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Made in au
Sinister Chaos Marine






Queensland, Australia

Just wondering if any of you guys have tried using alternative rules for LOTR SBG?
I ask this as I'm wondering what might be worth looking at in order to allow for a lift on the archer cap and much larger battles on bigger boards like a 6x6 or higher, without turning the whole game into an insane drag.

Was thinking of looking at the Hail Caesar rules.
Have any of you guys tried this, any positive experiences to share and advice to give?






 
   
Made in us
Haughty Harad Serpent Rider





Richmond, VA

I magnetize my SBG models so I can use them on steel movement trays for Kings of War (for larger games)

"...and special thanks to Judgedoug!" - Alessio Cavatore "Now you've gone too far Doug! ... Too far... " - Rick Priestley "I've decided that I'd rather not have you as a member of TMP." - Editor, The Miniatures Page "I'd rather put my testicles through a mangle than spend any time gaming with you." - Richard, TooFatLardies "We need a Doug Craig in every store." - Warlord Games "Thank you for being here, Judge Doug!" - Adam Troke 
   
Made in au
Sinister Chaos Marine






Queensland, Australia

That's a good idea. I'd like to have a read of the kings of war rules, from what I can see in addition to the 2nd ed core rules there are quite a few supplements available.
Do you just use the core rules or are there additional books I should acquire?






 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran




Lincoln, UK

Legends of the Old West was a Warhammer Historical game that used the LotR rules for cowboy games (it also mentions how you can use the rules for a ton of other eras). The Alamo supplement has rules modifications for massed battles.

Sadly the Alamo supplement is long OOP, and a bit pricy on Ebay. A very basic summary: troops move in units, with banner re-rolls and leader (hero) bonuses applying to the unit. When units do meet, both sides roll to attack separately (there's no concept of the Duel, or splitting off into smaller groups). IIRC, only the first couple of ranks can fight. All troops are looking to roll 4+ to score a hit, with higher Fight value troops resolving damage before less-skilled opponents. I can't remember how troops with the same Fight value interact - simultaneous or charging unit strikes first? - or indeed how Might points could be used. Courage rolls are also by unit - I can't remember the triggering thresholds for units to possibly rout.

You already have the stats, of course. The system worked perfectly well for human troops and low-powered heroes, allowing for fast movement and combat resolution. It came out at a time when LotR was still relatively low-powered though, and may require some testing for powerful heroes and monsters (especially the newer Monstrous abilities) and things like Mumakil.
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka






There's also the War of the Ring book; Out of print now, but it was a set of mass-battle rules, in which models were grouped onto movement trays of 8 (models on 25mm bases) or two (models on 40mm bases) models, with those trays then grouped into larger units.
   
Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

Kings of War is a solid choice. Especially since the rules only require the unit base size to be correct, not the exact number of models as it's all unit-based. I've found a LotR warband of 12 or so models fits almost perfectly on the right size base for a KoW Regiment (20 models). Cavalry are closer to a 2:5 ratio due to the round rather than rectangular bases but the principle is the same.

It's also just a really slick system, just pick up the core rules (I think Mantic still offer them free on their site), grab some card cutouts of the right size to use as movement trays and so long as you're prepared to do a few 'outside the box' conversions on stats (Knights of Dol Amroth suit the Elf heavy cavalry better than the human equivalent ect) you should be good to go.

 
   
Made in us
Haughty Harad Serpent Rider





Richmond, VA

Agondrae wrote:That's a good idea. I'd like to have a read of the kings of war rules, from what I can see in addition to the 2nd ed core rules there are quite a few supplements available.
Do you just use the core rules or are there additional books I should acquire?


Core rules are enough. Maybe the Uncharted Empires book for some more army lists/unit types. The Clash of Kings books are mainly for tournament play and for army list comps, etc. Not really necessarily if you're playing out battle in The War of the Ring, etc.

Paradigm wrote:Kings of War is a solid choice. Especially since the rules only require the unit base size to be correct, not the exact number of models as it's all unit-based. I've found a LotR warband of 12 or so models fits almost perfectly on the right size base for a KoW Regiment (20 models). Cavalry are closer to a 2:5 ratio due to the round rather than rectangular bases but the principle is the same.

It's also just a really slick system, just pick up the core rules (I think Mantic still offer them free on their site), grab some card cutouts of the right size to use as movement trays and so long as you're prepared to do a few 'outside the box' conversions on stats (Knights of Dol Amroth suit the Elf heavy cavalry better than the human equivalent ect) you should be good to go.


Yup, for regiments I use 100x80 steel sheets with 12 LOTR dudes, and 125x100 steel sheets with 6 cavalry models. They're custom cut by the wargameaccessories.com guy.

Here's a not-so-great picture of my Isengard army, you can see the steel bases for Kings of War. Each model has one or two 2mm x 4mm magnet glue to the underside of their base (usually 3 for cavalry models) as there's about a 2.5mm clearance inside a plastic GW slotta base. It's not a super strong hold but it keeps them on their movement tray.
[Thumb - isengard_kow.jpg]


"...and special thanks to Judgedoug!" - Alessio Cavatore "Now you've gone too far Doug! ... Too far... " - Rick Priestley "I've decided that I'd rather not have you as a member of TMP." - Editor, The Miniatures Page "I'd rather put my testicles through a mangle than spend any time gaming with you." - Richard, TooFatLardies "We need a Doug Craig in every store." - Warlord Games "Thank you for being here, Judge Doug!" - Adam Troke 
   
Made in it
Enemy of the DĂșnedain



Italy

War of the Ring (GW) anyone?
   
Made in gb
Major





I've heard of people using Dragon Rampart for larger LOTR games.

"And if we've learnt anything over the past 1000 mile retreat it's that Russian agriculture is in dire need of mechanisation!" 
   
 
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