Alternatives to Frostgrave?

[Sangennaru]

...aka: Frostgrave without mages?

Hello LAFers!

Long story short: Frostgrave seems pretty much what i've been looking for for a while, but:

• There are only mage characters, and most of us simply don't like magic in games.
• The rules look... like a super-simplified D&D.

So, although i'm somehow really attracted by that game, i wonder if there are other games with a similar feeling.
I know Mordheim, but the gameplay is not enough "modern" (let's say that a lot of things happened since the 90's in the wargame development), but not much else.

I'm basically looking for a game where to use my load of Reaper Bones, Perry and others, possibly in a somehow competitive way (so, no GDR rules)... Did i miss some milestones here and there?


Thank you for the incredible amount of suggestions you'll most certainly provide!

Cheers,
Jack

[Pijlie]

Witchfinder General. Just leave out the witches 

[Van-Helsing]

Song of Blades and Heroes (or any of the derived games) and leave out the Magic.

Till we moved over to 1650 - we used Mordheim for such games, again just leaving out the magic.

[Arundel]

Two rules more normally associated with Pulp might be worth checking out:

7th Voyage: actually, this isn't Pulp itself (though it's derived from the Pulpy 7TV). This is an impressive rules set, and is beautifully produced. I just received the cards and tokens made for the rules and they are incredibly high quality, I can assure you. While it focuses mainly on Greek myths and the Arabian Nights, the rules could easily cover general fantasy games, and there is no need to use the magic rules. There is a complete points system, so competition games should be very doable.

Then there is Pulp Alley. Definitely new and cutting edge, as well as being incredibly popular, these may be good to use also. Though they are geared to Pulp, quite a number of people use it for fantasy (or Star Wars, or...), without any mods whatsoever, and say it works beautifully. The rules have a very clever, easy to use system for building your teams, and I'd think they could work competitively, though that isn't the main thrust of the set. Again, the magic rules, such as they are, could easily be left out.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your search.

[Vermis]

I've settled on Brink of Battle and it's Epic Heroes fantasy expansion, meself.

[Juan]

"Otherworld Fantasy Skirmish". I´m reading it right now, and this is a very nice ruleset.

[Hobgoblin]

Song of Blades and Heroes (or any of the derived games) and leave out the Magic.

I'd second this. As well as being tremendously well designed, the Ganesha systems have the great advantage of being very cheap. Also, SBH works very well with the same sort of treasure-hunting scenario as Frostgrave.

The other great thing about SBH (and the rest) is that your "time to tabletop" is absolutely minimal. You can stat up warbands in a minute or two using the [url+http://www.ganeshagames.net/extra_info_pages.php?pages_id=17&osCsid=spi6qfujmavevmbn1ge49n5d30]online builders[/url][/color] on the Ganesha site. And once you've got the hang of the game, you can do most calculations in your head. You can create pretty much any sort of profile to match whatever miniatures you have.

A final point: because the system is (deceptively) simple, you don't need to consult the rulebooks often or at all once you've played a game or two. That, to me, is a huge advantage.

[Sangennaru]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm a big fan of SoBH and i've used for a while, and i know Pulp Alley, but... i was looking for something more mordheim-esque, which includes equipping the units, playing campaigns (possibly pre-made) and such, without loosing the "point cost" aspect (which is almost not present in PA and badly conceived in SoBH)... Reading some reviews for Brink of Battle, seems nice! Sure a lot of material...

Don't you know if there is any custom mod to play frostgrave with no magic? I know it changes thing a bit but stil...

[Elbows]

Take a rule-set you like, and whip up some campaign rules or equipment/treasure/skill tables. 

[Arthadan]

About SOBH, there is an ongoing Kickstarter where you can grab the advanced rules, PDF or printed version.

From the KS:

What differences are there between basic Sobh and Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes? Why the change? What are your plans?

Advanced SOBH is the version of the rules that you find in Fightin' Fungi so it us the same as basic SOBH but it adds:

1) reactions
2) special rules to simulate weapons and shields, e.g. Block, Long Reach, Flail etc
3) a detailed spell system with 30+ spells

Supplements will add specific subsets of rules. For example Hammer and Forge will add Runecasting, some weapons, and a few more wall spells. Leaf and Arrow (Elves) will add different types of bows and special Arrows. And so on.

[Sangennaru]

About SOBH, there is an ongoing Kickstarter where you can grab the advanced rules, PDF or printed version.

Yeah, read about that, seems interesting! However, although i already love SoBH (and Flying Lead, the modern version, expecially), i was looking for something more "detailed". Brink of Battle could be an interesting option indeed, does it have some solid campaign rules?

As for whipping up my own rules, i'm doing that already for another two gaming projects, and i rather wanted to have an already printed and solid ruleset for once.

[wulfgar22]

Love 7th Voyage and am eagerly awaiting a chance to have a go with Otherworld Fantasy Skirmish!

[john Hollyoak]

If you need some more info on the Otherworld skirmish rules, the latest Meeples and Miniatures podcast has an interview with the designers. Not sure if it is what you are looking for as the initial rules seem to be mainly dungeon crawl rather than gang fights, although the first expansion will go above ground.
John

[Sangennaru]

As a side note, i've found that D&D 5 edition has a free reduced version (still 250 pages!) downloadable from the WotC website! That's an interesting option as well... at least the gameplay works pretty swell!

[Major_Gilbear]

Hmm, I guess it depends on what setting/style you're after...

Something like Empire of the Dead could work perfectly well if you're willing to stat up your own crews. Plenty of "stuff" in there that you can use or ignore as you wish too, so it should be easy to port. It's basically like a slightly more modern Necromunda/Mordheim.

Alternatively, just for pure mechanics and gameplay, something like Malifaux works excellently. You'll again need to make your own cards for your own characters, but there's lots of stuff that you start with - from gremlins to monsters, from gunslingers to peasant bowmen, etc. The complete rules manual is like $10 too, so not expensive if that's all you need for your purposes. Lastly, it does have a built-in system for upgrading some models, and a new book has *just* been released that deals with campaign play and gaining experience (no idea if it's any good though - mines still in the post!).

Take a rule-set you like, and whip up some campaign rules or equipment/treasure/skill tables. 

Yeah, basically this!