+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times issue g1-87 | | Februrary 21, 1996 | | | | turn 87 138 players http://www.pbm.com/oly/times/ | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+Questions, comments, to play: info@pbm.com
Olympia PBEM
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Player-contributed press
Heya all, as a new player I just wanted to wish everyone good luck in the game. Shawn - The Tyrellians
-- The Tyrellians [bf6]
Dear Mom, I hope you are reading the newspaper today. Its the only way I know of to write home. Tomorrow we go on our first spider hunt. I guess I am a little bit afraid. You see they taught me this little tune, and they said if I whistle it in the battle, then the spiders will succumb without fighting to the death. But I am not sure I still remember the exact notes to the tune after that long boat ride from Provinia. What If I miss a measure or something. And then there's that other tune they taught me to make the monsters fight for me. I'm afraid they'll attack the captain or something. And then he won't let me sail with him anymore. What if we need a special sword to let us attack the spiders, like you need to attack the Cyclops just outside the Imperial City. What was the name of that sword again? Anyways If we need a special sword or something, then all of our months of preparation will be wasted. The orb will tell us where the special item is, but what if it is on the other side of the map? Oh well, I guess there's nothing more I can do here but practise my tune a few more times, and then get some sleep. By the way you didn't tell me how hard it is to sleep on a rocking boat. Anyways good night. I hope dad's arm is feeling better by now. Whistler
-- The day of Rest [ju3]
---------------------- S. CAMARIS Update ----------------------
Monthly notice: any new visitors to our fair isle should notify us in advance.
-- The Crazy Quilters [vn7]
In response to public demand...
Amra reports on the Chateau!
My birds are oft aloft above the Chateau, & here's what they saw last turn:
10: The bird returns with a report: 10: 10: Mt. Olympus [bx22], mountain, in Provinia, civ-6 10: 10: Province controlled by Chateau Olympique [s85], castle, in Mt. 10: Olympus [bx22] 10: Ruled by Athelfrar [m6g], king 10: 10: Routes leaving Mt. Olympus: 10: North, plain, to Royal hunting plains [bw22], 7 days 10: East, forest, to Emperor's forest [bx23], 8 days 10: South, forest, to Emperor's Gardens [by22], 8 days 10: West, plain, to Royal hunting plains [bx21], 7 days 10: Up, cloud, to Cloud [bn2m], Cloudlands, impassable 10: 10: Inner locations: 10: Lair [ao9s], lair, 1 day, owner: 10: Darkman [m9l], with 13 soldiers, seven archers, 50 pikemen, 10: one riding horse, accompanied by: 10: Savage [hy0p], savage, "player owned and operated", with 10: two riding horses, three dragons 10: Chateau Olympique [s85], castle, defense 40, "with two bloody spots 10: on the walls", owner: 10: Marat [g3y], duke, with 45 peasants, 55 workers, 375 soldiers, 10: 106 pikemen, ten swordsmen, 15 crossbowmen, 56 wild horses, 10: 75 riding horses, four winged horses, one battering ram, 10: 56 catapults, 11 oxen, 19 dragons, accompanied by: 10: Shay Tollin [n3h], 4th black circle, priest, "a fervent 10: Disciple of the Wanderer", with one winged horse 10: Athelfrar [m6g], king, wielding Sword of Pantarastar [bc2m], 10: "who has walked the paths of the Dead", with 18 winged horses, 10: 129 nazgul, three centaurs, three minotaurs, nine giant 10: spiders, 15 rats, 55 giant birds, two giant lizards, 10: two chimera, 116 harpies, 235 dragons, nine orcs, 41 wolves 10: Orpheus [hc0t], with one winged horse, one giant bird, 10: two giant lizards, 30 dragons 10: Master X [bg5a], skeleton, wielding golden javelin [hp7i], 10: "player owned & operated", with 752 crossbowmen, 68 elite 10: archers 10: Undead [bd6f], undead, "player owned and operated", with 10: one warmount 10: Orc [dy9k], orc, with one riding horse, 19 lions 10: Amber [iw7e], with 27 dragons 10: Snowdrop [w9n], with 42 dragons 10: Carcerce [g4s], with one winged horse, 38 dragons 10: Soriyli [h9m], with one winged horse, 27 dragons 10: Tiara [t4p], with one winged horse, 21 dragons 10: Ikving [r3l], with one winged horse, 27 dragons 10: Decessim [w2f], with four winged horses, 35 dragons ooooh! 10: Pathemes [p4x], with one winged horse, 30 dragons 10: Wenditel [c2r], with one winged horse, 27 dragons 10: Undead [ge8j], savage, "player owned & operated", with 10: one riding horse 10: Eyegor [q7f], with two riding horses, 48 dragons 10: Buttercup [hy4c], with two winged horses, nine dragons 10: Melina Blackwood [g6c], "Knight of the New Moon", prisoner 10: Ali Baba [d8c], "Azure, Carpet Rampant Or sur Gules", prisoner 10: Khair ed-Din Barbarossa [k9h], "Sable, Roger Rampant Argent", 10: prisoner 10: Savage [iv5d], savage, prisoner 10: Undead [ek1a], skeleton, "player owned & operated", with 10: three riding horses, two dragons Lookie! 10: Bastrestric ther Archymonaged [x9i], master of the black arts, 10: wielding golden dagger [cj4p] and elven javelin [gs2i], wearing 10: enchanted helm [fm9y], "the Old One", with nine winged horses 10: Forester [y9j], duke, with ten nazgul, 27 dragons 10: Alfred [z3k] 10: Watashi [ee2t], savage, accompanied by: 10: Amber [s0s], with one giant lizard, 41 dragons 10: Indigo [s2i], master of the black arts, priest 10: Quincunx [e6x], "The Mighty", with one riding horse, 28 dragons 10: Udder [w8k], with one riding horse, 36 rats, 27 dragons 10: Skeleton [bz0o], skeleton, "player owned & operated", with 10: two elite guard, one riding horse 10: Barbarian [he2i], barbarian, "under player control", with 10: one riding horse 10: Charmen [q5z], duke, 4th black circle, "I'll get you my pretty, 10: and your little dog too!", with two nazgul, one dragon 10: Hotspur [h9t], priest, with three winged horses 10: Sir Patrick of Locklear [n9d], with one winged horse 10: Greater Tower of the Art [q45], tower, defense 20 10: tower of the wheel [w63], tower, defense 20, owner: 10: Sak [k2j] 10: Tumbledown Tower [x26], tower, defense 20, owner: 10: Wisp [o9h], duke, sorcerer, with one riding horse 10: Tower of Power [l72], tower, defense 20 10: Dungeon of Doom [p70], tower, defense 20 10: Lesser Tower of the Art [h35], tower, defense 20 10: Pillar of Fire [x60], tower, defense 15 10: Fate's Rest [k72], inn 10: Temple of the Circle [g87], temple, owner: 10: The Jester [o3t], 5th black circle, priest, with one winged horse 10: Spiffy New Shaft [d48], mine, depth 11 10: 10: It is raining. 10: 10: Seen here: 10: Garrison [ji9q], garrison, on guard, with ten peasants, 10: ten crossbowmen 10: Savage [gn4a], savage, "player owned & operated", with one warmount 10: Bergen [x3w] 10: Orc [fy5p], orc, "player owned and operated", with one riding horse
-- Amra [g1p]
Customer Testamonial on behalf of the First Bank of Provinia
Greetings, Provinians! My name's Jech Ercheflo the Friendly Thin Guy. I'm a Trader. I travel Provinia buying and selling and trading everything from the highest grade avinia leaf to the cheap woven baskets that I buy off of broke lowlifes in Imperial City. Now as you might imagine, with half-breeds like Swishbuckler bending everyone in sight, Provinia is not always as friendly and peaceful as me. So I don't like carrying large amounts of cash on a trade run, if you know what I mean. That's why I bank at First Provinia: low-interest loans, high interest rates, newbie bonuses, warehouse facilities, shipping services... What else could you ask for?
So take it from me, Jech Ercheflo the Friendly Thin Guy, don't wind up lying in the gutters of Imperial City weaving baskets. Give the the First Bank of Provinia a call. You'll be glad you did.
-- Jech Ercheflo the Friendly Thin Guy [h3f]
The question is:
swordsmen or pikemen or crossbowmen, which is better?
After much consideration, & with the help of the mathematically endowed, we've come up with the following conclusions:
If you have only one noble/monster in a location, then swordsmen are a better buy.
If you have two nobles/monsters available, then it makes more sense to have pikemen in the front & crossbowmen in the back. Crossbowmen are just soo cheap & strong for their cost that they're the best bargain around. This is true both in the open & in a castle/galley, etc.
Additionally, this assumes that supplies are equal, which they are clearly not. Mining metal, which I thought would be really cool, in fact bites. It takes a long time, lots of workers, it produces very little iron, & the workers keep getting blown up.
Considering all this, I think it fairly clear why we do not see very many swordsmen around Olympia. Alas, the iron age wasn't what it could be in this fair place.
Although the real answer to your question is that animals are better. For as Conan learned, flesh in fact is stronger than steal.
-- General Norc [z1a]
Rumors
Why does the "Clan with No Name" have no name?
And yet another reign of mercy
So, if *everyone* knows about the AOO passing characters as they drop, then it cannot be cheating. Right?
I *HATE* to get Aura Blasted when I'm wearing my polyester undies!!!
The day of Rest [ju3] Asked: > How many Nobles does it take to turn on a lantern?
Four One to mine the iron that its made of. One to make it. One to recruit the peasant who will light it. One to train that peasant to a worker, so its able to light it.
Someone Else Asked: > What ever happened to the dreaded BtA?
Rumor has it he commited suicide, but the body hasn't been seen by anyone I know.
Someone *Else* Asked: > Can you breed Nazgul and Giant Birds?
Dunno. I've never done it. Currently, none of my research staff that have nazgul also have Giant Birds, and vice versa.
And Still Someone Else pointed out: > Methinks the Answer Guy can't read...or chose not to read...... > I believe the question was Are pikemen or "swordsmen" better?.. > NOT pikemen vs. soldiers! Although I thank you for your cost.. > analysis. Perhaps next week you can actually answer the first. > question as it was asked? -- I'm certainly not the Answer Guy.
Oops.
Let's try this again, shall we?
Simple fight, one noble with 100 *swordsmen*, vs. 1 noble with 100 pikemen (both break at 50%). The swordsmen win ~92% of the time. Looks like the swordsmen are better, on a man-for-man basis.
How about in terms of noble-days spent? Let's see, both require that a peasant be recruited, then be trained into a soldier, then trained into the final type, so that's even. The swordsman requires a longsword, and the pikeman requires a pike. Both a sword and a pike reuires a weaponsmith. The sword also needs a unit of iron, while the pike needs a unit of wood.
So it comes down to the difference between a unit of iron, and a unit of wood. Well, if you buy them at a city that sells then, a unit of iron typically costs around 27 or 28 gold, while wood varies beteen 59 and 77, depending on where you find it. So pikes cost half as much gold, if you're paying for the materials. How's that translate to noble-days? Depends on your circumstances. You'll have to figure out how much gold a noble-day is worthto you.
How about if we harvest the iron or wood ourselves? You can pick up 30 wood/month in a forest, given one or more workers. With enough workers, you can do it in a day. Mining iron requires a workable mine and 10 workers, and takes a week. How much it produces depends on your mine. It would appear that iron is more difficult to produce that wood, but again, how much more difficult depends a lot on your circumstances. Once again, you'll have to figure out how much more 1 unit of iron costs you than 1 unit of wood.
It was so much easier when I was deciding between soldiers and pikemen. :)
Here's one last bit of info to help you decide which is better for you. I ran a few simulations, and found that a noble with 100 swordsmen is pretty much equal to a noble with 113 pikemen. So it comes down to this: Is a swordsman more than 13% harder to make than a pikemen for you? If so, stick to pikemen. But if you can make more than 100 swordsmen in the time it takes you to make 113 pikemen, then swordsmen are your best bet.
500 peasants will stomp on the swordsmen, but get beaten by the pikemen, though. It depends a lot on what you're up against.
-- The Answer Guy
_INCH TIME FOOT GEM_
A lord asked Takuan, a Zen teacher, to suggest how he might pass the time. He felt his days very long attending his office and sitting stiffly to re- ceive the homage of others.
Tokuan wrote eight Chinese characters and gave them to the man:
Not twice this day Inch time foot gem.
what is the use of a sacred grove ??????
When one eats the brains of a noble who had skills that cost extra noble points(like Magic), does one get those skills without expending noble points?
Comin' to ya... On a dusty road! Good lovin'... I got a truckload!
-- A Soul Man
More money for not so mundane purposes!
The winds are rising in the East... Bringing with them flights of light air cavalry All Bound for Glory in the coming assaults!
Pride versus penury -- take three
Free, Free, Free I say, I knew the fools would melt!
Aren't you guys getting bored of all this yet?
No, I'm having a great time, how about you?
well.....for all the bluster.... STILL NO WAR!!!
And from this poster... STILL NO ID!!! I'm waiting....me and the dragons...what's the hold up?
I believe the question was Are pikemen or "swordsmen" better?..
And the answer is... What are you doing? Neither cuts wood very well. Troops are like any other unit, somewhat task specific. Against dragons, however, there's no real difference.
The AOO is the strongest aliance in the game. They can only be defeated by an aliance of the rest of us. The time has come to take down the Chataux.
And what are you bringing to this party? 25 peasants?
The Dubious Guy
the seas grow angry without the smell of blood
Now this is kinda' disturbing. I was so pleased to get these rankings, but they're kinda' ominous also.
Characters: 22 12th Men: 1,264 3rd Gold: 69,348 10th Land controlled: 158 14th Skills known: 40/70 35th Spells known: 35/80 22nd Provinces visited: 349/9,995 22nd
The AOO is the strongest aliance in the game. They can only be defeated by an aliance of the rest of us. The time has come to take down the Chataux.
I wander alone, On a brisk winter night. Searching myself, Looking for you. On a wintery night, Searching for you. As the mercury rises, I walk alone.
"what's black and white, but red all over ???? A news paper..........DA.DA." the joker.
Zorak, you idiot! You've mixed incompatible species in the earth terrarium
> well.....for all the bluster.... > STILL NO WAR!!!
well.....for all the rumors.... STILL NO ADDRESS!!!