"Choosing a wargame and wargaming system" Topic

After more than a decade of absence, thought it might be nice to dust off the chaos warriors and see what is happening. Some folks are trying to get Kings of War off the ground, and the rules, based on unit (base) size are not bad, but Mantic models leave something to be desired at times. I found Mierce Darklands, and the minis seem amazing, but I can find so little about the company or game.

Do any on this site have some insight into massed battle fantasy in general and Mierce in particular? Not looking for absolutes but opinions about different systems, trying to decide whether to go historical or forget the whole thing. Nearest players are 60 miles, and they play 40K. The meta for KoW seems to be speed, flyers and large infantry so massed battle looks a little less than impressive when one side brings 40 models or less to the table. Darklands is mostly skirmish, but I still may buy some of the Mierce models to snazz up the warhost since Mantic doesn't have any for Varangur. Anyway, thanks in advance for your input.

Generic fantasy or do you have a theme in mind?

What about generic fantasy systems like Armies of Arcana or Piquet Hostile Realms, or even HoTT? The first two can certainly provide a lot of unit flavor if you want.

Lion Rampant/Dragon Rampant could be a good place to start getting back in. The rules are not expensive. You can do either Historical or fantasy.

Play Kings of War with whatever figures you desire. Don't use their background if you don't want to, and build your armies according to your preferred source material. Don't worry about metagaming the army lists if it's just you and your friends playing.

We have a small group in Missoula doing Dragon Rampant, happy to have you down for a game sometime.

I still play 2nd Ed. BattleSystem, available as a PDF from RPGNow.com. It is loosely based on 2nd Ed. AD&D. Contains rules for everything: siege, skirmish, heroes, monsters, creature conversions to BS rules, battle platforms, flying units, undead, and more. Use whatever figures you like. Cheers!

Now that I can post I want to thank you for all the replies.

I suppose I am a refugee from the Warhammer world, but as I have been away from the whole gaming scene for more than a decade, I am pretty much of a noobie. I have been amazed to find the number of kickstarters, boardgames using minis, gaming systems, miniature producers, etc.

I am starting to get a handle on it, but I really appreciate the input. Please bear with me as I ask questions because I am not absolutely certain what I am after.

I have played about ten games of Kings of War on Universal Battle 2 and at game shops in Washington and Idaho. I even drove 250 miles for a tournament in Idaho that was cancelled, but at least I was able to play a game with the TO and the one other guy who showed. I have a large painted Chaos army, and it fits well with Kings of War and the gaming system, but I think I prefer playing campaigns with friends over getting caught up in the tournament meta that seems to always evolve in these things.

To make a long story a little shorter, I may be the only Kings of War player in Montana. I may have more time to play as I slide toward retirement, and was curious what kind of massed battle systems and historical systems you folks were playing. I didn't even know this site existed, but the discussions looked varied and interesting so I asked. Liked I said, the nearest massed battle rank and flank type gamers are about 250 miles away and sporadic. So thanks in advance for your suggestions. I already downloaded and started reading Dragon Rampant so I am listening…

@ coryfromMissoula

I live at the east end of the Blackfoot River valley so coming to Missoula is like a trip around the block. I am churning through Dragon Rampant, and yes, I would very much like to come and play soon. I have about 5000 points of warriors of chaos painted up and ready to go. My son is coming from California and we are going to give Dragon Rampant a try as well…clever system. I look forward to hearing from you.

dragonbreath, email me at noid12000@yahoo.com

I've stayed with Warhammer all these years. In my opinion the sweet spot was 7th edition rules with 6th edition army books. I've managed to recruit several new players who could care less about editions, rule sets, etc. They just love gaming with my fantasy armies and, before the whole GW tournament rat race started, that's the way gaming was supposed to be.

So, as a Warhammer refugee, don't rule out the fact of staying where you are with what is familiar.