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Those dials are placed face down during play. I rather like the concept in terms of compartmentalizing the complexity.

We'll see how it plays in practice though.

There's already plenty of third party component sources for X-Wing, if this gains popularity the same will happen. But, that's a big if.

The biggest problem with this setup, despite the gameplay possibilities, is that FFG rebalances the game by selling newer stuff in later packs.

Others have pointed this out, but this is a lose lose situations. I don't mind buying cool new stuff for a game I like, but I will not buy stuff to fix problems that the designers created.

This is the reason why a lot of wargames limit their reliance on building stats into boardgame components, it's hard to update the rebalance. At the same time, with components, you can explore more gameplay elements that would usually be tedious to track.

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RIPferdy wrote:

 Vertrucio wrote:
Others have pointed this out, but this is a lose lose situations. I don't mind buying cool new stuff for a game I like, but I will not buy stuff to fix problems that the designers created.

I am super curious as to what miniatures game you play then??

Obviously none since they're all like that.

Nope, it's not actually that big of an issue since Runewars and the setting is their own IP.

Custom dice are fine, likewise, being afraid of something being rendered useless is the same as being afraid your miniatures will be made useless.

Custom dice are a good mechanic that people don't use enough because there isn't a standardized set to use. But the idea behind custom dice does preclude a standard set.

I know FFG loves to reuse art, but if they really want their fantasy setting to be successful, they really need to update it a bit more than they have for this.

Looking forward to seeing how well this goes.

They do have restrictions though, which is a key point. They may hide them better, but they are there.

GW is a UK company, and they manufacture in the UK, so prices will be cheaper there.

I've been GW players use certain value arguments like the one I'm about to use: How much of those 10 GW skeletons are you going to need in a competitive WHFB army? Because I don't recall seeing many armies consisting of just 10 skeletons. You might need 4 of those WHFB boxes to fill the same kind of fighting strength you get in 2 boxes of RW.

Likewise, in the RW box you get extra cards and extra bits. I know how cheap those are to manufacture though.

Anyway, I'm planning to get the starter box. I've been wanting another fantasy game and undead army for that fantasy game for a while now. So, I'll give it a shot considering I like boardgame-like mechanics and components in miniature games.

 Eilif wrote:

...

I'm generally a rules-lite, fast-play kind of guy and in practice the dials are actually a really fast way to note actions and carry out a hidden-command system. The action choosen on the dial also affects initiative order which is a pretty cool mechanic that makes your choices even more consequential. The game plays faster than most current games.

...

Really enjoyed the mechanics; the nuances of two dials infuses the game with a rich and cinematic array of options.

My buddy and I are jumping in. Won't be for everyone, but it is indeed a viable option for those who cannot find a 9th age community or prefer the popularity and support of an FFG system. We had a blast.

Not sure how much we'll be looking to the FFG community support, but you're describing our experience as well. This will be our first foray into a "big name" companies wargame for qute some time. The two dials are great.

The physical dials and boardgame style components are a problem in the long term, but the gameplay aspects they add when used properly are often worth it.

I've been considering sets of generic specialty dice, and command tokens/dials that work in a similar way that can reference easily printed and updated rules. I actually think some generic icon based dice for use by custom rules sets would be a good thing for rules writers across the industry, much like how role playing games use fudge dice and such.

A good example is Wargods, the game is excellent despite the miniature line and support being glacial, archaic, and poorly managed. They have a command system not unlike Runewars where you must give your units a command token, face down, at the start of a round. This determines whether they're charging, moving, or doing any other actions. Then units move by initiative values set. There's more to it, but the system worked even if it was basic. Using components, Rune Wars has run with that and added the ability to set individual initiative values per action, and even included modifiers for common actions that give units their own flavor of those actions.

Definitely not new, but the current crop of dedicated/traditional miniature wargames seems to have avoided them.