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The contents of this book are excellent, the traits and equipment make it possible to easily run a Sci-Fi skirmish using the existing Brink of Battle ruleset. However the PDF, as it currently stands, is awful. The terrible backgrounds used for the pages make it somewhat difficult to read and impossible to print. The previous, black on white version, or the layout used in the original BoB rulebook, is much preferable in terms of readability and usefulness.
So while the content is definitely worth checking out if you play Brink of Battle, the design choices make it more difficult to use. I hope that if the designer evolves this into a paid-for product that he makes a more sensible choice when designing the final layout of the book. Coloured backgrounds might look fancy on a screen but a simple black on white layout is preferable in terms of usability.
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Creator Reply: |
You can always download the black and white version from our Downloads tab at www.brinkofbattle.com if that is more suitable for you. |
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Brink of Battle: Skirmish Gaming Through the Ages, and its expanded fantasy supplement Epic Heroes: Skirmish Gaming in the Realms of Fantasy, is the best miniatures war-game I have played; it's something fantastic. The ground-up method of creating any sort of warrior you want by buying it stats and traits gives the game an absolutely unparalleled depth of creation, allowing you to make anything you want, in any time period. I use it for nearly every kind of skirmish gaming I do these days, save for space fleet combat, (but its creator, Robert Faust, has winked at me the few times I have asked after that supplement, so I'm holding my breath). The rules are deep, though not overly complex and certainly free of reference tables, and the sheer magnitude of what you can play with them will keep the Brink of Battle book on your shelf for years to come.
My review of Brink of Battle: Skirmish Gaming Through the Ages, and Epic Heroes: Skirmish Gaming in the Realms of Fantasy, should be qualified with a little information about myself and my involvement in these books and gameplay. I've been playing miniatures combat games since 2nd Edition Warhammer 40k, before it was slain by a radical change in rules structure in 3rd Edition. The changes were, in this reviewer's opinion, such an embarrassment to Games Workshop and to its customers that we've seen a new edition hit shelves every 3-4 years for the past decade and a half in a vain attempt to fix what was ruined in 3rd edition, and what failed to change much in newer editions from the first abortive dumbing down in 1998. That was pretty inflammatory, I know. I have strong feelings about a game system that abruptly ended such gems as Necromunda, Gorka Morka and the other unnamed games that Rick Priestly and Andy Chambers hinted at in the latter book's editorial note, (another feature Games Workshop did away with, to stomp out community connection to the creation of the game. Notice that artists names and credits to specific painters are no longer published in GW books.). All that being said, I come from a time when gaming rules were deeper, more comprehensive, and honestly, not geared to gouge your pocket to field an army of any worth, (yes, I'm talking about 55 dollar box sets of specialty miniatures that are 70 points in a 1500 point army list).
I was fortunate enough to befriend Robert Faust, (Brink of Battle's designer), and Andrew Davies, (co-designer of Epic Heroes), a while back now, and participate in play-testing and even some miniature painting of the Epic Heroes book. I was hooked on their dedication and passion immediately. Bob has sat down with me on a number of occasions and divulged his reasons for his own game and its mechanics, where he came from in terms of his gaming history (see above; it is similar to my own), and the philosophy behind his game and its scale. It is all laid out very well in an editorial in both Brink of Battle and Epic Heroes for you to read on your own. Suffice it to say he has spent years developing a game which was nominated for the Origins Awards best historical war-game of 2013, and which delivers a game by gamers for gamers that will stand the test of historical gaming scrutiny and play out any scenario in history you can think of—to your own specifications, using any miniatures you want, and which you might already own! Brink of Battle brings back the feel and excitement of those first years of gaming—before a time when new editions of rules invalidated years of painting, modeling and rules comprehension.
Its first draw for me: I essentially already own everything I need for the game save for the very affordable rulebook. I found myself pulling out an old sprue of Games Workshop's High Elf spearmen, dusting off my old half painted Dwarves and painting a whole war-band of Reaper's Bones figures for play! Brink of Battle is skirmish level gaming geared to use somewhere between 3 and 20 miniatures, with 7-12 being a good median range of figures you'll be setting down. No more painting 30 Ork Boys for a week or more to take them off the table by the handful. In fact, no more nameless hordes at all. Brink of Battle isn't about masses of nameless troops; it's about a small cadre of soldiers with names, with unique gear, and with a personality born of their special design and team makeup. That's the second draw for me—the story of your combat force. Suddenly my 10 Ork Boys have a personality. I find myself poring over the fluff in Gorka Morka again to get a sense of what Orks are like in a day to day routine between their cosmically huge battles; what drives them to do what they do, (which is fight mostly), and why they would be on the battlefield of Brink of Battle at all.
And here's reason three I am wooed by Brink of Battle; I am using troopers that I create in totality. There are no pre-designed rules for Orks from Warhammer 40k in Brink of Battle, as there are no predesigned rules for a cowboy, a fallschirmjager or an elf. What it and Epic Heroes do provide are rules to grant your small force of combatants each a 3 attribute stat line, (Combat, Command and Constitution), a large selection of weapons, armor and gear from 3 major technological periods (including magical items), and a HUGE amount of Traits—the special abilities that really design your individual troopers with their extra strengths, elite skills and focused tactics.
Play is conducted on typical war-games terrain, perfectly balanced for 3'x3' or 4'x4' tables. Play during a round shifts back and forth between the two combatants, one miniature at a time, adding a significant level of strategy to simply choosing who will attack in which order. Many actions and abilities available to a model, such as adding defense dice to a roll for having a shield, are subject to still having your action with that model yet unspent. Ten sided dice are used in small quantities, (typically one or two dice), and the game is notable for an opposed roll system. Rather than simply figuring what number a trooper needs a roll to hit or wound based off of his own skills, the skills and armor of his target are also factored into the rolling as his opponent rolls against him. This allows a trooper of even mediocre skill to occasionally land a killing blow on the most elite of troops, while maintaining the strength of higher stats and killer Traits that those elites carry! How often have I rolled a ten, added it to my abysmal ranged combat modifier and dropped an arrow right through the chest of a friend's elite miniature after he rolled a 1 in response! The chances were slim, but they were there!
The overall feel of play is total immersion. You don't have down time where you sit and watch the opponent play and roll and take your figures off of the board, you participate constantly. You have to remain aware of the battle as your troops are called on one by one to add to the swirling melee on the battlefield. In fact, you can't sit down much at all! Those familiar with Necromunda and Mordheim will understand the rules for game-ending route checks in Brink of Battle from having taken similar tests in those games. And like those games, Brink of Battle has a campaign aspect in which your troops can gain further stats, gear and Traits beyond what they began with as they slug it out with their most hated adversaries—should they be Zulus, Spartans, Mind Flayers or Techno-priests.
Epic Heroes itself is the new supplement for Brink of Battle, and it brings not only high fantasy to the original historical gaming system, but also more modern action elements, including traits that let you reenact the struggles of Archeological Adventurers in the steamy jungles of pulp era Congo, dueling Grammaton Clerics in a dystopian near-future, and Cultists of the Elder Gods routed from Old West towns by Law Dog marshals and the town gambler! A huge amount of traits exist to craft any number of non-human races and their hallmark attributes, including traits like Stout, Construct, Insectoid, Aquan, Diabolic, Undead and many many more. Add to that magic, (a very powerful albeit expensive addition to the rules), and the fantastic weapons such games would allow to be wielded, and you get a fantastic and endless world of possibilities in which to wage eternal war!
I find it hard to get excited about new skirmish games now, as Brink of Battle allows me to play any of them—with the figures those other games provide or otherwise—using a rock solid rules system. I'm a painter first, and now a whole new opportunity has been opened to me and others like me to explore those old coffers of forgotten, unpainted, and unbuilt miniatures. I cruise sites online, drooling over the possibilities of using beautiful figures from lines like Wargods of Aegyptus, Infinity and even the new line of Warhammer 40k Orks. All the wonder has been returned to the tabletop. All the hours painting rewarded. I've made good friends and had good times thanks to Brink of Battle, and as long as that book is on your shelf, I'm sure the same will hold true for you. Pick it up, play a few games, and then play more. Show your friends, and theirs. Someday you will look back and know you were here during the beginning of something fantastic.
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Some of you may be familiar with my reviews of Brink of Battle and its first supplement, Epic Heroes, in the Lead Adventure Forums as Roguepokemon. I love the game, and Epic Heroes only made it better, filling up the already perfect historical skirmish game, Brink of Battle, with a TON of new Gear, Traits and Magic. These not only apply to "fantasy" settings, but in fact are made with all three of Brink of Battle's era's in mind; Ancients, Early Modern, and Modern. You will find traits ranging from Graceful to Stout, epitomizing typical elf and dwarf builds, to Combat Shooter and Gun-Fu, emulating fights from the films Equilibrium and The Matrix.
But there is only so much you can play with the modern firearms and Traits given in those book to take your adventures to the stars. Until now.
The new Brink of Battle Sci-Fi Ashcan Edition is available for FREE from Wargamesvault as a FREE PDF. It's just a few pages and is a quick download, adding to the massive arsenal of Traits from Epic Heroes and Brink of Battle the GEAR that you would need in any of the next three eras of futuristic space combat. Get Gear Traits and Gear stats for Period 4, Near Future, Period 5, Interstellar Empires, and Period 6, Masters of the Force. From dirty space colonies overrun by xenos to galaxy-wide civilizations waging war beyond our dreams, this little book steps up your weapons, gear and armour to the next level of technology, and then beyond that!
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Fantasy.
Well, that can be misleading as you get a lot more than just a sensible set of magic rules.
You can use the new inborn traits to create a squad with some special training or national characteristic.
You get new ammo for your guns and traits to crate soldiers with legendary skill,
The different power levels allows you to play with just the right amount of larger than life or epic deeds.
A demon and its host are rampaging through the streets of old babylon and you try to stop it with your band of chosen warriors, a thousand years later you try to do the same with a SF team.
And all with the same set of rules where it counts if you use a saber instead of a longsword or a machine pistol instead of a submachinegun.
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Some serious work went into the creation of this rules, and it shows.
I have played Parthians vs Romans, medieval russians vs english and a swat team vs an armed gang.
Every time was surprised to find that pilum, longbows, cataphract cavalry, assault rifles, pistols, submachineguns and shotguns worked as I expected.
All with the same rules.
Ah! And the creation of your force is really fun, your little soldiers get character and their traits will find use at the least expected moment.
This rulebook is just THE TOOLBOX you need.
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I've been plying Brink of Battle since it was first published, I've always thought it was one of the best skirmish level wargames I've played, right up there with my golden memories of games like Necromunda, and Mordhiem. The addition of Epic Fantasy to the game has increased my love of the game tenfold! The amazing detail and genre atmosphere virtualy oozes out of this book! The settings covered with rules for everything from Middle Earth level high fantasy, to terror inducing eldrich horror, to arcane mysteries of Wierd War 2 ( a personal favorite! ). Its a giant toybox to use every miniature you've ever bought! Worth every gold piece you loot! I can't recomend this enough for miniature fans of daring-do and dark deeds!
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Brink of Battle is an enjoyable, carefully executed, and engaging historical miniature wargame that focuses on individual skirmishers rather than large-scale conflict. Every roll made in this game is an opposed roll between players using D10's, to which an attribute is added. While this roll type leaves a lot to chance, it keeps engagements from being dominated by min-maxers or those looking to exploit rules loopholes (of which I've found none!).
Brink of Battle feels very much like the spiritual successor to Mordheim, except that it offers considerably more depth and flexibility. If there's a downside to this game, it's that the book layout and conversational style makes it somewhat difficult to reference the rules during play. I own the physical book, but I purchased the PDF as well as the searchable text can save you a good five minutes of rules hunting.
Overall, I would say that this is the most engaging miniatures game I have played, and it certainly is the most thoughtfully designed. At $30.00, this game is a steal.
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Good supplement to a great game. Played a couple games to try out the differences. I really like the fantasy/ medieval feel to the game.
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BoB is a well written and well designed rules set. I had a bit of a problem initially in designing troops but after a more thorough read thru my problems were cleared up. The rules are logically constructed and best of all, IMO, use only one type of die (d10).
If you are looking for a game that concentrates on the individual warrior, then this is it. I highly recommend BofB.
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One set of rules allowing you to play every period? We'll see about that. A quick game of Ancients (handled that pretty well), how about some WWII, Germans vs. US (really like what I am seeing), some VC vs. Marines, city fighting during the Tet Offensive/Battle of Hue (heart rate has increased), insurgents vs. Marines at Fallujah (SOLD!!).
This set of rules truly delivers on its claims, it is the only rule set you will ever need to play any period you want. I highly recommend it to anyone that does not game only one period and likes to transition between many. I love this game.
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I have been looking for a skirmish set of rules for different periods for some time. I found everything I wanted and more in Brink of Battle.Clear, straight forward, readable and I can hardly wait to fight my first scenario.
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BoB produces a fast, simple and satisfying game. The most time consuming aspect of the rules is generating the troops (which can be difficult for people unfamiliar with the rules, since the will not appreciate which traits are the most effective for the sort of trooper they are trying to create - there is, after all, a large number of traits!). My players enjoyed the fact that they were engaged at all times - in fact downtime whilst your opponent has his/her go is impossible).
The rules are generally clear, although l found the index somewhat quirky. Some things were not listed, or, when listed, not under what I expected. With this minor caveat (which becomes irrelevant once you know the rules), I would recommend these rules to anyone.
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Brink of Battle just got even better! With the addition of magic and inborn traits I can use my D&D minis for epic battles! The new traits combined with magic gear and spells add an engaging fantasy flavor to an already amazing game.
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This rule set does exactly what it sets out to do - historical skirmish gaming-and does so exceptionally well.
I have been playing wargames since the '60s. I've seen other attempts to capture the ability to skirmish through the ages with a "one size fits all approach" and none of them succeeded. I think this one does for a number of reasons:
- The author lays out his rationale for the approach he used and explains it well
- He makes some simplifying assumptions that are logical but necessary for his approach
- He provides an innovative approach for tailoring your forces
End result- it works, but more importantly, it is a fun game. What's more, as a solo gamer, it plays well with standard solo gaming approaches. I've found no "show stoppers" in the rules.
I've played a few scenarios, and enjoy the game play itself, but also am enjoying tinkering with the different possibilities for adjusting my opposing forces based on the traits and skills available.
So whether you are looking for a "one-off" change of pace for your gaming group, or you want to try some "what if?" options for creating your own scenarios, or you want to actually game a smaller action from a larger game that would have been resolved "off table" with a coin toss or dice roll i the past, or like me, want to use it as a good gaming system that covers the ancient to modern (and now fantasy) where you don't need to learn or remember a new set of game mechanics for other periods, this is a great game.
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I love this game! I'm fairly new to wargaming, and this has been a great way to start! I love that I can use any miniatures I like. I love that I can go to any period of history with one set of rules. I recently built teams using Roman legionaries vs. Celtic warriors defending a village, and a WWII team storming a beach. The traits change a bit, but the play is the same. I also love that I don't have to wait for my opponent to play his entire force to get in any action. It's still turned based, but one figure at a time. It's great! The PDF version is awesome because when I'm building a force i can use the search to look up traits, point costs, or anything I like. It's all right here at my fingertips. Just look up information, type up my choices, and print my team to take to the game. The games can be as small or as large as you like. You wont be disappointed in these rules.
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