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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #1 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #2 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from cabai@aol.com (Cabai) ------------------------------------------------------------------- That's what I figured I responded FLEE. But now I'm Wolf food. Thanks anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #3 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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) ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from polle@murazor.ping.dk (Paul Erik Lundstroem) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from acriado@elink.net (Alan Criado) ------------------------------------------------------------------ I don't believe he is recruitable. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Tom Fyfe and Colin Forbes (crannoch@suilven.demon.co.uk) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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!) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #4 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from tomtg@aol.com (TomTG) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Ian Pearson (ian.pearson@bbsrc.ac.uk) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Kevin McGee (KDMcGee@aol.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Dwalon (73611.1227@CompuServe.COM) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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? ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #5 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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! ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #6 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #7 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM) ------------------------------------------------------------------- >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? ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #8 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from kazandar@ix.netcom.com ------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks, Patrick. My ego is even more bloated than it was before. ;-) Kaz/Tom ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #9 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from phredd@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Phredd Groves) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from Geoff Landergan (geoffl@kells.demon.co.uk) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- response from cpsmith@ozemail.com.au (Craig and Vanessa Smith) ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Post #10 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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