DBA 3.0 Army Design Tool (*)

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.

A Painting Injury?

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.

ADLG: Complex Movement Options

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.

ADLG: Northern League Round 4 (Manchester, 03 Sep 2023)

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.