Mandarin's Manor

« My First 40k Game | Main | New Paint Rack »

April 29, 2009

War of the Ring

Sorry about the lack of update. There's a very good reason for that: The new War of the Ring release from GW. I have spent most of my hobby time in the last 2 months either trolling trolling through eBay looking for figures, painting them, or working on building an army.

The Rules are probably the best I've seen from GW (some called it what Warhammer Fantasy battle SHOULD be). The rules are more abstract than WHFB (you do not worry about strict movement paths and number of figures in a rank. Geometry is much less important which I feel is what make games like WHFB or DBx complicated.

While it shares the figure range with their skirmish game (Strategy Battle game, often called LOTR:SBG for short), the rules are very different, not just a mass combat "variant". Basic turn structure is still interleaved IGO-UGO (I move, you move, I shoot, you shoot, I charge, you charge, then we fight melee). The concept of MIGHT is also preserved (i.e. heros use might to do cool things). Some other major difference:

1) Organization: Figures are organized into company (a stand) of 8 inf or 2 cav, and then company is organized into "Formations" (Units) of from 1 to 9 companies, depending on troop type.

2) Mechanics: Movement is very stylized. If you have enough distance you can move a company, exact how you get there is not important so this should speed up play and cut down on argument.

3) Fighting: Instead of rolling hit/kill/saves, the system gets converted into a single throw of massive number of dice. If you get offended throwing 40 dice in one combat then this is not a system for you.

4) Magic: A new spell system for GW that let you cast varaible number of spells with variable likelyhood of success. Some does not like the uncertainty but being a gamer who believe in Chaotic school of rules I like it.

5) Heoric Actions: A major theme of the game IMO. WHile rank and file troops can perform ordinary feats of arms, the game is won through using a hero's might at critical moments to achieve that special advantage. The amount of special actions has been greatly expanded to allow more interesting combos.

My thoughrs after about 4 games:

A) Speed of play. The game moves fast. With when a charge goes off it's not surprising to see entire formation decimated. Definitely not a good set of rules to simulate attritional warfare, but makes for a good fantasy rules set with strong narrative.

B) Modern Game play: Since the arrival of magic many game systems have a "combo" type of hook (Warmachine is the first thing that comes to mind). Now WOTR bring the same kinda of mechanism to Massed army games. While some may decry this as "cheese", what happens in WOTR are not really broken IMO so it gives it that extra tactical dimension of "getting your combo out".

C) Cool Models: FOr once GW launches a new system and all 8 factions are more or less complete with figures (there are new stuff coming out of course but there's enough core troops to get started now). I've always liked the range but never really collected given that I am not a big fan of the SBG rules (I play for social reason since many in my gaming circle are fans). One additional good thing about the figs: They are relatively easy to paint given their muted palate so you can crank out an army pretty fast (I did 18 Riders of Rohan in 2 evenings, must be a record for me).

So now I have a 1000 pts Rohan army and a 1000 orc army. Next some battle reports...

Posted by msoong at April 29, 2009 11:56 AM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.savageandsoldier.com/cgi/mt-tb.cgi/151

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference War of the Ring:

» Combining codeine and paracetamol. from Paracetamol.
Poison symptoms and paracetamol. Paracetamol. [Read More]

Tracked on June 12, 2009 11:01 AM

» Finasteride brand s propecia proscar side effects. from Finasteride.
Finasteride. Propecia finasteride precautions amp side effects. [Read More]

Tracked on June 14, 2009 02:28 AM

» Maxium dose of adderall xr for an adult. from Adderall.
Adderall and kidney pain. Adderall sideaffects. Adderall. Side effects of adderall. [Read More]

Tracked on July 23, 2009 12:53 AM

» Xanax. from How long does xanax stay in your system.
Side effects of drug xanax. [Read More]

Tracked on July 28, 2009 05:19 PM

» Lorazepam. from Lorazepam.
Lorazepam siezure 57. Lorazepam. Lorazepam federal express. Cheap lorazepam. Lorazepam order online consultation. Effect of lorazepam. Librium and lorazepam. [Read More]

Tracked on August 5, 2009 09:07 AM

» Cialis. from Link buy cialis cheap.
Cialis 20mg. Cialis. Link buy cialis cheap. [Read More]

Tracked on August 12, 2009 02:31 AM

» Zolpidem abuse. from Zolpidem online.
Cheap zolpidem. Zolpidem overnight. Zolpidem fedex. Zolpidem overdose. Zolpidem. [Read More]

Tracked on August 13, 2009 04:21 PM

» Phentermine risk. from Adipex phentermine vs.
Phentermine 37 5mg. Phentermine. Pal pay phentermine. [Read More]

Tracked on August 15, 2009 08:13 PM

» Celebrex adverse side effects. from Celebrex.
Celebrex rebate coupon. Colorado celebrex lawyers. Celebrex review. Celebrex. Celebrex adverse side effects. [Read More]

Tracked on August 26, 2009 07:30 PM

» Elavil. from Elavil.
Elavil. [Read More]

Tracked on August 27, 2009 05:20 AM

» Zyrtec. from On line clatatin zyrtec.
Zyrtec d. Zyrtec. [Read More]

Tracked on August 28, 2009 11:02 AM

» Protonix. from Protonix acid reducer medication.
Protonix iv push. Protonix side effect headache. Protonix side effects. Protonix. [Read More]

Tracked on August 28, 2009 06:20 PM

» Generic version of lipitor. from Lipitor.
Lipitor unusual side effect. Lipitor and grapefruits. Lipitor side effects. Lipitor. Lipitor dangers. [Read More]

Tracked on August 29, 2009 05:45 AM

» Buy carisoprodol online lowest price guarantee. from Carisoprodol addiction.
Carisoprodol fedex cod. Carisoprodol 350 mg able. [Read More]

Tracked on October 17, 2009 07:48 PM

» Diazepam. from Diazepam to lorazepam conversion.
Diazepam side effects. Diazepam to lorazepam conversion. Diazepam and promethazine. [Read More]

Tracked on October 24, 2009 11:13 PM

» Ambien. from Ambien forum.
Does ambien cause fetal birth defect. Ambien. Generic ambien. Ambien side effects. [Read More]

Tracked on November 5, 2009 10:20 AM

» Buy valtrax. from Buy valtrax.
Buy valtrax. [Read More]

Tracked on November 7, 2009 11:23 PM

» Generic percocet. from Percocet.
Buy percocet online. Difference between percocet and ultracet. Long term use of percocet. Percocet. [Read More]

Tracked on November 9, 2009 05:59 PM

» Cheap oxycodone. from Cheap oxycodone.
Cheap oxycodone. [Read More]

Tracked on November 15, 2009 02:49 PM

» Everything for Christmas. Shop amazing Christmas cards online! from Everything for Christmas. Shop amazing Christmas cards online!
http://seasonchristmas.com Everything for Christmas. Shop amazing Christmas cards online! [Read More]

Tracked on December 17, 2009 10:01 AM

» Cheap viagra. from Cheap viagra.
Cheap viagra. Generic viagra cheap no perscription. Buy viagra cheap. Cheap online purchase viagra. [Read More]

Tracked on December 20, 2009 03:06 AM

» Soma buy soma cheap soma soma online. from Cheap soma.
Buy soma online order soma and get cheap soma. Buy cheap soma. Cheap soma. Buy soma cheap. [Read More]

Tracked on February 24, 2010 02:12 AM

Comments

Post a comment