From the Mouth of Sauron Issue: E-6 Date: 01-28-94 Note: all authors retain exclusive rights to their material. Reprinting is allowed for non-commercial game use only. Editorial This issue of the Mouth is short and sweet, compared to the last few (about 1/4 the size). Enjoy! TO ANDREW JACKSON: you aren't on my mailing list and I never sent you anything. If you're getting the Mouth, it's being routed through by someone else. Bother them, not me. If one of you sent Mr. Jackson the Mouth, he doesn't want it. His address got cut out by my router, so I can't respond to him directly. There won't be any more complete file updates. I don't have the time to do a separate mailing for that anymore, so you'll just have to update the originals on your own. Sorry about that. Artifacts No changes. Encounters Enchanted Pools: it seems there are two pools in the game. One is the Dimrill Dale encounter for the Dwarves, which has no option list and automatically bestows a certain amount of gold upon the lucky short person. The other is a pool which can be found by any allegiance, and has the option list originally given for the Dimrill Dale encounter. It seems that the two were somehow confused and combined into a single encounter, which just isn't the case. If anyone has any information on the magic pool encounter (which ISN'T Galadriel's Mirror, by the way; that's a magic artifact that Galadriel totes around with her) there are a number of confused people who'd like to hear about it. Add CAST a spell at it: no effect for Dark Servants. Enchanted River: you can lose more than health points and spells with this encounter. One character lost 10 command points when he drank from it. Slyardach: if you defeat the demon in combat, you'll get gold AND/OR a lost list spell, along with a bonus to skill rank. It's possible to get a spell without gold or vice versa. Dragons Angurth: ATTACK = combat for FP/NT, dragon recruited into army for DS! Yes, I know this sounds weird, but it's true. A DS who attacks Angurth will end up recruiting the dragon.... You'll note that the ATTACK option doesn't appear on my dragon encounter list. I was under the impression that anyone foolish enough to do this was going to end up with big trouble, so I didn't bother to add it. But this new info means that ATTACK might actually be viable in a few cases. Silly me for not considering the possibility. Still, I'm not going to be the one who tests this out.... Corlagon: Offer ten THOUSAND gold = combat for Free Peoples. Ruingurth: Act MEEK = escape unharmed for all allegiances. Scatha: State ALLEGIANCE = combat for Free Peoples and Neutrals. Turukulon: State ALLEGIANCE = combat for all allegiances. Thanks to Alex Maetzing, Jeremy Richman, Keith Petersen, and others for providing this information. Alex, if you're out there I don't have your i.d. I can mail to you direct if you provide it to me. Other Corrections and Notes Northern Gondor: should be listed as having artifact 95 (Gildagor), not artifact 85 (Navron). The Dwarves: nation advantage should read 'heavy infantry start with a training rank of 30', not 'troops start with a training rank of 30'. Concerning Uvatha's skill rank changes to C60 A20 E20 detailed in last issue, the earliest I've been able to track this back is game 138. In earlier games, it's probably safe to assume that he's still a C60 A10 E10. Anyone with contrary information, please speak up! Wes Fortin answers the question that Jerry Clark posed in issue no. 5: what's a reasonable agent level for an assassination or kidnap attempt? The equation seems to go like this: Success = Net Agent Rank + Stealth (variable/random number between 0 and the stealth rank) - 2*Agent Rank of Guard - 1/2 Highest base rank of the target. Kidnap may be 5-10% easier than Assassinate, so low agents should do this and execute instead. Recently, agent rules changed. According to Bill Field, the only difference is that the consequences for failure are steeper. No agent task is more difficult. However, Guards are more effective now (effectively double rank). In Your Ear Nothing this time. Personals Game 141 I'd like to get in touch with anyone who is playing in game 141. I'm playing the Cloud Lord. You can email me at: schnurr@bnr.ca - Eric Schnurr ME-PBM Wish List From Glen Mayfield When contemplating strategy for the Witch King, I came up with a very simple change which should help both the WK and Dragon Lord without altering the balance of power. Simply move the Dragon Lord's map 2 hexes west. This would really help both of these hard pressed positions formulate plans and anticipate the enemy. How I Got Shafted in ME-PBM From Dan Arai I have a few comments on the latest Mouth. So long as we're talking about how we got screwed up in our first games, it might be a good idea to compile a list of each nation, listing strengths, weaknesses, and things to look out for. I've just joined a sort-of team game, playing the Long Rider. It would be very helpful to have a reference of the starting enemy armies in my are (say, able to get to me within a turn or two), what my weaknesses are, and what my strengths are (two practially incapturable pop centers, Din Ohtar, etc.) This, along with the nation set-ups would be a great thing that we could give to the new players in the game to make the process of getting their feet wet a little easier. Yet More on Challenge Ranks In an attempt to clear up the confusion that GSI sowed with their Q&A response concerning challenge ranks and combat spells, Keith Peterson obtained from them this official response: The answer as published is correct (for artifacts in challenge and for spells in naval combat) except for the part about spells in challenge. The rules mention the above two elements, but do not discuss details - the answer in WOTW does! The rules make no mention of spells in challenge rank. Sorry for any confusion regarding this issue. GSI Commentary By Leslie Foreman As is the general way of these commentaries, something just pops into my mind and I feel obligated to commit my thoughts to paper. Today, it occurred to me, that my house is a house of games. ALL GAMES!! We have computer games, we play cards, we play board games, we play reality-based games (like Pay Dirt) and, of course, there is ME-PBM in our house, just to name a few. It also occurred to me that many of these games have some common threads. To illustrate, let me compare ME-PBM to the grandfather of all games, Monopoly. I bet you would have never thought of them as being similar, but let me share some of my observations. The most obvious similarity is that both games have places to own. Each of these locations has a unique name which identifies it. For example, I may own St. James Place or I may own 2819, but this place will not be gold. ( I have always been partial to the gold properties. Maybe that's why I don't play ME-PBM, none of the places are gold, or red or yellow or blue or green or anything fun, for that matter!) The second similarity is that once you own a place, it is yours to do with as you see fit. I am used to seeing houses and hotels, so I guess that in this game the camps are green and the cities are red. What color do you suggest for the villages, towns and major towns? I know that GSI would love to print out color maps, don't you? There is money involved in both games. I would love to see ME-PBM use paper money, and not just an account on the computer. Each player would have a strong box with his/her funds in it and would have to count out the bills and send them in with each turn. I am trying to picture the players sitting around with paper, pencils, maps, previous turns, rule books, other information and orange & purple money. It would be extremely difficult for the people who are in several games. Query - can you borrow from one game to fund another? The money is yours, right? There are several things that need to be altered slightly to make it more interesting for some of the players. I recommend that you collect $200 each time you cross hex 2219 - this is the one in the middle of the map. I know that many of the players would love to be able to get even a little money "every time they pass 2219." I wish that there was a 2219 in my neighborhood - I would visit it often. Another change that is necessary is to alter the pieces that you would move around the board. I don't think that the shoe and the iron will cut it anymore. Well, maybe the iron could belong in ME PBM, but I can't see Elrond or Gothmog sporting a Sunbeam, can you? Maybe the new pieces need to be some armor, a dragon, a staff, a ship ( for only those countries who need a navy) and a war machine. One rule that I have played with Monopoly is that you pay all of your fines, etc. into the pot in the center of the board and the person who lands on the Free Parking space gets all of this money. Is this the way that you play, too? I feel that we need to incorporate this idea into ME-PBM. I think that when you meet a dragon in the game you should be able to get the pot which has been established. From what I understand, when you meet a dragon you very frequently can kiss that character good-bye. That being the case, the Free Parking space in ME-PBM would be the last good thing to happen to you before you die. Seems fair to me. Finally, there is one thing about Monopoly which I have never understood. There are some people who play it as a game and it is over quickly. There are other people who play, excuse me, LIVE a Monopoly game until it is over and that may last forever. I am delighted that games, such as Monopoly and ME-PBM, provide so much enjoyment and entertainment for so many people. Everyone needs to have their hobby and others needn't understand. Well, I guess it's time for me to get back to my cross-stitch. Talk to you soon. Good gaming to you (and good stitching to me.) Cardolan: Initial Game Plan Last issue Brian Mason wrote up a game plan for Cardolan for the first half-dozen or so turns. This article evoked a couple of responses: From Dan Arai One comment about the Cardolan--My first game of ME is 115 as the Cardolan, and I have played about 6 turns so far. The strategy seems pretty good except on a few points. #1. It is very important to coordinate with the Arthedain. They are they other military force capable of challenging the Witch-King immediately. In my game, I am currently sitting on Mt. Gram with an army of 7000 troops, while the Arthedain are a hex south of the Witch King's capital. The Dwarves and Woodmen are poised to attack the Witch King's third major town. Nobody has heard anything from the Noldo, and yet we will probably destroy the Witch-King within another turn. One definite assumption made in this analysis is that the Witch-King is being played by a competent player. The Witch-King in my game is either very stupid or has just missed many turns. In getting to Mt Gram, I never had to fight. I successfully threatened a pop center along the way, but I haven't lost any troops. Had I recruited the number of troops suggested, I would probably have bankrupted myself by now. I have a smaller force defending the homeland, but since the Witch-King is doing little or nothing, I am fairly safe. Another thought is to have Aethelan be a sub-commander in the army. Each turn, he can guard the army commander, and train troops, thus getting his skills up. By turn 7, heis C29 A36, making him one of my most valuable characters. And personal challenges and assassinations do happen...