Ray the Wanderer Ray the Wanderer

Fellowship of the Ring Empire Thread

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Fellowship of the Ring Empire Thread

from Stardock Forums
The Prancing Pony

The welcome sight of a tavern greeted the weary traveler as he moved within distance of the town. Having traveled for many days, he longed for a cool mug of ale to slake his road-thirst.

As he approached the inn, he could see a sign of a fat pony rearing up on its hindlegs. The letters, THE PRANCING PONY, was painted in white.

The common room was large and rowdy. A bald and overweight innkeeper stood bent over the counter, whispering the latest gossip into the ears of a patron. On the benches were various folks, the local drunks for most part, but in corners of the taverns, he noticed there were groups drinking by themselves.

Setting himself down, the traveler handed a couple of coppers over to one of the bar wrenches for ale.

“Welcome to the Pony.” The traveler was mildly surprised to find a sprightly old man next to him, holding his gaze with keen eyes that belittled his obvious antiquity.

“Thank you, and whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

“Folks around here call me Ray and I do enjoy meeting up with newcomers to see if there is any assistance I could render.”

“That would be great, Ray. I would love to learn about the people who reside in these parts.”

“Ah, that’s a frequently asked question and one I’m well qualified to answer. There are a couple of factions here in Meta that you will want to watch out for.

The Pirates are currently dominant. Not the most refined of speakers but they are a jovial bunch, with a particular weakness for good drinks.

The Diplomats hold power in the Courts. Their courtiers are many but they don’t really mix with us common folks.

The Farmers are our working class. Hardworking and honest, they are however on occasion given over to overly elaborate festivals and celebrations.

The Galahs are a group of seafarers. They are also good trainers of livestock.

The Warlords are our warrior class. Their love for long campaigns leaves them frequently out of town.

The Spiders monopolise our merchant guilds. They are by far the most invertebrate bunch of traders you will ever see.

Far to the north, the Undead holds a death grip over the wastelands. I would caution you against traveling down that road.

There are many other smaller factions around, but I leave the details of those to Barley our bartender.

One of our tavern regulars, Gerakken the Spymaster, is also in the know with regards to many of the factions. So do buy him a drink if you want to find out more.”

“Thanks for the insights, Ray. But how about yourself, which faction do you belong to?”

Smiling to himself, the old man stood.

“Come round the Fellowship Halls tomorrow morning and I’ll show you around.”
475,493 views 2,185 replies
Reply #26 from Stardock Forums Top
We should have one of these every page.

For the atmosphere, for the MMORPG, for some veteran advice ...

Join Fellowship of the Ring!
http://www.galciv.com/metaverse/empires.asp?id=329
Reply #27 from Stardock Forums Top
"Jokers represent chaotic characters. They are unpredictable and ever changing. Some are truly wild, guided only by passing whims. You could say these are completely untrustworthy and untameable that even our greatest enemy does not utilize them. Most are by choice, capable of orderly behavior but choosing not to. A certain pirate is a perfect example of these. Others are not truly chaotic characters at all. Instead they follow an unorthodox doctrine so strictly that they seem extraordinary. Our guest, today, falls into the last category. I do not know by what manner he has acquired so many personalities, but each personality is pure and uncorrupted."
End of quote



Poof. Then again there are those that are a couple of cards short a full deck, like a certain Grasshopper we all know. HEHE.
Poof.

How does that pirate do that? How come a non-wizard can poof but I can't. Why can't I poof?
Ray: All in good time Grasshopper, All in good time.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #28 from Stardock Forums Top
Anyone else in the Fellowship want to try out Michael Casey's Jul 1st GOTM?

It is a different experience playing it in Ironman mode and this one is at painful difficulty, straight military rush with the winner being the fastest to win.

I've just played it and am currently leading I believe, Mar 2189. So do participate and try to beat that!
Reply #29 from Stardock Forums Top
Well in the last 4 days I have moved from 147 on the ladder to 132... you wizards must be rubbing off on me!
Reply #30 from Stardock Forums Top
"Oh my, smart as well as cute", sighed the teenage lass.
"No no, none of that", said the old man, "I won't kiss him for you so you can just put that thought out of Our head right now".
The young woman laughs merrily and the little boy makes a face and spits several times.
"If all of you are quite through playing around", continued the old woman, "We would like to thank Our hosts for accepting us".
"Yes indeed", agreed the jolly middle aged man while he picked up the freshly filled flagon of mead in front of them.
"We have a quest to finish at the moment", said the man in his prime, "but when We return, We'll have some few questions if you don't mind".
"Before even that however", concluded the young woman, "A bath... We so hope you have a bathtub"
The teenage girl giggled and nodded vigorously.
Reply #31 from Stardock Forums Top
The Spymaster has had a busy day sneaking around Fellowship Hall. All sorts of weird characters have been seen paying respects to the Fellowship. Gerakken tries to shrug off the newfound unpredictability of spying on the Fellowship since the old Council moved, silently expressing gratitude that no one reads his raw notes taken from his constant stakeouts directly. Even his boss only gets the revised and condensed versions. There is too much weirdness to be believed at times. Anyone else not seeing the events directly would question the accuracy of the raw notes. But, Gerakken thinks philosophically, such is a Spymaster's lot: to see much but not to reveal too much, lest the information fall into irresponsible hands. Gerakken sneaks out of the Hall to file an unrelated report. But he will be back.
Reply #32 from Stardock Forums Top
I've just played it and am currently leading I believe, Mar 2189. So do participate and try to beat that!
End of quote


Will do! I'll get it in maybe tonight or tomorrow night.
Reply #33 from Stardock Forums Top
Here's the link so you don't have to go look for it.
http://home.ptd.net/~mpcasey/html/current_game.html
Reply #34 from Stardock Forums Top
(The troll is getting bigger!! mwa ha ha ha!!)ha)
O common now don't change your empire name just cause a few jokes. We don't really think all that stuff it true. We were just messing around, weren't we? Besides the white council sounds much better than the fellowship of the ring... a better name would be the brotherhood of Isengaurd. But its better to stick with the original. -If you changed your name just as a new style that cool too. :HOT:
Reply #35 from Stardock Forums Top
Ahh, playing the quick rush is really exciting, I'll post my results late this evening (in about 12 hours).
Reply #36 from Stardock Forums Top
Poof.
Now where is that gunner? Late back to ship as usual I mean the babes are a waitin in his quarters too. Oh well. Guess I'll have to "Entertain" them.
Poof.
Reply #37 from Stardock Forums Top
Finished the GoTM faster than I thought: Military Victory in Feb. 2187.

Essential to the victory were the two Arcean systems that I acquired by diplomacy.
Reply #38 from Stardock Forums Top
I actually forgot to demand for systems. :notsure:
Good job with the win!

Gengsta is leading the GOTM at the moment, anyone else wants to try?
[Message Edited]
Reply #39 from Stardock Forums Top
Damn, I managed to leak out some spoilers. Good thing the information is minimal.

I have to say that I really pushed the limits of my empire and almost ran it into the ground before I won.

I actually forgot to demand for systems.
End of quote

I'm sure it would have made your war much easier and shorter. The only problem was that the option only became available when my military rating was ~500.

Good job with the win!
End of quote

Thanks! But it was good of you to recommend it. It's the way GalCiv should be played - not simGalCiv.

Everyone should try it. It's a race against time and it will really hone your blitz rushing techniques.
Reply #40 from Stardock Forums Top
Fellowship members,

Two issues I would like a discussion on.

Firstly, would like to raise a concern about trash-talking between empires. I do know that many are doing it for fun. However, I personally do not enjoy trash-talking and would like to discourage members from engaging in it as trash-talking can easily get out of hand and become personal. There is a difference between good-natured ribbing and trash-talking and I believe you guys know the difference.

Secondly, the issue of a private forum. I've previously talked about not believing in one because we want to keep all the fun stuff on this board and add to it. We can also see that some empires with private forums are not active contributors in the main board.

However, the problem with a single empire thread is that things can get rather messy (recruitment, MMORPG, questions, AARs etc) and I thought it would be good if we could have separate threads dealing with separate topics. Is there a compromise we can find? Any suggestions?
Reply #41 from Stardock Forums Top
Personally I like the one stop shop, everything mixed together into the same thread. Maybe we can extradite the recruiting and even the AARs, but the others belong in the main thread. It's more lively and doesn't require looking in many different places. It's also better if the thread doesn't fall off the front page due to inactivity.

As an empire we do not post often enough such that checking daily or bi-daily would require flipping through multiple pages of 25 posts.
Reply #42 from Stardock Forums Top
What G.R.O.S.S does is usually have one thread and one recruitment thread. Normally we let our recruitment thread die when it gets over a certain amount and make a new one But sailing the stars with G.R.O.S.S. has now also taken on a life of its own so we haven't created another one. And I don't think we ought to have 5 or 6 recruitment threads going and bump em to the front page like some empires keep doing.

Re trash talk: We all know who the crybabies that crossed the line by throwing out false allegations are. Their allegations were disproven. They were totally exposed. I don't think you have to worry about the council in that regard.
Reply #43 from Stardock Forums Top
I tend to agree with Gengsta. If I had to check in a bunch of different places for different threads, then I would probably not bother. While having everything in the main thread can get a bit crowded, I have found all the content worthwhile for the most part. The only items that appeared to be dead space I just scrolled by. No fuss, no muss. I think keeping a thread going on the main board is essential for enhancing the product-- which I understand to be one of our empire goals, and also for recruitment. Lets face it, we are not the biggest empire, or the highest scorers, but you could make a strong argument that we have some of the best quality people. Being able to interact extensively with possible new recruits helps us maintain that high quality level.
I do see a need at some point for a private thread. The purpose of the thread should be to discuss issues not meant for public consumption. However, posts on that board should be infrequent, I think most of what we care to discuss is fit for everyone!
Reply #44 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks for sharing your know how with us Pontius, one of the things that attracted me to this empire was its openess and quality guests like yourself.
Reply #45 from Stardock Forums Top
Watership Down was great (somebody mentioned it some pages ago). I wish I could find more of such stuff.



Hey Gezz, :)

If you would like more books like "Watership Down"
try the "Red Wall" series......it's alot like watership down but it has many types of animals instead of just the rabbits/hares. I have most of the series....my current favorites are "The Long Patrol" and "Salmanstron".......i suggest that you give them a look if you enjoyed "WaterShip Down"



Biggy
Reply #46 from Stardock Forums Top
May I offer an opinion from outside the Fellowship?

I'd appreciate it if you would stay visible to the rest of us - it enhances the social atmosphere, allows us ALL to share ideas and generate enthusiasm for the game and provides support for each other. It maintains a critical mass of interest in the game, especially in the development of 'wish lists' and bug hunts on the release of new versions. The Euro empire, for example, no doubt contains some great players, but their thread is relatively devoid of life - I'd love some interaction with them.

I certainly agree with the trash-talk issue as you expressed it. Some of you will have found short pieces of mine on other threads designed to add some "colour and flavour" to the community. I do this for my own enjoyment, hoping others find it at least slightly amusing. I trust no one interprets this stuff as "trash talk" - and I offer an immediate and unconditional apology to anyone who feels upset by any of that. There can be a fine line between gentle competitive 'razzing' and unpleasant 'trashing' designed to injure others. One of the best things about this board is the relative absence of this stuff - witness the fact we have had only ONE genuine troll since I've been active here. I think you would find most empires share your view and I would echo Pontius' statement that the FOTR has little to worry about here.

So stay.....puhleezzee? ;)
Reply #47 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, my only concern with a single thread was its lack of organisation. If everyone doesn't find it a problem, neither would I. :)

Alright then. We will maintain status quo till a need arises for a private forum.

I'm also enjoying the frequent visits by our guests. I knew it was a smart move locating ourselves next to the tavern.
Reply #48 from Stardock Forums Top
Keep it open, please. Private forums discourage empiring and promote elitism, at least in my experiences as the Spymaster of Galciv.

As for the recent attitude problems, that is simply some clashing personalities with a dash of troll thrown in just to stir an already tense situation up. I think there is a little we can do about a personality clash. Once it gets too personal, it is already out of control unless one or both sides back down.
Reply #49 from Stardock Forums Top
Hey Ray better get cracking on games; Pontius just bumped you to third place :) He has his friends post for him to keep you busy while he is of cranking away on gigantic boards-- just like a pirate I tell ya.
Reply #50 from Stardock Forums Top
As a guest, I like it being open. Also it will help recruitment if people can easily see what you guys talk about.

All the unabashed geekiness in this thread has almost, but not quite, made me a convert.