'Barbarism is the natural state of mankind,' the borderer said, still staring somberly at the Cimmerian. 'Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph.'

-Robert E. Howard
Beyond The Black River

Corrupt Cliffs

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Showing posts with label Skirmish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skirmish. Show all posts

Monday, March 7, 2016

Song Of Blades and Heros: Skirmish club

This past Saturday the new Skirmish Gaming Club at the local games store (Sentry Box) had it's first official games.

We played a few games here and there to learn the rules earlier but this was the first official game day.

During the day the various members got in a 3 way battle, a 2 way battle and a 4 way battle.


Orcs vs Chaos Dwarves vs Goblins/Minotaurs
Elves vs Halflings
Orca vs Elves vs Halfings vs Chaos Dwarves


What follows is the Battle Report of the "Orcs vs Chaos Dwarves vs Goblins/Minotaurs" battle from the Orcs side of things.


The three armies approached the lightly forested area each moving forward to the place in a small copse of trees that held long forgotten magic gems.


The Minotaurs and Orcs reach the trees first with the Chaos Dwarves taking their time due to.....motivational issues, and a bad starting set of activation rolls.

The Minotaurs and Goblins begin to search the trees but come up empty handed as the Orcs arrive on the scene and begin their own search of the area.

Finally an Orc finds a magic gem and begins to move away hoping to get off the field, likewise the goblin horde also finds and begins to move some gems.  Finally the Chaos Dwarves arrive to attack the flank of the Orcs and Goblins.  A small skirmish occurs with the Orcs and a Chaos Dwarf is knocked down.

Finally the Orcs manage to kill one of the Dwarves, but as they do the hulk of an Ogre shows up and smashes the victorious Orc to the ground, at the same time a second Dwarf appears and the combined effort of him and his leader another Orc is brought to the ground and killed.

The Orc Chieftain falls under the combined attacks of Dwarves and Goblins, but he is tough and despite being pressed down and kept off balance maintains his position.  In the north the second unit of flanking Dwarves has begun to push through the wall of Goblins.

The Ogre and Chaos Dwarves push in and attack the Orc with the gem knocking him down in a mad melee to gain control of the magic rock.  In the trees the Orc swordsmen engage with the Minotaurs in an effort to claim the stones for their shamans.

The Orcs in the trees are no match for the larger, stronger Minotaurs and are pushed down and back in the frenzy of battle.  The Orc Chieftan stays strong and despite overwhelming odds stands up madly slashing with his axe at the 4 opponents trying to bring him down.

In the north the goblins hold their own, knocking down the chaos dwarf and begin to swarm him.
The swarm of Goblins proves too much and while fallen two of the goblins swarm over the dwarf while a third ends his life with a dagger.
 
The Orcs in the trees fair horrible and another Orc falls gored by the Minotaurs before the last Orc Swordsman runs for his life.  The Great Orc Chieftan makes his last stand as the final three enemies he is engaging finally deliver more damage than he can stand and forces him to the ground for the last time.
 
The final Orc recovers his wits and turns to meet his final doom as a Chaos dwarf and their Hobgoblin allies show up to end his life.
As killing swept the battlefield the main engagements took place between the Orcs and Chaos Dwarves leaving a fairly open corridor for the Goblins and Minotaurs to grab and escape with the magic gems.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Song of Blades and Heros.

The store is planning on having some painting days in January and February and then our actual first games after that.  Several people were more gung-ho and met a few times to play a few games.  This is the second meeting and the first one I could make it to.  We had 5 people show up in the end and so played a 4-way with our fifth member acting as a ref as he had already played one of the games.

As we are still new, not everyone had figures or had painted figures, but we had enough to go around.  The following photos are from my perspective as the Orcs.  On my right was a group of elves and on my left a group of rat men.  Kitty corner from me was a band of goblins lead by two minotaurs.  The game's goal was to get into the tower, get a crate and exit the board.  

Our initial layout moving into the game.  Orcs are set and read to do some killing.

The Orcs and Elves advance but a failed quality roll leaves my troll behind.

Elves move up to the tower building as my Orcs attempt to re-form their unit.  The rats move up against the low wall.

The first elves enter the building and set up a firing position so that the remaining elves can get the treasure.

Orcs move into the doorway as the first minotaur comes around the corner to harass the remaining elves that have no climbed into the building.




The elves continue to move up and into the tower.  The rats use this opportunity to come scurrying out of the ruined building and attack the Orcs.  In a bloody battle several rats are killed including a rank and file swordsorc getting lucky and killing their rat ogre.  One of the minotaurs enters the ground floor of the building.

The elves continue to climb up and grab the treasure mostly un harassed while the Orcs and rats fight a bloody battle outside the building.

Finally after an intense battle the Orcs cause the rats to flee in panic, but it is all too late as the elves make it out of the building with the treasure and can not be stopped before reaching the table edge.

More Bones.

I am primarily into Science Fiction but do stray towards Fantasy a little now and again. 

Recently the big local games store started a "Skirmish Gaming Club" that planned on initially using A Song of Blades and Heroes as it's initial rule set.  I like a lot about the rules and this seemed like a great way to get in some games without needed many figures.

For my first warband I chose orcs.  I have almost always played humans in wargames, so I thought I would try something a little different for me.  I also didn't want boring green orcs......


I picked up a bunch of Reaper Bones models.  I haven't painted bones before and in fact I haven't painted anything above 15mm since I was maybe 20.

I got the first 3 rank and file orcs painted up on the weekend and thought I would share the initial paint jobs, even though the bases still need finishing.





I have a few more of this size to do with bows and then 3 larger hero orcs plus a troll and a goblin.  Should be a fun band once they are finished.

To be continued.......

The Growing Storm

I didn't get a lot of painting done this weekend, but I did get my Orc Chieftan painted up.

Still using Reaper bones models.  The following is my process.

1) Glue model to base.  In this case I am using slightly larger than 1" fender washers.  These add weight to the light models and can be secured for travel using a magnetic sheet.

2) Add 2 part putty to even out base.

3) Wash figure and give it a quick scrub with soap and toothbrush.

4) Hot glue base to a craft paint bottle, giving me something to hold.


5) Prime figure using air brush

6) Now on to painting.  I am using a #2 brush.


7) Base colors

8) Localized washes.  Skin tones, black lines, browns.

9) Highlights on skin.

10) Army painter soft tone across model.

11) Final highlights and dry brushing

12) Eyes.

MORE NOT SCIFI! MORE NOT 15MM! Orcs again!

We are Orcs.  Do not judge our motivations.  Perhaps you are the evil ones?


Got some more models painted up....  Three basic archers to go with the three basic swordsorcs.

Also thought I would share the current iteration of my Song of Blades and Heros unit cards.  One of my standard Orc warriors.  Stats are just fillers.  Points cost in the upper left, Combat of 3 and a Quality of 4+.  I can never remember what occurs on the even/odd rolls so I included a quick reference on the bottom to remind me.

 This card is a 3x5" word document.  But I will normally print them out to a .PDF and then print them on a multiple pages on a sheet and then print on card stock.



Sunday, February 22, 2015

Man & Machine Update

Just a quick update this afternoon. Updated the order dial to be round.  Same order selection, but this will allow the addition of more easier.

Also picked up some new sci-fi art from RPGNOW.com, some example stock art, as well as continued to work on my own abilities so I can do the cover art.  I have a new idea for that.

Also did a little more formatting.  Booklet is looking to be about 20 pages right now.  Rules are pretty much finished and formatted.  Just need to finish the points system and put that in the rules and I should be pretty much at a playable alpha stage.




Thursday, February 12, 2015

Man & Machine: The stats & more about Mobs

STATS
I am trying to keep the engine fairly simle, but I still want heros to be heroic and be individual. 

Currently the stats I am using are:

Actions: Number of actions a model gets.  As orders are given, models with a lot of actions will get moves at the end of an order phase while other models are unable to respond.
Training: Indicates target number needed for successful roll on a d6.  2+,3+,4+ and 5+ are typical and range from rabble to elite.  Most heroic models will probably be 2+ or 3+.
Prowess: How good is the model in melee.  Indicates number the base number of dice the model gets in hand to hand combat.
Accuracy: How accurate are they with a gun? Indicates the number of base dice used in ranged combat
Agility: How quick and agile are they? Indicates number of dice used when making opposed ranged combat rolls
Life: How much damage can the model take before they are killed
Skill: How many dice does a model get to attempt skill tests
Armor: How many armor dice do they get.  This stat is downgraded as a model takes damage and is denoted as 3/1.  As a model takes damage their armor will downgrade to their minimum roll.  Once at the minimum roll the damage goes to the life of the model. 
Heroism: A spendable stat.  Once a point is spent it is gone for an encouter.  These are used to simulate the luck of a hero on the field.  Spending a point will allow a model to change a singel die pool to all successes or all failures.  They can be spent at any time.  And the opponent may then spend one of their points to counteract the spent point if they choose.  This makes the dice stay as they were.

Machines have similar stats, but have no Heroism stat and no skills.  But they do have one specialized stat:  Mobility: Wheeled, tracked, Walker, Hover and Flight.  These will allow machines to traverse the battlefield quicker

Mobs are similar to the regular stat profile but have no Heroism, a training cap of 4+, no skills and armor that dosen't downgrade(for simplictity) but will end up being expensive.

MOBS
I did a little testing with mobs last night too.  Just a few combat phases with a hero vs a mob of 5.  I will have a max number of dice per roll, as a large mob could roll a huge number of dice.  We can assume there is a maximum effective number of a group, over that they get in each other's way.

Combat stats like accuracy will start with the model's base stat and add one more die per member of the mob.

I may do hand to hand the same way, but I am not sure it will be necessary simply do to the self limiting number of models that can engage in combat.

For shooting at mobs, heros will have the ability to fire at a single member, or spread their fire over a number of models.  The mobs agility in these situations will be their base agility stat +1 die per each additional model.  ie A hero fires at a mob of security officers that have an agility of 3 and a training of 4+.  The hero has an accuracy of 4 and a training of 3+.  The hero decides to fire at 3 of the mob.  The hero rolls a base roll of 4.  The mob gets a base of 3 dice + 2 more dice for the additional targets and rolls a base of 5 dice. 

If the hero scores 2 successes in the above scenario then two of the models take 1 damage, that may or may not be stopped by armor.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Man & Machine: Mobs

Up until now the rules had two basic model classifications:  MAN & MACINE.

MAN was used to represent the heros on the field.  MACHINE was used to represent either small vehicles or non sentinet robotic units.

As the game has materialized in my mind and I have replayed various scenese from movies I decided I was missing something still.

If you wanted to play an assault against a shield generator, with the basic idea I had it could only ever be a unit of elites vs a unit of elites.  You could never have a group of troopers from an evil empire trying to hold out against a group of rebelious heros.  You couldn't even have a single guy controlling a bunch of troopers defending an airlock.

I came to the conclusion that often the heros are supported by lessers: Minions or helpful aliens.

And so I am going to add a third group of models that can be used.

The Mob will basically be single card for whole unit of models with 1 life and identical weapons and armor.  Basic coherence, simpler order structure, affected by the mental stat of a hero, or presence of a hero.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Yet more Man & Machine

I have been wondering about cover artwork for this project.  I am not sold on doing it myself, i'm not that much of an artist, but have been drawing a fair bit lately so I thought what the heck.

Some variation of this will probably make the Alpha rules at least.  I guess we will see what else I can come up with.


Monday, February 9, 2015

Man & Machine: Turn Sequence

Plotted out the turn sequence for Man & Machine.

I had thought to use a graphic showing a few models and their movement, but decided a flowchart was a simpler and more complete way to show what I was going for, has one small error, which has been fixed, but I haven't had a chance to upload it yet.  This still gives an idea for how I view the game turn working.



The rules are now formatted up to Turn Sequence.  I hope to have a basic alpha rule set for initial play testing in a couple of weeks.



Friday, February 6, 2015

Man & Machine: Example Illustrations

As I close in on having a basic first concept mostly put down on paper, I am turning to layout.  I came across this blog today which was fairly helpful in moving forward with what I want to do design and layout wise. http://the-dark-templar.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/how-to-design-rulebook-introduction.html.  I set up a basic layout in Scribus this evening and toyed with setting up pages.  I think it should look pretty cool.

One of the things I want to have is some simple, clear examples of the mechanics.

I spent part of tonight drawing a few top down views of soldiers and equipment and then set about digitizing them into the computer so I could use them as samples.


Two miniatures with a set of dice showing success and failure results.
Using the above graphics I can put together fairly simple, and I hope easy to understand examples of game mechanics.


Example showing Blue shooting at Red.  Highlights the relevant stats and any modifies, in this case +1 from the bushes.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Man & Machine: Turn Activation

One of the major hurdles I was trying to overcome was an activation system that was fairly simple, but involved both players at all time.

I have gone with a system that will allow players to alternately use models.

  • Player 1 uses a model
  • Player 2 uses a model
  • Player 3 uses a model
  • etc
The concept is that each player must plan their strategy and assign orders to each model.  Then once they are assigned the models are used one after the other.

My current system has 8 orders, such as move, shoot, use a skill etc, and are arranged around an octagon.  Players would place a paperclip on the order they want and place it face down next to the model or it's card.

Order wheel.   One per model.

One of the things I am trying to do with this system is to create a fairly cool looking game without spending loads of money on art, or having to do it all myself.  I have sourced some from RPGnow.com and of course I am making large use of http://game-icons.net/

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Man & Machine

Rules Rules Rules

So many rules.

I am sure we could all use another set.

I have been considering a skirmish ruleset for sometime.  I had originally envisioned it as a fantasy type game, but then I thought, why not Sci-Fi?

There are certain aspects and mechanics that I really like in a simple fast skirmish game.

I am tentatively thinking of it being infantry and power armor based, hence Man and Machine as a working title.

1) No math
  • This involves rolling a pool of attack, defense, skill dice aiming to hit a particular target.  Various games use this idea: Tomorrow's War, X-wing Miniatures, Conan etc
  • Each die can be a success or a failure (Or possibly critical success or critical failure)
2) No writing
  • Generally apart from possibly writing down and designing your forces life and effects are all tracked via chits and counters.  ie a player gets armor chits or life chits that are used to track each models status
3) Simple rules
  • Simple set of rules to govern combat and basic movement.
  • Simple skills that add depth, such as Technical, Medic etc.
4) Activation....
  • I feel this aspect can really make a game interesting and I am not entirely sure how I want this to work yet.
I have some ideas rattling around as well as some notes on some post-its.  I will probably post some general ideas on the mechanics as I develop it here.