Char Maintenance & Bankruptcy !
Stupidest things I ever heard off.
I don't see Mexico or any third world nation disappearing off the face
of Earth just because their national debts are more than they can afford
to pay.
RD: And, moreover, ME is a dark age/heroic age setting. The idea of the
peasant populace paying taxes in gold is nonsense. Wealth was held in LAND,
and the produce thereof, predominantly food. Dark age/ heroic age kings
were presented with tribute (not taxes!) by the populace in kind (livestock,
food of various kinds, ale, mead, clothing etc). The amount of mining of
any kind was so small as to have a microscopic part in the economy and gold
(in Europe at least) so small as to be negligible.
The concept of a National Debt wasn't invented till the 18th/19th century, I
think by William Pitt the Elder. The expression 'Third World' wasn't
invented until the 20th. It had always been there, just nobody had coined
the phrase.
And which Nazgul serves the cause of Evil because he has a choice ?
So what the game is saying, "Hey, I want a raise Or I Quit !" Do Aragorn
and the Rangers serve their nation because "Hey, the pay is good !", :).
RD: Right, Dan. The Nazgul are Sauron's slaves. Moreover they are wraiths,
so why the hell do they need to be fed or paid? And if the Nazgul were
slaves, so were the orcs/goblins. They might need to eat, but can you see
Sauron PAYING them? C'mon, be serious!
As late as the nineteenth century, Napoleon neither paid nor fed his
troops - he told them to live off the land. That was why Europe eventually
rose against him - his troops plundered anything they could carry away and
killed anyone who tried to stop them. It was also why the battle of
Waterloo started so late - the Allies were in position but the French were
out foraging!
Exactly just what happens when one of the ones behind the game's design
is I.C.E.
MEPBM is almost a game of mathematics. Hey, I agree that war is all
about logistics and such but NOT ALL generals will quit because their
pay is late, some foolishly high notioned ones will actually fight for
loyalty,
cause, etc etc, blah blah.
Char Maint ... Plain Stupid
Bankruptcy ? ... More Stupid
Okay, you're broke. So your troops will desert, you can't raise more
troops,
etc etc etc, But Elimination ? Hmm, way too severe.
RD: In the dark/heroic age, whether troops fought or deserted had bugger all
to do with money. Tolkien writes about an age when all free males were
EXPECTED to bear arms (as in both Celtic and Germanic societies)! There was
also something regrettably unfashionable today, called LOYALTY!
The king's warband comprised full-time warriors expected to fight to the
death, but the peasant levies were allowed to run away and serve the victor
the following year. Otherwise, there would be nobody left to tend the
fields!
Some things I know are there because of what would result if not, also,
it's
not a game of me-pbm anymore if we change the game, but me-pbm
should not call itself a me-pbm because it insults Tolkien's original
work(s).
If you read LoTR, exactly how many chars in there works for a pay ?
Now maybe if you call 2950 the Hobbit scenario perhaps, after all the
short
treasure seekers sought some rewards, but I still say, for the Dwarves, it
was more for fame and honour, while for Bilbo, ? adventure ?, Bard,
survival,
etc. etc.
babbling b.e.
RD: I agree with your criticisms. I believe SOME of them could be addressed
if DEFT or whoever has the will to do so. But I also think ME is basicly a
very good game which is why so many of us keep playing it. Keep plugging
away and sending in wish-lists and who knows, maybe DEFT will take notice.
Richard.
