Burners! Jetbike Racing in the 25th Century (Now With Pictures)

[Mo]

I made some rather significant changes to the Burners! rules this weekend. I'm so happy with the direction it is taking, that I put them up on the webstore for you guys to check it. It is still very bare-bones. I put the playtest rules up for $1.00 USD but you can get them for free if you like us on Facebook.

(Truthfully all you have to do is go to facebook and get the code. This is however a shameless attempt to boost my facebook likes…)


https://www.facebook.com/OddmanProductions

oddmanproductions.com/shop

[Mo]

Here are a few in-game pictures I took of a playtest last night at Southern Front In Raleigh. Rules need some tightening, but I was overall happy with how they worked...

[Commander Vyper]

Where are the bikes from?

[Mo]

3 are Khurasan Felid 15mm jetbikes with heavy re-imagining from Jerry Frazee.

http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/felid-jetbikes.jpg

The 4th is from Critical Mass

http://www.beastsofwar.com/arc-fleet/critical-mass-release-15mm-jet-bikes/

All reimagined as racers

Marc

[dijit]

Well if they're 15mm that is some very nice painting!

[cheetor]

Well if they're 15mm that is some very nice painting!

Definitely, I would never have thought that they were smaller than 28mm.  Lovely.

A miniatures jetbike racing game is very appealing.  I would go 28mm myself as thats what I have terrain and models for, but the opportunity to paint up a racing bikes or two and get some games in would be cool for sure

[Argonor]

2 questions before I even consider to look at the rules (I'm lazy  ):

How large a table do you use for 15 mm?

Can the rules be up-scaled to 28 mm (or could 28 mm jetbikes be used with the same Measurements)?

[YPU]

Argonor, I have on ocasion played games meant for 28mm with 15mm miniatures by simply halving the distances and printing templates and the like at 50% only pesky thing is that you might need to deal with half inches and the like. If your scaling up to 28mm by doubling everything in a 15mm game I am pretty sure you would have an even easier time.  

Probably give the rules a good look trough tonight when I'm back home.
Actually I have been looking for something interesting to pracise my CAD skills for 15mm miniatures and a modular set of speeders sans riders might just be the ticket. Not to big and easy to disign in a shape that is not to chalanging to cast. 

[Argonor]

Argonor, I have on ocasion played games meant for 28mm with 15mm miniatures by simply halving the distances and printing templates and the like at 50% only pesky thing is that you might need to deal with half inches and the like. If your scaling up to 28mm by doubling everything in a 15mm game I am pretty sure you would have an even easier time.  

Yup, it's more a question of available space. If you already use a 4x6 table as minimum for 15 mm, scaling up would be impractical. If, on the other hand, movement lengths are already long enough to give an impression of a fast race if using larger models, or if the 15 mm game is played on a smaller surface, using 28 mm models would be a way to go (I could imagine building and using some old plastic Eldar jetbikes).

[Elbows]

Or...in proper fashion, we could set a table up...everyone holds their jetbike miniature and runs around screaming "VRRROOOOOOOMMMMM"...and first person around the table three times wins...

Mo was hosting this at Southern Front but sadly I was hosting another game simultaneously so I didn't get to partake!

[Commander Vyper]

3 are Khurasan Felid 15mm jetbikes with heavy re-imagining from Jerry Frazee.

http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/felid-jetbikes.jpg

The 4th is from Critical Mass

http://www.beastsofwar.com/arc-fleet/critical-mass-release-15mm-jet-bikes/

All reimagined as racers

Marc

Because I wasn't thinking 28mm I didn't recognise them... very nice.

[YPU]

Yup, it's more a question of available space. If you already use a 4x6 table as minimum for 15 mm, scaling up would be impractical. If, on the other hand, movement lengths are already long enough to give an impression of a fast race if using larger models, or if the 15 mm game is played on a smaller surface, using 28 mm models would be a way to go (I could imagine building and using some old plastic Eldar jetbikes).

Rules are actually for 28" on a 4x6 table. Only thing they include for 15mm is half all distances. 

[Dr Mathias]

I'm going to try this with Antenociti's and Relic Knights jetbikes.

[Mo]

Rules are actually for 28" on a 4x6 table. Only thing they include for 15mm is half all distances. 

Actually, that's not completely accurate. I had considered halving the distances - but the more I thought about it - the more I realized it was more about turn radius than speed. So for the playtest I kept everything at the exact same measurements as 28mm. It mad the game feel really fast. Depending on terrain, a circuit on the 2 foot by 4 foot board took anywhere from an 45 minutes to 15 minutes (I know this because during the playtest we pulled half the scenery to see how it ran). The race was completely able to run on the 2x4 but I do feel like a little more space would have been beneficial.

For the most part the rules ran well but I ran into a rather obvious problem at the end. The bikes were all tight and in the race so on the last turn whoever won initiative won the race. Completely unacceptable.

So now I am installing a point system that will include gaining points for pylons passed/lap position and damage done to other pilots.

The players were split on the combat aspects. Some wanted me to remove them totally and just make a racing game. Others (which I agree with) thinks the combat gives it a much more 'death-race' feel to it.

Any thoughts?

[Elbows]

Does the system work well enough both ways?  No reason you couldn't appease both appetites, just have two or three "types" of races?   I suppose an alternative could be a mix between the two, but focusing more on dirty racing (tricks, and "illegal" weapons) as opposed to outright combat?  Essentially making it a very poorly regulated sport?  Maybe every time you attack another player or use an illegal weapon, there is a chance you're caught by the ref and penalized (or outright kicked from the race)?

Perhaps weapons or bonus (boosting etc.) could be allotted a "severity" type roll?  So while a hidden small bottle of octane booster might be illegal, it'd be easier to get away with than say...swinging a chain at an opponent?

I'm just speaking out of my ass because I didn't get to play the game.