"Leveling in minatures games" Topic

So yeah…been playing mmos away from the board game/miniatures hobby and I looked at Imperial Assault after playing SWTOR and SWG for a while.

Gotta say that I love the leveling aspect of RPGs in general. Take some Star Wars miniatures for instance and run an MMO on tabletop (sort of). Zone maps (worlds possibly) per session and battlemaps within the zone maps. Include fast leveling in the game (level per encounter) with new abilities every level and you have a modern-ish mmo on tabletop.

This is all mechanical talk so far…add a plot and you might possibly have a memorable game.

Doesn't have to be Star Wars but any set of genres, with a robust system that won't break under the consistent progression of characters (becoming OP in a short time).

The free Chain Reaction system from TwoHourWargames is light on bookkeeping and doesn't create uber-characters.

The current crop of small unit character-driven GW games like Necromunda and Kill Team allow your minis to gain experience points and level up no problem.

Gotta say that I love the leveling aspect of RPGs in general.

Could never see the point myself.

Void Pirates does this really well, Skirmish Wargame with a very "rpg lite" coverage of injuries, skills, experience and advancement.
Free format allows you to tailor the game to any genre/theme background you want.

I'll second 28mmFanatik on Necromunda; some years ago the group that I gamed with used the same mechanics for WWI and VietNam small unit (squad/ platoon- level) games.

"Could never see the point myself."

Oh, those negative vibes, major.

The gladiator game Habet, Hoc Habet is a semi-roleplaying game as written. Each player is the owner of a gladiator school, buying and training gladiators and putting them in the ring to gain money for the school (through prizes and gambling) and (hopefully) experience for the gladiator(s). A couple years ago a local group played a campaign, and had a good time until one player's gladiators got too monstrous. The game does allow for a bit of munchkinism.

Last year I was playing an ACW miniatures campaign set in the Shenandoah which enabled units to advance morale grades (we were using RF&F as the tactical rules). It was a fun idea, but was working better for my opponent, since my units which saw action kept getting wiped out or broken by his overwhelming artillery, and therefore didn't accumulate "experience points" to gain morale grades…

I have vague plans to someday run Spanish Main raid games in the galleon era, in which players add/lose crew, guns, wealth, fame, special officers and even whole ships to their commands over the course of multiple games.

- Ix

Yellow Admiral: Want to elaborate on your Spanish Main game? Sounds awesome.

There's not a lot to elaborate on. When I say "vague plans", I really mean vague.

I acquired a bunch of 1/600 Skytrex galleons years ago in a closeout, and I've since added a lot more from flea market purchases, and a few Peter Pig 1/450 ships (about half fluyts). I built one of each Skytrex size as shipped, then started modifying the next round of ships to have taller sterns and unique features – 1/600 is large enough to actually appreciate unique flourishes like towers, lanterns, deck structures, etc. A few years ago on a whim I collected a bunch of the new 3mm buildings coming out and started a Mediterranean-style town to decorate Caribbean shorelines. I have enough stuff to play and plenty more to build.

What I'd like is for each player to command a single galleon, and put all the players on the same side, competing with each other against the GM (and maybe a helper minion or two, in a big game). I'd also like a way to keep track of things individual to each ship (specific gun size/type/arrangements, special crew members, the captain's fame and glory and wealth, etc.), and watch these things change over multiple games.

I have a lot of scenarios in mind already, based on the sort of organized state-sponsored piracy funded by Dutch and English joint stock companies and royal/noble largesse. One of the things I like about the period is that the captains of the day fought pretty much the same way gamers do – no coordination, no tactics, no organization, just have at 'em and every man for himself.

I'm still stalled on what rules to use, because none quite suit my purposes as written, and I've failed to make my own. I might yet modify War Artisan's Away Boarders or Langton's Tiller & Whipstaff, but I really just need to sit down and figure it all out. It's hard to finish this project when I have so many others that are closer to playable.

- Ix

"Could never see the point myself."

Oh, those negative vibes, major.

Well, perhaps someone could explain why levelling is such a good idea?

The Thundeerbirds boardgame has a levelling option in one of the expansion packs. It adds a fun challenge to play. Each character starts out with a little less special abiliities than the standard version. After each character averts a number of disasters (variable by number of players in the game), they level up. Level 2 is equal to their standard version. Level 3 is a little more powerful.

The mechanic in this game adds nice tension where the players have to work harder to succeed at first level, but make up the difference if they get to level 3. We use that as our standard mode of play now.

Well, perhaps someone could explain why levelling is such a good idea?

A few off the top of my head:

• It's fun
  
• It increases emotional involvement of the players by making some units "special" (or, occasionally, "evil")
  
• It helps with continuity in a multi-game campaign
  
• It can give units or individuals extra backstory
  

Leveling up (or down) isn't the only way to accomplish these things, but it's a familiar way in today's world.

- Ix

Leveling gives a sense of advancement in terms of the story and power level, like a hero getting better at kung fu for example.

Arcadia quest. Although technically the heroes don't level their equipment does