"Are Impetus-Style Bases the Future?" Topic

The future, as in the standard (perhaps a better word for what you are really asking)? No. To each his own. For me? Yes, simply for the visual impact, modeling possibilities and to reflect the realities of most armies in the ancient period not having a high degree of flexibility at the small unit level.

As for bigger bases getting in the way of terrain, most battles were two sides lining up on flat terrain and pounding each other. In my view, most terrain would dictate where the battle lines are being drawn up, not breaking up units.

The nice thing about the impetus idea is that whether your figures are at present based individually on 20mm frontage, or on bigger 40mm or 60mm frontage, you can buy a movement tray 120mm wide and away you go. I don't play impetus, but I like the idea of 1 base (or tray of figures) is a unit. And when you combine that with a grid based rules system, such as To The Strongest, you get a very fast (and for me enjoyable) game.

It works for me. But in the words of our Lord Brian, we (Wargamers) are all individuals, and the more rule books that are printed, with nice pretty pictures, the more we will buy, try a couple of times, then leave on the shelf for a year or so till we sell them all at a bring and buy stall to raise cash for the next new "best set of rules ever" shiny book.

I am convinced that we will never conform to the utopian single set of ancient rules. Phil Barker nearly achieved it, but that was a different age.

I like the look of these big bases, but cannot see them being the future (that's garlic bread, at least it is according to Peter Kay). I play Hail Caesar, Sword and Spear, DBA and Impetus and used to play Warmaster and may well play other sets in the future. For me, the 40 mm wide base, of varying depths, is the ideal. I can put several together on sabot bases to play Impetus, but am not restricted from playing other element based rulesets.

A nice compromise we've seen a lot at our club is 15mm figures on the WRG 28mm basing. It looks a little heftier, and on average it's about 1.5 – 2 times the standard DBA troop count. Also plays really well on a 4' square board. And towns look like towns, camps look like camps….

DBx basing works for me. As others note a sabot base can be used to get from those to most of the other standards.

You don't get the dioramic effect goragrad by simply saboting 4 stands of dbx bases. Also, with the larger 28mm figures one can reduce the number by a couple on the larger bases to get a better distribution of the figures.

The only thing holding me back is that I have a desire to run some castle siege games and need my figs individually based for what I have in mind. On the other hand, I have been talking about it for years and never done it while I play mass battle games with the figs often….

Queen Catherine, I see 80mm and 60mm basing taking over for 15mm ancients over time…not yet, but the world is moving in that direction….

I would say it was going to large bases. Then Saga and Lion Rampant come along. The appeal is getting a nice looking game without lots of figures. This allows getting into new armies and periods.
Also less figures allows nice scenery to be used without getting in the way. It also allows the figures to be seen more.
Of course I appreciate big armies and tables still

Colin, that's where I see 28mm really shine – skirmish gaming. What is missing from skirmish is a set of genuine dedicated pre-Dark Ages rules. For mass battles, we find 15mm a fine compromise between vastness and paintability. 60mm bases really do work well for 15mm, as a compromise, though, but 80mm bases allow sabots for 40mm based troops, so they can fight as well.

The nice thing about big bases is how you get to arrange troops in formations…

Impetus bases are easy to make and cheap but only usabe in impetus so no the future since they aren't compatible with other systems

That's not exactly accurate noigrim. Impetus bases work well for several other sets including Armati, Warrior, probably Hail Caesar, and probably several other sets that I am not as familiar with.

I use mine for Impetvs, Hail Caesar, Dux Bellorum and will also use them for Dragon & Lion Rampant and could use them for DBA if I were to go back to that (not likely though).

Don't think so, it's more the DBx system I see everywhere. As has been said already they look nice and pretty on the table.

But besides warrior and Saga all I see is the DBx style at 'cons ( or even the Hong Kong painters, if there was a market they would do it I'm sure) , never seen impetus being played at Lancaster, saw one game of Armati there once and I think even that had something similar bases to DBx.

I personally prefer to have the smaller bases. I put metal bases on the bottom of plastic and then can make movement blocks simply with sheet magnet which can be less obtrusive than a movement tray. This way the figures (mine are 15mm) can work for other games as well on the 40mm frontages.

Just received my first order of impetus sized bases in the mail from Litko. I am going to do a 28mm WOTR army with them and see how I like it.

They beat multiple bases in a whole lot less flocking, economy of figures and can be used for other periods just as well as ancients. That's how I would go if I was starting out. Plenty of bloggers are using larger bases to represent 1000 men or a brigade. I think it's worth looking into.

My single base/ DB(X) based figures are all missing a pile of their spears etc so I am moving my Pike at least to larger bases (we play Hail Caesar but same sort of idea).

The current plan is paint an army for Saga and use them on diorama bases and once I have more than I want for Saga to go for diorama bases. I may regret that later but element basing is causing way too much damage to my collection.