Tabletop Wargames Builder. A universal rules system

[Denis Nazarets]

Hello everyone,

I’m working on a project called “Tabletop Wargames Builder” – a universal rules system for all miniatures.

The concept is to be able to mix together every miniature from any collection and make them interact naturally as well as building new characters from scratch or transferring favorite ones from video games, storybooks and movies to the tabletop. I’ve always liked the idea of setting themed factions from various storylines (which could never meet under other circumstances) against each other to find out who is the ultimate fighting force. Historical Mongol hordes versus the might of Mordor, perhaps?

I want to create a single universal game system that will be able to answer every gamer’s needs and will act as a common language allowing all miniature collectors and wargamers out there to communicate through means of tabletop battles.



CHARACTER BUILDING

The basic idea is that you can take any model and implement it into the game by attaching a stats and equipment profile.
For example, with the same model I can have a sniper skilled in climbing that deploys before combat hidden atop hard-to-reach terrain features and specializes in making long-range headshots without disclosing himself. Or I can build a character that will infiltrate the board during mid-encounter, occupy a good firing position with the help of his stealth and pathfinding skills, and pick off vulnerable targets. Depending on my playing style and the goals of the scenario I might opt for a stationary unit covering a certain area or make mobile firepower a priority.

GAMEPLAY

I first tried my hand at writing home rules 15 years ago in high school. Since that time a lot of new publishers made names for themselves. On the one hand, you have some nice and creative rules to portray unique creatures here and there. On the other hand, a common orc or a regular knight still dominates the wargaming field. It is slightly better with wizards or clerics. But I want to forsake the idea of something “common” or “average” altogether and describe every model or unit by the means of unique in-game abilities.

AVAILABILITY

I wanted to provide new players with an easy access into the world of wargaming, meaning being able to play adaptively outside of demanding “armylists”, using whatever models they have and staging small scale battles as well as large ones.
The rulebook will be officially free to download. By default you’ll need only this one book to play tabletop battles with most of the world’s popular characters. Elves, orcs, undead, space troops, cyborgs, mutants, you name them. If you’ve ever ventured into the depth of forgotten dungeons, on these pages you’ll find rules for lots of creatures you’ve encountered, as well as your trusty allies: clerics, rogues, paladins and so on.

FEATURES

ABILITIES. I reorganized the attributes system by dividing all challenges between 3 Abilities: Physique, Perception and Willpower. Having more creates unnecessary complications and makes way for generally useless Skills that you can see in other games such as aiming your bow with Wisdom instead of Dexterity or casting Spells with Charisma instead of Intellect. Useless - because they add nothing to the gameplay except switching abstract numbers. I prefer to dump these entirely in favor of Skills that are fun to play with and better depict, let’s say, a dexterous fencer – for example, making a long reaching lunge attack with a sword and a free sidestep after that.
The same 3 Abilities also double as Saving Throws (endurance/reaction/will), meaning yet fewer numbers to keep track of and more dynamic action instead.

DICE ROLLING. With TWB it is easy to execute most actions such as close combat. Yes, players roll only once simultaneously to determine the winner in hand-to-hand compared to a common precedent in wargames when each side has to make a separate attack or even multiple rolls just to get the chance of armour penetration. AP roll still exists in TWB but only a single winner is ever eligible for it per combat. This helps speed up the game quite a bit.



You also don’t have to consult additional tables to see if you scored a hit or not – just a quick glance at the dice gives you all the info you need.

REAL TIME. TWB system features a strong real-time aspect allowing players to constantly meddle with each other's turns and battle plans.



As long as a model has unspent Actions, it can react to any action declared by an opponent's model this model can see. After your opponent declared an Action, you can declare a Reaction of your own. For example, an enemy model dashes from cover and into melee while your model responds with burst fire to kill or pin it down.

And there is still more to it…

Work on Tabletop Wargames Builder is currently in progress and new chapters are added. At the moment I’m writing this, the next chapter is being prepared for publishing online and it will elaborate the concept of Line of Sight, Front, Rear and Team View. For example, this is the only rules system I know that allows you to “accidentally” move your model into contact with the enemy model it can’t see (What? It’s not cheating. He just wanted to go in that direction!) without it being unfair ‘cause you’ll get a special surprise for doing so. 

So please stay tuned and post your questions. Any support to this project is much appreciated including sharing the info with fellow gamers, leaving comments.

You can always read the latest chapter for free on my project page: https://www.patreon.com/nazarets

 

[Denis Nazarets]

Another chapter out! Tabletop Wargames Builder. Ch3. I See - You See

https://www.patreon.com/posts/4175227

So far we were discussing the structure of the game Turn and Round and how the Actions system works. Today we will proceed with the core game mechanics such as Field of View and Area Effects.

[Denis Nazarets]

Yesterday TWB saw a big update covering movement and most of the Real-time features: https://www.patreon.com/posts/4391909

For the rest of the month I've scheduled two more updates to deal with special movement options and the "shooting phase".

As always feedback is greatly appreciated. Enjoy reading.

[Mr. Peabody]

You have a good, clear style! Will enjoy following this.

[SteveBurt]

Your style is clear, and your diagrams are very good.

One thing. You say at the start of the movement section that you can't move to a place you can't see.
Several of the example have figures moving round the corners of buildings (which seems like a perfectly reasonable action, except that the figure is moving somewhere he can't see). The restriction would also stop anyone ever entering a building, wouldn't it?
I can understand saying you can't charge someone you can't see, but why would you not allow someone to move in or out of a building, or into some trees?

[Sangennaru]

Wow, those images are extremely clear and well, done, you did a great graphic work there!

However... i'd be cautious declaring it as a "universal rules system for all miniatures" as it were something unheard of: there are already several systems offering that. Maybe it was just a feeling, but that was the message that passed to me when reading the first lines of your introduction!
Nonetheless, the game can have a lot of potential, as long as you offer a point system for it.

Cheers
Jack

[Denis Nazarets]

Thank you for your comments! It will be a pleasure to make this project live up to everyone's expectations.

One thing. You say at the start of the movement section that you can't move to a place you can't see.
The restriction would also stop anyone ever entering a building, wouldn't it?

Thanks for pointing this out! I'm doing some tests all the time and change definitions here and there. In fact, in all our test games you could charge someone you couldn't see - but it counts not as charging but as stumbling into an ambush and the model caught off-guard. I will come up with a solution to this particular issue before the next update.

However... i'd be cautious declaring it as a "universal rules system for all miniatures"

I wouldn't call it declaration, but it is a goal. To make a basis for easy introduction of new settings and themes and getting together with different collections. It works for small board games, skirmishes, and until now had no issues with big regiments or a mix units and solos. TWB "engine" has modular system. You can opt to include "real-time" or regiments for example. The latest record time for setting up and playing a game with 100 vs 100 models with experimental regiment rules is below 30 minutes including deployment. Anyway releasing a complete functional version of this game engine is the first stage of what I have in mind.

Nonetheless, the game can have a lot of potential, as long as you offer a point system for it.

It is a bit early for the points system, but I want to make it easy for players to build their own units based on archetypes or completely from scratch. This "construction set" is one of the essentials of the concept.

[Denis Nazarets]

As promised I want to clarify the issue on movement and blind spots.

You say at the start of the movement section that you can't move to a place you can't see.
Several of the example have figures moving round the corners of buildings (which seems like a perfectly reasonable action, except that the figure is moving somewhere he can't see). The restriction would also stop anyone ever entering a building, wouldn't it?
I can understand saying you can't charge someone you can't see, but why would you not allow someone to move in or out of a building, or into some trees?

In fact you can enter a building, just not in a single action. First you stand by the door, now you can see a portion of the interior. With the next action you can go inside. Same with moving around the corners: move up to the corner, peek around and then move.
This gives defenders in the building a tactical edge.



Example: models assaulting the building can't reach any of the Crossbowmen, nor hide behind the crates for cover from the spot invisible to the defenders. This is logical because you can't effectively assault the building without knowing the interior. (If you are playing a narrative and the attackers have obtained the plans, simply ignore this rule.)

Forest is a type of special terrain. You can see 2" into the forest from outside and enter it. Once inside you can see as far as your Pe.

The other thing is making "tactical movement" an optional module which the players can exclude from their games. Yet it allows more precise simulation of confined space fighting.

Comments on the illustrations in the latest entry:

- The bear is visible because it is large and the bushes don't hide it entirely. The horseman can also see above the bushes from the height of his saddle.

- In the "cutting corners" example the model is arguably close enough to the corner to see the spot it moved to. Also it can be within Team FoV - in this example it is not relevant.

Thanks again for pointing out that it is not entirely clear from the way it is written. Such feedback will help improve the wording.

[Denis Nazarets]

Two massive updates coming up on schedule! It was a busy month, and at some point I had doubts I'll be able to pull it off. But here you have them. Two whole chapters covering special movement and basic ranged combat. Why not publish them separately earlier? Because I wanted to give you all pieces of the puzzle called "real-time combat" at once.



Chapter 4½: Faster. Higher. Stronger
Chapter 5: Fields of Fire

I also revised the previous chapter to optimize the way Fast models behave in real-time and to improve the way movement works when dealing with blind spots. You may notice that there were minor changes and certain paragraphs moved to Ch. 5:
Chapter 4: Things in Motion

So, I hope you enjoy reading. As always, your feedback is most welcome!

In fact they were ready 2 days ago, but I didn’t publish them until I finished polishing the exclusive patron edition downloadable .pdf (available monthly as a reward on the project page) to make it one of the best official rulebooks in terms of looks and design in the world.



Patreon project page

[Denis Nazarets]

TWB Advanced rules for shooting available.

Now you can check "empty" rooms for enemy presence with grenades, call ordnance support from beyond the battlefield, reduce shelters to dust and ruin, and more.



Chapter 5½: KABOOM!

Enjoy reading, leave feedback and support the project in its growth and expansion.

[Denis Nazarets]

Hello everyone,

A new chapter is out, covering the basics of hand-to-hand combat and tactics.



Chapter 6: Close and Personal

The updated Patron Edition in pdf is also available for download to all Patreon supporters.

Enjoy reading, post your questions and comments, and please support this project.

[Denis Nazarets]

Hello everyone,

In case you haven't seen the latest update yet - don't miss Chapter 6½: Quinte. Riposte. Headbutt!, covering advanced rules for hand-to-hand combat.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to post them here or on my Patreon page.

Enjoy reading and share your thoughts!

[Denis Nazarets]

Read the latest Chapter 7: Eye for an Eye, covering in details types of damage and a range of negative and positive conditions.

We also updated the project Goals, be sure to check them out as well.

[Duke Donald]

These diagrams are really attractive. I'll have a look at the rules over the week-end and will try to get back to you with some constructive feedback.

[Denis Nazarets]

These diagrams are really attractive. I'll have a look at the rules over the week-end and will try to get back to you with some constructive feedback.

Thank you, Duke, I look forward to it, any support is greatly appreciated and needed.