Lion Rampant

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Peter
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by Peter »

They worked well for a fast multi-player game (though this isn't what they were designed for). We made a few tweaks, but nothing very significant.
I didn't find them in any way 'fiddly' but would certainly agree that they are basic.

Peter
b20f08
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by b20f08 »

I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to add my own views regarding LR as I only discovered it last Xmas.

I really enjoyed it as light entertainment. Yes, it's quick and convenient, sort of like fish 'n chips - but it seems to fill that medieval appetite one has occasionally. And that's fine.

I also like it because it works well in helping me develop story ideas. It occurred to me to combine my love for wargaming (mostly solo) and writing (mostly unpublished) into some tapestry of achievement.

Thus far, it has worked out quite well. Having a story behind any activity is fundamental to enjoying it; it certainly helps to colour my own passion that little more rewarding aside from the usual 'stuff' associated with gaming. And people think writing can't be a hobby. :D
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Seret
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by Seret »

We're playing a league at my club. Nothing fancy, just play everybody else once each and count up your glory points.

They're a fun, simple little set of rules with good scenarios. I much prefer playing one of the scenarios with objectives than the obvious "bloodbath" game. A lot of them reward mobility and cunning over raw violence, so it makes for quite dynamic games.

It's not a hardcore simulation, but having some lightweight fast play games to play on club nights is a good thing I reckon. Variety being the spice of life and all that.

The low figure count makes it quite accessible, too. Some of the guys in our club (myself included) managed to throw their retinue together in pretty short order just to play these games.
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SteveBurt
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by SteveBurt »

We recently tried the 'Chariots Rampant' variant published in Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy.
The new boasts are fun, and add o the atmosphere.
Seems to work pretty well, and got my Bronze Age armies on table for the first time in a few years.
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sjwalker51
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by sjwalker51 »

The Colonial version "Men who would be Kings" is out later this year and is good fun - very different from SP but has some real period feel and can readily be up scaled to much larger games than they are officially designed for.
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Seret
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by Seret »

SteveBurt wrote: The new boasts are fun, and add to the atmosphere.
It's all about the boasts.

We had two guys at the club last night just trying the rules for the first time. They played two "bloodbath" games with no boasts and I thought their games looked really dry and boring. You could have exchanged the miniatures for Space Marines and it would have felt like the same game.

I reckon: get some decent terrain in that sets the scene, use a scenario and boast away.
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agent_pumpkin
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by agent_pumpkin »

Dragon Rampant looks good too. Anybody tried that with space pixies or similar? ;)
Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the throne of the kingdom of idiots would fight a war on twelve fronts.
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Seret
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by Seret »

I've got the rules but haven't played yet. The main thing that strikes me about it is that you need to bump the points up a bit to get a similar sized game to LR. I reckon somewhere in the 30s.
Just a few Orcs
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by Just a few Orcs »

We have a Lion Rampant league going at our club. I would accept that they are a little simplistic but they give a fun game. The one thing we have found is that the given scenarios can favour one particular type of army heavily, making it impossible for the other too win.

So I would say pick your scenarios carefully to give both players a chance.
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Sadurian
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Re: Lion Rampant

Post by Sadurian »

I have both the Lion Rampant and the Dragon Rampant rules.

I originally bought them because I wanted to be able to play small-scale medieval-period skirmishes/battles with little investment, and also to be able to use my existing medieval-esque Fantasy figures.

I base my figures on 80mmx80mm or equivalent sized round mdf bases and create units as small dioramas using 28mm figures. Instead of figure removal I use numbered dials suitable modelled as debris, points of interest or terrain pieces.

The rules are fast to learn but reward thinking, especially in terms of the best counter to an enemy unit. They are more flexible and less 'chess-like' than DBA but offer many of the same advantages - small forces and generic troop-types.

I played against my 11-year-old son, a wargaming virgin, and he loved it. He immediately grasped the pros and cons of the various unit options and we had several games where we both tried out different army combinations. That it only took us a few minutes to jiggle the army list to accommodate changes shows just how easy the setup is.

Having modelled many different units for Undead versus 'early modern/late medieval European human' (alright, they used to be my WHFB Empire troops), I am currently basing a load of old historically-questionable 20mm plastics (Airfix and Atlantic mainly). DR/LR is a great excuse to see those venerable Ancient Britons or Egyptians (for example) on the wargaming table without wincing at their dodgy accuracy.

In summary, they are a fun set of fast-play rules. Don't expect them to reproduce the minutiae of medieval combat and there are several glaring problems (no way to reinforce a friendly unit locked in melee, for example), but for what they set out to be I am very happy with them.
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