Tom Baynham recently sent me some photographs he took of a fantasy wargame he fought in his garden using his slightly tweaked version of the PORTABLE WARGAME rules.
The figures are 10mm Orcs and Elves from Irregular Miniatures ... and mighty fine they look!
Please note that the photographs featured above are © Tom Baynham.
Great looking set up.
ReplyDeleteTradgardmastare,
DeleteI have not done any fantasy gaming, but having seen this, I can see the attraction.
All the best,
Bob
Bob, seeing those pictures reminds me that PW Ancients, with a few tweaks for Fantasy troop types, would be ideal for wargames in the style of Hordes of the Things but without the complexity of the Barker rules and their brain-taxing prose. An idea for another book - Portable Fantasy Wargames?
ReplyDeleteThe cloth also reminds me that I have a roll of thin artificial grass, purchased from LIDL years ago, which would be ideal for the black dot marking of square corners. Much quicker and easier to set up than my Hexon II terrain!
Best wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteI must admit that a PORTABLE FANTASY WARGAME book has distinct possibilities, but as I don’t know a great deal about fantasy gaming, I would need lots of assistance and guidance. (BIG HINT!)
I also have one of those cloths, but have yet to use it with my PW rules.
All the best,
Bob
Well, as someone who has memorised the mind-mangling game of 'Hordes of the Things' I'd be happy to add my perspective to a fantasy Portable Wargame in some way. It would certainly be a good starting point for such a game.
DeleteKaptain Kobold,
DeleteThanks very much for your kind offer. I think that we may need some sort of ‘group’ set up under which we can conduct discussions and exchange ideas.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI did write some additional Fantasy rules for PW which I could revisit. One could produce 'army lists' appropriate for some of the classic Fantasy novels, such as The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and CS Lewis's Narnia series, and for legends like the Trojan War. Perhaps include a Matrix Game and a Snakes and Ladders campaign system?
Best wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteThat sounds like a very good plan. Perhaps we can discuss it by email in the near future,
All the best,
Bob
Really looking forward to seeing a full book of fantasy rules. Count me in as a playtester!
DeleteThe Referee,
DeleteIt looks as if Arthur and I are going to have to put our heads together and produce a Portable Fantasy Wargame book!
All the best,
Bob
I just realised that Arthur wrote the Miniature Wargames article with fantasy PW rules.
DeleteBTW Will either of you be at SELWG or Salute?
The Referee,
DeleteI think that Arthur’s rules would make a good starting point for a published set of PORTABLE FANTASY WARGAME rules.
Unfortunately, I will not be at SELWG or SALUTE this year due to other long-term commitments.
All the best,
Bob
They good great don't they? All very clear and neat as opposed to a lot of fantasy set ups where there is so much colour and so many troop types that you sometimes can't see what's going on.
ReplyDeleteThe big question is how to deal with magic.
Jon S,
DeleteThey do look nice, and - as you write in your comment - the different types of troops are easy to identify. As to magic …
All the best,
Bob
I'd either go down the HOTT route, where magic is simply abstracted as a weird form of ranged attack, or base it on Dragon Rampant's simple spell list. Magic should be rare and not to be entirely relied upon.
DeleteKaptain Kobold,
DeleteThat it a very helpful suggestion.
I remember Phil Barker saying in a conversation that we had at COW that magic in HOTT was something like a rocket battery during the Napoleonic War; spectacular to see in action, occasionally devastating, but also prone to inaccuracy that made it as much a danger to their own side as the enemy.
All the best,
Bob
I did an adaptation of the ancients rules elves vs orcs and posted it on the Portable Wargames group page a while ago. I counted mages as very mobile artillery and that worked well. Something along the lines of the air support rules in the the portable SCW rules could also work.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteIt looks as if a fantasy version of PW may well be on the cards! Any ideas will be very welcome!
All the best,
Bob
I've been doing fantasy wargaming for a long time, I'll be glad to help out in anyway I can. For starters, most fantasy battles resemble medieval warfare more than ancient. I'm thinking an official PW medieval rule set with a fantasy chapter might be the way to go. This would probably also have a greater appeal.
DeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteThanks for you offer of help, your advice, and the interesting suggestions. I’d like to put a book together over the next few months, and Arthur Harman and I have already agreed to put our heads together to exchange ideas. When the process starts, I’ll try to include you as well.
All the best,
Bob
Maudlin Jack Tar on his Projects and Procrastinations blog has a version of PW for fantasy. See it here:https://pampersandp.blogspot.com/p/portable-wargame-fantasy-variant-after.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteJon S,
DeleteThanks for that reminder. I had forgotten that Maudlin Jack Tar had written a set of fantasy PW rules.
All the best,
Bob
I modified PWG for sci-fi battles based on the old Steve Jackson game OGRE. My rules dispense with range limitations and combat is extremely deadly. Most units don't survive 2 complete rounds! It's all about using drones to spot the enemy first and hammer them fast before they shoot back. Games run only a handful of rounds but it's fun.
DeleteMr. Pavone,
DeleteThat sounds as if it is a rather deadly version of the rules!
All the best,
Bob
I find it plays like chess until each side gets down to trading blows. From my research in smart weapons for PWG:SCIFI it looks like that is how wars will be fought. A lot of very careful maneuver leading to short, bloody battles. Again, it's funny how things have a way of coming around to where they started.
DeleteMr. Pavone,
DeleteIt sounds even more interesting … and I like the idea where manoeuvring plays an important part of the pre-battle segment of the game.
All the best,
Bob
What a great looking little battle. Love it!
ReplyDeleteAuston Jeff Baker,
DeleteIt certainly had lots of eye appeal!
All the best,
Bob