Could Ospreys new Sci-Fi gang skirmish game revive many a dead Necrmunda crew ?

[mcfonz]

I also wish Frstgrave wasn't continuously pimped as the new Mordheim . . . They are miles different.

[Rhoderic]

I also wish Frstgrave wasn't continuously pimped as the new Mordheim . . . They are miles different.

Personally I do think it's fair enough to "pimp" Frostgrave as a new Mordheim, but only in the specific sense of being a new, popular game that fills roughly the same role in the miniature gaming scene, as opposed to similar in mechanics, design or the fine-tuning of ambience/atmosphere. It's much like how I view Dreadball as the new Bloodbowl, or Heavy Gear Blitz as the new Battletech (not that it would still qualify as "new" by this point).

It was in that same sense I did at first (months back) think Rogue Stars might be the new Necromunda. Maybe (who knows?) it still will: If Rogue Stars makes it big in the miniature gaming community as a go-to ruleset for sci-fi gang conflicts, and in so doing makes that said genre trendy again for a while, then in that sense, it would be fair to call it "a new Necromunda". Of course, that's a big if. Actual Necromunda may preempt it now that it's making a comeback. Or the community at large may adopt Rogue Stars as less of a gang warfare game and more of a space pirates / Star Wars-style bounty hunters game, or a cyberpunk game, or whatever.

[Grimmnar]

But isn't the new Necromunda going to be the new Necromunda? It's coming isn't it?
Interested in Rogue Stars as well.
And I think people see Mordheim and Frost grave as similar because of the world and genre they are in. Fantasy world with magic and undead and fighters, loot and killing. All good to me.

Grimm

[Elbows]

I do think Necromunda is coming back, but we're all in the dark in how it is returning.  There is a good chance the model figures may be terrible, the price may be $120+, or the rules may have been changed substantially to ruin the effect.  Personally I didn't think the rules were all that good to start with, but I liked the entire idea/concept/execution of the original product.

We shall see.

[Dentatus]

Like it or not, 'Necromunda' has brand-power and name recognition. If GW really reboots it, Rogue Stars will have a tough time competing as a viable Necromunda alternate in the larger market, even if the new official version sucks pond scum.

That said, I'll be buying RS before any new iteration of Necromunda just on principle.

[whiskey priest]

i'm tempted to see Rogue Stars as more akin to the Rogue Trader. I would have thought the clue was in the name. Scenario based skirmish gaming. No need to get hung up on the Necromunda idea. The cover art certainly doesn't point to gang warfare, more intergalactic, Guardians if the Galaxy type hi-jinks.

[YPU]

more intergalactic, Guardians if the Galaxy type hi-jinks.

I believe that is exactly the style Andrea Sfiligoi was aiming for. I like his engines and rules in general, but hope they had somebody else on board for the points and balancing. 

We have seen some interest in pulp alley for campaign based skirmishing in the past year, I'm curious to see if this will replace that rule set.

[mdauben]

I also wish Frstgrave wasn't continuously pimped as the new Mordheim . . . They are miles different.

There are certainly differences,  but the overall feel and concept of the game (bands of adventurers exploring   ruined city for loot with rules for campaign advancement) put them firmly in the same gaming niche.   Of course the rules are different in detail and Frostgrave of course focuses on wizards while Mordheim focuses mire on regular Warriors, but the comparison is still obvious and we'll justified.   

Like it or not, 'Necromunda' has brand-power and name recognition. If GW really reboots it, Rogue Stars will have a tough time competing as a viable Necromunda alternate in the larger market, even if the new official version sucks pond scum.

While Necromunda may have name recognition amoung the older gamers,  it's been long enough OOP that the many players in their teens and twenties may have never even heard of it,  let alone played it.   Also,  GW's brand-power has IMO become something of a two edged sword with the number of disgruntled customers they have engendered lately.   

[Colonel Tubby]

I'm just hoping that the feel of Rogue Stars will be more Cyberpunk/Blade Runner than Space Opera/Star Wars if that makes any sense!

[Bogus_law]

Frostgrave ressurected this all long forgotten dusty fantasy miniatures, now back in frost action.
If Rogue Star do the same for many sf/cyber miniautres I bought ( because of sale, because they look cool) it will be great.

I dont care about Necromunda with official ( expensive ) miniatures,White Dwarf extra stuff etc.

[Rhoderic]

I'm just hoping that the feel of Rogue Stars will be more Cyberpunk/Blade Runner than Space Opera/Star Wars if that makes any sense!

In this thread, Phil Smith mentions pirates and bounty hunters as two possible gang themes (and I interpret "bounty hunters" to mean Boba Fett-style), so I don't believe the game will turn out to prioritise cyberpunk. Which is just as well as far as I'm concerned. I like cyberpunk, but no more than I like space pirates, bounty hunters, techno-gothic underhive gangs, etc.

There are certainly differences,  but the overall feel and concept of the game (bands of adventurers exploring   ruined city for loot with rules for campaign advancement) put them firmly in the same gaming niche.   Of course the rules are different in detail and Frostgrave of course focuses on wizards while Mordheim focuses mire on regular Warriors, but the comparison is still obvious and we'll justified. 

Exactly. That's a more succinct way of putting what I was getting at.

[mcfonz]

Not at all the same game though. I bought it on the back of one of those sorts of statements and was really disappointed.

I like the game and play it regularly but the two games are very different in feel and game play. In frostgrave there is not really a progression system of the diversity of mordheim or necro, nor the individual attachment to characters.

They are incredibly different games - both good in their own right. They are both fantasy and set in a city but that really is about as far as their similarities go.

In regards to necromunda - i have been using non gw rules for it for years. There really are very few games that come close in terms of campaign and character progression. Rules are out there for free.

By the sounds of it this game could be along the lines of han solo and crew vs firefly!

[Grimmnar]

In (and I interpret "bounty hunters" to mean Boba Fett-style),

And I think Dog. Is that a bad thing? LOL

Grimm

[Smith]

In this thread, Phil Smith mentions pirates and bounty hunters as two possible gang themes (and I interpret "bounty hunters" to mean Boba Fett-style), so I don't believe the game will turn out to prioritise cyberpunk. Which is just as well as far as I'm concerned. I like cyberpunk, but no more than I like space pirates, bounty hunters, techno-gothic underhive gangs, etc.

Aha! Thanks, Rhoderic - I was just looking for that thread. Here's the relevant post for those interested - not much info, but more will be forthcoming...

Rogue Stars is a new system from Andrea - it has elements in common with SoBH, but with significant changes. For starters, it's a d20 system, target number-based, combat is more detailed (22 melee weapons, 31 ranged weapons, 5 grenades), there are rules for environmental conditions (including high and low gravity)... and more, but it's a long road to October 2016, so I should save some things for later.

Creating a squad is fun. Characters are built individually, with all kinds of traits, skills and equipment, and alien races can be built on the fly by combining traits in different ways. The squad as a whole is then given a theme (Pirates, Bounty Hunters etc.) that determines some of the traits and equipment to which it has access, and a tactical discipline (20 in the rules, from Sharpshooters to Gestalt) that gives it an edge when sticking to familiar tactics.

And, yes, Psionic powers and a Force Sword can be combined in the obvious manner.

I put together a short list of inspirational media for Rogue Stars, which may give an insight into the core theme of the game. There are loads more, but these are my own touchstones.

• Star Wars - Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett (and Bossk, Dengar, Greedo, 4-LOM, IG-88, Zuckuss and the other bounty hunters!)
• Firefly - Every character
• Star Trek - The Maquis, The Obsidian Order, The Tal Shiar
• Marvel Comics - The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Starjammers
• DC Comics - Lobo
• Manga - Cowboy Bebop

As for Cyberpunk. It's not the core theme, but it's entirely do-able. There are enough augmentation options to stat out a Roy Batty, and you can even get into Matrix-levels of bullet-time and whatnot with judicious application of skills and equipment. At worst, you might need to rename a skill or item of gear to be something a little more in-keeping with the desired genre - for example, 'mono-filament knife' might become 'razor nails' or something.

And, on the subject of bounty hunters, it's Dengar all the way for me...

[Comsquare]

@ Smith
If you say Lobo, would it be possible to make a one-man-crew in Rogue Stars?