From the Mouth of Sauron Date: 04-15-95 Issue: E-31 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, kazandar@delphi.com First Word ========== Last issue I commended GSI for allowing us to email turns in and hinted that perhaps being able to get turn results via email would also be nice. And lo! There it was in "Whispers"; electronic turn results starting in May. Am I psychic or what? Now my next question is: with all the savings in paper/ink/mail/labor, will an e-game have lower turn fees? The hallmark of most pbem games is that they're considerably cheaper than pbm, with the speed allowing turns to be processed much faster (meaning that the pbem company still takes in about as much money as the pbm company each month, only pbem generally makes more of a profit). I don't know about you, but $6.50/turn doesn't make me want to run out and join any one-week games any time soon; now, call it $3.50/turn (even $4.00/turn) and I'll be the first to sign up. Waving my magic wand and donning a purple turban, I hope to see yet another prediction come true.... To set something straight: I often get mail from people who want to join a Middle-Earth game. For some strange reason, the editor of a pbm FAQ listed me as the owner/operator of ME; apparently his research methods leave something to be desired. Although our regular readers already know this isn't the case, the Mouth is posted on various BBS's/ftp sites and read by people who don't play. So: I do not own Game Systems Inc. I don't run any Middle-Earth games. All inquiries concerning the game should be sent to Bill, Howard, or Stuart at: gmsystminc@aol.com. If someone could locate the offending FAQ and give me the email address of the person who put it together, I'd most appreciate it. It'd be nice not to have to explain for the umpteenth time that I'm just a player. In the this-has-nothing-to-do-with-Middle-Earth-but-what-the-hell vein which I love to blather in, XCOM II: Terror from the Deep is out. A very good game, silly in the extreme. I've been a bit too busy to play much of it, but I already like it more than XCOM I. Lastly, has anyone else been watching the show "Sliders"? It's part of my 3-4 hours/week TV viewing time (don't much like TV). The show isn't technically accurate in any sense, but the main female character is a goddess. At least I think so; she makes the program worth watching despite the jarring inconsistencies that result from having writers who don't have any common sense. Until next time, Tom Encounters/Riddles ================== >From Dennis DeYoung (2950 game): Encounter for Dain II at 2312 In the past few days he has camped on the shore of a large lake known as Mirrormere. Some nights is seemed as if there were stange lights and movements beneath the calm waters. It was during the third night that strange things began to occur. Suddenly the hair on his body suddenly stood erect as ghostly Spirits and vague and nebulous shapes entered his camp. He began to ready himself for battle, but something soothing calmed his nerves. Now that he thought about it, the Spirits were beckoning more than threatening. He cautiously began to follow until a quagmire stopped him. As the Spirits continued to prompt him, he fought down his fear and began to dig. Soon he uncovered a small box which held precious jewels and gems. As he retrieved the treasure, the Spirits seemed to smile and to fade away. Later, the jewels and gems were appraised at 15000 gold pieces. It was sent to the capital. --------------------------------------- I remember seeing some discussion about this encounter a while back, but don't remember if there was any solution mentioned. First, the background. My character is searching for an artifact located with Locate Artifact. The site is Moria, so this could be the artifact encounter or just an encounter with the Balrog... It was a long descent into the bowels of the mountain. First the vent led into a narrow stone corridor leading farther and farther down. Then there were the almost unscalable walls and finally the maze of confusing and intersecting chambers and caverns. And the heat! it had become hotter and hotter! There looked to be even more chambers. And the doors were so small. Almost as if they had been built by Dwarves. Perhaps treasure could be found as well? Should he... EXPLORE the caverns using whatever stealth he has GATHER whatever treasure he can find and leave hurriedly CALL out to see if anyone is present in the maze of caverns SEEK out any occupants of the cavern and immediately attack SEARCH to see if any ancient artifacts can be found FLEE I had two different results. The first character I sent there tried the SEARCH option. He ran into the Balrog, who pummeled him down to 1 life point. This character had a low (less than 50) challenge rank. A couple of turns later I sent a character there who had stealth and a significantly higher challenge rank (about 110). The Balrog killed him. I don't think I'm sending anyone else there. ----------------------------------------------- >From Andrew Jones (2950 game): Developed to be a bearer of sound It yet won acceptance for centuries around. From Elf to Man and even to Dwarven kind It kept all together and in knowledge did bind. Answer unknown. Any suggestions? ------------------------------------------------ >From Dave Holt (2950 game): In Dark secrecy they were made By secret blend. Strength and fear were the cornerstones laid When they came about near Third Age end. CORRECT ANSWER: Uruk-Hai --------------------------------------------------- Mage (35) found a small hillock that, as the last shreds of the day's light unravelled into darkness, upon closer examination, proved to be an ancient barrow. Though the entrance was cleverly hidden, a careful search revealed it soon enough. Close inpsection of the stone door barring his way revealed it to be inscribed with runes. In ages past, such barrows were commonly guarded by powerful enchantments and Spirits. BASH the door OPEN the door CHALLENGE any guardian Spirit to come forth and fight DIG through the mound REMOVE the runes Say ____ (one word) FLEE As a DS in 2950 with mage skill 35 and 50ish challenge, the answer "REMOVE" was given. This resulted in combat. The mage won the combat, learned curses, and the nation recieved 25K gold. Tom's note: this seems to be the same encounter as in the 1650 game. Thoughts on 2950 ================ By Patrick McGehearty 2950 has some superficial imbalances, but skillful play by either side will easily overwhelm them. The Darks have their agents and dragons, while the Frees don't. In wintertime, the Frees don't even have much of an economic advantage. Player choices can overcome all of that. I find that I like the challenge of the weak economy. At first it was troubling because I was always short of cash, especially starting the game in late Fall. I now realize that my opponents have the same problems. Careful management of an economy is the key to strategic victory. In my first 2950 game, I named two emissaries and trained starting E10s up to E45s while trying to place 3 or 4 camps every turn. I ran on the ragged edge of bankruptcy for several turns, but now have one of the strongest economies on my team. Next game, I will put even more focus on Emissaries and camp creation early in the game, with special attention to rough hexes and mild climates. Teamwork is important in preventing enemy army pentration to your camps. Another advantage of weak economies is that armies are smaller. That means combat artifacts and spells have a bigger effect on results. The artifact game becomes much more important. Success there depends on teamwork in a grudge game. It becomes much more difficult to put together a force sufficient to take a Mtown/Fort. That means it is harder for a sneak attack to take out someone due to a single turn misjudgement. It becomes more challenging to win, which is a good thing. So I expect to continue playing the 2950 game in the future. I haven't played as a neutral yet, and would like to hear some thoughts of those who have about the relative advantages of the different neutrals in the 2950 game. My Experiences and Opinions about ME-PBM, c.1650 and c.2950 =========================================================== by Greg Reid With all the clamoring for submissions that I've seen in the last few recent Mouths I've read I've decided to say something. It's more of a core dump about my experiences with the world of ME-PBM (both the 1650 and the 2950 scenarios). DISCLAIMER AND (NON-)CREDENTIALS: Most of my experience with the world of ME-PBM is vicarious. I've been in only three games myself, and those only recently. They are as follows: Game #182: Rhudaur. My first game. (*wince*) I came in to the game prejudiced towards joining the Free Peoples because the most recent WotW that came with my setup had the Dark Servants winning seven or so games to the Free People's one. So I assumed that the game was balanced towards the DS (or rather, unbalanced in favor of the DS) and made up my mind that, as a neutral, I should do my part towards evening things up. Well, one of my friends (Raven Zachary/Zack Harman) who had been involved in the game for quite some time sent me all 25 of the back issues of the Mouth. After poring over them I realized in horror I was doing the wrong thing. Reports of Harad going good on turn 3 or so caused me to make the decision turn evil so as to prolong the game long enough to make it interesting (my only game at the time) despite the fact that the Witch-king was rather less than competent. Well, I'm so far managing to hold my nation against all-comers and have retaken pop centers in Angmar as well, thanks to some heavy monetary and agent support from the Cloud Lord (Rob Zahn) and Dragon Lord (Rubens Mates). Managing to setup the Free armies in the area where they could be trounced by superior Rhudaurim armies helped my cause as well. I feel like such a backstabbing bastard. Game #194: The Witch-king. Having always been one who loves the underdog (aren't we all) I decided to give the Witch-king a go in my second ME-PBM c.1650 game (the Dragon Lord was my first choice, masochist I). Despite only two turns having passed some interesting developments have already occurred. Shouldn't discuss them openly as you never know who reads this publication. Game #26, c.2950: the Corsairs. Having read Tom Walton's ravings about the awesome might of the Corsairs I decided that they couldn't possibly have changed too much from my (already) beloved 1650 scenario. I joined as a neutral team with abovementioned friend Raven, who decided that he didn't have enough time to play when he received the Rhun Easterlings setup. (Can't say I blame him.) So far the game has been... but I'm getting ahead of myself. In any event having not completed much over ten turns in any one game take my rantings with a grain of salt. Several even. Many of my opinions are colored by the opinions of those I know who have played the game, as well as the people who have written all the fine articles in "From the Mouth of Sauron" (which I have absorbed voraciously -- all of the first 25 issues -- and taken some of it to heart, even). To start off with, I will state that, so far, I have had a blast in both ME-PBM c.1650 games that I have joined. As Rhudaur, despite being outnumbered and outgunned from all sides (and feeling rather lonely up there in the north to boot) I've had great fun maneuvering my massive armies, preparing strokes and counter-strokes, desperately training my characters up to decent levels, and struggling to keep my economy afloat. In short, it's been constant action in all theaters -- diplomatic, military, and character. It's one of the things I appreciate most about ME-PBM c.1650: the bang for your buck. You may pay $6.50 a turn for your fun, but with the action you can have, it's worth it. And obviously there's never a dull moment while playing the Witch-king. >From Turn 1, you're immersed in the thick of things, battles swirl around your kingdom, you fight constantly to keep alive and prosper. Nearly every position in ME-PBM c.1650 is like this. The proximity of possible enemy nations means that every position (except possibly the Noldor) has to be in it from the very first turn, plotting and planning and maneuvering. Having been in many other PBM games before, I have a deep-seated appreciation for "bang-for-buck"-ness. In many other PBMs the action has been sporadic at best, and when it does come, often anticlimactic. You'll notice I've been very careful to denote "ME-PBM c.1650", not just "ME-PBM", in the above paragraph. There is, of course, a reason for that. My game in ME-PBM c.2950, as the Corsairs, has been anything but exciting. Not that I was expecting fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants excitement here. These were, after all, the Corsairs, and although debatably they're the strongest neutral power, they ARE a neutral power. So some early-game buildup would be necessary, and even perhaps fruitful. After getting my setup and playing the first few turns, I became deathly bored. Something was missing. The climactic battles, the desperate diplomacy, the fiery play style -- it just wasn't there. Again, granted, I was the Corsairs, the most isolated southern neutral. However, it turned out I wasn't the only one. The Noldo, the Dunedain Rangers, Dunland, the Khand Easterlings... the only place where action was fast and furious any more was still (as always will be) the Ithil Pass, where Gondor and Mordor were building up the body count (albeit at much smaller rates). Keep in mind that I've only played a few turns of the new game, but I've identified several factors that seem to lead to its stagnation: - tiny nations. Most nations seem to have pitifully few pop centers. Rather than the DS having a larger income and tax base (which I expected, buying into the "Sauron's Building Program" argument) theirs was pretty much the same, with the Free being reduced in size. The result has been the first turns of the game being nothing but creating emissaries and slapping down camps in an effort to get to a level where you can field a medium-sized army. While this is okay in the 1650 game where everyone is doing something else in addition to playing "Peaceful Expansion", this combined with... - pitiful army sizes makes for a game where everyone is waiting to build themselves up to a decent tax level before fielding a sizable army. To be quite frank, I LIKE the fact that some nations in 1650 start with armies much larger than their economies can support. It forces the action and makes for a fast-paced game. In 2950, economies are so small that cobbling together an army that can take out a town/fort requires major sell efforts (as the prices on the market tend to be much lower as well). - much larger geographical distances separate certain nations. This argument seems ludicrous on the face of it, seeing as that Middle-Earth has not expanded in physical size in the last 13 centuries. However, the nations have all grown much, much smaller. The west end of Mordor is still as volatile as ever, with Minas Morgul and Osgiliath staring at each other; the Sinda holdings at Lorien are still facing off with Dol Guldur as well. The Dwarves, however, are even more widely scattered (with no Moria to act as a centralized location). The Noldor Elves, Dunedain Rangers, and Dunlendings are the only three nations in the vast expanse of Eriador. While historically correct, this isolation tends to result in these three nations doing nothing except building up for a long, long time. In the old game, you could at least get involved in the war if you chose to do so early. This really isn't an option for the Dunedain, who face a small tax base and a long march to any target; the Noldo have only Mt. Gram and Goblin-Gate to contend with; and the Dunlendings have nothing much to do unless they want to make a no-allies preemptive strike on Rohan or Saruman. The end result for many kingdoms is a long march to few targets to pay a lot of cash in maintenance on smaller armies, thus making war much less profitable and encouraging the stagnation of kingdoms. - the neutrals situation seems much more fixed. Without extremely heavy intervention from Mordor, the Rhun Easterlings are contemplating elaborate suicide if they even attempt to go DS, with the Northmen and Dwarves right on top of their poorly-fortified pop centers. Khand is in the rather dubious position of dying gloriously in a charge on Mordor or facing a long, dull game with few Free targets in range if they join Sauron's cause. Dunland and the White Wizard, with many Free nations close by, have little choice but to go good unless their backs are to each other early on and both go evil at once. This leaves only the Corsairs with any real option on which way to turn. - problems haven't been changed. This factor has been more than adequately addressed in previous Mouth articles (the over-usefulness of heavy troops, the disparity in agent usefulness over other character types, etc. etc.) so I won't go into detail about it here. There's one trend in the 2950 game that I see partially addressed as a concern from the 1650 game. In the 1650 scenario, the Free have mightily superior economics and armies, where the Dark Servants have a predominance of characters and artifacts. The 2950 scenario is seemingly trying to address these problems; the extra elven nation greatly assists the Freeps in turns of better characters, all Free nations have been significantly reduced as economic powerhouses, extra artifacts have been given to the Free and to Neutrals, and armies are all virtually non-existent. While I see this as an admirable effort to "even the playing field" in the 2950 scenario, the end result is a reasonably boring game where little of significance is done for the first ten turns because nobody can mass up an army big enough to sack Minas Morgul until then. It increases the importance of characters and decreases the importance of nations -- and, in my humble opinion, characters were important enough in the 1650 game. Why not just assume the first ten turns of buildup and work from there? It would be a faster-paced game similar to the 1650 scenario, with the additional bonus of being placed in a time period close to the War of the Ring (which is the time period all are most familiar with). Alas... My disclaimer far above still applies. As I haven't all 25 nation setups in front of me, some of my analysis may be off-track, dubious, or just plain stupid, in which case I apologize for leading the Gentle Reader astray in my rant against the 2950 scenario. But I think that game #26 will be my last in the new scenario; give me large armies and break-point economies any day. I love the doomed feeling you get playing the Dark Servants. Call me masochistic. As a final note, I would absolutely love to play in an "all-Mouth" (or at least all-email) ME-PBM c.1650, much like the one that's being run here for the 2950 game. Is there any interest in this? Would the editors be amenable to lending my humble self assistance? My own email address is thufir@lust.isca.uiowa.edu if anyone's interested. Comments on the Previous Article ================================ >From Tom Walton I think Greg hits the nail on the head, at least for me. The major difference between the 1650 game and the 2950 game is that it takes a very long time to build up to significant action. Even the battles in the Ithilien are simply an exercise in counting bodies, as what's left of the winning armies isn't enough to carry the advantage against the enemy's heavy fortifications. I found playing the Noldo in 2960-22 to be extremely dull. The only target worth hitting anywhere close is Mount Gram, a shoo-in battle if there ever was one (yawn). Unless the Duns go evil, the next closest site is Dol Guldur, which likely will be in the hands of the Free by the time the Noldo build up an economy strong enough to raise a significant army and then move it across half of Middle-Earth to employ it. The 1650 game, on the other hand, allows all nations the opportunity for immediate and telling action. In light of 'bang-for-buckness', this makes good sense; it means that your $6.50 you fork out every turn is being used in the way you want it to be used. In the 2950 game, you can literally spend ten turns before your nation is in any shape to do anything worthwhile, which amounts to a wasted $65.00 (at least in my opinion). And, in light of the trilogy, how are the Dark Servants supposed to field the vast armies seen at Minas Tirith or outside the Gates? Their economies won't allow for it, even if they have good success at camp placement and upgrades. Even in our team game, we found it amazingly difficult to do anything but meet the enemy on the field and slaughter each other's tiny armies. As you can tell, I'm an action fan. The tiny economies of the 2950 game don't allow for much action early on, and the reduced number of pop centers cuts the possible strategic options considerably. In 1650, there's a great deal of room for maneuver and counter-maneuver, with alot of guesswork and shrewd observation counting for the final win. A defeated nation can come back from the dead with a cunning surprise move; not so in 2950. There isn't any real room, or any real targets, for surprise; it's fairly obvious what the enemy will do at any point in the game. Middle-Earth Movement ===================== By John Mason I read Tom's proposed modifications to the ME combat system with interest. I'm sure he'll get several responses from people that have their own ideas, and I'm sure that I'll disagree with most of them, too. I'd like to mention a related topic - ME movement. As Nathan Bedford Forest has been so widely misquoted the idea is to "get thar furstest with the mostest." Gettin' thar is more than half the battle. Tom mentions in his 115(1650) game that the Dog Lord made excellent use of his cav by repeatedly blocking enemy movements. I feel this is a little too easy as the game stands now. There are pratical and fantastic considerations - I will list of few of each below. Practical 1) Why does heavy infantry in steel armor with a steel battle axe move at the same rate as an archer with no armor and a bow? 2) Why does a Harad mumak (elkephant) rider move at the same rate as a Dog Lord goblin on a wolf? Fantastic 1) Why does an Eothraim rider on a horse move through the forest at the same speed as an unmounted elf? 2) Why does any unmounted human/dwarf/golblin/troll/mumak move through the forest at the same rate as an elf? 3) Same as (2) but substitute dwarf for elf and mountain for forest. 4) Why can't dwarves move from one mountain hex to another? 5) Why aren't elf ships faster? 6) Why aren't human ships bulkier? (eg. capable of taking more damage?) General 1) Given that we can't build roads, why can't we build "paths" or "trails" that reduce movement costs somewhat? Most people will find at least one of the suggestions above reasonable, if not all of them. Why don't they exist? Don't say "the program's too hard to change". I intended this to be a short e-mail message to Brian and Tom, so this is already too long, but I think that adding the tactical flexibility of different movement rates for different troops adds greatly to the "wargamers" enjoyment of the game. Maybe next time I'll talk about whether an orc warg rider (heavy cav) should have the same constitution as an easterling chariot (heavy cav) or a Harad war elephant (heavy cav). Should an unarmored human have the same constitution as an unarmored troll? Should the troll have the same movement rate since the sun will turn him to stone? Comments Regarding "Revising the Middle-Earth Combat System"* ============================================================= By Brian Mason (* Tom Walton, From the Mouth of Sauron, #30) In reading Tom's comments in last issue, I suppose I (and just about every body else out there) began thinking of changes we'd like to see. Here are some other changes I'd like to see made. - Effect of armor and weapons on army morale: I don't think it is unreasonable to expect that army morale would go up if troops are given better equipment. - Effect of emissaries on army morale: Emissaries should have the ability to give "pep talks" to improve army morale as well. - A different option to Tom's plan of increasing the value of light troops (and here I mean light infantry, light cavalry, and archers, but not men-at-arms (discussed below)) would be to increase their speed. This could be accomplished with some rigor by adding additional movement cost tables for light troops or more easily by allowing all light troop armies to force march as their normal movement rate (i.e. get the 14 point movement AND the normal increase in morale if travelling with food). - Men-at-arms I interpret as being scum of the earth mercenaries. While this accounts for their coming equipped with armor and weapons it does not take into account their basically self-serving nature, also, the combat and constitution values do not reflect the fact that these are not conscripts but professional soldiers. I would see their combat and constitution values increased unless they are facing a numerically superior army in which case they would desert before combat. - I don't like the idea of having combat weapons affect morale. One of the things I like so much about the 2950 scenario is that army combats are much more character and artifact driven than the 1650 scenario. Heros and wizards can have a tremendous effect on battle, and this is reflected in the books. Aragorn and Gandalf are said to be "worth 1000 mail clad knights a piece," and likewise, the presence of mighty combat artifacts should make an over-balancing effect on small army combat. - I am very much in agreement with Tom's comments vis a vis navy movement heavy/light troop creation, and additive command skills in armies. The morale would seem difficult to handle, but I'm sure that it could be worked out. It is certainly true that armies rarely fight until they are completely destroyed. Learning to "Think 2950": Some observations for 1650 players ============================================================ By David Rossell and Mark Jaede This article is the result of a series of conversations between a veteran player of ME-PBM 1650 and a first-time player who started in the 2950 scenario. As teammates on the Free side of Game 22 of 2950, we came to the conclusion that many players were strategizing and evaluating the play balance of the 2950 scenario according to the conventional wisdom of the 1650 game. Both of us believe that this is a mistake; the 2950 game demands a fresh look. There are three key changes which force 1650 players to rethink their assumptions: economy, geography, and agents. Most 2950 nations start with very fragile economies, and it is entirely possible to drive them into bankruptcy within the first few turns. One writer in the e-zine The Mouth of Sauron observed this about the Dark Servants, but it is also true of the Woodmen, Northmen, Silvans, and Rangers. Even the mighty Gondors could go broke quickly with the right combination of over-recruiting and gold thefts. The implications of the new economy touch every aspect of play. Each player must be a careful bookkeeper. We heartily recommend projecting revenues and expenses over at least two turns. Allow some slack for limited sales (the initial maximum sale seems to be under 20,000 gold), pop center losses, and just plain errors. Especially pay attention to seasonal changes in production. This is serious. Players who are used to the large numbers of characters and troops of the 1650 game will be in for some unpleasant surprises if they blithely recruit in the style of the old game. Be aware, too, that the capture or destruction even of small pop centers can make a huge difference. A nation running close to the edge cannot afford the loss of a village or a couple of gold-producing camps. On the other hand, large pop centers with fortifications are much harder to take, because no one can afford the armies it would take to storm them. In the absence of large armies, the much-maligned Siege order may prove more popular. Military tactics also must change in a limited economy. Massive assaults against large pop centers are nearly impossible, except perhaps in the later stages of the game. Military actions must be planned and evaluated in terms of rather modest increments of cost vs. benefit. Consider recruiting fewer troops with better armor and weapons. Beef up your armies with artifacts and mages; combat bonuses will be worth proportionally more in this game. Remember that feeding an army might be more cost-effective, since you can get it into combat more quickly. Just as you want to minimize your own expenses, you want to maximize your opponents' maintenance costs. Look for opportunities to force your foes to keep more troops in the field than you do. This may be done by maintaining interior lines, as in northwestern Mordor, or by threatening several pop centers with a few mobile troops. The latter strategy looks especially promising for the Corsairs against the Gondors (and vice versa) for the Long Rider in Rhovanion, and perhaps for the Witch King in Eriador. In some cases a force may do more harm by staying visible and tying down garrisons than it can do by committing itself to an attack. Remember that your opponents are operating under similar constraints. (Yes, even the Gondors.) When in doubt about the size of the enemy armies you see, don't assume they contain huge numbers of heavy troops. You may well be looking at a herd of men-at-arms. Even if they are heavy troops, you may rejoice as they draw their fat paychecks from your enemy's treasury. A tight economy also mandates team cooperation. As important as this was in the old game, it is even more so in the new. Richer and rear-rank nations should be prepared to transfer gold and pop centers to the frontliners, perhaps within the first few turns. The next major change from 1650 is the new political geography. A previous writer in the Mouth noted the disadvantages faced by the Dark Servants, who no longer have a major presence in Eriador. He correctly pointed out that the Witch King is split between Minas Morgul and the ruins of Angmar, while the Dragon Lord faces all or part of the forces of five Free nations. We think, however, that the geopolitical changes are more far-reaching and not so one-sided: Angmar/Arnor--The Witch King, while his capital and crucial characters are in Mordor, has two fewer Freeps to deal with. Cardolan, with its pesky ability to hire armies at no cost, is gone, severely restricting the Free Peoples' ability to take out Er-Murazor early-on. Here especially a small stay-at-home force coupled with a small cavalry army with food would be very effective in tying down the two Eriador Free Peoples. As in 1650, negotiations with the region's neutrals is crucial to give the area Free something to think about. Evils should watch out for the tremendous Freep challenge characters in the area. Mirkwood/Riddermark--In one sense, the Dragon Lord in 2950 is even worse off than he was in 1650 (if that were possible). He is surrounded by five Free peoples, three of whom have nothing better to do than to take DL pop centers (Sinda, Silvan and Woodmen). But, with the reduced economies in 2950, the Dragon Lord is much safer. Dol Guldur becomes a virtually impregnable fortress. Goblin Gate is a formidable obstacle, especially without the Dwarven heavy infantry in the area. This is one theater in which the Freeps really have to coordinate pressure on the Dragon Lord using the Sindar's challenge characters, the Woodmen's recruitment capabilities and the Silvan's agents and armies. Lothlorien is more vulnerable here than in 1650. The Dragon Lord's biggest enemy is his economy, and the Free would do well to implement a gold-theft program against the Dragon Lord ASAP. The Riders of Rohan are a bit of a wild card in the region, and really in all of Middle Earth. Located at a crucial road juncture, equipped with the ability to recruit all heavy cavalry (if they conjure mounts), even blessed with some metals production, Rohan can be, well, the cavalry that rides in at the last minute to save the day. This requires that the Rohirrim are careful to provision their armies and provide armor and weapons for the few troops they can support. But the appearence of 2000 Rohan HC at Dol Guldur could spell the Dragon Lord's doom, and they can make a valuable contribution as far away as the Sea of Rhun -- if the Rohan player is committed to the team. The Dunlendings and White Wizard can shift the balance of power in the region, pin down Rohan troops and generally make nuisances of themselves by plaguing the Free in the area with uncertainty. The Dark Servants need at least one of these neutrals, preferably both. Offer anything and everything, for these neutrals are surrounded by Free, and if they wait until Turn 10 before making a decision, the Free nations in the area will be able to devote most of their attention to them. For the Free, they don't need the Eriador neutrals on their side, but they do need to keep them from joining the Dark Servants until Angmar is clear. Again, fortifications are very important; Isengard is impervious to army attack early in the 2950 scenario. The Free need to keep up communication with these neutrals. If they can secure their allegience, that will allow Rohan to ride to the assistance of the other Free in Mirkwood, Rhovanion or Ithilien. Rhovanion/Rhun -- Here the balance of power has shifted somewhat in favor of the Free. The Northmen can out-recruit the Long Rider, and the Blind Sorceror lacks a massive army to send to Uvatha's aid. Long Rider pop centers are much more vulnerable, especially the village at 3017. Here, as in the Gondors, the evils need to be careful with their agents lest they lose them. The Northmen will need substantial financial support if they are to recruit enough troops to stymie the Long Rider and Blind Sorceror forces. But it can be done, especially with the Northmen able to draw upon the presence of Silvan and Dwarven troops in the area. The relocation of the Dwarves' capital to the Iron Hills provides the Northmen with a powerful and much-needed ally. But the Rhun Easterlings are a destabilizing presence in the area, able to recruit a lot of troops. Both Free Peoples and Dark Servants desperately need the help (or at least promised neutrality) of the Rhun Easterlings. If the Long Rider player is not aggressive in the region, the Free might be able to afford a pre-emptive strike against the Rhun. The Evils need to offer the Rhun lots of goodies to win them over quickly. Mordor/Ithilien/Gondor--Much changes while much stays the same. The Evils do not need to fear thousands of Eothraim cavalry bearing down on Morannon, nor do they need to worry about the vast Gondorian levies of the 1650 scenario. Northern Gondor has lost two-thirds of its tax base since 1650. Southern Gondor has lost about half of its pop centers. Militarily, life is good for the Evils. They can keep small armies and adequately defend the gates to Mordor, relying on fortifications to keep pop centers from falling to attack. Economically, life ain't so good, and if the Evils try to recruit the massive armies they needed to in 1650, they will go bankrupt quickly. Nevertheless, Ithilien is still Middle-Earth's meat grinder. Evils need to continually send troops into Osgiliath to disrupt Free plans and to try to get the Ithilien pop centers. If the Evils give the Gondors time and peace, the Gondors will be able to combine to take out one Serv capital at a time. Between the two of them, they can comfortably support 4000 heavy infantry, maybe 6000 HI in the short term. These are not the Gondors you know from 1650. Not even close. They still produce a lot of troops and taxes relative to other nations, but not relative to the Mordor fortifications. The Gondors must do their best to keep Ithilien in Free hands and wait for their Mirkwood allies to polish off the Dragon Lord and head south. Without the Eothraim to worry about, the Dog Lord can afford to help the Long Rider in Rhovanion, confident in the Ice King's ability to defend northwestern Mordor. The Corsairs and the Khand Easterlings play much the same role in 2950 as they did in 1650. The Corsairs will have little fun raiding Mordor's nonexistent coastline, so they will be heavily inclined to join the forces of Sauron. Like the Corsairs, Khand has compelling geographic reasons to turn evil. As with the economy and political geography, the agent balance in 2950 mandates new thinking. Actually, not all of this has to do with the new scenario. The recent upgrade of the guard function in both scenarios has caused some confusion for those who were used to a highly aggressive agent game. Nevertheless, the presence of some agent artifacts among the Free in 2950 makes the DS agent position that much more difficult. There are, however, some ways for the DS to work around their agent limitations. One is to train agents with guarding and gold thefts before taking on the Free army commanders. Another is to look for unguarded targets. Secondary pop centers and recruiting army commanders are much less likely to be guarded than front-line commanders (unless, of course, the Free have read this article). A third approach is to locate and steal the very agent artifacts which are causing the trouble. Generally, the DS should concentrate somewhat less on stopping the large Free armies (which are just not as large as in 1650) and more on actions which bring in cash, tie down Free resources, and generally cause confusion. Be unpredictable. Remember that guards can't be everywhere, and they cost money while producing nothing. The Free, on the other hand, should look for opportunities to set up guard traps for the DS. The Free have no choice but to name agents and guard whatever they can. The Free should also look for opportunities to put their artifacts to use in modest offensive actions as soon as they are ready. These three changes -- economies, geography, and agent rules -- cannot help but affect the balance of play. Several commentators have suggested that the changes seriously unbalance the 2950 game. They do not, however, agree on who benefits. One writer notes that, compared to 1650, the Free took a much bigger economic hit than the Servants. Another says that the new geography, agent mix, and character balance make the Evils' position untenable. We believe that all such evaluations are premature, and contaminated by "1650 thinking." Much of the perceived imbalance may disappear as players cast aside 1650 assumptions and develop strategies and tactics which work in the new scenario. Various Notes From Darin Fitzpatrick ==================================== RE: Mark's artifact-on-a-shelf encounter The fact that any character in a hex can respond to a triggered encounter is not a "bug;" it is GSI's intent that players can choose who reacts to an encounter. What they have apparently changed is allowing more than one character to respond in the same turn. I imagine the order of responses is random, and one response essentially turned off the encounter for the rest of the turn. Upon re-reading Mouth #1 (!) I saw a note from Tom about a conversation with Bill Feilds. Bill confirmed that dragons can encounter more than one character each turn. No mention was made of other types of encounters. It may be that only dragons have this trait. BTW, how about the line, "Suddenly the hair on his body suddenly stood erect" from the Mirrormere encounter? Must have been pretty sudden, eh? Typical shoddy writing by GSI. They should invest the time in a spell check and maybe even a grammar/style checker. No wonder they're looking for people to write for "Whispers." RE: Tom's tips for combat revision I think picking up ships automatically might make navies too mobile, especially on rivers. I would suggest making the order a command order for a sub-commander. This would require dedicating more resources to a navy than to an army, which seems to make sense. I would then not allow automatic pickup of transports, either. Organizing a flotilla is a large task, one that is not compatible with assaulting a fortress and sailing up a river, all in two weeks. Or so it seems to me. [Tom's Note: Aragorn did it in the trilogy. Captured ships, boarded them, sailed upriver, and charged to the rescue at Minas Tirith. All in about a week's time, if I remember correctly.] Speaking of realism, the break & retreat idea also seems good to me. Other people have suggested a "retreat" tactic that would preserve a losing army; this is certainly reflects historical reality. A complete destruction or rout of an enemy army was rare, at best. Success in retreating should be based on morale and training, and should probably have a detrimental effect on morale afterward. Of course, this would change the game considerably. Finally, I would like to see training emphasized and nation climate/terrain modifiers de-emphasized. It ought to be worthwhile to train troops into a well-oiled fighting machine. How else did the Romans dominate the world for so long? Unknown Powers of Artifacts =========================== by Paul Erik Lundstroem There's been some talk about the new artifacts in the game, and their worth. As our Silvan allies have misplaced their own Tome of Wondrous Stuff (ICE's Treasures of Middle-earth), I have after much searching (and sneezing) found my own copy of it! Bear in mind, that MePBM is leaning extremely heavily on ICE's productions. These are all my guestimate on how GSI has converted the powers of the ICE artifacts. It's not definite, but might give us a clue, as to which are more interesting: #69: Corantir (Sindarin: "Circle of Long Seeing"): a Silver Circlet +10 - 15 Mage, probably with some sort of Scry spell. Probably Good, as evil dudes get their heads crushed if they put it on! Should be in Shelob's Lair - but is probably randomly placed, as everything else. #120: Amulet of Sea Mastery: Jewelry, 15 made all in all, from Numenor Ehm! Cirdan's supposed to have one, but then again he might have lost it (the amulet that is!). Predicts weather, knows true North. Probably a help on open seas. [Tom's note: power is "move on open seas as coastal waters".] #124: Robes of Aman: woven in the Light of the Trees! (yes, those Trees!) This could be VERY HOT STUFF!! It could be in the league with the Ring of Wind! In ICE's rules it has +100 to hiding!! My guess it, that it has at least +30 - +50 in Stealth bonus. Go for it! [Tom's note: this is carried by Gandalf.] #173: Daecollo (Sindarin: "Shadow Cloak"): a cloak (hmm...) Also VERY interesting! This is Daeron's Cloak - probably still on his shoulders! [Tom's note: it is]. It is also a very powerful agent Artifact. It's better than the Ring of Wind in ICE's system - so I guess it's at least as powerful as the Ring of Wind, maybe a little lower (but with things being randomized, they could be equals!). #192: Maikarama: a spear/staff could be a +500 - +1000 combat artifact. The holder might be able to cast the Wind Law spells (or something like it!) regardless of him/her being a Mage. But: probably just another combat artifact. #193: Raukambar: sorry! haven't got a clue.... #194: Durlachiel: also haven't got a clue! #205: Sulhelka: can't find that either! #207: Gulthalion (Quenya: "Mageshield"): shield, made by Eol (Yeah, the elf that made Anglachel (Gurthang) and Anguirel - nasty pieces of Swords! Could be +1000 - +1250 combat artifact. Could have access to Teleport (or some inherent Movement bonus for the wearer). Please remember that GSI has changed the power of many of the old artifacts, in comparison with ICE, so bear with my enthusiasm from above, if they turn out to be a little less powerful. But those 2 agent artifacts are definitely interesting! News from the Net ------------------------------------------------------- Post #1 ------------------------------------------------------- From: dchas1@giaec.cc.monash.edu.au (Dave Hastings) Subject: MEPBM Lost Lists Date: 3 Apr 95 05:37:26 GMT Could someone please answer this question for me. If I've already researched a spell from a lost list, through possessing an artifact, do I still need to hold this artifact in order to research the harder spells from the list ??? Thanks in advance Dave ------------------------------------------------------- response from prt1@merlin.etsu.edu (Philip R Tripp) ------------------------------------------------------- Yes, I just asked GSI about this one and they confirmed that you must hold the artifact to continue researching spells on lost lists. Also,in both rules editions, page 33, the last sentence before the SPELL LISTS section starts, states: "Also, even if a Nation of Character is allowed access to, or knows, a specific spell on a 'Lost list', they do not have access to the whole list unless access is bestowed - like with certain artifacts." Sounds rather misleading, but hey, we are talking about GSI! :) ------------------------------------------------------- Post #2 ------------------------------------------------------- From: anfalas@doom.gun.de (Thomas Meier) Subject: MEPBM: Bribing Chars + Transfer Command Date: 01 Apr 1995 23:23:56 Some more questions on bribing/recruiting characters... Does a recruited character (#505 order) have the original nations benefits, eg. does a Woodmen character recruited by the Northmen have the *2 agent rank for scouting/rekoning? Does a recruited character count for the 'total characters available to a nation'? For example: A nation has 15 characters which is the maximum for the present turn (turns 6 to 10). Can this nation recruit a character? If the answer is yes: May the nation name two further characters after turn 10, or is it restricted to one character (as it already got 15 'regular' + 1 recruited = 16 characters)? I've also got a rule clarification question. Order no. 780, Transfer Command, states as a prerequisite that the new commander may not be a company commander. Does this mean that a company commander A may not transfer command to company commander B, even if the resulting company member total would be below nine characters, or is this prerequisite just meant for the case an army commander may not transfer command of his army to a company commander and vice versa? ------------------------------------------------------- response from ajm@MCS.COM (Alan Miller) ------------------------------------------------------- No. Nice thought, but it's nation-specific not character specific. Yes. I believe each character in the company needs to do a "Join Company" to move to the new one. If you feel that any of the above answers are wrong, just remember that the best way to get a correct answer on Usenet is to post the wrong one and wait for corrections. ------------------------------------------------------- Post #3 ------------------------------------------------------- From: Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM) Subject: MEPBM: Riddle help Date: 4 Apr 1995 10:46:19 I'm stumped on the following riddle, and would appreciate any suggestions. A Numenorean name was his to bear A city once known as Lond Ernil fell to his care. Having victory there he brought battle to field and gate And in victory again did he give his daughter to mate. What I have found out so far: Lond Ernil does not appear in any index I have access to. Ernil does not appear in any index I have access to. Lond translates as Haven. The root Er- means alone. The suffix -nil means devotion. ------------------------------------------------------- response from markiel@callisto.pas.rochester.edu (Andrew Markiel) ------------------------------------------------------- Sounds like Elrond. Lond Ernil could be Rivendell, although I don't recognize the reference. The rest seems to refer to the battles in the 2nd and 3rd age, after which he gave Arwen to Aragorn. ------------------------------------------------------- response from johns@unipalm.co.uk (John Sloan) ------------------------------------------------------- Sounds like Elrond to me. Rivendell is probably the Haven referred to. ------------------------------------------------------- Post #4 ------------------------------------------------------- From: dettman@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au (Peter Dettman) Subject: MEPBM Date: 4 Apr 1995 15:52:32 GMT I am starting as a neutral in an upcoming game and am curious as to whether a neutral nation which declares for the DS is then treated as a DS for dragon recruitment and other special encounters? Or are they condemned to forever be treated as neutral by the denizens of Middle Earth? ------------------------------------------------------- response from prt1@merlin.etsu.edu (Philip R Tripp) ------------------------------------------------------- Once you have declared then you reap the benefits of that allegiance. In Game 112 as the Haradwaith, I declared Freep, and later was visited by Gandalf who then so nicely gave Emisarry rank to all my commanders who were in the hex. ------------------------------------------------------- response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com) ------------------------------------------------------- Yes. Enjoy recruiting those dragons. :D ------------------------------------------------------- Post #5 ------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm Subject: Me-pbm Dragon vs. Dragon; Scatha Date: 11 Apr 1995 07:53 EDT Anyone out there know what happens when two armies with dragons battle? Can the dragons kill each other (I hope!)? Or is it just like having two tremendous combat artifacts in each army? I've always been a bit unclear on this actually. Are dragons treated like combat artifacts or like characters? If dragons are characters, can they be assassinated? Also, what is the proper response to recruit Scatha for the Dark Servants? ------------------------------------------------------- response from phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Phredd Groves) ------------------------------------------------------- Can't say I like the sound of this... I don't know, but I have a feeling I'll be finding out empirically. ------------------------------------------------------- response from freeman@hp-122.cae.wisc.edu (Samuel Freeman) ------------------------------------------------------- >From all I've heard and understand about dragons (and other chars that can attach to armies like Treebeard), you can challenge them, kidnap them, assassinate them, etc. You had better have a pretty good char to try this though. Dragons just add an attack bonus to the army, no constitution bonus. So two armies with dragons will most likely destroy each other, unless one of them has a large enough con to survive the first round of combat. In this case, I believe the two dragons just return to the mountains and can be recruited again. ------------------------------------------------------- Post #6 ------------------------------------------------------- From: jonesa@charon.stm.com (Andrew Jones) Subject: ME2950 - Riddle Date: Tue, 11 Apr 95 10:12:52 CDT I found another ME2950 riddle. Any suggestions? Developed to be a bearer of sound It yet won acceptance for centuries around. >From Elf to Man and even to Dwarven kind It kept all together and in knowledge did bind. ------------------------------------------------------- Last Word Last issue, I made a few appeals for information, some of which was forthcoming, others less so. First some thanks are due to Thomas Meier and Greg Reid who made some substantial contributions to the climate database. There is still a great deal missing, but we now have complete climate datasets for the following positions: Northmen, Dwarves, Cloud Lord, Fire King and Rhudaur. We have mostly complete (missing a few seasons for a few population centers) climate datasets for the following positions: Eothraim, Cardolan, N Gondor, and Witch-King. We have mostly incomplete (usually one season per population center) for the following positions: Woodmen, Arthedain, S Gondor, Sinda, Noldo, Dragon Lord, Dog Lord, Blind Sorc., Ice King, Q Avenger, Long Rider, Dark Lts., Corsairs, Dunland, Haradwaith, and Easterlings. I have very little information on the other request, that is, skill ranks of characters doubled and characters doing the doubling, as well as sucess and failure rate. I've queried the people whose characters I have doubled, and if anyone has doubled any of my characters in past games, let me know as I have all past turns and can determine the other data pretty well. Ah, and not to let an opportunity pass... ... we do need submissions. Brian