From the Mouth of Sauron
Date: 03-15-96
Issue: E-42
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@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
==========
Let me from the outset offer an apology.
I'm afraid that the two articles I've produced for this issue are
a bit more technical than is usually presented. I've been doing
some solutions at work involving the calculation of orbital
elements of binary stars and I'm working in a mindset which is a
bit more analytical than is usual. Nevertheless, I owe these
articles to you. I've been collecting the data (from many different
sources who I greatfully thank) for some time and don't want to be
(like some of those you may have encountered in the game) a black
hole for information: lots of info goes in, but nothing comes out.
I'd like to think that the results I've come up with are accurate
but only time (and your experience) will tell. While I have no
desire to go through the task of doing this again I'd be interested
if those of you who put them to use will tell me if they seem to
work or if they're off.
Brian
Dragons and Encounters
======================
>From Camaleon
-------------
As I told you in the other mail, here is the result of my encounter
with Ando-Anca. My char Lhachglin (Ag:35, Em:15, Ma:40) was
wounded, with only 53 HP, so as I hope you will comprehend, I used
the order 120, healing spell before the react to encounter. The
spell this time worked, and it was the one that gives you 50 HP,
plus the 14 of the turn, makes a total of +100. And again, I do not
if I am very lucky or is because I am the DrL. I think is the
second. I Demand and he fight with me, living me knock out
thinking that I was dead with 25 HP.
Later from Camaleon
-------------------
(since Tom, your co-editor, procrastinated for so long on this
issue)
By the time I am playing, I had a lot of dragons around Sarn
Goriwing and Goblin gate. So I decided to leave always a char
there to react.
This one is from my last turn, 11. Celedhring (Co:30 Ag:37 Em:0
Ma:55(90) Chal: 144) encountered Angurth at the Goblin, as the file
says, if I attack him I will recruit him. But I was not sure,
because the dragon was half sleeping and quite. So I try Demand
obedience.
As always for me, DrL, by now, the same result, a fight and the
dragon left me in the ground with 25 HP!!
I did lost a char with a dragon. May be is true that the char of
the DrL never die with dragons encounters, I hope so :)
But the most important thing is my last encounter, Ando-Anca at
Sarn Goriwing.
My character had before an encounter, Daelomin, the one you tell in
MoS 41. So he is w/ 53 HP only. I try a health spell, of course,
but it may not work. Then I demmand obedience. Lets see if any
dragon lisents to me!!
I will tell you the resault of this encounter next week.
BTW, Angurth rised my loyalty at Goblin, first 10 pts!!!!, and the
second time 8!!!! The problem is that in the second time, loyalty
was 92 and now is 100!!! So, I guess it will give more than 8.
I am surprise, because other dragons only rised my loyalty 3 or 4.
>From Lawrence G. Tilley
-----------------------
In article (pADeJHATXIIxEwZM@engas.demon.co.uk), Eastern Natural
Gas Business Systems (wdb@engas.demon.co.uk) writes
>A wandering Dark Servant (Haradwaith) army got this encounter at
>Minas Ithil (Cloud Lord)
>
>As we crossed an ancient graveyard last night, the ground seemed
>to erupt with the dead! Rotting bodies, Skeletons, and Ghosts
>streamed out of their graves and moved towards our troops.
>Suddenly, however, they stopped and a single Ghost moved forward.
>"Hail, warriors. We are the scouts who fell to a vile ambush many
>years ago. But I see that you are not the ones for which we
>search. You may pass." And with those words, the Spirits returned
>to their graves with a long sigh of despair. When I looked in my
>baggage the effect was the gain of 80 suits of armour and 80
>weapons - all Mithril!
>
>I have not seen this encounter described before so happy hunting.
>
>William
>From Dennis DeYoung
-------------------
> From laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk Wed Feb 14 15:43:33 1996
>
> Dear Kevin & Dennis,
>
> Found in Mouth 37:
>
> Post #1
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: dcd@nasa.kodak.com (Dennis DeYoung)
> Subject: ME-PBM Strange Riddle
> Date: 25 Jul 1995 02:39:37 GMT
>
> >The riddle merely states the following letters (some have
accents >on
> >them, but they are NOT listed here)...
> >
> > d r o u k n n a l t a o h n i
>
> Anyone ever seen this one? It's from a 2950 game if it matters.
Please
> E-mail direct and post the solution if you have a clue.
>
> - Dennis
>
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------
> response from Kevin McGee (kdmcgee@aol.com)
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dennis,
>
> I have heard of other players getting that riddle, but I have yet
to
> hear of a solution.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Did either of you ever find a solution? I've a player who has
> encountered it in Allsorts game 3.
>
> Regards,
>
> Laurence G. Tilley
Sorry, I never did get a solution. I'm still interested in
one as I'm sure The Mouth is also.
>From Mike Hostetter
-------------------
Seeing the frenzy over determining which army a Dragon will join,
I decided to pitch in my $0.02. In the years that I've been
playing (since 1650 Game 5!), I've only had one rule for which army
a Dragon would join and, to the best of my knowledge, it has never
failed. A Dragon will go to the army commander that has the
highest total base ranks (C + A + E + M). No artifacts, challenge
ranks, stealth, etc. matter at all.
Now the only other system that has not been disproven (again, in my
experience) is the possibility that the Dragon goes to the army
commander with the highest base challenge rank (as calculated by
the GSI algorithm but excluding artifacts).
I have no idea how all this might interact with the ability of the
Woodmen and some other (mostly Neutral) nations to get a bonus on
challenge rank -- perhaps some enterprising reader could report on
this, and also check the applicability of my rule to their own
data.
>From Keith Peterson
-------------------
Found one thing right away: my records show multiple players
reporting that Turkulon stated that he was interested in artifacts.
(One where the player offered and didn't have them, the other where
the player was FP and the dragon answered that he *would* have
taken them if they had been DS).
Miscellaneous Items
===================
>From Dennis DeYoung
-------------------
Brian,
Regarding your "Last Word" in issue 41...
You said, "For the three victory conditions: most mithril, most
artifacts, and most kills, GSI only keeps track of those positions
who have that as a victory condition."
My first thought on reading this was: WOW!... Really?! (frown) I
thought this was for information purposes only and not connected to
the individual victory conditions in any way. Highest mage rank or
highest challenger aren't victory conditions, right? That
information is purely provided as trivia. I do not doubt what you
learned from GSI- I'm just very surprised.
You continued, "Also, I have no idea whether I truly had the most
artifacts. I just had the most artifacts among those positions who
needed to acquire 10 or more artifacts. If you're worried about
these victory conditions you need only be concerned about others
who have the same victory condition."
I have always found it interesting to see who had the most mithril,
artifacts, and kills- and also assumed that it was among all
players. I was also surprised by GSI's enlightening response to
your question on the most kills in 2950 Game 3. However, as I
recall the victory condition is usually to get 10 kills or 10
additional artifacts (above the starting number for that nation.)
Is this correct, or do some naitons have to get "the most" of these
things? Do all who get their 10 kills get the 100 points for
accomplishing that? As I recall, the mithril requirement is
however to simply get "the most mithril" (I used to assume this
meant among anyone and that by getting the most, even if it were
not MY victory condition, I could keep someone else from satisfying
their victory condition to have "the most mithril.") Anyway I just
wanted to clear up the difference between
- *most* mithril,
- *10 additional* artifacts, and
- *10* kills.
Thanks for your insight into this Brian!
And Also from Dennis....
------------------------
This is a response to Marc Parker's excellent article in Mouth 41
entitled "Special Abilities in Middle Earth...One Man's Opinion".
I was impressed with Marc's article overall; he effectively
analyzed the special abilities and explained his reasonings.
However, I disagree with a couple of things in the article- of
course. As soon as I got to the section where Marc graded (A, B,
C, D, or F) each ability I started to regrade using my own personal
experiences, feelings, and style of play. I'm sure everyone who
read this article did. I'm not sure why it prompted me to write
this instead of eating lunch though- let's just say it did and
leave it at that.
I agreed with most of Marc's reasoning. There were a couple that
I did not agree with though and I'll talk a little about these.
Marc ranked the Type I skill of "Naming 40 pt. Commanders,
Emissaries, Agents, and Mages" as a B while he gave "Chances of a
Stealth Bonus" an A ranking. I would have reversed these.
Regarding Stealth- We all know that Lord Murphy's Law applies
here: "If you want it then it just ain't gonna happen." You
never get stealth on those new agents, instead that new commander
gets it. I would argue that since this bonus is not guarenteed
that it is much less valuable, unlike the 10 pt. hiring bonus Marc
gave a B rank to. Furthermore I feel, as do many others, that
stealth doesn't add directly to an agents rank for both the chances
of an order going off and for the result of that order when it does
go off. I would guess that it adds to the first portion only but
the result of the Kidnap (for example) is based on just the base
agent rank. Also, stealth is nearly useless for mages and
commanders, and mostly useless for emmies. For these characters
stealth might be important once a game typically.
Regarding Hiring new 40 pt. Characters- This is the kind of
special ability that determines what kind of a kingdom you will
develop! Who as the Northmen or QA doesn't hire a ton of emmies?
North Gondor hires a ton of commanders (you know- to replace all
those they lose to DS agents...) The Duns usually become an agent
nation. So this is a guarenteed 10 pt. bonus to ~75% of all your
newly hired characters. Wow! That's a lot of points and every one
of those points is going to be useful to that character, unlike
that *possible* stealth bonus. 10 pts. in your prime skill means
that character can be useful immediately and also represents a 4
turn time savings and about 2700+ gold savings that would have been
spent on maintenance during those 4 turns of training. 40 pt.
agents can steal gold from enemy camps right away and 40 pt. emmies
can put down strong camps that won't disappear and are easier
village material right away. (Since I find that more than the
starting number of mages on a side is less useful than another
emmie, agent, or commander, I'm leaving them out of this arguement.
In fact, I would degrade the ability to hire 40 pt. mages to a C
ranking at least.)
So my ranking is:
Possible Stealth Bonus............................... B
Hire 40 pt. Emmies, Agents, or Commanders............ A
Hire 40 pt. Mages.................................... C
I also have some comments on the skill of "All Characters
Recon/Scout at a rank of 50". As the Dwarves in 2950 Game 19 I had
a nice emmie corps running around taking MTs from the DS in one
turn. They were in a company and usually did a ScoChar or ScoPop
or Recon as their spare order. I almost never detected the bad
guys in the hex, or got the army commander's name, with 8 of these
orders at a time! Again, I suspect that the changes of an order
going off and the level of the results are two different things and
the 50 pts. doesn't apply to both. Perhaps also it's just that a
50 pt. scout doesn't do much (but it did seem, to me anyway, that
my A44 and A56 characters were getting much more success with their
scouting...)
Having played Cardolan twice, I feel that the special ability of
"Hiring Armies for Free" is extremely useful! It allows Cardolan
in particular to pay for troop maintenance instead of the hiring of
8 new armies or so in the first handful of turns- this translates
into a possible scheme that will wipe out the WK in the north in 5
turns guarenteed with only the risk of loosing perhaps a couple of
FP pop ctrs (if the WK is smart and lucky) which are easily
retaken. Nations which are invaded and have this ability (and have
lots of commanders) can hire lots of small armies with which they
can stop the enemy armies while they bring in a larger force to
crush them with. Nations with this ability are also perfect for
moving to other parts of the world and supporting a teammate by
taking over a pop or two and fielding army after army. This is
clearly an A attribute in my mind!!!
Marc's obviously a pretty sharp guy, since he must have realized
that as soon as he assigned rankings to the various special
abilities people would want to adjust them for various reasons.
Marc wrote, "This is only one man's opinion. Feel free to write a
response to this, as I'm sure there are several ways of
interpreting this data."
You're right Marc, and I did. You did an excelent job to begin
with though.
Marc's analysis about the big picture near the end of the article
was right on: the huge FP economic advantage is countered by DS
dragons, artifact, special ability, and character power.
>From Jeff Hyde
--------------
I'm in search of some advice and insight into working with GSI when
trying to get a new game going, and thought you may have some
personal experiences from which to draw.
Early last December I along with four teammates sent in a start-up
request to GSI for the 2950 game. We requested the Free People and
each had a list of three or four nations we would like to play
based on previous games and the strengths or weaknesses of our
players. One person is new to the game so we would rather he not
play a front-line position. The people at GSI said it would take
3-5 weeks to fill our request, although they did mention that the
holiday season might slow things a little bit. Well, to our
dismay, here it is February 19, and we are still not in a game!
Eleven weeks seems a little ridiculous to me, considering I have
called twice and asked them to call me if there were any
opportunities to get in a game scenario other than what we
requested ie.. switch to Dark Servants, take other antions, etc.
No calls so far.
Have you or anyone you know had this problem, and if so, what can
I do to push GSI. I understand that they are somewhat hand-cuffed
by the number and type of submissions they receive, but they are
taking three or four times as long as they promised, and we are
wondering if we shoud say hell with it and get our money back.
Any suggestions would be welcomed.
>From Payton Turpin
------------------
I'm replying to Shayne Gray's question about use of the 805 "Use
Movement Artifact" order. The "Movement" artifacts are those that
make moving a navy on the open seas just as safe as moving in
coastal waters. These include #19 the Staff of Storms, #40 the
trident Gaergil, and possibly some others. The commander leading
the navy has to give the "Move Navy" order as well as the 805 "Use
Movement Artifact" order to make open sea movement safe.
I made good use of this as the QA in ME-138. The Easterlings had
established a backup capital in the far north in Noldo territory.
After taking his original capital I sent a fleet north keeping off
the maps using the Staff of Storms, and then surprised his backup
capital only a turn or two later.
I don't know of any other use for the 805 order. Anyone else?
>From Mark Jaede
---------------
In Mouth 41, one author asked about the function of the Use
Movement Artifact order. I believe that this is primarily (perhaps
exclusively) relevant to navy movement on open seas with the
assistance of an artifact such as Gaergil. The navy commander must
issue both the Use Movement Artifact and Move Navy orders to get
the benefit of "open seas as coastal waters."
>From Arnold ?
-------------
Anyway, game 23 just ended last month. As your piece in Mouth 41
goes, GSI only keeps track of stats when they're victory
conditions. Well, in game 23, hoarding artifacts was a Dragon Lord
condition, not mine. But, I ended up with the most artifacts.
Same with mithril. Hoarding mithril wasn't a condition of mine
either. Then again, it could be that Allsorts is running the game,
and not GSI. It's just as well also.
>From Brian Lowery
-----------------
Looking for players in game 228, Playing the Sinda Elves, joined
with a friend who is playing the Dwarves. Please contact at
brian@majiq.com (Sinda) or ozz@majiq.com (Dwarves)
News from the Net
=================
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Post #1
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From: thomei@rs63.zfn.uni-bremen.de (Thomas Meier)
Subject: MEPBM: Army Encounters
Date: 23 Nov 1995 14:17:36 GMT
I've got a question concerning army encounters. In one of my DS
games, Sauron appeared at one of my camps (I never saw him before).
One of my armies is in range, so I thought it would be good idea to
send this army into the camp where Sauron is. Let's assume I
MoveJoin (#870) some more characters into the destination hex/army.
Do those characters arrive BEFORE or AFTER Sauron meets the army
commander, raising skills (& giving spells to mages)?
(Assuming, of course, that Sauron will stay for this turn.)
Thanks for your help.
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Post #2
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From: dade-sc@ix.netcom.com (Leo DiBenigno )
Subject: MEPBM-which is better-1650 or 2950
Date: 22 Nov 1995 16:33:54 GMT
I am interested in starting MEPBM but am faced with a decision
about which date to choose.
Can someone please explain the difference and which is better in
your opinion.
An e-mail reply would be appreciated.
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Post #3
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From: dade-sc@ix.netcom.com (Leo DiBenigno )
Subject: MEPBM/1650 or 2950/Which is LOTR?
Date: 25 Nov 1995 21:34:56 GMT
Of the two start years available for MEPBM, which is set in the
time that the Lord of the Rings trilogy takes place in?
Thanks for an e-mail response.
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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ME2950 is near the LOTR timeframe (actually 50 years earlier).
ME1650 is 1300 years earlier.
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Post #4
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From: atischer@cse.utoledo.edu (August Tischer)
Subject: MEPBM:Bribing/Recruiting
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 1995 16:20:32 GMT
I was just wondering if anyone knew how long after a nation had
been dropped could that nations characters be recruited. Two
turns? Five? I've never tried it before and would like to know how
long I have to act. All the rulebook says is "for a limited amount
of time."
Thanks.
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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I don't have any precise data. I have succeeded 6 turns after a
nation went inactive. I strongly suspect that characters who are
listed in some other nation's victory conditions don't go away
without help. I.e. if part of my victory condition is to eliminate
Gildor, and the Noldo have dropped, Gildor will be around until
game end unless someone takes him out.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Response from baidins@stimpy.eecis.udel.edu (Juris Baidins)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Characters who are someone's victory condition will indeed stick
around,
BUT, after a while the character's nation becomes unknown (if I
remember right, it has been a long time since game 7) and the only
thing you can do with the character is kill them.
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response from eichmann@ceres.amp.uni-hannover.de (Holger Eichmann)
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A successfully bribed character stays the whole game (at least I
never heard that he left a nation again). I know the rulebook is
saying something like 'he can be bribed a limited period of time
only'. This does not mean that he stays a few turns only, but after
a few turns he cannot be bribed any more! A few turns after a
nation has collapsed all characters will start to refuse all bribe
attempts (some will even vanish). The number of turns is random (I
think around 6-10).
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Post #5
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From: imivars@yeti.dit.upm.es (Nacho Mas)
Subject: MEPbm question...
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 11:32:37 GMT+1
Does anyone know if there are more riddles that can kill characters
than the Morgoth one?. This is the situation... :
One healthy nazgulwith more tha 110 challenge locates one of the
big mage artifacts. He goes for it and gets a riddle. This one:
Huntsmen, rider, bearer; One of seven, King bearer, tree lover
so he thinks, perfect, that is Orome and so says with the ReacEnc
order. Then when he tries to move away he finds himself death in
the ground for a sudden burst of light....!!!
You can imagine my face when I received my resultsheet. Anyone
knows what happened?
Thanks, anyway...
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response from kgiven@aol.com (KGiven)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Absolutely. Here's the scene on T3, G17 of 2950. Bolvag, Ji Indur
and Drekk (a nothing DkL agent) are in the hex with two
unidentified Dwarves and the Ring of Wind. The RoW can be gotten
by answering the riddle that starts "Risk-taker ..." - the correct
answer is Gandalf. In order to maximize against the dwarves, who
may have known the riddle as well, we have all three DS characters
answer.
It was fatal ... killing Drekk. Looks like we dodged a bullet.
Nope. The following turn Ji Indur is killed trying to steal the
RoW.
And so it goes.
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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Yes, there is a riddle where Sauron is the correct answer, and when
a good character gives the response, he dies. For some reason, I
haven't gotten around to trying that again to see if good
characters always die. :-)
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response from Pete Brown (pete@fludge.demon.co.uk)
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I have lost both Elrond and about six 30-40 level emissaries to
this riddle. Everyone died so my opinion is that it is 100% chance
of death for Freeps.
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Post #6
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From: Yale University Public Cluster User (ph@directory.yale.edu)
Subject: MEPBM question
Date: 19 Dec 1995 22:13:19 GMT
I've read somewhere that there's a program out there for keeping
track of Middle Earth's map (as the size, location, and number of
pop centers changes). Is this true? If so, where can I find it.
Thanks,
Pete Maksym
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response from cabai@aol.com (Cabai)
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I have one, it is 90 % accurate for 2950, and I don't know about
other level. I also have the Allsorts combat calculator. E-mail
me if interested.
Beorn (Game 38)
Blind Sorcerer (Game 40)
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Post #7
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From: itig077@rossegat.uji.es (SOLER GARCIA)
Subject: To MEPBM Players......
Date: 22 Dec 1995 10:33:45 GMT
Here in Spain we play in game 8. Were virgin to PBM games but we
hope to do well. When we finish our game we will send a sort
history of it. Central de Jocs is keepeing the games and it will
start game 18 in January, so we are all starting.
MERRY CHRISTMAS / FELIZ NAVIDAD / BON NADAL
from Castello (SPAIN) 40,00 N - 0,00 E
David Montanyes Sabater
Vicente Soler Garcia
Manolo Blasco Felip
Roberto Rio Pacios
Diego Camany Beltran.
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response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com)
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Good luck ! Hopefully you're playing the Dark Servs (my favorite
bunch of people!)
THe Immortal Dark Servant (G)
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response from Bernard Matthey-Doret (bmatthey@mail.vtx.ch)
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can you make a complet card list with the rarity of all middle
earth cards
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Post #8
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From: timwolf@mindspring.com (tim wolf)
Subject: MEPBM Recruiting DS team for 1650 1 week all email game.
FP's
Ready!
Date: 28 Dec 1995 12:03:19 GMT
We are currently looking for DS players in an all email game of
Middle Earth PBM. The FP team is already assembled and awaiting
us. All interested players please reply to both globalgm@aol.com
and timwolf@shapeshifter.com.
Note, this will be a rapid game with the turnaround on game turns
being 1 week. It's essential that all players have email access (as
you probally do else you wouldn't be reading this) and the time to
play the game to it's completion. If you're not sure that you will
have the time for such a commitment, this game is not for you.
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response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
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Are we talking about a GSI US game here? Are they able to send
results out by e-mail yet? Allsorts, here in England keep
promising to develop e-mail results.
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response from timwolf@mindspring.com (tim wolf)
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Yes it will be a US game hosted by GSI. The turns are sent out in
PDF format which is readable by Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can
download this program directly from Adobe and I believe they have
just released an "Amber" version of the reader which functions as
a plug-in to Netscape 2.03 beta and later. I don't know if
Allsorts is offering the same service or not. Looking at their Web
Site at http://www.ftech.net/~pbmweb/allsorts/me/ they still say
that they will offer this service shortly. Who knows whether this
is a current document or not. Unless there's some kind of
copyright agreement which says that Allsorts gets all citizens of
GB and GSI citizens of the US, I don't see why there should be any
reason you wouldn't be able to participate in the game. You'd
probally be well advised to either maintain a well stocked account
with GSI or use a credit card though to ensure you're funds don't
dwendle to 0 while GSI waits for sea-faring snails to deliver your
mail. We'd be glad to have you if you don't have problems with the
1 week turnaround. Perhaps if you sent a note to gsi@elink.net
they'd be able to answer your questions with more authority.
If you dicide you'd like to join our team of DS (5 positions open
as I write this) drop me some email at timwolf@shapeshifter.com
with a list of the positions you'd perfer to play. You should cc
this mail to globalgm@aol.com as since he is the person who will be
submitting the team to GSI.
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response from timwolf@shapeshifter.com (Tim Wolf)
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There are still four or five positions left in this game. Nations
will be assigned after we have 10 definite players based on your
list of preferences.
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Post #9
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From: "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
Subject: MEPBM The Worst Position?
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 22:57:53
Which nation would you say in Middle Earth Play By Mail is the
worst one to start with.
I had always thought that the Woodmen were born losers, but having
just elected to start up as Rhudar, I find that a lot of opinion
considers them to have the unfortunate honour.
Both these nations rank near the bottom in the "Mouth of Sauron"
listings, but it has to be said that they are often the least
popular and therefore taken on by new players and dropped. How to
they fare when taken on by experienced players?
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response from tandmb@sierra.net (Josh Knapp)
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Having played both of them, I can positively state that you have
your work cut out for you.
Rhudaur can be sort of interesting though - at least in the early
game when all those non-neutral people up in the area (Witch-King,
Noldo Elves, Dwarves and Artheedain) are being reasonably nice to
you...you'll have to be VERY heavy on off-the-board diplomacy if
you want to survive.
The Woodmen can be fun IF you have competent people playing either
the Dwarves or Sinda Elves (or even better, both) but this is a
position that needs to be part of a good team to get anywhere.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Undeniably, the worst position in either 1650 or 2950 is the Dragon
Lord. In 1650, the Dragon Lord can forget about military help from
Mordor until about Turn 10 or so, while taking on the Woodmen,
Sinda, Dwarves, perhaps even the Noldo, Eothraim and Northmen.
2950's Dragon Lord is in (as if it was possible) even worse
position. They basically have the same pop centers, but have to
face the Silvan ELves, Sinda Elves, Woodmen, possibly the Noldo,
Northmen, Dwarves, and North Gondor. Characters are MUCH weaker
than in 1650, with Celedhring moving over to DrkLts and Lhlachglin
removed. And they have to deal with the likes of Galadriel (200+
challenge rank at game start!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
------------------------------------------------------------------
I have to agree with this analysis. The Dragon Lord can't even
hope for help from the Neutrals. In 1650, the Witch King can be in
almost as bad a spot, but if either the Duns or Rhudaur can be
convinced to join him early, there is some play in the position.
For the Dragon Lord, his only hope is for weak play by one or more
of his opponents. Even then, he needs support from his allies to
make a continuing impact.
I can't speak for the Dragon Lord in 2950, as that position dropped
on turn 3 in the one 2950 game I played.
As mentioned earlier in this thread, some feel the Woodmen are too
weak and poor to be viable. The Woodmen can actually be a fun
position if you get a little help from the Dwarfs and Sinda in
holding off the initial Dragon Lord attacks. Recruit armies to
stop the Dragon Lord (and possibly the Witch King). Name some
emissaries and put lots of camps in rough hexs to the south, and
you can even get a positive economy. Then, around mid-game, your
agents are good enough to be useful in combination with other Free
agents. Winning can be hard due to the weak starting position, but
the position is viable. If the Woodmen out-lives the taking of Dol
Goldur, there is no reason why they can't make to the end of the
game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Your comments on the Woodmen betray a problem with your analysis of
the Dragon Lord. You seem to assume that DrLo will go after them.
In one game (are you reading Holger Eichmann) as DrLo I was advised
to stay at Dol Guldur and Recruit, Recruit, Recruit. I rejected
the advice and went after the Woodies. I failed, due to an unlucky
challenge, and then lost Dol Guldur to the Stunties & the Pointy
Eared Brigade. Staying at Dol Guldur would have been a much better
option. Admittedly I would have needed financial aid from my team,
but probably not as much as I did when I'd actually lost the
capital.
Dol Guldur starts as an outpost, well ahead of the military lines.
The sensible, but unexciting policy is to hold it until a break out
from Mordor is achieved. The chances of an FP error, if you play
100% defencively are increased. In some games, FP have been known
to dash themselves against the walls of Dol Guldur more than once.
In one game in particular (yes you've guessed DrLo is my favourite)
I'm doing very well thanks to LoRi agent support. DinOhtar &
Lomelinde are often wasted around Rhun, because LoRi sees all the
soft targets on his map... Meanwhile his (distant) neighbour is
being knocked out.
------------------------------------------------------------------
response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Agreed, but having played both DrLo's, I found 2950 easier - the
walls of Dol Guldur give you a few turns grace against the smaller
enemy start up forces. There are a lot of enemies, but they have
to co-ordinate themselves really well to take you out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I played the Dragon Lord for over 30 turns in a 2950 game and was
able to build a Sickness squad, which played a big part in
decimating the Sinda Elves (heck, when I revealed 2514, it was
literally a ghost town !) I'd decided early on, along with a
supportive WK, to go the mage route, and by the time I went
bankrupt (Rhun Easterlings and Silvan emissaries did me in by
Infi'ngOther Dol Guldur after conventional assault and Threat had
repeately failed (I mean, like 5 or 6 of that.(G)) although I did
receive a backup MT (3622 also InfOther'ed away too...) it couldn't
support my characters, plus I made a major blunder in my
recruitment of Gaurithoth (actually a bit funny after the fact....I
added a extra zero to my Bribe offer resulting in what had to be
the most overpaid character in ME-PBM history, I mean 70,000 gold
???? just for Gaurithoth ?) I should've read my turn a bit more
closely that day before emailing it to GSI.
At one point due to assassination, I was down to 6 characters -
Maben, Khamul and Ogrod were among the deceased, but I picked up
several WK mages to fill in the vacancies in my Sickness squad.
IMHO, a Sickness squad along with a bunch of DS agents with a
couple of Dragon Lord scouts is a scary thing to have if you're a
Freep - in your capital. That's how Galadriel, Helkama and a few
others got slain, even nailed the Silvan's best agent at Dol Guldur
with Sickness after a RC placed him close by and I gambled by
Sicknessing him.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #10
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: zubla@shc.uiowa.edu (Greg Chapman)
Subject: MEPBM Easterling capital? Mapwork
Date: 2 Jan 1996 09:52:42 GMT
I'm waiting for my position (Newbie).
Where is the Easterling capital? 4133? The mepbm.info file
doesn't show it, and I couldn't figure it out from the Mouth 21 or
22 Nation strategy issue.
Does anyone have a list of things they mark permanently on their
4-color world map? I thought putting in towns would be a good
idea, but then I found out towns could be burnt.
Lots of information to suck down to play this game...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Good Luck.
General advice:
Talk to everyone,
Identify the experienced players
Do exactly what they tell you !
That way, you will soon become an experienced player = adict.
Ignore the advice and you get knocked out and probably decide not
to play again.
I mark on everything, with a set of small font labels that I ran
off from my WP. i.e. all the starting pops eg
Sin
MT/T
*+
Would be a Sinda Major Town/Tower, hidden, capital
Cor
MT/F
P
Would be a Corsair Major Town Fort
You usually know all about the changes to the pops in your area as
the game progresses, so you don't need to plot them. Once you've
declared (are you the Easterling, or are you planning to bash him
- don't) someone on the team should be keeping a data base of all
the population centre changes since game start.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #11
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: eichmann@ceres.amp.uni-hannover.de (Holger Eichmann)
Subject: MEPBM: Questions about Ents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 15:03:00 GMT
Hi!
I have some questions about Ents:
- I heard there are two kinds of Ents: Treebeard himself and some
Ents without names. When I place a camp into Fangorn, do they
appear on my result sheets, when the Ents are visiting that camp?
I suppose that I'll see Treebeard like I would see Gandalf or
Dragons, but I won't see the other Ents like I won't see Woses or
Mumarkil. Is this right?
- If this is right, how will Treebeard influence the loyality of a
Free People camp?
- If Treebeard changes the loyality, is there any difference
whether the camp belongs to fair Elves or to sturdy Dwarves? What
about recruiting? Is there any difference between Dwarves and
Elves?
Perhaps anybody has any information about that. Thanks for your
help
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #12
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: timwolf@shapeshifter.com (Tim Wolf)
Subject: MEPBM DS team still has a few positions available
Date: Wed, 03 Jan 1996 14:51:55 GMT
We still have a few positions available for the DS team I first
mentioned on 12/28. Interested players should send a list of their
preferences to globalgm@aol.com. Please cc mail to me at
timwolf@shapeshifter.com so I'll know when the game fills and can
post an article.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #13
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: dobz@ix.netcom.com(Jeff Dobberpuhl)
Subject: Middle Earth Newbie Questions
Date: 15 Jan 1996 03:38:36 GMT
I just signed up for my first campaign...YIKES what a TON of info
to digest! I'm in the 2950 game, and have not yet been assigned my
starting position.
Here are my questions
1) Is there an FAQ, and if so, where can I get a copy?
2) What is the difference between Barrier Mastery and Resistance
Mastery? These seem identical except for the amount of protection
provided.
3) What is the general bread-n-butter advice for the first few
turns of play?
Thanx!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
First, note I added "MEPBM" to the subject field. That is the
convention for this newsgroup for questions about Middle Earth
Play-by-Mail. If the question is only about 2950 or 1650, then
include that number as well.
1: There is a web page which my (slightly old) records show to be
at http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~phredd/MEPBM.html Even more info to
digest there. Do not feel like using this information is in some
way "cheating". Most experienced players have access to similar
databases and use it freely. New players who don't tend to have a
severe disadvantage.
2: Pretty much. Your mages will start with some spells. Usually
you have a particular mage stay with whatever defense line they
start on due to not wanting to waste time learning more spells.
Also, most people prefer attack spells to defense spells, but that
is a debatable issue.
3: For the 2950 game, the most important issue is your economy. If
you recruit too heavily or lose too many popcenters or fail to
create enough camps, you will shortly go bankrupt, without having
much impact on the game. This situation is worse in the winter for
the northern nations (of either side).
No nation starts with enough emissaries. Name at least two pure
emissaries (30 skill points) on your first and second turns and
start placing camps in rough hexes (best chances for gold) as soon
as they are trained a couple of times. If everyone is active,
somewhere around turn 8 to 10 the game hits the popcenter limit,
and no more camps can be placed except when some are destroyed.
You need to have your fair share by then or you will be relegated
to being a second rate power.
The second most important issue is your allies, especially those
near you. You can contact them using the 3x5 cards mentioned on
page 1 under the "What is Play-by-Mail?" section. I recommend
sending 14 cards with your first turn, to all your allies and the
5 neutrals. Be sure to include name, address, and email address so
they can contact you. Are they willing to cooperate in joint
attacks? Do they have clue about how to play the game? Are they
just trying to get you ground up by the enemy so they can pick up
the pieces. If you are a neutral, which side seems more like the
one you want to work with? With 25 people in the game, allies are
a big deal.
Fewer 2950 games have been played to completion than 1650 games, so
there is still a lot of dispute about what the ideal strategies are
for each position. Each position has its individual concerns so
further details are best adjusted according to what position you
are playing. In addition, different players have different styles
and opinions. For example, I consider it wasteful to name a triple
class character because I think it takes too long to develop their
skills, while others consider a triple class to have great
flexibility for a long game. However, I actively develop several
classes in characters that start with 3 (or even 4) classes. The
best answers probably depend on the situation. Even my advice
about naming two emissaries at the start does not apply in all
positions. In the 1650 game, many consider North Gondor to need no
emissaries, due to their strong initial population centers.
Instead they need to concentrate on commanders and agents.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from pburrow@cc.umanitoba.ca (Paul Burrows)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure about a rec.games.pbm FAQ specifically for MEPBM, but
the your best bet is probably to access the MEPBM Web Site, and
back issues of the Mouth of Sauron (also on Web), which is an
e-zine devoted to MEPBM (both 1650 and 2950).
MEPBM's URL address is:
http://charlotte.acns.nwu.edu/phredd/MEPBM.html
The Mouth of Sauron can be reached via the MEPBM Page, or
directly if you like:
http://charlotte.acns.nwu.edu/phredd/mouth/mouth-indx.html
[ED: Well, actually, the DIRECT link is ftp://chara.gsu.edu/mouth]
2: That about sums it up.
3: Depends to a great degree on the nation you're playing, as you
will see when you read the strategy articles in the Mouth. But in
general terms: I would contact every single member on your team
immediately (Turn #1) through the 3 by 5 inch card system that GSI
runs, as coordination with your allies is essential. If you are
playing a neutral, this may not be as crucial (as both the Goods
and Evils SHOULD be contacting you to try and attain your
allegiance...), but I would still recommend it. Poorly coordinated
teams will usually get crushed by decent opponents, and they
deserve to be. If your allies are more interested in achieving
their personal victory conditions ahead of team coordination, you
could be in trouble (and sadly, there are usually one or two
members on every team that are like this), but try to stick it out.
Similar assholes on the other side usually balance things out...
Another general rule of thumb: really try to develop the areas that
are your nation's strengths, but try to attain a modicum of
self-sufficiency in areas that are your weakness. If you are a
front-line nation, with major armies (such as Witch-king,
Arthedain, Fire King, North Gondor, Dog Lord or Eothraim), then go
hard, fast and furious, recruit a much as your deficit will allow,
and name one or two Commanders or Command/Agents (the latter
especially if you are Free) to round out your armies. Keep "seed
armies" of 1-200 troops in major recruiting centres to maintain the
recruiting pace required for the front lines, and then send
successive waves of troops at the enemy as often as you can. You
MUST get these troops into combat fast, as no one can support the
maintenance cost in gold for too long. It is better to lose them
in combat than be forced to retire them to balance the budget.
If you are strong in Agents (i.e. the Cloud Lord, and to a good
degree the Long Rider) or in Mages (Elves, Dragon Lord, Blind
Sorceror, etc.) then it is still crucial to coordinate with your
allies. Well-timed assassinations, thefts, and sabotage on the one
hand, and strong artifact-locating and Pop Centre-Revealing ability
on the other, can prove decisive. Unfortunately, the tendency is
for the magical powerhouses to keep the artifacts that they find
for themselves, even if they can be better served by one of your
allies. My personal belief is that it is important to funnel agent
and stealth artifacts, for example, to those allies that can
utilize them most efficiently (i.e., the Cloud Lord for the DS, or
perhaps the Elves for the Free, IF they are taking advantage of
their potentials in these areas...). Likewise, front-line nations
should get one or two decent command or combat artifacts to aid in
their offensives.
Well, I could go on forever, but really have stuff that needs to
get done. Hope any of this helps. And don't hesitate to e-mail me
directly if you have any other questions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Another reason why you should talk to your team of course - if
something goes wrong, you will need allies who are prepared to send
you gold. If your capital is under threat, a well managed team
will give you a back up MT. Remember that your enemies will be
working together to knock out individual nations. If they choose
you as the first victim, you will need support.
Or mountain hexes if you are a Dark Servant - dragons are most
often reported there and can be recruited. Or forests if you are
sure that you have a definite need for timber (war machines,
fortifications & ships). In 2950, where there is very little
cavalry, you might also consider plains for mounts.
I'd prefer straight away.
Turn 1. Commander NamChar Emissary Tom
Turn 2. Emissary Tom NamEmiss Emissary Dick and sells something
Turn 3. Tom and Dick name Harry & er.. Harriet and each sell
Turn 4. All 4 emissaries do InfYour and move to their camp sites.
Obviously if you don't want to use all 4 slots for emissaries, they
move out faster. The loyalty of the camps they create is 50% of
their rank. So rank 32 emiss creates loy 16 camp.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #14
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: wolfen@gate.net
Subject: ME:PBM encounter at ruins
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 17:04:48 GMT
Hello all. In a 2950 scenario I went to nearby ruins, and had the
encounter in which spirits lead your character to a cache of gems
which are sent to your capital immediately (i.e., the favorable
response). Lovely, especially early in the game.
My question is this: With this encounter, does it pay to have the
character Investigate Encounter? From the web site encounter
listing, I assume the answer is 'No' - but if anybody knows
different please let me know.
cheers, jim
p.s. if anybody is keeping a database on how much this encounter
is worth, I nabbed 5K gold.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Saruman the White (Cliff_Yahnke@qmgate.anl.gov)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim: It does NOT pay to investigate encounter as the encounter was
already triggered. This is unless you got an artifact encounter
(e.g. "...you find the entrance to a hidden cave which can be
investigated.."). All ruins are like this, so it is in your teams
best interest to get to them right away since the first character
will trigger the encounter. Also, it pays to send good challenge
characters there (60-70+) to increase the likelihood that you will
get cash rather than chased off. I've seen 30 Challenge guys pick
up gold, put more frequently, they get driven off.
In 2950, Game #45 (we're the ones playing against the guys at GSI),
we picked up about 70,000 Gold on the first turn (total for our
side). This can give a huge advantage in a game which emphasizes
economics very strongly....
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #15
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: wolfen@gate.net
Subject: MEPBM - 2950 artifacts list? Map?
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 18:43:43 GMT
Hello all. I've been looking through the various MEPBM sites, both
WWW & FTP, and I haven't located two items that I could really use:
o An artifacts list specific to the 2950 scenario, &
o A comprehensive map in some standard graphics format, preferably
with the 2950 starting pop centers already included.
Could any of you direct me to either or both of these items?
Thanks much...
cheers, jim
p.s. Another item that would be nice to have available from one of
the download sites: The first-turn starting positions in .PDF
format, as GSI sends them via e-mail.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #16
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: drawes@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Mark Seward")
Subject: Unsolved ME-PBM Riddles
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 19:54:14 GMT
Can anyone solve these riddles?
The first goes like this:-
The character has entered a cave, there is a mirror with undulating
lights, a skeletal warrior wearing runic symbols holding a large
sword and finally a door facing the character secured by some sort
of seal.
Which is the best option to choose and do you know what is the
result?
The second is:-
Known by another name at first,
Then renamed by he of the third and the first,
Its accidents spoke of its black thirst,
But too late was its nature seen to be accursed.
Could it be Isildur's Bane or One Ring?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from thokamp@vnet.ibm.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't know about the first one.
I think the answer to the second one could be Gurthang. Turin got
this sword from his friend Beleg and later accidently slew him with
it. I can't recall what it was called at first. It was one of two
black swords made of some metorite by the black elf Eol, father of
Maeglin. That could explain the 'black thirst'. In the end Turin
asks the sword if it will take his life, and it answers him that I
would gladly drink his blood.
Thomas Kampmann
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from rafrost@aol.com (RAFrost)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I can't directly remember its name, but I believe this is a magic
sword from the First Age, forged by an elf. If I can dig up the
records, I'll E-mail you the name. Otherwise look it up in the
Silmarillion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from drawes@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Mark Seward")
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for that, the original name was Anglachel. Will try it next
turn unless I find something else.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Chelsea Wood (auril@delphi.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Definitely Gurthang. I got that riddle as the Dog Lord in a 2950
(surprisingly enough, it was the riddle for the Gurthang site...)
and it's the correct answer.
Amarthlinde
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #17
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: p8dx014@stan.swin.edu.au (CHRISTOPHER DAVID WHITFIELD)
Subject: MEPBM question...
Date: 17 Jan 1996 22:39:49 GMT
Just a small query - what exactly does happen to all the other pop
centers of a nation (ie Rhudaur) when you destroy their capital and
any backups? Basically, do they become piss easy to capture?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Every time you capture a major popcenter of a nation, all other
popcenters have a small downward adjustment made to their loyalty.
It is random, so not all popcenters are equally effected. If you
capture all the MTowns and Citys of a nation, the cumulative effect
will vary widely. Generally, your emissaries will need fewer
Influence Others to take the popcenter, but Towers and Forts will
still be obstacles.
I understand that destorying a popcenter has less effect on loyalty
than capturing it.
Recall that the defensive strength of a popcenter is adjusted by
loyalty, but has a base value in any case. For example, take a
Town without any fortifications. It has a defense of 1000 * (1+
loyalty)
If loyalty is 50%, then 1000 * (1+.50) = 1500.
If loyalty is 20%, then 1000 * (1+.20) = 1200.
You can see that dropping the loyalty helps some, but not
dramatically.
I believe Threaten is also affected by loyalty, so those will be
easier as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #18
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Yale University Public Cluster User (ph@directory.yale.edu)
Subject: MEPBM 2950 Encounter
Date: 20 Jan 1996 09:06:14 GMT
I have to send in an answer pretty soon, so if anyone can respond
with ideas of what to do or what the outcome might be, I would be
very grateful.
The character, (50 Emmisary, challenge rank 25) came over a small
ridge line only to hear screams and cries for help in the valley
below. Moving cautiously forward, she peered from behind some
bushes and other foliage to see that a small farming village had
been raided by some ten to twenty men mounted Orcs and Wolves. The
women of the village have already been made captive and the few
remaining men seem hard pressed by the rampaging Orcs. The captives
are to one side with only a few guard. It is obvious to her that
she will be noticed as soon as she leaves her place of concealment.
Should she
FREE the captives (sounds like the agent thing to do)
ATTACK the Orcs and save the farmers (the most satisfying- she's
got a low challenge rank, but she might tip the balance)
JOIN the Orcs in pillaging the village (not really an option- I'm
FP)
GO immediately for help (An emmisary thing to do, but she could be
noticed and cut to ribbons, or find too little help too late)
WATCH from hiding to see the outcome (probably the safest thing to
do)
FLEE (probably like GO but less helpful)
Does anybody have any suggestions? I'd really like to solve this
encounter, but I don't want to lose one of my best emmisaries.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #19
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
Subject: MEPBM King he was, tho slain by dragon ire,
Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 17:11:47 +0000
Can someone help me with this riddle? Phredd's web pages are all
screwed up when I access them.
King he was
tho slain by dragon ire
but a man is known by what he does
and a hero of vengeance he did sire.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Yale University Public Cluster User
(ph@directory.yale.edu)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
My approach to this riddle is to find a dragon and think of who he
has killed. In the novels, the only dragons that are really named
are Ancalagon, Glaurung, Smaug, and Scatha the Wyrm. Of these, I'm
guessing that Smaug killed Girion, Lord of Dale (I wish I had my
copy of "The Hobbit" with me. I think Smaug says something about
Girion being dead, although I can't exactly pin my finger on it.)
Girion was the ancestor of Bard the Bowman, who killed Smaug.
Hence, Girion was a king who, if he really was slain by Smaug,
sired the hero who avenged his death. Double check this, though.
It involves some guesswork, and I could be wrong, but I think the
answer is "Girion".
Peter Maksym
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks mate. We're close to deadline on this one. I've phoned the
suggestion through to the player concerned, and if he uses it I'll
let you know the result.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #20
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: imas@enano.etsit.upm.es (Nacho Mas)
Subject: MEPBM 2959 encounter...
Date: 26 Jan 1996 09:52:41 GMT
I am playing in one of the 2950 games in U.K. and looking for an
artifact, I had this encounter. Does anyone know what to answer,
perhaps the artifact ID?
??? had just bedded down for a good nights rest when his eyes were
arrested by a soft glow emanating from over the next hill. Deciding
that he had better discover the source of this glow, he picked up
his belongings and made his way cautiously over the rise. As he
drew closer, he noticed that the glow seemed to be coming from a
small cave set back into the hill. He entered the cave ready for
anything but halted in amazement when he entered the central
chamber. Inside was a large dark mirror with constantly shifting
images of people, places, and ancient artifacts. It was from the
mirror that the glow was emanating. Across from the mirror stood a
skeleton of a giant humanoid decked out in an assortment of
intricately carved armor an holding a giant sword in readiness.
Finally, between the mirror and the skeleton was a stout door set
into the wall and fastened with a stout metal lock formed by an
ancient craft. Should ???
Touch the mirror and call out a name ________ (Character ID)
Touch the mirror and call out a place _______ (Hex # )
Touch the mirror and call out an artifact ___ (Artifact #)
DESTROY the mirror
Try to OPEN the lock on the door
ATTACK the skeleton
STEAL the armor and weapons from theskeleton
FLEE
I also have found Leucaruth in one of my camps and, being a
neutral, I don't know how to deal with her. Is there any
possibility of escaping her without a combat?...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like you have found an encounter that noone has solved. My
guess is that if you touch the mirrow and call out something, you
get locate character/scry hex/locate artifact (maybe), and if you
do anything else the skeleton responds. With a high challenge, you
could attack the skeleton, or a high Agent rating you could try
stealing stuff.
Please let us know what you try and what happens.
My data says that MEEK will let a neutral escape, while the same
response from a free will provoke combat.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
response from Pete Brown (Pete@fludge.demon.co.uk)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, my data says that only a Dark Servant can escape with MEEK,
there being no confirmed escape method from the others. Good luck
if you try it and please let us know the results
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #21
-------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
Subject: MEPBM Dragon Leucaruth
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 10:26:52 +0000
Does anyone have more up to date information on this:
----
5.13 Leucaruth
(Editor's note: the table wasn't reprinted here because, frankly,
it's a bitch to format. It's a direct copy from our database at
Brian's ftp site, and can be viewed there.)
----
I'm playing a DS, it seems odd that so few options have been tried
by DS.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Post #22
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From: kgp8d@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Keith G. Parker)
Subject: MEPBM games?
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 22:47:10 GMT
Hey.
I've been lurking around here lately, and I am finding myself
interested by MEPBM. How would I go about getting into a game.
I've never played a PBEM game before, although years ago I played
a PBM game at the Univerity of Arizona. I'd appreciate any
suggestions. Thanks.
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response from ccallaha@leo.vsla.edu (Carol Callahan)
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send GSI an Email and ask them to send you (via post) the
information..Mention a Player and they recieve 2 free turns
gmsystminc@aol.com
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response from kgp8d@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Keith G. Parker)
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Thanks for all the help everyone. I found the MEPBM web site. The
big question now is: Is it worth the $6.50 a turn? That price
seems a little steep, but if the game's really high quality it
might be worth it. I'd appreciate any opinions. KP
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response from Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
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Well, $6.50 a turn is a bit much if all you do is look over your
turn, make the obvious moves and send it in every two weeks. To
get full value out of the game, you need to communicate with some
of your fellow players on a regular basis. With communication, you
can establish a coordinated plan of action and see it unfold over
a period of time. I have noticed that neutrals seem to have a high
frequency of drops, which may mean that they fail to get involved
with the coordinated action for each side, get bored and drop out.
One way to think of the cost is that it is like going out to a
series of movies every two weeks with a connected plot line. The
more time you spend on the game, the more you are getting for your
entertainment dollar. The game setup cost is $25 and you get a
couple of moves for that money. If you find it not to your taste
after those moves, you can drop out then. The rest of the players
appreciate it if people who are dropping inform GSI so replacements
can be found promptly.
The game mechanics are consistent and reasonably well thought out.
There are enough options to give you many choices each turn if you
make the effort. It is important to get the web information on the
game to make good choices, as the likelyhood of success for many
orders is vague from the information given in the rule book.
Indeed, that is my biggest gripe with the game. I would like more
specific data about success rates for many of the in game actions.
But then, I'm a numbers kind of guy. I have been able to develop
estimates sufficient for satisfactory game play.
Game production is generally good. Turns are processed on time and
sent out promptly. When game staff make errors in turn input, GSI
makes an effort to fairly adjust the player's position in ways
which do not affect other player's reports. The biggest problem I
have seen in game production is for players to not get their turns
in early, and miss their turns because of external events such as
postal holidays and/or email server problems.
Being familar with the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings is not
necessary to play the game. You can get the relevant information
off the player maintained web-sites. However, knowing Middle Earth
lore adds a lot of flavor to the game. My appreciation for the
large scale off-stage military action in the Lord of the Rings has
been enhanced by playing MEPBM.
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response from paul@sheehan.demon.co.uk
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It's worth it. The game is the highest quality and best thought out
computer moderated game I have seen. It encourages in depth
co-ordination with ones team mates and thus the overall enjoyment
of the game is very high. Give it a try.
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response from Tracy Scott (tscott@interlog.com)
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I'm in my first game now. If you play a 3 week game your only
spending $6.50/month - well worth it if you like this type of game.
Before you start check out the MEPBM page otherwise you'll be
running around blind for the first few turns. TS
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Post #23
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From: panamon@netcom.com (Ian Verhaegen)
Subject: MEPBM question
Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 19:39:23 GMT
If you have several commanders in an army and the main commander
gets killed, what designates which of the remaining commanders
takes over control of the army?
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response from "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
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Command rank I think, presumably natural rather than as modified by
artefacts.
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response from Pete Brown (Pete@fludge.demon.co.uk)
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Yes, this has been confirmed. Upon death of an army commander,
control of the army will pass to the highest unmodified commander
left in the army.
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Post #24
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From: Patrick F. McGehearty (patrick@convex.COM)
Subject: MEPBM Dealing with Dragons
Date: 9 Feb 1996 09:56:34 -0600
I was wondering how others have dealt with Dark Servant armies that
have dragons. It gets tedious to keep recruiting enough troops to
eliminate the armies (generally requiring three times as many
troops as in the DS army).
I know that artifact powerful nations can sometimes build a
challenge character into the 200+ range and sometimes succeed in
with a direct challenge.
Any other ideas?
Has anyone succeeded at doubling a dragon?
Has anyone tried to assassinate a dragon?
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response from Pete Brown (Pete@fludge.demon.co.uk)
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My word...a bunch of hopeful ideas there.... I doubt you can double
agent a dragon since I've only ever heard of them being Lord
Marshalls or Archmages (ie commanders or mages) & only agents or
emissaries can be affected. I've no idea whether an assassination
would work but I doubt it (still I've been surprised before...)
I personally use either a curses squad (no use at all on the dragon
since they have over 100 health (I've tried and it was still
there!) but if you can remove the army commander and there's no
backups then you're removing the army AND to dragon. The other main
way is to send in a small army which is of sufficient size to
destroy the opposing army. Don't worry about your defense since
the dragon will wipe it out, just get a good offensive force since
you will be attacking the army not the dragon (it just gives a good
bonus to their attack but gives no defensive additions).
The other option is, as you said, to get a bloody high level
character and give him loads of high artifacts to get a very high
challenge rank and then offer personal challenge to the dragon. But
you'll need at least 200+ challenge and there haven't been many
declared winnings this way to say what level you need to be. I'm in
the process of trying to find a dragon to challenge with a char of
challenge 258 to find out what'll happen...
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Post #25
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From: Eastern Natural Gas Business Systems (wdb@engas.demon.co.uk)
Subject: MiddleEarth Encounter
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 12:28:27 +0000
Just a quick question
in a game of ME1650 my rank 98 Emissary has just met the "generic
dragon in lair" encounter. I'm a Dark Servant so I was looking at
"CLAIM the treasure for your nation" and "STATE your allegiance"
but the encounters list has no information.
Does anyone have any extra knowledge on this one?
William D. Belben wdb@engas.demon.com.uk
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response from Pete Brown (Pete@fludge.demon.co.uk)
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The info I have is:
ATTACK the dragon Combat for all nations
STATE allegence ?????
OFFER an artifact ?????
CLAIM the treasure for your naton ?????
steal some GOLD combat for all nations
steal an ITEM combat for all nations
say (one word) ?????
FLEE escape unharmed for all nations
My best bet if your want to try either of your two options would be
to state your alliegence since I can hardly see a dragon freely
giving up their treasure.... Can you Email me with the results
though to update my list.
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Post #26
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From: Pete Brown (Pete@fludge.demon.co.uk)
Subject: MEPBM 2950 riddle
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 00:08:57 +0000
right...my time to ask for help
the riddle is :
"From the south they were, to war they went mostly with Gondor"
it is awaiting a one or two word answer
Any suggestions please Email me quickly as the deadline as quite
soon
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response from kgp8d@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Keith G. Parker)
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Corsairs? Haradrim? Let me know when you find the answer. KP
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Post #27
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From: 069500@bud.swin.edu.au (Christopher David Whitfield)
Subject: MEPBM Movement Question
Date: 14 Feb 1996 01:45:47 GMT
If one of my armies, and another neutral (we both have neutral
relations toward eachother) want to move to the same hex, and then
both move in the same direction, will they be forced to stop at the
first hex?
The points to notice are:
i) One of the armies will arrive, and thus leave the first hex
before the other army. However for some part of the turn - if I am
treating the movement cost in segments=days - they will both be in
the same hex before moving out.
ii) The rulebook states : 'Two nations must be Tolerant or
Friendly...to allow their Armies to move freely past each other.
The way I interpret (ii) is that because the armies enter and leave
the same hex at different times, and are moving in the same
direction out of the hex, one will never actually move 'past' the
other.
Can anyone confirm or deny my thinking???
Cerebus
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response from Lab 5 Use3 (user3%training%unimelb@pc.unimelb.edu.au)
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>From the sounds of your description, my interpretation is that the
armies will block each other -- so far as I know, if two
non-friendly/tolerant armies are in the same hex for any MP (day)
they will block each other and neither can move any further.
Excuse the strange address I am mailing from.
Good luck,
John Cain
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Post #28
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From: "Laurence G. Tilley" (laurence@lgtilley.demon.co.uk)
Subject: MEPBM Are all DS chickens?
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 21:17:50 +0000
A little problem here. We the victorious DS team from Allsorts
game 51 have signed up as an FP team for game 74 (1650). All
neutral positions are also taken, but unfortunately the terror
caused by our previous victory has paralysed all potential enemies.
We are 5 English & 5 German players, all with some experience.
Is there no one out there who can put together a DS team and rise
to our challenge?
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On Population Center Improvement, III
(or as Chris Evans prefers, the UpYours Order)
==============================================
By Brian Mason
It is customary in a research paper, to put acknowledgments at the
end. However, I'm going to place these guys names front and center.
There tireless contribution of data has allowed me to complete this
beast.
Thanks to Holger Eichmann, Darren Frechette, Marcus Hayes,
Alexander Maetzing, Thomas Meier, Patrick McGehearty, Bernhard
Mueller, August Tischer, Bob Newton and David Wenger, for the
contribution of data.
In issue #34 of "From the Mouth of Sauron" Brian Lowery posed the
following question regarding the above order.
BL> Population Center Improvment (550):
BL>
BL> Until recently the sum of loyalty and emissary rank required to
BL> improve a population center was:
BL>
BL> 70 Village
BL> 90 Town
BL> 110 Mtown
BL> 130 City
BL>
BL> For over a year I never saw the above fail. Recently in 2950
BL> game 16 half of my camp improvments with a Emis/Loyal totals of
BL> 70-74 have failed. Any thoughts?
In issue #37 preliminary results were reported. There have been
many attempts to understand exactly what determines whether an
order is successful or not. The initial cut (as described by Brian
Lowery, above) was to take a simple sum of population center
loyalty and emissary rank, but other more complex factors were also
investigated, as well as different pop center cutoffs. For example,
consider commentary from Alexander Maetzing below:
AM> In our group we had a discussion about the alorithm to maintain
AM> the sucess-probability. It seems to be clear that you have to
AM> add loyality and emissary skill and subtract a constant to get
AM> this probability. But we have several meanings what this AM>
AM> constant is:
AM>
AM> 1.) Ca: 0, Vi: 20, T: 40, MT: 60
AM> 2.) Ca: 10, Vi: 20, T: 30, MT: 40
AM> 3.) Ca: 10, Vi: 15, T: 20, MT: 25
AM> 4.) ...
AM>
AM> Another possibility to determine the sucess-probability may be:
AM>
AM> 2*emissary skill + loyality - constant
AM> or
AM> emissary skill + loyality/2 - constant
However, as we are looking for a success probability, the more
complex the equation the more difficult the analysis. The
assumption of most of the people supplying the data, myself
included, is that the probability is characterized by the simple
sum (emissary rank + loyalty) plus some offset depending on the
size of the population center.
It has also been speculated (by Bob Newton, among others) that tax
rate may have an effect. However, GSI continues to maintain that
the only factors are emissary rank and loyalty. There are also
multiple cases where the same emissary rank attempting the order on
the same size population center of the same loyalty can sometimes
result in success while other times there is a failure.
The conclusion therefore is that, like skill rank improvement (see
"More Character and Skill Development," Tom Walton, "From the Mouth
of Sauron," #3), there is no set "value" where the upgrade works,
but that there is a probability of success with each order, and the
probability depends on the popultation center size, the emissary
skill rank, and the loyalty of the popultation center.
Here is a summary of the data. It is arranged a bit differently
from the last data listing, but should be self-explanatory.
Village
-------
Upgraded: 49, 55, 55, 58, 62, 62, 62, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67,
67, 67, 68, 68, 69, 69, 69, 69, 71, 71, 72, 72, 72,
72, 73, 73, 73, 73, 74, 74, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 76,
76, 76, 76, 78, 78, 78, 78, 79, 79, 80, 80, 80, 81,
82, 83, 83, 84, 84, 84, 85, 85, 85, 85, 85, 86, 86,
86, 86, 86, 86, 86, 86, 87, 88, 88, 89, 89, 89, 90,
90, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 92, 92, 93, 93, 94, 94,
94, 94, 95, 95, 95, 96, 96, 96, 96, 97, 97, 97, 97,
97, 97, 97, 97, 97, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 99, 99, 99,
100, 100, 101, 101, 102, 102, 102, 103, 103, 103, 104,
104, 104, 104, 105, 105, 106, 106, 107, 108, 108, 109,
109, 110, 113, 114, 114, 114, 114, 115, 116, 116, 116,
117, 117, 120, 121, 122, 123, 123, 125, 126, 127, 127,
130, 131, 133, 133, 134, 135, 149.
Not upgraded: 53, 55, 55, 59, 62, 63, 63, 64, 66, 69, 69, 69, 69,
70, 71, 71, 71, 72, 72, 72, 74, 75, 76, 76, 77, 77,
77, 78, 78, 79, 83, 83, 83, 85, 86, 87.
Town
----
Upgraded: 65, 79, 82, 82, 86, 87, 87, 91, 92, 92, 93, 93, 93,
94, 94, 95, 96, 97, 97, 97, 98, 98, 99, 99, 99, 100,
100, 100, 101, 101, 101, 101, 101, 102, 102, 102, 103,
104, 104, 105, 106, 106, 106, 106, 107, 107, 107, 109,
111, 111, 111, 112, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 117,
117, 118, 120, 120, 121, 124, 126, 129, 129, 130, 131,
132, 140, 147, 149, 150, 152, 155.
Not upgraded: 52, 57, 60, 67, 71, 76, 77, 79, 82, 83, 84, 87, 88,
90, 91, 91, 95, 96, 100, 100, 103, 103, 105.
Major Town
----------
Upgraded: 101, 103, 105, 105, 105, 107, 107, 108, 109, 110, 110,
111, 111, 112, 114, 114, 115, 117, 118, 118, 119, 120,
120, 120, 121, 122, 122, 123, 124, 125, 125, 127, 127,
127, 129, 131, 132, 132, 132, 135, 136, 136, 137, 138,
140, 147, 147, 150, 185, 188.
Not upgraded: 75, 97, 98, 100, 101, 103, 106, 107, 108, 111, 114,
114.
City
----
Upgraded: 122, 122, 125, 126, 127, 128, 131, 134, 135, 139, 142,
142, 144, 146, 147, 153, 154, 159, 161, 163, 163, 164,
172, 191.
Not upgraded: 75, 120, 121, 127, 128, 138, 138.
To a certain extent, our data collection is hampered by our own
efforts. When you execute an upgrade order you want it to work.
Therefore, players err on the side of caution and usually attempt
the order when the chance of success is good. As a result of this,
we have "not upgraded" underrepresented in the collection of data
below. However, this does not prevent us from characterizing when
the orders should work, and as players, that is what we are most
interested in determining. Another problem is that most of the
upgrades are of villages and towns. Because of the greater cost,
and the amount of time needed to recover the expense, towns and
major towns are rarely upgraded. As a result of this their data is
underrepresented. The plan is to look at trends from the village
and towns and see if they can be extrapolated.
There is a 38 point spread between the lowest success and the
highest failure for villages, and a 40 point spread between these
benchmarks for towns. While the ranges for major towns and cities
are much less (13 and 16 points, respectively), this is thought to
be due to the relative paucity of data, and not to any deviation
from the others. However, the spread itself is questionable, as
their is an underrepresentation on the ends of the spread in all
cases.
A summary of the results is given below:
Percentage chance of upgrade (via double-step overlap)
em+loy = 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145
Village 50% 65% 63% 71% 95% 100% -->
Town -- 20% 25% 40% 70% 80% 91% 100% -->
M. Town -- -- 0% 0% 0% 53% 70% 93% 100% -->
City -- -- 0% 0% -- -- -- 60% 63% 90% 100%
Many of the numbers above are in question due to small number
statistics. However, the village values above 65 and the town
values above 85 are probably safe from these errors. The values fit
best if you assume a point value separation between popultation
center sizes of less than the nominal value of 20 quoted above.
However, characterizing the probabilities in smaller increments
(say increments of five) would require about four times the current
supply of data, or, specificially, results from about 100 upgrade
orders for the camp --> village 550 order in the 40 - 90 point
range.
Given the available data, some guesses can be made. Within the
statistical error of +/- 10%, those of the village which are well
characterized have chances of success which are approximately equal
to the simple sum (the maximum difference in the "well
characterized zone" being 10%). The town values which are well
characterized (those above 85) are well fit to a simple sum - 15%
value. These fit the data in the "well characterized zone" with a
maximum difference of only 1%. The major town results which are
well determined are only those about 105 and 115. However, the
simple sum - 30% fits this well with a maximum difference of 8%. A
simple sum - 45% is then assumed for the "upgrade-to-city"
probability. The results are summarized below:
Projected percentage chance of upgrade
em+loy = 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145
Village 45% 55% 65% 75% 85% 95% 100% -->
Town 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% -->
M. Town 15% 25% 35% 45% 55% 65% 75% 85% 95% 100% -->
City 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Apart from taking Bill Feild in a dark alley and "roughing him up
a bit," there is no way to prove the above result is true. However,
it can be shown to be false if there are successful upgrades of
towns, major towns, or cities, with simple sums of less than 15,
30, and 45, respectively, or failed upgrades of villages, towns,
major towns, or cities, with simple sums greater than 100, 115,
130, and 145.
On the Bribing and Recruiting of Characters, III
================================================
by Brian Mason
Unlike the results presented for population center improvement, the
results for bribing and recruiting are not as clear. First, allow
me to present the data, as before.
Emissary Rank Bribed Character Rank Gold Offer Successful?
------------- --------------------- ---------- -----------
10 60 35000 yes
33 73 50000 yes
37 50 8215 no
39 72 25000 yes
43 64 25000 yes
43 96 50000 yes
46 20 9000 yes
46 35 25000 yes
48 77 50000 yes
49 82 50000 yes
51 100 50000 yes
54 58 15000 yes
55 70 15000 no
55 70 16000 yes
55 100 6000 yes
56 80 5000 no
58 37 12500 yes
58 68 9000 no
58 68 11500 yes
59 50 7000 yes
59 53 10000 no
59 53 15000 yes
59 68 8000 no
59 68 9000 no
59 80 5000 no
62 58 8400 no
63 74 4000 no
63 74 6000 no
63 100 9000 no
64 57 4000 no
65 100 15000 yes
66 72 5000 no
67 42 4000 yes
67 77 10000 no
68 70 6000 no
68 70 15000 yes
68 73 4000 no
69 66 5000 no
69 68 10000 no
69 100 10000 yes
70 30 7500 yes
70 67 12000 yes
70 70 11000 yes
70 100 5000 no
73 68 20000 yes
73 71 5000 yes
74 47 16000 yes
75 84 20000 yes
76 78 8500 no
77 62 15000 yes
78 66 5000 yes
78 70 7500 yes
78 81 5000 no
78 81 8000 yes
78 100 6000 yes
79 69 20000 yes
80 100 2500 yes
83 48 20000 yes
84 71 15000 yes
85 58 16000 yes
98 72 7000 yes
100 61 5000 yes
100 69 10000 yes
100 100 5000 no
The first strategy is to consider each attribute separately, and
see what correlations can be seen:
Emissary Rank Success/Attempts
------------- ----------------
0 - 20 1 / 1
21 - 30 0 / 0
31 - 40 2 / 3
41 - 50 6 / 6
51 - 60 8 /15
61 - 70 7 /19
71 - 80 11 /13
81 - 90 3 / 3
91 - 100 3 / 4
Bribed Rank
-----------
0 - 20 1 / 1
21 - 30 1 / 1
31 - 40 2 / 2
41 - 50 4 / 5
51 - 60 4 / 7
61 - 70 13 /20
71 - 80 6 /14
81 - 90 3 / 4
91 - 100 7 /10
Bribe Amount
------------
0001 - 5000 5 /15
5001 - 10000 10 /22
10001 - 25000 20 /21
25001 - 50000 6 / 6
The working hypothesis is that there is no exact number, but it is,
like pop center improvement, some function producing a percentage
chance. The data here is rather sparse, and without any set place
to begin I decided to try a great number of possibilites of the
form:
bribe amount
% chance = ------------ + (k/2) * emissary rank - (1/2) * bribed
(j/2) * 100 char. rank
for all values of j,k,l between 1 and 10. If there are any which
succeed where the % chance is less than 0 that set of j,k,l
solutions is thrown out. If there are any which fail where the %
chance is more than 100 that set of j,k,l solutions is also thrown
out.
I'm not going to clog up the bandwidth here with a detailed
description of the program. We're all computer literate here, and
it's a simple program that I'm sure any of you (given sufficient
boredom) could come up with on your own.
Suffice it to say, that for the data set above these are the
possible solutions:
j,k,l
-----
3,1,1
4,1,1
4,3,2
5,1,1
5,3,2
6,3,2
7,2,1
8,2,1
9,2,1
10,2,1
3,1,1 - Fits quite nicely. The 20-40%, 50-60%, 80-100% windows all
fit well. The 0-20%, 40-50%, 60-80% do not fit as well, but having
only 3,3, and 7 within those windows, these may fall prey to small
number statistics.
4,1,1 - Might even be better than the 3,1,1 fit. The result for the
0-20% window is a bit high, however, the others all fit well, given
the small number of data points.
4,3,2 - While acceptable, the values do not fit very well.
5,1,1 - As 3,1,1 above, this one is good. The 0-20% fit is better
than the 4,1,1 result, however this is the only place it produces
a better fit.
5,3,2 - Like 4,3,2, it produces allowed results, but does not fit
very well.
6,3,2 - same as 5,3,2 above.
7,2,1 - not a bad fit, but not as good as 4,1,1.
8,2,1 - same as 7,2,1 above.
9,2,1 - same as 7,2,1 above.
10,2,1 - doesn't fit quite as good as 9,2,1 or others of the same
family.
Given the results described above, let me give the results for the
dataset having the best fit, the 4,1,1 set.
j=4, k=1, l=1 Expectation Actual
Result
For less than 0%, 1.0 fit and 0.0 were found. 0% 0%
For less than 20%, 8.0 fit and 3.0 were found. 10% 38%
For less than 40%, 16.0 fit and 6.0 were found. 30% 38%
For less than 50%, 8.0 fit and 3.0 were found. 45% 38%
For less than 60%, 7.0 fit and 5.0 were found 55% 71%
For less than 80%, 8.0 fit and 7.0 were found. 70% 88%
For less than 100%, 5.0 fit and 5.0 were found. 90% 100%
For more than 100%, 12.0 fit and 12.0 were found. 100% 100%
Given these factors, the equation representing the percentage
chance of a bribe succeeding is taken to be:
bribe amount
% chance = ------------ + (1/2) * emissary rank - (1/2) * bribed
200 char. rank.
So, this means a lowly 10 point emissary could bribe a 100 point
super-character with the right amount of gold: in this case, 29000.
There is apparently no need to ever bribe for more than that.
Also, if you've got a very good emissary (for arguments sake, a 70)
he can bribe 30 point characters for 6000 gold 50% of the time.
While this is comparable to the cost to name characters, it can
sometimes be helpful. If you are playing a nation which is
constantly being stolen from (seems to happen to me all the time),
this is a way to increase your character stable of characters. The
steal gold order comes before the name character order. If the
enemy has agents stealing you blind you are normally unable to name
characters and your NatSells simply increase there coffers.
However, the bribe order occurs before a steal, so you can attempt
a bribe, get a character, and leave the nasty thieves with less to
steal.
Thanks to Holger Eichmann, Jeff Holzhauer, Jeff Santini, Bo Beaven,
Chris Day, Greg Reid, Mark Mills, Patrick McGehearty,Marc Parker
August Tischer and Thomas Meier for their contributions.
Anatomy of a Game:
The First Eight Turns
=====================
By Tom Walton and Brian Mason
Note: this series of articles was written quite some time ago, just
around the time that turn 10 was being run. The game is now
somewhat further along and not nearly as rosy-looking. You'll
surely hear of it in future issues. In addition, I only wrote of
7 turns, while Brian wrote of 10; given my quick-as-molasses
response time lately, we thought to go with the article as-is
rather than wait a month or two for additions from yours truly.
One of the most interesting - and least-heard-of - aspects of
Middle-Earth is how other people's games are progressing. Like
many other players, I like to follow along in the developments of
wars I'm not involved in, analyzing the strategy employed to see
how it falls out.
The reason we generally don't hear about such games is quite
simple: because they're in progress, an article which covers the
actions and plans of a nation has the potential of falling into
enemy hands upon publication. Not a good thing. And after the
game is finished, most people don't care to write about it, even if
they could remember what the heck they did twenty turns ago.
I've decided to pen just such an article, after taking the simple
precaution of not naming the game that I'm in. Many people know
that I'm playing Cardolan in a game, and many also know that my
ally, Arthedain, is Brian Mason; but no one knows the game number,
and very few people in that game know who we are. So the odds of
the Dark Servants stumbling upon this article and matching it up
against the game they're playing are pretty darned slim.
Besides, I could be lying. ;-)
On with the show.
The Pre-Game
------------
While Brian and I have played together in several previous games,
only once before have we been in a position to plan together - as
the Northmen and Eothraim in game 204. However, that was a team
game and neither of us was particularly thrilled with the nations
we eventually ended up with. Team games, as you know, are quite
different from normal games; they really aren't my cup o' java.
So essentially, this was the first time in more than two years that
we managed to get adjacent nations in a normal game. We didn't
expect this and were quite happy to see our turn 0 setups, which
were our first choices. The Cardolan/Arthedain alliance allowed
for all sorts of interesting possibilities that we were eager to
put into play.
In order to more firmly unite our peoples, Prince Hallas gave up
all claims to the throne, swearing fealty to King Argeleb. The
King was gracious enough to grant Hallas Cardolan as a perpetual
princedom, and Reunited Arnor was born. Much rejoicing followed,
and continued, until the ale at Metriath ran dry; at which point
the King decided it was time to return to Fornost Erain (sans ale,
there's nothing to recommend Metriath as a vacation spot).
After analyzing the situation and deciding that we needed a
decisive victory over the Witch-King which would also keep Rhudaur
and Dunland off-balance, we opted to forego the typical,
tried-and-true way of doing things: building up for the first five turns,
then engaging in a mutual slugfest with Angmar somewhere between
Cargash and Amon Sul. Not that the slugfest wouldn't work, but we
didn't want the neutrals to get in on the action prior to wreaking
a little havoc on the Plateau. On the off-chance that *both*
Dunland and Rhudaur went evil, we wanted to be sure that we dished
out enough damage to the enemy to keep from being overrun by
superior forces.
We weren't laboring under the illusion that we could defeat all
three nations at once, if they were coordinated. Middle-Earth
doesn't allow superior strategy to overcome superior numbers.
The alternative we settled on was a wave' approach, wherein we
would gather smaller armies - two to three thousand men - and send
them into Angmar one after the other. This would keep the Witch-King
on the defensive and bleed him dry of troops, at the same time
confusing poor Rhudaur and encouraging him to caution. As the
armies were going in one per turn, we always had a decent force
between Rhudaur and our own nations, one which Rhudaur could see on
his map and which could easily turn east if he got obnoxious.
While the single army wouldn't be strong enough to defeat an
aggressive Rhudaur, it would delay him for a turn and allow us to
send the rest of our reinforcements to the battle area.
We also decided to recruit like madmen, assuming that the worst
would befall us and that we had no time to waste. Because Cardolan
is capable of raising armies without cost, this resulted in my
nation pumping out 1400 guys a turn on peak turns, while Arthedain
could do the same at about 1300 troops a turn (early on; his
recruitment would fall to less than this later). That's nearly
3,000 troops per turn aimed at the enemy, well above what the
Witch-King could produce on his best day.
Our strategy was relatively simple and accomplished all of our
goals. We found that our economies could *barely* support the
plan, assuming that everything went decently well, and that was
good enough for us. After all, it wasn't as if our enemies were
going to err on the side of economic caution, and victory often
goes to him who rides the edge of bankruptcy with the most daring.
:-)
Turn 1
======
The first turn was, of course, dull. Lots of marching, selling,
buying, and creating characters. Not much to report, except that
I settled on building four emissaries in the first five turns, with
two more following on turn 6. This becomes important later.
I didn't plot to build any agents, which may seem unusual. But
consider: I'm Cardolan; I most likely will never see a stealth
point, or an agent artifact. Chances are, any half-decent Mordor
player could blow right through any guard I created. So why
bother? If the enemy starts killing my characters, I'll just make
more.
Brian volunteered to take on the duties of communicating with other
players, which I happily agreed to as I'm most certainly the less
diplomatic of our duo. Unfortunately, the only cards I got were
from Dark Servants or neutrals in distant lands; nothing from the
other Free. The same, I think, was true of Brian, though he did
manage to establish contact with the Noldo for all of one turn
somewhere in the early days.
More on *that* later as well.
Turn 2
======
I send out all of my turns by email. I get them by paper mail, but
my distrust of my local post office (well-earned) means I'd much
rather rely on the net to get my orders to GSI on time.
Unfortunately, the AOL server burped and ate my orders after the
Netcom server dutifully delivered them. AOL has no
logging/error-checking routine, so of course, I wasn't informed
of any failure.
Which means that I was special-serviced. And that because my
economic plans were so very tight, the turn's delay threw them into
complete disarray. I had to replot all of my recruitment and
sells, restructure my hiring of characters and forces, etc. It was
a nightmare. And worse, the effect cascaded down the turns so that
I ended up having far less troops in later turns than I otherwise
would have. One lost turn resulted in an eventual decrease (by
turn 10) of several thousand HI.
Being special-serviced sucks.
Fortunately no one took advantage of the fact that my armies were
all in the middle of nowhere, unconsolidated and without orders.
Aside from the brief-but-short-lived coup by nobles opposed to the
idea of Reunited Arnor, this turn was also pretty dull.
Turn 3
======
Back on track now, my armies consolidated and the first strike
force entered Angmar at Cargash. Pelendur reported that no one was
home, which suited me just fine. A second army was gathering to
follow him in under Lanaigh, and I was now recruiting at 1100
HI/turn.
At this point I had several emissaries out and about, and all
failed to create camps. An unusual run of bad luck, but it
sometimes happens.
Rhudaur was definitely in the game; we could see his armies moving.
But neither he nor Dunland would respond to Brian's requests for
communication. It looked bad regarding the neutrals. Still,
Rhudaur hadn't attacked yet, and every turn he delayed was another
nail in the Witch-King's coffin.
Still no word from the Woodmen, Sinda, or Dwarves. It's at this
point that Southern Gondor sends out a message that Northern Gondor
has dropped, but SG doesn't reply to further cards. SG later falls
off the VP list rather abruptly, indicating that he, too has
dropped, and so the front against Mordor collapses without much of
a fight.
Turn 4
======
Earnil finally manages to destroy the Tharbad bridge. And a good
thing, too; the troops were starting to get nervous, whispering
that the damned thing had been enchanted with evil sorcery. My
flank is now secure.
The invasion of Angmar is in full swing. Pelendur burns Cargash
without incident and moves to Eldanar, there to encounter a big
chunk of Angmar's home defense. There's no way he's going to win
that battle, so he turns over command to Imlach (actually, he and
Imlach were leading separate armies at Cargash; I consolidated
them) in an attempt to avoid blame.
Lanaigh is already marching north, one turn away from Eldanar.
There's a brief panic as a Rhudaurian army appears on my map within
striking distance of four of my towns, resulting in some really
weird and strange army movements (intercept marches). I wonder at
Rhudaur's genius, to pick *this* movement to invade when he can't
see the rest of my forces, yet in some psychic fashion knows I'm
not prepared to meet the threat. What insight! What daring!
Turn 5
======
What the - ? Rhudaur, after that brilliant move, decides to post
a camp - and then marches into the *marsh* hex south of 1811, on
the other side of the river. I quickly re-evaluate the man's
genius. What possible reason could there be to march into that
marsh hex? What, does he want to post a camp *there*?
Surely Dunland will be just a wee bit annoyed at being invaded?
Ah, well. At least I'm not going to lose any pop centers.
Imlach loses at Eldanar, though he inflicts some serious casualties
before going down. Alas, Imlach is also assassinated, which
indicates that the Witch-King is probably getting agent support
from someone. Not that I really cared that much, as Imlach's army
had already been toasted.
Unfortunately for the Witch-King, Lanaigh arrives with the new army
(I opted not to divert him against Rhudaur, but rather continue on
into Angmar - no sense in letting up on the Witch-King now). He
turns over command to Pelendur ("hey, this is a battle I can
*win*!"), who's skill at war is somewhat more impressive.
Also arriving at Eldanar is Dancu of the Witch-King with 800
trolls. I'm sure Dancu would rather have been someplace else when
5,000 Cardolani HI marched into view, but such is life.
Turn 6
======
Pelendur easily destroys both Dancu and Eldanar, accounting for two
towns of the Witch-King. I'm a full two turns behind schedule
because of the bloody special service, which means, of course, that
I have to face two more turns of recruitment by our foe. Not to
mention a teetering economy.
Fortunately, my neighbor and King has been busy pounding on the
enemy himself. When not chasing after that really annoying
Angmarian cavalry looting and pillaging in Arthedain's back yard,
he's in Angmar wasting the remaining towns and taking out the rest
of Angmar's army. Brian has actually accounted for more enemy
troops by this point than I have, primarily due (grrr) to the coup
that took place in Cardolan a couple of months previous.
Whilst Pelendur is resting on his laurels at the smoking remains of
Eldanar, a Rhudaurian army under Arfanhil shows. Figuring that he
isn't there to congratulate me on my victory, a flurry of email
goes back and forth between Brian and I discussing what we're going
to do about Rhudaur's intervention into the war.
Frankly, I'm not terribly impressed with Rhudaur at this point.
Had he joined the war earlier, prior to the complete destruction of
the Witch-King's army and most of the pop centers on the Plateau,
he stood a chance of putting a halt to our invasion. Now it's too
late.
After a brief calculation of economic strength and forces, it's
determined that I can hold Rhudaur at bay by myself while Brian
continues to methodically destroy what's left of Angmar. Carn Dum
will have to await our wrath a couple of extra turns, but we see no
other changes that have to be made to our game plan.
In other news, Dunland's pop centers have begun to degrade. It
appears that he had dropped the game on turn 1, and that Rhudaur
sent one of his armies down there to threaten away what remained.
It's at this point that I also realize that GSI has changed the
emissary rules without telling anyone. Not only is the population
limit in the 1650 game now lower, but it's also more difficult to
create or post camps. So I wasted an enormous amount of time
trying to create camps with my emissaries, who's skill levels are
now too low to do such things, which means that the villages I
expected to have online by turn 12 won't be there.
Another major blow to the ol' economic plan. Sigh....
Turn 7
======
It turns out that Rhudaur's army' consists only of 2,100 troops -
and that they're the starting forces for that particular army. I
easily destroy it and send Arfanhil packing.
My estimation of Rhudaur's skill goes down another few notches.
Not only did he not recruit any new troops, he didn't bother to
replace or disband his poorer ones. He has the same armies he
started the game with, and has been paying maintenance on them this
entire time. What a waste.
Maerendil of Rhudaur marches into Eldanar on the heels of
Arfanhil's defeat. Since we know where the force came from, we can
make a fair guess at it's composition. Again, I should have a
fairly easy time of it, wasting another 3,000 Rhudaurian traitors
at small cost to myself. That accounts for more than half of
Rhudaur's starting army for less than a third of my standing
forces, with at least another 1,000 of his troops in Dunland trying
to threaten away the remaining camps.
Worse for him, though, is the fact that I moved a second army of
3,700 troops - mostly armed and armored heavy infantry - to 1909,
with another 2,200 troops right behind them. So I've something
like 9,000 troops poised to descend upon Rhudaur's 4,000 or so, and
my troops are on average much, much better than his.
Not only can I hold Rhudaur at bay by myself, it looks like I can
conquer him by myself. Rhudaur's inauspicious attack actually had
the effect of forcing me into war with him earlier in planned,
meaning that I'll make up the two turns that I lost by being
special serviced. I'm a happy camper. :-)
Intermission
============
So far the war's gone well. While Arthedain has suffered some
damage from Angmar's cavalry, that force is being run to ground and
the captured pop centers retaken. On the other hand, the
Witch-King has lost all of his pop centers except Carn Dum, Zarak-dum,
and Gundabad. And while it may take us some time to reach
Gundabad, both Carn Dum and Zarak-dum will soon be no more.
With regard to Rhudaur, it appears that I'll be invading and
capturing his towns without much in the way of real resistance,
with a strong likelihood of forcing him out of the game in the next
two or three turns. Unless he has some other card up his sleeve,
his capitol will soon be mine.
Dunland is, of course, out and almost all of it's pop centers have
disappeared. That's unfortunate; I was hoping to capture a few
given that I'm having such difficulty creating camps.
Outside of Eriador, we don't have any idea what's going on, other
than that both Gondors have dropped and the active players in
Mordor are having a field day in the region. Once Eriador is
cleared, Brian and I are in for one hell of a fight when we start
marching east. The only good news here is that Mordor has also
lost a few players, and Harad is out as well. It could be the
other neutrals are gone, but we don't know yet (a scry is in the
works to see).
The only thing that's really annoyed me in this game is that both
the Noldo and the Sinda have the elven-sickness'. You know what
I'm talking about: they sit on their asses training their
characters and grabbing artifacts, dutifully refusing to join in
the fight while racking up vp's. Both of these nations have done
*nothing* to help anyone in the war; they won't even communicate.
At least if they dropped, we could recruit their characters and
influence away their pop centers for our own use. As is, all of
those resources are completely and utterly wasted in the hands of
short-sighted little twits who somehow think they can win the game
without participating even though Mordor already owns half the map.
Hmmph.
I plan on teaching them a thing or two out sitting out fights. My
six emissaries are training like crazy and will soon be visiting
*allied* pop centers if the allies don't wake up and smell the
coffee. Whether or not those allies are active. *That* should get
them worked up enough to communicate.
(End of Tom's report)
Turn 1, Arthedain
=================
Like Cardolan, Arthedain's earliest goal was to recruit as fast as
possible. In past games, playing both Cardolan in 62 and Rhudaur in
97, I retired Men-at-Arms on turn one. In this game I decided not
to o so. First, I considered it likely that the Men-at-Arms would
die n the first wave (thus making the retirement a moot point, and
second, it would involve using an order than might otherwise be
spent improving the army strength).
In our "wave after wave" approach, the plan was for Cardolan to
strike hard first. The hope was that he would engage most of the
troops and emasculate Angmar. Then, Arthedain would move into a
relatively undefended capital of Carn Dum and destroy it.
In accordance with these plans we recruited 1100 heavy infantry,
100 eavy cavalry. Armies moved in shorter, segmented movements so
that hey either ended at a location to post camps or to be able to
recruit on the following turn. All moves are designed to eventually
place most troops under Argeleb who will lead the attack on Carn
Dum and to leave small recruiting armies behind in Arthedain.
In preparation for the future development of Arthedain we named a
30 point mage to plan to take advantage of our nation advantage.
Armies/Navies : 14100
Pop Centers : 5500
Characters : 6800
Revenue : 28000 (+1700)
Reserve : 20000
Turn 2, Arthedain
=================
Preparing to continue along the same lines, we continued to recruit
a further 800 heavy infantry, transferred troops to Argeleb and
transferred palantir to the new mage. We considered it very
unlikely that Argeleb would have the luxury of using a palantir
every turn, and given the maps of Arthedain and Cardolan, we both
considered palantir scrys essential to advance planning.
We were both surprised by two developments. First, our first
palantir scry revealed that the Witch-king had already improved
Carn Dum to a city and one of his villages to a town. The
improvement of Carn Dum to a city implied that I'd need another
1900 heavy infantry (see Population Center Combat II, in "From the
Mouth of Sauron" issue #39). This would effectively delay my attack
by two turns, which would place more pressure on Cardolan and on my
economy.
The other big surprise was that Ashdurbuk Zalg had appeared with an
army at Malborn High. With 4500 troops of the Witch-king accounted
for in my scry it was not likely that the Witch-king had forces
present to take my capital. However, as unlikely as it might be, it
was necessary to guard against it anyway. If he were lucky with
dragon encounters it forced me to do two things: one, move armies
to attempt to contain him and two, maintain at least a token force
at Fornost. These had the effect of delaying my troop recruiting
and consolidation and placed further pressure on both Cardolan and
my economy.
We continued development plans by naming an emissary.
Armies/Navies : 19100
Pop Centers : 5500
Characters : 7500
Revenue : 37600 (+5500)
Reserve : 21200
Turn 3, Arthedain
=================
Our armies made multiple intersecting moves that were designed to
protect 1106, 1307, 1407, and 1409. Unfortunately for us,
Ashdurbuk's army was all cavalry (122 HC, 600 LC) and he was able
to get as far as 1006.
Arthedain recruited a further 500 heavy infantry. At this point, it
was clear that we did not have the troops necessary to chase down
Ashdurbuk. Rather than engage in some attempt to do so, we opted to
continue with our previous plans of focusing on the Witch-king
population centers. The problem of how to do this with the
continuing loss of revenue was beginning to present itself as a
problem.
Armies/Navies : 22300
Pop Centers : 6500
Characters : 8420
Revenue : 37600 (+ 380)
Reserve : 33596
Turn 4, Arthedain
=================
We moved our two large armies to consolidate and began building up.
As expected, Ashdurbuk continued to attack, this turn moving to our
village at 0807. We switched our recruiting at Fornost to heavy
cavalry, recruiting 500.
Armies/Navies : 24300
Pop Centers : 6000
Characters : 10080
Revenue : 33000 (-7080)
Reserve : 24198
Turn 5, Arthedain
=================
Argeleb moved a huge army to 1704. The assaults of Ashdurbuk
continued with his move to Culwic. His attacks have devestated the
Arthedain economy, taking out 15000 in tax base and an additional
5000 in gold production. The army at Fornost added a further 500
heavy cavalry. It was hoped that this all cavalry army with
Argeleb's would be enough to destroy Carn Dum. The only thing which
could prevent us are an increase in fortification level or a large
garrison. While there is little we can do about the former it is
hoped that the constant waves of Cardolan might stop the latter.
We considered it unlikely that Ashdurbuk would return to defend
Angmar. His force is not large enough to make any difference in the
campaigns there.
Armies/Navies : 30500
Pop Centers : 5500
Characters : 10480
Revenue : 27600 (-18880)
Reserve : 5918
Turn 6, Arthedain
=================
Obviously, not knowing the size of the Arthedain force, Angmar
marched an army out to attempt to slow the Arthedain march. It was
promptly overrun. While there was no keep at Carn Dum a large army
of 2000 troops awaited Argeleb and Marl Tarma.
Carn Dum would not fall.
Cardolan sent 15000 gold to Arthedain to keep their war-ravaged
economy afloat. Recruiting falls to zero and their is no garrison
at Fornost.
We sent an army out in search of Ashdurbuk. While the army we sent
was not large enough to destroy his army the goal here was to
weaken his army so that it could not take population centers and to
stop him before he got to ours. We unexpectedly encountered a very
small Witch-king recruiting army at our former village at 0807.
Armies/Navies : 34700
Pop Centers : 6000
Characters : 10700
Revenue : 28900 (-22500)
Reserve : 1145
Turn 7, Arthedain
=================
We destroyed the Witch-king capital defense army of 2000 troops and
then moved to the town/tower of the Witch-king at 1906. We decided
if we could not take out the Witch-king capital we would do the
same sort of damage to his economy that he has done to ours. In
addition we destroyed the small recruiting army of 100 cavalry.
Marl Tarma moved his cavalry force to stop recruits from Mt
Gunabad.
Armies/Navies : 34700
Pop Centers : 5500
Characters : 10160
Revenue : 25900 (-24460)
Reserve : 15519
Turn 8, Arthedain
=================
Arthedain continued the destruction of Angmar. We destroyed the
town/tower of Shedun and moved to Mt Gram which is undefended.
After threatening our former population center back at 0807 we
moved to our former town at 0707 and found Ashdurbuk's army. While
we do not have enough troops to stop him, we hope that this army
and the one moving in behind might be enough. Marl Tarma met a new
army moving off from Carn Dum.
We continue holding our own by not recruiting and selling every
turn. Scrys show that the former Dwarf town/fort at 2004 is now a
Witch-king major town/fort. Yet another objective.
Armies/Navies : 30510
Pop Centers : 5500
Characters : 10620
Revenue : 25900 (-20730)
Reserve : 6310
Turn 9, Arthedain
=================
Mt Gram is destroyed. To move onto Zarak-dum (2004) we will need to
get food in our army. To do this, we will actually have to take a
population center. Marl Tarma destroyed an army of 1000 troops.
Apparently, in addition to being a damn fine player, the Witch-king
is good at encounters; Ashdurbuk had a dragon. The net effect here
is that we will do minimal damage to his army, and will lose two of
our armies.
Armies/Navies : 28967
Pop Centers : 5500
Characters : 11420
Revenue : 25900 (-19987)
Reserve : 1078
Turn 10, Arthedain
==================
Despite having the Ring of Barahir stolen, which effects Argeleb's
skill rating, we threaten Morkai. The extra revenue will make a
difference, and it is likely that the loyalty is low. Ashdurbuk
destroys yet another Arthedani army, taking minimal damage, and now
has two dragons. Marl Tarma's army destroyed and is destroyed by
another army with a dragon. Scratch 400 more Witch-king troops.
Ashdurbuk is at a new population center which he will take and
further erosion of the Arthedain economy is in the cards for
upcoming turns.
Armies/Navies : 19743
Pop Centers : 6000
Characters : 11880
Revenue : 30650 (- 6973)
Reserve : 0
Tales of the Great War:
At the Prince's Court in Metriath
=================================
By Tom Walton
Finduilas, noble woman of Cardolan and seer to the Prince's Court,
was young for her post. Having just seen her 23rd summer she was,
by the accounting of the Dunedain, not long past childhood.
Certainly too young to hold such a respected position, or to be the
Prince's right hand.
Nevertheless, she was these things. Those who doubted her
abilities in politics, or war, or - worse for them - the arcane
arts, were soon convinced of the error of their views. Those who
dared to whisper that she had attained her office by warming the
old Prince's bed were treated to a personal display of Finduilas's
powers; and once so honored never spoke an ill word of her again.
Indeed, many left Court of their own free will after she had
enlightened them in this fashion.
Finduilas, like her elder brother Pelendur, had little patience for
fools. Less so now that a war was on, a war greater than any
Middle-Earth had seen since Sauron last ruled in Mordor. The
cherished beliefs of middle-aged men yearning for a past era, when
women knew only the home and hearth, interfered with the
prosecution of that war.
Not to mention that it rankled. To be valued only as a maker of
babies set Finduilas's teeth on edge.
She had listened to the report of the messenger in a private side
hall of Castle Metriath, holding to her icy exterior whilst
privately dreading what news he might bear. It wasn't until she
had heard that her brother was alive, and had defeated the Hill-Men
at Eldanar, that the fevered beating of her heart slowed to a more
normal pace. And then, when the messenger had gone to find rest
and refreshment, she had cursed him soundly for choosing the path
that he had. Not only did Pelendur lead the army, but he fought in
the front lines with it as an example to his men; and this meant
that his protection was little better than what a common soldier
could expect.
Common soldiers, Finduilas knew, had a habit of dying. She feared
her hair would turn white from worry for her brother before another
year was out.
Still, she was proud of him; she couldn't help it. Though
surprised by Arfanhil's approach through the forest, he had rallied
his army and subjected the Hill-men to a resounding defeat. Over
two thousand of the barbarians had fallen before the rest fled,
while Pelendur had lost less than seven hundred of his own men.
Such a victory was the stuff legends were made of.
And just a fortnight before that he had stormed Eldanar and burned
it to the ground, even though it was held by well-nigh a thousand
trolls under Lord Dancu, a brilliant if twisted general. In the
final fighting Pelendur had managed to slay two of the great
terrors himself without aid, a feat few men could boast of.
Afterwards he had sent a letter to his sister to assure her of his
continued health, joking with her even in the midst of carnage:
"...and though I know your fascination with the examination of the
bodies of beasts and birds, in your quest to discover their inner
workings, I fear that I won't be able to provide you with the
corpses of the trolls I slew, much as you might otherwise wish.
For it's five week's journey from this blasted plain to Metriath,
and I think even you, dear sister, would falter at poking through
the remains after so much time in the sun. Mayhap I can devise a
way to capture one or two alive, or at least kill them closer to
home...."
Calm fully restored, Finduilas left the side hall and made her way
to the inner castle, up to the main tower. The Prince would want
the news straight-away, before others in the castle heard it from
the messenger. She passed many servants and soldiers as she
walked, far more than the ancient fortress had seen in centuries;
it was a busy place, now that Cardolan and Arthedain fought to
conquer all of Eriador.
Who would've thought? she wondered to herself. Arnor reunited, and
Argeleb king. Just a year ago Hallas had been planning another
campaign into Arthedain.
No one hindered her path, or thought to stop her when she was so
clearly on a mission. One did not anger a sorceress unless
necessity demanded it, unless one had a passion for experiencing
supernatural retribution.
She found Hallas alone in what he called his War Room'; he had
been pondering his map, as she could see from the repositioning of
the flags, but now he stood staring out through the open embrasure
at the overcast day. Not for the first time Finduilas wondered
what the original settlers saw in this valley; it rained two days
out of three even in high summer.
"Ah, my dear," Hallas turned, a smile breaking on the weathered
face. "You have news, no doubt, of the exploits of your brother,
the hero."
Finduilas colored despite herself. "Yes, m'lord. He was caught
unprepared at Eldanar by the Hill-men, as you know from the
messenger we received three days ago. But it appears that against
all odds he managed to rally his army and meet them on the field."
"Must be this new way' he has of fighting," Hallas grinned. "The
boy sets the nobility on their ears, but even they have to admit
that he regularly accomplishes the impossible. But forgive me for
interrupting."
"After the battle was concluded, a count of bodies was made. The
Hill-men lost over two thousand warriors before the rest fled,
while my brother's army suffered less than seven hundred
casualties. Many of these are wounded which must be returned home
to recover from their injuries; less than half are dead."
Hallas clapped his hands together, an uncharacteristic show of glee
in the second-most powerful man in Arnor. "Amazing! Not only does
he rally the army to meet Arfanhil's ambush, but kills three of
their soldiers for every one of his own that falls! What a tale
that will make!"
"Yes, m'lord." Finduilas couldn't keep the pride out of those
words.
Hallas glanced sidelong at her. "You know, I hear that already the
bards devise sagas of his exploits. My own chanced upon just such
a ditty in a tavern near the main gate some days back, over the
sacking of Eldanar. It apparently went on for quite some time over
Pelendur's single-handed slaying of ten trolls."
"It was two trolls, not ten."
"Two, ten, what does it matter? It seems his soldiers love him,
and that the common people aren't far behind. Another victory or
two and he'll be immortalized in a dozen songs."
"I'd rather he returned to the capitol with a whole skin. Most of
the heroes in those songs end up dying rather badly."
"Ah, yes," Hallas sighed. "I'm fond of him too, my dear. The boy
has spunk. Reminds me of myself at his age, all eager to unite the
dozen petty-kingdoms of Cardolan once more. And your brother, I
think, is far more talented than I was. What I wouldn't give to be
young again, to fight by his side...." Hallas's voice trailed off,
eyes lost in memory. Then he shook his head.
"But that's not to be, is it? I'm old, and getting older by the
day. Can't keep up with the younger men anymore. Certainly
couldn't keep up with you, if what some of the nobles whisper were
true." He chuckled.
Finduilas bristled. "I silence them for saying those things."
"Yes, but does it stop them from thinking it?"
"What does it matter, so long as they guard their tongues? Silence
is sufficient for me."
Hallas stared at her for so long she dropped her gaze,
uncomfortable.
"You lie," he finally said. "You accept their silence, borne of
fear of your powers, because you cannot win their respect. And you
cannot win their respect, as your brother has, because you are a
woman who hold's what is traditionally a man's position. My nobles
resent you even more than they resent Pelendur."
Finduilas glared at her Prince, unable to speak.
"Oh, don't think to frighten me now, with that look. I'm too old
to care about being turned into a toad, or whatever ill fate it is
you threaten them with. The truth is still the truth, regardless
of what you might wish."
Hallas paused, glancing down at the table that contained the great
map of Eriador.
"Haven't you wondered, Finduilas, why it is that I elevated you to
such a position? Or that I let your brother make a new army that
goes against all tradition? At the same time, I might add, that he
manages to get many of the younger nobility killed in those battles
of his?"
Finduilas bristled. "Are you suggesting -"
"Oh, stop it. You've seen the casualty reports. Those Arnorian
Lancers' of his are always committed to the hottest parts of the
battle. At their request, too. And they fall in astounding
numbers, for all the fact that they're supposed to be far above the
common trooper in fortitude." Hallas snorted, then continued.
"The fact is, I approve. The Houses must be weakened and
disorganized when my son assumes the throne of the Princedom.
Which may be sooner than anyone thinks, if the rumors of assassins
are true."
"I won't let any assassin near you." Finduilas declared.
Hallas grinned. "I'm sure you wouldn't. But I'm sure that
Tarondor and the royal family thought the same before they were
taken. The fact is that even your sorcery extends only so far, and
the powers of the Enemy we face make your own pale in comparison.
Were a Ringwraith to assault Metriath in the dead of night, I have
little doubt that my life would indeed be in peril.
"This isn't to slight you, my dear. You are the most powerful mage
in Cardolan, perhaps in all of Arnor. The Enemy, however, isn't
constrained by the limits of mortality. Where you've had a brief
span of years to learn your craft, the Nine have had thousands.
And their Dark Lord has had the whole of creation."
Finduilas had no answer for this. What Hallas said was true.
"But back to my point," he said. "Simply put, my nobles won't
cause me too many problems because they fear me, and rightly so.
I hanged many of their more troublesome relatives when I united
Cardolan in my youth.
"My son, however, does not inspire the same fear. He is a more
kind-hearted man than I, closer to our King in temperament than
myself. He wishes to rule by force of law, not by force of arms."
"Is that not what a Prince should do?" Finduilas asked.
"Perhaps in a better world, but our land has suffered from petty
bickering for three hundred years before I came along and put a
stop to it. Or most of it. The Houses haven't forgotten that
they, too, once vied for the throne.
"Which means that my son, for all of his good intentions, will
inherit a fractious Princedom. One that might cause him no end of
problems, not the least of which is civil war. I wish to leave him
a throne he doesn't have to fight for the day he ascends it."
"But surely the King would intervene, if that were so?"
"Yes, Argeleb most likely would. He, too, dreams of a kingdom
ruled by law. But Argeleb has his own problems in Arthedain, and
a civil war in Cardolan could spread to his lands. If that happens
Arnor shall fall again. I won't let that come to pass."
Finduilas frowned. "I fail to see the implications. How can you
prevent the possibility without utterly destroying the Houses?"
Hallas chuckled. "One of the things I like about you, my dear. So
direct in solving problems. Just hang the whole lot, eh? But
hardly a good start to ruling by law.
"It comes back to Pelendur, and you. Pelendur trains an army of
common men that fights better than any force of nobles, one that
loves him above all others. They would march to Mordor and back
for him, as well they might have to. And yet Pelendur, for all the
power he wields, is utterly loyal to me. And to my son. My
nobles, were they to rise in rebellion, couldn't stand against him.
And they're beginning to realize that, which is why they fear him.
"You, they fear for different reasons. Your sorcery, and your
sharp wit, inspire a terror that armies cannot. A man might be
tempted to rise in rebellion though the odds in battle are grim;
but to also face your sorcery? You, who would come flying to the
aid of your brother on the field? Who guard the Prince's life with
your arts?
"You see, you and Pelendur together, bound to my son by the honor
which you bear, represent a mix of fears that will keep the
Princedom at peace. Where rebellious nobles might employ armies to
overwhelm your sorcery, they see that first they'd have to defeat
Pelendur. And where they might challenge Pelendur on the field,
they'd also have to contend with your magic. Both of you together,
backing my son upon the throne, are simply too powerful to
overcome."
"What does this have to do with the rule of law, if we help your
son keep his throne through fear?" Finduilas frowned.
"With any luck, my son will remain on the throne for a long time.
And if not, then my grandson. You and your brother are both nearly
pure-blooded Dunedain; you can expect to live another century and
a half at least, if we survive this war with Mordor.
"During that time, while the nobles are kept in check through fear,
my line will rule by law. And with the passage of the years, the
law will become a natural thing, ingrained in the minds of the
common people. With enough time, it will seem as if there's no
other way that things could be done.
"When that happens, it will be impossible for the nobility to rise
up against their Prince, for even the servant in the castle and the
farmer in the field would be set against their lords. They would
be brought down while the words of treason were fresh in their
mouths. Then will the rule of law replace the rule of fear."
"And no doubt you have some plan to thoroughly divest the Houses of
power while this occurs," Finduilas commented wryly.
Hallas laughed. "Well, best leave nothing to chance. If all goes
well, the Houses will be nothing more than ceremonial positions by
the time my grandson rules. There will be only three powers in
Cardolan: the King, the Prince, and the law."
Finduilas tapped her finger against her teeth in thought. "What of
Arthedain?"
"Wise beyond your years," Hallas smiled. "As I said, Argeleb and
my son are in many ways the same. Argeleb, for all of his genius,
doesn't have the black heart required to do the same to his lands."
"You don't have a black heart," Finduilas objected.
"Hah! I was mistaken in your wisdom. Of course I do. Just ask
any of my nobles.
"But to continue, Argeleb isn't as ruthless as I am. And he
doesn't have to be. With a strong and united Cardolan at his beck
and call, along with the likes of you and Pelendur, his nobles
won't dare challenge his reign. No group of them could stand up to
my Princedom, not with you and your brother around to teach them
otherwise. Were the nobles of Arthedain to rise up, my son would
march to his King's aid in an instant, sweeping all opposition
before him. Thus, a secure Cardolan also means a King safe upon
his throne.
"Arnor reunited shall not fall again."
Finduilas looked at Hallas for a long while before speaking. "I
wonder if the bards in their taverns have gotten the name of their
newest hero wrong. It seems to me that he stands here, in this
room before me. Not upon the plain of Angmar."
Hallas scowled. "Go away, girl. You speak nonsense. I'm just an
old man hatching schemes and plots in his dotage. Hardly the stuff
of heroism."
"But-"
"Go! Go, now, leave off! Turn one of my nobles into a toad or
something. I need to fix my map."
Finduilas walked to the door of the room, then paused and turned
back. A smile played across her face.
"If all works out as you have planned, then someday when your
grandson sits upon the throne, and people live and breathe the law,
I'm going to let out your secret to the world. All will know that
Hallas, the warrior-prince of Cardolan, cared more for the people
of Arnor than any other man, and did more to secure it's future
than any general in the field. The bards will sing the name of a
hero, and it won't be my brother."
"Silly child, off with you! Obey your Prince for once!"
Still smiling, Finduilas left the room, closing the door. Hallas
was silent for a long time, brooding.
"My dear, my dear," he muttered. "Don't you see? In the end the
name of your brother will be sung, and perhaps mine as well. But
your's people will only know in fear, and through no fault of your
own. It will be *you* who saves Arnor from itself, in the end; you
and your powers and your wit. And no one will understand but me.
"The name of the real hero will be lost forever."
Last Word
=========
Well, the Mouth is once again finally out and on it's way. On my
end, a printable ASCII text copy would amount to about 73 pages -
which is what I get for waiting so long to put the blasted thing
together. Talk about a formatting nightmare....
There are quite a few things I wanted to cover in this editorial,
but given the outrageous size of this issue I'll take a pass until
next time.
Tom