New convert says hello

[Dan Rayner]

Just a quick hello to introduce myself to the forum.

I’d been considering exploring the possibility of down-scaling from 15mm to 6mm and finally decided to take the plunge by ordering the amazing Angel Barracks character miniatures.  A big thank you is due to Michael who was not only kind enough to throw in some extras with my order, but has also been extremely generous with his time by offering valuable advice on how to approach painting miniatures in this scale (quite a different experience from painting 15 and 28mm minis).

I’m mostly interested in skirmish/rpg-lite type games that are amenable to solo and co-op play, such as the offerings from Nordic Weasel Games and Two Hour Wargames, so I’m very pleased to see that a few regulars on these boards play Starport Scum and Five Parsecs from Home.  There is some truly inspiring work on display here and I hope to be making some contributions of my own soon.

Cheers!

[Angel Barracks]

Thanks for joining, looking forward to seeing how you get/got on!

😀

[Erik Walton]

You won’t be disappointed one bit! You’re exactly right, it is a very different paint technique for 6mm, but I have found that my painting for 15’s and 28’s has improved because of the tricks I’ve learned from painting smaller scales. I usually just basecoat and then use thinned down inks.

Oh yeah, and Michael is good people too!

If you’re looking at Nordic Weasel, I would recommend checking out some of the In Sight rulesets too, those are pretty fun.

Oh that's my theme music, it's on now!

[Dan Rayner]

Thanks!  Had a couple of false starts with the painting and ended up stripping them to start from scratch again.  I’ll be back on it this evening.  I think the trick is to remind yourself that how the minis look through a magnifying visor is not as important as how they look on the board.  I’m still amazed at the amount of detail you’ve included in some of the sculpts.

[Dan Rayner]

Hi Erik.  Yes, I keep meaning to check out No Hope in Sight sometime, which looks like it might have a nice Necromunda kind of vibe about it.  Have you tried Starport Scum or Five Parsecs yourself?

[kyoteblue]

Welcome welcome, I’m still doing 15mm but 6mm is nice for some things. Weasel games are very fun.

[Dan Rayner]

Thanks! I’m keeping my 15mm minis (at least for the moment).  Laserburn and Citadel/RAFM Travellers minis have a lot of sentimental value for me as Laserburn was the first miniatures game I ever played 🙂

[Thuseld]

One of us! Welcome aboard. Look forward to seeing your miniatures and games. I converted to 6mm sci fi back in October and am loving it. Starport Scum has taken me, although I am looking at Two hour Wargames 5150 series to test out another possible solo campaign.

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[Dan Rayner]

Hi Thuseld. Are you looking at Urban Renewal/NHC PI or Star Army?  The AI and the mechanics for carrying out an investigation in former are really clever if you’re looking for a solo/co-op rpg that basically writes itself.  Very Cyberpunk Noir so good for Blade Runner type settings and can be adapted for something like Judge Dredd.  I’ve got Fringe Space which I guess covers the same kind of territory as Starport Scum or Five Parsecs, but haven’t played it yet.  Future Tales is also well worth a look – more pulp sci fi and geared towards the Flash Gordon, Star Wars type experience – also has rules for robots.  Star Army is in the process of being updated.

[Thuseld]

I was looking at Fringe Space because it seems similar to Starport Scum. The Urban Renewal book looks like it is limited to one planet, while I am interested in a sort of Space Opera scale campaign. Star Army looks more like Clash on the Fringe. How are these books for inserting them into my own universe? Could I just rename all of the armies? Can I create and stat out my own units?

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[Dan Rayner]

Urban Renewal/NHC PI is, as the name suggests, for urban adventures, Fringe Space is for spacefaring adventures, and Star Army is a wargame rather than rpg-lite. Star Army uses an older version of the mechanics and is currently being updated.  All the 5150 games are set in the same universe but could be adapted quite easily to other settings.  Of the three, Fringe Space is definitely more suited to your needs.  However, Future Tales shouldn’t be overlooked.  It’s also intended for creating freewheeling space adventures but with a more pulpy style.  I think it’s really a matter of taste which of them will suit you better.  They’re both quite adaptable but I suppose it’s Fringe Space if you want Firefly, Future Tales if you want Star Wars.

Just one caveat: do make sure that you’re comfortable with the Chain Reaction rules as they’re not everyone’s cup of tea.  If you haven’t already done so, download the free rules and try them out before buying anything.

[Thuseld]

I sort of want a cross between Firefly and Star wars if I can.

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[Angel Barracks]

For well over a year I have been thinking about this sort of gaming and have yet to try it, I have purchased a few rulesets and nothing has quite sparked me into life.

I think… I will try the original 40k rules and change inches to centimetres.
Goons have 1 wound and heroes up to 3.
Maybe a couple of ‘skills’ that modify stats or allow re-rolls.

I don’t like the 40k rules for bigger games as they are slow, but with just a few figures on each side, they may be just what I am looking for…

[Dan Rayner]

@Thuseld Well, Fringe Space is geared towards a group of adventurers who own a ship and earns a living through hauling cargo, passengers, smuggling, piracy, etc.  There are mechanics covering trading, space battles and boarding actions as well as planetside encounters.  The background is the 5150 universe and it includes details of alien races, mapping regions of space, and settlements like New Hope City (the setting of 5150 Urban Renewal).

Future Tales, on the other hand, pits your brave adventurers against a ‘Big Bad’ and your heroes follow clues which lead them through a series of thrilling encounters, fiendish traps, daring escapes until they finally confront their evil nemesis.  The rules include mechanics for robots, ‘magic’, exotic weapons like laser swords, space battles and boarding actions.  There’s no background information at all as the rules essentially generates adventures on the fly.

Either rule sets can be used in your own setting – it’s just a case of deciding which tone best suits your planned campaign.  You could check the 2hour blog where you can see examples of how these games play.

@Michael Have you looked at In the Emperor’s Name? FUBAR adapted to 40k.

[Angel Barracks]

I have, it was (long story short) FUBAR that made me ditch my 2500+ plus lines of historical stock and start making my own sci-fi range and rules.

[Dan Rayner]

Ah yes, your KR16 rules are based on FUBAR, aren’t they? Are you just emotionally attached to the old 40k rules, then, in much the way I am with Laserburn? Kind of trying to recapture that feeling we had when we first discovered miniatures gaming.  Sadly for me, although I’m still fond of the old rules, I can’t deal with all that rolling and counting handfuls of dice and then applying all those modifiers from the tables.  It’s just not as much fun as I remember it being back in the 80s.  That’s why Starport Scum and Five Parsecs have such appeal for me.  I think Ivan at NWG is working really hard to capture that lightning in a bottle again without all those dice and tables.

[Angel Barracks]

Ah well this is where I get all defensive and nobby.
They are inspired by FUBAR, but the order system is different, as is the way casualties are determined, as is vehicle damage, as is….
It plays very differently…
I could go on forever about the differences, but that would be a massive tangent and possibly make people think I protest too much.

🙂

No attachment to 40k at all, it just means I wont have to learn any new rules, which is a bonus to me.
😀

[Dan Rayner]

Oops! Didn’t mean to denigrate KR16 in any way 🙂 I’m not familiar enough with either FUBAR or KR16 to make any fair comparisons.

As far as learning rules is concerned, there are only about 10 pages of actual rules in Starport Scum – another point in its favour!

[Angel Barracks]

Ha, no offence taken.
As I say, it is mostly me being overly defensive!

😀

Yeah I have starport scum and the PA game too, errrm No Hope In Sight?

[Dan Rayner]

I haven’t got No Hope in Sight but I’ve heard it aims to create a Necromunda-type experience. Have you played it yet?

[Angel Barracks]

No, no time to play… not even my own games.

(sniffle)

[Thuseld]

Dan, you have been here like 5 minutes and have already pissed off Mike. Good luck. Mike, I never liked that Dan guy. 😉

I think Fringe is the direction I want to go but I will definitely need to read the base rules, downloading them now.

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[Dan Rayner]

You know, I don’t think anyone spends as much time actually playing games as they do reading rules, preparing minis and terrain, and just generally procrastinating.  Add in all the real life stuff we have to deal with, plus movies, TV shows, books and comics…

[Dan Rayner]

@Thuseld lol yeah, I don’t waste any time alienating people. Why else would I have to play solo games?

Hope Fringe Space is the right one for you.  They’re all pretty adaptable anyway.  Definitely give the Chain Reaction rules as test drive, though.  Not everyone takes to them.

[Alexander Wasberg]

Welcome to TWW Dan!

Having played most of the NWG games, I would say that Starport Scum and Clash on the Fringe are my absolute favorites. You really owe it to yourself to try out Starport Scum if you like a RPG-lite game, it’s the best I’ve played in quite a while!

http://lasersandbroadswords.blogspot.com My project blog

[Dan Rayner]

Thanks, Alexander!

Yes, I really like Starport Scum so far (though I haven’t spent as much time playing as I’d like).  It comes the close to capturing the feel of playing Laserburn in the early 80s but without slowing down gameplay with lots of dice rolls and tables to refer to.  Nice simple rules which allow for a great deal of depth.

I’ve been checking your blog regularly, too.  Great stuff! Keep up the good work!

[greg954]

Hi there, welcome to the mad house. Glad you’re liking your dip into 6mm SF. I’m a bit of a fan of Fubar and KR16. Can’t remember how I got into 6mm, but do remember moving over to Fubar after Mike’s influence.

So I completely blame Michael for my 6mm KR16 addition.

[Dan Rayner]

Hi Greg.  Yes, I’ve got a copy of FUBAR (and In the Emperor’s Name) but I’ve never got round to playing it.  I’ve also downloaded all the KR16 rules and fluff.  Would you say they’re suited to solo play?

[Angel Barracks]

FUBAR and KR16 are very suited to solo play.
I pretty much only play solo so made sure KR16 was suited to that, not sure about ITEN though, probably is though.

[Dan Rayner]

You’ve obviously put a lot of work into these rules and the background seems well thought through.  You’ve got a good selection of scenarios there too! I think I’ll give the game a go once I’ve got a broad enough selection of minis and terrain so there’ll likely be an order coming in the next week or so.  I want to get the character minis finished first so I can avoid building a 6mm lead mountain (to match the 15mm one!).

[Thuseld]

Just read KR 16. They look good and I will probably take them for a spin.

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[Angel Barracks]

w00t, if you have any questions, which is likely as I quite often make no sense when I write, drop me a mail, pop something up on TWW, or ping me on FB..

[Fredd Bloggs]

Dan Rayner wrote:

You know, I don’t think anyone spends as much time actually playing games as they do reading rules, preparing minis and terrain, and just generally procrastinating. Add in all the real life stuff we have to deal with, plus movies, TV shows, books and comics…

 

I was going to procrastinate but I never got around to it…

[greg954]

The biggest thing about any solo play is being honest with yourself. After all you know what the enemy is up to.

Both those rules do seem to work solo. Can’t really say much about other rule sets.ni should really try a few more.

[Dan Rayner]

Hi Greg. Yes, I mostly play solo (when I play at all) and occasionally with a mate (a much less committed gamer, but enthusiastic enough as long as someone else does all the prep work). There are certainly plenty of rules out there that work well for solo games without being specifically designed for it.  I think as long as your opponents’ objectives, motivations and tactical style are well defined, you should be able to play the game solo without too much bother.  The rules from Two Hour Wargames, on the other hand, are specifically designed for solo play and features a well developed AI and rules for hidden enemy forces.  I generally prefer the less structured approach of NWG’s Starport Scum and Five Parsecs – for both solo, co-op and umpired games, but still like to play the THW stuff for a different sort of experience.

[PaintingLittleSoldiers]

Welcome,

I mostly game 15mm sci fi but have very recently made an order for some of Mikes Angel Barracks models. I’m hoping to have a small self contained box that I can get out easily for smaller skirmish games that do not take up loads of space.

Cheers

[Dan Rayner]

Hi Jackson. I’ve also been using 15mm up until now.  I was also drawn to 6mm by the idea of a small portable game set (not unlike the Pocketquest game for dungeon adventures).  Mike’s wonderful character minis did not disappoint – astonishingly detailed and full of personality (though I’m not yet able to paint them to the same standard).

[Angel Barracks]

How is everybody in here doing… ?

[kyoteblue]

Still stuffed from Turkey Day….

[Dan Rayner]

Good, thanks. 6mm is sort of on the backburner at the moment while I think about how to proceed. Being long-sighted I find them difficult to identify once they’re a couple of feet away, so I think I’ll stick to 15mm for stuff like Starport Scum (and when I try out the forthcoming Rogue Stars).

I’m thinking about using 6mm for skirmishes in the Dreddverse that are likely to have higher figure counts – block wars, Apocalypse War, Judgement Day, Day of Chaos type conflicts.  I’m quite excited by the previews of the Onslaught enforcers (in both 6mm and 15mm) – they’ll make great judges!

[Author]

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