"Adventure modules and dungeon crawlers" Topic

OK, so I got the Battlesystem Skirmish book, but I'm yet to buy minis for playing the game.

I'm trying to decide between playing Battlesystem with dungeon crawling adventures using AD&D adventure modules (would need some tweaking) or going for a purpose-made game like Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Both options would have character advancement and campaigns in the game, and Descent is ready to roll out of the box.

The adventure module -way would provide more gameplay, but would need prep work for dungeons, creating tile maps out of the adventure books and having a number of miniatures prepared for play. Battlesystem requires more work, but will the end result pay off better than a board game like Descent (or Heroquest and many others)?

Both games would require a GM (or "Overlord") of sorts, the one who knows where the monsters are and who will play the opposition to the adventuring party. One player will always know more about the scenario than the adventuring party player. Is this a detriment to fun gameplay? I don't know, since I haven't tried this style of gaming before.

Then there's the cost aspect. 28mm miniatures look quite good, but they cost a lot, especially when trying to buy a whole module's worth of figures. A board game like Descent comes with plastic miniatures of about 30 monsters in the box set, they look good but come unpainted. There's also map tiles and playing cards and other stuff in the Descent box. All this I would have to get separately to play AD&D modules, and paint all the minis to make them representational.

Well, anyway, these are the two options I'm weighing between and trying to come to a decision. Any feedback will be welcome as to the pros and cons of both choices. Currently, the "completeness" of the Descent box set is luring me away from the freedom of Battlesystem gaming, but I know the game play time would be more limited with the board game approach.

I own and like Decent. The game on Amazon makes the price better. The plastic figures are very nice and paint up well if that is what you want to do.

The game has a lot of replay value and they make expansions that add to the amount of play value.

You could also use the figures and tiles to play Battlesystem as well.

Matthew

It is not Battlesystem, but the WotC DnD boardgames are nice. Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Asgshadron and Legend of Drizzt all come with figures, and are compatible

Probably on sale too

There's also the WotC Dungeon Command sets, with prepainted minis.

BS Skirmish is completely open-ended: you can play any adventure your mind can conceive. With regards to playing it, it basically requires mini's, and terrain, yes, but once you create modular terrain, plus paint up mini's, you can play whatever you want with them.

BS Skirmish takes the approach of mini's gaming, completely open-ended, and it assumes the player is interested in pursuing the additional hobbies of: mini's collecting, mini's painting, and terrain-making. The board games mentioned, are more limited, providing everything needed to play out their finite scenarios included in the box, only.

With regards to expensive mini's, there are inexpensive options available: 1/72 scale, plastic mini's from Dark Alliance, Caesar, and other manufacturers. There are monsters which can be re-purposed from Mage Knight, HeroClix, and more traditional fantasy mini's makers, such as Reaper's Bones lines.

With regards to scenarios, BS Skirmish is open to playing any RPG module you care to play out in miniature. I am preparing the terrain to play out the three, classic, Against the Giants series of modules, written by E. Gary Gygax, back in the late 70's.

Terrain can be made modular, both for dungeons, and caverns, for underground games. Surface games' terrain pieces can also be made in a modular manner, which will allow them to be put together, piece-meal, to represent whatever terrain is needed. Cheers!

I am preparing the terrain to play out the three, classic, Against the Giants series of modules, written by E. Gary Gygax, back in the late 70's.

IIRC, that's a lot of Giants, Sarge!

It is. They had more Orcs (~170, by my count), though, than Giants (counted them up, but I don't have access to my tally sheet, at the moment -- think it was like 70?). I have 35 Hill Giant figures (54mm Cave Men figures, plus 4-5 Grenadier Hill Giant figures, from the early 1980's, same size as the Cave Men figures). I hope I won't need to field the whole lot of the Giant inhabitants at once! That would be… Difficult. I have more Hill Giants, than Frost, or Fire. Not sure what I will do if the first module played out shows a need for the majority of the Giants to be fielded at once… Cheers!