Something New and Different (in which I pick LAF's collective brain...)

[Jagannath]

Hullo all,

Trust the year's easing you in nicely.

So, here's a question:

For ages I've been painting up 15mm skirmish groups (mostly Sci-Fi, some fantasy) and 28mm Sci-Fi and some Pulp and I'm starting to feel like I'm noodling.

So, I want a small project I can work on to get me out of my funk - ideally self contained and not needing too much scenery (sometimes a concept seems a good idea to just paint up 10-15 blokes from a given period, but less so if they need an entire table of new scenery to go with them).

I did look at World of Twilight http://www.worldoftwilight.com/ but it just didn't grab me as much as I hoped it would.

Then I considered using Ral Partha's Empire ships for a small ship based game (plus, despite the above, I think some very small islands might be fun scenery), but I must admit vehicles of any type just don't grab my attention like wee people do.

Finally I went back to my old notepads for some old ideas and found one I had - tiny people evolve in the far future at a basic, tribal level - it's 1:1 gaming (think tribal borrowers) but also post-apocalypse. This doesn't mean just placing mugs on the table and using it as scenery - I'd need to really model some sensible, 1:1 ruined scenery, probably outdoors. I still might explore this idea.

SO, ONTO MY QUESTION  - Save me from myself and spending months on what I suspect is a barking mad waste of time - what other, unusual, low investment games are out there that I could try? I'm talking 10-30 models per side, maybe a wee bit of terrain but not masses, something I can be a bit creative with (no Napoleonic uniforms!) and a bit different.

Doesn't need to have a set special ruleset, more ideas and fluff - I can work out the rules and models from there.

Thanks all,

R

[Elbows]

I'd make some suggestions but most of them would involve terrain somehow.  One thing you could do well within 10-30 models is start gathering up some generic gaming forces, for which heaps of rules-sets exist.

Do you game with folks?  If so, making up some sets of minis would be worthwhile if they "host" games and you can just bring your figs.

1) Gladiators.  Build some 28mm gladiators and you can play a load of games, mostly with just a simple hex mat.
2) Cowboys.  Again, don't need a shed load of them and there are loads of rules sets out there.
3) Fantasy adventurer party.  Could always have 10-12 heroes painted up and standing by.
4) Spies and assassins.
etc.

There are a number of settings where it's worth it just to have the figures because so many games use them.  If you're really serious about lack-of-terrain, how about pick up one or two quality figure board games and just paint up the figures to make the game look pretty?  Something like Zombicide Black Plague etc. 

[Jagannath]

Thanks for these ideas.


Sorry, I wasn't very clear on terrain - I have a few terrain sets, mostly desert (quite a bit of desert 'lost world' stuff as that's fairly scale neutral) and then a grass matt plus trees etc. (think a classic Oldhammer set up) which works OK. Double (or triple/quadruple) terrain works best for me!

I don't have masses of storage, so I like terrrain that's 'robust' and can be packed in a box tightly, so don't like to invest too much work in it.

Having said that, after posting this I started looking through my endless library of rules PDF's and reminded myself of Songs of Shadows and Dust

http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/song-of-shadows-and-dust.html

this has always appealed to me because I love gaming with non-military types - militias, gangs, armed peasants, space farmers etc.

So I'm half tempted to buy 2 Renedra mud buildings, a few packs of Foundry armed ancient civilians (defending their homestead) then whatever I fancy throwing at them as enemies - monsters, Roman tax collectors, potato rustlers... Might be a nice and tidy small project.

Still, up for any other ideas going?

R

[LeadAsbestos]

I've been on very much the same wavelength. All my 'big' projects turn into nothing, or get so bloated and off track that I lose interest. So I'm looking at small projects: get in, have some fun, move on!
Skip the gladiators, BTW. I love painting them, and doing all the research and reading, but the problem is, no gladiator game really needs figures in it. Move em a bit, then contact, then play the rules til you tip a guy over. Yawn.
I have selected caveman hunts, and spaceship games, most likely War Rocket.
Good luck!

[Andym]

Have you had a look at 7TV (or 7th Voyage). My brother and myself play it quite a bit. Each side tends to be about 10 models. I struggle with big armies too. The scope for games is huge though. You could probably use any terrain you've got and develope a scenario around it.

I've used it to do a 2000AD/Judge Dredd project as well as playing Star Wars and in the 7TV 'world'.

The second edition 'beta' rules are a free download.

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=80148.0

[Jagannath]

7TV just doesn't bite my attention, although I do like a lot of the models.

Here's a question - I've never really done black powder of any type - if I wanted to do some Black Powder (possibly ImagiNation) gaming then where's best to start - what conflicts might have a preponderance of situations where 10 blokes ran about shooting each other?

R

[Rhoderic]

For black powder skirmish, have you considered highwaymen, or that brief trend from some years back, border reivers?

Some other, non-black-powder ideas that come to mind:

- VBCW. Expand your generic temperate terrain collection with a few suitably bucolic "British countryside" type pieces.

- Quar. Three scales to choose from, though I can't be bothered to check whether all three scales are "complete" enough.

- VSF Martian frontier adventures. Could your desert terrain pass for whatever you think of as a satisfactory portrayal of VSF Mars?

- Gladiatorial sci-fi mech combat using Heavy Gear Blitz/Arena figures. I'm a bit hesitant to mention this because the figures are expensive (as is shipping assuming you're not in North America) and also time-consuming to assemble and paint, and the Heavy Gear Arena rules themselves are kind of a mess so one may want to find or cobble together a different ruleset (perhaps omitting campaign play so as to not have to bother with interchangeable weapons - it's what I plan to do), but it did come to my mind, partly because it's something I intend to do myself and partly because the subject of gladiatorial style games was brought up already, so I might as well throw it at the wall. A brutalistic sand-and-concrete arena with some ramps, raised platforms, barriers, uneven ground, spiky hazards, etc. should be easy to model and store.

[Lowtardog]

You cant go wrong with quar, go for forces from kryst and then some more regular type troops as opposition

[Hupp n at em]

If you fancy a Black Powder period game, you could look at some of the more low-level actions of the American Civil War -  small foraging parties/patrols, or even the technically pre-war dustups like Bleeding Kansas.  Or perhaps the 30 Years War, some deserters from one of the armies trying to loot their way across Germany to survive.

[Gibby]

What about Relics by Tor Gaming? Quirky, a bit Dark Crystal-ish I guess in its own way. It features, among others, a faction of sack cloth puppet redcoats and a faction of little diminutive gremliny guys with a chivalric streak (who ride little chicken type things into battle in some cases). I've been tempted by it several times.

[Hupp n at em]

What about Relics by Tor Gaming? Quirky, a bit Dark Crystal-ish I guess in its own way. It features, among others, a faction of sack cloth puppet redcoats and a faction of little diminutive gremliny guys with a chivalric streak (who ride little chicken type things into battle in some cases). I've been tempted by it several times.

War of Ashes by Zombiesmith is somewhat similar.  http://www.zombiesmith.com/pages/war-of-ashes

[Lowtardog]

Thelast two are good suggestions, they will also give you basis for dragon rampant armies. Another nice quirky setting is world of twighlight veey Froud like minis

[has.been]

Having seen the Assyrian reliefs in the British Museum I have had a fancy to do the lion hunt. No need to paint up a humungus number of military, but it is O.K. to be influenced by things like....
                The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold
                       His Cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.
A nice chariot & some lions, then you are good to go.

[Daniel36]

Dropzone Commander. Has a 2p starter set including scenery. 10mm, low model count, awesome miniatures.

[JohnDSD2]

If you want to try something historical but with warbands of about 30 figures per side you could have a look at Saga and Crescent & Cross. (Desert terrain ideal for C&C)

For a fantasy skirmish game Frostgrave is all the rage, warbands with max12 figures and plenty of scope to create your own fluff and style. Ruined city terrain required but a small 3' X 3' table.