"Daishô – Skirmish Wargaming in Mystical Japan " Topic

"This is the beginning of the adventure. Today Charles and I launch this blog which will chart the development and eventual publication of a new medieval, mystical Japanese skirmish game – Daishô.

We are currently mapping out the project and defining the terms we shall use. It is my intention to try and publish a weekly design post so you have an idea of just how much effort goes into one of these here things.

Although Daishô shall have many similarities to its older brother, In Her Majesty's Name, we are determined to start from the ground up and ensure that it is not just a clone but a fully-featured game in its own right with its foundations deep in Japanese soil…"

Main page
daishogame.wordpress.com

Hope you enjoy!.

Amicalement
Armand

Looks like it might be interesting.

Just curious, but has the standard base size/shape been decided as of yet?

Osprey publishes In Her Majesty's Name and Ronin, another Samurai Skirmish game. I wonder if they'll find a new publisher?

@Schogun
Well, other than the pdf expansion parts that add a few mythical creature options, Ronin is more of a heroic historical rather than a more mythic type wargame.

So, something with a baseline that starts with the mythical level of things with monsters running around and magic being more common, it would diverge significantly.

Possibly also being less of a more varied combat type as well that would prevent some of the issues Ronin has according to several players where it tends to be more of who goes first with little else mattering unless you're wearing heavy armor…not sure if that's entirely valid in the games I've played, but there are people who argue it.

"Just curious, but has the standard base size/shape been decided as of yet?"
I would like to see them use hex bases; that way there is a clear front, rear and flanks as well. And they look nice when the figures are locked together in combat.

@Codsticker
I just kind of hope that it matches one of the current Japanese based games since currently Kensei, Bushido, & Ronin all have different basing rules…

I already own Ronin but I would happily buy this.

I really hope they dont even bother with specific basing rules and just say as long as everyone uses the same base for the same type of models its all fine.

I personally am basing all my samurai on pennies so if needed I can buy larger bases with cutouts for other games.

Yes, for skirmish games it should not matter that much what bases you use, unless your various minis use radically different sizes.

Actually we have done away with the requirement to match base sizes by simply saying that no more than four figures can surround and attack another figure. This worked well in IHMN and fits with the KISS principle that underpins our approach.
We are keen to allow players to use any suitable figures they already own.

Schogun, we shall not be publishing Daishô through Osprey. We are currently looking at a number of paths we can go down and have already been in talks with another publisher. We are also considering publishing the game ourselves.
The focus of our game will be quite different to Craig Woodfield's excellent Ronin. He has done a good job of representing the historical aspect of this period. We shall be including all those supernatural elements that make medieval/renaissance Nippon so fascinating.

OK, I'd honestly be much more interested in Daisho than in Ronin. Mythic Japan is simply much more interesting to me!

Then keep an eye on the blog Lion. We shall be documenting the whole development process as well as putting in the first AAR's from playtesting and lots of other goodness.

The next installation of our design notes series is up on the blog.

link

This time we address Skills, Magical Powers and Ki Powers.

Sounds good. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

Cool!

As far as magical or ki abilities go, I'd expect to see not only the shoot-every-charger one you use for an example, but a melee version of the same. Having not played IHMN, if there's a difference between spear/halberd, sword, and bare-handed, there should be an 'attack all' option in all of them. There should probably also be a 'ki escape' ability, too. I'm thinking of Minamoto Yoshitsune, here.

Magical effects? Summoning fog and turning invisible are two likely ones, as is the 'log decoy' of ninja movie fame.

I'd also like to see some dedicated anti-monster magic.

For other ideas, I used the game 'Qin: The Warring States' for an RPG set in Heian Japan. Lots of those abilities will port over directly, some of them didn't even need a name change. Since I ended up re-typing a whole lot of stuff for that game, I can email you my notes if you're interested.

I've also messed with Exalted 2e, though most of those abilities are a bit more powerful than most of the historical/legendary examples. I'd suggest the abilities of the 'Dragon Blooded' instead of the Solar Exalted.

And finally, take a look at Tenra Bansho Zero for other ideas. It's a translation of a Japanese RPG, and it's set in an exaggerated version of the Sengoku Jidai. Lots of ideas for special martial arts moves or ninja skills there.

Lion,
The Ki abilities are being expanded as I write, alongside the magical powers and combat skills.

On 23rd May we updated the design notes to describe the proposed mechanics for Victory through Honour. This brings a new way to win game other than just achieving scenario objectives, including by the use of Seppuku…
link

On 25th May I described how I was integrating the new Ki powers into the development of the Sôhei Buntai. It also describes in detail how these can be used to create a unique character – Iron Wind.
link

If you read this last episode of design notes carefully you will see a line that hints at how we shall allow Buntai to ally themselves with various non-Buntai heroes as well.

So now we are at the point where we have written the first draft of the Bestiary for mythical Nippon.
A full discussion of this important step can be found here:
link

The latest set of design notes are now up on the blog. This week I am discussing how we are making our choices for the Buntai we shall include in the core rules.

link