Over the Christmas break, I took a punt and purchased a few new indie sci-fi skirmish rulesets to provide some holiday reading - I had stupidly packed a 1,000-page novel that I had only just recently read, albeit with a different cover!One of the said purchases was Blood in Space. A few features caught my eye including the suggestion it could be played solo, it's sci-fi and skirmish focused. So now that I've returned to civilization, I thought it might be fun to write up a game/review, much like I did with Rogue Planet a while back now.
Quite deliberately I've not reflected all the game's detail in the following account. Why? Well what you're seeing is the application someone else's intellectual property and if you'd like to experiment and play the game, do them (and ultimately us all) a favour and just purchase it - in the scheme of things, it's hardly a huge outlay. If you find yourself wanting to know more, I'm happy to answer questions or failing that, I recommend you purchase the game.
Scenario Selection
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| 6 Zones, you roll for terrain in each and each has an Objective/Event Marker |
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| The fold lines on the game the mat actually helped define the battlefield's 6 Zones. |
First I rolled a "Standard" planet (others include Jungles and Deserts) and then rolled for the terrain in each Zone, resulting in various "Buildings", "Walls" and "Boulders" - I used the terrain I had on hand (not the stuff stored) primarily my recently completed Yakult Silos and a couple of my stackable Boxes.
I created "Event Markers" using some trusty Poker Chips that I had spray painted matt grey for some reason - I labelled them 1-8, mixed them up, discarded two and placed the rest on the board, "..one in each zone, near a terrain feature".
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| Actually, I was quite happy how that turned out. Simple yet interesting. |
The 'Crew'
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| Just a sample to give you some flavour of what you get - there's a damage track and weapon details also included. |
The Exploration Scenario suggests that you use the first 4 Units included in the game's Character Catalogue being Dante (the Leader), Jacinto (Support Weapon), Garret (Sniper) and Augustus (Melee Specialist). Each Character has various traits (Move, Melee, Ranged Attacks, Strength etc) and is equipped with different weapons and armour. I've used the three Imperial Guard and a Kroot 28mm models from my collection to represent my Crew.
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| The Crew looking pretty tough indeed! |
The Enemy
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| I wish I could claim the credit for their painting - it was a mate who sold me part of lovely collection a couple of years back. |
For this particular game, I'm going to employ the Native Tribe enemies, which could result in the Crew facing Spearmen, Archers, Warbeasts and Leaders. Why the Natives? Well, it gives me an opportunity to dust off my Lizardmen!
The Goal
"Reveal the six Event Markers. The scenario ends when all the Markers have been revealed and there are no Enemies on the map." Revealing Events Markers in this particular Scenario can yield enemies, nothing, or Loot Tokens. The game includes Campaign rules where success and Loot can be traded for equipment etc - you know the drill - it looks pretty interesting, but something I might try later.Well, there's nothing too complicated there (it is the introductory scenario after all), so let's see how this works...
Deployment and Turn One
My crew can enter on any of the short-edges of Zones 5 and 6. Without too much fuss, I'll deploy them on the track entering Zone 5 from the South Zone 5 in a strung out skirmish line.
The Turn Sequence is as follows: draw one Activation Marker and execute the activation of the selected Unit (Player or Enemy). You repeat this procedure until all the Units have been activated or the End Turn marker has been drawn twice. A new turn then starts, unless the Scenario Objectives have been reached or the Crew's wiped-out.
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| The Leader Skink and two Spearskins are at ground level, whilst the Blow Gun Skink is on top of the Yakult storage silo. |
So I need some Activation Markers! Okay, one marker for each of my Crew, an End Turn marker and a marker for each enemy as they're revealed - they all go into a cup and are randomly drawn. As luck would have it I've some glass beads on hand: green for the Lizardmen, Blue for the Imperials and a White for the Turn End. I tossed them into a lovely wooden box that has been sitting above my desk for a couple of decades (no idea where it came from, but it's about time I used it) and we're ready to go (again)!
Each activation can commence with a Move then include something else - so you can Move then Shoot, but not Shoot then Move. Move within 2MP (1MP = 1 inch if using 28mm figures, and I am) of an Event Marker and it's revealed.
I pull my first Activation Marker and decided to activate Augustus, my melee specialist. Augustus's Move Stat is 6, therefore he can Move 6MP/inches. A tape measure. After securing a tape measure (now that's novel*), I have Augustus swing around to the North and approach Zone 5's Event Marker.
* My usual poison, Rogue Planet, doesn't employ measured movement, so the tape measure has been collecting dust in a draw for some time now.
I pull my first Activation Marker and decided to activate Augustus, my melee specialist. Augustus's Move Stat is 6, therefore he can Move 6MP/inches. A tape measure. After securing a tape measure (now that's novel*), I have Augustus swing around to the North and approach Zone 5's Event Marker.
* My usual poison, Rogue Planet, doesn't employ measured movement, so the tape measure has been collecting dust in a draw for some time now.
As Augustus is within 2MP of an Event Marker, it's revealed: Event [5]. I look up Event [5] in the Scenario's Event Table and it says: "nothing (empty area). Roll 1d6: on a result of (1-3) reveal the nearest marker." Okay, the nearest (Event) Marker is Zone 3's... it's "[8] nothing (empty area)". Two objectives down, six more to go.
Fast-forwarding some and the Crew moves up toward Zone Eight's objective. I've my Garrett on top of Silo 3 and my Jacinto just below, both in Zone Three. Both my Dante and Augustus are approaching the Event Marker. I draw a Crew Activation Marker and have my Dante climb up to the gantry of the silos, passing within 2MP of the Event, therefore revealing the Event Marker [4].
"[4] Enemy(A)" Contact! To generate enemy details I roll a d6 (sometimes there are Scenario-specific and Crew modifiers), consult the Class [A] Encounter table in the Enemy Sheet that details enemies and I have to remember put additional Activation Markers in the cup equal to the number of units revealed.
Depending upon my Crew's Reputation Level I either consult the Small Patrol else Warband Native Tribe Enemy Encounter Table. I roll a 5 which yields two Spearskins, a Skink with a Blowgun, and a Leader sporting a Bone Javelin and Bone Sword. Four suitably skinky Skinks are placed in proximity to the Event Marker and four green Enemy Activation tokens are added to the Activation Pool's Pot.
Okay, the cunning Skinks were waiting to ambush the Crew but Dante first needs to complete his second Action for his Activation - attack time. If Dante hadn't moved he could have performed an ATTACK; however, due to the first MOVE action, he's the only option is a QUICK ATTACK, giving the target a slight defensive buff.
Dante completes his activation by firing his Assault Rifle at the Skink with the blowgun who was also lurking on top of the gantry. The target's within the Assault Rifle's 10MP range and I roll 2d6 + 3 as detailed on Dante's Stat Card, yielding a 5 and 3 + 3 = 11 attack (Atk) value. The Skink's defensive Target Number (TN) is 10, which is buffed to 11 on account of the QUICK ATTACK. An attack is successful if the Atk is greater or equal to the TN, so Dante rifle hit home.
Damage for Dante's Assault Rifle is a "H" which means I apply the highest roll as the damage points on the Skink, less the target's Damage Reduction (DR) trait, being -1 in this case. So the Skink suffers ( a roll of 5 less 1 DR) 4 Points of Damage. Four points of Damage eats into the Skinks 10 'hit points' (HP), but not enough to degrade it's effectiveness just yet. I mark off the same on my tally and move onto the next Activation.
I randomly draw another Activation Marker and this time it's an Enemy. Rolling twice on the Enemy Activation Table yields "Nearest (PC)" and "Attack (Weakest PC with Loot token, Weakest PC)". The rules give some descriptions of the same but basically, I choose the Skink closest to a Crew member and Attack.
One of the Spearskinks is activated and runs in to engage Jacinto (who's within the Spearskink's 5MP MOVE range) then execute a Melee QUICK ATTACK. The Spearskink achieves a (2d6+1 = 6 and 5 + 1) 12Atk versus Jacinto's TN of 10(8) - apparently, the 8 is used if Jacinto is unarmoured. The Spear does 2H damage, therefore 5+6 = 11 points less Jancinto's DR stat of -2 = 9 Damage Points. Ouch!
But hang on, the Spear has the "Primitive" weapon trait. Looking up the rules: "Primitive [Weapon] Effective only against an unarmed target or target with a Primitive Armor. Attacks of a Primitive weapon against armours without the Primitive trait are completely blocked (no DMG)."
Mmmm. Now that's a bit weird. All Native Tribe are only armed with Primitive Weapons whilst the Crew are wearing Combat Suits etc. I've just posted a query on Wargame Vault, but in the meantime, I'll allow the Crew to re-roll the Native's damage if they like. That re-roll yields a 5 and 1 = 6 less 2 DR = 4 Points of Damage. Luckily Jacinto can deal with that, but now he's engaged meaning he can't Move away and can only attack the (rather) engaging Spearskink.
Next Activation results (pick an Activation Token, roll on the Enemy Activation Table): a second Spearskink will also MOVE to then QUICK ATTACK Jacinto. This time the attack misses (double 1's, well below Jacinto's TN of 10+1).
The Turn's fourth Activation is another Skink: this time the Enemy Activation Table yields Weakest Enemy to "Suppress (Easiest PC)" - the Skin Blow Gunner will attack the Augustus on account of his lower hit points and TN. Reading the rules, Primitive Weapons can't Suppress, instead, it is resolved as an attack. The bowgun's 10MP range means the Skink need not MOVE and can instead ATTACK without penalty. There's nothing in the rules that give any height attack bonuses, so it's simply 2d6+1 vs TN 11. The roll of 7+1 = 8Atk misses.
The fifth Activation goes the Crew's way. Garret the Kroot SHOOTS at the Skin's Leader. 2d6+2 vs TN 11. The result: 10Atk, so close but a miss all the same.
The sixth Activation: Augustus will MOVE to engage a Spearskink and Attack with his Vibroblade. 2d6+1 vs TN 9. I rolled double 3's + 1 = 7Atk. Another miss. Bugger.
The seventh Activation has Jacinto attack the nearest Spearskink, but having no Melee stats, he needs to use his firing attack with a +2 buff awarded to the Skin's TN. 3d6+1 yields 5, 5 and 4 + 1 = 15Atk vs TN 9 plus 2 buff = 11 therefore a hit. The Blaster Rifle does H+1 = 5 + 1 = 6; however, a quick rule check says that doubles are both counted. Jacinto rolled double fives, so that's (5x2 +1) 11 damage. Factor in the Spearskinks -1 DR it is reduced to 10 damage points reducing the Spearskink to a single damage point. Dealt that damage, the Skin's now operating at -1Atk, -1 TN and -1 Move.
The next Activation Marker (there being only an Enemy and Turn End left in the pot) is Turn End. That's replaced in the pot and I draw again. On the next draw, I again get the Turn End (50% chance of that happening) and that's Turn One done - one Skink, the Leader as it happens, didn't get to Activate this Turn.
Turn Summary: lots of dice rolling relative to what I'm used to and a sensible series of activations for the enemy. The enemy's weapons being classed as Primitive are having a hard time breaching the Crew's armour and the Crew's weapons, despite their sophistication are not particularly effective against the tough Skinks. I feel that there's something of a deadlock developing in melee game... we'll see.
Draw Two: Garret shoots at the Skink Leader. Rolled a 5 and 6 +2 = 13Atk vs the Skin's TN of 11 = a hit. Damage is H+1 = 6+1 = 7 less the Leader's 3 DR = 4 Points.
Draw Four: Crew. Dante shoots at the Leader (2d6+3 = 4 + 4 + 3 = 11Atk vs TN 11), hits (Damage H = 4x2 = 8 - 3DR = 5) wounding it further (now 4 + 5 = 9 points of damage in total against its 15 HP i.e. only 6 remaining) leaving it seriously wounded (-1Atk).
Fast-forwarding some and the Crew moves up toward Zone Eight's objective. I've my Garrett on top of Silo 3 and my Jacinto just below, both in Zone Three. Both my Dante and Augustus are approaching the Event Marker. I draw a Crew Activation Marker and have my Dante climb up to the gantry of the silos, passing within 2MP of the Event, therefore revealing the Event Marker [4].
"[4] Enemy(A)" Contact! To generate enemy details I roll a d6 (sometimes there are Scenario-specific and Crew modifiers), consult the Class [A] Encounter table in the Enemy Sheet that details enemies and I have to remember put additional Activation Markers in the cup equal to the number of units revealed.
Depending upon my Crew's Reputation Level I either consult the Small Patrol else Warband Native Tribe Enemy Encounter Table. I roll a 5 which yields two Spearskins, a Skink with a Blowgun, and a Leader sporting a Bone Javelin and Bone Sword. Four suitably skinky Skinks are placed in proximity to the Event Marker and four green Enemy Activation tokens are added to the Activation Pool's Pot.
Okay, the cunning Skinks were waiting to ambush the Crew but Dante first needs to complete his second Action for his Activation - attack time. If Dante hadn't moved he could have performed an ATTACK; however, due to the first MOVE action, he's the only option is a QUICK ATTACK, giving the target a slight defensive buff.
Dante completes his activation by firing his Assault Rifle at the Skink with the blowgun who was also lurking on top of the gantry. The target's within the Assault Rifle's 10MP range and I roll 2d6 + 3 as detailed on Dante's Stat Card, yielding a 5 and 3 + 3 = 11 attack (Atk) value. The Skink's defensive Target Number (TN) is 10, which is buffed to 11 on account of the QUICK ATTACK. An attack is successful if the Atk is greater or equal to the TN, so Dante rifle hit home.
Damage for Dante's Assault Rifle is a "H" which means I apply the highest roll as the damage points on the Skink, less the target's Damage Reduction (DR) trait, being -1 in this case. So the Skink suffers ( a roll of 5 less 1 DR) 4 Points of Damage. Four points of Damage eats into the Skinks 10 'hit points' (HP), but not enough to degrade it's effectiveness just yet. I mark off the same on my tally and move onto the next Activation.
I randomly draw another Activation Marker and this time it's an Enemy. Rolling twice on the Enemy Activation Table yields "Nearest (PC)" and "Attack (Weakest PC with Loot token, Weakest PC)". The rules give some descriptions of the same but basically, I choose the Skink closest to a Crew member and Attack.
One of the Spearskinks is activated and runs in to engage Jacinto (who's within the Spearskink's 5MP MOVE range) then execute a Melee QUICK ATTACK. The Spearskink achieves a (2d6+1 = 6 and 5 + 1) 12Atk versus Jacinto's TN of 10(8) - apparently, the 8 is used if Jacinto is unarmoured. The Spear does 2H damage, therefore 5+6 = 11 points less Jancinto's DR stat of -2 = 9 Damage Points. Ouch!But hang on, the Spear has the "Primitive" weapon trait. Looking up the rules: "Primitive [Weapon] Effective only against an unarmed target or target with a Primitive Armor. Attacks of a Primitive weapon against armours without the Primitive trait are completely blocked (no DMG)."
Mmmm. Now that's a bit weird. All Native Tribe are only armed with Primitive Weapons whilst the Crew are wearing Combat Suits etc. I've just posted a query on Wargame Vault, but in the meantime, I'll allow the Crew to re-roll the Native's damage if they like. That re-roll yields a 5 and 1 = 6 less 2 DR = 4 Points of Damage. Luckily Jacinto can deal with that, but now he's engaged meaning he can't Move away and can only attack the (rather) engaging Spearskink.
Next Activation results (pick an Activation Token, roll on the Enemy Activation Table): a second Spearskink will also MOVE to then QUICK ATTACK Jacinto. This time the attack misses (double 1's, well below Jacinto's TN of 10+1).
The Turn's fourth Activation is another Skink: this time the Enemy Activation Table yields Weakest Enemy to "Suppress (Easiest PC)" - the Skin Blow Gunner will attack the Augustus on account of his lower hit points and TN. Reading the rules, Primitive Weapons can't Suppress, instead, it is resolved as an attack. The bowgun's 10MP range means the Skink need not MOVE and can instead ATTACK without penalty. There's nothing in the rules that give any height attack bonuses, so it's simply 2d6+1 vs TN 11. The roll of 7+1 = 8Atk misses.
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| Augustus entering the fray with Jacinto and the two Skink warriors. That big green thing? It's an Activation Marker - pull 'em from the Pot and place them next to the Unit. |
The fifth Activation goes the Crew's way. Garret the Kroot SHOOTS at the Skin's Leader. 2d6+2 vs TN 11. The result: 10Atk, so close but a miss all the same.
The sixth Activation: Augustus will MOVE to engage a Spearskink and Attack with his Vibroblade. 2d6+1 vs TN 9. I rolled double 3's + 1 = 7Atk. Another miss. Bugger.
The seventh Activation has Jacinto attack the nearest Spearskink, but having no Melee stats, he needs to use his firing attack with a +2 buff awarded to the Skin's TN. 3d6+1 yields 5, 5 and 4 + 1 = 15Atk vs TN 9 plus 2 buff = 11 therefore a hit. The Blaster Rifle does H+1 = 5 + 1 = 6; however, a quick rule check says that doubles are both counted. Jacinto rolled double fives, so that's (5x2 +1) 11 damage. Factor in the Spearskinks -1 DR it is reduced to 10 damage points reducing the Spearskink to a single damage point. Dealt that damage, the Skin's now operating at -1Atk, -1 TN and -1 Move.
The next Activation Marker (there being only an Enemy and Turn End left in the pot) is Turn End. That's replaced in the pot and I draw again. On the next draw, I again get the Turn End (50% chance of that happening) and that's Turn One done - one Skink, the Leader as it happens, didn't get to Activate this Turn.
Turn Summary: lots of dice rolling relative to what I'm used to and a sensible series of activations for the enemy. The enemy's weapons being classed as Primitive are having a hard time breaching the Crew's armour and the Crew's weapons, despite their sophistication are not particularly effective against the tough Skinks. I feel that there's something of a deadlock developing in melee game... we'll see.
Turn Two
Okay, now I've explained some of the rules above, I'll be a little briefer in describing this Turn...
Activation Marker Draw One: End Turn - it goes back into the Pot and I draw again.
Draw Two: Garret shoots at the Skink Leader. Rolled a 5 and 6 +2 = 13Atk vs the Skin's TN of 11 = a hit. Damage is H+1 = 6+1 = 7 less the Leader's 3 DR = 4 Points.
Draw Three: Enemy - rolled 2 then 6 = Nearest (PC) attacks the Weakest (PC). The undamaged Spearskink will attack Jancinto. Rolled a 2 and 6 +1 = 9Atk vs 10 TN = miss.
Draw Four: Crew. Jacinto attacks the weakened Spearskink, rolls 6, 6 and 1 = 13 +1 = 14 vs TN of 9 - 1 on account of injuries = hit. (6x2 - 1 DR) 11 damage points are more than enough to account for the Skink's remaining 1 HP. That's one Skink down and an Enemy Activation Marker removed from the Pot.
Activation Draw Five: End Turn for the second time, so the Turn's over.
Turn Three
Draw One: Crew. Augustus lashes out with his vibro blade (2d6+1 = 5 and1+1 = 7Atk) at the Spearskink (TN 9) but fails to connect (7Atk less than TN 9).
Draw Two: Enemy. Weakest Enemy vs Weakest PC. The Blow Gunner would target Jacinto (being the weakest PC) but he's Engaged and can't be shot at. Working the next valid weakest target is Garrett, who also happens to be within Range. With a huge puff of lizard breath, he sends a dart hurtling through the air (2d6+1 = 6 and 1+1 = 7Atk vs TN 10) but misses.
Draw Three: Crew. Jacinto fires upon the remaining Spearskink (3d6+1 = 6 and 6+1 = 13Atk vs 9TN + 2 proximity modifier = 11) and hits, blasting the alien into a mess of green and blue gore ( damage H+1 but double 6s make it 6x2+1 = 13 points - 1 DR = 12 points and the Spearskink only had 11 HP). Another Enemy down and another Enemy Activation Marker is removed from the Pot.
Draw Four: End Turn (1st) - throw it back into the Pot.
Draw Five: Crew. Dante fires upon the Skin Leader (2d6+3 = 3 and 4+3= 10Atk vs TN 11) - a miss.
Draw Six: Enemy. Engaged (Weakest) Enemy targets Weakest (PC). The only remaining Skink is the Leader who's just in javelin range of Jacinto. The 2d6+2 = 4 and1+2 = 7Atk is less than Jacinto's 10 TN of 10, so Jacinto dodges a bone barb.
Draw Seven: End Turn for the 2nd time, therefore Garrett doesn't get to Activate.
Turn Four
The Turn begins with two remaining Skink and the full complement of Crew; however, Jacinto is slightly wounded. That means the Activation Pot has 2 Enemy Markers, 4 Crew Markers and one Turn End Marker.
Draw One: Turn End which is placed back into the Pot.
Draw Two: Enemy. Weakest (Enemy) vs Easiest (PC). The Blow Gunner shoots Dante on account of his equal lowest TN of 10 and being the closest target (just less than 6MP). 2d6+1 = 6 and 6 +1 = 13Atk vs 10 TN = hit. Damage = L+1 = 6x2+1 = 13 - 3 = 10 Points. Dante only has 14 HP so that poison dart has left him seriously wounded (-1Atk). I'll rule that the double's result cannot be rerolled - it's a tough galaxy out there!
Draw Three: Crew. Jacinto opens fire on the Skin Leader: 3d6+1 = 3 and 3+1 = 7Atk which is below the Skinks TN of 11, therefore, a miss - this Leader is a tough nut to crack.
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| Just another shot, from a bit earlier in the game. |
Draw Five: 2nd End Turn.
Okay, that's all I have time for on this occasion - I have to pack up my toys. Team Dante's story will need to be rejoined sometime in the future. I'd have liked to finish this Event's combat and explore some more but life happens!
My initial impressions of Blood in Space
The use of Zones and Event Markers was rather clever - clearly, some effort went into trying to get some balance in enemies etc - always hard to do in a wargame - and peeking ahead at some of the other Scenarios, there's more than the stock-standard 'kill them all' happening. That suggests some longevity, especially if one was to invest in playing a Campaign.
Using the Activation Pot was different for me. I did like that it was entirely possible that a Turn could end before all Units are activated. Putting the Activation Markers onto the board detracted from the game some - playing solo with the cards printed etc, I suspect you could easily get away with keeping the board clutter-free. Oh yeah, measuring things! WTF? That took some getting used to.
The Melee and Shoot Skill Checks followed by Damage Resolution was surprisingly sophisticated - using High and Low die, and the effect of rolling doubles etc were all rather clever. It wasn't exactly intuitive (hence the reference cards) as the target numbers were always changing, and it felt like a lot of calculations and die being rolled, but again, playing solo, that type of overhead isn't too much too accommodate.
The use of Hit Points was okay, but I did feel that some other hit effects might add to the excitement some e.g., knock-backs, stunning (I did notice Suppression rules). Also once a Unit is Engaged in melee, they can't attempt a withdrawal - bugger.
Was it fun? Will I play it again? Yes on both accounts. Now I've got a sense as to how the game plays some, I'll try again. I might even try to grimdark it up some - God knows, my Eldar could do with some more action (I noticed there's even a faction that might suit them nicely). I especially like the feel of the enemy activation tables (call it AI) and wonder if I could adapt the AI and Campaign to other games. Time will tell!
Using the Activation Pot was different for me. I did like that it was entirely possible that a Turn could end before all Units are activated. Putting the Activation Markers onto the board detracted from the game some - playing solo with the cards printed etc, I suspect you could easily get away with keeping the board clutter-free. Oh yeah, measuring things! WTF? That took some getting used to.
The Melee and Shoot Skill Checks followed by Damage Resolution was surprisingly sophisticated - using High and Low die, and the effect of rolling doubles etc were all rather clever. It wasn't exactly intuitive (hence the reference cards) as the target numbers were always changing, and it felt like a lot of calculations and die being rolled, but again, playing solo, that type of overhead isn't too much too accommodate.
The use of Hit Points was okay, but I did feel that some other hit effects might add to the excitement some e.g., knock-backs, stunning (I did notice Suppression rules). Also once a Unit is Engaged in melee, they can't attempt a withdrawal - bugger.
Was it fun? Will I play it again? Yes on both accounts. Now I've got a sense as to how the game plays some, I'll try again. I might even try to grimdark it up some - God knows, my Eldar could do with some more action (I noticed there's even a faction that might suit them nicely). I especially like the feel of the enemy activation tables (call it AI) and wonder if I could adapt the AI and Campaign to other games. Time will tell!
Thanks for the report.
ReplyDeleteI bought it recently along with the fantasy version in a bundle but haven't had a chance to read it, let alone play it, yet your blog has encouraged me to carve a bit of time out to give it a go.
I was thinking about the Fantasy version - if the melee rules are virtually the same (assuming they are), then I would suspect game play might suffer from 'sticky melee' i.e. the game degenerates into melee messes which end up feeling like a game of Yahtzee.
DeleteThat being said, I suspect that Dungeon Crawl type games are better suited for swords and sorcery... if only I had a warband of fantasy good-ish guys, I'd give it a try!
Sounds like a game I might like. Unfortunately there link to the PDF doesn't work and a search on Wargame Vault yields no results.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the report! I loved reading it.
I wonder if the link didn't work because you were using a mobile device? It doesn't seem to work on my Mobile Phone, but does on my laptop. I altered the address a tad, maybe give it a go again?
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the Report. As I only had a little bit of time available to me, I wasn't able to give it a red-hot go. I think I'll brew some Eldar-related antics/cross-over on the side and see if I can do a follow-up, maybe more indepth play along sometime in the near future - getting a few 'thank yous' as comments on my Blog is always a great incentive - so thank you Wouter!
You're welcome :), after all us Aussies need to support each other ;).
DeleteThe link still doesn't work, I'll try again later on my home computer.
Thank you for the tip.
Do you like this or Rogue Planet more?
ReplyDeleteThey are two very different games. BiS is solo focused, provides lots of pre-generated forces and solo scenarios. RP isn't designed with solo in mind, provides a very flexible 'build your own' force generator and has some pretty cool mechanics.
DeleteOn the balance, I get more enjoyment playing with others, and RP rarely fails to deliver memorable moments. The RP designer is super responsive to questions as well - I've run many an idea and query by him and gotten a well considered reply within hours.
There's something about the manner in which RP combines the Skill Check system + Counter-Actions/Reactions that's really top-notch. If you haven't given it a try yet, you owe it to yourself (and mates!) to do so.
I wonder is there any? Other stats? How do you explore open doors pick locks scan decipher aliens text communicate with aliens . Is that handled in campaign mode.. I initially I'm off from only seeing combat stats. Have you played since?
ReplyDeleteI've had a few games since, but it just hasn't totally done it for me... it could be a lack of commitment on my part!! As for other non-combat things, no I couldn't recall anything that covered such things, stat-wise. I just revisited/scanned the rules then, and some scenarios do require non-combat things e.g., a couple of scenarios involve 'Hacking' systems. In the case of Hacking, it's just a random/variable success mechanism i.e. there's nothing that sets some heroes apart as 'better hackers' etc.
DeleteYou know what? I'd recommend reaching out to the designer and talking to him about it. I had exchanged some emails and he's a decent, approachable bloke. Who knows, you might get credit for a Blood In Space supplement? Could be fun!