I finally put figs-to-table and did an 1850 pt Warhammer 40K game on Tuesday night. Waaagh! Rockeeta (Orks) vs a Dark Angel Deathwing army. Scenario: Annihilation. I tend to field large, troop-heavy forces, and this was no exception. With what I had painted and assembled, combined with what I could proxy from my various parts bins, I was able to put about 145 Orks on the table - not too shabby. The Deathwing army, all Terminator Marines with one Land Raider, was maybe 30? models - very small, but relatively powerful. The smaller, elite army has the advantage in this scenario, though, as they have fewer units to destroy, and will never run off the table. I (of course) had lots of larger, flimsier units that could be torn apart like wet tissue paper and tend to get skittish as they shrink.
I haven't played much, and was using an untested list, so a loss was pretty much expected. I am much more focused on creating a balanced tournament list, and understanding how the various parts of my army work right now rather than racking up victories. Having a rudimentary knowledge of the 5th ed. rules, here is a short list of what I learned:
1) Large Ork units are totally worth it. The basic Ork is skilled in melee combat, and is resistant to damage due to its high toughness, but that doesn't begin to tell the story. 30 Orks, even with poor ballistic skill, will hit something. When they shoot, it is just a torrent of lead flying though the air. I assumed they not only wouldn't hit the Terminators (needing a 5 or better to hit), but if they did wouldn't be able to hurt them. Wrong. The Deathwing player still has to make armor rolls every time you wound him, and eventually he will roll a one. Terminators have one wound, just like everyone else, so I was surprised how quickly they fell. Melee was even better, as Furious Charge gave my Orks a better Initiative and Strength, so most Orks were getting 4 attacks at WS4 at ST4 in the first round of combat. if 20 Orks make it to your position you are looking at up to 80 attacks!
2) Mob Rule!'s hidden fee. While keeping da ladz from scooting off the battlefield, Mob Rule! has one little problem: extra casualties. Mob Rule! makes any boyz unit Fearless as long as it has 11 or more models. What I didn't know about fearless is the No Retreat rule: any time a unit will NOT flee due to morale modifiers (fearless, etc.) and LOSES combat, it gains as many wounds as they lose the combat by. These can be saved with additional armor rolls, but most of my Orks don't even wear much armor. Ultimately, this rule could DOUBLE my casualties if I am doing particularly bad in combat. Against normal infantry, or even regular Marines, it wouldn't have been so bad, but against terminators it was like watching waves crashing on the shore. I kill one guy, he kills 5, and then 4 more guys just up and get hurt. Stupid Orks... :)
3) The Deff Rolla is totally worth it. Starp it onto the front of a Battlewagon and get D6 St10 attacks on a unit, and now (thanks to the FAQ team) on an enemy vehicle. All for 20 points! This really goes to emphasize how important it is to specialize how you equip your vehicles. I made 2 Battlewagons, one for close combat (Deffrolla, 4 big shootas and an 18-man Gretchin unit inside) and one for ranged combat (killkannon, kannon, 4 big shootas) I had a looted vehicle out there, too, but only to soak up points. Don't Press Dat! was funny, but put the vehicle in a place i didn't want it to be.
4) Lootas are totally worth it. Great unit. Not skilled, but potentially firing a devastating hail of fire (D3 St7 shots for each model) completely across the table (48") Throw a Mek in there and you can deal with most light armor, too.
5) I need to be able to deal with armored units better. I am leery of the Tank Hunters. They just look... too random for me. We'll see how I feel after a few more games. Power Claw for every Nob would be a good alternative start. Yes, it strikes last, but unless your unit gets wiped it WILL strike, as the Boyz soak up the damage.
Generally, I am happy with my performance. I had some lucky breaks (one teleporting DW unit was lost to the warp, 3 Termies died from an exploding Battlewagon) and rolled pretty well. Ultimately I lost, but only by one "kill point" which is pretty close to a draw. I only left him with 2 termies and the Land Raider (unscathed, I might add,) but he killed/chased off more units than I did. It was a fun game, and I am excited to get to play again.
Showing posts with label warhammer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label warhammer. Show all posts
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Boyz Mob #1 - Complete
After accumulating quite a pile of random 40K Ork stuff over the years, I decided to take the plunge in 2008 and actually start building an Ork army.
Of course, then I got divorced, moved out of my home, moved in with a friend, moved with my friend and my girlfriend, and finally moved with my girlfriend into my new home. Woof.
Anyway, sometime after my birthday, where my girly bought me a HUGE pile of new Ork stuff, I knuckled down and started putting Exacto to plastic sprue. Now, only 9 months later, the first mob is done.
The bulk of these particular boyz are from the Assault on Black Reach box. They are nice sculpts, easy to clean/build/etc. and I was able to trade for MANY of them. Most new 40K players are Space Marine fans, and I only had to twist a few arms to get enough boys to finish this mob.
The eagle-eyed among you will notice I have them on movement trays in the first picture. These are Lord of the Rings trays from GW, and are nice and reasonably priced. The more savvy 40K players out there are saying, "Aha! where's my pie-plate template??" and, yeah, they are pretty vulnerable to artillery fire. I, however, am here to play Warhammer, not spend all afternoon moving 100+ individual Orks around the battlefield. Template weapons be damned.
I am still calibrating my camera, but I have a few (blurry) close-ups.
I haven't done this in a while, so I need to figure out my camera problems. The lighting is tricky, but I'm working on it.
Of course, then I got divorced, moved out of my home, moved in with a friend, moved with my friend and my girlfriend, and finally moved with my girlfriend into my new home. Woof.
Anyway, sometime after my birthday, where my girly bought me a HUGE pile of new Ork stuff, I knuckled down and started putting Exacto to plastic sprue. Now, only 9 months later, the first mob is done.
The bulk of these particular boyz are from the Assault on Black Reach box. They are nice sculpts, easy to clean/build/etc. and I was able to trade for MANY of them. Most new 40K players are Space Marine fans, and I only had to twist a few arms to get enough boys to finish this mob.
The eagle-eyed among you will notice I have them on movement trays in the first picture. These are Lord of the Rings trays from GW, and are nice and reasonably priced. The more savvy 40K players out there are saying, "Aha! where's my pie-plate template??" and, yeah, they are pretty vulnerable to artillery fire. I, however, am here to play Warhammer, not spend all afternoon moving 100+ individual Orks around the battlefield. Template weapons be damned.
I am still calibrating my camera, but I have a few (blurry) close-ups.
I haven't done this in a while, so I need to figure out my camera problems. The lighting is tricky, but I'm working on it.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Stargrunt II - Training Wheels
I am enamored with modern / science fiction wargaming. This is odd, as I have been playing Warhammer Fantasy for 10 years now, preceded by 15 years of Dungeons and Dragons. Being an US Army veteran, though, there is just something to be said for platoons of men moving through the battlefield in the heat of combat, bullets and shrapnel whizzing by your head, and getting stuff done. I know I'm romanticizing it a bit, but there it is. That's why I play wargames rather than being a mercenary: when the battle is over I like putting my plastic men back in the box and going home.
Warhammer 40K, by Games Workshop has been my main source of actual sci-fi wargaming. Hard core grognards snicker derisively at this, calling it a 'kid's game' and mocking it's simple rules, over-the-top characters, and high costs for models and rulebooks. Even 40K affectionados recognize that the game's rules have been changed over the years to: 1) appeal to a younger audience, and 2) sell more models. Despite all of this, few question why they play, except that there is simply no other ruleset that has had the market penetration of 40K.
Behold, a challenger: Stargrunt II. Written in 1996 by John Tuffley for Ground Zero Games. This futuristic ruleset lays out a system for combat and army development completely different from GW, emphasizing small unit actions over the (sometimes) ridiculous forces available to the 40K player. For a 14-year-old, this may seem to take some of the fun out of the game, but for someone like me who is more into the tactics of a game rather that how to squeeze in one more uber-element, this is the sort of game I have been looking for. It is also refreshing to see the author encourage you to use any figs you like, rather than having to buy all of the Official GZG Miniatures and Vehicles and Templates and Markers and Terrain, etc., etc., ad nauseum.
Now, the problems:
The rules must have had some success, as they are still around. They just decided over the last few years to simply give the game away rather than publish it again. I am not crying over a free game, but not everyone likes to print their own rulebooks. In fact, some would even see this as proof of the game's failure and avoid it at all costs.
There are no point values. John Tuffley blasts point values as "horribly artificial," and basically, he's right. The flip of this is: you and your opponent need to agree on what fair opposing forces would be. Usually this is dictated by a scenario which is designed beforehand. Will it be 2 completely equal troops, or 2 different sized and armed forces, with victory conditions that each can reasonably attain? Only the Gamemaster knows. Yes, sometimes you may need a 3rd party as a neutral gamemaster to design scenarios, surpise players with booby traps, decide ambiguities, or any combination of the three. While I enjoy the variety of different options available here, this will throw off the structured 40K player, wanting to know how many orks he can get on the field.
Unit Leadership is a HUGE part of this game. In 40K, you might be asked to test to see if the enormous slobbering monster or ravening hordes of Tyranids are freaking out your troops every now and then. In SGII, you check for those sorts of things much more often. Just like in the real military, orders go back and forth, and good leaders are need to control elements as small as a squad. If that leader is somewhat... green... units may spend a lot of time hunkered down trying to get the radio to work rather than assaulting the enemy position. Being shot at? 40K troops grit their teeth and charge into certain death. Stargrunt troops... may decide that the hole they are sitting in is a better option than running across an open battlefield. Fortunately, this goes for both sides, so it is a burden both players will bear.
What can be done to mitigate some of these variances so that you can win over new players to a SGII game? The easiest way to choose troops that have the least number of special rolls and checks that must be performed. Start with small units of Regular or better troops, with no crazy weapon teams. This eliminates many of the initial panic rolls, gives you a better chance to hit something you are shooting at, and gets you used to the mechanics of ranged or close combat. Both sides should have the EXACT same forces. Leadership Values should all be 1 (the best) and troops should have no fatigue (fresh.) Mission Motivation should be medium or high. Things you SHOULDN'T field: vehicles, off-board artillery, power armor, snipers, drones, etc. Just basic troops and leaders.
Scenario 1 (from the book) is good, but to simplify it even further, I wouldn't even deal with hidden units. Just take turns putting units on the table and then slug it out. Fight to the death or or until you feel you understand the die shifts and confidence/panic tests. At the very least, put a token in the center of the table that represents an objective. After 12 turns, whoever has the most troops "controlling" the objective wins (reinforcements arrive.)
If you want to promote this game, prepare to provide all of the figures for demo games. each side could have as few as 16 (4 squads of 4, one being the HQ squad) or as much as 30 (8,8,8, and 6 for the HQ) but I wouldn't field more than that. We're learning rules, not taking over the galaxy. Many companies make great human infantry sci-fi models, but GW's Imperial Guard are a beautiful range of detailed plastic figures. GZG also makes a large range of figs, which aren't horrible sculpts and are reasonably priced. They are metal and therefore difficult to modify, but they have a reasonable number of poses and weapon options. They also are sculpted to conform to the suggested background setting known loosely as the "Tuffleyverse." You are under no circumstances forced to play in their world, it is just a suggestion.
Take my suggestions, run with them and report back. I want to make sure I am not alone here in seeing the value in this great game. After I am more confident in my grasp of the rules I will be doing some battle reports and start to develop my own universe and "tree campaign" of scenarios for all to use.
Warhammer 40K, by Games Workshop has been my main source of actual sci-fi wargaming. Hard core grognards snicker derisively at this, calling it a 'kid's game' and mocking it's simple rules, over-the-top characters, and high costs for models and rulebooks. Even 40K affectionados recognize that the game's rules have been changed over the years to: 1) appeal to a younger audience, and 2) sell more models. Despite all of this, few question why they play, except that there is simply no other ruleset that has had the market penetration of 40K.
Behold, a challenger: Stargrunt II. Written in 1996 by John Tuffley for Ground Zero Games. This futuristic ruleset lays out a system for combat and army development completely different from GW, emphasizing small unit actions over the (sometimes) ridiculous forces available to the 40K player. For a 14-year-old, this may seem to take some of the fun out of the game, but for someone like me who is more into the tactics of a game rather that how to squeeze in one more uber-element, this is the sort of game I have been looking for. It is also refreshing to see the author encourage you to use any figs you like, rather than having to buy all of the Official GZG Miniatures and Vehicles and Templates and Markers and Terrain, etc., etc., ad nauseum.
Now, the problems:
The rules must have had some success, as they are still around. They just decided over the last few years to simply give the game away rather than publish it again. I am not crying over a free game, but not everyone likes to print their own rulebooks. In fact, some would even see this as proof of the game's failure and avoid it at all costs.
There are no point values. John Tuffley blasts point values as "horribly artificial," and basically, he's right. The flip of this is: you and your opponent need to agree on what fair opposing forces would be. Usually this is dictated by a scenario which is designed beforehand. Will it be 2 completely equal troops, or 2 different sized and armed forces, with victory conditions that each can reasonably attain? Only the Gamemaster knows. Yes, sometimes you may need a 3rd party as a neutral gamemaster to design scenarios, surpise players with booby traps, decide ambiguities, or any combination of the three. While I enjoy the variety of different options available here, this will throw off the structured 40K player, wanting to know how many orks he can get on the field.
Unit Leadership is a HUGE part of this game. In 40K, you might be asked to test to see if the enormous slobbering monster or ravening hordes of Tyranids are freaking out your troops every now and then. In SGII, you check for those sorts of things much more often. Just like in the real military, orders go back and forth, and good leaders are need to control elements as small as a squad. If that leader is somewhat... green... units may spend a lot of time hunkered down trying to get the radio to work rather than assaulting the enemy position. Being shot at? 40K troops grit their teeth and charge into certain death. Stargrunt troops... may decide that the hole they are sitting in is a better option than running across an open battlefield. Fortunately, this goes for both sides, so it is a burden both players will bear.
What can be done to mitigate some of these variances so that you can win over new players to a SGII game? The easiest way to choose troops that have the least number of special rolls and checks that must be performed. Start with small units of Regular or better troops, with no crazy weapon teams. This eliminates many of the initial panic rolls, gives you a better chance to hit something you are shooting at, and gets you used to the mechanics of ranged or close combat. Both sides should have the EXACT same forces. Leadership Values should all be 1 (the best) and troops should have no fatigue (fresh.) Mission Motivation should be medium or high. Things you SHOULDN'T field: vehicles, off-board artillery, power armor, snipers, drones, etc. Just basic troops and leaders.
Scenario 1 (from the book) is good, but to simplify it even further, I wouldn't even deal with hidden units. Just take turns putting units on the table and then slug it out. Fight to the death or or until you feel you understand the die shifts and confidence/panic tests. At the very least, put a token in the center of the table that represents an objective. After 12 turns, whoever has the most troops "controlling" the objective wins (reinforcements arrive.)
If you want to promote this game, prepare to provide all of the figures for demo games. each side could have as few as 16 (4 squads of 4, one being the HQ squad) or as much as 30 (8,8,8, and 6 for the HQ) but I wouldn't field more than that. We're learning rules, not taking over the galaxy. Many companies make great human infantry sci-fi models, but GW's Imperial Guard are a beautiful range of detailed plastic figures. GZG also makes a large range of figs, which aren't horrible sculpts and are reasonably priced. They are metal and therefore difficult to modify, but they have a reasonable number of poses and weapon options. They also are sculpted to conform to the suggested background setting known loosely as the "Tuffleyverse." You are under no circumstances forced to play in their world, it is just a suggestion.
Take my suggestions, run with them and report back. I want to make sure I am not alone here in seeing the value in this great game. After I am more confident in my grasp of the rules I will be doing some battle reports and start to develop my own universe and "tree campaign" of scenarios for all to use.
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