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I just saw this on Kickstarter and while I'm maxed out on skirmish games I really like the elephant miniatures. So, this has my interest at least for those.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/272734025/parallax-warbands/description

The creator has put up a quickstart guide, cards and sample warbands. I haven't reviewed them yet but I will do so mostly because I can't help trying to convince myself I need yet another game I'll not play...

Anyone have thoughts or more information on this campaign?

I may have missed something about this everyone else knows but I couldn't find another post about it. So as always, the Mods are welcome to Mod God as needed.

This stuff looks great - thanks for posting this here!

That looks very interesting, great find.

Saw that yesterday. Looks neat but the price drove me off, especially with the DFC and Battletech PC game KS' coming up soon.

I never knew I needed an anthropomorphic elephant until this day...

Hey there!

I'm so glad you guys found our project! My name is Alex and I'm the Co-Developer and Lead Fluff-guy of Parallax: Warbands. I'd love to share some insight into our game with you!


First off, lets get the dirty laundry out of the way. The main concerns we've heard voiced most often are that the sticker price is higher than some other games, and that the models are a larger scale. We totally agree on both accounts. The price point is a little higher than some other games, but the larger models, cast in high-grade resin, demand it. The models range from 35mm humans to 70mm(!!) Hadjen (the elephant guys), and we wanted to make sure that the smallest models (humans) still get the high level of detail that the big guys enjoy. We wanted each model to be a centerpiece unto itself. There are no "filler models" in Parallax! All of our models still operate on 30mm/40mm/50mm base sizes, so all of the pretty 3rd party bases are still in play; and some models like the minotaur actually come with their own large resin scenic base.. Larger models cost more to produce, but on the flip side, the model count for Parallax is 4-6 models - which makes the price point a more easily digested price to play.

Now that thats out of the way, lets talk about the great stuff!
The rules to Parallax are unique in a number of ways. First and foremost, one of the most unique features to the game is that players can create their warband from scratch. I'm talking about the kind of scratch build that you use in your favorite pen and paper RPG: stat selection, classes, skills... the whole bit. Whats more, is that your characters also grow stronger as you play them; allowing them to learn more skills or improve existing ones. And for those of us who don't want to go through that whole process? there are an array of premade characters (we call them Personalities) that are the heroes and villains of Parallax that can be slotted right into any game.

"But how on earth can that be balanced?!"

Thats the shining point of the game is that it is all based on a point buy system that ensures whatever models make it to the table, scratch built or Personalities, they have the same potential. Our point buys are called "Renowned".

What goes into a standard game?
The game play jumps from player to player as they alternate activating a single model at a time. Games play out to 5 rounds and players are trying to accomplish a number of contract cards that they agreed to at the beginning of the game. Completing contracts earns you Victory Points. Failing contracts loses you Victory Points. Most VP at the end of the game wins!

Parallax also brings some innovative play mechanics to the table. Besides the fact that model effectiveness diminishes as a model gets injured, one of the coolest aspects of the game is that models are liberated from the restraints of "move, shoot, melee" or "Major action, minor action, free action". Models have a statistic called Exhaustion, and this stat dictates how many exhaustion points (EP) you refresh per turn. EP is the currency with which you buy your actions. You can push your model to do extra attacks, extra movement, special moves, defenses, etc. but it all costs Exhastion Points (EP). If a model's EP goes negative, then they suffer in performance until they have rested (i.e. removed enough EP to be at positive Exhaustion score)So as a player, you get to develop a truely unique play style. Do you push all out and make the minotaur take extra swings of his huge axe? or do you save those EP for defense, evasive movements, and/or reflexive special abilities? It's a lot of fun to discover!

So those are some of my favorite core attributes of Parallax: Warbands. But there's a lot more to it, of course. I'd love to field your questions if you have any specifics! (I didn't even get to the fluff....!)

Thanks for your interest!

Kinda curious....

Looking at the sample warbands, several of them appear to be a mix of models from different factions, which begs the question - why bother with factions at all, if you're able to mix-and-match as you see fit/want to pay the points for?

Just curious.

-Mort

Great question Mort!

It's another hallmark of Parallax. There are 2 key points that this brings up:

1) Factions in Parallax are more complex than just "all the Minotaurs group up and play Minotaur-games!" If, instead, we think about it like a real world diverse community, it starts to make more sense. If you live in an area controlled/populated by the Hadjen (for example), the other races will exist within that society, and thus can be a part of their warband. The goals of that warband might be to support the Hadjen ideals, but there are many races who are happy to work for the Hadjen.

2) The way you choose to construct your warband affects who leads your warband in-game and how you obtain/achieve contracts. You can choose to honor your faction and stick to their hiring practices, or you may build a band of mercenaries and take anyone from any background you like! You get to play the game your way (but all choices have consequences )

Great question!