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This is something of a first. Instead of reviewing the books I want to focus on the author. David Morgan died in 2019 but left behind a significant body of work.
I first came across his book on Medieval Persia by chance last year when I was looking for books on the Arab Conquests. Purchased second hand, the first edition was both a bargain and a delight. With a clear, concise and approachable style the book dealt with all the rulers of post Arab Conquest Persia with aplomb.
I haven't played De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) for decades, but I do own a copy of the latest version. Who knows I may use it one day.
I built this a few months ago after I spotted a nearly full data set on the Fanaticus DBA forum. This was just before I left the forum and was looking for a small data project to occupy some dead time.
No. Not cutting your fingers with a scalpel or stabbing yourself on a pike. This is a bit more serious and a cautionary tale for all avid modellers and painters. Please bear with me as the background is important.
Background
For some time I've been suffering with a problem with my left shoulder and the
left side of my upper back. In 2019 it got a lot worse and I thought I'd
injured myself in the gym. I had tingling fingers and pains in my left
arm. My GP thought I might have something more serious so I had an MRI
scan and was tested to see if I had
Multiple Sclerosis.
Thankfully all the test were negative and I was referred for physiotherapy. A set of simple exercises eased, and then eliminated, most of the trouble with my back and tingling fingers. My shoulder still had the odd twinge but nothing too serious.
Lockdown came and went. I painted a lot; almost every day. The twinges persisted. I tried all sorts of stretches many of which helped but nothing really eliminated the problem.
Way back in the days of Art de la Guerre (ADLG) V3 I tried tabulating the various processes involved like movement, shooting, melee etc. I found the exercise useful but the tables were somewhat cumbersome in use. Nonetheless the exercise helped my understanding the rules.
With ADLG I have found understanding is not the same as learning. So, when V4 arrived I decided to use a different approach and play with just the play sheet if at all possible. So far I am doing better during games but afterwards I still can't resist digging into the workings of ADLG.
I find this post game, reverse engineering helps my understanding as it often exposes the complex variations and plain old quirks of the rules; something I've enjoyed doing since I played DBMM. My reworking of the ADLG mega table is the most recent example of this.
One question that has cropped up regularly during my recent games is when can players wheel, slide or turn during movement. It's occurred so often that I have re-worked the table I prepared for V3. I find it useful because it's a visual representation of rules spread across five sections and that aren't on the play sheet. You can download it from the ADLG V4 resources page.
Getting tactical?
So far I have used a lot of cavalry armies under ADLG V4. As my playing
style develops I've found it useful to know how to exit a Zone of Control
(ZoC) and disengage from combat. These, plus evading, should be part of
every cavalry commander's tactical toolkit.
These are amongst the more complex movement options so I thought I'd do a bit of digging in the rule book and see if I could come up with another aide-mémoire or table.
Introduction
Eccles is normally the venue for the 5th and final round in November and
last year it was absolutely freezing. Thankfully, this year the second Eccles round was held on a beautiful
sunny day in early September. I even decided to wear shorts!
I arrived nice an early, got a good parking spot and helped set up the tables before making the first of many cups of tea.
