third Age. Smaug: asleep in the Lonely Mountain, Smaug no longer wanders Middle- Earth. Although some annoying person may be able to wake him up.... Encounters In the interests of brevity, I'm only listing those that may be changed from the 1650 game. Army Encounters: - Hobbits: shouldn't be an encounter any more. Probably incorporated into the nation of the Rangers. - Woses: all but the tribe in eastern Rohan have either died out or been decimated. The Woses were on the decline even before the Numenoreans arrived. Balrogs: Durin's Bane reigns in Moria as overlord of many orcs and trolls. The other balrog, known as 'a balrog' in 1650, was never mentioned in Tolkien's works or I.C.E.'s products. There certainly aren't any tales concerning another balrog in the White Mountains in 2940, so it may be safe to assume he's no longer around. Demon of Aglarond: this creature definitely doesn't exist in 2940. Aglarond and the surrounding areas aren't plagued by demons. Elven Non-Player Characters: - Celeborn and Galadriel are now player-characters, the king and queen of Lothlorien. Daeron still wanders Middle-Earth, insane as ever. Giants: while giants still reside in the Misty Mountains and in the ruined lands of northern Arthedain (even wandering into the Shire on occasion), they're a much-diminished and vanishing people who prefer to avoid others. Encounters are probably rare. The Lonely Mountain: forget the trolls, now we have Smaug to look forward to.... Paths of the Dead: the same encounter as before, but now Aragorn should be able to recruit the Dead as he did in the trilogy. Note that Aragorn is the sole heir of the Two Kingdoms now, so he alone has the power to command the Dead. If he dies, this encounter probably reverts to it's 1650 equivalent. Shelob: alive and well, Shelob now makes her home in Cirith Ungol, the same hex as the fortress Barad Ungol. She doesn't range from this hex (getting lazy in her old age). Giant Spiders: there're alot more of these puppies in Mirkwood than there used to be. With Thranduil withdrawing to the north, giant spiders plague the great forest. Slyardach: this demon is dead and gone. Tom Bombadil: as powerful as ever, Tom makes his home in the Old Forest (near Bree). In 2940, he no longer leaves the forest. Vampires/Werewolves: these creatures were created by Morgoth in the First Age, and unlike the dragons couldn't reproduce. Every death diminished them. By the end of the Third Age, they're nothing more than folk tales (there may be a few left, but there's no evidence in the trilogy that Sauron ever employed them). Wizards: - Saruman now controls a nation. He's still more powerful than Gandalf. - Gandalf and Radagast should still be wandering encounters. Radagast has withdrawn from the world of men almost entirely, and in general only meets with his fellow wizards. Note that much of Eriador, the Misty Mountains, Mirkwood, and the Rhovanion are entirely uncontrolled and the haunt of trolls, wandering bands of orcs, and packs of wolves and wargs. It could be that there's a spate of new encounters involving these creatures (e.g., "Aragorn was suddenly ambushed by a party of orcs....") Last Word I don't have much to say in this editorial. The survey results were fun to go through. We didn't see as many as we would like (but then considering how many people make submissions to "The Mouth" I'm not surprised (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)). The last question in the survey, #24, was more or less thrown in at the last minute to cover anything I might have forgotten. The responses in it were certainly the most informative part of the survey, and fun to read. I mentioned in the First Word of issue 17 that I had written a long letter to Bill Feild asking him specifically to comment on the new game and the projections Tom and I put forth in issue 16. While Bill has not yet (and may never) respond to my letter, I'll let you know what I find out as I find it out. To all those who sent me data on the Recons, thanks. And finally, a special thanks to Brian Lowery, my worthy adversary in game 97. While visiting Georgia he took me (and my wife and daughter) out to dinner and to a Hawks game. It was great to get together and actually see the face and shake the hand of a player I've exchanged phone and email messages with. Meeting your fellow players when you visit a place is an activity I heartily encourage to all players. Brian