"Anyone here play Warlord?" Topic

I'd like to get some input on SOBH fans on this system. I've been looking for alternate systems to replace Mordheim for me and so far SOBH is the best one I can come up with for one reason or another. It's the most adaptable with the least amount of work.

Recently I've discovered Warlord by Reaper. It has representatives of all the warbands me and my girlfriend play (orcs, dwarfs, lizardmen, undead) and the stats seem a little more detailed than SOBH.

One of my biggest concerns about SOBH is that the stats are just a tad too simplistic for me. I really like the game system, but deep down I think even if they added additional stats to differentiate melee/shooting and defense or simply using stats based on D10/D20 (for wider variables)it'd add far more detail without too much complexity.

So what are your inputs on Warlord. Any other suggestions of games similar to SOBH but maybe more detailed stats to represent Mordheim is much appreciated. I've checked other games in the form of Warrior Heroes and Havoc.. but I don't think they have enough racial differences (focus is too much on equipment). Other games such as Maulifax don't really have the correct representation for our models.

Thanks..and I can't believe I've barely discovered this site. I've been on Warseer since 2nd Ed 40k (back when it was named Portent)and its a great community too.. but if you're doing anything non-GW related.. its a bit quiet and slow-going.

What is it about Mordheim that you're trying to get away from?

I have the first edition of Warlord. I never got around to playing it though. The little cards put me off as I always seem to lose them. I did like that your stats went down as you took damage. The figures are great too.

Mordheim has a lot of great elements for campaigns and such. Its also very detailed with stats, weapons, etc.. but in practice the game plays very clunky and outdated (standard IGOUGO affair). After seeing a few games of LOTR SBG being played and explained.. I wanted a more elegant system to handle skirmish. I actually found out SOBH when I was asking around for SBG rules and which stats to use with our models to proxy. So for Mordheim.. theres a lot to be admired, but as an actual game to have fun.. it bogs down way too much with excessive rules and dice rolling.

Chuck: definitely agree with you the stat going down with damage. I always thought that was an under-utilized mechanic. One thing I like about SOBH is how they deal with it.. models with "TOUGH" go down in Quality with each "wound" they take. I think in 2nd Ed of Warlord.. they have all the cards for print.. so it'd be easy to just print em all out on 1 sheet of paper to keep track.

SBH's simplicity is the core of it's experience and the 60-minutes-or-less timeframe that the game plays. It's deliberately abstract in certain areas to allow for this. If that's not your priority than it probably won't do it for you.

I've not played warlord, but I read through it a month ago when I was searching for a ruleset for engagements larger than SBH allows.

It looks to be between SBH and Mordheim in complexity. It also allows you to build warbands that are larger than mordheim warbands. Unfortunately custom characters and unit creation from the first edition were written out of the most current edition. However, Between the two current books there are alot of unit profiles so you should be able to find something to cover most fantasy creatures.

If you just want to dabble in the game, 1st edition rulebooks are available for not much $. USD If you like it, the 2nd edition rulebook and the "Savage North" supplement (which also has the core rules I think…) are available from Reaper.

Other Fantasy skrimish rulesets you might want to see would include Ares and WareEngine. Both are a bit less complex than Warlord, but moreso than SBH.

WarEngine is OOP, but you can get the rules and the fantasy warband lists from the yahoo group.

Are Ares and WareEngine generic enough or at least have stats that can represent Dwarfs, Lizardmen, Undead, and Orcs?

I'm a big fan of Warlord.
Warbands can range from 5 or so figure and up.
Models act independently.
Any model can be used. No custom creation but fairly easy to assign an existing stat card to a model.
Missle weapons are not overpowered.
Combat can be lethal.
Spells cost spell points and a model has a limited number of them so doesn't dominate IMHO
Each faction has doctrines that can be chosen and add a bit of flavor to a warband as well as each warlord has something he adds rule wise. Warlords are not necessary as a captain can lead your warband.
Online army creator here reapergames.com

How do you like Warlord compared to SOBH? I know they're kinda different games.. but they both seem to share a lot of similar qualities. They both seem to understand that in a skirmishing game.. having everyone with just a flat 1 wound profile doesn't quite work out. Both of them have mechanics for randomness, risk/reward, and diminishing statlines as more damage is sustained (SOBH has TOUGH models degrade in Quality as they get sufficiently wounded).

I have played 1st Ed. Warlord. It is very stat/skill heavy. One of the things we found cumbersome was to have to keep looking up all of the various skills and what they modified or not. I think it might be what you are looking for. Look for a copy of 1st Ed. To try it out.

Warlord 2nd is a good game. Warlord I was still a good game also.

Ares is okay(ish)
WarEngine is definitely generic enough.

comparing SoBH to Warlord: The stat cards for Warlord are good imo, because as the model gets wounded, it's abilities decline.

I don't like SoBH's mandatory move only in a straight line do not break up the movements rule.

Ranged weapon attacks in SoBH are weak. This has been addressed some lately.

The only downside to the Warlord rules is there is no individual model creation rules which is kind of weird considering how many minis Reaper makes…

If you like the declining stat mechanic. Have a look at Rattrap productions " Broadsword Adventures ". Its basically the 45 Adventure rules tailored to a sword and sorcery genre. I would rate it up there with SOBH and Warlord in terms of quality.

Cheers.
GeorgeD.

Yea, the straight line movement was the first thing I amended for SOBH. We base movement on inches and just go whatever direction in that amount of inches.

One thing that does favor SOBH a lot though.. is how easy it is to shape the game to be your own. Just the fact that SOBH has so many different versions shows that its begging for mods to a specific taste.

I've checked out Broadsword but the thing that turned me off to it is that it seems like it went best with maybe 5 models and is basic humanoid. I'm looking for something that operates well between 5-20 models.. but averaging 12-15.

Are Ares and WareEngine generic enough or at least have stats that can represent Dwarfs, Lizardmen, Undead, and Orcs?

Both will handle just about any model you care to use. Ares design-your-own system is probably a little more versatile and accurate (in terms of point costs being a true rating of combat ability) than WarEngine, but they're pretty close.

Huge fan of Warlord. By far my fave fantasy mini game. I like it alot more than SOBH. SOBH is a good game too but as you stated a bit too simple. Warlord gives you the simple but adds alot of flavor. All the skills may seem overwhelming at first but after you play your army a few times you'll remember what does what. Combat is very deadly and magic isn't overpowered. But mistakes can be very painful.More planning is needed in Warlord than SOBH. We've played anywhere from 400 to 1200 point battles. If you'd like to see some batttle report vids just look me up on youtube under the same name as here.

Ares and WarEngine are generic enough and they both have stats for most fantasy races. In Ares it's now part of the rulebook and with Warengine, they are in the files section of the yahoo group.

I recommend at least giving WarEngine a try, since it's entirely free. link

Ares actually looks very interesting. I saw the demo on their site. Where's the cheapest place to buy it?

I've not seen Ares for sale anywhere other than their site. Maybe google will prove me wrong?

I've just purchased Ares from MXII's site. The PDF version. Upon further observation.. I've definitely made my decision to have SOBH be my main rules set. I'll probably dabble in Ares too though when I have time for longer games. I'll try to find a way to mix the two together into a campaign/level up system so both games played will benefit the warbands.