One of the great things about Hal Foster’s seminal Prince Valiant is that from very early on, Foster demonstrates how medieval combat was inextricably entwined with wrestling. The sequence below is one of the earliest examples, Val is losing versus the quarterstaff and resorts to grappling. It’s an early example, but the strip is full […]| Fluid — Druid
AD&D is pretty famous for having a fairly extensive weapons list, including in particular quite a lot of different types of pole arm. However, a couple of recent videos (here and here) by the esteemable Matt Easton of the YouTube channel Scholagladiatoria recently made some points that reminded me of things I’ve noticed are missing […]| Fluid — Druid
Inspired by this proposal to runs a Pancho Villa Expedition for AD&D/Boot Hill. It seems like if this is to be done, we need stats for the equipment of the time. With information from the artic…| Fluid -- Druid
As of this date, I haven’t really done any product reviews. I don’t reckon I’ll be doing many. Unless, discussion of old games is considered a product review. But, nonetheless, I …| Fluid -- Druid
The last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about Braunsteins. Braunstein is of course the historical and ongoing game by David Wesley that deals with Prussian politics in the town of Braunstein. But, I use a Braunstein in the historical use of the term, meaning similar games in settings different from […]| Fluid — Druid
In my previous posts on Boot Hill I discussed animals and random encounters. This is about professions or classes. Boot Hill is a little unusual as role playing games go in that it contains little discussion about characters classes. Class used here is in the sense it’s used in Dungeons and Dragons. Perhaps, a better […]| Fluid — Druid
In an earlier post, I discussed the spear versus the dagger efficacy versus the armors available in AD&D. I also present, more generally, the entire list of weapons and how they’d fare ve…| Fluid -- Druid
There has been a fair amount of confusion about how surprise is conducted in AD&D 1e. I don’t know why because right there on page 61 of the DMG it says: Surprise is basically self-explanatory. Well then no more need be said. For something so self-explanatory, there is a lot of confusion. I’ll say a […]| Fluid — Druid
This post is inspired by this X post discussing random wilderness encounters. He’s not wrong. But, he’s not right, either. I’ll explain. Plus he’s got this blog post. What h…| Fluid -- Druid
This post is inspired by this video. Though this one pretty much sums up my conclusions pretty well. In summary, Shad’s argument goes like this, when held up next to one another a dagger and …| Fluid -- Druid
Here’s a short one with no real conclusion. This really is just a place to memorialize where I am in thinking about this subject. And, to inspire anyone who also might be interested in the to…| Fluid -- Druid
Recently on Twitter/X there was a discussion of what would be needed for a simple, yet still interesting, campaign game. Mr. Wargaming set out the criteria he was looking for. This made me think th…| Fluid -- Druid
Let’s face it, does AD&D 1e really need another pole arm? Not really. Gary Gygax already provided a pretty detailed list. Plus, given the variation in historical pole axes, the already pr…| Fluid -- Druid
In a prior post, I looked at AD&D movement rates in relation to missile fire. In that piece I used the DMG overland movement rates and terrain classification to explicate short-term movement ra…| Fluid -- Druid
Not so long ago, in discussion with the bros, it came up how in AD&D 1e swords predominate over other magic weapons. Indeed, magic long swords predominate over other types of magic swords. And,…| Fluid -- Druid
At the end of the recent Arbiter of Worlds stream, with Alexander Macris and Harmony Ginger, the issue of game rulings and precedent came up. I commented in the chat my view that rulings should not…| Fluid -- Druid
In AD&D, a typical movement rate is 12″ per round. Cursory review of the missile weapon ranges shows that for most weapons an infantry unit moving to engage in melee with a unit of missil…| Fluid -- Druid
In my previous column here, I suggested that cavalry may be the best unit type to use against trolls in AD&D. Not just because the damage advantage of the lance at the charge, but because the c…| Fluid -- Druid
This is a scenario I’ve run for Mr. Wargaming of the Joy of Wargaming. He’s done me some favors in the past, now is time to help him out. Mr. Wargaming generated an AD&D 1e encounte…| Fluid -- Druid
AD&D 1e gets a fair amount of flack for being awkward and clunky. This is mostly from people who haven’t played it for any length of time. Gygax’s rather florid style which challenges their com…| Fluid -- Druid
This is a follow-up on my piece about firearms for AD&D. Presented are my approach to Renaissance artillery for AD&D 1e. The rules here use the War Machine rules on page 108 & 109 of th…| Fluid -- Druid
The most common use of firearms in the wild west was not showdowns in town, or cowboys and Indians plinking at each other. It was hunting and encounters with wildlife. TSR’s Boot Hill role pl…| Fluid -- Druid
The discussion that follows is best understood with a copy of both the first edition DMG and a copy of the Boot Hill rules. Gary Gygax was against functioning gunpowder in AD&D. For him, gunpow…| Fluid -- Druid
Jeffro’s been talking about convergence for a long time. Bdubs too. They contrast diffusion with convergence. As I understand the thesis, his point is the great moments of gaming occur during perio…| Fluid -- Druid
