Wargame, meet Roleplay. Roleplay, meet Wargame.

[jdrakeh]

Some miniature wargames are just that, but others closely border the edge of roleplaying proper, much as the original Dungeons & Dragons rules did. These games interest me and, lately, I've actually been eyeballing one of them (Warlord by Reaper Miniatures) for potential use as a rules light RPG in the vein of OD&D (and I do mean Original D&D, not the subsequent Basic D&D).

The Warlord rule book contains several basic templates for broad heroic archetypes (e.g., Hero, Cleric, and Mage), as well as several sub-types (Ranger, High Priest, Warlock, etc). Additionally, it contains basic rules for melee and ranged combat, casting divine and arcane magic, performing stunts (most of which are non-combat actions such as climbing, tightrope walking, etc), and a slew of special abilities.

Has anybody else ever used Warlord (or any other wargame) in this capacity? That is, have you ever picked up a wargame and utilized it as a basic, retro-style, RPG? I think it's probably more sane than it sounds (after, all GURPS, D&D, and many other early RPGs started off as wargame rules with some options for model individualization tacked on), but I need some reassurance

 

[pogre]

The Rackham game Confrontation just came out with a new supplement called Dogs of War. There are a ton of roleplay elements in it, although it has a flavor more akin to Mordheim. Campaign style miniatures games, where troops gain experience and are faced with missions are some of my favorite kinds of games period.

 

[bolen]

Isn't this exactly how D&D was originally created? I think it was Gygax's group playing a small squad combat game and then they added magic and monsters. Slowly it evolved into a game where one player controled the monsters and the others had Heroes (which we now call PC's)

There is an extermely oversimplified history. (please correct me if I am wrong)

 

[ChristianW]

I did something like that with Car Wars. Pedestrians in the game had access to a few skills (driving, guns, running, etc) and 3 hit points. They also had a move rate. That was it.

Nevertheless, we manged to pull off quite a few sessions with the PCs either engaging in traditional autoduels, or getting hired for jobs on foot. In retrospect, I am amazed at how smoothly it all went.

 

[jdrakeh]

Isn't this exactly how D&D was originally created? I think it was Gygax's group playing a small squad combat game and then they added magic and monsters. Slowly it evolved into a game where one player controled the monsters and the others had Heroes (which we now call PC's)

There is an extermely oversimplified history. (please correct me if I am wrong)

More or less, yes. Which is why I'm interested in it. In my experience a wargame handles tactical combat much more concisely than most RPGs do (with far less rules bloat, to boot) and the roleplay elements come about organically, rather than as the result of artificially imposed play structure via rules.

I've played in a few Battletech games like this and the result was far more enjoyable for me than most full-blown RPG campaigns that I've played through. This is the first time that I've looked into running such ag ame, though. I'm not crazy about straight up wargaming, but I very much like the next rung on the evolutionary ladder.

Technically, what I'm talking about is a step above pure wargaming,l but just one step shy of being a full-blown second generation RPG, as well (as was the case with OD&D, circa 1974). This rung on the evolutionary ladder of RPGs possess unique qualities that are absent in both the pure wargame and the pure RPG - qualtities that I've found very enjoyable.

 

[gamecat]

Done it w/ battletech.

Not a bad way to spend time.