Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Sci-Fi Small Skirmish Games => Topic started by: Plus Four on December 16, 2016, 04:52:53 PM
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I know the game is new and we're all still trying to get to grips with it but has anyone decided to blog or produce videos of their gaming exploits??
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I've just bought it on Kindle. It is a very detailed set of rules, even too much for me. The character creation is made only through special traits, the models have no characteristic of any kind (this means they end up having many special traits, which is pretty hard to manage for newcomers). The activation system resembles SoBH but is better. All in all it's more rpg-oriented than pick up scifi game.
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Read through twice and I think it's trying to fill that gap between table top skirmish war game and RPG. Reminds me of what GW's 'Inquisitor' game attempted. Much less ponderous though.
I will confess I'm a bit dismayed at all the special rules and modifiers. I'll have to game it several times to determine if it plays as fiddly as it looks. I'm hoping it doesn't.
Either way, I got a kick out of the figures - Very cool. Loads of character.
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The thing that bothers so many others - the RPG-like granularity - is really exciting to me.
I just recently discovered Advanced Song of Blades of Heroes, which I like quite a bit precisely because I am gravitating more and more towards low model-count, narrative-focused miniatures gaming. (Just FYI, I never got into Revised SoBH when I bought it years back because it struck me as too bare bones for my purposes.)
I do think ASoBH has some potential weak spots that I hope don't bleed too much inot Rogue Stars:
(1) It seems to favor diversity in the warband - This is great for relatively motley groups in a Fantasy setting (e.g., the classic D&D adventuring party) but less so for the sci fi genre, where there is generally more uniformity (e.g., a squad of soldiers).
(2) you can only assign a model a rather small number of special rules (maybe 3, not counting spells) before they feel - to me at least - overburdened relative to the simplicity of the mechanics.
TBH I am hoping Rogue Stars can handle the AvP setting. If (1) above remains a problem, then running xenomorphs will be an issue. And if (2) is remains a problem, then running predators, with their extensive weaponry, innate strength and endurance, plus stalking and combat skills, will be an issue. Colonial Marines are affected by both (1) and (2).
So it's not really "complexity" generally or abstractly that concerns me but rather the possibility that Rogue Stars will be too much like ASoBH in these ways. If the game itself is a bit more detailed, I think these problems could be less of an issue.
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Here's the heart of the game - roll D20 and add modifiers, looking to score 10+ for a success.
Usually the modifiers are +skill Trait - penalties (including Wounds, Stress or Pins)
There's a subtlety where in some cases the target number is modified, because the margin of success is important.
For your first couple of games, don't bother with range (the board is small). Most of the Trait (skill) modifiers will be 0, most other stuff is chrome to be added in when you move away from simple weapons and add in fancy gear and more specialised traits. It's the "everything else" that gives it the SF flavour, of course.
A QRS and a well laid-out character sheet will help a lot, but it is at heart a far simpler system than the tables of modifiers make it look. There's not much more to the game mechanics really.
I think you're right Dentatus, the aim is to produce a light RPG, and I love it for that.
Manchu:
The entire character is special Traits, C and Q have gone, but there's nothing to stop you building a team that are all mostly the same, with the odd unique Trait - so a bunch of grunts who all have the same armour and weapons and general Traits, but one has a couple of levels of Medic, another has Tech, another has Leadership and another has a big machine gun or a flamer. Sound familiar...? The game is for very small teams though, and diversity is encouraged because if the sheer range of scenarios and opponent abilities you may face - you never know when you'll need to be able to open a door or knock out a guard silently. This isn't a squad vs squad game - you may have to fudge something for Xenomorphs.
The game is points-build, and you start with a maximum of 6 Traits, but these can range from being a robot or psionic to a bonus to a skill Trait. So some are quite weak, some are strong - you pay the appropriate XP price. The characters grow by experience. As I've outlined above, the actual core game is relatively simple once you strip the chrome out. A couple of things I missed above are that the Damage table handles hit locations, and there are critical hits and failures (a critical failure in an activation roll leaves you a Sitting Duck). There are many, many traits and a lot of weapon and gear traits (one works against robots for example)
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From what I can see xeno characters are easy to create - you have options for robots, silicon, vegetable & insectoid based species. You can modify by size from diminutive to huge and add up to 3 pairs of limbs (8 armed & 8 legged aliens anyone).
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I can cope with the 'shotgun' pattern to the rules distribution, but I need a bit more time to let things sink in as me old Neurons ain't what they used to be.
I will run a game soonish, I have in mind a Guardians of the Galaxy type heist
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The thing that bothers so many others - the RPG-like granularity - is really exciting to me.
I just recently discovered Advanced Song of Blades of Heroes, which I like quite a bit precisely because I am gravitating more and more towards low model-count, narrative-focused miniatures gaming. (Just FYI, I never got into Revised SoBH when I bought it years back because it struck me as too bare bones for my purposes.)
I do think ASoBH has some potential weak spots that I hope don't bleed too much inot Rogue Stars:
(1) It seems to favor diversity in the warband - This is great for relatively motley groups in a Fantasy setting (e.g., the classic D&D adventuring party) but less so for the sci fi genre, where there is generally more uniformity (e.g., a squad of soldiers).
(2) you can only assign a model a rather small number of special rules (maybe 3, not counting spells) before they feel - to me at least - overburdened relative to the simplicity of the mechanics.
TBH I am hoping Rogue Stars can handle the AvP setting. If (1) above remains a problem, then running xenomorphs will be an issue. And if (2) is remains a problem, then running predators, with their extensive weaponry, innate strength and endurance, plus stalking and combat skills, will be an issue. Colonial Marines are affected by both (1) and (2).
So it's not really "complexity" generally or abstractly that concerns me but rather the possibility that Rogue Stars will be too much like ASoBH in these ways. If the game itself is a bit more detailed, I think these problems could be less of an issue.
If you like RPG-ish experience, I'd recommend checking out Tales of Blades and Heroes. We've been playing it instead of SBH for our annual SBH campagin. It's cool to be able to play a cooperative game that is a bit more granular where each player only controls 2 minis.
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Anyone got the official minis? Not overenthusiast of the whole range, tbh, but I do like a few models here and there. Among these, the alien "muscle" with the tiny creature on its shoulder. In how many parts does it come? Is it single piece? I hope not as the strongly leaning position of the small creature is an issue to me, and I hope that I would have some room on positioning it.
Regarding character sheets, Ganesha website offers a free PSD card:
http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_58&products_id=311
I'm not home atm so can't say anything more as I'm unable to open the file on mobile device.
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I'm in the same boat, I like some of the droids and aliens, but the bulk of the range is a little 'meh', it's a real shame as I absolutely love the art in the rulebook that the figures are based on :'(
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@Gabbi - I have all the models. Some are delightful, some are fine, if a little uninspired. Overall, I like the range. The little alien on 'Muscles' shoulder is indeed separate to the larger mini, although doesn't seem to have been sculpted as if he's sitting anywhere on the big guy's shoulder - he's got a flat base, but there is no flat area on the pad to sit him.
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Thank you for reply and infos. Good to hear, I'm confident that with some greenstuff and patience (or, lacking the latter, some curses :P) I'll be able to properly position it on the muscle's shoulder :)
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I'm in the same boat, I like some of the droids and aliens, but the bulk of the range is a little 'meh', it's a real shame as I absolutely love the art in the rulebook that the figures are based on :'(
Does everyone know the illustrator's miniatures website (http://convertorum.blogspot.co.uk)? It's an astonishing collection of superb conversions and painting.
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I bought it, read it. Still waiting to try a game. I like it very much! For me this is how Infinity should look like and will probably play some games in this setting!
Edit: I now finished my review in Czech. I will try to make one in English too.
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I've had a read of the rules, but that's about all.
I play solo, so trying to track any number of figures causes my brain to hurt. The thought of tracking 10 or 12 figures, each with multiple traits is causing me to develop a severe twitch at the moment :'(
A lot of the traits confer constant modifers, and I am wondering if it will be possible to pull out some underlying stats and modify their target number. So, for example, stats could be: movement, weapon skill, melee skill, morale
The basic target number starts at ten. So a marksman, eg, would have a base target number of 7 (get +3 to his dice roll, which is equivalent to -3TN). I'm not sure if it would help much, I suppose I'll have to actually play a game or two to find out ;D
Overall, though, these rules do seem to be geared towards the sorts of games I want to play. I agree that military units may struggle a bit (there was nothing more military than "Star Cops" mentioned in the character creation section), and generic alien hordes (I'm thinking of GW Kroot here) could also be tricky to slot in, but hopefully they'll work.
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Does everyone know the illustrator's miniatures website (http://convertorum.blogspot.co.uk)? It's an astonishing collection of superb conversions and painting.
Thanks for pointing it out - some lovely GW conversions there.
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I have read the rules and made a couple of gangs to get to grips with the game during christmas. There are a lot of stuff to choose from (traits, weapons et.c) but each character will only have a few and it seems like you can theme your gang or crew to use mostly the same with perhaps specialist of some sort.
Overall I am very excited and looking forward to converting and painting up some cool gangs.
/Berg
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I play solo, so trying to track any number of figures causes my brain to hurt. The thought of tracking 10 or 12 figures, each with multiple traits is causing me to develop a severe twitch at the moment :'(
A lot of the traits confer constant modifers, and I am wondering if it will be possible to pull out some underlying stats and modify their target number. So, for example, stats could be: movement, weapon skill, melee skill, morale
The basic target number starts at ten. So a marksman, eg, would have a base target number of 7 (get +3 to his dice roll, which is equivalent to -3TN). I'm not sure if it would help much, I suppose I'll have to actually play a game or two to find out ;D
I did write up all the basic Trait tests in my previous email, but wondered if it gave too much away do deleted it.
I do agree that a more complete character sheet will separate out the most commonly used traits as "stats". I'd add Perceptive, Leadership, Tough, Stealth, Medic, Steadfast and Tech to your list.
I would start with a couple of simple 100 XP squads - no heroes, elites, civilians or greens, no alien body types, just plain, average humans. Arm them with simple assault rifles and slug pistols (is it me, but should machine guns have the Automatic Trait too?).
Dump range to begin with - at 1:50 scale, a 90cm board is only 45 metres wide, and you shouldn't have too many open fire lanes right the way across the board anyway.
So the basic tests become D20 + stat(s) - Wounds, Pins or Stress. Maybe add in cover and visibility, and sometimes the enemy's stat is also counted as a negative modifier.
Watch out for the couple of times that negative modifiers ADD to the target number, as that stops the margin of success becoming too large. You can always drop the hit locations and ignore that little tweak, up to you.
Build more detail into the next game - a different body type or robot character, fancier weapons. Kit the opposing squad out with the weapons that add damage just to those guys - sonic and electrical, for example. As I mentioned, a lot of the SF in the game is in those traits, to take a couple of games to explore them.
Have fun and let us know how you get on!
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I like a lot the rules, they are the ones I wanted to have due to their great level of detail; almost everything is there (but there are not shotguns...). I think I´m not going to have problem with the modifiers, etc. after the first games because, with four or five characters, you can learn their profiles easily.
About the figures, this is sad they are not at the same heigh of the illustrations; Most of the first batch lack character and movement but I am awaiting with great expectation the new figures from Mark Copplestone.
And there is a PDF with new rules, etc. in the horizon...
#Momotaro: Yes, the Machine Gun is "Automatic" and "Infinite Rounds". This is one of the two published erratas in the Facebook group.
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Arm them with simple assault rifles and slug pistols (is it me, but should machine guns have the Automatic Trait too?).
Yes, that's in the errata list: machine guns should have Automatic and Infinite Rounds.
The free counter sheet from the Ganesha site is excellent - I think it'll make the game very simple to run. There are counters for things like dropped weapons too.
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I'm aiming to do some stuff on my blog about it so I'll post here with a link when I do.
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...but there are not shotguns.
No shotguns!?! This is an outrage... ;)
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No shotguns!?! This is an outrage... ;)
There gonna be in the supplement! o_o lol :o ;)