[Malhavoc] cry havoc!

[rounser]

Except for both versions of BattleSystem. Presto! Instant egg!

Only, as touched upon earlier, Battlesystem didn't exactly suit campaign needs....wasn't very convenient to use for starters, being more of a new game than an expansion to D&D. From first impressions, it looks like Cry Havoc is much more user friendly, and an expansion to D&D rather than a related, but different, game.

Note too, that Chainmail was "another game" rather than integrated into D&D. Wonder if the same principle will doom the D&D miniatures game.

 

[Emiricol]

Only, as touched upon earlier, Battlesystem didn't exactly suit campaign needs....wasn't very convenient to use for starters, being more of a new game than an expansion to D&D. From first impressions, it looks like Cry Havoc is much more user friendly, and an expansion to D&D rather than a related, but different, game.

Note too, that Chainmail was "another game" rather than integrated into D&D. Wonder if the same principle will doom the D&D miniatures game.

Good points both. Reasons to be looking forward to seeing some reviews, for sure. Hopefully it suits my needs!

 

[drnuncheon]

Note too, that Chainmail was "another game" rather than integrated into D&D. Wonder if the same principle will doom the D&D miniatures game.

Cry Havoc is exactly what I wanted from Chainmail: a large-scale combat system that integrated with the D&D rules (as opposed to a 'slightly different but not really' set of rules for handling battles that D&D would do better.)

Yeah, I know that the purpose of Chainmail was to be a minis game, but I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have done better if it had been a minis game /and/ a mass combat system, because then you would have had buy-in from D&D players who wanted that sort of thing.

As it is, CH is well worth the $10 (and I'm more than tempted to get the print version when it comes out.)

J

 

[Creeping Death]

How high does Cry Havoc scale? Can I pit an army of millions against another army of millions? I'm thinking Blood war here.

 

[Agamon]

Must...wait...for...print...version *twich, twitch*

 

[Eben]

Thanks, Varianor. I've been looking into mass combat systems for RPG's for quite some years. Needless to say that all was in vain. The Battlesystem has been touched upon. Others were WarLaw (for rolemaster), but this just added too much complexity to an already heavy system. Chainmail was a big let-down and AEG's WAR didn't get there either.
There is a mass combat system in Slaine, but I think it would be hard to use as a tabletop wargame, since that is my ultimate goal. I know a lot of you guy's aren't much into the mini thing, but me and my group are, so it would be nice to be able to crossover from time to time.

Cheers!

 

[GamerMan12]

When I first saw that this was going to be available, I was very interested. I had not done any large combats in my campaigns, since my previous mixed results using other tabletop combat systems. (I am an experienced miniatures wargamer.)

I too would really like to see a well written review on the product,
based on actual play and experience with other mass combat systems. Although after the hype on Monte's site make that 2 full reviews, to convince me.

GamerMan12

 

[Cor Azer]

How high does Cry Havoc scale? Can I pit an army of millions against another army of millions? I'm thinking Blood war here.

It scales fairly decently in my opinion. It has two combat systems - unit skirmish level and massive army level. The massive army level is much more abstract and I can't really comment on it because I skimmed that section really fast.

I really like the unit-skirmish level combat. It uses very similar mechanics to regular D&D combat, which will be nice. My main peeve is the use of a table to resolve the number of hits - I don't like using tables. But the formula isn't too tough, so I should be able to cope.

 

[King_Stannis]

There was a mass combat system for 2e. It was called Birthright, and it was pretty darn cool if you ask me. Simple but elegent, incorporating magic, terrain, archers, etc. And it was true mass combat - each war card was 200 men. We had battles with thousands of men on each side.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Creeping Death: How high does it scale? The base system uses units of 10. But I see no reason that you couldn't extend the principles and use units of 100, etc.