40k 7th edition... questions

[mcfonz]

GW have also just released a new version of Kill-Team. That may suit as your friends can use their existing minis and you don't have to invest in bucket loads of them.

[Daeothar]

Might be worth checking out the One Page Rules. They have rules for larger games and skirmish. Not reeeeeally one page, but very comprehensive and constantly updated as new figures are released. It's a good choice for simple rules where someone else has done all the hard work matching 40k units!

https://onepagerules.wordpress.com/

I just read through these and I'm impressed. Not only is there very little to actually read, but on a theoretical level, these rules appear to convey the '40K feel'^® pretty well.

We'll be trying them out soonish I think. Just like the Shock Force rules btw...

[Hobgoblin]

I've never played any version of 40K other than the first edition. That was a lot of fun at the time, but it's not a great ruleset in my opinion. I bought the rulebook second-hand fairly recently, out of pure nostalgia. And it's full of great things: the plot generators, the DIY aesthetic, the background and all those evocative Ian Miller and John Blanche illustrations.

At the weekend, I looked through it and thought about running the farm scenario for my son and friends (I've been painting up some of these chaps recently). But re-familiarising myself with the mechanics, I was reminded of just how clunky the gameplay seems now. "I go, you go" is hugely outdated, the profiles are so stat-heavy, and the combat system is really laborious. I don't know, but I gather that later editions didn't really fix these problems.

My impression, from a friend who plays the current iteration, is that the background really just carries the rules for people like him, who actually prefer painting, converting and fluff to the gameplay; as he puts it, "I play so rarely that I just want to see lots of spectacular models moving around the table".

I'd recommend a couple of systems for small-scale skirmishes with the 40K background. First, Rogue Planet. We've had great fun playing this recently: it's got lots of innovative, state-of-the-art mechanics and is very fast-playing. It's perfect for 40K, in that it has rules for power fists, chainswords and the like. There are some suggestions from the author for statting up space marines and the like in the discussions here. There's a huge amount of fun to be had with this, from using power fists to throw opponents into dangerous terrain to "bug-hunting" against seemingly impossible odds by using the group rules. The pawn rules (where leaders get followers that are represented by miniatures but just add abilities to the leader and act as hit points for them) are great for 40K, given the models available (servo-skulls, gretchin carrying their masters' weapons, standard-bearers, etc.). It's both a high-tech system that models suppression and overwatch well and a fantasy system in which power swords and shields make sense.

The other thing I'd recommend is one of the Ganesha systems. Mutants and Death Ray Guns is a lot of fun, and then there's Flying Lead, which is adds more realism. Both have the huge advantage of working well with more than two players. So, if you want to play multi-player games with four to six miniatures a side, one of those would work really well. The new supplement for MDRG adds reactions, which break up the turn sequence a bit more; those are designed for two-player games, but Andrea, the author, has published a fix for multiplayer games on the Song of Blades and Heroes Yahoo group (essentially, players draw cards to determine who is allowed to use reactions in a given player's turn). And Osprey are bringing out Andrea's Rogue Stars in December, which is a different system but is eagerly anticipated.

All of these rulesets are really cheap, well tested and well thought out.

[Genghis]

You need Clash on the Fringe from Nordic Weasel Games.

I'll second this, albeit with the caveat that although I've got (& have read) the rules, I haven't actually played a game with it yet.  The background and army creation is sufficiently open that you can put pretty much whatever you want in there.  The author describes it as being a homage to Rogue Trader-era 40K, but with more modern mechanics.  There's a detailed review of it here: http://crapidfire.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/clash-on-fringe-game-review.html

Also, depending how small-scale skirmish you want, the impending Osprey rules Rogue Stars (pitched at 4-6 figures a side) may be an option - that too appears pretty open in terms of character creation/equipping.  (I'm hoping to use it partly as a more streamlined system for Inquisitor-style RPGing.)

[Hobby Services]

For smaller (about 5 solo personalities per team, or about 5-10 times as many henchman types operating in units) skirmish gaming you might also try Blasters & Bulkheads, one of the many Goalsystem engine games out there.  It's got a bit more of a Star Wars or Firefly feel than 40K, but is flexible enough to become a GrimDark future rules set with minimal effort.