New ADLG Match reports from Cold Wars 2020 (yes!) on Madaxeman

[madaxeman]

In the dim and distant past, face to face games were played, and people crossd mighty oceans in metal tubes held aloft by the power of magic to crowd together in enclosed spaces and drink beer and eat chinese food.

In that long-forgotten time an ADLG event took place in Amish Country - a land without Zoom in a time before ubiquitous face mask wearing.

To this event went a brave and tiny Sassanid Persian army (with Alannic Allies), and, unearthed from the  swamps of time, archeologists have now found three brand new ADLG v3 Match Reports in a long-lost corner of Madaxeman.com

They are now most humbly presented here for your delight and amusement, along with an added bonus - The epic tale of the Sweaty Crocodile:









Go on, click the link. You know Dale wants you to...

[Big Insect]

Wonderful to see the 'old' (v.3) Sassanid list in use there Tim ... not the abortion of a v.4 list 

Lord only knows who supplied that material - but since when were the Sassanids ever a subject of the Hephthalite Huns (they might have paid a bit of tribute, yes) but on that basis the Byzantines were subjects of a host of barbarian hordes, often many at the same time.

I think v.4 is a great improvement in the rules ... but the lists IMHO lead a huge amount to be desired (sadly). Not least of the problems is the lack of continuity across lists - for example - why does the German ally in the Gallic list have more Elite HF than the actual main Ancient German list ... (just one head-scratching issue).

But I look forward to more games from the archives to remind me of better times and table-top games. Although I've played a couple of on-line games on TTS and that worked pretty well.

[madaxeman]

Wonderful to see the 'old' (v.3) Sassanid list in use there Tim ... not the abortion of a v.4 list 

Lord only knows who supplied that material - but since when were the Sassanids ever a subject of the Hephthalite Huns (they might have paid a bit of tribute, yes) but on that basis the Byzantines were subjects of a host of barbarian hordes, often many at the same time.

I think v.4 is a great improvement in the rules ... but the lists IMHO lead a huge amount to be desired (sadly). Not least of the problems is the lack of continuity across lists - for example - why does the German ally in the Gallic list have more Elite HF than the actual main Ancient German list ... (just one head-scratching issue).

But I look forward to more games from the archives to remind me of better times and table-top games. Although I've played a couple of on-line games on TTS and that worked pretty well.

I think the Sassanid list says they became dependent on the Huns for a while, not dependents of the Huns... and I'm actually quite liking the Levy Spearmen being able to be, well, Spearmen again - first time since 7th edition for me I think - as well as those cheaper Medium Cavalry options too!

Any list rewrite for any ruleset will always throw up head-scratechers I guess, especially if the research is done in French - but so far so good on balance, just hoping that the York event is on so I can get back to doing reports within a year of the comp happeing again!

[Big Insect]

I did a presentation at the Society of Ancient virtual conference at the end of May'21 about Sassanid infantry.

There should be some HF swordsmen - armoured and with optional rear support. Not many (maybe 4 max) - these are the Phaigan.

There are some 'professional' spearmen - could be MF or HF - mediocre or ordinary but not very many - maybe 2 units max.

There is no evidence that the Levy were actually armed with anything more than a knife and various siege tools and should not be compulsory as they mainly appear in the armies fighting in Mesopotamia, Syria and against the Arabs - Sassanid armies in the Caucasus and Central Asia used them occasionally but not always. I personally also think they should be mediocre and expendable. They are not the spearmen though - those are different.

You can also have  Archer units (which the v.4 list now has) but also the later Dailami can be HF, armoured, impact and they replace the Phaigan swordsmen.
They also fight in a historic 'Death Star' formations with Elephants.
NB: Sassanid Elephants were most probably armoured and used as massed archery platforms.

I am not convinced about the removal of the Arab LC & LCm from the list - it is fine to have them as allies but often they are just used in small numbers as scouts.
Likewise, there needs to be an allied contingent of Iberian HC impact (or probably Impetuous) later as well.

Later sources also mention the use of heavy catapults shooting naptha bombs, used against Central Asian Turks and Hephthalite Hun allied elephants ... now that would be an interesting addition to the army.

My main 'beef' is generally that the Sassanids get 1 list covering 400 years and fighting across 4 very different battlefronts, whilst the Romans get 5 list (all pretty much the same) in the same time period. 

I look forward to the 28mm event in Devon in November and also to more of your reports. I've a lot of table top LadG gaming to catch up on in bothe 28mm & 15mm.
I also like the 300pt doubles format in 15mm - maybe we can pursue Cardiff to go that route early next year?

Keep posting Tim ... most enjoyable.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Nice one Tim

[DecemDave]

but the lists IMHO lead a huge amount to be desired (sadly). Not least of the problems is the lack of continuity across lists - for example - why does the German ally in the Gallic list have more Elite HF than the actual main Ancient German list ... (just one head-scratching issue).

My guess would be that they tweaked lists individually based on gamer feedback and didn't cross reference as they did alter both the allies list (can now have no cavalry) and the german list (max per tribe).  But then are those lists not there only for a. guidance to those starting a period and b. control over  ultra competitive types?    At least LADG doesn't charge extra for another 6 booklets with a random mix of armies to make you buy them all.

I enjoyed your SoA talk  and it clearly sparked off some SoA debate which is always inspiring to read. Should anyone challenge your Sassy army composition v "the list", you should be able to crush them easily before a dice is rolled. 

[Big Insect]

I enjoyed your SoA talk  and it clearly sparked off some SoA debate which is always inspiring to read. Should anyone challenge your Sassy army composition v "the list", you should be able to crush them easily before a dice is rolled. 

Many thanks Dave - 

I do have a 'thing' about what I call 'wargames list mythology' - like Tamil Indian & Khmer light chariots or Maiden guard (for example) - none are historically correct (or existed).
But I am also a stickler for getting a list to reflect some order of playability as well.
I think taking out the compulsory Fortified Camps in the Roman lists (which appears to be a game-play mechanism) is fine but not really necessary - the Roman armies needed no real additional help (IMHO). Likewise, I have a fellow club member who spent part of lock-down painting up 4  x 4 horse heavy chariots impact for his Kyreanean Greeks - only to have the new lists arbitrarily convert them into Light Chariot javelins (hey ho).

The removal of the Central Asian Turk or 'Silk Road' allies from the Sassanid list is also another historical error - the Sassanids allied with the Gok Turks to crush the Hephthalite Huns and then used Silk Road subjects to defeat the Gok Turks. but I rest my case. 

Sadly the LadG forum now seems to have mostly moved onto Facebook - which rules me out of participating in it. Ah well.

I will see what I can do with the new Sassanid list next gaming season - not that I was ever that successful with it anyway