Fantasy skirmish rules - a useful list

[mweaver]

I have some of these rules, but don't play them because when we sit down for a fantasy skirmish, we always play Mordheim (we normally only play collaborative scenarios of our own devising).  But some of the rules here I have not picked up do seem interesting.  I glad this thread is now stikied.   Stykied?  Stuck?

-Michael

[Andrew_McGuire]

ASS: Afforded Sticky Status. OK, maybe not.

[Andrew_McGuire]

I'm reasonably sure Freeblades has not been mentioned up  to now. So, by way of correction, I'd like to mention Freeblades:

https://www.dgsgames.com/

Comments invited.

[Gabbi]

Great thread!

Blood on the Blade: Self-proclaimed microgame that recently got a 2nd Edition. Solo/co-op only.

I have played this one a bit. Nice system. I wrote some first impressions on my blog here:
https://gabbigames.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/blood-on-the-blade/

Broken Legions - Osprey/Mark Latham - Weird-War-Rome, battle between small bands of myth-bolstered forces in the classical era.  D10 based, sharing a lot of similarity to the GW Lord of the Rings SBG engine.

Good to hear. Got it as soon as it was released (love the theme), but dismissed it after a quick read as nothing sparked my will to try it. Reading it plays similar to LotR SBG (which I do not know, but I have read excellent opinions online) makes me willing to give it a try.

D&D Battlesystem Skirmishes:  THE game to get if you want to expand D&D rpg combats into fully fledged skirmish games. (Also the thematically similar, but more complex WotC version 'Chainmail')

If you refer to the early '90s book, I have strong sentimental feelings for the game, as I played it a lot. A LOT. The freedom to mix and match any miniature I fancied was great. This said, in hindsight rules weren't that great but even worse, game wasn't balanced at all. Point costs of models were the XP value in AD&D and they were far from balanced. I still remember we tried a game with a Level 7 Wizard agains twice its points cost of stuff. Wizard got killed in the end, thanks to a few lucky rolls, but otherwise dominated the game.

SAGA will soon be releasing Age of Magic that is a fantasy supplement to the popular game.

There's already a unofficial fantasy supplement (for the first edition of Saga) freely available.
http://www.a-fantastic-saga.com/


I'd also like to add Tribal to the list. While written to play 'historical' tribal fights, it's generic enough to replace historical people with tribal fantasy races (orcs, lizardmen and the like).
I wrote a quick first impressions on my blog:
https://gabbigames.wordpress.com/2017/09/14/tribal-prime-impressioni/

[Bloggard]

I'm reasonably sure Freeblades has not been mentioned up  to now. So, by way of correction, I'd like to mention Freeblades:

https://www.dgsgames.com/

Comments invited.

thanks for mentioning these - I'd not checked out the link you posted previously.

They also do 'Brightswords' which appears to be an RPG - but centered on the use of miniatures / table-top. Bit like DnD 4th perhaps.
Free beta d/load of rules available on the site.

[madzerker]

Also, Ragnarok Heavy Metal Gaming set is out. I haven't played it yet but should be in the next week or two, it looks great!

[Craig]

Good to see Thud & Blunder getting a couple of mentions - thanks 

If you want to see an independent review of these rules just go here: https://meeples.wordpress.com/2019/03/05/review-thud-blunder/

[Bloggard]

Don't think it's mentioned above (*actually, I notice much later after posting this, that it is 'listed' above):

Dungeon Scum

by the same guy behind 5 leagues from the borderlands (Nordic Weasel).

No new content since 2017 but I've been in touch with the author who says a second edition through a third-party is on the cards.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Unless I've missed it - and it's easy enough to do, given the profusion of xxxxblade(s) and xxxxstorm(s) in the titles previously  discussed - no-one has so far mentioned Battleblade by Echidna Games, available as a pdf from Wargame Vault. That, I must confess, is the sum total of my knowledge. I don't normally purchase pdfs due to the difficulty of getting them printed affordably, and was not particularly tempted by today's 50% discount, but I have downloaded the free Battleblade Lite. As even this is 30 pages long, and contains some colour, I doubt the download will contribute to a reduction in the tree population, but that's my problem.

[angel barracks]

Burning Sands is a fun RPG meets Skirmish game, great for getting your Conan fix.

https://cromsanvil.co.uk/chronicles.html

Thank you very much!

[Bloggard]

by gum, I like the look of the bladestorm rules. Yet again, not sure how I've managed to miss those before now ...

[dbeholder]

Two of the first fantasy skirmish games:

Mage Knight
and
Dungeons and Dragons miniatures. The stat cards for the new miniatures lauched by Wizkids are still being released by an authorized team, the DDM Guiid: https://ddmguild.org/

[Faust23]

I'll throw in my free rules for The Sword Marches: Metal Sword & Sorcery Skirmish Wargames which we'll drop officially next year.

You can join the group and go to our Files section to download the FREE Ashcan Playtest version of the rules and other add ons to keep you busy until we Kickstart this thing in 2021.

Here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/714808465525512/

[jonw]

Another one to add to the list: Nightwatch - Terror and treasure in the dark corners of the world.

A solo and cooperative game about killing monsters. All kinds, anywhere, any time.

Link to the author's blog for more details: https://stalker7.com/2020/08/06/now-available-nightwatch/

[Andrew_McGuire]

That's from the designer of Zona Alfa, so should be interesting. I'm pleased to see a print edition will shortly be available.