There are really multiple layers of building out your force.  At its most basic level, you have the charts of point costs for attributes.  When you work at that level, you can do most anything.

Next you have the process of building out a force selection structure.  At this point, you add some restrictions like how many elites you are allowed as compared to troopers or how many hero points you may distribute.  (In the rules, these are presented as global rules, but people routinely agree to suspend those, like modeling GW’s Warhammer 40K system, where all Space Marines are elite [something I am not particularly endorsing, a caveat I put forth based on experience.]  Suspending the point system, though, would mean just building an entirely new system.)

You also restrict the “play anything” principles of the point system with force selections by defining troop types, restricting (or expanding or renaming) tweaks, defining specific armories, and so on.

Finally, using the force selection structure, you pick out an actual force.  You’ve now restricted your selections even further: “I have these troops.”

Put in a more PowerPoint style:

• Points cost tables, turn sequence, concepts like tweaks, hero points, etc  <- The WarEngine
• Limits on elites vs. troopers, default tweak lists, default special powers, etc <- “Official” WarEngine game structure
• Specific force lists designed for a given genre or story and grouped for balance <- Settings, e.g. Shock Force
• Force selection, house rules and exceptions, actual game play <- Games, e.g. “Bob fights Joe”

The parts of my previous discussion on WarEngine v3.0 pertaining to aspects like base profiles, racial profiles, force-level armories and the like are actually guidelines at the second of these levels intended to help players create better settings and not specific to a particular version.

As long as the system includes access to the infrastructure that is The WarEngine, any layers built on top of it by definition can’t limit the “play anything” nature of the game because anyone can develop alternatives to the ways those layers are presented.

The core proposed change discussed about a v3 is to the point system.  For example, long range weapons with high AV actually seem underpriced under the current v2.  We drew up at a GenCon (now a couple years ago) a replacement to the Range and AV tables such that their revised point values would be multiplied together instead of added.  The spread for weapon costs became wider while leaving the points for most weapons very close to the current system.

Another concept was to have baseline profiles for trooper, elite, and character, racial/species/faction modifiers that adjust base points and base stats, and a revised tweak system that would in some cases have adjustments based on the underlying related attribute.  For example, a tweak that which adds one to every die in an attack roll is more useful for a five-die weapon than a one-die weapon, so should cost more.

To make building armories for a faction a bit easier, there might also be a base AV bonus for close combat and ranged attacks built into the base profiles so you could create a single armory for weapon selection.  If a basic rifle is 2k2 AV, and the AV profile adjustments for a particular race are trooper=base AV, elite=+1k1 AV, character=+2k2 AV, then the same rifle is 2k2 in the hands of a trooper, 3k3 for an elite, and 4k4 for a character.  Of course, you might have fighter, archer, and wizard base character profiles in a fantasy setting that have different AV profile adjustments in order to add yet more variety.

These are just some examples, but it’s also worth pointing out that the basic principles would still apply: opposed die rolls of the XkY variety for resolving conflicts, keep the complicated stuff on the force building side instead of the game table side, and maximize flexibility so you can play exactly the game you want to play.

It’s no small feat to put together a new version, especially without big dollars behind the effort.  But it would certainly be exciting to see it happen.

If I were in real combat, you can be damn sure I’d do that.  Kill the bad guys before they ever get close?  Damn straight!  It makes for a lousy game, though.  Here are some house rules to help turn your waiting game into your game of stupendous bad-ass-ness.

Ban “Ignores Cover”

I won’t take this any more. I’d like to see it struck from the game. Give everyone on the other side this tweak for free once just as an experiment and you’ll totally agree with me.

Reverse the “Did Not Move” Defensive Bonus

If your target hasn’t moved, take a +1k0 for your attack bonus, ranged or close combat, rather than giving him a +1k0 Defense bonus. That’ll get every figure on the board hustling around right away, usually to close with the enemy.

Make Long Shots Harder

Give the enemy a +1k0 or even a +1k1 bonus for every full 12″ between the attacker and the target. That 4k4 AV sniper rifle may have a 36″ range on it, but if you’re going for the guy at the very limits of your reach, you’re down to a 1k1 AV instead. Think folks will just sit back after that?

More Close Combat Massed Attack Bonuses

Give a +1k0 bonus in close combat for any friendly models within 6″ of the combat who aren’t already engaged. You can figure those guys are doing something to distract your enemy, even if it’s just yelling and screaming. All of a sudden, having piles of guys stuck in seems like a great idea.

Conclusion

There you go, a bunch of ways to add some serious aggressive butt-kicking to your games. Try ‘em out and tell me how it goes. Better yet, send me photos of the blood on your axes.

Dave and I got together at his place in Atlanta (or was it at my place in Rockville?)  Dave had a huge number of orcs, lots of Games Workshop figures plus an eclectic mix of troops from other manufacturers.  Mine was also primarily a GW force, as I’ve always like rat-guys models, so had many, many Skaven I could put on the board.  I also had a bunch of Heartbreaker figures with spears that made great skaven-slaves and some rat-guys on giant mice from one of “R” companies (Reaper?  Ral Partha?)

We’d each put together a force list using the WarEngine builder rules.  Between us, I bet there were some 300-plus figures on the board.  The forces were very troop-heavy and mostly infantry.  It had the feel I liked in Warhammer Fantasy Battles back when all the army lists were in the one Warhammer Armies book.  Great stuff!

Unlike Fantasy Battles, though, this game just rocked along.  I recall it taking about an hour-and-a-half, with several key points in the battle where units were desperately locked in a swirling mass of blades, clubs, and magic.  The tide turned back and forth and it wasn’t clear until the very end who might emerge victorious.

I happened to win that one, but judging from Dave’s grin and the way it’s been mentioned from time to time by either of us for years, I don’t think that really bothered him all the much.

The WarEngine was designed for big games and works very well with the swords-and-sorcery genre.  It’s a shame most people seem to only drop about 20-30 figures on the board.  The miss the very best the system has to offer.