10mm Fantasy Skirmish: Rattle and Rend (5 Aug: New Pics)

[WillPhillips]

I'm tinkering on a 10mm skirmish project that would store, transport, and play in a very small footprint.

I'm in a phase where the prospect of bigger armies, tubs of terrain, and boxes of minis are losing their luster, so scaling down in rules complexity, scale, and scope is appealing.

I'm curious if anyone else may feel the same?

Here are the initial proof of concept warbands painted up. (Still figuring out basing colors and materials.)

Both of these are the standard 12 point sizes in the rules I'm working up.... which I know means diddly squat until I have something to show, ha!



Here we have a band of greenskins, complete with a giant ogre along for the mayhem.

Splintered Light 15mm guys for the bigger sorts with figures from Spellcrow's Argatoria range for the rest.



Next we have a court of vampires with their retainers. Mostly Forest Dragon 3d prints.
Focused more on including as many heroes as I could with this list.



Small warbands, a 16x16in (~40x40cm) board, and figure-agnostic rules that allow me to make a list in fifteen minutes. That's the goal.

Rules are coming together, but nothing to share, yet. Wanted to knock out a few warbands to see if the idea looked appealing as a physical mockup.

[fred]

Looking good - I like how the two forces look.

A few years ago I built up a 10mm Dungeon setup - and the bit I struggled most with was finding suitable hero figures as most of the ranges then looked to cover big armies with rank and file style poses - but looks like the newer ranges give some really dynamic figures.

Looking forward to the next stages.

[Inkpaduta]

I can't believe those are 10mm! The detail is amazing. Excellent paint job as well.

[Basementboy]

Agreed! The level of detail made me think it was 25-28mm- really nice work

[WillPhillips]

I've finished up a third proof-of-concept warband for my 10mm fantasy skirmish project.

Four bases of doughty dwarf warriors, a mighty anvil-wagon, and a fiery forge spirit. Mix of old GW stock and new Forest Dragon prints (plus the WizKids mini). Just don't mind the lack of basing! 😉









Some folks have expressed interest in this idea. The general idea will be:

· Designed for 10mm scale (e.g. Warmaster, Argatoria, etc.)
· Miniatures agnostic
· 16x16in / 40x40cm board
· Streamlined, rules-light mechanics
· Quick, simple, but still distinctive list building 

Here's a super-short playtest form for when there's rules ready to share. I'll email those on the list (and post to the forum) when that happens!

https://forms.gle/j3HdbCjhm7BFdMZh9

[WillPhillips]

Looking good - I like how the two forces look.

A few years ago I built up a 10mm Dungeon setup - and the bit I struggled most with was finding suitable hero figures as most of the ranges then looked to cover big armies with rank and file style poses - but looks like the newer ranges give some really dynamic figures.

Looking forward to the next stages.

Agreed! The level of detail made me think it was 25-28mm- really nice work

I can't believe those are 10mm! The detail is amazing. Excellent paint job as well.

Thanks, guys.

The digital sculptor behind the Forest Dragon line does pretty great work. Lots of detail, but not so much or so tiny to be annoying to paint at 10mm.

Only trouble is in reaching some of the nooks and crannies, but that's an issue with the old ranked up GW Warmaster figs, too.

Fortunately, no one is going to notice at arm's length on the table!

[WillPhillips]

 The core rules have reached a playable state, so I got to have my first test game Friday.

It's so gratifying to see something you've created come to life in play. And I'm glad that the core loop of fluid player turns spending "momentum" points on activations and turn-stealing reactions seems to play pretty well on a tidy 16x16in board.

If a small scale skirmish game may scratch a gaming itch, here's a short playtest form. I'll email folks when the rules are ready to share more broadly!

https://forms.gle/j3HdbCjhm7BFdMZh9

These photos are quick snaps from two games - both using the same two warbands (I've got four proof of concept warbands planned, but am still finishing painting or rules for the other two). I need to work on a proper battle report format!

[Pattus Magnus]

Great looking game! I notice a few 15mm figures in the mix as really large fighters in the 10mm forces - they fit right in.

[WillPhillips]

Great looking game! I notice a few 15mm figures in the mix as really large fighters in the 10mm forces - they fit right in.

Good eye!

Using 15mm Splintered Light figs for the big ogres.

Plus a 3d print 28mm ogre scaled down a scootch as the big green meanie.

And a 28mm WizKid dwarf mini (plus greenstuff beard) for the fiery "forge spirit."

So yeah: bit of a mix. The other two warbands (the purple-pink schemed vampire types and another warband I have yet to get pics of) are more full of purely 10mm scale figs.

[Chimpfoot]

What a great project 👍🏼
Lovely work steady hand and good eye ( better than mine anyway)
Skirmish on a lunch tray …. Brilliant stuff 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[WillPhillips]

What a great project 👍🏼
Lovely work steady hand and good eye ( better than mine anyway)
Skirmish on a lunch tray …. Brilliant stuff 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Thanks, Chimp. I'm pretty pleased that the overall concept seems to be workable.

Now to ensure the rules piece of the puzzle is as equally accessible!

[WillPhillips]

I still need to apply basing tufts and flock and rocks and such, but...

Here's the fourth of my proof of concept warbands for the (still as of yet) untitled 10mm skirmish game.



I was definitely feeling the "perfect is the enemy of completed" vibe towards the end of these minis. There's a lot more I could have done on the big monsters - and the riders.

But it still looks effective enough as #10mm miniatures at arm's length on the table.

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Mechanically, this is a pretty elite list, composed of the following groups:

+ 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔚𝔦𝔩𝔡 ℌ𝔲𝔫𝔱 +

• 2pts: Frost Wolves (Skirmishers)

• 2pts: Frost Wolves (Skirmishers)

• 1pt: Huntsmaster Rodrigar (Champion Hero, attached to the Group of Skirmishers)

• 3pts: Wyvern (Flyer Heavy)

• 3pts: Twin-Headed Drake (Flyer Heavy)

• 1pt: Lord Maledros (Champion Hero, attached to the Flyer Heavy)

Move fast, sneak away, hit and run sorta tactics. We'll see how effective that is.

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If a small scale skirmish game may scratch a gaming itch, here's a short playtest form. I'll email folks when the rules are ready to share more broadly!

https://forms.gle/j3HdbCjhm7BFdMZh9

[WillPhillips]

Had a chance to run my second playtest of the 10mm fantasy skirmish rules I'm designing (tentatively titled Dekatropik).

Here are some pics of fracas that ensued when the faceless armored warriors of the Wild Hunt took their wyrm, wyvern, and pack of frost wargs on an incursion into the demesne of the Vampire Court of Ir-Salom. 







40mm and 20mm round bases, mostly multi-based. 16x16in board. Reactions-based player turn structure. Rules-light, miniatures-agnostic mechanics.



If a 10mm skirmish game may be of interest, please do fill out the playtest form! Will be sharing Alpha rules later in August. 

https://forms.gle/j3HdbCjhm7BFdMZh9

[Maxromek]

This looks like a really cool project!

[fred]

Great looking figures - and a really interesting concept.

The dragons and wyverns look like they should be a lot more expensive (points wise) than 1.5x the wolves. I’ve found this with 10mm games that use a mix of figures, that some figure look much more imposing than their points suggest. There is a bit of your brain that goes big scary thing - and if the rules don’t reflect that (unless deliberate mis-direction) it can be a bit confusing to players.

But points can (and need to) evolve as the rules get firmed up and playing experience confirms how certain stats and rules interact.