"Hail Caesar - are they like Warmaster?" Topic

I've just been listening to Henry Hyde on the CWF Game Cast where he mentions (in passing) that the Black Powder game is similar to GW Warmaster link

Can anyone inform me if Hail Caesar is in a similar style?

By this I do not mean Orcs v.s. Dwarfs but the style of command, movement, combat etc…

If any-one has a link to a game review I would love to see it.

Thanks in advance
Andrew

Look here TMP link

It is similar, very similar. It is Warmaster Ancients with some of the problems solved, I think. There are a few changes but overall they are pretty much the same game with tweaks.

There are broad similarities but the game plays much, much better. We played two games in two hours the other night which included teaching both players.

Command is more streamlined but retains a degree of uncertainty. Combat is still a "buckets of dice" approach, but the bucket is smaller and there is less complexity with adding and dropping dice.

Movement is less fiddly and there is no stand removal mechanic that messes with frontage.

Fits somewhere in between DBA and WAB in terms of granularity, which is where Warmaster Ancients was pitched.

We're going to try a larger battle with Rome v Carthage tonight and Rome v Celts on Tuesday. So far various early medieval and dark age battles have had seemingly historical results.

Bob

Didn't Warmaster have an "unlimited" move problem?

The fantasy version of warmaster allowed effectively unlimited moves (eventually the penalties would make it impossible); I believe this was corrected in Warmaster Ancients and a limit of three moves per unit was set per turn. Hail Caesar has a similar limit but the mechanic is different.

Warmaster Ancients, Black Powder, and Hail Caesar were all written by the same author and utilize the same basic gaming engine. However, there are also significant differences between them.

This earlier TMP thread covers some of the differences between Warmaster Ancients and Hail Caesar:
TMP link

There is a fairly extensive online review for Hail Caesar available here:
link

Cheers,
Scott

I can see how the commands could be described as similar, but the way combat works is different (well as different as a mechanic involving throwing dice and seeing what happens can be).

Leigh

Moves were never unlimited in Warmaster or the Ancients variety, as eventually the dice would take over. However HC has much improved the C2 by ensuring the maximum number of functions in a turn is three, again dice and conditions dependent. I am a fan as you can still use you WM armies and basing in these rules, but it does need some work by the wargamer himself because there are no army lists.

so, since the same author is responsible, could i just use the army lists from warmaster ancients to play hail caesar?
I bought HC recently with the intent to game with 10mm armmies(trying to use same armies for impetus and HC)
-I was a little concerned with having no army list or build section in HC

Army lists are on the way but I don't see any reason why you can't use Warmaster Ancients lists.

Having said that our Romans v Sassaniad games don't feel the same (in a good way) using the WA lists, as they did when playing WA.

While several fully-detailed scenarios make for ease of play, that's only half the equation. Fair and equal lists also help, or at least a points system to get you there.

Flames of War has essentially made one of the most popular games ever in a period that was totally neglected by providing these two key ingredients. If you have a list, you can make an army that's reasonably fair. If you've a mission then you can meet an opponent easily.

Hopefully, they'll finish the job with HC, the ancients world needs a game that's fun, historical and easy to play/set up. Sort of a DBA with mechanics that have a more detailed granularity.

While I personally like DBA a lot, I understand why lots of my friends are still looking for the right set of rules. And WAB doesn't do it for them, either.

According to the author, there will be two HC army list supplements, which are planned for release later this year. Then various scenario-based supplements to follow.

Cheers,
Scott

HesseCassel -- FOW was not the first to do this with WWII. It's popularity is not due to having a points system or army lists.