The Midgard Digest V1 #5 From: kerry@io.com (Kerry Harrison) Date: Fri, 09 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000 The Midgard Digest Wednesday, 7 February 1996 Volume 01 : Number 005 Welcome to the Midgard Digest, the place to discuss all the myriad aspects of life in the World of Midgard with its other denizens. In this issue: + MID: Imperial Decree II + MID: Another question? + Re: MID: Imperial Decree II + Fwd: Re: MID: Questions + MID: RE: Extension of Imperial Decree I + MID: Using Email for Official Game Correspondence + MID: MV Treachery + Re: MID: Another question? + Re: MID: Another question? + MID: Yesterday's Communication + Re: MID: MV Treachery See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the midgard-list or midgard-digest mailing lists. For additional information on Midgard, check out the Official Midgard Home Page at http://www.comland.com/~pbm/midgard/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: SCHRADER@vaxd.sxu.edu Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 15:07:01 -0600 (CST) Subject: MID: Imperial Decree II IMPERIAL DECREE II Greetings fellow Citizens of Midgard! A second declaration of war is to be issued against the Buccaneers. While it has been expected that the Buccaneers would be nothing more than Bandits on the High Seas, I opted to wait until the Buccaneers actually acted against Midgard before condeming them. It seems they have chosen to be worse than just Bandits. I was enjoying an excellent cup of stout ale at the proud Boda city of Otterun at the invitation of the city leader when a messenger arrived. Two Boda Field Armies parked outside seemed to watch my every move at the fine tavern. Needless to say, my pleasure changed to anger when I reviewed the latest CVR from Lakehed. It seems that the Buccaneers did more than simply raid the coastal town of Lakehed. They have burnt the city to the ground, killing almost 3000 civilians, many hopelessly trapped in burning buildings. Women and children dead! Based on these activities I fail to see the distinction between the Buccaneers and the Barbarians. Most Bandits rob their prey and leave them intact so that they might rob them again another day. But what of Lakehed? Where is the profit in burning the city, merchants, and civilians to the ground? There shall be no more coastal raids on that city. Will other cities now voluntarily surrender to these Pirates in exchange for leniency? I think not! Now all coastal cities will fight to the death since they know what fate awaits them otherwise. If you walk like a Barbarian, talk like a Barbarian, and act like a Barbarian then you shall be treated as such. Imperial Fleet Commanders will now be given wide discretion to engage Buccaneers ships and clans. Buccaneer cities will be targeted for siege efforts. I hope others are growing concerned over the recent activities that advocate burning cities and killing cilivians. The Imperials will NOT tolerate such actions. Any who continue with such antics can expect severe repurcussions. All Buccaneer Clans are hereby subject to arrest and trial in connection with the crimes against Lakehed. Lord Palan Tark Imperial Senior #1 Silver Dragons #3016 Governor of Midgard aka Brian W. Schrader schrader@vaxd.sxu.edu ------------------------------ From: jmorris@ccm.livestock.org.nz Date: Tue, 06 Feb 96 10:28:58 nz Subject: MID: Another question? Were the heretics at Fanglan culpable for the destruction of factional offices and temples, by their lack of action to save those buildings? Davod Skolem ------------------------------ From: anon5063@nyx.net (The Revenge) Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 15:38:30 -0700 (MST) Subject: Re: MID: Imperial Decree II > IMPERIAL DECREE II > > A second declaration of war is to be issued against the Buccaneers. Maybe ye should get you're facts straight afore declaring war? I had a scribe write me words so that they be understood: The Revenge alone is responsible for Lakehed, therefore I can respond to these allegations. > It seems that the Buccaneers did more than simply > raid the coastal town of Lakehed. They have burnt the city to the ground, > killing almost 3000 civilians, many hopelessly trapped in burning > buildings. Women and children dead! This is not true. There was no one in Lakehed when the city was put to the torch. So, there was no one "trapped in burning buildings". In addition, my men were warned that if a child was so much as harmed, the I would kill them. I am a man of my word and my crew knows this. I killed none of my men. The bloodshed started when the merchants would not part with their precious goods. They began an armed resistance and were dealt with accordingly. However, this started a panic in the city and there was, regretably, civilan casualties. I would also like to point out that the city was taken with minimal violence. It was taken. It did not surrender. If the city had surrendered, it would have been treated *much* differently. Also, If I had been a Barbarian, not a soul would have been left alive! > All Buccaneer Clans are hereby subject to arrest and trial in > connection with the crimes against Lakehed. Are you now ammending your Imperial Decree I and subjecting all Merk Verk clans to arrest as well? Maybe you should get your facts straight, or even talk to the Senior of the faction, before declaring war on an entire faction for the actions of a single clan? Or, do you have a reason to be lenient with the Merc Verk? Are they just another branch of the Imperial military? The Revenge ------------------------------ From: J1WESCHAN@aol.com Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 18:09:07 -0500 Subject: Fwd: Re: MID: Questions This is a response I recieved from my first questions. Perhaps we should all share this. Trunga Rinpoche - --------------------- Forwarded message: From: anon5063@nyx.net (The Revenge) To: J1WESCHAN@aol.com Date: 96-02-05 16:28:04 EST > A Banner Senior posed some interesting questions last week. Is there no one > with answers? Is there no one with the will to answer? Well laddie, I don't see what all o' this fuss be about. The Merc Verk started a little bonfire. Seems ta me that they need a liitle work. Me homing parrot has returned from Cap'n Zarono's vessel. He told me to let ye know that he is apalled and shocked. The Merc Verk have potential! Their heatrs 'twere in the right place even though their torches 'tweren't. That being the case, their status be changed from PREY to WATCHED. The Revenge City Leader of Lakehed ------------------------------ From: Jay Seymour <jseymour@brite.wichita.brite.com> Date: Mon, 5 Feb 96 16:05:53 PST Subject: MID: RE: Extension of Imperial Decree I Greetings fellow Midgardians! I'm curious, when did the Imperials buy Midgard? Did they get a good price? I was thinking of buying a little hamlet on the coast, how much would that cost? How much does the right to dictate law go for these days? Who's diety died and left the Imperials in charge? Oh, wait, that may have been Morlock, except he only THINKS hes in charge, so that deed to Midgard might not be valid. Besides, Morlock's deed was written in Crayola. Regardless of how much the Imperials paid, let us not forget they are the invaders from another land. Heathen invaders at that (if that matters to you)! They are not elected, Praetor Immanus has never even been to Midgard as far as I know. Yet he and the non-elected "Governor of Midgard" insist upon making law. I wish I had been born when we voted to join the Imperial Empire, I would have voted diferently. Whait? What? What's that? We didn't vote to become part of the Empire? Well then, how can they make law? Let me state up front that this is my opinion, I have not run this letter by any of my superiors at MerkVerk command. If I had, they surely would have corrected my spelling (as you can tell, I'm a soldier, not a speller;-). I and even MerkVerk, as defined by or factional goals, agree largely with the Imperials. However, we don't pass our beliefs off as being law. We don't like pirates, I will openly attack bandits, of any faction, destroying/pillaging villages, but I don't do it because it's "against the law"! I put an end to bandit-ish activities because I believe it is wrong. And MerkVerk doesn't believe in it. As a city leader, if I want to make it illegal in my city to wear yellow boots on Sunday, are the Imperials going to tell me I can't? Do the Imperials want to go so far as to set the laws in our cities? If not, where do they draw the line? Which laws do they fancy themselves to make? How far into our lives are they going to reach? Obviously they have already assumed the Judiciary(sp) roll. I guess I can fire all the judges in my city and save myself some crowns (Imperial Crowns, geesh, don't get me started on that!), and I suppose I should shut down my courthouse and send everyone to the Legate, let them deal with it, after all they are so fancy on holding trial. Maybe they will tell the guild what to do as well? Then we could have consistant prices all over Midgard! Of course independant clans wouldn't be able to buy at one city and sell for a profit at another, but hey, it's all in the name of stability. I don't agree with what happend at Fanglan. I think burning the city wasn't the best thing to do. But it is war, civilians die in war. One of MerkVerk's goals is to take warfare out of the hands of the innocent. This is why I don't think burning the city was the best of ideas, but I wasn't there. But this doesn't give the Imperials the right to dress up in long black robes and carry arround little wooden hammers! I know they are upset about the legates being burned down, but the city was under siege for almost a billion cycles. They had plenty of time to close those down. If the civilians would have wanted to leave the city, the MerkVerk would have gladly let them. But they didn't even try, or the Serks wouldn't let them. My cousin Wallenstein was involved in the Fanglan operation, and he personally had many thousands of rations wich he gave out to civilians to help feed them through the winter. I just don't subscribe to the point of view that the Imperials have suddenly become the Midgardian Police. I don't think the Governor will hold an unfair trial, I just don't think he has the right to hold trial at all. Shield Brigadier General Richard Death MerkVerk Southern Regional Coordinator Death Merchants (3087) a.k.a. Jay Seymour, jay.seymour@wichita.brite.com - ---------------Original Message--------------- EXTENSION OF IMPERIAL DECREE I Hail and Well Met to all Midgardian Citizens! While normally the Imperial Governor does not bother with politics outside of the Imperial domain, due to the complexity of the situation at Fanglan and in response to a variety of queries on the subject, I have opted to further clarify the Imperial position. First, it should be known that the Merc Verk are guilty of two separate offenses. The first is the burning of the Imperial Legate at Fanglan. The immediate seizure of 3 Merc Verk Cities is the penalty for interfering with Imperial property. Many have commented that this seems very harsh. It may seem that way, but if it prevents others from foolishly tampering with Imperial property, then it has effectively served its purpose. If it does NOT stop interference with Imperial Holdings, then the penalty is obviously NOT harsh ENOUGH and may be further increased in the future. Also, let us not forget that the MV were warned in writing (see Midgard Report) not to convert Imperial Legates. Also note that the Imperials are limiting their war with the MV to 3 cities. If, however, the MV attack Imperial Holdings, tamper with more Legates, harm civilians, or resort to more "burn tactics" then the war will escalate. Future MV actions will directly influence the scale of Imperial responses. Some has commented that this is "land-grabbing" by the Imperials and/or picking on the MV while they are down. Four responses: 1) if the Imperials want a city they will simply take it, they do not need to wait for an excuse or a weakened faction, 2) Imperial relations with the MV were very good prior to the end of Fanglan, the MV brought this upon themselves through their actions at Fanglan, this would be our response to any faction, 3) I personally intervened at Losteen to prevent a war with the MV when they converted a Legate there (with no small amount of displeasure from Praetor Immanus), so they should have known better, and 4) standard Imperial Policy dictates an extreme response when Imperial Holdings are violated; taking cities is one such response and it gets people's attention. Others have wondered why the Imperials have not interceded in previous incidences especially when cities were either attacked or diplomatically converted. Three responses: 1) as I have only been Governor for 6 cycles, I can only be directly responsible for what has occurred in that time frame and I cannot rectify past inconsistencies in Imperial Policy prior to my administration (it should be noted that I did ask in my first Midgard Report Letter for any factions who felt they had been slighted in the past to identify themselves and the Imperials would try to accomodate them; only the Boda and the Banner did so; the Boda have been fairly compensated according to their own terms and we are working on reparations with the Banner), 2) the Imperials are indifferent to the shifts of power in the other factions where cities are involved UNLESS either a) Imperial Property is damaged/threatened, or b) when particularly heinous crimes are committed against the common good; the MV did BOTH!, and 3) the Governor can only respond if such transgressions are brought to his attention. If you want Imperial intervention you need to explain your greivance. The Serkeanar came forward at Fanglan and the Getham have come forward at Lakehed. If there are other petitions, I will happily entertain them. Still others have said that the Imperials appear "high and mighty" about the Fanglan situation. My response is that since I became the Governor, the Imperials have dealt with ALL factions in an honest, straightforward, noble, and diplomatic manner and will continue to do so; some other factions cannot make this claim. Furthermore, the Imperials are the Law in Midgard! This does NOT, however, suggest that we are above it. On the contrary, if any Imperial Officers or Troops are caught burning property, killing innocent civilian, conducting unnecessary destruction, etc., they will be arrested and tried for their crimes immediately and if found guilty will be sentenced according to Imperial Law. The Imperials would issue apologies, compensate the victims/refugees, rebuild the damage, and in general try to undo as much of the wrongdoings as possible. I haven't heard a single decree of regret, sorrow, apology, guilt, and/or shame from the MV Seniorship since the Fanglan incident took place. Now THAT seems High and Mighty! The second offense committed by the MV (which also was what tipped the scales into a declaration of war as opposed to a police action) was the wanton destruction of Fanglan by fire, the killing of innocent civilians (which included Imperial citizens peacefully residing in Fanglan), and total disregard for life and property. Any actions which serve as a large scale detriment to Midgardian citizens will be dealt with by the Imperials as they see fit. In this instance, all MV clans and Regiments involved at Fanglan will be arrested an tried for their actions. If found guilty, they will be sentenced accordingg to Imperial Law. I can, however, guarantee that the MV WILL get a fair and impartial trial and if acquitted will go free without penalty. Further, any and all MV Seniors who supervised and/or oversaw the Fanglan operation will also be arrested and tried. In any sound military organization, the senior officers are responsible for the conduct of the men below them and there will be no exception here. When the list of potentially offending parties is presented to me, I will decree those names who are to be arrested for trial. If those parties attempt to flee or otherwise avoid their arrest they will be compounding the charges. After all, an innocent man has no cause for alarm. Lastly, I would like to present the MV with a possible alternative to their current predicament. I am a peaceful man by nature and would prefer to avoid war if possible. We shall see if the MV feel this way as well. Bear in mind that this is an either/or situation, there will be no further negotiations on the matter. The MV may select from the option presented above and in my previous decree OR they may opt for the alternative listed below. I) The MV will immediately surrender 3 MV cities to the Imperials II) The MV will issue a public apology (via the Midgard Mailing List and Midgard Report) outlining their wrongdoings, sorrow, and remorse. This apology will have to meet with Imperial approval. III) The MV will pay 750,000 IC to the Fanglan City Treasury and provide 1500 Factional Retainers to the City to rebuild their city guard and soldiers. IV) The MV will assist in the relocation and/or resettlement of any Fanglan survivors/refugees at MV expense (under Imperial supervision) V) The MV will rebuild 3 Factional Offices/Temples/Public Bldgs. for every 1 that was destroyed in Fanglan at their own expense VI) The MV will restore Fanglan city defenses to 1.0 for both Walls and Towers at their own expense VII) The MV will srrender all Clans and Regiments directly orr indirectly involved at Fanglan to the nearest Imperial Holding for arrest and trial. ALL factions may send representatives to oversee the trial and sentencing and thus insure fairness (this excludes the Barbarians and Buccaneers). VIII) The MV will issue a standard policy of NO Fire Setting/Starting in any Midgardian cities that could endanger the public. IX) The MV would build 3 Legates in each of the 3 cities they surrender to the Imperials. If and when the MV have complied and completed with the above points, then the Imperials would return the 3 surrendered MV cities to their factional control. The above alternative solution is also quite stiff but the MV get to keep their cities, war is averted, apologies and restoration are done, and any guilty parties are brought to justice. A very equitable solution for all and everyone learns a lesson. We shall see then whether the MV are truly sorry for the atrocities they have committed and opt for this escape route I have provided them or whether they will duck their responsilities and choose war. In closing it should be noted that any other factions who militarily support the MV faction against the Imperials will be assumed to be interfering and will also be subject to retaliation. Furthermore, it will be assumed that they endorse the MV actions at Fanglan and will be treated accordingly. In hopes of a peaceful resolution, Lord Palan Tark Governr of Midgard Silver Draons #3016 Imperial Senior #1 aka Brian W. Schrader schrader@vaxd.sxu.edu - ----------End of Original Message---------- ------------------------------ From: Arlap@aol.com Date: Mon, 5 Feb 1996 23:00:38 -0500 Subject: MID: Using Email for Official Game Correspondence To All Midgard Players; Ladies and Gentlement, I have watched the recent E-mail correspondence with some interst and have a couple of points to make. First, using E-mail is fone for player communications, recruiting, planning, and coordinationg activities, but the trunaround time for this game is 1 month. Official MidGard correspondence should be done by one of two methods. Either you send written, signed correspondence through ground carrier, U.S Postal Service, Etc. or you send an article to the MidGard Report for publication. Then you wait at least a month for a response by the same method. As a player, I like to see rapid communications, but I must protest the recent tendency to make Official Statements in a medium that is not available to all players. Until such time as all players are On-Line, and, at thier option, are on the MidGard mailing list, I recommend that the transmission of Official correspondence to players cease. I have no problems with sending information to the GM for publication electronically and I encourage player interaction, but failure to allow for a trun to process, before sending additional information is no where near the spirit of the game. If players feel that this would result in a game that is to slow for their likeing I recommend a number of play by E-Mail games that are avaialble through the internet or from most On Line Services. Otherwise, lets proceed with the game as it is intended to be played, and not try to turn it into something it is not. David Ward P.S. Alan and Zan, please be prepared to discuss this tomorrow night as an official game policy topic. ------------------------------ From: SCHRADER@vaxd.sxu.edu Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 11:00:39 -0600 (CST) Subject: MID: MV Treachery It would appear that as we dig a little deeper even our prior dealing with the MV before Fanglan is a facade. As part of the city trade, the MV sent us North Twain, which we know come to learn has a city treasury of -720,000 IC. Is this standard MV policy as well? Loot the city before a trade? Leave city personnel unpaid? How do the soldiers feed their wives and children? Perhaps the MV find it amusing to trade cities with giant debts, we shall see how they laugh in the future. You may claim that you do not violate the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law has been descrated. The Imperials will be immediately dispatching aid to the city (which includes MV civilians, if they're willing to admit it) but demand 1,000,000 IC from the MV immediately or the MV's grievances will be compounded. It has also come to my attention that the MV may be guilty of more crimes against civilians at Poins. You can bet there will be a full investigation there as well. Has the MV faction completely deteriorated to the point of Banditry and Barbarism? Are there no noble men left to ex- p[unge the Seniors who sully their name with these vile action? Lord Palan Tark ------------------------------ From: Hideyori@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 12:14:05 -0500 Subject: Re: MID: Another question? > Were the heretics at Fanglan culpable for the destruction of >factional > offices and temples, by their lack of action to save those >buildings? > Davod Skolem Lets see if we can give you a response that you will understand. Heretics? I believe that the Serkeaner are an established religion. As for lack of action, does the death of 1800 maintenacne workers mean nothing? They died attempting to put out the fires that were started by the MV. A fire that was started after the battle was already over and the MV were doing a "tactical withdraw". Did we mention that this was a great help in bringing about the resurrection of the Blood and Fire? After the wanton destruction of Fanglan by the MV the Serk #0 said enough is enough and returned to his roots, the B & F. Ah, life is good. Eldarion Blood and Fire #1 ------------------------------ From: DShir13@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 14:12:06 -0500 Subject: Re: MID: Another question? Everyone keeps on missing the only Important fact here who started the fire, and why. I doubt an MV commander would deferr his fire control to save a Roder office when Merk Haus's where on the line would he? Daimon Yar ------------------------------ From: Arlap@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Feb 1996 22:37:23 -0500 Subject: MID: Yesterday's Communication To all Midgard Players, I would like to straighten out on statement that I made yesterday that has already been misinterpreted by one player. At the end of my message I requested that the topic of Email be brought up and "Official Game Policy" be discussed. Some, but not all, of the Dallas area Play by Mail gamers meet on alternating Tuesdays to talk about several games including Midgard. This is an informal gathering and, as often happens, Zan and Alan were willing to listen calmly to my views on E-Mail, and, as usually happens, they will do what they feel best. I apologise for any misunderstanding that may have arisen because of the statement I made in my post script. The body of text remains unchanged as my personal view. I do feel that the E-Mail forum that has developed may be used as a venue for expressing ideas and comments about the mechanics of the game as well as character and player interactions and in this, we can all add to the character of the game as it continues to evolve. David Ward ------------------------------ From: mjs@savanti.com (Mike Sutton) Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 21:48:36 -0500 Subject: Re: MID: MV Treachery > > It would appear that as we dig a little deeper even our prior dealing (blessedly snipped) >p[unge the Seniors who sully their name with these vile action? > >Lord Palan Tark > My Lord, May I humbly point out that if that horse you are astride gets any higher, you will no doubt strike your head on the parapet as you leave your Reserve to do battle with the ignoble MercVerk. I would suggest a Heavy Warhelm, however the Armourer may have trouble finding one with such a narrow fit. Respectfully, Victor Ansable, MV Admiral ------------------------------ End of The Midgard Digest V1 #5 ******************************* To subscribe to The Midgard Digest, send the command: subscribe midgard-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@io.com" To unsubscribe from The Midgard Digest send the command: unsubscribe midgard-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@io.com" If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-midgard-list": subscribe midgard-digest local-mid-list@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "midgard-digest" in the commands above with "midgard-list". Up