PBM Levels of Losing

[GeneralHankerchief]

I think "campaign killer" is something to be judged in retrospect, you know, after the campaign.

Interesting list though, with some long-forgotten oldies in it.

Good point, but if I had waited I probably wouldn't have been motivated to write it. Plus, LotR needed at least one entry.

I was actually surprised at how much WotS kept popping up on there. It was a really enjoyable experience going through the battle reports again and remembering the fallen heroes (econ, Mount Suribachi, DDW, and, of course, Lucjan).

Oh, I think there's an even better example: the Battles of the Northern Forests. A relatively unremarkable battle by itself, except that at some point a flaming catapult shot killed Kaiser Jobst von Salza. Since this then resulted in the previously minor nobleman, Siegfried von Kastilien, becoming Emperor, it was something of a startling result... especially when you consider the chain of events that began with him taking the throne.

Hmm, not sure if it qualifies. In terms of long-term consequences, definitely, but in the short-term, the campaign was allowed to continue due to Siegfried's continued presence. Not so with Bran, IIRC. It was definitely memorable, but I don't know if it's list-worthy.

[TinCow]

Hmm, not sure if it qualifies. In terms of long-term consequences, definitely, but in the short-term, the campaign was allowed to continue due to Siegfried's continued presence. Not so with Bran, IIRC. It was definitely memorable, but I don't know if it's list-worthy.

Perhaps not, but I might qualify under the original list:

Level II: The Goose/Maverick Tailspin
Definition: Cruising happily through the baseball regular season, a potential playoff team suddenly and inexplicably goes into a tailspin, can't bounce out of it and ends up crashing for the season. In "Top Gun," the entire scene lasted for 30 seconds and we immediately moved to a couple of scenes in which Tom Cruise tried to make himself cry on camera but couldn't quite pull it off. In sports, the Goose/Maverick Tailspin could last for two weeks, four weeks, maybe even two months, but as long as it's happening, you feel like your entire world is collapsing. It's like an ongoing Stomach Punch Game. And when it finally ends, you spend the rest of your life reliving it every time a TV network shows a montage of the worst collapses in sports history. Other than that, it's no big deal.

[Zim]

I would like to nominate myself for King of Level XII: The Going Away Present.

I lost Jan and Andreas in KotR while winning battles, the latter of which was only even close thanks to some panic routes resulting from my general's death, and then Magnentios in LotR.

Now, I hear tell there's at least one player around here also known for losing generals in battles, so the question would be if he tends to do it while winning like I do.