[ANSTHRLD] help with conflict check

[kobrien at texas.net]

> The general principle is that I should be able to tell whether that guy
> rushing me with his arms on his shield is on my side or not in the middle of
> a melee in a quarter-second.  I'll see the tree; I won't see the toothpick.
> 
> Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
> 
> "A difference that makes no difference, is no difference."   -- Mr. Spock



This reminds me of a battle I was once watching.  

It was the field battle in good weather at Pennsic (so we're talking about a 
couple of hundred people on each side).

As I looked down on the field, I saw one side's "support crew" area 
(waterbearers, wagons for armor, etc.).  It included people from both Calontir 
and Northshield.  Out on the field, fighters from those groups were 
enthusiastically whomping on their opponents.

Like Ansteorra, both Calontir and Northshield use kingdom (principality in 
Northshield's case) tabards for their fighters.

Calontir's tabards are usually made out of a purple trigger (all-cotton 
cloth).  Since purple fades, they purposefully buy the fabric dark so that, 
after the initial fading occurs, the tabard spends most of its life at some 
form of "Calontir purple".

Calontir's tabards are purple, with a diving/striking falcon (gold) and a gold 
bordure.

Northshield's tabards are black (another color that fades), with a griffin 
passant (gold) and a gold bordure.

What this meant was that the faded-black and real-new-purple tabards with 
winged things and gold bordures on them all kinda blended together as the 
fighters moved around the field, vigorously whomping on each other.

A friend of mine, who was originally from Calontir but now hails from 
Northshield, was standing beside me as I watched the battle.  I mentioned how 
much the tabards looked alike and it was a good thing that Calontir and 
Northshield were on the same side.  Then, thinking of what it would be like if 
the armies were _not_ on the same side, I asked her, "How do you tell them 
apart?"

She replied, "We count feet."  (The diving falcon has 2 feet, the walking 
griffin has four, with one raised in front.)

I suddenly had this mental image of a fighter stopping before a potential enemy 
in the middle of a battle and saying, "Excuse me, milord, I need to count the 
number of feet on your tabard."

*THWACK!*

Mari