Saturday, December 26, 2020

Random Links & Thoughts for Boxing Day 2020

- Not that boxing day is about boxing, but I'm reading "Royal Flash" (I finally decided to fill in the missing volumes in my collection and read them all.) In it you get not only a 19th century boxing match (of sorts . . . ) but a schlager duel. Both 19th century bare-knuckle boxing (p. 153) and Schlager (p. 160) are in GURPS Martial Arts.

- Ravens & Pennies - Being a Worthy Player

This isn't unique advice but it's never bad hearing this again. A lot less applies in a game like mine, where we pretty much recruit friends to play with, not gamers. A lot of the behavior we do automatically . . . and I can't think of anyone at the table who doesn't prioritize the group's fun over their own fun, honestly. Except maybe me, as demonstrated by the prevalance of exploding monsters in my DF game. Bwahahahahahaha. Maybe I need more of this?

- Thanks to the Sundaland RPG Setting blog for this post:

Shout Out: War Elephants

Which linked these three posts:

War Elephants, Part I: Battle Pachyderms

War Elephants, Part II: Elephants against Wolves

War Elephants, Part III: Elephant Memories

I learned a lot about war elephants. I already knew a fair amount, but not nearly as much about the logistics and handling of them as I do now. And that I'm not the only one who didn't like 300.

- This thing is pretty creepy. It put me in mind of the creepy-as-hell "Jolly Weeper" from Shadow Prowler. Speaking of which, I only have two of those books anymore. I wonder which of my players has the missing volume?

- I've been noodling about limitations for skills, defenses, feint, etc. for GURPS in general, but I have some ideas for Felltower in particular but overall more for DF as a line. I've got to figure out a good way to assemble my thoughts before I put it all down, but the posts I've made (and the comments on them) have really got me thinking.

8 comments:

  1. "I've been noodling about limitations for skills, defenses, feint, etc."

    I look forward to reading these ideas.

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    Replies
    1. You've mostly read them - it's how to tie them into a unified whole that I'm trying to organize for the most part.

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  2. Be sure to check out George MacDonald Fraser's Black Ajax, about bare-knuckle boxer Tom Molineaux.

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  3. Great articles on War Elephants. I’m really enjoying Dr. Devereaux’s blog now, especially the seven-part series on Sparta.

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    1. As am I. I already knew the basics - Sparta was a vast slave-holding society with a tiny ruling class of nobles. I didn't really know too many of the details. The comparison of the agoge with child soldier indoctrination squares with what I've studied of child soldiers. And of the use of atrocity/transgression to bind groups together.

      Also, I get pedantically annoyed when people claim 300 Spartans fought to the death to delay the Persians. Well, they did . . . along with 900 additional Spartans, +unnumbered slaves, +Thebans of large number. But we only count the ones we want to count, I guess.

      So that blog is for me. Too bad I've never seen Game of Thrones, because he's way into talking about that show.

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    2. Whoa. My myths of Sparta being crushed. However I am sad that having read 7 blog posts it didn't once mention the Black Broth the biggest Spartan legend of all

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    3. I guess blood soups don't come up much in the movies. Except in Conan the Barbarian.

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