My Xenos Rampant forces (Some Sci-Fi scatter terrain 4/1/24)

[mikedemana]

The Bronze Legion is ready for battle! I just finished up the final squad of heavy infantry for this force. Folks may remember that the elite infantry troopers are 3D printed Space Marines from Wiley Games. The heavy infantry are from the Troopers box of Stargrave. Seeing them all assembled together, I think they look good on the tabletop.



I really like the black and bronze color scheme I went with for this force. I am also really happy how that final coat of brush-on clear gloss makes the visors pop when the light reflects off of them. I did remember with this batch to NOT do a black wash over the gray highlighting on the black uniform. I did that on the first squad of five and it effectively erased the drybrushing! 



I also like the bright red accents on the belt and the glowing power indicator or their backplate of their armor. I hit that with clear gloss at the end, too, to make it stand out more. All in all, I am happy with how the heavy infantry looks and think they stand up very well to the heavier armored elite infantry of the Wiley space marines.



Of course, after I finished these last five figs, I had to pull out the whole force for a group photo! It also reinforced for me that I am making the correct decision in changing my original plans of two figures equals one strength point in Xenos Rampant. Going with a one-for-one will make it easier to remove casualties, plus a 24-point detachment really doesn't require that many figures. This force is only 20 infantry and one bot as a fighting vehicle.



My plans are to add either a fighting vehicle or support infantry (artillery) to each detachment I field. Not only does that give the player controlling them some tactical options, it also makes for a more aesthetically pleasing force, I think. So, how am I fielding the Bronze Legion for these rules? Here is my first draft. Please feel free to let me know if I've made any mistakes or give any hints to the newbie (who has still yet to play a game  ).

• 5 strength points Elite Infantry with Commander: (includes Back into the Fray, Firefight, Ranger), +2 points for Heavy Weapon = total 8 points.
• 5 strength points Elite Infantry: (includes Back into the Fray, Firefight, Ranger) = total 6 points.
• 5 strength points Heavy Infantry: (includes Go to Ground, Firefight), +1 point for Armor Piercing = total 3 points.
• 5 strength points Heavy Infantry: (includes Go to Ground, Firefight), +1 point for Armor Piercing = total 3 points.
• 5 strength points Fighting Vehicle: (includes All Terrain, Anti-tank, High-powered blades), -2 points for Light Armored Vehicle = total 4 points.

Total Detachment Points = 24



Hope you enjoy the pics! Thanks in advance for any kind comments...!

Mike Demana

[Westfalia Chris]

Very nice, I think the black and gold gives them a fine space-operatic quality.

Apologies if you posted the info before or in another thread (I re-read the first pages but couldn't spot it), but where's the tracked robot from? That's a rather nice centerpiece itself, although the overall lighter paint scheme pulls it apart a but from the rest of the force, IIMSS. But that may be the light reflecting from its large flat surfaces.

[mikedemana]

He is a B3AST, a 3-d printed miniature from Wiley Games.
https://wiley-games.myshopify.com/products/resin-28mm-miniature-scifi-b3ast

Here's a couple more shots of him painted up:


and...


These were painted up before I went "whole hog" into Xenos Rampant, and before the Bronze Legion was envisioned. So, yes, the color scheme is a bit off.

Mike Demana

[LouieN]

The force looks great.  The black and bronze are a cool combo.  Have fun with Xenos, a good game.  I love the Support Bot.

[Seal]

Love the look of your army 

[mikedemana]

Thanks, guys! Schoolwork and grading has sidelined me from making much progress this week. I hope to be back at it next week. I have a squad of five started for my "Blue-skinned aliens" that will finish off that detachment, too. They're about 1/3 of the way complete.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone... 

Mike Demana

[mikedemana]

I got to watch a game of Xenos Rampant this past weekend. My friends were in it and I stood by and chatted and volunteered rules I'd remembered when they were stumped. All four players were new, and the GM was also running his dealer booth. So, I could help with some basic stuff.

I really like how the game flowed. The players controlled WAY bigger forces than I would have done in a first game (it was a bugs vs. Starship Troopers scenario). I have a couple questions:

1. Has anyone reorganized the unit profile sheets to make it more intuitive for new players? I am thinking of making it clearer which rolls are activation type rolls with 2d6 and which are single die attack scores needed to hit. I was also thinking of a place to put a photo of the unit.

2. Do people play it "as written" for the Firefight ability. It just seems somewhat cheesy that a unit targeted by artillery gives up its Firefight roll and ability for the turn because it was out of range of the artillery attacking it.

3. The GM interpreted the Courage Test rules as units were required to test only the first time they took hits or lost SP in a turn. I don't think that's what it was saying. So, if a unit is hit by four consecutive units, does it really test only once on the first hit? Or was that referring to losing an SP due to a failed Courage Test not triggering a second one from the same attack?

Sorry to threadjack my own thread for rules questions if you're here only to look at pretty pictures... 

Mike Demana

[Malebolgia]

Awesome ideas and painting! Love the creativity in this thread!

[mikedemana]

The Anadorans finished and ready to battle it out on the tabletop!

Thank you, sir! I appreciate your (and everyone else's) kind comments. With the last of the blue-skinned Anadoran squads completed today, I have my fourth detachment ready for the tabletop. In honor of them being ready for battle, I assembled all of the squads for a little photo shoot. Admittedly, the way I purchased this force is very similar to the Bronze Legion (with Elite and Heavy infantry). However, those army lists may be tweaked as I get my first few games under my belt.


The last squad of five heavy infantry for my "blue-skinned aliens," the Anadorans

When will that be? It likely is still a few weeks away. I want to make all of the unit cards and Quick Reference Sheets so things will go smoothly for our group of newbie players. First impressions are important and I don't want our Sunday evening gaming group to hate Xenos Rampant because I'm unprepared.


The Anadorans move out after assembling near a power plant, somewhere off-world...

Likely, there will be six players for our first run-through of the rules, or at least four. I have four detachments painted and ready for the tabletop. If I need six, I will borrow my friend Keith's forces that he has already ready to go. See his blog, Orcafinn's Basement (http://orcafinnbasement.blogspot.com/2023/12/well-now-it-is-xenos-rampant.html) for his forces.


Close up of the heavy infantry unit with its heavy weapons specialist

For more discussion on my ideas behind the Anadorans, check out the post about them on my own Lead Legionaries blog:
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/2024/03/final-squad-for-anadorans-finished.html
More pictures and discussion there, so feel free to check it out!

Mike Demana

[Metternich]

Mike,
      Thanks for posting the make-up for your Bronze Legion.  To each his own of course, but I would have made the Heavy Infantry one 10 Hit Points squad unit instead of two 5 Hit Points teams.  Your two teams cost a total of 6 points (Hvy Inf at 2 pts times two = 4; plus AP of 1 pt. for each = 2 more pts.  Grand total 6 pts).  An "Increased Squad Size" unit of Hvy Infantry with AP cost only 5 pts (cost 2+2 = 4, plus AP cost of only 1 pt. for the larger squad vice 2 for the two smaller ones, for a grand total of 5 pts vice 6.)  In addition, five Hit Points teams are more brittle than a ten Hit Points squad (you get to half strength faster with only 5).  Furthermore, a Ten Hit Points squad Shoots better (Attack value 5+ instead of 6), Attacks better (5+ instead of 6) and Defends better (4+ instead of 5+).  And the saved point could be used to add an upgrade to one of the Elite Unit teams (Armor Piercing; Mobile; or High Powered Blades).

[mikedemana]

Good point! I hadn't thought of that. Makes sense...

I plan on tweaking them after a game or two. That will definitely be one that I look into doing. Tactically, it reduces the force from 5 maneuver elements to 4, but I'm not sure if there's much of a downside with that. I guess there could be in certain scenarios...

Mike Demana

[Metternich]

Mike, if you think you need an additional maneuver element (5 vice 4), another option is that you could also spend that leftover 1 point on Militia Rabble (i.e. colonists; hastily armed civilians; local criminal gang; penal battalion, etc. etc. etc.) instead of an upgrade for one of the other units.  Militia Rabble are "cheap as chips" and just as brittle (with armor of only 1), but they do come with 10 Strength Points and can soak up damage that otherwise might be inflicted on a better unit.

[mikedemana]

Militia Rabble are "cheap as chips" and just as brittle (with armor of only 1), but they do come with 10 Strength Points and can soak up damage that otherwise might be inflicted on a better unit.

Buuut...you gotta paint 10 of them, as opposed to five!  Seriously, good advice. Waiting for a detachment in which militia makes more sense than my current paradigms... 

Mike Demana

[mikedemana]

So, I guess I wasn't finished with the Planet of the Apes detachment. Just for completeness sake, here they are:




Battle Valor 28mm metal minis (former Sgt. Major)


3-D printed from JS Wargamer Printing

Painting these side by side reconfirmed my preference for metal miniatures. Old school! 

Mike Demana

[Metternich]

Mike,
      You are right about the Militia Rabble (unless you want to go the route of having 5 at 2 points each).  I forgot the plain old Light Infantry (also cheap as chips at 1 point, but with better shooting than Militia and a pretty fast pace at 8 inches movement).