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Post by tetramorph on Jan 16, 2015 8:56:25 GMT -6
Well, I thought it was time for another poll because they are always fun. Please discuss your answer to the poll above! I have been reading "Tony Bath's Ancient Wargaming," compiled and edited by John Curry "in collaboration with the Society of Ancients." I got it for Christmas. I learned about it from reading Jon Peterson's "Playing at the World." It is a compilation of the following of Tony Bath's works: - Peltast and Pila Ancient Wargaming Rules
- Setting up a Wargames Campaign (his most famous and most relevant to what we do)
- The Legend of Hyboria (a compilation of his campaign reports)
I have read most of it once through and "Setting up a Wargames Campaign" twice through now. It is a pleasure to read. I love the old "rules light" feel of it. Much like the LBBs, it is really giving you suggestions for what to consider for your own campaign and giving his rules as examples of how to do it, not as a "law." It is fun to read. I know some folks around here mention him with reverence (or at least appreciation). I know that @gronanofsimmerya has said how much he enjoys Bath's works. Has anyone actually used his rules or played in a campaign inspired by them? If not, have you "borrowed" any of his rules or have they inspired any house rules for your own campaign? I hope he has influenced someone around here and that I can learn from your experience of his rules. Thanks!
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 16, 2015 9:16:47 GMT -6
There's no option for "I know who he was and I know what he did, but I've never read any of his stuff."
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Post by tetramorph on Jan 16, 2015 9:19:59 GMT -6
There's no option for "I know who he was and I know what he did, but I've never read any of his stuff." Well, I tried to go for that in the second choice, more or less. Sorry, polls are, well, "digital" in that way! Thanks for replying.
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Post by thorswulf on Jan 16, 2015 9:30:15 GMT -6
I have read, and own a copy of the book. It really opened my eyes into how to integrate logistics into wargames with meaning. I also loved the whole idea of matchboxes for blind movement on a campaign map. Reading the book will give you more insight into how a D&D/Chainmail game might be run.
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Post by Finarvyn on Jan 16, 2015 9:48:24 GMT -6
Any time I read something I'm sure it soaks into my subconscious somehow so I assume that Bath's book had some influence on my game, but offhand I don't know what it would be, so I picked the I've read his "Setting up a Wargames Campaign," but it has had no influence on my campaign choice.
I found a copy of his book long after I'd already been influenced by CHAINMAIL and the FIRST FANTASY CAMPAIGN books, so I'd say they had a greater impact on my campaigns than Bath's did.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2015 16:22:12 GMT -6
I was already doing all that stuff, since I was a wargamer first. But if you weren't a wargamer, there is nothing better you could do than read Tony's book!!
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Post by tetramorph on Jan 17, 2015 21:04:50 GMT -6
@gronanofsimmerya, good point. I was not really a war gamer before returning to D&D but for whatever reason (unlike most of the folks out there in RPG land) I have always been attracted to that aspect of D&D. More at the campaign level than, say, an actual miniatures battle. So Bath's work is just great to me for that reason: his focus is on the campaign. He gives rules for how to resolve battles, but you could use any style you wanted -- he even gives several, some more abstract than others. I really like the idea of setting up a war games campaign where battle is resolved more in a HX and counter kind of way than in a miniatures way. Have you ever seen anything like that? It should work, right?
Thanks for all the replies folks.
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Post by derv on Jan 17, 2015 22:59:22 GMT -6
Tony has a lot of little tidbits wrapped into that book. He made me aware of the utility of "averaging dice" for example.
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Post by tetramorph on Jan 18, 2015 15:34:28 GMT -6
The poll is interesting to me so far, as it seems that no one has actually used the rules directly or played in a "Hyborian" campaign. derv, I feel stupid asking, as I've now read through the book twice now, but perhaps I can chalk it up to not being a war gamer. What is the "averaging dice" thing?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2015 16:42:42 GMT -6
Averaging dice or average dice are numbered 2-3-3-4-4-5 instead of 1-2-3-4-5-6, which reduces the spread of numbers.
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Post by derv on Jan 18, 2015 17:57:01 GMT -6
derv, I feel stupid asking, as I've now read through the book twice now, but perhaps I can chalk it up to not being a war gamer. What is the "averaging dice" thing? You shouldn't feel stupid about it because I wouldn't have known either. Bath's writing is what clued me in. They're more commonly used in older wargame rule sets and, as I understand, the dice themselves are more easily found in England then the States. If you want to look for more info, aother name for them is "regular dice" because they were often used for movement of regular troops and the irregulars (untrained) would use standard d6 for movement. Like Mike said, they do not have as wide a spread and produce results from 2-5 when rolled alone, 4-10 when rolled in pairs, or sometimes one die would be + and the other -, producing results from -3 to +3. A mention that I could quickly uncover in Bath's Ancient Wargaming is found on page 76 dealing with after battle effects.
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Post by coffee on Jan 22, 2015 1:20:37 GMT -6
I have a pair of average dice. I read about them in Bruce Quarrie's "Wargaming: An Introduction" (or something like that), back in the 90's.
I wish I'd found Tony's book first, though. Lots of good stuff in there.
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Post by kesher on Jan 22, 2015 12:40:23 GMT -6
coffee, you have EVERY kind of dice...
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 22, 2015 14:23:25 GMT -6
Gygax describes averaging dice in the Dungeon Masters Guide, and recommends their use for generating the ability scores of NPCs.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 18:18:06 GMT -6
I have read some about Tony Bath and his campaigns and I would like to learn a lot more.
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Post by chicagowiz on Jan 23, 2015 9:06:19 GMT -6
Added this book to my PaperbackSwap.com list. Thanks!
Can you still buy averaging dice?
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Post by coffee on Jan 23, 2015 9:20:15 GMT -6
coffee, you have EVERY kind of dice... And yet, I still don't have a d30...
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Post by tetramorph on Jan 23, 2015 13:14:53 GMT -6
coffee, you have EVERY kind of dice... :) And yet, I still don't have a d30... I actually have one of those! (Now back on topic!)
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Post by derv on Jan 23, 2015 15:49:41 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2015 17:54:48 GMT -6
And yet, I still don't have a d30... I actually have one of those! (Now back on topic!) I have one of those too!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2015 17:56:00 GMT -6
One left in stock, but a great price considering shipping is more than the product.
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Post by simrion on Jan 28, 2015 14:34:34 GMT -6
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