The War College: My Experience as a Fulda General
If you made it here, you are looking for ways to become a better General for big scenarios. I can't tell you that I have all of the answers. I know what worked well for me, but that doesn't mean that it will work well for you. What I can do is pass what seemed to work along, as well as a little advice for recruiting, social media, and attitudes to that can help along the way. Again, take what works for you and feel free to ignore what you don't like. I'm not the definitive source---and I don't know that there can be one. Players evolve, so we need to as well.
I will say one constant that needs to be there---you need to know that the game isn't about you. It never is and never was. Take your ego out of it immediately. When you take the General position on, understand that you're taking responsibility for the weekend for 1200+ players' weekends. They paid a hell of a lot to drive or fly out, stay there or in hotels, and for registration and paint. If they're using heavy A/T or a Tank, toss even more onto that. If they had to take off work, that's even more money that they dedicated to this game---and we haven't even gotten to time away from family. You don't owe it to them to win---but you sure as hell owe it to them to try and make sure that you do everything that you can. That's the job you are signing up for. That's it. That's the job. Make sure that you do everything that you can to make that happen (and yeah, winning is more fun, so try to do it but it's a secondary goal---not primary). Approach everything that you're doing through that lens and you'll be a lot better General for it.
I will say one constant that needs to be there---you need to know that the game isn't about you. It never is and never was. Take your ego out of it immediately. When you take the General position on, understand that you're taking responsibility for the weekend for 1200+ players' weekends. They paid a hell of a lot to drive or fly out, stay there or in hotels, and for registration and paint. If they're using heavy A/T or a Tank, toss even more onto that. If they had to take off work, that's even more money that they dedicated to this game---and we haven't even gotten to time away from family. You don't owe it to them to win---but you sure as hell owe it to them to try and make sure that you do everything that you can. That's the job you are signing up for. That's it. That's the job. Make sure that you do everything that you can to make that happen (and yeah, winning is more fun, so try to do it but it's a secondary goal---not primary). Approach everything that you're doing through that lens and you'll be a lot better General for it.
Ok, so I am doing this. Now what?
If you've never done this and don't know where to start---that's normal. At least in my experience, you'll likely to get hit with a wave of nerves (what the hell did I just agree to?) and a bunch of questions. How do I find 640 players? Where do I find tanks? Heavy A/T? Build out my officers? Catch up to the incumbent, since they already have a built in army and I have dick?
Every single one of those is a fair question. And you'll have more---a lot more. That's perfectly natural and luckily you are nowhere near as on-your-own as you think.
If you've never done this and don't know where to start---that's normal. At least in my experience, you'll likely to get hit with a wave of nerves (what the hell did I just agree to?) and a bunch of questions. How do I find 640 players? Where do I find tanks? Heavy A/T? Build out my officers? Catch up to the incumbent, since they already have a built in army and I have dick?
Every single one of those is a fair question. And you'll have more---a lot more. That's perfectly natural and luckily you are nowhere near as on-your-own as you think.
Building out a network
Unless the scenario you are Generaling is new, there is already some infrastructure there. Use it. Again, don't let pride get in your way. You aren't going to know everyone who is entrenched, You aren't going to know the politics. You aren't going to who always play one side. And you probably aren't going to know winning strategies.
Thankfully, other people do. Lean on them. Call them. Text or email them. DM them. Go ahead and ask for feet pics. Totally okay.
When I agreed to do Fulda, I reached out to Jim Rost and Archangel Mikel to ask them how they went down this road, what they say as issues, and where they succeeded. They told me about their experiences and areas that they did well and areas to avoid. Same goes for people. I also asked Eric Engler, who gave me people to reach out to. If you know the General from the previous year (or hell, even if you don't), reach out and ask them who they had as officers. Ask them about their strengths and weaknesses.
The big ones to ask is if they can heard the cats on the field and lead them on pushes or keep them around for jobs that may not be fun (like guard that base for another 30 minutes while nothing is happening there)? And will they be able to fill a unit in recruiting? Because if they can't do at least one of those two things, you probably want to try and find someone else who can. If you can find someone reliable in those two areas, you're probably in great shape. If not, look elsewhere. And understand that you don't have to love your officers as friends---they're helping you do a job, not be the guy that you want to grab a beer with on the weekend. It's great if they are your buddy, but don't get it twisted. They need to be able to help you do your job, which is support your side and make it fun for everyone under them.
More than likely, last year's General can give you a list of his officers. He or she should also be able to give you a list of specialized units to reach out to. In other words, the heavy A/T and tanks. Do not fuck around when reaching out to these units. Move fast. I can guarantee your opponent will as well. So get moving. You'll want to collect the specialized units like they're Pokemon. The more, the better.
Unless the scenario you are Generaling is new, there is already some infrastructure there. Use it. Again, don't let pride get in your way. You aren't going to know everyone who is entrenched, You aren't going to know the politics. You aren't going to who always play one side. And you probably aren't going to know winning strategies.
Thankfully, other people do. Lean on them. Call them. Text or email them. DM them. Go ahead and ask for feet pics. Totally okay.
When I agreed to do Fulda, I reached out to Jim Rost and Archangel Mikel to ask them how they went down this road, what they say as issues, and where they succeeded. They told me about their experiences and areas that they did well and areas to avoid. Same goes for people. I also asked Eric Engler, who gave me people to reach out to. If you know the General from the previous year (or hell, even if you don't), reach out and ask them who they had as officers. Ask them about their strengths and weaknesses.
The big ones to ask is if they can heard the cats on the field and lead them on pushes or keep them around for jobs that may not be fun (like guard that base for another 30 minutes while nothing is happening there)? And will they be able to fill a unit in recruiting? Because if they can't do at least one of those two things, you probably want to try and find someone else who can. If you can find someone reliable in those two areas, you're probably in great shape. If not, look elsewhere. And understand that you don't have to love your officers as friends---they're helping you do a job, not be the guy that you want to grab a beer with on the weekend. It's great if they are your buddy, but don't get it twisted. They need to be able to help you do your job, which is support your side and make it fun for everyone under them.
More than likely, last year's General can give you a list of his officers. He or she should also be able to give you a list of specialized units to reach out to. In other words, the heavy A/T and tanks. Do not fuck around when reaching out to these units. Move fast. I can guarantee your opponent will as well. So get moving. You'll want to collect the specialized units like they're Pokemon. The more, the better.