Lee Brilleaux  | 22 Dec 2015 9:33 a.m. PST |
In the latest in my "Gamer's Tales" series, James Manto tells a story in which the main point of ancient tactics appears to involves climbing trees and leaping down on helpless foes passing beneath.
"I was hosting an ancient game. A Roman consular army was holding a pass to stop Hannibal's advance on Rome.
The Romans are defending a river line with hills and woods on each flank. The Carthaginian player is allowed some Punic sneakiness. He sends Numidian cavalry along a side valley to turn the Romans flank. I also allow him to send his Celtic contingent around the other flank. He had this fixation with "Celts jumping out of trees " (I don't know where he got it from).
So, there's a big fight at river with both sides getting badly mauled. The Numidians are hovering ominously on left. The Celts get lost in the hills on right.
The Roman player realizes his position is getting very bad and concedes the game. The Carthaginian player is disappointed that his Celtic ambush didn't leap from trees as planned , and also declares defeat! No amount of arguing by the Romans or me the GM would convince him he'd won." Read this and other Gamers' Tales, together with interviews, reviews, blogs-we-like and assorted nonsense at: link |
| Bashytubits | 22 Dec 2015 11:25 a.m. PST |
You ruined his tree leaping fantasy, what a let down. If it were me I would have the Elephants with Spanish Inquisition riders leap from the trees, because nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! |
| vtsaogames | 22 Dec 2015 11:32 a.m. PST |
I saw English longbow men do it in Olivier's Henry V movie. And in various Robin Hood flics. Must be true. |
| boy wundyr x | 22 Dec 2015 12:52 p.m. PST |
Leaping from trees is all fine, until the Romans start disguising themselves as trees, then you're into a Tree Gap. |
| Winston Smith | 22 Dec 2015 1:45 p.m. PST |
It's the British scythed chariots leaping from trees that really scare me. |
| Crazyfrenchteacher | 22 Dec 2015 2:13 p.m. PST |
I remember that game! My jaw just about hit the ground when (shall remain nameless) looked at me and said "well that's it we lost". |
| Henry Martini | 22 Dec 2015 2:33 p.m. PST |
Henry VIII made a valiant attempt to put a stop to all that tree leaping nonsense in Britain, but he couldn't eradicate it from the national genes (see forthcoming pulp revival movie). |
| advocate | 22 Dec 2015 2:51 p.m. PST |
Wasn't there a film aboutf Frenchmen taking vines to California. I seem to remember them ambushing someone by jumping out of trees. Clearly a cultural thing. |
| Not A Member Anymore | 22 Dec 2015 6:24 p.m. PST |
You are thinking of the Western 'Thunder in the Sun' which had French Basques from the Pyrenees leaping from rock to rock, in and out of the trees, like mountain goats, frightening their Indian foes with ululating yodelling. Pure Hokum and great fun. |
| advocate | 23 Dec 2015 12:23 a.m. PST |
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| Citizen Kenau | 23 Dec 2015 12:48 a.m. PST |
You'd think all those shouldered pila pointing upwards would make it very unattractive to jump from trees….. |
| Major Bloodnok | 16 Jan 2016 2:22 p.m. PST |
Especially by naked Gaesti… |
 4th Cuirassier  | 17 Jan 2016 5:02 a.m. PST |
I was re-watching The Valley of Gwangi the other day (cowboys versus dinosaurs) and I have to report that at no point did anyone leap from anything onto anything else, unless horses count. So this problem of not leaping from trees despite every opportunity to do so appears to be spreading, which is disappointing. |
