View Full Version : Greetings from Gunther
Gunther
10-31-13, 01:21 PM
I was referred to this site by Lye. He has been thus far very helpful. Thank you, sir.
I do appreciate the continuity of the storyline and universe of Althanas. I believe this is the sort of site I am looking for. I have bounced around between different sites over the years and settled on one for the past two years that I really enjoy. I am however feeling a bit out of sorts with that site and was in the mood for something different.
I can say I have been roleplaying in one capacity or another for roughly 35 years, if you include PnP RPing as a teen in school. I spent 21 years in the US Army/Massachusetts Army National Guard retiring as an Infantry Officer ten years ago. I am married and have four young children between the ages of 3 and 8. I never wanted to get married when I was in my 20s and knew I wanted to get out of the military before I did get married.
I enjoy reading military history and have been doing so for about 40 years. I do not favor one era over another and am a sort of Jack of all trades when it comes to MilHistory. I enjoy writing and view this hobby as collaborative works of fiction, rather than roleplaying. I understand the majority choose to call it roleplaying, but to me roleplaying implies we are playing a game, where someone wins and someone loses. My friends, I am not playing a game. I am writing story. I don't care about winning or losing, only writing an entertaining story. I believe writing the story of the losing side is just as much fun as writing the story of the winner. I am perfectly content with knowing who is winning and who is losing before we write the story.
Since Lye invited me to join the Order of the Crimson Hands. That is where I shall reside, initially.
Totally random, but I spent a little time on Roleplayer Guild (that's where he recruited you from, right?) and you sound super familiar. I was Luned on there, too. Did we write together at some point?
Either way, glad to have you here! Welcome, and don't hesitate to ask questions!
Silence Sei
10-31-13, 01:30 PM
Welcome, I myself have 3 kids between 0-6 years (Youngest is 7 months), so I can kinda relate to you.
I enjoy reading military tactics of old myself, and this character actually fancies himself a strategist. So just in case things at the Crimson Hand don't work out, there's always the Ixian Knights. :D
Mordelain
10-31-13, 01:33 PM
Welcome, Gunther.
I'm glad Althanas appears to suit your needs, I can safely say the continuity and breadth of background (though not the best), is one of the most unique and flexible I've come across.
If you need anything at all, ask Lye, or anyone really, we're a friendly enough bunch for the most part.
Max Dirks
10-31-13, 02:05 PM
I like your character, Gunther.
I think you'll have a good time on Althanas. Except why you would trust Lye is way beyond me.
I've already said my greetings via PM, but once again, welcome! I agree with your view of writing and roleplay, seeing it more as collaborative story telling than a game. The system implemented here is a fantastic environment for regulated continuity of character development along a believable path. EXP permits believable growth and gold allows for natural economy. The judging system is also a site-wide workshop to allow constructive criticism as you finish threads (or chapters) of your collaborative works. It can take some getting used to, but we have many friendly members willing to help you feel at home.
[Edit] Don't listen to Dirks. My character may be shifty, but I'm as straight forward as they can be. :D
Welcome! I hope your stay here is pleasurable. Also hope to meet you with one of my eleven characters dome day.
Gunther
10-31-13, 02:58 PM
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome.
Totally random, but I spent a little time on Roleplayer Guild (that's where he recruited you from, right?) and you sound super familiar. I was Luned on there, too. Did we write together at some point?
Either way, glad to have you here! Welcome, and don't hesitate to ask questions!
Yes, Luned we did RP together. I still have you on my friend's list there. Dr. Luned Cunningham and Liam Donnelly both traveled to Eqypt aboard the Exodus (http://roleplayerguild.com/showthread.php?141851-Exodus-and-the-secret-of-the-Voynich-Manuscript) in search of the Voynich Manuscript. We got as far as the sphinx and the thread died. :( One of the aspect of RPG that totally annoys me is the frequency at which RP threads decay into nothing.
Welcome, I myself have 3 kids between 0-6 years (Youngest is 7 months), so I can kinda relate to you.
I enjoy reading military tactics of old myself, and this character actually fancies himself a strategist. So just in case things at the Crimson Hand don't work out, there's always the Ixian Knights. :DHoytti tells me he/she has 11 characters. So the possibility of an additional character joining the Ixian Knights does seem real. For now, I'll use Günther Faust in the Crimson Hands, to learn how this site works. Thank you for the invitation.
If you ever want to have an OOC conversation regarding MilHist, I'm game. I'm also into war gaming, the old fashioned way with dice and charts. I've even experimented with play by post war gaming in an RP style.
Welcome, Gunther.
I'm glad Althanas appears to suit your needs, I can safely say the continuity and breadth of background (though not the best), is one of the most unique and flexible I've come across.
If you need anything at all, ask Lye, or anyone really, we're a friendly enough bunch for the most part.Thank you. This is an attractive feature of the site.
I like your character, Gunther.
Thank you, sir.
I agree with your view of writing and roleplay, seeing it more as collaborative story telling than a game. The system implemented here is a fantastic environment for regulated continuity of character development along a believable path. EXP permits believable growth and gold allows for natural economy. The judging system is also a site-wide workshop to allow constructive criticism as you finish threads (or chapters) of your collaborative works. It can take some getting used to, but we have many friendly members willing to help you feel at home.
[Edit] Don't listen to Dirks. My character may be shifty, but I'm as straight forward as they can be. :DI am happy to hear that others share my view regarding the differences between Role Playing and Collaborative story telling. I look forward to exploring the many facets of this RP system. I do not mind being judged. It strikes me as a form of initiation as well as an introduction of what is expected from writers/contributors.
Not listening to Dirks. Nyah, nyah, nyah!
Welcome! I hope your stay here is pleasurable. Also hope to meet you with one of my eleven characters dome day.
Thank you, hoytti. This answers one of my questions. I guess I can have an additional character. Phew! I like to try different things. I can start with a Viking themed warrior and move to a Drow Necromancer some other time or whatever flight of fancy carries me away.
Mordelain
10-31-13, 03:00 PM
Now that's over.
Write with meeeeeeee! :cool:
Welcome to the site. I hope you enjoy yourself here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do.
Ey, you can have multiple characters, but you must create a new account for each one. Annoying right? ;P
Gunther
10-31-13, 03:24 PM
Ey, you can have multiple characters, but you must create a new account for each one. Annoying right? ;PAck! O_o
I look at the account as identifying the persona. I don't want to have to recreate who Gunther is just because I decide to play a character named Landain. That is extremely annoying. I mean, I can understand why a moderation team would agree to do this. It helps to identify the characters, but having eleven accounts goes beyond annoying. How dreadful!
Aurelianus Drak'shal
10-31-13, 03:28 PM
Aye, but you can link them together so you can switch between at the click of a button. So it's not all bad.
Anyway, welcome aboard cutter - hope you enjoy yourself here, and I think everyone's already beat me to all the important information you'll need.
Yike! I just recounted and found out I have dozen accounts.
Yes, Luned we did RP together. I still have you on my friend's list there. Dr. Luned Cunningham and Liam Donnelly both traveled to Eqypt aboard the Exodus (http://roleplayerguild.com/showthread.php?141851-Exodus-and-the-secret-of-the-Voynich-Manuscript) in search of the Voynich Manuscript. We got as far as the sphinx and the thread died. :( One of the aspect of RPG that totally annoys me is the frequency at which RP threads decay into nothing.
Thought so, how funny! I ended up adapting her character for this setting. (I left that site because it was so hard to keep something going.) Melody also writes here sometimes. It's much easier to keep a thread alive on Althanas, so hopefully you'll like it here. : )
Mordelain
10-31-13, 03:36 PM
A dozen?
Pffft...try 24 or so...
Gunther
10-31-13, 03:41 PM
I'm all into having several characters going at one time. I guess one way to track them is to link the profiles in each of your account's signatures. That way others can look at your sig and think, "Oh that's right, Gunther is also Clayton Wells" Or whatever.
Max Dirks
10-31-13, 03:52 PM
http://www.althanas.com/world/usercp.php
Find: "Link Another User's Account"
Add all of your accounts.
Look for: "Quick Account Switch" under the Navbar
It'll change your life.
That's how I found out I have a dozen accounts. But I do like your idea of a signature or crest that can be put on your linked accounts. Hey Dirks is there a hack you can put on here that allows you to do that?
Hey Gunther, this is Melody from RPG back in the day (I ran the exodus rp that came to an unfortunate early end.) Weird seeing someone familiar on a different forum. haha/
Gunther
10-31-13, 05:05 PM
Hey Gunther, this is Melody from RPG back in the day (I ran the exodus rp that came to an unfortunate early end.) Weird seeing someone familiar on a different forum. haha/It is good to see you, Mel. It is not strange at all. I've been RPing a long time and seem to run into familiar faces quite often.
Pepita is a nickname for my wife. But the only person who calls her that is her closest sister. She is her closest friend too. The wife has six sisters! O_O
Three brothers too.
Gunther
10-31-13, 07:53 PM
I followed Max's tips and created Landain as well as Landain Agrivar, a wealthy Corone Elven Knight in order to join Silence Sei's Ixian Knights. I have linked both accounts together.
Welcome to Althanas! :) I like history on middle ages armies and armadas and stuff, but not so much for the present/ 1900s on military. Though flamethrowers, machine guns, and sniper riffles sound like pretty awesome toys :cool:
A dozen?
Pffft...try 24 or so...
LOL! Either way, that's a lot of accounts xD
Gunther
11-01-13, 11:32 AM
Welcome to Althanas! :) I like history on middle ages armies and armadas and stuff, but not so much for the present/ 1900s on military. Though flamethrowers, machine guns, and sniper riffles sound like pretty awesome toys :cool:having read accounts of actions between the ancient time period to present you see an evolutionary process, not just in the weapons, but in the tactics. Weapons are defined by Technology; a statement that should not come as much of a surprise, but Tactics also are defined by technology. As technology levels change, how men use these tools of war change on the battlefield. How armies organize and fight are curiosity to me; one that I pay attention to.
Prior to the Napoleonic era, armies organized into roughly three different Corps; Infantry (foot), Cavalry (mounted) and Artillery (ranged). Each Corps moved independent of each other and functioned as independent groups, supporting one another during an engagement. Napoleon introduced independent Combined Arms Corps in the late 18th Century. Instead of having one cavalry corps, his Cavalry unit were subdivided into Divisions and Brigades. Each Corps had 2-5 Infantry Divisions, one cavalry division and an artillery park. This allowed each of his Corps commanders to operate independent of other corps. When two or more corps consolidated for a single action, then they combined their efforts for a larger engagement.
If you study the history of technology and how it changes tactics, you will see that the smallest maneuver element that can operate independent of other units continues to get smaller as technology improves. Whereas the Corps was the smallest independent maneuver element in the early 19th century, the company was the smallest maneuver element at the outset of the 20th century and the squad is the smallest maneuver element on the modern battlefield of the 21st century.
Fascinating. I personally spent a good chunk of my time studying Squads and Fire-teams for my live action Mil-Sim games. With weapons as potent as firearms and frame-mounted grenade launchers, threat mediation is easier in these smaller groups. Not only are the weapons more potent, but because of these smaller sizes, combat maneuvers are more complex. Learning stances, formations, engagement tactics, and inter-squad communication has been a joy for me. My role in these Mil-Sim games is recon, so I get the opportunity to see, read, and predict some of these movements back to command. It is really fascinating to see how people move and engage one another. Based on what I have seen, I am amazed at what our soldiers go through and how amazingly skilled they are to come back from deployment. I deeply respect what they do.
History is such an interesting topic. I personally like the Pre World War Times the best. Anything during or after WW1 is to close to modern days for me to be interested.
Landain
11-01-13, 04:03 PM
I honestly don't have a favorite era. I started with WWII and maybe have a soft spot for that era, but understanding that a Regiment in the American Civil War maneuvering on the battlefield with 500 - 800 soldiers being comparable to a nine to thirteen man rifle squad today and attempting to compare how the two are alike, is fun to me.
Getting close to home (Althanos), I enjoy playing Mount & Blade; Warband. Anyone who knows that game believes that Cavalry dominates the battlefield. But the game mechanics puts up dumb AI and the Infantry always gets clobbered. The reality is, in the Midievel setting, tightly packed infantry formations with polearms is deadly to cavalry.
Aurelianus Drak'shal
11-01-13, 04:10 PM
Mount & Blade, I dominated the battlefield, with my two-handed axe-wielder. Any cavalry approached, I hacked the horses down with one swing, and their riders with a second.
Had my huscarls backing me up to bog down the rest of the enemy, and absorb arrows for me.
I think I'm going to read Sun Ju's Art of War just to see what tactics I can come up with.
Aurelianus Drak'shal
11-01-13, 04:22 PM
Sun Tzu.
And I read it in High School. Not bad, but more philosophical than practical. A bit dry, too, at times. But if you're into that sort of thing, then I recommend it.
Yeah, it does seem that way, just read the first 15 rules of war. Not a read for most. It is practical though since most of our military still uses the book as a guide today :P
Aurelianus Drak'shal
11-01-13, 05:16 PM
Granted, but it's like Machiavelli's 'The Prince' in that regard - dry as a bone, but sound advice nonetheless.
I think my favorite time period would be during the American Revolution, I don't know why but it appeals to me more than anything after that or a short time before that.
Gunther
11-01-13, 07:00 PM
Sun Tzu's The Art of War (http://suntzusaid.com/)was written over 2500 years ago. It is more generalities, but when interpreted to specific situations makes perfect sense.
Carl von Clauswitz, On War (http://www.clausewitz.com/readings/OnWar1873/) is the only other military theorist who comes close to Sun Tzu's writings. But his ideas are more specific and apply to what is now known as the Art of Maneuver. On War was written in the mid 19th Century.
Both can be very boring and tedious to read.
I'm thinking that after I get turtle and Merboy off the ground I'll probably make a general of the American army from the year 2030.
Silence Sei
11-01-13, 11:13 PM
Sun Tzu's The Art of War (http://suntzusaid.com/)was written over 2500 years ago. It is more generalities, but when interpreted to specific situations makes perfect sense.
This. I read the Art of War and was enthralled by it, simply because I've played so much Dynasty Warriors in my life, I can see how the tactics could be used effectively.
BlueSunUmbra
11-02-13, 03:54 AM
Hello and welcome! Glad to have you aboard :)
Hysteria
11-02-13, 06:15 AM
Well, it seems that the site's knowledge level just got kicked up a notch.
Welcome aboard!
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