In Her Majesty's Name

[Ray Earle]

Agreed. It is a lovely figure,  ::)shame ghat there isn't another way to get hold of her (oo-er). Maybe an extra payment on the pre-order perhaps?

Craig@ is there anything in the rules to cover the hire of solo characters/mercenaries? I'm thinking along the lines of solitary spies or maybe a gang of thugs not directly linked to the companies. Something like the back street thugs in 'game of shadows' who jump Holmes when he's in disguise.

I guess I'm hoping to see some different characters being released in miniature that don't specifically tie in with the structure of each individual company. Sort of like Nick has already done with the master criminal and ripper figures.

I'm still holding out for a Lord Blackwood to lead my cultists.  Please....

[Craig]

Craig@ is there anything in the rules to cover the hire of solo characters/mercenaries? I'm thinking along the lines of solitary spies or maybe a gang of thugs not directly linked to the companies. Something like the back street thugs in 'game of shadows' who jump Holmes when he's in disguise.

Actually Ray there are not any rules to cover solo characters/mercenaries... yet.

Charles and I shall be publishing more material for these rules as we go forwards. Many more new companies are in development, some of which will cover some of the lovely extra figures Nick is producing.

The back street thugs you mention above are covered by one of these companies along with their master and some of his henchmen.

We hope to have the blog up in the next week and lots more information will be available then.

[Bullshott]

Pre-order placed for rules and bobbies.

[Ray Earle]

That sounds great Craig. And was just what I wanted to hear. That basically there will be further development of the range after the initial release. Pleased to hear that Nick is on board with future figure releases too.

One more question if I may, is there a character development/experience system already in place in the rules or would this be something you'd consider adding at a later date?

With such a focused adventuring party I'd see an experience system as fairly mandatory.

[Fuzzywuzzieswiflasers]

Great looking miniatures and interesting sounding rules. I look forward to hearing a review.

With all these new rule sets and figures coming out for VSF & steam punk, sadly it seems that this genre has well and truly sold out 

Gone are those halcyon days where you had a Zulu war Brit , some plastic bottle tops and a panzer IV to kit bash to produce some VSF marvel.

I fear we are going down the road of codecs , tournaments and all that GW inspired rubbish.

I'll go and sulk in the corner 

Cheers
Fuzzy.

[Bullshott]

Great looking miniatures and interesting sounding rules. I look forward to hearing a review.

With all these new rule sets and figures coming out for VSF & steam punk, sadly it seems that this genre has well and truly sold out 

Gone are those halcyon days where you had a Zulu war Brit , some plastic bottle tops and a panzer IV to kit bash to produce some VSF marvel.

I fear we are going down the road of codecs , tournaments and all that GW inspired rubbish.

I'll go and sulk in the corner 

Cheers
Fuzzy.

I don't think its quite so Fuzzy. As with the explosion of steampunk influences in high street fashion, the mark of the true enthusiast is to adapt what is available into his/her own style.

For my own part, I am looking for a player-friendly set of rules for small scale VSF/steampunk skirmishes, which these rules seem to offer. As for forces on offer, I'm a Ripper Strteet fan, so would have bought the British bobbies anyway. The rest of the forces I will adapt ('punk-up') as I see fit. For example, looking at my lead mountain, I see all the correct figures to make up the Egyptian force using Chinese figures (which will give me a supernatural-influenced force without that yeti, but with a jade mummy).

Remember, within a couple of years the current fads will have moved on, leaving a lot of surplus to be snapped up on ebay

[Craig]

One more question if I may, is there a character development/experience system already in place in the rules or would this be something you'd consider adding at a later date?

With such a focused adventuring party I'd see an experience system as fairly mandatory.

You'd think, eh Ray? 

It is quite amazing how small 22,500 words is when you are trying to squeeze in all the rules, equipment and companies. There again it means that there is plenty more material to come.  The 'Later Cupboard' is getting full and we may have to get another one 

[Smith]

One more question if I may, is there a character development/experience system already in place in the rules or would this be something you'd consider adding at a later date?

With such a focused adventuring party I'd see an experience system as fairly mandatory.

There is!

[Craig]

With all these new rule sets and figures coming out for VSF & steam punk, sadly it seems that this genre has well and truly sold out 

Hi Fuzzy.

As you can imagine, in the year between Osprey announcing the rules (which was six months after we first put pen to paper), we have been watching the market with some interest.

We have seen several kickstarter-fuelled Steampunk releases, often with accompanying figure ranges. At first we were quite concerned. Some looked really beautiful. Then as they came to market and we looked closely at the rules, backgrounds and figure ranges we relaxed as nearly all of them are aimed at the W40K/Warmahordes player group. We are talking full-on, no holds barred, steampunk (in bold capitals and with three exclamation marks). We think that a couple of them will do very well indeed.

Looking back at what we have produced though we see a gentlemanly diversion based in the science and the science romances of the late Victorian period. IHMN is fairly pure VSF and this is currently it's unique selling point. Add to that the excellent support of both Osprey - a respected historical and wargames publisher, and Northstar - a respected historical figures manufacturer, and I think we have a decent niche to work in.

There are also the rules. They are not as simple as FUBAR, but we have found in playtesting that people pick them up very quickly, usually within a single game. Yet there is considerable tactical depth within them to keep us playing for a very long time.

We do not expect to set the world ablaze, but we think we can serve a good number of gamers with great fun for a goodly time. No where is my Webley Service Revolver and Faraday coat? Curr has sent a telegram and needs my assistance...

[Craig]

There is!

Ah Smith, there you are man. I've been wondering when you would turn up. A lot of the chaps are getting jolly excited about the upcoming conflicts what.

[Craig]

One more question if I may, is there a character development/experience system already in place in the rules or would this be something you'd consider adding at a later date?

As Smith has rightly pointed out I am so full of my own waffle I forgot to actually answer the damned question. My apologies Ray 

There is a section in the rules called The Spoils of War and it covers exactly this...

[Blackwolf]

I must say I'm looking forward to these rule

[krieghund]

A couple of questions if you please.

Are the rules solo friendly and is it possible to add more supernatural/ Gothic horror elements to the game ?.

[Ray Earle]

As Smith has rightly pointed out I am so full of my own waffle I forgot to actually answer the damned question. My apologies Ray 

There is a section in the rules called The Spoils of War and it covers exactly this...

No need for apologies. I must admit its very nice to have one of the authors on board to answer questions about the rules before their release date.  

Bravo!!

[Craig]

A couple of questions if you please.

Are the rules solo friendly and is it possible to add more supernatural/ Gothic horror elements to the game ?.

Yes, I would say that they are solo friendly as long as you are the sort of solo who doesn't rely entirely on tables for one side's actions. With two small companies I could see whiling away an afternoon arguing with myself over an objective as being an enjoyable experience. Thecharacter of the rules and the companies naturally lead to narrative play so assist the solo player in understanding what they might do in a certain situation. For example Count Otto von Stroheim will happily sacrifice all of his men to get the 'maguffin' for Prussia, whereas Capt Napier is more likely to employ a medic and cover his fallen chaps.

One of the elements in the rules are the Mystical Powers. This gives suitable figures the ability to bend reality to their will. Most of these powers are based upon those believed to be real by the people of the period. So, for example, we have Mesmerism with which you can try to cause an enemy figure to work to your direction. Now I could imagine Count Vlad Dracul employing that. Or the real life belief that the white man's bullets will turn to water, as exploited by several ancient cultures across the globe, and represented in the Mystical Powers rules.

We were careful to place appropriate restrictions on these powers so that no single one, by itself, could dominate the game. But if used tactically and well, just like a grenade or a maxim gun, it could turn a game to your advantage.