Fantasy skirmish rules??

[JArgo]

Hi

I'm looking for a set of rules which offers

A small war-band (5-15)
Challenging tactical decisions

And perhaps most importantly a deep and characterful campaign and advancement system.

Something along the lines of Legends of the Old West.

I've suggested Songs of Blades and Heroes and Mordheim but is there anything else out there?

Cheers

[nic-e]

Rogue planet is good. allows you to add in some sci fi/techy stuff and do cool dramatic actions.

SoBaH is my go too, it's a great system that you can really fiddle with.

[Ogrob]

Frostgrave, while I love it, doesn't quite meet your requirements. It is more random than tactical, and only two or three models out of your 10-12 gain experience and level up. The campaign system is cool, especially playing linked scenarios from the expansions.

[markdienekes]

I suggest looking at Frostgrave too, very deep and characterful campaign with a great advancement system, albeit for a limited set of figures in your warband, but don't think that takes away from your grunts, some of my favorite characters don't gain xp, but are full of character and I do indeed worry for their lives. Give it a look I say

[Hobgoblin]

Rogue planet is good. allows you to add in some sci fi/techy stuff and do cool dramatic actions.

SoBaH is my go too, it's a great system that you can really fiddle with.

I'd second both of those.

One way you can fiddle with Song of Blades is to have a simple upgrade system using the points from the rulebook. So, you might say that every dead foe is worth 5 points. In a typical game, you might have killed five of your enemy and routed four. That would give you 25 points of upgrades. But these have to be spent on surviving characters. 

So, if three of your orc chief's henchmen were killed, you can replace them like for like out of the total starting points for the warband (300 or 400 or whatever) - or you could hire different minions. But you could use the 25 points to add traits to the survivors. Perhaps the chief gets the Savage trait after causing a gruesome kill during the game. Or perhaps he scavenged a crossbow from the dwarfs he killed and now takes that into battle with him. Or perhaps he's simply become a better fighter (higher C) or a better leader (higher Q).

Note that the points are spent on the additional cost in a character's profile, not the base cost for the trait. Therefore, equipping or upgrading more powerful characters and personalities is more costly.

You don't have to spend points between battles. Say you fancy upgrading your orc chief to make him Tough. The cost will be considerable, given his other traits, so you hoard the points, hoping for a sackful in the next game. But of course, there's a gamble there, because you'll probably be facing a more powerful warband - assuming that your opponent got some kills in the previous game, and that he's spent his points already.

Game objectives should also be costed in points - secure the treasure chest and gain 50 points, for example.

[BigB]

Ares by Majestic 12 has been my group's goto for that scale.  It also lets you build up characters so they FEEL like the heroes they are supposed to be.

Otherworld Fantasy Skirmish is growing on us though

[JArgo]

Thanks guys

The idea from Hobgoblin sounds very intriguing and definitely worth a look.

one of our guys has tried Frostgrave but doesn't get that kick out of it.

[Idle Doodler]

If it's something like LotOW you're looking for, have you discounted the fantasy ruleset it came from - Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. Its Battle Companies 'expansion' is readily available online and allows you to chart the growth and decline of a small band of ordinary soldiers on their way to hero-hood or the grave. The basic rule mechanics are pretty much the same as LotOW.

There are a few Battle Company campaigns on the GBHL YouTube channel.

[Jagannath]

I was sure I'd posted in this thread, no idea where my post went. Weird. I'd use LotR with the Battle Companies add on (which, as Idle Doodler says is basically where LotOW comes from), though Hobgoblin's idea is really great too.

[El Frantico]

Relicblade ticks off everything on your list except maybe model count. Average model count is between 3-6, but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t have more as it is points based. They are launching a new Kickstarter on the 13th also.

[markdienekes]

Burrows and Badgers any good?

[Whitwort Stormbringer]

I'll second Relicblade, it's a fun action-packed game and IMO the campaign system is excellent. One thing that I really like about the campaign, in addition to the usual stuff, is all the "support staff" that your warband can recruit. These guys won't show up on the battlefield or even need models, but they do all kinds of stuff for your warband between games. Character building in that system is fun, too. You start with a template like "questing knight" but they can have/learn new skills and gain new equipment. The scenario variety in the campaign book is really rich, too.  All around a great little fantasy skirmish game. Really the only thing it needs is more models, although that's coming down the line and the aforementioned flexibility in character creation helps in that regard anyways.

[Faust23]

My Epic Heroes supplement for Brink of Battle will likely scratch your itch. You can read a review here:

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.com/2014/10/brink-of-battle-epic-heroes-review-by.html

[DS615]

Ares by Majestic 12 has been my group's goto for that scale.  It also lets you build up characters so they FEEL like the heroes they are supposed to be.

I and my group fully endorse that recommendation!  A great set of rules that don't get the love they should.

Keep in mind that campaign, or advancement, in a rule set is almost always a separate section.  Meaning find the skirmish rules you like best, and find the campaign rules you like best, and don't worry if they aren't from the same game.

[JArgo]

 find the skirmish rules you like best, and find the campaign rules you like best, and don't worry if they aren't from the same game.

Good tip, thanks