+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times issue g1-46 | | May 10, 1995 | | | | turn 46 187 players "Like T'Nyc but it costs money" | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+Questions, comments, to play: info@pbm.com
Olympia PBEM
* * *
The fairies break their dances And leave the printed lawn, And up from India glances, The silver sail of dawn.
The candles burn their sockets, The blinds let through the day, The young man feels his pockets And wonders what's to pay.
-- A.E. Housman
* * *
Note ---- Starting next turn, "idle" turns (turns in which no orders execute) will be charged $0.50.
Notice of rule changes: -----------------------
As of turn 50, the following rule changes will be in effect:
1. The TELL order will go away. It was a late addition to G1 and was a mistake.
2. Speedcast won't reduce a spell's casting time below one day.
3. Speedcast will not work on the Trance spell.
4. Farcast spells which depend on the presence of a target in the destination province will use up the farcast regardless of whether the target is found. This parallels the way speeded casting now works.
5. Magic use of any kind will be banned in the Imperial City safe haven. This parallels the no-building and no-combat ordinances.
6. SEEK will be changed to have a 10% chance of finding a hidden noble per day (note that the week-long success rate is approximately the same as it is now).
The
parameter to SEEK will become optional. SEEK without specifying a target will seek for any hidden nobles. If the target noble is omitted, SEEK will have a 5% chance of finding any hidden nobles present. 7. Magical barriers can't be placed around buildings, only provinces or sublocations.
8. Control units will no longer be exempt from attacks in Hades or Faery.
9. Units which have health "n/a" will require a hit of 50 points or more to kill instead of the current 1 point. This will not affect combat (i.e. attack), but rather TERRORIZE, Aura blasts, Lightning bolts, and other means of directly applying damage to a character.
10. RAZE must be executed by the owner of a structure.
It is hoped that these changes will correct several flaws in the current system and will be a net improvement to long-term stability. Any concerns that your faction will be unfairly penalized by these changes should be presented to oly@pbm.com.
Player-contributed press
Because of fear of unrest and a large influx of immigrants to a continent with low resources, visitors to DRUCARTAN are asked to procure a visa before entering the area.
If you want a visa, please send a message to John Sen[m6f], describing the nobles in the party, the size of the party, and the reason for visiting Drucartan. There is no fee, and requests will only be refused in rare ( i.e. I am bringing 2000 men to kill all nobles ) circumstances.
!!! SPECIAL SPONSOR OFFER !!!!! **************************************************************************** The Sen clan is also offering to sponsor one new clan for settelment in East Drucartan. The clan must be willing to swear to the Sen clan, and be willing to settle in an area far from other factions.
-- The Sen Clan [di4]
advertisementadvertisementadvertisementadvertisement
"A wise man once said: A rat and a dog shall go shopping. And they shall visit:
THE ILLUSTRATED MAN'S IMPERIAL EMPORIUM!
FOR SALE--- wood: 8 gold crossbows: only 10 gold! pikes: only 10 gold! wild horses: 35 gold longbows: 50 gold
Also, send me a message about how much you'd be willing to pay for a magic scroll, and if it looks profitable I'll lay in a stock.
While you're in our store, don't forget to pick up a map! Called "a thing of beauty," and a useful tool, to boot! Order yours today! 75 gold or 15 provinces -- new customers 35 gold or 10 provinces -- repeat customers Both Typvs Orbvm Olympia and Provinia map included! Also please mail your surface address.
The Midnight Carnival ___ ||||| /\ =====---`=== oo oo /\ /\
-- The Midnight Carnival [nx2]
---------------------- S. CAMARIS Update ----------------------
PLEASE coordinate any land-based actions here with us ahead of time. Anyone seeking specific quest-items will be welcome, just announce yourselves ahead of time.
-- Compte du S. Camaris [b4q]
-- The Crazy Quilters [vn7]
This is monthly notice if you wish to visit the environs of Cycarth and Redwine please be courteous enough to let m9l know (you can reach him at heyman@camis.stanford.edu. I do not currently plan to restrict access, but would like to know who is wandering around in my front yard. I would especially like to know if you plan on using any of the natural rsources (peasants, wood, and the like) in the provinces bt25 bt26 bt27 bu25 bu26 bu27 bv25 bv26 bv27 bw25 bw26 and bw27.
-- Darkman [m9l]
Pilgrims Aid Society
Uncle Akmall says, when in combat, have a few troops with each of your nobles to 'catch spears' headed in that noble's direction. This helps prevent the noble from being wounded. Units stacked under a noble only protect him if he is the _Stack_ Leader.
Also, weak units - like peasants - never dilute your strength. Combat doesn't work that way. 100 peasants will beat almost any single creature know to exist. Having large numbers of troops is expensive - but not unwise.
-- Akmall Benhalla [p3p]
Arrr... At last I will have some peace apart from Lews. Get off my ship, ye scurvy dog! And yet, I can't help but miss the old fella. He may not be a crusty sea dog like myself, but he did try. And when he wrapped the halyard about his throat and dumped heself into the sea; why, I've never had a better laugh in all my days of sailing! Arrr...
-- Farseeker [q7b]
My good Lord Amber, as I suspected a rebuttal by me was unnecessary... but please don't fret. The opposition never believed Herr Goebbels either. :-)
P.S. I must agree with the anonymous individual... without you and your ilk the world would be a dull and unexciting place. :-)
-- Taliesin the Merlin [e5s]
I propose a truce: no more out of character attacks! give garrison 10 10
-- Martin [g6i]
MONTHLY NOTICE
The Brotherhood of Ormos claims the city of Avalon [ao0k] and all lands and resources inside the boundary of [bp05]-[bp08]-[br06] -[br09] inclusive, as its sole and lawful demense. Those wishing to visit Ormos are required to request a visa and await clearance before attempting to make landfall. All unauthorized visitors are unwelcome and looked upon with extreme prejudice. Captains needing to make landfall at Avalon for emergency repairs will not be molested, but are still required to contact me for a visa.
-- Pelinore Dragonslayer [p4s]
THIS NOTICE HAS CHANGED!
Visitors are welcome to the area controlled by the Cohorts of Colossus [vo4], as long as they obtain travel permits first. Not all requests will be granted. The affected area includes the land provinces bounded by bx25 and bz27, and the province by24.
To avoid possible misunderstandings, please do not enter this area without a permit, nor collect resources without express permission. No, really, I *mean* it. Honest. I only rarely refuse reasonable requests, and then only because I've already granted my quota.
This policy helps ensure the security of all nobles within these lands. If you are interested in a franchise on collecting resources in one of these provinces, please contact me. I have friendly arrangements with several factions along these lines.
-- Sheriff Pelenth of Gentlewind [f3i]
Journal Entry - Darrius Halfelven Year 6 - Thunder and Rain - day 8
Arrived in Aethelarn on this day. This is my first trip from the Imperial City, and I am finding it most fascinating. The plains around Aethelarn are quite different from the forests surrounding the Imperial City, and the cities reflect the difference. There is no opportunity to study Forestry here, which is why Arlon had us all study it before coming here.
Beastmastery, however, is available, and I expect we will all be learning it before we leave. I shall also be learning Alchemy, as a prelude to my planned studies of magic. I have contacted a teacher of the subject, and shall begin my studies tomorrow.
Day 16
My studies of Alchemy progress in a satisfactory manner, but Arlon now asks that I set it aside to begin stuying Beastmastery. I can see the logic in this, as I can only begin studying it in a few cities, but I can continue my Alchemy studies at a later date, wherever I happen to be.
While I have been studying, Victor and Andre have been busy recruiting two new nobles into House Greyfletch. Farin Cateyes is a small and lean man, with very interesting eyes. The have vertically slit pupils, very similar to those of a cat. He claims tobe of fully human ancestry, but I suspect someve some faerie blood in him. Renelle Darkwood is a woman, and by all appearances fully human. She is very quiet, and seems rather introspective.
Day 30
Have studied Alchemy, Beastmastery, and now Shipcraft this month. Although I enjoy the studying, I can tell that I am learning less and less as I study more and more. Arlon assures me that our transport to Drucartan will arrive during Harvest. He says we should all be able to catch up on our studies on the trip north. It will be good to have fewer unfinished tasks waiting for completion.
Having spent the better part of a month here, I am beginning to like this city. The food is excellent, often spiced with the pepper grown and sold locally. I have also taken the opportunity to buy two new tunics made of the fine linen woven here. It is much less crowded than the Imperial City, yet it is still a busy place. It seems well protected by Ocean Watch castle, ruled by Marquess Hobbes. I have seen no fighting during the three weeks we have been here. Many people go about with few or no troops.
The seaport seems to be thriving, with 3 roundships and 2 gallies currently docked, including the well known Tuna Catboat. There seems to be little evidence of piracy hereabouts.
-- Darrius Halfelven [d5h]
The Healers services will soon be available in Gentlewind. If any nobel is in need of these services please make arrangements. I will be in these environs for a while, at your convinence.
-- Shiver [o0v]
It was almost closing time at the bank. It had been rather a slow day, the usual enquiries from various nobels about the Bank's services, but nothin special. The door opened.
"Irashai", said the manager, getting up from his desk.
"Hello", said the Nobel, "I have a proposition for you."
The manager studied this Nobel carefully. It was not the normal kind of offer. Nor was he the normal kind of Nobel. The tatoos immediately gave his identity. This was the Illustrated Man!
"Please, sit down," said the manager indicating the chair opposite his desk. "Care for a drink?" he asked pulling a bottle of fine Bacor Brandy out of the bottom drawer. This would be an interesting talk.
They talked most of the afternoon. Finally the Illustrated Man said he must leave. Just as he was walking out of the Bank's door he turned and grinned. "By the way," he asked, "do you want to buy a map?"
-- First Bank of Provinia [y6v]
Journal - Thunder and rain, Year 6
I overheard our dear Captain talking about abanding our contentious group and sailing off alone. I'll tell Jearom to be prepared for us to leave at a moments notice.
I hope that this is not true, in many ways dear old Captain Farseeker has been the most interesting thing I have experienced on this voyage. Other than Ilyena, of course.
The Lord of the Morning, The Dragon,
-- Lews Therin Telamon [m3m]
Visit Tangiers! See the northern lights, from the scenic Barbary coast [ap21]. Please note that if you are planning to travel to Northern West Camaris, that there are rumors of war on the eastern coast of West Camaris, so please exercise caution if sailing along that coast. As always, contact me so that I can make your stay comfortable and informative.
-- Tibilt the Bold [e7r]
___ ___ ___ / / ) / ) /___ /___/ /___/ / . _ _ /_ / )_ __ / / _ _ . __ . _ / / / _> / /___/(_>/ //< of / / (_)|// / // (_>The First Bank of Provinia has offices in some of the major cities
on the continent of Provinia. The FBoP offers the following facilities.
o Excellent Interest Rates on Bank Accounts. o A Fast and Efficient Courier Service. o Money Transfers. o Short and Long Term Loans. o Insurance Policies.
As a special offer for new players (Less than 4 turns): open a Trading or Olympia account (minimum 100 gold) and instantly receive an extra 50 gold interest.
Call in at your local branch for further details.
-- First Bank of Provinia [v0z]
Hmm, my post seems to have generated a lot of replies, fortunately of far higher quality than most of the anti-AOO propaganda preceding them. I'll answer some of the points raised here.
First, Tim Whalen aka Dogmatix wrote:
> I am especially peeved about his insistence on using > player names in the Times which has been used repeatedly to try > to create cross-game diplomacy problems for several well-known > players.
This was not my intent. I certainly hold no personal animosity towards you for the destruction of one of my armies; in my opinion, that makes about as much sense as holding a grudge against someone because they took one of your knights in a chess game. On the contrary, you have shown yourself to be by far the most skilled of our opponents, and without skilled opponents the game would be much less interesting. (We will win in the end, I think, but the proof of that pudding is of course in the eating.)
(As an aside, if anyone is taking in-character animosity perhaps a bit too seriously, surely it is the people who use terms like 'scumbags' and 'psychopaths' in their postings? :))
> Russell Wallace is well-known, not for playing games, but for > designing them. Galaxy and Atlantis are both fun, well-designed > games that I have played and enjoyed.
Thank you! :)
> It was surprising to me, > then, that he is such a fatuous jerk of a player in Olympia.
Given that your earlier remark suggested that you dislike 'cross-game diplomacy problems', I am surprised that you start your posting with a personal insult. Normally I wouldn't bother replying to this sort of thing, but as I said, you have shown yourself to be one of the best players around so I will inquire, do you have any actual reasons for this personal animosity? (As opposed to reasons for in-game animosity against my faction, which I will agree you do have.)
> His sour-grapes post about me last turn can be somewhat explained > by understanding some of the blunders he has made so far.
Hmm, analysis of my errors by one of my opponents. This makes interesting reading :)
> First, there is the Dun Solais fiasco. Anybody who would build > a castle in a non-city province is an idiot to begin with. The > income for a city castle at civ-6 is 900 gold and for a non-city > castle only 450 gold. It's possible that some don't realize this > at first...
The reason I didn't realize this at first was that there was nothing in the rulebook that stated it, and at the time I started my castle nobody had yet completed a castle anywhere, so I had no way of knowing it.
> Anyhow, Amber's first major mistake was to spend a > great deal of effort building a castle in [bt22], a province of > little strategic significance.
In my opinion this was the correct thing to do. I will explain why...
One of my reasons for choosing [bt22] was precisely _because_ of its lack of strategic significance. It was obvious from the start that all the cities within a few turns' march of Imperial City would attract players like wasps to a honeypot. A new player in the process of constructing a castle is terribly vulnerable (as your attack on Mount Olympus back in the opening turns of the game demonstrated :)), having no defensive bonus from the part-completed structure, few troops and little money to pay maintenance if he had more, and forced to spend much of his resources on workers instead of soldiers. My priority was to get a castle built, money coming in and an army recruited before anyone got around to attacking me; given that, and given that I didn't want to spend a lot of time trekking to somewhere distant, building a castle in an unimportant province was the sensible thing to do.
> He then managed to have his castle > destroyed. At first it was believed to be caused by a noble who > managed to sneak in and raze it under his nose. His later actions > against me and his mine have led me to conclude that Russell > actually razed his own castle by accident.
This, alas, is correct, I was trying to raze a mine that I'd finished with so that I could start a new one when the collapsed mine disappeared, and I omitted a MOVE OUT:
2: > move u54 2: No visible route from Dun Solais [m50] to u54. 2: > use 9564 2: Must be in a mine to extract gold. 2: > raze 18: Dun Solais [m50] collapses!
> Please see the rule > book section on RAZE and from now on give the structure ID when > you destroy something. ;>)
Right :)
> Now here is the capper: After all > these foibles Amber has begun rebuilding his castle in the same > place!
Hmmm...
Without going into details about my plans, I will say that I do have good reasons for what I am currently doing, which will become apparent in due course :) > Next, let's examine his brilliant attack by Gart on me out west. > ...In his attack he killed a single noble, razed > an inn, tower and mine (he likes razing stuff, apparently) and > lost 40 siege engines and 150 men. None of the other 10 nobles > or the hundreds of troops there were even involved in the combat. > What was his thinking here?
(BTW, it was 20 siege engines and 5 nobles.)
My thinking was simply that I had the ability to destroy everything in the province, and the assets in that province at the start of the turn were worth significantly more than Gart and his army, so even if he then got wiped out, it would be a good trade. The target nobles exploited a design bug in the game and hid by ducking into a sublocation.
Incidentally, I was quite surprised at certain of your actions during those few turns of fighting in Western Provinia, which seem to me to have been serious errors of strategy. I'm looking forward to asking you what your reasoning was, once all this is over.
> Anyhow, this illustrates both his > playing style and his animosity toward me. I had never attacked > him physically or verbally before this bizarre event.
Come now, this is deliberate misinformation; we both know better. I am a member of the AOO, and you made your attitude towards us quite clear when you attacked Chateau Olympique back in the opening turns of the game despite the fact that its owner had never done anything to harm you or your allies. You will probably respond that Marat was defending Bastrestric ther Archymonaged, who _had_ harmed your allies; fine, but by the same token your attack on _my_ allies makes your faction my enemy. You can't have it both ways.
> Finally, his attack on me in last week's Times was utter and com- > plete hogwash. I am not a member of Oleg's or any other alliance.
First, it wasn't an attack, merely a statement of the facts as far as I know them. I don't see how it can be taken as having been an attack, unless one regards an accusation of membership of an anti-AOO alliance as being an insult, which I would hardly have thought you would? :)
Second, your statement that you are not a member of any alliance is untrue unless you take a very narrow definition of the term 'alliance', and restrict it to tightly-knit organizations like the Iron Nation; I made it quite clear that I was using the term more loosely. You certainly have been cooperating with at least some other players for the purpose of furthering military action against AOO members.
> Oleg has nothing to do with the "Council of the Eumenides"
I will quote what I said in my original posting about my reason for using this term:
>> The second group I shall refer to as the 'Council of the Eumenides'. >> This was a nom-de-guerre with which a small number of our enemies >> signed their Times postings earlier in the game; I have no idea whether >> the whole coalition of our enemies currently uses it (how about it, >> Oleg, what would you like your gang to be referred to as? Well, some >> obvious possibilities come to mind but the editor wants to keep this >> publication clean :)) however it will suffice for this article.
If Oleg wants me to call his alliance something else instead, he has merely to inform me what he does want it called :)
> Fortunately a good chunk of his "army" is pushing up daisies in > Western Provinia as you are reading this.
Unfortunately for you, you haven't enough military strength to advance into central Provinia so your victory over our expeditionary force merely restores the status quo ante. Meanwhile, while Provinia is for the moment stalemated, we're cleaning up on other continents. (The reason Oleg owns 100% of the castles on Tollus is that there _is_ only one castle left there, we destroyed the other ones :))
Now I will reply to some comments from members of the Iron Nation:
> After accepting a safe conduct all the nobles of the Iron Nation were > leaving the AOO's area of control as rapidly as possible when they were > attacked by large stacks of AOO forces. When we protested this we were > told that the safe conduct only applied to groups that had already been > looted not to ones that might have something else to steal. (It was > worded more meally mouthed than that of course but that's what it > amounted to).
The way it looked from our point of view was that after the battle, the Iron Nation fragmented, with some of the factions dropping out, some of the factions negotiating an armistice and safe-conduct out of Provinia, and some of them running back and forth through the war zone like headless chickens, dragging large stacks of troops with them and making no attempt to negotiate anything. The factions in the third category, we clobbered. We got told _afterwards_ that the people who negotiated the armistice intended to apply it to the others as well, but they never said so at the time and we had no idea of what the intention of those others was; in particular, we had no idea whether their intent was to start waging guerrilla war against our garrisons. Had we intended treachery, we would have massacred the Iron Nation nobles at Mount Olympus (who were much easier targets) as well as going after the others.
> Amber says that the Iron nation was twenty to thirty factions. > So far as I know this is a gross exaggeration. Amber is probably including > Oleg's (Greg) and Dogmatix's (Tim) groups, who were not even informed, > let alone involved in joint military action.
No, I was specifically treating them separately from the Iron Nation. To the best of my knowledge, the Nation did peak at 20-30 factions, but perhaps that is an overestimate; what's your estimate? Remember that the Nation was acquiring newbie factions at a fairly rapid pace in the turns before the battle, so an estimate from a few turns earlier might be significantly less than the peak figure.
> Having found several appealing locations for castles in the area, > we decided to settle, although this was not our original plan. > The castles at Cyrkarth and Gentlewind are the result of this. The > AOO responded to offers of peace with either truculent silence or > minimal agreement regarding borders between our neighboring realms. > However, one of their members (proclaiming that he was acting > entirely alone; despite a remarkably powerful force...) traveled > into our area and found a group of IN nobles to ambush. The AOO > denied knowledge, denied participation, and several other denials > were issued, many of which have since been shown to be what can > only be called lies. Under direct pressure, they did finally agree > that they would not consider actions against the bandit as anti-AOO > efforts (which to this day I believe was a deceit)..
As a matter of fact it was not. What happened was that Steve Chapin had secretly been planning a surprise attack on the Iron Nation, and carried it out without telling anyone in advance; the rest of us found out about it when it happened, same as the Nation did. It was agreed by everyone concerned (the Nation agreed only with reluctance and later changed their minds, but one can understand their point of view :)) that this would be treated solely as a conflict between Steve and the Nation and the rest of the AOO would not support or defend him, nor would the Nation retaliate against other AOO members. If you think you have proof that anything we said was a lie, I would like to hear it. (Note that the war with the Iron Nation is past history and our current enemies have already made up their minds about us, so I would stand to profit very little by lying here.)
> So, while individuals within the AOO may be fine, many > are unreliable to the point of psychosis.
This is untrue. To the best of my knowledge no AOO member has ever broken an agreement. (As I have said above, the case of the dead Iron Nation nobles who were allegedly leaving their castle to flee Provinia is not a counterexample; an 'agreement' that one side doesn't get told about until after the event is not an agreement, though I'm prepared to believe that it was a genuine case of misunderstanding.)
A number of AOO members have attacked other players, when they saw an opportunity to profit by doing so, and when they had not signed any treaty or nonaggression pact with said other players and were therefore in no way obliged to refrain from such attacks. Note to players new to PBEM: this is something that happens in PBEM strategy games, and this is, among other things, a strategy game. Of course, there are those who prefer to play it at an exploration/roleplaying level, which is fine; such players usually don't get attacked by wargamers, primarily because there is little challenge or profit in attacking small factions (they tend not to have much other than a little gold, and castle owners generally have plenty of gold anyway). As I have said, however, the AOO have for the most part left nonaligned factions alone (and we have _never_ harmed anyone with whom we have negotiated a treaty or nonaggression pact).
-- Amber [s0s]
I am sailing south of Ossicus and would like to trade mapping data info for that area--y3d
-- Bagheera [y3d]
ship for sale once again in the Imperial City.
Three used and slightly damaged galleys for sale one with a ram. price 400 gold, 500 with a ram. Or want to trade? just 50 wood, 50 wood and 5 iron with a ram.
Sailors also avalible contact carioca@io.com for details.
-- Santos Dumont [v0e]
Anyone have any idea how to make some money in this game? It seems like there's too many of us...
-- Sheherezade [p1g]
The Alliance of the New Moon hereby declares its stance in the AOO vs. everyone war as being against the AOO. All AOO aligned factions will be assumed hostile. The AOO is warned -- Stay out of the north.
Hail the Council of the Eumenides! Long Live Dogmatix! Remember Oleg! The Iron Nation will return!
-- the Crimson Sage
-- Seline Fireflower [w0l]
Rumors
7:04- As He made his way through the market place on the way to the temple a man saw Him, and recognizing Him, called out. Dogmatix and his acolytes stopped, and waited for the man to come to them. Soon a crowd had formed, and they began to question Him. One man stood aside from the crowd, but his voice was the most loud as he asked his question. From his raiment and his accent they recognized him as being from Aethelarn, where Dogmatix had traveled years before. "Great teacher," he asked, "if a man does a noble act, then he has done rightly, and deserves praise, does he not?" Hearing this, Dogmatix turned His face to the man and smiled upon him. He laid down His staff and walked through the crowd to the man, who He embraced as if he were His brother, though he was Aethelanian. He turned to the crowd and began to speak, and those in the crowd strained and pressed forward to hear His word. "A man there was in Pactra, who had been a servant in a great house but had been given his freedom. That was years ago, and he had become a man of wealth through the making of bows and pikes. Always he remembered the giving of his freedom, and he made sacrifice to Atnerks in memorial. One day, he was roused from bed by a constable of the great house. He was told to prepare for attack, and was told it was the Emperor's men who would be attacking. Knowing nothing, and recognizing his duty to the great house, he gathered his arms and readied for war.
"This man was skilled at battle, and he was made a leader of mighty forces which were added to those he had brought. The eve of battle there was a meeting of the leaders, and at that meeting the cause of the battle was set forth. It had happened that the Seignor of the great house, when he was young, had coveted a man's goods and slain him for them. When others sought to avenge the man, the Seignor had killed them, as well. Now, many years later, a force larger than any before had come for battle. There was much muttering among the leaders as the meeting ended.
"The man from Pactra found himself in a group with three men, an Aethelanian, a Norgarian, and a Faelgrar. They talked, and the man from Aethelarn said that he was proud to follow the Seignor into battle, because he had always won his battles and winning this one would bring honor to all of them. The man from Norgar said that his loyalty was held by silver, and that he could not despise the money that bought him or the spoils that would be shared with him, but that he did not like the cause for which he fought. His honor, though, demanded that he fight as he said he would. The Faelgrar said that his loyalty was to the alliance of great houses, and that it was a matter of honor to them to defend each other. The Faelgrar said the great houses did not steal and kill, however, and that his honor would be stained if he fought to defend such acts. He had decided, then, that he would not fight for the Seignor in the battle, but would abstain, and fight only to defend himself in this matter. He knew, however, that if he stayed, he would be attacked with the Seignor's army and thus would fight.
"Hearing this, the man from Pactra was sorely troubled, but his unease did not arise from his own conscience, but from hearing the evil spoken by his fellows. His mind was clear, and he left the company of the three men and went to the great tent of the Seignor. There he gazed upon the face of the man who had freed him, and, in compliance with honor, slew him." From Chapter 7, Richard's Gospel, Oly Bible
Exegesis and Ministers' Note:
This chapter is an extremely difficult one from which to give sermon. The message of surpassing morality is a common one in many of the parables told by Dogmatix, but the specific setting of this parable often makes it an uncomfortable one to deliver. Those who may be preaching in areas of unrest should take pains to point out that it does not advocate substituting one's own judgement ("thinking for one's self") in the place of following their liege's instructions. Stress should be placed that it was a high noble, though an emancipated slave, who made this choice, and that only following disclosure of the facts of the situation in a high level meeting. It is most strongly discouraged, in the most absolute sense, to in any way yield to the temptation to speak commendingly of the reasoning or actions of the Aethelanian, Norgarian, or the Faelgrar. Although they display a reflection of honor, they represent cupidity, willful blindness, and rationalization, as well as, and above all, moral cowardice. To treat them approvingly is to subvert the entire theological premise. A safe, better course would be to turn the parable into a metaphor for a home situation, where choosing the right action despite consequence is the end sought above all. This is a parable about recognizing the overarching truth of a situation, and can be applied to a variety of situations.
Notes- The parable of the "Good Pactrian" was so situated because of the distaste many in Urban areas feel for people from Pactria, thus driving the point home. The reference to Aethelanians (which can be excised if preaching in Aethelarn) is made because of their reputation as sticklers and prevaricators, which, like references to Norgar and Faelgrar, is not essential. The Norgarian should _not_ be portrayed as an Inierian, for obvious reasons.... The reference to Dogmatix smiling is the only such reference to such action in the bible, and, given His unique physiognomy, is somewhat unnecessary. It is thought this entered through translation, and it is supected that the 'brotherly embrace' might have actually involved face-licking.
Sounds to me like the Iron Nation screwed up and trusted the inherently untrustworthy AOO.
AAA (Another Anonymous AOO-basher)
All of the world is claimed. If you want permission to travel over it, breathe in it, live in it, explore it, or do anything but die in it, please contact Duke Marat
You have been warned.
Q. How do you stop a Nazgul from ripping off Marat's arms? A. Why would you want to?
Dear Squire,
Still silent again? I expect...so!
--- Doubter
Dragons?!? Where did they find Dragons?? I've been looking for them the whole game!
Here, if anyone is interested to get another idea of where they might stand, are my ranks... I seem to be an average to a little below-average faction: (out of approx 180 factions...)
Characters: 7 59th Men: 57 101st Gold: 645 128th Land controlled: 0 61st Skills known: 13/70 135th Spells known: 4/80 131st Provinces visited: 170/9,995 53rd
Son of Oleg -- ruler of none of the castles on Tollus, because there aren't any. So there.
verse 11 Long roads the Sword of Fury makes Hard walls it builds around the soft The fighter who Townsaver takes Can bid farewell to home and croft. The Complete Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen
Arr! Mining skill be scarce. Be sure ye grab the chance to learn it when ye can!
Beware! The AOO control all of Tollus!
"What has wings, fights at 500/500, breathes fire and is currently being created at 15 a turn by one of a number of factions? The winning answer figures out what soon will be visiting both Dog of my breath and Mr. BtA"
MAFOC
One worker?! I told you to train ten you slob! I spent ten days bossing around that stupid lug, & only got ten trees! I tried kicking & beating him: that was fun, but it didn't get him to work any faster.
Ahhh, to be an aristocrat! Sure hope,
that MAFOC doesn't show up. HA HA HA!
Raising the Dead: A secure career choice; just let someone know you can do it and people appear out of the woodwork, seeking your aid, urgently. Why, one can't even sit down to a quiet cup of coffee....
What's the backlog at the moment? Only four? Why... that's only a couple months work; we may have to start advertising.
* First Flying Ferrous Moribund Medevac *
Get ready for the next MIYUKI-O-RAMA-A-THON, with the "Miyuki in Chains!" theme!
Followed by the First Annual MIYUKI NECROPHILIA FESTIVAL! Free brain-tasting, while supplies last!
Well, well it looks like the AOO is STILL unable to come to grips with the fact that they are the only Olympians who do not see supporting a bandit as supporting banditry. That some AOO members are still pursuing this exercise in illogic in the pages of the Times, despite evidence that not even a controlled orc is dumb enough to believe them, is a vivid testamony to the power of self-delusion. You guys are out of your collective minds if you think anyone is fooled by such spurious reasoning.
No matter. If words won't pursuade you to change the errors of your ways, we know what will! I feel more like a dog everyday. woof! woof!
When I first started playing, I noticed that 1 wood weighs 30, and one pike weighs 5, and I wondered what happened to all the sawdust. Well, now I know. We mold it into parts for catapults! 1 catapult -- made from 3 wood -- weighs 300.
Q: What do you get when you cross Marat with a ratspider? A: A cross little ratspider.
Earn big money in Philosophy. Contact ICS (Imperial City Stoa). Remember: "We're philosophers. We think, therefore we am."
Clifford's City Market Database: 115 city market reports and growing. Send in a city market report not yet in the database and for EACH report, you will receive a report each week on the commodity of your choice. For further info, write to w4t@g1.pbm.com.
Argh! The good captain should have arrived long ago, and yet I still wait on these fair shores with only my pet spiders for company. They're playful enough, but even a beastmaseter likes a bit of human companionship now and again...
> Does anyone know what can be done in a Sacred Grove?
It's a great place to build an Abbey. -Cadfael
REAL ESTATE CLOSEOUT!!! Prime acreage available NOW in Tollus! - low population - well-fertilized fields - large cleared areas ready for settlement - scenic ruins Don't miss this opportunity to stake your claim!
Question - Why is Amber like the diseased offspring of a Ratspider and a Cyclops? Answer - I don't know either. Nasty isn't it.
Do you know a monster that can only be defeated by a weapon you don't have? Or a weapon that defeats a monster you don't have? I have lists of both such things that I'll swap for yours. jeremy@insignia.co.uk
Q: Know how to save Marat from drowning? A: Take your foot off his neck! (You're welcome.)
Instructions to build a Temple: Find Worshipers (Recruit peasants) Instruct Worshipers on stone cutting (Train workers) Find stone (much but not too much) Find a site (near the stone stupid) Build Temple.
Next month find a priest! (Priestesses are more fun!)
Bar Is Fined -Cocktail Leaves Welts
Northmold The owner of a Shadowglades Bar who served customers "the world's most horrible drink" then beat them on the naked backside with a whip, was fined 33 gold by a court yesterday for offending public decency.
The Dutch Goose Inn offered guests an "Ugly Bugly" drink containing peppermint schnapps, lemon kodva, banana liqueur, Blue curacao, salt, Tabasco, a cocktail cherry and a pickled onion. It was topped with a sprinkling of gold glitter.
The customers then received three strokes of a whip, on the ground that they deserved it for drinking such a mixture, the court was told.
The practice began with a customer who had eaten a chocolate- covered smoked herring to win a bet and asked whether the bar could offer an equally awful drink. -OPI
Researching new skills: 0/4 31.6%, 1/4 42.2%, 2/4 21.1%, 3/4 4.7% and 4/4 0.4%. Cheers!
The stoney shores of Tollus are calling. Who stands on Tollus? Will they stand long? No, Tollus shall fall. Count your days. For we are coming to grind your bones to make flour for our bread.
The Warband Quest
Everywhere there seems to be war! What a depressing thought. I was hoping to settle down and build a nice quiet castle, but all of the continents seem to be embroiled in wars. The AOO seems to be everywhere! Maybe I can find a nice hidden island to build my castle.
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Why does it seem that no fleets have been built to rule the sea? Answer --> Piracey Rules !!!
All these posts for and against the AOO certainly do make for entertaining reading.
How dangerous are lions? Could a noble with 2 or 3 pikemen take some on?
Maxx Peril - Third Eye in the case of the missing lawers.
A most interesting noble woman had appeared in my office.
Are you Maxx Peril ?? That depends on what you want. I need some friends found. Then for a price Im Maxx Peril. Money is of small concern to me. Then I am definitely Maxx Peril. Who needs to be found? Miss? My name is Penny Bier and I would like you to find the goblins. Never heard of them. Thats my problem. When I left they were as loved as the orcs. Every three year old had been scared by their parents telling them what the goblins would do if they didnt behave. Lady, Ive lived in IC for 37 years and my parents tried Everything to get me to behave and this is still the first time I have heard of these goblins. But if you want to pay Ill be happy to look for them. What should I be looking for. They generally have pale green skin with a very liberal number of warts. Most often they are about a meter tall. They have one line of coarse black hair running from their forehead to the small of their back. Their arms reach to their knees and have visible canine teeth. No wonder they are as well loved as the orcs. They seem just as pretty. But let me get this right. You have misplaced a race? Yes. They are an semi-intelligent race. May I ask, why you want them found ? We traded some items. The trade was supposed to be temporary and I now want back what I loaned them. I havent seen them for a very long time. What I borrowed from them I needed so I could travel to some far lands. So I havnt been in Imperial City for years. As to where to look. I cant help you much. I remember them being about everywhere. Well Miss Bier. I will start as soon as I can. Where can I contact you if I find anything. Im traveling locally for now. Ill be back in IC in a week. Ill stop by then. Here, this should be enought to get you started.
With that she dropped a bag on my desk. It made that oh so distracting sound of gold coins clinking. When I looked up from the bag she was gone.
Why Go To Hades? - Try It You May Find Out!!
A new cult? Several observers claim that Miyuki has risen from the grave! Foresters in Provinia claim they saw her four days ago. Sailors arriving in Imperial city do likewise. Even in the Drucartan area peasants claims to have seen her. Rumors tell She will come to save the people.
The AOO have pulled off some stunts, Now their fighting a war on all fronts, In Provinia and Tollus, And they'er winning, they tell us, But you don't need a spy to tell how they lie, But you must hand it, to those supporters of bandits, They certainly know how to die.
Limescale Crapword, philosopher poet
The land in the southern Unexplored Regions has not had much press. Are travelers and settlers still welcome there? From what we have heard so far, that seems like one of the few regions that is still open to settlement.
Hacking his way through the jungle, his eyes widened in amazement as he realized that the dim shapes on either side of him were vine covered buidings. He was in the middle of an abandoned city.
Whatever anyone of you thinks, the object of Olympia is to win (eliminate all competitors) at all cost. Eventually you will all fall, that is just the way of the world. Oleg 1st, the puppy next.
Is there a neutral faction in Olympia? Or is everyone pledged to be either pro-AOO or anti-AOO? -The Swiss
With Theodore Roosevelt and John Milton on our side, how can we fail ? -- Ancient and Honorable Order of Olympians [a0o]
............... Olympian Order of Miyuki Fans (OOMF) ................ News
*** Miyuki has died - NOT! ***
"Odd, I don't feel dead... a little hung over maybe." purred the luscious Miyuki in an exclusive interview yesterday with OOMF investigator Randy Pants.
Mr. Pants was invited to Miyuki's opulent mountain party palace (where every day is Miyuki-o-rama-thon day!) to dispel the report of her demise in last weeks Times.
"Do people really think I'd let myself get off'd by some little faery named Puck? Its probably just those naughty Times boys playing pranks again. They really deserve a good spanking."
Others speculate that the Miyuki mentioned in the Times was perhaps Miyuki Rabinowitz, or maybe Miyuki Shimlczewski, but certainly not THE Miyuki O'Brien.
Further proof that it was some other Miyuki can be seen from the unit number that was given. The 'real' Miyuki's unit number is 4q2.
By the way, the 'Zarra' that was listed in last week's post is really Zara Whites, star of Andrew Blakes erotic masterwork House of Dreams. Ooh baby, would I love to stack under her!
So don't worry fans; the one, the only, the 'real' Miyuki is still alive and well, breathing heavily and moaning softly here on good old Terra Olympia.
Until next month, Hiram Schtoonk