Let's talk Small-Team Skirmish Games

Michael Barnes wrote: Are you using the special terrain pieces or using some kind of stand ins?

Honestly, I'm not a fan of many models produced for the game. I do like some of their plastics though.

I am using stand ins if that means not the official models, but I think 'counts as' fits with the ethos of the game.

Like you mentioned earlier with the hand weapons classification, it really promotes creative use within very broad limitations.

I have the soldiers and the barbarians- they are really neat kits. It’s kind of up to you to sort out how to model a treasure hunter versus a man at arms or whatever, but there’s a nice mix of simplicity and multipose. The detail isn’t the best and I have no idea what some of their little belt-mounted doodads are, but they have a fun old timey quality about them. It’s kind of like painting old GW Empire figures. And you get -20- for about $30, so you really only need buy one box and you’ll have plenty for options. And the kits are compatible, which is nice.

I have some official metals too- they are uniformly not great. There isn’t a sculp among them that I think is exceptional, they are really Reaper Bones quality. But with some paint I think they will look OK. The nice thing is that even some of those figures are perfect for “counts as”- the thief could be a treasure hunter or ranger, a knight or Templar could be a captain.

I actually got an “off brand” set of Elementalists...it’s two ladies. And they REALLY look like Anna and Ilsa. Which is exactly why I bought them.

The new unpainted Pathfinder models have some great figs in them. I'm eyeballing a few for various wizards.

I have the Frostgrave basic ruleset. How would you rank the necessity of the other expansions?

Considering how you want to use dungeons, I think breeding pits is gonna be your compulsory buy.

For me, I'm in it for the type of game that the base game offers (treasure hunting wizards with a shitty band of plebes to get me the 'Ultimate Powah!!!', so I want that bit expanded.

That means more spells, more bestiary, more soldiers, more magic items.

Each expansion offers that, to varying degrees. The Frostgrave folio has a lot of good scenarios and expanded materials, together in one collection.
It even has stuff to allow solo/co-op if you're into that sort of debased stuff.
Thaw of the lichlord is really good too.
The expanded bestiary especially since it is so thoroughly thematic. Besides those two and the ulterior motives, if you're into for the same reasons as me, those should be the first three things you expand with. Ulterior motives having the clear edge since I really enjoy secret missions kind of stuff and other minor tweaks to freshen up scenarios you've already played.

I don't dig captains or heritors or other stuff that down plays spellcasting long term. Scenarios are cool, but other than a few tweaks that Archipelago offers, I should have skipped it entirely. Good stuff, just not the direction I'd like to see for the game.

This game sounds cool, but is combat really just rolling a D20? I hate D20s. They are the single thing I hated the most about the DDAS games.

Yeah just d20s. It gets real swingy especially if you use the critical hit rule as well.

Yeah, I think the critical hit rule is optional for a reason...it’s fun and exciting, but it is also unpredictably brutal.

Ghost Archipelago looks great (dinasawas!) but it does sort of get away from the plain ol’ Wizards and Warriors format which I am really digging.

I also really like that only your wizard and apprentice have spells...maybe that is coming from 40k Smite spam fatigue.

There is an Wiz-War kind of element to it...the treasure-grabbing, the crazy spells across all different disciplines. If it were goofier and sillier, it might feel something like a Wiz-War tabletop game.

The D&DAS sets are GREAT to have on board for Frostgrave, those Excel files really help draw the connections. It’s funny, the first mini my son painted was a blue Reaper spider that he dubbed and “ice spider” and I’ll be damned if there’s not an ice spider in the game. I’m also finding that a lot of AOS stuff works well- Gryph Hounds, Horrors, flamers (“fire slingers”)...this is where I have been getting the most “counts as” mileage but with the D&D sets you have most of the basic bestiary.

And I think the bestiary, the wild monsters, make a BIG difference in the game...two teams scrambling to get the treasures AND a snow troll shows up. Yay!

As far as the modules go the only other one I have right now is Dark Alchemy, which expands the potions quite a bit. I got it because it has a 3 game solo campaign I want to play...looks pretty fun. I’ll probably get everything because it’s what I do but probably Breeding Pits next to use on the D&D tiles.

So I gave the wizkids Pathfinder minis a closer look besides what I saw at the shop of 30 seconds of perusing.

I gotta say, these models are pretty exciting for warband usage in this game, especially if you don't mind throwing a dwarf (heh) or an elf or a halfing in the band.

If you browse through all the soldier entries in frostgrave, you can find everything.

The price is extremely good too, as they mostly come in packs of 2 for $4 if you shop through online discounters. Depending on what you are putting in a warband, you can fully create one for $20-$30.

The sculpting is really nice. These put a lot of reaper models to shame (besides Julie Guthrie who can't be topped).

They seem to have a lot of monster options as well to fill out the bestiary...

I dunno, but I think I may have to dump some money into some unpainted non collectible models from wizkids. A sentence I truly believed would not be ever possible to say.

wizkids.com/upm/

I'd be curious to hear what some of the favorite skirmish games are that are actual board games, such as Earth Reborn, Incursion, etc. Maybe the new Necromunda qualifies?

I'm currently re-reading the rules to Earth Reborn and am determined to play it in the coming weeks. I would also like to break out Betrayal at Calth again, since that game, perhaps more than any other that I've played, really strikes a great balance between flexibility and simplicity. It's perhaps held back by lopsided scenarios.

hotseatgames wrote: I'd be curious to hear what some of the favorite skirmish games are that are actual board games, such as Earth Reborn, Incursion, etc. Maybe the new Necromunda qualifies?

For head-to-head, competitive board game skirmishing:


For scenario based board game skirmishing:

Maybe I should alter the question a bit.... are there any board game skirmishes that properly handle more than 2 players?

Gorechosen.

Allow me to rephrase that suggestion so that it reflects the preferred parlance.

Gorechosen, bitch!

I have Gorechosen. I think I'm looking more for something where each player fields a team, ala Shadespire, but unless I'm mistaken, that game is really made for 2 players.

hotseatgames wrote: Maybe I should alter the question a bit.... are there any board game skirmishes that properly handle more than 2 players?

I really like the Imperial Assault skirmish, which can accommodate 4, but then again, I paint them for a dude who buys them for me, and who's very serious about it and has sent me every map for the game printed on vinyl. In this sense, set up is a breeze and having everything ever is great.

But I'd never recommend it, as it's a good game marred by a ridiculously fussy set up and enormous expense.

So, too, with something like Arcadia Quest, which ticks all the multiplayer skirmish boxes, but comes with CMON's ridiculous, consumers-are-weasels-let's-whip-them-into-a-frenzy business model.

I second Gorechosen, though it's more like a one-on-one-on-one wrestling match.

EDIT: oh, and that was my impression of Gorechosen at first, too, but no. It really shines at four players, and is merely good at lesser player counts.

hotseatgames wrote: I have Gorechosen. I think I'm looking more for something where each player fields a team, ala Shadespire, but unless I'm mistaken, that game is really made for 2 players.

I think most are made for two players by default.

But I think the key to good multiplayer interaction, is games that utilize interleaved turn structures. Or games with randomized turn orders. And if it is UGOIGO, like Wiz-War, then at least have opportunities for response out of turn.

That doesn't leave a whole lot, especially in popular contemporary titles. Too bad Heroscape is dead, it's turn marker system was good for keeping all players at attention.

Games I know of that are good and follow the above are Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. And all games that utilize it's engine, like legends of the old West/high seas.

But the popularity of such titles is nearly non existent compared to others.

I confess I haven't don't a lot of minis gaming in quite a long time, so I'm a bit out of the loop for what is available in that strata. But I'm just as interested as you to find titles that allow good multiplayer gaming.

Frostgrave (yeah, I know... damned D20) has a somewhat interleaved turn structure to allay the boredom of UGOIGO. I haven't played it that way yet, but I think three to four players wouldn't be too much. I imagine it would be pretty fun, in fact.

But none of these are actual board games though.

hotseatgames wrote: I have Gorechosen. I think I'm looking more for something where each player fields a team, ala Shadespire, but unless I'm mistaken, that game is really made for 2 players.

I've only played a handful of multiplayer Shadespire, but i thought they were good fun.

Maybe Mantic's Deadzone would be of interest? It's certainly small-team skirmish and uses square to square movement like a board game. But, yeah, maybe also the new Necromunda? Haven't played it.