From the Mouth of Sauron Date: 04-30-95 Issue: E-32 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@ix.netcom.com First Word ========== Greetings once more. It has been a longer than usual pause since issue 31, but after clearing up some problems with email we're back and operating more efficiently than ever. I'll let Tom elaborate on the details (if he's up to it). I (along with most other people out there I suppose) recently received an email from Bill Feild about email turn reports, as I'm sure most of you did, and it looks like GSI will be offering this service in a bit to just about everybody with an email outlet. This was something I mentioned to Bill a few years ago, and I'm glad to see that GSI is making this sort of service available. I've dredged up some old stuff for this issue, most of which is unresolved from older issues of "From the Mouth of Sauron." If you can't find the time to write an article for us (and we wish you would!), then try to help fill in the various databases on climate, bribe/recruit, and major town/city recons. Every little bit helps! I was going to go into a long digression in this editorial explaining my part in the delay of this issue, but I'll just leave it short and say that I was out of town on an astronomical observing run for a week. Sorry about the trouble. I'll give myself a paycut. Brian Web Page Announcement ===================== >From Phredd Groves Howdy! I've just completed the first steps in a major overhaul of my MEPBM info pages! First and foremost is that they have moved to a new URL: http://charlotte.acns.nwu.edu/phredd/MEPBM.html If you use the old URL, you'll get a link to the live page. That shouldn't go away for a while. I've also [IMHO] improved the formatting of the page and added some new features. o You can now read back issues of the Mouth of Sauron on the Web! This is a project under construction. I'll be slowly formatting each edition to look nice on the web. All of it is fairly readable right now, but tables are an unintelligible eyesore. o I've also added links to other sites relevant to MEPBM in one way or another, including a link to the ADOBE Acrobat web page to allow folks to download it. So, check it out if you haven't lately and let me know what you think! Notes from Holger Eichmann ========================== Some data for your population center/climate list: winter spring summer fall Easterling: 3538 hot hot hot hot 3220 hot hot hot hot 3713 cold cool mild cool 4228 hot hot hot hot 4430 hot hot hot hot 3605 severe cold cool cold 4318 cold mild warm mild 4335 hot hot hot hot 4014 cold cool mild cool 4133 hot hot hot hot 3319 cold mild warm mild Quiet Avenger: 3533 hot hot hot hot 3335 hot hot hot hot 3034 mild ? :-( hot warm 3437 hot hot hot hot 2135 mild warm hot warm 3234 hot warm I also have information about some other pops, which I captured, but perhaps you should publish the information you already got first that we can see where are still blanks. About bribing of characters: Emissary with rank 69 failed to bribe emissary with rank 68 with 10000 gold (the gold was not paid!) Emissary with rank 73 successfully bribed emissary with rank 68 with 20000 gold Emissary with rank 120 successfully bribed emissary with rank 69 with 10000 gold Do you have information about how many gold does an emissary of rank 82 need to have a good chance to bribe Khamul (ranks unknown; turn 20)? Another information: >From a battle of an army with two dragons against an army with woses I calculated the combat strength of the woses in that battle: around 9500. 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. Notes from Sam Freeman ====================== Some material for the next Mouth... 1) A couple issues ago, somebody reported that char could move more than 12 hexes if they were in an army/company that moved, and then they tried to MovJoin to an (non-existant) army. We just tried this and it failed. Maybe GSI had closed that loophole. 2) Does anyone read the alt.fans.tolkien and/or rec.arts.books.tolkien newsgroups? Would the readership of those groups be willing to help out with riddles, etc.? 3) Have ents ever been encountered by chars and/or outside of Fangorn forest? I just had an encounter in the Rhun area in a 1650 game. [Brian -- you may have already seen my post on r.g.pbm about this.] I originally thought it was a vampire even though the options were different, but someone suggested it may be an ent. The "errand" refered to may be the search for entwives. What do you think? Here's the description... He is at camp when a sudden chill passes through him and a shadow momentarily obscures the stars overhead. Alert and ready for action, he scanned the surrounding terrain but could see nothing. Then from out of the night he heard a hollow voice. "Little do I like others so near to where my errands take me! Speak, lest I silence you forever." ATTACK the speaker declare your ALLEGIANCE INTERROGATE the speaker about the errand APOLOGIZE for the intrusion REQUEST information WAIT and say nothing say __________ FLEE King Tarondor's Ride ==================== by Jon F. Zeigler Twenty knights came riding out of the sunset, the banner of the White Tree flying in the wind of their passage. Sentries saw them from far over the plain, and cried aloud in joy when they saw who had come. "The King! The King!" Tarondor was barely in the camp before he had dismounted. He threw the reins to the first soldier who stepped forward. "Where is the Prince-Captain?" he asked. He was quickly shown to the command tent. There Prince Telumehtar stepped forward to meet him. Telumehtar was a blurred copy of his father. His face was less hawklike, more rounded, and he was shorter and more stocky than the King. Still, their eyes were the same steel-gray. The King stepped forward and embraced his son. Then they moved into the tent. "What news, Father?" the Prince asked softly. Tarondor opened the wine that stood on the Prince's camp table. "Worse and worse. The Orcs no longer merely raid out of Mordor, they come in full companies. Minas Ithil is besieged. Cirith Ungol, Durthang, and the Towers of the Teeth have fallen. I fear the worst." "War," said the Prince. "As if Gondor had not enough troubles." "I rue the day we ever let the Watch on Mordor slacken," said the King, tossing off his wine. "Plague or no plague, the men should have been found. These orcs would never have gained such a foothold in the Black Land even ten years ago." Telumehtar shrugged. He was a pragmatic man. "So be it. What is to be done?" "That depends." Tarondor looked at his son, measuring him. "How soon can the army ride?" "At dawn. Sooner, if you want to leave in the night." Tarondor smiled grimly. "I do." Telumehtar was as good as his word. Before the first pale light of dawn appeared in the East, the army had left its bivouac outside the town of Romenost. The red sunrise found twelve hundred horsemen thundering south across the great plains. Far ahead, a grey line on the southern horizon, stood the Mountains of Mordor. Six days later, the land was no longer green and fertile, but hard-baked and desolate. The army continued on its mad ride, passing barrows and broken monuments from time to time. A great battle had been fought here, two thousand years before. A scout, lightly armed and clad in worn leather, appeared beside the track ahead of the King and his knights. He saluted, controlling his string of remounts easily with one hand, and waited for Tarondor. "What is it, Mablung?" asked the King. "Sire. There's something you should see up ahead." "Very well." tarondor spurred his horse onward. Beside the path, in the shadow of a standing stone, huddled a small party of civilians. There were two women and a child, guarded by an old man. When the King arrived, the old man fell to his knees in the dust. His voice cracked with fatigue. "Thank the Powers that you've come, Sire." "What has happened?" asked Tarondor. The Prince and the rest of the King's guard rode up and stopped to watch. The old man looked up. "I am Ostoher, my lord, a trader who lives in Tir Nindor on the edge of the Battle Plain. Two days ago the town awoke to an attack. There were Orcs and strange men out of the East. The militia tried to defend the walls, and there was a squadron of the Horse-masters visiting from their lands. But there were too many. We were overcome. Few of us escaped the sack." The King's face grew grimmer at the old man's words. "I feared this. Was there no warning? Were there no scouts, as I had ordered?" "There were, my lord," quavered Ostoher. "It did no good. They were too many. . .too many. . ." His voice trailed off. His head bowed forward as if he could no longer muster the strength to hold it up. "How could it happen, Sire?" he asked, barely audible. "How could there have been so many?" The King frowned, waiting to see if more information was forthcoming. Then he reached a decision. "Prince-Captain. Give these people food and water and detach ten men to escort them north to Romenost. Then we ride on." The Prince snapped orders, then turned to speak to Tarondor privately. "Father, is it wise to ride to the attack without more intelligence? We have no idea as to the enemy's numbers, his leadership. This could be a trap." The King nodded. "I know, son. I believe the risks are reasonable. The orcs could not have stormed Tir Nindor without losses. . .and I refuse to believe that there were so many that twelve hundred horse could not deal with them. The Watch failed only four years ago. If Mordor can muster an army of such size so soon, then we are undone in any case." "You command, Father," said the Prince. "The men and I will do our best." Tarondor smiled, and grasped his son's shoulder. "You and the men will make me proud. Be sure of it." Then he pulled on his reins and set his horse into motion. "Now ride! The Kingdom's fate goes with us. We must strike, and our hands must not be light!" Within minutes, the army was in motion again, the thunder of hoofbeats deafening in the afternoon. Tir Nindor was burning. Tarondor took almost no notice of the wrecked town, clearly past saving. Between the holocaust and his horsemen stood an army, and that was his business at the end of eight days' ride. "What think you, son?" he asked the rider at his right. The Prince shrugged. "They could have moved away, knowing that Gondor must respond to this attack. They did not, and their ranks show no sign of fear. This is a trap." The King nodded. "My estimation as well. But what kind of trap? And what can we do but spring it? We cannot allow such a provocation as this to go unanswered." "Perhaps the emissaries will have an answer," said Telumehtar, pointing. From the black ranks of the enemy a party of riders came, white flag fluttering in token of parley. The King's keen eyes could pick out their leader, a massive figure in black plate, eyes invisible within a closed helm. No emblem could be seen on his shield, and none flew from the lances of his army. Tarondor rode out with his knights, heedless of fear. All was silent, except for the crackle of the distant fire and the low sound of wind across the grasslands. The King raised his voice. "What brigand or Orc-captain are you, to so boldly dare the wrath of Gondor?" A harsh grating sound came from the black captain's helm, and it seemed that he was laughing. "Call me Gothmog, if you must have a name, little king. And come you forward, alone, to meet me. I will have your life's blood on this ground." Challenge. The Prince leaned forward, and hissed, "You cannot accept, Sire. We outnumber them. Give pitched battle!" The King frowned. "No, son. Did we not say that there was a trap here? And here it is, and it cannot be avoided." He turned, and clasped his son's arm. "Be ready. When the outcome is certain, charge to the attack. Even if I fall, let no Orc or Man escape to tell the tale and lend fire to the hearts of their comrades." Then the King turned toward the enemy, and shouted, "So be it. If the Powers be willing, I shall meet and overmaster you today!" Gothmog was tall and heavy. Whatever kind of creature he might be was hidden behind the dull black armor he wore. There was no more than the occasional glint of eyes from behind his closed helm. About him there seemed to come a shadow, where no light could penetrate the thick cloud of smoke above. Black shield stood ready, and the knotted right hand held a great flail whose weights were shaped like skulls. Tarondor rode forward, slowly, checking his equipment one last time. Shield and helm, relics of the Kingdom from ages past, were firmly in place. His sword, the bright Star of Battle, was sharp in his hand. The White Tree shone on his shield as he spurred his horse forward. Gothmog was an avalanche. The monstrous wolf that bore him was fast as lightning, and its fearsomeness made the King's horse flinch despite its many battles. Three leaden skulls whirled in midair, to crash down on Tarondor's shield and stagger him in the saddle. The Orcs roared as the King struggled to right himself. Almost before Tarondor could recover, the attack was again upon him. Once more he reeled back in his saddle, unable to strike at his foe. He turned frantically, saw Gothmog's wolf wheeling more quickly than any horse could, and came to a decision. He kicked out of his stirrups and jumped to the ground, yelling to send his horse bolting away. As Gothmog returned for another pass, the King ducked under the three spinning skulls, and met the wolf of Hell with steel in its breast. The wolf howled in anguish at the deathblow, crashing into the King and knocking him off his feet. Gothmog, taken by surprise, tumbled from the saddle with a great din of metal. A groan went up from both armies to see their captains dismounted. Tarondor picked himself up, bruised and dazed but not seriously hurt, and saw the black mass of his enemy rising nearby. With a yell, he moved to the attack. Now the advantage was to the King. Without the momentum of the wolf's charge, the leaden skulls of Gothmog's flail had less force. Tarondor met blow after blow on his shield, careful to prevent the skulls from looping over the shield's edge to crush his arm or face. The Star of Battle leaped forward, seeking an opening. It took some time to find one. Gothmog was huge, but fast, and careful with his shield. Still, the King retained enough strength to respond when the shield rose a trifle too high. The sword struck forward like a snake, and pierced the black leg between greave and cuisse. Gothmog bellowed, dropping to one knee and momentarily losing control of weapon and shield. The King pressed his advantage, dodging to one side and directing a tremendous downward blow at the exposed neck. Gothmog fell, and did not move. When the King came to his senses, he found himself standing over the fallen captain. Gothmog was still unmoving, and it was clear he would never move again. Tarondor shouted, and saw and heard his horsemen riding to the attack, the bright points of lances glittering in the new sunlight. When he looked toward the burning town, the host of Mordor was melting away. Moments after the charge flew by in a roar of hoofbeats, the Prince reined in beside his father. "A great victory, Sire!" he shouted, his usual reserve shattered by joy. The King looked down at Gothmog, and felt his exhilaration drain away. "Maybe," he whispered, too softly for his son to hear. "But for how long?" Notes from Keith Petersen ========================= Regarding the men-at-arms discussion. True men at arms are quality troops, but that's not what GSI has in mine. Think Persian levies and I think you'll come closer to the truth. These are untrained bodies put in front of the enemy. They have numbers on their side, but any group, even with lots less soldiers will probably chew them up and spit them out. Anyhow, regarding the Balrog of Moria, in the original ME, game #11, I had a crt with about 290-300 challenge (I'm not sure exactly when I ran into Mr. Balrog; I think it 300 challenge though). I'd already killed 5 dragons with this character -- he had a balrog/dragon slaying weapon. I had not even been *hurt* the last three dragons that I killed. I had easily killed "a balrog." I fought the Balrog of Moria to a standstill. Lost about 50 health, and drove him off. I know I hurt him, but I didn't get anything out of the encounter, either. So anyone who wants to tangle with a balrog that fought my character (with a balrog slayer!) to a standstill is probably committing suicide. And shouldn't expect to get anything out of the encounter. Mr. Balrog was spotted later on. Population Center Combat ======================== by Brian Mason An activity which I seem to find myself constantly engaged in is calculating army strength to see if my army is sufficient in size to capture or destroy a population center. Rather than engage in this exercise any more I have decided to come up with the following table. In this matrix, population centers are cross-indexed with the possible fortification levels to give a final defense value. The loyalties of the population centers are taken to be the "at-start" values (i.e. city = 100, major town = 75, town = 55, village = 40, and camp = 30). Population Center and Fortification Defense Value ============================================================ pop center | citadel keep castle fort tower none -----------+------------------------------------------------ city | 58000 42000 30000 22000 14000 10000 major town | 46375 32375 21875 14875 7875 4375 town | 38750 26350 17050 10850 4650 1550 village | 34300 23100 14700 9100 3500 700 camp | 31460 21060 13260 8060 2860 260 ============================================================ It is reasonably straightforward given the guidelines in the me-pbm rulebook to convert an army strength into "equivalent heavy infantry units." In a similar table below, the number of heavy infantry needed to capture or destroy the above population center and fortification is listed. The number of heavy infantry needed are assuming they have weapon and training ranks of 30, with an army commander and army morale rating of 30 as well. It also assumes realtions are hated. Further, it sets the nation terrain, nation climate, troop terrain, troop tactic, and tactic vs. tactic modifiers to 100. Number of Heavy Infantry Needed ============================================================ pop center | citadel keep castle fort tower none -----------+------------------------------------------------ city | 10985 7955 5682 4167 2652 1894 major town | 8783 6132 4143 2817 1491 829 town | 7339 4991 3229 2055 881 294 village | 6496 4375 2784 1723 663 133 camp | 5958 3989 2511 1527 542 49 ============================================================ Given the conditions outlined above, each change of +/- 10 in any modifier (the most obvious of which are weapon, training, commander rank and morale) will adjust the number of heavy infantry needed by +/- 3.125 %. The army troop type has effects which are expected. For example, to get the same effect you need 62.5% as many heavy cavalry, but this is offset as heavy infantry cost only 66.7% as much. Generally, the results are as you would expect, with one notable exception. Troop Type Strength to Cost Ratios ============================================================ | ratio of | ratio of troop || value to troop | troops to | cost to heavy || cost type | heavy infantry | infantry cost || ratio ---------------+----------------+----------------++--------- heavy cavalry | 63 % | 67 % || 95 % light cavalry | 125 % | 125 % || 100 % light infantry | 200 % | 200 % || 100 % archers | 150 % | 200 % || 75 % men-at-arms | 500 % | 500 % || 100 % ============================================================ So, to capture or destroy a population center, archers are the most cost effective method (with heavy cavalry a distant second). However, the army will get decimated by any and all combats due to the low constitution value of archers. Tom's note: I used a much cruder method than Brian's. I divided my full army strength by 2.5 to account for reductions made through the combat algorithm, then compared it to the defensive value of the pop center with a 100% loyalty. If my army was stronger than the pop center under these conditions, I'd most certainly win. However, while my system works for sure-fire combats it doesn't take into account closer ones like Brian's table does. I plan to store this under it's own file for reference. My Thoughts on Middle Earth =========================== By Jeff Holzhauer Since The Mouth gives us all the opportunity to inflict our egos on each other, who am I to refrain? Playing by Email ---------------- The idea is very intriguing, but a cost benefit analysis is called for. First of all, we can already submit turns by email, so there is no change there. The only change is that we would receive turns a few days faster (2-3 days for me, in suburban California) and we would receive the turns in an electronic format. I am unfamiliar with the Adobe Acrobat format. There would be an extra benefit if the format of the turns is amenable to being incorporated into a spreadsheet or database for easy analysis. Some people may be perfectly happy to view their turns electronically, and make their decisions based on that. I would not. I'm a hoarder and a scribbler. I've saved a copy of every ME-PBM turn I've received. I also love carrying them around and making my decisions at work, in the car, in bed, etc. That's (IMO) one of the great strengths of PBM. Therefore, I will have to print out the pages. If I remember correctly, PC Magazine estimated the cost per page for my printer (HP540) at 4.3 cents. That would be for typical business letter coverage. The average turn page is (conservatively) twice as dense. Since it's only one sheet of paper, lets call it 8 cents a page. My 2950 woodmen turn is only 7 pages (in reduced format). On the other hand, I have 1650 turns going up to 13 pages, in the reduced format. Since I won't be playing anymore 2950, I'll use an average turn size of 10 pages. 10 pages @ 8 cents equals $0.80 per turn. This cost does not include the inconvenience of having to print the turns yourself, more frequent purchases of ink cartridges and paper, etc. GSI's cost per page is probably much lower, let's call it half of mine. They save additional costs though. With Email turns they do not have to print the order sheets (say 3 pages). Their savings 13 pages @ 4 cents equals $0.52. They also save on envelopes, return envelopes and postage. Average postage is probably $0.78, plus, let's call it 5 cents for envelopes. GSI's total savings is $1.35 per turn. [Tom's note: not including the most expensive commodity - labor.] Taking into consideration that these are all rough numbers, and that GSI is rightfully entitled to a return on their investment in making the turns Emailable, we should expect to see a turn fee discount of at least $1.00 a turn. If the discount is not at least that, I, for one, will not be receiving my turns by Email. Of course, those of you that can print for free or have poor postal service (including international players) might see more benefit for your cost than I do. Also, GSI may decide that it would be good business practice to not cut turn fees at all. People who could print their turns for free, and some others, would chose Email anyway, and GSI would make a substantial additional profit on these people. The rest of us would just keep doing it the old way. One final question: How is GSI going to handle 3x5 cards with Email players? I guess my days of creative 3x5 creation are nearly over. Thanks for the bandwidth, Jeff Holzhauer [Tom's note: in an impromptu survey of the few games that run in both pbm and pbem formats, the cost for the pbem version - generally with pbem rulebook and front-end software for turn creation - is about two dollars lower than the pbm version. This is because printing costs, and the labor associated with printing, stuffing, and mailing, are THE major expense of a pbm company. You cut these out and you drastically reduce your overhead, especially in light of how fast paper prices are rising. In conversation with an owner of a company which runs both pbem and pbm, the owner stated that he'd jump for joy (or words to that effect) if he could do all of his business via email, even at the lower prices. In fact, he intimated that not only would it be much simpler, but the savings in overhead, personnel and materials would increase his profit margin by a hefty amount - again, even though he charges a couple of bucks less for the email turn. And, of course, there's the realistic option of one week games or head-to-head games, which in turn increase cash flow....] Editorial Response to the Previous Article ========================================== >From Brian Mason I think Jeff raises some excellent points, and truly, me-pbm by email has some problems associated with it. Dave Rossell suggested that I write up something related to retrieving adobe acrobat via ftp. While Phredd Groves has courteously provided a link to adobe from his me-pbm World Wide Web page, I found that scratch disk limitations prevented me from accessing it that way, so I returned to the old-fashioned direct ftp method. [Tom's note: I used Phredd's web page to link and had no problems downloading the program, although the adobe server seems to be a bit on the slow side.] Getting the file is straightforward this way. Use ftp to ftp.adobe.com with username as "anonymous" and your email address as the password, change directories to pub and get the files appropriate to your system. In reading the documentation and licensing agreement it is apparent that adobe acrobat licenses it as a single-user single-machine product. Allowing me to divert into a selfish response here, this does not help me at all. Several times a year I am at various astronomical observatories all over the globe, and these are VERY unlikey to have adobe acrobat. The best method for me is to receive the PostScript version. While Jeff points out the cost of this, at least for me, at work or more especially visiting another institution, the cost is free. Therefore, discounting the cost, the speed of getting turns, especially when I am away from home but have email access makes the PostScript version the way for me to go. I've had several email discussions with Bill Feild as well as getting some information regarding aol and compuserve from Tom Walton and Jeremy Richman. The status of me-pbm by email right now is this: Due to limitations on file size, GSI is unable to send files via aol to internet addresses. At present, they are also having problems sending binary PDF files (for adobe acrobat), uuencoded PDF files, and PostScript files without some corruption or truncation. Compuserve has acknowledged to Bill that the problem is with compuserve and not with GSI. At present, compuserve is working to correct the problem, but it is not working yet. AOL accounts are not affected by this, and they can send/receive turns via this method. If I discover any change with internet addresses and GSI turn reports I'll report it here. Another Editorial Response ========================== >From Tom Walton Actually, my response has more to do with the mechanics of pbem than the move itself. When GSI announced that it was going to make turns available via email, I assumed they'd do so through a direct connection from a home server or using a provider which doesn't limit mail to 32k per chunk, like most commercial providers do (no such limitation exists for NetCruiser, hee hee). Then I thought: "idiot, they can't do that. All the people using commercial providers would get truncated files unless they sent them in chunks." Kinda like we do with the Mouth. Of course, the answer was staring me right in the face. If the Acrobat Reader already had the formatting, character picture bitmaps, and so forth stored in it's database, then all GSI would have to do would be to send a file that the reader could interpret. A compact string of numbers would do the trick, and could easily be fit into 32k for even the largest of turn reports. This would also have some rather obvious side benefits. For one thing, the character pictures wouldn't have to be transmitted with every turn; they'd just be called up by the reader and stuck into the appropriate screen location. And the player would be able to peruse the character bitmap database and choose which pictures he wanted for his characters, a nice little perk. If his character and someone else's were involved in challenge, the character picture i.d. would simply be transmitted by GSI to the second player and the picture would appear in the challenge report. In fact, most of GSI's encounter routines, nation message texts, and announcements are stock items that could be incorporated into the database. Again, only the specific results - in number format - would have to be transmitted, resulting in the reader pulling up what it needed. This would be extremely efficient in terms of bandwidth used, and wouldn't give away anything about the mechanics of the game (e.g., with encounters you'd have the text and the results in the reader, but no way to connect the two; the links are on GSI's home computer, as well as pertinent items like hex location and the actual encounter i.d.). So during the write-up for the last issue I was thinking 'cool, GSI's really on the ball with this one; they can expand off the reader for all sorts of interesting utilities'. Until I read Brian's article above. Now, unless I somehow misinterpreted things, it looks as if GSI is trying to send the WHOLE turn - each and every time - to the player. And with the formatting and pictures, you're talking a heck of a lot more than 32k. Not to mention a real waste of bandwith, since all of this stuff is being duplicated endlessly over and over again. If that's true, then GSI did in fact miss the boat. Not only are they going about things incredibly inefficiently, but they put themselves into a bind with customers who use commercial services. With the 32k limitation that applies to most services, the customer will either have to log in at an alternate site and download, ftp to an alternate site and download (both have security problems, since in these systems it'd be easy to steal another player's turn report), get the turn report in a dozen 32k chunks and reassemble it, or just be content with paper mail. My questions is: why? With a front-end piece of software, you can do things the way I described above and rid yourself of all the headaches, connect time costs, and so forth. It compromises nothing in regards to the game mechanics and lends itself to useful manipulation. Give the players the code and they can come up with the utilities themselves, which means that GSI doesn't have to do any extra programming to provide goodies. And you don't need to use proprietary software; you can simply program the whole front-end piece with something like Visual Basic and use a freeware email interpretation program to strip out things like mail headers and footers so the program is left with just the data to look at. I'm still unclear as to what exactly GSI is doing, and as to the rationale behind their actions. I hope to hear more on this in the future from Brian's investigations. I certainly hope I've badly misinterpreted what's going on, because I can't for the life of me figure out why they'd do pbem so inefficiently. MEPBM 2950 ========== By Jeff Holzhauer I join those who are disappointed with the 2950 scenario. I understand the reasons why some people like it, and do not begrudge them their opinion, but ....... I was hoping for so much more. GSI had the opportunity to create a whole new game dynamic based on a proven system. They took this opportunity and wasted it. So little has changed. The nations are almost all the same. The locations are all nearly the same. Almost all of the hidden pop centers are the same places. The nation advantages are unchanged. Saruman gets 40 point commanders!?! Where the hell did that come from? I don't seem to remember being impressed by the brilliance of Saruman's commanders in the books. Shouldn't Theodan have started as a double agent? What happened to all of the orcs in the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood? Most of my disappointment was due to high expectations, caused, in part, by The Mouth of Sauron. Brian and Tom's ideas for the new nations were so much better than what actually happened. Imagine if the Fire and Ice Kings had moved to the Misty Mountains. Suddenly Eriador and Mirkwood are major battle areas. As it now stands, unless Dunland *and* the White Wizard go evil, there should be no Dark Servant troops west of the Rhovanian and Ithilien by turn 10, at the latest (barring brain dead or dropped free peoples). With good free people play, make that turn 6. That part of the game's a blowout. After that, I imagine it would be pretty damn boring for the western free peoples. Which brings me to my main complaint about 2950: It's boring. Greg Reid and Tom Walton summed this up nicely in Mouth 31, but let me add my piece. I'm playing the Woodmen (which may be my sole problem, but I don't think so). The Woodmen start with 250 points of command ability (5,000 gold a turn). This is very exciting for me, considering I can't field an army, worthy of its name. I have my tax rate at 59% and have added three villages and a town to my starting position. With a big 100 man army, I have to sell food every turn to keep from going under. Now that I'm allowed 17 characters, I'm finally up to 12. If I had been playing a two week game, I would have had to fire a character to make it through winter. (Sudden thought: imagine winter in a one-week game!) I think we're winning, and my agents and emmissaries are at effective levels, but I'm bored. Some people may like this type of scenario, but I don't. I like ME-PBM because it's so fast moving. If I wanted to play a slow moving game, there are many other PBM games out there with much greater depth. ME-PBM's strengths are as a wargame. As a building game, it leaves a lot to be desired. The system is just not detailed enought to be a satisfying builder. Well, you may not have wanted my opinion, but you read it anyway. Sucker :-P Thanks for the bandwidth, Jeff Holzhauer Database on Climates, a Growing List ==================================== Brian Mason At the request of some of the readership, I'll include below the Climate database as it exists. Thanks to Greg Reid, Thomas Meier, Holger Eichmann, and Kevin McGee the list continues to grow. There is still a great deal missing, but we now have complete climate datasets for the following positions: Northmen, Southern Gondor, Dwarves, Cloud Lord, Fire King, Rhudaur and Easterlings. We have mostly complete (missing a few seasons for a few population centers) climate datasets for the following positions: Eothraim, Cardolan, Northern Gondor, Witch-King and the Quiet Avenger. We have mostly incomplete (usually one season per population center) for the following positions: Woodmen, Arthedain, Sinda Elves, Noldo Elves, Dragon Lord, Dog Lord, Blind Sorcerer, Ice King, Long Rider, Dark Lieutenants, Corsairs, Dunlendings, and the Haradwaith. Hex Name Winter Spring Summer Fall Owner 0408 Forlond |mild |mild |mild | Noldo Elves 0508 Lanthir Lamath |mild | | | Noldo Elves 0605 Telenaug |severe|cold |cool |cold Dwarves 0606 Noegrod |severe|cold |cool |cold Dwarves 0611 Harlond |mild | | | Noldo Elves 0707 Culwic | | | |mild Arthedain 0708 Mithlond-West |mild |mild |mild | Noldo Elves 0710 Mithlond-East |mild | | | Noldo Elves 0807 Eruimar | | | |cool Arthedain 0808 Galenros |mild | | | Noldo Elves 0810 Elostirion |mild |mild |mild |mild Noldo Elves 0812 Zagragathol |cold |cool |mild |cool Dwarves 0907 Caras Celairnen| | | |cool Arthedain 1006 Caras Fornen | | | |cool Arthedain 1014 Annon Baran |mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1015 Traith Chefudoc|mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1106 Baraketta | | | |cool Arthedain 1109 Tarmabar | | | |mild Arthedain 1113 Minas Girithlin|mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1211 Athrad Sarn | | | |mild Arthedain 1219 Suduri |mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1307 Rood | | | |cool Arthedain 1317 Balost |mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1406 Malborn High | | | |cool Arthedain 1407 Fornost Erain | | | |cool Arthedain 1409 Bree |mild |mild |mild |mild Arthedain 1420 Enedhir | | |mild | Dunland 1510 Minas Malloth |mild | | |mild Cardolan 1513 Metriath |mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1514 Argond |mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1614 Tharbad |mild |mild |mild |mild Cardolan 1715 Nin-in-Eilph | | |mild | Dunland 1720 Angren | | |mild | Dunland 1804 Carn Dum |polar |polar | |polar Witch-King 1806 Cargash |cold |cool |mild |cool Witch-King 1817 Larach-Duhnnan | | |mild | Dunland 1905 Angsul |severe|cold | |cold Witch-King 1906 Shedun |cold |cool |mild |cool Witch-King 1907 Eldanar |cold |cool |mild |cool Witch-King 1908 Nothva Rhaglaw |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 1910 Fennas Drunin |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 1916 Cillien | | |mild | Dunland 1917 Wularan | | |mild | Dunland 1918 Arailt | | |mild | Dunland 1922 Freawul | | |cool | Dunland 2004 Zarak-dum |polar |polar |polar |polar Dwarves 2005 Morkai |severe|cold | |cold Witch-King 2006 Mount Gram |polar |polar | |polar Witch-King 2007 Penmorva |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 2008 Cameth Brin |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 2009 Thuin Boid |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 2010 Harnalda |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 2017 Treforn | | |mild | Dunland 2039 Ardumir | | | |warm Corsairs 2109 Tirthon |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 2119 Angrenost |mild |mild | |mild N Gondor 2121 Aglarond |severe|cold |cool |cold N Gondor 2135 Vamag |mild |warm |hot |warm Q Avenger 2136 Eradas | | | |warm Corsairs 2137 Caldur | | | |warm Corsairs 2208 Elnost |cold |cool |mild |cool Rhudaur 2209 Imladris |warm |warm | |warm Noldo Elves 2212 Khazad-dum |severe|cold |cool |cold Dwarves 2220 Dunlostir |mild | | |mild N Gondor 2223 Morthondost |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2225 Rendul |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2227 Dol Amroth |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2236 Isigir | | | |warm Corsairs 2305 Mount Gundabad | | | |polar Witch-King 2324 Glanhir |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2325 Edhellond |mild | | | Sinda Elves 2327 Cirith Dunrandi|mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2328 Endil |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2337 Maros | | | |warm Corsairs 2339 Pellardur | | | |warm Corsairs 2405 Buhr Fram |severe| | | Woodmen 2409 Goblin-Gate |severe|cold | | Dragon Lord 2411 Eorcan |cold | | | Woodmen 2413 Cerin Amroth |warm | | | Sinda Elves 2421 Calmirie |mild |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 2424 Calembel |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2427 Sarlond |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2430 Caras Tolfalas | | | |warm Haradwaith 2437 Barazon | | | |warm Corsairs 2438 Havens of Umbar| | | |warm Corsairs 2508 Maethelburg |cold | |mild |cool Woodmen 2514 Carad Galadhon |warm | | | Sinda Elves 2520 Onodrith |mild |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 2527 Linhir |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2534 Kas Shafra | | | |warm Haradwaith 2535 Sukh Akhor | | | |warm Haradwaith 2605 Waetan's Lodge |cold | | | Woodmen 2608 Caras Amarth |cold | | | Sinda Elves 2609 Carrock |cold | | | Woodmen 2613 Sarn Lothduin |cold | | | Woodmen 2615 Vidus |cold | | | Woodmen 2617 Tir Limlight |cold |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 2619 Tir Anduin |mild |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 2622 Imdorad |mild |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 2626 Minas Brethil |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2628 Fanuilond |mild |warm |hot |warm S Gondor 2630 Eithel Thurin | | | |warm Haradwaith 2631 Barad Harn | | | |warm Haradwaith 2632 Has Adri | | | |warm Haradwaith 2634 Sook Ada | | | |warm Haradwaith 2635 An Pharax | | | |warm Haradwaith 2703 Kala Durlakarth|polar |polar |polar |polar Witch-King 2709 Galadbrynd |cold | | | Sinda Elves 2711 Buhr Widufiras |cold | | | Woodmen 2712 Sairtheod |cold | | | Woodmen 2715 Dol Guldur | |mild |warm | Dragon Lord 2730 Methir | |warm |hot |warm Haradwaith 2732 Caras Mirilond | |warm |hot |warm Haradwaith 2734 Kas Shadoul | |warm |hot |warm Haradwaith 2809 Sarn Goriwing | |cold | | Dragon Lord 2833 Has Yayb | | | |warm Haradwaith 2835 An Zalim | | | |warm Haradwaith 2904 Zarak Dum |polar |polar |polar |polar Dwarves 2908 Aradhrynd |cold | | | Sinda Elves 2912 Buhr Widu |cold |cool |mild | Eothraim 2915 Ceber Fanuin |cold | | | Sinda Elves 2924 Minas Anor |mild |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 2926 Minas Arthor |mild |warm |hot |warm N Gondor 2927 Pelargir |mild |warm |hot |warm N Gondor 3002 Celeb-Ost |polar |polar |polar |polar Dwarves 3012 Buhr Waldmarh |cold |cool |mild | Eothraim 3020 Tir Nindor |cold | | |mild N Gondor 3022 Lag-scara | | | |mild Ice King 3024 Osgiliath |mild |mild |warm |mild N Gondor 3026 Bar-en-Tinnen |mild |warm |hot |warm N Gondor 3028 Tir Ethraid |mild | |hot |warm N Gondor 3034 Lugarlar |mild |warm |hot |warm Q Avenger 3104 Lag-auris | |polar | | Dragon Lord 3105 Buhr Thurasig |severe|cold |cool |cold Northmen 3108 Dale |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 3109 Esgaroth |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 3110 Londaroth |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 3112 Buhr Ailgra |cold |cool |mild | Eothraim 3113 Buhr Waldaes |cold |cool |mild | Eothraim 3116 Romenost |cold | | |mild N Gondor 3120 Thuingwathost | |hot | | Dark Lts. 3121 Lag-konzi | |hot | | Dog Lord 3122 Durthang | | | |cool Ice King 3123 Barad Perras | | | |cool Ice King 3124 Minas Ithil |cold | | |cool N Gondor 3125 Lag-shemat | | | |cool Ice King 3126 Lag-majakul | | | |cool Ice King 3217 Buhr Anthar |cold |mild |warm | Eothraim 3220 Ashkiri |hot |hot |hot |hot Easterlings 3221 Morannon | |cool | | Dog Lord 3222 Carach Angren |cold |cool |mild |cool Cloud Lord 3223 Katund-akul | | | |cool Ice King 3224 Barad Ungol |cold |cool |mild |cool Fire King 3225 Lag-digtumarr |cold |cool |mild |cool Fire King 3230 Lag-malmabus | |cool | | Long Rider 3234 Wathduin | |warm |hot |warm Q Avenger 3316 Thorontir |cold | | |mild N Gondor 3319 Ursh Lanna |cold |mild |warm |mild Easterlings 3321 Lag-hundur | |cool | | Dog Lord 3322 Lag-ujakdagul | |cool | | Dog Lord 3323 Lag-lithlad | |hot | | Dark Lts. 3324 Lag-zajarzot |hot |hot |hot |hot Fire King 3325 Lag-flaksharbtu|hot |hot |hot |hot Fire King 3327 Lag-vrasfotak |cold |cool |mild |cool Fire King 3329 Olbamarl | |cool | | Long Rider 3335 Kul Dinbar |hot |hot |hot |hot Q Avenger 3416 Buhr Beorills |cold |mild |warm | Eothraim 3421 Lag-ulurikon | |cool | | Dog Lord 3422 Lag-fhauga | |cool | | Dark Lts. 3423 Barad-dur | |hot | | Dark Lts. 3426 Barad-wath |cold |cool |mild |cool Fire King 3428 Barduath |hot |hot |hot |hot Cloud Lord 3437 Tir Harn |hot |hot |hot |hot Q Avenger 3506 Nahald Kudan | |cold | | Dragon Lord 3528 Nurumurl |hot |hot |hot |hot Cloud Lord 3533 Jug Rijesha |hot |hot |hot |hot Q Avenger 3538 An Karagmir |hot |hot |hot |hot Easterlings 3605 Lar-Huz |severe|cold |cool |cold Easterlings 3607 Barak-shathur |severe|cold |cool |cold Dwarves 3612 Buhr Mahrling |cold |cool |mild | Eothraim 3621 Carvarad | |cool | | Dark Lts. 3622 Minas Durlith | |cool | | Dark Lts. 3624 Ostigurth | |cool | | Dog Lord 3626 Rul |hot |hot |hot |hot Cloud Lord 3627 Urlurtsu Nurn | |hot | | Blind Sorc. 3629 Kul Tarkorul |hot |hot |hot |hot Cloud Lord 3630 Kal Nargil |cold |cool |mild |cool Cloud Lord 3707 Azanulinbar-dum|severe|cold |cool |cold Dwarves 3713 Ilanin |cold |cool |mild |cool Easterlings 3712 Kardavan |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 3715 Buhr Gadraught |cold |mild |warm | Eothraim 3716 Warfinger |cold | | |mild N Gondor 3819 Buhr Padaruik |cold |mild |warm | Eothraim 3822 Lug Ghurzun | |cool | | Dragon Lord 3829 Virk Ulgath | |hot | | Blind Sorc. 3916 Kheled-nala |cold |mild |warm |mild Dwarves 3928 Zarok Ioriag | |hot | | Blind Sorc. 3929 Luglurak | |cool | | Blind Sorc. 4013 Shrel-Kain |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 4014 Riavod |cold |cool |mild |cool Easterlings 4015 Scari |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 4017 Lest |cold |mild |warm |mild Northmen 4025 Burch Nurn | |hot | | Blind Sorc. 4126 Orduga Aivaisa | |hot | | Blind Sorc. 4133 Sturlursta Khan|hot |hot |hot |hot Easterlings 4215 Tol Buruth | |cold | | Long Rider 4217 Dilgul |cold |mild |mild |mild Northmen 4228 Khand Amu |hot |hot |hot |hot Easterlings 4318 Mistrand |cold |mild |warm |mild Easterlings 4324 Neburcha | |hot | | Long Rider 4325 Buhr Ovaisa | |hot | | Long Rider 4335 Ovatharac |hot |hot |hot |hot Easterlings 4413 Rhubar |cold | | | Sinda Elves 4415 Elgaer |cold |cool |mild |cool Northmen 4425 Lagari Orath | |hot | | Long Rider 4430 Laorki |hot |hot |hot |hot Easterlings On the Bribing and Recruiting of Characters =========================================== by Brian Mason While there has been very little input, I suspect the prime reason for this is the lack of orders. However, allow me to summarize results. I don't think there is enough data to establish a trend, much less determine cutoffs for success. However, the results are interesting. Possibly the most informative result is that if you fail in a bribe attempt the gold is not paid out. So be daring! Attempt a bribe! (but send your results to me for futher tabulation. :-) Thanks to Holger Eichmann, Jeff Holzhauer and Thomas Meier for their contributions. Emissary Rank Bribed Character Rank Gold Offer Successful? ------------- --------------------- ---------- ----------- 55 100 6000 yes 80 110 2500 yes 69 68 10000 no 73 68 20000 yes 120 69 10000 yes Recons for Major Towns and Cities ================================= by Brian Mason In a much earlier "From the Mouth of Sauron" I asked readers to supply me with data related to the Recons provided by Major Towns and Cities which are off your nation map. Specifically, at what loyalty level these are provided. While the results are less complete (and more results are always gratefully accepted) some data can be seen. Thanks to Glen Mayfield, Rochelle Newman, Ed Bailey and Gordon Griffith for providing this data. No Recon - 23, 35, 40 (x2), 46, 47, 48, 51, 58 Recon - 55, 60, 61, 63, 69 There seems to be either a Gaussian distribution scheme or some sort of step-function which determines whether or not you get reports as their is no clearly defined cutoff. Further data is desired to clear this up. On the Lighter Side =================== Fro Darin Fitzpatrick Goromil promised, along with the Deepwood Bracelet, some humorous limericks. Gorovod, disappointed, has composed a few, and "Issues Poetic Challenge" with the following: A strapping young lad from Pelargir Studied magic with undying ardor But tuition was dear And his debts grew, I fear, With every term larger and larger! So Goromil entered the Army "Here," he thought, "Nothing will harm me!" He worked off his fees With astonishing ease Casting spells 'til his peers thought him barmy. Soon ancient items of yore Were what Goromil went looking for. Eol's old blade, A harp Daeron made, Were the tools he brought back to the war. But questing takes time, as we all know, And the penalties of it must follow His mage dissertation? A shabby creation! And his ranking's now less than the Noldo! The War of the Ring: A Proposal ================================ >From Tom Walton I've long been dissatisfied with the portrayal of Tolkien's world by GSI, but I enjoy the game for other reasons and continue to play it. In fact, it's the only pbm/pbem game I'm currently in (though that will change soon). I was hoping that the 2950 scenario would be more true-to-form, and unfortunately was disappointed. This led me back to an idea I'd kicked around in the past. About a year ago I thought about putting together a pbem game with front-end interpretation/manipulation software for a Middle-Earth game, set in the final year of the War of the Ring. This is the time period when military activity started really picking up and the primary period covered by the Trilogy. Each turn would be a week, and it would run from the time Frodo left the Shire to the time the Ring was destroyed (about 48 weeks, if I'm not mistaken). The Ring in and of itself would be a non-factor in the game. In ME- PBM, finding the Ring is a chance occurrence requiring no real skill, only perseverance and luck; it invalidates skillful play by your opponents (much as dragons do). The assumption in this game is that Frodo WILL destroy the Ring (else, the Free are doomed no matter what) and that's what ends the game. However, whether or not Frodo destroys the Ring, the Free must be able to hold out against the Dark Servants until he does. That's what the game focuses on: the desperate attempt by the Free to preserve some semblance of good and right civilization in the face of Sauron's hordes. For what good would destruction of the Ring do if Sauron's armies conquered Gondor and Rohan, for example? Sauron might be gone, and his empire might collapse into a dozen smaller petty kingdoms, but how long do you think it would be before some other powerful servant united enough of Sauron's empire to wipe out the beleagured remnants of the Free, like the Northmen, the Dwarves, and the few remaining Elves? What kind of life would the peoples of Middle-Earth have if Gondor and Rohan were no longer, and in their place stood kingdoms of orcs and evil men? Getting the picture here? Even if Sauron is destroyed - and the game assumes he will be - he might inflict so much damage that the Free could never recover. But if the Free can hold out long enough, they'll be able do duplicate the results of the trilogy, wherein the collapse of Sauron's empire allowed them to mop up the disorganized remnants even though they were badly outnumbered in all regards (re- read the Battle of Morannon to get a good picture of just what deep ---- they were in). So the Ring is effectively removed from consideration, while a time limit is imposed because Frodo's going to make it to Mount Doom, and there's nothing you can do about, Sauron m'man. The game becomes a fast-paced strategy wargame where ultimate conquest isn't the goal, but rather the achievement of certain minimum requirements prior to game end. The Free have to hold on to most of what they have, while the Dark Servants need to take it way from them. Certain sites, like Minas Tirith, would have particularly value, attracting Nazgul like flies. The game would also eliminate or ignore certain items that aren't reflected in the trilogy. No pop center build-up, for example; it's rather silly to think that you could create a major town out of nothing in a year, much less two months. Even getting a camp-sized population moved, settled, and producing more than they consume in start-up costs would require more than a year. So what you start with is what you get, barring capture of enemy sites. This stays true to Tolkien, where pop center build-up was something that took place over centuries in most cases. Also eliminated are the devastating effects of agents. Not a single major character was assassinated in the trilogy, and so such actions would be incredibly difficult in the game. The idea of stealing tons of gold would also be dumped. The primary use for agents would be the gathering of information, the dissemination of misinformation, and critical pieces of sabotage and treachery at the right moment (Wormtongue, anyone?). Another example of change would be sorcery, which only a few characters would possess: Gandalf, the Nazgul, the Mouth of Sauron, certain Elves, etc. But the game wouldn't solely be an exercise in army conflict. Characters would have the ability to shape events and change the course of the war. Under the prototype army mechanics, leadership skill is one of two primary determinants for calculating army strength and responsiveness; a good leader could easily make all the difference in the world. A good leader and well-trained troops could whip an army five times the size of their own. I'm going on and on here. The game is something completely different than that produced by GSI; the mechanics aren't even remotely close to what you're used to. The reason I and a few others stopped working on this system is because I learned that Elan owns all the rights to the trilogy setting, and they in turn subcontract out to I.C.E. It appears that someone, somewhere, bought the rights to produce a pbm or pbem game set in the War of the Ring, and they just haven't bothered to do anything with those rights (nope, GSI isn't the company; they aren't authorized for a WotR scenario). That meant that unless we could purchase the rights, we couldn't produce the game commercially for profit. However.... I wrote up a chunk of the game mechanics prior to the revelation. The mechanics aren't encoded yet, but it would be simple enough to expand on them. While a WotR pbem game couldn't be produced for- profit (at least, not until I figure out a copyright work-around), it COULD be produced as freeware. Not a darn thing anyone can do to stop that. Tho', of course, I'd copyright the mechanics (they're generic, not specific to one game). My question is: if a pbem game were produced in this scenario and under these circumstances, would you consider playing? And assuming that the sticky copyright laws could somehow be dealt with, would you pay for it? Is this something you, the reader, might be interested in, or are you content with GSI's product? I don't want to work on this unless someone's going to get some use out of it. At the same time, if I do work on it I want to satisfy the desires and wishes of ME players everywhere while remaining true to the trilogy. If interest is high enough, I'll draw up a draft document with player position summaries and major elements for perusal. If not, I'll wave goodbye to the effort and hit the ol' DELETE key. What say you? Last Word ========= Several weeks ago I sent out a note informing the Mouth readers that my address had changed. I'd like to reiterate this fact just to make certain that submissions and mail don't keep going to the old AOL and Delphi accounts. Prior to the node upgrade, AOL had the most convenient commercial mailer available. After the node upgrade, I experienced so many problems that getting the Mouth out was a trying process at best, and issues were often delayed for days or longer when I couldn't maintain a link long enough to do the mailing (or establish one in the first place). I finally got fed up with the lack of technical know-how on the part of the AOL staff (hell, they know less than I do about communications hardware and software) and switched over to Netcom. There aren't any problems with Netcom that I've encountered so far, and the interface is far better re the internet than that provided by Delphi. So I'm dumping these old accounts and going solely with the Netcom folks. That's good news for the Mouth, as it means that I should be able to mail the bloody thing out whenever I feel like it. No more hours lost with constant back-to-back lockups on AOL, or accidentally getting that $9/hour service charge on Delphi for logging on prior to 6:00 p.m. Having seen Netcruiser in action, I only wish I'd known about it sooner; it's convenient without being brain-dead (except for that silly Gopher map), a fine alternative to hunting down every piece of shareware I can get my hands on and configuring all of it for direct access. I don't care enough to waste the time doing that sort of thing. As far as ME goes, I'm still looking for interesting bits of software. Now that I've more convenient ftp/telnet/web access all I need is a location and file name for our archives. If you could kindly provide such information to me I'd be very grateful; should I acquire enough fun stuff I'll be certain to make it available to our readers at a central location. I'd also like to make a call for climate data to complete Brian's table. Though I at one time had most of the stuff he's looking for, I never keep my game turns after the game ends and, alas, they're all in a landfill someplace now. Until next time, Tom