Generic Fantasy Skirmish: Adventurers - Giant-Kin Warrior

"Even if we are told to pick a manly name for the game, Genocidicles is a bit much."
     -No. 1336, Things Mr Welch Is No Longer Allowed To Do In RPGs

For those warbands who want to pack a little extra punch, the Giant-Kin Warrior is a great addition. As well as high FV and Grit values, he has a few special rules up his sleeve that make him a formidable opponent. Of course, he's expensive, and his gear won't come cheap either - but he'll more than make up for it with the number of skulls he'll crack.

Heroism	FV	SV	Speed	Special Abilities	Base Cost
2+	+4	+2	+1	Leader, Hard to Kill, Combat Master, Terrifying, Stalwart	48

Armour	None (5+ To-Hit) Heavy Plate (8+ To-Hit) Shield (+1 to Armour)
Weapons	Zweihander Sword (+3, -1 Heroism Penalty) Warhammer (+3, -1 Heroism Penalty) Greatclub (+2, -1 Heroism Penalty)

Suggested Minis

The D&D Minis line has a few Goliath/Half Ogre minis, but you'll probably want to touch up the paintjobs a bit... the sculpts are fairly decent though, so they're a good option if you want to field this guy with little cost.

For those with a bit of a tight budget, the GW Lord of the Rings Half-Troll would make a great Giant-Kin, if perhaps a little too monstrous for some Warbands, and you get two for £8! It's somewhat weird that GW's flavour text suggests that the trollish blood of these guys is only "a rumour"...

As always, Reaper Miniatures can provide a few cool minis, but this one has a nice, dynamic pose - something to consider when dealing with smaller groups of troops.

This guy from Hasslefree Miniatures has a wonderful old-school charm to him that's just crying out to be lovingly painted...

And this guy is one of my favourite sculpts from Heresy Miniatures. He deserves a good home.

Generic Fantasy Skirmish: I Need A New Name

So yeah - Generic Fantasy Skirmish isn't going to cut it. The system need a new name, and I'm stumped.

It's based on In The Emperor's Name, so I had thought about a play on that - but In The King's Name sounds a bit... meh.

In The Name of The King is the subtitle to that odious Uwe Boll Dungeon Siege movie.

For King and Country sounds a bit too regal and wargame-y.

Maybe something like Mordheim - a place, or object. But I wanted this to be pretty explicitly generic - to allow it to stand in for any setting you might wish to use.

Any suggestions? Should I use your suggestion, you will have the chance to win a prize, to be disclosed at a later date (when I think of one).

Generic Fantasy Skirmish: Nature Spell List

Credit: Azurenex

So, the last of the first batch of spell lists for my fantasy conversion of In The Emperor's Name - the Nature Spell List. There's a strong focus on battlefield control spells here, allowing the Caster to create cover, terrain, and to affect enemy movement. I have also included a little attack/utility spell in there, to allow for some degree of flexibility (something I aimed for in all the spell lists). I also picture the Wood Elves will find that extra "oomph" of use in close combat - I see them as having bonuses to Speed and SV, rather than FV.

Something I have been considering is allowing Warbands who take a particular Spell List to gain access to unusual units - so, the Arcane list grants Golems or Elementals, the Necromancy list allows one to take Skeletons and Zombies outside an Undead Warband, the Divine list minor angelic servants, and the Nature list certain types of animal. The idea of a lone Wood Elf Druid and her menagerie of wolves, bears, ravens and big cats is pretty cool to me... but we'll see. I might just be overcomplicating things for the sake of it.

Spell	Range	Duration	Effect	Heroism To Save?
Swarm	6" Radius	1 Turn	Insects swirl in a 6” radius of the Caster, granting them and anyone else in the radius soft cover.	No
Entangle	12"	1 Turn	All enemies in a 6" radius of the designated target point move a if in heavy cover (-3")	Yes
Aspect of  The Beast	Self	2 Turns	The Caster gains one of +1 FV, +1 Speed, or Flight for the duration of the spell.	No
Hedgewall	12"	3 Turns	The Caster creates a dense wall of vegetation 1" thick, 2" high, and 8" long. This wall blocks Line of Sight, and can be attacked (Armour 10) to create a hole large enough for one creature to look through (and make ranged attacks).	No
Windcall	12" Radius	Instant	The Caster creates sudden gusts of wind, which force enemies in range to make a Heroism roll or be pushed back by D6" in a random direction. Those who match their Heroism total are still Knocked Down.	Yes

Generic Fantasy Skirmish: Necromancy Spell List

"Death is only the beginning... I died three-hundred and seventy-three years ago. I've never felt better."
    -Rhas a' Khemeri, Tomb-Prince of The Sevenfold Khemerite Empires

So, my adaptation of In The Emperor's Name continues, and here's the next part - the Necromancy Spell List. This one focuses on debuffing enemies, and useful little utility spells as well.

This Spell List will most likely be in the hands of usually Evil Warbands, like the Undead and possibly the Dark Elves. However, one might imagine an Order of Necromancers not unlike those in the Diablo setting - neither Good nor Evil, more dedicated to keeping the balance than anything else.

That could make for a really cool Warband. I might even write that one up...

Spell	Range	Duration	Effect	Heroism To Resist?
False Life	Touch	Instant	The Caster grants one fallen ally a free Heroism roll to return to the game as a Zombie (see the Undead Retinue for stats). In Campaign games, the figure is automatically assumed to have failed its Survival roll.	No
Ghostwalk	Self	1 Turn	The Caster moves 12”, unhindered by cover, enemies or even solid structures. He must begin and end this movement in an open space. This power is used instead of normal movement.	No
Masque of Death	Self	1 Turn	All enemies consider the Caster to be Terrifying.	No
Possession	12"	1 Turn	The target enemy is forced to make an immediate move towards and attack its nearest ally.	No
Venom	Touch	1 Turn	Anyone hit by the touched weapon suffers a -2 to their Grit rolls against that attack.	No

Remember, these Spell Lists are a "first draft" - after some playtesting, some spells may be reworked, new ones added, whatever - I am simply posting these up to gauge interest in the game as I plan it.

Generic Fantasy Skirmish: The Divine Spell List

"Yeah? Well, my God has a hammer!"
     -Nick Fury

So, where the Arcane Spell List had a bent towards damage, the Divine Spell List is more about support - the classic archetype of the Cleric who is more healer than warrior. In addition to that, they can buff their allies, and grant extra options in combat. Most Clerics will supplement these spells with the ability to wear heavy armour, as well as decent close combat ability.

Spell	Range	Duration	Effect	Heroism To Resist?
Bless	Touch	3 Turns	Either add +1 to Armour or FV. This can be either the Caster, or one ally in base contact.	No
Heal	Touch	Instant	The Caster may grant one out-of-action figure a free Heroism roll to come back into the game. They cannot take any actions until the following turn.	No
Divine Guidance	12“	Instant	The Caster can shoot at an enemy figure, even if they are concealed by cover or if line of sight is blocked. Cover gives them no protection.	No
Show The Path	Self	1 Turn	The Caster creates a clear 6" path through an area of soft or hard cover directly adjacent to himself. He or others can move along the path in single file, until it fades.	No
Touch of Heroism	Touch	3 Turns	The figure touched gains a Grit attribute of 2+ for the duration of the power. Note this cannot be used to increase a Caster's spellcasting ability.	No

Remember, these rules are as-yet unplaytested (though the core ItEN rules are pretty well balanced), so I am not 100% sure the effect some of these new spells and warbands will have on the game. Hopefully, I should get a few playtests up and running over the next few weeks - if anyone is interested, comment here or shoot me an e-mail!