Historicon is coming up and with it, my annual buying binge in the Vendor's hall, also known as the "Pit of Financial Despair" by my lovely wife. Rather than fall victim to the wily marketing pitches and glamorous vendor "super-model" spokespersons, I thought a little preparation would be in order. I've got my eye on the 28mm Warlord Imperial Romans, but need some advice on an ancients ruleset - hence the poll to the upper right of the blog. My son has gotten into, shudder, GW's Warhammer and is building a chaos army so I also plan to use my future stout Romans to battle him as a stand in fantasy force.
I really like the Warlord Romans, but am not that interested in Celts as foes - any recommendation for 28mm foes such as Parthians or others would be appreciated.
One note of Historicon, I think I may be one of the few, but I still wish it was being held in Baltimore - I could have traveled to and stayed on my boat rather than a 2hr car ride and hotel. Perhaps "The Wire" wasn't the tourism boom Baltimore hoped it would be?
I am more of a Dark Ages buff than an Imperial Roman guy, though I am working on some Dacians. I have really enjoyed the Warhammer Ancients for Dark Ages. That said, I haven't run any Roman stuff with it yet. They do have a new edition of the rules out, which has gotten mixed reviews.
ReplyDeleteThe enemies of Imperial Rome included Celts, Gauls, Germans, Dacians, Scythians, Parthians, various Spanish/African/Greek tribes in revolt and that's about it.
ReplyDeleteGood idea about the poll, I will be quite curious about the results myself.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to resist though getting into another period.
john
Miles:
ReplyDeleteI voted for WAB, but that's mainly because it's the one I'm most familiar with. There is another local group here who are into Crusader rules too - I think they're happy with it too (some used to play WAB). There is also a loyal following of DBM & now FOG, but those are played in 15mm. Since your son plays Warhammer, he'll be familiar with the basic WAB rules.
As far as opponents for your Romans - Parthians would be good; although a bit later, the Sassanids and Huns would also be formidable opponents.
Best wishes, Dean
I'm a confirmed FOG Ancients player - best rules I've come across so far.
ReplyDeleteThe Romans (depends on the era) pretty much fought everybody. Consul names them above but you could include Carthaginians, the Successors (Greece, Egypt, Persia), Syracusans, Attalids, Spanish, Parthians, Germans, Illyrians etc.
Depends on which era Romans you use, you can't really fight Carthaginians with Imperial Romans, unless of course you're not that fussy and I think the last battles against successors used the older style of uniform.
ReplyDeleteSpanish should be fine though.
I'm not that fussy about exactly matching timeframes, as long as the game can be balanced. I am leaning toward Parthians or Huns just to have the offset of an infantry based army vs a calvary based one. In any event, it's always fun to start the in-depth learning process for a new period!
ReplyDeleteI partially agree and I've never been one to pay too much attention to a few hundred years of history! I'd steer clear of Huns. Parthians would lend themselves to many more eras and could be used in a variety of armies going back as far as Alexander and beyond!
ReplyDeleteI like the thought of the infantry-reliant Romans against a quick, horse archer-based/light infantry force. Would make for an interesting game!
Consul.
Voted for WAB but I've heard very good things about FOG - though I've never played it. A really good Roman army is a great one to collect. I still regret the one I sold off years ago BUT there is so much available in plastic with all sorts of accessories (look at the Warlords range etc) that doing so is not nearly as prohibitive as it once was (dare you to try THAT argument on your Minister for Finance!) Go to Historicon with a clear conscience and spending plan - hunt down that bargain man!
ReplyDeleteBy the way - a few of us here think 'The Wire' is one of the best things we've seen on the old Idiot Box but definitely NOT a recommendation to visit Baltimore anytime soon!
Cheers,
Doc
Hmmm, turning the around the classic "It's a bargain" line of reasoning onto it's main user. Yes, that might work, very risky, but maybe, just maybe.....
ReplyDeleteGiven the quality of the new plastics that are coming out, I don't see how one can really contemplate starting a high figure count army without using them. I will be getting a bunch of Romans from the Warlord line as soon as the Architects of War website goes live.
I also think that "The Wire" was possibly the best TV series I've ever seen. The dialog was fantastic.