My first impression of Imperial Skies

[sean_68333]

I got my hands on a copy of Imperial Skies (I stole a friend's copy) and read through the rules.  I posted a full article of my thoughts of the rules on my blog and am posting a shortened summary here. 

The full article can be found here.  http://gamingandshooting.blogspot.com/2016/09/imperial-skies-first-impressions-of.html

Imperial Skies is a rule set for use with aeronefs in a alternate history from the late 1890s through the 1920s.  Don't know what an aeronef is?  Think of a traditional wet navy battleship now make it fly through the use of the Loewe Graviton Engine.  Zeppelins, blimps, and hot air balloons also fit into this catagory.



Book Quality and Layout
The book is soft cover and has full color pages throughout.  I think the book could have used a little more editing, but overall it is laid out well.  The book presents the rules logically and has core rules as well as a variety of optional rules that will add complexity and depth to the game.

The book is 117 pages; 30 of rules, 6 of fleet and ship construction, 36 of ship cards, 25 of a painting/modeling guide, and the rest is made up of history and stories.

Factions
The game provides for most of the major powers of the period and several minor powers.  With the ship construction rules, you can build stats for anything that is missing, including Martian fleets.



Initiative and Command Points
Each turn players will roll for command points and initiative.  Command points can be assigned to ships and allow them to carry out special actions when they are activated. 

Players take turns activating ships.  A ship will move and attack when it is activated and damage is automatic.  So if a ship is destroyed before it acts, then it doesn't get to act.

Attacking
Ships have a variety of weapons and those are broken into main guns of different sizes, bombs and torpedoes.  Main guns are classed as small (10" range), medium (20" range), and large (30" range).  Guns need a 6 to hit at their longest range, but hit better as the target gets closer.  A six explodes (or gets rolled again) so there is a chance (though small) to do significant damage even with a small gun.

As damage adds up on a ship, it will become less effective, with reduced speed and reduced gun batteries.

Moving
Larger ships turn more slowly than smaller ships.  Imperial Skies uses 5 sizes of turning templates.  These are not provided in the book and you will need to print off a PDF of these templates to use in the game.

Blimps and Zeppelins can sit still on a turn, but normal aeronefs must move a minimum of 2" each turn.

The book does not include any scenarios, which I found to be disappointing.  Having said that, it shouldn't be hard to find or come up with scenarios for use with the game.

Overall Thoughts
I love the theme of this game and the models available from Brigade look fantastic.  I can't wait to get myself a fleet or two.  The rules seem to be fairly straight forward, but have a few optional rules that will add complexity and depth if/when you want to add it in.

[Johnno]

I got my copy just over a week ago.

I flipped through it.

Good production quality. Nice modelling section.

Kinda flipped through the rules. Haven't really given them a proper read through yet.

My only "negative" if you will is the layout of the pages containing the ship cards.
Some have some blank spaces (ie. 12 cards would fit but there are only 11 cards, a "simple sketch" would fill the void nicely) and the headings of the card pages was misleading in one point. 

Many fleets are small and I totally understand not devoting a full page to the one pirate ship in the game but I guess I'm not used to multiple factions being represented on the same page.

Overall, glad I backed the KS. Looking forward to my ships arrival now.

[The_Beast]

Kinda flipped through the rules. Haven't really given them a proper read through yet.

Sean and I haven't sat down and pushed ships on the table, but read more of it. He seems to have done a better job assimilating, but I will try again.

My only "negative" if you will is the layout of the pages containing the ship cards.
Some have some blank spaces (ie. 12 cards would fit but there are only 11 cards, a "simple sketch" would fill the void nicely) and the headings of the card pages was misleading in one point. 

While i did notice, it was a non-issue to me. May I suggest the relatively small addition of lines to cutoff factions on a page would make good?

It's a beautiful book, but it does show more than traces of a first edition.

Hie thee hence to Imperial Skies, the Facebook page. I have not plumbed its depths, as I'm not a member and I am annoyed by a third-of-the-page 'signin' constantly.  FB, FU...

However, the missing turn templates, and a proper key for the ships cards lie there.

The proofreading has enough issues that Sean suggests my slow progress may not be merely my dotage.

What I'm getting out of it so far will require me adjusting my thinking in parts, guns with constant numbers of dice but range bands changing effective rolls, but does seem to hold together properly.

I look forward to our first clash!

Doug

[LCpl McDoom]

Thanks Sean, much appreciated.

I'm intrigued to read more about these rules, especially on game-play, to see how it compares to the old 'Sky Galleons' rules from GDW, as well as 'Aeronef' and even the home-produced variant rules that use 'Full Thrust'.

[YPU]

Personally I would love to hear how these rules handle fighters, and if people feel this works out OK.

[The_Beast]

We're all intrigued, but that's not getting ships on the table,  yet.

Every time I read through, I keep getting lost in details, and that seems to rather reverse horse and cart. I keep trying to work it out by figuring the movement, figuring the combat, but, whereas I've elsewhere suggested the command point system is a take or leave, it seems built into the fabric of the rules. And, that fabric is spread is a bit diffuse to me.

The Command seems to me just the start of figuring same out.

YPU, I've always been a bit hesitant about aircraft of use in a game which feels as if it should be at the most pre-dreadnought, but it's a large part of the game.

Just, don't be expecting to 'sink the Yamato'; aircraft are restricted to shooting the smallest three of five ships classes, except tenders for aircraft or destroyers.

Now, I never got Leviathans straight, while Sean and Commander Carnage of our group at least got a play going, so I may just be too dull...

Well, yours, hoping for a sudden 'aha' moment,
Doug

[YPU]

YPU, I've always been a bit hesitant about aircraft of use in a game which feels as if it should be at the most pre-dreadnought, but it's a large part of the game.

Just, don't be expecting to 'sink the Yamato'; aircraft are restricted to shooting the smallest three of five ships classes, except tenders for aircraft or destroyers.

Wait, so small fighters are prohibited from attacking the largest ships? 


In any case thanks for giving us your first impressions!

[The_Beast]

Wait, so small fighters are prohibited from attacking the largest ships?  

That's the way I read it so far, though the concept is 'they can't do enough damage to matter' as far as I can tell.

Doug

Edit: To tell the truth, if you must have them, I'd prefer fighters did no hull damage,  but add gun/command/whatever reduction not tied to hull shots. Strafing the ship should disrupt, even cripple some functions, not the whole ship.

Assuming we get ships to table, I'll cogitate that further.  Bolt on shouldn't be that tough.

Fighters are supposed to take on torpedoes the way Spits did the doodlebugs, wing-tipping, so I assume they are too large to be carried by planes.

Oh, and speaking of strafing, fighters can also be used against ground targets (ships bombing? I repeat: No Norden sights.) Plenty of reason to have around, I suppose.