SPQR - NEW FAQ from Warlord

[Marine0846]

Found this on You Tube.
Lots of dice rolling.
I wanted to get excited about this game.
Now not so much.

[guitarheroandy]

Ordered the rules today. I've been patiently waitng for Clash of Spears but last I saw they are still in the pipeline until November, so thought I'd give these a go. I have an early Roman force to paint, which fits better with CoS, so had hoped for Early Rebuplic army list. I do have Caesarian though so not a problem. Also have some 20mm Greeks to paint, origionally meant for Men of Bronze but this may be more up my street. I'm a Bolt Action fan so have high hopes.

I'm exactly the same - CoS is high on my list and my WIP 4th Century BC Romans will do nicely for that, but I looked at this and thought it might be fun. I've ordered the rulebook and will get the Caesarian Romans out to play.

Look, we all know the 'issues' about historicity and nobody wants to get this thread shut down like the last one was. We also have known for a while that it's a 'buckets of dice' game. Many of us won't like it for that reason. However, it doesn't bother me as I came from Warhammer Fantasy into historical gaming via WAB, so tons of dice is ok by me. I reckon it could be a cool 'pick up' game to take down the club on a Monday night - not many models, a few bits of scenery and a couple of hours harmless fun. I get the impression that it's a 'quick to learn' set of rules which is great for an ageing gamer like me whose brain cells don't work like they used to! I also reckon it'll be pretty easy to shoe-horn my early Romans and Samnites into it as well should the need strike me...

[CommanderBaker]

I look at this game from the perspective of wargaming in my area of the world. Wargaming here is 40K, and AoS mostly. Star Wars Legion has got some popularity, but historically its all Bolt Action, FoW and Team Yankee it feels like. Saga is just gaining some ground and getting people into dark ages/crusades, but there isn't much of an ancients presence.

This ruleset or one like it could help open some doors.

[mkultra99]

Yes.. obviously buckets of dice... and then re-rolling those buckets frequently.

One thing not really talked about is how fast it plays... fast.. I mean fast. at 500 points an outcome will be had by turn 3, 4 at most, and clocking in at under an hour... possibly a lot less depending on players rules knowledge and familiarity with their warband.

My group has played it a handful of times.. and really want to like it.. but no carthanginians, and a few houserules will have to be implemented (even with the "FAQ") so we are putting on the 'wait and see' pile. We are going to give mortals gods a try this weekend.. really wish Clash of Spears was available. My vote was to go back to Warhammer Ancient Battles, but everyone has lost/sold their books long ago.

[guitarheroandy]

I've been looking at some videos and reading some bits and pieces on the Facebook group, etc, and it seems that there's lots of scope for power gaming combinations, which puts me off. The 500pts war band size also looks very small and maybe doesn't really do the game justice, limiting things a tad. But I'm not gonna make judgements til I've played it...

[jetengine]

I've been looking at some videos and reading some bits and pieces on the Facebook group, etc, and it seems that there's lots of scope for power gaming combinations, which puts me off. The 500pts war band size also looks very small and maybe doesn't really do the game justice, limiting things a tad. But I'm not gonna make judgements til I've played it...

Just because you CAN powergame doesnt mean you SHOULD. Any game can suffer that.

[guitarheroandy]

Just because you CAN powergame doesnt mean you SHOULD. Any game can suffer that.

Agreed! And I don't. However, I know a number of players who do and this set looks VERY easy to do that with. I am reminded of WAB when Fall of the West supplement came out. That year, most major UK WAB tournaments were won by players using the power game combinations that the army lists 'allowed' (Warlord Barbarian armies ruled the roost, even trashing Macedonian phalanx armies, which had hitherto been kick-ass). Now, I'm 100% certain that the supplement author and his play testers did not do any of the 'tricks' that ended up in those tourney winning armies in their test games, as when one didn't do those things, the supplement gave some truly superb games. It's just that it was SO easy to do IF one had the mind to do so. And LOTS of people did at the time!

The '30 Gauls plus Druid in a unit' combo in SPQR is already out there (92 attacks, hitting on 2+ with re-rolls, etc ) and Roman players are already trying to 'tweak' their Caesarian Romans to handle that, with the result that their Roman war bands are looking decidedly not very Caesarian Roman as they become very missile-heavy to take the Gauls to manageable numbers prior to combat. Now, that's not a problem at all if that's what one enjoys, of course and if two likeminded players are going head-to-head on the SPQR arms-race and are happy with that, then that's all very fine and dandy.

I'm also sure that a few 'house-rule unit limitations' could make things decidedly less goofy for such occasions, but most importantly, designing great scenarios (there are loads in the book, some of which look pretty cool) will be the key to this game being a success, I think.
I still think it could be a lot of fun as a club-night participation game, especially with larger forces than the standard 500pts (it apparently up-scales well to 1000pts and beyond, which would give  good evening length game) I'm already thinking 1000-1500pts, 2-3 players per side, each controlling approx 500pts, no more than 20 models per unit... (even that would still allow the 20 Gauls + Druid 60 attacks hitting on 2+ with re-rolls!)
 
I've not given up on it yet by a long shot. 

[jetengine]

I think honestly it falls back on the "Dont be an asshole"  rule. If your opponent rocks up with cheese you just pack up and walk. When he/she asks why its very simple "Your not interested in a fun game for both of us so why should I waste my time ?"

[Neldoreth]

I think honestly it falls back on the "Dont be an asshole"  rule. If your opponent rocks up with cheese you just pack up and walk. When he/she asks why its very simple "Your not interested in a fun game for both of us so why should I waste my time ?"

I think the issue really arises in tournament play. If you're playing with your buddy then of course it's fine, but if you want to meet new people and play new enemies, then tournaments are arguably the best place for that. Many tournament players build armies that help them win, and it's tough to expect them not to.

It appears to be a skirmish format, but the fight is very much a mass-unit type of fight: once the units close into combat, they stay in a big unit and die as a big unit.  The video shows it taking 40 minutes for a few small combats to resolve, turn-after-turn of die rolling. That's a lot for a skirmish game.

Thanks
n

[Tokhuah]

I have several variations of Macedonia lists that range from 18-25 models.  In every configuration there are no more than 13 models in a single unit.  The most dice I will ever toss at once is mid 20's.  Am I concerned about hordes of unskilled minions tossing dozens of dice in melee?  No, because I have plenty of elite Cavalry to run down naked Gauls who will die screaming.

[Mark M Down]

I have been looking forward to playing some games with this system. It reminds me a lot of the old Warhammer Ancients. I have got together an army of Britons. If you want to see more you can check out my blog. Here are some of my slingers. The figures are plastic and are made from a combination of Warlord Games bodies, Victrix heads and Gripping Beast dark age slings. I have also been reading the latest adventures of Macro and Cato in the rather good Simon Scarrow books and I thought this system would rather lend itself to playing them on the tabletop. I have worked out some talents that I think will work well for them. But I am happy to hear other people’s thoughts.
The link to my blog is:
https://marctgames.wordpress.com/2019/08/10/spqr/

[Comsquare]

Nice 

Where does the druid come from?

[Antonio J Carrasco]

Well, I watched yesterday a game of SPQR in a local shop. It was a demo, therefore it was low on models. Rules were easy to pick, especially for gamers used to play GW's Age of Sigmar and LOTR rules. The chaps playing had fun and one of them bought the starter set right after finishing the game.

I wasn't excited though. I have not doubt that it might be a fun game, particularly for gamers that like to roll a lot of dices. It's engaging and visually attractive. Another plus is that the chaps at Warlord have taken in mind their potential 40-50s buyers and the layout of the book avoids those fancy, illustrated, backgrounds that made reading the text an actual pain for those of us who have tired eyes! (GW I am looking to you! Your last Necromunda book is illegible for anyone without 20/20 vision!)

My problem is that I wasn't sure if I was looking at a game of Ancients or a game of Fantasy. You could replace Gauls with Orks and nobody would notice the difference. I mean, there is nothing in the game that reminds me of something even vaguely "historical".  Maybe that's good and has been done on purpose by Warlord's designers, to attract into historicals a player base that is into Fantasy (a bit like what they did with Bolt Action, or the lads at Battlefront with Flames of War). If that is their goal, I think they are in the good path. The two guys I saw playing, and their friends, were engaged and clearly enjoying themselves. I was the only Old Grognard there, and the only one that wasn't thrilled. If Warlord support the game, I think they have a potential hit in their hands.

To me? Well, paraphrasing Bosquet: it looks fun but it's not historical wargaming.

[Mark M Down]

The Druid was a free model I got from Wargames Illustrated at Salute back in 2018.

[Whitwort Stormbringer]

Curious to know what folks think some of the required house rules will be? I just got the book and, having read through the rules, they seem straightforward enough, if not particularly innovative.

With regards to powergaming, in this and any other system, I think it just comes down to stating your preferences up front, which is something gamers tend to be bad about. Nothing wrong with wanting to play an min-maxed list if that's what's fun for you, just let your opponent know before hand. Same for casual fun, historically accurate, etc. etc. Better to just say "hey, what kind of game are you after?" or "I like competitive games between optimized armies" beforehand than to play a game and be grumpy about it afterwards.

On an unrelated note, how are people finding the SPQR resin minis? The bonus goat sacrifice model that came with the book is a nice sculpt (nicer than the painted photos suggested IMO), but the material seems very bendy to me...