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So,

Wanting to geek it out, but GW need to decide what they are doing with 40k codex's as well as fantasy before I splash any cash on them.. To boot, they are very expensive to get a small sized army.

Wondering if anyone can recommend anything else? From the UK, so wont be able to get hold of certain games Id have thought, but looking for a game that has nice miniatures to paint as well as some decent rules for actually playing. Don't want to pay GW prices either ... but I'd like the game to have some kind of tactics, not just a pure roll fest.

Bonus points if the miniatures fit in to a DnD type setting, as I will use them for my DnD games as well!

Cheers,

Grady

Dang Dnd...

Dystopian war Boats is a ton of fun i finding now.

But its hard to roll play as a boat.......

If you are going for Sci fy style of game Infinity is not bad at all. takes like $100 to get a nice size force for most play.
individual models are expensive but you dont need as many.

Maelstrom edge is coming up soon.

But if you are going DND then wont you need fantasy style miniture?

Edit: VVV Didnt even know we had one of those...

Sticky at the top of this forum is what you need- http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/369662.page

Depending on what kind of setting you are talking about, Malifaux might also a good fit.

Sounds like Song of Blades and Heroes would suit you well. That or Skulldred.

You can use whatever models you like, and they are both fantasy settings.

You might also try Wrath of Kings. I can't personally vouch for the rules, but the models are nice.

People seem to really enjoy the Saga rule set.

Freebooer's Fate is very fun, but the models are a little spendy. They are fantastic, but on the spendy side. The fantasy pirate genre is also not so straightlaced D&D.

How 'large' of a game are you looking for? 5-10 models per side, 10-20, 30-40, 50+?

Warzone Ressurection. Awesome game, free rules, and you can get your whole army for around $200. prodosgames.com

Kings of War. you can use those minis as enemies for your DnD games, as well as NPCs. If you want to play Kingdoms of Men, you can buy Perry Miniatures: cheap, good and fits in a fantasy setting!

@ DesubotMade - The DND part is only a bonus if I can use them as characters for a 5e I am running.

@ Grimtuff - Will have a read! Cheers.

@ Heartserenade - Kings of War looks good, have posted in the relevent thread to ask about how deep a agme it is, as I watched a small scale batrep and it looked pretty basic.

Thanks guys!

Kings of War is a good shout. It's 'basic' in the sense that you don't get WFB-style special rules on special rules on exceptions to special rules, but once the game is being plaster you have to think a lot. Skilled movement tactics are far more likely to decide the game than an uber-unit or character, and positioning is vital. It can also be a bit chess like; knowing what to sacrifice and when is key, you can't just throw everything into the meat grinder.

Also, for something a little different, you could check out the D&D Adventure System board games. They can be played solo or cooperatively, have a good range of heroes and monsters that would be nice for the 'proper' D&D as well, and with a little work you could even port your current characters into the game. They're good fun for when you want a good old hack through a dungeon without the complexity of a full RPG session.

gradyhawks wrote:
From the UK, so wont be able to get hold of certain games Id have thought

Wot, the worldwide hub of wargaming?

but looking for a game that has nice miniatures to paint as well as some decent rules for actually playing. Don't want to pay GW prices either ... but I'd like the game to have some kind of tactics, not just a pure roll fest.

The problem is that most fantasy/sci-fi games with 'nice miniatures' tend to hover around GW-price level. The good thing is, even if you buy GW minis for them, even most mass battle systems demand a smaller mini count of you than Warhammer 8th does. (For one thing, unit bases and multibases are great for spreading out that pricey 10-man box) I'm pretty fond of games that let you use whatever minis you like, too. Here's a list of some fantasy mass battle games like that. The one that tickles me most is Mayhem: it has a lot of considerations - leadership range, the action point system, unit types, abilities, armament, placement, support, even down to which dice you roll - that are thinky and tactical, without getting bogged down in complication or a heap of unique special rules and random tables.

I think Kings of War is a bit simpler, but deceptively so. One of those 'easy to learn, difficult to master' games, where learning in-game tactics and movements is more important than listbuilding, buffing up your characters, and fretting over steadfast and rank bonuses.

(That list has shrunk a little, unfortunately. Looks like the Fantasy Rules! shop has closed it's doors, and the Impetus site has gone 404. Dunno if it'll be back.)

Dunno too much about smaller-scale games. Second Weeble's suggestion of SoBH. Osprey's Of Gods and Mortals features figures from myth leading warbands against eachother, and there's a fantasy version of their popular Lion Rampant rules in the works. Won't turn up for a few months though, IIRC, but you could take a duke at LR anyways. Heck, most of their games so far involve smaller-scale warbands and skirmishing forces, and are pretty well received. Watchu like? Samurai and Ninja? Victorian steampunk? Hong Kong chop-socky?

(Lastly, not too sure about that list at the top of the forum, TBH. Reads too much like a list out of Private Eye...

Alternative Wargames Rules:
1. Warmachine.
2. Infinity.
3. Malifaux.
4. Saga.
5. Er...
6. That's it.)

I recommend:

Of Gods and Mortals
Song of Blades and Heroes
Dragon Rampant

for Fantasy gaming that can also fit into D&D gaming. They are all relatively cheap and mini agnostic. In other words any mini you buy should work.

However, you could probably also use some Historical sets as well, and for those I recommend:

Ronin
Impetus
Hail Ceasar
Lion Rampant

The models for these can easily fit into humans centric D&D campaigns. Again, they are miniature agnostic, but typically cover a certain period.

Either way, welcome to the larger hobby of Wargaming!

I'm iffy on Kings of War. Have the models improved?

Have you tried any Spartan Games yet - specifically Firestorm Armada and Firestorm Planetfall.

Both games are excellent and very well balanced - and the models look absolutely fantastic and big.

 malfred wrote:
I'm iffy on Kings of War. Have the models improved?

Depends on what yo mean. Aesthetically nothing much has changed, so if it was the style/scale you disliked then I doubt you'll be any happier. But in the last year Mantic have got their hard plastic production sorted, and none of the new stuff is in restic, so if it was a material or quality issue you had then it might be worth another look.

Either way, as Mantic allow and even encourage you to use whatever minis you want, I wouldn't let the models put you off trying out a great ruleset. If you don't like Mantic minis, then use Wargames Factory/Perry/GW/AoW minis and give the rules a shot!

I haven't found a large scale alternative to GW's plastics that
I've liked, sadly.

gradyhawks wrote:
@ DesubotMade - The DND part is only a bonus if I can use them as characters for a 5e I am running.

Still not sure if you want Fantasy or Sci fi since you mentioned 40k.

Any particular scale of war? lots o models or skirmish?

 Paradigm wrote:
[so if it was the style/scale you disliked then I doubt you'll be any happier.

What scale is KoW at? As that needs to be the same as my DnD miniatures (Reaper Ones) for me to consider it! I had assumed that it was the same scale as WHFB.

gradyhawks wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
[so if it was the style/scale you disliked then I doubt you'll be any happier.

What scale is KoW at? As that needs to be the same as my DnD miniatures (Reaper Ones) for me to consider it! I had assumed that it was the same scale as WHFB.

It's 28mm, so should fit fine with any Reaper stuff. Some of the minis (elves, orcs, undead) are what's known as 'true scale' which just means they don't have the oversized heads or hands of, say, GW minis, but the overall size is still the same.

I personally don't use Mantic models for KoW except for their undead and orc. My Kingdoms of men is all Perry except for the occasional hero from Dark Sword miniatures. Perry is cheap, good and customizable. They also double as town guards, knights, minstrels, soldiers, lords and whatever human NPC I need for DnD.

 Paradigm wrote:

gradyhawks wrote:

 Paradigm wrote:
[so if it was the style/scale you disliked then I doubt you'll be any happier.

What scale is KoW at? As that needs to be the same as my DnD miniatures (Reaper Ones) for me to consider it! I had assumed that it was the same scale as WHFB.

It's 28mm, so should fit fine with any Reaper stuff. Some of the minis (elves, orcs, undead) are what's known as 'true scale' which just means they don't have the oversized heads or hands of, say, GW minis, but the overall size is still the same.

It's tough to say exactly. Reaper's figs do tend to be a bit more realistic in proportion, though not always. Also, as far as scale/size is concerned they vary alot. There are may figs that size well with GW in the 28mm range, but some are even bigger, 32mm or more.

Kings of War is a very good game, but IMHO, it requires ALOT of miniatures to get to a level where it plays well. if you're just looking for something to tide you over until you see what GW is up too AND you want to use the figures in your D&D games, I'd recommend one of the warband-level skirmish rulesets that doesn't provide minis but lets you stat up what youwant. This way you can buy the figs you'd like for D&D and then wargame with them. Plus, then you can choose from the many ranges of figs (reaper, etc) that are very good quality, but far less expensive than GW.

Good games like this include:

-Song of Blades and Heroes. My favorite rules-lite, but still strategic fantasy warband game. I absolutely love thinking up and painting new and interesting warbands for this game.
-Of Gods and Mortals. The Song of Blades rules expanded to include units and moved to the mythic realm
-Frostrave. Just about to come out in July. Mordheim-ish but focusing around a leading magic user and his retinue.