Bad Company General Report Eighteen

Most of you know who I am. But for those who don't, I'm General Titus Groan [1867], The Soothsayer and Leader of Bad Company [715].

Due to serious financial pressure I've been unable to communicate with most of you for quite a while, even falling behind with my turns. This is about to change as I'm back in black. Incidentally, many thanks to those Brothers who kept me up to date despite the lack of a reply!

There are many things that need to be said. So without further ado, here it is;

I've enclosed BCUn and BCBn. If you still have not been Initiated get in touch with your Unit Commander. Note that you may have several Unit Commanders depending on your Rank. The one I refer to is your Immediate UC. Don't hassle your Colonel unless it's important - they've got The Holy Missions to organize! If all else fails get in touch with me.

Now you know where you are in the scheme of things, all you need to know is what you're supposed to be doing. Bad Company operates on a cyclical process. We do something [for the benefit of the Group], then we take a break [about 10 turns]. At the moment Brothers are still resting after rebuilding and Sanctifying the First Temple.

The time has come to move out - let's blow this joint! Two Holy Missions are about to begin. I usually do the routine about the importance of cooperation, etc - is it really necessary? We managed to go Official and Sanctify the last Temple, though we cut it a bit fine. It's possible that attempting to rebuild two Temples simultaneously is a tad ambitious, but by Fuvah we're going to try!

Don't panic! At this point many Brothers will be freaking - a case of "But...but, IwannabecomaDisciple..! You'll get the Sacrificing Blurb approximately 16 turns after you became an Acolyte if you Kowtow at our Temple [or possibly a Shrine]. If you only have a few turns to wait then remain here and join your Mission later. The more Disciples we have, the better, and it will take quite a while to find suitable Temple Ruins. Don't forget that actually becoming a Disciple will take you a few turns in itself. And since the next Temples have to be rebuilt at least 25 squares from this one, you'll have to take into account 5 turns travelling time [as the rebuilding will take place near Far Forges].

We need as many Brothers East as possible to ensure these Temples go up. Be there if you can! You can always return to this Temple later. In the event that we accomplish this, Brothers will get the standard 10 turns free plus an additional 8 turns in which to travel to the other Temple [and nearby Far Structures]. That's a lot of time. In the event that both Platoons are forced to merge in order to complete a single Temple, we'll just get the standard 10 turns before we embark on rebuilding The Third Temple.

The first thing you should do after reading this is to write a letter to your Platoon Commander. Not your Unit Commander [unless one and the same]. Make sure he knows if you will be participating. He has to determine whether or not he's going to run into problems as soon as possible. Note that he needs an absolute minimum of 6 Brothers [holding at least the Rank of Neophyte] in addition to himself in order to Sanctify a Temple.

And now the details. Colonel Smegley will lead 1st Platoon Northeast to rebuild a Temple near The Polished Rod. Colonel Midg will take 2nd Platoon East to rebuild a Temple near Spigot Red's. Assuming the minimum 7 Brothers are present at the Temple Ruins then you can expect to contribute about 350 APs to rebuilding [the Z order]. The more Brothers that turn up, the less you'll have to rebuild. If all Brothers Make Camp in the square containing the Ruins then your Rebuilding Bonus will be about 100% - meaning 175 APs will be sufficient to rebuild 350 points of Temple. A further bonus may be acquired if you possess a Plodder - but don't hold your breath! Plodders are the single most useless thing I've encountered so far. I've Trained it. I've Worked it. I've bought Riding Lessons at a Far Inn to the point where I've been told they can't teach me much more. And it still just plods around munching now and then. I was so annoyed that I intended to travel through some High Jungle just to lose it - but then I remembered I lost my Jute Rope when I Captured the accursed thing. It's gonna get its dues one day...but I digress.

I've been doing some thinking about how to improve Bad Company some more. The organizational structure we use is just doozy, though one problem with it is that Brothers are in danger of restricting interaction to several other Brothers [Unit Commander and Unit Members]. Back in the good old days [?] when there were only several Brothers there was no such problem. Now even I can't keep track of all Brothers activities, etc, so I doubt many of you bother communicating to all other Brothers - which is a shame as interaction is the reason why quite a few Brothers signed up in the first place. The only [financially feasible] way to counteract this is if Bad Company has its own newsletter to which all Brothers can contribute. The General Report [BCGn] will become such a medium. All or no Brothers can contribute depending on whether or not they want to. If relevant Brothers contribute, the following format will be used. Note that since very few Brothers know about this idea there are no contributors - I've just given a brief insight into what the Brothers concerned do;

The Soothsayer [General T Groan]: Information. I've been the sole contributor to this Report up until now - contributions from many Brothers should make for interesting stuff. I'm still waiting for the American information. When this comes through all information lists will be updated. The map has not been updated for some time - though now several Brothers are heading East new data will be added as it comes in. Note that maps are only given to those that contribute! Big maps are on their way out now. Information in this space. UPDATE - I've received several replies to my barrage of E Mail on America. It looks like we're going to get a copy of The Monster Mapper with some good mapping info around The Black Swan - This info may save us having to hunt for Temple Ruins.

The Scribe [Colonel Smegley]: He deals with Deeds and Official paperwork, including our history. If you have anything which should be recorded for posterity then write to him. If you have queries about The Code then he should be able to help. Deeds and possibly history together with Contracts, etc, in this space.

The Speaker [Captain Baddu-Bac]: He deals with all other Monsters, single or Groups. He negotiates on our behalf. New developments in this space.

The Keeper [Captain Ugolino]: He keeps a record of stuff that Brothers want or don't want. If you are looking for a particular item he's the Brother to see. In this space could be the more important deals - got a Long Sword for sale? Need some decent armour? Watch this space.

The Senate [Colonel Smegley, Colonel Midg & Captain Baddu-Bac]: The Senate think about things...if you have an idea, complaint, etc, put it to The Senate. Anything they come up with might just be found here [if you're lucky]. I'm going to appoint 2 new Brothers to The Senate - Colonel Midg is now The President. The President exists to organize The Senate.

Miscellaneous: All Brothers can contribute in this section, including the above. This is the personal column. I'll print anything from messages to queries that doesn't fit into the above catagories. For example, just because I don't know what Crimson Weed is used for doesn't mean no Brother does. Need help hunting a Monster? No stories though - Deeds go to The Scribe.

I'll attempt to put a BCGn out at the beginning of evey month. Another point - if you have any ideas about Posts you'd like to create then let me know. Other Posts are in the pipeline such as The Tactician. If you're the kind of Brother that sits down for hours on end trying to work out how to get the most out of Structures, or the kind of Brother that thinks long and hard about tactical maneuvers during a Slugfest, you could be the Brother for this Post. Let me know if you're interested.

If you desperately want a particular Post but it's occupied, then it's worth writing to the Brother concerned. Sooner or later most Brothers are going to get bored of doing the same thing and might be willing to give their Post up [this doesn't apply to Rank]! You might get lucky, though you'd have to convince that Brother you could handle the Post properly.

Next up are other Groups. The Speaker negotiates, The Scribe documents, and The Soothsayer swaps information with other Groups. Our relationship with other Groups is determined by these 3 Brothers unless other Brothers are strongly opposed.

At the moment we are not Allied to The Hand Of Shroud. There is as yet no signed Contract of any description. The situation appears to be a mutual dislike of the other Group though we've agreed not to fight [though this is all gob]. Any Brother can act in any way towards The Hand Of Shroud. After we've got The Third Temple up it might be a different story...

We are Allied to Kabuki's Legion Of The North - though as yet no Contract has been signed. There is a good deal of cooperation between both Groups so don't mess it up!

Eternal Void have been in touch with me but I've yet to write back. The Speaker can handle any negotiations.

Blinding Dawn have also been in touch, but not about matters relating to Groups.

Note that I make the final decision with regard to our attitude towards any particular Group. When I do this I take into the opinion of The Senate (if any), and The Senate take into account the opinion of all other Brothers (if any). Now they ain't gonna know your opinion unless you write, eh?

Recruits! We need 'em! As you can see from BCBn we have plenty of Brothers, but we always need more. Although not strictly true, as a rule of thumb our strength is in number. When you write to MIAB remember that you carry our image! By all means insult other Groups, Monsters or make threats, etc. But do it in a professional fashion, and don't deter Fuvites or potential Fuvites from signing up. Encourage!

This may not seem important as we already have 30+ Brothers [some Prospects not on BCBn] - believe me, it is...

Groups are starting to become pretty popular on The Island. A few new Groups [including ourselves] have formed, and more are on the way. The older Groups continue to expand.

This will inevitably lead to Slugfests in the not too distant future. Probably involving Bad Company. And although wasting Monsters might seem to be hit and miss at the moment, a well-coordinated Group can cause devastating damage to an opponent.

Here's an American strategy. Obtain 30 or 40 or even 50 Monsters. Find another Group's Temple. Surround it with Monsters spread evenly across adjacent squares - all you have to do is Make Camp there regularly. The opposition can only move in/out of the square individually - very nasty...

There are other such moves...the point is that a Slugfest might well get serious. We've got to make sure we're the hardest Group, or at least capable of defending our Brothers, Temples and Forts, etc.

Due to this Group explosion we're going to be confronted with other Fuvite Groups. Even if we cooperate with them and share our Temples, we'll still be competing for recruits. That's why it's important that we don't alienate them at this critical stage - we've got to work on building a solid base.

I think that's about it. I'll fill up the rest of this page with stuff that I'm involved in which may interest you.

Anyone wondered why their Riding Skill hasn't gone up yet? Riding Skill and Mounts other than Plodders have not been introduced! That's why we havent been able to Capture Tuskers and King Stags!

If you just can't figure out what that Creature Part is for [from East of Mor] the chances are that it hasn't got a use yet - lots of things haven't got uses yet. Thermadon Rex wings are used for getting past The Crystal Hills [I think] though this is impossible at this point in time.

Write to me and let me know how you're all getting on. I'm interested in what you are doing, how you are doing, and what you intend to do. I won't be able to write back immediately - though I'll print answers to any questions in The Soothsayer's Section in the BCGns.

Good luck on the forthcoming Missions Brothers! They will decide our future!

UPDATE: Preliminary American data indicates Temple Ruins at (167,17). As this site is towards The Black Swan then 1st Platoon will take it. I hope to get coords which will indicate another site near The Blazing Arrowhead for 2nd Platoon, but in the event that I can't we'll just have to scout around a bit.

NOTE: The location of the site at (167,17) MUST NOT be revealed to anyone outside Bad Company under ANY circumstances - it's too close to The Hand Of Shroud for their own good................