Fantasy system with customizable races?

[Elder Days]

In my years playing fantasy wargames I’ve noticed there are two types of rule sets; The first has the stats and abilities of the fantastic creatures and peoples represented by detailed, but immutable stats. The second generally glosses over and specific differences between races and creatures instead providing a small number of generic profiles.

What I’m hoping to find is a rule set that takes a middle way. I would like to find some rules that let me shoehorn my preexisting eclectic collection in. That said I want a way to make my dwarves distinct from elves and giants distinct from large elementals.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Sangennaru]

That said I want a way to make my dwarves distinct from elves and giants distinct from large elementals.

So, not Frostgrave.
Apart from that, i would say that many system have a bit of that. Brink of Battle for skirmish, the new Saga for larger battles... they all seem to work well in that direction.

What scale of game are you looking for?

[Hobgoblin]

For skirmish games, Song of Blades and Heroes lets you customise profiles as you want. The rulebook has lots of example profiles, but you don't need to stick to those. So, if your dwarves are slow but steadfast, you can make render them thus, even if their basic profile (say, Quality 3, Combat 3) is exactly the same as an elf's.

For example, a dwarf might be like this:

Q3, C3, Short Move, Steadfast, Heavy Armour

And an elf might be like this:

Q3, C3, Free Disengage, Good Shot, Unerring Aim, Leafwalk

And you could use the same basic profile to make an orc leader like this:

Q3, C3, Leader, Savage, Evil

All three will play very differently. And there's nothing to stop you making the elf C2 or the Dwarf C4 or the orc Q4 and C4, or whatever else.

The statting-up process is intuitive and simple, and there's an online warband calculator to sort out the points costs.

For massed battles, all the same applies to Of Armies and Hordes. It also has a builder, along with thousands of sample profiles.

[FionaWhite]

On the skirmish-side of game scales there's also Thud & Blunder, it too allows you to craft profiles to make a unit (or a faction) of your liking.

[Desert Rat]

I have to agree with Hobgoblin, it certainly sounds like Song of Blades and Heroes is what you are looking for.
And a great game to boot !! 

[Sangennaru]

For skirmish games, Song of Blades and Heroes lets you customise profiles as you want. The rulebook has lots of example profiles, but you don't need to stick to those. So, if your dwarves are slow but steadfast, you can make render them thus, even if their basic profile (say, Quality 3, Combat 3) is exactly the same as an elf's.

For example, a dwarf might be like this:

Q3, C3, Short Move, Steadfast, Heavy Armour

And an elf might be like this:

Q3, C3, Free Disengage, Good Shot, Unerring Aim, Leafwalk

And you could use the same basic profile to make an orc leader like this:

Q3, C3, Leader, Savage, Evil

All three will play very differently. And there's nothing to stop you making the elf C2 or the Dwarf C4 or the orc Q4 and C4, or whatever else.

The statting-up process is intuitive and simple, and there's an online warband calculator to sort out the points costs.

For massed battles, all the same applies to Of Armies and Hordes. It also has a builder, along with thousands of sample profiles.

I TOTALLY agree, Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes is your friend!

[beefcake]

4thed songs if blades and heroes really allows you to go wild with creation

[Zeebeest]

So which one is better SoBaH or ASoBaH?

Been looking for a skirmish variant to D&D.

Greetings,

Zeebeest.

[Tim Haslam]

Warlords of Erehwon has a matrix for pointing up your own troop types.
We’re having a ball playing this system.

[bonewolf22]

So which one is better SoBaH or ASoBaH?

Been looking for a skirmish variant to D&D.

The "advanced" in ASoBaH is a very good descriptor of it. It's not so much a 2nd edition to the original SoBaH as a cleaned up version with more stuff. All the core mechanics are the same and all the profiles are cross compatible. Which is better depends on how much meat you want to your rules.

The main differences between the two include:

- The activation mechanic. In basic SoBaH turns are "I go you go," with the active player rolling between 1 and 3 dice to activate their models. This roll is tested against the model's Quality or Q value-- for example, a Q of 4+ means that any d6 roll of 4 or higher successfully activates the model. Each successful die roll gives the model an action but failing two or more passes the turn to the other player, so the central risk/reward element to activation is deciding if getting more actions is worth the chance of losing your turn. In addition to all of this, Advanced also has reactions, where failed activations by the active player can be seized on by the inactive player to allow activation of their own units during the enemy turn. This adds extra dynamism to the game but also has the potential to slow it down.

- The magic system. Basic SoBaH has a very basic magic system where the only spells available to spell casters are an attack and a stun. ASoBaH fleshes this out to add a whole grimoire of spells from summoning walls and monsters to chain lighting and hailstorms. More options means more complexity and more rules to remember but the benefit is more tactical choices.

- The traits (special rules). Basic SoBaH has around 30 traits while ASoBaH has over 100. This allows you to get MUCH more in depth with units and their capabilities. They're a good mix of new unit abilities such as armor saves or new attacks and also various passive bonuses. The abundance of traits in ASoBaH allows much more choice and variety between forces. However, many of the traits are very minor and some are redundant or oddly explained.

If you're going with a straightforward no-frills tactical skirmish game, basic SoBaH is the better bet. If you want a deeper game with more strategic depth and variety but correspondingly more rules to keep track of and some clunky editing here and there, ASoBaH is the better bet. I personally prefer ASoBaH because of how much I can customize my units, and since you're looking for a skirmish D&D experience I definitely recommend ASoBaH.