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Fellowship of the Ring Empire Thread
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Wow, Solitair is really cutting through the red tide with his little Maso dagger. 
         
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Anyone who feel they can go make a nice recruitment pitch for the Fellowship over at the "Pitching for New Recruits" thread, pls feel free to do so.
Else I will go in later to make my usual bland statements about what we stand for. You know the stuff about serving the community, strategy discussions, role-playing and friendly meta competition. 
Do you have a recruitment song in you, Downie? 
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Solitair deserves it with winning seven or so maso games in the last week. If he keeps it up, he will climb to #2 or #3 on the big board. Congrats if you read this Solitair.
I am having lots of fun trying to just change one variable each game. Lately it has been changing habitable planet quality. I used to always play abundant but am trying to gradually decrease habitable planets and every few turns enlarge the map. My machine is slower than I like between turns with big maps and lots of ships so I may stop at large. Has anyone noticed if a machine is faster (less calculations???) playing on rare or uncommon planets?
Although a little more difficult, it is fun playing with the AI all evil because you always get to use terror stars.  .
Congrats FOTR for first place in empires and to Ray for being the number one player. Later . . .
Rick
    
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You are doing fantastically well on the rankings yourself, Rick. I'm sure you will be staying in the Top5 for quite a while.
Don't think planets affect game speed directly. It's those trade freighters and other ships that are usually slowing things down. Although more colonised planets usually equate to more ship production (esp from AI).
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I'd just like to take a moment and congratulate everyone for all their contributions. I don't know about the rest of you, but this thread has some of the most interesting and fun conversations that can be found! Our role playing and story telling is second to none (well, those in the Posse are right up there! ). Our members constantly patrol the strategy forums, helping everyone that we can. We also try to be supportive of the newbies and encourage all to enjoy empiring. I have found it refreshing to be able to enjoy the fellowship and comraderie of everyone here. So, without getting sappy or anything, I just want to say it's a priveledge to be a member of the Fellowship, and I hope that we all continue to enjoy each other's company as much as I have enjoyed yours.
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I took the liberty of posting a recruitment pitch, although I think Downie's verse would've made a much better impression! Hope you guys don't mind.
I submitted a game last night, so I'm back in the Top 50! I have to say, I'm a little surprised at the score. I thought 1.092 was supposed to give better scores, especially at Tough difficulty.  Don't get me wrong, I'll take what I got, but I thought it would be a little higher. Has anyone else noticed a difference in score?
  
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Thanks for making the recruitment pitch, Theoden.
I thoroughly enjoy myself here as well.
And BTW, my quest is complete. 
Time for me to call it a night.
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Good night, Ray. Congrats on another 30K game.
 
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#1633
by Veteran Gerakken - 9/4/2003 1:08:38 PM
| And BTW, my quest is complete. |
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Just keep that Ring in line. It seems to be affecting people's minds. | I have heard nothing about any changes that will impact scores at tough level. Ray did some recalcs showing crippling went up about 15% and maso went up a lot (who knows how much because of the 30K cap but a lot more than 15%). I asked in another thread (one started by frogboy) about any changes in challenging, tough, & painful but got no response. The impression I got from frogboy was there would be little change except on maso and to a lesser degree on crippling. |
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I got the same impression when I was in chat with Frogboy a few days ago. The easier levels would get slight tweaks, crippling and maso get major changes, and nothing for normal, challenging, and tough. This approach would benefit high difficulty players, provided one has the skill and determination to play that high, but it would be more preferable if a there was a curve where low levels got small tweaks and the adjustments got progressively larger each jump up the scale instead of a pretty flat graph in the middle that starts spiking toward the end. I have no idea how the lowest end of the scale (cake, simple, easy) was modified. We just know for sure that beginner got slightly downgraded in what seems to be a short-term anti-crank measure, crip did go up a fair bit, and maso not only got a major bonus, but the score ceiling raised.
   
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Thanks to all for your replies on the scoring. I guess I had the idea that it was a gradual change from Cake to Maso, but to be honest, I think he did say he didn't really change anything in the middle. I can only guess that my last game was a little lower because of some of the decisions I made. Oh, well, it just gives me a little something to shoot for!
Ray: GREAT JOB!!! You'll be seeing your name in lights on the Metaverse Review in just a little bit! Congrats! 
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Congrats to Ray for hitting the 200K mark!
   
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The Metaverse Review is now updated!
 Link
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Looks behind - eeek - Theoden's catching up....
Alex
 
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Alex, you shouldn't have to worry about me for a while. It usually takes me 3 or 4 days to get a game out, and I've got a clown meeting tonight, so no gaming for me...
But I'm trying! 
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(Continued from #1614)
The Wight House
“Let’s hope there’s someone here who needs our help,” said Downie. They had arrived at a public house called, The Adventurer’s Rest.
“And remember, this time it’s my turn to rescue you,” said the lady, light-heartedly.
“I’m determined to complete at least one quest before I have my showdown with Ray,” he said, ignoring her.
“You still want to go through with that? It’s madness!”
“Some duties are absolute.”
“Hey, this place looks a little friendlier than the last one.”
Downie strode up to the barkeep, and looked him in the eye. The lady winced in anticipation of another scene.
“Is there any chance of a pot of tea?” he said.
The barkeep raised a quizzical eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Tea. It’s a drink made from leaves steeped in boiling water…”
“No, what sort do you mean? We have hyssop, lime-flower, elderberry, chamomile and peppermint.”
“Oh! Err… Elderberry sounds good.”
“Coming right up. Priscilla!”
His wife, a middle-aged woman who looked a bit like a witch, poked her head out from a doorway.
“Yes, dear?”
“Put on the kettle for the elf gentleman here. And what will you have, lass?” he said.
“Beer, please,” said the lady. “You can tell that he’s an elf?”
“It’s that long girly hair. A dead-giveaway. No offence meant.”
“Not much taken,” said Downie.
“Why do you have such long hair?” said his companion.
“Elf hair grows but one inch a century. We live in eternal fear of getting a bad cut that will leave us disfigured for decades.”
“You two together then, eh?” said the barkeep, handing over a tankard of beer.
“Not yet,” said Downie.
“And we never will be with that attitude,” said the lady.
“The odds are on my side. Every female that I’ve ever travelled with has fallen in love with me. Except for the one who was eaten by giant spiders. And the one who got sucked into the Dead Marshes. And that elvish shield-maiden who ended up moving in with Galadriel…”
“I don’t suppose you know of an enchantment that chills warm beer?” she interrupted.
“Well… I did once learn of a little cantrip that calls upon the frost giants to cover the world under a blanket of snow while a wolf devours the sun. Would you like me to try that one?”
“No, of course not.” She took another sip. “Although it is tempting.”
“Tea’s up!” called the barkeep.
“You’re not prejudiced against the idea of mixed couples, then?” said Downie, taking the mug.
“Nah! This is an adventurer pub. You get all sorts of odd pairings here. People often go a bit funny when they spend a long time together in lonely forests and caves. Only thing that still bothers me is human-hobbit partnerships. There’s just something about it that gives me the creeps.”
“Tell me, have you been troubled by any orc raiders in recent times?” said Downie.
“Oh yes, warg-riders. They came here and demanded an offering, half our livestock or they’d take our children.”
“Don’t worry! We’ll take care of it!”
“No, we already hired seven noble warriors who helped us defend our village and ended up slaying the lot of them.”
“Oh. Any other problems we can help you with?”
“Well, there’s the ogre, I suppose.”
“No, the miller’s youngest son went and sorted him out,” said Priscilla.
“Really? Little Kevin?” said the barkeep, suddenly interested.
“Tricked the ogre into trapping himself in his own magic bottle or something.”
“Aw, bless him.”
“So you don’t need us, then?” said the lady.
“Well, there’s the barrow-wight, I suppose…” said Priscilla.
“Oh yeah, there’s always the barrow-wight. Been slain four times now but keeps on rising again.”
“Does he cause any trouble?” asked Downie.
“The local kids like to desecrate his grave. It’s kind of a rite of passage for them. Every few years he catches one of them at it and shuts him up in a coffin.”
“OK, barrow-wight. We’ll get on it.”
“I’m afraid we’re running out of magic items to offer as rewards.”
“I could probably rustle up some kind of potion,” said Priscilla.
“That’s fine. It’s the thought that counts.”
“Do we have to do this at night?” said the lady,
“Barrow-wights don’t come out during the day. And there’s no we. Not this time,” said Downie, his face stern.
“What?”
“I don’t want you going near this thing, my child.”
“Don’t patronise me!”
“Girl, I’m old enough to be your forefather, and I’ll patronise you if I want. Now, stay here and I’ll go and talk to it.”
“Talk to it? We’re supposed to slay it!”
“I’m a pacifist.”
“It’s one of the undead!”
“So? The damned have feelings too, you know. If I wanted to kill him, I’d just say, “A CariElf! Frogboy-el!” which would force him to take on mortal form, at which point I could slay him with a simple blade, if I carried a blade. Anyone could do that. But it would surely be better to get to know him and to talk him into settling down for good.”
“And why can’t I come?”
“Because you’re clearly prejudiced against life-sucking wraiths. You’d probably say something rude. Wait here, and if I don’t come out within the hour… Well, then I’m probably in a lot of trouble.”
He went into the tomb, leaving her alone in the darkness. An hour passed.
“Listen,” said Downie. “I hold dead wight males in the highest esteem. I know exactly how you feel.”
“No,” said the wight, in a voice like smoke. “When you have been here a little longer, when you yearn to breathe, to eat and drink. Then you will know how I feel, every second of every day.”
“I’m sure we can find some sort of mutually beneficial solution to your problems…”
The wight laughed, a laugh like soot.
“…only, please let me out of this coffin first?” said Downie. His voice was a little muffled by the coffin lid.
The wight was silent.
Downie lay there for a while, in the utter blackness. Stars drifted across his vision. He decided to try another tack. “Being dead can’t be all bad. Look on the light side!”
“Light is pain to me.”
“But at least you have plenty of time to think. You could become a poet!”
“What?”
“You could write haiku! Here’s one I just composed:”
Forever in the
ground is not so bad. It’s just
one day at a time.
The wight laughed again.
There was a creaking sound.
“Another visitor?” it said. “Who now desires to favour me with their eternal company in death?”
“A CariElf! Frogboy-el!” said the lady.
The wraith screamed, a scream like poison.
“Wight trash!” she cried.
There were some more sounds. A ring of metal on stone. A howl like death, and like freedom.
Then there was silence.
“Hello?” said Downie.
“I’m afraid I had to slay him. I hope I didn’t offend your principles too much.”
“Oh no, my lady. How can I criticise you? Before I became a pacifist, I slew over a hundred men, fourteen dwarves and a hobbit, for one reason or another.”
“How many orcs?”
“Oh, thousands, probably. I stopped counting after the first forty or so. Thank you for coming to liberate me.”
“No, I came to apologise. But that was your plan all along, wasn’t it? To flatter me by allowing me to rescue you?”
“No, that was my backup plan. I really did hope to tame the barrow wight.”
“Well if I were you, I’d start making other plans, because I’m not going to help you.”
“Why… why not?”
“Ray saved my life, when I was young, and he invited me into the Fellowship, although I was just a thief. I must repay him, by saving him from you. I didn’t take you seriously at first, but I recently began to see you might really have been able to do it, to kill him. I’m sorry it has to be like this. I’d prefer to give you a less cruel death, but some duties are absolute.”
“Lady! Don’t joke with me! There’s not much air left in here!”
“Goodbye, Downie.”
“Nearly right. But it’s not ‘Downie’, it’s Downie. At the back of the throat. Lady? Are you still there?”
Time passed. It always does.
One day and one night later, she returned to the scene of her crime. A scent of death hung heavy in the air. She carried a lamp, which she placed on the ground.
She knocked on the coffin. “Downie, are you still there?”
Silence.
“Hello?”
Upon a time, I met a maid
Her hair and eyes and soul were dark.
Entombed was I by barrow-shade
She left me there, just for a lark.
She turned, and saw him there, seated on the wight’s ancient granite throne.
“How?” she said.
“An earth elemental owed me a favour. I always have a backup to my backup plan. That’s how I got to be 1200 years old. Did you come here to rescue me? Surely not. I would have suffocated hours ago if I hadn’t escaped. So, instead you came back to make absolutely sure I was genuinely dead?”
There were tears in her eyes.
“I had no choice!” she shouted. “I don’t want to kill you!” There was a blade in her hand, with a wide flat metal handle. She threw it at his left eye. He dodged it – almost. It cut him across the temple. She threw a second; he deflected it with his hand. The blade fell to the ground. A long red welt opened up where he had touched it.
“Well, now that you are unarmed, perhaps we can deal with this like rational people…” said Downie, springing to his feet.
She threw off her robe, and with a twisting motion detached one of the many scales from her armour. It was in the shape of a small blade, with a wide flat metal handle.
“Dwarvish craftsmanship. Impressive, no?” she said, and she threw it. He caught it on his sleeve. A dark stain spread across the green material. He pulled the blade out of his arm. “Forgive me,” he said, and threw it at one of the gaps in her armour.
She caught it between her palms, and held them up to show she had avoided cutting herself.
“Not feeling so patronising now, are you?” she said.
“You are good. In a fair fight, you could probably win.”
“A fair fight?”
“But I doubt you know the counter-spells to my magic. Kilbraid…”
He caught a blade in his palm, point-first.
“Sgithon…”
He moved sharply; another blade that should have pierced his heart struck him instead in the shoulder.
“Yuntis…”
She hesitated. He paused.
“Or,” he said. “We could sit down and talk about it.”
“Good grief! The wight did that to you?” said the barkeep, when he saw the extent of Downie’s injuries. “You must have really upset him. Well, looks like the drinks are on me.”
“See, it sounds to me,” said Downie, as he bound one of his wounds to a herbal poultice, “like you swore to save Good Ray. We’re dealing with Evil Ray now.”
“I know that!” she said. “But when he helped me, he didn’t ask if I was a good person or a bad person. I can’t abandon him now. It’s a personal debt of honour.”
“Good Ray is still in there, somewhere! It is he who we must help!”
“But how can we? What are you suggesting?”
“You’re a thief, are you not?”
“Among other things.”
“I think we should steal The Ring.”
“You’re not serious!”
“I’m afraid I am.”
“Yeah, I know. Does this mean I’m forgiven for my attempts to kill you?”
“Almost.”
“How will I know when I’ve been completely forgiven?”
“When I return your hairpin…”
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Updated the Evil Ray story to include the latest installment from Downie. No, Downie! Ah, hell, I can't pronounce it!
Link
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Time to hit the road, gang. See everybody tomorrow!
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Seems like all the ex-ANZACs are leaving.
Good luck to you, FriendJosh!
We'll just move you over to the Hunted Members' List. :SINISTERGRIN:
Thanks for all the congrats, people.
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| Yo Ray, with your Pure Evil games, what alignments do you have the AIs set to? |
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All pure evil, vincible. I play pure good until the death where I tend switch to pure evil through colonization events from my culture colonizers and events.
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I'm not very sure what's happening to the 1.092 scores, Theoden.
Maso scores obviously got a big boost as is evident from Solitair's 20+k Maso Tinies.
As Rick mentioned above, my Crippling scores only received a small 15% increase to a level still lower than the 25k that I used to get under 1.05. I will play a 1.092 Crippling Gigantic to see what kind of score I can get.
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Evil Ray squints at Evil Steve.
Who's calling me a gentleman?
FriendJosh needs luck to escape from the Hounds of Hell that would soon be snapping at his heels.
:WICKEDLAUGH:
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