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Quickjump to a scenarios I have put together or which I am currently working on (yellow links are under construction):
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Wargaming, and ancient form of entertainment which has probably been around since the first humans moved around pebbles and pinecones on a spot of sand shaped to represent enemies or prey on spied out formations in the terrain. This hobby has developed a little bit since then, but essentially not much. I recent years it has however grown from being just tool of military strategists and toys for little boys to an extremely popular hobby. I am fairly new to the hobby; I was in fact introduced to it just a couple of years ago (2002) when I was invited to the Cold Wars wargaming convention in Lancaster, PA, USA. An eclectic and loosely held together group of Mithril Miniatures collector has been running games there for years. Very nice people, all of them, and I was immediately hook by their friendliness, enthusiasm and their miniature reenactments of grand scenarios like 'The Battle of the Last Alliance' and 'Rohirrim to the Rescue'. Although Mithril Miniatures were not initially aiming for the Wargaming market but more for the role players/collectors/diorama builders. They did however for a brief period issued a couple of armies, Gondorians and Mordor Orcs, aimed for the wargaming hobbyists. The anal-retentive people of Tolkien Enterprizes however soon defined this as a separate license and it was first sold to Icon and later Games Workshop. While I have nothing bad to say about the quality of Games Work Shop 'Lord of the Rings' miniatures (they've got some of the best sculptors and casting techniques arround), they are very keen on monopolizing the wargaming market. They probably pay a pretty penny both to New Line and Tolkien Enterprizes for their licenses, but it bugs me that they send their lawyers to bark at Mithril Miniatures if to so much as mouths the word wargaming. This is a pity since it gives GW, who are contractually bound to base their product on images from the Peter Jackson 'Lord of the Rings' movie trilogy, the sole interpretation. The movie is marvelous, but I find it a pity since the scenes and events in the books could and should be imagined in many, many ways. Not that *I* give a shit about wargaming licenses, really. I happily wargame with my Mithril collection and so do many of my friends. And I don't mind doing it with rules from Games Workshop and mixing my Mithril Miniature troops with some of their miniatures. Anyway, I am rambling...
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