> > In my HQ play he would not be so fearsome. He's in
> > Pavis, during the hot
> > summer, fighting in small quarters with a great
> axe.
> > I would give a hefty
> > bonus to a PC who would have equipment better
> suited
> > to the situation.
>
> Sounds like a RQ duel I remember with great joy: NPC
> Yelmic Rune Lord, in full plate, big shield, etc.,
> v.
> my not-quite-an-initiate with no armour, spear and
> shield. Fire season, noon, and she kept him waiting.
> She started by throwing the shield at him, then just
> kept dodging and staying out of range until he fell
> over. First time I've ever seen the infamous Fatigue
> rules do something useful. It would have worked
> better
> in HQ (her "yell vulgar insults" v his "easily
> embarrassed"), but it was good.
A bit of real-world history (I know, off-topic <g>)
After his bloody victory in Ireland (1649-52), one of the first things Oliver Cromwell did was to establish the annual worth of the lands of Ireland. William (later Sir William) Petty won the tender to value the newly conquered land by using cheap labour in the form of some of Cromwell's by then unemployed soldiers.
He trained them in valuation techniques, including how to survey the whole of Ireland, and oversaw the professional completion of the valuation contract within 13 months.
Petty was a larger than life character whom some hold to be the father of modern economics and its first econometrician. At one point he is said to have commented on the extent of the Irish holding that Sir Hierome Sankey, one of Cromwell's more formidable knights, had chosen for himself following the invasion of Ireland. Insulted, the brawny knight challenged the notoriously near-sighted Petty to a duel, offering Petty the choice of weapons and location.
When the almost blind Petty chose broad axes in a darkened cellar, Sir Hierome retreated gracefully after finding reason to reconsider the seriousness of Petty's offence.
(Pinched from my friend Brian Kavanagh.. I'm sure he won't mind me doing a bit more to promote Henry George's economics)
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