Lunar military debate: losing the focus?

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From: D. Pearton (pearton@u.washington.edu)
Date: Tue 04 Apr 2000 - 23:16:36 EEST

Hi all,

I must admit to reading the debate on the fine points of lunar military
doctrine with some (and growing) trepidation.

I think in concentrating the minuitia (sp?) of lunar military to such a
great extent a huge amount of important facts and (to me) much more
interesting colour is bieng left out. I hope that this is a reflection of
the questions being asked on the daily but if not then consider this a
desperate plea for some "lunar" balance of focuss in SGU and Hero Wars.

Believe me, as an ex-wargamer, I know the temptation to debate and obsess
about these things, but...

The important fact that seems to be missed in all of the talk about
combined arms and the superior doctrinal flexibility of the T'arnils
officer corps is that, if you look at the history of the lunar empire,
most of their major victories and defeats do not come from purely military
means.

The 1st and 2nd battles of Chaos, the four arrows of light, Jaranthir's
revolt, Sheng's victories and defeats, the Battle of the Falling Hills,
the Building Wall, the fall of Boldhome and whitewall, the campaigns of
the conquering daughter, etc... These are all examples where it was
superior magical or mythical understanding that gave victory to one side
or other. Heck, even games of Dragon Pass are most commonly decided by
the use of the exotics rather than "regular" troops.

So, while the lunar army is powerful and does things that other armies
(until the advent of Argrath) haven't learned to do, it is the deep
insight of the lunar way and the underlying mythic strength of the empire
that has allowed it to prosper.

I concrete terms, I, for one, will be very dissapointed if, for example,
the page count in SGU devoted to the lunar military and military cults is
greater than that explaining the basis of the lunar way and philosophy. I
think that would be a great disservice to the lunars and those of us more
interested in things other than whether a lance is used overhand or
couched.

I'm sure, knowing Martin, that my fears are unfounded but i felt it
necesary to provide an antidote for the IMHO militarist bias that seems to
be appearing.

Cheers,
Yak
- --
Dave Pearton
pearton@u.washington.edu
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
      "Its habit of getting up late you'll agree
         That it carries too far, when I say
       That it frequently breakfasts at five-o'clock tea,
         And dines on the following day.

The Hunting of the Snark, Lewis Carroll
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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