Spence

Thanks Cats Laughing

That answers everything I needed.  I was just wanting to make sure they were not too wildly different in ability. 

Looks like I will start with the two melee, Victoria and Misaki. 

Thanks Cats Laughing.

I didn't think they would be exact, but I was hoping for close.  Since I finally have some time to game, I am going to try and get some mini's interest going at my FLGS that is not WH or WM.  Malifaux is the only non-historical game that actually seems interesting to me.  

How do you think the Viktorias, Misaki and Rasputina core boxes would balance?  I apparently have the three core boxes on their way, and old friend is sending me them.  I guess he has decided to not get into M after all.   

Just a quick yes/no question.

Are the Core boxes reasonably balanced against each other?  In other words, If I buy two core boxes, are they a good balanced fit against each other to use as a learning game? 

12 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

They're online for free from the main wyrd site

The only unique thing in the physical books is the lore.

I appreciate the response, but I am one of the people that learns by reading a hard copy with half a dozen book marks constantly flipping between pages and using physical cues to remember.  A PDF is great for a quick search or to print a table, but next to useless to actually learn from.  Probably my oldness holding me back.

Hello all,

I have been away for a long time and am finally in a position to game again.  Beyond historical wargaming, Malifaux is about the only "fantasy" type mini's game that interests me.  But I noticed that the core rules can't seem to be found anywhere. 

 

Any idea when they will hit the shelves again??

Thanks all,

I will be taking the advice on board over the next few weeks.  I tend to collect a lot of games stuff so rounding out this list will not hurt me and will give me a playable selection.

Thanks again.

 

Any updates with a target for release?  GTM has it releasing July 2017, is it right?

Thanks.  I'll need to read through those.

 

So I have been interested in Malifaux for several years with the biggest roadblock being my bone deep revulsion for painting.   All those years of endless lines of infantry and micro-armor have crushed any enjoyment derived from the task and have made ground glass in the eyelids sound attractive.

So here I am YEARS later and have decided to bite the bullet and pay to get them painted.  The first wave for me will be the 2E crew boxes and assorted others I already own.

Salvage and Logistics - Leveticus Box Set

Hired Swords - Viktoria Box Set

Closing Time - Brewmaster Box Set

The Thunder - Misaki Box Set

I also have the first edition Lady Justice, Rasputina, Colette and Kirai crew boxes.  I was really disappointed when they changed the Crew box line up, but decided to not offer the “differences” in singles.   But that’s the way things are.

I have the Starter box in order and will be using it as well.

For rulebooks, I have the old 1^st ed material and the 2E core book.

Based on the premise of the Core rulebook only and only the figures listed above, and understanding that I am the only person that can spell Malifaux locally.   Can you recommend some balanced learning scenarios?  Something that I can use to not only firm up my understanding of the rules, but also allow others to become interested and learn the game? 

One thing that makes Malifaux stand out is that you do not need to continually buy thousands of dollars of new miniatures a month just to stay competitive like the army based games out there.    That is what pretty much killed miniature gaming in my area.  If you buy a mini, you want to be able to use it for a while before it is effectively obsolete.   From what I can tell, many of the figures from early 1^st ed are still viable and being used in present 2E.

So here we are.  What line ups do you recommend for completely new players to practice on?

And if they are not quite right, what currently available singles/unit packs do you recommend to round them out. 

Just wanted to mention that I have my copy of the TtB FreeRPG adventure Recruitment Drive.

 

The book itself lives up to Wyrds standard of production quality and both the QSR's and the adventure itself are well written. 

 

The adventure itself is perfect for a "one shot". 

 

All in all, a great job.

Sounds great!

 

I have been reviewing the rules in prep.  I am hoping to get some real interest generated locally for for both TtB and and M2.

My apologies for not seeing this sooner!  In the future, I'd recommend asking about such things in the Through the Breach forums.

 

No need to apologize.  If I had posted to the right forum you would have seen it.

 

 

 

There are four pregenerated characters in the adventure, and the quickstart rules cover the basics of the system. There's card flipping, cheating, AP, etc. A few of the general actions were left out and the magic system has pretty much just been condensed into one of the Fated who happens to be a spellcaster, instead of general magic rules. it contains some fighting, some roleplaying, some skill duels, and an ongoing challenge, as well as multiple endings depending upon the actions of the Fated.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

Cool, 4 PC's.    I wanted to make sure I had enough decks.  

 

Another question.  Are their twist decks pre-listed or will the players need to select theirs?

According to the Free RPG Day website, there will be a TtB scenario called Recruitment Drive with quickstart rules.  I have volunteered to run it at my FLGS and was wondering if anyone might give a little more information. 

 

Not about the scenario storyline itself, but information such as how many pregenerated player characters there are and an idea of how cut back the 'quickstart' rules will be. 

 

Thanks

Hello everyone,

 

Looking for a some input on a simple question.   I have M2E and have been talking with my FLGS about introducing the game into the local area.   Pretty much the best way to start up a new game is to play that game, so the idea is to build two or three “basic crews” for the store to demo the game and have in store for people to try out the game. 

 

I believe Malifaux is the perfect “new” miniatures game to start up because it is not as steep for a new player to enter as many of the “army” games. 

 

I plan on covering the cost of the “store crews” and want to select three basic crew boxes that will play well matched together while still being new player friendly.  Or in other words more straight forward to play so people can concentrate on learning the basic game rather than the subtleties of the crew.

 

Over the years I have found that if a gamer gets a chance to play and finds the game fun they will go out and buy the rules and figures.  But they hesitate to commit before they try it. 

 

So the question is this.

 

What crew boxes are good match ups to teach Malifaux.  I am looking primarily for two crews that work well against each other, and maybe a third for variety.

 

Thoughts?  Opinions?

Thanks for the pics

........crickets.......

A Malifaux movie.   What a nice thought....

Woot! Completed!

 

20,516!

 

I hate you........

 

Frankly, I like that the real movers and shakers of Malifaux are incredibly difficult to kill. The way characters die also makes the players very difficult to outright kill as well. As my group's Fatemaster, if they wanted to go looking for Pandora to try to kill her, I'd let it play out exactly as the system says. Without preparation, and some surprise and luck, I would allow my players to earn exactly what they asked for.

Then again, my Malifaux is a very very dangerous place, and I've impressed that on my players with no uncertainty, and they are fine with masters being inaccessible from a combat standpoint.

 

 

The way I look at it Masters should be something to Aspire too / Fear... Not something to kill..

 

Sonnia is far more useful as the every prescent fear of execution if you let people find out about your magical power than as this is the big bad guy you are trying to kill. If you encounter her it should be more, how do I get out of here alive than I bash you, you Incerate me.

 

Same with people like Seamus, Seamus is the reason you don't walk the streets at night, not something a Guild superior should ever send you after. He should be the ever present fear in the shadows, not a stated boss fight. By all means have his grisly murders, or even him appear if the group are gettting too cocky, but plan the fights to give them the scare of their lives not kill them.

 

 

Yes exactly.  It actually reminds me of RPG's in the late 70's early 80's.  There were many beings/powers in the worlds that a PC simply was not going to kill or defeat.   Every PC was operating under the realization that there were something s that could not be defeated.  Many times they were not even stat'ed out.   They trend in the last 10 years to apply actual game stats to literally everything, even 'gods', has IMO gotten out of hand. 

 

I really like the idea that it may take 5 or 6 real world years of regularly playing the same PC to create one that can take on a Master one on one.  Or heck maybe never. 

 

And I am 100% liking the non-combat options over just running battle-porn.  I mean that is what games like D&D and Pathfinder are for.  Ugh I kill many now ugh....

 

That was a joke

evil...

My Fated provided me with pretty rich stories about who they were pre-malifaux and why they were going in, which allowed me to tie them all together fairly well. After that, I played on one character's extreme greed to make the fated all complicit in a smuggling operation gone bad (they stole something from a smuggler who was executed in front of them by guild guard for it).

 

That did a pretty good job of impressing the danger they were in upon them, and I was able to weave several of their backgrounds together for some mutual interest

 

It's great when they do that, as long a they built their background stories with an eye to fitting in with other players and the general outline/theme of the adventure/arc the FM plans to run.  

 

No more slave labor attempts to force wildly divergent pegs into the wrong holes for me. 

 

All the participants are allowed to have fun and that includes the GM.  The lone/solitary hero works great in a scripted Movie/TV Series/Book but pretty much fails in RPG's except for the 1 player/1 GM games which I don't find fun. 

 

A major issue I find these days is many players lack the ability (or choose to ignore it) to understand the difference.  Most of the characters in the fluff that I like operate alone and at most use lesser beings as pawns.  Fantastic for fluff fiction.  Bad Bad Bad for an RPG featuring a group of PC's.   YMMV but I got off that train years ago. 

I think the biggest thing with this system is that you will need a gaming group that enjoys theme and characters. As an example, I have an old Russian soldier in my group who uses a specific shotgun because it was the one he "fought with in the war" and not "the best one".

 

When you have a group of players who give as much to the narrative as they take, the somewhat permissive ruleset is a HUGE boon. IF your group really sticks hard to minutae in rule language, this system may require a lot of modification or a few more supplements to really be enjoyable.

 

My group is very experimental and is thrilled with the system. I'd like to see some more information on Enchanted/Gearworks stuff but beyond that it is a really solid backbone to work with for a group that likes flexibility (The Firefly/Supernatural system has a lot of similar elements in that regard)

 

Apptly put.

 

If I were to continue the theme.  If you and you players like free flowing games (rules-lite or at least not rules-heavy, like FATE, Ubiquity, Savage Worlds, the new Edge of the Empire) and do not get stuck in the weeds.  But rather place narrative and story over rule mechanics, then TTB will be a hit.

 

If, however, you group is the kind that fixates on minutia and thinks D&D, Pathfinder and other rules by the pound games are The It of gaming, you may be disappointed.

 

The magic system itself will need some getting used to if you  are grounded in standard "spell book magic". 

 

Character advancement is also quite different.  And IMO different in a good way that will promote the character narratives much better that a simple “here are experience points have at it” system.

 

All in all if you like a unique, character driven and flexible RPG I think TTB may be it.

 

Of course that is from my read through and not from a position of having actually run it yet,  so YMMV

OK my turn.

 

First a couple comments on earlier posts. 

 

Warhammer:   Stopped playing back around 99(ish?).  Much too costly to upkeep and they kept striking existing sculpts from ‘legal’ play. 

 

Warmachine:  MUCH better than WH, but they are beginning to fall into the same escalation trap as WH.  While they do not officially outlaw mini’s, they effectively do with each new wave of ‘cool stuff’. 

 

Malifaux.  In the process of beginning to play.  My biggest issue is that most of the local mini’s players are wallet shy after getting sucked into high cost games so they will not put out any money to try it.   My solution (because I think Malifaux is just that good) is to buy several crew boxes of different factions and to run “demo’s” to show it off.  A double plus is that my 5 Crew Boxes (4 are 1^st Ed metal boxes, 1 is the newer plastics) cost me less than one third of my Skorne army did. And are FAR easier to construct and paint. 

 

Other games.

 

Bolt Action. WW2 Skirmish game, one figure to a base.

Can I afford it?  Absolutely.  Infantry box sets are really low priced for the hobby.  30-32 multi-posed figures run $41 to $45.  Smaller Squad boxes of 25 figures run $36ish. The Army Starter has 55 figures (3 light mortars, medium mortar, MMG, multiple LMG's and SMG's, 2 lunge mines) plus a Type 97 Medium Tank for $128.00.  28mm figures.  Upkeep is very low since starter boxes include machinegun teams and such.  The multi-pose plastics include a variety of weapons so you can pretty much configure them any way you want.

Do I like the miniatures?  Yes.  The Warlord line is very well done, at least as good as Malifaux plastics, though they are historically accurate vice fantasy.   No to mention that there are dozens of other manufacturers producing 28mm historicals.

Is the game fun?  Loads.  The rule system is very streamlined and has a unique intuitive system.  Units are cost based, not figure based.  By that I mean I don't have to buy a Light Machinegun box in order to have a LMG.  All the units stats are contained in the Army lists rather than on cards and since the list is based on historical data, units stats are in the books even before they came up with actual figures.  You can build your mini’s to exactly reflect the point cost, but do not have to.  And infantry figure is an infantry figure. 

Do other people play? Locally? Not a lot yet.  South of me it is gaining a following and is poised to replace Flames of War.  But as soon as I bought a book and a Japanese infantry box, a friend immediately bought USMC.  This without any prompting. 

So plenty of people who backed the game have the pdf right?

So why is no-one talking about it.

I can't find blogs about the game, no reviews, few posts.

Most big RPGs go mad with posts when just a preorder or draft goes online (hackers guide, numenera, mindjammer, 13th age) but with TTB there is nothing. Surely the NDAs are over now?

Seems hard to belive the game can survive if there is this little talk about it.

Sorry for rant...just worried

 

I don't know. 

 

I game at my FLGS and even if not in a game I stop by several times a week and have never heard of Hackers Guide.  I have heard mention of Numeneria and Mindjammer on a forum I frequent, but have never seen them played or heard them mentioned at the FLGS.   13th Age took off here after the hardcopies were available, but mostly because Pelgrane directly supports in-gameshop organized play with free adventures and participation in the "Bits and Mortar" program.

 

As for TTB, there are two forums. One is the backer forum and then there is this forum. 

 

But the big issue may be what Dracomax mentioned.  The game is not out yet. 

 

It has been submitted to the printers and they do not have it for physical sale yet and there were only 1546 backers (a tiny number when you really look at it) that have a copy.  Not to mention that their primary bread and butter, Malifaux 2E was just recently released and they have yet to complete the Arsenal Boxes for all the 1st edition figures (complete means physical copies available for purchase at your FLGS).

 

I’m guessing that when the books are physically available and if Wyrd launches some kind of actual support for the line, you’ll see if it takes off. 

 

But people don’t get excited for something they cannot see or own.

 

--snip--

 

A lot of the Malifaux podcasts spend way too much time just yakking about stuff only tangentially related to Malifaux (some friend they saw at a tournament, lame "jokes," excessive navel-gazing, etc.).  This is exacerbated by some painfully slow talkers (1.5-2x playback speed to the rescue).  Some of these podcasts run longer than two hours but have half the content of more focused 1 hr podcasts like those on Guessing Zero.  Whether through editing or just staying on topic, shows like Desperate Mercs set the standard for a concentrated dose of Malifaux goodness. 

 

 

Well, I don't think it is malifaux specific podcasts that have this problem.  I listen to a lot of the WM/H and Infinity podcasts too, or should I say DID listen to a lot of them.....

 

things that kill podcasts dead for me every time:

• Inside jokes that take up 10-15 minutes.  Hell, anything that is more than 1 minute of inside stuff is just a waste of time.
• 1 to 3 to 5+ minute intros of music that I really don't care to listen too.  I am glad you like classic rock/country/dubstep/whatever and want to share.  But I don't want that in my podcast (no, it is not peanut-butter + chocolate = resse's).  Get to the goods!
• Don't tell me you are taking a break.  This doesn't kill it, but it is annoying as hell.  It is not live radio.  I don't need to pause and do something else while commercials blare.  Take your break.  Just spend a bit more time when you are editing it.
• Anything that is not on topic and seems to appear EVERY TIME.  I don't care!  Get to the goods!
• Pimping your latest gear that is game related is totally fine.  Just don't take a third of an episode about it (haven't had that problem with any Mali podcasts yet.  Malifools bendy-boards stuff is actually humorous and tongue-in-cheek, so that is an example of HOW to do it)

 

One infinity podcast had a bag manufacterer rant for about 20 minutes one episode about how people were wrongly/rightly talking trash about him.  I really don't care.  I wasn't there to listen to him cry about something.  I was there for a podcast on infinity.  The podcast has been MUCH better since he left and if I was heavily into Infinity still (not abandoned, just Malifaux is my girl at the moment) I would be listening to it consistently because the other 2 hosts had good insight.  That was a good change and I think all podcasts can get better.

 

 

I stopped listening to the majority of WM/H podcasts because there was just too much crap in between and didn't feel like wasting my time fastforwarding through.  I still listen to Chain Attack though.  There is some junk in that podcast, but I would say it is 99% fun.

 

 

Now, this is all complaining/ranting/some-say-whinging.  That said:

 

THANK YOU!!!!!

 

Thank you to all the people who dedicate their time in contributing podcasts to this great game and all the other ones (even if I think the other game might suck ;-)).  Game companies should be thanking you as well.  When your cast is done right..... you make everyone want to stop what they are doing and just start painting/building/playing/gaming!  Quite a few of you peeps have given me hours of entertainment on the trains commuting to work, while painting, while cooking, etc.  And I wanted to say, thanks!

 

 

Pretty much.  I thought I was the only one out there to think this. 

 

Pod casts have pretty much reduced my interest in the lines that use them exclusively for getting out information.  I am an adult with an actual job.  I really don't have so much free time in my week to spend 2-3 hours here and 2-3 hours there listening to podcasts that may, maybe, might, possibly have 10-15 minutes of actual information. 

 

I submit that the people making the pod-casts should look back at some of the original podcasts that included a now mythical index, either written or taking up the initial 1-2 minutes of the podcast where the contents are specifically identified by time mark so you can jump to the part you are actually interested in.   And when you get there they are actually talking information not just "navel gazing".

 

Just like blogs, there are really two kinds of podcasts.  First is a podium for someone to ramble, rant and rage against the world in an marginally coherent manner.  The other is a actual attempt to disseminate information to a target audience in a usable manner.  This kind will actually have, if not a script, than at least an outline that is used to keep the discussion on target and relevant to the topic. 

 

The addition of a time-mark index would allow both kinds of listeners to actually get value from the podcast and allow the intent of information dissemination to actually occur.

 

Here is a suggestion.  After the pod-cast have the editor insert key summaries with specific time marks and add them to an index at the front. 

 

For example:  “Bob” begins talking about the new release schedule at time mark 00:35:45.  For the next 35 minutes we discover that not only was his cat an inspiration but there was the incident with the coffee creamer and by accident we get the name and factions of the next 2 releases and a vague date.  So at 01:10:30 the editor inserts a concise statement such as: In Second Quarter 2014 the Guild Crew XXXXX and the Arcanist XXXXX Box will be released.

 

Either at the beginning of the pod cast or as a text listing at the link there will be a list of time stamps

 

XX:XX:XX  Yadda Yadda

XX:XX:XX  Yadda Yadda

00:35:45  Bob talks about 2^nd Quarter Releases

01:10:30  Summary of 2^nd Quarter Releases

XX:XX:XX  Yadda Yadda

XX:XX:XX  Yadda Yadda

 

This way people can either get the relevant information they need or they can set aside hours to listen to the entire podcast. 

 

Right now I am one of the only people in my gaming area even remotely interested in Malifaux because of the lack of available  information.  Primarily you have the distributers and the occasional review.  But most of the Wyrd info is via the forum or a 2+ hour podcast, both of which require the expenditure of HOURS of searching/listening.  And for people that have 1 or 2 game nights a week of 4-5 hours each, listening to pod-casts loses out to playing a game every time.

 

Just an opinion, but there it is.