Hail and Greetings once again!
Life decided that it felt like happening even more than usual lately, but even so, the Dork Side simply will not be denied. I managed to hammer together a nice little one-shot Mage Knight Scenario. It's still in the experimental stage, but workable enough that I would like some feedback.
A Shot on the Dark
Luer's Raiders had managed to settle down for the night after setting up their usual motely (but very serviceable) fieldworks. In the dead of night, a shot from a black powder weapon rings out--enemies in the night! It is up to Commander Luer and his pack of battle-hardened yahoos to hold out until dawn or death claims the field.
Ruleset: Mage Knight 2.0 modified (no objective tokens), 300 pts.
Special Rules: Darkness as per the Domain card (All figures with a range greater than 6 are reduced to 6, no figure may use the double time proficiency). You may have the card for reference but does not count as a Domain card for any purpose and cannot be modified or canceled.
The terrain pool must include at least two blocking or hindering non-aquatic terrain pieces to represent fieldworks (constructed terrain is recommended if available). These pieces are placed within the Defender's starting area (both players taking turns as normal) and represent the fortified encampments.
The Attacker gets 4 actions per turn and the Defender gets 2 actions per turn. After the Attackers third turn, roll a die. If the result is below the turn number (1 or 2 for turn 3, 1-3 for turn 4 and so on, automatically on turn 7) then both the Attack and the Defender have 3 actions per turn as per the standard rules. The number of actions can be affected by special abilities and other effects (like Command) This represents the Attacker managing to get the drop on the Defenders early on.
Victory: The Attacker wins if either the Defender's army is wiped out or at least 50% of the Attacker's army is in the Defenders starting area. The Defender wins if the Attacker's army is wiped out or 25% or less of the Attacker's army is in the Defender's starting area. If neither player's victory condition is met (like the Attacker having more than 25% but less than 50% of their army in the Defender's starting area) than use victory points as per the standard rules.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Fluffing My Army
You start by tossing your dudes in for 20 minutes, maybe adding in a Snuggle or something...
Oh wait.
I meant adding a name and some backstory. That's how you fluff an army. Anyway, it's something that I've been quietly doing since I got into Mage Knight, but very rarely did I actually write anything down. What little I had was pretty corny Mary Sue horsecrap "This is the leader guy, he's awesome and everybody loves him and he's secretly a high elf and doesn't afraid of anything" yadda yadda. I'm pretty sure everybody that does any backstory or fiction winds up doing that the first few times.
But it's been a long time now and I've managed to do some semblance of maturing, so hopefully this goes a little bit better. So here's the new and improved version of my Mage Knight army fluff.
Preferred factions (what most of the army itself comes from): Heavily Black Powder Revolution, with good representation of Atlantean Empire, Elemental Freeholds, some Draconum and Heroes, and a small bit of Elven Lords (for now; EL is one of my favorite factions but I have a rough time getting enough to make it workable).
Opposing factions (what I don't run, for various reasons): Solonavi, Dark Crusade, Shyft, and most definitely Apocalypse.
Overview: The Luer's Raiders mercenary company is a band of hired guns and sellswords that wander the land wrecking faces and smashing evil as long as the loot keeps flowing. Centered around a cadre of disciplined fighters from all walks of life, this seemingly patchwork band relies on fluid tactics and a lot of firepower to get the job done. Unlike a lot of other warbands, the Raiders also have a fascination with fortified encampments and fieldworks, creating a solid base to allow heavy guns and sharpshooters to cover the advance of more mobile warriors. Combined with good use of rough terrain and available cover, the Raiders rake their foes with gunfire and archery before wading in with melee troops.
Warlord: Commander Wulfe Luer. Commander Luer is still fairly new to the reins of war, having unexpectedly been given leadership of the company from the late Commander Vargas after the disastrous battle of Fop's Folly. A natural leader and skilled in the changing ways of warfare, it is yet to be seen if he will learn--or perish--in the bloody college of command. Represented in-game with Blackwyn.
Other Notable Character: Lootmaster Raines. Is he a Venithan merchant prince fled from the red-handed politics of his home, a wizard using the Raiders as a means of procuring materials for all sorts of strange alchemy and magically-enhanced metalworking experiments, or just a daft trader with a really good nose for business? Nobody knows, nobody asks, and as long as the Lootmaster keeps the company supplied and in demand, nobody cares. Represented in-game with Scholar Maleficius.
More stuff will be posted as I get them organized, like the overall theatre that my group fights in, more characters and if we're all lucky, some backstory for the other armies in the group.
Oh wait.
I meant adding a name and some backstory. That's how you fluff an army. Anyway, it's something that I've been quietly doing since I got into Mage Knight, but very rarely did I actually write anything down. What little I had was pretty corny Mary Sue horsecrap "This is the leader guy, he's awesome and everybody loves him and he's secretly a high elf and doesn't afraid of anything" yadda yadda. I'm pretty sure everybody that does any backstory or fiction winds up doing that the first few times.
But it's been a long time now and I've managed to do some semblance of maturing, so hopefully this goes a little bit better. So here's the new and improved version of my Mage Knight army fluff.
Luer's Raiders
Preferred factions (what most of the army itself comes from): Heavily Black Powder Revolution, with good representation of Atlantean Empire, Elemental Freeholds, some Draconum and Heroes, and a small bit of Elven Lords (for now; EL is one of my favorite factions but I have a rough time getting enough to make it workable).
Opposing factions (what I don't run, for various reasons): Solonavi, Dark Crusade, Shyft, and most definitely Apocalypse.
Overview: The Luer's Raiders mercenary company is a band of hired guns and sellswords that wander the land wrecking faces and smashing evil as long as the loot keeps flowing. Centered around a cadre of disciplined fighters from all walks of life, this seemingly patchwork band relies on fluid tactics and a lot of firepower to get the job done. Unlike a lot of other warbands, the Raiders also have a fascination with fortified encampments and fieldworks, creating a solid base to allow heavy guns and sharpshooters to cover the advance of more mobile warriors. Combined with good use of rough terrain and available cover, the Raiders rake their foes with gunfire and archery before wading in with melee troops.
Warlord: Commander Wulfe Luer. Commander Luer is still fairly new to the reins of war, having unexpectedly been given leadership of the company from the late Commander Vargas after the disastrous battle of Fop's Folly. A natural leader and skilled in the changing ways of warfare, it is yet to be seen if he will learn--or perish--in the bloody college of command. Represented in-game with Blackwyn.
Other Notable Character: Lootmaster Raines. Is he a Venithan merchant prince fled from the red-handed politics of his home, a wizard using the Raiders as a means of procuring materials for all sorts of strange alchemy and magically-enhanced metalworking experiments, or just a daft trader with a really good nose for business? Nobody knows, nobody asks, and as long as the Lootmaster keeps the company supplied and in demand, nobody cares. Represented in-game with Scholar Maleficius.
More stuff will be posted as I get them organized, like the overall theatre that my group fights in, more characters and if we're all lucky, some backstory for the other armies in the group.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Warning: Fanboy Limit Past Level 4, Omnigeek Triggered
Hail and Greetings. I had an awesomely bad idea to make "flyer" things and use them to annoy friends, family and strangers alike. Commencing gibbering, the Dork Side Prevails!
Hey, you! You like miniature games? Play Mage Knight, where you can conquer all manner of household surfaces and appliances. This game is fast and loose with the terrain, so go for broke. This is a game where your army of trolls and wizards can defend the Toaster of Crispy Doom from some orcs and a freakin' Chernabog made from Jell-O.
Hey, like Warhammer Fantasy, but now the game is dead and you're upset? BOO HOO HOO! Mage Knight has been dead for close to two decades, and you can still get a 2000 point army for less than most regiment boxes. And you don't have to paint the things. Do you suck at painting, I do! Play Mage Knight!
Hey, you like sweet magic killbots and wizards that kill stuff with mind bullets and guns that make your enemies extra crispy. Get some Atlanteans, and no, we don't get the Babylon 5 hairdos either.
Hey, you like Rogue One and kickass rebels that don't let being a do-gooder get in the way of being a total badass? Get some Black Powder Rebels and fight for freedom, dwarfiness, and guns. Lots and lots of guns! Chant louder, cause Marcus can't hear you!
Like elves? Elves are pretty cool, y'know. Get some Elemental League where you can preserve nature and chill with some pixies and unicorns and GIGANTIC KLINGONS THAT TOOK CAPTAIN PLANET AND CONAN THE BARBARIAN AND PUT THEM INTO A BLENDER AND MADE IT THEIR RELIGION. Mage Knight trolls are awesome.
You like Skyrim? How about Skyrim style muderhobos that are actually Dragon People and tear about the countryside looking for XP so they can evolve like Pokémon into even more badass Dragon People. Draconum are like Draconians from D&D but better. Play Mage Knight and have an army of dragon-y adventure-y goodness.
Like vampires, but the kickass gothic creatures of doom and none of that angsty BLEH I HAVE A DARK SECRET SPARKLE SPARKLE I NEED TO GO WHINE ON TUMBLR BLEH horsecrap. Get some Dark Crusaders. No emo crap here, just lots of evil vampire knights, goth bondage elf chicks, and lots and lots of shuffling undead. Let us got out this evening for pleasure, Mage Knight is still awesome.
Like orcs? We got you covered, and they are awesome giant Mongols that have awesome steeds like dinosaurs and evil chocobos and stuff. They tear about the place, and actually know more than FIGHTAN AND WINNIN (but they're still good at it). And then some lunatic gave them chainguns and guys that act like Mola Rom from Temple of Doom. Play Mage Knight and pillage stuff.
How about some classic High Elves. I love Knights Immortal. They're like sweet Lord of The Rings ripoffs that go about smashing evil and going back home for tea and tales about how they crushed the stinky human peasants into regretful stinky paste. Oh and they ride griffons. Griffons are awesome, play Mage Knight and get some Griffons.
And the best part, you can mix and match whatever you want. Do all sorts of crazy stuff like a desperate but gung-ho alliance of vampires and killbots fighting a crazy orc overlord and his high elf thralls.
...
Wow, glad that's out of my system.
Hey, you! You like miniature games? Play Mage Knight, where you can conquer all manner of household surfaces and appliances. This game is fast and loose with the terrain, so go for broke. This is a game where your army of trolls and wizards can defend the Toaster of Crispy Doom from some orcs and a freakin' Chernabog made from Jell-O.
Hey, like Warhammer Fantasy, but now the game is dead and you're upset? BOO HOO HOO! Mage Knight has been dead for close to two decades, and you can still get a 2000 point army for less than most regiment boxes. And you don't have to paint the things. Do you suck at painting, I do! Play Mage Knight!
Hey, you like sweet magic killbots and wizards that kill stuff with mind bullets and guns that make your enemies extra crispy. Get some Atlanteans, and no, we don't get the Babylon 5 hairdos either.
Hey, you like Rogue One and kickass rebels that don't let being a do-gooder get in the way of being a total badass? Get some Black Powder Rebels and fight for freedom, dwarfiness, and guns. Lots and lots of guns! Chant louder, cause Marcus can't hear you!
Like elves? Elves are pretty cool, y'know. Get some Elemental League where you can preserve nature and chill with some pixies and unicorns and GIGANTIC KLINGONS THAT TOOK CAPTAIN PLANET AND CONAN THE BARBARIAN AND PUT THEM INTO A BLENDER AND MADE IT THEIR RELIGION. Mage Knight trolls are awesome.
You like Skyrim? How about Skyrim style muderhobos that are actually Dragon People and tear about the countryside looking for XP so they can evolve like Pokémon into even more badass Dragon People. Draconum are like Draconians from D&D but better. Play Mage Knight and have an army of dragon-y adventure-y goodness.
Like vampires, but the kickass gothic creatures of doom and none of that angsty BLEH I HAVE A DARK SECRET SPARKLE SPARKLE I NEED TO GO WHINE ON TUMBLR BLEH horsecrap. Get some Dark Crusaders. No emo crap here, just lots of evil vampire knights, goth bondage elf chicks, and lots and lots of shuffling undead. Let us got out this evening for pleasure, Mage Knight is still awesome.
Like orcs? We got you covered, and they are awesome giant Mongols that have awesome steeds like dinosaurs and evil chocobos and stuff. They tear about the place, and actually know more than FIGHTAN AND WINNIN (but they're still good at it). And then some lunatic gave them chainguns and guys that act like Mola Rom from Temple of Doom. Play Mage Knight and pillage stuff.
How about some classic High Elves. I love Knights Immortal. They're like sweet Lord of The Rings ripoffs that go about smashing evil and going back home for tea and tales about how they crushed the stinky human peasants into regretful stinky paste. Oh and they ride griffons. Griffons are awesome, play Mage Knight and get some Griffons.
And the best part, you can mix and match whatever you want. Do all sorts of crazy stuff like a desperate but gung-ho alliance of vampires and killbots fighting a crazy orc overlord and his high elf thralls.
...
Wow, glad that's out of my system.
Friday, April 6, 2018
Frequent Posts Are For The Weak
Hail and Greetings once again.
It has actually been a slow time for my Mage Knight group. We're currently working on doing some rotating hosting so we can have some bigger space to work with.
If things go well, and especially if I can remember to buckle down and do it, I should have some custom scenarios worked out soon. I'm going to start small, little games with extra rules and altered objectives and such-like, then perhaps a full campaign in the old Conquest style. It's not like I have somebody in the group that can field Mage Knight's answer to a freakin' end boss, and that it could be fun to use it as such. Oh wait...
I'm still working out some minor things, like how serious or silly I'd like the background fluff for everything to be. I'm definitely gonna ask the group for input on that front. I'll probably wind up with crazy stuff anyway, and we do enjoy it. I'm also definitely going to go for a 'sidestory' approach to the official Mage Knight fluff, leaving most of the story baggage aside for a (mostly) independent narrative.
Anyway, here's to more table conquering!
It has actually been a slow time for my Mage Knight group. We're currently working on doing some rotating hosting so we can have some bigger space to work with.
If things go well, and especially if I can remember to buckle down and do it, I should have some custom scenarios worked out soon. I'm going to start small, little games with extra rules and altered objectives and such-like, then perhaps a full campaign in the old Conquest style. It's not like I have somebody in the group that can field Mage Knight's answer to a freakin' end boss, and that it could be fun to use it as such. Oh wait...
I'm still working out some minor things, like how serious or silly I'd like the background fluff for everything to be. I'm definitely gonna ask the group for input on that front. I'll probably wind up with crazy stuff anyway, and we do enjoy it. I'm also definitely going to go for a 'sidestory' approach to the official Mage Knight fluff, leaving most of the story baggage aside for a (mostly) independent narrative.
Anyway, here's to more table conquering!
Friday, March 16, 2018
Beware, I Live!
Hail and Greetings! I'm gearing up to get back into the swing of things and playing more Mage Knight again.
Suffice to say that there are just times when schedules don't align and the little group I put together just can't meet for a few weeks or so, but things are getting slowly back to normal again (well, as normal as a pack of grownups playing army manz ever get).
The games are starting to get bigger, and just about the entire ruleset in play now; the only reason that anything is being left out is apparently most of the new blood is allergic to actually reading the rulebook. They would have to put the Xbox controllers down and that makes them swell up and want to die like some sort of cross between the Angry Video Game Nerd and an emo pufferfish.
On the other hand, everybody is pretty comfortable with the armies they've assembled, and there's been some talk about actually running some homebrew scenarios or even a full-on campaign. I may well dust off the Battle of Fort Nerdicus campaign I cooked up. It wasn't serious by any stretch of the imagination, but things worked out for the best, culminating in a crazy final battle where we swapped out domain cards every other turn to simulate the magic going completely bananas and everything going to hell. Now that I have a full set of Domain cards to play with, things might get even crazier if we go that route.
I'm planning to not have things go super serious; you can be competitive without turning into a frigging 'Ard Boyz powergaming prick. I feel that playing loose and keeping things friendly and a bit goofy is a much better approach and much closer to the original spirit of Mage Knight. This is the game that gave us kickass dragon men that tore about the countryside like Elder Scrolls-style murderhobos in a never ending quest for XP so they can evolve like some sort of heavy metal Pokémon.
Anyway, here's to more games to come!
Who will go to the Shelf of Glory? Who will be cast to the Microwave of Shame? This is Mage Knight, and it is time to take the Warlord's path. Gather your minions and conquer some tables. All Your Clicky Base Are Belong To Us!
Suffice to say that there are just times when schedules don't align and the little group I put together just can't meet for a few weeks or so, but things are getting slowly back to normal again (well, as normal as a pack of grownups playing army manz ever get).
The games are starting to get bigger, and just about the entire ruleset in play now; the only reason that anything is being left out is apparently most of the new blood is allergic to actually reading the rulebook. They would have to put the Xbox controllers down and that makes them swell up and want to die like some sort of cross between the Angry Video Game Nerd and an emo pufferfish.
On the other hand, everybody is pretty comfortable with the armies they've assembled, and there's been some talk about actually running some homebrew scenarios or even a full-on campaign. I may well dust off the Battle of Fort Nerdicus campaign I cooked up. It wasn't serious by any stretch of the imagination, but things worked out for the best, culminating in a crazy final battle where we swapped out domain cards every other turn to simulate the magic going completely bananas and everything going to hell. Now that I have a full set of Domain cards to play with, things might get even crazier if we go that route.
I'm planning to not have things go super serious; you can be competitive without turning into a frigging 'Ard Boyz powergaming prick. I feel that playing loose and keeping things friendly and a bit goofy is a much better approach and much closer to the original spirit of Mage Knight. This is the game that gave us kickass dragon men that tore about the countryside like Elder Scrolls-style murderhobos in a never ending quest for XP so they can evolve like some sort of heavy metal Pokémon.
Anyway, here's to more games to come!
Who will go to the Shelf of Glory? Who will be cast to the Microwave of Shame? This is Mage Knight, and it is time to take the Warlord's path. Gather your minions and conquer some tables. All Your Clicky Base Are Belong To Us!
Friday, February 9, 2018
Random Ramblings
Hail and Greetings!
This is mostly a quick post to prove I'm not dead. One of the side effects of my job is that I have a schedule that leaves me with both unusual days off and very unusual times off compared to normal jobs. This means I wind up cramming in nerdy time in lolrandom intervals, and Mage Knight isn't an exception.
I can say that I've nabbed a few more boosters while the nabbing's good, but I'm starting to have questions about some of the 2.0 stuff's background 'fluff.'' What the heck is a Quavaran Warrior and why are they part of the Shyft faction. Why are Shyft multi-torso chiseled Smurfs instead of dreadlock lizardmen?
Who are all these unique characters from Sorcery forward, and why is it next to impossible to find fluff for them? WHO ARE THESE LE GUYS IN 2.0 AND WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND ANY FLUFF FOR THEM GRARGLEBARGLEHARUMPH!
Sorry about the capslock yelling, that last bit is actually bothering me a fair bit.
On the other hand, it is good to find character continuity going on, with lots of 1.0 LE's becoming kickass regular uniques of one stripe or another, unseen background characters getting figures, and lots Heroes getting a new version thanks to Nexus (say what you will, but that was a wonderful finale set).
Hope to be a bit more substantive and coherent soon.
Who will go to the Shelf of Glory? Who will be cast to the Microwave of Shame? This is Mage Knight, and it is time to take the Warlord's path. Gather your minions and conquer some tables. All Your Clicky Base Are Belong To Us!
This is mostly a quick post to prove I'm not dead. One of the side effects of my job is that I have a schedule that leaves me with both unusual days off and very unusual times off compared to normal jobs. This means I wind up cramming in nerdy time in lolrandom intervals, and Mage Knight isn't an exception.
I can say that I've nabbed a few more boosters while the nabbing's good, but I'm starting to have questions about some of the 2.0 stuff's background 'fluff.'' What the heck is a Quavaran Warrior and why are they part of the Shyft faction. Why are Shyft multi-torso chiseled Smurfs instead of dreadlock lizardmen?
Who are all these unique characters from Sorcery forward, and why is it next to impossible to find fluff for them? WHO ARE THESE LE GUYS IN 2.0 AND WHY IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND ANY FLUFF FOR THEM GRARGLEBARGLEHARUMPH!
Sorry about the capslock yelling, that last bit is actually bothering me a fair bit.
On the other hand, it is good to find character continuity going on, with lots of 1.0 LE's becoming kickass regular uniques of one stripe or another, unseen background characters getting figures, and lots Heroes getting a new version thanks to Nexus (say what you will, but that was a wonderful finale set).
Hope to be a bit more substantive and coherent soon.
Who will go to the Shelf of Glory? Who will be cast to the Microwave of Shame? This is Mage Knight, and it is time to take the Warlord's path. Gather your minions and conquer some tables. All Your Clicky Base Are Belong To Us!
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Scary Lizards
Hail and Greetings once again! It's been a while, hasn't it?
Managed to run my first large-scale game of Mage Knight, using a modified ruleset:
Conquest-level build total and turn amounts (1,200 points, 3 actions per turn without Command, 4 plus rolls with Command).
Victory points instead of objectives (didn't matter much anyway).
Nexus-era Special Abilities Card, but no proficiencies yet.
It actually went rather well, and we all learned a few things. A lot is because the last time I was into this game, between normal player attrition and the 2.0 debacle, leaving just one other player besides myself involved on the local level. This would result in a lot of situations, rules, and even certain abilities just not getting used all that much. For example, I learned that RAW (rules as written), Terrify actually works on multi-dial figures, so my trundling engine of steampunk death was too afraid to ram a big lizard. We all decided that it was just too funny to overrule at the time (and we can't get a cooperative copy of the unified rules documents, yay for old files) and let that stand.
If we're fortunate, we'll have even bigger and better games on the way. I already have 52 different Domain cards (so most if not all of them) and I'd like to introduce proficiencies and items into the game. I don't remember off hand, but I got the distinct impression that items plus Nexus figures equal meat-mulching agro-combine of death. Between that and finding players that like playing 'bad guys' like the Dark Crusaders and high end Mage Spawn has turned out to be quite refreshing. All Your Clicky Base All Belong To Us!
Managed to run my first large-scale game of Mage Knight, using a modified ruleset:
Conquest-level build total and turn amounts (1,200 points, 3 actions per turn without Command, 4 plus rolls with Command).
Victory points instead of objectives (didn't matter much anyway).
Nexus-era Special Abilities Card, but no proficiencies yet.
It actually went rather well, and we all learned a few things. A lot is because the last time I was into this game, between normal player attrition and the 2.0 debacle, leaving just one other player besides myself involved on the local level. This would result in a lot of situations, rules, and even certain abilities just not getting used all that much. For example, I learned that RAW (rules as written), Terrify actually works on multi-dial figures, so my trundling engine of steampunk death was too afraid to ram a big lizard. We all decided that it was just too funny to overrule at the time (and we can't get a cooperative copy of the unified rules documents, yay for old files) and let that stand.
If we're fortunate, we'll have even bigger and better games on the way. I already have 52 different Domain cards (so most if not all of them) and I'd like to introduce proficiencies and items into the game. I don't remember off hand, but I got the distinct impression that items plus Nexus figures equal meat-mulching agro-combine of death. Between that and finding players that like playing 'bad guys' like the Dark Crusaders and high end Mage Spawn has turned out to be quite refreshing. All Your Clicky Base All Belong To Us!
Monday, January 22, 2018
It's Time For An Overhaul
Hail and Greetings once again!
It's good to get back into the swing of things. At last one of the new players in my Mage Knight group has gone out and gotten their hands on some serious new goodies to play with. Since a lot of the new figures are from the 2.0 edition of the game, it's finally time to bring the 'new' ruleset into things.
For the moment, I plan to keep things in a transitional phase. 2.0 is a much more complex beast than the original Rebellion/Unlimited era. We've agreed to keep things going mostly under the old rules, with the 2.0 rules being introduced gradually, and reworking or houseruling things as we go along. For the next few games, we will use the 2.0 special ability set, plus subfactions and Dark Riders mounted units. I'm planning on adding proficiencies and domains as soon as possible, since I have all the domains we need already and then some (yay 52 domain cards for me) and proficiencies are good right out of the gate anyway. Constructed terrain would be allowed, but we don't have any to work with yet.
Items, Relics, and Spellbooks/Spells are going to stay off the table for the moment, for the simple reason that none of us have any to work with yet (I have two spellbooks but no spells, while else nobody has anything else). Simply put, I'm willing enough, and the group would probably love it, but you gotta have the stuff, and while going out and nabbing the Galeshi Sunsword, Pain, and all the other old favorites to play Stomp the Scrub would be fun, I want everybody to have fun.
Adventuring Company cards are in a similar boat; no bucks, no Buck Rogers. We'll get there eventually.
On the other side of the coin, some houserules are going to be in effect, with the agreement of the group. Right now we're going to use the old version of Necromancy (pick an eliminated figure, set to start, roll a d6 set them to that many damage clicks, zombies and skeletons don't need to roll).
The other big change from the standard is what I call the "successor state" rule. Simply put, any pre 2.0 faction that was succeeded with a 2.0 equivalent will be considered as part of the newer faction. So:
Atlantis Guild count as Atlantean Empire
Black Powder Rebels count as Black Powder Revolutionaries
Elemental League count as Elemental Freeholds
Necropolis Sect count as Dark Crusaders
Knights Immortal count as Elven Lords
Orc Raiders count as Orc Khans.
Draconum, Shyft, Solonavi, Mage Spawn, and Apocalypse didn't upgrade per se so they're alright, thought the 2.0 Shyft rules for Mage Spawn will be effect whenever (again) we have some Shyft to work with. Heroes never transitioned to 2.0, so any single faction Heroes still only count as Heroes. Dual faction figures 'upgrade' for both factions (i.e. a Fuser Orc is now a Black Powder Revolutionary/Orc Khans figure). The whole idea is to let us mix-and-match figures from old sets and see what happens. When I actually ran official games way back when, we used this rule later on never had many hiccups, so hopefully it'll work out well.
More rule stuff is incoming, along with some scenario ideas and a revival of my 'final' campaign before the game died: The Siege of Fort Nerdicus!
It's good to get back into the swing of things. At last one of the new players in my Mage Knight group has gone out and gotten their hands on some serious new goodies to play with. Since a lot of the new figures are from the 2.0 edition of the game, it's finally time to bring the 'new' ruleset into things.
For the moment, I plan to keep things in a transitional phase. 2.0 is a much more complex beast than the original Rebellion/Unlimited era. We've agreed to keep things going mostly under the old rules, with the 2.0 rules being introduced gradually, and reworking or houseruling things as we go along. For the next few games, we will use the 2.0 special ability set, plus subfactions and Dark Riders mounted units. I'm planning on adding proficiencies and domains as soon as possible, since I have all the domains we need already and then some (yay 52 domain cards for me) and proficiencies are good right out of the gate anyway. Constructed terrain would be allowed, but we don't have any to work with yet.
Items, Relics, and Spellbooks/Spells are going to stay off the table for the moment, for the simple reason that none of us have any to work with yet (I have two spellbooks but no spells, while else nobody has anything else). Simply put, I'm willing enough, and the group would probably love it, but you gotta have the stuff, and while going out and nabbing the Galeshi Sunsword, Pain, and all the other old favorites to play Stomp the Scrub would be fun, I want everybody to have fun.
Adventuring Company cards are in a similar boat; no bucks, no Buck Rogers. We'll get there eventually.
On the other side of the coin, some houserules are going to be in effect, with the agreement of the group. Right now we're going to use the old version of Necromancy (pick an eliminated figure, set to start, roll a d6 set them to that many damage clicks, zombies and skeletons don't need to roll).
The other big change from the standard is what I call the "successor state" rule. Simply put, any pre 2.0 faction that was succeeded with a 2.0 equivalent will be considered as part of the newer faction. So:
Atlantis Guild count as Atlantean Empire
Black Powder Rebels count as Black Powder Revolutionaries
Elemental League count as Elemental Freeholds
Necropolis Sect count as Dark Crusaders
Knights Immortal count as Elven Lords
Orc Raiders count as Orc Khans.
Draconum, Shyft, Solonavi, Mage Spawn, and Apocalypse didn't upgrade per se so they're alright, thought the 2.0 Shyft rules for Mage Spawn will be effect whenever (again) we have some Shyft to work with. Heroes never transitioned to 2.0, so any single faction Heroes still only count as Heroes. Dual faction figures 'upgrade' for both factions (i.e. a Fuser Orc is now a Black Powder Revolutionary/Orc Khans figure). The whole idea is to let us mix-and-match figures from old sets and see what happens. When I actually ran official games way back when, we used this rule later on never had many hiccups, so hopefully it'll work out well.
More rule stuff is incoming, along with some scenario ideas and a revival of my 'final' campaign before the game died: The Siege of Fort Nerdicus!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)