"Wargaming RPG's cont'd" Topic

A couple of posts after the weekend testing using RPG modules for wargame "campaigns". One brief Batrep/AAR (is there a difference by the way?) and a discussion post on my thoughts so far.

weeblokes.blogspot.com

More work still to do on this.

I've been looking into doing something similar for my WW2 squad-level skirmish games. Thanks for the inspiration!

- Bob

You might take a look at GURPS World War II series of RPGs or they also have Weird War II RPGs in both GURPS and D20.

They do make Weird War in Savage Tales now…

There have been a few RPG modules written with wargames as part of the concept, but only a few, to my knowledge. As far as rules go, there are many to choose from, but here is one more suggestion for you to consider.

BattleSystem Skirmish is based on 2nd Ed. AD&D; it is basically 2nd Ed. AD&D lite, focusing more on combat than anything, but it is closely related to the RPG rules. It is a perfect-bound book commonly available on e-Bay for less than $10. USD If you want to get into 2nd Ed. AD&D, those books are common as dirt on e-Bay, and you could get the three core books for less than $30 USD delivered, nearly all the time.

With regards to modules to play out as mini's campaigns, that is more difficult. I would suggest you create your own adventures using a basic plot akin to the old Giant Series-Drow Series of modules from the 1980's 1st Ed. AD&D game. Set up some nasty, potent, power-hungry villain, who is using underlings to form his armies. The evil armies are attacking local villages, while the leader recruits more creatures, building up his forces, until he has a force large enough for a larger scale attack. The campaign could entail multiple minor encounters, leading up to a grand battle with the mastermind. This would allow for the PC's to advance in levels, and power, giving your son a taste for RPG play, as well as tabletop battles.

Whether you progress to a mass battle, or keep it small, skirmish level battles, is up to you. You could do outdoor battles, with varied terrain, leading up to an underground series of battles, as your son moves up the "chain of command", ultimately battling the evil genius. The downfall is that this is a relatively linear, battle plan, that will reach a climactic conclusion. Then you will have to start over again, but that ain't all bad.

Alternatively, if you use BattleSystem Skirmish rules, you can play out any D&D RPG module as a skirmish miniatures game (depending on the version the module was written for, your conversion of stats will vary, but it is not terribly difficult as each "level" equals a single "Hit" that the figure can take, before it is killed, in the skirmish rules: an 8th Level creature will have basically 8 Hits in the skirmish game, while the AC translates the same, up to 2nd Ed. rules; in 3.0+, the AC was run differently, so translating will be a bit more challenging). Skip the RPG rules, and just play them as a mini's game, with little emphasis on the RPG aspects. Cheers!

Thanks for the tips, Sgt. Slag. Is there a summary anywhere of conversion tips between D&D versions? I've got access to a bunch of 3.5 and 4 material, but none older.

I'm still trying to figure out the balance I want between RPG and mini. I want the RPG mechanics to move things along to "the good parts" quickly, while still allowing a multi-day, multi-engagement game in a campaign.

- Bob

Great blog, please keep us informed on how this experiment is going.

As for RPG/Table top gaming. It can be a fine line. RPG's can focus on the role-playing or the battles or somewhere in between. That's up to the DM and players to some extent.

I've been in campaigns where it was rare to even take dice out. And my personal style was a little role-playing to "get to the good parts" as you say in your blog.

I think any of the editions of D&D lend themselves to that. Again the DM has heavy influence here. I've got the 2nd Ed battle game, and the Battlesystem Skirmish rules. They are both pretty good. I also am a big fan of SBH. I would also mention the the 4th Ed D&D is very combat oriented as well as the current D&D minis skirmish rules.

At this point I think you are on the right track, and it comes down to personal choice.

Cheers, Xin

Bob, I don't know of any stuff on translating between versions beyond 2nd Ed. With 3.0, things changed very dramatically in the game mechanics area. I never played beyond 2nd Ed. rules, so I can't really give you much information.

Xintao is correct: 4.0 has been widely discussed as being a miniatures game with RPG flavor thinly painted over the top. Again, I have no solid information as I have not read the new version's rules. With the official plastic pre-paints, collectible game (D&D Miniatures Game), WotC/Hasbro was very obviously moving towards a new product approach (that god-awful collectible crap, loosely based on MtG card games, and Mage Knight's business model). I don't know what their approach really is, at present. That said, however, you have many options to choose from. I would suggest you either try some of the commercial options (buy some rules sets and give them a try), or make your own up as you go along. Cheers!

7 months late, but the second half of the adventure has been played out. link

A few thoughts to the process have been added at the end.

any comments or additional thoughts are, as always, appreciated.

cheers
AK
weeblokes.blogspot.com

@Bobstro: you may want to look at the D20 Modern campaign books for Colombia, Afghanistan, and Somalia if you do moderns. They're good resources for scenario generation that's more than "kill'em all".

Looks like a fun time.