From: skrenta@blekko.rt.com (Rich Skrenta)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm
Subject: Olympia Times v5n1
Date: 25 Jul 92 22:05:51 GMT


   +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
   | The Olympia Times                               times@olympia.rt.com |
   | July 24, 1992                                                   v5n1 |
   |                                                                      |
   | Turn 32  115 Players               "The more laws, the less justice" |
   +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

	               **  No Olympia next week!  **

		Turn 33 orders due:  Friday, August 7, 1992

		   Orders are due 6:00pm EDT, 22:00 GMT.

         Questions, comments, bug reports, to play:  olympia@rt.com


			*	*	*

The GET command has been renamed to TAKE.  Please use TAKE in the future.

Maintenance costs were not charged this turn.  Next turn they will be
15 gold per man + 1 gold for each skill level.  For example:

	A unit of two men with combat level 1 and forestry level 6
	would pay:  2 * (15 + 1 + 6) = 44 gold

		*	*	*	*	*

New WORK output:  menial labor now pays a flat 1 gold/day.

	WORK syntax:  WORK days [amount]

Work for the specified number of days, or until the indicated amount
of gold has been earned, whichever comes first.

There is a proposal to double menial labor's pay, but allow units
to WORK only two weeks per turn.  If you have an opinion on this
idea, please let me know.

I may remove all of WORK's options and have it engage in menial
labor for seven days next turn (interruptable, of course).

			*	*	*

RECRUIT now requires six man-days of effort per new recruit.
As of next turn, a hiring bonus of 200 gold minimum will need
to be paid.  Paying a higher bonus may recruit men in shorter
time.

	RECRUIT syntax:  RECRUIT  days [men] [bonus]

Recruit for the specified number of days, or until the number
of men desired is obtained, which ever comes first.  Men if not
specified will be all possible.  Days defaults to seven.  Bonus,
if not specified will be 200.  A smaller bonus than 200 may not
be specified.

		*	*	*	*	*

Note:  all of the new skills which extract resources from regions
have similar syntax to RECRUIT's above.  For instance:

	use xxxx [days] [amount]

	Do xxxx for days or until amount has been obtained, which
	ever comes first.


This includes things like mining, street performing and forestry.
It does not include commands which build things from items in
your own inventory, such as weaponsmithing or small boat building.


			*	*	*


Men should now be transferred with the GIVE and TAKE commands:

	give <who> men <number>
	take <who> men <number>

For example:

	give 501 men 10		# transfer 10 men into unit 501
	take 1058 men 1		# transfer 1 man out of unit 1058

Men are item [50] for those who perfer numerical arguments.  Although
men are reprented as an item for GIVE and TAKE, they will not appear
in your inventory or otherwise be treated like items.

Units must be declared friendly to exchange men.


		*	*	*	*	*


I will work on lore sheets for these new skills, and update the
documentation.  Please be patient.


			*	*	*


Tell me why you need to specify one day granuality on WORK
commands.  Why do players do "WORK 1" when it makes their turn
reports big and ugly?

	WORK pays funds daily

	An interrupted command will pay whatever is coming
	to your units.

I don't understand why players do SET IDLE "WORK 1" and then
complain that their turn reports are too big...


		*	*	*	*	*


PERSUADE  <who>  [amount of gold]

Attempt to increase or change a unit's loyalty to the faction issuing
the PERSUADE command.  An optional amount of gold may be specified to
be given as a reward or bribe.

If used on one's own units, PERSUADE will increase their loyalty to
the faction, and will have a smaller effect on loyalty than if used on
units not of your faction (the grass is always greener on the other
side of the fence).  If used on a member of a different faction, then
the unit's loyalty will be eroded.  A sufficiently disloyal unit will
renounce ties to its master and join the persuader's faction.

Rich, skilled characters tend to be more persuasive than
shabby-looking, unskilled units.  Highly loyal minions will speak well
of their masters, and large groups are generally more persuasive than
smaller ones.  By the same token, large groups of skilled individuals
are harder to persuade than small, unskilled units.  Extremely highly
loyal units may refuse to take bribes or listen to scurrilous talk
about their faction leader.

Player characters and monsters cannot be persuaded.

Persuasion takes 7 days.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


        It was the dead of winter in Pesbrand.  Dark night was the
name the peasants gave to the season.  The battlefield was deserted;
here and there lay a twisted remnant of the great battle between the
forces of the Dark Prophet and the Pesbrand irregulars: a shield rimed
with grey ice, a few inches of a shattered blade projecting from a
plain hilt, a rotting remnant of a harness, chewed by small rodents of
the night.

        In the darkest portion of the field, where the ebon shadows
melted together in the gloom to form a quilt of ink, something
stirred, and clawed its way back into existence.  Silence spread from
the spot as the night scavengers instinctively froze in terror; here
was Death, and worse.

        A shadow that was a complete absence, nay, the antithesis, of
light separated from the murk and drifted slowly towards a nearby
village as the obscuring clouds parted to let through a shaft of
moonlight.  The moonbeam struck the shadow, and was absorbed in a hiss
beyond sound.  The creature scuttled quickly into the deeper shadows
afforded by the treeline at the edge of the battlefield, and continued
its journey.

        Memory was a hazy thing, as clouded and dim as the Pesbrand
night.  Power, it recalled. It had once had great power, and a command
over mortals.  Somewhere, far away, it could sense another that would
serve its purpose, perhaps better than the previous servant.  The
shadow rested in the blackness between two hovels, as images returned,
and with them, a sense of purpose.  It floated silently, casting about
again for the impression of the masterful, yet corruptable mind that
called to it.

        A chill spread out from the creature, as it sapped the energy
of its surroundings, drawing ever more power from the very air.  West!
To the west, now, it could hear the call as clear as a clarion.  It
scuttled across the town square, shunting between pools of obsidian
and slate, a bloodhound on the trail.  In the chiaroscuro of the
gloaming Pesbrand predawn, the Dark Prophet had returned to Olympia.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Children!  I see that you have discoverd my lovely plague!  I must admit to
being puzzled, however, that many of you continue to congregate in the
stricken areas, when you could be earning fame and fortune for yourselves by
infecting people far and wide!  Whether or not you find solace in your
little parties, kids, I must demand that Areth Pirn and the immediate area
be evacuated by the end of the month.  Those who are astute will percieve
that this implies that the quarentine area must be removed from Raskold.
Any entity occupying any of these provinces by the end of the month will
find themselves infected.  Consider yourselves warned!
Love and Kisses, Anon.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Camaris Police Report
=====================

Some vagrants were arrested last turn, but should now be released.

819 was executed by a well known player last turn, so the wanted list is
now empty.

This report is a reqular feature in the Times, and always ends with the most
up to date wanted list.

                               WANTED
                               ======
		Nobody. Peace reigns in the Southlands

				The Town Council of Camaris [355]


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Oleg is bored with his Interesting Player List. If you want to
continue to see new information on it, you're going to have to
contribute things to it.

Free maps and lore galore. Write me.

-- Oleg the Loudmouth [810] <gl8f@virginia.edu>


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Dearest Tamara;

I hope that this letter finds you in good health.  It has been a year since
we have last met, and yet you are in my thoughts constantly.  My only hope
is that you come to this new land and experience the wonders that I've
seen here.  I'd like you to come  here and be with me.

However, evil forces have recently risen in this Many-Colored Land.  Orcs
seem to be  in every crag.  I've volunteered to help eridicate this menace,
but the danger is  great, and not all of us will survive the encounter.

I'm sending you all my logs to date with this letter for your reading and,
in case I am killed in battle, have them serve as a memory of my journeys.
I'd appreciate it if you pass these along to my family when and if you're
done with them.

I'll write soon to tell you of the outcome of the battles.  If all is well,
in a few months I'll send a ship to bring you here.

My thoughts are with you always.

Brillan Damar


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


   * * *  The Dragaeran Trading Company Perpetually Hammers You With  * * *

		The Olympia turn checker!

	It's bigger than a breadbox!

	This marvel of the midevil age reads in turn commands, checks
syntax, and prints out an english version of the commands for easy 
checking.  No longer will you buy 5 of 6 instead of 6 of 5.  It also
does reasonability checks (ie. you can't buy Osswid, and you can't 
terrorize a rug).

	Binaries for Next, Vax, Sparc, Decstation and Sun3 machines running
UNIX are available from shrimp.cs.washington.edu in pub/olympia.  Source code
is NOT available, so don't ask.

Comments/questions/bug reports to hauck@cs.washington.edu.

Note: For bug reports, please include the line that triggered the bug, and
      the output the checker gave.

  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   * * *  The Dragaeran Trading Company Wishes to Inform It's Clients  * * *

	Since new order creation is no longer reported, turn checker users
will have to add their units to the units file that comes with the checker.
The format is simple, and described at the top of the file.  For those who
wish, they can send me their unit numbers, along with any they discover, and
they will be added to the archive.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


 Hello Citizens of Olympia!
  Hello Oleg..I've been trying to get in contact with
you but the mail is x-posting to a guy called Don at
gl8f@EDU.Virginia.clas.fermi.I've got some more map
info for you...
 But the main reason for this letter is to inform
everyone in the vicinity of Ragnar & Roshun of a minor
Orcish invasion - there is currently a force of 130
Orcs on the plains of Roshun [289].The force is headed
by Orc 4239.I believe they're moving eastwards but I'm not
hanging around to make enquiries.
 Good luck to all...
                     Silk Hobarth Esq.
                   (gmorley@rpms.ac.uk)


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


Finally, awake.  It was time to grow.  Time to become effective.
It had been a long sleep.  Too long, in fact.  The expected
welcoming was not there when he awoke.

No matter.  It would just take a little more work.  But it would be
done, according to plan.

Awake.  Breathing.  Planning.

Ahh.....


Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm