/awg/ alternative wargames general

How is Heavy Gear? I like the aesthetic but I don't know anything about the actual game or scale, is it skirmish sized? Anyone have any links to the rule books?

Fuck that is tough, because I like the sound of both... I would say Arabian Nights because it would be more unique theme and would capitalize on the whole Attack on Titan OR Monster Hunter vibe

The new rules are pretty solid. It has a lot of neat ideas, and even includes stuff like electronic warfare.

The scale is usually a couple of comvat groups compised to up to 6 models. It's based on the number if actions in the group, with a max of 6 so some units have more actions and thus you'll have smaller combat groups.

The starter boxes come with about a dozen models and are a solid core.

The new ruleset being Blitz right? Electronic warfare sounds awesome! Is that like hacking in Infinity?

Yeah, the Blitz rules you can download for free from their site.

Similar, yeah. You can do stuff like fuck up radio communications and cause sensor blackouts and shit.

A good way to think of it is a bit like Infinity but with whole fireteams of TAGs. The rules seem a bit overwhelming at first but you can build them up a bit at a time over several games.

While I'm talking HGB I might as well link some pics of my collection - this is most of two starter sets plus a couple of extra blisters of models, and is over twice as much as a standard army.

ideaswithoutend.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/heavy-gear-army-backstory-whitetop-regional-army-9th-gear-regiment-311tv-cncs/#more-3127

Honestly, I'd say the Hellgate: London theme would stick out a bit more. The fantasy one is more rounded out, though.

Its more of older Warhammer/Warmahordes than Monster Hunter. What I meant was though that the system has it so instead of death by a thousand papercuts, a unit of basic troops, like swordsmen or goblins or something, can attack a giant or griffon more effectively by grouping up.

hey guys, OP of here

Looking for city combat maps for a roll20 game I'm doing that involves mecha/vehicle combat. Know of any resources that might work for me?

I don't know much, but these guys are cute.

Utopia look cool as fuck but hold off on buying if you're considering it, there's supposed to be a kickstarter for new kits for them this summer.

Skirmish scale, but with enough points on the table you could also call it a battle scale game. In those larger games, combined arms are more important, so tanks, infantry, aircraft, etc are all solid choices to round out a list.

DP9's plastic starter sets are hugely affordable compared to the rest of the range, which because of how old the game is, is pretty staggeringly large. Whatever faction you decide to go with, one or even two of the starter boxes is actually a really solid buy, and everything else you can pick up piecemeal as you decide to experiment with new units.

Two starter sets and a bit of creativity can cover a lot of stuff, you get every option for all the units and can start mucking about with Duellists (your anime hero characters) like this one, made from a plastic Iguana and some bitz box trawling.

On average a 150 point game is 8-15 mechs over 2-4 squads I'd say but once you get into the older models you can get massive superheavy mechs, infantry swarms, bikers, all sorts.

Aside from the hate towards spartan, are there any problems with firestorm armada or is it considered good?

It'll exist till August. After that, it'll be replaced by 3rd edition, cooked up by the man that fucked up Dystopian Wars and is responsible for Planetfall. Don't get into it now, or if you do, expect to change everything in a few months.

>3rd edition

OH wow I REALLY can't WAIT for this new RULEBOOK WITH ADDED EMPHASIS on KEY WORDS and CONCEPTS via the USE of BOLD and CAPITALS

So 2nd edition is good and ignore any new editions, got it thanks, I love the models and I'd hate for the game to be ruined

There's a 2.5 of DW coming out in the next couple of months, so you can sit back and watch the fireworks. Either it'll be another shit rulebook, and you can watch the fallout, or you get to see if Spartan have worked out how to put a rulebook together. they haven't.

Someone needs to take like 5-8 minis of varying games and place them in a warband style with the tag "Alternate"

/wip/ has ruined me, and now all I see are mouldlines

Hey /awg/ mind if I pick your brains? Mostly hide over in homebrew but I feel this fits too. Just a couple of polls on a game I'm developing, basically a mordheim heartbreaker. Thank you
>Setting
strawpoll.com/9c846ee
>Tech Level
strawpoll.com/dwcx5r5

Mordheim is basically STALKER with lower tech. I... never made that association before.

I mean warpstone doesn't quite fit in the anomalies role, but

may i aks what's the point of this? Just do what you have an idea for

Has anybody played any of the Pulp Action Library games? They have a game that is some kind of Roleplaying and miniatures game hybrid for Viking Sagas that seems pretty amazing, but I've not gone to buy it yet.

Hell yea it is. I was thinking of including a collectable currency that was a mix between wyrdstone, anomalies, and the eliacube.
The shortest explaination is I'm developing a Mordheim Heartbreaker. The longer version is I wanted a skirmish based wargame with evolving characters and interactive campaign rules and nothing out there scratches that itch left by Mordheim (which is now both clunky and unsupported). My main goals are;
>1. A game that has emphasis on "your guys" with a levelling system similar to Mordheim in its randomness.
>2. Use of levels; vertical movement should be as interactive and inclusive as horizontal.
>3. Terrain that is more than just "pretty LoS blockers." Interesting terrain; climbable (see above), rules, interactable
>4. An interactive campaign where it is more than just a bunch of matches loosely tied together. Rules for neutral parties, "GMing", scenarios, carry over rewards, base building, Hex crawl,

I'm honestly not sure a better Mordheim is possible, because Mordheim itself is just so flawed. You can replace the combat rules, but they're not the big problem, you know?

Maybe look at This Is Not A Test - apparently its campaign system is pretty sweet.

I'd also recommend Pulp Alley for more interactive elements in scenarios - not just terrain stuff, but the plot point system lets you do npcs, clues, hazards, all kind of fun stuff. It's a great game.

For campaigns... maybe take a look at some of the Two Hour Wargames games with better campaign rules, maybe After the Horsemen and Warrior Heroes: Armies & Adventurers (there are a lot of Warrior Heroes games... and that one's a mess organisationally, but really sweet) and the newer 5150 games. Also take a look at Wastelands 3 if you can find a copy, someone over on 7ch Veeky Forums posted it in the wargames request thread - it's got good campaign stuff.

You're doomed, but keep trying, good luck. And keep posting.

The first line is not meant to imply that I do not love the hell out of Mordheim. And Necromunda. And Gorkamorka. And Warhammer Quest. And far too many other GW games, and campaign systems.

>This Is Not A Test
oh my god I fucking love it. This model is so fucking good.

2nd edition has it's flaws, it's still a pretty slow system in terms of how things resolve, but it's mature and works.

Thanks for the feedback. I wouldn't say I'm trying to stay stuck to a Mordheim system, but more in the fact that it's what I love and want a game that can take over that itch it left. Thank you for the suggestion on the games, I'll definitely add them to my list to look through.

Right now the system is built on D10 roll under. I'll be sure to keep posting and keep refining. Thanks for the support!
Don't forget Path to Glory

What would be a good choice to start for a couple?
I'm thinking something with skirmish scale that doesn't get bored after playing 4 times with two same bands.

I know that you have to buy more models eventually but would be great if I could just get 2 warbands and play with them with a gf/bro in free time.

First I thought about Mordheim, but I'm getting into hobby and I would prefer something more alive, with ready-to-go models.

Now I'm thinking about malifaux. But I'm worried 2 starting bands are not enough.

X-Wing

Two starting bands are certainly enough for Malifaux. Only a few really are unplayable, but the rest should set you at 35ss (Out of 50ss for full sized games) easily.

I considered it deeply but im into humanoid/ creature minis.

Two like one crew for each player, not two from one faction to make a warband (just to be clear).

Wouldnt that leave us in situation where we would be forced to expand after few games?
In malifaux these starting boxes look great but then when u look for expanding an army some units are almost of the cost of a starter box.

Id have to expand both simultaneously.

You aren't forced to, though it depends on what you are running. A summoner is going to demand more, while more regular masters really only need two or three models outside of their box for a full sized (50ss) crew. The game as a result is cheaper than most games, save perhaps Guild Ball (Another game you should seriously consider).

Do we have pulp alley pdfs anways?

Friday Morning Bump(tm)

a tournament list for GB caps out at 9 models currently, but malifaux depending on faction/master can very easily be tournament ready in a crew box + 2 more smaller ones, however you're more encouraged to have a deeper library.

malifaux is a great casual game but it's complete dogshit competitively

half the models are invalidated by terrible balance decisions

>That moment when spartan games is gonna revamp and support firestorm armada
>Fleet battles and halo ground command is getting more support
>Dystopian wars just got updated

All that's left is dystopian legions but I don't know even despite all this if I can trust spartan games.

Noble Guard for World of Twilight got some new units. Got themselves some cav and crossbowmen!

I would love to see Orel get some archers of some sort.

this is really expensive for these garbage sculpts

though preepree is really good

Has anyone tried or read through Scrappers? How does it compare to This is not a Test?

You're gonna shit on sparkle cat? Are you heartless?

Eh, I wouldn't say they're garbage. They aren't like GW tier detail, but for a one man operation I like 'em. They have charm.

Holy crap these madels are shit. AOS called.

I actually really like his models which are larger than man size, the yartain for example, the belan and dehran

I might have to get some of these

Charm doesn't justify three bloody pounds per piece. These are Fifty-Dwarfs-In-A-Bag levels of quality, I'd expect to pay 50c at best per piece, one man operation or no.

HAHAHA. He fell for the classic "Spartan pays attention to it's games for more than one minute" trick.If you buy into Spartan, treat them as boardgames- one off, no support, what you see is what you will ever get.

Well I can't deny they are pricier than I'd care for, I still like the models. Plus the game is damn good, and I'll sacrifice model detail for good rules any day.

Things are looking good, securing some warzone demo kits and Core Protocol mini rulebooks as giveaways for my demo stall at Gamma.con later this year. If things come up better for me(find a better day job) I might be able to buy a case or two of faction starter boxes to sell too.

Casual is what im going for. There is no scene around here anyway.

>GB
Maybe one day, american football is an abstraction for us.

If you like them, more power to you. But this is usually the point where I turn around and just use alternatives if I still want to play the ruleset.

They have charm, but not enough to justify 3GBP per model.

MUIH UNCHARTED EMPIRES!!!!

Those are cool and I regret never getting around to trying Twilight, it has some lovely stuff.

>Maybe one day, american football is an abstraction for us.
GB is more akin to futbol, though

you cannot even produce a metal model at 50c and make a profit.
you are comparing plastic prices to metal prices, which is stupid.
3 pounds a piece is a pretty normal price, especially if you consider that three of them are mounted.

Seriously. If you want to complain about prices complain about GW asking ten times as much for a single infantry sized model in plastic.
But the prices are pretty fair.

If you don't like them that's another story, but the price is really nothing you can complain about here.

Fuck off man, 2GBP per figure is the most I'd pay for these. Also, they appear to be smaller than standard sized humans. Also-also, GW is not the only game in town.

Folks complaining about GW prices but then instantly justify other manufacturers' prices because "it's expensive, but still cheaper than GW!"

Then how the fuck do companies that sell metals at dumping prices do it then? 3GBP for a single miniature is bloody outrageous, especially if it's not even a special character or anything. Hell, Perrys get you metals at little over 1GBP and that's just off the top of my head, if I could be arsed to research a bit it'd be ease to undercut that.

Wow.
Since I started lurking about wargaming and when i read about GB I connected it to yankee sport in my brain and never took it out of that box.

I need to watch few gameplays to fill up my lack of knowledge but I'll probably stick to Malifaux for now. Thanks.

So I'm looking to getting into mini wargaming and painting, what would user suggest for someone who's got basically no experience in either?

State some genral interests, how did you get here? What kind of setting would you prefer? Are you looking specifically for big games or skirmish games or either would do?

If you give us some more information we can give you recommendations that suit you better. Are you interested in:
28mm/15mm/6mm Scale?
Do you like Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Historical, Modern, Post-Apoc settings?
Do you want to play large battles, skirmish, gang-based types of games?
Are you interested in getting very good at painting or do you want large armies done quickly?
How much money are you willing to invest?

I don't know enough to answer intelligently. I played some AOE, it didn't have the military strstegy I was looking for, and wargames against AI aren't any fun. Setting doesn't matter, but do not want to spend a lot until I know which game I like best.
>28mm/15mm/6mm Scale?
I'm assuming this means the size of the models?
Anything from skirmish to full blown battlefield, setting either something sword and board, WWII-'Nam, or future military, and not spending too much until I know if I like the game or not.

Sorry if this isn't very helpful

The Spartan Force Builder is up, so far only seems to be working for Halo: Ground Command, with Fleet Battles soon behind it and the other ones after

spartanforcebuilder.com

>28mm/15mm/6mm Scale?
Yeah, that refers to the size of the miniatures used.

>setting either something sword and board, WWII-'Nam, or future military

Okay, so Fantasy, WW2 or Sci-Fi.
Bolt Action is a good WW2 game from Warlord, can be quite cheap to start a force, rules are fairly simple and pretty good. /hwg/ can give you more information on that.

As far as fantasy goes, for mass battles you're looking at Kings Of War from Mantic, or you can play one of the many editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Hordes of the Things is also good, but is generally 15/6mm which can be harder to get people into.

As for Sci-Fi, the market is very well catered for in that regard. Recent rulesets include Rogue Stars (skirmish game), Warhammer 40K 8th Edition is meant to be out soon (though GW is regarded as the devil by many in the /awg/ threads - for some good reasons), Mantic do Warpath but I have no experience with that personally.

Most people have a scale they like and their collections are based around and are usually reluctant to start collecting in a different setting.

Oh, I forgot a very important question. Who will you be playing with? Friends, a club, a local store? Because if you're just getting into the hobby, it's probably best to play what's popular where you are until you've picked up the basics and can start to push towards your preferred system or setting.

>Starting with Halo Ground Command
>then Halo Fleet Battles
>then Planetfall

so are they just going in order of how little people give a shit?

>Salty DW/FS player mad because Spartan cares about their best IP

>Spartan
>caring
>about the game they spend the last six months killing through neglect.

Whats the pros/cons of sizes, besides ease of painting and how many you can fit on a table?
Playing with friends. Have a few interested, butno one will ever take first step. Nearest game store is more than an hour away, so no one local to pick the gameplay up from.

>So salty hasn't realized that Ground Command has had a new unit coming out
every month for nearly the last 8 months, with at least 2 more years of continued support guarantee thanks to M $

>MFW FB is on that deal

>Whats the pros/cons of sizes, besides ease of painting and how many you can fit on a table?

Hoo boy, that's a question that has seen untold thousands of paragraphs spilled on to the internet. Some people like 28mm because it's best for detail and conversions. Others like 6mm because you can paint an entire force in the time it takes to paint one squad of 28mm miniatures. There's also the rulesets that are locked to a scale - for example, HoTT is scale-agnostic while Warhammer Fantasy is not. If you want to use miniatures in a different scale in WHFB you have to convert all of the measurements - doable but time-consuming.

I find it generally comes down to personal preference - I like 28mm scale because I love converting and painting my miniatures - but only in skirmish-level games (mainly Necromunda and INQ28 for me). I also have a deep love for 6mm for absolutely massive battles which I blame Epic:Armageddon for, and it's definitely the only scale at which that sort of game is possible, although GW appear to think otherwise.

In general, the larger the scale the more detailed but more expensive the miniatures are. Conversely, 6mm stuff is often pretty cheap but the detail is lacking (which is understandable at that scale).

>Playing with friends. Have a few interested, butno one will ever take first step. Nearest game store is more than an hour away, so no one local to pick the gameplay up from.

Alright, so you're going to be the leader. Have you asked them what sort of game they would be interested in?

I'd recommend going on youtube and looking at a channel called TabletopMinions - he's aimed towards beginners in the wargaming scene and has some great videos on 'gateway games' which may be of help to you.

It might be an idea to start with a boxed game where all you need to play comes with the rules and so on - a small investment compared to buying rules, miniatures, terrain etc. There are a fair few of these on the market if you shop around.

Sounds good, thanks for the time.
>Have you asked them what sort of game they would be interested in?
Thats why I listed the various types, everyone is interested in at least two of the different categories. Boxed games sound the best to start with, especially on neet budget. Most reliable site to purchase these from? Will look into the yt channel once off work, can't watch vids on limited data.

In addition to 28/32mm and 6mm above 15mm and 1/72 might warrant a mention.

1/72 can be interesting as it is dirt cheap, at least for WWII and to a smaller degree modern stuff. On the other hand the quality can vary wildly, especially when it comes to infantry.

15mm is relatively popular as it fits in between 6 and 28mm, with the minis still being large enough that you can distinguish and play with individual models rather than grouping units onto bases, although the latter is also done often. It is popular primarily for historical games that want to be able to distinguish individual soldiers, yet be able to field an army of 100s of troops without breaking the bank. It is also popular for WWII, primarily by the way of Flames of War.

That said, there are some pretty neat and surprisingly detailed sci-fi minis in this scale as well, and such games can with ease be played at a platoon level (30-60 minis) with an entire army costing the same as a 10 man unit for a larger scale. This makes it easy to buy two sets and with a little painting effort have two ready armies for less than £50.

Also a note is that for good or worse smaller scales tend to be more forgiving for painting detail, as it isn't as expected, but it is also trickier to pull off getting that detail.

>they'll support fleet battles!
>it's on the same deal as their ground mans!

Hope your one new spaceboat is satisfactory, friend.

>Most reliable site to purchase these from?
Can't tell you this unless I know where you are in the world. I'm a Brit so I tend to go with elementgames or direct from the producer, I avoid Wayland Games like the plague after they've screwed up my orders too many times to forgive (either say it's out of stock or take it off your page, don't leave it there, take my money and then refund me 3 months later with an email saying it's no longer available)

>Not knowing that next month we get the SoF and the Blockade Runner

US if that makes it easier.
Good information. I think that I'll like platoon-level combat more personally, but some in my group like small "operators operating operationally" groups while others like more General with full-battlefield command mode

>Whats the pros/cons of sizes, besides ease of painting and how many you can fit on a table?
that's not really a question, beisde the size fo battles the only difference between scales is which miniatures you prefer.
If you are interested in hystoricals to, i would suggest starting with them because they are generally cheaper and in general i feel they are a nice starting point.

yep, that's your one new boat.

Compare the price to other small operations that do /awg/ stuff like Bombshell. Comparing the price to the Perry Brothers, who have their products in stores world wide and are one of the most well known and sucessful miniatures companies, is a bit silly don't you think?

If you don't like them then fine. We can leave it at that.

Bombshell's minis are not rank and file and they look miles better. The Perry metals can only be obtained from them, their plastics ara available from others.

Has anyone played Arena Rex? I've been ogling the minis for a while and I like the idea of interactive terrain that includes monsters and other hazards

>The Perry metals can only be obtained from them,
wrong

Played a demo at adepticon
Enjoyed it well enough to buy a lego box and a few blisters. Have not had a chance to play with the yet. Feels like a good filler miniature game; minimal set up and tear down, games are quick.

So!

modiphius.com/fallout.html

My dick is diamonds. Gonna be standard preorder, not KS.

DIAMONDS
I
A
M
O
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D
S

Rogue Planet, anyone tried it?

I couldn't get myself to read it yet, but it certainly seems interesting...bit scarce on weapons and psychic abilities, and it looks bit more 40k than hard scifi based on those.

I've read it, and it seems fun, but I need to print the rules out to actually test it, and I've been putting it off for a long time now. It seems like a neat sci-fantasy /high sci-fi game.