New weird ww1 rules - 'A War Transformed - WW1 on the Doggerland front (osprey)

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Interesting ideas in the rules, the figure count is a bit intimidating (my Oathmark armies are similar sizes and are still not painted).

I hope when it is released that Wargames Atlantic have finally released their WW1 British, as a box of them and the Germans would make for a good start (hint hint).

There is a book series by Stephen Baxter (starting with Stone Spring) set when Doggerland was previously above the waves.

Of course, the bodies of whales might not be the only aquatic megafauna found on the battlefields.


References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Spring

[robh]

Interesting ideas in the rules, the figure count is a bit intimidating (my Oathmark armies are similar sizes and are still not painted).

I hope when it is released that Wargames Atlantic have finally released their WW1 British, as a box of them and the Germans would make for a good start (hint hint)

Yes, the need for that many figures all converted to match the "weird" aesthetic effectively makes this a non starter in 28mm for me.
Maybe if everyone in a club wanted to build up a couple of dozen figures then it could work, assuming the rules support multi-player. But for just one or two people to create a bespoke game set from scratch is a big ask. I can see this being an awesome 28mm presentation game at conventions (with trenches that are below table surface level!!!) but not so much for home games.

A simpler approach could be to make up a small %age of the total as unique character figures and just bulk out units with generic grubby looking WW1 figures in greatcoats and gasmasks or scarves. The Wargames Atlantic boxes could be ideal for this, it looks like the "Grognards" bodies could be scraped and combined with the surplus WW1 figures arms, weapons and heads into rank & file troops that take the style of the game art.

I still really want to know what is in the game bestiary to determine what options exist in the smaller scales.

[Cypher226]

A simpler approach could be to make up a small %age of the total as unique character figures and just bulk out units with generic grubby looking WW1 figures in greatcoats and gasmasks or scarves. The Wargames Atlantic boxes could be ideal for this, it looks like the "Grognards" bodies could be scraped and combined with the surplus WW1 figures arms, weapons and heads into rank & file troops that take the style of the game art.

Considering the writer has been saying very positive things on the facebook pages about using the Great War Miniatures range essentially as-is (particularly the British trench raiders), I think this is perfectly acceptable

[robh]

Considering the writer has been saying very positive things on the facebook pages about using the Great War Miniatures range essentially as-is (particularly the British trench raiders), I think this is perfectly acceptable

Interesting to hear he is providing some information personally as there is very little detail anywhere else. I am not a supporter of Facebook so have no idea what is being said on there.
Has he given any details of the bestiary yet?

[Cypher226]

very little about any kind of 'bestiary' yet, I think the focus is still very much on the soldiers in this new environment and changed world. 

The group is public so you should be able to see the posts and comments without an account:
Facebook link - A War Transformed: Unofficial

While the group is 'unofficial' the author is a member and weighs in on comments pretty frequently.

[Matakakea]

Thanks for the link. I've just jumped over to join in and hopefully keep up with the flow.

[A_War_Transformed]

Hello!

I am the author of AWT and am happy to answer any questions on this thread (I'll be setting up another one generally on the "Weird Wars" board as well)

As a quick aside, several commenters on here are correct that you can play the game with existing models from lines like Great War Miniatures and Wargames Atlantic - Northstar have shared some painted figures by Kev Dallimore which are stock models with imaginative paint jobs and I personally think that they capture the setting perfectly!

You'll find that an existing collection (with a couple of gribllies thrown in from the Frostgrave range (or similar)) will be more than enough for most players. That said, there is plenty of scope for fully converted armies for those players who are into that sort of thing and I've been converting my own stuff (very slowly...) for a while now.

[robh]

I am the author of AWT and am happy to answer any questions on this thread (I'll be setting up another one generally on the "Weird Wars" board as well)

Generally mods here try and keep 1 thread per topic when it comes to discussing rules and new releases.

I have been looking for information about the "folk" elements you have included with the WW1 historical aspect.  Especially the bestiary.
If I pick up Doggerland it will be to play in 10mm so need to know what monsters/horrors etc are required to look at sourcing suitable figures in smaller scales and whether they appear as individuals or units.

[A_War_Transformed]

So creatures in the game are based on archetypal folklore monsters and currently fit into 6 Categories

1. Snatchers (goblins, hobs, knockers etc.)
Smaller than sized creatures who can sabotage enemy equipment or steal special items
2. Beguilers (melusine, will ‘o the wisp, rusalka etc.)
Man sized creatures who tempt enemies towards pools before engaging them in CC
3. Haunters (fledgeists and unquiet spirits)
Man sized creatures who break the enemy psychologically by their presence
4. Devourers (hags, trolls and ogres)
Larger than a man, big melee gribblies
5. Stalkers (great beasts like the black shuck)
Larger than man size, fast and agile predators who excel in melee but can move more speedily
6. Crushers (giants and such)
Huge creatures who are proficient not only in killing infantry, but also armoured vehicles

Hopefully more will be added with expansions! Each of the archetypes is available to all factions, but is summoned in rather than selected at army recruitment phase. All are a single model acting independently, but none should really present to much of a problem for scaling down/finding 10mm models? Snatchers would be tiny, but no reason you couldn’t have a few on a base representing a single snatcher to help bulk it out…

Some armies also have access to some special options, particularly the freikorp who have embraced magic whole heartedly and can recruit some particularly horrifying creatures of their own. All armies with also have access to mindless thralls, whether zombies or otherwise, to screen their offensives.

All told I think it could work well scaled down with a few adjustments. Terrain wise, the fact that you can likely get scale model ships in that size more readily to flesh out the formerly sunken world of the Doggerland front is very compelling. Fighting amoungst the wrecks of sunken ships sounds very cool!

[fred]

Welcome Mr AWT! Great to have you here.

Really interesting on the types of monsters - I too am thinking about this in 10mm (not least as I have lots of painted 10mm WWI figures already). I’m assuming I’ll just use 1 base of 10mm figures to represent a single 28mm figure (at least for the human-ish sized stuff.

Giants vs early Tanks sounds cool!

[robh]

Thanks for the informative reply, there is a lot of scope there for figures which is good news. Time to start hunting around the various ranges to see what is around.

I am in agreement with Fred about 10mm, 1 base of 3 or 4 figures to represent 1x 28mm model for basic WW1 troops and calculate everything else around that. Should not need any rule changes at all.
Scale scenery is one of the real benefits of going smaller, but also in that it allows tanks and aircraft to fielded in scale.

This could work.

[A_War_Transformed]

Welcome Mr AWT! Great to have you here.

Really interesting on the types of monsters - I too am thinking about this in 10mm (not least as I have lots of painted 10mm WWI figures already). I’m assuming I’ll just use 1 base of 10mm figures to represent a single 28mm figure (at least for the human-ish sized stuff.

Giants vs early Tanks sounds cool!

I think that a few 10mm figures on a base acting as a stand-in for a single 28mm figure would be a good way to go. If you were to play in 10mm I would consider keeping the ranges "as is" for weapons like rifles (which need to be abstracted for balance in 28mm gaming!) and only amending the ranges for things like flamethrowers, bomber teams and machine pistols. Obviously you'll need to amend the movement distances, but probably just using the same numbers but in CM rather than inches would be a good first port of call!