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Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: eilif on April 06, 2017, 09:33:17 PM

Title: Eilif's Runewars Odyssey (5/5 Daqan Army Finished!)
Post by: eilif on April 06, 2017, 09:33:17 PM
Update: Going to keep updating this thread as an ongoing concern rather than starting new ones.

At Adepticon my buddy and I recieved copies of Runewars in our swag bag.  Despite not being "big-name-company" kind of gamers we decided to give it a go at last weeks meeting.  It's not a roll-by-roll report, but I go quickly through the whole course of the game and insert my thoughts and observations on the various aspects of the rules and gameplay as they came up for us.
Full Post at our club's blog here:
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2017/04/06/runewars-first-game-and-review/
Beware though, we violated CSW's painted-only policy, so while there are plenty of picures, they are all of drab, grey hordes.
Oh, the Horror....
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSCN2592-570x428.jpg)
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2584-570x428.jpg)
Despite the the shame of unpainted minis, we found the game to be quite enjoyable and will probably be investing in additional units as they come out.  We split the figs by faction, so we now each have a double portion of our chosen army.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: Hobby Services on April 06, 2017, 10:17:55 PM
Useful review, even if it's convinced me that the game is nothing I'm interested in at all.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: Hobgoblin on April 06, 2017, 10:45:32 PM
Interesting review - and a hearty "hear, hear" to this:

"I prefer the freedom of buying the minis I want, playing them with the rules that I choose and, whenever possible, having an easy system for making my own unit stats and point values."
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: eilif on April 06, 2017, 11:14:29 PM
Interesting review - and a hearty "hear, hear" to this:

"I prefer the freedom of buying the minis I want, playing them with the rules that I choose and, whenever possible, having an easy system for making my own unit stats and point values."
Yep, that's generally my guiding light, which makes this quite a departure.  If we stick with this game for a while, it's likely that at some point we'll be making custom units and such, but maybe we'll just leave such flexibility for Kings of War and Dragon Rampant.  If/when I get these guys painted up, they'll probably do double-duty in those games also.

Useful review, even if it's convinced me that the game is nothing I'm interested in at all.
Thanks!  Even when I like something, I hope I can review it with enough clarity that folks who wouldn't be interested will see that clearly also.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: jambo1 on April 07, 2017, 05:49:47 AM
Good write up and review, never really came across this game but it looks o.k. and the minis look pretty decent as well. :)
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: Humorous_Conclusion on April 07, 2017, 11:35:02 AM
A useful article. I'm not looking for another game right now, so Runewars wasn't on my radar, but it does sound intriguing. I like that it has managed to keep things simple without stripping it any detail whatsoever.

On the other hand, importing the movement rules from X-Wing seem like a mistake. It's good to have some fog of war, but characters shouldn't be able to get confused and run straight past one another.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: Schrumpfkopf on April 07, 2017, 06:06:02 PM
Great write up - thank you.
I have to admit that I am a bit of a counter hater as I feel that they screw with the visuals of a game, but that's obviously a very personal preference.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: powerfrog99 on April 07, 2017, 07:05:20 PM
Thanks that was a welcome insight from a point of view I share in many points. I like using only painted minis from whatever manufacturer as long as I find them fitting to my taste :-)

Nevertheless I am waiting for these kind of game mechanics to try something new.

cheers Thomas

Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: madzerker on April 07, 2017, 07:46:34 PM
What is the size/scale of the minis? Are they 28mm like older GW/ Otherworld, or more like 32mm like most companies now including Privateer Press, Confrontation, Red Box Games ect.. Any size comparison pictures? thanks!
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: eilif on April 07, 2017, 08:45:25 PM
Humorus_C,
  I agree that the passby is a crux issue. I think it will be much less of one for players experienced with the movement templates but it can still happen and it's the thing that I like least about the rules.  Still, the rest of the game went so well, that I can live with the possibility of run-bys.

Thomas,
    You're very welcome.  I think alot of us share that ethos.  It's also why I was a bit surprised to like this game as much as I did.

Schrumpfkopf,
     I also hate counters.  You do have the option (it might even be recommend in the rules, not sure..) of putting counters on the unit cards, but certain counters are activated by your opponent so having them on the base is useful.

Madzerker.  They looked like modern/current 30mm or more, but I haven't measured yet. I'll do exact size measurments and comparisons for my first painting blog on these figs.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: madzerker on April 08, 2017, 12:03:41 AM
thanks! good news!
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: eilif on April 08, 2017, 01:21:49 AM
Still haven't taken any pics but I measured my spearman.  He was spot on 28mm from sole to eye.  He was leaning a bit though, so I'd call him 30mm.

I think madzerker already saw this on the FFG forums, but for those of you who are interested here's a Runewars Skellie and a Space Marine for comparison.
https://imgur.com/a/qHKb9

(https://i.imgur.com/1cTWSbL.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/pCb2vNJ.jpg)
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: madzerker on April 08, 2017, 01:45:29 AM
Actually I haven't seen it yet, thank you for posting! That makes me happy, the models will fit with all my other stuff, so if I don't like the game I will still like the models and can use them for other projects
thanks!
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: Dr. The Viking on April 08, 2017, 09:01:33 AM
The aesthetics of those jigsaw bases is just completely bonkers... I can never imagine it looking anything but crap as long as they go anywhere near the figures.

But I assume that this will cater to the pseudo board gaming crowd.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: eilif on April 08, 2017, 04:19:45 PM
Actually I haven't seen it yet, thank you for posting! That makes me happy, the models will fit with all my other stuff, so if I don't like the game I will still like the models and can use them for other projects
thanks!

I have a somewhat similar assessment. 

I do enjoy the game, but if it dies the sudden death of so many other new wargames I still like the figs enough to incorporate them into other games.  I've been wanting a "good guy" army to face off aginast my KoW Chaos (mostly oldhammer and Battlemasters figs) and I like the style of these guys, so I've got my bases covered.
Title: Re: Batrep and Review of Runewars.
Post by: eilif on April 15, 2017, 01:22:11 PM
Last week I assembled the entirety of my two core game boxes of the Daqan (human) faction. I just put up a blog post about:
-My experiences assembling them.
-Some easy conversions that can be done to mix up the poses a bit.
-My overall thoughts about the sculpts after having had them in-hand for a while. 

https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2017/04/14/runewars-painting-the-daqan-lords-part-1-creative-assembly/

Just a couple teasers.  Here's a set of 8 of the same spearmen bodies. Instead of all being identical, only 2 are assembled stock and there's some limb swapping and repositioning to give a much wider variety of poses...
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2612-570x428.jpg)
...and you wouldn't want your golems to look alike would you?
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2615-570x428.jpg)
Title: Re: Eilif's Runewars Odyssey (4/15 Daquan Assembly and Conversion)
Post by: eilif on April 21, 2017, 06:09:03 PM
My Daqan Troops are nearly done.
Block painted and ready for the Polyshades.
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2656-570x428.jpg)

Full Blog post and lots more pictures here here:
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2017/04/14/runewars-painting-the-daqan-lords-part-1-creative-assembly/

More info in the post, but I've been trying a few things to speed up the painting process including experimenting with satin hardware store spray paint, Sand/Cement mix for basing, Silver paint pens and rediscovering old GW decals.

(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2659-570x428.jpg)
Title: Re: Eilif's Runewars Odyssey (5/1 Second Game, 180 points)
Post by: eilif on May 02, 2017, 03:10:11 AM
We had our second game last Thursday.  We almost doubled our points to 180.  

Full writeup on the blog https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2017/05/01/aar-runewars-round-2/

A good time was had.  We found that 3x6 (the standard size table) can be a bit problematic when you choose the corner deployement card.  Also i learned a valuable lesson in deploying your forces based on initiative.  Oops.

As always, a couple of teasers to entice you to visit...
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2745-570x428.jpg)

(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSCN2740-570x428.jpg)
The game continues to impress me.  For the first time ever I'm contemplating heading to an FLGS for open play this week.  It's been a long time since I played a wargame against random strangers. Should be an experience...

Stay tuned, I've got 2 posts in the works covering a gallery of my finished Daqan (at the battle they were not quite done), and some terrain I've been building to replace the cardboard templates in the boxed set.  Should be up later this week and/or early next week.
Title: Re: Eilif's Runewars Odyssey (5/1 Second Game, 180 points)
Post by: eilif on May 05, 2017, 12:26:22 PM
Put the finishing touches on my Daqan Army.
(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSCN2802-570x428.jpg)

Obviously it's a real basic tabletop job, but it came together nicely and gave me the chance to try some new things including Rustoleum Satin Spray paints, paint pens, emersion dipping and a few others.
Full Gallery and notes on process here:
https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/2017/05/04/runewars-daqan-army-finished/

(https://www.chicagoskirmishwargames.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSCN2787.jpg)