force size?

[japenny_902]

Hello everyone,

 

Could anyone tell me what the standard force size is for point values for say a "mid sized" game? I am probably going to be investing in an army or two and I can see the point values on the data cards online, and am going to be ordering the rulebook as well, so I can see how much each model is worth but I don't really know how many points worth to buy? I realize that games are probably different sizes but I'm only looking at an average force.

 

Cheers

 

James

[Vil-hatarn]

Most tournaments around here are at 1501 points; that requires a Warlord, while still being playable within an hour or two.

[vutpakdi]

The most recent "official" tournaments have been 1000 points in size. 1000 points (without a warlord) makes for a nice size game: enough minis to be interesting and varied but also enough points to make the game easily doable in an hour or two.

 

If you shoot for 1501 points with a mix of grunts and high powered units (and at least 1 captain and 1-2 sergeants), you'll have enough minis to play anything from the 1501 point "with Warlord" games to the smaller sized games.

 

Ron

[japenny_902]

Thanks for the responses guys, much appreciated.

 

Can an army consist of any figures. I'd most likely order them by looks, and how I'd like to paint them rather than knowing anything about the game. I just want to know if I can go willy nilly with the figures, or is there some organization like in 40k where you need a certain number of a certain type of miniatures.

 

I'm not trying to get rules from people for free, I am ordering the rulebook when I order the miniatures, and would like to do it at the same time.

 

And once again, the help is GREATLY appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

James

[jdripley]

You'd have to grab the rulebook to get all the answers in precise details, but here's a few short answers:

 

Armies are typically anywhere from 750 points to 1500 (or 1501 since that's the lowest point value that requires you take a warlord - some people prefer to play with that requirement). 750 is your small time army, usually one or two troops, maybe a special solo.. 1000 I would call "medium sized" and at 1501 you've got yourself quite the army!

 

Army construction is fairly free-form in Warlord. In general, you have access to any mini in the game, with this stipulation: you may not mix good and evil models in the same army (good/evil/neutral is listed on the datacard). If you cherry picked from any army, you'd be using a freelance force, which has its ups and downs. You can also choose to pick models from just one faction. If you do this, you gain access to that faction's special abilities, but are restricted to only models affiliated with the faction. I think that by and large, most players choose to play as a particular faction, but it's all what you feel like doing, really.

 

As you build your army, you pick leaders (sgts, cpts, warlords) and add soldiers to their "troop," paying attention to the minimum and maximum number of models allowed in the troop. There are chain of command rules in the rulebook that I'll skip here. You can also take a solo or monster each time you take a troop in your army (but you don't have to take one). You also have to pay attention to certain powerful soldier types; some are "adepts" and you may only have a particular type of adept in one troop in your army. It's clearer in the rulebook, but I figured I'd mention that just so you don't go out and buy 20 of the same adept and then get upset that you can't use more than a handful of them! Finally you can buy spells for your casters and upgrades for anybody you wish. When you're done you add it all up and that's the total for your force!

 

Warlord is quite flexible, and Reaper has recently made some changes that make it even more flexible. If you want to buy models based on looks, go right ahead. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that your army won't be significantly weaker than any other army. Might be tickier to play, but who can tell that unless they knew what models you were going to buy? But the costs of models is done very well in Warlord and things are priced fairly.

 

Also remember to go to www.reapergames.com and register a free username, then go to the downloads section and get yourself a free copy of RAGE Chronicles 2007 where you will find the most up to date errata, datacards and equipment.

[vutpakdi]

A Warlord company is made up of one or more troops. A troop consists of either a leader and a number of soldiers a "solo" (typically a fairly powerful character or monster). You can not have more solos than troops which have leaders.

 

Each leader is marked as "X-Y/Z" where:

• X = minimum # of models in the troop including the leader
  
• Y = maximum # of models in the troop (including the leader)
  
• Z = maximum # of elites in the troop
  

Most the minis in a troop will be soldiers of one sort or another, and soldiers of different types may appear in the same troop. Some more powerful soldiers are designated as "Adepts". Unless the game point level is 2000+, certain Adepts become Grunts in a particular faction list/sublist, *or* a particular factional Special Ability allows a particular leader to have Adepts that don't count against the Adept limit, Adepts of a particular type may only appear in a single Troop in a given company.

 

Elites are individual characters that typically can only appear in troops lead by Captains and Warlords. Rogues, Heroes, Clerics, and Mages are examples of Elites.

 

Some solos and Elites are marked as "Unique". Unique Solos and Elites may only appear once in a Company unless a factional Special Ability or faction list/sublist makes them non unique.

 

If you have the funds and want some flexibility, I recommend picking up a Warlord, a Captain, 1-2 Sergeants, 1-2 Elites, 1-2 solos, and fill the remainder with a mix of soldier types (main line, reach enabled, and a few archer types). If you let us know the factions under your consideration, we can probably recommend a couple of builds for you.

 

I hope the above helps.

 

Ron

[japenny_902]

Yes this helps greatly!

 

Now I have an idea of what to buy.

 

Next I just have to pick a faction I'm leaning towards the Dwarves, but Necropolis is really cool too. I am going to have to think about this one

 

Again thanks for the kind help everyone.

 

Cheers

 

James

[Saint Vierzehn]

There are also rules regarding how many sergeants and captains you are permitted to take. Army comp rules are pretty strict, and rightly so.

 

I think it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the rulebook before buying more than two units' worth of minis.

 

-StV.

[shakhak]

Buy what you think looks great and you will be fine. Just do it in moderation. A few blisters of grunt models, a few marked as leader and elite. A smaller amount of solos and monsters, and you'll be well on your way to building an army to sweep across Taltos, be it the necropolis scourge or the thick headed dwarves.

[vutpakdi]

If you are going the Necropolis route, you might want to consider the Deluxe Starter box that has the rulebook along with the Necropolis and Crusader forces. It's a really good deal.

 

Also, the original Warlord starter box sets (about $40 MSRP) are really good deals as well if you can find them.

 

Ron