How? “if power is personal, rather than institutional (leg one) and highly fragmented between many people (leg two), then how is power gained and kept within such systems.” https://acoup.blog/2022/10/07/collections-teaching-paradox-crusader-kings-iii-part-iii-constructivisting-a-kingdom/
Ruling is not easy. “Because vassals only provide a percentage of their military strength to their liege but will field all of their strength in the event they rebel (typically through forming a faction whose demands are refused), large realms… Read More »Collections: Teaching Paradox, Crusader Kings III, Part IIa: Rascally Vassals
Is it?
Yes, Saruman had policies. “The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and means can never be considered in isolation from their purpose…war should never be thought of as something autonomous, but always as an… Read More »Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part VIII: The Mind of Saruman
When you do not update your strategy as the world changes around you.
Motivation sometimes looks strange. “But Aragorn’s comments should be motivating, not scary: fight hard, they’re coming to murder your children. That’s something to steel the courage, not sap it; think of your families who are in this very castle, counting… Read More »Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part VII: Hanging by a Thread
Je to zložitejšie.
Making swords that make sense is not easy. “Saruman is facing an enemy that makes heavy use of mail armor, which cannot be meaningfully cut, but can be thrust through and he has equipped his soldiers with swords that cut… Read More »Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part VI: Is This a Good Sword?
Pretending to be rich was historically important. And it seem to be important still. Just recently I have seen a study showing, that about 40 percent of people in the US making more than 500k a year are living paycheck… Read More »Pretending To Be Rich
Even orcs have lungs. “To be clear, the plan here is to run a 200m dash, then lift a heavy ladder, then rapidly climb that ladder and then be ready to immediately fight multiple Elven swordsmen. While probably still out… Read More »Collections: The Battle of Helm’s Deep, Part V: Ladders are Chaos