So, my move from New York to Texas is nearly complete. Time to scope out the local gaming scene. So I show up at the local game store. My first impression: Awesome! A good stock of GW products along with several other gaming ranges including tabletop, cards, and RPG's. Four large gaming boards with terrain, check. Four more tables for other types of games, check. By all accounts, a good looking prospect.
I talk to the owner. So, what are the established gaming nights? Magic, 40K, WHFB, Infinity, Warmachine, and a few others get named. How about Inquisitor? "What's that?" he says. I explain. "Oh yeah. I got one of those 54mm miniatures and never even put it together. It never caught on because of the scale issue. No one's asked about that in at least 5 years...probably 10." :( Necromunda? "Not any more, just Infinity." :-[ I went through a few other of my favorites...no luck. :'(
So, here is the quandary: I have a good game store nearby with a good gaming group, but no one plays my favorites. There are several gaming groups that have played them in the past or play similar games now. The store owner has encouraged me to get together any sort of game group I want, but he is not interested in spearheading something himself. He specifically says he thinks Necromunda would be the most well-received Specialist Game since there are some people who already play Infinity who used to play Necromunda.
So what would you do guys? I like Necromunda, but I would like to get an Inquisitor group going. Any suggestions would be keen.
Thanks
i wrote the Data Transfer (http://darkmagenta.net/articles/Data%20Transfer.pdf) scenario and made all the chars / npcs on 28mm and 54mm ... ran the scenario a coiple of times and viola, people asking for a campaign :-D
get some.posters up and always take your.minis with you; someone is bound to have not organised a game and be free for fun demo :-)
Quote from: Kaludram on January 03, 2013, 02:24:37 PMSo what would you do guys?
Well, firstly, I'd get in on the Infinity. It's got the same kind of "cinematic" feel to its gameplay that Inquisitor does, and a pretty stonking model range. (Some of it is too "anime" for my taste, but that is mostly confined to the Nomad faction).
(Most of) the rules are free on their website, so you can take a look for free.
(I did have a conversation with Kaled recently about the Infinity fluff. I admit it is "dry", at least in the earlier books, but it hasn't had the same time to deepen and mature as WH40K. Also, I suspect the translation from Spanish hasn't helped.)
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As far as bending the other players to your whim, I'd say Gav has the right idea. Contrary to common misconception, Inquisitor is not actually that complex as a game.
You can angle your attack at either 28mm or 54mm. You might well have better success with 28mm, seeing as some players do see 54mm as a "scale issue". Your FLGS owner might also appreciate it more, as his cut disappears when Specialist Games ranges are involved, so anyone working with the regular plastics and blisters* is of benefit to him**.
*Doesn't necessarily have to be GW stuff, of course. One of the benefits of an independent game store.
**Although obviously of a disadvantage to the game if anyone falls into "Guardsmen Tom, Dick, Harry and their heavy bolter" though, so do make it clear that's not what Inquisitor is about.
So would you bridge from Infinity to Inquisitor through Necromunda or just introduce the Infinity players straight to Inq28? I've kicked some ideas around on paper on how to make in Inquisitor work with the Necromunda hired guns rules just to bring in an Inquisitor and introduce the idea...but a direct transfer from a cinematic game like Infinity might work better.
What do you think?
Migsula and a few others on DakkaDakka and Ammobunker have developed a Necromunda mod for games between the retinues, entourage, and cells of the Inquisition, Mechanicus, Rogue Trader fleets, heretics, etc, called Inquisimunda. It's not INQ28, and it's not really Necromunda, but it's sort of a mid point. There's also ][Munda, which seems to be a little different, being more of a trimmed down game of INQ28? I'm not sure, I'm really only a voyeur on that scene. {EDIT} you could ask Molotov for more information?
Quote...but a direct transfer from a cinematic game like Infinity might work better. What do you think?
Well, I think the transfer probably works better in the other direction (seeing as Inquisitor is generally more "niche" than Infinity), but I think it's probably going to work best in the direct fashion - adding in an intermediate step may just get players thinking they've not got time/money when it comes to trying to propose the next new game to them.
Plus, that route has a good chance of getting stuck with the Inquisitor/Necromunda hybrids* that I don't really like.
While there are some lovely models made for these games, most rulesets I've seen - none of which match - tend to either think XP advancement is more important/interesting than narrative development, or lose all of the heroics and flexibility.
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To look at what might draw in Infinity players... well, the draws of that game as they are typically perceived:
- a pretty model range:
Well... let's be honest, I don't think GW's 28mm range has the same punch... but one of the strengths of 28mm Inquisitor is it really doesn't need to be tied to any specific model range. It can give an excuse to buy and use models you couldn't otherwise.
My first 28mm "warband" is mostly made up of GW models that I'd wanted but never had an excuse for. The one I've got in development now is probably going to be a complete smorgasbord of different manufacturers I didn't want complete armies for (or even didn't like most of the ranges of).
- cinematic/dynamic gameplay:
Well, Inquisitor has this, although obviously with more detail. It's possible that some/many of them will find it a bit clunky, but if you can keep that burden off at the start and really open up the opportunity for thrilling heroics, you've got some potential.
- the "It's not your list, it's you" principle.
Well, this really comes down to two angles.
One, Infinity has very few unit options where the points cost isn't seen as pretty much on the money, and there's no mega synergistic combinations that multiply up exponentially. Unless you or your opponent is almost wilfully stupid, you are not going to win or lose the game in the list writing stage. (This is a concept very alien to many players transitioning over from other games.)
Obviously, Inquisitor does not have this balance.
Two, if you're cunning enough with your tactics, there's a way to defeat anything. And given that Inquisitor and its GM gives you almost infinite play flexibility, there's plenty of opportunity to be cunning.
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*Personally, I'm throwing ideas around for an Infinity/Inquisitor/40K RPG hybrid (although, still without any levelling up), because I think that will be much better.