At WoW 5, I was able to fight the second half of the woods battle, and then the ruins battle. My side won the woods overall, but not the battle I fought in. We lost the first ruins, won the second, and then lost the tie breaker. Then we ran the ruins twice more in another way for fun.

I brought out my 40″ sword and my two foot diameter round shield for blocking. Jauma had to leave just as I was getting in, so he handed me his rubber band pistol and half a dozen rubber bands. Archery and RBG’s were disallowed in the ruins, so I only used it in the woods.

I like the idea of “if you’re shot with ammo, pick up what killed you and bring it back to your res point.” That was really cool and I hope we could do that on the heavy side more. That way, combat archers have less to worry about when shooting expensive ammo at people who will just step on it.

I don’t like Death From Behind (there, I said it). In the woods, it seemed like most of the attacking was about trying to get around groups of people so you could DFB them. Sure, the battle wasn’t about taking ground and holding it – there were just a couple points you needed to control. However, it just doesn’t seem right to walk past a group of people fighting just so you can walk behind them and “kill” them that way. Perhaps I have French Noble’s Disease, but I’d rather join in with my comrades who are actually fighting and just help overwhelm the opponents. Also, the heavy fighter in me has an issue with my opponent calling me dead rather than me calling me dead. Hey, them’s the breaks, I’ll figure it out eventually. After about 4 DFB’s, I started looking over my shoulder quite a bit. Often, I would find someone DFB’ing my friend, and I would stab them.

I’m also not quite sure that I’m effective with an RBG. I think I spent too much time loading it, and worrying about it shooting me, or my friend, and if I should have it or my shield out… I came to the conclusion that I would load it at res point, and then stick it in my belt. The first time I was legged, everyone on the other side just ignored me, so I started reloading my RBG – so Conor the Gypsy killed me while I was reloading (a smart move, as I was going to shoot him). I think they would be really cool and fun if I had a couple people following me around reloading them and handing them forward – but I bet that’s a thought every nobleman has had since the induction of guns to the west. Also, there’s an interesting phenomenon where if someone is shot by an RBG or arrow, and doesn’t feel it, the other side will inform him politely of this and the person will take it. It’s perhaps like DFB (calling your opponent dead), but I just don’t see that as much on the heavy side. When we tend to inform someone that they have been shot, they don’t hear us, and it can get a little nasty.

Rapier fighters fight woods battles at about double the speed that heavy fighters do (or at least it looked that way). There were a lot more people running back and forth to res point than I’ve ever seen in a heavy battle. Charlotte would often pass me on the way back and forth, and I’d say “go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” (My ankle and bruised up left leg was not going to let me run anywhere, much less through that undergrowth.) At first, I got the impression that Gavin was hanging around me to make sure I didn’t get mobbed, but he eventually ran off to do crazy things behind enemy lines, and I was happy to send him off with luck and my blessing.

When we moved out of the woods to the ruins, I came a bit more into my own. First was the fun of people expecting me to get tired. One person actually said “we’ll wait for your arm to get tired of holding that large shield up…” HA! You don’t know me very well do you. My round shield is like half the weight of a heater… you can wait a long time.

Next, there was some interesting lack of tactical knowledge on the part of my fellow low end rapier fighters. At one point, Conor (that damn Gypsy) started floating out on our flanks, right along the edge of the world. Nobody did anything about it. Then, he started talking to us about it, and how he could do it as long as the marshal told him where the line was, and still nothing happened. Finally, I decided to float out there and stop this insanity. All you have to do is send one barely competition fighter out to the edge of the world and don’t let him die, and he’ll save you from being flanked (and in rapier, DFB’d). If he tries to scoot between you and your forces, kill him. I can’t be the only person to figure this out…

Also, it was pretty obvious to me after fighting the first of the ruins battles that it didn’t matter what half wall I had in front of me. It was much more important that my opponents had a less than advantageous wall behind them. I was surprised when Alric yelled over before one of the battles, “Hey Girard, take those dozen or so guys up the right side.” I’m used to command in heavy, but I didn’t expect to get it in my 2nd rapier melee scenario. Thus, I picked the spot I wanted to get to, and announced to my folks, “I want to get to at least half way!” (I mistakenly thought my spot was half way, it was more like 2/3rds of the way across). At lay-on, I dashed in quick and looked crazy while the rest of the fighters formed up in a line, but we had moved past some horrible turns and had our enemy backing into a corner. Then, it was just a matter of engaging lightly while slowly rocking forward half an inch at a time. Eventually they were all backed up on various walls and were unable to move, thus killed.

Overall, it was a fun time. I managed to only do one thing that was just horribly wrong (someone turned their back on me and I stabbed them), but I said I was sorry and they were cool with it. I did run out of a DFB before I realized that it had happened, but that was just a matter of timing and not really against the rules. I got to shoot people with a gun, stab them with a sword, and see my friends kick ass at doing it better than I. I saw my rapier champion issue orders clearly, in time to carry them out, and with a level of knowledge that really did turn the tide of some engagements. I think I was killed and killed others in about equal proportion in the woods, but I did defend a flag for about half that battle, so I helped win some points. I only took one really hard shot (in the neck) and the person just kind of drifted away, and I took another stiff shot that was really me jumping on it and not my opponent’s fault. Honestly, not a bad way to support a war effort and have some fun doing it.

But, before we get into that, let’s re-cap the last six weekends.

Sept. 4th – Golden Rose. Duchess Padraigin asked me to be on her team for Golden Rose, and I was honored to accept. Of course, that means I had to get my rig all shinny and ready to go, but then had a great time fighting for the day. On Sunday, we drove out to the Greensboro area and picked up Cliff and Fiona, our two new greyhounds.

Sept. 11th – Florida. My parents really wanted to see our new car, so back when the calendar was a lot less full, we agreed to drive down for a weekend to see them. So, we packed Cliff and Fiona into the back of the car a week after we got them and drove 11 hours to Central Florida. We hung out and had a good time, then got back in the car and came home.

Sept. 18th – HMS Raven’s Cove. We couldn’t stand by and not be there for the creation of a new Barony right on our borders, so we got up and zipped down I40 to attend Battle for HMS Raven’s Cove. After the investiture and some hugs for our new cousins, we got back in the car and went up to Bunnlevel to the Tourney of Friends site to go riding. The plan was to ride in processional at War of the Wings, and we felt it might be a good idea to have been on said horses before. Sunday, we took the dogs to the dog-park, then went to the Baronial Meeting and Practice.

Sept. 25th – MATO 3. Midnight at the Oasis has been a great event for a long time now, and this year was no exception. I drove out to setup tents on Friday night, then back home. Guenievre, myself, and the pups came out Saturday, and camped over on Saturday night. This was Cliff and Fiona’s first event, and they really handled it well. It’s rather refreshing to have dogs that can go to events with us.

Oct. 2nd – Coronation. We’ve been making a point to get to Coronations to re-affirm our oath as Baronage. This one, I was also able to get my heavy rapier authorization knocked out as well. It was a lovely event at a great site. We jumped in the car with Livia and hit the road early, played all day, then left after court. We got dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube and made it home around 11:00. On Sunday, we took the dogs to the dog-park, then went over to NC State for a really nifty demo that the new/old student group had put together.

Oct. 9th – WoW 5. I’ve been to every War of the Wings running, and this one was definitely the best one so far. Each year, they seem to add a little bit, but this year it seems like the event really came into its own. Cliff and Fiona went with us, and we were camping out for two nights, plus bringing a bunch of canvas. So, we procured a trailer and hauled it all out and back. I fought in a heavy torchlight tourney on Friday, then in the first 3 heavy battles on Saturday. After that point, Baron Axel conceded the heavy war points, so I jumped over to Rapier to lend a hand there.

So, in the last 6 weeks, I haven’t had a real “day off” to just lounge around the house, putter, and get some chores done. It was a very rewarding month and a half, but I’m also very tired right now from it all. Also, there’s no aspect of my gear that doesn’t need help – armor, shields, weapons, tents, garb, etc… So, time to start scrubbing and fixing, and getting things ready for winter and next spring.

That’s kind of a strange thing to think about. I started my LJ back in January of 2004, so it’s lasted quite a while. That’s just about ancient considering the average lifespan of technology.

It has really been a fun place to hang out. It has been great reading little bits of everyone’s lives, and sharing little bits of my own. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t do that anymore. I think LJ has fallen below critical mass. I know that many people are not happy with the drama of posting comments to Facebook, but to be honest, that’s not what’s pushing me away. I was gone before that even happened, I just didn’t acknowledge it until now.

I feel like we’re in a transitional time right now. People are still looking for ways to blog and chat in various methods, and it doesn’t look like there’s a true LJ/FB mashup.

So, what will all this mean for my online friends? Well, first I’ll post any sort of blog type posts up here rather than at Livejournal. I’ll keep mirroring over on LJ though, so if you are used to reading me on your friends list, I’ll still show up. I’m also working to have easy integration from here to Facebook, so if you are a FB fan, you’ll see it there too.

I may not be reading my friends list as often though. I’ll be working to add your blogs and LJ’s to my RSS feeder, so I’ll read that stuff over in google reader now instead.

So, it was time to get back to my roots as a homebrewer. You see, I actually learned brewing from my father. I was in middle school when he picked up the hobby, and I used to help with all aspects of the brewing process. I can say I’ve been bottling beer since 7th grade, and it still sucked back then.

To kick off the inaugural batch for my new keg system, I thought something with a nice creamy head would really take advantage of the kegerator. Thus, I pulled out my Creamy Vanilla Ale recipe, and Dad and I spent the afternoon relaxing, not worrying, and making home brew.

Let’s see – I found out that my stove really won’t do the job for bringing wort up to a boil. We had to span the pot over two burners to get anywhere, and it still didn’t really boil like I would have liked. Guess I need to find a turkey fryer (that might be fun in January/February). I also learned that the new yeast smack packs from American Brewmaster really take off. I smacked it at the start of the brew process and the dang thing looked like it was going to explode before the wort was cool enough. Lastly, I think I used the wrong grains – it should still be tasty, but not as blonde as the last one.

Looking forward, I’m planning two experiments in the future. In the near term, I’m going to make one more partial extract beer (to use up some of the malt extract I’ve got sitting around), but this time I want to make it with Durham’s Municipal water. I’ve gotten the watter quality assessment from the city, and it’s not horribly far off the water I’m buying in the stores.

Then, probably after Ymir, I’m going to go for an all grain batch. Considering that there will be lots of opportunities to add hops, I think that one is going to be an IPA.

If all goes well, I should be able to bring a keg or two to Ymir, and anyway, it’ll be on tap at my house. Stay tuned for news of keg tapping day.

The nice folks over at A Commonplace Book linked to a nifty article by Doug Strong. He did a statistical analysis of 250 effigies in England, and broke down their armor into bar graphs per decade. Thus, I can look at the 1380′s and see that while my arm rig, gauntlets, and breastplate are great, my lack of real greaves and sabatons are woefully anachronistic. (Good thing I play in the SCA, right?)

It’s also interesting to see these graphs in relation to the 100 Years War. When you consider the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers, in 1337 and 1356 respectively, you see a bunch of different styles of armor quickly getting drilled down to one major one and a few examples of a runner up. In most cases, by the 1360′s, armor has standardized to a single type. However, you don’t see huge changes in the 1420′s after Agincourt in 1415.

Tired Baron is Tired

This weekend saw fit to give me plenty of opportunities to fight a wide range of fighters.  We had 18 in armor on the field, so the MOL’s saw fit to break us into two pools of 9 for our first round robin.  I was in a pool with Sirs Mark and Daemon.  Eight fights later, both Knights and I had fought to a 3 way tie for first place, each of us going 7 and 1.  Moving into the finals, they allowed the top three of each pool to advance, placing me in a pool of 6 including Count Jason, Lord Jonathan Blackbow, and Sir Daemon’s new squire whose name escapes me at the moment.  Unfortunately, while a few of the fights I had in the finals were hard fought, they were eventually counted in the loss column, sending me 0 for 5 in the finals.  On top of that baker’s dozen fights in the tournament, I went two passes with Lord Galen, my new Armored Champion, and two passes each with two newer fighters during a sparsely attended pickups period.

I won’t go into all 19 fights, but I do want to break down my fights with the Chivalry as to add to my file cabinet on them.  It seemed like there was a definite break between those who made the finals and those who did not.  There were a lot of newer fighters on the field yesterday, and not a lot in the mid-range (where I consider myself to be).  Against these new opponents, I think I did a good job of bringing my preferred game to the field.  I tried to remain highly mobile while maintaining good footwork.  I threw way more shots than I needed to, so I’ll need to work on more concise targeting.

Vs. Sir Mark – Sir Mark and I fought twice, each time he was fighting with an upside down katana in his off hand.  The first fight I won, the second he won.  In the first fight, I lined up as if to go for a standard sword side pass, only as I moved towards his “shield side”, I threw a leg wrap out around his upside down sword.  I was trying to keep from getting hit by it, but it turns out it worked, and I took his leg.  After that, I had to keep on him and keep throwing until I was able to take a step to my shield side and drop a wrap into his belly.  In the second fight, I tried the same thing again, but he saw it coming.  He tabled my shield out a bit and got my leg, forcing me to my knees.  After closing on me, he was very effective in getting myself all tied up with my own sword and shield, and it was a simple matter of wrapping the back of my head.

Vs. Sir Daemon – Sir Daemon and I also fought twice.  However, he won both of them, in the exact same manner (that says I didn’t learn the first time).  I would close and attempt to bring the same fight I brought to everyone else, and he would block all that.  Then, when the time was right, he’d throw this killer leg wrap – it’s so tight and fast.  It hit high on my hip, and gets behind the shield.  Once on my knees, I was able to be reasonably defensive, though I get the impression that Sir Daemon is a very patient fighter.  I was almost able to take his arm, but I didn’t quite have enough power on the offside shot there – something to work on.  Eventually he would throw a combo that hit my arm, then my head, fast enough that I say “good arm, head.”

Vs. Count Jason – To be honest, I did not give this Knight the best fight ever.  By the time we met, I was hot and more than a little tired.  I remembered the idea of trying to open him up as I changed ranges.  The trouble was, I did it poorly, and he was able to step a bit off to my shield side.  A quick flat snap later, and I was done.  I thought I had it blocked, but it was coming for the back of my helm rather than the front side of it.  Oh well, more to watch for next time.

Girard strikes Alejandro

We fought till one of us had scored 5 good blows, so best of 9.  We kept score for ourselves.  We would often simply keep fighting while scoring, yelling “good, two!” as we threw our own blow.

So, considering how fun this was, and how out of practice I am with this fun form, and that it’s really only good for dueling, I open myself up for challenges once again.  I will make an effort to ensure I have a greatsword with me at any and all martial events.  Find me at a practice, a demo, or pickups at an event, and say, “Your Excellency, I challange you to 9 passes of greatsword,” and I shall accept your challange.

The only valid reasons to push off the challange are; some piece of armor is broken past the point of being legal/safe and can not be fixed today, I am injured to the point where I can not fight any more, or I have some very pressing time restriction that I can not dodge (like court).  Notice, I didn’t include “I’m too tired” or any number of other pansy excuses.

What you need to join is an SCA legal greatsword, adequate hand protection, and if we’re at an event – a valid great weapon authorization.  Otherwise, sky’s the limit.  Bring it on.

The loser of the 9 passes should publicly state that the challenge was fought, the score, and something of the victor’s virtue.

So, who wan’ts into the Liechtenstein School of Swordplay?  (Why Liechtenstein?  Well, in what form did Sir Ulrich win his first tourney?)

Baron Girard in Armor

After the devastating morning where I had to bury my favorite cat, Gandalf, I’m in debt to my Baronial Army for allowing me some martial therapy Sunday afternoon.

I’m so proud of them.  We really were fighting by about 1:15, and everyone was warmed up and ready to go by the time 2:00 rolled around.  We were able to work on some charging drills, talk about some goals for the army, and learn quite a bit.  Thank you as well to Sir Falcone for taking a leadership roll on Sunday, as my mind wasn’t quite 100% in it.  Twelve fighters doesn’t sound like a huge turnout for a Baronial Practice, but let me stress that this is the start.  It was the first one we’ve had all year, and that number will only grow as Pennsic looms closer.  That said, don’t underestimate what a dozen well trained and disciplined shiledmen can do.

We charged each other so well and so many times that my shield arm was sore.  That doesn’t happen at Pennsic folks, so let that show that we’re training harder than we’ll fight.  Ulrich also nailed my right hip quite well, right where the armor wasn’t, so the walk into work today was spent stretching that out and walking it off.

Great practice folks, I’ll see you all next month.

(Special thanks to Lady Zita for the picture.)

I’m very proud of my web staff today, as over that rainy weekend they were able to push out a brand new website for the Barony.  Go take a look: windmastershill.org.

You’ll spot the brand new Baronage Blog, which Guenievre and I will use to communicate with the rest of the populace, as well as pimp up comming events and projects, and to report on such things once they have passed.

Also, our Baronial Calendar is now 100% web user generated.  That’s right, if someone wants to hold a meeting, practice, get-together, A&S workshop, what ever, they can go up here and add it to the calendar themselves.  No need to email it to someone, who will have to hand code it and then ftp it up to a website.

So, Windmasters’, go sign up and look around.  Other Baronies, bow down before the awesome that is our new website!

Let’s say the situation comes down to 2 relatively less experienced fighters vs. 1 fighter with relatively more experience.  We’ll call it 2 squires vs. 1 knight.  What the knight wants to do is string out the two un-belts so that he can have 2 single fights.  If the knight can accomplish, even for a couple seconds, a one-on-one with an un-belt, he’ll look to kill or leg that un-belt then move off to clean up the other one.

Of course, the two squires have a much better shot at killing said knight if they can both attack him at the same time.  Actually, any two fighters that are out of the “novice” bracket should be able to kill just about any white belt they can catch together.

So, watch what happens.  Sir Killer (red w/ white stripe) is looking at Squire Green (green w/ red stripe) and Squire Meat (blue w/red stripe) from the House of Green Eggs and Ham.  Sir Killer is going to quickly size up the two squires, and try to figure out which is the weaker.  He will run to that side of the formation.  In our situation, Squire Meat is the weaker guy.  (See Illustration 1.)

Illustration 1

Reactions to this vary.  In the “realy bad” department, they will just turn.  At that point, Sir Killer has two easy kills lined up.  If he’s feeling sneaky, he can charge Squire Meat and actually throw a shot at Squire Green.  Should such a thing happen, you’ll usually see Sir d’Oeuf, the guy who gave red belts to Meat and Green, on the side of the field crying into his glass of wine and considering when to have household ass wrap practice.  (See Illustration 2)

Illustration 2

In the “still quite bad department”, Squire Green will try to go around Squire Meat on his Left side, following the Knight.  If the knight in question is of the older, slower variety, and the Squires of the newer, faster varieties, this may work.  Also, if they already had their back to the wall (‘wall’ being the out of bounds line or other obstacle) this may be the only if not the best solution.  If done quickly, you can trap the knight against that wall and kill him.  In that situation, Squire Meat should be 90% defensive and the killing blow should come from Squire Green as he closes.  However, in an open field situation, this is not the right motion.  (See Illustration 3)

Illustration 3

The right motion is to “cut the corner” or “head him off at the pass”.  It’s shorter by half at least, and most of the time, will have you crashing into the knight as his momentum takes him past your squire brother.  At this point, you’ve successfully denied the knight his one off fight.  You have two on one, so both of you should be raining blows down upon the knight, forcing him to block blows from opposite sides at the same time (or get out). (See Illustration 4).

Illustration 4

There are three possible motions that you may see at this point assuming the knight has survived the barrage.  First is, the knight continues on his first course of motion, and now seeks to isolate the guy who just cut him off.  The counter to that is, Squire Meat has to pull off what his comrade just accomplished – he has to cross behind and cut Sir Killer off at the pass.   Following on the knight’s heals only works if you are much faster than he is, so don’t do that.  (See Illustration 5)

Illustration 5

The second course is that Sir Killer may reverse direction, and attempt to roll around the other side of Squire Meat  (See Illustration 6).  This is the riskiest of all possible options, for both the knight and the two squires.  Squire Green has to make a choice – does he throw a shot at the knight as he tries to get away (usually opening himself up to parting shots) or does he simply book ass back behind his comrade (the opposite of the motion he just did)?  The answer has to be made in that split second.  The first option is more aggressive, and should be undertaken on knights who move slower than you.  The second option is more defensive, and should be undertaken on occasions where the knight is much better than the average white belt.  Squire Meat can make this a bit easier on his buddy if he can push “out” (or towards the right in our situation).  This makes Sir Killer’s path longer, and Squire Green’s path shorter.

Illustration 6

The last option for our Knight here is to retreat.  They will tend to make a retreat along a “J” or “C” type path, where he both backs out and curves toward the side of one fighter or the other.  (See Illustration 7)  Sir Killer’s goal here is to see who runs faster, and try to get you strung out again.  If he successfully escapes, don’t go rushing to follow and thereby leave your comrade behind.  If he gets all the way to the side of your formation, the guy in the back needs to cut the corner again and keep both of you on him.  Advance at him with the pace of the slowest guy, stay together, and don’t let him string you out.  If you get that glory hound howling behind your eyes, trying to run him down while he’s running backwards, you will leave your buddy behind and both of you will most likely die.

Illustration 7

While you are in the two on one, watch out for the “blind” shot.  Just because the knight is in front of your buddy, fighting with him, doesn’t mean he won’t throw a shot at you without looking at you.  He’s got you in the corner of his eye (how do you think he’s blocking all your shots?), and when he see’s enough bar grill open up, he’s going to shoot for it.

Most of the time, in larger melees, this is kind of stupid.  If one person can tie up two for any significant length of time, he’s won, regardless of who’s alive and who’s dead.  However, you may be called upon to do this in cases where an opposing spearman is chewing up our flanks and causing a lot of casualties.  Also, this might be the best way to open a hole so that another force can charge through for a shot at an enemy commander or archer.  In those situations, it’s important to realize how far you need to go, and not chase the singleton across the field.  Once they’ve moved off, let them go.  If they come back, we’ll have you charge them again.

Why no tactics for a 3 or 4 on 1 situation?  Because the only time that should happen is at the very end of a “last man standing” type battle.  There’s very little reason to tie up more than two people trying to kill one enemy.  If you find yourself in such a situation, just make sure you stay together and mob the person.  Kill them as quickly as humanly possible, and keep throwing power until you hear good or they are on the ground, then move on.  You got caught by a speed bump, the least you can do is hit the gas afterwards.