Ronin - Swords-for-Hire Update

[Mr. White]

After having the ruleset and models around for a few years (as well as peppering you lot with questions), I've finally started to dig into my Ronin project.
When starting any project, I like to begin with the terrain for two reasons...the terrain can provide the backdrop to any models I take photos of, but most importantly, when minis are painted they can go straight into a game. The work of putting together the table is already done.

So, here's my remote rural village.





And it all fits neatly in a single 4L RUB.



Boring details on the assembly and motivation behind this village have been hung up at the blog: https://wyrdstonesandtacklezones.com/2023/07/07/ronin-mountainside-village/

[EnclavedMicrostate]

A fun start; interested to see where this goes! By the by, have you checked out En Garde! as well? Having had a go at both I've been moving towards En Garde and redoing the Ronin army lists for it because I think it solves a couple of issues I have with Ronin, but I know mileage varies on this.

[Mr. White]

I actually have yet to play a game of Ronin, but that changes in two weeks.

I’ve also got the En Garde book, as I understood it to be a refinement on Ronin, but haven’t looked into it too much.

Do you have any rules suggestions for our first Ronin match? Should we play rules as written or fold in some En Garde right away?

[blacksoilbill]

Very nice work: looking forward to seeing this project develop.

[macmod]

Very nice!

[OSHIROmodels]

Great stuff 

[EnclavedMicrostate]

I actually have yet to play a game of Ronin, but that changes in two weeks.

I’ve also got the En Garde book, as I understood it to be a refinement on Ronin, but haven’t looked into it too much.

Do you have any rules suggestions for our first Ronin match? Should we play rules as written or fold in some En Garde right away?

Whoops! Meant to check back in sooner. I think Ronin plays fine as-is, but that it does really make archery very powerful, which En Garde mitigates by a) reducing all models' Shoot values by 1, and b) folding the Action Phase into the Move Phase, so that you can only shoot once per turn. But if you're playing more armoured factions (unlike me because I like Koryu) it shouldn't make too much difference. What I would recommend, however, is to make sure you have a look through the errata (attached). There are a couple of very significant rules clarifications, and some missing bonuses to the nodachi and tetsubo which otherwise make them seem a) identical and b) useless.

The reason I'm not wholeheartedly saying you should jump straight to En Garde is that it takes a lot of work to convert the army lists over, because you need to recalculate the stats and points values. I've been slowly working on a set of army lists, plus things for bridging gaps in terms of where rules differ; I'll post this when I have it finished. (For instance, En Garde doesn't give a penalty for fighting on horseback, only for shooting, but this penalty makes sense in Ronin because mounted combat was genuinely a more specialised skill in Japan compared to riding into battle and fighting on foot. Also, Ronin plays into the persistent myth that firearms were less accurate than bows, which they absolutely weren't, so I will also be inserting my pro-gunpowder bias a bit.)

The thing I'd really like to stress is that you and your opponent(s) should remind each other that the defender declares whether they are Enhancing their defence before the attacker declares if they are Enhancing their attack. It's not just that it's a bit of sequence, it's also an important reminder that you don't actually have to just bash against Enhanced defences with Enhanced attacks. If you have an advantage in counters and you think that you have good odds of not being killed by the enemy model, it is preferable to essentially force your opponent to use up their Defence counters, and then attack once they are out. Players really underrate how vital Defence counters are.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Brilliant village. It

[Mr. White]

Thanks, all, for the generous comments.
@EnclavedMicrostate - thanks for the FAQ inclusion. I've read around a bit online and identified what some reviewers thought were ambiguities and have poured through both Ronin and En Garde to be sure I understand those points. I think I have a good handle on the game, but we'll find out in a few weeks when we get our first games in. The plan is to go with core Ronin as mush as possible (that is not En Garde enhancements - besides clarity)

However, we _might_ hire a few mythological creatures as swords for hire after we have a few games under our belt. So, I went ahead and painted up a few before tackling my buntai.

The creature hunting Yamabushi


Oni and Amanojakus


Kappa






Here's a small blog post about 'em: https://wyrdstonesandtacklezones.com/2023/07/11/ronin-mythological-creatures/

[OSHIROmodels]

Nice 

[commissarmoody]

Nice yokai

[Mr. White]

Thanks, both!

For those that have played Ronin...about how many points do you go for? I think I'm trying to settle in the 100-150pt range. I'm not trying to get into Lion Rampant sized games here, but hoping this title is great for small scale skirmishes.

[EnclavedMicrostate]

It depends a bit on the Buntai, but I find 200pts to be a perfectly manageable size where you can complete a standard scenario within 3 hours even if you have players unfamiliar with the rules. 100-150 is completely fine, though, and for some of the higher-quality, lower-quantity factions like Bushi or Ming, it can push you to make some interesting choices of composition when you can only bring so many models.

[Metternich]

Very nice painting indeed.  Charlemagne and I noted the difficulty many characters have in attacking an Oni (due to the fear it inspires) - thus it is a good idea to have at least a Sohei Monk hired into a Buntai facing mythological enemies (Sohei are immune to fear).
  Also, we found that archery is overrated against armored foes - odds of getting a wound are small.  However it is very effective against the unarmored or lightly armored.
  One thing we do take from En Garde is the rule regarding Stunned (three Stuns transform into a Light Wound).

[Mr. White]

Very nice painting indeed.  Charlemagne and I noted the difficulty many characters have in attacking an Oni (due to the fear it inspires) - thus it is a good idea to have at least a Sohei Monk hired into a Buntai facing mythological enemies (Sohei are immune to fear).
  Also, we found that archery is overrated against armored foes - odds of getting a wound are small.  However it is very effective against the unarmored or lightly armored.
  One thing we do take from En Garde is the rule regarding Stunned (three Stuns transform into a Light Wound).

Thanks for the tips. We’ll keep the three stuns = light wound option in mind.

Regarding Fearless and Oni, Fearless will enable a model to enforce the results of morale and an Oni’s Terrifying will increase the likelihood of a buntai shifting to wavering or routing. Is that right?  However, a fearless model will still need to make a test against their rank as the Oni also has Formidable.

Am I following the attributes correctly?