Rising Powers

[me_in_japan]

Well, the new Malifaux expansion arrived today. Some initial thougts...

1) First impression: this is a good expansion. Its bigger than the actual rulebook. Blimey.

2) There are going to be a shedload of new minis for this game. Most of them have the potential to be ACE on a stick. Lord Chompy Bits and the showgirls are already very good, and the guild (booooo) have a lot of love coming their way, too. plenty more roboty stuff for them (hey! keep the tech in the M&SU, gorramit!)

3) You really need to wash that 40k mentality out of your head to play this game. Its all about small scale, story type games. The amount of special rules per model seems (to me) to be humungous, but as you only have half a dozen guys in your crew, it stays manageable. The potential for comboing is very large. I think Mali has more in common with WarmaHordes than 40k, actually, although WM/H is far, far simpler than Mali.

4) I really need to play this game more, as looking at the extra rules has made me realise I still only have a very shaky grasp of the basic ones. However, I very much approve of having 6 core missions, designed to be balanced for competitive play, and about 50 extra "fluff" missions, played for scenario type fun. This is a very good approach, and should keep all the different sorts of players happy.

5) Arcanists are no longer as poo as i thought they were. Hurrah! Ramos' new lady friend sidekick looks like she could be the key to all Ramos' problems. (Ramos: slow, weak attack, but tough. NLF: kick ass, a bit fragile, can fly.)

6) Whereas 40k has a lot of fluff along the lines of "The Bastion Stars are a system of planets on the Eastern Fringe of Imperial space. Their military forces consist of...." etc, Mali expands its story with, well, stories. e.g. "Perdita crossed the alleyway, flitting from shadow to shadow. Her quarry was close to panic, and she knew she had finally reached the end game. Suddenly a huge shadow fell across her..." i.e. you see the world from the characters' point of view. This very much helps build the skirmish, small scale feel of the game.

So, all in all, a big thumbs up from me on Rising Powers. I shall have to get my M&SU chaps painted up so I can justify buying Collete du Bois and her 'we're-not-from-silent-hill-honest' mannequin friends.

-d

[Primarch]

Darn you, I'm still waiting on my copy to be delivered. I'm also waiting on Colette and crew to be sent as well as some more outcasts for the Vickys. I need my Ronin goshdangit.
Needless to say I will be reading my book from cover to cover as soon as it is in my grubby little paws.
Arcanists aren't poo, they just require a different style than the other factions. Admittedly I haven't won with my Cult of December yet, but that'll change as soon as I get my little white puddy tats put together. Hehehe.

[Primarch]

Well, my book arrived this morning and I have spent a few hours perusing the contents.

the guild (booooo) have a lot of love coming their way, too. plenty more roboty stuff for them (hey! keep the tech in the M&SU, gorramit!)

All the guild stuff can be used by Ramos anyway so I dont know what you're whining about. Ramos has access to all of the Arcanists stuff and about half of the new models coming out as well. My little 'Tina' gets two (count them) models which fit with her crew. Colette looks cool, so I am glad I placed an order for her and her ladies.
I havent really read much else beyond the arcanists and a bit of the guild so far (the book has a LOT in it), so I am sure I will post more as I go.