Sci fi 15mm- random thoughts

[martin goddard]

This is a topic which I quite like. but recognise the potential impracticalities.

15mm.
10 ish  figures a side as in Starship troopers (the book not the film).
5x 3 table with scenery varying from "desolate" to "very clustered up". Not 20th century ruins of churches and castles.

The first problem is that 10 figures does not make a range worthwhile financially. Although some opponents might be more numerous?

A big amount of scenery needs a bigger amount of money.

I would like to avoid low budget inspiration such as M16 armed walking men on foot. Tanks that still look like WW2 tanks. Communications that need a mouthpiece and aerial.

Technology that looks like it is technology. eg short/no gun barrels. No big rockets. Big chopping sword, belt sander,halberd, hammer drill, bolas would of course be "de rigueur?

Possibly larger robo suits?  I have seen some well done ones. But not those that use WW2 guns on future robots.

Big consequence weapons.

What say you?

martin

[Martin Smith]

Interesting idea. I'm currently making an army for a SciFi ruleset which uses bigger units (and in 'another scale', for a game at the club, Xenos Rampant, about 20-40 models per side, depending of effectiveness), but would be interested to see where you went with this in 15mm, my preferred scale, TBH.

[Martin Smith]

Masses of alien 'critters' can be a fun feature.

[martin goddard]

Swarm type opponents are always good.
They would have to be interesting rather than just quantity.

martin

[Moggy]

All depends on if you want a "bug-hunt" game with players going out to slaughter (or be slaughtered by) masses of aliens or if you want a game player vs player.  If the latter then have to decide on the scale of the forces involved.

The market has many rulesets available for sci-fi and I think the problem would be more along the lines of trying very hard NOT to clone those games.

Would be fun though.

Derek

[Colonel Kilgore]

It does seem like a crowded market.

I quite like the 15mm Leaserburn type of range.

Simon

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

Back in the day I had a force of Laserburn Imperial troops and come to think of it they were organised pretty similarly to AK47. The TTG Guys in power armour were cool with missile racks on their backs and mech suits that looked a little like the EVA suits in 'Alien'. A hybrid between Alien and Starship Troopers methinks

Neil

[martin goddard]

Assuming a ground scale of 1 square (6") represents 500m that would make the 5x3 table = 5km by 3km. assuming the  game represents "fast" action maybe each turn is 20 seconds.

Different worlds=
 Different electronic visibility
Different gravity
Different growths (flora)  and animals (Fauna).
Endurance time.
Weather extremes.

Variables of such a game are
Objectives. Different for the two sides?
How much damage is acceptable.

Science would have to be fudged a lot to avoid amusing/pointless scenarios
Protagonists that cannot detect or see each other.
Adversaries that are so small that a small dog eats them (Douglas Adams)
Poisonous planets that kill everything in turn 1.
Big bomb that also kills everything.
etc.


martin

[martin goddard]

A drop ship.
On table or far above for safety?
No to tanks or AA guns though.
Riddick with his knife?  Or attack ships off the shoulder of Orion?

martin

[Sean Clark]

I think a great starting point for mechanics would be AKPE.

3CM X 3CM bases with 2 or 3 figures seems to work.

Would it be 'hard' sci fi, so basically our world 200 years from now...so just different technology?

Or fantastical sci fi, with creatures, big bugs and elves in space?

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

Have you checked out Neal Asher's Polity series for inspiration? AI abounds in a variety of forms from the simple cylindrical deathdealer like the one that was in Men In Black II to imitations of alien lifeforms to blend in with alien environments. So too for humanoid life - the civilians can be 'modified' as they see fit from Adonis types to outright Furries. Almost all wear 'augs' (basically internal mobile phones). Military types can be amped up biologically with stims and other combat enhancing drugs, augmented like cyborgs with prosthetics when bits get blasted off, or full on downloaded as AI chips into a full cyborg chassis a la Terminator - that way battle hardened troops can retain generations of combat experience after being k.i.a.
That makes for a bewildering array of possible combat types...

And then there's the Prador... intelligent crab like aliens with a penchant for 'coring' out humans to make drone like slaves with a nasty streak of paranoia and a taste for dead flesh...

Neil

[martin goddard]

We are getting good thoughts here.


martin

[Flaminpig0]

I wonder if something more along the lines of SPI's 'Starforce' with hi-tech troops  making use of  jet packs in-between  using  the ground as cover. Might be a little different from other Sci-Fi ranges of which, it must be said, are numerous.

The problem would be small numbers of troops so perhaps the way to make it financially viable might be to add numerous flora and faunas random encounters etc.


In any case I would like the  beloved Phuggs back

[Stewart 46A]

Will be historical and based on Star Trek or
Fantasy like Star Wars?

Stewart

[Moggy]

Will be historical and based on Star Trek or
Fantasy like Star Wars?

Stewart

I love you say historical based on Star Trek rather than as a fantasy on Star Wars.  How do you determine the difference?   LOL

Derek