Lovely looking game ! Thanks for sharing.
@craig2, I totaly understand your point and I had some issues with them while playtesting Lion Rampant, but if, as I did, started to thing more about Dan´s thoughts about what kind of game he wanted to produce It was a blast and I realy like the Lion Rampant rules, and yes it´s some times occure that you sit and watch the other player run several turns due to bad luck with activation, I offen do, but in the long run it even out.
I took the liberty to copy Dan´s Introduction to Lion Rampant to give others that don´t have the rules yet what to expect from the rules, and that is not "rules that work very well and are more realistic" as Lion Rampant work in the long run and are not realistic its Hollywood:) so if looking for a realistic medieval ruleset I would look elsewhere to.
The introduction can also be found here in the prewiew at amazon1. INTRODUCTION TO LION RAMPANTWelcome to Lion Rampant, a set of simple miniature wargaming rules designed for
fighting historical or Hollywood battles in the medieval period, from the rise of the
Normans to the Hundred Years' War and beyond.
This period is well suited to retinue-sized games involving a few dozen models per
side as it was a time of anarchy, feuds, and raiding. Although full-sized battles took place,
wars were often ended by siege or diplomacy but small, ferocious actions were fought
many times over throughout Europe and the Middle East. Lion Rampant also embraces
bravehearts in kilts, men in green tights, do-gooders at round tables, and (so long as you
whisper it quietly) 1970s-style fantasy wargaming. At this point, I hold my hands up and
admit that I’ve been just as influenced by movies and fiction as I have reference books.
Alongside the straightforward battle rules, Lion Rampant presents a varied
selection of scenarios and a Boasting system allowing players scope for choosing
their own victory conditions. This means that you can concentrate on playing the
scenario and enjoying yourself without getting bogged down in rules. The rules are
model scale-neutral, although many gamers choose 28mm or 20mm armies; 15mm
is more cost-effective but less heraldry-friendly.
Lion Rampant is a medieval-themed battle game rather than a detailed and
scholarly simulation of combat in a specific century; I favour abstraction and
stylization to allow quick and streamlined play, rather than rules that take into
account the different types of arrowhead available. That said, good tactics will
prevail and the scenarios prevent players from engaging in an arms race to find out
who can paint ‘the mostest knights the fastest’.
Gameplay rewards using your units in the correct tactical way: knights are great
at charging down enemies, but less useful for guarding convoys; spearmen are jacks of
all trades and masters of none; and archers are to be feared at distance but cut down
if you can get close enough. Battlefield confusion and chaos means that you might not
get to use every one of your units in every turn of the game, so start thinking about
your unit’s priorities during the game even before you’ve set the table up.
Removal of models as casualties doesn’t necessarily reflect sudden and violent
death (although if you’re that way inclined…): some warriors run away, others are
wounded, and the rest are killed. Model removal essentially tracks a unit’s morale
and current fighting ability rather than anything more literal: whether a unit is above
or below half strength is important in the game.
My design goals for Lion Rampant tell you how I designed the rules and explain
why they work as they do:
* Games about knights should be fun. The emphasis is on a playable medievalthemed
game rather than an over-detailed simulation of medieval warfare.
* Use no unusual dice, cards, or supplements… make it accessible for gamers
new to the hobby.
* Keep the rules simple, streamlined and abstracted where appropriate: don’t
make players continually thumb through the rulebook.
*Quick play and minimal record keeping to allow multiple games in a session.
* Gain period feel by differing profiles for troops; avoid complex core rules.
* Think small-scale combat: reflect skirmish warfare not huge set-piece battles.
* Let scenarios drive the game and make the victory conditions interesting and
feel like a narrative story. Give players extra goals in each scenario to allow
different ways to win.
* Offer malleable army selection: no hard and fast army lists.
* Embrace medieval caricatures: knights should be headstrong, spearmen
resolute, tribesmen fierce, and light cavalry agile. Performance is abstracted:
make sure units ‘feel’ right.
* Create a medieval miniature wargame that’s an excuse to push some
colourfully painted models around the table.
My overall goal was to design a medieval miniatures game that is easy to learn,
makes you think about how best to use your resources, and provides entertainment
as you do so: I hope you find Lion Rampant achieves this. Roll sixes and enjoy!
Best regards Michael
March 29, 2013, 08:14:02 AM
