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I watched Reign of Fire last night (small military force vs dragons) and was struck how it would make a really badass tabletop game. Does anyone know of any games out there like that?

unlike 40k with Guard fighting Tyranids, or Starship Troopers with MI fighting Bugs?

Would be Deadzone with GCPS fighting Nameless

 kodos wrote:
unlike 40k with Guard fighting Tyranids, or Starship Troopers with MI fighting Bugs?

Would be Deadzone with GCPS fighting Nameless

Thanks! I'm looking more for modern era military as opposed to Sci-fi though.

There are a lot of miniature-agnostic games from Osprey, etc. which could easily be turned into what you're looking for. Many (read: most) wargames are simply a book of rules, and not attached to any line of miniatures. These are the best type in my opinion, but it also means you're only limited by your imagination as far as what you want to put in the game.

Many wargames let you design your own units, etc. Games like Star Breach, Rogue Stars, Zona Alfa, etc. While some may be sci-fi rules, there's nothing stopping you from saying that the blaster used by your soldiers isn't simply an assault rifle, etc.

Well it is still scifi WWII

but DUST 1947 has a mythos faction so the humans can fight lovecraft monsters ala cthulhu


I think you might also want at look at all quiet on the martian front and similar games.

Mantic’s Mars Attacks featured this, but the game is largely dead now. I believe the license expired, and it never made much of a splash, either. No doubt can be found still in the usual places, though.

 Elbows wrote:
There are a lot of miniature-agnostic games from Osprey, etc. which could easily be turned into what you're looking for.

I wonder if Osprey's A Fistful of Kung Fu would be suitable? I've no idea, I've never read it, but it seems to accommodate modern guys (and maybe a mad lad with an axe) vs. supernatural monsters.

 totalfailure wrote:
Mantic’s Mars Attacks featured this, but the game is largely dead now. I believe the license expired, and it never made much of a splash, either. No doubt can be found still in the usual places, though.

From my read through of the rule book, it seemed like it would be a pretty fun game. I gather the Deadzone rules are a slightly more detailed version.

How about using GW Gargoyles for dragons as model proxies of attack helicopters in World War III: Team Yankee?

Here's some attack helicopters:

https://www.team-yankee.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=4960 Cobra Attack Helicopter Platoon (TUBX05)
https://www.team-yankee.com/Portals/0/all_images/TeamYankee/American/Cards/TU111.jpg AH-1 Cobra

https://www.team-yankee.com/Default.aspx?tabid=867&art_id=5189 PAH Anti-tank Helicopter Flight (TGBX12)
https://www.team-yankee.com/Portals/0/all_images/TeamYankee/WestGerman/Cards/TG123.jpg

https://www.team-yankee.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=5994 Gazelle HOT Helicopter Flight (TFBX08)
https://www.team-yankee.com/portals/0/all_images/TeamYankee/FreeNations/FRA/TFRAB1-35.jpg Gazelle HOT
https://www.team-yankee.com/portals/0/all_images/TeamYankee/FreeNations/FRA/TFRAB1-34.jpg Gazelle 20mm

In looking at the above Unit Cards, the Gazelle 20mm may be a better representation of a dragon in a Reign of Fire scenario.

Can you find a Team Yankee player in your local area who is willing to play a Reign of Fire scenario?

Myself, I am waiting to see the contents of the U.S. Starter Force from Battlefront Miniatures. Here's here's an example of a small military force using the British Starter Force (TBRAB03):

https://www.team-yankee.com/Default.aspx?tabid=878&art_id=6877

Note that there is a "Complete A5 Rulebook" with the British Starter Force.

Here is my Review of Fistful of Kung Fu for reference....

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2016/12/review-fistful-of-kung-fu-osprey.html

However, you might also want to look up a game like Last Days, Dracula's America, Black Ops, and In Her Majesty's Name from Osprey. Also, check out Strange Aeons. I have reviews for most of them on my Blog.

Edit: This is also an area I have been interested in, but my game is still at the very beginning stages and probably 2-3 years out.

For a larger scale, you can use Horizon Wars to simulate a war between a mechanized modernish force against dragons. (The expansion has rules for big beasties, but you can use the light artillery, jump infantry or aircraft rules for small dragons and mecha rules for Kaiju-sized dragons.)

I’ve had a lot of fun using 10mm scaled minis, such as Reaper Bones CAV tanks, Mechwarrior Clix helicopters and various (out of scale) Bones and board game monsters.

totalfailure wrote:Mantic’s Mars Attacks featured this, but the game is largely dead now. I believe the license expired, and it never made much of a splash, either. No doubt can be found still in the usual places, though.

mightyspacepope wrote:Thanks! I'm looking more for modern era military as opposed to Sci-fi though.

BobtheInquisitor wrote:

 totalfailure wrote:
Mantic’s Mars Attacks featured this, but the game is largely dead now. I believe the license expired, and it never made much of a splash, either. No doubt can be found still in the usual places, though.

From my read through of the rule book, it seemed like it would be a pretty fun game. I gather the Deadzone rules are a slightly more detailed version.

Mars Attacks was similar to Deadzone 1st Edition and there were official rules for Martians (also for Dreadball)
but the Franchise was not popular enough to keep and therefore Mantic did not extend the license

but there are "beta" lists for Humans and Martians around the web for the 2nd Edi Deadzone, WP: FireFight and 3rd Edition Warpath

using US Army troops from the Human Resistance Lists and Martian Flying Saucer as Dragons should work well enough and the rules are often free to download (so no further investment needed)

Blood In Space might work with some small modifications.

It and the the Gangfight Games Skirmish system are what I intend to try for gaming Monster Hunter International, the premise of which is pretty much bang on what you are looking for.

How is the Monster Hunter International series of novels? I really enjoyed Correia’s Warmachine novel, but I was worried his modern urban fantasy novel might get more than a bit political due to his (tenuous I hope?) connection with Sad Puppies. On the spectrum from F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack) to Kratman, where does Monster Hunter International stand?

Would Gangfight work for higher-end urban fantasy, such as Dresden Files?

Dig up another thing...

Victory Decision: Future Combat:

https://www.wargamevault.com/product/123481/Victory-Decision-Future-Combat

Platoon-level sci-fi skirmish, what they call 'miniatures agnostic' or something. Basically plug and play your own minis. The low-tech army list represents modern or slightly-less-than-modern levels of tech.

For the dragons, the supplement - VDFC: Rival Species:

https://www.wargamevault.com/product/128246/Victory-Decision-Future-Combat-Rival-Species

Ostensibly for 'space bugs' but I think the Reign of Fire dragons could slot in. The big bull dragon could use (a bit ironically) the 'Matriarch' profile. (Intended for a Hive Tyrant or Xenomorph Queen) Add the 'Sharp Clawed', 'Vigilant', 'Winged' and 'Heavy Bio-Flamer' upgrades.
Other dragons could be represented by the 'Apex Predator Horde'. (Rules feel something like Tyranid Warriors) Stick on the 'Fast and Deadly', 'Winged', and 'Flamer' upgrades.
The latter is a three-model unit, but as the game runs a wee bit more on units (stat profiles can be used with multibased models like Epic units), the whole unit could be represented by one big dragon model. Though it's still not as big a monster as the Matriarch.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
How is the Monster Hunter International series of novels? I really enjoyed Correia’s Warmachine novel, but I was worried his modern urban fantasy novel might get more than a bit political due to his (tenuous I hope?) connection with Sad Puppies. On the spectrum from F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack) to Kratman, where does Monster Hunter International stand?

Would Gangfight work for higher-end urban fantasy, such as Dresden Files?

I am not familiar with Repairman Jack or Kratman, so I can't place MHI for you there.

I very much don't like the author or his politics, but I really enjoy the novels. He keeps politics to a, surprising, minimum (hur dur dumbass libruls type stuff occasionally, but not too bad). Not sure about the Sad Puppies thing, but from all I could find online it seems he was one of the people leading the movement.

There is also a trilogy set in the MHI universe written by John Ringo. Not a fan of him either but I like his MHI and other works.

If you like listening to them, the MHI audiobooks ae really good. Oliver Wyman takes a book or so to really find the characters but he does an excellent job.

I would imagine Gangfight would work for the Dresden Files. I will have several genres in it and you should be able to mix and match parts thereof.

Once saw someone do a Flames of War game vs Tau (as giant robots) due to an opponent not showing up, looked fun.

Thought about doing something similar myself, using modern team Yankee minis vs my Eldar wraith constructs as invading robots. Has potential.

Thanks, Tarnak! I’ll give the MHI series a read, then. Might skip the Ringo books, though. Wasn’t he the guy who wrote about Nazi SS supermen saving the human race from aliens, while the real bad guy was the UN, or something like that?



Repairman Jack is a pretty fun series about a sort of off-the-grid mercenary who fights monsters. Sometimes he gets a bit political, but either the author is aware enough to keep his point of view personal to the character and sometimes negated by the content of the stories. My favorite bit of his is a doctor who rants about how government should have no oversight of doctors and not be able to tell them how to heal...who literally describes every other named doctor in the book as an incompetent charlatan who does more harm than good. Still not sure if Wilson did that on purpose.

If you like modern guns and ancient monsters, I recommend the Repairman Jack series.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

Thanks, Tarnak! I’ll give the MHI series a read, then. Might skip the Ringo books, though. Wasn’t he the guy who wrote about Nazi SS supermen saving the human race from aliens, while the real bad guy was the UN, or something like that?



Repairman Jack is a pretty fun series about a sort of off-the-grid mercenary who fights monsters. Sometimes he gets a bit political, but either the author is aware enough to keep his point of view personal to the character and sometimes negated by the content of the stories. My favorite bit of his is a doctor who rants about how government should have no oversight of doctors and not be able to tell them how to heal...who literally describes every other named doctor in the book as an incompetent charlatan who does more harm than good. Still not sure if Wilson did that on purpose.

If you like modern guns and ancient monsters, I recommend the Repairman Jack series.

I would go ahead and read the Ringo MHI novels after you finish the main series, since they have things that would be spoilers for the main series in them. They are good books. Totally your call of course.

The only other one of Ringo's books that I have read is "A Hymn Before Battle". Also a good book. All four of his that I have read have "conservative" overtones but nothing that dips overtly into Nazism or white supremacy or anything close really. Just the occasional dig at progressives. I don't think he wrote anything like what you said there, although there was a synopsis that I read for one book of the series the aforementioned "A Hymn Before Battle" comes from, that involves something that could be misconstrued as that.

I will definitely check out Repairman Jack. I didn't know that I liked the guns and monsters genre until I read MHI and to a lesser extent The Dresden Files, but it is a favorite now. Thanks for the heads up.

Hmmm... perhaps I read a misconstrued synopsis, then. Basically, SS soldiers given rejuvenation treatments so they could fight space alligators in power armor? Maybe I will give his MHI books a try, then.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Hmmm... perhaps I read a misconstrued synopsis, then. Basically, SS soldiers given rejuvenation treatments so they could fight space alligators in power armor? Maybe I will give his MHI books a try, then.

We should probably take any further talk to PM after this. That is accurate, but only part of the story.

Ral Partha has a line called USX Modern Day Heroes. They are pretty good.

http://www.rafm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=USXMin

There was one by Steve Jackson games back in the 1990s. I think it was titled "Hot Lead." It was a "gurps" sort of concept- a generic system that could be used for any setting, and able to mix science fiction, fantasy and historicals all together.

Creating an encounter of military vs. dragons would be very easy with that system.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
For a larger scale, you can use Horizon Wars to simulate a war between a mechanized modernish force against dragons. (The expansion has rules for big beasties, but you can use the light artillery, jump infantry or aircraft rules for small dragons and mecha rules for Kaiju-sized dragons.)

I’ve had a lot of fun using 10mm scaled minis, such as Reaper Bones CAV tanks, Mechwarrior Clix helicopters and various (out of scale) Bones and board game monsters.

Just to add that the Over the Horizon supplement (on Wargame Vault) specifically contains rules to allow you to build dragons because of Reign of Fire.

R.

The old Starship Troopers games by Mongoose publishing shared a rules set with two other games. Technically speaking they were separate games, but they LITERALLY used the same rules. One was Starship troopers, one was a Knights of the Round Table kind of game, and one was modern warfare.


That means that if you wanted to you could play a game where King Arthur and his mounted knights took on the Iraqi Republican Guard and their T-62 tank. Or the Mobile Infantry vs. the US Army with a Hummer, or Arachnids vs. a dragon.

 cuda1179 wrote:
The old Starship Troopers games by Mongoose publishing shared a rules set with two other games. Technically speaking they were separate games, but they LITERALLY used the same rules. One was Starship troopers, one was a Knights of the Round Table kind of game, and one was modern warfare.


That means that if you wanted to you could play a game where King Arthur and his mounted knights took on the Iraqi Republican Guard and their T-62 tank. Or the Mobile Infantry vs. the US Army with a Hummer, or Arachnids vs. a dragon.

Usually, games that share a rule set like that don't scale with each other. For example, a 3+ armor save in end ed Warhammer 40,000 was mechanically equal to a 3+ save in Warhammer Fantasy Battle or Warhammer historical, but we would mostly expect that bolter shells would ignore the bronze plating on the Roman Cavalry, but could be stopped by the techno mesh on the Striking Scorpion.

But on the other hand, the demon statlines back then were basically identical across all of their games (copy/past). So maybe a Dwarf with a shield and heavy plating was supposed to be better than power armor?



I never played it, but Hot Lead was supposed to scale with the various eras as they compare with one another. I heard that one of the scenarios in the book was one Abrams tank vs. a legion of tribal warriors (I don't remember if they were vikings, picts or zulus).