Paper Romans in Germania, Part III

Romans trimmed, scored,
and ready for glue.

I’m still sending my paper Romans into the wilds of Germania on the wargaming table...and I’m still printing, pasting, trimming, and prepping additional forces from the Peter Dennis’ Wargame: The Roman Invasion, AD 43-84 (for imperial Romans) and his Peter’s Paperboys website (for Germanic tribesmen). I’m also considering various ways to play a campaign, though that’s fodder for another article. But since I’m back to making more paper soldiers I thought I’d offer some insight into how I construct and store these wonderfully rendered armies.

Editions & Incarnations

 “Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.”

– Dalai Lama

Looking over my roleplaying game shelves I realize I have – during my almost 40 years of gaming – bought into several new editions of games I enjoyed and even tried a few new incarnations for favorite settings. So many roleplaying games over the years have released subsequent editions and some classic settings have even seen new incarnations with improved presentation and original game mechanics. I expect it’s part of the gamer experience, choosing to invest in a new edition or incarnation of a favorite game. Sometimes I explore these only to return to the tried-and-true original game. Other times I check out new incarnations mostly to see how different publishers approach some of my favorite game settings.

Paper Romans in Germania, Part II

 “Upon the field of battle the chief is bound in honor not to let himself be surpassed in valor, and his retainers are equally bound to rival the valor of their chief.”

– Tacitus

Last time I documented my immersion in wargaming ancient Romans against Germanic tribes. I had everything ready to begin gaming: lots of reading to put everything in historical context; some starting forces of good-looking Peter Dennis paper soldiers; a set of familiar rules to try; even Roman numeral dice. During my historical and rules reading I’d taken breaks to construct my paper armies. I’d assembled two forces: a Roman expedition consisting of legionaries, auxiliary infantry, and a commander and a Germanic force of barbarian infantry, light infantry archers, light cavalry, and a chieftain. Just enough for a game as I glued, cut, and based more paper soldiers for future engagements.