What I Did On My Summer Vacation: General Short Takes

[jducoeur]

Some final, less-chronological thoughts on Pennsic:

We were wildly outnumbered in the War itself this year. The exact ratio depends on who you asked and which battle you're talking about, but it seemed to range between 2 and 4 to 1. We lost 26 to 1 in points, which wasn't terribly surprising. Overall, I think the skew was unfortunate for both sides: it meant that the folks fighting for the Mid didn't get to see as much action as they might have wished, and while the East got *plenty* of action, it would have been more fun to think we had a chance. Oh, well -- I suspect things will be better-balanced next year.

The weather was about average for Pennsic, at least the second week. (I gather that the first week was horrifically hot.) While I was there it was hot (but not horribly) and humid (but not horribly), with some rain (but not lots). Not the best weather I've seen at Pennsic, but far from the worst.

Did more walking this year than I can recall ever doing before. Being down on Hangover Hill, and hanging out heavily with various folks in the B's, meant lots of trips clear across Pennsic. Good for me, but it drove home that I'm not in terribly good shape at the moment.

Lots of saris this year. Not sure precisely why, but even Isabella of York (the famously Elizabethan Force of Nature) was eastern-clad.

Having gotten to Pennsic 34, we've finally caught up to the beginning of the There We Were series, Yosef's famous projective parody of Pennsic. I'll have to find my old copies, and see how much he got right. (There We Were is largely a mathematical projection of what Pennsic would become, based on the trends of 20 years ago, originally published in the Predawn Leftist. I'm sure that not all of them are correct, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of them are.)

Private showers, a rarity before we took our Pennsic hiatus, are almost de rigeur now. I was particularly struck by the wood-fired showers in Tagmata and Carolingia -- it had never occurred to me that you could get a decent hot shower with just a fire and an oil drum for heating, but it's a very clever design.

My lunch habit this year was pierogies from The Lemon Shake Place. Not quite period, but less egregiously wrong than some options, and tasty.

I need to work up some material suitable for bardery at Pennsic. I'm a halfway-competent singer, but I don't really have anything memorized that's appropriate for a bardic circle. On two different occasions, I found myself really wishing I had something appropriate to hand.

This Pennsic was surprisingly subdued. The proportions of noise from place to place were consistent with previous years, but everywhere seemed quieter than I expected. Towards midnight, the B's were practically silent, the Serengeti was fairly quiet, and even the Bog tended to not be very loud. I actually found myself missing the presence of Wolgemut at 1am -- I'd gotten into the habit of falling asleep to that, last time I was there.

Finally, the most practical note for next time: smaller vehicle. The E250 van is total overkill for our purposes, and fairly unpleasant to drive. When they were decently cheap to rent, they made a good alternative for Pennsic, but they've gotten much more expensive over the years -- this year cost almost twice what it used to cost me, and it's not worth it. I suspect that a large minivan, divested of its seats, would suit us well, and would leave me less tense at the end of the trip...

Comments

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Overall, I think the skew was unfortunate for both sides

I don't think you could be more wrong about that.

It was good for the Midrealm, in that they got to learn the object lesson that monarchs with some diplomatic skills do better than hard-asses when it comes to winning Pennsic.

They also got some tactical lessons under their belt, in that they learned when they don't leave their flanks open (since they had enough people that it was almost impossible for them to do so), they don't take horrific losses from our countercharges. Perhaps that lesson will stick when the numbers are closer, and they'll take more care about manuevering well.

It was stunningly good for our side, because we got to see what we were made of. Really, there was something quite freeing about not having to worry about points or anything like that. It left us with nothing but opportunity, and the chance for a really big morale check, which I think we passed with flying colors. The number of Easterners and allies who showed up battle after battle was really quite consistent throughout the event.

We also got the benefit of having a variety of tactical problems revealed. Since our backs were so much up against the wall, we needed to do things with as much expertise as we possibly could - and we fell short of that, in ways that are both apparent and fixable. It wasn't a lack of heart, or desire, or effort, but there are a bunch of things that basically every Eastern fighter should know about assessing tactical situations that we clearly have to teach: basically, what to do against an unsupported spear line, what to do against a shield burg, what to do when you have a local advantage in numbers, and how to exploit weak spots in an overall formation. I think we'll be a more capable group for fixing those problems.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

Mm. I agree with it being positive for the East for the reasons you give, although I do think a monarch who more effectively rallied the troops would have made it that much better. I certainly hope that we will take away lessons on tactics from it, the most basic being that it would be nice for us to have some. Perhaps the esprit de corps we feel now will motivate us to actually work on it for next year.

As for the Midrealm, I would guess you were talking to an entirely different crowd of them than I was, but most of them seemed to feel like it was good for a reason you didn't list, i.e. they got to feel victorious, but bad because as previously stated they just didn't get that much fighting in. So good for the overall feeling of the average Midrealmer, but bad for the actual experience of fighting. With luck they will see that more kings should follow in Alaric's footsteps than Felix's... but I think that comes as no real surprise to most people. I'm dubious that they will take any tactical lessons from it, beyond More = Better.

So, from on the field, it actually felt like the ratio was better for us than for them, though it feels like the morale off the field is the reverse. Then again, if we come to fight, and they come to win...

[jducoeur]

The number of Easterners and allies who showed up battle after battle was really quite consistent throughout the event.

Was it? Interesting -- the anecdotal reports I was getting from some of our fighters was largely the opposite, indicating that a fair number of people on the Eastern side had basically thrown their hands up in disgust and stopped showing up. I have no idea which observation is more accurate; both seem plausible...

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Grognards always complain - it is part of their nature. I learned long ago to actually look at the people who show up on the field, and do an estimate of numbers on what I see. Our attrition this year was approximately 10% from the first battle to the last - which is what it normally is on the years we win, if my estimating skills are to be believed.