Zapp! Thou Art Slain©... The Satanic Panic Universal Rules System©

 As you may have noticed, I've been working on a set of fast and dirty fantasy rules to handles truly large battles, which are manufacturer and setting agnostic.

After all, I own a miniature company, so the temptation and possibility of having lots of figures is always there, lurking like a wet fart in white linen trousers.

So, I began tinkering with mechanisms which used a single value to describe a unit, and thus was born the Satanic Panic Universal Rule System© (S.P.U.R.S©) 

It's simple and elegant at the same time, and allows massive battles to be fought, generals to see roughly but not precisely what the opposing forces are like., in the same way a 'real world' general could read the battlefield.

The rules are basing agnostic, with there being two general types of troops, identified by the number of figures counted as one 'base'. Troops which are trained, drilled or just natural fighters use a 'base' of 4 figures, whilst tribal, levies or just generally untrained troops are represented by a 6 figure 'base'. If you have individually based models, then just count them up and divide by 4 or 6 and round up.  And there is your basic Universal Value (U.V).

Once the final U.V is calculated, you have a number which governs the ability and staying power of the unit. Minute tactical details are considered as being unimportant as we are talking about possibly hundreds of units per side and the general is bothered about 'big picture' strategy, trusting his underlings to deal with the small stuff. This liberates the players in that they can et on with the important stuff, namely slinging around their favourite figures with vicious abandon.

The U.V can be modified due to certain factors which allows for a great degree of variety whilst keeping a streamlined system.

The basic roll required to damage an opponent is 5 or 6, with modifiers, re-rolls and the like affecting those results. 

As will be obvious, it takes 24 tribal models to match the basic U.V of a trained unit of 16, thus you also maintain a nice aesthetic difference between the two types of troops. 

If we look at an Orc unit, comprising 3 'bases' of 6 figures, it will have a basic U.V of 3. Thus, it will be at a disadvantage against a 16 model (4 'base' ) unit of trained troops. The answer is either to increase the unit size which may make the unit a little more difficult to maneuver or box clever by using several similar units, formed up in columns, covering the same frontage but hitting with distinctly more power than a solo formation. Columns are individually less powerful and are susceptible to missile fire, but can concentrate a lot of hurt into a narrow frontage. 

The rules seek to make players think of their collection as an army rather than a collection of individual units, making large scale tactical moves, and rewarding such thinking.

Over time, I plan to write up brief 'army lists', suggesting how each race can be represented. These are really for ease of 'pick up' play, and of course my ideas will differ from another gamer's . This is right and proper, and I would encourage you to create your own armies where possible.

These rules are not meant to be tight, competition rules, but rather, they should offer some fun games which will allow you to play with any figures, in any number in a decent amount of time.

I have kept the magic system pretty straightforward so that the game does not bog down. I have done away with levels and many of the traditional limitations we are used to, because frankly, it takes the fun and awe out of a fantasy game when it's impossible to get a spell into play because there are so many chances of failure of counter-magic. Yes, you can interrupt the opposing magicians, but it has a very real cost in terms of tactical flexibility elsewhere.

How many fantasy books have you read, where the wizards in large battles have been useless? Very few...

One of the most important things for me has to not remove models until an entire regiment becomes impotent on the battlefield. Why do we spend so long painting models, only to start putting them back in their boxes within minutes of setting up on the table? So that is a big no-no in 'SPURS'.

Gaming should be fun, and fantasy games should feel grandiose and somewhat over the top.I hope my rules manage to create those feelings.

TTFN