From the Mouth of Sauron
Date: 11-30-95
Issue: E-39
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,
kazandar@rio.com
Back issues of "From the Mouth of Sauron" and the general info files
are available at chara.gsu.edu via anonymous ftp.
First Word
==========
Well, there seems to be much of nothing going on in the world of
Middle-Earth, or PBM in general. And on this particularly dreary
November morning, with the wind and rain lashing the windows of my
office, all I really want to do is curl up before a hot fire with a
good book and a steaming mug of cafe mocha.
I'm going to go indulge myself in that little fantasy for awhile.
Hope you enjoy the Mouth this time around.
Tom
Encounters
==========
>From Kevin McGee
----------------
2. Radagast / man in the brown robe.
In your database it is said that Radagast and the man in the brown
robe (feeding birds) possibly are the same people/encounter. I can
now confirm that this isn't true. I have (again in Allsorts #51) the
message that Radagast was seen at Esgaroth (3109), but at the same
time one of my characters had an encounter with the brown man at
Ceber Fanuin (2715). Any idea who the brown man could be?>>
No, it is Radagast. The encounter does not seem to be tied to the
NPC. In ME 1650 145, I had an encounter with the man in brown robes
feeding birds tens of turns after he had been assassinated for his
artifacts by an overzealous Noldo player.
>From Glen Kading
----------------
We just had an encounter with Sauron. He encountered a Noldo army
containing 3000 HC in 48 Armour and 100 LC with 40 Armour. The
encounter left the army commander (not all commanders in the army)
dead. The army still lives with 518 HC and 21 LC. The estimated
strength of Sauron is therefore 60000 due to the Constitution loss
of the army. This is the first time I have heard of an army
surviving this encounter and thought the readers of the Mouth would
like to know this information. This was a game in the 1650
scenario.
Riddles
=======
>From Geoff Landergan
--------------------
Here's a new (?) riddle from ME2950:-
A person of learning he was, a scholar they say
Full of generosity and courage, come what may.
He wrote of his epic though an untruth did sting
Every time he wrote of that time and its cursed ring.
I successfully answered with "BILBO"
A Question on the Rulebook
==========================
>From William Belben
One general question whilst I am writing:
the rulebook (1650) has a table of troop - terrain factors being
good, average or poor. I saw this and checked the army combat
example to see if it gave them, it did. Two troop types at 100%
(Good) one troop type at 90% (Average) and Archers at 80% (Good)!
The question is are these figure accurate (in which case archers are
not 6-1 troops but completely useless), is the table of terrain
factors wrong or did the example use the wrong factors to make the
elves lose the sample battle?
I would be very interested in seeing other people theories on this
one. Allsorts in the UK have no idea themselves.
Dragons, Encounters, and Musings
================================
>From Thomas Kampmann
I have enjoyed the Mouth of Sauron for a long time even if I have
not submitted anything yet. (It takes time to get some experience
worth sharing with others 8-) )
In the miscellaneous file on dragons I didn't find anything on
Klyaxar, so I tried HAUGHTY as a dark servant and Klyaxar was so
awed that he decided to join an army of mine. This may have been
published in one of the later mouths, but I haven't seen it. This is
1650, by the way.
Another thing: I have an encounter with the Harper in Angmar (2108)
(A long way from home, I would say)
On a different note. Hearing all the complaints about GSI I feel
obliged to compliment Allsorts for their Customer Service. I have
never been dissapointed by the responses on my queries or
complaints. And as may be apparent, they are doing a lot to make it
easier to get in touch by various methods. Admittedly, there's been
a good deal of mistakes bringing in a new GM, but I am pleased by
their attitude towards correcting errors. I asked Paul Erik
Lundstroem why he was still playing with GSI and he said because so
many good players played there ;-)
Agent Action Calculations
=========================
>From Keith Petersen
When we tried to figure out agent calculations (for head-to-head
agent actions -- for example assassination a guarded crt), this was
the general idea:
Take all agent skill (with any known modifiers for nation bonuses
like the CL or artifacts). This is a straight add; that is, if you
have a 100 agent skill, you have a modifier of 100, on either attack
or defense.
However, stealth's benefit seems to be random and only on the
offensive. So if you have a 30 pt stealth, you get a random
addition of 1-30.
In addition, there is definite random factor. Because the game is
based on ICE's system, there is probably a 5 or 10% chance of
critical success or failure.
IMHO
Keith
PS - from many moons ago I recall GSI telling me that it was not
possible to recruit NPCs. (Bribe but not recruit). I refer here to
the emissary order, not the results of an encounter with dragons,
ents, hobbits, etc.
Neutrals and Allegiance Changes
===============================
>From Keith Petersen
I saw this and think it refutes some opinions I've seen about how to
stop a neutral from joining your side.
--- Forwarded Message ---
#: 434394 S5/Fantasy Games [PBMGAM]
12-Dec-93 22:06:19
Sb: ME Neutrals
Fm: Game Systems, Inc. 72357,1041
To: Dan Newman 73075,1146
I posted a reply about that recently. It is only the relations that
the relations has toward the nations of the allegiance they seek to
join that are a factor. This added difficulty/benefit reflects the
kinds of activity THAT nation has been having to-date with those
nations and properly modifies their chances of successful change in
allegiance. To base it otherwise would effectively allow that
allegiance to plot to prevent a Neutral from joining their side.
Someone posted recently that they did not feel that that was fair
and likened it to some nations joining the powers during WWII. One
should review the powers that be in Middle-earth and then one can
see that Sauron would never have refused the aid of a Neutral (since
he knew later that he could dominate them) and the Free Peoples
would have been happy to have any help against the forces of
Darkness, even from a troublesome Neutral.
The modifiers as used in ME-PBM penalize/beneifit a nation who has
worked against/for the other nations of that allegiance, as it
should. But it does not penalize the nation simply because the other
nations do not like them. Besides the analogy above, this prevents
the player's personalities from spoiling the game for Neutrals
(especially for 'team' and 'grudge' games).
Happy holidays! Bill Feild/GSI
Tom's note: When playing a neutral, I like having the choice of who
I want to join; but when playing an allegiance power, it ticks me
off to no end to see some idiot sit out the war for 20 turns and
then join my side to place. I usually attempt to destroy such
people via character wars, but this isn't always an option (for
instance, if you're playing a nation like the Eothraim). There's
got to be a way to discourage a neutral from sitting out until one
side is clearly whipped.
Comments on the 2950 Game
=========================
>From Mike Hunnersen
Lastly, A comment on 2950 vs. 1650. I have never played 1650 but in
from what I have heard, I may not do so. 1650 seems to me to be
far to heavily military oriented. The military system employed by
GSI is very basic, often unrealistic, i.e. nothing special. The
fact that fortifications are meaningless in most games - (The Sinda
taking out Dol Goldur by turn 4 is almost a mockery). Armies should
be expensive to maintain, and to take out Dol Goldur Should require
a massive effort by several nations.
My point is, 2950 is a character game. Agents, as your say are
vital; However, so are Emis and mages. As well numerous commanders
for running around with small raid type arnies can be helpful. In
2950, you have to concentrate on characters. By turn 3 you should
have 12. And then stay at them maximum allowed for the rest of the
game. Armies need to be well trained and well equiped before you
use them. Your need to acquire as much information as possible. If
one thinks characters first and military second, then 2950 will be
very enjoyable. If the reverse is true, then 2950 will likely turn
out to be boring.
The only problem I see is that, with only 2 turn orders a character,
you can be left with an unfulfilled feeling at times. GSI should
consider, at some point, allowing more characters or something, to
put more punch in the character game, that is 2950.
Just some random thoughts
News from the Net
=================
Compiled by Brian Mason
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Post #1
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From: dcd@nasa.kodak.com (Dennis DeYoung)
Subject: Re: MEPBM Encounter
Date: 29 Sep 1995 16:37:47 GMT
In article 811903167@giaec, dchas1@giaec.cc.monash.edu.au (Dave
Hastings)
writes:
>
> In Australia we had a huge debate between the FP and the DS of
> game 1. This was all due to the fact that Northern and Southern
> Gondor had just come stomping into Mordor with 9,000 troops. Now
> the people we had defending Mordor were lucky if they had 1/3 of
> that amount of troops, so of course the Gondors were having a
> great time in Mordor. The Dog Lord and the Blind Sorcerer who
> had been playing around up north turned around to help out in
> Mordor. On the way back to Mordor the Dog Lord was lucky enough
> to have his emmissaries run into not one but two dragons. Even
> better they joined the same army.
Actually Dave, it's better if the two dragons join two separate
armies. It's just as easy you see to wipe out an army w/ two
dragons as it is an army w/ one dragon.
- Dennis DeYoung
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response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com)
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It's tough to get them to join more than just ONE specific army. As
the FK, I had four different dragons join the same army (the army
still has all four dragons in it....) They would drop loyalty in any
FP or neutral pop center rather...drastically. (VBG) A range from
4-40, to be exact. ;>
I've had conflicting reports that dragons add or don't add to
effectivness of a Threat of a pop center. My personal experience
suggests that dragons DO - or I may have been extraordinarily lucky
(like when I threatened a full blown CIty/Castle with a 90+
commander, Khuzadrepa and just 2200 troops as the Long Rider.)
Tom's note: GSI has specifically stated that dragons *do not* affect
threats.
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Post #2
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From: stratton@news.seattleu.edu (Paul R. Stratton)
Subject: Re: MEPBM Encounter
Date: 27 Sep 1995 09:17:54 -0700
In article (43p3oo$dp1@newsbf02.news.aol.com), Cabai (cabai@aol.com)
wrote:
>That is what I thought, the only caveat is that I m the Woodman.
>Supposedly Beorn could be a decendent of Beren. Beren, from the
>first age was shapechanger, and also took the the form of a wolf.
>Im not sure how "true to life" GmSymInc, will be. By the my char.
>has a challenge rank of 30.
In game terms a challenge rank of 30 means you are pond scum. Look
on chara.gsu.edu anonymous ftp for information on mepbm including
all setups.
There are also about 3 dozen back issues of the Mouth of Sauron an
ezine about mepbm. Lots of information.
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response from cabai@aol.com (Cabai)
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That's what I figured I responded FLEE. But now I'm Wolf food.
Thanks anyway.
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Post #3
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From: imivars@yeti.dit.upm.es (Nacho Mas)
Subject: Mepbm question
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995 23:27:49 GMT+1
Does anyone know what you have to answer to the dragon Ando-Anca to
recruit him?. I have some answers for him but none says how to
recruit. Thanks anyway,
and Paul (Arthedain), dont bother to answer this one as I wont
believe you this time. :-)
Nacho Mas. Blind Sorcerer. Game 64 (Allsorts)
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response from polle@murazor.ping.dk (Paul Erik Lundstroem)
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Truly, Nacho - I wouldn't lie to you!! Anyway, my gondorian friends
to the south-east has too much army expences :) Well, if nobody
answers you in a couple of days, I'll let you know! My best to
everybody!
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response from acriado@elink.net (Alan Criado)
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I don't believe he is recruitable.
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response from Tom Fyfe and Colin Forbes
(crannoch@suilven.demon.co.uk)
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Ando Anca? Hmm. Actually 100,000 gold will recruit him - if anyone
can afford that much!
If you have any questions etc like this, why not post them to the
Allsorts Forum as well as here? Send all stuff for the Forum to..
forum@suilven.demon.co.uk
To see the forum, start from
http://www.ftech.net/~pbmweb/allsorts/
then select forum from the front page.
(I really don't know why Allsorts aren't plugging their new web
pages - very strange!)
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Post #4
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From: ostra.gymn@umdac.umu.se (Ostra Gymnasieskolan)
Subject: ME-PBM 1650
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 15:30:31
Hi fellow players!
What is the best position to play in 1650? I haven't played many
games but I think that Corsairs is the best. You are alone, you can
build whereever you whant and if you pursuade Harad and Easterlings
to help you, you can kill Quiet Avanger early and then you'll be
even more alone and can build even more.
Then, what is the best position in 2950? Give me some good
sugestions and Very good reasons please!
MAY DARK RULE FOREVER!
JOHAN DANIELSSON
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response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com)
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Depends on what you're looking for. If you want action, and lots of
it, take North Gondor, Witch-King, or (snicker) the Dragon Lord.
Unlike the Dragon Lord the Woodmen have allies nearby. As far as I
know, no Dragon Lord player has placed in the top 3 in a 1650 game,
but there is one currently No. 1 in a DS endgame.
The Corsairs aren't guaranteed of a quick win over the QA - esp if
the QA has had time to recruit dragons and to build up her
emissaries. The QA can steal pop centers by about Turn 10 outright
with competent play.
Eric
>Then, what is the best position in 2950?
The White Wizard. For a *REAL* challenge, run the Dragon Lord. You
get to fightabout 4-6 Freeps all by yourself, if you're stuck with
uncooperative allies.
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response from tomtg@aol.com (TomTG)
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It all depends on what type of game you are looking for. If you are
looking for the best ticket to placing in a game then "yes" the
Corsairs are one of the best. But, if you want to get involved in
the nip and tuck of the fight. There are alot more entertaining
positions. I recommend The Witch King, N.Gondor, Eothraim if you
want good military action Cloud Lord if you want agent action.
Neutrals can win, but its hard to get involved in a team game. And
often, the first five turns are very boring.
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response from Ian Pearson (ian.pearson@bbsrc.ac.uk)
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The 'Best Position' idea is not really true. Yes some Nations do
have initial advantages, but experienced players know them and can
compensate.
Also it depends on the cooperation of other players and especially
how long the games lasts.
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response from Kevin McGee (KDMcGee@aol.com)
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Given that each nation in ME 2950 starts with only five or six pop
centers and a generally pathetic economy, I think the best positions
are those that start with an awesome emissary. Such as the White
Wizard. Of course, your choice of a position is all what you are
looking for; isolation and empire-building, character strength or
military action.
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response from Dwalon (73611.1227@CompuServe.COM)
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I agree that there is really no "best" nation. When Ostra claims
the Corsairs are the best due to their isolation and ability to
strike easily against the simpleton Quiet Avenger, I recall #59
where as the Cloud Lord, I easily took "revenge" upon the Corsair
who did the same precise thing. The Corsair couldn't understand why
I would bother defending my DS brethren, but I wiped out several key
characters and disabled some docked navies of their commanders,
putting him out of business. Thus, the idea that the Corsairs
cannot be reached by either alliance (FP navies or DS characters) is
incorrect.
Aaron
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response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com
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If I remember correctly, I played the Corsairs in 59, tho' it was so
long ago maybe I was Harad that time around. But I think it was the
Corsairs.
What Aaron fails to mention is that I dropped that game prior to any
of my characters going down to assassination because of 'personality
conflicts' with certain members on both allegiances. Finding both
sides extremely distasteful, I opted to take my money and time
elsewhere.
(The Quiet Avenger was conquered because the dolt invaded Umbar and
demanded that I hand over all of my Haradrim possessions to him.
Funny guy. I crushed his sorry ass in two turns. Idiot.)
In game 97, I built perhaps one of the most powerful nation ever
seen in Middle-Earth as the Corsairs. Had I opted to go evil, I
easily would have made first place without working up a sweat. I
instead went good to spice things up.
Ack. Agents, dragons, curses. I quickly learned the limitations of
21 character slots. Next time I'm raiding Gondorian beaches.
But, having played most of the nation positions in the game, I
concur that the Corsair is the best position to take if you want to
place. Not the most exciting for the first five turns, but certainly
the one with the most potential. Following that, Dunland is a good
choice if you join the Free, or Harad if you go evil.
I don't like elves. Snooty little bastards. Played 'em once and
was bored to tears. Too far from the action.
As for most challenging: Woodmen; Eothraim/Northmen in a team game;
Dragon Lord any damned time (a more appropriate description might be
'suicidal'); and Rhudaur if you go evil. That last is fun if you
have a competent Witch-King ally and face good opponents;
skin-of-your-teeth action all the way.
Kaz
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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A full discussion of positions would take far more time than I can
devote right now. However, in the 1650 game, many like the Noldo
due to their character power, plus not starting on the front line.
Unless the Darks make a concerted effort, a good Noldo player will
be first in characters the whole game. With their starting emissary
power, they also should maintain a strong economy, which can pay for
armies and provide gold.
On the Dark Side, the Cloud Lord can be a lot of fun if you like to
mess with other people's plans. Timely assasinations eliminate the
largest armies.
For the neutrals, the Haradwaith is at least as strong as the
Corsairs, and close enough to the action to be a desirable recruit
for either side. With coordinated help from the Quiet Avenger or
South Gondor, the Haradwaith can deal with the Corsairs. Or if the
Haradwaith and Corsairs join forces, they will dominate the south
end of the board.
I can also make arguments for why other positions in 1650 are
interesting. The toughest position is the Woodmen. No economy, no
starting character power, the Woodmen must coordinate with the Sinda
and Dwarves just to maintain a reasonable position. A challenge for
those who like long term development. Anyone who wins with the
Woodmen is a superior player.
I don't know the Dark Side positions in 2950, but on the Free side,
I really enjoyed playing the Dunadan Rangers. They start with an
excellent mix of characters and good artifacts. They have a
superior military & economic position relative to the Witch King,
and lots of rough hexes on their map to generate gold production.
Finally, they are a long way from the Cloud Lord, so don't tend to
get as much attention from the DS agents.
I agree that the White Wizard can be an excellent position as a
neutral. A citidial can be hard to take, especially in the early
stages of 2950.
I think ME2950 is a better test of player abilities at nation
building than ME1650. ME1650 is a game of immediate assault, while
in ME2950 you can put an individual flavor to your nation before
being thrown into a death struggle. ME2950 does take a couple of
turns to get going, but what's a couple of turns in a game that
usually lasts more than 20 turns?
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response from jdpritch@email.unc.edu (John Pritchard)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
You may be right about the Corsairs looking the best early on, but
it is my opinion that going after the evils as a strategy is not
the best route to victory. Corsair positioning is close to Mordor,
which is not good fo long-term health. Further, there are no local
free peoples to help you out if Mordor makes a serious stab your way
except for maybe the S. Gondor navy. If you have the Easterlings
and Harad on your side that may be true, but it seems just a logical
for them to go evil if you go good-- you are then the island against
them and the QA. If the Corsairs go evil they can fight a war
against Harad (the best possible country vs. country war in ME in my
opinion unless you throw out geography as a factor, e. g. WK vs. N.
Gondor) and, assuming victory, can expand for the rest of the game.
Just my thoughts-- any country can win, but in the end I would agree
that a competent Corsair player that goes evil (assunming similar
evil competence) is going to do very, very well.
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Post #5
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From: phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Phredd Groves)
Subject: MEPBM Web Pages are updated!
Date: 11 Oct 1995 03:46:48 GMT
I've finally gotten off of my duff again and started to update my
MEPBM web pages! I don't have any earth shattering news, about them
yet, but I have gotten much of the cobwebs cleaned out. Here's
whats new as of 10/10/95:
o Links to Allsorts MEPBM pages & contact info added
o The email turn fix for GSI has been updated to allow for
an easier method - editing the uuencoded file rather than
the .pdf file.
Coming in the [near?] future:
o 2950 scenario startups and other data [once I get a better handle
on Perl].
o Riddles update [a few, not a lot].
The URL is still: http://charlotte.acns.nwu.edu/phredd/MEPBM.html
Use it in good health!
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Post #6
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From: phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Phredd Groves)
Subject: MEPBM Web Page: RIDDLES UPDATED.
Date: 16 Oct 1995 21:06:04 GMT
I've updated the Riddles listing on my MEPBM web pages.
It's now about 1.66~ times a large.
URL as always: http://charlotte.acns.nwu.edu/phredd/MEPBM.html
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Post #7
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From: atischer@cse.utoledo.edu (August Tischer)
Subject: MEPBM:At Sea question
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 21:29:29 GMT
I'm playing in the 2950 game and would like to know my chances of
crossing two open sea hexes with my navy. Am I likely to encounter
pirates in that short span, or should I just do it and not worry
about it? Thanks.
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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>From what I've heard, you also have a substantial risk of being
"Lost at Sea", in which case your navy and characters continue to
consume money while doing nothing useful for an unknown number of
turns before they get lucky and find the shore again. If you are
the Corsairs or if your commander has the staff of storms, then you
won't get lost.
I don't know of anyone making an effort to collect statistical data
on this topic. Maybe you could be the first to do so?
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response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com
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Well, I've played the Harad a couple of times and have taken these
risks, but I can't give you anything but anecdotal evidence. So
long as I started in a coastal hex and ended the turn in a coastal
hex, I didn't have any problems.
But then, maybe I was just lucky.
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response from cleavr@aol.com (Cleavr)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Your chances of getting lost or attacked are probably in the 10 to
20 percent range at most. Caution is good, but unless you are
somehow betting your whole game on this move, just go for it. You
wouldn't believe how many players will be so cautious that a few
bold moves by you will vault you far out in front in your war.
Blaze forward with the heart of a lion.....
Russ
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Post #8
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From: Jaded@cybercom.net (Jay Menezes)
Subject: MEPBM Mailing List
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 1995 00:29:32 GMT
Is there a MEPBM Mailing List out there anywhere. The FAQ says to
"ME-PBM (Middle Earth) -- write kazandar@aol.com" but that address
seems to be down.
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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I'm fairly sure you are refering to "The Mouth of Sauron" an email
MEPBM fanzine edited by Brian Mason and Tom Walton. To quote from
their masthead:
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,
kazandar@rio.com
Back issues of "From the Mouth of Sauron" and the general info files
are available at chara.gsu.edu via anonymous ftp. Read the back
issues and if you like what you see, ask Brian or Tom to be put on
their mailing list. I did and I have not regretted it.
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response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com
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Thanks, Patrick. My ego is even more bloated than it was before.
;-)
Kaz/Tom
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Post #9
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From: rodney noble (caladan@werple.mira.net.au)
Subject: MEPBM1650:Threaten Question
Date: 16 Nov 1995 09:29:54 GMT
Does anybody know what chance I have of successfully threatening a
village/tower with 2300HI, 300LI, and 300AR? They all have weapons
and armor of 40 with the commander being a 50 pointer who may be
able to scratch up a 750 artifact. The morale will be around 35.
Thanks in advance
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response from phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Phredd Groves)
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Not that great. You've got enough troops, but threatening mainly
depends upon the command rank of the army commander. I wouldn't
even try one with less than a 70 commander, and I'd probably not
even try it then.
I have many fond memories of my opponents threatening one of my pop
centers for 3+ turns, giving me time to respond.
In short, don't threaten. Capture or Destroy instead.
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response from Geoff Landergan (geoffl@kells.demon.co.uk)
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One formula that has been around for a time is:-
+ Number of troops / Force required to threaten (max 100%)
+ Commander rank
- Population centre loyalty
- Fortifications (20% per level) (reduce this if the
threatening army has war machines to minimum 0).
- 20% if the pop centre is a capital
By this formula, you would have (130 - loyalty)% chance.
Experience suggests that excessive numbers of troops (which you
certainly have) do have an addition effect, and that there may be a
significant chance of "critical success/failure".
Go for it.
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response from cpsmith@ozemail.com.au (Craig and Vanessa Smith)
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I have yet to have a problem with threatening Major Towns with my
2200HI and a 50pt Cmdr. So I don't see you having any problems with
threatening a village.
cpsmith@ozemail.com.au
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Post #10
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From: ostra.gymn@umdac.umu.se (Ostra Gymnasieskolan)
Subject: Navy Battles MEPBM(UK)
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 1995 12:01:16
I play the MEPBM 1605 #64 as the Corsairs and one turn I fought a
Sinda Navy and it was as Disaster!
I had 60 Warships and 11 Transports. My Commander had 57 at command
skill. The Sinda Navy had 20 Warships and 10 Transports. His
Commander was equal in skill as mine.
At the end of the battle the Sinda fleet was sunk but I had lost 38
WARSHIPS! Now how the hell can I lose 38 Warships against 20? Oh
sure, the Sinda made a mighty blow. What the hell is a mighty blow?!
Now I'm fighting with the remainings of my warships a huge S.Gondor
Navy. The S.Gondor commander is a veteran, with other word: A TOTAL
ROOKIE! If I don't make TWO mighty blows on his fleet, well...
There must be a software faliure.
Johan Danielsson
Sweden
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #11
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rodney noble (caladan@werple.mira.net.au)
Subject: MEPBM1650:Scouting Question
Date: 17 Nov 1995 23:47:01 GMT
This question is in relation to the Dwarven special abiltity of
scout/recon orders.
The startup sheet states that "any Dwarven characters (regardless of
skills) can issue scouting/recon orders. The ravens/crows will
perform the mission and are at least equal to a rank 50
Agent/Commander in their scouting/recon abilities."
Does anybody know if this applies to the agent orders of scout army,
scout area and scout for characters?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
As I recall from playing the Dwarves in game 70, it applies to any
scout/recon order.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Population Center Combat, II
============================
by Brian Mason
I find that I am always finding out new information about
Middle-earth Play-by-Mail, and learning the finer nuances of the
rules. For example, as previously mention in "From the Mouth of
Sauron" #33, the application of tactics to population center combat.
In that, Bill Feild pointed out that the average troop modifier is
then the mean of three numbers (training, weapon rank, and terrain)
instead of the four numbers (adding tactics) used in army combat.
Since the troop tactic modifier varies from 90-115 with an average
value of about 100 this usually results in a lowering of the combat
values of armies with respect to population center combat.
The topic of population center combat was previously discussed in
issue #32, but was under the impression that an average troop tactic
modifier of 100 was used. As a result of this, the number of heavy
infantry equivalent troops listed in Table 2 of that article is too
low by about 17%.
For completeness sake, I include Table 1 from that discussion:
Population Center and Fortification Defense Value
============================================================
pop center loy none tower fort castle keep citadel
------------------------------------------------------------
city 100 10000 14000 22000 30000 42000 58000
major town 75 4375 7875 14875 21875 32375 46375
town 55 1550 4650 10850 17050 26350 38750
village 40 700 3500 9100 14700 23100 34300
camp 30 260 2860 8060 13260 21060 31460
============================================================
As discussed in the previous article, the following values were
assumed: command = 30, training = 30, climate = 100, weapon = 30,
nation terrain = 100, troop terrain modifier = 100, morale = 30, and
relations = 125.
With these conditions, the number of "heavy infantry equivalent"
troops needed to take a pop center is:
Number of Heavy Infantry Needed
============================================================
pop center none tower fort castle keep citadel
------------------------------------------------------------
city 2308 3231 5077 6923 9692 13385
major town 1010 1817 3433 5048 7471 10702
town 358 1073 2504 3935 6081 8942
village 162 808 2100 3392 5331 7915
camp 60 660 1860 3060 4860 7260
============================================================
Following that article, it has been suggested by some seasoned
tacticians that other baseline modifiers might be more appropriate.
In this case, if we assume: command = 50, training = 40, climate =
95, weapon = 30, nation terrain = 100, troop terrain modifier = 80,
morale = 40, and relations = 125 we arrive at the following:
Number of Heavy Infantry Needed
============================================================
pop center none tower fort castle keep citadel
------------------------------------------------------------
city 2246 3144 4940 6737 9432 13025
major town 982 1768 3340 4912 7270 10414
town 348 1044 2436 3829 5917 8702
village 157 786 2044 3301 5187 7702
camp 58 642 1810 2978 4729 7065
============================================================
Which is about the same result.
What might be a specific application of these results? As an
example, consider a situation I haved faced many times before.
Consider yourself a Free nation and you need to destroy population
centers of the Dark Servants which are located in the Mountains.
Furthermore, the Dark Servants in this situation hold such a
superior advantage in agents (anybody from game 97 or 204 recognize
this?) that you are likely to be able to use the army for only one
combat.
In this case, archers are almost as effective as heavy infantry.
Consider the following: assume command ranks of 50, training and
morale of 40, bronze weapons or arrows (as appropriate), nation
terrain and climate modifiers of 90.
To take a major town / castle in the mountains would require 5983
heavy infantry or 7202 archers. Now, while this is significantly
more troops, the per turn cost is much less: 23932 versus 14404
gold. Of course, the cost must be paid out over a longer period of
time for the archers as more are needed. Also, a pure archer army
would not be appropriate as it would have insufficient constitution
to survive the combat. As it works out, for nations attacking
population centers primarily in the mountains a mix of archers and
heavy infantry is best while for those attacking population centers
elsewhere all heavy infantry is the way to go.
This archer advantage is nullified in most cases if the heavy
infantry is better armed but is substantially enhanced if the HI is
poorly armed (in the example above, base heavy infantry levies with
wood weapons, 7071 heavy infantry are needed).
Pondering the Hall of Heroes of Middle-earth
Play-By-Mail, c.1650, or
The Art of Losing in the Winning Position
=========================================
by Greg Reid
The first part of this article is an analysis of the facts: who has
won and who has not, how many times every position has placed, and
the weighted total of points (3 for each 1st, 2 for each 2nd, and 1
for each 3rd place ranking). For this I borrow shamelessly from an
article in "Whispers of the Wood" vol. XI issue 10, entitled
"Reflections on the Hall of Heroes as of December 1994", by John
Shirey. The second part of this article is an attempt at analyzing
why the winners win, and why the losers lose.
As of the November '95 issue of Whispers, 146 games have been
finished, with 54 of these wins being by the Free Peoples and the
remaining 92 by the Dark Servants. This represents a winning
percentage of 63% by the Dark Servants, an improvement over the
previously calculated percentage of 69% (as per the aforementioned
article), but still worth discussing considering that the Free
Peoples are still considered by most to have tremendous advantages.
Statistics follow.
Nation 1st 2nd 3rd #Times Placed Weighted Total
Corsairs 13 19 9 41 86
Haradwaith 16 11 8 35 78
Noldo Elves 11 13 9 33 68
Dark Lts. 14 8 6 28 64
Cloud Lord 7 10 16 33 57
Long Rider 6 13 10 29 54
Easterlings 9 11 5 25 54
Witch-king 6 9 5 20 41
Dunlendings 6 6 7 19 37
Blind Sorcerer 8 3 5 16 35
Sinda Elves 5 7 4 16 33
Arthedain 5 5 7 17 32
Quiet Avenger 4 7 5 16 31
Southern Gondor 6 4 3 13 29
Dog Lord 5 3 7 15 28
Ice King 3 3 8 14 23
Fire King 5 2 4 11 23
Dwarves 4 4 3 11 23
Northern Gondor 3 2 4 9 17
Cardolan 3 1 3 7 14
Woodmen 2 2 3 7 13
Northmen 1 3 2 6 11
Rhudaur 2 0 3 5 9
Dragon Lord 2 1 1 4 9
Eothraim 0 1 3 4 5
Corsairs (DS) 12 13 4 29 66
Haradwaith (DS) 10 6 5 21 53
E'lings (DS) 8 9 4 21 46
Haradwaith (FP) 6 5 3 14 31
Duns (FP) 5 3 3 11 24
Corsairs (FP) 1 4 5 10 16
Duns (DS) 1 3 4 8 13
E'lings (FP) 1 2 1 4 8
Rhudaur (DS) 1 0 2 3 5
Rhudaur (FP) 1 0 1 2 4
Corsairs (Ntl.) 0 2 0 2 4
Won by starting: Allegiance Neutral TOTAL
Free Peoples Wins 40 14 54
Dark Servant Wins 60 32 92
TOTAL GAMES ENDED 100 46 146
For purposes of this article I have broken the positions into three
groups: the top ten by points, the bottom eight by points, and the
remaining middle seven. The top and bottom groups will be discussed
in some detail. In addition the role of the neutrals will be
analyzed, as well as why the Free Peoples, who enjoy such an
overwhelming economic and military advantage, do indeed lose so
often.
Winning Positions:
Of the top ten positions, four are neutrals, including the highest
and second-highest totals, the Corsairs and Haradwaith. All of
these positions except one, the Witch-king, can expect to enjoy some
degree of isolation and buildup, either by virtue of their neutral
status (Corsairs, Haradwaith, Easterlings, Dunlendings) or
protection from the front by other front- line positions (Noldo
Elves, Dark Lieutenants, Cloud Lord, Long Rider, Blind Sorcerer).
It would certainly seem, then, that being allowed to correct
weaknesses and gather strengths before entering the war is an
enormous boon to almost any nation.
Other positions that would seem to be isolated are Southern Gondor
and Cardolan, but their proximity to neutrals whose status is highly
variable, as well as the necessity of these positions to support
their northern neighbors, often force these two nations to go
immediately into a strong military-attack mode, as well they should.
The Witch-king would seem to be quite the anomaly here, as he could
be called, with very little dispute, THE front-line nation. Indeed,
only the Dragon Lord and, perhaps, the Eothraim face more potential
foes early in the game. His enormous strengths, however, certainly
give him an edge in combat against any single opponent; his
characters are good enough so that he isn't under as much pressure
to develop them as other positions are, and he actually starts with
a kingdom, unlike other Dark Servant positions. But why does he
even survive, let alone do well enough to place and win more often
than most other nations?... The answer to this lies with the reason
the Free Peoples lose so often, which is discussed later in the
article.
Losing Positions:
I think it's pretty easy to see why the bottom eight are in the
bottom eight. Only one of the Dark Servant positions, with their
excellent characters, have sunk low enough to get to this cut; six
of the eight lowest are Free Peoples, with the only neutral of the
bunch being Rhudaur, easily the loser-most of all the neutral
powers. Nearly all of them are front-line nations that are often
picked on by several other opponents. The Eothraim has lousy
characters and a horrible economy; the Dragon Lord, while having a
fine group of characters, is completely surrounded by foes while
sporting only a medium-strength army and vulnerable pop centers;
Rhudaur is in a similar situation as the Eothraim, being surrounded
by potential enemies, vulnerable, with several low-fortification or
no-fort population centers. The Northmen and the Woodmen have
horrible characters and are often picked on by several nearby Dark
Servants. Northern Gondor has several Dark Servant positions pointed
directly at it and is often a prime target of agent attacks out of
Mordor.
The only two positions of the bottom eight that evoke some mystery
are Cardolan and the Dwarves. Nevertheless, some justification can
be presented as to why these two are as low as they are. Cardolan,
although far from the Witch-king and many Dark Servants, is
extremely vulnerable to assault by neighboring neutrals, whereas the
Dwarves are suffering from Dragon woes in the mountains and have a
spread-out position with no really good way or place to expand. In
addition, both of these positions have suspect characters with
little agent skill, making them prime targets for Cloud Lord agents
wet behind the ears.
The Neutrals:
It seems fair to say at this point that the neutrals are winning
more than their fair share of games. Two of the neutrals, Corsairs
and Haradwaith, account for 20% of the wins among the 25 positions;
when the top four neutrals are factored in, those four nations
account for 30% of the nations among the 25 positions. It is, to
put it mildly, an imbalance. I have a hard time seeing why GSI
always has such a hard time filling the neutral positions, as it's
apparent to any long-time player of ME-PBM that four of the five
neutrals are clearly favored to win. Only Rhudaur drags the average
down; he brings the total average for the neutrals to 31.5%, which
in and of itself is not terribly abnormal.
The reason the top four neutrals do win is because they are allowed
to sit out the opening turns of the war and build their characters
and nations, and often when they do join it is in the form of a
nasty surprise attack that acquires them much territory for little
cost. In addition, neutrals are often showered with gifts to join,
an unfortunate practice that has been perpetuated over time and
merely serves to strengthen their firm grip on the high-win spots.
(I have, in fact, made it a credo of mine to not ask for gifts as a
neutral, especially as the Corsairs -- this is, IMJO, the last
neutral position that should be given presents. They already have
an excellent tax base, good characters, and a virtually impregnable
stronghold in the south. What in the good Lord's name do you need
to make him even stronger for?!)
Why the Free Peoples Lose:
This is far too complicated a question to answer easily.
Nevertheless, I'll give it a shot. I think this issue has been too
long unaddressed to continue ignoring it. There are several reasons
that spring to mind:
- -- inferior characters. What ME-PBM boils down to is that it's a
character-based game. Characters are what issue orders, and
high-level characters are more resistant to encounter death,
challenge death, and agent assault. As the Dark Servants have far
more good characters than the Free Peoples do, they inevitably have
more and better-quality orders, which in the long run is a good way
to achieve victory.
- -- dragons. Dragons are what allow the Dark Servant positions to
defeat early Free army superiorities. This in turn sets the stage
for their superior characters to pull it out for them later in the
game. The fact that no good way has been discussed to defeat them
makes them, as Tom Walton has many times pointed out, no-brain
nuclear weapons. However, this is, IMJO, the least compelling reason
the Dark Servants win the game; dragons mostly assist the Witch-king
and Dragon Lord, which are both positions that could use some help.
And don't forget that there are many other army encounters that are
Free-aligned, such as Ents (which can be acquired just by running an
army through Fangorn), Eagles, Woses, and Throkmaw. Why don't the
Free attempt to recruit these as heavily as Dark Servants recruit
Dragons?...
- -- neutral tendencies. Four of the five Neutral positions
(Corsairs, Haradwaith, Easterlings, Rhudaur) clearly benefit more
from a declaration for the Dark Servants than they do from a
declaration for the Free Peoples. The fact that two of the most
powerful neutrals are often inclined to go Dark Servant (if for no
other reason than to avoid character attacks on their not-stellar
character sets) often spells the doom of the Free Peoples. This is
especially because in games where neutral powers are asking for
bribes, the Dark Servants simply have more artifacts to bribe with
than the Free.
- -- lack of team play. For various reasons, I've discovered that
Free Peoples generally exhibit far more selfishness than the Dark
Servants. This is because the Free Peoples have been broken into
regions, which is conducive towards them joining forces within their
home region and allowing others to go their own way. (How many
horror stories of Noldo selfishness have we heard, anyway?) The
Dark Servants, on the other hand, are mostly closely packed together
in Mordor, forcing them to work together. The extreme disparity in
force that the Witch-king and Dragon Lord face also make other Dark
Servants with available resources willing to assist them, as they so
clearly need help.
- -- lack of team play, part II. Even should the Free Peoples be
more team-oriented than the Dark Servants, characters are far better
than armies at carrying fights and assistance to distant lands. As
the Dark Servants have a far superior character base, they can
simply send their better agents and emissaries where they will to
provide much-needed relief to their allies in hard-pressed areas
(such as Eriador and Mirkwood). Positions such as Arthedain and
Cardolan, even should they rapidly defeat the Witch-king, will find
it difficult to send armies to the aid of their hard-pressed
southern neighbors.
- -- incompetence and drops. Because of the above two paragraphs,
inept and missing Free positions hurt the Free side far more than
they hurt the Dark Servants. As each Free is incapable of giving
good support to regions outside their sphere of influence, they must
each hold up their end in their respective regions; and let's face
it, usually at least two or three people on each team are, well,
rather less than competent, if they're there at all. With the Dark
Servants, powerful positions such as the Cloud Lord take up the
slack (or a neutral is bribed into helping the Dark Side).
These are, by the way, reasons that the Witch-king usually manages
to stay alive in Eriador. Lack of team play and incompetence among
forces around Eriador/Mirkwood often force Arthedain or Cardolan to
withstand the initial strike of Angmar alone... a dubious situation
for the Free Peoples. Also, the Witch-king is the squeaky wheel
that gets the grease, with Cloud Lord agents often coming north to
assist the Witch-king against Arthedain and Cardolan, who are
ill-equipped to withstand agent attacks.
Well, that would about do it. Comments and criticisms are welcome.
My own experience with ME-PBM is not as extensive as some of y'all.
Team Dynamics
=============
By Wes Fortin
This respected Ezine has published several fine articles on
individual personality types, as they manifest in MEPBM. I
presented an earlier article on team dynamics - but it bothered me.
It later occurred to me why I wasn't happy with that article. It
addressed many of the symptoms of team problems, but not the cause.
After considerable thought, and some painful but informative
personal experiences, I present a deeper analysis of the team
dynamic. Since interacting with and working with others is crucial
in our life experience, and I think the theory I'm about to present
applies to life and MEPBM, I'll stay focused on MEPBM to avoid a
lengthy presentation.
I am, by profession, a sales rep with 10 years experience, an Army
vet, and a wargamer. As a result, I've been on lots of teams with
varying goals, and have a decent understanding of the human mind (an
understanding which I've been known to forget when something
triggers my nasty temper - 10 years of experience and all common
sense go out the window. I'm getting better though (sorry again,
Game 32ers)). Personality conflicts do erupt and can USUALLY be
overcome if all involved are willing to do so. However, there is
another factor that greatly affects how team members interact. This
factor is the perception of each member of "what a team is".
I perceive two basic categories of team mentalities, the Pack and
the Hive. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and everyone I've ever
worked with (including myself) falls into one or the other category.
Think of these two categories as opposite poles. I suspect a cross
section of society with these two extremes as poles, and in-between
being degrees of commitment to that mentality, would yield a nice
bell curve, but I digress.
The Pack:
If you get ticked off at that guy that suggests army movements,
recruiting, character actions, and such for several (maybe all)
nations every turn, then you are probably in this category.
For you, the biggest issue is freedom! You want to run your nation
the best way you can and don't want anyone else telling you what to
do. You feel insulted and feel your competence is being questioned
when someone tries to "run your nation for you". You are generally
willing to help out your buddy, but on your terms. Your dream MEPBM
team is a group of competant, like-minded and compatible
personalities. Your group of 10 would represent the best players in
the game and each of you would give their all to crush the enemy.
Maybe there is a Pack leader, but he's more of a cheerleader, rules
guru, and sounding board for the Pack's ideas.
Strengths of the Pack:
-This is, in my experience, the prevalent perception of "what a team
should be" by most of the MEPBMers I've met. So, there's lots of
you to enjoy team experiences together!
-If the Pack leader gets knocked out or a team member turns out to
be less than what you hoped, there is minimal impact to the rest of
the team.
-Packs can be tough to defeat (as a team) because each member views
the game in terms of their position. If one member drops out, the
impact on the rest is minimized because they have built their
nations as best they can, so they can keep "running" with reasonable
effectiveness.
-Pack teams tend to be more unpredictable. The lack of a detailed
global strategy by the pack means the opponents can never be sure
what's going on. So, lots of effort can be spent by your enemy
trying to prepare for the worst case scenario.
-Good Pack teams tend to win quickly. You've got competant players
hammering the opposition in the best way they can. This creates
confusion in your enemy as they try to figure out how to stop the
latest threat(s). A slow enemy gets overrun quickly by a good pack.
Weaknesses of the pack player/team:
-Pack members tend to view the progress of the entire game through
the eyes of their nation (yeah, I listed this as an advantage, but
it's also a disadvantage). If they are losing, then things look bad
for the team -- in their perception
-Packs tend to collapse quickly in tough times. The whole Pack
mentality lends itself to the quick strike. Patton's quote of "Hold
'em by the nose and kick 'em in the ass" is your motto. If you're
nation is crippled, you can't count on much long term help from the
other members of the pack because they are trying to do their own
thing with their own resources. Enough crippled Pack members
greatly reduces the overall impact of the Pack.
-Logistics is tough for pack members. It's important to you not to
have everyone asking for your production (Gold, MO, LE, ST,
whatever) every blasted turn. You'll do what you can, but have no
desire to have one or more characters sit at your capitol issuing
transport orders every turn to everyone else. Before you know it,
all your orders are taken by someone else and you can't do any of
those things you need to do to keep your nation strong and on the
offense.
This is not to say Pack members don't cooperate. I know a MEPBMer
that will give supplies, pop centers, whatever you ask. But if you
try to tell him how to move his armies or characters, he's likely to
tell you what to do with your plan and hold the flashlight for you!
-Packs tend not to have focused attacks. Everyone does what they
think is best (which is not a bad thing), but "what is best" may be
different for each nation and may differ in the perception of each
player.
-Packs don't do well against Hives. One or two nations attacking
the resources of 10 or more gets real ugly for the pack.
The Hive:
If you like your team to have detailed plans each turn, to play your
team like a single well run nation, then you are, most definitely,
a hiver.
I was reluctant to use this term (hiver) because immediately, some
folks will say "Wes, you're calling this type of gamer a drone"
which is usually thought of as derogatory. Not so. Watch a bee
hive or an ant community. Perhaps the Borg for you Trekkers out
there. Every action of the individual is coordinated with the whole
for maximum effect.
You aren't focused on individual achievement, but on team
achievement. You give up some of your freedom to allow for the kind
of close coordination the hive demands -- and you don't mind. You
can't stand it when there isn't a detailed plan and full
cooperation/disclosure from other players. Your dream MEPBM team is
a group of competant, like-minded and compatible personalities.
Your group of 10 would represent the best players in the game that
worked closely together to crush the enemy and absorb the best
attacks the enemy has to give.
Hives, like packs, don't require leaders -- but since they are
planning for 10 or more nations each turn, someone has to collate
the data and put out a plan for everyone to see, refine, and agree
to.
Strengths of the Hive:
-Whatever the hive does, it is focused and brutal. When the hive
attacks, you face the resources of every member of the hive. Maybe
troops, agents, money, supplies, whatever (where the hell did the
Blind Sorcerer get that Steel/Steel HC from!). Same is true on the
defense. The hive is tough to crack. Even an average Hive in
Mordor is VERY DIFFICULT to beat. When a member is getting pounded,
he gets the supplies he needs, back up capitol sites, whatever.
Forget trying to eliminate a hive nation-by-nation.
-Logistics is a breeze. If you need something and someone can get
it to you, you know WHO will do so and when. No guesswork about it!
It's all in the plan.
-Because of their close coordination, hive members can specialize
their nation based on their nation's strengths or their play style.
This doesn't mean one dimensional nations -- but there is a definite
focus. This allows the team to maximize all the advantages they
can.
-Because everyone knows what everyone else is doing, and what
resources are available, the team avoids redundancy and quickly
builds what it needs. If the hive feels it needs more agents -- not
a problem. If the hive's goal is to suck up all the artifacts,
every mage on the team will have an assignment and more mages will
be built if needed.
-Hives keep building up steam. The longer the game runs, the more
resources are available to the hive. If you are loosing to a hive,
don't expect it to get any better.
-Hives can react to losses faster. Hives think in terms of total
resources. So, if they are loosing agents or tax base or whatever,
they will notice quickly and compensate. Packs might not notice
that the total number of emissaries on the team is too low (for
example).
Weaknesses of the Hive player/team:
-You are in the minority. Most others (being Pack types) will look
at you like some sort of tyrant when you try to lay out a detailed
plan - which is nearly impossible because the pack types will often
outright refuse to give you all their information. Good luck in
trying to find 10 good hive players.
-Because of all the resource sharing, the capitols of the hive
nations can be juicy targets for enemy agents. The Hive must make
sure that the supply lines stay up.
-Because the nations tend to be specialized, the loss of one impacts
everyone else. If you put the hurt on, for example, their sugar
daddy, you can cause several members of the hive to go bankrupt or
scale back operations due to loss of funds.
-Hives tend to be more predictable. The enemy will quickly figure
out what the hive is up to and has the opportunity to respond -- if
it can.
-Hives have to work harder to compensate for a poor/obnoxious
player. If you can't count on a hive member to issue orders
competently, get turns in, or "play well with others" -- the whole
plan may be effected since so many nations are interdependent. Yes,
the hive can compensate, but the whole suffers.
Team type vs. Team type: (all assume equal play)
Pack team vs. Hive team: the Pack gets swarmed (hehehe).
Pack vs. Pack: A fast paced and exciting game.
Hive vs. Hive: A VERY LONG game.
Mixing Mentalities on a team (some Pack types with some Hivers).
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND! The two don't mix well. Since most
players are towards the middle (hence less polarized) part of the
bell curve I mentioned earlier, people with slight but opposing
tendencies can get along -- but things can get tense. Those toward
the ends of the curve are like matter and antimatter. It is very
important to identify the tendencies of everyone early on! Hivers
are the guys that get comments like "do you wanna run my nation for
me?" or "who died and made you god?". Pack types are usually the
ones penning those comments. If you build your team carefully (team
or grudge game), you'll ensure everyone is the same type.
If you join a game as an individual (the standard game), try to be
tolerant of your opposite. If you join as a team and find yourself
unwittingly surrounded by your opposite, I pity you.
Just a side note: Almost everyone is a Pack type their first game.
You want to explore the rules and find out what you can really do.
After you settle in, then your natural tendencies of how you want to
work with a team come out.
In summary, it is my opinion that MEPBM team conflicts are due, in
part, to the wide variety of personality mixes. But I feel the
biggest factor in the team dynamic is how the team fundamentally
defines itself - a hive, or a pack.
Tales of the Great War:
The Second Battle of Eldanar
============================
By Tom Walton
Lord Pelendur, commander of the newly-reformed First Army of
Cardolan, walked slowly down the ash- and debris-covered street,
surveying the efforts of his men as they searched through the
smoking rubble of Eldanar looking for wounded and hidden pockets of
the enemy. The air was hazy and dull against the overcast November
skies, the air cold enough to bite through riding leathers; the
chainmail coif that hung in folds around his neck was unpleasantly
chill, sapping what little warmth remained in his tired frame.
The battle for the town had gone well, all things considered.
Durkarian, the traitorous Dunedain and lackey of the Witch-King, had
made a stand here with well-nigh a thousand trolls, backed by
several hundred archers from the militia. Despite the lack of siege
engines, the First had made skillful use of ladders and numbers,
storming the walls at three separate points. Durkarian was left
with no choice but to split his forces to counter the separate
attacks as five thousand heavily-armed troops swept down upon the
town; and once his troops were committed, Pelendur had brought in
the ramming crew to force the gates, knowing that few, if any, of
the enemy would be able to respond.
The fact that the ram' had consisted of nothing more than a giant
oak recently hewn and mounted on jury-rigged carts meant little.
The defenders of Eldanar hadn't even known the gates were under
attack until the great crossbar had split asunder from repeated
blows, allowing Pelendur's reserve to enter the town unopposed and
fall upon the enemy's rear. Not, in retrospect, that it mattered
much; outnumbered four-to-one, even the fearsome trolls had been
hard-pressed. By the time the gates had come crashing down, the
fighting had advanced to the walls, and two of Pelendur's commands
had even put men into the town proper.
Pelendur paused in his review, looking down upon the bloated corpse
of one of Durkarian's trolls, fly-covered entrails strewn before it
on what used to be the cobbled main street. The creature was over
eight feet tall, hairless, black of skin and powerfully-muscled; it
had wicked-looking claws upon it's death-curled hands, and equally
fearsome fangs. The sightless eyes were utterly black, pits of
night which sent shivers of dread through the soul. An axe, once
wielded by this great beast, lay a few feet away, smeared with
blood; it was enormous, far larger than even those used by the
dwarves.
Pelendur had fought two of these things in the final assault upon
Eldanar's central tower. They had terrified him like nothing else
ever had, making his legs quake each time they roared out their
defiance. It had taken all of his courage to stand against them and
fight, dodging under the powerful swings of their oversized weapons
while he searched for an opening, a weakness to exploit. The fact
that he was here and they lay rotting in the streets, food for
vultures and crows, gave testimony to which side skill and luck
favored. But the encounter, the result of his determination to
fight alongside his men rather than safely from the center of his
guard, had given him a pride in his troops heretofore buried; for
his men and women had not only faced these evil terrors and stood
their ground, but had scaled walls to battle them, perched
precariously upon hastily-made ladders as huge axes and hammers
wielded by nightmares had sought to dislodge them.
"Who says the common folk possess less courage than the nobility?"
Pelendur muttered. Shaking his head, he pulled himself away from
the stinking corpse and continued with his slow inspection.
Of course, most of the nobility would claim such a thing, Pelendur
had no doubt. Cardolan's noble Houses had no lack for insufferable
pride, and like the Dunedain of Old Arnor treated their subjects as
second-class citizens, little better than the cattle or horses in
their herds. Though purer of blood than any but Lord Earnil,
Pelendur came from a House which had fallen upon hard times, and so
labored in concert with it's subjects to make ends meet. His family
had no leisure to waste upon the fantasies of noble superiority, not
when every hand was needed to bring the crops in on time and peasant
hands were often better at the task than noble ones.
When the call to arms came from Prince Hallas, Pelendur was given
command of his first major army, nominally in charge of the feudal
levies that the Houses had called up to make the assault on Cargash.
It was during that campaign that he had been exposed to the full
range of contempt his brethren held for the common folk, especially
for the common trooper; and it was with difficulty that Pelendur had
managed to keep his army from flying apart from the petty infighting
that plagued it each and every day of the march. Such diplomacy was
not his forte, for Pelendur had no patience with fools; and he had
finally ended the fighting two days before the battle of Cargash by
challenging and slaying two of the most insipid of the noble louts,
threatening to hang their levies if any went home.
Not that his actions weren't without price; Hallas had been forced
to give Pelendur's command to the late Imlach to appease the Houses
for the slayings, though the challenges were legally accepted. The
fact that Imlach had marched on Eldanar against all wisdom, losing
his entire army to the Witch-King and perishing in the process,
didn't go unnoticed. Criticism of Pelendur at court had ceased
after that, and not a word was said when Hallas once again appointed
him to the command of the reconstituted First Army.
But Pelendur's problems hadn't ended with Imlach's loss. Though
Imlach had managed to take with him most of the nobility that had
caused Pelendur so many headaches, sons and daughters had sprung up
to replace them like weeds in an untended garden. And for the most
part, these glory-seeking warriors knew little, if anything, of war,
and nothing at all of tactics. Their idea of battle was to line up
on one side of a field and charge, dragons taking the hindmost.
Which only worked if the enemy did the same, and then victory went
to the side with the most men.
Pelendur had different ideas, ideas sparked by written records of
old wars he'd studied in his family's only treasure, the library.
Such ideas could only be put into play if the chain of command was
clear, and the commanders in that chain thought in the same fashion
as their general. For that Pelendur needed sergeants and
lieutenants who would give his ideas a chance, leaders that would
work with the common troopers and trust them to do their jobs as
best they could. The nobility clearly didn't qualify, yet by right
they were in charge of their levies and couldn't lawfully be
divested of their commands unless they dishonored themselves.
During the month that the 5,000 men of the First Army were
gathering, Pelendur had pondered how to solve the problem. While he
watched the troops train he picked out commoners he thought would
make good commanders, those he could trust to put his ideas to
practice without protest. Many of those chosen belonged to the
small standing forces of the Houses, grizzled sergeants-at-arms,
while others were veterans of several skirmishes with Arthedain
prior to Reunification. With Hallas's approval Pelendur had
reorganized the First across House lines, naming these commoners as
seconds' to their noble overlords.
The breach of tradition and etiquette didn't go unnoticed. Court
had been a storm of protest until Hallas had gently reminded the
Houses of Pelendur at Cargash, and Imlach at Eldanar; and even then
the threat of rebellion was not wholly averted until the old Prince
had revealed that the enemy was not just the Witch-King, but the
Dark Lord himself, returned from the grave by blackest sorceries.
This news was so overwhelming, so devastating, that Pelendur's
reorganization was given little thought thereafter. Fear gripped
the land with that pronouncement, a fear which Pelendur used to
further his own ends while promising deliverance from the Shadow.
Pelendur was nothing if not practical.
Still, this left the problem of the nobles in his army and what to
do with them. They couldn't be left in command, not if Pelendur
wished to train his troops in his new tactics; neither could they be
slain outright, though the thought was certainly tempting. He was
at a loss at how to remove the nobility from the command structure
until he hit upon the idea of reforming the Royal Arnorian Lancers -
a unit immortalized in songs and ballads from the heyday of Old
Arnor. Open only to members of the Houses, the Lancers were to be
the elite company of the army, braving dangers that no common
trooper could face - or so the glory-chasing sons and daughters of
the nobility thought.
They had jumped at the opportunity to be admitted to the Lancers,
relishing the idea of their deeds being sung in tales along with
those of the original unit sponsored by Old Arnor and remembered
even to this day. And as the ceremonial duties of the unit
precluded its members from exercising the drudgery of command, it
became obvious that the seconds' that Pelendur had named would have
to assume the mantle of authority while their lords were off making
their names into legend. But what then, was more honorable?
Serving as an exalted member of the Lancers, the first in eight
hundred years? Or marching a bunch of peasants about the
countryside?
And so though the gate crew hadn't been necessary for the taking of
the town, it had been useful in terms of other objectives less
obvious. The crew had consisted of the Arnorian Lancers, chosen for
the honor of the assault. Eager to earn glory and reknown, the
fools had charged through the breach willy-nilly at the first
opportunity, running off in all directions looking for the enemy.
A good number of Pelendur's casualties could be numbered among these
men and women, cut down piecemeal by Durkarian's defenders as they
engaged the enemy by one's and two's.
Which, of course, had been what Pelendur hoped for. Between the
losses at the first battle of Eldanar and the second, fully half of
Cardolan's noble heirs had been wiped out, eliminating many of his
potential future conflicts over the restructuring and training of
his army - and the promotion of commoners to field commands.
Cardolan was no longer capable of producing enough blue-bloods to
lead all the troops of the army; indeed, two of the Houses were
without heirs now, and their lands would default to Hallas or his
sons unless they quickly begat new heirs to replace those that had
fallen.
The irony was that despite the casualties the younger nobility were
all clamoring for a place among the Lancers now, calling in favors
to be admitted to the unit. Given the losses the Lancers had taken
yesterday, many would get their wish. And they, too, would be
sacrificed, giving thanks for the opportunity to spend their lives
in whatever suicidal plan Pelendur devised for them.
Neither he nor Hallas had spoken aloud of this particular outcome,
but he wouldn't for a moment believe that the old Prince didn't know
what Pelendur was doing. In his quest to build an army where
promotion was by talent and not lineage, where men would think and
take advantage of the opportunites presented to them rather than sit
and wait for the senseless orders of some half-wit noble, he was
also pulling apart the system of feudalism that Cardolan had lived
by for centuries, centering power in the Prince's hands. The war,
it seemed, would be a very long one; and by the time Pelendur had
stormed Barad-dur in Mordor the Princedom of Cardolan, and it's
army, would be forever changed.
Of course, there remained the question of King Argeleb. Would the
King attempt to dismantle his new army, once the war was finally
over? Pelendur thought Argeleb a practical man, one that would see
the advantages in what he was creating; but sometimes the King
seemed to actually believe in all that rot about the past honor of
the Dunedain, even though it was clear to all that the Dunedain had
done more to destroy Old Arnor than the Witch-King ever had.
Perhaps it didn't matter; surely Argeleb couldn't pass up such a
useful way of doing things, and in any event perhaps Pelendur could
start recruiting Arthedain's nobility into the Lancers...there would
soon be places open for them, of that he had no doubt.
Pelendur's wanderings had taken him out of the town and back to his
field camp, set away to avoid the stench of burning bodies. They
had taken no prisoners in Eldanar; all of the town's inhabitants had
been cut down, a clear warning to the Witch-King's other holdings -
and to the renegades of Rhudaur - what lay in store for them if they
opposed Arnor. Such brutality was a necessity in a war like this,
with winter fast approaching and the news of Gondor's fall recently
arrived; there was no time to stay and arrange for garrisons, or to
guard against rebellion. The enemy had to be destroyed utterly, so
the armies of Arnor could redeploy in the south without worry of
what might happen to their rear in Eriador.
His train of thought was interrupted by the pounding of quick
footsteps in the mud, a man with a messenger's badge running up to
pull short of Pelendur, gasping for breath.
"M'lord!" he breathed, lungs working like bellows. "Not three miles
distance to the south - the Hillmen march! They come bearing the
banner of Angmar!"
All around Pelendur men paused, some gasping at the news. The
Hillmen? The very same who had broken and run not a month ago from
the mere appearance of Pelendur's army upon their borders? They
came now, after Angmar had been ravaged and only Carn Dum stood to
defy Arnor? What senseless insanity had gripped them to intervene
after the northern war had been won? When the full might of
Arthedain and Cardolan could fall upon them without fear of what the
Witch-King could do?
No time, no time. He turned to the soldiers who stood near, gripped
in shock. "Gather the commanders to my tent. Call back the units
combing the town and form up the army ten lengths south and west of
Eldanar. Find the scouting teams and deploy them in the hills on
enemy's approach, following his" - he pointed to the messenger -
"directions. They're to harrass the Hillmen with arrow fire, slow
them down long enough for us to gather the army and devise a plan."
For a moment no one moved, then the men erupted into a frenzy of
activity. Without orders some of them began breaking down the camp
they'd put up only yesterday, thinking to put the army's supplies a
safe distance from the battle. Pelendur turned and looked to the
south.
"Only three miles, eh? I'm going to have to see how it is they got
so close without being spotted," he muttered. But all the same he
felt himself start to warm from the excitement, the test of his new
ideas; for an old army caught unprepared and scattered would never
be able to react in time to the threat. The Hillmen would be upon
them before half the troops could be reassembled.
His army, though green and inexperienced, would be ready. And they
would be waiting. His treacherous kin in Rhudaur would be forced to
sample the sour taste of defeat this day. And they would see what
a disciplined force unlike any other in Middle-Earth could do to the
rabble of the Hillmen.
The bodies would be heaped high this evening, for again he would
take no prisoners. Their pyres would serve as a warning to Rhudaur,
and to Sauron, of what was to come. Warning, perhaps, as well to
Reunited Arnor, for old ways being destroyed with every clash of
swords. Warning of what Pelendur would do to those that opposed
him.
No matter what the purity of their blood.
Last Word
=========
Okay folks, here's a final request for some data.
I've been working on a series of data collections of various things
and it looks like I've now gotten enough data to say a few things.
This is a final request for those of you out there to send me
information on the following things:
The Bribe/Recruit Order: We've got a sample of 39 bribe attempts
thusfar. Data I need is the emissary rank of the bribing character,
the character rank of the bribed character, the gold offer, and
whether it was successful or not.
The Upgrade Order: Here we have a larger sample, but more is needed.
Here, we need the emissary rank attempting the upgrade, the loyalty
of the population center to be upgraded, and whether or not it was
successful.
I'd like to get a sample together, do a brief analysis and put it
out for issue 40, so get those results to me.
Thanks,
Brian