Help support TMP


"Impetus like basing vs DBx like basing" Topic


De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA)

19 Posts

All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.

Please do not use bad language on the forums.

For more information, see the TMP FAQ.


Back to the De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) Rules Board

Back to the De Bellis Magistrorum Militum Rules Board

Back to the De Bellis Multitudinis Rules Board

Back to the Impetus Rules Board


Action Log

31 Dec 2016 2:52 a.m. PST
by Editor in Chief Bill

  • Crossposted to De Bellis Multitudinis board
  • Crossposted to De Bellis Magistrorum Militum board
  • Crossposted to De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) board

Areas of Interest

Ancients
Medieval
Renaissance
18th Century
Napoleonic

Featured Hobby News Article


Featured Link


Top-Rated Ruleset

La Grande Armee


Rating: gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star gold star 


Featured Showcase Article

GallopingJack Checks Out The Terrain Mat

Mal Wright Fezian goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.


Featured Workbench Article

Adam Paints Some Lady Pirates

Adam loves Scorched Brown...


Featured Profile Article

Crusader Jerusalem

Our man in Jerusalem reports on the sights of Crusader-era Jerusalem.


Featured Book Review


967 hits since 2 Jan 2017
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?


TMP logo

Membership

Please sign in to your membership account, or, if you are not yet a member, please sign up for your free membership account.
Renaud S14 Aug 2011 3:47 a.m. PST

What is the reason of some newer rulesets like Impetus to have bases with twice the frontage of DBx standard? Purely aesthetics? It seems that it needs more figures, and bigger tables to be able to move around, so I miss to see the improvement in terms of gaming.

religon14 Aug 2011 5:12 a.m. PST

Purely aesthetics?

That is a factor, but I doubt it it is the principle reason. I designed a game 2 years ago from the ground up and found 12cm frontage for 28mm figures ideal. Some of my rationale…

1) 10 to 20 such bases maneuver well without crowding on typical table sizes (6 ft wide, 4 ft. deep)
2) Figures on 20mm sabot bases can fit 6 wide on such a base making nice pike blocks.
3) Even figures with excessive scale creep fit 5-wide on such bases.
4) Using such bases on hex grids allow for boardgame/miniature hybrid games like C&C Ancients.
5) If you have standard DBx bases, as I do, they can be sabot mounted 2-wide without rebasing.
6) I find most rules like FoG battlegroups where a unit is composed of multiple bases overly fiddly without adding value to the game.

6sided14 Aug 2011 5:33 a.m. PST

Its a case of basing as units rather than stands, unless you use a dba stand as a unit of course.

Jaz
6sided.net

Personal logo McKinstry Supporting Member of TMP Fezian14 Aug 2011 7:24 a.m. PST

I'm all for anything that adds more figures to a base. My FOG Gauls have 14 10mm figures for the mass infantry on the standard 40x15 and 12 bases per unit looks like a genuine mass. My Crusaders in Impetus are packed fairly dense as well and for me, mass also equals a better looking base.

I also strongly prefer the 1 base = 1 unit scale of Impetus in that I can have single diorama bases and make the individual units distinct. If find it actually makes for a more fluid game of movement on the table as well.

yorkie o114 Aug 2011 7:51 a.m. PST

Yep, what has already been said, its a choice really, 1 larger base for a unit, or multiple smaller bases.

For a large base that represents a unit, you may actually use less miniatures, and can arrange them on the base in a sort of mini diorama. The downside is obviously that you cant easily represent different formations.

The larger bases are IMHO ideal for DBA, where an element (stand) represents a unit.

Steve.

Wartopia14 Aug 2011 8:15 a.m. PST

I've always liked unit-sized bases for Renaissance through Ancients. It's more convenient, looks nice, and there's not a lot of need for different formations such as column/line/square.

Renaud S14 Aug 2011 8:36 a.m. PST

I understand the advantages of having unit-sized bases, but for instance DBA has it as well, on much smaller stands. Anyway, through all your answers it is clear that the large frontage bases were only designed for aesthetic reasons, and not too improve gaming mechanism.

elsyrsyn14 Aug 2011 4:49 p.m. PST

Figures have gotten larger, and rules have moved away from figure removal and towards unit sized bases. I still like the basic WRG base sizes, but then I use 6mm figs on 15mm groundscale bases, so it's a bit of a non-issue for me.

Doug

Tarty2Ts15 Aug 2011 7:50 p.m. PST

I think single base units are definitely the way to go for sure, and it makes it possible to use as many figs as you like. When it comes to 28mm……personally I don't like mine close together ( especially the gap between the ranks ), I like to be able to see the paint job and the figure. 15's , 10's and 6's are a different kettle of fish, quantity is what it's all about……you bet. Impetus style basing is very flexible for both.

losart19 Aug 2011 7:31 a.m. PST

Well I designed Impetus with the idea of keeping a more feel of Units and not have scattered bases with too freedom.
FoG make the same and before it was Armati (and Tactica) to do this, just to mention some.

So the original idea was just to double the frontage (and depths). Using a bigger base instead of 4 smaller bases gives the advantage to save miniatures and allow a diorama style (and also to give better protection to miniatures), but this is just a consequence on the original aim and it is not required to play Impetus. Just an option that opened new possibilities.

Lorenzo

greenknight4 Sponsoring Member of TMP31 Aug 2011 4:53 a.m. PST

I have adopted this for Day of Battle 4 as well. Personally though I now base my single stand units in 2 halves as it makes them easier to transport and does allow a quasi column look should I need it. Also i have kept a number of my troops esp. spears and pikes on their old DBX/WRG bases to allow me to easily show massed units of the same type.

CP

Bohemund12 Nov 2011 9:06 a.m. PST

I went for the "double-wide" bases many years ago, as a result of playing a locally developed fantasy rule set that was unit based, without figure removal. I liked them so much I have rebased all my ancient and medieval figures onto them.

They are easier to get an assortment of figures onto, and they are much easier to play with. An Impetus army with 20 units has 20 bases. A FoG game with 20 units has 80 to 140 bases. Less time is required moving the stands in the "double-wide" method. Additionally, moving the units correctly is easier. Another important point is that you can buffer your figures with base-edge, and so the "double-wide" base protects your figures from the hardships of handling during play. My figures get played with by a lot of diffrent people, and I value the paint jobs a lot, so this last point truly is important. It is much harder to protect your figures on the WRG, DBn, or FoG style basing.

Finally, the "double-wide" based units look better. Much better. And this is very important to me -- if miniatures games didn't visually appeal to me, I wouldn't be playing with miniatures!

Valator16 Nov 2011 3:07 p.m. PST

I like the look of the Impetus style of basing when used with 28mm minis.

NigelM17 Nov 2011 3:37 a.m. PST

One of things I thought of doing is a DBA army using 10mm figures on the 25mm bases. There are pictures on the 10mm Yahoo group where somewhere has done this IIRC. Will probably never get round to it though.

Dexter Ward17 Nov 2011 9:35 a.m. PST

You can easily make big bases using WRG/DBx/FoG bases and putting them on a sabot – that lets you use them for both sets of rules.

colin knight20 Nov 2011 4:03 p.m. PST

I love the Impetus basing for many of the above reasons/comments. It does look good. For slow painters who like nice looking dioramas it is great.
My intention is base all new units for Impetus. Problem is my mates are now into COE and I can never make many games anyway. I just hope Impetus style basing will not ruin armies used in COE.
The look for me is number one though. 80mm depth for cavalry may be too deep though?? 60mm more practical.

Tony Aguilar24 Feb 2012 8:16 a.m. PST

Has anyone tried Basic Impetus with single sized bases as the "unit".
Painting more figures is what has kept me from trying Impetus as opposed to playing DBA.
I figure the size of the game area could be reduced by 50% to make up for this.

MikeKT16 Apr 2012 11:44 p.m. PST

Yes, I've done it with single DBX bases for the small battle look, but this is better in 25mm than 15mm just because adult-size fingers get in the way of measuring and placing the smaller stands correctly, particularly in the ebb and flow combats. This is not so noticeable in DBA which is built around lining stands up.

The double-sized bases do lend themselves to dioramas and can be managed for unit-based games, but the mechanical advantages of large bases can be gained as well by using magnetic and sabot trays.

Dexter Ward19 Apr 2012 6:44 a.m. PST

It's possible to play Impetus with DBx/FoG based figures.
It is not possible to play DBx/FoG with Impetus based figures.
DBX/FoG basing also works find for Warmaster Ancients, Hail Caesar, Armati, and even WAB/COE and the like which assume single basing.
So if flexibility for multiple rule sets is a consideration, don't base for Impetus.
If Impetus is all you will ever play, go for it – it looks good.

Sorry - only verified members can post on the forums.