Olympia Times v3n6 From: skrenta@blekko.rt.com (Rich Skrenta) Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1992 18:44:20 +0000 +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times times@olympia.rt.com | | April 26, 1992 v3n6 | | | | Turn 21 102 Players "Beer & pretzels" | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Turn 22 orders due: Friday, May 1, 1992 Turn 23 orders due: Friday, May 8, 1992 Orders are due 6:00pm EDT, 22:00 GMT. Questions, comments, bug reports, to play: olympia@rt.com Sorry for the turn delay. There were many, many changes to the Olympia engine which needed smoothing. *************************************************************** * * * Huge changes to the timing of Olympia order execution * * * *************************************************************** Some of you have noticed that order synchronization hasn't worked very well when you get down to the day granularity. I have made some significant changes to how orders are processed which will hopefully remedy many of these problems. The easiest way I can explain these changes is with an example: entity 502 pay 502 10 give 502 longsword 1 wait time 0 entity 502 pay 501 5 give 501 rug 1 buy rug 1 The orders used to go like this: 501: pay 502 10 501: give 502 longsword 1 501: wait time 0 502: pay 501 5 502: give 501 rug 1 502: buy rug 1 Now they goes like: 501: pay 502 10 502: pay 501 5 501: give 502 longsword 1 502: give 501 rug 1 501: wait time 0 502: buy rug 1 Orders which take longer than zero time are begun in the morning and end in the evening. All zero time orders are finished in the morning. MOVE orders now spend the first day in preparation for movement, then the rest of the time in transit. 1: move 1001 Journey will take 11 days. 11: Arrival at Pactra. Note that this unit is available for interaction until it leaves the evening of day 1. What this means is that zero time commands will work for units which are leaving the province on the same day. So you can do this: entity a pay b 10 stack b entity b move 1001 entity c pay b 15 stack b and it will work. There are still cases where synchronization is necessary among zero time commands, but clever players will do this by occupying order slots with "wait time 0". * * * Steve Chapin's combat changes are in. Capturing of prisoners should now work. There is now an EXECUTE order, which should be fairly self-explanatory. Send combat comments to sjc@cs.purdue.edu, and please Cc: olympia@rt.com. * * * Shipbuilding [107], Construction [108] and Mining [114] have been implemented. Note that the usage of [107] has changed. See the lore sheets for details. The FORTIFY command is gone. Fortification is accomplished with a construction skill use. New wait option: wait UNTIL <day> Wait until the specified day of the month. I added SET 0 DISPLAY "message" on an experimental basis. You can provide a short message (50 characters or less) to describe something about your unit: set 0 display "carrying a gold standard" Osswid [501], player character, lightly armed, carrying a gold standard * * * My faction trees idea has been stomped in rec.games.pbm. The consensus seems to be that Olympia is balanced without them, and they would create unpleasant busywork for the players. Thanks to Chuk Craig for dealing it several fatal last blows with his detailed analysis of the unwanted strategic consequences which they would cause. * * * Here is an up-to-date skill list, with answers to the oft-asked question "Which skills work?": Number Skill Initial Per-day Working? USE? ------ ----- ------- ------- -------- --- 101 Military leadership 60 2 Yes No 102 Combat 50 2 Yes No 103 Archery 50 2 Yes No 105 Stealth 100 5 Yes Not yet 106 Magical research 500 10 Sort of Yes 107 Shipbuilding 50 2 Yes Yes 108 Construction 50 2 Yes Yes 109 Forestry 50 2 ? Yes 110 Equestrian 50 2 Yes Yes 111 Trade 50 2 Well... No 112 Observation 50 3 Yes Not yet 113 Entertainment 25 2 Yes Yes 114 Mining 25 2 Yes Yes 117 Weaponsmithing 25 2 No 125 Lore research 25 2 Yes Yes 126 Teaching 25 2 Yes Yes Certain to be added: Armorsmithing, Gatecraft. Trade, Entertainment, Lore research, Equestrian and Magical research are likely to be changed at some point. Trade is a real turkey right now, along with the rest of the market system; expect big changes there. Other skills, such as Entertainment, may only be tuned or spruced up. I don't know what forestry does at the moment. It is likely to be changed in some significant way, but not in the near future. Observation and stealth are used to evaluate various situations in the game, but they haven't picked up their USE options yet. * * * Maintenance costs have been revised (upward, mostly :-) this turn. Here is the new rules section for them: Maintenance Costs ----------------- Each months every unit (except player characters) is assessed a maintenance cost. This amount will be deducted from the unit's inventory. The funds go to provide upkeep for the unit, including food, miscellaneous items, and the unit's "wages". If maintenance costs are not paid, the unit's loyalty will drop. Units with sufficiently low loyalty may desert, or switch to another player's faction, given incentive. Maintenance costs rise as the skills and power of the unit increase. A highly skilled trader who earns thousands of gold pieces each turn for his master will demand more pay than an unskilled menial laborer. Maintenance costs also rise with the size of the faction, reflecting the extra bureaucracy necessary to coordinate many men and units. Maintenance costs for new units with a few members and low skill levels should be around 40-100 gold. The reports of third party movement from province to province has been made a bit more wordy. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Finally, an easy riddle," states Gertan as he grabs a copy of the times, turns to the riddle section and studies the riddle. "All the king has to do is have each slave make a different number of gold bars, weigh them all at once and if the scale says that the weight is x/100th short, the slave that made x bars should be beheaded!" "Speaking of gold, I am wondering where I can get some..." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= I have some painful news to relay to you. Dr. Pain, our favorite funny guy, is uncontent to rest on his laurels. While everyone agrees that he is a bad dude who has amassed lots of wealth through his successful business activities, he doesn't feel this is enough. Therefore he has set out to organize an alliance of players that will: o Attack *everyone* not in the alliance o Control all guild towers in the New World Now, you may ask, how is it possible for Dr. Pain to be so effective when he controls only about 1/5 of the wealth in the New World? This author has no answer. However, he is willing to provide clues for those interested in adjusting Dr. Pain's attitude. First clue: If you take the list of players in Chardia at the start of turn 18, when Dr. Pain began his rampage, and delete those players Pain attacked, you are left with the players who might be cooperating with Dr. Pain. The list: players 808, 823, and 830. Second clue: Dr. Pain attacked guild towers on turn 17 so he may have accidentally killed some of his helpers. Player 801 falls into this category. When reincarnated in Pesbrand he immediately left and went back to Chardia. His alliance to Dr. Pain is mentioned in an article by Dr. Pain himself in v3n5 of the Times. Third clue: Cohort Mirhys went to Chardia and attacked the guilds, killing at least one of Dr. Pain's friends (player 830). I think Cohort Mirhys were good guys. Fourth clue: Player 823, one of Dr. Pain's friends, and his force of 10 men killed Cohort Mirhys on the next turn, along with 2 other players -- part of Dr. Pain's plan of attacking everyone not allied with him. Summary? Dr. Pain is being aided by at least players 801, 808, 823, and 853 (the reincarnated 830). He plans on killing you all. He is not content with you keeping your gold unless you play by his rules. The conclusions are yours, my friends. I have been writing all new players advocating that they raise and stack with combat forces. The RECRUIT order will generally raise 3-5 men per week. We are many and he is few. I would also encourage all players in the New World to share information about the whereabouts of Dr. Pain's allies. I encourage all players north of Summerbridge to NOT give out their exploration information -- Dr. Pain has a map of the entire south, and if he has a map of the north he will easily be able to invade it once Summerbridge is passable again. Don't cut your own throats. Remember: the lame in pain is mainly on the brain. -- Oleg the Loudmouth [810] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Rocko relaxed in the Cave of Sythnar and sipped his morning brew, something made of steamed bark and honey that one of his Rowdies had brought him. Not bad, but not as good as the fine coffee he'd grown used to in the Tower of Darkness. He scanned the Olympia Times, and began to chuckle. "Now that Sherriff Pelenth of Drassa has fled the land..." he read. "Fled indeed," he chuckled. "Ask Zyzak if I've fled. The fools never will appreciate me, but that's to be expected. These johnny-come-latelies weren't around when I became sheriff; they don't remember my victory over the wolves." He turned back to the times for more entertainment. "Zyzak [513] continues his murderous rampage, slaughtering innocent travellers for fun or money. The carnage in Chardia continues with Cohort Mirhys [1319] and Dr Pain [814] massacring travellers, citizens and bystanders indiscriminately." "Aye, Zyzak still prowls the lands. Two of those murdered were my own men, but I suppose those whimpering panty-waists who cower in Drassa and throw their temper tantrums don't know that. Or that in the last two months I've cut the effectiveness of his faction in half. Ha! They wouldn't believe it if they did. They choose to bury their heads and scream 'Tyrant.' Let them; I didn't take this job to be popular. Now, Dr. Pain is far away, and I can't chase more than one rabbit at a time, but his time will come, if he casts his eye towards lands under my protection." Another line caught his eye: "citizens of Drassa and it's surrounding protectorate would be seriously at risk unless they have a Sherriff that ALL have faith in, and are willing to support. i.e. a Sherriff elected by the popular vote !!" He snorted. "Blimey! What do they think I am? The nerve of some people; I created the damned office, got elected BY POPULAR VOTE, and still these whimpering dolts complain. If they had half a clue about what they spoke, I would take them seriously; and if there were another candidate half as qualified as I, I'd be glad to turn the job over. Hold your election; just be sure to put me on the ballot, and remember all the good I've done for the people: I killed the wolves in Drassa, the orcs in Pactra, and apprehended Murphy and Gorbachev, lawbreakers both. The one blot on my record is Zyzak, and I'm working to correct that one. What *do* they want?" He sighed, and began to buckle on his plate armor. "Saddle up!" he called to his Rowdies. "Let's go kill a troll for practice, and then we'll see where friend Zyzak has hidden himself." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CHAOS SPEAKS YES! Yes, my children. Slaughter the weak. Pillage the meek. Aye, trolls and goblins pose problems, but tender newcomers and beginners, with but bare and tender pink flesh to defend themselves, are much better prey. Each is wealthy beyond dreams, with thousands of gold each. All ye have to do is but prick them with thy sword, and the shiny money comes pouring out. Easy game, easy money. Who needs monsters to kill when such prime victims are such easy and profitable targets? Like shooting ducks in a barrel...HA HA HA! Come! join thy fellow demons in this frolic! There is no danger! The only price is thy soul.... HA HA HA! HA HA, HA HA HA! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA! HAHA, HA HAHAHA! HA HA! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ENEMIES OF THE FORCES OF LAW (v. 1) Beware these killers. A threat to society they are. Watch thy backs. The peaceful people of this world must unite if we are to survive. Number of Last place Name innocents slaughtered of massacre ============================================================================== The Black Company [1301] 15 Chardia [354] (aka. Castle Guard) Cohort Mirhys [1319] 4 Chardia [354] (killed by John Smith) Dr. Pain [814] 1 Chardia [354] Zyzak [513] at least 9 Nallos [212] A WORD OF CAUTION: There are others among thee who have also killed. These are but known criminals. A WORD TO THE UNDERWORLD: Is this all that thou canst do? Surely more among thee can do better, and make thyselves known on this glorious list. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= What good are Dragon Teeth? Anyone care to buy a set? If so, place an advertisement with your name in the Times, and I'll get back to you. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ANNOUNCING! ANNOUNCING! ANOUNCING! ANOUNCING! ANOUNCING! ANOUNCING! When it positively has to be there in a month. Do you find that you need to deliver money or commodities between different factions considerable distances apart? And you can't spare the time and manpower to deliver the products personally? When you can't guarentee the safety of the merchandise in the rough and tumble world out there? Starlight Courier services is at your disposal! For a mere 10 coins a day plus 5% surcharge based on the value of the item.(Minimum charge of 200 per delivery) we will deliver anywhere in the known world! We have agents in both the old and new continents! We supply the boats, horses, and oxen! If it takes us more than 3 turns to get it to your destination, you get your money back! All items are fully insured! Send mail to 572@olympia.rt.com for more information! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= After three hard years of study He was close to finishing His studies only the highest secrets of the art eluded Him now. Opening the window of his Study (the largest in Magicians tower) to admit the freazing blast of winter He realised that the guild would soon be holding new elections. After the lack of effort made by the GuildMaster to right the wrongs done to the members in Chardia the election should not be a draw this time, still it pays to maintain a good standing with the other guild members, so He was going to have to work a little extra hard on His lectures over the next couple of months. Once He had finished mastering the arts, what then? Well, perhaps a nice little castle in the north, away from the hussle and bussle of all the people in Drassa, that remained to be seen however. Preparing for that day He called the head of His hauling company to him, and instructed that worthy indervidual to begin studies forthwith at the Drassan Academy of Construction and Naval Engineering. Lounging back in His chair He called the Ghost of Murphy to him for another game of soul-chess... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Laughing Jack looked up from the scroll he had been copying as a page entered with a missive from the Synthesizers. Laughing Jack opened the note with great glee followed closely by a sigh of relief: the guild report would not be as thread bare as he had first imagined. Without the input from the majority of the membership, publishing an up-todate comprehensive market report was becoming a burdensome task. Thank goodness for the earlier note from Faith Fortune. With his input, the Synthesizers', and LJ's own, at least a good number of the market reports were updated. As he dispatched guild reports to all members, he pondered on means and incentives to convince the rest of the membership to submit their market reports for the common good of the membership. He has yet to come up with a good solution. Ah well, time to consider this in more detail later. On to the business at hand, time to interview candidates for an apprenticeship to the guild. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The mage looks at the men he has just hired and addresses them, "I am impressed with your loyalty to me thus far. I am at a loss as to why you have followed me from Drassa; however, I am just as happy at your presence here. You have much work ahead of you to become a minstrel troop of note, but my confidence in you abounds." The leader of troop approached his lord, "M'lord, we but followed your lead as good and loyal servants should. [translate - stupid me forgot to unstack]" "Oh well, if such is the case, then so be it; I'll not gainsay you. To work. Let the jugglers practice their antics and the thesbian practice their dramatic presentations. I'd like to schedule a performance at the end this month or the beginning of next. Good luck, my friends." The troop pitched their tents and began to perform as per their lord's instructions. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Dang, it's a fine thing when I need to tag after LJ bringing him his frigging quill and ink. I guess his position has gone so far to his head that he'll be need'n a spankin new head of the floppy, oversized variety. Well, could be this trip ain't a total waste. Look like there's some fine business going on in Rimmon, and street busker could make some easy cash perform'n on the corners of the major thoroughfare. Heck, it's also got the added advantage of a reasonably well off friend in residence with a place for me to crash gratis, and probably even bum a few meals. This is sounding a whole lot better all the time. Maybe I'll hang around here for a bit. Can't stay long though, Erekosse promised to set me up with a horse next time we connect. Hmm, maybe LJ knows where Erekosse is currently located, and maybe I'll just dump a private note to m'lord in LJ's stack of outgoing mail. He'll never notice one more note going to the messenger's guild. Erik, old boy, looks like you landed in the cream. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Now the carnage has spread to Camaris as well. Is it only a matter of time before fair Caburh is engulfed as well? This 'John Smith' should be made to answer if her is merely a wanton killer or one of Pain's bootlicking lackeys. Ouslander and Ashley Lotta, you shall be avenged! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Yes, you too can have your unskilled units learn combat at faster rates and save money on the training costs! Send those grunts up to the Brothers Hecatoncheires Combat School, currently located in pleasant East Urvil. Results guaranteed, and in one-fifth the time required for arduous self-training! Ask about our low low rates and large group specials! (Coming soon... Brothers Hecatoncheires Beauty Academy Brothers Hecatoncheires Business School) -The Brothers Hecatoncheires =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Hide the whoopie cushions and watch your barn animals, folks, because the Merry Pranksters are coming to Pesbrand and you just know somebody's going to get a cream pie in the face. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= (Number Six awakes to find himself in strange new surroundings.) "Where am I?" "In the Village." "Whose side are you on?" "That would be telling. We want information... information... infromation." "You won't get it!" "We will, by hook or by crook." "Who are you?" "The new Number Two." "Who is Number One?" "You are Number Six." "I am not a number, I am a free man!" "AHAHAHAHAHA!" (At this point, Number Six figures it's time to blow this taco stand.) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Rocko basked in the sunlight. It would soon be turning chill again, and he wanted to take advantage of his lounging time before winter came and the seasonal killing began. Nearby, Rocko's Rowdies practiced their swordplay, and the occasional bit of archery. A sudden hue rose from their midst, and one of them ran to Rocko, carrying the body of a pigeon, pierced through with an arrow and with a note on its leg. "A lucky shot, my liege!" he said. "Dinner?" Rocko snorted and grabbed the note. Now he was going to have to replace a pigeon for...Gabriel, the note was signed. A troll in Tollus. Rocko snorted again. "I'm not blind, ya know. I'm *in* Tollus!" Which must mean that Gabriel had a man in Port Aurnos, by way of ship. Interesting. He recruited a man, dubbed him Rocko's Runner, and sent him on his way to Drassa with a return note. "GS: See him. Will teach slimy Trolls a lesson. RttZ, RSoD, PoHaP. P.S. Zyzak too." That done, he turned and mounted to lead the charge against the troll. 20-to-1 odds. It was a beautiful day. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A homing pigeon flaps its way into Drassa, its wings flapping tiredly over the Gulf of Drassa. It lands in the porthole of a ship under construction, and hops over to the food bin. The bird handler, seeing the new arrival, hobbles over to the bird and removes the message from its leg. He reads the message, and wobbles out the door, yelling for his master. Gabriel Synthon, preparing for yet another ship transfer, reads the message distractedly, then again with a look of fear in his eyes. "A TROLL!? In Tollus?! We better contact Rocko about this." Gabriel and the bird handler quickly bustle back to the bird room, and compose a short message to Rocko. 'Rocko: troll between Tollus and Port Aurnos. Can you take care of it? Gabriel'. Soon, the sound of flapping wings is heard over Drassa. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Greetings, Fellow Drassan Folk. In the last issue of the Olympia Times, a message was sent out, a request for a MAYOR of Drassa, or perhaps of Drassa and a small area surrounding Drassa. I feel willing to take this task upon my shoulders. I currently control a very strong combat force to deal with any intruders to the realm, such as trolls, orcs, crazy Player Characters, and Big Nasty Things With Fangs That Sleep In Small Caves (Which Causes Them To Have A Bad Attitude) (i.e. my next door neighbor). I expect no personal gain for this, and, in cases where I feel I have insufficient forces to deal with a problem, am willing to hire units to assist myself from other factions, and pay these units a share of any gains from the encounter. In return, I expect to have no player units attacking other player units, including persuasion, terrorism, and out-and-out attacks. I don't intend to be a 'power-hungry fascist' as Rocko 'The Truth' Zigarelli is accused of being. I admit to counting Rocko as a friend, but I hope that will not cloud your minds against me. I will deal fairly with any unit within my sphere of control. Should you have any questions, please contact me through my homing pigeons, which can be found near wbfst1@gl.pitt.edu. Thank You Gabriel Synthon [521] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ] Dear Sir: During the past few months, I have spent moseying around this fine world, I have read and seen much of this Drassan Liberation Organization. Who are they? What do they stand for? It seems they prefer to stomp on the reputation of anyone who seems to be in a better position than they. For instance, Rocko 'the truth' Zigarelli. While he was the Sheriff of Drassa and the surrounding areas, he removed a pack of wolves that had already killed one person, and was probably about to go on a killing rampage throughout Drassa. Since The Great Battle of the Wolves, he removed a horde of orcs that was threatening Pactra, along with other deeds I'm sure I haven't heard of. And now, I see a sign in Drassa railing upon the Mages as enslavers of people. I quote: "Slay the MAGES before they enslave you all ! (DLO)" I ask the poster of this sign to come forward and declare who they are, or at least, what goals they stand for. If they wish to remain anonymous, so be it, submit an article to the Times, you will get paid 25 gold to air your views, how can you resist? Should the person or persons responsible for these signs refuse to come forward and state their views reasonably and with adequate proof, I submit that the DLO is a poor excuse for an Organization, run by crankpots with nothing better to do than rabblerouse for no good reason. Many Thanks, Alan Mooresson [99999] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Riddlecorner! ================= The answer to last weeks riddle, about the slaves in the mine that were melting gold bars for the dwarven king is as follows: Give every slave a number from one to hundred and then tell him to make as many gold bars. (Slave No.1 makes one gold bar, No.2 two gold bars etc.) Multiply the total amount of gold bars by the weight of a gold bar. Then put all the bars on the weighing device. If slave 1 was the traitor, only 1/100 of the weight of a gold bar will be missing, if slave 2 was the one, 2/100 of the weight of a gold bar will be missing etc. Happy decapitating!! This weeks riddle is this: What is it you have to answer? But to answer you have to ask? And to ask you have to speak? And to speak you have to know, The answer. The answer in the next edition of the glorious, free ditributed OLYMPIA TIMES! =>The riddler =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Death and despair abound People search for the easy gold The liquid assets of a fellow man Are fair game for the guick And the cunning scheme for gain Jackels stalk through Chardia The innocent are quickly warned Perhaps drawn into the bloody game Fear comes to them, swiftly Preparation and paranoia walk together A waste of lives, a waste of talents The game is worth the playing In hopes of a brighter future But the present is bleak as, The body count grows lack of present goals =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= To all Caburhites, It seems that few people are interested in forming a defensive laager in Caburh. I am still interested but might have to leave town. Thus, anyone who has stacked with me will be notified and/or unstacked but I will not make any promises to players who aren't with me at the begining of the month. Greenbeard the Dwarf [1380] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Rubbish, utter rubbish! Olympia needs a streetsweeper's guild to clear away the patently false signs that are sprouting around here. Messengers have brought word that someone in Caburh claims that a Rolondo the Fierce is a killer. I should ignore this as the garbage it is, but, even if it is another being of the same name, it still besmirches my name. You all have the same source of info as myself. Check your Times; my name has never been connected in any way with thieves, killers or thugs! I am nothing but a trader and merchant. And finally, whomever posted this poor excuse for a joke assumes that everyone in Caburh is an idiot. They say that the reward is offered by the Sheriff, but we all know that no one occupies this post at the present time. Rolondo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Chronicles of Pain Part IV The One Who Waits sat restlessly on his cold throne in the Far North of the world. Here winter was come early, and on the mountains outside his tower he could see the snows beginning to gather that would soon cut him off from common travellers. He absent-mindedly caressed the crystal ball that allowed him to view the happenings in distant provinces, and he chuckled again at how easily he hid this artifact from those who thought themselves powerful. His spy in the Council of Five had assured him that they were completely ignorant of his presence. But now he turned his attentions elsewhere. His Dread Army was sailing soon from the New Lands, powerful with barbarian warriors and the new Dark Magicians. It would not do to have them met on the open seas, for there his power was weakest. He needed an isolated spot to land his Army, where they could begin their conquest of the Old Lands. To One Who Waits peered into his crystal ball, where he saw a fair port city, bustling, but without awareness of the coming doom. No guards patrolled the streets, and the castle that overlooked the port stood empty. The One Who Waits rubbed his crystal ball with glee. He made a slight motion of his hand, and raised up a monster upon the road into the city. With a thin smile he watch as the first merchants were devoured by the troll, and the others ran screaming back to the city. Now the city would be undefended when his Army landed... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= THE BLACK CASTLE NEWS "All the news we're permitted to publish." MANDRAKE [830] REVENGED (Camaris) -- Earlier this month in Camaris, John Smith, commanding a mixed force of infantry, killed the barbarian Cohort Mirhys, who last month wreaked havoc in Chardia. Cohort Mirhys was responsible for the death last month of Dark Prophet vassal Mandrake [830]. Acting on orders from the Dark Prophet, John Smith revenged Mandrake's death by destroying Cohort Mirhys to the last man. John Smith also executed known dissidents Ouslander [1325] and Ashley Lotta [1335]. Although Ouslander and Lotta were spared during the initial purge of Chardia, subsequent events had indicated that they harbored disloyalties to the Dark Prophet. John Smith is expected to return shortly to the Black Castle in Chardia to receive a personal commendation from the Dark Prophet. NEW DARK NATION COMMANDER WELCOMED (Chardia) -- At a formal induction ceremony conducted in the Petitions Hall at the Black Castle, the Dark Prophet welcomed a new commander to the Dark Nation. The new commander, Daeron Lightslayer [802], heads a strong and well-trained band of mercenaries. Unidentified sources at the Black Castle have reported that Daeron Lightslayer will be rewarded with a province for his service to the Dark Nation. No location was named, but sources close to the Dark Prophet have indicated that the Prophet has had numerous prophetic visions concerning Pesbrand. Also seen at the induction ceremony were Milinkthos [808] and a delegate from Tharkin the Cool [811]. The delegate from Tharkin the Cool met after the ceremony with the Minister of Trade and Information, but declined to comment on what was discussed. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A question for Dr. Pain and others who like him. WHY ? Why do you attack those around you? Can you find no other means of support than to kill those newly arrived on these shores? Do you have desires beyond helping yourself to cash and collecting enemies? You "control" Chardia now, but are rumored to be moving. Is it not a fun town anymore now that no-one is willing to walk in and be slaughtered? Remember control is nothing here, and all free men may choose any title you wish. If you want to rule in this land, you must do more than slay those around you. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Aaron Middleson here again. I desire information that some of you might be willing to give. What is (are) the advantage(s) of joining any of the quilds? One can train in the particular guild skills faster (and slightly cheaper), but is there any further benifit? It would seem that most of the characters would be joining the warriors' or magicians' guild if skills are the only benifit. Those two at provide the most (as far as I can tell) useful skills and the most expensive skills between them. So, all of you guildmembers and, especially, guildmasters, send some thoughts my way (bonar@math.rutgers.edu) about why to join a guild. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The cancer spreads. Chardia's curse is now Camaris's Pain, no doubt caused by the Doctor's ministries. In Pesbrand, a new fiend raises its ugly head, up from the robes of the Avatar. When will the people say "enough!"? How long must we suffer this Pain, with the none-too-Seldom moments of death, of the Smith'ys hammers and swords? The people of the new lands cry out for a savior. Will the Gods of the old world, or at least its meaner inhabitants, offer some kind of solace before this blight, so quickly spread across our lands, is visited on their own? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Roving Reporter's Column ======================== Think Big - Form a Republic ! ============================= My wanderings in many far and exotic places and discussions with those who live in even more starnge and far-away realms, lead me to wonder whether we are actually thinking too small. We have had a Sherriff who abandoned his post and left merely because the pressure of responsibilities became too much for him. We have a petty tyrant who has taken control of Chardia and is running it for his own commercial and private gain (and probably for his fun as well !). And still the slaughter continues around Chardia and Camaris, entrapping and massacring innocent bystanders. I believe that it is time that we elected a protector, or group of protectors, who are empowered to govern all of civilized Olympia, collecting taxes from all citizens and using these taxes to gather, equip and train an independant guard force capable of controlling the ravages of war and greed that continue to sweep over us. Such a force would need to be answerable to the people they protect and must be voted in by the inhabitants of this country. If there are other forces afoot in our nations, we need to be able to present a united front to ward them off ! And I happened to notice mention in the last times of Faeries, Savages, Trolls and the dreaded Sea Kings ! Such forces could sweep us away if we do not band together, form a united front, and elect a President or Guard King to protect us all ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= they say he comes they cry aloud they cringe in fear do you hear footsteps? they scurry about they gather men they look around are you afraid? they sharpen spears they sharpen swords they beat on shields are you prepared? is he here now? does he see you? will you die today? they have no answers (as was sung by Sahn Dree) -- 2654 commands queued for 390 units Up