Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Braxandur on April 05, 2008, 08:27:30 AM
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It's there:
http://ganeshagames.blogspot.com/2008/04/mutants-and-death-ray-guns-is-available.html
I just bough the fantasy system by Genesha Games, called Song of Blades and was pleasantly suprised by how good the rules work for a skirmish game. If this is just as good, it will be very interesting.
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can anyone give a slight low down of the hole lot. SBH SGD especially the second. i might get that munants one and see if it cant be modified for use with brigade games minis for a @destroy all humans campaighn@
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If you go to SBH's main page there is a list of links for reviews of the game (in a variety of languages). I don't know about SGD too much other than it has rules for dungeons, traps, new creatures, etc.
http://songofblades.blogspot.com/
If you want to know how the combat system works for SBH, I covered that in my review for Fictional Reality #31 (one of the links listed) on page 73.
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If this is just as good, it will be very interesting.
I just grabbed a copy and its a slightly different game than SBH. SBH is a very focused fantasy skirmish game and Mutants appears to be more of a post apocalyptic and simpler version of Necromunda.
It doesn't have the faction lists like SBH does and it focuses on building and fighting with parties instead.
Seems like good fun as well but the focus is different than SBH
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I bought it today (just 8$!) and was gladly surprised. Although it goes a for post-bomb world it can be easily adapted for quick and fun futuristic skirmishes. Many RT-era miniatures will come back from their boxes soon! :love:
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I am probably going to pick this one up. I was tremendously impressed with SoBH - I picked it up just to see what the hype was about and surprise! The hype was justified.
Like Keyan said, my RT-era figures want to get out and stretch. I'll probably use it in conjunction with Fantastic Worlds, just for giggles.
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Sounds good. I may have to pick it up, too!
Marc
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I have yet to play the game, but here is a brief lowdown on rules. The basic combat and activation rules are the same as SBH, but there are some important differences in other areas.
Mutants and Deathray Guns is essentially the old Gamma World RPG translated into a miniatures game with campaign rules. Players can build a force of Pure Humans, Mutants, Animal/Plant mutants, zombie like canibals or Androids/Robots, or..... a combination of the different types. The characters are more template based than in SBH, for example all Pure Humans have the same basic profile. The rules provide for random skills, mutation and equipment rolls, which gives a nice scavengerish feel to your begining warband. Besides the basic Quality/Combat/Special Abilities profile as in SBH, MDRG has an upkeep cost for each character. This is used in the campaign rules to represent the logistics of keeping your warband alive between battles. For humans etc, this represents food but for robots it is energy cells etc. Most of the scenarios in the book reflect fighting over these resources, so it seems like it would make a neat campaign game.
David
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Had a read through it some more and it looks like it might be a heck of a lot of fun to use for an evening "campaign" with some buddies. Create some warbands and have at it through a series of games and then crown a winner at the end of the evening.
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I'll probably use it in conjunction with Fantastic Worlds, just for giggles.
Truly compatible: FW for hero/narrative-oriented games. MDRG for quick and easy batlles.
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Truly compatible: FW for hero/narrative-oriented games. MDRG for quick and easy batlles.
And not without precedent, given Grimm & Co.'s use of .45 Adventures and T&T along precisely the same lines.
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wow.
I was just in the process of converting LotOW to post apoc (legends of the scorched earth). Looks like this will save me a lot of time.
I do have a few questions though.
1) how many scenarios are in the book?
2) how long is a recommended campaign?
3) do the scenarios have rules for multiplayer? (3+)
4) any road or vehicle rules?
5) is it possible to make alien gangs?
thanks!
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I'll answer your questions...
1) how many scenarios are in the book?
6
2) how long is a recommended campaign?
3-6 games: an evening
3) do the scenarios have rules for multiplayer? (3+)
Yes
4) any road or vehicle rules?
Nope
5) is it possible to make alien gangs?
Yes. Andrea told that many aliens are waiting for a future supplement/game, but the system is so expandable that it is really easy to create your own aliens.
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Thanks, KeyanSark!
There's some pretty harsh comments about the game here:
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=388150&page=2
Are these points valid? I was contemplating getting the print version this weekend and scraping my LotOW conversion, so I really hope the opinion in this thread is off the mark.
Thanks!
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That guy should be the usual GW-fanboy :wink:
I mean, the rulebook could have more detail, but we are talking about a very quick skirmish game that lets you play with almost any possible miniature and create whatever band you want... for only 8$!
I'd suggest you to buy the PDF version and check the game. I have printed it and works perfectly.
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People who roast games after flipping thru the rulebook make me angry. Play a couple dozen games and make a judgement then. A skirmish game is intended for fast/fun play and it's not unusual to see lots of fast/fun rules...no doubt developed more for player enjoyment than product sales. And come on! You expect a game called 'Mutants And Death Ray Guns' to be the new holy grail of gaming? It's gonna be a fast/fun game as the title would suggest.
I may have to buy it now...as people who defend games they have never played make me angry as well... :D
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Are these points valid? I was contemplating getting the print version this weekend and scraping my LotOW conversion, so I really hope the opinion in this thread is off the mark.
Some of this guy's gripes could be said to be technically correct, but substansively off the mark. Before I go into that I want to state that Andrea, the author, is an extremely active poster to the Song of Blades and Heroes Yahoo group. He is always eager for suggestings and constructive criticism. If this guy had posted his gripes on the yahoo group he would have had clear answers to his complaints and any glitches he found would be fixed. That's the other thing about Andrea, he posts free rules updates to correct any anommolies or reflect any changes in the evolution of his system. English is a second language to Andrea and from what I gather he depends on volunteers to translate into other languages, such as Spanish or French. So to basicly summarize my little sermon, Mutants and Death Ray guns is an $8 PDF investment with an unprecidented level of support for the game including near continuous access to the author and playtesters.
Now on to some of the particular gripes of the reviewer referenced.
Is the writting unclear? Yes, partly. It takes a carefull read, particularly of the faction descriptions. The main rules section is pretty clear, but then again I am already familiar with them.
Purity Squad annomolies? I think there might be a discrepancy in the rules about the number of equipment rolls allowed, and the example does not seem to match up. However, a simple post to the Yahoo group will clarify this, it does not ruin the game. Incidentally, in MDRG, gaining more items is a key to survival. Loosing a pure human (who has rather weak stats anyway) and gaining more equipment is a benefit in my opinion.
Are all the scenarios alike? In the sense that there is an attacker and a defender, yes. Some are very similar on the surface, a fight over control of a well and a fight for control of an orchard are pretty similar, but the resources gained for the campaign are different. There is also a scenario that takes place in an installation that might have it's own defenses and in other areas with unique hazards.
Does all of the losing side die in the scenario aftermath? No, only those abandoned on the field of battle. The games in a campaign are not meant to be fought to the death, afterall, you are fighting primarily to gain the resources for survival. Any model that flees the board survives, those that went down on the losing side die, and those that went down on the winning side may die, be out a game, be penalized or be perfectly fine.
The winning side gets an advance for only one model? Yes, but there are several types of advances to choose from. This can be a mutation, skill, improved quality or combat, equipment or even a new member for the warband. Any of these advances, even for one model, is quite a benefit for the winning warband. It is a question of game balance, anymore would make the winner much too powerful too fast. Not having played the game, the reviewer obviously envisioned this to be a weak gain.
I hope this helps lay your doubts to rest, I highly recommend the game and all of the Ganesha game products. Hey, you were going to start basically from scratch anyway, so anything that troubles you about the rules can easily be tweeked.
David
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Thanks for defending my game and understanding its philosophy. I replied to the harsh comments on the RPG.net forum offering a refund and also thanking the author of the post for catching a mistake in the rules (the example on p.5 is wrong-- errata just published on the yahoo group).
The guy didn't know that I offer free updates of the games. In any case, his reactions seemed excessive. And I truly don't understand this idea that stuff should be free, I think the internet is spoiling people into thinking that information or the creative work of others, including the many illustrations in a rulebook, each accounting for 1 or 2 hours of work, should be free. Tonight I'll go to the movies to watch Iron Man and if they don't let me in for free I'll bump my feet on the ground real hard.
Andrea
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By the way, if you bought it and want the updated PDF with the corrected page 5, just drop me a mail at andreasfiligoi@gmail.com
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Good to see you here Andrea. Welcome to LAF.
Rodney
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Hi Andrea, this is Juan here :wink:
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Hi Andrea! Looking forward to picking up MDRG!
Also, he's far to modest to mention it here, but Song of Blades and Heroes got nominated for an Origins Award for best miniature game of the year, so congratulations to him and best of luck in the final round!
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Thanks! Hi everybody, I was frequently reading this forum but not posting.
Yes it seems likely that I'll be at Origins to run a few demo games and hopefully sell enough books to make up for the airplane ticket :-)
I think I'll focus on SBH there as it is nominated and I really need to push it... the other competitors are much bigger and so they'll get +1 in hand-to-Hand combat... I'll have to count on my Ambush bonus :-)
A
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Try to triple their result and go for the Gruesome Kill, Andrea! :lol: