Your diplomatic efferts have paid off. Seems this one maybe a wrapped up job. Well done.
Nickeoder the humbled
What ?! Nickeoder humbled ? I can only hope this means the neutrals ahvd indeed saw Dark is best 
But, what of Mirkwood ? You guys take severe losses in taking Dol Guldur, leaving only Tarandor with any meaningful army - and look at this Freep icons scurry back to their old hovels for more cannon fodder ! But what’s this, Nick, Dale is threatened away by the masterful Uvatha ?! More little freep icons scurrying to stop some more bleeding !!! And Rhudaur and Dragon Lord still very much alive in north Mirkwood… hey, this is fun !!
Big Ed Khamul
Come now Big Velvetta, are you claiming that you know nothing of the neutrals jumping us. Am I giving you more credit than is due. Maybe there is a southern allience that wants everything for themselves.
Nickeoder the confused
Well…
I hope you guys enjoyed the money you spent on this one. Because its about over. Three neutrals (HARAD, CORSAIRS, and EASTERLINGS) jumped the Free this turn(turn 6) and basically decided the fate of Middle Earth. I hate it when this happens.
We never got any communications from four neutrals, I do remember one from the Harad letting us know he was going to send $$ to the DS and wanting to know if we needed some as well. What a sorry excuse of a cover up.
Oh well, we must decide if we will continue or not. Things in the north are looking very good for us, despite your claim of an active Rhudaur (another non communicative newt), he is done! He was done when his sneak attack slammed right into my wall at 1809.
It could have been a good game if just one of the newts would have even giving the FP a chance to communicate!
oh well…there is always another game waiting!
I have to be brief, because I have to be somewhere else in fifteen minutes. But there wasn’t any magical diplomacy on our part. Rhudaur decided to go evil after talking with the Witch King. We spoke at length with the Harad and courted the Corsairs, but the Easterlings are something of a shock.
We never heard a word from the Easterlings-- dead silence. In fact, we saw armies moving against us on turn 3. On turn 4, nothing moved (a drop?) On turn 5, the easterling armies pulled back… still nothing. Finally, just before this turn ran, Kevan (Long Rider) recevies a one sentence email from the Easterlings stating something like “Congratulations on taking out the northmen major town”. (it was actually an eothraim major town). “I’ve downgraded the Northmen.”
Kevan sent an email back saying, “well, to be frank we assumed you were joining the free. We’d love your help, but frankly we’re skeptical.” or something like that (I’m paraphrasing). The Easterlings are something of a lightning bolt from the heavens-- we had nothing to do with it and assumed that he was joining you, and that perhaps he’d quit and been replaced. Certainly Dunland was joining your side.
Not that we’re not happy to have him, but it certainly isn’t miraculous diplomacy on our part.
It’s up to you if you want to quit, though I’d be sorry if you did. You seem like a good team. Frankly, we feel that we’re doing fairly well completely apart from the neutrals.
Nick and fellow Freep,
A check of most of our players has resoundingly come up
with - enough whining already !!! As Brad said, we outworked
you and got Harad/Corsairs, you had your chance same as us;
as for Rhudaur, he jumped you and told us about it after we sent orders in for that turn. As for Easterling, he has been a conundrum and wild card from the get go !
So, now that the shock is over, cmon and play awhile more
and see what turns up. I too liked our position this turn even
without the neutral issues
Big Ed Khamul
Rhu jumping us without even saying hello was to say the least rude but he is geting his just deserts. The rest of the guys going DS in one turn bar the Duns who are the only ones to communicate with us with any real openness has put a lot of the team offside and quite a few will probably drop this game as a lost cause. If more than half go the rest will probably follow. Makes for a very hollow victory don’t you think?
Regards Herman (Scribe and court jester to Argeleb II)
"The rest of the guys going DS in one turn bar the Duns who are the only ones to communicate with us with any real openness has put a lot of the team offside and quite a few will probably drop this game as a lost cause. If more than half go the rest will probably follow. Makes for a very hollow victory don’t you think? "
Nah. Just will make me think of ya all as wimps if ya quit. “Oh we probably won’t win this game, lets stop”. IMO, some of the best (most fun) games are when your out numbered. Your victories are that much more glorious and your losses tempered with the knowledge you are fighting the tide.
Besides you all have pretty much every arty and are doing wonderfully in most areas. Think of it as balancing out your experience with luck. And who is to say the easterlings are going dark for sure??? His moves have been anything but orthodox and his communications non-existant.
Lets look at the neutrals:
Harad: Talked to both sides. Decided to go Dark. How much effort did you do to get him???
Corsairs: Talked to both sides (I’d assume, don’t actually know how much he talked to you all, but he talked to us eventually).
Dunland: Had no major communication with us. He was going free and we figured it around turn 3. If your a neutral and a team asks what it would require to get you to join their side (offering anything at that point since we only had just got info from rhudaur and knew nothing of anyone else) responding at least keeps them guessing. Darrell was nice enough to give us the friendly brush-off his move to the free side.
Rhudaur: No communication (first time player however) to either side until AFTER he declared. This was not our doing. He’s not doing horrid considering his early “here I am” move and your excellent play (especially Cardolan. I must say huzzah to you man, great moves, no sarcasm, serious respect).
Easterlings: No communication until a one sentence email last turn like 5 minutes before turns were due. Until this turn we were pretty much totally convienced that he WAS going free (after his blocking moves around rhun and movements he made in Khand), hince our hard work trying to get harad and the corsairs to join us to make a balanced game.
So to recap, you got 1 neutral, we got 2 through diplomacy and everything else was just blind luck.
See ya,
Ken
I’m just stating what is happening. I for one agree with you totally and won’t be one of those who drop but quite a few cannot see the point of playing on against such odds. These are very experienced players that are saying this, they can see the writing on the wall. If we have 4-5 players go and we don’t get replacements the rest of us are screwed and then there will be no point in continuing. As a third game player I am slightly more enthusiastic about are prospects and never say die till it is blindingly obvious that we are cactus.(just ask the guys in game 66 how stupidly stubborn I am!) I will continue this game till I run out of allies.
Regards Herman (Scribe and court jester to ArgelebII)
Originally posted by herman
just ask the guys in game 66 how stupidly stubborn I am!
Confirmed. Y’er welcome. 
Good on y’er
Mad Mike aka Quiet Avenger 
I’m overly shocked i still can’t belive in the Easterlings! Last minute decision on his behalf to go DS.
Akhorahil
Gents,
I must say that this game (with the recent additions of the Harad, Corsairs, and Easterlings) to the DS cause puts the Free in an uncomfortable position. Needless to say some leaders of the Free will be resigning and perhaps hardier folk will take over. What we would do for a CHURCHILL these days!!!
I’m sure you will notice a definate lessening in resistance on many fronts, and whether we can organize and continue the fight will be decided very soon.
I for one would like to see the conflict continue…we have done alot of good things in this one and I still beleive we have a chance if the Free put to use its assets and coordinate our military. We will see…nevertheless great work on wooing the newts, although I still think they didn’t give us the time of day.
Perhaps it will be TO THE END!!!
Prince Earnil, Dunedain of Cardolan
I hope your not one of the quiters. I liked you banter and powder-puff picture.
See ya,
Ren
Of course not, Ren. I haven’t killed one of your characters yet.
Mike noldo
PS: its POWER puff.
Well we will see if this game goes anywhere after the next turn. How’s Rhuboy feeling? Looking forwards to knocking him or her out the game next turn. Teach them about not replying to our diplos.
Hey WK, your next on the list so start packing, your about to be evicted from Angmar. My Lord Argeleb II needs a place for skiing, he has plans to convert your capital into a winter resort.
Regards Herman (Scribe and court jester to ArgelebII)
He’s about to go under-- he’s running a phenominal defecit. I warned him that he was going to get plastered when I first saw his report turn 3 and that he could easily be dead within three turns, so he’s at least beaten that deadline. He’s fighting hard, but being a new player there wasn’t enough preparation before he went dark.
Alas!
Hormurath
I played Rhu in my first game, G#31 a grudge game against USA#1 and survived in the NW till T#21.(I was very well coached!) You have to keep them at arms length with blocking armies and get plenty of agent support if you are to survive for any length of time. The moment the majority of his forces left the vicinity of his pop centres he was dead meat. I wonder if Whitchypoo will learn from this? It’s his turn next! 
Regards Herman (Scribe and court jester to Argeleb II)