To My Friends at Aberrant,
First I'd like to apologize for not having written you in so long, but I hope the contents of my letter will clear up the reason for my absence. The topic of my letter came to my attention just over a year or so ago. I had just finished up another exciting round of Rezolution, with my Ronin being soundly thrashed by the Dravini. My daughter who is quickly approaching the her teenage years has really taken an interest in miniature gaming. To say that she was held in thrall by your game would be an understatement. Her eyes never once left the table, she asked question about everything; tactics, unit names, why they where painted a certain color, etc. This is a very stark contrast to Battletech, where she would watch maybe five minutes of a game and then wander off to watch Naruto. In the few hours she observed and asked questions, I was practically aglow with pride. I went to bed that night with a feeling that all was right with the world.

Later that night I awoke with a extreme pain in my abdomen. Bathed in the eerie green glow from the gas station sign across the street, I saw my daughter sitting on my bed, hands wrist deep in my abdominal cavity. "What are you doing?" I asked her, "I'm harvesting your organs" she stated matter-of-factly. "Why?" I asked, trying not to vomit blood, "Because, that is what any good Dravani Bagger does" she replied using the sweetest voice she could, while holding fistfulls of my still pulsing viscera. I had to think quickly; "But you're not emplyed by any of the Dravani run corporations". She stopped to think about it; her hands slowly loosed their hold on my precious vittles as she stopped to think. "Oh yeah, I guess you're right" she said meekly as she relinquished her grip. Hands making a horrible sucking noise as they slowly withdrew. Needless to say, someone was going to be spending a serious amount of time in the Time Out Chair .

Which now brings me to my main point. I've given this plenty of thought during my lengthy convalescence, and have come to realize that in miniature games there is little to no interest in achieving a non-violent solution. All of my minis stats involve ranged combat or close combat or other means to a violent end. What if I wanted my shootist to bake a cake for APAC? Perhaps they would be so wowed that instead of murdering them I took the time to make them a sweet dessert, we could put aside our differences and be friends. How about instead of blowing each other up, we could debate our problems. Better yet, we could schedule a series of town hall style debates; maybe a best of five. Sure it wouldn't have an impressive body count, but honestly, is that the most important thing? take for instance your new game Warlands. The tag line is "In the future the only way to get gas is with a gun!" Why guns? Why not "In the future the only way to get gas is with hugs"? Or if not hugs, maybe a handshake would do?

I appreciate you taking your time in reading this. I realize that one unfortunate indecent of organ harvesting probably won't change the miniature war game industry, it would be naive to think so. I can only hope that in the future, when you all are designing another thrilling miniature game that perhaps you might pause and reflect on this missive about non-violent solutions. Don't do it for me, do it for the children.

As always I remain
Your faithful customer,
Doc Kelley

Awesome...pure awesome

This may be one of the more amusing things I've read in a while. While most wargames are in a largely war time scenario, when units are intentionally forced upon each other, heavily armed (the outcome here seems pretty clearly violent), it might be an interesting new game mechanic to involve diplomacy or propaganda of some sort. It's not exactly clear as to how you can make trained soldiers switch sides mid battle, but I can see this working out somehow. You might have Ronin and Mercs be more susceptible to mutany, and have more die hard factions (such as the vatacina) be offended and made more zealous upon seeing the savage enemy propaganda. dunno, something to think about.

pretty funny//jahaha

You're failing to see the positive here, Doc. If Rez inspires your daughter to become a surgeon then that's a good thing. You shouldn't discourage her. Don't be so selfish - share your innards with your daughter. How else is she going to learn? Maybe make a regular thing of it - a game of Rezolution followed by some disemboweling. You could help your daughter learn business skills by researching organ prices on the black market. How about making your next family holiday to a place where tourists are too drunk to guard their innards. A holiday that is both fun and educational. What could be better parenting? You might even make Father of the Year!

BTW: I don't work for any Dravani run corps either.


As for non-violent wargaming, an oxymoron, surely. Rezolution goes some way to offering alternatives to just destroying your enemies. Data theft scenarios allow objectives to be achieved without violence.

I like non-violent, indirect abilities as they provide more scope for creative strategy. Much better than "here's my warrior, there's your warrior. Let's just roll dice till one of 'em dies."

When I read the Warlands tagline I thought it meant that there will be no onions in the future. Onions give me gas. Maybe all foods will be GMed to avoid causing indigestion and people resort to injecting themselves (with a gas-gun) to get their kicks.

Doc Kelley and JackDinn

I would like to congratulate you on creating the funniest thread I have read in a long time.

You should read the Rezolution Christmas story I wrote a couple of years back in the Fan Fiction forum, not all encounters in the Rezolution Universe end in conflict.

Also I think it is very noble for your daughter to want to help you donate your organs to others, she just got there way too early.

Great stuff.

Tony

Hey did anyone ever claim you had to be dead in order to donate organs?

Extremly funny ... had a great laugh (upsetting all my clegues as I am reading this at work)

Besides the hacking scenarios there are also the guard / breaking and entering scenarios that will go without violence when played well by the attacker.

Nedorus

Don't push me I actually came up with a completely non-violent miniatures game last year, it's also very cute! When I've the time and inclination I might actually put it out. This was due to a 'discussion' about why miniatures games always took place in a dystopian world full of conflict (no I'm not kidding) with a gentleman at GenCon!

Odd I was just looking at the Bella Sara Miniatures Game(a game targeted to young girls that involves collecting miniatures of horses), thinking if my daughter would be interested in it.

Fortunately my friend was able to talk me out of it.

The My Little Pony RPG was a big hit, I'm hoping they do a Care Bears edition

My eldest daughter is only 5 but has a binder full of Bella Sara. It was all my doing but she's thankful.

They have minis now? My daughter has a binder full of the cards. I might not be able to take her to stores that have Bella Sara miniatures.

Come on Bryan, admit it, she doesn't get to look at the binder at all, you keep it to yourself.

Tony

Next will be the pizza delivery miniatures game. Each player gets a pizza boy mini and a car and you try to beat the players to the next delivery!

I want to get "Poor College Student Ted with the Brown Yugo" and "High School Junior Freddy with the Gremlin". Both have really nice stats.

There is a non-violent wargame, been around for a while. Not sure how popular it is so I don't know if you've heard of it. It's called Chess.

It's a stripped down version of miniature wargaming. It doesn't even use dice, to make it easy for people who can't add up. Hell, the game's so simple even computers can play it!

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Sport would make a good blood-free wargame but the only one I know of is Blood Bowl. And they just took American football and added more violence. Not sure that was necessary. Surely the game has enough strategy and conflict to make a good wargame.

Anyone know of any sports wargames out there?

Also, Simon I'm curious to see what you came up with for a non-violent miniatures game. Although it's a bit off-putting you describe it as "cute." Surely non-violence can still be edgy.

Well a few years ago there was a miniature wargame based on paintball.

I thought that was weird, a wargame that simulates a simulation of combat.

I suppose, non-violent wargames are wargames for kids that weren't allowed to play dodgeball.

That's the first time I've ever heard chess called a non-violent wargame.

A stylized wargame, yes, but it's all about warfare; threatening, attacking, capturing, and crushing your opponent.

I got into wargaming through chess, and found I enjoyed the addition of random chance and greater diversity other games could offer, but chess is still one of the most intense wargames I play.

I have that game, the minis are great.

Non-blood & gore is more what I meant. The gory side of war isn't displayed in that game. For a lot of people (non-players) dice-based wargames are childish but chess is the province of mature intellectuals. Then again, to the mainstream, our hobby is immature compared to meat-heads kicking a bit of inflated leather around a field.

Were the same people who complain about violent computer games around at the time that chess was invented shouting "Ban this horrid game. It will corrupt our youth!"?

I bet there's never been anyone posting to a chess forum about their daughter stealing viscera. Although I'm sure PETA are lobbying against the horrible treatment of horses. Knights forcing them to trample peasants. What must that do to their psyches?!

You must play an interesting version of Rezolution...

I understand what you mean, but it was just too tempting.

A tough, well played chess game is still one of the most mentally draining exercises I know of, but the blood and gore is more on the strategic level, so fewer people think about it.

Considering chess was developed at a time when people had to be able to develop strategic thought for warfare, I doubt as many people were complaining. There were people who thought it was a waste of time, but many of them paid for that dearly.

I've always had fun with people who decry miniatures gaming. I point out chess, in all its forms and history, and the fact that the military still uses wargames for the same purpose: to train people in tactics, and make them think.

There are people who play chess very bit as casually as some people play miniatures games. There are others who push themselves as hard as chess masters for their miniatures games.

I play games for fun, but I love to play a hard fought game that makes me really think. If I have to use the level of thought I use in chess, while reacting to the vagaries of chance the dice add, and still can laugh over the game; I'm a happy camper.

Just like with chess, you can push yourself for that and still have fun, but a wargame adds random chance a chess game doesn't, and along with that, adds more variety of situations than a chess game can give. Add the rest of the hobby aspects, and it becomes a much more versatile endeavor.

My kids play chess with me, but my whole family enjoys the miniatures hobby.