Question about the Flower of Battle

[kenjib]

I finished Stephen Pressfield's Gates of Fire a couple of weeks ago and the vivid battles in the book really blew me away.  I was just wondering if anyone with a hand in the book has read it, and whether or not the mass combat rules in the book will be able to capture battles in just a vivid and gripping way.

EDIT:  The book really made other mass combat game systems I've seen have the same disconnect between system and reality that D&D has for melee combat, although I must admit rather limited exposure myself.

[Brian Leybourne]

Thanks for the tip, I'll check that book out.

Mass Combat has been on hold recently as I have been working on other things for TFOB, but I'm almost ready to get back to it.

Brian.

[-Akora-]

One of the best historical fictions I've ever read. For me the best part of the book was the description of Spartan training, although one could make the argument that Pressfield's version was a bit watered down. I read that book before going into the Army's basic training and AIT- hearing people in my platoon complain about how tough it was made me smile. I always had the mental image of Polynikes in the back of my head, and always thought to myself "It could be worse. I could be a Spartan." For anyone who is interested in history, especially military or ancient greek, read this book.

Akora

"Molon labe" - Leonidas

[kenjib]

hehe.  Very funny Akora.  In what ways do you think the training was watered down?

[-Akora-]

Well, ok- you asked for it. :0)

Gates of Fire didn't mention several of the most extreme tenets of the Spartan warrior philosophy. First and foremost, Pressfield did not describe the process of selecting male children for the peers. If a child did not possess enough strength or physical potential, he was exposed. This means that the baby was left alone in the wild to starve or be devoured by wild animals.

Another example is the rite of passage undertaken by all candidates to be inducted into an actual platoon. The young men were starved for several days and then told to attain food by any means necessary. The boys would have to steal food- the ones that were caught could be flayed, caned, or even executed.

I didn't mean to say that Pressfield somehow didn't do justice to Spartan society. In fact his knowledge of their warrior philosophy far exceeds mine. There are however several areas which he simply did not explore. These are two examples, another would be the almost universally accepted homosexuality within the Spartan military. This was his choice, as is right given the time and labor put into Gates of Fire.

That being said, his book is still one of the best around!

Akora

[Ville]

Well Pressfield mentions in the book about the stealing of food and the consequenses one faces.

Anyways if you guys enjoyed it try also The Last of The Amazons.
It has amazing siege portrayed in it

[kenjib]

Well Pressfield mentions in the book about the stealing of food and the consequenses one faces.

Anyways if you guys enjoyed it try also The Last of The Amazons.
It has amazing siege portrayed in it

I'll have to check out that book.  I remember him going over the stealing of food too, but I don't recall the exact details.