I intend to establish several charitable institutions this turn, maybe the “Find Elrond” fund and the “Support Orphans of Rohirrim Commanders Society”
Uvatha
Subject: The Lidless Eye, Issue 10.
“WE ARE MORDOR, SUPER MORDOR, NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON`T CARE!
WE HATE ELVES…” and i think we should leave it at that, huh?
SOooooooooooooooo, it finally happened, shock, gasp, bloody horror.
ALL 5 neutrals, for the first time in my esteemed diplomatic career
opted to join the same side; the Freeps and their very attractive
treasuries. Hilarious. All the more to rob we say. All the more
wealthy characters to chib in a back-alley. Oops. I promised not to
mention the corsairs sexual preference. Sorry Ben.
Our mole tells us that 2 of the new recruits moved straight into the
top 3 nations. Oh, how we giggled in Durthang at the prospect of
resigining our dark commissions enmasse and heading into the far
east. But the temptation to do harm is too strong…why quit when we
can gut and publicly display the leadership of the Elven Conspiracy
for their personal humiliation and civic entertainment? Lets give this war another few weeks? I know youre asking “What did you do to
deserve ALL the Neutrals turning against you?” Well, the leadership
has been asking itself if totalitarian, fascist, megalomania was the
best spin we could put on our political agenda. Furthermore, it turns
out none of our missives have been reaching the [former] neutrals for
3 MONTHS! Hurrah! Barad-Dur has been a busy place this week,
the “games” at the OGROD MEMORIAL COLISEUM have never been more
entertaining. I myself foound time out of my busy schedule to attend
the Diplomatic Caste versus the Dragons battle on day 1. The sight
off all those failed emmisaries running around half-naked with
carrier pigeons stuffed in their mouths was spectacular!!! Our Lord
SAURON is said to have given full power to his AGENT caste. “A Free
Rein”. Cool. Someone else is gonna pay!
My source from the Perrit Klan inside the lowest reaches of Barduath was irate at some of the “spin” put on the decisions of certain former neutrals;
"with regards to [HUZ`s] post, he did prattle on bit, i kept reading in the
hope of finding some substance, but, nope, not to be.
As for the crap about his arties [DIN] had arranged well in advance when
and where the hand off would be. If i remember correctly he wasn’t all that
forth coming before he went freep about who we were supposed to be handing
off to. He bottled it in the end and took the easy option, no backbone for a
good honest fight 
to quote “I tried a 925 to find out if the Northmen were recruiting @4013.
It failed. I was ready to go DS if it had worked” , have you ever heard such
bull****!
Quote “Later on when attacking Morannon I found that the DogLord was dead.
Ah,ah I thought. (Bulrakur was at the camp but next turn Lamthanc was still
there - smelt of a team missing turns and the like - my number 1 personal
detestation - I don’t mind different skill levels or commitment but missing
turns I detest as a team-mate - no excuse in a Grudge game).” If he was that
worried about missing turns and he was still ‘looking to go DS’ then why
didn’t he get in touch to ask what was going on…". Needless to say, the Cloud Lord will not have to look far for his next target, indeed it`s already started…
But, what of the War?
MIRKWOOD:
Things continue to go well for the underdog Darks. Sorta.
BELPHEGOR and BOLG consolidated their armies at 2509 and moved to
2508 to block the approaching small armies of ASCARNIL [Noldo] and
ARADOR [Rangers]. This is as planned. However, other things did not
go to plan; OHTAR, the Silvan whelp managed to move onto the WK MT/F
at 2508 which is now undefended. This was due in large part to the
enchantments of RINGLIN who took out DURAN in a PC so avoiding a
costly battle for the Freeps. It remains to be seen what success the
Free can have at 2508. Several other free armies are closing in, but
all in all this area remains a place of relative success for the
Darks! BRAEGA of the defunct Woodmen nation was put out of all our
miseries by agents of THE LEADER this turn at 2711. Told you he was
turning up for his own funeral, didn`t i?
RHUN:
Where?
EAST MORDOR:
With the turn of the treacherous easterlings this area becomes one of
some concern for the beleaguered darks. A dwarven army has turned up
at one of the Dragon lord`s back-ups 3822. Will be interesting to see
what happens there. Small forces of the northmen and blind sorceror
will also meet at 3825.
MORANNON:
The funniest episode this turn was at the MT of the LR. The Rhun
Easterlings, flush with gold and shiny artifacts rode their cavalry
brashly into this keep only to have HURDRIAK kidnapped and JYGANOTH
assassinated. Bye-Bye cavalry, and, youll laugh, bye-bye shiny artifacts "hard-won" from the freeps in return for their allegiance!!! The gold wont last much longer either…this was all
after the Easterlings, without the help of a rather dazed looking
Woodman Beneoracer and his motley crew of cavalry [with nice ST/ST
outfits] stood by and watched HURDRIAKS force defeat HARGROG and Co.
This week, the zombiefied BENEORACER can watch HARGROG take on the
accursed ERKUM [are they MAD in Rohan or what?] the latest in the
line of Riders “E” commanders to lead his cavalry into enemy
territory!
ITHILIEN:
Having just arranged the corpse of EOMUND in a fashionable pose to my
liking, i spotted that Northmen agent type KYNODEN lurking behind a
tree. I knew it was him because his mommy had helpfully sewn his name
on his britches, with up and down arrows on them. He threw a large
rock at me, which rebounded off the branches of the tree and smote
him on the bonce. He appeared to be unconscious, so taking pity on
the poor befuddled dolt , i let him be and headed off for sunnier climes.
Butt Pirates to annoy, and all that…
THE ITHIL PASS:
This is where things get interesting!
The Free have upped Osgiliath to a MT. All the better to recruit
from. We are concerned. At Minas Morgul and “huge” south gondor army
now protects it`s newest colony. ADRAHIL, if we can drag him away
from the pie table, will take on Fire King and Dark Lts armies under
SKARGNAKH, SNAGA and the venerable GOTHMOG. Osgiliath is jam-packed
with fun-loving gondorians. All the better to recruit…all the
better to stab in the gut and eviscerate. Where ARE all the dragons
when you need one!?!
HARAD:
I nearly forgot about this. The still neutral, pink and orange clad
pirates came to the Quiet Avengers capital city and in a most
surprising show of their weak-wristed power competely destroyed it.
Perhaps, they didnt think they could hold onto it. Stabling their camels for a while they elected to spend the week picking through the ruins for baubles and gold and stuff. Not that im saying that the
corsairs are money-grubbing mercenaries you understand. Just Idle
Banter. The newly Freepified Khand Easterlings have joined the
Conspiracy and sit at ADUNAPHELS former back-up Major Town.
WHITE WIZARD/DUNLENDINGS:
As ever these near neighbours, “confirmed bachelors” were found
holding hands and skipping gaily into the arms of the welcoming
freeps. Quite a surprise protest the freeps! Not to us, matey, having
never heard a word and seeing some of their agents steal from us for
weeks, it was no great surprise to see these mighty powers official
join the other side. Call me a cynic, but is it just in time to
finish high up the leaderboard?
Maben, Khamul`s second in command, speaking in his place at the War Cabinet meeting this week made an accurate assessment of the War so far;
"Actually, for all the original freep’s hard work in the south, we’ve so far
only lost two nations and neither due to their efforts. One to an
unfortunate bankruptcy [its always unfortunate when you sell 100 UNITS of food rather than 100%!!!] and the other to a neutral who can't [or should it be subconsciously doesnt WANT to] declare. To be
honest with the exception of the initial successes NG / SG & RR made against
Mordor (they knocked out 3124 & 3123) the freeps haven’t really covered
themselves in glory in this one, the only reason they’re going to win is due
to the damn neutrals.
To be honest the winter and bad economic state is probably going to account
for knocking more of us out than they will."
Not that we`re bitter…
SCOREBOARD:
Freeps [14 nations]:
23 dead, 5 M-I-A.
Darks [8 nations]:
5 dead, 2 M-I-A.
My warmest regards, i`ll be seeing you soon,
MURMUR of Durthang.
PS; to end with the football chant theme;
COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YOU`RE HARD ENOUGH!
I would have to say that the DS have been clearly out-played in the area of the neutrals, just like the FP have been outplyed (so far!) in the area of agents. We worked long and hard to recruit these guys and obviously it has paid off into a potential game winner just like a good agent game might.
When you get 5 out of 5 neutrals to go FP I think the DS need to look a bit in the mirror for the reasons. Granted that we worked very hard to get the neutrals, we aren’t quite that studly (well, maybe…). I also wouldn’t say that it was because the neutrals are all corrupt, DS-hating traitors.
The KE was pretty much poised to go DS up to the last minute FP diplo blitz. I assume the WW/Dun went FP because they felt the most comfortable with our team. Certainly it wan’t due to some pre-arrangement as the WW had it in big time for his nearest FP neighbor from the start.
It certainly wasn’t because we were clearly winning and the neutrals wanted to pile on at the last minute to pull out a win. The WW/Dun combo could have gone DS, cleared the center of the map and still come out in the top three. I have SEEN their econs!
It’s not like we promised them much out of the ordinary. The Dun got a nifty artifact and the WW will get a few pop centers to be named. We merely talked frequently and apparently made the neutrals feel better about our team than the DS team.
When you play with neutrals you have to work with them, just like ANY other aspect of the game.
I for one am looking forward to taking out some serious DS rear ends in Mirkwood. This has been a very fun and informative game. I am also looking forward to exchanging notes after the game is over.
Matt Ashley/Sylvan-238
PS Ringy sends his love and expresses his thanks for the CLoud Bow. Nothing like a surprise challenge to make your day…
“Mirror…where?..where?..who said that?..what?..whew…that
was close…disloyal contraptions…I’ve had them all removed
from my chambers…and position myself away from their gaze
when travelling in an official capacity…they reveal too much by
not revealing anything…and thus everything…they are ever watching…without thought…without regard…without purpose…
ever waiting to betray my non-existence…”
Rozilan of the Fire Kingdom
Ren…smelly old buddy, that was deep. I`m only a simple country lass with a god complex and death wish. Can you explain that last one, please?
Murmur the confused.
Rozilan…looks like a vampire to me…mirror…doesn’t
cast a reflection…reveals what she is…
Unless you are referring to the quote at the bottom…
“to the stars thru hardship” is the translation
Ren
Aaaaaah, i see. Or not as the case may be.
I always thought she was just a strong woman living in a man-things empire…shes always been a role model and heroine for me. A career girl trying to make it in trying times, where people are continually challenging, harassing and generally kill me! What have i done to deserve such ire? So i killed Lindal and Eomund, rebuffed the attentions of Kynoden the dullard and Feamire the fop, do i deserve to be pursued by such grimy, uncouth freeplings ALL the time? We shall see, im expecting them to be waiting at my new location in the “deep south”!!
Murmur the innocent.
I do appreciate that you team has not elected to drop, but rather to continue to let us churn out commanders to throw upon your blades! I have enjoyed doing so thus far. (If you release Duinir I’ll try to get him right back into the action as well!)
As for needing dragons… I recommend you take your agents, and seperate into singles (dragons are scared by groups) then send them all into the desert south of the Khand. I heard that the dragons are sick of the misties (somthing about the cold) and have decided to relocate to somewhere with a little milder climate. Or maybe it was that “unmentionables” convention that I had sent out those invites for…
Anyway, Good luck to you all. I have to get back to repainting Minas Morgul, and figuring out how I can attract a little bit of that booming Osgiliath economy into the mountains…
Ben Cook
SG