In a previous post, I discussed some of my concerns about the rules and my approach to handling them. Let's see how things went.
First, I had to stat up two armies. The first was a Narnian army. From top to bottom, the blocks represent Centaurs (Light Riders), Big Cats (Lesser Warbeasts), Fauns (Light Foot), Dwarven Archers (Light Missiles with the Sharpshooter option), Talking Beasts (Light Foot), and Talking Mice (Bellicose Foot).
The Narnians' opponent was the Telmarine invaders. Their army consisted of Knights (Heavy Riders), 3 units of spearmen (Heavy Foot), and 2 units of archers (Heavy Missiles)
The two armies line up, ready for a do-or-die fight (I played the first scenario - Gory Bloodbath on the Plains of Doom). The objective is to destroy more of the enemy.
Early on, the dwarven archers (green) manage to batter the knights. The knights would rally.
The armies maneuver into position, with the Narnians creating a defensive line in the woods.
The Narnians tried a two-pronged attack on the Telmarine spears near the forest. Both Narnian units were repelled with heavy losses.
At this point, the Narnians grew disheartened and retreated from the field (even though the game was far from over, I had enough and called it quits).
Evaluation
I only took a few photos of the game, but I managed to get a dozen or so turns in. Unfortunately, most turns only involved 1 or 2 (and some involved no) units activating,
What I Liked
What attracted me to DR and made me want to try it was that unit creation is very versatile. There are generic unit categories, and it is fairly easy to fit fantastical units into those categories. For example, my army included a pack of big cats, centaurs, fauns, and berserker mice!
What Surprised Me
I spotlighted a few concerns in my post discussing my preparations. In particular, I worried about tracking casualties, the buckets of dice, and the table size. Well, I used a roster, I was able to scrounge the dice from One Deck Dungeon, and my calculations to scale down the table seemed to work well.
I was also concerned about using my blocks; would I be able to distinguish the different troops? Well, using color coding worked fine. It did not take me long to remember which unit was which.
What Bothered Me
In the course of playing the game, some other concerns arose:
- Activation - I rolled so poorly that in most turns, only a couple (at most) units could move. I found this very frustrating.
- Low Casualty Rates - Most combats seemed to cause only 1 or 2 casualties. Given that foot units could take 12 casualties, it seemed like it would take a lot of fighting to destroy a unit. Because I like short games, I prefer more decisive combat results.
- Too Many Stats - each unit has 10 different statistics (e.g activation values for different situations, armor value, combat to hit numbers, range, and strength points). Because there are so many, I found myself constantly having to check the roster. And I did not even take into account special rules! I understand that the varying stats provide nuance among the different unit categories, but they were just too much for me to juggle.
- Weak Cavalry - I expected the Telmarine knights to run roughshod over the enemy. Then I realized that they were at a distinct disadvantage (6 strength points to 12 which means they roll half the number of dice in combat). I suppose this is more realistic (cavalry shouldn't be able to steamroll steady foot armed with spears) but I'm looking for a more fantasy feel.
Overall Assessment
I know that this was just one game (not even!) and I would get more comfortable with the rules with more experience. However, I just could not get into the flow of the game. I just feel that these aren't the rules for me, and that I should look elsewhere (actually, I am thinking of trying this same scenario using HOTT)
Hello Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI love seeing scaled down games! Looking good.
Note that I have only played Dragon Rampant once but believe you roll 12 dice for all units above 1/2 strength (and 6 dice if less than 1/2 strength) - not 1 die per strength point (p34 resolving attacks). Of course, it may have changed since my copy of the rules from late 2016.
That's always been the case. All units (6 or 12 figures/Sp) roll 12 dice until they have lost half of their figures/SP. Then they roll 6. You either roll 12 dice or 6 dice. No exceptions.
Delete"it seemed like it would take a lot of fighting to destroy a unit."
ReplyDeleteMost 12 figure units don't get destroyed; after four or five casualties the chance of a failed morale test causing a rout becomes quite high. 6 figre units *can* end up being wiped out but gain it's generally morale.
Obviously I can't dictate what you like or want out of a game, but the stats become fairly easy to remember, especially as many of them are similar between different troop types.
I guess I am used to the Command & Colors approach, where casualties and unit morale are rolled up together. C&X casualties really represent loss of morale.
Delete"actually, I am thinking of trying this same scenario using HOTT"
ReplyDeleteI an't remember how much HOTT you've played, but to some extent it's *more* complicated than DR. It has fewer stats, but the rules have far more exceptions and fiddly bits (despite them being easily learned over time; I play HOTT from memory mostly). DR has a lot more stats, but the rules that drive them are very simple.
Also, of course, they represent different levels of action; DR is skirmishes where each figure represents an individual. A single element in HOTT theoretically represents tens or hundreds of individuals. In essence two HOTT elements fighting would be the DR game you played above :-D
I haven't played much HOTT but I did a lot of DBA back in the day. I thought the rules were pretty simple. I played a HOTT game about a year ago and found it similar to DBA.
DeleteW.r.t. casualties: it's mostly the morale rolls that will eliminate a unit. It goes prettyf ast once you have suffered a few casualties ...
ReplyDeleteStats: Yes, I felt the same. I also changed the activation die roll to a +1 number compared to 6+ baseline. It makes it much easier to see the benefits of certain troops in different situations.
See my blog for avrious posts on DR: http://snv-ttm.blogspot.be/search/label/DragonRampant
Well, looks like I found a way to get lots of comments - make an absolute hash of the rules. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction. I should try DR again at some point.