The Great Game!
Posted: 10 Jan 2016 19:13
This is probably not the best place to put this thread, but here goes.
Not many of you know this, but I'm also a huge Sherlockian nerd.
Now, within the world of Sherlock Holmes fandom, there is the 'Great Game'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlockian_game
The idea is that the stories are treated as 'real', and that Sherlock Holmes actually existed. Using the original 60 stories only, devotees debate the life and times of Holmes, Watson, et. al. Answering questions about his parents, his life, etc. etc.
I was wondering if the same could be applied to Action Force.
We have the original canon - BAF and associated publishings - and we have the characters. Admittedly, there is a lot less to go on, and fewer details with which to play, but we can make inferences, logical leaps, educated guesswork... and good old drunken rants. Let's see if we can fill in the blanks in our knowledge, connect the characters with 'real' people and events, regiments, armies, battles, etc.
I realise something like this has been attempted before, pulling together a back story
With that in mind, I'd like to go first.
The one question that has always bugged me, and which is arguably the most important:
Who was Baron Ironblood?
I've always suspected he was European in origin (German, French, or eastern perhaps - Lithuania?)
His beard and moustache seem to lend themselves to that origin, too. And I'm certain he has been drawn with a Mensur duelling scar on his face - so Heidelburg University, perhaps?
The affectation 'Baron'... He's European, he has to be. We don't get many Barons here. Mainly Lords (incidentaly, Lord Ironblood - cool name!)
Maybe it's not an affectation, and he was heir to a bankrupt barony, forced to sell the castle to pay debts? Was this the origin of the hatred of the world? Or did he inherit, and used the money to fund his villainy?
That he is somehow connected with nobility would explain his madness - generations of inbreeding!
The name Ironblood is clearly fictional, something he made up, but does it allow us to peek into his mind?
Ironblood. Iron Blood. Strong blood, pure blood. True Blood
Was he somehow jilted out of his inheritance? A bastard son of a baron, ignored and overlooked, cheated from his rightful claim. Is this why he wages war on the world?
Where did he start his career? South America at first, apparently. Why? Do the events in Death In South America have any bearing on this? Was he looking for Hitler?
I think yes, but give me a minute to figure it all out!
Not many of you know this, but I'm also a huge Sherlockian nerd.
Now, within the world of Sherlock Holmes fandom, there is the 'Great Game'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlockian_game
The idea is that the stories are treated as 'real', and that Sherlock Holmes actually existed. Using the original 60 stories only, devotees debate the life and times of Holmes, Watson, et. al. Answering questions about his parents, his life, etc. etc.
I was wondering if the same could be applied to Action Force.
We have the original canon - BAF and associated publishings - and we have the characters. Admittedly, there is a lot less to go on, and fewer details with which to play, but we can make inferences, logical leaps, educated guesswork... and good old drunken rants. Let's see if we can fill in the blanks in our knowledge, connect the characters with 'real' people and events, regiments, armies, battles, etc.
I realise something like this has been attempted before, pulling together a back story
With that in mind, I'd like to go first.
The one question that has always bugged me, and which is arguably the most important:
Who was Baron Ironblood?
I've always suspected he was European in origin (German, French, or eastern perhaps - Lithuania?)
His beard and moustache seem to lend themselves to that origin, too. And I'm certain he has been drawn with a Mensur duelling scar on his face - so Heidelburg University, perhaps?
The affectation 'Baron'... He's European, he has to be. We don't get many Barons here. Mainly Lords (incidentaly, Lord Ironblood - cool name!)
Maybe it's not an affectation, and he was heir to a bankrupt barony, forced to sell the castle to pay debts? Was this the origin of the hatred of the world? Or did he inherit, and used the money to fund his villainy?
That he is somehow connected with nobility would explain his madness - generations of inbreeding!
The name Ironblood is clearly fictional, something he made up, but does it allow us to peek into his mind?
Ironblood. Iron Blood. Strong blood, pure blood. True Blood
Was he somehow jilted out of his inheritance? A bastard son of a baron, ignored and overlooked, cheated from his rightful claim. Is this why he wages war on the world?
Where did he start his career? South America at first, apparently. Why? Do the events in Death In South America have any bearing on this? Was he looking for Hitler?
I think yes, but give me a minute to figure it all out!