Fools rush in

So yesterday we played the Gen-Con adventure that PP released for the IKRPG. This will be just a quick first impression review of the quick start rules and scenarios. 

The adventure takes place in the city Corvis where the players have been trying to set up a mercenary charter. Some guy named Rorke hires the crew and wants them to steal a crate from some guy named Jorvis. I won't go into more details, in case I spoil something for someone. The synopsis is pretty simple, and there's basically only 2 encounters in this game - one that can be solved with social skills and one that lets you try the fighting rules. 

The game kind of reminds me of D&D 4th. There's a lot of focus on fighting, and a majority of the skills and feat will help you with just that. Of course there are skills for socializing, like negotiation, interrogation and con. But fighting will always occur, and you want to be prepared (and good) for it. And when the fighting begins it's pretty much a more "advanced" version of the miniature game - so you're gonna need maps, models and a lot of space where you're playing. 

I'm still pretty new to the Iron Kingdoms setting, and I don't know a lot of backstory, so I'll have some reading to do the next few days/weeks. Well, was it any fun you might ask? As always, with roleplaying games, it will all depend on the group you are playing with. I've always preferred games that focus on social skills and ways to solve problems without resorting to violence. But I still think I can make this work. My friend have ordered the rule book, so I'll have a chance to maybe check it out a bit next week and figure out a few things. 

Anyhow I'll be writing my own adventure/campaign for my group, and we'll give it a few tries before I'll give my final result on this game. 

Casters incoming!

From left to right - (Lord Commander Stryker) (Rhupert Carvalo) (Marcus 'Siege' Brisbane) & (Arlan Strangeways)

Got the first part of my order today (of course it's the order I placed at a Swedish store). I've opened all the blizters to check that all the parts are there, which they are. Siege, Rhupert and Arlan all seem pretty easy to assemble and paint... eStryker... seems to be a challenge. 

Stryker have a pretty odd pose on the jack he is standing on. His head is really small and when you put it in place the collar of his armor pretty much obscures his entire face. Both his arms needs to be glued in place, which give me a few option on where I want the sword (in front of his or over his head).

I still haven't made any specific lists with my new casters, but as I'll receive a few Warjack-kits soon I don't think I'll have any problems playing 35 points with some variation. But I need to start looking for some more units than the Stormblades. Currently I'm looking at some mercenary units, but that'll be another post. 

Create your character

One of the most important (and fun) aspects of a Role Playing Game is the character creation. Hours, days and weeks can be spent on creating the perfect character that you'll spend the next month, or even years, playing. So I'm gonna give you a sneak peak on what kind of characters you can create in the IKRPG.

There are basically 3 rough steps to take before you can start running around in the Iron Kingdoms looking for fortune. Race, Archetype and Career. I will try and explain every step without giving away too much.

There are seven races that you can play as in this game
 - Human (they are adaptable and gain an extra stat point or your choice)
 - Dwarf (pretty much your average dwarf from any other RPG)
 - Gobber (can't use magic, great weapons or rifles.. but they're pretty sneaky)
 - Iosan (you could just call them "high elfs")
 - Nyss (love bows and anything from the nature... can't handle anything mechanically)
 - Ogrun (big ass fighter type, can't use magic or be a good mechanic)
 - Trollkin (tough as always.. kind of a mix between Nyss and Ogrun)

The next step is to choose between four Archetypes. The Archetype will decide what careers the character may choose from and will also give the character some special and cool feats to use. The four choices are;
 - Gifted (you can wield magic and become a warcaster or something similar)
 - Intellectual (gives you some combat advantages and makes you a natural leader for the team)
 - Mighty (yeah.. you want to fight.. a lot)
 - Skilled (you're quick, nimble and dexterous)

And finally you will have to choose 2 careers out of 30 to make you path in this life. You can pretty much make anything you want, and there is really no bad or "perfect" choices here. Just go with what you want to play. I know there are a few "munchkins" you want to max out on a few things, but I won't be playing with them. The careers you can choose from are;
 - Alchemist (you can make potions and throw grenades)
 - Arcane Mechanik (you need to be gifted, but you gain the ability to control warjacks)
 - Arcanist (also requires gifted, and you're pretty much a spellcaster by now)
 - Aristocrat (only Humans, you become pretty wealthy by Iron Kingdom standards)
 - Bounty Hunter (you know how to look for people)
 - Cutthroat (pretty much as close to assassin you will come)
 - Duelist (do you want to know gambling, etiquette and guns.. this is the choice for you)
 - Explorer (you know your way around in the wild)
 - Fell Caller (only the Trollkin know the art of yelling really loud)
 - Field Mechanic (only career that lets you start with a crappy warjack)
 - Gun Mage (you like to shoot people with guns... make that magic guns)
 - Highwayman (you get a horse and can make ride-by-attacks gangsta style)
 - Investigator (a skilled detective)
 - Iron Fang (you used to serve the Khador as a pikeman, at least you kept the armor and weapon)
 - Knight (Human or Iosan only. A solid melee fighter)
 - Mage Hunter (Iosan only. You hate and hunt those pesky gifted people)
 - Man-at-Arms (every ones favorite bodyguard)
 - Military Officer (a soldier with some extra tactical knowledge)
 - Pirate (wanna smell funny, wear an eyepatch and have a peg-leg?)
 - Pistoleer (you do one thing very good... shot stuff)
 - Priest (Human only. Either you're a priest of Morrow or Menoth)
 - Ranger (ever heard of Robin Hood)
 - Rifleman (shot first ask questions later)
 - Soldier (jack of all trades, master of none)
 - Sorcerer (Gifted, duh!You also get to choose which elemental school you use for your spells)
 - Spy (more focused on seduction and disguise than fighting)
 - Stormblade (you used to serve Cygnar as a Stormblade, at least you kept the armor and weapon)
 - Thief (if it's not nailed to the floor, it's probably yours)
 - Trencher (Trollkin, Ogrun or Human only. Kind of a survivalist soldier)
 - Warcaster (Gifted. The rare and powerful battle mage)

And that's it. I've already created a dozen of characters in my mind that I would like to play. Most likely I will end up as Game Master, which suits me well. But if I get the chance to play, I can't honestly tell you what I would be playing as. Maybe the classic Gun Mage/Investigator, or the Heroic Warcaster/Knight or maybe I'll end up as the Gobber Pirate/Field Mechanic.

Calling for reinforcements

So I made a ratter huge (by my standards) order last night. I wanted to make my entire order from Discount Gaming Inc, but unfortunately they didn't have everything in stock so I made a small order from Figurspel as well. But non of the shops had a "Hunter Light Jack" available... so I'm still gonna have to use a proxy for a while, which sucks.

Any way, this is what I've ordered.

Lord Commander Stryker (aka eStryker)
Marcus "Siege" Brisbane
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Arlan Strangeways
3x Stormgunners
Stormclad
Heavy Warjack kit (Cyclone, Defender, Ironclad)
And the brand new Heavy Warjack kit with the option to build the three guys;

This will give me a few options for some different lists I want to try out. Both eStryker and Siege kind of want the same units, I could still use some Swordnights or some Arcane Tempest Gun Mages but they'll have to wait. The most important thing right now is to get hold of some good magnets so I can easily swap the arms on my plastic warjack kits.

Iron Kingdoms

So I downloaded and printed the sample adventure of IKRPG that PP released on Gen-Con. I've only skimmed through it but it looks like solid and fun RPG. 

I like the idea that the group is, more or less, a unit of mercenaries hired by people to do their dirty work. I've already built a few scenarios and plots in my mind. As far as character creation go there is a lot to think about. Not only do you have seven races to choose from, there's also over 30 "classes"... and to make it a bit more confusing you need to take 2 classes when rolling your character. A shitload of combinations come to mind. 

I haven't been looking at the rules so much (I'll probably wait until I have my hands on the book itself), but it reminds me a lot of the miniature game, which is good. Many of the rules you can figure out by just hearing the name - pathfinder, gunfighter, though and so on. 

We'll probably play the sample adventure this week or weekend. I'll try to give you a better first impression (and maybe some pictures) from our game. 

Cygnar vs Khador (pStryker vs eButcher) Battle Report

This weekend we (me and two friends) went to Skellefteå, a town a few miles south, to a shop called Legend for some Warmachine. Warhammer is the main game here in Sweden, but we hope we can get a least a couple of players interested. So far a few guys have gotten into the game and will hopefully order some models soon. 

Anyway, back to the batrep. Tonight it was time for the great enemies Cygnar and Khador to face off. Just as last time I'm playing with my pStryker list. I like playing with the same list for a few games, it lets me know the strengths and weaknesses of my army. 

pStryker (+6)

 - Ironclad (7)

 - Lancer (6)

 - Squire (2)

Journeyman Warcaster (3)

 - Charger (4)

Stormblade Infantry (5)

The Black 13th (4)

My friend (or enemy for tonight) played this eButcher list

eButcher (+6)

 - Spriggan (10)

Greath Bears (5)

Widowmakers (4)

Widowmaker Marksman (2)

Fenris (5)

Gorman (2)

Ogrun Bokur (3)

Setup

Khador won the roll for first turn, but let me start. I didn't know what to expect from Khador so I played my standard strategy, put the majority of my force in the middle and try and flank with B13 and Charger.

Khador setup everything pretty much in the middle and advance deployed the Widowmakers behind cover.

Cygnar - Turn 1

Every Jack got 1 focus and ran up the table, same with the Stormblades. B13 ran up the flank (out of camera). Cast Arcane Shield on Charger and Ironclad. The Stormblades got Blur this round to protect them as much as possible from the Widowmakers.

Khador - Turn 1

Butcher rolled for focus and got a 1. Spriggan got a focus and ran across the table along with the Ogrun and Great Bears, while Fenris ran up the hill on my left flank. The Widowmakers shot at the Stormblades, but only managed to kill a single model, the Marksman killed a second one tough.

Cygnar - Turn 2

I only kept Arcane Shield (with Stryker) this turn. The Charger got 3 focus from the Journeyman and took 2 boosted shots at Fenris, killing his horse and leaving him with a single wound. Stormblades advanced and shot at Ogrun inflicting 5 wounds. B13 (once again out of camera) killed 2 Widowmakers and the Marksman. The Lancer moved up next to the cover while the Ironclad remained behind a few inches.

Stryker cast Earthquake on the Spriggan, knocking over Butcher, Gorman, Ogrun and the Spriggan. And after that I cast Arcane Blast on the Great Bears killing 2 of them and leaving the last on standing with only 2 wounds.

Khador - Turn 2

Butcher rolled for focus, and once again rolled a 1. Fenris charged the Charger but didn't cripple any system. The remaining Widowmakers killed a Stormblade. Ogrun stood up and advanced on the Stormblades, the Spriggan did the same. The last Great Bear charged the Lancer, but due to cover and Set-defense he missed his attack.

Cygnar - Turn 3

Stryker kept Arcane Shield this turn and allocated 3 focus to the Ironclad and a single focus to the Lancer. Charger got 3 focus and killed Fenris without any problems. A Stormblade managed to kill Ogrun and the remaining 2 caused a single wound/box to the Spriggan. Ironclad charged the Spriggan but didn't cripple any of the systems, but he lost quite a few boxes. The Lancer missed a boosted attack against the Great Bear. The B13 killed the remaining 2 Widowmakers.

Khador - Turn 3

Butcher rolled for focus and got a 6 (aka 7 focus this turn). Spriggan got 3 focus and Butcher used his feat. Spriggan killed the two Stormblades in front of him. Gorman advanced and threw a bomb at Stryker, but missed and the scatter fell short. The Great Bear once again missed its attack. Butcher charged the Ironclad and killed it with only 2 attacks (ouch!).

Seeing how outnumbered he was, Butcher threw down his axe and surrendered to Cygnar. Victory once again for the boys in blue.

Conclusion

I don't think I made any big mistakes this game. I had some very good dice rolls this game. The only really bad roll I had was with the Lancer when I made my boosted attack roll.

Khador on the other hand made a huge mistake when he kept all his units so close together. A single Earthquake and Arcane Blast pretty much wrecked his entire force and battle plan on a single turn. And two pretty bad focus rolls with Butcher didn't make it better.

Short paint update

About 99% done with my 2 Light Jacks, just got to give them a litte more details and they'll be completely done.  

B13, Stryker and Journeyman have had some work done to them. Note to self, never again use blue primer on anything except Jacks and/or Stormblades. It's been a pain in the ass.