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| Hail Caesar and Kings of War http://wwww.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=26885 |
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| Author: | Ringil [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 4:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Hey, Just wondering if anyone here has played either of these systems and could comment their experiences. Is it worth t'he investment?? Is there anyone who plays these systems 'round the Nottingham area as well?? Just looking for a cheaper mass battle system than warhammer so any other suggestions would be appreciated  Billy |
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| Author: | Coenus Scaldingus [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 5:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Got the HC book, but haven't played it yet. Heard many good things about it though. One of the advantages is that it's very flexible - not surprising, considering that the rules are supposed to be used from several millenia B.C. to the 1300s or thereabouts. While there are the seperate books with armylists (and points values), you are generally supposed to just have a look at your era and area of interest, pick some units, give them applicable rules (normal book has basic profiles for light/medium/heavy infantry and cavalry etc., as well as a range of special rules to give them). So Spartan hoplites would be heavy infantry (with some moral boosting special rules) in their period, while Scottish gallowglass would have similar rules in theirs. Scenarios are mostly supposed to be made yourself from what I remember, using historical situations - Arminius' Germanic tribes ambushing Varus' Roman legions, Vikings invading King Alfred's territories etc. Forces don't have to be, or indeed aren't supposed to be, balanced: it will take some effort to win if you're outnumbered, outclassed or both, but that's the idea of a historical simulation. With the supplement books, typical Xpts armylists can be made for a wide variety of factions, for a more standard gaming experience. The actual rules themselves are very interesting: they truly make you the general, commanding your troops.. and every now and then, you orders are misunderstood, ignored or not heard at all! Tactics, intelligent manoeuvring etc are important, although some lousy dicerolls can of course still cost you the game. Before comitting to buy, you can have a look at some articles on the WG website to get an impression of the game (i.e. http://www.warlordgames.com/10274/hail- ... at-system/ ). It is a much more gentlemanly approach than you would expect from e.g. WHFB, and is ill-suited for very competitive play I think. As you can imagine, the rules can easily be adapted for all manner of circumstances: you can make Mordor Orcs 'medium infantry' with some morale penalty (examples are included for units that are freshly levied) and put them against much more elite Númenóreans. When sticking to historical scenarios, the main downside is of course that you need two armies of roughly the same point in time, which means that finding the right opponent can be tricky! Best to see what is played in the area and adapt to that, or simply collect two opposing armies yourself. Shouldn't be too difficult finding opponents in the Nottingham area, seeing how the Warlord Games HQ is situated there... |
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| Author: | Spacefrog [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 5:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Have not tried Hail Caesar, but I will not miss a chance to toot Kings of war's horn. :9 Personally I think it is one of the best rulesets, for massed combat, out there. The rules are fast, easy to learn, and free! and few people care if you use models from other ranges, heck the ally-rules even encourage mixing across the factions, if you can't put together an army from a single race. If you already have a Warhammer army, there's a good chance you can use it in Kings of war too as both games take from the same fantasy stereotypes. So with the rules being free, there's no reason why you should not at least give it a try (You could even try it out with some simple paper squares cut out, if you don't have two armies, to see how the rules fit your tastes) That being said the Mantic armies are probably some of the cheapest models out there |
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| Author: | JamesR [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 5:49 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Id recommend Hail Caesar, it's by Warlord games and I love their games, great rules and model ranges. I'm personally not a fan of over-the-top kind of games and ranges (hence I do not like Warhammer or 40k) |
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| Author: | Ringil [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 7:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Thanks fr the replies, May seem like a stupid question but how should I go about finding opponents?? Are there any dedicated websites for the like this one?? Thanks for the help, Billy |
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| Author: | Coenus Scaldingus [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 8:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Both Warlord Games (Hail Caesar) and Mantic (Kings of War) have an official forum on their website.. those seem like a logical start! Should also point you to additonal related websites and the likes. |
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| Author: | Dorthonion [ Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
KOW and HC are on my possible list as a starter point for creating a new massed battle ruleset for Middle-earth. When I will get the time to develope the idea is another matter, but it is more an issue of balancing statlines and having some special rules that reflect the powers/magic and general capabilities of the many races and realms. |
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| Author: | Highlordell [ Tue Dec 03, 2013 5:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
As has been explained all too well above, the Hail Caesar rules are fantastic for casual play, and are designed to make you feel like you ARE the general. If you're interested in history and wargames, I don't think there's a better ruleset about for the period covered (heck there's even a list for the Northern European Bronze Age), and its very flexible to adapt how you want. The models are cheap (40 Macedonians for £20  ), and if you're in Nottingham you should have no problem finding players.
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| Author: | Dorthonion [ Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:50 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
By the way, Warlord have a bit of a rules sale on their non-Bolt Action rules up until the end of January, if anyone was contemplating 'Unleashing Hell' or similar... http://www.warlordgames.com/31044/new-y ... -discount/ |
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| Author: | Crucium Giger [ Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Hail Caesar and Kings of War |
Our small group plays KOW and love it, so much so we use the rules to play LOTR games. I've been making up the stat lines as needed so they are a work in progress however I've been thinking about merging the actual LOTR stat lines into the KOW rules but I'm not sure how well that would work yet. |
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