Koyote

As an incentive (or disincentive) to play SAGA, here is the Batrep of my first game. Please excuse my poor Danish and equally poor attempts at using Irish slang. I Googled both. :) I finally played my first game of SAGA. Sherbert and I played the Battle at the Ford scenario. Five points of Sherbert’s Vikings faced off against five points of my Irish. Sherbert -Jarl (Warlord) -8 Hirdmen (Hearthguard) -8 Bondi (Warriors) -8 Bondi (Warriors) -12 Thralls (Levies) armed with bows Koyote -Ri Tuathe (Warlord) -Curaidh (Champion Hearthguard) -Curaidh (Champion Hearthguard) -6 Fianna (Hearthguard) armed with dane axes -8 Bonnacts (Warriors) armed with javelins -8 Irish Wolfhounds (Warriors) -12 Kerns (Levies) armed with slings Opposite the bridge to my left, I deployed my Kerns as far forward as possible, flanked by my Fianna and Curaidh. The plan was for the Kerns in conjunction with the Heirs of Mil order (no enemy may shoot or charge the protected unit unless the enemy unit starts within 4" of the protected unit) to slow the Vikings advance and to serve as a screen for my other units. And while the Northmen struggled to get across the bridge, the Kern would use their slings to whittle down the enemy fighters. Wolfhounds have a ridiculously low armor value, but they can move 12" and they are not slowed down by uneven ground, so I deployed them a bit further back and within the cover of the forest. Like my Fianna and Curaidh, the Wolfhounds were positioned to counter attack the Vikings who made it to my side of the river. I was pleased to see the Bondi and Hirdmen deploy in the opposite forest because I knew that this would slow them down for a turn and give me a chance to target them with the Sons of Dana order (enemy unit within 4" of uneven ground suffer a shooting attack with a number of attack dice equal to half the number of models in the target unit). On my right, my Ri Tuathe, Curaidh, and Bonnacts faced off against the Viking Jarl and Bondi. Thanks to their superior armor and aggressive Battle Board, Bondi are better fighters than my Bonnacts, so I was hoping that the Irish javelins and the battle prowess of the Curaidh would give me the edge that I needed to hold my right flank. TURN 1 The Vikings won the roll to go first. To my right, the Jarl used his Determination combined with the We Obey rules to move the Bondi and himself onto the bridge without expending any SAGA dice. To my left the Thralls moved to the river's edge to bring the Irish within range of their bows. The Bondi in the forest received two movement orders. This got them out of the forest and almost to my riverbank, but it earned them a fatigue point. The Hirdmen moved at a slower pace, but they had just enough movement to clear the forest. I began my turn by making sure that I put the required SAGA dice on my Heirs of Mil. The rest of my SAGA dice were placed on activations and the Sons of Dana order. My Kerns and Curaidh targeted the advancing Bondi with their slings and javelins. Despite some pretty terrible dice rolls, I managed to send two Viking freemen to Helheim. The Bondi were too far from the forest and the Hirdmen are hard to kill with shooting attacks, so I used the Sons of Dana order to target the Northmen Thralls. The rulebook describes this order as "some ambushing Irish lads throwing stones or potatoes from their holes in the uneven ground." Three of the Northmen's slave warriors were severely injured or killed before the ambushing lads and their time traveling potatoes* turned tail and fled back into the trees. *Potatoes came from the New World and they weren't introduced to Ireland until the late 16th century, five hundred years after the end of the Viking Age. Over on the other bridge, I used my Warlord's Determination ability in conjunction with We Obey to move my Ri Tuathe and Bonnacts onto the bridge where they all hurled their javelins at the oncoming Northmen. My Curaidh moved to the side of the bridge and hurled two more javelins at the Bondi. Then I ordered my Bonnacts to hurl a second volley of javelins at the Bondi. Despite all my efforts, I was thwarted by a flurry of terrible die rolls and only a single Viking was slain. Boo! Please note that for game purposes the Bonnacts at the foot of the bridge's steps are actually standing immediately behind the back rank of Bonnacts on the bridge. More later...

I have 6 points of (unpainted) Irish and I am looking for opponents who live in the Seattle area. I can supply all the terrain and objectives needed to play any of the basic scenarios, so if you are new to SAGA or if you want to get into SAGA, all that you need to supply is a warband and SAGA dice. Also, I have only one game under my belt, so my Irish shouldn't be too difficult to defeat.

"The Ballistic Skill of a model firing a Snap Shot can only be modified by special rules that specifically state that they affect Snap Shots ... If a special rule doesn't specifically state that it affects Snap Shots, then the Snap Shot is resolved at Ballistic Skill 1." -7e 40k Rulebook Page 33 *Edit: Oops, P beat me too it.

An acquaintance of mine purchased a number if Forge World kits from an eBay seller located in China. The average turn around on his order was 10 days, which is quicker than it takes me to get my orders from Forge World. He raves about this eBay seller's communication and customer service. The seller typically threw in a couple of small freebies with each order, which doesn't cost the seller much but it made a great impression upon my acquaintance. In comparison, my experiences with Forge World's customer service reps have ranged from neutral to abysmal, but never what I would describe as excellent or even good. I had an opportunity to look at the Chinese models firsthand. I am very impressed with the quality of the product. The material is sturdier than FW resin. No oily mold release. The detail is crisp and clean. There is very little flash on the parts and minimum mold lines. None of the parts were misaligned or misshapen. Even the skinny antennae piece was straight. Over the years I've ordered dozens of kits from Forge World. The FW supplied kits have often arrived covered in flash, riddled with air bubble holes, and drenched in oily mold release that I have to scrub off before painting. The large pieces of vehicle kits are typically warped and have to be straightened with hot water before assembly. Prepping the pieces and assembling my FW Proteus Landraider made me want to stab myself with my hobby knife. It's ironic. Forge World's trademark protections entitles it to provide slower turnaround, poorer customer service, and a lower quality product, all at double the price. Even if the Chinese supplier charged the same price as FW, buying from this particular Chinese supplier would be the better bargain.

Here is a link to a paper from the Seton Hall Legislative Journal regarding an attempt to make it illegal to purchase counterfeit goods in New York. It contains a good overview of the issues as well as the assertion that "[c]urrently, there are no federal, state, or local laws that punish the buyers of counterfeit goods." Of course by "state" and "local" the author is referring to New York State and New York City. Also, while buying counterfeit goods may not violate federal law, there may be a federal prohibition against bringing counterfeit goods into the U.S.. More research is required. LINKY

Let me preface this post by stating that in no way should what follows be construed by anyone as me providing anyone with legal advice. Before you act on anything I have written about, you should first consult with an attorney who has experience in this area if the law. I am not an expert in this field. What follows is purely an intellectual exercise engaged in to sate my own curiosity and to improve my understanding of this area of the law. From what I have found thus far, the federal criminal laws regarding counterfeit and knockoff goods (the latter is a colloquial term for unauthorized copies of trademarked goods that don't meet the legal definition of counterfeit goods), seem to focus exclusively on the sellers of such goods or those who import with the intent to sell. Based on the photos from yoymart it appears as if yoymart's supplier has removed the trademarks that GW places on its models, so the classification of yoymart's models as counterfeits is certainly debatable. Regardless, even if they do qualify as counterfeit goods, the counterfeit goods laws appear to focus on sellers not buyers. The definition of "trafficking" under 18 U.S. Code § 2320 (Trafficking in counterfeit goods or services) is a bit ambiguous, as it could be interpreted as applying to anyone who imports counterfeit goods into the US for any reason: "(5) the term “traffic” means to transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, to another, for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or to make, import, export, obtain control of, or possess, with intent to so transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose of; and" However, The Criminal Resource Manual for the Department of US Attorneys appears to address this ambiguity: "C. DEFINITION OF 'TRAFFICKING' Subsection 2320(d) provides a definition of the term "trafficking." This definition is derived from a related, recently enacted statute, the Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 1982, now codified at 18 U.S.C. 2318(b). Under this definition, the scope of the act is limited to commercial activities. Thus it is not a crime under this act for an individual knowingly to purchase goods bearing counterfeit marks, if the purchase is for the individual's personal use." My research thus far has focused on federal criminal statutes. I have yet to dig into civil actions or state law. Neverthess, what I've found so far appears to coincide with the NY Times article I posted a link to in my earlier post. More research is required.

Ah, but that's just it. I've been researching this matter and it is my understanding thus far, that in general, purchasing knock off manufactured goods for personal consumption is not a crime in the U.S. (there is a distinction between knock offs and counterfeit goods). Nor does it expose one to criminal accomplice liability. Consequently, nobody here is justifying illegal conduct. So, if we are not exploring the legality of the matter, what is left is the morality of it. And this is why I broadened the scope of the discussion. Does your position on buying copied goods and IP piracy extend to purchases from third party manufacturers, such as Kromlech and Chapter House? I can assure you that the likeness of their products to GW products and thus GW's IP is no coincidence. What about individuals making casts of GW products strictly for personal use? I used Instant Mold to create a mold of a skull from a GW Death Company shoulder pad. Then using greenstuff I cast dozens of these skulls that I affixed to plastic GW shoulder pads to serve as Chapter badges for my Mortifactors. Am I a "criminal" for doing so? Am I an IP pirate? ...Shiver me timbers! Also, if loss of profit does not factor into your position on this issue and your sole concern is replicating another's design, what happens after the copyright on GW's designs expire and they enter the public domain? Will it be "criminal" for my grandchildren to make or purchase GW knockoffs? Still convinced it's purely black and white?

No worries. You are not being a jerk. Not at all. It's an interesting issue. An issue in which the legality of the matter and what is commonly accepted as the morality of the matter appear to be at odds. At least when it comes to purchasing knock offs. LINKY Does GW make more money if you completely abandon the hobby or if you supplement your purchases with knock offs? If GW's prices weren't absurd, would there be a market for knock offs? Is it immoral or even a little bit immoral to purchase used models, since doing so denies GW the profit it would make from new purchases. Likewise, is it immoral to share copies of rule books, because once again someone is denying GW its profit? Bert vows to never again buy any new GW products. Every model he owns was purchased second hand. Not a dime of his model budget will ever again go to GW. Is Bert's second hand army more "moral" than Ernie's army of knock off models? What if one fields a 40k army comprised entirely of Kromlech miniatures? What about purchases from Chapter House? Are purchases from "above board" manufacturers that undermine GW's IP immoral? Does the real harm lie in the purchase of the knock offs or the the fact that the purchase supports and perpetuates the manufacturers of knock offs? Is it wrong to agree to play a game against an opponent if you know that said opponent is fielding knock offs? By doing so are you not contributing to the problem by turning a blind eye to the immoral deeds of the malefactor? How far down the causal chain from the harm inflicted does one have to be to transform an immoral act into a neutral or moral act? For example, consider the World Cup. Are you enjoying the World Cup? At this very moment thousands of immigrant workers are toiling in near slave like conditions in Qatar for your future World Cup viewing pleasure. Almost a thousand of these workers have died due to their working and living conditions. Consequently, since ones viewing of the World Cup is contributing to a human rights catastrophe, how much blame do the individual viewers share?

**cough-cough** yoymart.com. **cough-cough**

I'm bringing my Mortifactors and Zombicide.