+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The Olympia Times issue g1-85 | | Februrary 7, 1996 | | | | turn 85 137 players http://www.pbm.com/oly/times/ | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+Questions, comments, to play: info@pbm.com
Olympia PBEM
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Player-contributed press
Does anyone know where we can find a market for oranges?
-- The day of Rest [ju3]
Due to real world concerns, the Merry Pranksters are exiting the game at this point. Here are my final standings:
Faction [qd3] rank ------------- ---- Characters: 6 74th Men: 391 37th Gold: 23,704 28th Land controlled: 22 45th Skills known: 21/70 82nd Spells known: 24/80 43rd Provinces visited: 226/9,995 42nd
Thanks to Rich for a fun game.
-- The Merry Pranksters [qd3]
---------------------- S. CAMARIS Update ----------------------
Monthly notice: any new visitors to our fair isle should notify us in advance.
-- The Crazy Quilters [vn7]
The Bank has a request for the Nobles of Olympia. For the sum of 1,000 gold, the Bank has been authorised to obtain a Scroll or Book of Scrying. If any Noble has such an item to sell please send a message to y6v@g1.pbm.com
-- First Bank of Provinia [y6v]
___ ___ ___ / / ) / ) /___ /___/ /___/ / . _ _ /_ / )_ __ / / _ _ . __ . _ / / / _> / /___/(_>/ //< 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 Special offers for New Olympia Players. 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. o Pawn Broking Service.
Call in at your local branch for further details.
-- First Bank of Provinia [v0z]
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]
To put the lie to the negative press we all have been reading recently in this publication regarding General Norc and The Liberty Confederation, I decided to publish as press how I have been treated. I had to wonder about an offer of a free castle being to good to be true, but I decided that venturing nothing would gain me nothing, so off to Ossicus I went. When I got there, General Norc and those other members of the Liberty Confederation I have dealt with proved to be as good as their word. I now have my first castle courtesy of General Norc and the Liberty Confederation, and it even came with several garrisoned provinces and other improvements. So, to all you new players out there, if you are lucky enough to get an offer from General Norc, rest assured that the he and The Liberty Confederation are what they claim to be. Any rumors to the contrary are just that. The Speardogs
-- Jason [w0t]
Rumors
>Now let's keep things tasteful here shall we? Some of the >stuff targeted to the Clan with No Name in the last few >Times was unnecessarily crude. > > -- General Norc [z1a]
What, could it be? Is General Norc actually concerned about another faction? Or is he just afraid of the Clan with no Name?
So what does a 'Tactical Thermonuclear Crystal Dart' do anyway?
"Has anyone ever tried crossing a peasant with an ox?"
Ummmmm - no. (But apparently someone's _parents_ did....)
Or was it the gentle rain of mercy?
Say .. whatever happened to the Bone[headed] Entente ??
I need to find a noble point mine.
*poof* ...another 25 gold! Soon I'll be rich enough to take on the AOO!
Someone Asked: > Anyone ever wonder what the 100(or more) players > you never see, or hear about, are up to?
They're all sitting in the Imperial City, waiting for the ferry to arrive.
Someone Else Asked: > Are Pikemen or swordsmen better?
Hmmm, analysis time, again (haven't I done something like this before?).
A soldier has 5 attack, and 5 defense. A pikeman has 5 attack, and 30 defense. Advantage pikeman.
In a quick simulation of 5000 battles, 1 noble and 100 pikemen, when faced with 1 noble and 100 soldiers, will win 100% of the time. There's just no contest. Pikemen, man for man, kick soldier's butts.
But then there are other considerations. The most critical resource in doing almost anything is noble-days. You only have so many nobles, and they only have so much time.
It takes two noble-days to make a soldier (one to recruit a peasant, and one to train him into a soldier), and 5 noble-days to make a pikeman (recruit peasant, train to soldier, collect wood for pike, make pike, and train soldier to pikeman).
So it takes (approximately) 2.5 times as long to make a pikeman as it takes to make a soldier. (Approximately, because I haven't considered things like time spent transporting wood/pikes, the time spent rtecruiting and training workers to collect the wood, the fact that you can only recruit 10 peasants per province per month, or any of the studying the noble(s) had to do to be able to do all of this).
In the time it takes one noble to make 40 pikemen, another noble could make (approx) 100 soldiers. So, how do 40 pikemen fare against 100 soldiers? (just to pick some round numbers)
In a quick simulation of 5000 battles, 1 noble and 40 pikemen, when faced with 1 noble and 100 soldiers will win less than 1% of the time (assuming both sides break at 50%).
So, when you consider the costs of the troops, clearly soldiers are better than pikemen.
Yet Someone Else Asked: > Has anyone ever tried crossing a peasant with an ox?
Yes, this just recently happened, right outside my very own castle (Yes, the Answer Guy has a castle, albeit a modest one). A peasant was crossing the road, and slipped in the mud and fell. Before he could get up, an ox, carrying a load of wood, crossed right over him. It wasn't a pretty sight. We are considering building a pedestrian overpass to prevent recurrences.
Rumor has it that in a far-off land known as Russia, there was a ruler whose wife (certainly not a peasant) was fond of attempting to cross herself with a horse. It is not known if there was any issue from such attempts.
-- The Answer Guy
The Dragon Riders mount their steeds An invasion force grows in the east Beware, the time for war has come!
I have travelled for many month, and now am I landed on this magnificent land. Stand back and look, for now am I ready to CONQUER
No matter where you go, there you are! - Disappointed Wanderers
The SwishBuckler's Dead! Long Live The SwishBuckler!
Pride versus penury -- oh well, here it is.
This message is not intended to threaten or imtimidate. You have nothing to fear. All is well. Please proceed about your business without concern. Nothing will happen to you. Trust me.
> Anyone ever wonder what the 100(or more) players > you never see, or hear about, are up to?
They're lurking around a corner in the dark, ready to leap out at you and shout "BOO!"
It's quiet. Too quiet.
-Cliches Are Us
"Whats brown and sounds like a bell??? DUUUNNNGGG" The Joker....
How do you get nazgul? Can you breed them?
"In a mad world, only the mad is sane..."
It seems Olympiads can write decent poems after all.
The Huge noble grins, they though they were clever to breed Chimera wait till they see my Rocs! he thought
In the shadows the Companion, Death, swore over the oath-bound noble, soon his soul will surrender to me he muttered as his victim writhed in agony