Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

High Sparrow has just unlocked so we now have -

2 new sculpts of a non-named character captain (1 for each faction) - KS exclusive
2 new sculpts of an existing named combat character (1 for each faction) KS exclusive
2 new non-combat characters (1 for each faction)
1 new combat / non-combat mercenary commander.
Tokens

Hopefully next few stretch goals add an additional unit to each side.

Out of curiosity, I wonder if Mads Mikkleson was someone the show runners were after for the role of Bolton?

Just absolute speculation on my part!

Would have been great, although thought the guy that played him did a fine job.

Looks like Jonathan Pryce is next in line, just got past that threshold at the time of writing



Love the way they are bringing in the extra characters to help influence the battle, it's a pretty good idea for an extra dimension.

And the man himself, true-scale George RR Martin

We've mentioned before that A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game is a project that runs under the direct supervision of George R. R. Martin and Dark Sword Miniatures to ensure that the game delivers what fans have been envisioning for years, and the entire crew was pretty pleased when as met to discuss progress of the project.

Spoiler:

CMON's David Doust with George R. R. Martin and Raya Golden


David Doust, George R. R. Martin and Jim Ludwig, from Dark Sword Miniatures

Just seen that the card for the high sparrow mentions two new unit types - Poor Fellows & Warrior's Sons. I expect we all see at least one of those during the campaign but perhaps as an add on.

Aeneades wrote:
Just seen that the card for the high sparrow mentions two new unit types - Poor Fellows & Warrior's Sons. I expect we all see at least one of those during the campaign but perhaps as an add on.

Interesting both are part of the Faith Militant so that might be a sub faction within the Lannister army. The Warrior Sons being the Knights and the Poor Fellows the footmen (or women as either gender could join)

On EU product availability, CMON are apparently in the pr did of establishing a UK hub to improve distribution to European stores which will be a real improvement.

Aeneades wrote:
On EU product availability, CMON are apparently in the pr did of establishing a UK hub to improve distribution to European stores which will be a real improvement.

Slightly ironic timing, with Brexit around the corner. The UK will no longer be part of the EU, who knows what the arrangement will be? I would say a safe bet for EU distribution would be to site the hub in an EU country. Don't they usually set up a shipping hub in Germany?

Just looking at the community details of backers on prior projects the UK tends to be their biggest market outside the US so it probably makes sense to have a retail distribution presence there even with Brexit. AFAIK there are no distributors here (Ireland) and what few game stores we have rely on the UK distributors for stock.

The KS shipping hub for the EU hasn't been in Germany for a few projects now, Gameqeust in the UK have been doing it more recently.

They need to sort out EU/UK retail distribution save for the really popular stuff like Zombicide it's really hard to get a lot of their stuff in the EU and a lot of EU backers have to order everything from the KS to ensure they get it I know I do if there was a better retail presence I'd be more likely to buy at an FLGS or an EU online retailer ordering from the US is expensive with shipping and customs charges.

PVC mini's for a tabletop wargame?

In the game of tabletop you either go HIPs plastic or die.

Oddly though, WHFB died even with HIPS plastic, and if Kings of War had taken better advantage of the opportunity, it could have succeeded with PVC, I think.

I'm watching this with interest, as due to the above I have no ranked fantasy game atm... but as noted the offerings seem underwhelming so far.

I would say that the more recent CMON and Mantic pvc models are approaching HIPS plastic quality level. I also believe that the thinner parts of these models such as the weapons will be made from a harder plastic to avoid warping.

Next stretch goals announced. First is more tokens which we have already past and 2nd is a Kickstarter exclusive sculpt of a Stark unit leader. The regular sculpt will not actually be part of the kickstarterbut retail exclusive so it's advance access to the models rules as well.

I think PVC is a bad move. One of the main driving forces behind a wargame is it's miniature range. I can't see this being widely adopted by the wargame scene and the boardgame scene will find it too expensive and not like the fact it requires more elements to play (4x4 board, plenty of terrain).

It'll sell to the GoT crowd but I cant see this going anywhere sadly.

It's a pass for me.

I guess you didn't touch much recent board game plastics? They are incredible. The detail is ALMOST as good as proper resin or metal casting. They're not perfect, but as close as you need to be for a board game that costs a fraction of a "proper" Fantasy army.

No seriously, I do have Blood Rage and Dark Souls and wow are the minis impressive.

RoninXiC wrote:
I guess you didn't touch much recent board game plastics? They are incredible. The detail is ALMOST as good as proper resin or metal casting. They're not perfect, but as close as you need to be for a board game that costs a fraction of a "proper" Fantasy army.

No seriously, I do have Blood Rage and Dark Souls and wow are the minis impressive.

I agree. And the ones of Zombiecide: Blackplague are of the same detail level. Not perfect but more than acceptable for a game based on large units with lots of troops.

The miniatures are going to be the same level of quality and the same material as Wrath of Kings, which are fantastic.

 corgan wrote:

RoninXiC wrote:
I guess you didn't touch much recent board game plastics? They are incredible. The detail is ALMOST as good as proper resin or metal casting. They're not perfect, but as close as you need to be for a board game that costs a fraction of a "proper" Fantasy army.

No seriously, I do have Blood Rage and Dark Souls and wow are the minis impressive.

I agree. And the ones of Zombiecide: Blackplague are of the same detail level. Not perfect but more than acceptable for a game based on large units with lots of troops.

I have Blood Rage, Zombicide Black Plague and Conan. Backed them all on Kickstarter.

They're good mini's - for a boardgame not a wargame. You have to offer something better to stand out in wargaming as there's a number of companies offering better quality miniatures at a similar price point.

This is board game level components at wargaming prices.

I would predict that by KS end we will probably have a fairly substantial pile of minis included with the base pledge level, which is something that has to be factored in.

 infinite_array wrote:
The miniatures are going to be the same level of quality and the same material as Wrath of Kings, which are fantastic.

How do Wrath of Kings minis compare to the latest board games - Zombicide: BP, Conan, Walking Dead etc? If just like those games I would be satisfied, the quality of them is perfectly fine. But, if they are better then that's all the better!

they got me ... I pledged 150$ .... I want to paint these characters

I'm also feeling Meh about the whole thing, and I love GOT. I dunno why, maybe it's just cuz it's men vs men and I like monsters and stuff in my wargames. I think if they did white walkers vs men I would have been all over it but it seems like they want to focus on the mortal stuff.

I like the look of the minis a lot. The Lannister footsoldiers, in particular, look superb -- like slightly fantasy-ified version of War of the Roses era heavy foot.

I'm confident in CMON PVC minis (Blood Rage ones were astonishingly good). They've been consistently higher quality than Reaper Bones, and at the price of under $1.50 a mini, probably lower once stretch goals happen, this is probably a good deal on minis alone.

And, I'm super-confident of Eric Lang as the designer. He just keeps getting better. Very excited to see what he will do with an out-and-out tabletop wargame.

I guess that means I'm in!

New stretch goals. Campaign needs to reach $735k to fullly unlock a new, free mercenary unit - House Bolton's Bastard's Girls:




And Stark/Lannister dice as add ons.

Wow. If they fund up to 735K and that new unit comes in, that is only $1.20 per miniature. That's pretty sweet. Hopefully once the Kickstarter is done there will be over 150 minis. Would love to see more units.
If it hits 160 minis I'll have to get in on this one.

I really like those Lannister troops. I think I may wind up waiting for this to hit retail though since those Lannisters are really all I'm interested in. Hopefully the game sees decent distribution.

 Necros wrote:
I'm also feeling Meh about the whole thing, and I love GOT. I dunno why, maybe it's just cuz it's men vs men and I like monsters and stuff in my wargames. I think if they did white walkers vs men I would have been all over it but it seems like they want to focus on the mortal stuff.

Ultimately, the battles aren't really what the series is about and bend more towards historicals than anything fantasy. It's a series that's mostly about the politics, which is why the board game is such a natural fit.

I'm sure White Walkers will happen eventually, but probably not until more has happened with them in the show. I do generally agree this would be more exciting if it pulled in more fantastical elements like Dany's forces and the White Walkers though.

Times have changed. PVC miniatures may not have been suitable for wargames before, but then Studio McVey and CMON figured out how to make high detail pieces for Blood Rage and those days are over. Blood Rage miniatures are absolutely at least as good as the plastics GW put out in the 90s and 2000s. Whether its the right game for any particular gamer or not, the quality of the minis is no longer a concern.

 Ian Sturrock wrote:
I like the look of the minis a lot. The Lannister footsoldiers, in particular, look superb -- like slightly fantasy-ified version of War of the Roses era heavy foot.

I'm confident in CMON PVC minis (Blood Rage ones were astonishingly good). They've been consistently higher quality than Reaper Bones, and at the price of under $1.50 a mini, probably lower once stretch goals happen, this is probably a good deal on minis alone.

And, I'm super-confident of Eric Lang as the designer. He just keeps getting better. Very excited to see what he will do with an out-and-out tabletop wargame.

I guess that means I'm in!

Feel exactly the same way, especially the WoTR comment. Possibly the 'psuedo-historical' feel to this (and being a massive historicals fan) that maybe gives this such an appeal to me!

Some concept art with the latest update, is pretty cool.

I might have to get involved here, its looking very tempting and really good value with the stretch goals.

PVC miniatures have come a long way recently, they easily compete with resin and HPC if done well.

I think it is aimed at the GoT crowd ( which is massive nowadays ) rather than wargamers.

I was absolutely not going to get on this, but ... damn.

The infectious enthusiasm of some of you isn't helping at all.

 Darkjim wrote:
I was absolutely not going to get on this, but ... damn.

The infectious enthusiasm of some of you isn't helping at all.

Look at the 24 minute video for the game-play.
If it hits 150-160 minis it will be worth it for that alone, but the game play looks really interesting as well.
I find the behind the scenes intrigue options of the Non-Combat characters pretty cool.

frankelee wrote:
Times have changed. PVC miniatures may not have been suitable for wargames before, but then Studio McVey and CMON figured out how to make high detail pieces for Blood Rage and those days are over. Blood Rage miniatures are absolutely at least as good as the plastics GW put out in the 90s and 2000s. Whether its the right game for any particular gamer or not, the quality of the minis is no longer a concern.

I agree on the quality, but what about sculpt variety (and having / not having multiple part options)? I loved that dog unit at first, then realized there's 2 poses for 8 dogs... so 4 repeats of each. Ugh! Is it really worth putting in the time to paint all those exact duplicates... for everything mentioned so far, people just use the colored plastic normally, and it seems likely to be that way here.

So I'm torn... but leaning towards it's not a fit for me.

 PurpleEcho wrote:
They're good mini's - for a boardgame not a wargame. You have to offer something better to stand out in wargaming as there's a number of companies offering better quality miniatures at a similar price point.

Which ones? I only know of Kings of War being less expensive. TIA!