Iron Stars

[KeyanSark]

I discovered today this game of Victorian Space Combat... has anyone here tried it?

I liked a lot the background I've seen so far and I won't mind to purchase some books, but I'd like some input from the gamers in the forum...

http://www.mj12games.com/ironstars/

[WitchfinderGeneral]

The background as too much over the top for my taste.
And I think you could use any naval rules for that (or GW's spaceship game a lot of people might know).

Is there a certain scale given for the ships? Wouldn't mind converting some ordinary ships for space combat. :mrgreen:

[KeyanSark]

What do you mean with "over the top" here?  :oops: (It's only a language question, because english is not my native language and I'm not sure to understand the sentence...)

[PeteMurray]

"Over the top" means that there is too much of something and it spoils it.

For example, fantasy minis:

Simple fantasy: Metal Magic
Elaborate fantasy: Ral Partha, circa 1988
Over the Top: Rackham

[Operator5]

What do you mean with "over the top" here?

"Over the top" means too fantastic, getting close to absurd.

I don't have the rules, but I know one of the guys who helped work on them (Kevin Smith who wrote some of the other MJ12 products). He did a lot of playtesting for these rules and was happy with them. I'm not sure if he thinks they are the best rules ever put out for the genre.

[KeyanSark]

Thanks for putting that clear  

But then, Witchfinder General, were you talking about the rules or about the background?

The idea of what would have happen to the world after the martian invasion depicted by Wells has always fascinated me. The idea of wargaming and painting miniatures of such an universe is one that's always there until I find some real time to dedicate...

[loki]

I have the rules and two supplements.

I like the background.

What i dislike is the rules system it is a IGO YOUGO system.
Like Battlefleet Gothic

No simultanios movement like Full Thrust, which is way cooler.

If you have Paypal you can have my rules - send me a PM.

[WitchfinderGeneral]

But then, Witchfinder General, were you talking about the rules or about the background?

The background. I mean, steam powered robots and walkers are fine but... steam powered space ships?

[W.B.Kurgan]

The background. I mean, steam powered robots and walkers are fine but... steam powered space ships?

Yeah - everyone knows Victorian spaceships work by magic floating wood from Mars!
 :roll:



 ::

[Plynkes]

Actually Liftwood cannot propel a craft through space. Ether flyers use solar-powered boilers to travel between worlds. If Liftwood were required for space travel, then humans would never have perfected it, as the stuff only grows on Mars. It is used in some ether flyers as a method of getting out of a planet's atmosphere, but it is not absolutely necessary.

Didn't they teach you anything at school?  


And as for steam-powered spaceships being too "over the top" for VSF. Well, if you want to include Martian Adventures, then you're going to have to get there somehow. What does the Witchfinder suggest?

Penny-Farthings?  

[Plynkes]

I suppose there is always Cavorite, or a gigantic cannon, but in my opinion they are just as silly as steam-powered spaceships.

[W.B.Kurgan]

:oops: That told me! Sorry - I didn't go to school in 1889! ::

They used (steam-powered ether-engined?) airships to get to Mars the first time then?  

[Plynkes]

The ether flyer uses a steam engine powered by the sun (solar boiler) to propel itself through the ether  via means of an ether propeller (in Space 1889 space is not a vacuum).

The method used to get out of the planet's atmosphere is an entirely different matter. The first ether flyers used hydrogen (simple, old-fashioned Zeppelin-style)  to lift themselves to an altitude where the ether propeller would work.

Once Liftwood was discovered on Mars that was used instead, as it allowed bigger spacecraft to be built. But not all nations had access to large amounts of Liftwood (those without Martian colonies), so the old Hydrogen-lift types continued to be used by some.

[KeyanSark]

As I understood, Iron Stars background relies on Cavorite to make the spaceships leave the Earth gravity pit.

[Plynkes]

I see.

I should make it clear I was talking about Space 1889 back there, in reply to the post about "magic floating wood."