So the results of last weeks votes are as follows:
Factions
Now we’ve got most (if not all) of the basic information in place for our game we can start getting our hands dirty with some of the nitty gritty stuff. Firstly, should we have pre-made ready to go factions or should players have options to construct their own units for their own faction? This would make the game miniature agnostic but it would also require players to take the time to build a faction from the ground up, i.e. this is a leader unit it needs this particular weapon, with this armour and these special rules.
Of course we could always have a mixture of both pre-made and create your own. But what do you think?
Turn Order
This is about how the players determine who goes first. There are many options for this, but I’ve narrowed this down to two or three, but bear 🐻 in mind these can also have vary to some extent. For example, while AoS is a UgoIgo system it also implements the turn priority in terms of a dice roll before each turn.
I Go You Go
This is the first and possibly most common option used. Players use a mechanic to determine who goes first and then play is simply alternated between the players until the end of the game.
Draw
Players use coloured dice or chips to represent their individual units on the table e.g. one players units are represented by red dice while the others are blue, when a red dice is drawn the red player chooses a unit to activate. This system will be familiar to those who have played Warlord Games Bolt Action.
Initiative
This could either be an army wide initiative rating or individual initiative ratings for units to decide what order they act in. For example, elite units may have a much higher initiative than conscripts meaning they’ll always act first.
Bidding
One of my personal favourites is using bidding systems to determine who acts first. This can take various forms such as rolling a number of orders each side can take on two or three dice then giving up a number of those orders to try and claim the priority that turn.
So which is your favourite? Perhaps there’s one I’ve not even thought of, I’d that’s the case why not add a comment below?
Gobsprakk looked across the clearing towards the lumbering behemoths in the distance.
“Iz everywun in pozishun?”
“Yes, Boss” said Gollock leader of this particular tribe of Big Yellers. “Da boyz iz hidin’ in da suroundin’ trees ready ta pounce and send dese longshanks back to where dayz came from.”
“Good, ‘cos I wontz one of dese big gitz wiv us. An to do dat we have ta catch one rightz?! So no killin’ all of ’em!”
Luckily for the Kruleboyz, the Battleplan was the Vice
Deployment as viewed from the players side, The rolls for the AI meant that only one objective was initially held.
The Sons deployment
Sons finished deploying first and gave the first turn to the Kruleboyz.
Kruleboyz Turn 1 (Ferocious Advance)
No shooting this turn as everything was out of range, so I took the opportunity to claim the Ferocious Advance battle tactic advancing the Sludgeraker, Man-Skewers and Killaboss in the centre.
The Gutrippas and Hobgrots were kept on the objectives.
The Sludgeraker, Man-Skewers and Killaboss advance in the centre of the board.
Sons Turn 1 (Monstrous Takeover)
The sons initially drew the Ferocious advance battle tactic but as this was unachievable a second card was drawn which turned out to be Monstrous Takeover… perfect for them.
The drawn tactic card
The gargants move forwards and the two flanking gargants move to claim the objectives.
The scary sight of four mega gargants marching towards your lines
Turn 1 Summary
Sons Turn 2 (Broken Ranks)
The sons won the roll off and elected to go first. This time getting the Broken Ranks Battle Tactic
Broken Ranks
The objectives did there thing and started moving towards the centre of the board.
New objective locations
These three poor Man-Skewers found themselves to be the target of the Sons ire
One of the Kraken-Eaters hurled debris at the man-skewer smashing one underneath a mighty stone. But no other Gargants could do anything to rid themselves of the Man-Skewers.
Sons of Behemat Turn 2
Kruleboyz Turn 2 (Monstrous Takeover)
With Monstrous Takeover as my battle tactic, I chose to move Gobsprakk onto the left flank objective and moved the other units up in support of those in the centre. Making sure that the Swampcrawla and Gutrippas kept within 6″ of the objective on my right.
The Man-Skewers unleash a devastating volley on the Warstompa causing 14 wounds
Its a truly terrifying sight
Turn 2 Summary
The scores after round 2
Kruleboyz Turn 3 (Bring it Down)
The Kruleboyz won the roll off and elected to go first in this battle round. The man-skewers managed to do another 14 wounds on the Warstompa, but the sludge raker fails its charge as does Gobsprakk and so the Kruleboyz can’t quite finish the Warstompa off. Gobsprakk casts soggy bottom mists.
Kruleboyz Turn 3
Sons Turn 3 (Slay the Warlord)
The Sons draw Slay the Warlord as their battle tactic
Crunch! The Warstompa charges into Gobsprakk and utterly destroys him in single combat.
The Leaderless Kruleboyz look on in dismay as Gobsprakk is sent running by the Warstompa
Turn 3 Summary
The Sons creep ahead in the scores
Sons Turn 4 (ferocious Advance)
With the sons winning the roll off on the fourth turn, they elected to go first. The objectives are removed and a single objective takes up its position in the centre of the table.
The objective location before the turn begins
The Sons draw Ferocious advance as their Battle Tactic
The three designated units for Ferocious advance
End of movement
As the first unit finished its move within 12” of the Sludgeraker the solo wargaming rule for unit under threat kicked in;
If an ENEMY unit is within 12″ of this unit then the unit will move towards the CLOSESTENEMY unit, shoot (if able), followed by a charge.
So it would act with the intention of destroying the Sludgeraker. The other two units were all also within 12” of enemy units and so they also acted with the unit under threat rule. This meant the Sons were unable to achieve their Battle Tactic this turn.
The Gatebreaker destroys the small Man-Skewer unit with hurled debris
While a Kraken-Eater swops his diet of Kraken for Wolf with a side of Goblins as he chows down on Rippa and his Snarlfangs
Meanwhile ‘Unleash Hell’ pays off for the large unit of Man-Skewers as they finish off the Warstompa before he reaches them
Around the objective the Sludgeraker manages to cause 15 wounds on the Kraken-Eater in the centre
But he clubs the Sludgeraker and its occupants to death in response.
Kruleboyz Turn 4 (Slay the Warlord)
The Man-Skewers seeing their position hold still and take aim at the Kraken-Eater con the objective, while the Killaboss bravely charges in.
The man-skewers work there magic again, and cause another 12 wounds, this time on the Kraken-Eater
Despite causing 4 wounds on the Kraken-Eater, the Killaboss is flattened by the Kraken-Eaters weapons.
Turn 4 Summary
Sons Turn 5 (Savage Spearhead)
The Sons draw Savage Spearhead
The Sons move to mop up the Kruleboyz
However before it can finish its charge ‘Unleash Hell’ strikes again and the Man-Skewers destroy one of the Kraken-Eater Gargants
But the remaining Kraken-Eater ignores the fate of his brother and completes the charge taking great pleasure in devouring the Man-Skewers.
Despite their diminutive size the Hobgrots somehow to 8 wounds on the Gatebreaker who flattens them in response.
Kruleboyz Turn 5 (Conquer)
With the last turn on our hands it was do or die, so I chose Conquer to try and wrestle the remaining objective from the sons.
The Kruleboyz close in
The Kruleboyz do 4 wounds on the Kraken-Eater before having 9 of their number smashed aside.
Another nine flee due to Battleshock
However that is just enough for the Kruleboyz to claim the objective having a monster and 4 other models on there against the Sons single Monster.
Game Summary
That was an extremely close game, with the game coming down to the last dice rolls. If the Kraken-Eater had killed just two more Gutrippas then I wouldn’t have been able to claim my Grand Strategy.
I’m also under no illusion that if an actual player had controlled the Sons of Behemat, they would probably have made different choices to the AI, such as committing the Gatebreaker to the centre as well rather than chase after a few unimportant Hobgrots on the flank.
But the system is working, it will need a slight tweak here and there but overall I’m very pleased with the way its working so far.
If you like what I’m doing why not donate to the cause below?
So those who have seen my previous articles on Solo Wargaming in the Age of Sigmar will know that I’m developing a card draw system to determine an armies movements and actions on the tabletop. This will allow people to play against an automated army, which is especially good if you can’t find regular opponents or you want to test our your army lists.
The Army Lists
Kharadron Overlords
Allegiance: Kharadron Overlords – Subfaction: Barak-Zilfin – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders ———- Endrinmaster with Dirigible Suit (General) (190 pts) – Command Trait: Grandmaster – Artefact: Staff of Ocular Optimisation
The battleplan played was Savage Gains, deployment for the AI units was based on the card shown above. This resulted in a strong right and left flank for the ogors with only the Icebrow Hunter holding the centre objective. To counter this I placed my Gunhaulers and one of the Frigates with the Endrinmaster in the centre (hoping to be able to counter any opening moves from the Ogors).
Deployment
Kharadron Turn 1
Choosing the Battle Tactic Aggressive Expansion, I started strong with a Frigate moving up my left to claim the left hand objective and a Gunhauler and my other Frigate moving t the right objective. The Frigate on the left managed to get lucky with its sky cannon and completely removed the Frost Sabres turning them into red mist.
Ogors Turn 1
The Ogors drew a tactic card at random and received Ferocious Advance. Following the instructions on the card, the Icebrow Hunter was chosen as unit one while the nearby mournfangs and the Huskard were units two and three respectively.
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I then drew cards for each of the AI units and followed their instructions. Unfortunately the three units didn’t quite make it to within three inches of each other and so the Ogors failed the Battle Tactic for that round. The other Mournfang units circled the trees on the right heading for their right hand objective. Luckily for the Ogors they were able to get one of these units within 6″ and so contested the right with my Frigate and Gunhauler. No battle tactic for me after all!
Kharadron Turn 2
Feeling buoyed after the early lead and removing the Sabre Tooth’s I chose the Conquer Battle Tactic, thinking that I could wrestle objective from the hands of the Mournfang.
The Frigate on my right turned to try and take some shots at the Huskard but didn’t hit a single time. The Frigate and the Gunhauler didn’t fair too much better and only removed a single Mournfang meaning that the Ogors still contested the Kharadron left.
Ogors Turn 2
This time the Ogors drew Aggressive Expansion. Both of the objective markers would be the left and right side objectives. I felt fairly confident that the Ogors couldn’t shift my forces this turn.
The Ogors advance and charged and unleashed a world of paint on my poor sky ships! They utterly destroyed the Gunhauler on the right and scored multiple wounds on both Frigates. The only saving grace for me was that as the Ogors are an aggessive army, the Mournfang failed its check to remain near the objective in the centre and instead chose to charge after the Gunhauler on the right.
Ogor Turn 3
With the Ogors winning the initiative, they drew Slay the Warlord as their Battle Tactic.
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This turned out very well for them, all the Mournfang Cavalry charged the Frigate on their right and utterly destroyed it and the poor Endrinmaster sat inside! While the Huskard then decide to reduce the other Frigate to a pile of metal. Tactic Achieved, and this only left me a single Gunhauler to mount any defence with. I had little option but to concede the game to the A.I.
Conclusion
The cards worked really well, so well that the A.I. beat me to a pulp and if I had carried on I have no doubt that I would have been tabled eventually. I’m happy with the cards, there are some minor changes I would like to make to some of the wording here and there, but overall a very successful first test.
I’d like to take the opportunity to all those who are helping me playtest this system and feeing their comments back to me:
Ed
Tony
Tom
Andy
Sarah
Matthew
William
Paul
I’m getting to the stage where I will be able to sell the cards on the website. If you’re interested in purchasing a set of the cards why not fill out the poll below:
– The 12 battleplan cards can be shuffled and used to determine which battleplan will be used. The battleplan card also assists in deployment of the AI army.
A Battleplan Card
– The player places the eight battle tactic cards into one deck. The player then draws one at random each turn, this determines the AI army’s battle tactic that turn.
Battle Tactic Card
– The Action Cards for that battle tactic are shuffled and one drawn for each AI unit in the army for that turn. These will determine that units action that turn.
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I’ve changed the designs of the cards now so that they should be more appealing to players.
Example Card
I’ve also designed the card backs to go with these.
Card Back
I’ve had a number of players join me in playtesting and so the cards should be firmed up before the new year. However to make these into physical products I need your help! I need to raise roughly £400 to start the printing process. How can you help? Well why not sign up to be s Patreon of Woehammer? We have tiers available for as little as £2 per month! Or if you’d like to make a one of donation why not PayPal me using the box below?
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
People seem to be very keen on hearing about my work on the Solo Wargaming system. Indeed, all the previous posts are in the top 5 most popular posts on Woehammer.
Where have I go to with it?
Well all of the action cards are no complete. There are decks of eight cards for each battle tactic. The action cards for a particular battle tactic would be shuffled in with the objective action cards each turn creating an “Action Deck“, then these are placed face down and drawn for each AI unit that turn. These then denote how the units will act that turn and in what order (denoted by the initiative number in the shield).
A Broken Ranks Action Card
An Objective Action Card
The Battle Tactics are chosen by a pack of eight cards, each of which have the instructions on completing that Battle Tactic, along with how to choose any designated units or objectives. The Battle Tactic Cards will also state when they are to be placed into the “Tactics Deck“. These are then shuffled and one drawn at random each turn.
Bring it Down Battle Tactic Card
I’ve also had a few volunteers join me now for playtesting this system and the first few games are now taking place.
Photo courtesy of Tony from the Age of Chumps club in Northamptonshire
I’ve also got the initial cost through now to produce these cards in bulk. A few test packs will be printed in the next few weeks for any play testers. These cards will be A5 or A6 in size (about the size of a warscroll) and will come packaged in a tuckbox much like the Warhammer 40k Datacards you see below. Along with the cards will be a small leaflet with instructions on how to use them. The initial price for buying a whole set of the cards will be around £15, but with more demand this may come down in cost.
Warhammer 40k Data Cards
What’s Next?
Moe playtesting along with the printing of some test packs. I’m also going to be working on the art and presentation shortly once I feel the cards are 90% of the way to doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I’ve given myself a deadline of having these available to order through this website from January.
If you’re interested in joining me and supporting me on Patreon why not click on the link below.
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
So work has continued a pace with the solo wargaming system which I’m hoping to have ready for people to play with from 1st January.
The cards as shown in my previous post will come in their own box (imagine Warhammer 40k data cards) along with a small leaflet on how to use them effectively.
Broken Ranks Action Card
I’m going to print a set if these soon for testing and a few at Woehammer will also be having copies to test with. Once I’m happy with where these are I will post a video on the website on how the whole system will work.
In the meantime the cost of printing out these cards is expensive, but with your support I can make it a reality. Please consider supporting us through Patreon. For as little as £1 a month you can help me make these a physical product which you can buy,
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
Following on from my previous article, I wanted to share my progression to date and how I envision the whole system working once its up and running.
There will be a total of three different card decks used in any game.
Battleplan Deployment Deck
This deck comes with a cover card denoting how the deployment draw is carried out, what each objective number is and how to layout any scenery.
Battleplan Card
The deck also includes a number of other cards. A card is drawn for each Card Controlled unit in the army. This card then details how that unit will be deployed and in what order. The order of their deployment is determined by the number on the shield at the bottom of the card. This acts as an initiative order for deployment.
Battle Tactic Action Deck
There is an overall Battle Tactic card for each tactic in the game. At the beginning of the game you would take the overall cards for Monstrous Takeover, Ferocious Advance, Aggressive Expansion and Conquer and shuffle these together. One is then drawn at random which will be the Card Controlled army’s Battle Tactic that turn. The following turn the Broken Ranks battle card is added in and the one used in the previous turn discarded. In turn three the remaining battle tactic cards are added with used cards continually being discarded.
The Broken Ranks Battle Tactic Card
The Battle Tactic Deck which contains the actions for the units are then shuffled together with 1/5 of the deck of Battleplan Action Cards and one of these is drawn for each Card Controlled unit in the game that turn. These cards denote how and when these units move and shoot etc.
Broken Ranks Action Card
I have started a Patreon for anyone who is wishing to support me in this endeavour, and you can support from as little as £1 per month. Proceeds of Patreon will go towards making these into Physical products.
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
I’ve been toying with the idea for a while now on creating a solo wargaming experience for wargames, but primarily at this point focused on Age of Sigmar.
The idea behind the system is relatively simple, with a deck of cards for each battle tactic. The battle tactics will be decided some simple mechanics at the start of the turn, and depending on which is chosen that deck of cards would be used.
Each faction would be classed as either Aggressive, Neutral or Cautious. For example an army such as Orruk Warclans would be Aggressive, Cities of Sigmar Neutral and Kharadron Overlords would be Cautious. This categories would have purpose when units are interacting with objectives on the battlefield.
When an AI unit is near an objective, you would roll a D6 and refer to their aggression level:
Aggressive
4+
Neutral
5+
Cautious
6+
If the score is equal to or higher than these scores then the AI unit will draw a card from the deck and carry out its instructions.
These would be on regular playing card size cards and a card would be drawn for each AI unit on the battlefield.
Below is an example card from the Broken Ranks deck that I’ve created for Age of Sigmar.
Based on the units keywords you would choose the relevant box for its instructions. For example Orruk Brutes may be classed as Melee, while Archeon could be classed as a Monster or as a Hero, however as the Monster box is above the Hero box on this card the Monster box takes priority.
I am developing these not only for AoS but for other major game systems as well. It’s early days by I’m hoping to have the first full deck ready to download from my Patreon page in the next couple of months.
If you’re interested in joining and supporting me on Patreon then please follow this link. You can become a supporter for as little as £1 per month.
The Woeful Brush Painting Competition Sponsored by SCN Hobby World
Closing date for entries 30th November. £1 entry, win your choice of a Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box set!
