I realy realy like what I was hearing about the game. But I am proud onwer of Ronin. And the question is, why to buy Daisho. You know my budget for games are limited and I want to know what exactly is the benefit of Daisho above Ronin.
Hi Dalcor,
If you like the style and feel of Ronin I'd say stick with it. Craig Woodfield has written an excellent game there. Osprey even prevailed upon him to write a few supernatural elements for their website.
As the other gentlemen above have said though it does not cover the entire breadth of Japanese warfare as the Japanese themselves saw it. In the period that both our games cover people really believed in Kami, Oni and Bakemono and this is what we set out to create in Daishō.
Daishō can be played at three levels:
Historical - you only use the rules, equipment and buntai actually available in the period.
Heroic - You add the Ki powers and master-crafted weapons and armour.
Legendary - You add in everything else including legendary beasts, demonic races, magical powers and equipment.
Daishō's core rules are based upon those of In Her Majesty's Name, a steampunk skirmish game that has sold thousands of copies and is proven in thousands of battles. It plays quickly and cleanly and as Carlos was kind enough to point out can be learnt in the course of a single game. At Salute we were teaching 9-year-olds and non-gamers how to play in about ten minutes then just leaving them to get on with it.
The major difference though between Ronin and Daishō though is that the latter is a narrative skirmish game. Like IHMN we have found that players become a lot more involved in creating their own unique buntai and characters. Each scenario quickly becomes part of an epic story that they love to relate to each other.
Also, unlike some authors or companies, we actively encourage players to create their own buntai, figures, powers and equipment utilising the complete points system in the Daishō book. Do you want a foul sorcerer leading a buntai of spirit samurai? Then go for it. Do you want to recreate the seven samurai or thirteen assassins? Then go for it.
Daishō is a toolkit as much as a set of rules, which puts the power in your hands. As it grows we shall continue to create more material and give it away on the Daishō blog (
https://daishogame.wordpress.com/). I recommend that you visit the blog, if only to read the latest battle reports.