First game with Mages

You may have read my earlier blog about introducing mages and spell books into our version of Scape, and how uncertain I was about doing this. I mean, we have a pretty good thing going and I don’t want to add vinegar to the soup.

Also my daughter is firmly against it. I’m not sure why.

We like ‘Scape because the rules are simple- but I guess we have taken that structure and built on it a bit. I think my daughter wants to feel comfortable with the rules as they are before we go into new lands - adding magic- something we were thinking would change things immensely.

So one of the conditions in adding spell books and magic was that it couldn’t really change the game in any way- it could be played or not played without any real alteration to the game, figures, or stats.
We had worked on the spell books over a period of weeks and my eldest son had a pretty good prototype ready for our first game.

(My two older sons actually played the first two games with magic but I was busy with some dirty clothes, dirty dishes and a floor that needed washing. Life, it seems, is a dirty business.)



The view from the castle- southern half of map

We’ve been playing a new variant for our three person games. The 1 on 1 on 1 is not much fun because it usually ends up as a 2 on 1 (my younger son and myself against my eldest son). We’ve gone through a lot of different ideas trying to find something that works better.

Our current game for three players is called “Invaders and Defenders”. We build a medium large map, usually with two fortifications. There are six special hexes (an ice hex or something different from the surroundings) spread out over the map- the invader must place figures on four of them simultaneously to win.

The defenders, all three of us, get 300 points each. The invaders, all three of us, get 400 points each. The defenders place all their forces on the board wherever they like. The invaders are restricted to six starting zones on the perimeter of the map, and must funnel their invading forces in through those zones.

For defenders I choose 300 points of custom Templars. Brother Jerome, normally a healer, had been awarded the status of level two mage. Since I’d spent all my points my sons donated thirty points from their defenders to him and I armed him with six 5 point “charges”.



Brother Jerome and the Templars smell goblin

For invaders I choose the Skaven army I have been working on. Skaven are a Warhammer race of rat-men. In our game at this point they are swarmers- weak units that win through number rather than strength. They have no ranged units at this time. This was to be the premier of a figure I have been working on for quite a while- Grey Seer Thanquol, named after the Skaven mage from the Gotrek and Felix novels. I don’t have a lot of skaven- only about 270 points worth- so I took the rest as charges –26- for Thanquol.

My defenders were assigned the task of defending two special hexes. One was out in the open, so I lined most of the Templars up on the surrounding height. A kept a few troops back and put them in a castle which overlooked a starting zone.

My eldest son took only two mages as defenders- Emiroon and a custom elf wizard named Xantha. My younger son, of course, took dwarves. As defenders we worked out a strategy and put our forces on the board.

Next we met as invaders and looked at where the board was weakest. We decided to use only two starting zones that were not well defended.

The order of play is as follows 1) invaders place forces in the starting zones. 2) Defenders move and attack. 3) Invaders move and attack. (no OMs)

The invaders began to flood in through the weaker starter zones. The Defenders moved to intercept, and sent forces that had been guarding other starting zones, thus weakening the garrisons there. The invaders sent a small sacrificial force into the starting zone near the castle to occupy the defenders there and stop them from sending reinforcements to the other end of the map.

My Templars attacked the massing Skaven and goblins (some of my son’s invaders). Jerome the mage did well- he mostly used a level two attack called Blast Wave- it’s a spell with a weak attack: 3 dice, attacking three squares. It did well against the weak Skaven and Goblins. Grey Seer Thanquol also did considerable damage, but then he was wounded early and transported himself the heck out of there to safety in true Skaven fashion.



A blurry action shot! The Grey Seer urges the Skaven on- from his position behind them

Up near the castle a mage duel developed- Gandalf the Grey, a level two mage, invading with two squads of sniper cats (humanoid felines with bows). They fought against the defending dwarves and the 3rd level mage Xantha. The two mages fought each other, each blocking the other’s spells, and even trying to block the blocks. This depleted their spell charges very quickly and soon the invading Gandalf had run out. Neither mage had taken a wound, but many of the squad figures lay dead on the field and in the swamp.

But it didn’t really matter because the real action was happening at the other end of the map. Grey Seer Thanquol had used a healing spell and transported himself back into the action. The Templars stood well but there were just too many invaders to hold back, and soon the four special hexes at the middle and that end of the map where in the possession of the invaders and the game was over.

I was pleasantly surprised with the mages. They had been fun to use, were not overpowering- you have to spend points on the “charges” rather than figures so it kind of evens out. One mage with a lot of charges is very strong, but they can still be wounded and killed. (Grey Seer Thanquol was just lucky.) The spell books seem balanced and it all went very well. We played a game immediately afterwards with my daughter not using magic and it was fun too.

Our magic experiment is a success! The only real problem is that I’ve developed a liking for Thanquol- which means he is doomed. He will be insulted, derided and mocked at the supper table, in the car, - endlessly really. And should I be foolish enough to try to use him in a game- he’s a marked rat. My sons will kill him immediately and gleefully.

Next we need to develop some vampire mages to suck out magic charges from other mages, both the living and the dead...