NNeewwss FFrroomm BBrreeee The Official Middle-earth™ PBM Newsletter Issue 35, May ‘08 “Strange as News from Using Food in Middle-earth: Four Bree…” Useful Tips for Food Preparation The Lord of the Rings Chapter 9 Useful Tips for Food Preparation By Clint Oldridge 1: Being Fed in Middle-earth 3: Information Gathering The Talk at the Keeping moving armies fed is always If you have a spare order at a population Prancing Pony… difficult, but it's even more so when you centre and one food, then I often use a 948 get other friendly armies turning up at PCs order (Transport by Caravans) from that PC Featured Articles you control. (Don't forget that it is your to send a food to a location off map, in order relations to them that is important, so that to check whether the enemy has put up a Using Food in Middle- Page 1 even if they're not friendly you will feed camp there. If it fails then there's no PC, and earth: Four Useful Tips them). it's also slightly confusing to the enemy! for Food Preparation, By Clint Oldridge If you have more than one army at a population centre the free food gets divided 4: Market manipulation Kin-strife Sneak Preview: Page 2 between the armies in proportion to their the Good, the Bad and When the market is gutted with food it can the Ugly hunger (counting cavalry twice). often ‘crash’, reducing food stores available to low quantities. I find that around the The Untold War of the Page 3 So, for example, if the following three 300,000 food on the market is sufficient to Ring: Face to Face Game armies are at a village: cause such a crash, so if you're able to sell additional food you can sometimes push the The Lord of the Rings: So Page 8 Army A 100 Heavy Infantry market to crash and then food sells at two or What’s It All About Army B 50 Heavy Cavalry & Then? more next turn. By John Davis 50 Light Cavalry Army C 500 Archers Dungeons & Dragons: Page 11 No doubt there are more uses for food, as Dissent in the Depths, Then they receive the following free food: snacks for the odd hungry Hobbit and the By John Davis & Sam like, but for now the above should keep your Roads Army A 25 food belly nicely full. Army B 50 food Army C 125 food Clint Regular Columns Games Starting Soon & Page 2 After that they consume food from their Face to Face News baggage train if they have any. Hall of Fame: Page 7 Game Winners 2: Another example of food A-Z: Drúedain Page 8 use in Middle-earth. Army A has 20,000 infantry troops and no food, Army B has 100 infantry troops and Player Ratings Page 10 101 food. If Army B 780s (transfers command) to Army A then Army A will move fed. Clearly you can make this more Middle-earth PBM complex, but this is the simple rule to Middle-earth PBM is a turn-based remember so that you don't need to travel strategic game set in the world of with thousands of units of food when in the Middle-earth created by J.R.R. field. Tolkien. For more details, please take a look at our website: www.middleearthgames.com Featured Artist Nathan Furman Page 1 of 14 Games Starting Soon Kin-strife Sneak Preview: The Good, The following new games are filling up, so if you wish to play, get in the Bad and the Ugly touch! With the new module Kin-strife currently in hand it carried a purse of coin, and in its right [Bracketed dates give the date the the final stages of development, we thought a wickedly curved knife, and these it placed game started filling up.] that we would give you a quick glimpse at a on the ground before [Character name]. “The few of the many new encounters waiting to choice of King and peasant, wise man and 2950 2wk [Game 22]: be, well, encountered, and, in the case of fool,” the figure spoke, though even so, 4 nations available. [2/11] those below, even recruited to join your [Character name] knew not for certain if it nation. was real or a dream’s phantom, for it seemed 1650 ONE 2wk [Game 87]: the voice came as much in his mind as 11 nations available. [16/4] Goldberry spoken aloud. “The choice of Ji Indur. And Wife of Tom Bombadil, Goldberry is a now, your choice.” 1650 2wk [Game 86]: spirit of the water, tied to the rivers and 18 nations available. [9/04] Take the purse of GOLD. lakes even as Tom is to the earth. Hers is a Take the KNIFE. 1000 2wk [Game 47]: beauty of joy and of life, inspiring not fear Offer Ji Indur TEN thousand gold. 4 nations available [21/1] and reverence but laughter and hope. ATTACK Ji Indur. Seek to ENLIST Ji Indur. UW 2wk [Game 205]: Coming upon a ford across a shallow river FLEE. 7 nations available: [17/4] that laughed as it ran swift towards the distant ocean, [Character name] was but Malan-buri-Malan part way across it when, a little way Headman, or buri, of the Woses. downstream on the opposite bank, he espied Unsurpassed in wood-lore, the Woses are a fair maiden. Long yellow hair rippled among the most ancient of the races of man, down her shoulders, and her dress was as thought to be primitive by those who judge green as the reeds on the river’s banks. civilisation only by its material veneer. Gold was her belt, and shaped like lilies, Face to Face Games Caring little for the affairs of the world of and at her feet lay many pots of We are able to organise Face to Face men, and peaceable by nature, nevertheless earthenware, clearly too many to easily Games between teams in separate they will fight to protect their forests, and locations, and we currently have a US carry. She smiled as [Character name] bear a hatred for those such as orcs who team looking to play a game over the approached, laughing lightly as he would burn and destroy them. And, as such, weekend. So if you would be floundered up the bank towards her. “I am might be roused by any who can persuade interested in playing, please get in Goldberry,” she said, her voice as music them that their lands are at risk. touch. come soft upon the breeze, touching upon his heart. “Well met.” The afternoon was growing late, the sun set A Face to Face What?! Offer to AID her in carrying her pots. and the land drained of color, painted now in Face to Face Events are weekend- Seek to ENLIST Goldberry shades of grey as dusk settled. And so it was long games of Middle-earth which ATTACK her. that [Character name] had almost passed take place, as the name suggests, at a single location. Turns are run at SAY ___________ (one word). what he had taken in the gathering dark to be regular intervals through the ASK about the river. an upthrust boulder, when there came from it weekend, and teams are assigned STEAL some of the pots. a grunt that might have been warning or their own private areas to plan and FLEE. greeting. And of a sudden, the boulder’s write orders. contours and crooks seemed transformed Ji Indur Dawndeath Amaav III from rock to flesh. Where before there had A fixed cost is paid for the entire The Fourth of the Nazgul, Ji Indur was been but a notch in the stone there was now a weekend instead of per turn, the pace King of the southern lands of Mumakan, nose, where there was a gash, a face. So that, is hectic, and it is great fun - virtually home to the legendary Mumakil, or staring, he saw now a strange squat shape of everyone who has played one of these a man, gnarled as knotted, with the hairs games is dying to play another one as Oliphants. And, on his rebirth in the year soon as they can. It's a great way to 1050 of the Third Age, he set to retaking his upon his chin and chest as dry moss. Short- learn a lot about the game, to chat to throne, so that the time of the Kin-strife legged and fat-armed, thick and lumpen, he fellow players, and to meet us. sees him as King Ji Amaav III in the south, was clad only in grass about his waist, which Sleeping space is always available, even as, among the Nazgul, he is known as [Character name] had taken as growing from but don’t expect much sleep! Dawndeath, Sauron’s knife in the darkness. the ground, so still had the had been sat. And in truth, only his eyes seemed truly alive, The heat of the mid-day sun having forced black and piercing. “Come no further,” the him to seek shade, the heat too oppressive figure spoke, voice deep and guttural and to even think of continuing onwards, halting. “This Wild Men land. This Malan- [Character name] rested awhile beneath a buri-Malan land.” stand of wide-leaved trees. Made drowsy by Offer a gift of FIVE Thousand gold. the sun’s warmth, he dwelt between sleep Offer a gift of FOOD. and waking, imagination conjuring images SAY ______ (one word).