25 years of gaming, just figured out what Warlord is

[farseer]

WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN? I've seen the rules and box sets and brushed it off as another mass combat game like Warhammer. I have been searching for a good fantasy skirmish game. I love reapers models. Never put 2+2 together. UGH!!! DOHH!!!!

 

So anyways, I think the Frost Giants/Icingstead and the Gnomes have captured my attention based on look and what little I have found out. I havent even gotten the rulebook yet....

 

Questions:

Why is no one playing after all these years? I know most stores dont stock a "wall" of reaper, but I know NO ONE that has even tried this game and I know ALOT of minis gamers. I mean, is/was there something wrong with the rules? Whats stopping the game from blossoming?

 

This forum is very underactive given the scope of the game and the age of the ruleset and popularity of Reaper minis. Do players have an offsite forum/website/blog where there is a community I cannot find?

 

I watched the Kickstarter and would like to go back in time to join in. Who can help!?! Why did I discover this so late?

 

I read that i can only get the Northern factions book and no the core rules as well and have the complete package, True?

 

I keep reading about stat cards. Are they included in the minis? Can I download them? IS there a se tto buy I cannot find? I see the files and stuff on the reapergames.com site for Warlord.

 

Anyone in the Baltimore area?

 

Thanks for helping the newb

Patrick

 

 

[herzogbrian]

There are many factors, but the biggest is the fact that Reaper terminated its demo team program about the time the latest edition was hitting it's stride.

 

I'm in NC, but would be happy to meet for a game whenever I am North of Richmond.

[wildger]

As mentioned above, there are many factors. To summarize from what I understand:

 

When the game was first introduced in 2004, game balance was an issue. The original plan was to evolve each fraction as in WHFB with its own spells, equipment, etc. in its own booklet. That did not work out well. What soon followed were the many changes to the stats/point costs and abilities for each figures to balance the game, eventhough the basic mechanic remained that same. Yes, all datacard could be downloaded for free but most new players felt that there were too many changes to handle. It was very hard to convince anyone to purchase a newly revised rulebook that was already out of date. Even if the demo team program continued, it would not help.The game was considered "dead" by many until 2.0 came out after years of playtesting by some hardcore players.

Why it has not become more popular as expected after 2.0? Again, many reasons. Please see my other recent threads. IMO, any game needs to be promoted to become successful. There was never any marketing strategy for 2.0. Reaper can easily take the advantage of the Kickstarter success on their Bones model to incorporate Warlord but they forgot.

 

Back to your other questions. The 2.0 rulebook contains all the orginal fractions while the Salvage North has only the new. The basic rules are present in each. You can download the datacards from the website but not the faction specific ablities. Check the army creator program on this website.

[joshuaslater]

Welcome!! Warlord is a great game. You can get two books, use the army creator on reapergames.com, and proxy so many models you own that it's ridiculous. A lifetime of great gaming from that!!

[ObsidianCrane]

WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN? I've seen the rules and box sets and brushed it off as another mass combat game like Warhammer. I have been searching for a good fantasy skirmish game. I love reapers models. Never put 2+2 together. UGH!!! DOHH!!!!

To be honest I think a lot of the reasons are what you just said; most people think its an army game instead of a skirmish one.

 

You've certainly described my experience with it.

[Wowahboy]

I have painted five different armies for Warlord over the last five years and I am working on a Reptus army for next Reapearcon now.

 

Warlord is a great game.

 

I like that you can proxy anything.

 

Here are a couple of my past armies:

 

 

 

 

[Wowahboy]

From what I saw, the new stuff - 2.0 and Savage North - got off to slow starts and the Reaper folks lost interest.

 

I was one of the playtesters for 2.0 and one of the guys that worked alot on the Razig. Personally, I just got busy with life and kind of lost track of the hard core guys, but I am getting back in touch now and playing tonight.

 

In the last five years at the ReaperCon Warlord tournament I finished 2nd twice and 3rd once (we won't mention the other two times). Did I worry about play balance? Nope.

 

I painted armies that I thought would be fun to play and figures that were fun to paint and looked cool. That's it.

 

I hardly ever use casters because I like to keep it simple and not have to remember how to use them or worry about protecting them.

 

I fielded a very shooty Resurrection Crusader army (Crusaders) that was almost all archers; I fielded my Necropolis army with lots of flyers and bat swarms; I played Razig proxied as British marines that had a treasure map and bottles of rum and shore bombardment with lots of sea creatures and ship rats.

 

All were fun.

 

Isn't that the point?

Edited February 1, 2013 by Wowahboy

[farseer]

_{Thank you for all the answers and help. I spent some time trolling the forums and read the rather semi heated debate under the WL System Discussion Thread. I'll tell you, reading that made me want to run from the game. Watching vets who playtested the game debate the system is not a bad thing. Reading the responses from those same people in that thread...whoa. If the playtesters were that angry (not passionate, i know the differnce) about parts of the game and why its bad, broken, good or groundbreaking, then perhaps there cant be a foundation to make a community.}

 

_{However, the models are beautiful and I am looking for something fun to play, that's not mainstream, and has something "different" than other minis games out there}

 

_{I care not for GW's antiqudated non skirmish rulesets, power creep, expense to update my armies of old etc. 40k has become an abomination and WFB makes me feel like all I am doing is painting $4-6.00 wound counters. I think I now know why people dont bother painting them.}

 

_{I care not for Warmachines powergamer community. All teh PG's left GW games in this area and moved to WM/Hordes. Or their rules that encourage the powergaming, the power creep to have to HAVE the new models as all the old combos become "recognizable" by vets making entry for new people difficult if they care about winning games. The army list you use tells your opponent exactly what you are going to do. I've never seen another game where this is so apparent.}

 

_{Malifaux is ok storywise and fun to play, but power creep has set in with all the new books/models, etc and I just can't get into the "steampunk" setting. I am waiting for that fad to burn out.}

 

_{Infinity I love, but thats my scifi choice of minis game. Gameplay rocks and is fast and bloody Small sized games with little creep. I dislike the "manga/anime" part of it, but the ultra future, hitech feel, the gameplay and player base here are fun.}

 

_{I need a fantasy choice i dont need to "keep up with Jones'" to play. I dont care about competitve gaming. I was burned out of that long ago in GW games. It makes an ugly community when winning is all that matters over story, hobby and fun. I play in tournies, dont get me worng, but thats usually to just get a good day of gaming in, hoefully with some new opponents.}

 

_{Warlord might be it...I guess the passionate fans out there will have to ocntinue carrying the torch until Reaper decides the profit they can make from the line is worth it. Perhaps it needs a "rebranding" per say with a regioanlized relauch if you will. Small controlled and expand from there.}

 

_{So, what faction do I start with? Hmmmmm Bloodstone Gnomes remind me of Night Goblins in WFB, but differnt enough I like the theme. Beetle riders and golems! The Icingstead barbarians are chao-like and i do enjoy the frozen wastes look/theme. Overlords - evil clerics and their armies pushing an unholy agenda - YES!}

_{The snakemen appeal to me, but not the lizardmen that go with them. Are they effective alone? . Are there Dark Dwarves/Derro/Duergar?}

 

_{And why is the core rulebook 20.00 and the Savage North 35.00? More content? Color? there is no description on the Savage North book.}

 

_{thanks for letting me rant and the questions!}

_patrick

[joshuaslater]

My Snakemen army just wiped out my friend's elf force a few nights ago in a slithering victory. I did have two lizard men and some raptors, but it was my "Snakes on a Plane" force!!

 

I don't feel like I'm carrying a torch, just playing a great game with my one friend every week or so. If the alternative is the power creep, I'll take Warlord. I can continue to buy and build armies for years to come.

 

One day I'll get out and play in some local stores, run a couple demos and such, but for now, I'm content.

[Shakandara]

_{Thank you for all the answers and help. I spent some time trolling the forums and read the rather semi heated debate under the WL System Discussion Thread. I'll tell you, reading that made me want to run from the game. Watching vets who playtested the game debate the system is not a bad thing. Reading the responses from those same people in that thread...whoa. If the playtesters were that angry (not passionate, i know the differnce) about parts of the game and why its bad, broken, good or groundbreaking, then perhaps there cant be a foundation to make a community.}

 

_<snip>

_{So, what faction do I start with? Hmmmmm Bloodstone Gnomes remind me of Night Goblins in WFB, but differnt enough I like the theme. Beetle riders and golems! The Icingstead barbarians are chao-like and i do enjoy the frozen wastes look/theme. Overlords - evil clerics and their armies pushing an unholy agenda - YES!}

_{The snakemen appeal to me, but not the lizardmen that go with them. Are they effective alone? . Are there Dark Dwarves/Derro/Duergar?}

 

_{And why is the core rulebook 20.00 and the Savage North 35.00? More content? Color? there is no description on the Savage North book.}

 

_{thanks for letting me rant and the questions!}

_patrick

 

As familiar as you sound with wargames in general, I'd encourage you to check the game out and decide for yourself. Much like pizza (see the recent thread about attending ReaperCon for more on that), everyone has different likes and dislikes. Gamers can be some of the hardest people to please; what they don't like about something can quickly become ingrained as being empirically bad, regardless of whether or not it is true. Take everyone's opinions (including mine) with a grain of salt, and make your own evaluation.

 

It's hard to say what the future holds for Warlord. There are still people out there dedicated to seeing it continue, but as it has been mentioned earlier, the game is not a priority for Reaper, and there is really no marketing presence. I do see some exciting possibilities, particularly as the Bones line begins to make inroads into the Warlord like, and factions become cheaper and cheaper to field (delivering 20000 sets of models to people doesn't hurt either).

 

Regarding factions, yes, the snakemen can be effective on their own; they do become a bit finesse-y without any support (though bringing in the turtles and trolls fill that role nicely). There are some Dark Dwarves in the Mercs faction; you could easily proxy models from the DHL line for other data cards within that faction to run a dark dwarf merc faction.

 

The core is $20 because it is softcover black and white; Savage North is hardcover and some color. Those are the only reasons for the price difference.

 

~v

Edited February 1, 2013 by Shakandara

[wildger]

Look at it this way. In other games, either your figures or army list will be made obsolete with time due to new expansions or figures. So far, it has not happened with Warlord. To me, that is a hugh PLUS. Unfortunately, many gamers cannot see that.

[Doug Sundseth]

See, that's a big advantage of historical wargames. Oh, new research can sometimes result in new interpretations of how an army might have been organized, or occasionally how troops were equipped or dressed, but that's pretty rare. And virtually no historical games are limited by figure manufacturer. If you painted Minifigs 15mm French Napoleonics in 1972, they're still useful today. Though, it must be said, you might need to rebase the figures occasionally for a new rules set.

[MiniCannuck]

I agree about historical games that the are well defined for the era and relatively closed sets. However you can still play a "Deadliest Warrior" style game and pit lists from different eras/regions.

 

Some Fantasy games do the same thing by having a timeline to their games. What people often label a power creep is a progression in the story timeline. Like the real world, factions will learn from the past and use it to build stronger weapons. I would also argue that some rule updates aren't just there to sell different models but to show a progression in the experiences of armies to deal with strategies and attack forms.

 

I always find it funny when people say you HAVE to play by the latest rule set. If you want to restrict units to a certain game era or addition, go for it. If it is a campaign, maybe set a time in the game where you progress to a newer edition.

 

My gaming group is currently doing an escalation league for Lord of The Rings. We started in the third age and limited the size of forces to 250 points. We also aren't allowing any named characters for some time to represent the heroes making a name for themselves from the rank and file.

 

Warlord is a solid, fun game. My club played it regularly for awhile but moved on to other games. They got bored plaing the same list of models and the Warlord setting didn't excite them enough to collect another list. Over the. Summer I will try to get a league started again and try to develop a progression to the game world ( I.e. add fluff and strategic map points that people can care about).

 

Who knows, with the amount of Warlord figures in the Bones KickStarter, perhaps there will be enough interest to develop Warlord further. There's a lot of potential with a game that has access to so many figures.

[Wowahboy]

Had more fun playing Warlord.

 

Gamed with Steve and Jason last night at Area 51. We were there until almost 1:00 A.M. gaming and chewing the fat.

 

First time I played since Reapercon last May.

 

Game 1: Steve TPKed my Reptus with his Dwarves. Firestorms got me a couple of times and crossbows caused alot of damage as well.

 

Game 2: Jason beat Steve's Dwarves pretty handily with his Crusaders. Looked to me like Steve spread his guys out too much and they could not support each other, but what do I know.

 

Game 3: My Reptus TPKed Jason's Crusaders but I finished with only 4 Spikeshells on the table. I hate getting first striked.

 

So we were each 1-1. That is about as balanced as you can get.

 

I cheated twice but only got away with it once. I was caught taking a regeneration roll for my Dragon Turtle but got away with "best 2 out of 3" rolling for one of my tough checks. Jason would disagree, but passing a ridiculous amount of tough checks does not count as cheating.

 

Jason was not impressed with how I used my snakes. I blame the snakes.

 

My MVP was the Dragon Turtle (his name is Virgil). My LVP was my Crymorian Warrior (his name is Vince). Krungbeast (named Bruce) was lots of fun as usual.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Wowahboy

[Shakandara]

My LVP was my Crymorian Warrior (his name is Vince).

 

That hurts, man.

 

 

 

~v