Even this year we celebrated a Legio Palatina reunion. Partial, as usual due to logistical problems. We were in Canino, at Narciso’s house. Special guests Andrea from Terni, and two Narciso’s friends for a visit.

We were still in solstice holidays (Christmas and so on for almost two-three weeks) mood so a mjed bottle and pandoro before the battles. And while Narciso is picking some miniatures, Diego is picking a pandoro slice.

As first instance a couple of playtest games of Fortebraccio. Still minor tweaks on cards. When will have illustrations on cards this game kills. We like it very much. Expansions are planned. In June we will play it in a tournament in Perugia. The game is designed to celebrate the Saint’Egidio battle of the 12th of July 1416. 600 years ago. The game is commissioned by Perugia comune.

After pizza at lunch, in the afternoon a mega battle with HOTT. We didn’t remind all the rules because we are more DBA chaps. But the emphasis was on fun. Sadly my faction (Chaos) was exterminated by misfortune. However I lost my Fortebraccio game too. I don’t care, it was a great day.

A new game is in development from Ganesha Games. It is not the Ferrum et Gloria card game. It is not the Song of Blade and Heroes card game. It is Fortebraccio, a card game about battles during Medieval times with Condottieri. Out in the first part of 2016. English version after. Here you can see it in playtest form, obviously.

The same day we went to Antani, a comic shop in Terni. A meeting with Carmine De Domenico (he works for Marvel) and Giuseppe Palumbo (Diabolik and Martin Mystere). At the begin they worked together, so this was an opportunity to meet again, even if approximately 25 years are passed.

A lot of people were there for free sketches, but I paid (relatively) a lot of money to obtain an exclusive drawing through a commission by Palumbo.

I believe that Palumbo is currently one of the best drawers around, so I am proud to possess an example of his art. In the future on the walls of my new house.

After a general coverage of the convention (but more things were around), now the part dedicated to Ganesha Games presence: two gaming tables and one large table as vendors.

Mushrooms at large. Miniatures were cast and now Andrea can demonstrate the Advanced version of Song of Blade and Heroes with them. An enormous house was built by Miraz, the author of the new western rules, SBH based. Dwarves are arriving from casters.

The first convention day was with an OGAM scenario run by Diego based on new OGAM supplement on Celt mythology.

Andrea as entertainer for mothers and children.

Your hero together with a mother and her child. Note my new Gojira t-shirt. Sometime the demo work is useful to attract new people to wargame, sometime is simple entertainment for children.

During inaction time we playtested some new rules for venationes. A very useful session.

This is our group photo. A beautiful holiday among miniatures. My regret is scarce possibility to visit places where we play because all the time we remain involved in gaming. Only dinner time is free. All restaurants in town were sold out so we winded up in a pizzeria where the owner sang old tunes together with orders. Chisena sang following the owner. Weird and fun. However pizza was not the best, pity. But lunch was worse: internal canteen was not cheap and not good. After the dinner, the concierge delighted us with descriptions about his artistic ceramic personal collection. We heard it with dreamy interest. Because we were falling asleep. Our friends of wargaming clan ate in another place. A great and genuine meal based on meat plates. We declined because of vegetarianism. And even because we know that was a meal that lasted more time. So when they returned later than us, the impact with the concierge was far worse. The Sunday morning they were destroyed by scarce sleep.

We are completing the back events schedule. No coverage of Tiferno Comics (too near to Empoli, only Andrea went) and Maker Faire Rome (too many people and chaos to pick an interesting photo). So it is time for Lucca.

Back to the 26th of September. Still t-shirts around, as DBA, in the 3 edition version. A tournament was held in Rome, the first and maybe the last with this rules version.

We waited for this new edition since a lot of years. Its publication was a thing that never happened. And DBA was lacking interest between players.

Rules modification proposals were around for years. So the new edition displease almost everyone because everyone had his personal ideas how to fix and improve the game. And the new edition was something other than so many people wanted.

It is impossible to create 1000 different rules for 1000 different people. And what was created was not so intriguing to placate unhappiness. Someone found in the rules new inspiration but more people that were dissatisfied now are looking for something else. We played DBA tournaments since 2003, so if people want something different, the new edition, with its usual hermetic language, was the decisive event.

We were in Solo Giochi shop:
https://www.solo-giochi.it/
And this is the mini-website that I made for the event:
https://www.legiopalatina.it/lopapaveronovoconclave/index.htm

Some western building to play with Torriani rules.

A commission work for a WWII set. Still unpainted.

This incredible set is modular, so new parts could be added. And you can play in sewers and cellars because there is an underground level with parts that are connected too.

Some 28mm minatures painted by the owner of Solo Giochi. He sells them. It think that the ancient ones are really great.

I didn’t play in the tournament. With old edition tournaments I could choose an army (usually a Roman one…) and play without review rules. I hadn’t patience and free time to study new rules. But I wanted to be with my friends at the tournament, so I bring something else with me.

Another try for venationes and an opportunity to show my book to customers that were in the shop. 3 copies sold.

If it could be the last official DBA tournament in Roma however it was not a funeral. We had a lot of fun. DBA is what created our friendship. No more official DBA tournaments here in Rome? We can always play with DBA, play with other games, and meet for our common passion about wargaming. It is not a matter of rules but only of free time.

Do you remember where I took this photo? I was in the Ancient History museum in Trieste this May. And this is a bas relief with Pontiarii.

While we are preparing the English translation for Ferrum et Gloria, something new is on the arena sands. I’m laying down and playtesting new kinds of gladiators for the second book. This time I have better player sheets and rules summaries from the book. More stylish and handy than notes made with simple wordprocessing.

Pontiarii is a peculiar combat set between retiarii and contraretiarii utilising a bridge. Who hold the bridge win the fight. You can throw stones from the top of the bridge. And all is more three-dimensional because gladiators can fight from top to down or from down to top. And the bridge is a peculiar terrain. A lot of situations that were clarified during the test.

In the same session we had a combat between velites. Other situations, other rules. And more things to play with gladiators.

A full Sunday of August spent for a playtesting about new rules from Ganesha Games that I call here as Project A. And an opportunity to take this beautiful photo about Andrea with a stack of notes.

Among all the new rules that Andrea is writing there is Harder Than Steel, the science fiction version of Song of Blade and Heroes. So Andrea came to visit me for giving a try to the rules, especially for those about vehicles. I haven’t sci-fi terrain because I am focused on other periods, but I realised something the same. On the ground pieces from Necromunda, WH40K, Ma.k and whichever is from future.

We threw away vehicle rules that Andrea thought. I suggested a better easy way to handle vehicles. So even this part of the book proceed. The only uncertainty is the realisation schedule due to so many rules that are in their final stage.

Andrea came here in Rome for a two days trip: the first day for an Orient festival, the second day for another playtest session for RS. Things run smoothly. Something is needed but the core is stable. We have found the right way to play it with a different way to alternate turns than usual SBH engine. More in the future.