Tips and Advice for Newbies

[naiconn1981]

Hi

I'm looking to get into FG.  Currently I have a Necromancer as my main school of magic and getting some models ready.

Since there is quite an active community here I wanted to see what advise people can give for newbies to the game.  What pointers do you have and what websites are good for reference.

Thanks!

[Darkson71]

Be prepared for swingy dice. There will be times when your 1-wound thief will be able to defeat a magically armed knight and a fight-tolled wizard in one combat. It won't happen often, but it will happen "at some point".

Also, if you end up playing a campaign, be prepared to houserule in some sort of "balancing" system. Some people are happy to play the game as is, some people find the discrepancies between gangs can get to much to be fun (to them). Talk to those you'll be playing with, as you know them much better than we do, and see if they want to put something in up front, leave it as it is or are happy to add something mid-campaign (you will find many varied ideas on this forum).

[Mr Tea]

Use lots of terrain. Missile troops and shooty spells get overpowered otherwise. At Abingdon WGC we tend to house rule that a wall blocks LOS unless it is being shot/ cast over or the figure is at a defined opening such as a door way. They get the  +2 hardcover . And on that subject you will find "Fog" really useful.

[WallyTWest]

Try and have as much fun as possible while playing.

Ignore the haters.

Don't hesitate to make your terrain as gorgeous as possible and paint your Warbands ASAP.

[JohnDSD2]

When you are collecting and painting your henchmen, remember they are likely to get replaced or upgraded quite quickly, so I would recommend having a few that are interchangeable. Its not too bad as a guy with a bow can be an archer, a tracker or a ranger, infantryman can become a templar etc.

You'll find that what ever level your wizard is at you'll need a few cheap treasure grabbers, whose sole purpose is to cart off the loot.

When choosing spells, thinking about the cast number, I try to keep it low for most spells but will take a couple to work on so that later in a campaign they come into play.

Finally, as eveyone else has said enjoy the highs and lows and experiment with different spells.

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

1) Don't overlook thieves for thugs when starting a warband, the extra 1" of movement can make a surprising difference when trying to get treasure off the board. In addition I'd try to start with a wizard, apprentice and at least 6 henchmen (preferably 7 or

2) Try not to focus too much on causing damage with your spellcasters (elemental bolts were a big favourite when we started playing), spells like leap, wall and telekenisis tend to be far more useful.

3) Try to plonk as much scenery on the board to block line of sight corridors across the board - ranged weapons and spells tend to dominate otherwise.

4) Be careful throwing expensive henchmen into fights, they can easily get mobbed by cheaper ones or catch an unlucky throw of the dice.

5) Keeping an Exlixir of Life in the vault is probably a good idea if you can afford one and you like your wizard.

[spect_spidey]

Go with the flow of the game. It can be very swingy. A warhound can easily take out a knight on a critical attack. You have to just go with it. The other day, my buddy and me were playing the first Lich Lord scenario and turn 5 was about to begin. I took a shot at his wizard with my two archers. I was just trying to prevent him from getting the extra 50 XP for being on the board during the eclipse. His wizard is three levels higher than mine. I missed with one archer. The other critically hit him and removed him from play. After the game, he rolled a two for his wizard's injury roll. Bye, bye wizard. I felt so bad. I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to kill his wizard. I just wanted the chance to catch up on XP by preventing him from getting some. Totally unexpected things can happen. They can make for some epic game moments, but the opposed rolls and the range of a d20 can sometimes make strategy a moot point. Sometimes the fickle dice gods just aren't with you and no matter how well you plan your tactics, the dice fail you. Take it in stride and have fun. Make the game yours.

[Thargor]

1. Pick figures you love.

2.  Always start with an apprentice.

3.  Pick spells that you think will be fun and suit the character of your wizard ( you).

4.  D20s produce a huge score range.  They will fail you at times and amaze you at others.  Smile through both.

5.  Don't let your wizard or apprentice lead from the front.....they will be taken out.

6.  Have lots of fun.  Think of it as a story, if the characters always succeeded it would be a boring story.

[Karadek]

Be prepared for swingy dice. There will be times when your 1-wound thief will be able to defeat a magically armed knight and a fight-tolled wizard in one combat. It won't happen often, but it will happen "at some point".

Man, this is so true.  As is the advice on lots and lots of terrain.  You can't really play this game on a blank table, or else it just becomes missile and ranged spell death everywhere.