In Her Majesty’s Name – Second Edition update, new update 29th Nov

[Craig]

IHMN2 - Contents page 3
The third contents page features the Menagerie, Talents, Powers and the Companies. So, without further ado, let us dive in…
6.0 The Menagerie. This chapter did not exist in the original edition, and the only non-human creatures in the book were described under 5.4 Personal Transportation or in the companies themselves.
In our later books we quickly discovered that players needed detailed and costed descriptions of a wide range of domestic and wild animals. In IHMN2 we have added twenty-two animals from horses (three types) to lions, bears and crocodiles. These then can add flavour to your game as beasts of burden, objectives, company ‘pets’ and hazards.
We have also drawn together and defined a number of exotic creatures such as great apes, demons and mummies. These are generally much more dangerous or capable than ordinary animals and their attributes reflect this.
Finally, we come to Automata. The term “Automata” encompasses all artificially constructed creatures.  There is a variety of mechanical automata and more horrific ones, like zombies and skeletons. This section was one we have been asked for many times by players of the original games, so we happily obliged.
7.0 Talents. These are special abilities that any figure may have, and they give the game much of its flavour.
Most are appropriate to the setting such as Erudite Wit, where one distracts one’s opponents with witty banter. Others give figures abilities they might have from their background or training such as Bayonet Drill or Medic. There are certain bits of equipment that are difficult or impossible to use if you do not have the appropriate talent like Steersman, Pilot or Engineer. A few reflect the innate capabilities of a figure such as Fanatic, Fearless or Impervious.
Most of the Talents listed come from the original edition and its supplements. These have been rewritten and re-costed. A few of them have been dropped entirely as they proved to be virtually unplayable. Again, player feedback was central to our decisions.
One of the Talents that first appeared in Blood Eagle, proved to be both popular and robust in play, so then appeared in Thud & Blunder, and now we are introducing it to IHMN. This is the Hero talent, that allows important figures a few die rerolls per game. This can be used to save their skin with a Pluck Roll or turn a miss into a hit on a vital strike. We think that shall prove popular in this game too.
The Companies lists show what Talents are standard and optional for each figure type.

8.0 Mystical Powers. This is possibly the chapter that has the most thorough overhaul. In the original edition we included these to reflect the supernatural beliefs that were commonly believed in the late Victorian period, but both the costing and execution of these was not up to the standards we now hold to.
In the books that followed IHMN, we wrote a series of books in which we explored how to organise and cost such powers.  It is from these we have now created a range of powers that keep to the original intent and are useful in the game. Powers are now divided into lesser and greater and costed accordingly.
We have found that having these powers allows us to field companies whose focus is not on the high science and engineering of the period. It also gives more ancient and native peoples an edge by which to resist the relentless advance of Western powers.
Again, the Companies lists show which can have these powers and to what extent.
Of course, if you want to run a more ‘historical’ game you could just ignore this chapter altogether.
9.0 Companies. This section is the beating heart of the book, for it contains the balanced costing system that underpins all the others.
Unlike some organisations the Ministry believes in having a completely open approach to this, thereby giving you the power to develop your own content. We also believe in a rational approach to costing. Note that this mays seem a little complex at first but, as we have done with each of our books, we shall be publishing a system for automating this process on the Ministry blog.
Each of the companies has been chosen from the original three books, or those published on the blog, both for their enduring popularity and to give a wide range for players to choose from. We could not possibly have included every single company we had ever produced, or the book would be a 300+ page leviathan. But fear not, many of those companies that did not make it into this book may feature in future supplements or be released for free over the coming months.
Every company has been given a thorough overhaul, both in terms of costing, and to allow it to take advantage of all the new elements in this edition. For example, many can now field mechanized walkers. We were acutely aware that we needed to make these changes in keeping with the spirit of the original companies, but no company was left behind in terms of its equipment or capabilities.
This chapter also includes what had been originally a blog article on how to create your own company from scratch. We have always been supporters of player creativity, especially through having a comprehensive and open costing system. This section shows you in detail the steps to go through to make your own forces.
The original article has been much improved and features as an example the villainous Kentish Men. So altogether the book has twenty-four companies.
In the next article in this series we shall finish our journey through the contents pages with the Landscapes, Scenarios, Complications and Campaign chapters.

[Craig]

Where would we find those?

Right here of course
https://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=148&page=1

[pixelgeek]

Right here of course
https://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=148&page=1

Thanks.

[nicknorthstar]

Hey folks,

Pre-orders start tomorrow.

https://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=148&page=1

[Craig]

More news for you all.

We have now released three documents to support the launch of IHMN2:
1. the in-game Reference sheet,
2. a five page pamphlet describing the key rules changes between the first and second editions, and
3. a twenty-seven page pamphlet that brings IHMN Gothic into line with the new edition.

You can find them here:
https://theministryofgentlemanlywarfare.wordpress.com/in-her-majestys-name/
Just scroll down to the bottom of the section on IHMN2.

You will note that this page also contains all the original supporting material for the first editions.

We hope that you find this information useful.

[Spinal Tap]

So have pre-ordered the IHMN/Gothic book deal, they look superb and I'm really looking forward to reading them

Never played VSF or Gothic before, have no miniatures for the period, and only sci fi and fantasy terrain in my collection so a longish way to go.

Ideally would like a Victorian town scene and at least 2 gangs as my only skirmish playing mate loves to play but would never build or paint anything.

Looks like my 2021 project in up and running.

Thanks in advance.


Tap.

 

[Craig]

So have pre-ordered the IHMN/Gothic book deal, they look superb and I'm really looking forward to reading them
Never played VSF or Gothic before, have no miniatures for the period, and only sci fi and fantasy terrain in my collection so a longish way to go.

Thanks 

Be sure to go to our website and download the pamphlet that converts Gothic to IHMN Second Edition. You can find it here:
https://theministryofgentlemanlywarfare.wordpress.com/in-her-majestys-name/
Just scroll down to the bottom of the section on IHMN2.

[pixelgeek]

Is there going to be a PDF option for the book?

[Craig]

Is there going to be a PDF option for the book?

Yes there is. Once the hardbacks are in North Star Miniatures hands and Nick has confirmed that they are AOK, then our friend Sean of SNMStuff.co.uk shall release the digital edition for sale.

This is a full PDF with every content's line and cross-reference hyperlinked for extra ease of use. It will be half the price of the hardback.

We shall, of course, let you know when this happens

[Craig]

So, dear readers, we are moving onto the last page of our contents review of IHMN2. This is a bit of cheat because it also contains the last part of page 3.

In this article we shall be looking at Scenarios, Complications, Landscapes and Campaigns. In other words, the where and the why you play your games. As with all parts of these rules these are just examples, as we always encourage players to be creative.



The first part of chapter 10 deals with potential Scenarios. Detailing how to set the scenario up, what the objectives are, and how you score Victory Points (VPs). We have worked to provide a wide range of scenarios, each which presents its own challenges. Many of them come from the first edition, reworked to fit the updated rules. So, favourites like Bad Jack and Catch the Pigeon are in there, alongside new ones like ‘The Q-Bomb’ (fan points for anyone who can say what inspired that one).

The second part is the Complications, things like The Cloak off Night, Crumbling Ruins and the ever popular The Authorities. Each of these apply extra conditions on the game, that make it more challenging. There are seventeen of these, so if you apply one complication to each scenario, that increases your number of possible games to two-hundred and seventy-two.

As with all these rules, it is best to agree the scenario and any complications with your comrades before the game.

Now we understand that not everyone has a terrain collection the size of our friends Shaun and Terry. Also, that people might want to set their games in many places around the world, and often to suit their figure collection. In IHMN we have always detailed possible landscapes for games to be set in. This includes a general description, a list of the benefits such terrain brings, the hazards it may pose (including suitable complications), and the terrain types we suggest you may wish to deploy to represent it. There are four categories of landscapes including Urban, Rural, Ancient, and Fabulous Vehicles, which between them cover thirty-nine landscapes. Now who doesn’t want to fight through ancient temple ruins in old Siam, or aboard the Hindenburg far above the castles of Bavaria?

Overall, that is about ten thousand game combinations, and these are just the examples. We are sure that you can create many more. Over the last nine years I have only explored around two dozen of these.

The final chapter in the book tries to encapsulate the holy grail of wargaming, the functional Campaign. We did touch upon this in the original IHMN book, but only had space to fit in a few paragraphs over a couple of pages. This time we have given it the space it deserves.

The secret to running a functional campaign, i.e. one that works, is that the mechanics involved in planning and maintaining it are as simple as possible. KISS being one of our core design principles we applied it with gusto. We still produced over two and a half thousand words on such subjects as Structure and Narrative, Points Pools, Captures and Ransoms (what does happen to chaps you leave hors-de-combat on the field?), the Rewards for Success, Grand Finales, Victory and Player Awards and the Campaign Journal. We even included an example campaign straight out of Kipling; The Green-eyed Yellow Idol.

The word we would like to highlight in that last paragraph is ‘Narrative’. When you run a campaign with your friends, you are embarking on creating a compelling story of derring-do, foul villainy, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and heroism. Every decision and roll of the die, weaves a web that you shall remember for years to come.  In this regard, we hope, we have given you the tools to achieve it.

There you have it, one hundred and ninety-six pages, over eighty-thousand words, lovingly crafted to produce a game we have always wanted to play ourselves and can now share with you all. This journey has taken us nine long years and we regret not a single step.

As I write this, the first delivery of books is heading across the Baltic Sea and should be with our distributors in fair Nottingham next week. VSF is coming home.

[Craig]

We are pleased to announce that our good friend Sean of SnM Stuff now has the digital e-book edition of In Her Majesty's Name Second Edition for sale on his Website.

https://www.snmstuff.co.uk/product/in-her-majestys-name-wargames-rules-e-book-edition/

As soon as he has hardback copies he shall be offering a bundle with the digital edition.

The digital edition has been crafted as a PDF so that it will work on all your devices. Within it, very single cross-reference and the contents pages are hyperlinked to make it easy to navigate.

The digital edition is half the price of the hardback book and comes with a further offer. The incredible digital scupltor Duncan Shadow Louca, sculpted two mechanized walkers for us. The STL files for 3D printing these amazing creation will be available for a limited period for those who wish them when they buy the digital edition.

[nicknorthstar]

Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered the book and the Adventuring Companies. We'll be getting all the orders out today, the only ones that may take longer are the ones where you've added 'stuff' from outside suppliers like bases etc, but they'll be done ASAP.

SNM Stuff will have their books tomorrow!

[Craig]

As promised, the Company Cost Calculator is complete:

https://theministryofgentlemanlywarfare.wordpress.com/2021/03/12/the-ihmn2-company-calculator/