Cold Wars 2000

In order to promote the event and our Old Glory sponsor, I decided to run warm-up events at HMGS conventions before the JodieCon itself. The first opportunity to do so came during Cold Wars in the spring of 2000. The event was titled, "Can you Capture Alexander's Cortege?", which was designed as a walk-up game taking only about 30 minutes to play. Cadets from the USMAPS were waiting to face all comers to protect and evacuate Alexander's Cortege from a raiding force of Successors.

The event was meant to simulate the voyage of Alexander's cortege with his mummified body from Babylon. After Alexander died in Babylon, Perdikkas ordered Arrhidaeus to construct a massive funeral cortege for the mummified body and then to transport it to Siwa in Egypt for burial. (This was where Alexander received his prophecy years before.) It took nearly two years to finish it, but it was a huge cortege drawn by 64 (!) mules. It was a big attraction, too, with many pilgrims coming to see it. When it began its journey, it was escorted by roadmenders, mechanics, and soldiers.

Arrhidaeus, however, took the body through Damascus and into Egypt where he delivered it into Ptolemy's hands. Ptolemy ordered it to be displayed in Alexandria. This caused much indemnity between Ptolemy and Perdikkas. One of the ancient sources (Arrian) tells us that Polemon was an associate of Perdikkas who tried to stop Arrhidaeus from diverting the cortege.

The Cold Wars event was a hypothetical situation that would have occurred just after the cortege was commandeered. A mounted escort of Ptolemy's troopers under the command of Arrhidaeus and some dismounted wagon guards are attempting to deliver Alexander's cortege to Alexandria, but a raiding force was sent by Perdikkas hell bent on re-capturing it. Led by Perdikkas' captain, Polemon, the pursuers caught sight of the escorts in a narrow defile in Damascus and had to strike immediately, before the wagon moved safely through the dusty pass and across a river safely within Ptolemy's borders. Some of the player's and GM's forces were assigned random reaction rolls as well, so none of the participants could be exactly sure how all of their troops would behave.

A total of 24 players could compete one at a time for the most points in this limited time scenario with sudden death victory conditions. The top two players were awarded an Ancients army that was on display at the contest table. The outcome of this prelude scenario also affected the placement of the cortege within the JodieCon weekend, since the campaign began just around the time the cortege left Babylon for Egypt. The cortege was worth quite a large number of victory points to the Hegemon who controlled it.

The unusual format for this game took many gamers aback. I stood out in the Distlefink lobby to ask people if they had just 30 minutes to kill and if so, I had a game for them. Many did not believe me, but other did take a chance and had a great time. Here is some written feedback I received from one player:

Bob, JT:

I think the Successor's Challenge was a great addition to the Cold Wars list of events. This type of event should be greatly encouraged and displayed in a prominent space at the convention. This event provided a quick introduction into historical miniatures for the new member or just the curious passer by. This also provided a quick fix for junkies in between games. I participated in this event and had a good time. Hopefully I can develop a Challenge based on Mark Campbell's Close Action I can bring to Historicon. Thanks to Pete, Norbert and the Cadets.

Augie Thiesing