G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.

[Heldrak]

Does anyone know anything about the G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. set of rules? Any links to reviews, etc.?

[Vanvlak]

Just as a very sparse beginning: not expensive, and are designed for skirmishes between bands of troops, with generic rules in principle. You get characters (Hero, Adventurer, Leader, and Veteran), as well as troops, called 'extras', and statistic-generating tables for weapons. Some troop type have theire own statistics described. You also get rules for conveyances (bikes, or any person-operated devices) and vehicles. Not to mention a selection of creatures. The game uses cards for determining action success, and has a sequence of phases as the squads battle each other.
Have never had time to read through or test them, I'm afraid, and the same goes for piles of other stuff.
The nice touch are the other rule sets for adventure games, with a roleplay element, and for larger battles.
The format of the books - A5 with a stiff glossy cover - is handy.

[Agis]

"The game uses cards for determining action success, and has a sequence of phases as the squads battle each other. "

I was always interested too, thanks for he description, but: YAK, that killed the game for me...

[Vanvlak]

"The game uses cards for determining action success, and has a sequence of phases as the squads battle each other. "

I was always interested too, thanks for he description, but: YAK, that killed the game for me...

Agis, don't give up on it yet - I have typed that out from memory, and I although I'm certain cards are involved, I cannot remember the extent. I will try to look up the rules.....

....later....

.... each unattached character and unit have a card each with their name on them; a hero character has two such cards; a deck is made up of the cards, shuffled, and the cards are drawn: the unit/character described by the card plays an action.

[Big Guy]

These are the rules that got me into VSF/pulp. They are easy to learn, simple to play and a great deal of fun.  There are expansions for large battles and pulp gaming plus another for ACW.

[Bullshott]

GASLIGHT is the only set rules I have used for VSF games and would probably work well for Pulp too (see below for details of the Pulp supplement). Although some parts of the rules seem to play strangely, the rules work very well on the whole. I find them easy to use and very adaptable to any size of game or genre. They are also fun to play. As result, I have stuck with these rules and and haven't needed to look for another set.

The rules aim for cinematic effect rather than strict historical accuracy. Unit leaders and individual 'Main Characters' have their attributes rolled, while normal troops ('Extras') are mainly there to die gloriously and make the MCs look good!

For VSF games there are good rules regarding steam-tech vehicles, including some nice damage effects.

The rules are also well supported by a very active Yahoo group moderated by the guys who wrote the rules:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GASLIGHTrules/

The rules are cheap to buy and stocked by several companies (try Old Glory UK, or Brigade Games in the US). In addition to the main set there are several supplements:

G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. - the main rules set

The Journals of Victoria Hawkes (The American Civil War by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.) - supplement containing several game secenarios with full unit lists and and special rules for steam-tech vehicles and weapons introduced in the scenarios. Very useful supplement, giving good examples of how the writers intended games to be set up.

Battles by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. - supplement with alternative rules to enable big battles to be played. Also contains rules for huge vehicles (leviathans). Even if you don't play with the big batlte rules, these contain some useful additions to the basic rules. Having played my first huge Battles game just before Christmas I have to say that these rules worked perfectly giving us a great game.

To be Continued....by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. - rules for using G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. for pulp-type small scale skirmish games in linked campaign comprising a number of 'episodes'. I haven't played these yet, but having looked at them I think that will be my preferred rules for pulp and small character-driven VSF  games.

Adventures and Expeditions by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. - these contain alternative rules for role-playing in the G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. world.  Personally I think that these stray too far from the main rule set. My preferance would be to use the To be Continued.... rules and maybe just use this set for its ideas on character and scenario generation.

Hope this helps.

[Heldrak]

Thanks, gang- I'm sold.

While I agree with Agis that the card-based activation rules sound awkward, they still sound like they're worth a flutter...

I've ordered the main rules and the Pulp supplement from Brigade Games and I'll post my own mini-review in this thread once I have them in hand.