"Test of Honour - advice needed" Topic

I'm on the brink of committing to buying the Test of Honour gaming set plus a couple of units to get a couple of battles under my belt with a buddy of mine.

Our first idea was to have the Ashigaru Scouts face off vs. the Ikko Ikki forces led by Rennyo. Before committing, I had hoped for advice from people who already have experience playing the game on whether these work fine for starters.

Some general impressions about Test of Honour would also be much appreciated.

敬具

Yeosol

It's funny, I am vacillating on whether or not I should purchase them myself. A friend of mine played the rules at Fall In, I watched his game. He and his sons were impressed enough that they went on a spending spree in Wally's the following day and purchased the rules as well as starter forces.

My general impressions from his game and his purchases:
1) Very high quality product.
2) Smooth gameplay. Mechanics definitely more on the gamey side as opposed to simulation and the rules seemed like a generic game system with period flavor dropped in (one could probably use the same core mechanics for other skirmish level actions).
3) The new figures are nice.

I'm not sure how those two forces (ashigaru scouts vs ikko ikki), my friend's game was ninjas versus ashigaru.

A few random notes from a long-term player:

* ToH has become one of my favourite games of all time. It is extremely cinematic, so if you're looking for narrative moments of heroism or tragedy then it's good. Think Kurosawa films rather than historical niceties.

* You can use any figures from any manufacturer. There are no army lists and the composition of your warband is entirely up to you (there are no army lists). If you want to include a geisha and a peasant in with your ninjas then that's OK. The Greyfornow figures are extremely nice, but I also use a lot of Perry Miniatures with Footsore, Warlord, Bad Squiddo and others to fill out my forces.

* The rules, special dice and character cards do have to come from Greyfornow. A few are free to download from their website; these are usually oddities & exotic troop types.

* Scenarios are everything, especially in skirmish games like this! Fortunately, there are a decent number in the main rulebook.

* The game can be extended to more than 2 players. I regularly host 4, either as 2 teams or every man for himself. If doing this then I usually cut the forces down in size a bit, though turns are usually very quick. Play moves along rapidly enough when players are hustled along :-) .

* I cannot tell you anything specific about the ashigaru scouts or ikko ikki forces. However, all bands have their quirks and variations; they will play a little bit differently from each other.

Yeosol, give in and get it bought :)

As Colgar6 has said it very cinematic, and that is part of the fun for me.

Its definitely a skirmish game and whilst you can ramp up the points and figure numbers it can get 'ploddy' after 24pts. I know I have over 150 figures for this now and have only managed to run one all day game with them all and with 4 players on a 12ftx4ft table. The players had fun though, so no complaints there.

At 24pts this game is great for a challenging game for a couple of hours fun (less if those cubic sword generators keep failing you!)

I do have the Ikko Ikki and the character is unusual as he supports and buffs the basic troops rather than getting stuck in himself, our mounted Samurai player had a tough time against them, but Mounted troops are not a big part of the rules and not that great (IMHO). I don't have the Scouts so can not comment on them.

If memory serves each 'faction' has a set of cards, and a support deck of buffs. Buffs are specific to the faction and add flavour. There is no restriction in mixing factions other than diluting your buff deck which has a limited number (could be wrong on my interpretation of that).

If you want to use any miniatures I would definitely look to buy the clan forces and enemy forces decks, in a starter bundle or later when your budget can afford. This gives you the cards for all the 1st edition models, when it was part of warlord games, so you can either look to pick those miniatures up or any that fit the bill. Cards in this game are essentially 'mini codexes' like you would find in 40k, they give you all the points, stats and specials for that 'army'.

Its on its second edition now and has tidied up its 1st ed loose ends. Whilst I don't think starting it is as accessible, being all metal now, its is still a wonderful game and the Grey for Now metals are pure quality (and come with the cards for what miniatures you buy).

Very well, I've pulled the trigger on the Ikko Ikki and the Ruleset for now. I might go for the Ashigaru Scouts later, but for now I'll leave the choice to my buddy which force he's going to invest in.

Rennyo seems to synergize with "Believer" units, so I assume Sohei Monks are a safe bet for me to expand my force?

Can't wait to get started, especially after hearing your praises.