In Her Majesty’s Name
This was one of the earliest books printed by the Osprey Wargaming series. Unlike other games in the Osprey series, this one has three supplements as well. I will be reviewing all three of the books in one swoop! This book was made by the same guys who did
In the Emperor’s name that some of you may be familiar with as it is set in the Warhammer
40K universe.
So, this game starts with about a page and a half of background about the world of
In Her Majesty’s Name. It is enough to give you the flavor, but it is just a skeleton for you to build off of. This is what builds the basics of the setting and your Adventuring Company. The game is firmly in the Victorian Sci-Fi category also referred to as Steampunk.
Unlike some of the other Osprey games, it does not begin with or contain any designer’s notes, so it is harder to determine if the game successfully met its objectives. However, based on the design and mechanics I can make some sweeping assumptions. For example, this game is a skirmish game with some heroic elements. I.e. names characters are better than the average dudes. This tells me the movie has some cinematic and pulp elements. The size of the Adventuring Companies tell me this is supposed to be a skirmish game as the scale is one-for-one. Etc, etc, etc.
So, let’s get into the heart of darkness of this review.
Things I Like
The game has a small number of stats such as speed, fighting value, shooting value, etc. These take the form of modifiers to a
d10 dice roll. However, they are also proto-dice pools. If you are facing multiple opponents or have certain abilities you can spread those modifiers across multiple opponents.
For Example, Lt, Napier of the British Rifles is facing two natives. He can choose to split his
FV of +3 across both opponents, or focus all +3 on one guy.
In addition, there is an interesting mechanic to volley fire or mob up on an opponent to make sure that everyone has a chance to hurt someone else, even if they have a superior value. Therefore, quantity has a quality all its own, and the characters will not overwhelm the regulars if used appropriately.
The game also comes with a fun selection of equipment, armor, weapons, mystical powers, abilities, etc. I could see a close-knit game group having a lot of fun making up new stuff for their own character’s/retinues. The game has a point system and encourages this approach.
The initial book has some nice artwork and good mix of pictures. It is evocative and makes me want to play this game. Once you get beyond the main rulebook and into the supplements the art drops off considerably and forget pictures of minis and games.
Things I Do Not Like
Like
Ronin/En Garde the game seems interested with resolving all hitting/wounding in a single die roll. Therefore, you roll the dice, add your stat modifier, add a weapon stat modifier, and subtract defense modifiers, and target armor modifiers. That means, each shot requires you to know 4 modifiers when you roll the dice. Good thing that this is a skirmish game as that would be rather cumbersome.
Here is why I am not a fan of this approach. The only activity is made by the attacker. This removes agency from the defender and they basically stand there while the attacker does everything. I would prefer an opposed dice roll as that requires both players to be engaged in all parts of the action. Now, one player is active, while the other is passive. That is not ideal.
Once a hit occurs, the target can make a Pluck save, which if failed = Out-of-the-Game. This does allow your opponent to do something in your turn.
I am also very disappointed that this game is I-GO-U-Go. Basically, one side does everything while the other side just sits there. In a skirmish game like this the time between forces activating is pretty short, so it isn’t a big deal time wise. However, I am not a fan. I think it limits players’ interaction and limits choice. No one likes to stand there and roll saves and not get to make decisions about the game. This system means decisions are basically focus around movement, shooting, and when to melee. The proto-dice pools add a bit of decision making, but not a lot.
Meh and Other Uncertainties
The game has a lot of great ideas for players to build off of. The supplements cover adventuring companies from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and India. There are some gaps as South America had some cool stuff going on at the time, and there is nothing about Australia. However, the point system means creative players could delve into those areas. Plus, the retinues and rules cover animals, vehicles, magic, etc. It actually covers a lot of ground in a few hours reading time, but still leaves room for you as the player to build. I like that in a game and it leaves scope for some story-telling.
It also has a basic campaign system and a few simple scenarios. One critique is that the scenarios are very kill’em all style, which limits their scope for campaign/story play. I think this is a big flaw, as that should be one of the biggest strengths of this system. I don’t think this was due to space limitations as
In the Name of the Emperor has similar set-up.
Final Thoughts
I am a bit disappointed in this game. There is so much cool flavor and potential, but the mechanics just don’t deliver in a compelling way. I really, really want to like this game, but ultimately I don’t think I can fully recommend it. The lack of opposed dice rolls and the archaic I-GO-U-Go system for a skirmish game leave me underwhelmed. In addition, the strength of this game should be story-telling and campaigns but it just doesn’t deliver. With the points builder system, you could make some very flavorful and fun Adventuring Companies to have campaigns with, but the weak campaign system leaves me wanting.
However, with the right group willing to put some time and energy into this system, you could have an awesome series of club games. If you merged
In Her Majesty’s Name with some of the
GW Specialist Games campaign systems (probably
Mordheim) you could have a really amazing system. I am hoping that Osprey releases another supplement for this game that covers campaigns in more detail as that would really help this game a lot. The current supplements only add more Adventuring Companies and some additional rules around animals/boats, but not much to the core mechanics.
I don’t think I will take the time to make the adjustments to this game to make it one I would want to play regularly. As it is, it has some interesting flavor and background, but I need more than just flavor in my games now-a-days. I could see having a short campaign night or a fun event game, but I don't think it will become a staple of my gaming.
