On MagWeb and Siege of Augusta

[Before reading this letter please know that Phil is an old friend and one of my first customers. He is also one of those responsible for the Hack! rule sets. Finally he sent this e-mail message-Fish]

Dear Jamie,

I was delighted to finally access MagWeb! [This is an interesting internet site run by "old timer" Russ Lockwood. -Fish] Terry has been reminding me to renew my subscription to SAGA for sometime now and time just seemed to slip away. I joined MagWeb in December and I am please to be able to renew my love affair with SAGA and other periodicals all in one place and all at the same time! Tell Terry I am finally home.

Since December I have been off and on again with the flu and bronchitis! I missed you a second time at The Greatest of all Sieges - The Siege of Augusta! Two years in a row trekking south to Beautiful Downtown Augusta and all I can ask when I get there is "Where's the Fish?" Last year was my first time. Even though I lost 3 days getting home from the snow I would do that trip over again.

This year I brought family cohorts: my wife Lynne (who keeps asking "Where's this Fish Guy you keep talking about?") and my daughter Jessica. Lynne feel in love with Augusta. A great time was had by all. Lynne bought lotsa lead and Jessica won a shoot out big time in the Old West. Jim Birdseye trained me in the art of war in a Napoleonic siege assault game he puts on with the greatest of skill. Lynne (as did I) loved his tour of Augusta which he took us on.

Yes Knight Hack was played but by the Gainesville Grenadiers with Andy Savage (Club Prez) being interviewed on locale TV. I put on the Road to Naseby Siege of Basing House.

Got to see Chris Damour, briefly, and finally got to sit down with Donald Featherstone several times - just listened. His talk on gaming was excellant! He introduced me to a most interesting fellow, Chris Scott. Chris played Road to Naseby and seemed to have a grand time. Chris is a General in an English Civil War Re-enactment Group. Thank you Mr. Featherstone, Chris was a font of information and fun to be with.

Siege of Augusta is one of my favorite Cons because of its location, people and for its size. It's a lot like MIGS Con in Hamilton; both are well kept secrets. I cannot encourage people enough to go to either Con or both as I do. These kinds of Cons are like pleasure craft, fast and fun!

Well tell Terry I'm back. Where can I send future articles I'm developing? [To me or Terry] To you or him. Does Terry have e-mail? [TERRY???? Oh I got it you were joking!] I haven't caught up on all the valuable back Issues I've missed but I will be up to speed soon. I suppose I have to go to Cold Wars or Historicon for Fish? Be talking later.

Of Misprints

A late Christmas present will be in the post soon. I had a lot of booklets misprinted from my last order at the copy bureau. They have replaced them, but left me with the misprints. All that is wrong is that the inside of the covers haven't been printed. One of the titles was Gilbert of the Haye's Prose Manuscript, so I will be putting this in the post to you (as soon as I have finished posting out the current batch of orders), along with photocopies of the missing pages. I am sure Terry has already had a copy of this. ["Gareth he has all the books he wants. I however do not" said he in a sniveling manner].

Below are some reviews of Palla Armata booklets e-mailed me by a Swedish correspondent, Michael Fredholm, intended for Slingshot... He will have no objection to you using them for SAGA (and you'll probably be first in print).

You will see a reference to Andrew Preziozi as an American outlet for my booklets. I can't remember if I have mentioned this in the past, but he is the US AGENT of the South & Central American Military Historian's Society, but is willing to "act" for other societies' members. [reviews were moved to the review section]

Of Rates and Scales

Jamie,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. [SEE?! There is one person who thinks I am quick!]Enclosed is a scenario in ASCII. More to come. I'm in L.A. Calling NY state cost more for me, than you, because there is major traffic between us, so phone companies charge major rates. (No dime a minute.) N.C. is not a major market (no offense) so your rates have to be cheaper. If you can pass some info once in a while. I would be most appreciative. [Sorry guys. It is cheaper for me if y'all spend your money and not mine...:)]

About Thistle and Rose. Some figures are too small to blend with Essex 15s, others are fine. You do not know what the compatibility is, until you purchase them. If ask about certain types, can you tell me how they fit in with Essex? [Sorry Steve, I am not familiar with the Essex line. Do you realize the grief I get when I play with any troops other than Thistle and Rose?]

Of Videos

[another e-mail]

Dear Jamie,

Looking back at the last SAGA, Terry was asking about videos. Here are some titles from my collection. You may want to trim the out of period ones. Ones to watch out for are LION IN WINTER (Christmas at Chinon with Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their happy family, Geoffrey, Richard & John);

FLESH AND BLOOD (Verhoeven: "I was sure that STAR WARS was a flash in the pan and that historical epics were the coming thing".) Italy 1500 on a STAR WARS budget. A band of mercenaries have been hired to retake a revolting town. They succeed but the town's lord arranges with the condottiere leader to short change them... Sieges, plagues, religious lunacy, and plenty of body-fluids and body-parts flying around (This IS the man who brought you ROBOCOP and TOTAL NONSENSE). Everybody dies except Rutger Hauer.)

[Gareth, I have seen all of them. All receive the Fish seal of approval. I chopped the list but if you want a copy, e-mail me or better, write or e-mail Gareth]

On Rules

I have just received SAGA issue #56. I read with great interest and no little excitement about your forth coming For God, Wealth and Honor tactical Dark Ages/Medieval rules. Having read your editorial and article several times, I can say good for you! I like your way of thinking. Your approach, to my mind anyway, is impressive. Go for it. Would you please add my name to the list of those eagerly awaiting publication.

As to the matter of movies, I would recommend Cleopatra and The Crusades. Both are grand fun to watch and can be seen on American Movie Classics (AMC) from time to time.

[Ed. Thanks for the kind thoughts, John. I will be premiering FOR GOD, WEALTH AND HONOR (FGWH) at HISTORICON this July, but whether they will be available yet at that point is up in the air. I am about to shop for a publisher/distributor. Initially, I was tempted to do this on my own, but the expense seems to be a major deterrent! In any event, the rules are presently in the hands of three playtester groups (clubs). That number will be added to as the rules are further refined and revised.]

Great movies, John! I recently watched The Warriors, with Errol Flynn as the Black Prince Edward. It was one of his last movies, but still had some great action scenes, especially the assault on his castle.]

Of Shield Transfers

Sorry to read that you have found transfers difficult to use. [Justin in a rare moment, I must point out that the decal handicapped individual is not Terry but me. Please do not think it was the Veni, Vidi, Vici decals. I cannot use any decals.-Fish] The golden rule is to pull the transfer to where you want it, you cannot push it. My own technique is as follows: -Cut out a strip of designs you want to use. Soak as described in 'tips on using transfers' [Ed. Which you receive with the transfers when they arrive....and I failed to read! And failed to send to me-Fish] Position the transfer and backing paper close to and over the shield you want to apply the transfer to. Now hold the transfer in place with a modeling knife and pull the backing paper away with the hand that is holding it. The transfer then 'drops' onto the shield, easy.

Each sheet of transfers 25mm Dark Ages sheets does 24 figures, except DD1 design which does 20. [emphasis added. Thanks Justin for clearing this up.-Fish] Since I am also a wargamer the transfers are also designed to be user friendly by being the right size, shape and with holes included for shield bosses, etc.

I read your editorial on the design of the FGWH rules, which is very much the way I put the ALEA IACTA EST set together. I would be glad to look them over and give you my constructive opinion if you wish. I am interested how to resolve the more fluid warfare of the East with the shieldwall type battle of the West. I am also producing a rules database of Ancient and Medieval rules (copy enclosed and which Terry kept!-Fish) which is free to anyone who wants it. [Ed. I'll include it in this issue, Justin, thank you!] My own experience is that most people are unwilling to try anything outside of DBM/DBR and some misguided souls are under the impression that the rules are historically accurate.

You will notice that ancient naval rules seem few and far between. On the subject of army lists for FGWH, ask yourself if you are bringing anything new to the period. Could not WRG or other army lists be used instead? I deliberately did not include points values or army lists for my rules as I felt WRG had already effectively covered this. Instead I included examples of historical battles, possibly giving unequal sides. One of my favorite comments at a demo game of the Battle of Hastings, by one of the spectators, was how many points a side was the battle? My own view is that army lists tend to be used a lot like the old schoolboy game of choosing the best football team there could ever be, given the choice of all the players who ever lived. Armati [Ed. the original] and DBA differ in giving a fixed list for the army and I have heard of some sets where the army choice is random and the player has to make the best of what he's got!

[Ed. Justin raises some interesting points. The bandwagon effect is in full swing so far as DBM/DBR goes. Each copy of SLINGSHOT is filled with nothing but discussions, armies, battles and reports of DBM games. What happened to the other rules? Are they all so bad that no plays them anymore? Hardly. The editor publishes what he receives. If the 'hot writers', i.e, those who continually write in, are infatuated with the DBM system and the rest us are sort of sitting in the wings, not knowing what to write or feeling out of the loop, no wonder that's all you read about! It's a shame, but until some of us get kicked in the rear and do something about it, such as WRITING AN ARTICLE, that's what we've got.

Army lists as they presently exist can be used with FOR GOD, WEALTH AND HONOR (FGWH) but they need work. Hence, I am reworking many of the WRG lists as well as some SPEARPOINT and SAGA published lists, augmented by Bob Bryant's research in his MIGHT OF ARMS rules. The tactical scope of FOR GOD, WEALTH AND HONOR (FGWH) means that most existing lists (written for grand tactical or strategic rules) are not restrictive enough and have too much leeway as to numbers and types.

Anyway, when the rules are finally available, they will contain historical scenarios and a number of lists from which to design your own armies. Eventually, I will have a complete listing of over one hundred armies to build from. Justin Taylor is the owner of VENI VIDI VICI in England. His transfers are available from SAGA contributor Pharaoh's Arms (see ad in this issue). They are an excellent buy and I am currently using them on some of my recently received Gripping Beast 25mm Dark Ages figures.]

Of Playtesting

Dear Terry:

I would be interested in playtesting your rules, when available.

Other videos: Kagemusha, Seven Samurai, Ivanhoe (I prefer the Robert Taylor version to the Anthony Edward version), The Crusades (Rex Harrison, Geaorge Saunders), The Wind and the Lion (well past our period with Teddy Roosevelt and Moroccans, but a great flick).

[ED. Also, I just received The Long Ships as a birthday present (50th) with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier].

Any word on a US distributor for Gripping Beast miniatures? [ED. Nothing yet].

Review of Gripping Beast Miniatures in #56

You might want to try Critics Choice Video 1-800-544-9852. Great service, wide selection at good prices, and a search service. Exceptional return policy for problems (I've had none.).

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