freewargamesrules blog

WRG have now put up version 2 of their HOTT rules.

A set for fantasy wargaming in which magic is not all-powerful but merely one part of the action. The army lists in these rules were based “mainsteam fantasy authors and current fantasy wargaming practice, myths, legends and traditional epics, and on fictional equivalents of historical armies”. One unexpected result was the use of the “Napoleonic Semi-Historical” for light-hearted Napoleonic games. However there are some omissions - since the fantasy authors own the copyright on the characters in their books, it was only possible to include armies whose authors who gave permission. A second edition of HOTT, with minor changes to the rules and still more armies in the lists, was published in April 2002.

Some time in 2009, these rules went out-of-print and the copyright reverted to the three authors. They are now unavailable from any supplier I have been able to find. I have consulted Phil and Richard and we are agreed that until it is possible to publish a new edition of HOTT, we will make it available at this website.

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Missing Page 23

Many years ago I had fun playing Tunnels and Trolls by Flying Buffalo Games. The other day I picked up a cheap second hand copy on Amazon, boy did it bring back some memories.

A short version of the rules as a taster are free from RPGnow.com.

There are another free version of the rules based on the 4th edition and many other goodies from freedungeons.

If you like RPG dungeon games give them a go they are a fun set of rules (any only use D6’s).

Stephen Gilbert has sent me the second edition of his Dungeon World rules. Details of the rules are:

These rules are for fantasy skirmish war gamers who like the idea of taking up table top gaming, but lack either the space to play a larger scale game, or who are reluctant to spend a king`s ransom collecting 28mm heroes and monsters. Larger scale dungeon games tend to look rather flat and slightly abstract, unless the collector is prepared to put in a vast amount of time and energy to make the game stand out above the norm. Well, with 10mm miniatures you can not only play highly satisfactory skirmish games on the size of a small coffee table, but you can also buy your entire resin dungeon and a complete collection of miniatures for far less money than it might normally cost you to purchase even one fantasy army using the larger scale miniatures made by most mainstream game companies.

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Just had notification that the Unbridled Fury rules have been updated to version 0.8.

Changes are:

The new version of the game has a lot of changes that are worthy of mention:

* The entire book has been given a new layout.
* Company Lists are now more open and flexible to better fit with the bigger games we intend to cater for with the revisions.
* New material to make building company lists easier.
* There are no more individual Tds or Cow checks.
* Terrain has been completely overhauled. There are now a variety of terrain types (not just arduous ground) so terrain is now more flexible.
* All of the long lists of things (scenario objectives, properties (including what were called ‘Special Abilities’), terrain examples and the like) have been moved to Appendices at the back of the book.
* Rules are included for Model Properties (ex Special Abilities) and there are some extra Properties in there as well for Combat Weapons, Shooting Weapons, Shields, Armour and Magic.
* There are new rules for Magic (ex Sorcery, not in the rulebook since 0.6.2, and only then in an external supplement). Magic is now divided up into Properties, like everything else. The Properties are for Spells, whether or not the Magic in question is Magic as we know it traditionally, or if it is a product of technology or psionic talent.
* Ambushing is gone as a general rule, and is now restricted to the ‘Ambush’ Scenario.
* Rules have been added for Suppressive Fire when using automatic weapons.

I received an email from someone called Taku who is trying to promote his fantasy skirmish game called FK Fantasy. This is the information I received:

FK Fantasy is a fantasy skirmish game intended to allow players great freedom in customizing their party, between the selection of a variety of races, classes, equipment, and mercenaries/troops and heavy class customization. A character is limited to a certain number of spells or abilities from their overall list, and coordinating these choices in class customization with other characters in your party play a major role. It’s also designed to give players a wide variety of combinations to try out, some streamlined and standard, and others more erratic and random. Emphasis is being placed on creating a smooth gameplay process that is still highly strategic and rewarding to tactical players without being overly complicated and dissuade more casual gamers.

In addition to player-verse-player gametypes, there will be special Scenarios in which a player’s party or several player’s parties fight against a unique World Boss.

The majority of gameplay mechanics and most class descriptions are posted now the forum, if you want to give it a look. As of current they are spread across several threads in the Rules forum, but a complete rulebook will be compiled in the near future.

I also plan to work on developing the backstory of this game to a high standard, making it as high quality as some retail works. It’s planned for campaigns to interact with backstory development, with an Open Participation Online Campaign being run from the forums and the results influencing current world happenings.

Several other minor projects are under way behind the scenes, but FK: Fantasy, I believe, is the one most likely to attract some sort of audience. Nonetheless, here’s the sketch for my next project.

FK: Battlegrounds
~A game system designed to easily accompany and account for moderately large armies of units without forcing the use of a formational or squad system.
~The setting will be fantasy-based. It is possible it will be based off the backstory of FK: Fantasy.
~Many rules will be modular, and can be included or excluded at the discretion of the players, and all or most of them will be interchangable with each other to create highly interesting and entertaining games. Examples would be what triggers a victory (destroying a capital, killing a king, controlling points on the board) or additional gameplay rules (faction-based Sorceries, Artillery units, fortifications, etc).

Stop by the forums here.