Dragon Rampant basing

[anevilgiraffe]

I'm waiting on the Dragon Rampant rules, but having watched a load of Batt Reps yesterday while ill, I'm eager to get started.

Is there any basing scheme for rank and file type units? just wondering if I can pretend 20mm doesn't exist...

[Pattus Magnus]

If you are playing using 28mm figures, nearly any single-based format will work. If you want to use multi-based figures you would need to figure out a way to mark casualties, but that shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s a very flexible  game in most respects.

[Silent Invader]

I play DR, LR, PL and R&P with 28mm human-size figs on 25mm dia bases. Sometimes I deploy these figs on movement trays but that’s really just for convenience. Some figures that are smaller or larger than humans get smaller or larger bases, commensurate with what fits and what looks right.

[OSHIROmodels]

I have 25mm and 20mm bases (both round) and will quite often use sabot trays. Usually for 12 figure units I’ll have two six figure sabot.

[anevilgiraffe]

so it's a feels right situation... I thought so, from what I saw on the play throughs, frontage isn't really an issue.

I'm planning on cobbling something together with models I bought for an abandoned pseudo-Empire force I played with a while back. I have loads of the Foundry Renaissance Orcs.

[LouieN]

Any basing you want. 

[Hobgoblin]

As others have said, just about any basing will work just fine.

One point to illustrate this is that Dragon Rampant's strength points allow the profile for a standard unit of six or twelve to be used for a single large or powerful character. So a single wizard might use the profile of a unit of six scouts (with or without the spell-casting upgrade) while three trolls or a single giant might use the profile of a typically twelve-strong unit of heavy foot.

As long as you have some way of recording the loss of strength points, it doesn't matter whether the unit has twelve figures or one - or anything in between. In the same way, you could represent a horde of goblins with twelve 15mm HOTT or DBA-style elements, each counting as one 'man' (strength point). And you could equally use a 'diorama' Kings of War base for a unit and just mark strength-point loss as you'd mark nerve points in KoW instead of removing individual casualties.

Anything goes, essentially.

[Pattus Magnus]

It isn’t a basing rule, per se, but there is one rule that could act as a practical limitation on basing. Dragon Rampant has a unit cohesion rule, which requires that all the figures/bases in a unit be within 3 inches of one centrally located figure/base. That central figure isn’t necessarily a “leader” - it could be any figure and could change from turn to turn (although using a standard bearer or other distinctive figure would look cool). That central figure is that turn’s reference point to judge cohesion for the ‘blob’ of figures in the unit.

In practice, the cohesion rule means that all figures must have part of their base touching or inside a circle approximately 7 inches in diameter (assuming the figures are on 1inch bases). Normally it not a problem to fit twelve 28mm figures that are single-based in cohesion. If the bases are larger, though, it could be awkward getting 12 inside the cohesion zone (ex, if using a 10mm army based on 60x30mm rectangles, trying to get 12 bases in cohesion might be a challenge…).

I only mention the cohesion rule in case your planned armies are way outside the usual! Even then, reasonable players should be able to find a work-around that will allow using nearly any collection. (Ex, for the 12x 60x30mm bases, house rule that they are in cohesion when deployed in base to base contact 6 wide by 2 deep, even though the bases on the outside of the formation would be more than 3 inches from a base in the middle).

[Hobgoblin]

Good points!

In practice, the cohesion rule means that all figures must have part of their base touching or inside a circle approximately 7 inches in diameter (assuming the figures are on 1inch bases). Normally it not a problem to fit twelve 28mm figures that are single-based in cohesion. If the bases are larger, though, it could be awkward getting 12 inside the cohesion zone (ex, if using a 10mm army based on 60x30mm rectangles, trying to get 12 bases in cohesion might be a challenge…).

That's very true - although a Warmaster or HOTT (etc) 10mm or 15mm army on 40 x 20s (more typical for those scales?) would have no such problem. And your workarounds are perfect.

There's a nice photo on page 7 of the Dragon Rampant rulebook showing a unit formed from six 40 x 20mm bases (I think!).