Draft Rules

[Primarch]

Here you are folks, the current version of the rules I am working on. They are still VERY much a work in progress. Currently, they assume that you know how to play tabletop games and don't go into much detail about how to measure or check LoS yet. At some point in the future they will, but that is still a way off yet.
I have also included the two warband rosters that I was using at NagoyaHammer. Neither of the factions has their Faction rule listed on the roster, so if you want to try them out, here they are, with a slight amendment (in Italics) to the Ratmen rules I used.:

Current Core Rules

Current Warbands Rules

[kojibear]

I noticed that there are yet to be rules for character with whips or chains.

My 'Circus' trainer will most likely have a whip.

A whip may have two main advantages in combat:

1. The ability to wrap around limbs and pull an opponent to the ground.

2. The sound of a cracking whip is quite startling and intimidating.

Perhaps the whip can:

- If chosen to be used against a charging model a successful hit cause the attacker to lose their charging bonus.
- confer a -1 modifier to opponents trying to leave combat.

However if a whip attack is unsuccessful, this would be very unfortunate for the wielder. I believe that in such case of an unsuccessful whip strike, the counter attack from the opponent should be given a +1 modifier to represent the unwieldiness of the long whip.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts, adjustments to the above, or other alternative effects.

[Primarch]

I noticed that there are yet to be rules for character with whips or chains.
My 'Circus' trainer will most likely have a whip.
A whip may have two main advantages in combat:
1. The ability to wrap around limbs and pull an opponent to the ground.
2. The sound of a cracking whip is quite startling and intimidating.
Perhaps the whip can:
- If chosen to be used against a charging model a successful hit cause the attacker to lose their charging bonus.
- confer a -1 modifier to opponents trying to leave combat.
However if a whip attack is unsuccessful, this would be very unfortunate for the wielder. I believe that in such case of an unsuccessful whip strike, the counter attack from the opponent should be given a +1 modifier to represent the unwieldiness of the long whip.

With the myriad possibilities of weapons available, I am not going to try to cover all of them. I could fill several pages with only different varieties of swords and drive myself mad trying to write rules to make them different. Whips and chains were never really used as military weapons.* They were tools to keep slaves and animals in line using fear of pain as they could easily cut through your skin and even break small bones. Against a guy in full plate, they have no real stopping power. They also rely on keeping a distance from your opponent. If they were moving towards you, say with an axe, the whip wouldn't do much as you need it to be taut to be able to pull someone down. Similarly, a shield would prevent the whip doing much to the onrushing foe. Once they were in range, you would be facing an angry guy with an axe with what amounted to a long rope. That's not to say that it doesn't have it's uses against unarmoured targets or people at a distance. Many whips have a weighted handle and, with small blades attached to the end, they can cause real damage on a person given enough skill and training to avoid accidentally slicing the whip itself or tearing your own face off.
When I have a minute, I will add something to the Circus pack as it seems like a specialised weapon rather than a common one. Probably something like the following:
Whip - 1 Point - Counts as 1 weapon, but doesn't allow for 2 weapon fighting. - Enemy warriors are -1 Agility when in contact with this warrior.
This makes it a cheap upgrade to differentiate your characters rather than a replacement for an actual weapon available to everyone. It's also pretty simple and straightforward and synergizes well if you have another guy with a net in the same combat.

*Cossacks apparently made use of weighted horse whips as weapons, though mainly to subdue opponents rather than kill them outright. While the whip could kill if brought down hard on an unprotected skull, that wasn't it's main purpose.
The Chinese made use of a whip-chain as a martial arts weapon. It requires an incredible level of skill to use effectively, but made for a dangerous slashing and piercing weapon. It is actually several short metal rods linked together with chains and with a sharp, weighted point at the end. It could be swung or flung at targets and was hard to see when in motion. Again though, I am not sure what effect it would have on medieval armour.

[kojibear]

When I have a minute, I will add something to the Circus pack as it seems like a specialised weapon rather than a common one. Probably something like the following:
Whip - 1 Point - Counts as 1 weapon, but doesn't allow for 2 weapon fighting. - Enemy warriors are -1 Agility when in contact with this warrior.
This makes it a cheap upgrade to differentiate your characters rather than a replacement for an actual weapon available to everyone. It's also pretty simple and straightforward and synergizes well if you have another guy with a net in the same combat.

Cheers. The agility modifier makes sense and fits with what I had in mind re making it more difficult to escape from combat. For those not having gone over that rule yet, leaving combat requires an agility test.

[The Underdweller]

Just had a read through of the rules - looks simple and engaging, as I mentioned during my brief demo game.

Rules lawyer wise, here are some questions that came into my head when I read the rough draft. Apologies in advance if any of them are down to poor reading skills.

Going first - in a tie, the person who went second last time must go first, or can they choose?

Test to see if they take falling damage - test what? Agility I guess?

Cover - how much of the target needs to be covered to increase fight difficulty?

There is both a penalty to hit, and a bonus to Dodge an ranged attack that is over 12 inches away (and the

reverse for a close up shot) - is that on purpose to get people up close quicker, or to be more

realistic?

In Morale - by blocked, do you mean dodged, or resisted?

Do you need to roll to leave combat if you are fleeing?

Why do slings get -1 on their dodge test? (just curious!)

Anyway, these are all just minor details, overall it looks sound. I look forward to trying out my Croc-kin sometime!

[Primarch]

Going first - If you tie, the person who went second, must go first.

Falling is an agility test.

Cover is always a pain to work out, but roughly half the model should be covered.

The Dodge/Range is there to balance out the ranged weapons a bit and to give people who don't spam bows a chance to get closer.

By blocked, I should say Resisted. Sorry, that's from an earlier draft of the rules and it kind of stuck.

No test for fleeing, it's a pretty big penalty in itself and there is no guarantee that you will be coming back.

Sling bullets were very hard to see once fired, unlike arrows. (Though it was still hard to avoid those as well). Mainly it's just a reason to take the short ranged sling rather than the long ranged bow.

[The Underdweller]

Ok, thanks! I guess I should also mention that I like how the attacker's dice rolls affects the defender's rolls, and that you can counter missed attacks. Also the lack of charts

[Primarch]

Also the lack of charts

As much as I enjoy other skirmish games such as Cutlass, the charts (and counters) were kind of a pain. So my plan is to keep charts out of this game if at all possible.

[kojibear]

Just wanted to ask what base size and shape - if any - is suitable for Hunters of Ruin? Cheers.

[Primarch]

Just wanted to ask what base size and shape - if any - is suitable for Hunters of Ruin? Cheers.

Three feet square and shaped like an elephant dancing the flamenco.

Whatever looks appropriate I guess.