Great Wargaming Survey

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

And 120mm solid should put paid to any dragon

"Sabot - LOAD LOAD LOAD"

"Loaded"

"Lase"

"Range 2000"

"On"

"Fire"

"Firing"

"New Target Dragon Right 2 o'clock"


Etc.

[sultanbev]

See Grunts by Mary Gentle to see what happens when T-55s meet Orcs...

[Ithoriel]

FIFY

"Sabot - LOAD LOAD LOAD"

"Loaded"

"Lase"

"Range 2000"

"On"

"Fire"

"Firing"

"Sir, Sir, it's flipped the shot right back at us!"

"INCOMING!!!!!"

Etc.

Cue "Thunder Child" by Jeff Wayne

[fsn]

Hmmm.   

Seems to me by "fantasy" we just mean magic and monsters. Given Arthur C Clarke's 3rd Law "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", we can lump the majority of SF into the fantasy category by analogy, where technology and aliens take the place of magic and monsters.

Thereafter, the lines get blurry. Many Conan stories involve neither magic nor monsters, just humans fighting with swords and spears. Similarly if one gamed "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" then one would simply be joining two historical periods - Victorian and pre-History. One could argue that "A Very British Civil War" is fantasy, as it is not a historical period. "1946" was also a period of interest for a while in which one could field the Maus and the Ratte. Is that fantasy?

While we're at it, let's look at the term "wargame". Hopefully we can agree that all the the activities are "games", but what is a "war"? Would a Norse raid upon a Saxon village be a "war"? What about the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland? The exploits of Captain Kidd? The Oxford Online Dictionary describes war as "a situation in which two or more countries or groups of people fight against each other over a period of time." That covers the mob wars of 1920s Chicago, and my playground in 1969.

In the most basic sense, Chess is a Wargame*. It has elephants and chariots and horsemen and infantry; and figures to represent them - somewhat stylistic I grant, but more representational than a square of printed cardboard.


I'm not a "fantasy" fan in the traditional sense. I'll never field an army of elves, but I do appreciate the freedom of just picking a paint scheme I liked and nobody can say otherwise. Whereas I may get picked up for the inaccuracy of my Bavarian "Cornflower Blue", if my elves wear purple and orange there's nothing that says they can't. There's a freedom in Fantasy and SF that is not usually afforded to historical gamers. They appeal more to the realms of the imagination. I can design a space ship using the "High Guard" rules of "Traveller", but I don't know of any rule set that allows you to design your own 1939 battle cruiser.

Just as I won't game "fantasy", the Seven Years War holds no interest for me, not the American Revolution, nor the Gulf War, nor anything that happened South of Texas.

My Dragonhead game (which I've just realised I didn't finish off) pitted an Alien against a Centurion tank, and zombies against Flodden men at arms, with characters from 1960s TV series thrown in for good measure. It was very silly, and chaotic and great, great fun. The atmosphere of Dragonhead was totally different from when I refought the American Civil War battle from the Blessed Featherstone's "Wargames". 

So what am I saying? Our hobby is not one hobby. It is many. There are bits that interest me, and bits that don't. I'm not interested in computer wargames nor board wargames, and yet I shall not disparage someone who refights the American Revolution on a screen. Ultimately it is a set of activities that is to give us pleasure. If you want to do that with orcs and wizards, that's fine. If you want to use Chieftain tanks then ... (remind me, which war did they fight in?) ... that is also fine. A set of "Dragons and Chieftains" rules could be the new best seller.     


   

*Someone, possibly the Blessed Featherstone, described wargaming as "the Chess of A Thousand Pieces".

   

[paulr]

Well said Nobby

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Stop being so eloquent!

[steve_holmes_11]

Hi

Well, I would still back my Chieftain against anybody in a pointy hat, jumping up and down waving a stick and shouting "Cast Rust" or "Heat metal"! 



"Tango One Three Alpha, Out"!

Heat Metal
Choose a manufactured metal object, such as a metal weapon or a suit of heavy or medium metal armor, that you can see within range. You cause the object to glow red-hot. Any creature in physical contact with the object takes 2d8 fire damage when you cast the spell. Until the spell ends, you can use a Bonus Action on each of your subsequent turns to cause this damage again.

If a creature is holding or wearing the object and takes the damage from it, the creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or drop the object if it can. If it doesn't drop the object, it has disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks until the start of your next turn.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd Level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot above 2nd.


Not to mention the odds of stowed ammo cooking off, or the BV malfunctioning (A real disaster).

[steve_holmes_11]

Stop being so eloquent!

Yeah maan, why do you keep lifting us up like this.

[Techno II]

Computer chess is the nearest I get to gaming.

Trouble is...I just can't set an enjoyable 'level'....Up to a certain point it plays like a total dork...Tweak it in the slightest and it then plays like a grand master.

Cheers - Phil. 

[Chris Pringle]

Hi

Well, I would still back my Chieftain against anybody in a pointy hat, jumping up and down waving a stick and shouting "Cast Rust" or "Heat metal"! 



"Tango One Three Alpha, Out"!

Wouldn't you first have to roll D6 on the Chieftain Reliability Table?
1-3 = Won't start
4-6 = Breaks down

(I'm sure that in any fantasy universe with coherent internal logic there are equivalent tables for wizards and dragons ...)

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Is it WRG 5th or 6th which had the fantasy appendix - on a roll of 6 the Wizzard disappears in a cloud of smoke leaving a strong smell of sulpher !

[Gwydion]

Chris,

6th - p.55

But... no 'wizzards', though some lizards,  and the Magician doesn't do much - 'can add or deduct score of 1-6 die' (?) from reaction of friendly or enemy body within 150 paces and not within 100 pces of unfriendly saint or relic.

Regrettably no sulpher/sulphur is produced by this mage (who does not appear to disappear).

There was talk of a separate version of these 'Fantasy Adaptations' - whether they ever materialised and whether that had the sulphurous disappearing Wizzard I cannot say.

[DecemDave]

Trouble is...I just can't set an enjoyable 'level'....Up to a certain point it plays like a total dork...Tweak it in the slightest and it then plays like a grand master.

I have the same problem with human opponents 

[T13A]

Hi

Wouldn't you first have to roll D6 on the Chieftain Reliability Table?
1-3 = Won't start
4-6 = Breaks down

In my regiment they only ever seemed to break down next to a Gaststätte and the BV never broke down! 

Cheers Paul

[steve_holmes_11]

Is it WRG 5th or 6th which had the fantasy appendix - on a roll of 6 the Wizzard disappears in a cloud of smoke leaving a strong smell of sulpher !

That'll me last night's Vindaloo.