TooFatLardies Oddcast: Episode 7

Really interesting video – have to admit, if I’m ever getting into a new era, Osprey are usually a first step for me too (well, first serious step). Wikipedia can give you a brief overview and a well written article will cite plenty of interesting works which I will then normally try and look up in the library or get them on amazon/ebay if the price is right. Youtube is another fantastic resource, especially if I’m just dabbling in new areas, be it dramas or documentaries, I find they’re a great source of entertainment but they also help provide me with a bit of umph if I’m ever getting bored with a topic. It’s the immersion of something like a drama that can really help, or a good novel like Flashman as mentioned – a table full of miniatures and buildings is great, but it’s a lot of work to get there, and a good movie really helps stimulate me and provide me with the encouragement to push on. Good example, was watching BBC’s Heroes and Villains on Youtube last night, the one about Napoleon at the Siege of Toulon in 1793. Loved that programme so much I ended up buying some Victrix French and some AWI Brits to recreate it, only problem was that they took so long to arrive when I first bought them, by the time they arrived I’d grown bored of the subject area. Dived back in head long last week a good year or so after I’d first bought them haha.

Another good point the fellas made was in regards to transitioning from 40k to historical gaming can be easier than it seems. I’ve always been into history to the extent that I chose to read it as an undergrad so it’s never been a problem for me but for some of my friends and my brother, I fully understand that moving into historics is a daunting prospect. Historical fiction is a fantastic entry point, same with watching episodes of Sharpe! Anything to make it less daunting, bit more visual, bit more relatable.

Long live the historical revolution! Sci-fi and fantasy are great, will always be a big love of mine, but the insanity of real life history can be so much more interesting, particularly if you’re ok with going off the rails and looking at alternate history. I’ve got a British Intervention force for ACW, and as Rich said, the thought of British redcoats in Georgia is ludicrous enough to sap the fun away from a game when so many of us get joy from the real history. That being said, having spent so much time reading into the Trent Affair for example, I’m ok with the Brits going to war against Lincoln but up in the north and at sea (albeit not necessarily out of any friendship for the south as was the case historically, the British government was never going to openly align with a slave state like the Confederacy), but I’m also accepting of the case that any escalation of the war would have also brought in Russia (whose fleets were dispatched to New York and San Francisco and contained sealed orders in the event it all kicked off), same with the sensible conclusion that France would likely have ended up getting involved, as would the Mexican Empire, Juarez and the Republicans. If the ACW blew up out of control, it would have grown very, very quickly which presents a lot of what-ifs which for me, is an important element of my hobby. Others would detest going off into cloud 9 like that but it goes to show, historical gaming doesn’t have to be as rigid as people think it can be.

Great stuff, I hope you keep uploading the Oddcast @dracs as it saves me from having to visit the TooFatLardies site directly!! Every time I go there I seem to end up buying something so it’s very much appreciated haha