Olympia Times g1-130 From: skrenta@rt.com (Rich Skrenta) Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 00:00:00 +0000 +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times issue g1-130 | | December 18, 1996 | | | | turn 130 121 players http://www.pbm.com/ | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Questions, comments, to play: info@pbm.com Olympia PBEM * * * =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Player-contributed press =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Olympia will run on-schedule throughout the rest of the year. Make sure to get your orders in early if you'll be on vacation. -- Gamemaster [200] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Lily fled from the field to live in the swamp. When asked why the change, it said "The field is indeed more comfortable, but in the swamp I feel more alive." -- The day of Rest [ju3] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -------------------------------- South & West CAMARIS Update -------------------------------- Monthly notice: every new visitor to either of our two fair isles should notify us in advance. (We'll only get back to you if there's a problem) -- The Crazy Quilters [vn7] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -- STRIKING BACK AGAINST TYRANNY -- A NOTICE TO ALL OLYMPIANS Friends and Olympians, I'm done here. My position in the game has grown steadily with the acquisition of legacy characters and holdings. With it has grown a burden. The game has been quite enjoyable in spite of the burden, and often because of it. The month of the turn 123 attack, though, that was something else. I'm now at the point where I need to queue tens of thousands of orders (mostly DROPs) to have any assurance of the survival of my known characters. I could continue on, score some damage, but it's no longer worth it. I'm taking back my life. Lest you think I'm abandoning you, I present, as promised, my hard-gathered secrets... I hope Greg Lindahl or the Royal Geographical Society will help to publicize this work. I'll contact both of them some time after the holidays, if I don't hear from them first. Read and practice what's written here. There eventually comes the point when hammering the tyrants is all that's left. Despite what they would have you believe, it is very possible. Definitely if you're quitting, take some time. Make some noise before you go out. 40+ characters and 1000+ dragons are an excellent place to start! I apologize again to those of you I've deceived and ignored in the interests of security. I'll speak more freely now to anyone who writes me, even the tyrants themselves. I will not compromise friends still in the game, though. I'm also going to leave you all a few Christmas presents. You can find most of them if you EXPLORE in the Imperial City. For the last and greatest, a lump of Olympique mortar in every player's stocking. Remember the wrath of the Iron Nation. Tom Tignor tpt2@bbn.com Witchlight Runners [kw7] ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ BOOK OF FIVE THINGS by Gabriel the Hand [b8b] in memory of Kaden the Hand [jh7q] "...And you would knock me to the floor, If I wasn't there already, If only I could hunt the hunter..." -Deliverance -Alannis Morissette In your time in Olympia g1, many of you will find the wish or the need to fight other players. To do this is to take on a burden. Players react to attacks with intelligence, they are nearly impossible to destroy and they remember you forever. Nevertheless, many of you will take on this burden, and those will see benefit in this book. Some among you will survive long in Olympia g1, and some of those will pursue growth to give meaning to their time here. If all remains as it is now, any who pursue growth to its ultimate end will find themselves blocked by the tyrants of the Ancient Order of Olympians. Left to them is a single challenge: to battle a foe everywhere-present, travelling freely, at speed, to any place desired, with auraculated magic and multiple warhosts, any one of which, when assembled, would destroy all of their legions combined with the barest loss to itself. Nevertheless, some among you will take up this challenge. This book is for them. To be competitive with other players, it is wise to save all your turn reports. Store them in such a way that you can search through all of them easily for specific names and IDs. Use system tools (UNIX grep) or application software functions (MS Word Edit-Find command) to automate this process. A noble passing you in the Imperial City today could assault the shores of your future kingdom tomorrow. At that time, it will be valuable to know the names and IDs of other nobles that have stacked with him. Whatever the whisperings of your contacts and allies, the information in your turn reports is all genuine. Never destroy any of it. Beyond this, there are five things you must know. 1. You can't hurt anyone you don't know. Acting against (or with) a noble in any way requires knowing his ID. The only exceptions are when the noble is the owner of a structure or sublocation or he is present when allies in the location are attacked. Otherwise, the unknown noble cannot be targetted by ATTACK and HOSTILE orders. He cannot be targetted by GIVE orders, which are sometimes used aggressively to unconceal a unit (with fighting troops) or halt its movement (with heavy items.) He cannot be targetted by Persuasion [124] subskills or spells, though his movements may still be blocked by magical barriers. The unknown noble has protection and freedom in his anonymity. He can enjoy several days or weeks of work, study, combat and/or travel in full view of his enemies. Therefore, when one noble is pursued or caged by foes, it can be to your advantage to move in an unknown noble to assist him. The unknown noble can make off with any beasts, troops and goods that you fear losing, escaping or re-deploying them, while the pursued nobles flees or hides. Beginning a FORM order in any city on day 25 will give you a new noble on day 1 of the next month, unknown to everyone except yourself. Identical protection to that of the unknown noble is given to habitants of an unknown structure. In regions with multiple empty structures, it can sometimes work to your advantage to hide within structures at random. Any noble with the Construction [125] skill, three workers in his company, and 15 wood in hand or in CLAIMspace may provide himself one month's immunity to all attacks by BUILDing an inn. The ID of the new inn will be unknown to everyone until month's end. With enough wood in hand, this process could be repeated indefinitely. It is theoretically possible to overcome the protection of unknowns by specifying HOSTILE orders for every permutation of three- and four- character alphanumerics. It is not known if anyone has ever attempted this. 2. You can't hurt anyone you don't see. Most orders written for a unit will fail if the unit is "hidden." This includes spells, and most notably, Aura Blast. Being hidden is an indispensable mechanism for fighting stronger foes. It is even more critical in collecting intelligence on any foes, no matter their strength. The most common way of becoming hidden is through the Conceal Self subskill of Stealth [122]. Once learned, it takes three days to become hidden. At this time, the hiding noble may not be the owner of a structure or sublocation. He also cannot have combat-capable troops or beasts in his inventory. It is important to note that oxen, riding horses and winged horses are not combat-capable. A hidden noble with winged horses is the most cost-efficient unit for recon and low-weight transport, able to travel and view ten or more provinces in a single month. Stealthy bulk transport is afforded by a hidden noble with scores of oxen, a totally invisible merchant caravan by virtue of Conceal Self. Most units will only need to become concealed once in all of their lifetimes. Thereafter, they will be visible if they take ownership of structures or sublocations or if combat-capable troops or beasts enter their inventories. However, they can become hidden again in zero time, in no time at all, by moving or dropping the offending troops or beasts. This instant near-invulnerability makes for a very enduring noble, no matter what his function. All nobles with any real investment in them should learn Conceal Self in addition to their other skills. Simulations and real experience have proven that nobles hidden with Conceal Self are not affected by the orders ATTACK, GIVE and HOSTILE. It is expected that the Persuasion subskills Bribe Noble and Persuade Oathbound Noble fail against them also. However, in spite of the text of Oleg's Lore, the Teleport Items subskill of Advanced Sorcery is not prohibited by Conceal Self. Available only to auraculated wizards, a set now limited to the Ancient Order of Olympians, Teleport Items allows the placing of damaging goods into a player's inventory. This spell has been used historically to load hidden units with stone [78], stopping their movement, and peasants [10], a combat-capable resource, making them visible. The only known defense against Teleport Items is the DROP order. As all items in Olympia are identified by numbers on the range (1...300), a sequence of orders drop 1 0 drop 2 0 drop 3 0 ... drop 300 0 will drop all items in a unit's inventory, thus protecting against Teleport Items. A unit being targetted by Teleport Items will need to queue such a sequence of orders before each MOVE or FLY to insure its freedom from unwanted goods. Even this is not a full guarantee. There is no reason to believe that Teleport Items cannot effect a goods transfer in mid-flight or mid-movement. It might therefore be useful to queue several "wait time 1" orders interspersed with DROP sequences to confound hostile wizards. A practical DROP sequence will not include all numbers on the (1...300) range. Players will not want to drop certain low-weight, valuable items, such as gold. They will also want to retain their characters' mounts. Players should build one or more customized DROP sequences for their hidden nobles and with an editor, paste them liberally throughout their characters' orders when enemies attack with Teleport Items. The program that follows is a personal piece to create a DROP sequence for a typical recon unit. #include <stdio.h> main () { int c; printf(" ## Drop everything that impedes "); printf("low-portage stealth flight.\n"); printf(" ## Excludes...\n"); printf(" ## gold(1)\n"); printf(" ## winged horses(54)\n"); printf(" ## lana bark(64)\n"); printf(" ## avinia leaves(65)\n"); printf(" ## elfstones(69)\n"); printf(" ## gate crystals(83)\n"); for (c=1;c<300;++c) if ((c != 1) && (c != 54) && (c != 64) && (c != 65) && (c != 69) && (c != 83)) printf(" drop %d 0\n",c); } Conceal Self can also be overcome through mundane means. The most common of these is the SEEK order. Usable by any character, the SEEK order takes up to seven days to execute. It commonly gives a 5% chance per day to detect any hidden noble in the location. If successful, SEEK terminates on the day of success, after which ATTACKs or HOSTILEs may take effect. The simple rule is that wherever you see characters doing nothing, it is fair to assume they are doing SEEKs. This is especially true for NPC units, primarily useful for this task, and it is especially true also in strategic locations, namely castles, cities with castles, provinces with castles, graveyards, Faery hill provinces and any areas in the vicinity of these sites. The tyrants of the Ancient Order of Olympians have traditionally had multiple characters SEEKing within the walls of each of their castles and one or two token characters SEEKing just outside the walls. Many hidden spies have been easily caught by failing to recognize these obvious hazards. Certain characters have also attempted to foil Conceal Self by queueing HOSTILE orders against sublocation IDs. The theory is that the hidden noble passing through a previously empty sublocation will become the sublocation owner while he is there. This would make the noble visible, thus activating the HOSTILE order of his enemy waiting nearby. No successful example of this tactic is known, but the theory appears sound. Sometimes hidden nobles are betrayed by their loyalties, aiding their allies in battle instead of remaining hidden. This behavior can be suppressed in the noble by queueing NEUTRAL orders for all allies and all characters in the noble's faction. For reasons I will explain later, this can be very dangerous. It is better, instead, to set NEUTRAL orders for the faction and singular DEFEND orders for each noble with defensive responsibilities. Other ways to become hidden include hidden locations and fog. Hidden locations technically provide the means to be absent, not merely hidden. Movement into and out of a hidden location is permissible only to factions that know of the hidden location. Factions unaware of the hidden location cannot even see the movement happening. Hidden locations are not always an indefinite refuge, however. It is a moderately well-known fact that sublocation IDs follow an increasing, alphanumeric sequence on each latitude of the map. A faction that has reason to believe a hidden location is nearby can therefore discover the location ID and province by magical means. Once discovered, they can go to the precise province and EXPLORE. Moving into hidden locations with known nobles is a mistake. These nobles can be found by magical means and they will betray the hidden location ID immediately if they are there while this happens. What hidden locations are best for is hiding and storing goods. A known noble who takes two days to duck into a hidden location, hand off goods, troops or beasts and continue on stands a fair chance of protecting his resources from discovery. The critical factor is insuring that hostile agents cannot detect the time or place of the resources' disappearance within narrow boundaries. The handoff generally works best if the known noble can Conceal Self and travels continuously throughout the turn. Fog is a hiding mechanism based on locations rather than characters. Easily dispelled, summoned fog is best for one-turn concealment efforts. Fog has the unique benefit of hiding the IDs of unhidden sublocations in a province from the eyes of factions that have never before set foot in the province. It is ideal for hiding structures from passing unknowns. Fog also hides characters and it will foil GIVE orders of characters of different factions who have not synchronized their efforts with CONTACT orders. Be forewarned: it is not believed that fog will hide resource depletion activities from local garrisons. 3. Everything visible is traceable. This is how foes can discover all of your characters, holdings and resources, and all those of allies near you. It generally starts with a single character. Typically, a character of interest will first be subjected to Receive Vision, a subskill of Religion [150]. Receive Vision gives a priest a report on the target character for the day on which the Receive Vision order terminates. The Receive Vision report does not include a day-to- day list of activities, but in all other respects it is similar to the report the character's player receives in his faction turn report. This includes the character's loyalty rating, location, skills, permissions, special flags and inventory. It does not include the character's faction. Here is an old, partial vision of Zeegan, the lord of Chateau Olympique. 29: Location: Chateau Olympique [s85], in province Mt. Olympus [bx22], 29: in Provinia 29: Loyalty: Oath-1 29: Stacked under: Marat [g3y] 29: Health: 100% 29: Combat: attack 80, defense 80, missile 0 29: behind 9 (stay behind in combat) 29: Break point: 50% 29: use 9593 1 (concealing self, but not alone) 29: 29: Current aura: 9 29: Maximum aura: 180 (37+143) 29: Project cast: Ring of stones [aw6q] 29: 29: Declared attitudes: 29: neutral aq4 bh0 ct0 cu9 db5 ji9 mc1 pn9 qr2 vo4 wq1 29: xf0 f03 f38 g87 k58 s85 x60 z40 cc2n dk8m hf3l 29: 29: Skills known: 29: Stealth [122] 29: Sneak into structure [9574], apprentice 29: Conceal self [9593], journeyman 29: Beastmastery [123] 29: Magic [160] .. .. 29: Inventory: 29: qty name weight 29: --- ---- ------ 29: 450 gold [1] 0 29: 1 winged horse [54] 300 fly 150 29: 1 blank scroll [84] 2 29: 1 Scroll [ba8g] 1 29: 1 Health [bb4j] 1 29: 1 crystal staff [bb5b] 10 29: 1 Scroll [bb8t] 1 .. .. 29: 29: Capacity: 336/250 land (134%), 436/150 ride (290%), 436/150 fly (290%) 29: 29: Scroll [ba8g] permits study of the following skills: 29: ??? (requires Necromancy) 29: 29: Scroll [bb8t] permits study of the following skills: 29: ??? (requires Necromancy) Notice that the vision provides Zeegan's precise location and loyalty and a complete list of declared attitudes. The declared attitudes are the richest field for study. Assuming there is no clever trickery, we could quickly conclude that each character and structure named "neutral" is something or someone Zeegan's faction cares about. These are all targets for future visions. This is why it can be a tragic error to name large quantities of important characters and structures in characters' NEUTRAL and DEFEND orders. The bulk of these orders are better left to the player entity. Zeegan's location is the next thing to look at. We see he is in a structure, Chateau Olympique [s85], in province bx22. Ordinarily, a follow-up step would be to use the Scry Location subskill of Scrying [162] on bx22. We might see other characters important to Zeegan there. We might also see the castle which controls the province. Mt. Olympus [bx22], mountain, in Provinia, civ-6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ .. Province controlled by Chateau Olympique [s85], castle, in Mt. Olympus [bx22] .. Of course, Zeegan is a poor example in this regard. We already have the ID and province of the castle which controls Zeegan's immediate area. But for other investigative efforts, this might not be the case. If a noble spends a lot of time in a given territory, it is safe to assume that that territory is owned by his faction or an ally, if indeed it is owned by anyone. Scry Location and Receive Vision can then be used to learn more about nobles in the vicinity and the area itself. It might even be convenient to send in recon nobles with Conceal Self, to see things first hand. Be forewarned: the Detect Location Scry subskill of Scrying [162] gives mages a fair chance of knowing when foes are scrying their locations. Turnabout is fair play. Notice also that Zeegan has four unique items in his inventory, two scrolls ([ba8g] and [bb8t]), a potion ([bb4j]) and an artifact ([bb5b]). If we are meticulous, we can track these items with visions as well, if Zeegan ever passes them on to other characters. Visions of items will give us IDs for their locations, and if appropriate, the characters holding them. Receive Vision limits each priest to one and only one vision of any singular target, be it item, location or character. However, there exist magical orbs which provide a limited number of visions to characters who acquire and use them before they shatter. With multiple priests, allied priests and orbs to rely on, it is never safe to assume a foe has run out of vision attempts. If a player does find himself limited in visions, the Locate Character subskill of Scrying [162] will identify a character's location without risk of discovery. Unlike Receive Vision, Locate Character is infinitely repeatable on any single target. If a foe manages to move a character of his close enough to one of your own, the Determine Character's Lord subskill of Stealth [122] will tell him the name and ID of your faction in seven days. This is mostly useful in the multi-faction vicinity of the Imperial City, however. In the world outside the Imperial City, most bonds are location-based, not faction based. In most campaigns, the characters moving about in a given region, island or realm are the ones an aggressor will need to contend with. Even the strongest factions are limited in their ability and desire to bring far-distant characters into any fray in time to be of use. What should be apparent by now, though, is that reconnaissance proceeds most easily and most effectively as a chain of characters and locations. Given time, anyone with the interest can fully compromise a player who localizes all his characters and resources in a small area and takes no special precautions. Survivability is acheived by concealing vital resources. It is acheived by distributing resources over wide areas. It is acheived by dissociating visible, exposed characters from other characters and areas that are important to you. 4. Current aura has no upper limit. The notion of "maximum aura" is a myth. "Maximum aura" has meaning to specific spells only. There is no daily or monthly check to confine current aura within some range of maximum aura. Maximum aura has no meaning to the Tap Health For Aura subskill of Magic [160]. Tap Health For Aura takes seven days to cast, six days when mastered. On completion it grants the noble 1 point of aura for each 5 points of health consumed. Through Tap Health For Aura, a mage can acquire up to 19 points of aura per use without dying. This health can be restored in zero time, and all sickness cured, through the consumption of a simple healing potion. Healing potions are created through the Brew Healing Potion subskill of Alchemy [126]. In this way, an adequately supplied mage can acquire 76 points of aura per month. A mage who has mastered Tap Health For Aura can acquire 95 points of aura per month. It is vitally important that mages using Tap Health For Aura are aware of health losses due to sickness. Serious depletions of health tend to make a noble "sick," the more serious the loss, the stronger the tendency. Sick nobles lose 3-15 points of health on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 of each month. It is not known whether the health loss occurs in the morning of each day or at night. Any mage who completes Tap Health For Aura on day 7, 14, 21, or 28 will therefore take sickness damage and possibly die before he can consume a healing potion. Any mage who completes Tap Health For Aura on day 6, 13, 20, or 27 runs a similar risk, if the sickness update indeed happens on the morning of the next day. Perhaps worse, mages who have learned the Transcend Death subskill of Necromancy [165] will be teleported to the Pit of Hades [az4g] in the City of the Dead [cn9m] in the heart of Hades [bc3r]. The tyrant who currently holds the area will likely devour or imprison strange nobles who appear there. Mages performing sequences of Tap Health For Aura castings should be wary of suddenly mastering the skill in the middle of a month. This will turn a former seven-day casting into a six-day casting, possibly upsetting the timing with respect to sickness updates. Use WAITs. Healing potions are the critical element in the Tap Health For Aura process. Brewing healing potions requires avinia leaves [65], with one leaf used to brew one potion. Avinia leaves can be harvested in mallorn groves with the Collect Rare Foliage subskill of Forestry [128]. However, this method yields only two leaves per month. For those with the means, avinia leaves are more easily and quickly acquired from cities in the realm of Faery. Here is an example. Faery city [im0l], port city, in province Forest [ia2k] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ .. trade who price qty wt/ea item ----- --- ----- --- ----- ---- buy im0l 1,000 2 1 gate crystals [83] buy im0l 500 10 5 mithril [82] sell im0l 1,000 1 300 winged horse [54] sell im0l 200 5 30 mallorn wood [70] sell im0l 30 2 5 cardamom [106] sell im0l 800 1 1 Golden ring [ed0z] sell im0l 35 10 1 avinia leaves [65] .. Every second city in Faery sells avinia leaves at this price. (The other cities sell lana bark [64] instead.) Enterprising players should send nobles using the Conceal Self and Conceal Identity of Trader subskills of Stealth [122]. For all its merits, Tap Health For Aura is generally less effective than the Trance subskill of Advanced Sorcery [170]. Available only to mages who have forged auraculums, (via the Forge Auraculum subskill of Artifact Construction [164]), Trance typically provides from 100 to 200 points of aura per month. The well-known downside, however, is that any mage who uses Forge Auraculum has his ID broadcasted to all current auraculum holders. The current political climate makes this a poor choice for most aspiring mages. It is possible to share aura through Weather Magic [161] and Necromancy [165]. The former enables you to summon storms which others can control and dissipate, absorbing the power of the storm. The latter enables you to Aura Blast characters knowing Absorb Aura Blast, thus making a direct aura transfer. Both methods allow players to mass huge quantities of aura in a single mage. It is generally best to make magical strikes with as few mages as possible, and those of lesser power. In most cases, these mages' IDs will be known by the attack victims. They will be the first subjects of counterstrikes. Here are some things that have been done and could possibly be done with limitless aura. Brew Farcast potions for locations where enemies gather in mass, typically castles, and Aura Blast dozens of characters in a single turn. Once brewed, Farcast potions can be used by any mage. Adequately supplied, a mage knowing only Aura Blast and Absorb Aura Blast could accomplish this himself. Unfortunately, it is a fact that characters pass all of their inventories to other characters sharing their stack when they die. It is necessary to destroy all characters in a stack to destroy all of the goods, troops and beasts that they hold. One character in the stack with Absorb Aura Blast will prevent this. Move multiple rain storms into a location, using Farcast potions, Renew Storm Strength and Lightning Bolt to destroy structures and characters in the area. Attacks should be made with one or two random storms to provide defending mages with an element of uncertainty. Use a mage knowing Weather Magic [161] and Conceal Self to monitor a target province. When a rain storm naturally appears, use Farcast potions and Weather Magic [161] spells to seize control and send Lightning Bolts or Fierce Winds. Farcast barriers created with Create Magic Barrier to surround or block distant foes. Create magic artifacts enchanted with Curse Noncreator Loyalty. The enchantment should be heavy enough to force the loss of 500 to 1000 points of fear or contract loyalty. GIVE them to a foe's unoathed nobles, then lure them into your service the next turn with Bribe Noble. The artifact should of course be immediately discarded or transferred thereafter. The tyrants of the Ancient Order of Olympians will unfortunately be quick to combine this technique with Teleport Items. Brew dozens of 6-day and 9-day speedcast potions. In magical battles, no spell should need or be expected to take longer than a single day to cast. 5. Global power alone challenges global power. Maps of the known areas of Faery and Hades follow. The Faery map is thought to be complete. Faery provides one two-day access to every large island and continent in Olympia. Characters with elfstones can summon these access points at will from the real world. It costs nothing to travel to and from Faery, save the ill will of tyrants who take notice. Faery is also an abundant source of avinia leaves [65] and instruction in Scrying [162] and Artifact Construction [164]. Hades provides one two-day access to each graveyard in Olympia. Most characters are never farther than three to six provinces from Hades at any time. Hades reaches everywhere. Most places on the map can be reached by Hades from anywhere in one or two months. It costs 100 gold for each noble and each combat-capable figure in inventory to travel into Hades. This is in addition to the ill will of the tyrants who take notice. Each province in Hades must be discovered by the EXPLORE order. Hades is believed to measure 8 provinces by 8 provinces in area. EXPLOREs will reveal hidden graveyards in a Hades province as often as routes to other Hades provinces. At the center of Hades is the City of the Dead [cn9m], where Necromancy [165] is taught. Unlike other hidden locations, characters moving from Hades provinces to other Hades provinces or hidden graveyards will not be seen by anyone. They are not even seen by factions who know of their destinations. Characters moving into unhidden graveyards from Hades are as visible as ever. Faery and especially Hades are instrumental in providing your faction with reach, escapability and general worldliness. Factions that have not explored these areas are fundamentally weak. What use are armies of dragons that are limited to a dozen square provinces? Enemies that know Faery and Hades can retreat quickly beyond your reach to places you could not sail to in years. Even with limitless aura, the powers of magicians are limited over vast distances. The foe who knows Hades and Faery is insulated from your attack. He bides his time, prepares, studies you, then strikes. When he does strike, he usually does it with the guarantee of victory. But regardless, he decides exactly what he risks in attack, and what he keeps off of the playing field, since he can reach across the realms and you can not. Faery and especially Hades are the Olympian means of rapid travel. They are therefore the means of distributing and protecting your characters and resources. The player who cannot move cannot fight. The tyrants have always known this. The realms of Hades and Faery are best surveyed by characters using Conceal Self. Remember the methods of exposing hidden characters that have already been explained. When convenient, one-day moves will quickly shake the contact made by a successful SEEK. When exploring Hades, it is often a good idea to take two days at the end of the month to move into a known graveyard and then continue to the outlying province. Do not end the month in a sublocation where a character will become visible. It is also best to avoid areas in Hades where large concentrations of characters are gathered. These are tyrants. They are most likely doing multiple SEEKs and they may have HOSTILE orders set for graveyards accessible from their location. Magicians should know that to brew Farcast potions for any location in Faery or Hades, it is necessary to be physically in the location's province. Tens of thousands of gold pieces are needed to move armies through Hades. This is the ultimate value of gold in Olympia. All other expenses are petty by comparison. Players who stockpile gold and players who control large areas of land will see their efforts rewarded on the day they need to strike or escape through Hades. The tyrants who control Mount Olympus and Atnos are highly aware of the Hades access points near the Imperial City. The outlying provinces are always watched. This most notably includes the provinces bw22, ca22, and more recently, bw19. Moving armies through or into Hades will certainly invite the wrath of the tyrants. Planning an exit strategy is crucial. It is best to pre-arrange for a noble to wait in an unhabited area along your exit path, in or near Hades. The noble that becomes visible in Hades should transfer the army to the waiting noble and continue on quickly. The waiting noble should then depart the underworld and hide in a non- graveyard hidden location until you are ready to move your forces. That is all I have to teach you. Hades (Abridged) ---------------- Expect five to ten graveyards in each Hades province, some of those hidden. Every graveyard accesses Hades somewhere. fn2v hf4n jm4v ij9t jg7t bs0a bd0p hi9d az4c ed1v cn0l de3o ct3s hl1c ft6t fk7e ju7c gs4v dj8g di1j *bc3r* if7o fj4y ci2w dr7q id7g az4e fh8f gk7o ec5s bu8j dk1p az4f bl8v ff1i fc4j ig0u Faery (AOO-Stolen Version) -------------------------- ======================================================================== MAP OF THE FAERY LANDS +----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----+ | | dz7a | fw5k | bk2a | gl0c | fp0g | dh5b | az3k | ha6q | cp5i | | | | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |du0l| ia2k | he5e | hc1r | bf4i | bi3u | ea3p | hp2h | eu9e | cx3k |az3l| |O | F c | F h | F hh | F | F hh | F h | F | F hh | F |O | | | im0l | bq2a | gt0x | | du5n | ct9w | | bh3d | | | | | |[ak65]|[ct37]| |[ao89]|[aw89]| |[bb56]| | | | | | | hk9s | | ic6j | | | et9e | | | | | | |[bl46]| |[dk25]| | |[dh82]| | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |eo8k| cp7r | dj4w | hy5q | bk9d | az3m | dz2n | fo1s | gz3j | br8z |jg0y| |O | F hh | F h | F | F h | F hh | F h | F hh | F hh | F h |O | | | hq7f | gy3a | | az3x | az3y | je6h | eb4w | fz9d | jf0o | | | |[by33]|[dq03]| |[bt91]|[bp06]|[ai25]|[dl38]|[du03]|[dp84]| | | | gc2e | | | | bn1v | | el7a | hu2v | | | | |[ab41]| | | |[da36]| |[bp88]|[df64]| | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |gh8a| dy9t | cj7s | bb7n | dp9z | dm0l | em8z | cf3c | az3n | jn3k |fw2o| |O | F h | F h | F h | F c | F h | F | F h | F c | F h |O | | | az3w | ek0o | en7y | az4b | cl1h | | io2r | jo0y | fs0j | | | |[bk23]|[ai57]|[al41]| |[cp58]| |[be22]| |[dc63]| | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |bu5b| co6g | ia6y | ex7e | dp2i | co4g | da6h | eo7t | az3o | hq1a |fw1v| |O | F | F h | F | F hh | F | F h | F h | F h | F h |O | | | | ik4e | | ft5x | | cv3t | bn6m | iz2x | cx9l | | | | |[ai03]| |[cj06]| |[cm92]|[ck36]|[ag47]|[bi59]| | | | | | | bg1n | | | | | | | | | | | |[ai79]| | | | | | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |dd2g| hr5o | ip3j | ix8f | iu0i | eg7j | gn2r | iv2e | jk3j | jh5z |gs2x| |O | F | F c | F c | F | F hc | F h | F | F h | F |O | | | | eb1n | gn6z | | dl2j | gd7r | | cu0j | | | | | | | | |[an96]|[cw94]| |[cf17]| | | | | | | | | dl3j | | | | | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |bc2e| fg0e | cj8z | cm3s | ea5f | dl3m | az3p | hl0z | iw0e | cl3u |gk2o| |O | F | F h | F h | F h | F | F | F | F h | F |O | | | | fm6c | dx3f | gd4g | | | | dk9n | | | | | |[dc26]|[cy85]|[dd75]| | | |[df06]| | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |az3q| cd1i | jp9p | gl6k | el8s | gc2m | ji9s | hb6n | jo8y | gi0a |az3r| |O | F | F | F h | F c | F c | F | F c | F h | F c |O | | | | | iy0g | bx0p | az4a | | fe1x | ci2i | ew1x | | | | | |[bl11]| | | | | | | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |id5g| hd9u | cf7d | ih0j | ji6n | ew9e | iy8t | gy5e | dm0m | fe4y |gq8q| |O | Fhhh | F | F | F | F r | F | Fhhh | F h | F |O | | | gr7e | | | | br5b | | hq5b | eb5h | | | | |[ca55]| | | | | |[aw61]|[dd17]| | | | | bj2x | | | | | | fn0e | | | | | |[cj21]| | | | | |[bj91]| | | | | | dl3e | | | | | | gy8q | | | | | |[dr21]| | | | | |[dd50]| | | | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| |ci2x| gl3r | iq2e | cl9n | az3s | fv0j | iz7r | hp2z | gf8y | az3t |by5j| |O | F | F | F h | F h | F | F | F h | F h | Fhhhh|O | | | | | bb1h | di5d | | | hy4g | br0j | ei7p | | | | | |[as82]|[ap67]| | |[cv48]|[bj05]|[ai16]| | | | | | | | | | | | bv0y | | | | | | | | | | | |[an30]| | | | | | | | | | | | az3z | | | | | | | | | | | |[cw03]| | | | | | | | | | | | ft4t | | | | | | | | | | | |[dk11]| | |----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----| | | cu4l | ce5j | gg3m | gy6q | | dj5q | az3u | ez5r | az3v | | | | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | | +----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----+ Province data uuNu Where: uuNu is the Faery location is as follows: V ww V is the terrain type ww is inner location type(s) yyNy yyNy inner location 1 zzNz zzNz inner location 2 [xxNN] [xxNN] is the Faery Hill exit location F = Forest c = city O = Ocean h = hill r = Ring of stones [gate(s)] FAERY HILL EXIT-LOCATION LIST ----------------------------- Map ID Faery Connection Region --- -- ----- ---------- ------ B2 bq2a he5e ak65 Plain Cragstan B3 gt0x hc1r ct37 Mountain Krussos B3 hk9s hc1r bl46 Mountain Noren B5 du5n bi3u ao89 Forest Stybor B5 ic6j bi3u dk25 Forest Kircarth B6 ct9w ea3p aw89 Mountain Atala B8 bh3d eu9e bb56 Forest South Camaris B8 et9e eu9e dh82 Plains North Idar C1 hq7f cp7r by33 Plain Provinia C1 gc2e cp7r ab41 Mountain Impassable~Mountains C2 gy3a dj4w dq03 Desert Rhovanth C4 az3x bk9d bt91 Forest Areth Lorbin C5 az3y az3m bp06 Plains Ormos C5 bn1v az3m da36 Desert Castay Island C6 je6h dz2n ai25 Mountain Merinth C7 eb4w fo1s dl38 Forest Pentaria C7 el7a fo1s bp88 Forest Areth Pirn C8 fz9d gz3j du03 Mountain Impassable Mountains C8 hu2v gz3j df64 Mountain Pesbrand C9 jf0o br8z dp84 Forest South Idar D1 az3w dy9t bk23 Forest Broen Rock D2 ek0o cj7s ai57 Mountain Isle of Celenth D3 en7y bb7n al41 Mountain Ceria D5 cl1h dm0l cp58 Forest Tollus D7 io2r cf3c be22 Plains West Camaris D9 fs0j jn3k dc63 Forest Bayarth E2 ik4e ia6y ai03 Plain Antresk E4 ft5x dp2i cj06 Swamp West Illion E4 bg1n dp2i ai79 Forest Caburh E6 cv3t da6h cm92 Mountain Rimmon E7 bn6m eo7t ck36 Swamp Chardia E8 iz2x az3o ag47 Plain Aurnos E9 cx9l hq1a bi59 Plain Nallos F5 dl2j eg7j an96 Forest Ustana Island F6 gd7r gn2r cw94 Forest Zercia F8 cu0j jk3j cf17 Forest Atnos G2 fm6c cj8z dc26 Plain Gravecarn G3 dx3f cm3s cy85 Plain Ferenth G4 gd4g ea5f dd75 Plain Pyrellica G8 dk9n iw0e df06 Forest Pallia H3 iy0g gl6k bl11 Mountain Drucartan H8 ci2i jo8y ae07 Forest Averni Island I1 gr7e hd9u ca55 Mountain Ossicus I1 bj2x hd9u cj21 Illion I1 dl3e hd9u dr21 Plains Moldarth I7 hq5b gy5e aw61 Plains East Camaris FAERY HILL EXIT-LOCATION LIST (CONT.) ----------------------------- Map ID Faery Connection Region --- -- ----- ---------- ------ I7 fn0e gy5e bj91 Forest Torba Bacor I7 gy8q gy5e dd50 Mountains Hothras I8 eb5h dm0m dd17 Plain Ollalyos J3 bb1h cl9n as82 Swamp Alleras Island J4 di5d az3s ap67 Plain Ceonak J7 hy4g hp2z cv48 Desert Cnossa J8 br0j gf8y bj05 Mountain Isle of Deddou J9 ei7p az3t ai16 Forest Aerondor J9 bv0y az3t an30 Desert Charrick Island J9 az3z az3t cw03 Forest Allasus Island J9 ft4t az3t dk11 Swamp Cyllenedos -- Gabriel the Hand [b8b] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Thank you, I now have knowledge of a location where I may learn Beastmastery. I would also like to say, that I am attempting to establish an overland, mercantile and courier business. If there are any goods you need delivered or any goods that you need found or brought to you, I am willing to put my services at your disposal for reasonable negotiable fees. Please contact me, if I can be of service. Thank you. -- Daleon [s5l] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Customer Testamonial on behalf of the First Bank of Provinia Greetings, Provinians! My name's Jack and these are my beans. I'm a trader. I travel Provinia buying and selling the finest beans and linen. How did I get this great career? The First Bank of Provinia gave me a small-business loan. That's how! They have everything a businessman like myself could need: low-interest loans, high interest rates, newbie bonuses, warehouse facilities, shipping services... What else could you ask for? So take it from me, Jaques et ses Haricots, don't wind up lying in the gutters of Imperial City weaving baskets. Stop by the First Bank of Provinia a call. You'll be glad you did. -- Jaques et ses Haricots [x1a] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Rumors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Another auraculator has nominated himself for destruction. "14: Otto of the Havens [g6j] has constructed an auraculum." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= So, I got this savage held prisoner. Now what do I do with him? Use a little "persuasion" to ask him to join my cause? Am I right about this? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= An invasion of Zercia is proceeding. We have yet to meet opposition. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Anyone heard anything about the southern continents? Is the AOO still killing everyone down there? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= They don't call me Mr. Putterman =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= more =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Resistance is futile! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Pay attention! BtA's still bein' a pest! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= more for me =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >> un peu d'ore If it stinks so bad, what type of ore is it ? Sulpher ??? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= What is the AOO up to now? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you leave your land to begin g2, make sure your provinces are in order, less work I'll have to do when I take it over! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Lord Bartholomew is still alive... The question is, is Brett Miller? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Hey you want to fight? Well her I am. What are Ya chicken. Huh??? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= So who's the new leader of the RGS? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= To the idiot who keeps asking: One can learn Beastmastery in Aethelarn. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Me wonder whether Kaden the Hand's owner and his faction continue to live and plot against the AOO. If so, please give us a sign and hope. - XXXX =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Up