"Innovation in Fantasy Back in the Day..." Topic

I was thinking the other days about ideas in fantasy wargaming that, looking back, really stood out for their originality (but not, sadly, financial or gaming success).

One was Inferno from Global Games – it was in 6mm scale, so humans were tiny, but the demons were truly gigantic in comparison. I never managed to see it played and it is long gone now, but the idea of using 6mm like that to field really titanic creatures fascinates me. (If anyone can make the gameplay work…)

Another was Dragon Wars from Grenadier, I believe. I know there was a range of dragon miniatures, and apparently some kind of rules for fighting teams of dragons against each other? The dragon models weren't that large, so maybe 1mm scale?

Third was a strategy game in the Demonworld line. It was an attempt at a build-and-conquer game using the same 15mm fantasy figures as the regular Demonworld line, plus added structures. I liked the idea, I liked the look, but the gameplay wasn't sufficiently thought out.

Anyone remember some long-gone but innovative fantasy games of yesteryear?

Only my own. It seems that each time I go back into Fantasy RPG I have to "retool" a system. I can't remember the old one(s) without rereading everything, and when I do reread them my upper lip starts to curl in something like mild distaste. I must do better! And so I try, again.

I am in the middle of a rehash project even as I type. A "reunion game" is scheduled for the middle of July between me and a friend I hadn't seen in over fifteen years. Brothers and sons on either side and a couple of other friends are also invited. But, as these things by nature are tenuous at best, I won't know until the day has come and gone if it will prove satisfactory….

I always thought Nick Lund was a genius with Grenadier's "Fantasy Warriors" miniatures game (free rules still available on-line)…. But it died like a dog.

The Ares miniatures rules set from Majestic 12 and the genius of Kevin Smith still intrigues me and still has mechanics looted by other rules systems from time to time. It used multiple die types and opposed die rolls which I had never seen before. This game is still available and worth a look. As far as I know it never came close to matching the popularity of other MJ12 offerings.

I agree about ARES. Outstanding set of rules. Kevin created army lists for about everything. The rules,IMHO really shone as a big battle set where the base number of hits was 1 or 2. We played them many times and enjoyed it very much. We used so many variants of them I created an ARES variant yahoo group. The rules time seems to have passed sadly.

Hertiage's Knights and Magic was great but just never took off.

The demon world game was called Empires and I was lucky to get all the pieces for the game for 75% off when a local store closed.

I liked Fantasy Warriors-ammo rules, pre-battle oaths and boasts. Shame it got steam-rolled by that other game.

I still have my original Knights and Magic rules. They were too complex in the day, and i think still so today. Onceyou got a few games in you could see how it worked, but it was intimidating to a new player.

Another vote for Fantasy Warrior. I liked the way you could build scouts into the army. It made them more than just light troops. The force with the most scouts got advantages in setting up the table.

The Grenadier game was Dragon Lords, not Dragon Wars. Not to be confused with Grenadier's line of 28mm minis that were also called Dragon Lords.

The Dragon Lords game was a lot of fun to play, and the miniatures were little jewel. Many of mine have found their way into my small-scale fantasy games, especially Man O' War. I haven't played it in years, though. I should dig it out of the hobby room and give it another go this summer.

Swashbuckler from Yaquinto was another innovative game that never took off. Cinematic tavern brawls with pre-plotted movement and actions. Lots of fun. Adventure was the name of its sci-fi brother.

I liked and continued to use Armies of Arcana rules. As I recall, Thane tried to make his own empire-building game but it wasn't successful.

Titan-The Monster Slugathon!
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I was looking forward to the release of Empire Chronopia. It never made it out of the gate!

I was looking forward to Empire Chronopia, too. Fantastic concept art. The miniatures would have been incredible.