With little over a month until Conquest is revealed at Speil Essen games expo, I've been digging to find out more about this interesting new kid on the block....
Very interesting. The concept is ...well, interesting. 35mm would be my guess as well. it appears the archers are a small squad. 54mm would be too large. Perhaps 32mm?
Yeah, I reckon 32 or 35 seem likeliest. 35 works really well for wold West exodus and it's odd how much that little. Difference opens up in terms of painting potential.
Hopefully we'll get a new reveal this week. There is a painted archer being hidden somewhere
Automatically Appended Next Post: Just in!
Alessio Calvatore is conformed as the rules guru behind Conquest! With his portfolio it's difficult not to get excited about it!
Gone are deployments and turns instead a new Command Stack mechanic where players preditermine what order their troops will activate coupled with an escalation system that gives true rolls to light, medium and heavy troops. Not only that... The Fog of War is set to be a real thing in game terms!
I was already exited by the prosepect of a complex and mature setting. I'm a mature gamer and sometimes I've found myself looking for something without the token comic relief that's become the norm!
Thanks for updating us on this, Davidian! I've looked over the thread a few times and am still not sure what to make of things - it has potential, hopefully the execution will match.
Just need to say quickly, I needed to remove the post of a studio Spire paint WIP by request of PB. They want to wait for the finished thing to release themselves (understandable) but please bear in mind that the purple and red spires that we see above are not the offical studio schemes and the proper ones really do reflect the artwork
On the upside, they did say they would send me a few models to paint and share with you lovely people
Well the next faction revealed is one we've seen a few pictures of so far. (Nords and Dweghom also conformed for release with more as the game matures).
The Hundred Kindoms. Twice in it's existence, the kingdoms were united but the throne sits empty amongst squabbling, treatery and war.
Within this little snipped we can already see The Imperial Court, The Orders (many of by the looks of it) and The Faith.
Hopefully we'll see some minis in the next reveal...
As ever, if you want to stay up to date and follow this project through to retail (it is not being kickstarted btw... just straight to retail) follow them on facebook here...
Apparently artist that designed the Tau for GW, miniatures for Hordes/Warmachine and also Wild West Exodus. That's some CV! (Personally.. I like the style of every thing on that list below, which bodes well!)
Some exclusive news out of Warcradle Studios today as they announce that Roberto Cirillo is joining their team as Studio Art Director.
Roberto
“Since I can remember being able to hold a pen or pencil over a blank piece of paper, not a single day has virtually ever gone past where I did not draw whatever my imagination relentlessly and selflessly has thrown at me, no
matter how monstrous or weird!
Japanese Anime and American superheroes comic art have constantly played a tutor role in my life as an artist but what truly fuelled my brain cells more than anything else has always come from the original Godzilla movies
and later with the art of H. R. Giger (I Loved his style paintings and Aliens!)
I thrived from ‘creating’ of things on paper – I would spend hours every day drawing and ’inventing’ laser guns, massive spaceships and Gundam-like robots with more engines than there were rivets to hold them and to a point that I would even visually try to explain how it all would actually work.
Crazy for some, I know, but for me, that was (and still is in many ways) my doorway to enter a parallel reality which is host to my imagination and that in turn makes the artist I am.
My professional career started back in late 1992 when I was hired by Core Design as an in-game pixel artist. What better place than a video game to ‘materialize’ and put into play all those crazy ideas that otherwise would have been simply gone to waste.
I eventually moved from 2D to 3D in-game graphics (mostly in-game 3D character modelling, texturing and animation) as lead artist on a number of original titles for platforms like Sega Saturn, Play Station and PC.
After 12 years of working in the video game industry as lead artist, I began developing a deep love and an attraction towards sci-fi and fantasy tabletop miniature games especially Intrigued by the high level of detail
achieved on such small ‘figures’.
In 2004 I joined the Games Workshop Studio Design team as a Conceptual Artist. Projects I have been involved with at GW include: Tyranids, Orks, Tau Empire, Cities of Death, Vostroyans, Elves, Lord of the Rings and many
more.
At the beginning of 2007 after parting ways with GW I decided to embark on a freelance career which gave me the opportunity to get involved and collaborate on an even greater and more diversified number of very exciting projects and in some cases, I’ve had the chance and the privilege of being the main creative mind in charge of determining the first look and feel of new IPs.
Some of the key projects I most influentially (and heavily) have been involved with include Dread Ball and Deadzone for Mantic; Hordes and Warmachine for Privateer Press; Relic Knights for Ninja Divison and of course Wild West Exodus for Warcradle Studios.”
The rich knowledge Roberto is able to bring to the team is going to be interesting and it will be fun to see how it develops with Warcradle over the coming months.
I've got my hands on some resin prototypes that were going spare (the production mini's are going to be plastic) to paint up for Para Bellum.
Really really nice in the flesh. There are some really delicate details in places. Can't wait to get started. I've taken my pallet from soe of the artwork
The archers stand 48mm tall to their heads. The brute is enormous standing on a 53mm base. I assume these are 35mm scale. They are pre production resins though so could still be downscaled for th ereal thing(?)
We've seen this kind of problem before with photos of white resin. I would definitely wait for some better, studio-type photos before reaching a conclusion.
Certainly think the aesthetic is something a bit different, which is the important point for me at the moment.
You can see that if there is a soft edge, it's intentional. Where the detail is deep, it's appropriate and where its shallow, it's delicate and precise.
I'm very satisfied with the early prototypes and can't wait to get my brushes on them
You can see that if there is a soft edge, it's intentional. Where the detail is deep, it's appropriate and where its shallow, it's delicate and precise.
I'm very satisfied with the early prototypes and can't wait to get my brushes on them
Thank you for those pictures Davidian. They grey does look better than the white.
That being said, they still look difficult to paint for those of moderate skill (like myself) with details that are not well defined, and ill suited to washes and dry-brushing. They seem to suffer from many of the same problems that 3D sculpts do: Details that look fine on the monitor are too shallow in scale. An example is the weaving/stuff on the back of the over the shoulder tabard/clothe of the 3 arm archer, the details are too shallow to take a wash effectively, and it looks like an area that will be difficult to paint.
I only raise these items in the hope that the new 3D sculptor guy will be able to deepen the details and better understands the scale detail issue before mass production.
I am open to the idea that my concerns are just based off of the photography/color effect, but every time someone claims "they are better in person, really!" I have ended up disappointed.
That's okay man. I know what you mean. The "shallow" bits on the shoulder throw are definitely like that by design. They are clearly intended to be very delicate and yes, that will make it difficult to paint for some. I'll put that in my next feedback message. Though the red armoured images that the studio showed were block painted, washed and dry brushed to demo what a quick paint job would look like here;
More top artwork for The Hundred Kingdoms and the promise of more to come shortly along with a run down of what to expect from the reveal at Essen Spiel
That's a pitty Elbow. I've got some spire minis now and they're lovely but they do appear to be 35mm scale (maybe 32 using my mk1 eyeball).
Why is that a turnoff? I assume it's more a cross compatibility thing. It's nice to use fantasy stuff across multiple games... I do with kow, 9th Age and Mordheim etc.
Having painted some WWEx minis I've come to appreciate 35 it works well for skirmish... I just wish I knew if this was a skirmish game or not yet -_-
I sometimes wonder if manufacturers would be better off saying 'the same as your other common wargaming minis'when they talk about scale. Saying they are more than 28mm seems to make it sound like they are some massive scale, when in actual fact you can bet these will line up eyeball to eyeball with AoS minis and the like.
A little late but not forgotten some of you followinfg the facebook page will already have seen these but for those who haven't...
Para Bellum have been hard at it getting enough models painted to demo the game at Essen Spiel next weekend... which also gives us a glimpse at the unit coherancy.
With the minis being closer to 32/5mm scale, this has the postential to have that big game feel without the high mini investement ??
Men at arms -
Spire brutes and.... CLONE SPEARMEN? :O
Lots of anticipation for Essen next weekend!
In the meantime, I've been given the opportunity to paint up my samples
Ooh, I like those men at arms alot! Thank you for posting Davidian, and your flesh tones turned out very nice!
It is interesting that they choose to have the main colors of both factions be white and red for their launch minis. From a distance, they will look pretty samey. Also very interesting to see them multi based. Can't wait to hear back reports from Essen.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: Every time I see those archers and that brute I'm surprised nobody went and gave them that pallid skin look that the Dirz guys all had.
You know I had an extensive Alchemists of Dirz collection back in the day, the whole biomancy vibe is what immediately grabbed my attention b
So more news just in... And some images to follow...
As ever, you can join the infotrain on ParaBellumWarGames Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/ParaBellumWarGames
The game is designed for play on a 4x4" board and give the mass war feel with far fewer physical minis than conventional mass wargames have come to expect.
Whilst on round bases, multibase movement trays are incorporated to improve in game admin yet models are removed individually to indicate casualties.
Units enter play dependant on their level. Low level skirmishes take place early on to establish the front lines where reinforcements get to deploy from almost any table edge using the Offside mechanic where pushing the enemy line further your reinforcements to deploy closer to the lines ending in much grander clashes as the game escalates.
By all accounts, I was excited for this game for other reasons... Now my interest has been peaked again. These sound d like some really innovative additions to give the game that mass war feel with a lower investment. Discussion has also hinted towards the game scaling down well so that units can be used with only one or two bases for small scale battles... Have some eyecandy
Big fan of the men at arms, but the spire stuff doesnt appeal to me much. Im hopeful that a third faction a bit less. Gw chaos meets kingdom death pops up.
Ah, well four factions are planned for initial release, the Spire, The Hundred Kingdoms (where the man at arms slot in), the Nords (self explanatory I think) and the Dweghom... Something mentioned about dragons blood but again, being awfully cryptic about this last faction. Also, more factions planned as a second/third wave to introduce different styles of play.
So there might be more than one that interests you, if not now, in the future maybe
Wasn't able to finish the whole video, but like what I saw a lot! The Para Bellum guy said they won't be doing a Kickstarter and that the miniatures we be plastic and on sprues (which I interpret as HIPS plastic)! If that doesn't get people to pay attention I don't know what will. Also there were human guys with big two handed swords and knights.
The mechanics also looked interesting: You use a deck of cards that you order to control which of your units activate when, the game begins with an empty board with light units showing up first, followed by medium then the heavies as the game progresses. Morale failures cause causulties rather than whole units turning tail.
I finished watching the video. The mechanic if being able to bring in your reinforcements up to the distance on the board you control is brilliant. The rules sound great.
Davidian, any chance we can get a scale shot of the spire dudes you have on hand? I want to understand what 35mm means in context of the other fantasy miniatures I own.
Thr brute drones are massive even by infantry standard, the archers are 45mm tall..
I'm not at home atm but the best I can do are these atm... you might be able to get an idea. I have to say, th esizer of them makes them so easy to paint but the infantry are no bigger than say, a priamris space marine.
and then theres this guy :O
He's been made just for tournament trophies. With a game this fast and tactical, it should lend well to comp play too
This game is looking really cool... Both miniatures and what little background I have seen so far look really intriguing. Does anyone know when it will be released?
The hundred kingdom guys look interesting. IT requieres a LOT of guts to go in for a mass battle game instead of just the standard route of a kickstarter boardgame with a gazillion pvc monsters.
I know it fits the description of mass battle but with big models and a 4x4" field of battle, you won't have to invest in the vast amount of models that has become the status quo in recent years.
The biggest units you'll be likely to field will be 6 stands of infantry (24 models).
Hmm my interest for this game is slowly increasing.
One thing that might make things a little awkward for me though is my gaming table is exactly 4x4 and the mass units deploying from offboard thing could make things somewhat cumbersome.
The Brute Drones can't be controlled through simple orders. Their minds are lost to rage. Instead, The Spire rely on manipulating the most base instincts....
Carlovonsexron wrote: @Shrapnel- Im sure touve seen it already, but the 15mm minis in the tale of legends kick starter are looking fantastic...
Indeed I did, thank you for the heads up. I'm not much into board game style tabletop, however. I like free-measure the most. We tinker with 15mm systems like Hordes of the Things, but I really like what I'm seeing here. The american market, however, is resistant to 15 mm and most at our local stores buy 28mm rule sets predominantly.
With only a 4' x 4' board, I wish Para Bellum had taken a different scale approach. These sculpts, however, are fantastic tin my eyes and I may still give it a go. Truly lovely work. We'll see who's interested within my group.
@Shrapnelsmile: Indeed- I don't know why the US is so resistant to it, but you're totally right. I'm hoping that ToL can help change that with good looking minis. That's what Im hoping to do in Taipei once I get my hands on the minis. (Note: I'm from the US, came out to Taiwan to live and work)
Another thing to note is that Ill probably magnetize the bottoms of the bases so I can use the minis with multiple systems. The board game style of ToL intrigues me, but I also want to try DBx and HoTT style games.
Carlovonsexron wrote: @Shrapnelsmile: Indeed- I don't know why the US is so resistant to it, but you're totally right. I'm hoping that ToL can help change that with good looking minis. That's what Im hoping to do in Taipei once I get my hands on the minis. (Note: I'm from the US, came out to Taiwan to live and work)
Another thing to note is that Ill probably magnetize the bottoms of the bases so I can use the minis with multiple systems. The board game style of ToL intrigues me, but I also want to try DBx and HoTT style games.
Thankfully the 15 mm disinterest is starting to shift slowly -- especially among older gamers here. I just played HoTT recently and it was a blast. Since you don't need many figs, I would love to use some of these Conquest minis in HoTT or Kings of War. I do wish Para Bellum all the success they deserve. These are finely crafted models.
Dunno whether it's American so much as Sci-fi/Fantasy most models are still brought with a vague idea to combine with GW which makes 28mm by far the most popular scale.
I really don't beleive that "combining with GW" has anything to do with it at all these days. Probably once upon a time, yes but They are irrelevant to games designers now and 28mm was always popular even before GWs earlier dominance.
All that aside... WITH STEEL AND BLOOD!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ps leaks inbound
That aren't posable multiparts like space marines etc. They are relatively simple in construction with all parls compatible with each other. Not sure how many varients there will be on the final sprues.
That was the compromise. Detailed & affordable for relatively simple construction. What I will say about it though. It makes them easy to put together and paint without any fiddly parts and undercuts.
Davidian wrote: That aren't posable multiparts like space marines etc. They are relatively simple in construction with all parls compatible with each other. Not sure how many varients there will be on the final sprues.
That was the compromise. Detailed & affordable for relatively simple construction. What I will say about it though. It makes them easy to put together and paint without any fiddly parts and undercuts.
Are they one piece, or just multi-part single pose like the new GW starters?
Any idea on when we will get to see the bare plastics Davidian? Or what the targeted release date is?
They are multipart single pose but all the varient parts are compatible. (as mentioned that was the compromise to get 80 models for 80 Euros)
For example, The two spire archers I have, have the same body and left arm. The bow and vanbracer, the armour of the left arm, the heads, the quiver and the right arms are all seperate parts. Of those, the heads, armour and right arm assemblies are different.
so with a 2nd body varient I could make 4 completely different minis by mixig them up...
I havent seen th eplastic sprue yet so cannot coment on how many varients of each component their will be (I'll keep asking though ).
Release date will be 3rd June with the launch co-inciding with the UK Games Expo in Birmingham NEC
This looks fantastic! Hard plastic on sprue made me interested for real. I like the Abomination, but I hope it can be posed a little more dynamically. The pose in the pictures/video is a little boring.
In either case, the lore is a good read so far, and the models are looking great! Will definitely keep my eyes open for this one
You know I've never noticed talk of The Merchant Princes before. The sound has a very mercenary/free company/privateer ring to it but somethingt with a nobel tone... They aren't one of the 4 planned for initial release (Spire, 100 Kingdoms, Nords, Dweghom) but they may feature in a furture faction
....Rage of Dragons.... that got my attention. Maybe the Dweghom can teach us more :?
Yeah, the few mentions of them and how they've affected things outside the main focus is very intriguing but with the Spire's mentions it's hard to imagine them as regular people. More info is very welcomed.
Hm, this is really impressive. An intriguing background, good miniatures, good material, good price, mass battle rules, Cavatore involved...Looks like the beginning of 2018 will already be harsh to my wallet.
Now I wonder what they will propose for the support of the player community...no matter the game, if you are the only player in your town, it will end in a sad way.
I like the art and aesthetic. I like the otherworldy horror vibe of the creepy faction, and that big monster gives off a Kingdom Death vibe (which is a good thing IMO).
Spire infiltrators look sick as feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeth As much as I want Nords, the two player set is on my one to by list. It looks like a no-brainer to show it off to my buddies.
but DWEGHOM though! So it turns out that they are Para Bellums imagining of dwarves by the look of the artwork but ofcourse no use of the D word in the Interview..... created by the Dragons to recover the essence of War from deep within Eá so that they may unleash it upon the world.... :O
Ernster wrote: Very interesting. The concept is ...well, interesting. 35mm would be my guess as well. it appears the archers are a small squad.
35mm is roughly Kingdom Death scale, which looks *great* for true scale minis.
So is it 15mm or 35mm?
Time of Legends: Joan of Arc is 15mm. This is supposed to be 35mm.
For mass battle, I like the look of 15mm better. Though 10mm is better yet again. A unit of 12 figures just doesn't look right compared to a unit of 50 or 100 or 200.
the above Lets Play has the basics there. Command stack and activation order, the 2 action mechanic (fighting then charging! eh?) and ofc the Offside rule.
Agreed that the unit cards are only really useful once they are flipped and activated... partial win/fail XD may be worth having a quick reference too.
The next BoW video is going to be a full battle report, which should reveal more and tie together what we already know
Sarouan wrote: Hm, this is really impressive. An intriguing background, good miniatures, good material, good price, mass battle rules, Cavatore involved...Looks like the beginning of 2018 will already be harsh to my wallet.
Now I wonder what they will propose for the support of the player community...no matter the game, if you are the only player in your town, it will end in a sad way.
Well @Sarouan I posed that exact post to Para Bellum as a question asking what their future plans for community support would entale...
They made it clear that they want staff in every country running events and it would be nice to have community volunteers make up a % of that. Ofc much of this is dependent on market reactions and will be solidified in the first year of release but as a side note: I have just been sent (completely by suprise may I add) a two player starter set and additionally, a unit of Steel Legion and Brute Drones! And I will be conducting Demo days around the South of the UK as soon as they are prepared
Well @Sarouan I posed that exact post to Para Bellum as a question asking what their future plans for community support would entale...
They made it clear that they want staff in every country running events and it would be nice to have community volunteers make up a % of that. Ofc much of this is dependent on market reactions and will be solidified in the first year of release but as a side note: I have just been sent (completely by suprise may I add) a two player starter set and additionally, a unit of Steel Legion and Brute Drones! And I will be conducting Demo days around the South of the UK as soon as they are prepared
Fantastic! I can hardly wait to see what you do with the starter and units.
Sarouan wrote: Hm, this is really impressive. An intriguing background, good miniatures, good material, good price, mass battle rules, Cavatore involved...Looks like the beginning of 2018 will already be harsh to my wallet.
Now I wonder what they will propose for the support of the player community...no matter the game, if you are the only player in your town, it will end in a sad way.
Well @Sarouan I posed that exact post to Para Bellum as a question asking what their future plans for community support would entale...
They made it clear that they want staff in every country running events and it would be nice to have community volunteers make up a % of that. Ofc much of this is dependent on market reactions and will be solidified in the first year of release but as a side note: I have just been sent (completely by suprise may I add) a two player starter set and additionally, a unit of Steel Legion and Brute Drones! And I will be conducting Demo days around the South of the UK as soon as they are prepared
Is the starter you received in HIPS plastic? Can you ask if you can show us some pics of the bare assembled plastic alongside a space marine or something?
Thanks Davidian, it is fun to have a DakkaDakka connection to the game.
Sarouan wrote: Hm, this is really impressive. An intriguing background, good miniatures, good material, good price, mass battle rules, Cavatore involved...Looks like the beginning of 2018 will already be harsh to my wallet.
Now I wonder what they will propose for the support of the player community...no matter the game, if you are the only player in your town, it will end in a sad way.
Well @Sarouan I posed that exact post to Para Bellum as a question asking what their future plans for community support would entale...
They made it clear that they want staff in every country running events and it would be nice to have community volunteers make up a % of that. Ofc much of this is dependent on market reactions and will be solidified in the first year of release but as a side note: I have just been sent (completely by suprise may I add) a two player starter set and additionally, a unit of Steel Legion and Brute Drones! And I will be conducting Demo days around the South of the UK as soon as they are prepared
Is the starter you received in HIPS plastic? Can you ask if you can show us some pics of the bare assembled plastic alongside a space marine or something?
Thanks Davidian, it is fun to have a DakkaDakka connection to the game.
No problem it's my absolute pleasure. This game has really gripped me by the danglers and I'm honoured to be able to demo it in the UK
The starter set I received is high quality resin. Like super high. These are obviously proof of concept castings that are being used for promotional purposes now. I haven't seen the Hips yet but I've been told they will be exactly the same as these.
I'm sure one of the guys will show off some pics soon.
The rank and file infantry we saw earlier... We thought maybe limited poses/single pose to keep costs down. Turns out, there are 4 legs&torso, arms and heads with every set apart from the spire archers. They have only 2 body options but that's made up with extra arm variants... Almost every mini is 5 to 7 components.
If you'd like to keep up with my progress, you can follow my project log if you like.
The bases are all 25mm diameter so that should give you an idea of scale. I understand the size now. Doing this in 28mm would be difficult or they'd have to compromise the design over detail/strength.
Yeah, a larger-scale, ranks-and-flanks wargame with plastic models at apparent affordability near Historicals level, combined with four factions out of the gate, a cool background that's refreshingly original (coolest looking concept for elves I've seen in some time), with a ruleset that look pretty decent?
"we expect to hit the market hard."
"we'll be around a long time, don't you worry."
"we could take part or we could take over, the game will decide which "
"We are here to introduce you to a new strategy battle system that will provide seasoned wargamers and new-to-the-hobby cadets with a fun, easy to play and yet deeply tactical table-top wargame.
Although we are all mature adults and hobby enthusiasts , we are scared of the monster in our cupboard. We are scared of the dark side of the moon. We are scared that somewhere in North K they have stolen our plans and are trying to create a Brute. We are scared of the scale of the project. But it’s because we care. We care about the hobby. We care about your budget. We care if you didn’t sleep well last night and if your paintbrush has lost so many bristles that you need a new one. We care about your car, your toothbrush and if your significant other ever finds out about how much you spent for all the models in your storage.
That is why we, a ragtag group including gamers who’s ‘proper’ jobs are artists, sculptors and writers, have grouped up with Riverhorse studios to bring you the game we call Conquest. That is why we have toiled for hours upon end, going over every little detail of the miniatures to impress all gamers, including ourselves.
We have made the Clone heads bigger, then smaller, then bigger again just so that it could match the image in the head of their perfectionist creator. We painted the Brutes a million different colour schemes to find one that would be more pleasing on the eyes. We have changed the bases so many times that we have lost count. The size of the Men-at-arms sword has ranged between that of a small dagger to a mighty Scottish claymore. We have spent hours playtesting the game again and again, so much that when we see a modular table we feel nauseous. We have debated the use of pink colour on one of our most vicious units and even though it looked fabulous we decided against it.
We have literally bled in order to prepare and display our work. But we have managed to endure this and carry on doing it because we are addicted. Addicted to the hobby. There is no time left over, because we love the smell of miniature plastic in the morning. Our kids don’t see us and our girlfriends go as far as Central America to get away.
It is our Passion that will not allow us to let this baby go. Bear with us, because the scale of what we are striving to achieve is immense. This is going to be a good one."
Yeah, a larger-scale, ranks-and-flanks wargame with plastic models at apparent affordability near Historicals level, combined with four factions out of the gate, a cool background that's refreshingly original (coolest looking concept for elves I've seen in some time), with a ruleset that look pretty decent?
Somebody pinch me!
What's this about affordable prices? Is this a KS? Where do we pledge?
Automatically Appended Next Post: This all feels like an Adam Poots boardgame project.
Yeah, a larger-scale, ranks-and-flanks wargame with plastic models at apparent affordability near Historicals level, combined with four factions out of the gate, a cool background that's refreshingly original (coolest looking concept for elves I've seen in some time), with a ruleset that look pretty decent?
Somebody pinch me!
What's this about affordable prices? Is this a KS? Where do we pledge?
That's a negative of the Kickstarter. This is going straight to retail. Should be June 3rd. It is fully funded and invested and being published by Riverhorse Studios.
The 2 player set contains 80 plastic HIPS minis (granted the abomination is anything but mini XD) and RRP is 80 Euros
Yeah, a larger-scale, ranks-and-flanks wargame with plastic models at apparent affordability near Historicals level, combined with four factions out of the gate, a cool background that's refreshingly original (coolest looking concept for elves I've seen in some time), with a ruleset that look pretty decent?
Somebody pinch me!
What's this about affordable prices? Is this a KS? Where do we pledge?
Automatically Appended Next Post: This all feels like an Adam Poots boardgame project.
Like a Poots production as in, obsessive attention to design, gameplay and miniature quality and ambitious game-to-rule-all-games scope and a unique visual style and background.
People should definitely go read all the detail there, but here's some good stuff:
The Dweghom
Originally created as a servitor race by the Dragons, the Dweghom broke generations of slavery by subsuming the raw essence of War and its elemental prison.
Such power proved both a blessing and a curse. The Dweghom brought the Dragons, their remaining loyal servants and, in the end, even themselves near to extinction. Retreating into Holds like the one above, the Dweghom kept the memory of their past alive.
Warpriest
Thanes
The Nords
The other faction, the Nords, are denizens of Mannheim which is a small frozen continent in, you guessed it, the North. The end of days came and went for these hardy people. They have endured Ragnarok, their end of days, the death of their gods and the rule of ice giants, only to rise anew, stronger than ever. Led by the Einherjar, their awoken chosen ancestors, they live hand-in-hand with monsters that others dread, while leading them to raids all over the world.
Giants
Initially, I was very coool on this game - but as we learn more and more, and as we see more and more...I'm really looking forward to this.
Definitely want the humans, and the Dweghom and probably the Nord too now!
just noticed.... Jotun casually helping out at the harbour
And the dude's hand on the giants back like, "you go this! Doin' great buddy".
Automatically Appended Next Post: "We have the undead coming soon, savage semi-primitives with an affinity to War, oriental emperors and warlords, near-immortals who bond with the land, a magocratic cabal ruling over the barren continent that they themselves have raised… and those are just the next few."
I don't know, these dwarves feel like someone mixed squats Kharadron Overlords with 40K orks...
Davidian wrote: "We have the undead coming soon, savage semi-primitives with an affinity to War, oriental emperors and warlords, near-immortals who bond with the land, a magocratic cabal ruling over the barren continent that they themselves have raised… and those are just the next few."
Irbis wrote: I don't know, these dwarves feel like someone mixed squats Kharadron Overlords with 40K orks...
My first thought was the Dwemer from the Elder Scrolls (or at least as you could imagine they might have looked)
Some of the artwork for this game is absolutely stunning, and not only that but really imaginative.
Dude, you just hit the nail on the head. I wad thinking the same thing last night. Just like the Elder Scrolls, there's elves and dwarves and other mythic gak going on but it all has its own defined character that makes it the Elder Scrolls.
That appears to be what they're acheiving here with this world building.
Really hope this is successful, not least because the world deserves a successful rank n file game that’s... well, basically that doesn’t have models designed and sculpted by Mantic. This looks great!
Some more cheeky artwork previews. Enjoy
As ever, the gravy train is at Www.facebook.com/ParaBellumWarGames
A Nord
Automatically Appended Next Post: Not seen it yet but I'll be watching this this evening whilst I paint my demo set I already have a draft copy of the rules... Still can't wait to watch it, hehe
That is showing off, but does look bloody awesome!
I don't mind the manoeuvre and counter-manoeuvre - that's always a plus point of rank and file wargames, trying to position your own forces for maximum effect while reducing the potential of your opponent. Providing that it is paced reasonably well and the player does get some tactical options.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: wait, so is the game loose formation like AoS and 40k, or is it rank and filed like fantasy?
The models are mounted on round bases which slot into square movement trays for rank and flank gameplay (provided with the miniatures).
I have my fingers crossed that this can open up possible scope for a skirmish level games in the future
So raised this in conversation, nothing was confirmed or denied but there was much smirking and was told to watch this space. I definitely get the feeling that they have already plans for a skirmish level system in the pipeline but they aren't budging on answers XD
Man, seeing that model just refreshes my interest in this game, especially since 1. it's a cool model on its own, 2. it's an ELF model, and this is as far from "elf" as you can probably get, and 3. you get one of these in the starter set.
I get a sort of "Kingdom Death sans sex organs" vibe from it.
infinite_array wrote: Man, seeing that model just refreshes my interest in this game, especially since 1. it's a cool model on its own, 2. it's an ELF model, and this is as far from "elf" as you can probably get, and 3. you get one of these in the starter set.
I get a sort of "Kingdom Death sans sex organs" vibe from it.
I've been getting my brushes around on of these (resin though, not the retail HIPS version) and yeah... It's rediculously good. Every joint is a ball joint too so great poseability
They certainly have gathered inspiration from all the classic fantasy tropes we all grow up reading but with their own flair or twist.
It's also becoming increasingly notable that not everyone uses Facebook (the website is still 'coming soon') so here's a link to Para Bellum's Instagram
Nothing was available at adepticon. However the game looks fantastic, the models look fantastic. This is a lot of what I've been waiting for in a fantasy game.
These rules look really solid and the models look to be pretty cool as well.
Looking at the faction chat video I'm in love with the hundred kingdoms religious leader.
For the military orders i'm absolutely praying that they choose design 1 or 2 with the cape and the hood, because those are some of my favorite designs ever. If they go with those designs i''m guaranteed to get some of these minis.
I think the intention is to use all 4 really looking forward to more faction chats.
After 4 days of solid demoing, I think the guys are shattered. They have massive thanks to everyone for visiting them around Adepticon. Next stop UK Games Expo
My friend and I got to run through a demo at Adepticon, and I have to say we REALLY liked the way it plays! It plays tight and fast, but still feels like a rank-n-file mass battle fantasy game. I played Warhammer fantasy for a long time and this seems to certainly scratch that itch. We both walked away from the game prepared to preorder when we can.
Some things we liked:
-Gameplay was streamlined really well. It plays quickly without sacrificing depth.
-The reinforcement mechanic was really cool. Part of your army being kept in reserve and then moving onto the table at a line established by your forward elements is neat and it gives you a reason to push forward (want your vanguard forward so your knights have a place to come in at!)
-having the cards as a reference marker was slick. All of the rules right there and ready to go helped with the streamlining process.
-the models were ace. Seriously, SERIOUSLY cool models.
Yes the models were on par with GW models in quality. Thats a huge thing for me as I am half hobbyist as well as player, and what has killed Kings of War for me were the models coupled with the overly generic rules.
It is exciting to hear all these positive reports about the game. It is getting me very excited. They have strong art direction, rules that feel fresh and seem very well received, the resin models look very nice, and the starter looks to be priced aggressively.
My only remaining concern is the translation to HIPs plastic. That is a tricky hurdle to clear, and I'm concerned some of the fine and somewhat shallow detail on the resins won't translate well to HIPS.
I had some expectations about these two faction but consider them blown out of the water... And you can tell thy are still holding so much back from just how deep this rabbit hole goes.
Enjoy. (recommended watching the spire/100kingdom one as it references the fall, rage of dragons and other bits)
I like the lore for the Dweghom. Its like the 5th ed necrons, except it actually makes sense as they covered the obedience protocol and how it got broken.
auticus wrote: Yes the models were on par with GW models in quality. Thats a huge thing for me as I am half hobbyist as well as player, and what has killed Kings of War for me were the models coupled with the overly generic rules.
This I think is my replacement finally for WHFB.
Ditto. I'm loving the lore. It reminds me a lot of WHFB, on how a lot of it was based on real events and history, and how you can actually relate to whats happening. Yeah, there was some extreme stuff, but for the most part it was pretty grounded and you get a good sense of scale. AoS is just too fantastical, and 40k already fills that need. KoW doesn't really do anything for me. I don't like how it handles casualties and Mantic's designs aren't great. Still waiting on the other factions though. Apparently they have more factions coming up.
Watching the lore video it is clear that these guys care a lot about the background and that a lot of thought has gone into the background. Those are both good things. I also appreciate their attempts to make the world feel lived in. While it was full of fantasy elements, the old whfb world felt this way to me.
I am anxious to get this on the tabletop. The Spire elf designs don't really grab me, but I'm always up some sturdy humans facing down terrors with steel and determination. The basic Nord guys also look great and really interesting to me.
I'm personally waiting for the supposed Oriental Army to show up. You don't really see such concepts in games such as this. Even WHFB didn't have one, even though it was in the background.
I like that paint scheme. I think it looks better than the studio version. It's a lot darker and it fits the theme of them being wretched cannon fodder more.
How well do they rank up? One of the problems with WHFB is that the models tended to spill out over the base, which made getting them organized into nice little ranks rather frustrating.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: I like that paint scheme. I think it looks better than the studio version. It's a lot darker and it fits the theme of them being wretched cannon fodder more.
How well do they rank up? One of the problems with WHFB is that the models tended to spill out over the base, which made getting them organized into nice little ranks rather frustrating.
Playing through the demo at Adepticon, the round bases in movement trays seem to have solved the rank up issue. You can just pivot a model slightly and it goes right where it needs to. It's pretty cool!
The factions so far are:
The Hundred Kingdoms
The Spires (With a sub-faction of the artisans and religious class moving out)
The Nords
The Dewghom
The City States
The Orcs
I think that's a neck. You can make out something that looks like a howdah right behind it, and the curve and shape isn't anything like a leg's.
Which means they are riding what is basically a brachiosaurus.
Which means that its a faction of orcs riding dinosaurs. That's fething awesome.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Zatsuku wrote: I love what I have seen of this game, but how do you stay up to date with news on it? Their website has nothing and their Facebook page seems behind.
Beasts of War. And...that's about it atm.
A pity, because I want to know everything now. And for my local group to pick up an army.
Davidian wrote: Stay tuned here hehe. I have limited access to the PB team and share everything they put out here in this thread (and in many other foruns)
Also extracted. Para Bellum's take on the classic Orc trope are The tribes of the Wadüm.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: I like that paint scheme. I think it looks better than the studio version. It's a lot darker and it fits the theme of them being wretched cannon fodder more.
Thank you so very much. I'm a rediculous fan of Markus Stroh and I don't even compare to his level of detail and technique so I take this as a massive complement!
I studied the artwork in detail before starting on the Spire. Not just for colour choice but for tone and contrasts to get the right feel. I wanted them to look like wretched creatures that were fresh from the growing vat so your comment pleases me all the more.
There are other continents in the world. The one with the 100 kingdoms and City States isn't the only continent with humanity.
City States -
Basically the Greeks, with some minor greek inspired fantasy stuff. Three styles of army - Spartan style, with a focus on classical phalanx infantry, Tech style, with warmachines inspired by Archimedes and Hero's inventions Demogogue style, which uses a mix of the two.
Lore wise, the city states were founded by individuals who recognized the decline of the Dominion and formed their own little civilisation in secret. As such they still have most of the knowledge that was lost by the other human civilizations after the Dominion's fall. The City States government is based off of Plato's Republic, but the first ruler was an arrogant tyrant who believed that only he has the wisdom to rule, so he cloned himself, resulting in a council of arrogant, self serving tyrants. This caused dissent in the populace, and some cities declared autonomy, thus causing a breakdown in their sophisticated society.
Orcs (they are called something else, Wadrum I think, but they are basically orcs) -
Former experimental creations of the Spire. Unlike the more recent creatures, these guys can actually reproduce. The idea is that it would be cheaper if the slave soldiers were self sufficient. This backfired on the Spire, as the Wadrum didn't have to rely on their masters, and could fight for their independence. Have a strong connection with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Lead by Conquest, and members of their society are part of cults dedicated to the Horsemen corrupted in the same way as the Dweghom. Blacksmiths/ Heavy Warriors are dedicated to War, storytellers/pyromancers are dedicated to famine, surgeons/blademasters are dedicated to Death. Unlike the Dweghome, they really hate this, and try to balance out the negative aspects with a creative, positive aspect. Conquest tries to help them in this way, and his cult is dedicated to his Vision and progress. Highly aggressive race, which is why these creative outlets are needed to keep a stable society. Have absurdly good hearing. Also really hungry. Will eat anything. Think Ogres from WHFB, but they are not stupid savages. Gameplay wise, they do not need an activation deck. They have complete freedom of what to activate. This is to represent the fact that they have good hearing, and can hear orders from their commander from long distances away.
Weavers - Offshoot of the Spire. Basically Woodelves. Practices a form of biomancy called life binding Spires and Weavers are human terms. This is to give the idea that these races are alien and incomprehensible to human minds. Weavers have 4 courts, based on the season and the 3 primordial gods. Summer is Creation, Winter is Destruction, Autumn and Spring are Balance. All work together to weave something amazing. Interested in various species of flora and fauna. On better terms with humans than Spires. Will trade with them, especially if it involves a plant or animal they don't have much of. No info on gameplay.
They wrote the lore as if it were a RPG to get into the right mindset for a fleshed out, immersive setting. As they are a fledging company, logistics are a problem. They might end up doing print on demand.
As they are a fledging company, logistics are a problem. They might end up doing print on demand.
Spot on with everything there. That last point was with regards to faction army books. I personally find that sheduling faction army books is a bad thing and that updating the world at regular intervals is far more constructive (in the way Gates of Antares has shown).
Would be really cool if they did offer them as collectors items or limited run things. Heck, I just want an Art Book XD
Davidian wrote: Stay tuned here hehe. I have limited access to the PB team and share everything they put out here in this thread (and in many other foruns)
O
Wait a minute. You don't work for them? Are you basically their unpaid PR department then?
Davidian wrote: Stay tuned here hehe. I have limited access to the PB team and share everything they put out here in this thread (and in many other foruns)
O
Wait a minute. You don't work for them? Are you basically their unpaid PR department then?
Haha, I think you do PR a disservice with that one. I just copy and paste a few links and no I don't work for them. I just researched a few new games for a blog. Found this little diamond in the rough last year, spoke to them and was in awe of the scale of what they are doing... Or maybe I should join a union or something :?
Yeah Jim, I'm with you. This wasn't even on my radar before Adepticon, but I (and my friend, both longtime WHFB players) were really, REALLY impressed when we tried it at Adepticon. The gameplay is really tight and a lot of fun. Models look good too. I'm pretty certain I'm all in on this one, especially as I hear more about their intentions with the project.
auticus wrote: It would be awesome if this game was at Adepticon as an event next year.
Fingers crossed. The plan is to have the first four factions fully out with organised play in place (including the website for it which sounds really interesting) in the first year of release. So it might be a little tight for timing for Adepticon, which is April? I think that's a bit hopeful but you never know. It might be
Those militia are going to be a great speed bump unit for the 100 Kingdoms if the stats in the rule book are accurate. I foresee many of those being sold.
On another note, I love how they’ve handled magic in this game. Making people pay points for the spells they use is the happy medium between the tediousness that is random rolling and the obviously broken mechanic of ‘pick whatevs you want!’ Also helps reign in those super spells as (assuming they are costed correctly) you’ll have to pay a premium over what you’re already paying for your caster to use them!
godswildcard wrote: Those militia are going to be a great speed bump unit for the 100 Kingdoms if the stats in the rule book are accurate. I foresee many of those being sold.
On another note, I love how they’ve handled magic in this game. Making people pay points for the spells they use is the happy medium between the tediousness that is random rolling and the obviously broken mechanic of ‘pick whatevs you want!’ Also helps reign in those super spells as (assuming they are costed correctly) you’ll have to pay a premium over what you’re already paying for your caster to use them!
Sample rule book they gave out at Adepticon, pg. 12 (please note this is a sample so this is subject to change)
Militia
Class: Light
Type: Infantry
M4 V1 C1 A1 W1 R2 D2 E0
Special rules: shield, support, out of death
There are no points listed, but I'm betting they're going to be super cheap based on that profile. A roll of a 1 is always a success, so for most of their fighting you'll be relying on that unless you're inspired or taking aim (which, honestly, you will be as much as possible with these guys).
Read thru the rule book again today, and man, I just love so many of these mechanics. So many layers of tactical depth. They seem to have succeeded in making a 'mature' game without getting bogged down into some rules-heavy mess. Love it. Seriously can't wait.
Oh man, this just keeps getting better. I think this will make a big splash if they can hit a good quality point with the miniatures. I have been playing skirmish games almost exclusively for the last 5-7 years. I think this will be the game to get me back into a massed battle game.
tbf, it's not even that _mass_ of a game when you looke at it's competitors. 24 is about the biggest warband you'll put down and mabe only one or two that size, the rest, 12.s or so
Davidian wrote: tbf, it's not even that _mass_ of a game when you looke at it's competitors. 24 is about the biggest warband you'll put down and mabe only one or two that size, the rest, 12.s or so
Really? Not sure I agree with that. Its not a deal breaker as when I played WHFB I tended to field 20-25 lizard blocks of Saurus anyway, but I liked the freedom of there being no upper limit to what you can field. If I wanted to make a 50 lizard doom block I totally could and it probably would have been more optimal because of that stupid steadfast rule, its just I liked to have smaller, multiple blocks because of purple sun.
Oh I didnt mean that 24 is the upper limit by any means. Just that you can run them effectively at that size without needting 40-50 minis to be optimal
I play KoW and even then, there are loads of units that are only effective at 40-60 minis
Oh that's fine then. Having the freedom to field legions is nice, as long as its not the only way to play. Vice versa for small regiments.
A quick question about the activation deck -
Do you shuffle it first, thus randomizing what you can activate, or can you organize the deck how you want? I'm not entirely sure on how this deck mechanic works.
First, you roll to see what reinforcements will come on to the battlefield that turn. Then, you organize the unit activation deck based on the order you want to activate your units in during the pre-phase (so the unit you wanted to activate first would go on top of the deck). Both players then roll off for priority. Player with priority flips the top card on his deck, activates that unit, and then it alternates.
If you flip the card to activate a unit that has already been destroyed for whatever reason, you ignore it and flip the next card. If you run out of units to activate, your opponent activates their remaining units in deck order.
The exception (that we know of right now) to this is the Wadrum (Orks). Their activation deck is actually held in your hand and activated in whatever order their player chooses. This represents their incredible hearing and thus the ease at which they send and receive orders on the battlefield.
godswildcard wrote: They did indicate that there would be some drawbacks though, iirc.
This is just me speculating here but from the artwork I get the feeling they might be a bit of a glass cannon. Low to no defense but decent resolve so they will probably need the activation flexibility to not get shredded by shooting too horribly and get into combat where they can relieve themselves of the restraint they practice and fall into a blood frenzy may be
Wait, why these shields are armored on the bottom, where no strike will usually ever land (and you want to be able to put it on the ground, which would corrode such exposed bottom end pretty quickly) but there is no reinforcement on one area that is pretty much receives vast majority of hits, thanks to being level with enemy weapons? If they had too little metal for the whole thing, reinforcing sides before bottom makes much more sense...
godswildcard wrote: On another note, I love how they’ve handled magic in this game. Making people pay points for the spells they use is the happy medium between the tediousness that is random rolling and the obviously broken mechanic of ‘pick whatevs you want!’ Also helps reign in those super spells as (assuming they are costed correctly) you’ll have to pay a premium over what you’re already paying for your caster to use them!
I dunno, it used to be the case in 5th edition of 40K and it kinda sucked. Paying points for spells means you only see 1-2 best ones on your caster to optimize him, always, no matter what. Picking spells, like in 8th, means you see different ones against different armies (sure, if you try hard the points ones can change too, but that requires crossing out and scribbling on your printed list plus rejigging the points across the board which is massive PITA adding to surety these usually never change).
Gave the smaller beast of war how to play demo a watch. Feels like Rune Wars and Song of Ice and Fire had a lovechild.
Seems like they figured out a easy way not to use the stupid dial system rune wars had. Over all I enjoyed what it showed and how its played.
Will say im quite hesitant though since I did get rune wars and that's been a huge flop.
Two big factors will be the release of the other factions/cost. If its alreast on par to rune wars prices and the other factions are not left out in the wind for months I can see it being popular.
Yeah, RuneWars was a pity. A few people got the two player set at my club, which was cool but then nothing else came out and there was no support... They let it die before it lived.
In the last interview on BoW (what's coming next one) they were talking about having 4 fleshed out factions within the first year of release with a packed release shedule starting on June 3rd. So little over a month to go.
I wish I could say what is on the shedule but all I'm sure of is that the two player set, Steel Legion and Brute Drones will be in the first release.
A big push for organised play with tournament and campaign support has been voiced by the team aswell and one of the reasons behind the official website not being ready yet is the plans for a persistent online record of results which will interact with the world's progression. Infinity has proven the ideas effectiveness with their ITS website.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: Since it's a fantasy setting, I hope the explanation is something like, "they need bare iron against the ground to ward off grundersprut."
See, if I wanted that, I'd go for Age of Sigmar. In realistic wargames, I want equipment that either looks like real one, or one that makes sense in-setting somehow and isn't just badly researched wreck done with minimum of effort. I get these guys are supposed to look shabby, but whoever the artist was, he looked at GW orks for way too long. Look at that spear, it looks like ork banged it together, colossal waste of metal that also looks like it would be terrible as a weapon.
Ditto for shields, not only medieval shields were usually either made from one piece of wood for strength, or cunningly laminated from overlapping pieces, this junk on art again looks like ork banged it together. Badly cut, barely fitting together planks that would let a spear strike straight through the gaps. Eugh. Also, why are the shields painted? Paints are abundant now, in medieval times you covered the shield in cloth (that was dyed, as it took much less pigment than painting) for protection. I also researched rims out of curiosity, the larger shields infantry used had leather strip covering metal rim nailed along the bottom edge, again, to protect the only thing that stood between you and death. Again, you put metal where you can, especially bits likely to be hit, then, if you're too poor, put something, leather, fabric, whatever you can, on the other parts. You don't leave wood exposed.
I also can't help but notice what is supposed to be medieval militia rocks leather musketeer boots that would make even a landsknecht blush with envy, not only around 300 years early, but way too expensive for someone of their status. Did they loot them from some drunk time travelers or something?
The Militia Act actually saw the Orders spend a very generous amount of money on equipping them. In some cases, so welll that some local authority is seldom enforced. In those areas the peasant militia turn to unpoliced banditry to supplement their income.
Maybe the iron on their shields is a way of showing off?
I mean, if you were a peasant getting tons of funding from a wealthy establishment, wouldn't you want to show off by putting unnecessary bits of metal on your gear? Making it look blatantly ornamental probably wouldn't go over well, so they had to find a way to subtly show off.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: Since it's a fantasy setting, I hope the explanation is something like, "they need bare iron against the ground to ward off grundersprut."
See, if I wanted that, I'd go for Age of Sigmar. In realistic wargames, I want equipment that either looks like real one, or one that makes sense in-setting somehow and isn't just badly researched wreck done with minimum of effort. I get these guys are supposed to look shabby, but whoever the artist was, he looked at GW orks for way too long. Look at that spear, it looks like ork banged it together, colossal waste of metal that also looks like it would be terrible as a weapon.
Ditto for shields, not only medieval shields were usually either made from one piece of wood for strength, or cunningly laminated from overlapping pieces, this junk on art again looks like ork banged it together. Badly cut, barely fitting together planks that would let a spear strike straight through the gaps. Eugh. Also, why are the shields painted? Paints are abundant now, in medieval times you covered the shield in cloth (that was dyed, as it took much less pigment than painting) for protection. I also researched rims out of curiosity, the larger shields infantry used had leather strip covering metal rim nailed along the bottom edge, again, to protect the only thing that stood between you and death. Again, you put metal where you can, especially bits likely to be hit, then, if you're too poor, put something, leather, fabric, whatever you can, on the other parts. You don't leave wood exposed.
I also can't help but notice what is supposed to be medieval militia rocks leather musketeer boots that would make even a landsknecht blush with envy, not only around 300 years early, but way too expensive for someone of their status. Did they loot them from some drunk time travelers or something?
Maybe you should just use historical minis with an occasional ogre. It sounds like you are stating that you want a game that makes fantasy minis for the burgeoning fantasy market to tone it down until they are in competition with Perry and Fireforge. Those products already exist, so go wild with them instead. There's always Oathmark.
To be clear, I am not saying what you want is wrong. I am saying it already exists, and Conquest has made the conscious decision to be visually distinct from what exists rather than being believable.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I also love the dichotomy where fantasy needs to be 100 percent accurate to historical norms or it might as well be skysharks and landcrabs.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: Since it's a fantasy setting, I hope the explanation is something like, "they need bare iron against the ground to ward off grundersprut."
See, if I wanted that, I'd go for Age of Sigmar. In realistic wargames, I want equipment that either looks like real one, or one that makes sense in-setting somehow and isn't just badly researched wreck done with minimum of effort. I get these guys are supposed to look shabby, but whoever the artist was, he looked at GW orks for way too long. Look at that spear, it looks like ork banged it together, colossal waste of metal that also looks like it would be terrible as a weapon.
Ditto for shields, not only medieval shields were usually either made from one piece of wood for strength, or cunningly laminated from overlapping pieces, this junk on art again looks like ork banged it together. Badly cut, barely fitting together planks that would let a spear strike straight through the gaps. Eugh. Also, why are the shields painted? Paints are abundant now, in medieval times you covered the shield in cloth (that was dyed, as it took much less pigment than painting) for protection. I also researched rims out of curiosity, the larger shields infantry used had leather strip covering metal rim nailed along the bottom edge, again, to protect the only thing that stood between you and death. Again, you put metal where you can, especially bits likely to be hit, then, if you're too poor, put something, leather, fabric, whatever you can, on the other parts. You don't leave wood exposed.
I also can't help but notice what is supposed to be medieval militia rocks leather musketeer boots that would make even a landsknecht blush with envy, not only around 300 years early, but way too expensive for someone of their status. Did they loot them from some drunk time travelers or something?
Maybe you should just use historical minis with an occasional ogre. It sounds like you are stating that you want a game that makes fantasy minis for the burgeoning fantasy market to tone it down until they are in competition with Perry and Fireforge. Those products already exist, so go wild with them instead. There's always Oathmark.
To be clear, I am not saying what you want is wrong. I am saying it already exists, and Conquest has made the conscious decision to be visually distinct from what exists rather than being believable.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I also love the dichotomy where fantasy needs to be 100 percent accurate to historical norms or it might as well be skysharks and landcrabs.
Agree with bob here. I don't quite get how a thread about a high fantasy game with alien like creatures got devolved into a discussion on historical accuracy of who actually wore what back then. They said the drone dudes are grown and mutated in special vats, so any part of them game be "realistic" is out the window, and that's ok cause the rules are good and the models are beautiful.
Yeah, this is definitely a fantasy wargame. Not a realistic historical wargame. Certain factions have some design features that are recognisably inspire by particular historical periods but just inspired by. The arms and armour are still of fantasy design. All fantasy/fiction deals with the suspension of disbelief... Some suspend it higher and more precariously than others. In a world with dragons, biomancy, mythic beasts and the restless dead, shield length and boot cut hardly break that suspension I'm a big fan of the balance they have struck between the normal and fantastical. what brings it more down to earth for me is a real sense of world building with deep, complex and (as close as possible to) realistic societies.
Galas wrote: Guys you don't understand, Irbis has made quite the research to determine how abundant paints are in Para Bellum's Conquest! universe.
Now they need to write a vignette about a mercenary company who gleefully fight through the meat grinder (possibly literally) to earn the big score...a pot of purple paint that will set the survivors to live like dukes.
They clearly buy all the paints from the spire. The paints may or not be the liquefied remains of their biomantic abominations.
I joke, but if you think about it, its entirely possible the Spire know how to mass produce paints. If you can get dyes from plants irl, then with a bit of alchemy and biomancy you can make one that produces paint.
Of The Horsemen... From Www.facebook.com/ParaBellumWarGames...
"For the Old Faith, they were simply Marduk, Enkil, Anuk and Atrahos, forefathers of the very Pantheon that would ultimately overthrow them with the help of the Dragons. The Dweghom had named them, and still do, the Dhaitan, Primordial Titans of immense size and cosmic power, a term many tributary tribes of the Old Dominion had adopted and which is still used by some City States.
The term ‘Horsemen’ did not appear but much later, in the Epiphanies of prophet Elius, who named them Famine, War, Death and Conquest respectively and foretold their return from their prisons to resume the War of Hosts. Rather than argue with the ramblings of a madman, many seek instead to grasp the secrets of their pasts. Fortunately for us, all objective knowledge of these beings passed with the last Dragon…”
If the creatures on the sides are meant to be the Horsemen, I'm digging it. They look alien and otherwordly, just as you'd think a race of primordial creatures would look. 1st guy is War, 2nd Guy is Conquest, 3rd guy is most likely Famine, 4th guy is Death.
Yeah, let’s not forget that a god falling off his mountain retreat had enough force to destroy half a continent...(possibly more, but another god intervened to save the other half...and it cost her her life...)
I only wish I could find (so lazy) who asked what the command cards will look like.
I can reveal and exclusive preview of two character cards. The rules and stats are not up to date with playesting* so may vary from the final product but they will all feature original pencil sketch concept art
*On a side note, the demo rules I have (version beta version 2.0) were hastlity put together so that demos could be given at Spiel Essen last... September? (my memory is getting worse) the game has been under constant playtest for a long time prior and ever since. When we spoke in February, they were in the fi Al stages of playesting. Tournament testing. Breaking armies and being TFG as hard as possible XD sounds fun and the final book is about to go to print
What does E do? I don't think that ever came up in the demo games. I know what the other stats do, just not E. How does resolve work with single characters?
(normally ranked from 0 to 6 making maximum use of the full D6 range. Movement, attack and wounds are the exception)
M: March - Distance moved in inches when moving.
V: Volley - skill with Fire orders
C: Clash - skill with Clash orders in melee
A: Attack - number of dice the model roll in a Clash action
W: Wounds - the number of injuries a model can sustain before it is removed as a casualty
R: Resolve - how well your troops hold their nerve
D: Defense - a measure of physical resistance
E: Evasion - skill in avoiding attackes rather than absorbing the trauma!
CthuluIsSpy wrote: What does E do? I don't think that ever came up in the demo games.
I know what the other stats do, just not E.
How does resolve work with single characters?
Characters must join units of the same type (unless it's a monster) and effects them in the same manner. The unit benefits from higher resolve and certain leaders have certain rules which can reduce the damage taken from fighting reforms and fighting withdrawals (results of failed resolve checks in order to reform or withdraw from of melee)
CthuluIsSpy wrote: Yeah, but how does E work mechanically? IIRC, Defense works like an armor save; if you roll equal or under it you ignore the hit.
But how does Evasion work? Does it modify hit rolls?
It's an alternative to defense, works in the same fashion, not modified by cleave. I belive the intension is for some attacks to be un-evaidable (is that a new word XD) and also provide highly agile light troops (normally elites) to stand a chance against massed light missiles.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: Yeah, but how does E work mechanically? IIRC, Defense works like an armor save; if you roll equal or under it you ignore the hit.
But how does Evasion work? Does it modify hit rolls?
It's an alternative to defense, works in the same fashion, not modified by cleave. I belive the intension is for some attacks to be un-evaidable (is that a new word XD) and also provide highly agile light troops (normally elites) to stand a chance against massed light missiles.
Ah, so its just another save then. Curious to see how it turns out.
I wish I could be more specific but as I said, the rules I have are subject to change and I haven't seen the real deal.
It's one of two saves, you can only choose one or the other so if you have D2 E1 and you get smacked by Steel Legion with their Great Cleave (-2D) you can try and evaid (if you can)
There is a possibility that Markus has been handed preproduction resins to get painted examples ready ASAP but yes, the retail miniatures for Conquest are confirmed as HIPS (Hard Injection-molded Plastic Sprue)
Automatically Appended Next Post: The features are already rather slick. The faction and lore section are ace. The E-shop is set up but ofc all are "coming soon" There is also an army builder
So...the rules are free.
I was not expecting that. That's pretty neat.
Overall, their site is pretty well designed, and the bit of text that appears when you mouse over the Old Dominions region on the map is interesting. Possible Undead territory?
A darkness is gathering. The fearless Tribes hurl themselves against the Claustrine Gates as their lands shrink. Their warbands are unable to contend with the ancient evil that stirs in what was once the heartland of the Old Dominion...
Nerdgasm
Automatically Appended Next Post: PAGE 62 of the rule book! Theres a Werewolf!!!!! OMG!
Automatically Appended Next Post: The features are already rather slick. The faction and lore section are ace. The E-shop is set up but ofc all are "coming soon" There is also an army builder
Aye, some conventions that experienced gamers will find familiar but when you add it all in with the alternating activation, escalation, superiority abilities and scaling magic (one of my favourites to come out of the play testing) it has a totally unique feel to it
Kroem wrote: Damn Rick Priestly and Allessio Cavatore both releasing games in the same year, who could ask for more!
Oooo what's Rick working on? Thought he was busy with the new Antares supplement
The Red Book of the Elf King from Lucid Eye Publications. Seems pretty cool, and I'm getting into it. 19 minis max for a standard game - one Thane and 6 groups of 3 Companions. It's kind of on the other side of Conquest - instead of "elves" that are bio-engineering aliens from the depths of space, the elves in Red Book are seven foot tall immortal warriors embroiled in a civil war after the death of their king.
Cools, I may give it a look. I'm after a fantasy skirmish game and Confrontation may as well come with a public safety sticker on it XD... Though something makes me feel like Para Bellum has thought about one for the future.
"We are glad to announce that our Website is up!
What you will find:
At the moment there is no products on offer for sale and the intent is to allow a first glimpse into our Lore, Art and Rules.
As time progresses we will enrich the material until the launch of the product and availability to sell.
Hint the map is interactive.
The Rulebook.
These are the rules of the game without the army lists for the first four factions.
Army lists and point costs will be added as content later on.
The Army Builder.
As you will notice upon visiting our site there is a TAB "Army Builder".
Our very own Free Army Builder.
This will be first showcased at Beasts of War during our visit in Ireland this June.
This will be a Web App but soon after launch we have plans to make it into an app for IOS and Android"
Carlovonsexron wrote: I really, really want a peek at what's planned for the city states...
I'm quite interested too. There was discussion about hopolites, creatures inspired by Greek myth and mad contraptions such as those sketched by Archemedes and his peers...
Since PB is based in Greece, I imagine they will pour over it
If they had too little metal for the whole thing, reinforcing sides before bottom makes much more sense...
