Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Dear Dakka,

Since Fall is finally returning it is time to end my summer love affair with WW2 games and return to my pet project Mini Hammer. I already started a project log for it last year but have decided to open a new thread this time around because so much of it has been improved.

As games of 40k grow more towards the apocalyptically gigantic, I've decided to play the game on a much smaller level, allowing me to continue buying the GW models that I love without taking out a mortgage to buy a new army ($76 Landraiders?). This allows me to buy small batches of models, convert them, give them the individual love and care that they so deserve, and still play with them. So I started a project I call "Mini Hammer" and began work creating 2 small armies, one chaos the other imperial, and a board for them to fight over. It serves as the perfect creative outlet to build, convert, and paint in the 40k universe while avoiding all the unpainted, half assembled, proxied, IG parking lot, flyer spam, WAAC, played over a table with coke bottles as terrain, complain about Matt Ward games that I can...

So in order to have my cake and eat it too I've housed rules the 6th ed rules set to make it more conducive to platoon sized, fix and flank, fire and maneuver, gunfights that embody today's modern combat. Now I know fanboy house rules can turn a lot of people off. It doesn't take long for simple well intended modifications to snowball into a confusing mess, so in the effort to keep the game playable, I've tried to keep modifications to a minimum. Also note that most of the extra rules are stolen from bolt action and flames of war like +1 to hit in cover, long range, gone to ground. The game is supposed to be smaller than 40k but bigger than skirmish, (Think bolt action but 40k) and with only 30-40 models on each side it shouldn't get too far out of hand.

In a nut shell the core of Mini Hammer is 40k, with FOW hit modifiers, and a Bolt Action pinning function. Certain units will have special rules as well that are by and large 40k USR. Some units like vehicles have rules that make them worse.

example

Buttoned up: Crew members observing atop turrets will button up (close the hatches) when taking small arms fire, forcing them to return to the belly of their steel beasts and rely on the often poor visibility offered by para-scopes.

Enclosed armoured vehicles with a pin marker can only see 18 inches.

I will go into more detail about rules mods in a spoiler later. But now I need to get to some pictures so I don't bore you half to death.

One more quick note about the armies. I don't take points or codices into consideration. This allows an awesome amount of freedom to convert and invent. Cultist with a meltagun? No problem. Want to convert a fantasy miniature? Do it. Do you like that boxed set of x, y, or z but don't want to start an entire army? go ahead. Now for the armies. I wanted a conventional feel gun battle in a 40k urban wasteland with the baseline model being a S3 T3 human with a S3 gun. Best choice? Chaos vs. Imperium.

Here is what I have PAINTED so far. This is still very much WIP. I'll get some terrain pics, army shots, and future materials/ ideas posted soon. Let me know what you think.......

Imperials:

So far each side is at roughly one squad each. The final list is planned at 3 squads each, an HQ, a vehicle or two, and a few special teams like snipers and heavy weapons. Here are some chaos guys.

I really like where this is going and would be interested to see your rule set when you're done.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
I really like where this is going and would be interested to see your rule set when you're done.

Great! I'll get to it then.

Movement phase

Everyone runs 4 inches and has the Move through cover USR

done. next

Shooting Phase

The first and major part is BS modifiers. These are stolen from FOW as follows

+ 1 to hit if the target is:
in cover
long range (over 18")
gone to ground.

The next important mod to shooting is the suppression and pinning mechanic.

For every THREE HITS a unit receives it gains a pin marker. Place a d6 (or other cleverly designed token) next to the unit with the appropriate amount of pins the units has facing up.

For every pin marker a unit has it suffers -1 BS, -1 Initiative, cannot run, and movement is halved.

Example: a fire team of guardsmen take a heavy round of suppressive fire from a group of cultists armed with a heavy stubber. The guardsmen receive 8 total hits and thus receive 2 pin markers. They now are BS 1, Initiative 1, cannot run, and move 1.5 inches (6 halved then 3 halved again).. Note: a player may elect to fire at a target with multiple units at once allowing him to pool the number of hits so that they will not round down from 8 to 6.

At the beginning of a player turn he may attempt to shed 1 pin marker (and only one) per unit by passing a leadership test.

If a unit takes 25% casualties in shooting, pass a leadership check or gain a pin marker. Units will only break and flee in CC.

And also some weapons changes:

Weapons S 6 and above cause - 1 to cover save
Melta weapons cause an additional -1 to a cover save (they melt friggen rocks for gods sake)

Assault Phase

Overwatch is always fired at full BS minus pinning modifiers.


Ok that's the core basics! I will update later on vehicles and units special rules but for now I will go into an example of the shooting phase. Below is a downed Valkyrie crew that has been making its way through the wasteland in an attempt to re-enter friendly lines. While taking refuge in a ruin, their progress is impeded by a small patrol of cultists picking heir way through the landscape. The cultists open fire.

Thought I'd post up some terrain pics for the 5 of you watching this. I'm going for a blasted out chaos wasteland...in autumn. Yeah I know, pretty random. I have the first section pretty much done, just need water effects on the pool and some strewn about trash and corpses for detail and spot color. Also I got a few more models painted. I found an old scout squad that has been in my closet for years and needs a home. Deciding that 5 scouts with bolters would not be OP I added them to the Imperial side, which will be the first time in 40k history that people will fear 5 scouts. I REALLY want to leave out speehz mahreens as power armor will change the dynamic of the game and also because I'm just tired of them. The lone CSM will be the only power armor in the game. I figure scout armor won't make much of a difference but the scouts will still be one of the more powerful units.. Anyway because the Imperial colors are green and blue I wanted a blue scheme for the scouts to match them to the imperials but make them different, and because I've never painted ultra smurfs out of the umpteen SM armies I've had I said what the heck.

Let me know what y'all think.

I like the scouts. Finally a game where they are scary, lol. And only in the Scouts would an Ultramarine get away with a beard that epic.

The terrain is really cool too. I've always liked the 2nd Edition/Necromunda ruleset where cover and range made it harder to hit things. Pinning seems a little harsh (it would be in real life obviously), but I guess it depends on how "units" are counted.

Yeah I've yet to play this we full armies but ill evaluate the pinning part when I do. You would be surprised however to see how hard it is to get 3 hits when you need fives. Furthermore one pin marker can be immediately removed by a leadership check the next turn, so to pin someone you really need to lay down a lot of fire on them. Units will be 5-10 models so there will be (depending on your strategy) many units on the table. The amount of models in a unit is your choice.

and I was a bit unsure of the beard on an ultra too. but Telion has facial hair right?...
Thanks for the comments!. I need some motivation to really get this going.

This looks pretty darn cool. I don't really need much in the way of special rules to *not ever play the game* (not by choice, time and lack of opponents, etc), however, I could definitely see being interested if I did play. Ever.

I like your models, and terrain. They match well, definitely gritty.

Enhances the feel that they're little teams cut off from their support.

Looking forward to seeing more

This is a really cool idea. You might want to check out Inquisamunda for some other rule ideas as well.

Nice. Cool idea. I like the paintjobs on your models.

I'm subbed

Thank you all for the interest and indeed I have looked at necromunda and inquisitor before. great games.

I've added some more details to this board section, started work on another two, and finished some more models. It looks more and more like the boards will be getting snow in the future. I also found my old Space Wolves Leman Russ Tank (yeah space wolves could get a leman russ) in which im going to cover in rust and use as a terrain feature. I really want to put a wrecked sentinel on a square as well. I think that corpses, blast craters, and burnt wrecks will really turn the board into a battlefield.

This is looking awesome, Strom! Keep posting.

Making terrain in a studio apartment is difficult. Also, classic Aquila lander.

Also forgot to point out GLASS IN THE WINDOW. yeah that's where were going with this. Dang my camera is starting to suck.

Glass is a nice touch. Always seems like it gets overlooked. The roof is a nice touch as well.

Thanks Moltar. I'm glad I got you to migrate over here from the last thread.

A few updates. I'm completely done with painting guardsmen at the moment, though I plan on adding another 5 lasgun guys soon. Here are some pics of the Cadian RO and the last two troopers. Those HW team backpacks are great and I plan on getting another set in there somewhere. My favorite part in converting is adding the extra bits that they would need in a warzone. Canteens, pouches, extra ammo, bedrolls, ect... I forgot to show some of the bedrolls I put on there earlier. Grunts need A LOT of stuff to fight and survive. Also, another cultist I converted to a plasma gunner. I call him Tucker is running out of bits guy. He is still WIP

This project is making serious headway. Thanks again to all who are interested and providing encouragement. Mini Hammer is allowing me to stick with what I like about the grimdark while avoiding what it has become. I'm sure that most of you that are posting here can sympathize. Its been TONS of fun so far. The game should be functional in the next three weeks. Looking forward to play testing it with a friend. Insanely detailed battle report inbound.

Here are some full army shots of the imperials. They are slated to receive an Armored Sentinel with an autocannon (and maybe a storm bolter) and at least 5 more lasgun grunts. That should wrap it up for the initial playtest. Oh yeah and the Valkyrie crew will probably be rounded out to 5.

Your terrain is excellent. It shows a definite concept and comes together with color and shading, fine details, and tabletop functionality. The rest of your work (Cultists, etc) is also well done. Thanks for sharing your work, Dakka needs more hobbyist that focus on the battlefield as much as the soldier.

Subbed.

I like the size of the force, 25-30 guys, maybe 35-40 with your last additions. Seems like a good size at which to play such a game, with 28mm figs and all. Please keep us informed of how the rules play out, sounds fairly entertaining

Still lookin' good, Strom! Keep us posted.

Looking really good, cant wait to get down on some cover and movement.

Awesome stuff in this thread, I love both the idea of scaled-down 40k and the execution of it. The guardsmen and cultists are great, and the rules look pretty solid as well.

Definately interested in seeing where this goes!

Thank you all for the comments and the interest. I've been making a good deal of progress in the past week, mainly in adding in more baseline lasgun grunts and ordering the last few bits and bobs, though I still need to order another sentinel. I've also been toying with the idea of throwing in some indirect fire units that can launch smoke and barrage. I'll have to test them out first though.

And speaking of testing, I just set up a playtest on my regular 40k board. It's made of good old chipboard, sand, glue, foam, and lots of love. All in all about 50 dollars worth of material. I really am quite fond of it. Once I finish minihammer, this board will be used to create its sequel JUNGLEHAMMER

Simply awesome, Strom! Loving the look of the board. Simple, effective, and wallet friendly!

I agree w/ Moltar- the table looks excellent. Any change you'd show a WIP or short tutorial with how you get the texture?

 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
I agree w/ Moltar- the table looks excellent. Any change you'd show a WIP or short tutorial with how you get the texture?

Thank you for the kind words. Thought I'd photograph the progress of my next tile to show you how I do it. This is the same process as my regular board. Here are the first few steps.

Very cool! its really helpful to see a project like this go from start to well... more of a WIP but you know what I mean.

A much less hazardous alternative to soupcans is corrugated paper soaked in white glue. (Less slicy...)

THAT

IS

BRILLIANT!!!

Oh man! Today has been a treasure trove of new ideas, and you just hit the #1 spot for distracting me from my current projects. Thank you for all the WIP info above, but this is the crown jewel.

I do agree with Galon though. Looks like the chances of blood for the blood god are pretty high if you're not really careful. So be careful.