| Bob in Edmonton | 08 Nov 2009 9:31 a.m. PST |
After a summer of painting and adapting the Basic Impetus rules for LotR, I had my first playtest last night: link Overall, the mechanics are fine (as the Basic Impetus engine is great). Needs a bit more LotR feel to it so I will get that fixed for next weekend's playtest. This is unrelated to the official fantasy version of BI that is apparently in development. When I get the balance right, I'll ship this version off to Battlegames. |
| Who asked this joker | 08 Nov 2009 10:37 a.m. PST |
Nice looking game. What did you use for the round shield cavalry? (aka Riders of the Mark). |
| Bob in Edmonton | 08 Nov 2009 10:48 a.m. PST |
Zvezda Russian knights with the shields carved off and round ones (scavenged fro Zvezda's Viking set) glued on. A fairly easy conversion with the new two-part glue that works on soft plastic. |
| Privateer4hire | 08 Nov 2009 11:16 a.m. PST |
Looks brilliant! I'm not familiar with Impetus, though. |
| Bob in Edmonton | 08 Nov 2009 11:25 a.m. PST |
dadiepiombo.com/basic2.html Similar in abstraction to DBA but without the pips and concerns about stand alignment. Converts readily to other eras (baroque version online; an AWI one to appear in Miniature Wargames shortly; fantasy and Napoleonic in development). The AWI piece in MW will also have an option to add an operational level to the game (mechanics are super clean so this is very doable) using blinds and half-sized bases. |
| CPBelt | 08 Nov 2009 11:53 a.m. PST |
Bigger photos! Great looking game. Any word on the variant rules used? |
| Bob in Edmonton | 08 Nov 2009 12:21 p.m. PST |
Thanks I'll be submitting them to Battlegames when I'm done the playtesting (likely early December). Not much in terms of variation from BI: a bit of magic, different army lists, and a couple of reinforcement mechanics to add some uncertainty. |
John Leahy  | 08 Nov 2009 7:54 p.m. PST |
The game looked great Bob. how long did it take? You're doubling the numbers next game? Thanks, John |
| blacksoilbill | 09 Nov 2009 4:24 a.m. PST |
Really looks fantastic! I've been playing a bit of Impetus fantasy lately, and its lots of fun. |
| Bob in Edmonton | 09 Nov 2009 7:45 a.m. PST |
John, The game took about 90 minutes (including explaining the rules to my fairly experienced opponent). We also had about 90 minutes of chit-chat interspersed. I still need to fix a few things re: magic so we'll have another 6x4 playtest next Saturday. Then a full run at the club with the reinforcement mechanic. Then a game in early December on a 12x4' table with two commands per side to see if I can break the system with too many troops. Bob |
| Who asked this joker | 09 Nov 2009 8:55 a.m. PST |
Zvezda Russian knights with the shields carved off and round ones (scavenged fro Zvezda's Viking set) glued on. A fairly easy conversion with the new two-part glue that works on soft plastic. Silly question…How did you carve them off? Did you use a hot knife or just a razor knife? |
| Bob in Edmonton | 09 Nov 2009 10:08 a.m. PST |
Just a heavier version of a modeling knife with snapable blades (sometimes called a stanley or carpet knife in my part of Canada). I carved as much f the shield off as necessary to make a flat surface to anchor the new shield on. As the round shields were bigger than the originals, there is really no evidence of the old shield. You can see sightly clear pictures here: link |
| Bob in Edmonton | 14 Nov 2009 12:56 p.m. PST |
Another playtest here: link Basic mechanics are solid; some more magical tweaking was done. The big test is at the club on Tuesday! |
| John Leahy | 14 Nov 2009 10:48 p.m. PST |
Your stuff looks really great Bob! Love the basing. Thanks for the heads up on the Mini-Art German warriors. I was thinking about picking some up. Post the next game, please. |
