Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail
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Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail
''Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail'' (or ''Middle-earth PBM''), is a turn-based, strategy play by email and play-by-mail game set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'', including elements from ICE's Middle-earth Role Playing under licence from GSIL. The game is now run as ''Middle-earth Strategic Gaming'' by Middle-earth Games, Ltd. History and development ''Middle Earth Play-By-Mail'' (or MEPBM) was created by Game Systems Inc. (GSI) and inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's books The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. In 2001, the game had multiple variants including ones set in the year 1650 or 2950 "War of the Ring, or the Fourth Age". There was also a "mini-module" called "Battle of the Five Armies". Gameplay Simply put, to win this game, you work together with your teammates to take control of the lands of Middle-earth. There is no one way to achieve this aim; instead, victory is gained through a combination of martial strength, magical prowess, and econo ...
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Play-by-mail
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played by mail since 1963, introducing a multi-player aspect to PBM games. Flying Buffalo Inc. pioneered the first commercially available PBM game in 1970. A small number of PBM companies followed in the 1970s, with an explosion of hundreds of startup PBM companies in the 1980s at the peak of PBM gaming popularity, many of them small hobby companies—more than 90 percent of which eventually folded. A number of independent PBM magazines also started in the 1980s, including '' The Nuts & Bolts of PBM'', '' Gaming Universal'', ''Paper Mayhem'' and '' Flagship''. These magazines eventually went out of print, replaced in the 21st century by the online PBM journal '' Suspense and Decision''. Play-by-mail games—becoming known as "turn-based games" in t ...
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The Lord Of The Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'', but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, ''The Lord of the Rings'' is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. The title refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who, in an earlier age, created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power given to Men, Dwarves, and Elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. Although often called a trilogy, the work was intende ...
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The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' New York Herald Tribune'' for best juvenile fiction. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''The Hobbit'' is set within Tolkien's fictional universe and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit, to win a share of the treasure guarded by a dragon named Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from his light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory. The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature or type of creature of Tolkien's geography. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom by accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey, and adventurous sides of his nature and applying his wits and common s ...
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Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) is a publishing company that has produced role playing, board, miniature, and collectible card games since 1980. Many of ICE's better-known products were related to J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, but the ''Rolemaster'' rules system, and its science-fiction equivalent, '' Space Master'', have been the foundation of ICE's business. History Early years and ''Rolemaster'' In college in the late 1970s, while running a six-year ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Pete Fenlon, S. Coleman Charlton, and Kurt Fischer began to develop a set of unique house rules; after most of them had graduated from the University of Virginia in 1980, many of the group's principals decided to turn their rules into a business and formed Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE), named after a regalia of Middle-earth. Besides Fenlon and Charlton, the original ICE also included Richard H. Britton, Terry K. Amthor, Bruce Shelley, Bruce Neidlinger, ...
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Middle-earth Role Playing
''Middle-earth Role Playing'' (MERP) is a 1984 role-playing game based on J. R. R. Tolkien ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) published the game until they lost the license on 22 September 1999. System The rules system of the game is a streamlined version of I.C.E.'s generic fantasy RPG, ''Rolemaster''. Characters have Attributes and Skills rated between 1 and 100 on a percentile die (d100) or two ten-sided dice (2d10). Skills can be modified to a rating above or below these limits (i.e. under 1 or over 100, with open-ended MERP options to add or subtract additional d100). An attack roll consists of a percentile roll, to which the attacker's skill rating and appropriate attribute rating are added and the defender's dodge rating is subtracted. The result is compared to the defender's armor type and looked up on a table to determine success or failure. A separate critical table is used in the initi ...
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Flagship (magazine)
''Flagship'' is an independent magazine for gamers that was published from 1983 to 2010. Published bimonthly in the UK, it started in 1983 for play-by-mail game (PBM) players. The magazine also had a United States edition. In 2002, it expanded coverage to encompass other types of games such as boardgames, card games, computer games, and others. Nicky Palmer was the founding editor, with Carol Mulholland assuming editorial duties as of issue No. 70. The magazine ceased publication in 2010 after issue No. 130. History ''Flagship'' began publication in the United Kingdom in October 1983, the month before ''Gaming Universal's'' first issue was published in the United States. The editor for the initial Winter 1983 issue was Nick Palmer. ''Flagship'' was edited by Carol Mulholland from issue 70. Shortly after publishing issue 130 in 2010 Carol Mulholland suffered a serious illness and the magazine ceased publication. Coverage An average issue in 1987 was about 56 pages. The magazine ...
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Dol Guldur
Mirkwood is a name used for a great dark fictional forest in novels by Sir Walter Scott and William Morris in the 19th century, and by J. R. R. Tolkien in the 20th century. The critic Tom Shippey explains that the name evoked the excitement of the wildness of Europe's ancient North. At least two distinct Middle-earth forests are named Mirkwood in Tolkien's legendarium. One is in the First Age, when the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand became known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. The more famous Mirkwood was in Wilderland, east of the river Anduin. It had acquired the name Mirkwood after it fell under the influence of the Necromancer; before that it had been known as Greenwood the Great. This Mirkwood features significantly in ''The Hobbit'' and in the film '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug''. The term ''Mirkwood'' derives from the forest ''Myrkviðr'' of Norse mythology; that forest has been identified by scholars as representing a wooded regio ...
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Lothlórien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien or Lórien is the fairest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age. It is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn from their city of tree-houses at Caras Galadhon. The wood-elves of the realm are known as Galadhrim. The realm, a broad woodland between the Misty Mountains and the River Anduin, is the Elven centre of resistance against the Dark Lord Sauron in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Galadriel had one of the Three Elf-Rings, and used it to keep Sauron from seeing into Lothlórien. The Fellowship of the Ring spent some time in Lothlórien after passing through Moria. Galadriel prepared them for their quest with individual gifts. Scholars have noted that Lothlórien represents variously an Earthly Paradise; an Elfland where time is different, reflecting the traditions of European folklore; and a land of light striving biblically with the darkness of evil. Fictional description Names Tolkien gave the forest ...
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Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins. The Origins Award is commonly referred to as a Calliope, as the statuette is in the likeness of the muse of the same name. Academy members frequently shorten this name to "Callie". History Originally, the ''Charles S. Roberts Awards'' and the Origins Awards were one and the same. Starting with the 1987 awards, the Charles S. Roberts were given separately, and they moved away from Origins entirely in 2000, leaving the Origins Awards as a completely separate system. In 1978, the awards also hosted the 1977 ''H. G. Wells awards'' for role-playing games and miniature wargaming. Categories The Origins Awards were originally presented at the Origins Game Fair in five categories: ''Best Professional Gam ...
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Paper Mayhem
''Paper Mayhem'' is an out-of-print play-by-mail (PBM) game magazine that was published in Ottawa, Illinois. The staff published the initial issue in July 1983 and the magazine ran until mid-1998. Its format was 40 pages published six times per year. Moore 1988. p. 4. The magazine was the most well-known of the play-by-mail periodicals of the period, providing articles and reviews of play-by-mail games, as well as reader-informed ratings of play-by-mail companies, game masters (GMs) and games, both intermittently and on an annual basis. The magazine, along with its long-time editor-in-chief, David Webber, was influential in the play-by-mail community, even echoing into 21st century play-by-mail activities. The publication ceased suddenly in mid-1998 following the unexpected death of Webber. History Rick Loomis of the game company Flying Buffalo, Inc. stated that, after the early 1970s, the play-by-mail community had sufficient interest to support only two magazines: ''Paper Mayh ...
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List Of Play-by-mail Games
This is a list of play-by-mail (PBM) games. It includes games played only by postal mail, those played by mail with a play-by-email (PBEM) option, and games played in a turn-based format only by email or other digital format. It is unclear what the earliest play-by mail game is between chess and Go. ''Diplomacy'' was first played by mail in 1963. In the early 1970s, in the United States, Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo Inc, began a number of play-by-mail games; this included games such as ''Nuclear Destruction'' (1970). This marked the beginning of the professional PBM industry. Other publishers followed suit, with significant expansion across the industry in the 1980s. This supported the publication of a number of newsletters from individual play-by-mail companies as well as independent publications such as '' Gaming Universal'', ''Paper Mayhem'', and ''Flagship'' which focused solely on the play-by-mail gaming industry. The sourcing of play-by-mail games in this list largely com ...
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