PREV UP NEXT Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (May 4 1999)

2.1.12: Wilderness

Units in the wilderness run the risk of attack by bandits, fiends, or monsters. A stack with 25 soldiers will be safe from most wilderness attacks, but very dangerous monsters exist that can challenge even a very powerful stack. When possible, "double up" with other players to give yourself as much protection as possible, especially early in the game.

Some monsters are dumb, and launch unthinking attacks against anyone who comes near, even if the attack is suicidal. Other monsters are smarter, and avoid attacking stacks they think are stronger than they are. All monsters fight to the death once they attack. Most monsters will kill and eat any prisoners they take. A few, like bandits, will merely strip prisoners of all their valuables and turn them loose again.

Some monsters will rush to join in when they see other monsters attack. For instance, wolves run in packs and will usually aid other wolves. Bandits are quick to take advantage of any combat, and may join in a battle if they see an opportunity. Players should keep these and similar possibilities in mind when attack monsters.

Monsters get no special advantages in Olympia. With a couple of minor exceptions, monsters use the same commands as nobles. The only difference between monsters and nobles is that nobles only queue commands at the beginning of the month, while monsters can queue commands at any time. However, an effort is made to avoid giving monsters a "special advantage" through this.

Cities offer bounties on some monsters. For example, a city might offer 10 gold for each rat tail. When a rat (or other monster) is killed, the rat tail (or appropriate monster part) will automatically be added to the inventory of the stack leader. These can then be sold at city markets to collect the bounty. Note that not all cities offer bounties on all monsters; the bounties offered will appear in the city's market description.

Bounties are initially offered (for sale or purchase) at their "base price". For example, the base price for elf ears is 2 gold, the base price for nazgul tails is 40 gold, and the base price for centaur hides is 5 gold. Here's the complete list:

Part                Base Price
----                ----------
elf ear [317]            1   
savage ear [318]         1   
nazgul tail [319]	40
centaur hide [320]	 5
minotaur hide [321]	 5
spider eye [322]	 2
rat tail [323]		 1
lion mane [324]	         5
bird feather [325] 	10
lizard tail [326]	 5
bandit ear [327]	 1
chimera eye [328]	10
harpie feather [329]	 5
dragon scale [330]	40
orc scalp [331]		 4
gorgon liver [332]	10
wolf hide [333]		 3
cyclops eye [334]	 8
giant's tongue [335]	10
balrog horn [336]	30

When a city's bounties go unfilled, the offered price is raise 1% per month until the bounty triples. At that point the bounty is dropped and a new bounty started. When a bounty is completely filled, it is dropped and a new bounty started.