Switch Theme:

Giants, the Action Figure Game of Colossal Combat  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


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.




Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Visit our Facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/giantsactionfiguregame/

Since this seems to be the year of the giant monster (and giant robot), I figured I'd go ahead and start talking about my upcoming game, Giants.

Giants, is a turn based miniatures game where players create and control giant monsters or giant robots and have them fight in the heart of a city, destroying buildings as they knock each other around. The game is designed to be used with the wide variety of kaiju and mecha action figures and models avialable, but can just as easily be used with standard hobby miniatures.

Giants is the evolution of my previous game, Giant Monster Rampage. The first edition of Giant Monster Rampage was released in 2002, with GMR Revised being released in 2006, and GMR 3rd edition in 2009. With each new edition, I took the base rules of GMR updated and expanded them. When I started outlining GMR 4th edition, I decided I wanted to do a complete overhaul of the system. I have been playing the game since 1998 when I wrote the first draft of the rules under the title Kaiju Rampage, so I have almost 20 years worth of playtest data for what I think worked best in the system and what I think needed to be redone, especially if I wanted the game to be able to handle more than a couple of giant combatants per side. The end result was different enough from the original system that I decided to rename it Giants. One of the reasons for the more generic title is to show that the game isn't just about monsters. It is about any enormous combatants you want to make, which the rulebook simply refers to as giants.

The giant creation rules have been streamlined and simplified from the more bloated creation rules found in GMR. In Giants, the first thing you pick for your giant is its origin. This is the reason it is a giant. There are only four origins to choose from, born, built, imbued, or mutated. Each one grants the giant a special, once per game effect.

After that you have to pick its motivation. The giant's motivation is the reason it is attacking the city or the opposing giants. There are only four motivations to choose from, destroyer, invader, or protector. Each motivation also grants the giant a special effect that may be triggered when a certain condition is met. For example, a giant with the destroyer motivation gets a free movement action when it destroys sections of a building.

Next up is statistics. Each giant has eight statistics, five of those statistics are purchased (distance, dexterity, strength, toughness, and energy), one is assigned based on point value (wounds), and the other two are gained and used during the game (stress and injuries).

The most involved aspect of creation is attacks. When designing a giant, players get to create their own melee and ranged attacks. This process can be as simple as you want or you can make it a little more in depth by adding upgrades to the attacks. The attack creation system is designed to simulate a wide variety of popular effects found in kaiju and mecha media.

The last thing you need to pick for a giant are powers. These are unique abilities that help enhance a giant's combat abilities. There are three categories of powers, defensive, movement, and special. There are no offensive powers, because those things are a part of the attack creation system.

Giants is meant to be played on a board designed to mimic the layout of a city, like the image below:



There are six different objectives detailed in the rulebook, from the simple last monster standing annihilation game, to the highly destructive race to find a hidden objective in the search and destroy game, but that is by no means the limit to the objectives that can be used.

Combat involves attacks that inflict wounds or stress points (and that knock a giant around the board). There are three different types of wounds that can be inflicted, caustic, disruptive, and impact. The type of wound dictates which statistic can be used to try and prevent that specific wound. Stress points have two functions in the game. The first is as a way to injure giants. When a giant gains a certain number of stress points, it gains an injury which makes it harder for it to fight. The second function is as a means for an opponent to force you to reroll a roll. In other words, in certain situations, you can spend an opposing giant's stress points to force it to reroll certain rolls.

I'm sure I've left something out, but hopefully this helps illustrate what you can expect from the game when it is released. I am planning on a late 2018, early 2019 release date. I am currently in final playtesting of the game and have started commissioning art which I will start to share as I receive it. The plan is to release the rules in hardcover format with full color interior art.


Thanks!
-Ken

Now available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1092612882/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


This message was edited 12 times. Last update was at 2020/04/15 19:18:28


 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





West Michigan, deep in Whitebread, USA

Sounds pretty interesting!



"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."  
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Once the game is closer to release I plan on releasing more information, along with a lot of pictures showing the game being played.

Expect to see lots of Bandai's Pacific Rim figures being used in the photos.

Like this one: https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/29352424_1876037705762414_6339994332090463306_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=4adfa0c1266c63bc6bf1f98b4ddffff1&oe=5B72505E
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





West Michigan, deep in Whitebread, USA

Are the blocks tied to how the buildingd function? Or just good chunky placeholders?

Because there are a good number of 3, 6, and 10mm papercraft buildings that would work great with a game using action figs like this.



"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."  
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 AegisGrimm wrote:
Are the blocks tied to how the buildingd function? Or just good chunky placeholders?

Because there are a good number of 3, 6, and 10mm papercraft buildings that would work great with a game using action figs like this.


The blocks represent building sections, so each wound inflicted on a building will cause 1 section to be removed. This essentially whittles the buildings down as they take damage making the landscape change over time. There are also rules allowing for the giants to climb up or down the buildings, so they need to be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the figures being used. That, said, you could just as easily use paper buildings and have a wound tracker on top of them.

I am planning on replacing those plastic technicolor blocks with charcoal colored foam cubes once I am ready to start taking official pictures for the game.
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





West Michigan, deep in Whitebread, USA

Ah, ok. I wondered if that was the case with the blocks.



"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."  
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Cover:

   
Made in om
Longtime Dakkanaut





Muscat, Oman

Nice cover!

--Lord of the Sentinels Eternal-- 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 Soul Samurai wrote:
Nice cover!


Thanks! It was created by Benjamin Raynal, one of the artists from the original King of Tokyo board game.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





There is a Facebook page for the game here: https://www.facebook.com/giantsactionfiguregame/

In other news, I will be releasing the beta rules for the game as a PDF via Wargame Vault early next week.

The beta rules are 99% done, I just want to get a little more feedback on the game before I release it in print.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





The rulebook is now available via Wargame Vault!
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Saw this on Wargames Vault. Kudos!

Also, i love the picture with the Gamera figure. I own that one too!

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 Easy E wrote:
Saw this on Wargames Vault. Kudos!

Also, i love the picture with the Gamera figure. I own that one too!


It is a great Gamera figure.
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Very interesting. Have you ever played as Galactus?
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 youwashock wrote:
Very interesting. Have you ever played as Galactus?


   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






You rule.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





I know it has been awhile since I have posted any updates for the game, and for that I apologize.

I am still planning on releasing the game, I just haven't been able to playtest as much as I would have liked to this past year. I am hoping to get a lot more playtesting done along with several demos of the game at various conventions this summer and fall.

If you want to stay up to date on news about the game, I encourage you to like the Facebook I have set up for it here: https://www.facebook.com/giantsactionfiguregame/

Thanks!
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





I got to run several demo games this past weekend at Dragoncon. Everyone who played had a blast! I am looking forward to my next demos at MACE2019 in North Carolina!

   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





The rulebook is now available at Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1092612882/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
   
Made in om
Longtime Dakkanaut





Muscat, Oman

That's good news, I've been interested in this game but I generally prefer dead-tree publications to digital so I've been waiting for the physical copy to be available. Next time I make an order I will most likely include a copy of this.

--Lord of the Sentinels Eternal-- 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 Soul Samurai wrote:
That's good news, I've been interested in this game but I generally prefer dead-tree publications to digital so I've been waiting for the physical copy to be available. Next time I make an order I will most likely include a copy of this.


I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions about the game you will get a faster response if you ask them through the Facebook page found here: https://www.facebook.com/giantsactionfiguregame/

The game is only going to be available as a physical book via Amazon for the foreseeable future. The PDF that was available was an older playtest version of the rules. Now that that game has been officially released, the PDF is no longer available.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





A PDF version of the game is now available at Wargame Vault.

UPDATE: Sorry the PDF version is no longer available.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/04/15 19:19:13


 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





New Gundam based battle setup, testing out some new rules for a potential optional rules supplement.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/03/12 20:41:40


 
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Nice. I have also been interested in a Gundam -esque mecha game set. Good luck to you!

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 Easy E wrote:
Nice. I have also been interested in a Gundam -esque mecha game set. Good luck to you!


It's such a great property with so many different scales and types of figures and models available. I plan on picking up a few of the Gundam Universe figures to pit them against my DX Megazords and 12" Godzilla and Kong figures.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





Barbatos vs Deathscythe asteroid playtest.

Both Gundam were represented by the Kikkobot premade record sheet found at the back of the Giants rulebook.

Asteroid Rules:
Impassable, blocking, mobile.

Impassable: Giants cannot use any movement powers to ignore impassable terrain.

Blocking: Standard rule.

Mobile: All asteroids must be moved 1d10/2” in a random direction stopping if they collide with something. Any giant hit by an asteroid will gain 1 stress point for every 1” the asteroid moved. Additionally, impact attacks can be used to move asteroids 1” for every wound they inflict, no to hit roll needed.

This is just a synopsis. The completed asteroid rules will, of course, be a lot clearer.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/03/25 17:25:37


 
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Love it!

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





 Easy E wrote:
Love it!


Thanks!

Assuming conventions will be up and running at some point later this year, I hope to have a much larger playmat to run demos of Gundam space battles along with my standard Godzilla/Kong/Megazord city destruction setup.
   
 
Forum Index » Other Sci-Fi Miniatures Games
Go to: