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Made in nl
Stone Bonkers Fabricator General




We'll find out soon enough eh.

I mostly like the setting(in general I think you're probably taking anthropomorphising too far once you hit Camel-men, but that's just me), and I like a lot of the models, but I tend to prefer Mordheim-sized games these days since it means I can get more variety from the same budget. Indeed Mordheim is where I tend to use Mierce models I buy.

If they had a similar small warband campaign-skirmish game in the Darklands setting, I'd be right on board with that even if the rules were as...lets be charitable and say "intricate", as Darklands-proper.

I need to acquire plastic Skavenslaves, can you help?
I have a blog now, evidently. Featuring the Alternative Mordheim Model Megalist.

"Your society's broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No, lets blame the people with no power and no money and those immigrants who don't even have the vote. Yea, it must be their fething fault." - Iain M Banks
-----
"The language of modern British politics is meant to sound benign. But words do not mean what they seem to mean. 'Reform' actually means 'cut' or 'end'. 'Flexibility' really means 'exploit'. 'Prudence' really means 'don't invest'. And 'efficient'? That means whatever you want it to mean, usually 'cut'. All really mean 'keep wages low for the masses, taxes low for the rich, profits high for the corporations, and accept the decline in public services and amenities this will cause'." - Robin McAlpine from Common Weal 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Dankhold Troggoth






Shadeglass Maze

All my models have been used for other games, as I thought they were cooler than the "first party" sculpts available for those games. Mostly Warmachine, where I think Mierce's quality and style is so much better!
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User





 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I played off and on when the big book came out and quite enjoyed it (I do like complex rule sets though), but the moving away of pretty much all of my previous gaming group means I don't any more

(and the continual work on the rules means I probably have only a minimal handle of the game as it is now, especially the force building but then that's the trouble with new rule sets do you leave them alone for a few years so people can play withough trouble, or do you evolve them to make them better but lock out all except people who are really on top of things)


Have they played around with the core rules much? Hopefully to simplify them! My understanding is that Rob originally wanted the Holy Grail of a competitive rule set that couldn't be broken, and with a very specific, 'realistic' feel to what they could do, so gave everything its own distinct term. The trouble is that there were so many of them you loose track of which is which.
A group of us talked about doing a streamlined, community version, but I think that the distance between us all and the work involved can be off putting - even more so if there is little chance of it taking off! 9th Age is 'working' as a community rule set because the community is there already.
I know that a while ago Rob was not 100% happy with the army creation rules (and getting a balance between creating 'realistic' warbands and allowing freedon of choice is tricky!) so I'm not surprised they are changing lots - though I do think you need to settle on a set for a period of time.

They just need to actively market the game I think. Its go a great setting, awesome models and a solid core principle. Strip the extra out, refine it and push that.
   
Made in us
Prospector with Steamdrill




Indiana

They need to at least add Tags to models on the website. I knew what I was looking for and it still took me 20 minutes to find because I had no clue what the archaic names meant. If your models are used in other games, just tag them with "plague", "demon", etc. Make it as easy as possible for a lazy customer to find products!
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Houston, TX

I have virtually the entire darklands range... never played a game, and don't expect to unless the rules are significantly revised. They're so dense and dry that it doesn't grab my interest. The factions don't really have a clear schtick to draw in new players (ie, this is the debuff/control faction, this is the glass cannon faction, this is the tough melee beater faction, here's your weenie horde). Given the number of factions, there'd need to be some overlap. And yes, I know they're called kindreds

I don't feel that the game will take off without more accessible rules. After the rules are done, they'd need to get some US stockists to get them in stores, so production capacity would need to ramp up. I know Gangfight Games was talking about just 3d printing minis to order. I wonder if that would be more economical for Mierce? Like the giant crab - does anyone REALLY want one without barnacles and crust on it? Seems almost a waste to get the master print and mold made for a niche within a niche within a niche.

   
Made in us
Shrieking Traitor Sentinel Pilot




Burbank, CA

 Bossk_Hogg wrote:
I have virtually the entire darklands range... never played a game, and don't expect to unless the rules are significantly revised. They're so dense and dry that it doesn't grab my interest. The factions don't really have a clear schtick to draw in new players (ie, this is the debuff/control faction, this is the glass cannon faction, this is the tough melee beater faction, here's your weenie horde). Given the number of factions, there'd need to be some overlap. And yes, I know they're called kindreds

I don't feel that the game will take off without more accessible rules. After the rules are done, they'd need to get some US stockists to get them in stores, so production capacity would need to ramp up. I know Gangfight Games was talking about just 3d printing minis to order. I wonder if that would be more economical for Mierce? Like the giant crab - does anyone REALLY want one without barnacles and crust on it? Seems almost a waste to get the master print and mold made for a niche within a niche within a niche.



I'm in the same boat with you BH, I've got most of the models, and they're phenomenal! But I'm also a bit scarred by the depth of the rules. We live in an age when Mini games are being simplified a lot, and while I think that's great, as it helps people get into it easier, I still think games with lots of depth have their place as well. The issue is, with SO MANY games to choose from, trying to learn a bunch of detailed rules, on top of all the other games you play, is a bit much for most people. For me, if a game has awesome miniatures, I'm more inclined to collect it, and possibly play it, vs one that has great gameplay mechanics, but crappy figures.

I think Mierce could do with a bit of marketing help as well. There are a lot of venues for marketing these days, many of which cost nothing. Focusing on social channels is very key to getting a foot up in todays market. They have the super high quality product part locked in, but people need to know more about it.

In regard to the names, I feel as though they need to give things names closer to how they are listed in the Kindred musters. Where as on the website Araigh is listed as 'Araigh, ancient of Sileann Fenn', under the Warchief's section. He could just be listed as 'Fenn Beast Warchief - Araigh'. I love the depth and thought put in to the names & titles, but, I think they need to make them a bit more accessible for the masses.

And for the record, I purchased both versions of Thuulac. As I like the idea of a younger looking one with some nice designs on it's chiten vs an old Barnacle encrusted one, who looks like hes seen a few battles.

, , , , , , ,

 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut





http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-starter-hosts-ii/
My God they make actually make this one...that's some mad keen backers there, they added £1,000 overnight.

I am not a gamer, I only paint minis, so the rules are of no interest to me, BUT I thought keeping them as a free PDF download would help spread the word, after all, Mierce aren't going to become a successful business just selong the rulebook!
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

they're available as a pdf on the mierce website both the main rules and the initial quick-start version

http://mierce-miniatures.com/index.php?act=drm

 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut





 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
they're available as a pdf on the mierce website both the main rules and the initial quick-start version

http://mierce-miniatures.com/index.php?act=drm


You need to click the "download" link for the rulebook...it takes you here:

http://mierce-miniatures.com/index.php?act=pro&pre=mrm_dkl_bok_rul_001_000_hbk

No PDF for the full rules I'm sorry


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 skullking wrote:

But I'm also a bit scarred by the depth of the rules


That's an appropriate misspelling!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/22 22:51:55


 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Longtime Dakkanaut





I buy mine for other games. My group of friends is mostly RPG\boardgames so miniature playing time is pretty restricted and the rules for this game aren't anything I'd be able to convince anyone to learn if I even wanted too.

I've got a lot, especially from the early kickstarters, but have really only followed a few factions and even then have bought less over the last 2 years as I've only painted maybe 2 figures from the line as so far I haven't had a lot of use for them. But dang are they great looking and I'd love a RPG setting for darklands but Rob isn't into them so no chances there, which I'm fine with, hopefully if they ever get their fluff book out I can use that and add a ruleset.
   
Made in ca
Fresh-Faced New User




I have voiced concerns before about Mierce's business model. The concerns still exist since we do not know their true financials and the business has clearly not had explosive growth in the last couple years. "Kickstarter" is not a business model. It is a platform to promote and gather funds for a project. If Kickstarter went bankrupt tomorrow (not likely), I suspect that Mierce would follow suit after a little while - pure speculation based on info at hand. However, there are plenty of companies in the same industry that have multiple large Kickstarter projects that would not go out of business if Kickstarter disappeared (it would still hurt them). I would be much happier if Mierce was viable outside the Kickstarter platform.

I also own quite a few figures from the line and have only a few painted. I also have not played the game but have almost enough painted to do play a small game if I can find an opponent. The complexity of the rules are actually intriguing to me, even though the rulebook has many flaws in layout and organization.

I agree with others that a ruleset for smaller skirmish play makes the most sense with very expensive figures. Either have cheap figures where you can afford to have huge armies, or expensive figures with smaller groups. I love the quality of the the sculpts from the line, though there has been a slight decline in the average overall quality in recent projects. It isn't bad by any means, just not as good as when it seemed like every sculpt was done by one of the best artists in the industry.

The idea of a Darkholds board game is pretty good. The marketing and execution could have been better, maybe the campaign looked too similar to the regular Mierce Kickstarters. Using the sculpts to go after a different market was smart. I think if they had figured out a way to include a dragon, it would have funded.

I wish them success but have slowed way down in purchases. Partially because I have enough basics for now, but also I want the backlog to shrink. Plus those metal figures take very long to get produced.

Some of the decisions have confused me some. Like choosing to resculpt Hror. Raise your hand if you saw both sculpts of Hror sitting on a shelf in a store at the same price, you would choose the original sculpt, I would. It isn't miles better but has a bit more character.
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut





Yeah...the minis are awesome, but I do agree they have dropped off a bit in quality.
Thankfully the current KS looks like it will make it after all..that's good...let's see what they do about that 3D printer now they have even more digital sculpts.
The funny thing is..for the small saving you get by purchasing in the KS, you can just wait for the inevitable 25% off sale, and buy the minis your want for immediate delivery for much the same.
Kind of defeats the purpose...but, Lo, another 120 purple have propped up Mierce for a little longer, ordering minis they ain't gonna see for a year or so...
   
Made in pl
Fresh-Faced New User




Poznan, Poland


Mierce Miniatures 19-time creator 40 minutes ago

Here's Thurgis, the Werwulf Wiglere...
Spoiler:




£11,250 - Birna, Dottir of Hrafnen on Foot and on Horse

Now that we're funded, we can bring you some more goodies! Here's your next target, set at £11,250 to unlock: a digital resculpt of Birna, Dottir of Hrafnen on Foot and on Horse!
Spoiler:



This stretch goal will result in a digital resculpt of the existing Birna miniatures by Bob Płociennik, along with a couple of new versions to boot - and a pose change. This will necessitate proper new artwork as there's no horsed version of Birna yet, so we'll get Danny Cruz on top of that very soon!

Along with the Birna on foot and on horse (which will be armed with sword and shield and spear and shield) there's also two more variants, Archer Birna and Ravener Birna, both of which will gain foot and horse versions too. There'll also be a helmed head option (which will be the same as Ravener Birna's head) for all variants.

We won't be resculpting Birna's Fellhrafn, but we will give it a new Birna rider to match the new art, which will include the variants. The horsed version will be as similar as possible to the Fellhrafn rider, if not exactly the same - we'll see.

Increase your pledge by the following amounts to get these particular versions of Birna:

All three versions on foot and on horse - £70 metal / £90 resin
Any Birna on foot and on horse - £27 metal / £32 resin
Any Birna on foot (or as rider for the Fellhrafn) - £6 metal / £11 resin
Any Birna on horse - £22 metal / £27 resin
Any Birna on Fellhrafn - £45 with metal rider or resin rider (the Fellhrafn can only be resin)
Birna on foot will stand on a 30mm base. Birna on horse will stand on a 50mm base. Birna on Fellhrafn will stand on an 80mm base.


This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/01/23 20:06:02


   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

£11,250 - Birna, Dottir of Hrafnen on Foot and on Horse

Now that we're funded, we can bring you some more goodies! Here's your next target, set at £11,250 to unlock: a digital resculpt of Birna, Dottir of Hrafnen on Foot and on Horse!




This stretch goal will result in a digital resculpt of the existing Birna miniatures by Bob Płociennik, along with a couple of new versions to boot - and a pose change. This will necessitate proper new artwork as there's no horsed version of Birna yet, so we'll get Danny Cruz on top of that very soon!

Along with the Birna on foot and on horse (which will be armed with sword and shield and spear and shield) there's also two more variants, Archer Birna and Ravener Birna, both of which will gain foot and horse versions too. There'll also be a helmed head option (which will be the same as Ravener Birna's head) for all variants.

We won't be resculpting Birna's Fellhrafn, but we will give it a new Birna rider to match the new art, which will include the variants. The horsed version will be as similar as possible to the Fellhrafn rider, if not exactly the same - we'll see.


I like the original enough that I'd rather have seen a new heroine riding a horse but there you go


Automatically Appended Next Post:


Here's Thurgis, the Werwulf Wiglere...

and what looks to be a list of what sculptors are doing what at the moment

@Rick - well, Valentin Zak (starting Brude), Allan Carrasco (who's just started the Peat Beasts), Jason Hendricks (doing the Brute-Beasts), Jin Wei (Kyros on Bronze Horse first, any human Atalantes), Duncan Louca (any non-human Atalantes), Tim Prow (conversions), Yannick Hennebo (conversions and various) and Yannick Fusier (Ograx, Oghureach, etc.) are all working on stuff. We're shoving a lot onto Bob simply because he's so capable and I employ him, but we won't forget the other sculptors!

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/01/23 12:25:36


 
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User





Love most of that Werewolf Wiglere - except the face.
For some reason it just looks....odd.
I think it looks like its been 'added' rather than part of the model. The fur doesn't seem blend into the rest of the model. Almost like its too shaggy around the neck.
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

I see what you mean,

but given a fair few of the Wiglere (sorcerers) work on the 'shouty dishevelled tramp' model I think it works

 
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

Update #5

Aug 24 2017

£12,500 - Crushers, Krokokh Unit

The stretch goals are coming thick and fast... when we get to £12,500, you'll get the Crushers, Krokokh Unit!



The Crushers are enormous, incredibly powerful creatures of scale and tooth and claw and an anvil upon which enemy armies are crushed. Comprising two new warriors - Srann the champion and Vultta - to complement the awesome, already sculpted Aggrakk, the Crushers is a fantastic addition to any Khthones host!

You can pledge for the two new ones if you already have Aggrakk, or you can pledge for all three of them as a unit, or even Aggrakk on his own!

Increase your pledge by £100 ($130) to purchase three Krokokha; £70 ($91) to purchase two Krokokha; or £36 ($47) to purchase a single Krokokh.
I recently bought Aggrakk for KOW purposes, then stumbled on this image of his two bros while googlin' croc minis (as one does). I noticed there are at least a couple Mierce KS with late pledges that would get me these lads, should I go with the latest one? Which I think is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-savage-hordes-iv?ref=profile_created ? June seems far away but gives me time to get the rest of the army up to speed to welcomethe big'uns

- Salvage

KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
-






-

Didn't we already fund Crushers a while back?

Or was it announced as a goal in a previous KS Campaign and failed to fund?

Savage Hordes...4, maybe?


   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

I found them on the Baalor (?) KS as well, with a Feb 2018 ship date. Which I could also late pledge for ... but I'm guessing doing the newer one with the June 2018 ship date we see here is better?

EDIT: Newer one = Savage 4

EDIT2: I had to request access to late pledge, so simply asked them to do whichever means I get crocs faster / whichever they prefer KS number-wise if there's no speed difference.

- Salvage

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/01/23 19:08:20


KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in us
Shrieking Traitor Sentinel Pilot




Burbank, CA

Yes, the Crushers got funded. I think Morannach's two Bog Beast Buddies were the only 80mm 1/3 unit we were not able to fund... YET!

One of the things I actually pledged for this KS was the Crushers.

, , , , , , ,

 
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

Admittedly I flipped out a little when I stumbled on that. Triple giant smashy croco dudes??? *the mind boggles*

2018: The year I admit I have a croco/gator-man problem but do nothing to fix it - tho at least some of it'll get painted

- Salvage

KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
-






-

I'm confused - were the Crushers 'already' in, or are they in 'now'.

And if 'now', are these resculpts or something?

The massive (ish) amount of resculpts that are going on now is a bit annoying.

Yes, some are 'needed' (like the weedly little humans) but some, not so much.

And buying things twice - ugh!

And yes, I know, no one's forcing me, first world problems, etc.!!!

   
Made in us
Shrieking Traitor Sentinel Pilot




Burbank, CA

 Boss Salvage wrote:
Admittedly I flipped out a little when I stumbled on that. Triple giant smashy croco dudes??? *the mind boggles*

2018: The year I admit I have a croco/gator-man problem but do nothing to fix it - tho at least some of it'll get painted

- Salvage


LoL! I know your pain.

Aside from these big boys, the regular Krokodar are pretty large as well (60mm bases), and have very smashy weapons too. Combine those with the Privateer press Gatormen (on 40mm bases), and you've got quite the 'Swamp force'.

I love that Mierce provides a game where you can have historical figures mixed with pretty much any sort of anthropomorphic creatures imaginable. I personally love Prehistoric Mammals, so the Fomoraic cater to that with Mammoth & Wooly Rhino men. But being able to fight them against, Croc men, Snakemen (and women), Hydra/basalisk men, werewolves, Giant Bugs, Bears, & well... Giants. Ogres, Trolls, Ratmen, Skeletons, Ghosts, Wraiths, Ghouls, Dragons, Roman Demons, jaberwocks, Tree men, Swamp 'things', Hippo men, Camel men, Raven men, Artillery, Minotaurs, goatmen, Sloth men (just for you Alph ), Automated Greek Statues, and all manner of twisted Frankenstein like horrors. All wrapped up in a Dark Ages of Europe setting. It's pretty awesome!

, , , , , , ,

 
   
Made in it
Regular Dakkanaut




They didnt make much over the kickstarter amount....

I bought into the kickstarters in 2014...took over a year to actually finally get all the models I ordered....read over the rules.....and thought they were crap in all honesty.

I assembled and threw some primer on some of the miniatures but to many other really nice miniatures on the market now esp at the price points mierce is charging.

I did buy some of the new plague stuff and one of the characters with the recent new year sale but to use in other games nothing to do with mierce.

If they truly want to succeed as a gaming company they have to make a viable ruleset for their miniatures first. Something many of us have told them for years now.

Look at Wyrd they only made miniatures then finally made a game people wanted to play and met success.

With the miniature line mierce has its really the lack of a game people can actually play and support that is the issue....and yes I have played many very complex games over the years and so have my friends and all of us were completely put off by the darklands rule set.
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

I'm pretty good at getting rules sets at this point, but Darklands is one of the most obtuse I've tried to navigate. All I really wanted to do was get a handle on how to make an army, so I'd know what kind of buy-in in snakepeoples I'd need to have a proper go at it ... and I couldn't really figure it out. All I really remember at this point was a bunch of tables (stat blocks?) with really tiny font

- Salvage

KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut





 Boss Salvage wrote:
Update #5

Aug 24 2017

£12,500 - Crushers, Krokokh Unit

The stretch goals are coming thick and fast... when we get to £12,500, you'll get the Crushers, Krokokh Unit!



The Crushers are enormous, incredibly powerful creatures of scale and tooth and claw and an anvil upon which enemy armies are crushed. Comprising two new warriors - Srann the champion and Vultta - to complement the awesome, already sculpted Aggrakk, the Crushers is a fantastic addition to any Khthones host!

You can pledge for the two new ones if you already have Aggrakk, or you can pledge for all three of them as a unit, or even Aggrakk on his own!

Increase your pledge by £100 ($130) to purchase three Krokokha; £70 ($91) to purchase two Krokokha; or £36 ($47) to purchase a single Krokokh.
I recently bought Aggrakk for KOW purposes, then stumbled on this image of his two bros while googlin' croc minis (as one does). I noticed there are at least a couple Mierce KS with late pledges that would get me these lads, should I go with the latest one? Which I think is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-savage-hordes-iv?ref=profile_created ? June seems far away but gives me time to get the rest of the army up to speed to welcomethe big'uns

- Salvage

These guys are OK, but I don't like their soft, rounded teeth, Roberto (Chaudon's) Srok is a much, much, MUCH better sculpt, these are pretty basic.

Have you guys looked over this?

http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-starter-hosts-ii/#chart-daily
I mean, look at that jump:



What happened on the 22nd to cause a MASSIVE £2,500 increase in pledges?
This, BTW from only 8 backers!

There was no new update, no stretch goal revealed, yet BOOM, suddenly we go from "this aint gonna get funded" to, "OK, we'll just make it now"

Seems odd

This was the worst performing Darklands Kickstarter that Mierce has run, it really only just scraped through,

Hopefully that sends a message.




This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2018/01/23 21:49:08


 
   
Made in gb
Rampaging Reaver Titan Princeps





Warwickscire

48 hour notifcation
   
Made in us
Shrieking Traitor Sentinel Pilot




Burbank, CA

 zedmeister wrote:
48 hour notifcation


Yup, Look at almost every KS out there. The last 48 is the biggest jump.

, , , , , , ,

 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut





 zedmeister wrote:
48 hour notifcation


Sorry, 8 backers dropped £2.600 because of that?

Yet in the comments not a soul is chatting about the pledge amounts, or anything realted to it, so these backers were also anonymous?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/23 22:22:28


 
   
Made in gb
Rampaging Reaver Titan Princeps





Warwickscire

It only shows total new backers. It doesn't show the total number of backers dropped, nor does it show total new backers joined along with what they added or who upped their pledges by x amount. As a wild example, they could have lost 20 backers who were in for £1 but gained 28 backers in for £50. Add on to the fact that existing backers were boosting their pledges.

Not exactly hard to explain or understand. Happens all the time on kickstarter and a common complaint about Kicktraq not showing all changes
   
 
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