The determining factor (however), came as a polite request from the store owner (who is noticeably NOT quite as game savvy as I am) to help demo "Cutlass" from Black Scoprion Minis--a pirate skirmisher game which I have been longing to delve into... so it did not take much of a nudge!
Here is the rulebook, written by Gav Thorpe and Adam Clarke...
The game-play is a miniaturized table-top skirmisher (48"x48") with two, or more pirate gangs, duking it out for loot, fame and fortune! Here is an 'example' of what one hopes for, terrain wise...
(click any pic to enlarge! :D)
But this is what we actually had to work with... improvised terrain! (If you squint really hard, they almost look similar!)
My Naval forces captained by Admiral Dylan Lloyd!
My opponant's privateer forces captained by Privateer Captain James McBride!
My opponant's ginormous Chessex dice, which I had to beg him NOT to use!
While I was not able to work through an entire "encounter" (as the rulebook refers to a 'one-off' game), I did get a feel for the game and the strategy that must be used to play it; in a nut shell, your commander gives you a number of 'player actions' that allow your gang members to move, fire, etc... but once you 'fail' then your opponent starts to use their 'action points' to do the same and play continues this way until your goals are accomplished for fame, and fortune!
The thing that is intriguing is that your roster is a 'living' roster, ie; you lose a gang member to death or disease and he/she comes off of your roster! You must watch your fame (or infamy) rating, and keep your treasure trove well stocked to avoid mutiny! I am intrigued by the game play, and am excited to get some more time in on it!
I also went here to get a bit more info on how the game plays, and found these good ol' blokes to be helpful!: http://www.beastsofwar.com/cutlass/play-cutlass/
Here are some more on the minis, and rules at:
(click the pic to go to the link)
At any rate (needless to say), painting was put on a bit of the back-burner today... and truthfully, it was a welcome break! Catch ya'll on Monday! :D
Nice work...and a beautiful terrain!
ReplyDeleteHe he, yeah... I wish the terrain was mine! But that is what Gav and his buddies put together for the book; mine was a lot more 'improviso'! :D
ReplyDeleteYour improvised terrain looks like the first several years that I played 40k during the Rogue Trader era. I have fond memories of stacking CD jewel cases up to create hills and using any little box or soda can for a building or other structure.
ReplyDeleteCutlass looks pretty cool. The living roster concept is appealing and one of the things that drew me into Necromunda back in the day. From what you were mentioning, it sounds like Cutlass has a press your luck mechanic (where your opponent goes when you fail something) in it which could make for some dramatic swings during an encounter. That's one of the mechanics that I like about Blood Bowl because it fits the theme so well. Does it help make for cinematic swashbuckling moments in Cutlass as well?
Indeed, Chris! You definitely have to be careful about swings in momentum in this game... but one of the things that I like is that your stats are represented by dice, for example; my captain's ballistic skill might be a D12 while your dodge is a D8--the chance of you dodging away from my shot is slim, but it is still there! Then there is a 'critical heroic' where if you roll the 'high' number on a die, you roll it again... so it gives an ordinary fella the opportunity to do something rather extraordinary! Additionally, each turn phase, your commander rolls a leadership die and the result determines how many action points you have to use for the turn... you roll a one, and you may want to consider hiding! :D
ReplyDeleteAll-in-all, makes for a pretty fun and quick little skirmish game with a living roster that serves to help your pirate gang go down in the books with infamy!