Wednesday 15 February 2017

Incoming Osprey Skirmish Game

As many of you are aware I am in the process of writing a new rulebook for the guys at Osprey Games, a publisher that is becoming a major power house in our hobby. I am pleased to say that the rules are coming along nicely and I am now moving into beta testing the core game mechanics and they are working a treat.


The game is a Warband-level skirmish game set during the medieval period and allows players to recruit, equip, train and develop a band of warriors over the course of a campaign. 


As the Warband leader you are able to recruit raw recruits and watch them grow over the course of many battles into grizzled veterans with a host of skills and traits that make them formidable combatants.


The games themselves have proven to be action-packed, fast-paced affairs with players needing to keep their eyes on the ball in order to exploit tactical opportunities as they arise. It pays to get the right troops in the right place at the right time. So far the average game with two mid-level warbands seems to be between 45-90 minutes.


The warbands are infinitely customisable meaning with careful planning you will be able to develop your group of fighters to fit with both your vision and preferred fighting style. I'm still working on the campaign development aspect but currently it all seems to be flowing naturally and I hope to have it finalised shortly.


So far my play testers have been colleagues and friends from the military as well as my devoted (and long-suffering) girlfriend, feedback has been really positive and I have made numerous tweaks following their excellent suggestions.


Overall this is a project that I am extremely excited about (especially as I have just received the final cover art Osprey has commissioned for the book which is amazing) and I will keep you all up to date as things progress!!

Stay Tuned!

9 comments:

  1. Very excited about this, all the best mate !

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    1. Cheers JB! I'm trying to make it like a medieval version of that multiplayer Fallout game I hosted for you and the others at BOYL15, if I can make it as fun as that then I reckon it will be a winner!

      Hopefully we can play a few rounds of my new game at BOYL17!!!

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    2. I'm 95% sure to attend so count me in !

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  2. This sounds really fun.

    Is it set purely for Medieval combat, or could one substitute Dark Ages or even fantasy minis and still be able to make it work?

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    1. Cheers mate!

      I have to say the playtesting has been great fun, it's very engaging and things move quickly.

      The setting is early Medieval so it can easily be adapted to the dark ages; the system is quite intuitive. A possible plan is to release expansions and alternative Army lists either in wargames magazines or on the Osprey website... I had already been considering a fantasy one! ;-)

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  3. Hello,

    What is the expected size of the Warbands at start and during campaign? Any idea on the expected release of the rules? I know Osprey have been putting out a lot over the last few years.

    Look forward to it,
    Cheers,
    Mark

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  4. Warband size at the start of the campaign will be dependant on the faction, character and equipment choices you make. It is possible to start with a relative few models but powerfully equipped or a mass of poor Infantry.... play testing so far has shown a happy balance is the key to success. So between 4-12 models would be the average.

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  5. This sounds great. Would this be the Outremer Faith and Blood that I noticed on Amazon yesterday? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outremer-Skirmish-Wargames-Crusades-Osprey/dp/1472823966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493548567&sr=8-1&keywords=osprey+games

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