Re: MERP pre-begginer's questions

From: Patrick F. McGehearty <patrick@rsn.hp.COM>

Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 00:00:00 +0000

In article <34C3A0EE.BA2@io.com>,
Stanley, the Daredevil Crow! <samcraig@io.com> wrote:
>I'm interested in playing MERP but i like to understand the rules of a
>game before i play it. This is relatively easy for most games these days
>since all the material you want can be found on the internet but there
>are a few things i don't understand from the faq at this time.
>
>Minor:
>The faq hints and suggestions lists an example where aCommander would
>move using move order #850 but an Agent moves at #810; are there
>seperate move order #s for each class or is this a missprint?
>
There are several move orders, each with a specific purpose.
810 - move character - applies to any character not in a company or army
820 - move company - allows a single character to move a group of characters
      so the other characters can issue two non-movement orders
825 - cast movement spell - mages can learn spells which let them move farther
      than non-mages.
830 - move navy - for moving navies, only used by navy commanders
840 - stand and defend - orders armies to block other armies
850 - move army - for moving armies, only used by army commanders
860 - force march - for moving armies farther, only used by army commanders
870 - movejoin - same as 810, except the character can specify that he
      wished to join an army at the target hex.

There are no other orders between 810 and 870, so the order of movement
orders only interacts with other movement orders, like an agent trying to
track an army.

>Minor question as it has no relation to whether or not i can play but
>possibly very important for my economy:
>The rules talk about buying and selling materials from caravans in your
>towns. Do the caravans automatically give worse prices to players(i.e.
>does it offer to buy "wood" at 50 while at the same time sell it at 70)
>or is it more realistic? Basically i want to know if there is
>speculation in the game; can i buy "wood" at 50, despite the fact that i
>have more than enough, with the hopes of it going up to 70 later on,
>thus making a profit off the selling of the merchandise. Obviously the
>above example would work best for the Northmen; but i want to know if it
>would work AT ALL.
>
There are major opportunities to speculate in the market.  On any given
turn, the buy price for a given resource (like timber) is higher than the
sell price.  For example, you might be able to buy timber at 6, but can only
sell it for 4.  The Northmen get a 20% bonus on buys and sells, so they
could buy it for 4.8 and sell it for 4.8.  In rare cases, they can buy and
sell the same resource for a profit in the same turn.  The amount remaining
to be bought on the following turn affects the price on the following turn.
So if you think a resource is cheap and can get your allies to join together
and buy all of it, then on the next turn (assuming noone else sold any), the
price will go up.  I've seen cases where timber was 6/4 on one turn and
15/11 on the next turn.  In advanced play, sometimes sales are made at
poor prices specifically to spoil opponent's attempts to corner markets.

>Major question:
>After reading the Faqs i have come to the conclusion that the writer of
>said material either hates me or likes writing in a circular-roundabout
>style.
>
>ex: Q: My nation has no (Commanders, Agents, Emissaries, or Mages). How
>can i create any?
> A: The "Name New Character:order(#725) can be issued by any...
>Of course, the cost for the order is twice as much as the other "Name
>New Character As" orders.
>
>Is there a difference btween "Name New Character" and "Name New
>Character as"; and, if so, could you please explain it to me.
>This question relates to other areas in the faq that make no sense
>without clarification.

I'm guessing the writer of the faq assumes the reader has already read the
rule book.  I'm not sure which site you visited to read about the game, so I
can't be sure.  Perhaps the reason that the rule book is not on the web is
because it is 120 pages long.  Very detailed, but does not cover all the
implications explicitly.  There is a current project to develop a player's
guide.  Perhaps that will be easier to read.

If you are interested in the game after browsing the web for info, I would
suggest that you either go ahead and sign up for a game to see how you like,
or you find someone in your geographical area who can tell you more, and
maybe join a game with them.  Post a note in this newsgroup with a title
like "MEPBM - new player in Dallas wants more info" (or wherever you are
from) and then explain your needs.  If you get into it, be prepared to spend
some money, not just on the game but also on long-distance telephone calls,
as diplomacy is significant to the game.  If you don't communicate with your
neighbors, at least a little, you are missing half the game.

- Patrick McGehearty
patrick@rsn.hp.com

References

MERP pre-begginer's questions
"Stanley, the Daredevil Crow!" <samcraig@io.com>
Mon, 19 Jan 1998 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

MERP pre-begginer's questions
"Stanley, the Daredevil Crow!" <samcraig@io.com>
Mon, 19 Jan 1998 00:00:00 +0000