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