Not Harry Potter skirmish game... no really

[BeneathALeadMountain]

I don’t know about the game, but a friend, who is a commission artist and a competent modeller, had to paint an entire set for someone and would never touch them again. He said the models were poor and very fragile (especially the all important wands) and simply not worth the time and frustration. I’ve never seen them in person but having seen how traumatised he was by them I’d avoid at all costs 

You can tell I’m of the pre HP generation but I automatically thought of Terry Pratchett and the awesome Unseen University as the perfect setting.

BALM

[YPU]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I was wondering if anything ever happened with this? It's surprisingly difficult to find any homebrew Harry Potter skirmish games out there.

Sadly no, bunch of ideas on paper but nothing even near playable. I had a faction system I was quite proud of with multiple axis of allegiances but also had a moment where I realized I had multiple "years" of students as levels of effectively soldiers in a war and soured on the idea. If people want I can bung my rough notes on google docs for all to see though. Not too happy with all of it, but it is what it is.

I will say, if I were to do this today I would probably "hack" Pulp alley for it. The shooting in it is diverse and abstracted enough I think and the focus on objectives and puzzles to solve is a plus I feel. Maybe rename some of the attributes.

[Major_Gilbear]

[...]a moment where I realized I had multiple "years" of students as levels of effectively soldiers in a war and soured on the idea. If people want I can bung my rough notes on google docs for all to see though. Not too happy with all of it, but it is what it is.

I sympathise, as despite the overarching story/backdrop of the original series of books, the individual books themselves were more like separate adventures, and even within each book each story was further broken down into a series of puzzles and quests. To go from that to a more "skirmish battles" format would not really recreate how the setting should feel (for me at least).

Perhaps, rather than a game that pits two opposing players' group of students against each other, something that could be played Co-Op or solo would be more appropriate? I'm thinking that a set of rules like Rangers of Shadowdeep would lend itself well to something like this, especially as it already has many of the required elements in place. It also has the advantage that the missions could take place indoors in giant magical castle, or in a village, or a wooded area, or some other suitable setting.

Additional things to consider might be how to represent the different Houses when choosing the Rangers' protagonist students' companions, and perhaps also different age groups (which might be done with difficulty settings). I might also give thought to having a series of specific actions/activities that require solving in different ways (maybe like in Stargrave?) to reflect the more typical things that they could encounter, so that you can put together scenarios more easily (...or even procedurally generate them).

[N.C.S.E]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I was wondering if anything ever happened with this? It's surprisingly difficult to find any homebrew Harry Potter skirmish games out there.

Late response to this but I suspect it has a lot to do with demographics. The people who grew up with Harry Potter are in their twenties and thirties now and that demographic tends to be weak in wargaming circles or at best only know of Warhammer. Likewise, the demographic that plays Warhammer tends to affect to despise or not care about the series because it's not "cool" enough compared to Warhammer or whatever.

[YPU]

Aye Major, I do think there is room for stuff like that. Either go with adult wizard, a bit more Pratchettesque absurdity, get more creative with the setting as well. Or you stick with the teens but make it more of an adventure game rather than straight-up wargame. I'd look at the solo/co-op rules for pulp alley there as well since it allows characters to have multiple areas of expertise outside of straight-up fighting which are used to resolve objectives and obstacles during the game.

Looking at that document again I am full of mixed feelings. 10 years have given me some more nuance in there and there are ideas that I feel could be interesting to explore but would do well with a better writer than me. Replacing house-elves with Imps, who have a liberation army intend on abolishing imp "slavery" is a powerful motive, but I always imagined using goblins like the kings of war vanguard goblin wiz but painted red.



Which gets into that territory where a good writer could make something comedic yet poignant and soulful but slavery is a touchy subject I honestly don't feel comfortable putting in my fantastical "funny" game? Going "its ok they are summoned and bound demons not real slaves" definitely wouldn't be the way to go.

But then I look at the 4 main factions I created, which are the main power blocks that remain after the big dark overlord was sort of defeated but shattered the wizarding world into disarray.

Traditionalists: Both actual druids and new age. Limited on the selection of specific spells they dislike, no modern equipment or forbidden spells. They have easy access to natural beasts and spirits.

Progressives: Make use of modern technology wherever they can, believe it is high time to take the wizarding world into the 21st century.

Nonconformists: Those who practise the forbidden parts of magic such as necromancy and summoning outsiders, which they believe through study might benefit all, though many secretly desire personal power through any means necessary.

Loyalists: The powers that be, well equipped righteous bigots. Knights and inquisitors. Representing the powers that be, or at least were before the war.


And I quite like this setup. Every faction has some overlap with the others as well as topics they bud heads on. The loyalists and traditionalists are of the old school on most customs, remaining hidden and not using modern technology, but bud heads when it comes to the "status" of magical creatures and beasts such as centaurs and dryads. The rearing of magical monsters like gryphons is something the Loyalists like to legislate and the traditionalists would really rather not have anyone meddle in.

The modernists and nonconformists both are in strong opposition of the established order, rebels alike, but have very different views of what direction should be taken. Both also have feelings about the personhood of demons (like the imps) and vampires. The nonconformists have such creatures in their midst, but don't necessarily battle for their freedom so much as consider them both tools and/or potential allies in the quest for more magic (and power) They match the traditionalists in this way on the topic of magic natural magical creatures, but the traditionalists do not extend these feelings to the darker creatures.

And round and the wheel of alliances goes. See this I quite like and feel somebody smarter could actually DO something with.

[YPU]

I should note also, I've been reading a lot of Dresden files and The rivers of London, modern urban fantasy basically. A big wallop of that style added in could be good.

[Harry von Fleischmann]

I messed around with the idea of HP games myself but decided that I was struggling with it. As you say, the books are a series of puzzle based adventures with the kind of full on magical combat that a wargame really needs, featuring close to the end. Plus, yes, school kids as footsoldiers in a magical war is more than a bit iffy.

My second attempt was a sort of good wizards vs scary beasts game that again, didn’t really work.

Perhaps the idea of the Schism at the Unseen University is the way to go, the Wizards are at war and the various schools of types of magic are in a sort of cold war with things getting hot if a new scroll is rumoured to be found.

That said, that’s really Frostgrave I suppose.