The sci-fi bug bit hard this week. Horizon Wars has provided a few good games, but really it was calling me for more in-depth stompy robot action. One of the problems I've had with Heavy Gear Arena is that I never seem to find a good narrative that will keep me coming back to it. For fellow solo wargamers, how important do you find the story being told in the battles? And what tricks have you found for more effectively telling those stories on the battle field?
Story is important to me, as the main thing I like about Warhammer 40,000 ('40k') is the lore.
ReplyDeleteHere are some tricks for highlighting story:
-Context: place the battle as part of a larger conflict. Which side is winning? What will each side gain if they win this battle? 40k is full of wars with underdogs and reversals and so is ripe for this.
-Structure of the battle: (e.g. objectives, deployment zones, reinforcements). This can tell a story too - some factions in 40k (Tau Empire, Dark Eldar) are known for their attacks, so a mission where they act as attacker would play to this. Reversing it, so that this attacking faction is caught unprepared, would be equally interesting! Objectives can be themed to be something each side would want: 40k is full of useful, artifacts.
-Battlefield terrain: this can generate some interesting stories. Setting your battle in an automated production factory (with moving platforms, molten ore barrels etc.) would tell a different story to a battle set on some interconnected islands.
-Continuity: if you play a series of interlinked battles, then rivalries can develop between certain units (assuming that casualties are fully healed between battles).
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI suggest going for the people: Who are those soldiers/pilots on either side? What are their personalities/attitudes? Define those at the beginning of the battle. Even if you don't roleplay them, that is, making decisions based on the personalities rather than tactical needs, you can interpret some incidents in battle as evidence of their personalities or maybe as noteworthy exceptions where they break from their patterns. And you can easily imagine their reactions to things like success and failure.
Yours,
Deathworks
I agree with both Jerry Colhurst and Deathworks DW. I tend to apply all these ideas in my games (not all at the same time, often I don't have specific scenario objectives, but I always have some overarching context and a least a little investment in one or two characters).
ReplyDeleteI mostly play miniature skirmishes but I link them with some role-playing. Currently, my mix is Ironsworn as an RPG with SOBH for the miniature fights, but systems mostly are a matter of taste. Recently, I also found that drawing my own paper minis gives me strong feelings for all the pieces on the board, even when they have no name and only basic stats. These minis are not particularly well-made, but they certainly are unique and of course I know them one by one.
A few years ago, I played several Pulp-Alley games, using two opposing teams in all encounters. This is not very realistic, but pulp stories and comics do tend to work this way: heroes and their enemies are all more or less immortal. Realism aside, that worked well too: every single figure had a name and a role in their team (goodguys / badguys). It's something I might try again in the future.
I agree with all the above, but I want to especially highlight scenario objectives as a way to provide a meatier sense of story.
ReplyDeleteDefine goals/desires, fears, etc. for at least some of the key characters (perhaps with some light intra-team conflict?), not only to flesh them out, but to propel the story. Use them to frame a given scenario the same way you might frame a scene in some RPGs: ask "Which character and issue are we zooming in on this episode? What do they want? What/who is standing in their way, and what is it that they want?"
This can sometimes make for mechanically odd objectives, like if our hero really needs to visit an Oracle who lives in a hostile area, the whole goal might just be fighting through baddies so the hero can stand in a certain hex for a few turns (while he gets the news that his second-in-command is the Chosen One of prophecy, not him).
These are all amazing ideas, and have given me a few ideas. In particular, working motivation or personality of the combatants. I've got a few concepts in mind to start emphasizing the people and personalities.
ReplyDelete