Not only was it responsible for a lifetime of pushing plastic solders around boards/tables/gardens/floors etc it was and still is an absolute blast to play almost 30 years after it was released!. Proof of this is the fact that not only did it provide my gateway into gaming it has also had the same effect on my sons (aged 8 and 5) who have almost recovered the spirit blade and are on a crash course with a risen nasty from my youth!. They actually badger me for the next game!. Its even got to the point where they ask to help when im sorting minis and getting ready to play a game! (' daddy are you playing an army game?, CAN I PLAY!!!??'). This if nothing else is proof im a responsible parent!. Since i have been revisiting this wonderful bit of gaming history (yep, its 'retro', which shows my age like nothing else!), and since i have been playing it with two monst...er cherubs who have a collective great imagination for a 'tactical advantage' (e.g. 'daddy can i be the barbarian?'. 'In that case can i be the Gargoyle?!!') i have been required to think about the rules and have come up with a few thoughts to add to the game.
MISSILE ATTACKS
Yep the boys are taken with the idea of shooting orcs in the bottom (their words). I solve this issue by allowing missile attacks in the game but have also introduced some baddies with them too!. To make this work i have come up with the following:
Any player may have missile attacks if the evil wizard player allows it and a missile weapon is depicted on the mini used to represent the character. I dont worry about range as most of the rooms are too small to make this much of an issue however and i also allow a 360 degree field of fire following the idea that minis can be turned to face combat opponents in hand to hand so why not when shooting!. I do however insist on line of sight, if the way is blocked by a player/monster/feature/wall the shots not on!. I give all missile attacks 2 attack dice (sometimes i go easy with smaller monsters such as goblins and only give them 1). Also i only allow one shooting attack OR hand to hand attack per move.
CHARACTER CREATION
I also have come up with a simple method to allow the boys to go through my collection of minis to pick their character. They enjoy rummaging through daddy's 'army men' and i'm not going to stop them!. This has led to all kinds of combos (dwarf snipers, ogres, barbarian brothers and their pet dogs, even a mission to defeat an orc warlord taken up by 2 Gargoyles!.... the poor guy never stood a chance!). I let them pick their characters rpg(ish) style by using this method:
1: Each character starts with 5 attack dice which they allocate to attack and defense on their character sheet. e.g. ATTACK 2 DEFENSE 3 etc. This stands for the rest of the characters adventuring.
2: Body points are 1d3+4. This gives a workable scale that gives enough challenge while not being too harsh.
3: Skills and Equipment
I let them swap 1 attack dice for an item from the list bellow:
- Attack diagonally.
-Parry/Dodge: an enemy rolls 1 less attack dice in combat.
-Missile Attack (see above)
-Shield: Enemy missile attacks roll 1 less attack dice (or must re-roll if they already only roll 1 dice).
-Tool kit: You may attempt to disarm any trap in the same room by rolling one combat dice and getting a shield.
-Fast: Re-roll 1 dice for movement each turn.
-One of the 3 card spell decks.
Just a few thoughts that we have had lots of fun with, and tinkering with the rules to make them fit the type of game we are after is the Wronghammer way!.
Before i sign off i would like to give a huge welcome to Mr Generalissimo Forde and Mr Peter Bonami, two individuals of undeniable taste (and questionable judgement!) that are now a big part of the most exclusive group in modern wargaming......followers of this blog!. Thank you gents it is very encouraging to know you are enjoying my streemofconcusnessmentalsplurgelikerambelings!. Im not great at this new fangled tech so if you have a blog or twitter thingy or other socially networked doodah please feel free to say hello and put a link in the comments section.
Anyhoo, till next time.....
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