Discounted Today: Battlesystem Miniatures Rules (2e)

This is a "bucket-O-dice" game, but it is a very good one. It is based on 2e AD&D rules, but it does NOT play like AD&D! It is a true, mass battles, mini's game. It covers pretty much every aspect of fantasy wargaming: it has rules for siege, artillery machines, war machines, mining, aerial combat, monsters (large and small), it has conversion rules for creature types not listed, as well as battle platforms not listed. It has a limited list of spells from the RPG, but there are PDF supplements, which our dear Editor has, but I am not sure he has posted them, yet.

The PDF supplements include: a thorough Spell Card listing, printable, can be laminated, includes both Wizard and Cleric spells from the PHB, and the Tome of Magic; Magic Item Cards, similar to spell cards, uniformly sized, as above, it includes some not-so-common items, such as a Banner of Law, which adds a Morale Bonus to friendlies who can see it, as well as a Banner of Chaos, which aids the bad boys' teams; there are night vision rules; and more.

Heroes can help Units, but they do not rule the game. Magic is powerful, but it cannot win a game for you. Fireball spells will wipe out, at best, 2-4 figures in a Unit, but each figure typically represents 10 creatures -- powerful, but usually very disappointing for the owning players, as they fantasize a single Fireball spell will wipe out 100's of men… Sorry, this is not Magic Hammer, nor is it Hero Hammer…

This rule set is comprehensive, in scope. It has pretty much everything you will need. There are rules to translate non-listed creatures/races into BS terms. There are rules for creating your own war machines. But there is also a large section on how to paint mini's. It is dated, but it is still valid in its approaches. The book also gives suggestions on how to make simple terrain. It is full of beautiful color photo's of well painted mini's, and terrain.

Oh! One tidbit not covered in the rules: additional Moral Check Triggers translate into a penalty for each additional Trigger. The Unit only faces a single Morale Check each Turn, not multiple Checks…

Best of all, I can say it plays really well. I've been playing 2e BattleSystem since 1992, and I am still playing it. It is that much fun!

Hard copies appear on e-Bay, and Amazon, periodically. The prices are usually around $15 USD-$20 + shipping. Cheers!