Rule books

[Sierra19]

Well, I'm thinking of taking the plunge into Warlord, possibly playing Reven and Dwarves or Crusaders. So What books will I need? Just the main rulebook, or would I also need the Crusaders book? And do I need to also print out the 100 odd pages of RAGE Chronicles 2008 also? And can someone give me a brief rundown on "standard" sized points games, as well as gameplay? Thanks!

[Vil-hatarn]

The faction books were rolled into the most recent Rage Chronicles--so that, plus the core book, is all you would need. I wouldn't print the entirety of Rage Chronicles, especially since RC09 should be out in a month or two. Even then, you'd probably only really need to print the equipment, spells, and SA sections.

 

I haven't had the opportunity to play much Warlord recently, so I'll let someone else answer your questions on the gameplay.

[beamish1234]

In all reality all you need is the rage chronicles. About the only rules that are not in there are the force orginazation ones. If you have ever played a RAGE based game the transition is relatively easy. I would wait for the new rules in a few months. Untill then study the RC08 and start deciding on hte forces you want.

 

The Warlord rule book and army rule books are nice for pictures and fluff but that is about it. Their RAGE rules are very outdated.

[Qwyksilver]

The Core rules mechanics for Warlord from the hardcover book are still valid, but all the data cards, army lists, faction abilities and special abilities have been since overwritten by RAGE Chronicles 2008, which is available for free download.

 

You will get a lot of fluff and a short painting guide as additional information out of the rulebook in addition to the core mechanics - How combat operates, troop composition, turns, etc.

 

The old faction books are no longer up to date, since RC2008, but they do contain a lot of great fluff for the factions that had books made: Necropolis, Crusaders, Reven, Nefsokar, and Overlords. There was a plan to have books for all the factions, but the decision was later made to do an annual update, rather than delay the later factions their updates, thus the RAGE Chronicles were put out. If you can find them for the armies of your choice, they make a great reference book, but are no longer necessary for play. They never were necessary for play, because they were expansions.

 

A standard game is usually 1000-1501. A rough estimate is about 30 minutes per 500 points of army size for play. That amount can change based on knowledge of the rules, complexity of the army or scenario, are you someone that takes a LONG time to make a decision, etc. 1501 is a fun limit because it requires you to field a Warlord in your army build. After all, as a veteran player was overheard saying: "The game is called Warlord, not Unique Captain" The game scales up nicely. A 3000 vs 3000 point game will take you a couple hours (for kill em all, but for scenario play, could be 1 hour), but is an absolute blast.

 

Game play will be a little slower as you become used to the rules, but as you get more experienced, and stop needing to look at your Data Cards every turn, you will find play starts to move along quickly.

 

If you want to start play now, you would need the Core Rulebook, and a copy of RC2008. If you're willing to wait a little bit, you could hold on until RC2009 is released. Also, if there is a Black Lightning member (Reaper's demo team) that operates out of your FLGS, you could ask them for a quick demo to kick the tires.

[Sierra19]

Apparently, there are NO Black Lightning members in the entire state of Pennsylvania, so that option won't work. So basically, I should get the main rulebook, and then print out the RC2009 when it comes out? I already printed out the faction cards from the Reapergames.com for the factions I'm interested in, so it's just a matter of what I need to buy/download/print out, to get started.

[dewen]

With the release so close, you may want to wait for second addition