Dragon Rampant; may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts...

[WallyTWest]

Quick Post Today- I've spent most of it painting and setting up for my new wargame room (pictures over the next few months).

A Quick Review for anyone on the fence-

I just played a few games of this, and I got to say it's a mixture of disappointment and extreme hopefulness.  I see that in the spirit of having lost a large following of Warhammer players in my warhammer players in my local area- and giving away hundreds of dollars of Warhammer miniatures over the last few months. Dragon Rampant represents the possibility of getting those miniatures back to the board and with this regard it does not disappoint.

 The layout is disappointing, Rules explanation is far from perfect, scenarios disappoint and require lion rampant in order to satisfy basic battle needs, fantastic abilities are disappointing, spellcasting did not impress me, and the army lists in the back leave a lot to be desired– it's not a perfect product... And the writer seems to know this. Even pokes fun at the concept.

It's a tiny rule set.... And because of that it's the perfect vechicle and it soundly delivers some great gameplay.

Activations are in the tradition of bloodbowl, it plays perfectly well on a 3'x3' area with 4-5 units a side. I am impressed. I am impressed because I bought three copies and handed them out in the hope of providing some light fun in the holidays and now I have four players whom are intent to play with this rules-set in 2017.

These rules are generic,  but they are begging for a setting and imaginative group of players to take them to the next level. After playing a few games with my friends Warhammer models that have not been used in years began hopping onto the table-  I am depressed that I have not used this kind of system before. The kings of war was satisfying, but this rule set is absolutely friendly to new players and requires a much smaller collection of miniatures to enjoy. It's embarrassing how much good play has been condensed into such a small set of accessible rules.  Honestly the biggest choice we faced the whole night was should we keep our models in tight box formations or skirmish them out – we ultimately opted for the old Warhammer four wide style units.

The 12 models required to form a unit  is both a strength and great weakness. The 12 model count means you can set up miniatures in four wide and three deep units in the style of fourth edition warhammer or you may choose to go six wide. Choosing to play units like this deeply invokes the feel of ye old warhammer fantasy. The only downside being that once you have committed to a 12 count the 10 count box which is common in the industry makes army building a little bit of a hassle.

Guys, if you have been contemplating this is a purchase I encourage you to experiment with it. This is not a glowing review but it is an optimistic one. Dragon Rampant will be one of my core rule sets heading into 2017.

Any questions that you would like answered, I would be happy to give my opinion on. I will endeavor to post a few pictures of gameplay.


Empire Army (24pts)
–--------------------------------------------
Knights of the Blazing Sun (ECav-6pt) 6 Models
Middenheim Spearmen (HInf-4pt) 12 Models
Middenheim Spearmen (HInf-4pt) 12 Models
Middenheim Crossbow (HMis-4pt) 12 Models
Archers (Sct-2pt) 6 Models
Ogres (LWbst-4pt) 3 Models


How the army played-
  Fielding a larger army has its risks, as you can never be certain that every unit will have the opportunity to move or fire. However in this is overcome when multiple units of heavy infantry or laid out in formation – forcing the initiative on your opponent to take ground or destroy units.  Six units is considered very top-heavy for the system, but in this respect it played very much as a Warhammer army of the equivalent era might feel.  Depending on the mission you either rely on your crossbowmen or Spearman to get the work done – the Knights and ogres quickly advancing and attempting to destroy prominent enemy units.
 I was able to challenge a very defensive dwarf army with this collection of miniatures, as well as a very fast-moving undead force. But at no time did I feel over powered or not tactically challenged. I believe there are certain units  which would be a no-brainer for a competitive list, but in keeping with the spirit of Warhammer you can have a great experience. Thinking about exchanging one of the infantry units for a wizard in the style of frost grave.

[Elbows]

It's such a wonderful, simple rule set.  I agree it is begging for someone to take it and run with it (a group producing a real quality expansion would get my interest).  It's easy to adjust on the fly and there are some things I'd change.

We talked about (but have not yet put into practice) separating fantastic abilities from the core cost of the army --- because some of the perks, while charming, in no way measure up against plopping more models down on the table.  Likewise we've discussed some alternatives to allow units to re-roll activation tests when within 12" of the army leader (giving him more of a purpose, etc.).

I will agree that the scenarios are very lack luster, but that seems to be the nature of most games nowadays.  Perhaps I'll find some time to take another look.  It'd be fun to flesh out the game with a few more units/rules/tweaks.  In the few games we played I don't believe we ever used casters...hmmm...

[guitarheroandy]

Design your own scenarios!! Always better than relying on those in a book...

Design your own army lists!!! That's what Dan wants you to do! it's the whole point of the rules. Play with the figures you've got...

Play with your own ideas/house rules and tweaks. If they don't work, chuck 'em out and try something else!!

And I love the idea of separating magic abilities costs from the troops cost. Field a 24 point army (troop costs and upgrades only), then add an agreed number of magic upgrades each. Brilliant idea!!

It's such a liberating little rule set. I love it!! 

[Cubs]

I'm in the process of (theoretically) building a cowardly army of Orcs, Half Orcs and/or Hobgoblins. I'm planning to build bigger units than the 12 models (just for the look of the thing, because Goblinoid hordes should be big!) and either double-casualty them (for each comrade killed, one cowardly Goblinoid runs away) or say that when the casualties get down to 12, the remaining models have fled en masse.

[Elbows]

I put this together about a year ago when we were playing on/off:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ppho0qppbj09mjk/DragonRoster.pdf?dl=0

Roster sheet, may be of some use --- the stats are re-arranged to make more sense as well.

[Agent Brown]

There's no need to have 12 or 6 figure units in Dragon Rampant. A large unit has 12 strength points, a smaller one 6. Large units (most foot) can be any size you want, they still have a strength of 12. I just make sure it's obvious they're not skirmishers and stick to at least 9 figures (for human sized infantry). When 6 strength is lost, remove half the figures. Simple.
I don't have the rules to hand but I'm sure it's in there, near the beginning.

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

I have enjoyed these rules.  I never anticipated that I would get into fantasy gaming, but gave these a go as I wanted something easy to play by myself.
They solo play well - I added some simple random terrain cards, random events and random enemy generation (I didn't even pretend that I would be unbiased, so most random events and numberof troops favour the "enemy").
The rules can be customised and tweaked quite easily without breaking them.  They can be scaled up or down quite easily. 
The points system is not  completely balanced and is perhaps the weakest part of the rules.  But for solo games this doesn't really matter.

[WallyTWest]

The thing that is blowing my mind- about Dragon Rampant and my Wargaming in general- is how much it's changed for myself in these last few years...

Reflection

I used to play GW nearly exclusively, and warhammer fantasy was the glue that held the center of that experience in place- but since 8th edition hit the shelves and its popularity as a gaming system began to wane I really expermented with a number of other rule sets.

Warmachine and Uncharted Seas was my first breath of fresh air. Then Chaos in Carpathia. Deadzone, Strange Aeons, Frostgrave and now it's come full circle- I'm writing up plans doe repurposing my Warhammer figures into a Dragon Rapant army- and somehow I feel more in tune with my origins with 3rd edition warhammer, miniature railroad scenery and rogue trader than ever.

Next Point

Dragon Rampant could really use some nice stat blocks and a "ravaging hordes" stile army list in my opinion... Perhaps I could raid Runequest or Lone Wolf for a suitable setting or alternate armies?

[Jiron]

I have recently played this one and it's well done! I enjoy Lion Rampant a little bit more but now I am considering building an army of Stormcast Eternals for Dragon Rampant (sold out all my old WHFB Skaven army).

[WallyTWest]

@ Jiron

I gave away a number of vintage skaven but kept the skaven Island of Blood starter contents... And I think this is the perfect application for that starter set. You could have the "feel" of skaven and play with a number of diffrent armies with just those skaven.

[Froggy the Great]

I...have a problem with making DR armies.

I can't seem to stop.

[WallyTWest]

Picture of the "repurposed army"- switched out the knights because I broke a shield right before shooting a photo-

[Argonor]

Picture of the "repurposed army"- switched out the knights because I broke a shield right before shooting a photo-

This is exactly what I have been ranting about for decades. Use your minis designed for whatever games for whatever rulesets you fancy playing. No need to start an entirely new collection just because you pick up a new set of rules. I know, LR/DR actually encourages it, but it should have been a no-brainer all along, really. 

Personally, I am not a fan of the Rampant rules - I wanted to like them, but my gaming buddies and I just had too many negative experiences where the dice (lots of failed activations) made the game a one-sided affair; not funny for the guy on the receiving end, and no challenge for the opponent.

I know it is not necessarily a problem if you get to play a lot of games, but when you get together maybe only once or twice a month for a single game, it becomes a nuisance, which is why we moved on. I have had a couple of good games, but I think the game needs to get rid of the 'activate, or lose the rest of your turn' rule (and be more like TMWWBK), to be honest. Well, maybe in a later edition... 

Every man his cake, though, and if DR keeps peeps in Fantasy gaming (and even serves as an entry drug for the hobby), of course it has a justifiable place in the gaming world 

[WallyTWest]

An obvious fix is re-rolls like in bloodbowl. Even at a point each for one or two rerolls, I think they would be worthwhile. I actualy think that back and forth iniatitive is actualy a hilight of the game.

Edit-
That's actualy a highlight of the game to me, you want to advance your elite infantry units into the fray and just chew through your enemy – but every time you activate an elite unit surrounded by two mobs of foot soldiers they are just going to get hammered on and ripped apart for their efforts.  There is this balance between movement, activation and combat that if it was handled a little better could be an incredible highlight to the system. (But it certainly functions as is.)

Edit Edit- but diffrent topic
 Dude hit it on the head when he chose 12 miniatures, it just looks right. Every sample army I have looked at seems to have the "correct" model count to what you would expect out of a fantasy battle system (...that wasn't raiding your wallet for cash.) And I can't stop, just played another game of this at my store today and was laughing at how easy and fun it was to have miniatures on a tabletop...

Edit Edit Edit-
The book is ugly

[jamesmanto]

So far I've really enjoyed Dragon Rampant, and I've shied away from fantasy for decades.

The rules are generic enough that I can do my own back ground and don't have to buy into the game fluff.

I want to play my idea of Middle Earth, not games workshop!

Plus the armies are small enough to keep my megalomania somewhat in check!