Quote from: Venka on April 22, 2024, 01:51:07 AMI bet some people used it in Chainmail and OD&D, but that was barely the same spell, only increasing movement and doing so for dozens of men.  I'm sure it's of interest on a battle mat, but I'm also sure that the number of OD&D players is very small compared to later versions. 

B/X and BECMI have the most straight functional versions.  Double speed, double attacks.

AD&D 1e has this, but also adds aging.  How much aging was unspecified until the DMG came along.
AD&D 2e adds a bit of logic about initiative, limits the targets, and of course, keeps the aging. 
D&D 3.0 makes haste give an extra "partial action".  The aging is gone, and the "partial action" no longer doubles your attacks- it gives you one extra attack.  Suddenly it also doubles your spellcasting, and gives you like +4 to AC. It's the most broken spell in the game, and it defines the entire edition.
D&D 3.5 takes away all of that, making it be mostly an extra attack, and making it not stack with certain magic items.  Still a fine spell, and useful.
D&D 5e makes it by default affect one creature, require concentration,and gives one action with limited options. The most offensive is a single attack, which means for a lot of creatures it's up to 50% more damage.  It can't affect a second creature by upcasting as is nearly standard for the edition, however.  Much more importantly, when the spell ends the buffee can't take actions for a round- meaning that if the spell is disrupted immediately it might cost the team using it two actions (the caster and the target), and in any event the action economy is clearly nowhere near as great with this condition.

In AD&D, the aging feature makes this not a general purpose spell except for elves, who could still get good use out of it. In 5e, you'll generally get more damage out of bless or fairy fire or some other low level spell that helps out more than one person.

This leaves B/X, BECMI, and 3.X as the versions implementing this spell in a way that is definitely good and castable. 

How often does this get cast in your games?

Even for elves it's not great cause any unnatural thing causes system shock.

Quote from: Brad on Today at 12:35:52 PMAs I am wont to say whenever these sorts of situations manifest, "It's nothing a shotgun wouldn't fix." Kill all the communists and you fix 99% of the problem. Tolkien isn't to blame for anything other than being an excellent writer who just so happened to write a British-inspired myth.

Greetings!

Damn right, Brad! I have been saying this forever. Gradually, more and more Americans are coming around to embracing this conclusion. Still, though, there are far too many people that naively believe that somehow, it is better and good to tolerate these terrible people within our communities. As one aspect of culture after another becomes corrupted and destroyed by the Communists, people are beginning to cry and worry about it. These nice, naive sheep though seem to be too stupid to realise that it might be too late, and America is fucked. The Communists have a chance to achieve total victory because too many Americans were passive, naive, and weak. More eager to hold onto cherished fantasies from days long gone than to actually face the truth and grapple with the reality that is destroying everything that they value right in front of them.

The Communists and other PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL morons have declared that Tolkien is racist, and Misogynist. Ergo, he must also then be a Hu-White Supremacist. *Rolls eyes* I wish I was making this up, but it is very real. I've read that these Liberal morons actually have said this kind of stuff about Tolkien.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Brad on Today at 04:09:56 PM

Quote from: Venka on Today at 02:46:35 PMSarcastic snippets aren't argument or worth anyone's time.

You're responding to a dude who adds nothing to the forum except tranny trolling. Just ignore.

Greetings!

One has to face the deep truth! *Laughing*

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: 1stLevelWizard on April 22, 2024, 08:55:29 PM

Quote from: SHARK on April 21, 2024, 11:08:21 PMGreetings!

Yep! Man, Avalon Hill was the greatest! I actually went to some game conventions way back, when I was on leave in the Marines, and at one convention I was playing Third Reich. It's actually "Rise and Decline of the Third Reich"--but somehow, it always got nerfed to just "Third Reich". Anyhow, some buddies went with me, and on one day, we were taking a break, and went into the game hall next to us--they had several enormous tables set up for miniatures wargaming. This one table, probably 12 x 12, it was enormous! It had this fantastic scene of the beaches at Normandy, with this little  village inland, hedgerows, trees, everything! They had weird netting set up like a foot or two higher than the board, with occasional Christmas lights. Then there were all these painted miniatures, infantry troops, artillery, tanks, half tracks and trucks. It was pure awesome! About a dozen older men gathered around, playing this game. The leader of the German side was this large, older black man, dressed in full Waffen SS Officer uniform, including a patch over one eye! *Laughing*

I found out he was a retired US Army Master Sergeant, a veteran of like, 30 years in the Army. His buddies were all Army, Marine, and Air Force veterans, as well. It was a spectacle! They definitely made an impression on me with miniatures wargaming!

But yes, the old Chit-style of wargame! *Laughing* I played Third Reich, Squad Leader, Russian Campaign, Russian Front, Panzer Blitz, and Panzer Leader! I had all the modules for Squad Leader, and Advanced Squad Leader. Yeah, and that big orange binder!!!! Tabbed rules and notations and everything. Rule 162.56. *Laughing*

Yeah, fun games! I don't think I could convince anyone near me to play them though, so I have them stashed away on my bookshelves. Hanging out, nice and pretty. I have kept them all in mint condition, too.

Have you made up your forces all awesome? Do you use any of the unit decals?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Man that scene of Normandy sounds familiar. I've seen some large displays, but probably nothing of that size. As for those Avalon Hill games, they could be a marathon but damn if they aren't fun! I'll have to check out that Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I've been wanting to get a really big WWII game for a few years now, but I haven't found anything yet. Actually want to get a WWIII game by Compass Games but it's a monster. But for those games on your shelves, I hope you can find someone to game with them. Those things are practically gems.

As for my own forces for Bolt Action, most of them are painted. I've got a few platoons for Soviets, Germans, and a single Japanese platoon. I tend to stick to Soviets vs. Germans just because I find that theater so interesting to study. I only use unit decals on my tanks and vehicles, however. I've tried like hell to use the helmet decals for my Germans but it is way too difficult at that scale. I'd like one more platoon, but it'll either be Australians, Brazilians, or Italians. Not sure yet.

Greetings!

So true, my friend! Yeah, I could never sell my Avalon Hill games. They are icons of my childhood. I got into wargaming before D&D, when I was like, in the 6th grade. Probably a natural progress of course from "Army Men." I'm not exactly sure, but I'm guessing there is a mental and intellectual shift there at about 10 years old--when you can make the leap from just playing with imagination, and then reaching a point where you combine that, with reading game manuals and playing with increasingly complex set of rules. Such a glorious time!

Australians, and Brazilians, huh? *Laughing*! Very nice! Damnit! I have likewise been chewing on being attracted to developing a force of British Commonwealth forces--Australians, Indians, Sikhs, Gurkas, and also some Nationalist China forces. There was actually *years* of brutal fighting that went on throughout China, Burma, and India!

Can you *IMAGINE* if the Empire of Japan had conquered India?

The British got a sad wake-up call when Japanese carrier stroke aircraft attacked and fucking sank the Renown and Prince of Wales from 300 miles away at sea. The poor, primitive British. Strangely, of course, because they also contributed to developing carrier airpower--like with their use of carrier airpower against both the Germans in the Atlantic, and the Italians in the Mediterranean. Somehow, though, in the Indian Ocean and Pacific, the British Navy never got the memo, and were stuck in World War I naval thinking.

The Imperial Japanese Navy actually raided the island of Ceylon and India, over there in the Indian ocean. While initially a raid--it definitely announced Japan's arrival, and demonstrated that it was the Japanese Empire that was the master of the seas. That was definitely clearing the deck for Japanese Marines to make landings against India. Meanwhile, the Japanese Army marched through Burma and into India!

While most of India remained loyal, there were elements within Indian society that viewed the Japanese Empire as liberators. The Japanese were certainly capable of taking out India. The British had their hands full scraping up equipment and supplies to support more troops to defend India. India of course had plenty of manpower--but an enormous supply of uniforms, guns, ammunition, and other equipment was needed to turn all that raw potential into actual army units that could resist the Japanese Army.

Britain was pathetically unprepared everywhere in Asia though. Malaya, Singapore, India, Burma. They were very weak, and ripe for being ruthlessly conquered by Japan. Just like how Japan fucking hammered America. America was in pathetic condition for war too. Gaming wise, of course, that is what makes these early years so interesting and dramatic--the Axis had a window of opportunity, with time ticking down. They had the troops, the power, and the momentum, but that window was rapidly closing against them. Could they conquer and win before the avalanche rose up against them?

It is insane when you really get into the economics and logistics of it all. Japan was down to like, 18 months of oil. Germany likewise was on increasingly shrinking oil rations as they invaded Russia. Time was ticking!!!!!

It is interesting though, how, in contrast to the glorious dreams of the Austrian Painter and the Japanese High Command--critical supplies like Oil have far-reaching effects on everything throughout the military, stretching into air sorties for aircraft, pilot training programs--Japan had pitiful Fighter-Pilot training hours, compared to America, which placed hundreds of hours of training before a pilot was ever sent to a front-line squadron. America also rotated actual combat aces back to the states to serve as training instructors for 6 month rotations. Germany nor japan could ever really afford to do that. Looking over so many economic factors, yeah, Germany and Japan--and yeah, Italy too!--were in many ways beginning the war on a shoestring. In every case, Germany, Italy, and Japan, their economies were tiny compared to the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

The campaigns in Indonesia and India and Burma are very interesting. Certainly, as you develop your Japanese forces, the terrain and climate are absolutely brutal factors that influence the war, and the various battlefields. I think that there are some great opportunities within the Pacific theater for crafting and developing terrain pieces. Imagine the rivers, the elephant grass, lots of palm trees, bamboo groves, marshes and jungle plants! MOUNTAINS were massively difficult, as well. Just moving troops from Point A to Point B was a major process and adventure! It seems like nothing in the Asian and Pacific theaters was ever simple, quick, and easy. Gorges, mountains, flooding, diseases like Malaria, snakes, elephants, monsoon rains, all of these things could influence even a small military force just trying to march somewhere. *Laughing*

I'm hoping that I can do the camouflage paint scheme justice! The Japanese were also very good at using palm leaves and grass matting as part of their uniform camouflage.

I'm making some fresh coffee!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Eirikrautha on Today at 03:53:14 PM

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on Today at 03:11:48 PMActually, I think Tolkien's influence has trapped the fantasy genre in an uncreative rut where 99% of it is just Tolkien fanfiction with the serial numbers filled off. Dwarves, orcs, and elves inspired by Tolkien are everywhere in fantasy. Dark lords and heroic quests to save the world are a dime a dozen. A pseudo-medieval aesthetic inspired by Tolkien is the default.

As an old Studio C skit hilariously illustrated, the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter are the same story repackaged, despite having completely different aesthetics.

Ehhh, no, that recognition predates Studio C by a long time.  Joseph Campbell was talking about monomyth in the seventies.  It is, in fact, one reason why modern games and media mostly suck.  Because politics comes and goes, but the human condition never changes.  And the "progressives" want to assert that there is no human condition, nor is there anything within us other than the product of culture and politics.  And that is why they fail...

Campbell invented the monomyth structure by examining various myths and stitching together originally unrelated scenes into a vaguely coherent storytelling template, but it's not actually an accurate reflection of universal human psychology or storytelling (read the ATU fairy tale index for comparison). That's not to say that humans don't have universal psychological biases, we obviously do.

My criticism is unrelated to wokeness and is a pure criticism of writers becoming increasingly uncreative and just aping Tolkien. That's been a problem even before wokeness.

Greetings!

Banging video analysis, Ratman.

Video games have been so compromised by Woke developers and artists it is sad and depressing to see.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Venka on Today at 02:46:35 PMSarcastic snippets aren't argument or worth anyone's time.

You're responding to a dude who adds nothing to the forum except tranny trolling. Just ignore.

Quote from: blackstone on Today at 10:26:41 AM

Quote from: SHARK on April 22, 2024, 03:29:35 PM

Quote from: DocJones on April 22, 2024, 02:06:14 PM

Quote from: SHARK on April 22, 2024, 08:58:54 AMVietnam is a member of SEATO...

Huh? SEATO was dissolved in 1977.

Greetings!

Ahh, right right. Well, my mistake. I meant to say that Vietnam has in recent times been included in several diplomatic and military alignments with the United States, and other nations of Asia and the Pacific. I was surprised when I read about such, though apparently, it is a very real thing. US forces have coordinated with Vietnam, as well as the Philippines and India, for example. Vietnam, despite having considerable economic exchange with China, has also made it very clear that they are eager to participate in numerous defense relationships primarily aimed at containing and deterring Chinese expansion.

I think I also saw some news videos by the Times of India and Hindustan Times discussing military arrangements between India and other Pacific nations, such as Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, and of course, the United States. Economically, and diplomatically, Vietnam also seems to be very much involved with India, Japan, and the Philippines, which I found to be interesting.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

The cooperation between the various S.E. Asian nations with the US has been a long developing situation since at least the early 2000s. It has to deal with several factors:

1. The discovery of oil reserves under the Spratley Islands in the South China Sea, which led to...
2. China's military modernization program which kicked off...
3. Japan reconsidering they're place geopolitically, by upping their military budget and being more proactive They have a "multi-purpose destroyer" (let's be real: it's a carrier) named the Kaga. Ring any bells?
4. India making a concerted effort to revamp their entire military (modernization, coming sown on corruption, etc.) in response to the PRC's modernization efforts
5. South Korea now becoming one of the major arms suppliers, now beating out Russia (or close to it)
5. Vietnam's long distrust, if not outright hatred of their "neighbor's" to the north (China): PRC invaded Vietnam in '79 and got their asses handed to them by the Vietnamese. I'd say they're still bitter.

Greetings!

Yes, exactly, Blackstone! Good analysis, brother! It is good to see these various nations about in Asia really get their shit together. China is very real.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales on Today at 03:11:48 PMActually, I think Tolkien's influence has trapped the fantasy genre in an uncreative rut where 99% of it is just Tolkien fanfiction with the serial numbers filled off. Dwarves, orcs, and elves inspired by Tolkien are everywhere in fantasy. Dark lords and heroic quests to save the world are a dime a dozen. A pseudo-medieval aesthetic inspired by Tolkien is the default.

As an old Studio C skit hilariously illustrated, the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter are the same story repackaged, despite having completely different aesthetics.

Ehhh, no, that recognition predates Studio C by a long time.  Joseph Campbell was talking about monomyth in the seventies.  It is, in fact, one reason why modern games and media mostly suck.  Because politics comes and goes, but the human condition never changes.  And the "progressives" want to assert that there is no human condition, nor is there anything within us other than the product of culture and politics.  And that is why they fail...

Actually, I think Tolkien's influence has trapped the fantasy genre in an uncreative rut where 99% of it is just Tolkien fanfiction with the serial numbers filled off. Dwarves, orcs, and elves inspired by Tolkien are everywhere in fantasy. Dark lords and heroic quests to save the world are a dime a dozen. A pseudo-medieval aesthetic inspired by Tolkien is the default.

As an old Studio C skit hilariously illustrated, the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter are the same story repackaged, despite having completely different aesthetics.