Atlantis Times v1.1 v01n11 From: JJC%TRPASB@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 21:55:26 +0000 ######################################################################## =-=-= Atlantis Times v1.1 Volume 1 Number 11 =-=-= ######################################################################## Words from The Big Guy: Sorry for the delay. I got the flu yesterday, and was unable to do much of anything. We have 18 new players this week. Welcome to all of them. It has been brought to my attention that one person is playing two factions. I hope that person will decide to dissolve one of the factions this next turn. Submissions to the times are down, so I'd encourage all of you to submit Times articles. Good luck, and enjoy. - TBG ######################################################################## Les enfants d'ORHAN sont fier de vous annocer l'ouverture prochaine d'une eglise consacree a ORHAN. Les travaux ont commences en grande pompe et avec beaucoup d'entousiasme de la part de nombreux volontaires. L'ouverture au public sera prepare avec soins pour creer un evenement memorable. Si d'autres volontaires se proposent qu'ils envoient des fonds au enfants d'ORHAN 85. Nous tenons aussi a remercier publiquement BROTHERHOOD of the MIST pour son aide dans notre action pour la Paix. Il doit etre dit que nos prieres et notre soutiens le suivent partout ou le besoin peut s'en faire sentir. ######################################################################## As winter prepares to fall over the land, the peasants are entertained, the situation well in hand, and we are preparing to help gain our fair share of the goods of this fair land of Crail... We wish our allies well in joining us, and bid caution to those who dare oppose us. ######################################################################## Arrete the Entertainer was tired, but at the sound of hoofbeats in the courtyard below, she sprang up. Only a messenger would be on horseback in this pitiful village. She raced downstairs and out the side door of the Inn. "What news?" she questioned the weary rider as he dismounted. "Lady Arrete," he replied, " I have a missive from the South." Arrete smiled wryly. She knew the rider, a fellow called Zoltan. He used to be a carter before the wars. And she ... well, before her brother's martyrdom, not many people would have called her "Lady". The message was brief. At the time of writing, Gar had seen many strange sights, but no battles. Her heart soared. Maybe there was still hope for peace. Gar's clumsy hand described the huge stone fortress, the fierce dwarves, the endless clanking of the forges working day and night to equip the army. He ended his letter with a joking request that she and her band of jugglers come to visit the army in its mountain hell. Arrete missed the big man, and for a moment she thought seriously of joining him in the mountains. But she had already made up her mind to stay and work here. The audience was not as captive, and the peasants still had a few coins left over after Vlad's taxmen had done their rounds. SHe spent the rest of the day alone by the river, longing for the better times that might never come again. ######################################################################## Capt. James T. Hooker, (also known as "the hook"), head of Gnome Security, bent over the body laying in the dusty street of Morella. The only identification on the body was a dog tag with the cryptic inscription "U 291". "Looks like a simple robbery motive", he stated to his assistent, Sergeant Dachshund (the "hot dog" of the force). The turned out pockets and empty coin purse were kind of a dead giveaway. "And not only that", he added, "this was the work of professionals." "How can you tell?", asked the Sergeant. "Elementary, my dear Dachsund", he replied. "Notice the exact spacing of the holes in his back, where the tines of the pitchfork entered. Only the Southern Scouts could be so precise." A trail of bootprints and scuffmarks led them into a nearby alley between two buildings. There, piled in a disheaveled heap, were four bodies in khaki uniforms with the tell-tale SS embroidered on the collars. "Looks like our friend out there in the street had some secret allies who weren't so pleased about the attack. But they didn't arrive in time to save him. He would have been well advised to also have hired a bodyguard or two in these dangerous times, but he was probably too miserly. Will people never learn?" "I wonder who the allies might have been?", mused the Sergeant. "I think I know", intoned the Captain gravely. "Check out the triangular holes punched in the skulls of these goons. That looks like the work of picks, not swords." "The Public Works crew from the Wandering Nomads!", exclaimed the Sergeant. "They had picks - we saw them working the other day!". "Right the first time", agreed the Captain. "But keep a lid on it. The Wandering Nomads are also currently allied with us Gnomes. We don't want this to get into the press or anything." When Clive, the head Gnome, later read the report which the Captain had left on his desk, he shook his head sadly. The dead stranger was not totally unknown to him. He had seen him wandering about the town for some months now, and had attempted to draw him into an alliance, but had never received any response. Too bad for the stranger. The combined numbers of Wandering Nomads and Gnomes In Love With Fashion Accessories might have been enough to have protected him from this unprovoked attack. Clive had always been mild-mannered and friendly, but the drifters coming through Morella now were proving to be a menace. He and his allies would have to be on their guard from now on... ######################################################################## ATLANTIS ECONOMICS PART 4 There was an omission in my analysis in part 3. I concluded that by studying for 3 turns, both weapons producers and buyers could expect a 40% return on their investment. This assumed that 3 weapons would be produced, which only occurs if a teacher was available for all 3 turns of study (and taught for free). I apoligize for not stating this assumption. If a teacher is not available the "fair rate of return" falls to 36% and the weapons price rises to ~93. 36% Rate of Return Month Miner/LumJ Weaponsmith Lost Total Cost Does Cost Does Rev 1 60 S 60.0 2 10 S 60 S 21.6 151.6 3 10 S 10 S 54.6 226.2 4 10 P 10 S 81.4 327.6 5 10 P 10 P 117.9 465.5 Selling those weapons for about $93 results in a rate of return of (2*93 -20)/465.5 = 35.7%, while the buyers rate of return is 55/(93+60) = 35.9%. This weeks question: "What is the worth of everything else?" I salute the The Innkeeper for his trading proposals. I basicly agree on weapons values of 75-93 (depending on efficiency of producer's training), but I don't round thing off to the nearest $25. I believe in transfering cash to "make the trades fair". I feel that if a weapon is worth X and has 2 "man-months" of labor used in its production, then the worth of 1 man-month raw materials should be X/2. This puts iron, wood, horses, etc value from 37-47. I also agree with The Innkeeper that there is a lot of room for haggling depending on what you need. Early on when there are hordes of untaxed peasants, a sword is a lot more valueable then 2 horses. I somewhat agree with The Innkeeper on the value of a teacher. I think it is fair to "split the profits" with your instructor. If I had a 10 man horsetraining unit, these men could study for 2 months (without an instructor), or work for a month (+$150) and study for a month ( under an instructor) and be at the same end result. This makes an instructor worth about $75 per month (assuming he teaches a full class). Tactics or Magic instructors would be worth $100 per student based on the same argument. I would also buy or sell spells for $100, on the same "split the profit" argument. Next installment: "What is the 'Battle worth' of weapons? The above analysis generated by the scribes of faction 59, "Larson's Adventurers", formed in Gurkacre (9,14) on Jan 01 reachable at "Bill_Larson@ncsu.edu" ######################################################################## =-=-= END TIMES 111 =-=-= ######################################################################## Up