Homebrew and Fandex playtesting: Big Jim style

There are many ways of playtesting Fandex and Homebrew units, these are the methods my group employs. They are far from perfect but they work for us.

The first thing we do when trying out an new unit is to never let the creator use the unit in the initial games. This has the effect of keeping over the top unit design to a bare minimum. If you play against your homebrew unit and feel that it is unfair or unbalanced it usually is. It has kept everyone's heads firmly in balanced unit design.

The second thing we do is actually playtest the living heck outta the units. For every ten games we re-evaluate the unit, from points to stats; making every effort to keep things fair and balanced. This is done by the playtesting group as a whole. Then we playtest the unit some more!

The third thing we do once we have plenty of playtesting done is put the unit up for a vote to end playtesting. If it passes the vote we add it to our unofficial units binder.

The fourth and final step we take if the project is more than a single unit is to send it out to our friends out of the area for playtesting. Now that I have GiF I will be putting all of the new units we create up for open playtesting to the Blog community at large on top of our out of the area friends.

So for example the Soul Reapers mini-dex project is going into its fourth month of open playtesting and we are getting great feedback. I appreciate all the fantastic input, good or bad.

The final thing I want to mention is to have a thick skin, you are going to get harsh feedback. It does not mean that what you are doing is bad, some people just don't 'get it.' Don't scrap a project because you get negative feedback, just look at what you are doing and make sure you are presenting it correctly. So be open to all feedback take the good with the bad and learn from the experience.

Fan-dex design, Big Jim style part 1

When I set about designing anything homebrew for the 40k tabletop, I always stay on the cautious side of design. While I appreciate the overly ambitious projects that many gamers try, I have found that less is more. I always try to design something that has a unique flair of its own, but can easily have it's rules and wargear summarized on one or two pages. This makes it much easier for an opponent to consider playing against.

While I never expect anyone from outside of my immediate gaming group to play against my fan-dex, I have been pretty successful getting to use the Soul Reapers outside of the group. I honestly believe this is because of the minimalistic style I have chosen for my work.

Now if I had gone the overambitious route by adding all six units to the project that the group and I had initially wanted too, I highly doubt I would have ever had the opportunity to every playtest this outside of the group. In stead I added two plus a unit upgrade and it seems to have been well received so far.

When starting out you need to have a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve, but you must be open to feedback and making the proper adjustments to the list. After all what is the point of creating a fan-dex if you are never going to get to use it?

Creating a Fan-dex is a lot of work, so requires a lot of dedication. It also requires a thick skin, as you will take a lot of criticism. Just remember not a lot of other gamers are going to 'get it' as they are happily entrenched in the 'GW Matrix.'

First off designing an offshoot of an existing codex is the best route to get your 'feet wet' in the fan-dex realm. They tend to be the easiest projects to balance if you keep your goals reasonable. I am of the honest opinion that creating a fan-dex that is not an offshoot needs to be done by a group not an individual. This is because they are the hardest thing to playtest and balance.

Here are a couple of tips for those just starting out.

Points values can be a real pain in the rear to come up with as it seems GW do not a have a clear formula anymore. So I always try to find something comparable to what I am creating and work from there, often adding a point or two initially for balance sake. Sometimes the extra points stay in the final product, but often they do get dropped. Again this is on the cautious side of design, but it is what I have found to work well.

When creating special characters I almost always add 20 points to the Character type automatically before considering wargear or Special Rules. Stat increases to WS/BS are worth 1 point, S/I/A/LD worth 5 points, T/W are worth 10 points each.

Now all of these ideas are far from perfect, but design needs to begin somewhere.
Always aim for balance throughout the entire design process. This will involve dedicated playtesting, and I do mean a lot of playtesting.

Next time I will go over methods of playtesting.

Just a quick heads up

I am having computer problems so will only be online sporadically for the next few days.

Here is what I will be working on while off line.

Xusia is about half painted and looking slick so far.

I will have a minor update to the Soul Reapers mini-dex this week tweaking a few things.

I have started to work on my Realm of Battle board I won back in December, so expect some pretty pics soon.

Cheers,
-Jim

Xusia modeling completed

Here is Xusia the Master of Malevolence completed and ready for paint. I am quite pleased with the outcome. My Pop say's that "he screams Special Character!"







I cannot wait to get him painted!

Does the 40k Bloggosphere want or need a hub for house rules and Fandex's?

I have been giving some thought lately to the idea of offering to make Galaxy in Flames a hub for all things Homebrew. From house rules, to new units or vehicles, all the way up to entire Fandex's.

Part of the reason I have been thinking about doing this is to help my fellow 40k Bloggers get the word out about there unique projects. It could even lead to interested playtesters for these types of projects.

It would also make for a great place to bounce ideas off of like minded bloggers.

I would also hope that is might just open the eyes of some of the closed minded gamers out there. Officialdom can really stifle creativity if we choose to let it.

This is from a recent post I made on the Dice like Thunder forums as they are getting ready to do a Podcast on Homebrew fandex's. I just want everyone to know where I am coming from here.

"The closed mindedness of some gamers shocks me sometimes; fandexs and homebrews are meant for casual play, I cannot imagine any of us are talking about making a tourney legal fandex.

As someone who has been playing 40k since RT it is hard for me to stifle my creativity and not make nifty new units for campaigns or general use in story driven play. This was something that was heavily encouraged in RT, so much so that they had the points formula in the MRB. I know that times have changed it does not mean that my group and I have to.

While I understand the desire to play 40K with official rules, but it is not the only way to play and GW are far from perfect at games design. Now I am not claiming to be a games designer, but I have been involved in the mechanics discussions, and playtesting of a few published sets of historical rules sets over my many years of gaming. So I do know my way around the subject. The hardest part of designing new stuff for 40k is the apparent abandonment of a strict points formula in GW's game design process.

This is why I cannot stress enough to playtest the heck outta any fandex or homebrew stuff. When you think you've got it balanced do more playtesting. If you can get outside help with playtesting that can help a lot.

I currently have 6 gamers from three countries playtesting my fandex, and it is going well so far. Because of the outside help we have made some great changes from the extra input. By the time that the final version of the Dex goes up it will have been in design for 2 years and playtested as a whole list for almost 18 months. Which is pretty much how it's rumored that GW does things, and I am pretty sure that GW ain't telling any of their internal testers to try to break the list; like I am telling my external ones to do.

Of course this topic is always full of debate and grey areas. At least for me, I have found as I have gotten older I’m enjoying more story driven games than competitive ones, I am going to less and less tournaments."


With all that said is there any interest in making a hub for all things unofficial for 40k?

Soul Reapers Mini-dex V-3 Update

Ok guys later than I had planned here is the 3rd update to the Soul Reapers mini-dex.

The Soul Reapers Mini-dex Version 3
Download Here

During the initial phases of the codex design we had thought about adding three different units to the list: Rage Zombies, Chaos Cultists and a new type of Daemon. Well we have finally made a decision on which to add to the codex.

We decided to add the Daemon unit to the army list.

Gore Daemons

Gore Daemons are brutish creatures of the Warp that hunger for blood and carnage. They are the thought to be created from the souls of Chaos Space Marines who served the Dark Gods, never pledging themselves to any one Chaos God. So strong was their dedication to the Dark Gods and bond with their traitorous brothers that once their mortal life is over, their soul ascends and fights on for eternity bringing glory to Chaos. They deck themselves out with thick armor and carry large two-handed axes forged in their hellish Daemon realms.

WS-4, BS-4, S-5, T-4, W-1, I-4, A-2, Save-4+, Points-20

Unit type:
Infantry

Squad composition:
5-10 Gore Daemons

Wargear:
Armor
Two- handed axe

Special Rules:
Fearless
Rending
5+ Invulnerable save

Limited numbers: There may never be more Gore Daemons than Lesser Daemons in a Soul Reapers army.


Other Updates

We have adding a one point increase per model in the army that gets the Fear is for the Weak special rule.

Wargear
(In addition to the Wargear listed on pages 81-88 of the Codex Chaos Space Marines)

Demo Pack: They may be relatively small and compact, demo packs are extremely destructive. Usually used to breach the wall of enemy fortifications, they are also fantastic against enemy armor.

Warp Conductor: The Psychic Hoods that the Apostles of Malevolence possessed during the Great Crusade have been long since discarded as they had fallen into disrepair. Leaving the forces of the Soul Reapers vulnerable to the psychic powers of their foes. This has been the case until recently, on Ehdan the Dark Mechanicus uncovered an ancient STC for a warp conductor. It was used as a dampening field to keep warp fiends from being able to manifest. The Dark Mechanicus have reworked the design to fit into the mounts for the old Psychic Hoods.

An Apostle that possesses a Warp Conductor may nullify any psychic power on a 4+ that is used within 12 inches of the Apostle. Additionally if a 1 is rolled as a result, the Sorcerer suffers a S7, AP2 attack.


Psychic Powers


All Apostles of Malevolence may use one psychic power a turn. The only exception is if they have been upgraded to a Master of Sorcery, and then the Apostle may attempt to use two powers a turn. All psychic powers are used following the rules given in the Warhammer 40,000 BRB.

Apostles of Malevolence may choose from the following Powers found on page 88 of the Chaos Space Marine Codex:

Doombolt
Warp Time
Wind of Chaos
Gift of Chaos

Chains of Torment: The Apostle creates small warp rifts under his foes, launching ethereal chains that rend flesh to the bone in an attempt to drag the targets into the warp.

Chains of torment is a shooting attack that may target any non-vehicle unit, with the following profile:

Range 18, Strength 6, AP 5, Type: Assault D6+1, Pinning

Added to the HQ section of the CSM codex replacing the Sorcerer entry on Page 93.

Apostle of Malevolence
Same stats and options as the Chaos Sorcerer minus the Marks of Chaos, with the following additions.
Upgrade options:
Master of Sorcery: 20 points
Warp Conductor: 15 points

Psychic power: Chains of Torment 25 points

Aspiring Champion of Chaos

I've finally got my painting groove back! Sometimes it's funny the models that inspire you when you are in a painting rut. I've really been trying hard to get some painting done on my character minis for my Reapers and Wolves, but just wasn't making any real headway.

Then I was sitting here yesterday and this Aspiring Champ model just started screaming at me to be painted. Who am I to argue with the powers of Chaos!?!






Well as you can see he is painted and I am working on the other three Aspiring Champs I had sitting next to him.

Mini-dex update info 1/23/10

Hey guys, sorry the January update is running a bit late. Here is a list of some of the Changes that will go into the update, I'll be posting on Monday.

Wargear
(In addition to the Wargear listed on pages 81-88 of the Codex Chaos Space Marines)

Demo Pack: They may be relatively small and compact, demo packs are extremely destructive. Usually used to breach the wall of enemy fortifications, they are also fantastic against enemy armor.

Warp Conductor: The Psychic Hoods that the Apostles of Malevolence possessed during the Great Crusade have been long since discarded as they had fallen into disrepair. Leaving the forces of the Soul Reapers vulnerable to the psychic powers of their foes. This has been the case until recently, on Ehdan the Dark Mechanicus uncovered an ancient STC for a warp conductor. It was used as a dampening field to keep warp fiends from being able to manifest. The Dark Mechanicus have reworked the design to fit into the mounts for the old Psychic Hoods.

An Apostle that possesses a Warp Conductor may nullify any psychic power on a 4+ that is used within 12 inches of the Apostle. Additionally if a 1 is rolled as a result, the Sorcerer suffers a S7, AP2 attack.


Psychic Powers


All Apostles of Malevolence may use one psychic power a turn. The only exception is if they have been upgraded to a Master of Sorcery, and then the Apostle may attempt to use two powers a turn. All psychic powers are used following the rules given in the Warhammer 40,000 BRB.

Apostles of Malevolence may choose from the following Powers found on page 88 of the Chaos Space Marine Codex:

Doombolt
Warp Time
Wind of Chaos
Gift of Chaos

Chains of Torment: The Apostle creates small warp rifts under his foes, launching ethereal chains that rend flesh to the bone in an attempt to drag the targets into the warp.

Chains of torment is a shooting attack that may target any non-vehicle unit, with the following profile:

Range 18, Strength 6, AP 5, Type: Assault D6+1, Pinning

Added to the HQ section of the CSM codex replacing the Sorcerer entry on Page 93.

Apostle of Malevolence
Same stats and options as the Chaos Sorcerer minus the Marks of Chaos, with the following additions.
Upgrade options:
Master of Sorcery: 20 points
Warp Conductor: 15 points

Psychic power: Chains of Torment 25 points

We are still debating the addition of Chaos Cultists, but may add them to at least get your take on the idea.

Looking back on 35 years of Wargaming: part two

The nineties brought sweeping changes to my gaming scene, with my first career. I struggled for a couple of years getting in more than a game or two a month. One thing I didn’t struggle with was keeping current on my miniatures purchases and painting!

I didn’t get my gaming groove back until just before the release of second ed 40k. While second ed was a train wreck in some ways it was brilliant in others. I had moved to Tuscon Arizona and did not know many people there, but that all changed when I found Games Unlimited one of the local game shops. It became my home away from home, if I wasn’t working I was there playing games. This was the most gaming I had ever done; I was getting in 1-2 games 6-7 days a week. I was in full on geek mode and I was getting my game on!

Then it happened the first ever codex release Space Wolves; my beloved Grey Marines from my early days of Rogue Trader got dipped in the background Awesome-sauce and got the first ever codex!



I had always liked Jess Goodwin's sculpts since I got my first Ogres in the mid eighties, but after getting my hands on the new SW models he climbed to the title of favorite Sculptor; he remains there to this very day!






Gaming terrain started to make broad sweeps in the 90’s, with GW and many other companies releasing full color card buildings. GW took it a step further after the release of Necromunda, a great game BTW! They release full color card and plastic bunkers and out posts using the bulkheads created for Necromunda.



It was a great time to be gaming, in the late 90’s GW released 3rd ed 40K. At first it felt bland and oversimplified, but once we dug into it found it to be much more elegant than we initially thought.

Now I just want to clarify, although I have not mentioned much about WFB, I have consistently played it as I struggled through every incarnation until now. My passion has waned for WFB a bit, as the last two editions became a battle of what feels like nothing but (SCR) Static Combat Resolution. My Dwarfs have faired very well through all the editions but My Chaos has been hit pretty hard. You see the problem is that I like Chaos Warriors and they just aren’t what they used to be in the world of SCR.

Since the turn of the Century the thought of using terrain that we used in the 70’s and early 80’s is just plain hateful. Wargaming as become much more visual that it once was, most games have also become much more streamlined.

While GW still struggles with the proper balance of rules and streamlining they are capable of doing it properly as shown by War of the Ring. I have to give credit to Battlefront Miniatures for being the best example in my eyes of streamlined game balance with Flames of War. It has to a large extent replaced WFB as my second go to wargame.


Currently if it isn’t already apparent I am hugely into 40k and play at least twice a week.

The thing I find most interesting over the years is the change in tables and rules systems. With tables becoming more elaborate and rules becoming simpler and streamlined. Funny how the times change.

Next time I’ll look at the changes in Miniatures and Painting over the last 35 years.

Cheers,
Big Jim

Soul Reapers project update 1/17/10

While I am finishing up my Wargaming through the year’s retrospective, I figured I’d give a quick update on decisions made about the Soul Reapers Mini-dex project.

First up is that ‘We’ as in my gaming group has decided that I should not put up the final product until after the Blood Angels codex is released. This is so we can make sure that the points of the Soul Reapers are appropriate. So this puts the finalized Mini-dex up in early May.

Right now we are not charging for the Fear is for the Weak special rule, but when I do the January update this coming week we will be adding one point increase per model in the army that gets access to the rule. This is relenting to feedback from codex Marine opponents.

Second up on the plate, we will be replacing the Sorcerer entry in the Codex CSM with an Apostle of Malevolence entry with a few new powers and options.

Thirdly, Xusia will be getting a couple of slight tweaks.

The fourth item in the hopper is the return of the 3.5 Chart for Chaos Dread Crazed results.

Fifth, Zombies go to an Apocalypse Data sheet and Heretics/Cultists make a return to the project.

Looking back on 35 years of Wargaming: part one

Well it’s my 40th Birthday today and I am looking back at all the fun I’ve had in our wonderful little hobby; boy have I seen some sweeping changes. Over the next few days I’ll be covering the changes I have seen come and go in the hobby of Miniature Wargaming.

My Pops, Big Jim SR was and is a Wargamer, so I have literally been rollin’ them bones for thirty-five years. My first ever game was against my Pop, I was five and just basically rollin the dice. It was Ancient Egyptians verses Ancient Assyrians. I actually beat my Dad and he did not let me win because my Mother still loves to tell the story to rib him on occasion. So for the next few years I was basically a dice monkey for my Pops, going with him to play and getting to hang out with the adults.

I started to really ‘get it’ about the time I was eight, I understood the rules and started to understand the strategy involved in a game. This was also the time I started to paint models that weren’t a mishmash of colors. This was also about the time my Pop moved from 25mm minis to 15’s, how unfair was that on a new painter!

My Dad sold all of his 25’s to help make ends meet and fund his 15’s. I cried when he sold the Assyrians and Egyptians; I know it’s sappy but I was eight and they were always our go to armies for a game. Now at this time miniatures were pretty basic with very little fine detail, but there was this company called Mikes Models. They were putting better detail in their 15’s than most companies were putting in their 15’s.



Terrain in the late 70’s and early 80’s left a lot to be desired. As sometimes tables were just a huge piece of Butcher Paper with terrain features drawn on. A Cadillac gaming table used broken up corkboard for hills and Lichen on felt for woods. I gotta say we still had fun even though the terrain was bad.

Nineteen eighty-three was a break out year for us. There was a brand new model railroad shop that opened right next to the grocery store that we shopped at, and after one trip in my Pop had big plans. He had been working through his ‘Nam’ issues through wargaming the conflict. He wanted to educate the local gaming community about the war. So he undertook the task with the help of my little brother and I of building a fully 3-D gaming table to help showcase the game. It was something that we had never seen done before.

When we were bring in into the Games Caucus (now Kublacon) the Organizer stopped us. She was so impressed she moved our event from one of the gaming rooms to the middle of the Dealers room. She then asked if my Pop could run the game during the day on all three days of the con; which he did.






That same weekend I won my first ever-painting competition with the original Harry the Hammer mini from a young Citadel Miniatures!



This was also the year my Pop brought Warhammer FB back from a business trip to England. I have been playing ever since. We played for many years amassing large armies and really having a good time! Then came the divide in gaming between my Pops and I where I really came into my own, as he was getting back into ancients. In Nineteen eighty-seven Warhammer 40000 Rogue Trader was released. My high school buddies and I were hooked! It was the OMG moment for Wargaming, Plastic multi-part miniatures. That’s right history was made with the epic release of RTB-001 plastic Space Marines!



That’s enough rambling for now, next time I’ll bring it up through the 90’s to today. Then I’ll cover miniatures and painting over the last 30+ years.

Cheers,

Big Jim