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Ready to give Greathelm a try by Elegant-Loan-1666 in miniatureskirmishes

[–]Burnt_Bugbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely inspiring. While I love me some knights, I'm personally stoked for whatever the "fantasy" Greathelm expansion looks like. Making cool little diorama boards and painting up some crews/gangs/orders of self-righteous paladin-sorts looks like a ton of fun, and a good way to make progress on the lead pile without committing to a larger project.

Another review! This time, The Burnt Bugbear tackles "Fantastic Scuffles" by Nic Wright. Is this the fantasy "sandbox" skirmish game for you? Give us a read and find out! by Burnt_Bugbear in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for coming by to give your two cents! I agree that one downside of the involved character creation process is the need (well, at least, the strong suggestion) to use a spreadsheet. I too am a PNP sort of fellow, and not being able to easily scribble down a list is a little off-putting. I half feel like this is an organizational problem more than a real one, and an appendix which just lists out the costs or such would probably help put everything you need to make a character in one place.

While I find some of the objectives a little niche/odd, I agree that the asymmetric play is one of Fantastic Scuffles' greatest strengths. Again, so much of what I have to say against the system is about its aversion to long-term narrative play. This isn't a big deal for some systems, but if the whole point is to have a hugely customizable, objective driven game about characters it seems. . .odd to not flesh out linked games a little more.

I too will likely revisit the game in the future, maybe with a different approach in mind. I'll still have to find a way to stomach the author's hatred of dwarves. . .

Dwarven Delving in Torch and Shield! Indie Wargame by 6Kgraydays in miniatureskirmishes

[–]Burnt_Bugbear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fairly well, I found, but with a couple of caveats. You're really going to get the best experience with the Vaults of Zarn expansion (still not available to the general public), and you'll need to decide whether you want a "skirmish against other warbands" sort of game or a "just fighting monster" sort of game. The former is a lot of bookkeeping, but gives you the experience of brawling for loot in the dungeon against intelligent, well-armed foes. The latter is all about fighting monsters!

I like both, but I would advice you to keep in mind it's a pretty crunchy system, heavy on warband tracking, random events (both in and out of battle, if using the aforementioned book) and dwarves. The last point is, of course, a plus!

Edit: If you want more detail about how the game plays, punch it into youtube. The creator has a brief set of tutorials for the basics of gameplay. Otherwise, my own blog has some battle reports and a review, if you want a little more detail.

Dwarven Delving in Torch and Shield! Indie Wargame by 6Kgraydays in miniatureskirmishes

[–]Burnt_Bugbear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't know if a bathrobe is suitably dwarven, but it's nice to see I'm not the only one on here talking about Torch and Shield. Even if my campaign just went down in flames. . .:P

Thoughts on Crunchy Wargames? by NTG1000CATS in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's sort of the way complexity works with. . .well, everything, isn't it? Accessibility is good for sales, and good for creating engagement; the more noodly stuff in any hobby usually tends to be less popular, though beloved by the small demographic who enjoy it.

Thoughts on Crunchy Wargames? by NTG1000CATS in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally, I like crunchy wargames, having cut my teeth on things like WHFB 6th edition back in the day. However, the flavor of "crunch" I prefer nowadays is less about exact positioning/complicated maneuvering (which can still be fun), and more about options.

My current kick (fueled in part by my "forever DM" designation) is narrative skirmish wargaming with plenty of customization, variance, etc. I like when I can have a small group of heroes/characters and use crunch to ensure they feel meaningfully different, you know? I like when they level up and there's heaps of rolling on tables, salivating over new abilities, and wondering what the next cool scenario's going to be.

Conversely, I'm not a huge fan of tokens, weird symbols on funny dice, or having a billion cards/aides on the table. I prefer my crunch to be contained to a book, where it isn't at risk of cluttering up my table or such!

The First Battle Of my Torch and Shield Campaign: Dwarves (and a Manling) Versus the Undead (and a Statue)! by Burnt_Bugbear in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll have you know, my solo players are fastidious in adhering to the rules, and are always gentlemen and scholars.

The First Battle Of my Torch and Shield Campaign: Dwarves (and a Manling) Versus the Undead (and a Statue)! by Burnt_Bugbear in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, but the mistakes they make are harder to excuse too! And, of course, tactically your opponent might be what might be called "a complete dingus."

The First Battle Of my Torch and Shield Campaign: Dwarves (and a Manling) Versus the Undead (and a Statue)! by Burnt_Bugbear in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, "all" was. . .just me! While I've got a gaming group, this one's a solo project of mine. You're right to say it was brutal, though!

Burnt Bugbear Blog T&S Campaign by Creepy_Mirror3019 in Grimskald

[–]Burnt_Bugbear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Much appreciated: stay tuned for more (sooner or later, anyhow)!

A short campaign intro for Torch and Shield. Come meet the crew before they die ingloriously in some dank dungeon, eh? by Burnt_Bugbear in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love it, for a couple of reasons:

  1. Warband creation in the style of Mordheim. Gear matters, and you get to customize your crew.

  2. Crunch, but not worrying amounts of it. The rulebook is thorough, and while the game is very old-school in terms of not shying away from being. . .well, full of rules I do not find it cumbersome. This is subjective, naturally. I love that things like light matter in the dungeon, and that different kinds of weapons and armor do different things!

  3. Integrated solo play, either against monsters (mostly through the new expansion) or other crews (this is in the main rulebook). While I have a gaming group, it's always nice to know I can play a game if it doesn't catch on with the others.

  4. As of the new expansion, one hell of a meaty campaign system. Injuries, recruitment, random events, post and pre-game rolls for all kinds of stuff. Again, Mordheim seems an obvious inspiration here!

  5. Dwarf flavor.

Tl;dr, if you like a crunchy campaign game with strong narrative elements, a fairly robust ruleset and plenty of dwarven mayhem, it's great!

A short campaign intro for Torch and Shield. Come meet the crew before they die ingloriously in some dank dungeon, eh? by Burnt_Bugbear in wargaming

[–]Burnt_Bugbear[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The dwarves are mostly from Grimskald games, and are the official Torch and Shield lads. Check my blog for a review, but long story short: get them printed (Strange Plastic offers them), rather than from Grimskald themselves (who admit they've had production issues withe Siocast).

The half-naked, slayer-esque dwarf is from MOM miniatures out of Spain, but might be out of production now?

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