Clash of Spears Kickstarter is Now Ongoing!
Now, this is a very quick Kickstarter. We expect to be shipping in January, since we did all the work ahead of time and only launched the Kickstarter when we were ready to execute. We did not believe that there would be patience for a long Kickstarter delivering six months plus down the line, and also we had already committed to the project before going to KS, now all that remains is size production and shipping.
The initial response has been great, getting funded and over 30K of orders on just the first day, but we still need to get the word out there and get more players into the game. With over 600 hundred books sold just over the first couple of days, we believe there is a serious opportunity to get the community to take off.
So What is Clash of Spears?
We have all seen how skirmish games have expanded over the past few years, either what you would call squad-level games, such as Brink of Battle, Frostgrave, Forager, etc., where you play 10 to 15 figures per side; or the next level up which we could call platoon-level (borrowing from WWII), such as Bolt Action, Saga, Sharp Practice, where you tend to have in the range of 30 to 80 figures per side.
Clash looks to provide a comprehensive set of rules that can tackle that type of action, yet provide the tactical depth that you encounter on other ancients wargames. After all, WWII platoon-level games tend not to sacrifice tactical depth just because you are playing with 40 figures per side.
In order to come up with something that could fit in this space, rules for "platoon level" actions for ancients/medieval and that would allow us to build colorful armies in 28s without breaking the bank, we established some key core concepts:
- A pure wargame. Our system does not rely on cards, battleboards and other boardgame-related elements which are popular in games like Saga, Mortal Gods, Test of Honor, Star Wars Legion. Those are all great games, so why do more of the same? We wanted to come up the alternative for skirmish gaming.
- We wanted the mechanics to provide interesting tactical options, but they had to be anchored on small actions, we didn't want to extrapolate large battle rules to a "pretend is skirmish" game. So for example, in our game, you would not have manipular rules, or Macedonian pike phalanx, etc.
- We want the rules to be gritty and personal while remaining fun and fast-paced. It has a good amount of chrome to convey the sensation of close action among small units. In this kind of action, troops fatigue and good leadership would have dramatic impact on the outcome.
- We want the system to be flexible. The idea is that the mechanics can eventually be used for anything from ancients to medieval, and even include fantasy at some point. But we wanted to start somewhere specific to provide a deep and well-defined setting. This is why we started with the Western Mediterranean, 4th to 2nd Century BC.
We will provide full disclosure to the point system, so you would be able to build any armies you want that might not have been covered by us yet. No secret sauce here, you will be able to use army lists designed by us or you will be able to create whatever list that you have set your mind on, and that you might have been researching for some time! Clash in Middle Earth, maybe, Clash during the Dark Ages, Arthurian Britain. With the point systems and design guidelines, you can jump into any of those, and what is even better, you can influence design of our future supplements.
- The flexibility principle must also extend to army building. The army lists give a lot of freedom, there are no percentages of troop types since those really apply for large battles. At a scale of action of 30-80 men per side, you could easily find whatever. So if you want your army to be all peltasts… go ahead… (We do have an option to build a warband observing restrictions, which gives you an advantage when taking a fore break test, but you can forfeit that advantage if you choose to build an ad-hoc force with what you want to have and it is fully within the rules.)
- Finally, the rules have to portray the feeling of a good representation of ancients combat. There is a lot of contradictory information regarding ancients, and even more when you move away from the documented main battles. So, of course, there is always room for argument, but at least this system takes some of those interpretations and puts them into a game to present a valid interpretation of how this type of combat might have taken place.
As you will see, our Kickstarter is quite modest and simple, not a huge line of stretch-goals and big promises, but certainly good deals. We have partnered with Victrix to provide special army boxes with a great variety of troops, fitting with the type of games that are optimal for Clash.
Of course, the rules work with other scales, as has been proven by many of our playtesters spread out around the world, and of course, work with any minis you might have and any basing you might have. However, we are trying to get more players into ancients in 28s, and these Victrix boxes are fantastically suited for that, and during the Kickstarter, you can get great deals on the boxes, specially if you grab those early deals.
Still, what we want is to get the book out there, so we hope that you will give us a chance, that you will have a look at some battle reports and some of the gameplay videos, and you'll take the plunge. Being an independent outfit just born means that we depend on you wargamers to spread the word and get the game going, but we assure you that this is our dedicated product, and that it will be well supported with expansion lists, scenarios, and community interaction as players provide ideas.
It is aimed both at competitive players and narrative players, and you will find room for both in the sense that the list have been extensively playtested for balance, at the same time that you will encounter some troop types that are maybe not optimal for competitive play, yet they are there in the lists for your narrative games…
Give us a chance and jump on board, and get ready for an intensive year of Clash of Spears gaming in 2020, as we will tour along wargaming centers bringing the game to you, your local game stores, and wargaming conventions!
Would You Like to Know More?
Some AAR:
