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So, my wife and I, and a few friends usually run a campaign game or two each year for a while to keep things lighter and more narrative (less competitive to break up all the 40k, and recently competitive Sigmar with points). We've done Frostgrave a few times, and enjoyed it, and LOVE This is Not a Test, but the later is a bit slower to release new events/gear/scenarios/etc... so we think we might hold off for a bit until its new book eventually makes its way out.

Where should we look for other fun, small-model-count, campaign games? In particular we love between mission stuff like base-building, resources, random events, and the kinds of story-line happenings which keep a warband, or campaign feeling unique. We're both fans of customization/progression for units, and as I said, love the more RPG side of things that includes finding gear/resources, and managing happenings big or small outside of the skirmishes themselves.

If you want to try out a horror game, Strange Aeons' second edition released last year. It's a skirmish based, campaign game where one side plays as the Threshold, an American agency dedicate to combating everything that goes bump in the night, while the other side controls the Lurkers, everything from Human Cultists to demigods from outside time and space.

The campaign part really applies to the Threshold agents, who can gain skills, go insane and change equipment. The Lurker player chooses their list after the Threshold determines what they're taking, which allows the bad guys to tailor their lists to the mission. They can also take Plot Points for special events or conditions. If the Threshold agents are successful enough, the Lurker can create a Nemesis, a powerful enemy such as a Witch, a Mad Scientist, or even a Rogue Threshold Agents.

infinite_array wrote:
If you want to try out a horror game, Strange Aeons' second edition released last year. It's a skirmish based, campaign game where one side plays as the Threshold, an American agency dedicate to combating everything that goes bump in the night, while the other side controls the Lurkers, everything from Human Cultists to demigods from outside time and space.

The campaign part really applies to the Threshold agents, who can gain skills, go insane and change equipment. The Lurker player chooses their list after the Threshold determines what they're taking, which allows the bad guys to tailor their lists to the mission. They can also take Plot Points for special events or conditions. If the Threshold agents are successful enough, the Lurker can create a Nemesis, a powerful enemy such as a Witch, a Mad Scientist, or even a Rogue Threshold Agents.

I actually contributed to that book, so I probably should have mentioned it. That said, play-testing a scenario-system which ultimately didn't go into the book, meant playing, an insane amount of games. We're kind of burned out on it.

That said, yes... Strange Aeons is a wonderful system, and would've otherwise been right up our alley!

How long of a campaign are you looking to play? 2-4 games or something more substantial?

I'm actually ok with either a short campaign or something longer. It really depends on the mechanics of the system.

For example, our TnT campaigns typically go 10-15 games before we build new warbands, whereas Frostgrave seems to go around 10 games.

I like little bits of several systems like All Things Zombie having elements of community growth-management between games, but its just the rules itself which are so clumsily written, and that put us off of it. That said, something like it with RPG elements, etc... could be fun, but no one in the group wants to play the DM, so it needs to be fairly automated.

Or on the other end of things, Mordheim and such are just plain fun, so we're open to a broad variety of suggestions.

Have you considered Malifaux? Their third book, Shifting Loyalties, added a campaign system. It's not forever ongoing, you set how many 'weeks' you want it to take. By the end, your crews will be quite powerful, so a reset would be in order.

It's got light but interesting mid mission base building, injuries, loot, etc. The game itself is focused on objectives and rather than outright killing your opponent. You can some varies 'schemes' to complete, which are things like 'get your henchman into base to base contact with the enemy leader' which lets them deliver a message, or 'plant markers on terrain in your opponents side of the board to frame them for a murder'.

Then there's the overall strategy, which can be done two ways. The 'standard' game type gives both players the same goal, like holding the centre of the table. Then there's 'story' strategies. That same 'hold the centre' goal is for the attacker, while the defender might need to stop the attacker doing that while also getting models into the attackers deployment zone, which the attacker needs to stop them doing.

When you select all of your schemes and strategies, there's the framework for a narrative for each side. Then there's more narrative scenaries released by Wyrd in their e-zine and in the various print books which can be substituted into the game.

Model count is fairly light, and only gets bigger if you want to explore the competitive scene. If it's just the two of you, it's easy to stick to the crew starter sets and their thematic additional models. A crew box and a few additional models would do well.

If you like Zombies and can wait a week or two I might have something for you.

If you're enjoying campaign and even RPG aspects, I'd recommend.

-Wreck Age. Very well developed world and designed for a campaign comprised of many small encounters.

-Tales of Blades and Heroes. The Light RPG version of Song of Blades. We're using it for our summer campaign with GM and 3-5 players. It's a great game for having everyone involved and running 1 or 2 characters each. Integrates well with the rest of the SBH series also.

-Necromunda. I can't recommend this highly enough. I love it! An extensively built world with TONS of supplemental material. A post-game phase that is almost as fun as the game it'self. Visit yaktribe.org and you'll find everything you need. I highly recommend the "NCE" edition it's not a major alteration, but rather alot of nice tweaks to address the various imbalances and grey areas in the official rules versions.

-I'd also recommend Song of Blades which is my personal favorite game, but if you've already got Frostgrave you might already have scracthed that itch. I will say that it's a more flexible game than Frostgrave with a bit more ability to really create unique functioning warbands. At the same time it's a bit more rules-lite. Our campaigns (we've had 5 so far) have typically gone to about 10-12 games before the warbands have about maxed out their advances. SBH also has 4 supplements and an advanced version, so there's alot of room for variation.

@Loki, my wife and I played Malifaux for a long time in 1st edition, and a bit in 2nd, and enjoyed it, but hadn't kept up. I'll definitely look into their campaign rules as we own large Guild and Rezzer collections. Thanks!

@Ash, I like zombies, and can wait a week. ;-) You have my attention good sir.

@Eilif, A question if I may? I heard Wreck-Age both required a DM, and also has a really abstract resource system where players just kind of "guess" what kinds of resources their community provides? I'd love to hear more about the game, though. Its hard finding current, or in-depth info.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:

@Eilif, A question if I may? I heard Wreck-Age both required a DM, and also has a really abstract resource system where players just kind of "guess" what kinds of resources their community provides? I'd love to hear more about the game, though. Its hard finding current, or in-depth info.

I'm not sure about the resource system. I played a couple games with the writer and read some of the fluff. It doesn't necessarily require a DM, though I imagine it's more emmersive with it.

I'm a bit split on whether or not to use a DM in wargaming. Formerly I thought a DM was not terribly usefull. However, my recent experiences with Tales of Blades and Heroes (we play halfway between RPG and wargame) has showed me just how emmersive a wargame can be if a DM is involved to manage the bystanders, scnario effects, monsters, etc. Alot of the more advanced and interesting Necro scenarios also require a GM though I haven't tried any of those yet either.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm slowly being won over to the idea that a DM can be real asset to a skirmish campaign both in terms of gameplay, guiding the campaign and working it into a cohesive narrative.

If you're looking for games that advance and are story-driven but don't need a DM, have you checked out the various Two Hour Wargames titles? THW's Reaction System is such that it's games work equally well with a GM, without or solo. The amount of control that it takes away from the players is not everyone's cup-of-tea, but the games are quite popular and well done.
http://www.twohourwargames.com
They have ported their engine into games for just about every genre you can think of and at a variety of scopes, from small warbands up to massive battles. Check out their free rules section to see a sample of how the THW game engine works.

I would give a +1 to Necromunda, and even add Mordhiem in there. Both of them have decent mechanics, a lot of background, and a nice competitive campaign system that allows people to miss and still stay in the game through the underdog system.

That said, if you are willing to move over to a board game, my campaign itch is being scratched with Kingdom Death: Monster. It is a co-op that does not require a DM. Has a high degree of replayability and a large portion of the game is in between battles against Monsters. Pro (or Con) is that it already comes with models, and some of them may be a bit over the top for some people. The models are of very high quality and the survivors are mostly modular. Rules are tight, with very little ambiguity, it is however difficult to find right now, and does come with a hefty price tag.

@Eilif, see part of what keeps us miniature gaming over RPG'ing, is that no one in our group ever wants to be DM. Its one thing in Strange Aeons where we ran two parallel campaigns and alternated Lurker-player, but a designated DM is a no-no for us.

As for THW stuff... its soooo close to being exactly what I want, but my God are the rules themselves written poorly. I think they have most of what we would love in a game, and I do own All Things Zombie, but while its merits are many, I just never feel I fully "understand" the rules since the book needs a professional editor, and a serious re-write, like yesterday. :-p

@Rox, We actually sold off our KD KS pledge. I regret it now, because it would've been a great fit for us. I'll definitely be reading up on Necromunda though.

I'm not a huge fan of THW, but I think they may have improved over the years ATZ is an older set and while I haven't read the newer stuff one of my buddies rather likes the 5150 Star Army set. Of course that might also be in comparison to Tomorrow's war, a game with a similar (though simpler) reaction system and quite possibly the worst rules layout I've ever read.

Personally, I prefer simpler rules with more control over units, but THW is a unique beast.

Would your group be open to a campaign where players take turns running the extras/passerbys/random monsters?

All this said, I think Necro might be the answer for you guys. I've played about 10 games so far in our periodic campaign. Never once with a DM and I'm stilll really impressed by the way the various scenarios keep things interesting.

We play Strange Aeons that way, where we essentially created a final boss scenario, and we alternate the Lurker player as a campaign rushes toward who can be strong enough to challenge the "boss" and win, first. So yeah, we don't mind a player, or several playing wandering monsters, as long as it isn't their sole role in the campaign.

We'll definitely check out Necromunda. Which book should I be reading first? I see several NCE Edition downloads here.

Any resource updated or created for NCE will have NCE next to it though most scenarios and stats for ORB (original Rulebook) and LRB (Living Rule Book) are completely compatible as well.

The document you want is the Living Rulebook. Secondly, grab the Outlanders "NCE" Outlanders was the main supplement for Necro and has things like Redemptionists, Enfrocers, Ratskins, etc.
Both are here:
https://yaktribe.org/community/vault/categories/rulebook-editions.3/

I wanted to thank you all again for the suggestions, but wow Eilif... I think barring Ash's surprise for next week, you pointed out a real winner.

Reading the Necromunda CE content feels right up our alley. Great looking campaign game.

The only problem I am having is that games like Frostgrave spoiled us for models. Buying a new box of Frostgrave Soldiers (or Cultists, etc...) to WYSIWYG models as they gained/lost equipment, etc was sooooo easy, and part of the fun, whereas I have no clue what models to use as a base for Necromunda gangs (and probably don't have bits-box options for a lot of those 40k weapons).

Any suggestions? Don't suppose anyone makes a particularly suitable "counts as" box with loads of options?

One of the nicest set of models you may want to look at are the trenchcoat warriors from Heresy Miniatures. It also helps that they are running a sale right now.

http://heresyminiatures.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_15&zenid=7397ace78f4164afddeb8416f82aeb86

Beyond that you may want to look at some GW Imperial Guard as base models for some of the other crews. I would recommend Catachans personally

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Imperial-Guard-Catachan-Jungle-Fighters

Some models from Mantic Games Deadzone may work for you as well.

http://www.manticgames.com/mantic-shop/deadzone.html?action=Cookie

The unfortunate problem with Necromunda was that most of the models were in metal. They were (and in many cases still are) great models, but not very modular. Saying that it is still possible to find a number of the gangs on eBay.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
I wanted to thank you all again for the suggestions, but wow Eilif... I think barring Ash's surprise for next week, you pointed out a real winner.

Reading the Necromunda CE content feels right up our alley. Great looking campaign game.

The only problem I am having is that games like Frostgrave spoiled us for models. Buying a new box of Frostgrave Soldiers (or Cultists, etc...) to WYSIWYG models as they gained/lost equipment, etc was sooooo easy, and part of the fun, whereas I have no clue what models to use as a base for Necromunda gangs (and probably don't have bits-box options for a lot of those 40k weapons).

Any suggestions? Don't suppose anyone makes a particularly suitable "counts as" box with loads of options?

I've got lots of suggestions...

Just a few for starters, but feel free to followup with specific questions if you want more.

1-Chaos Cultists. You can get the 20 figs from the starter box on the sprue for about $22 shipped on ebay. Just file off a few chaos markers and you've got a solid Cawdor gang with h2h, ranged, leader and heavy options. You don't even need to do any weapon swaps. With a few flame weapon conversions they could also be Redemptionists. A couple of the bare chested h2h guys would make good Goliath.
2-Catachan plastic models are good for Goliath or Orlock depending on which ones you use.
3-The Orlock are basically looking like bikers anyway, so check out EM4 and other companies for post-apoc bikers and you'll find tons of useful figs. Between EM4 and Copplestone (both sculpted by Mark Copplestone) you've got a solid Orlock gang.
4-It's a bit of a stretch, but with the right bits, Escher can be made from Dark Eldar Wyches and the other Dark Eldar kit (It's name escapes me)
5-The East Riding Miniatures "Slicks" are a great and incredibly cheap source for Delaque. A bit of conversion needed for ranged figures though since they all have pistols.
6-Heresy MIniatures "Gangers" are clearly Delaque with a slight touch of the matrix. A bit more expensive, but a very complete range and really well done.
7-The Frostgrave cultists are another good source for Orlock or redemptionist, but again you'd have to have the bits for conversion.
8-Lots of ranges like EM4, copplestone and others do post apoc savages, often with a bit of a metal/bondage vibe. It's easy to cobble together a good goliath force from them. You should be able to find figs to represent all the necessary types.

There's a megathread over a yaktribe with useable minis, but it's also a bit overstuffed with stuff that is only tangentially related to necro. Still worth a look though.

Let me know if you have other questions and I hope you enjoy necromunda.

Most of the published Osprey Blue rules have light campaigns, but they are only good for a handful of games. i like the ones in the Black-Ops book, but they are nothing special.

I believe Tomorrow's War and Force-on-Force also have campaign mechanics. These are modern and near future platoon on platoon games.

However, very few can beat the campaign system of Necromunda/Mordheim/Gorkamorka. They are still my go-to options for campaign play. Blood Bowl also has a fun campaign system.

I also like The Games: Blood and Spectacle or Tournament: Pageantry and Pain for small scale, low-model count, campaign games but I am VERY biased.

How do people think that Wreakage would fit the OP's bill? I have felt much love for Frostgrave and TNT as well. So I am also interested in some close alternatives.

 Jrandom wrote:
How do people think that Wreakage would fit the OP's bill? I have felt much love for Frostgrave and TNT as well. So I am also interested in some close alternatives.

I suggested Wreck Age. it's a great option. It's going to be quite small model count and it's got and excellent campaign system and has some RPG elements. Definitely worth a look. It has a cool miniature line of it's own, but it's also got rules for stating up your own faction.

 Eilif wrote:


I suggested Wreck Age. it's a great option. It's going to be quite small model count and it's got and excellent campaign system and has some RPG elements. Definitely worth a look. It has a cool miniature line of it's own, but it's also got rules for stating up your own faction.

Thank you. Do you know of any play through videos? I have search Youtube without success.

 Jrandom wrote:

 Eilif wrote:


I suggested Wreck Age. it's a great option. It's going to be quite small model count and it's got and excellent campaign system and has some RPG elements. Definitely worth a look. It has a cool miniature line of it's own, but it's also got rules for stating up your own faction.

Thank you. Do you know of any play through videos? I have search Youtube without success.

Sorry, I don't know of any.

I bought into Wreck Age recently. The background is very, very well done. The Shangri LA campaign book, written by a Dakka Dakka poster btw!, is also really cool. The rules are a bit unapproachable, however. I think this is one game that, even more than usual, one person in the group needs to champion and demo for others.

 Manchu wrote:
I bought into Wreck Age recently. The background is very, very well done. The Shangri LA campaign book, written by a Dakka Dakka poster btw!, is also really cool. The rules are a bit unapproachable, however. I think this is one game that, even more than usual, one person in the group needs to champion and demo for others.

Can we get some more of your thoughts? I always loved the idea, on paper, of the RPG/table-top hybrid, but i've heard Wreckage leaves a lot to the group to just "decide" and yet in other places, has impenetrably specific rules for managing your community, etc.

I will post some detailed thoughts soon, want to give it a fair shake.