Miniature War Gaming

[middlemonster]

Why aren't there any rule sets for miniature war games for Fantasy Grounds? Is it impossible for players to move multiple tokens? What about customizable dice, rulers, and templates? Could someone enlighten me?

I think this is a decent platform to play Warmachine or Warhammer 40k on. Where are the efforts toward accomplishing this?

[terrell]

I have done Bloodbowl on it. Started working on Mordheim, but just didn't have the time. I think the map size would be the main hindrance for 40K

[middlemonster]

Sounds about right, I've been looking for a Warhammer 40k platform forever but the only thing I've found are unfinished projects that have been in and out of development for years. Its ashame there are no 3d virtual tabletops to make this possible. The best I've found so far are Vassal40k (which has been discontinued) and Racingspidergames.com 3d tabletop which is being developed slowly by one person (still its looking slowly more promising)

[drahkar]

The most likely reason is that the majority of the ruleset developers are focused on TT RPG Systems. Most miniature players tend to enjoy the process of making their miniatures as much as playing the games so they aren't as drawn to this type of environment. That would be my assumption at least.

[Griogre]

Yeah, if RPG's are still a niche market the minis guys are even smaller.

I think you might find Battlegrounds or MapTool a bit more miniature friendly. The are both good programs. I like FG better for RPGs because it is really build around the Character Sheet more which I think is more important for most complex RPGs. MapTool and Battlegrounds are much more "Map-Centric".

I've played a Space Hulk, Aliens type squad scenario run by Snikle on MapTools using Savage Worlds that was really fun. The automatic LOS and Fog of War with facing where you couldn't see stuff behind you ect, really added a lot to that game. From that experience I think I would run Space Hulk Online with MapTool.

[Doswelk]

Yeah, if RPG's are still a niche market the minis guys are even smaller.

I think you might find Battlegrounds or MapTool a bit more miniature friendly. The are both good programs. I like FG better for RPGs because it is really build around the Character Sheet more which I think is more important for most complex RPGs. MapTool and Battlegrounds are much more "Map-Centric".

Indeed I have played Star Wars Miniatures Starship battles using Map-Tools.

Wasn't Battlegrounds bring out a Wargames version?

[Spyke]

Wasn't Battlegrounds bring out a Wargames version?
Heruca's decided that it no longer makes sense to have a separate Wargames version, which I agree with. The RPG version of BRPG is now so well featured for board and miniatures gaming that a separate version would just get confusing. Much better just to keep working with the existing one.

I agree with the comments above. One of the reasons FG's a fabulous tool for role-playing is because it shifts its emphasis away from the map and onto character sheets and multiple handouts.

The tools like BRPG and MapTools which can go full screen with the map are better for board and miniatures games. I've really enjoyed playing Ogre over BRPG (homebrew, not distributable), and the other board games available for BRPG are great too.

Each tool has its particular strength. Get 'em all, that's what I say! ;)

Spyke

[drahkar]

The nice thing about FGII is that it could be built out to support a Miniature based base platform if you really wanted to. Its so versatile. It just hasn't been the focus of the existing developers who are mostly Role-players.

[Tenian]

I know some people who used to play online 40K using Vassal40k. I know the 40k variant got a Cease and Desist but it can be used for other games.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VASSAL_Engine

[Doswelk]

The nice thing about FGII is that it could be built out to support a Miniature based base platform if you really wanted to. Its so versatile. It just hasn't been the focus of the existing developers who are mostly Role-players.
We used to used Snickle's Risk Ruleset (for FG1) all the time!

My attempts to convert to FGII have failed very badly... :(

[ddavison]

I am a huge miniatures game fan but I am not sure FG is the best fit for it. I would think Space Hulk could work out okay but a game with lots of figs like Warhammer Fantasy Battle probably wouldn't work quite as well. 40K might work okay since you already pick up and move each figure individually but there are still a lot to move. I think it could be pretty cool to grab your 30 d6's to simulate the attack of your bloodletter squad against some terminator's, pick out the hits and the re-roll those for wounds. Then let the other player pick up the wounds and roll those against armour saves.

I could see some problems with the tokens used though. How would you represent all the different variations of models and paint schemes. If I play 40K online I'd want it to look like my troops that I have sitting on shelves already or a favorite scheme from one of the magazines. Since it is WYSIWYG, would you have versions of each model with every different armament? Mordheim would be especially dependent on this and then it would also have trouble dealing with the 3-D aspect where they climb up ruined buildings and dive down on people or just shoot from elevation.

The Dawn of War series of PC games did a pretty good job at translating the models to the screen but they also had a much larger budget and development staff, along with the license to do so. I kind of doubt that GW would grant a license that might negatively impact their model sales though, so what we have with DOW is not a recreation of the tabletop experience, but instead an RTS that complements their tabletop game.

[Oberoten]

*grins* Just another oportunity to ask if we can "Mark several tokens" as a function so we can move them together?

- Obe