Someone asked me on TMP if I'd use my Numidians to play Warhammer Ancient Battles and I said no because of a lack of opponents. I'll put the long answer here.
I live in a small town where the local gaming store is a forty-five minute drive away. One night a week I make the drive to that store for a quick three-hour RPG session that I run to scratch that itch, but I can't imagine going a second night to do wargaming. I have a wargaming group here, in my own town, that years before I came along decided to play Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
Now at this point I'll share three of the biggest blessings in my life. The first is my children which are completely extraneous to this story except that my son is apparently inviting his own miniatures game in the basement using my DDM figs and some cardstock terrain. But the other two are my very loving wife and a job that pays me a handsome salary. Between those two I can pick up generally any wargame out there without expecting much in the way of obstacles except my own time and interest.
And of course, opponents. Every time I've suggested playing something other than WHFB, the response from my gaming club is the same: we invested money in WHFB, and trying to play something different would cause problems at home or at the bank. And I'm not knocking them. I know some might criticize them for being "whipped" or something similar (ever notice those comments are only made by single people?) but I think they are just being reasonable. They know their lives, their marriages, and their fortunes, and playing WAB or WarMachine or Victory Without Quarter or whatever just isn't in the cards.
Sometime I'll give the RPG at the gaming store a rest and try to find an opponent through the HMGS or something. I've actually considered solo wargaming recently as another venue. But for now, my Numidians will be transported to the fantastic world of the Empire, suddenly get magical assistance, and battle all sorts of inhuman adversaries much more terrifying than the Romans or their rivals ever were.
I live in a small town where the local gaming store is a forty-five minute drive away. One night a week I make the drive to that store for a quick three-hour RPG session that I run to scratch that itch, but I can't imagine going a second night to do wargaming. I have a wargaming group here, in my own town, that years before I came along decided to play Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
Now at this point I'll share three of the biggest blessings in my life. The first is my children which are completely extraneous to this story except that my son is apparently inviting his own miniatures game in the basement using my DDM figs and some cardstock terrain. But the other two are my very loving wife and a job that pays me a handsome salary. Between those two I can pick up generally any wargame out there without expecting much in the way of obstacles except my own time and interest.
And of course, opponents. Every time I've suggested playing something other than WHFB, the response from my gaming club is the same: we invested money in WHFB, and trying to play something different would cause problems at home or at the bank. And I'm not knocking them. I know some might criticize them for being "whipped" or something similar (ever notice those comments are only made by single people?) but I think they are just being reasonable. They know their lives, their marriages, and their fortunes, and playing WAB or WarMachine or Victory Without Quarter or whatever just isn't in the cards.
Sometime I'll give the RPG at the gaming store a rest and try to find an opponent through the HMGS or something. I've actually considered solo wargaming recently as another venue. But for now, my Numidians will be transported to the fantastic world of the Empire, suddenly get magical assistance, and battle all sorts of inhuman adversaries much more terrifying than the Romans or their rivals ever were.
Sounds like a reasonable choice to me. And if the itch goes greater, and your club's only objection is the cost involved, you can always look at the classic soloist's gambit of buying both sides and arranging to bring all the necessaries but an opponent to an occasional gaming night if someone wants to give it a go.
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