[Commercial] Wars of Ozz - Mass Fantasy Battle Retail Release

[robh]

.......the free give away pack on the Wars of Ozz kickstarter campaign.

As a Kickstarter exclusive are these characters going to available as an add on purchase or limited strictly to the army level pledges?

Also if the units are 5 bases of 4 figures (20 in total) what is the extra figure supplied with each 21 figure KS unit?

[Chris Abbey]

We said that we were giving them away for free, I don't think we've decided if we will have them as an add-on too, but can't see it being a problem. Will run it past Russ.

Cavalry and Infantry units have 5 bases of troops and an extra base with a mounted commander, I've not had the casts through for these yet, so they are not shown in photographs.

[robh]

....... I don't think we've decided if we will have them as an add-on too........

Thanks Chris, hopefully you can arrange it, they look like fun pieces to paint.

[Chris Abbey]

Our land of Ozz had its actual conception in the 1950s. As a little boy growing up in Iowa it was a yearly family event to gather round the TV with a bucket of popcorn to watch the Wonderful Wizard Oz. ( I still prefer it in black and white)
 With a huge interest in military history and little toy army men I was always enamored with the Winkie palace guard and with what, I am sure very few others noticed -- the little Munchkin soldiers in Napoleonic style dress that appeared as Dorothy happily exited the little Munchkin village on her perilous journey.
This all indicated to me that there had been, and were armies as well as military engagements in this wonderful land of Oz?
Also, as little Dorothy merrily skipped down the yellow brick road, one could see fields, forests, fence lines ( who built the fences and why),etc. What was out in these lands beyond this yellow brick road, who inhabited this vast strange world we never got a glimpse of, why were there castles were just a few of the things my young mind would ponder?
Years flew by, my interest in military history and little army men only grew. Also, a new interest emerged-- Middle Earth and Hyboria.
Then in 2013 the movie "Oz the great and powerful" was released, I loved it -- and the  thoughts all came flooding back. Why not create my own world based on the fantastic world of Baum? Write my own story, make my own world where we could find those people, those creatures, the history of this strange and wonderful place ---all that was beyond that yellow brick road?
Mix in my historical interests, along with my interests  in fantasy and Oz?
 Now to find a person that owned a soldier company -- HEY-- wait a MINUTE- I own a soldier company I suddenly realized !!
So, with pen and paper --off I went on my own Journey into MY land of Ozz. Creating it's own history, places, people, etc.
Next, I needed a known and accomplished rule writer as an accomplice-- I had known John Buck Surdu for years. I asked, he accepted so here we are with that.
Then I needed a techie person to do all this KS stuff -- as I am extremely "tech challenged" this was an absolute necessity-- enter Chris Abbey and Sally 4th to fearlessly lead us to this point.
A big THANK YOU to all who back this project and help build this into a reality.
I have many more wonderful and fantastical things in store for the future -- some in the works already?
 What lands, creatures, and peoples lay beyond the Great Nonastic ocean, the Great impassable Desert of the South, The Forbidden lands of the West, and the Great Frozen  North.
Of course, any of your concepts will be greatly appreciated and considered.
Russ Dunaway

[MondayKnight]

Ok, Chris has me teetering on the edge here.  I like the look of the models, I like what I have read of the rules.  At the same time $200 for just enough figures for me to play and $400 for both sides, is a little steep on a teachers salary (I with Monday Knight Productions made enough to support this, but alas, no).  But I also do not want another "FlintLoque" situation on my hands.  I have stacks of figures and before I could even get them painted, FlintLoque was gone.  Anyone out there interested in giving a push one way or another?  :-)

[Chris Abbey]

Well, I can't really give an unbiased opinion, as Sally 4th is publishing the book and is the European Distributor, however I was amazed that Old Glory could produce the figures so cheaply. It is a mass battle game, with units of 20 figures, which is going to make the overall project more expensive than games like Saga or Congo. An infantry regiment costs £32 for 20 foot figures plus a mounted officer, thats £1.45 per figure. The average cost for 28mm figures is around £2 with many companies charging £3-£5 for (niche) fantasy figures. Some of the figures are huge such as units of Zilk Cavalry and Pumpkin Men that weigh in at 650g for a unit.

As far as longevity goes, Old Glory are doing the figures they have been around for a long, long time and this project is Russ's personal baby. I've seen the stuff that is in the pipeline.. it's going to be supported for a long time. Some of our early feedback from Kickstarter play testers have said that 'Wars of Ozz' is the best H&M ruleset that they have played, ever, which is quiet a statement, and I know that their is plans afoot to use the core mechanisms for historical H&M periods and there is even talk of a board game / campaign battle generator.

[Chris Abbey]

Buck has just written a great overview of how reaction, shooting and melee work. You can read it in full on updates page @ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackstone/wars-of-ozz

[Chris Abbey]

Let me introduce the Quadlings first family, the Von Guuflings.
The latest additions to the 'Wars of Ozz' kickstarter campaign.



Check it out @ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackstone/wars-of-ozz

[Helen]

Some great characters being sculpted.

[Chris Abbey]

Yesterday I made a short video looking at the Quadling faction in Wars of Ozz.

[Helen]

Thank you Chris.

[jambo1]

Nice video, the Quadlings look superb!

[Chris Abbey]

Wars of Ozz Solo by design

Wars of Ozz has been designed from the start to suit all styles of play including Solo, two player and team play. Today we are going to look at the mechanics that support solo play.
The Double Random™ Activation mechanic used in Wars of Ozz™ provides a fair amount of friction and randomness to activation especially when combined with the ‘Posture’   of the programmed, non-human opponent.  ‘Posture’ is the solo mechanic that influences the decisions for the non-human player that a human opponent would normally make, providing a more challenging experience for the solitaire player.


Posture represents the opponent’s attitude toward the game.  Game events and results influence Posture, and Posture is reflected in the actions that units take.  An aggressive opponent will have units that shoot and move more than a defensive opponent.  In Wars of Ozz™, Posture is a numerical value that is evaluated every time the turn ends.  There are a range of Postures, chosen to reflect the confidence of the opponent.  More confident opponents are more likely to be active, advancing and probing.  Less confident opponents are more likely to be reactive, defending objectives and returning fire.  Normal opponents use a blended approach.  The opponent’s Posture is affected by three things:
•   Winning,
•   Force Morale, and
•   Troop Losses.
All these factors can be reduced to a number and calculated to derive an overall force posture.   Posture in turn influences the actions of the opponent.

For example, people who think they are winning often play more aggressively and take greater risks than might otherwise be prudent.  Force morale is a critical influence on the posture of an army.  If the soldiers think they are losing, it makes the commander’s life harder.  These combined with relative casualty numbers feed into an armies ‘Posture’



Posture is cumulative. This turns results are added to the preceding turns posture to determine the overall ‘feeling of the army’ at that time. This ranges from Overconfident to Hopeless. See Posture Table for details. The Posture that the enemy army is at determines which table is used when an enemy unit activates. Let’s assume our army is ‘Aggressive’. Before we activate the next unit we roll ad D10 and consult the table. We rolled a 7, so the unit must  “Attack!”  Charge toward the nearest enemy unit in that unit’s front or flank zone.



This system neatly models the changing overall ‘Posture’ of an army, and applies it to individual unit activations, providing an enjoyable and challenging solo gaming experience.

[Chris Abbey]

The Kickstarter Campaign closes Saturday, July 25 2020 3:00 PM BST



Wars of Ozz is completely funded and some great Free miniatures have been unlocked for Backers including female munchkin pirates from Admiral JinJars famous crew and the Adventurers of Ozz character set that includes Dorothy, Toto, The Tinman, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.
Over 60 packs of miniatures are available in the wave one release including all the troop types needed to field a Munchkin, Quadling, Gilikin or Winkie Army.



The rules written by Buck Surdu have been designed from the start to support solo, two player and team play. The rulebook contains everything needed to play a streamlined and intuitive ‘fantasy’ horse and musket mass battle game, together with full background of the world, it’s factions, scenarios and uniform guides.

There are just a few days left of the kickstarter campaign, so if it is of interest, check it out now @

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackstone/wars-of-ozz

[Chris Abbey]

Last few hours of Kickstarter left, if this sounds like an interestingly different mass fantasy tabletop game, do take a look @ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackstone/wars-of-ozz