Which rule sets?

[blacksmith]

Just asking

1- Which would the best rule set be for a STALKER/METRO campaign-game?

2- Which would it be best one for playing the conquest of the Canary Islands with 30-50 figures per side? It would be conquistadores vs. brave people armed with sticks and stones.

TIA

Javier

[Mehman]

For STALKER, there isn't really an analog in the THW catalog. The closest you could do is use, maybe, 5150 No Contact: Maiden Voyage and re-flavor it with the STALKER setting. I'm going to be using Osprey's new ruleset, Zona Alfa, heavily blended with THW mechanics for my STALKER needs.

For Metro, After the Horsemen and its sequel/add-on material, Lew's Booty, would be perfect. Add in the Metro flavor and you'll be set. You can find them both on Rebel Minis website.

[blacksmith]

Jan 22, 2020 19:49:14 GMT Mehman said:

For STALKER, there isn't really an analog in the THW catalog. The closest you could do is use, maybe, 5150 No Contact: Maiden Voyage and re-flavor it with the STALKER setting. I'm going to be using Osprey's new ruleset, Zona Alfa, heavily blended with THW mechanics for my STALKER needs.

For Metro, After the Horsemen and its sequel/add-on material, Lew's Booty, would be perfect. Add in the Metro flavor and you'll be set. You can find them both on Rebel Minis website.

I've heard about Zona Alfa and that's it's not bad idea, thanks.

Never heard of Maiden Voyage though, is that Sci-fi?

Do you think the long rifle could work for my other project, maybe adding some armour rules?

Cheers

[atomicfloozy]

I would use Captains and Kings. The only thing you would have to do is treat the early arqbustiers (matchlocks) of the 1490s the same as crossbows. The Spanish starting their expeditions in the canaries in 1351, but did not start serious conquest until 1402 and finished conquering the islands in 1496.

Unit size in Captains and Kings is 6 to 12 figures per unit. The number of units in each command depend on the social status of the commander & Yu can have several commanders in a battle. If you have Warrior Heroes: Warbands, you can use that rule set as well without the magic. Both rules use the same mechanics.

[Mehman]

Jan 22, 2020 20:30:56 GMT blacksmith said:

I've heard about Zona Alfa and that's it's not bad idea, thanks.

Never heard of Maiden Voyage though, is that Sci-fi?

Do you think the long rifle could work for my other project, maybe adding some armour rules?

Cheers

Zona Alfa comes out tomorrow in book and digital form. I've been waiting since November for it to be here, and now the wait is almost over! Maiden Voyage is under Sci-Fi RPGs on the THW site. Either that or Fringe Space should work. Truthfully, I'd get a copy of Chain Reaction for the mechanics and use the missions/Encounters from either Maiden Voyage or Fringe Space for the campaign. The former ruleset is listed under Free Rules on the THW site.

As for the long rifle, I'm not sure if you're referring to the ruleset or a rifle that is long. If you're talking about the ruleset, that could work for the conquistadores project. If you're talking about a long-barreled rifle, well, that's just fun!

[atomicfloozy]

I really think Captains and Kings is a much better fit for the 15th century conquest of the Canary Islands than the 19th century Long Rifle which is more about the linear warfare of the ACW & the Crimean War.

Captains and Kings has the armor ratings, it's social standing mechanism represents leadership of troops by the nobility and well-connected of the time. Though gunpowder was being increasingly used, the Spanish army during the conquest was a late medieval army than was slowly becoming a renaissance army.

The native population was never as well armed as the Spanish, but in a war lasting more than 90 years, they were a little better armed than sticks and stones. They primarily used guerilla tactics and did win some battles and destroyed some Spanish forts and settlements. Anyway, the conquest is much more a late medieval conflict than a post Napoleonic war.

[blacksmith]

Jan 23, 2020 1:24:33 GMT atomicfloozy said:

I really think Captains and Kings is a much better fit for the 15th century conquest of the Canary Islands than the 19th century Long Rifle which is more about the linear warfare of the ACW & the Crimean War.

Captains and Kings has the armor ratings, it's social standing mechanism represents leadership of troops by the nobility and well-connected of the time. Though gunpowder was being increasingly used, the Spanish army during the conquest was a late medieval army than was slowly becoming a renaissance army.

The native population was never as well armed as the Spanish, but in a war lasting more than 90 years, they were a little better armed than sticks and stones. They primarily used guerilla tactics and did win some battles and destroyed some Spanish forts and settlements. Anyway, the conquest is much more a late medieval conflict than a post Napoleonic war.

I'll look into Captains and Kings then, thank you very much for your help.

[blacksmith]

Jan 23, 2020 1:24:33 GMT atomicfloozy said:

I really think Captains and Kings is a much better fit for the 15th century conquest of the Canary Islands than the 19th century Long Rifle which is more about the linear warfare of the ACW & the Crimean War.

Captains and Kings has the armor ratings, it's social standing mechanism represents leadership of troops by the nobility and well-connected of the time. Though gunpowder was being increasingly used, the Spanish army during the conquest was a late medieval army than was slowly becoming a renaissance army.

The native population was never as well armed as the Spanish, but in a war lasting more than 90 years, they were a little better armed than sticks and stones. They primarily used guerilla tactics and did win some battles and destroyed some Spanish forts and settlements. Anyway, the conquest is much more a late medieval conflict than a post Napoleonic war.

BTW, do you know any book telling about fights in the conquest of the Canary Islands? So far I haven't found  much info about it. TIA

Cheers,

[gonefishing]

Blacksmith, I hope you won't mind if I piggyback on your question. Which rules set would people say works best for the Spanish Conquest of the Americas (Aztec, Mixtec, Maya, etc.)? I'd guess Colonial Adventures, but the mention of Captains and Kings has caught my attention.

[blacksmith]

Jan 23, 2020 13:57:45 GMT gonefishing said:

Blacksmith, I hope you won't mind if I piggyback on your question. Which rules set would people say works best for the Spanish Conquest of the Americas (Aztec, Mixtec, Maya, etc.)? I'd guess Colonial Adventures, but the mention of Captains and Kings has caught my attention.

No problem at all. The more the merrier! ;-)

[triopticon]

Jan 22, 2020 19:49:14 GMT Mehman said:

For STALKER, there isn't really an analog in the THW catalog. The closest you could do is use, maybe, 5150 No Contact: Maiden Voyage and re-flavor it with the STALKER setting. I'm going to be using Osprey's new ruleset, Zona Alfa, heavily blended with THW mechanics for my STALKER needs.

For Metro, After the Horsemen and its sequel/add-on material, Lew's Booty, would be perfect. Add in the Metro flavor and you'll be set. You can find them both on Rebel Minis website.

I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with, Mehman, if you are willing to share.


Thanks!

[Mehman]

Jan 23, 2020 20:46:14 GMT triopticon said:

I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with, Mehman, if you are willing to share.


Thanks!

Absolutely! I'm still finalizing the farming rules, but I might as well get cracking on something STALKER-esque just for fun.

[atomicfloozy]

I don't know how familiar you are with other rule sets, but when it comes to war gaming events in the Americas before the 18th century, there is very little available that specifically takes into account how the native forces fought when they first confronted Europeans. That being said, the period of the conquest of Mexico and Central America are usually a part of Ancients rules that cover large periods of time from about 2500 BCE to 1500 CE. This period also appears in rules that cover the pike and shot era from the late 1400s to the advent of the socket bayonet in the 1690s.

For mass battles involving large armies, I recommend Rally Round the King with the Historical Armies supplement, the supplement has stats for hand gunners and pikemen from the later 1400s. I recommend or small to medium engagements to use Captains and Kings. In both of these sets of rules, you would treat the arquebus the same as a crossbow and decrease the amount of cavalry. During this time, most armies began increasing the number of infantry & reducing the amount of cavalry. Though not present in the conquest of the Americas, this emphasis on infantry gave rise to the Spanish tercio.

If playing a small band of explorers in an RPG like game, I would recommend By Savvy & Steel & just replace muskets with the arquebus.

Now if you go outside of Two Hour Games' rules, I've seen this period gamed the most using DBR, DBM, DBA, Pike & Shotte, FoG, and ADLG - with DBR & DBA the most. I'm sure there are other rules out there even WRG 7 had army lists for the Americas.

[gonefishing]

That's immensely helpful, thank you! The more I hear about it the more I think Captains and Kings might well be worth checking out - small to medium engagements is what I'd be after, and hopefully there is some sort of campaign system as is usual in Ed's games.

As for other rules, I've used The Sword and the Flame, modified for the period, and also the Spanish/Aztec variant of Lion Rampant. Both are great, but then I'm a shameless rules junky...

[easyeight]

For a STALKER/METRO campaign-game you could easily use ATZ and ATZ the Big I, which introduces some additional things like Lycaon, Vamps, and other stuff you can use for mutants. Plus with the combined books you have a lot of mission and campaign options to trade, explore and so on. If you wanted to create more metro tunnels on the fly you could use rules from NUTS Compendium for sewer system tiles/movement, or from the Bugs: Into the Tunnels book. The mutants in the Stalker/Metro game also feel a lot like the Xenos in 5150: Star Marine.