Recently, Neil Patterson (the author of the excellent Aufklarungsabteilung blog) wrote that the rarest form of wargaming imagi-nation 'seems is the fully fledged designed from scratch Imagi-Nation, complete with invented uniforms, flags and characters that actually reaches the point of figures and armies.' This made me realise that although my Belle Époque project has advanced quite some way, I have not as yet turned any of my very basic notes into outline backstories for my imagi-nations ... and that it was about time that I did!
I’m going to start with my latest creation, which has gone through several potential names until I settled upon calling it the Sultanate of Sahel. What I wanted was something that melded aspects of Ethiopia/Abyssinia with Mahdist Sudan, and I chose the name Sahel as that is the region of sub-Saharan Africa that stretches from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Sultanate of Sahel
The Sultanate of Sahel is actually a loose confederation of three major tribes that occupy land to the south and west of Zubia. The position of sultan is not hereditary and is usually occupied by the most powerful of the current tribal leaders. In the past some sons have succeeded their fathers as sultan, but this is not the norm.
The people of the Sahel speak a common language (Bedawi) and the economy of the Sultanate is based on a mixture of semi-nomadic pastoralism, fishing, and small-scale agriculture. Skilled craftsmen in metal can be found in most of the larger settlements and the capital, but there is no large-scale industry.
Each of the tribes is divided into clans, and clans (and sometimes tribes) have been known to fight each other over the right to use pastureland for their herds of cattle. The sultan does not usually intervene in these conflicts unless it is his own tribe or clan that is involved. In such cases troops from his bodyguard (the only full-time professional Saheli soldiers) intervene to bring an end to the fighting.
The Saheli are warlike and often raid Zubian territory to seize cattle for their herds or to acquire supplies of metal. The Zubians claim that the Sultanate of Sahel is part of their territory, but any influence or control of the sultanate is at best tenuous.
Bob -
ReplyDeleteBackground information upon one's Imagi-Nations can provide interesting contexts, and I recall that Tony Bath's Hyboria Campaign book suggested developing one's imaginary worlds along such lines. Phil Barker also lays out quite detailed background info for a war games campaign based upon the life of Alexander the Great (his book is a fine war games resource and pretty good historiography, too, in my view).
It is a matter of style I guess. I like your own brief 'pen-portrait of Sahel - enough to lend context, but not so much as to entangle you into over-commitment to this or that type of event.
I tend to go even more minimal, and let events shape the contexts. This might seem 'arse about face', but I find that (a) such background that gets introduced provides the context, and (b) it often transpires in any such narrative the background relevant to the event narrated serves as an introduction to that narrative.
I guess it's all a matter of preference, style, and sometimes simply the type of campaign/ Imaginary world you want to run.
The world of Sideon IV to which one 'Jono' introduced me 11 years ago was full of background - probably too full to be readily adaptable to a war games campaign. Which is why, especially after he decided that the war gaming side was not for him, I modified it considerably to suit my own ends.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteMy inspiration for proper backgrounds for my imagi-nations comes from Eric Knowles’s Madasahatta Campaign.
I like to create enough detail to set the scene but not too much so as to confine the continued development of the backstory.
I suspect that Jono might have fallen into the trap of getting too involved in creating his backstories. It can be very, very addictive … but can lead one to create dead ends that restrict potential wargaming users far too much.
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteYour putting in a lot of useful detail to the Back Story for your Imaginations Concept - very interesting and hope that it will all play out during your Campaigns. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteMost of my backstories are based on events that happened in real countries (often several that were themselves linked geographically and/or culturally), tinged with some ‘what if …’. They seem to work better as backgrounds for my imagi-nation campaigns.
All the best,
Bob
I love reading these backgrounds, and have them for my imagi-nations as well, but they are mostly in my head. I should really make the effort to write them down. This kind of thing has always been easy for me, and my other primary gaming interest, the RPG I have been running for many years helps a lot. I'm looking forward to reading more background for your world.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteYou really ought to write down the backstories for your imagi-nations so that the rest of us can enjoy them as well. They may well spark an interest in one or more of your readers … thus perpetuating the whole concept.
There are more backstories in the pipeline … so keep reading my blog!
All the best,
Bob
I'm working on a new map for my 1/72 medieval armies. It will include some fantasy areas as well as I want it to do double duty with my current RPG campaign and I want to experiment with 3x3 Swords, Sorcery and Squares. When it's done I'll post it on the Portable Wargames Facebook page along with some history and background on the various nations. Hopefully it will provide some enjoyment.
DeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteThis sounds very interesting, and I look forward to reading more about it on the FB page.
All the best,
Bob
Thanks for the kind mention Bob.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head when you mention "getting too involved in the backstory" as that seems to be the trap a lot of the Imagi-Nation blogs fell into when it was a "fad". Many languish untouched and not updated for years.
Ion mentions Tony Bath's Hyboria. It is what has inspired me. I remember reading the series in Battle, then Military Modelling and being captivated. It's only when you read about the background that you realise the extraordinary levels of details he went into. I confess I have liberally borrowed the bits I like without any desire to go to his lengths. You can tell he was an accountant! His main legacy for me is the family trees and characters, but other things have taken an easier route, using a boardgame as the basis allows the map and geography to have been done for you to some extent.
Neil
Neil Patterson (Neil),
DeleteIt was my pleasure to mention your blog, which I always enjoy reading.
The process of creating the backstories for imagi-nations is very rewarding … but it can begin to dominate one’s thinking if one isn’t careful.
I think that Tony Bath’s Hyboria campaign got the balance about right, although some of the details he included were more than was necessary for players to take part in the campaign. Using Robert E Howard’s work as a starting point for his campaign must have helped, and the idea of using someone else’s fictional maps and backstories is very tempting. I must admit to thinking of doing something along those lines for my projected Napoleonic campaign.
All the best,
Bob
PS. I understand that the ‘History of Wargaming’ project is hoping to publish a compendium of all the published and unpublished material from the Hyboria campaign.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI thought it had already been reproduced to some extent in the republished "Setting up a wargames campaign" - this included the material from Slingshot IIRC. If the plan is to reproduce the series from Battle /MM it would be nice to have it in one place. You can of course find it on the net:
http://snv-ttm.blogspot.com/p/tony-baths-hyboria.html
Neil
Neil Patterson (Neil),
DeleteI understand that there is quite a bit of unpublished stuff out there, and that the ‘History of Wargaming’ project is trying to collate it and the more widely available stuff into a single, coherent publication.
All the best,
Bob