Warmachine miniatures game releases full rules free online.

[Turtle]

http://privateerpress.com/company/mkii- ... f-download" target="_blank

So a miniature game that I really like and play (4 armies now) has just done something really cool. They had a major revision to the rules planned for release in 2010 that would revitalize the game, well they just decided to release it all online for free. That includes the full rulebook and all the stat cards online for download at the above link.

Warmachine is a fantasy steampunk game centering around giant steam powered robots called Warjacks that are controlled by special battlemages called Warcasters.

In this day and age, I'm surprised more companies don't do something like this. Sure, you lose book sales, but the money is in the miniatures, and it's a great way to get new players interested if they know they can get the full rules, take their time to read them, then decide if they want to get into the game.

[Jow]

I demoed this a couple years ago at Gencon. Was interesting but like so many other mini games the price of entry was staggering and way more than I cared to invest at the time.

VERY cool move on the rules release, though.

[Seppe]

I used to play this. It is a fun, fast system. But i havent played it in years. The new faction (elves?) looks pretty cool but no way as tough as Khador

I will have to check out the new rules, i looked over playtest rules and was glad to see steamjacks getting a little help (they are my favorite).

[Turtle]

The Retribution of Scyrah is the new Elven faction. Not your typical waif-like elves, they've got heavy army and nasty big stuff. Their whole deal is they think human magic is sapping the life force of one of their living gods, but they're probably being fooled. They're also my new army, I have 4 now

Jow, the price of entry is actually just the basic starter box, which is around $40-$50. That will get you something around a 350 point force and plenty of people like player small fast games at that value. You might need 1-3 solo units to fill points depending on which starter box you get.

The new Mk2 rules are even faster, and they balanced things out on top of streamlining things. Certain units and abilities have been toned down, others brought back up, all without invalidating any units. One of the key things is that they removed a lot of the annoying and frustrating situations that developed where one unit or warcasters was a do everything, or completely game changing. Things like Cygnar trenchers making it so that almost your entire army couldn't attack due to a smoke wall, or certain Khador warcasters being ridiculously powerful.

Warjacks get all sorts of buffs, including being able to take more damage. You can only get rid of a warjack by completely destroying it, no longer can you just disable a jack by taking out 3 systems, and mechanics now repair jacks very quickly. They can more easily do all sorts of special and power attacks like trampling infantry. Also, being knocked down matters less since you can spend a focus to get back up. Jack statlines have also been improved, with dedicated melee only jacks getting MATs of 7 usually (which is pretty high and will hit most enemies on an average roll)

The whole idea was to lessen the cases where you can't do anything in a whole turn because of some stupid combination of abilities. Now, you'll still take losses and damage from good combos, but you'll still be able to do something in return.

[Jow]

The problem is, I'm a saturation type of gamer. If I have enough interest to buy into a system I usually want as much of that system as I can get my hands on so I can really enjoy the nuances more than a simple starter might provide me the chance to. When I bought into the Cthulhu LCG at Gencon this year not only did I buy the core set but I bought 4 or 5 of the supplement decks just because I wanted more. When I bought Blue Moon, I bought the base set and every deck that existed for it at the time just because I wanted to experience everything the game had to offer. Approaching high-quality mini games like this one would be ridiculously cost-prohibitive approached from the same perspective and I know full well the enjoyment I'd get out of a starter would be very short-lived before I wanted more.

This means that I generally have to stay away from collectible games, and after going through my "Magic phase" back in the early 90s I did a pretty good job of staying away until Dreamblade and the WoW TCG came out. It's all been kinda downhill again from there.

[Seppe]

Thanks for the info Turtle. I have 3 armies, though my cryx is set to be themed for pirates (and unpainted). So i guess we are both a little like Jow in that we get into it and buy quite a bit of it.

Yes, you can play with the starter set, but you will want more. While it is 'cheaper' than 40k, it isnt as cheap as something like arcane legions. It is a fun game, but it does take some time and money. I picked up most of my stuff at auctions and probably spent $500 for my 3 armies (though only 1 of them is somewhat large with lots of jack, infantry and special characters).

[Isgrimnur]

Warhammer 40k rival Warmachine bought up by competitor

Warmachine, the steampunk fantasy wargame that once had a competitive play scene to rival Warhammer 40k, has been acquired by Steamforged Games. The UK-based firm has also picked up the Iron Kingdoms setting, its tie-in RPG, and the Formula P3 painting range as part of the deal.
...
Steamforged’s founders, Rich Loxam and Mat Hart were once organisers in the UK Warmachine tournament scene, which inspired their first game, Guild Ball.

[Seppe]

Over ten years since last post! a

I saw this news. They have had smaller booths at Gencon and Adepticon. Their focus on competitive play was wrong and kept casual from buying the product (which as a business you do want ppl buy the product). And i don't think they are big enough to do like GW and say the old stuff cannot be used.

Guerrilla Miniature Games on yt did a thing about their focus on competitive play was a mistake.