AoC – Bad Goblin Games

Posted on March 31, 2021March 31, 2021 by Brian Peak

Kickstarter Launch

Aaaaand we’re off! Took quite a while to get here. Looking back through old documents and notes, the first version of what would one day become Ages of Conflict is dated March 26, 2016. Much different game at that point as the game was still nothing more than a hobby that we’d dabble with occasionally. It wasn’t until two years later, April 5, 2018, that we met to form Bad Goblin Games and take a serious look at game development.

It’s been a crazy few years. Writing. Testing. More writing. More testing. Conventions. (Or lack thereof.) Covid. Hasn’t been easy and sometimes it has been downright trying, though we’re finally here.

We want to reiterate that while the rules are “complete,” we want everyone to be involved. Please be sure to check out the demo copy of the rules and let us know of any questions, suggestions, or comments you have. This is your game!

Thank you, All!

Ages of Conflict on Kickstarter

Posted on February 5, 2020March 31, 2021 by Michael Love

The Baccus Basing System

I wanted to change the way I base my 6 mm miniatures and after a bit of research I decided to give the Baccus Basing System a try. Baccus is one of the more well-known producers of 6 mm miniatures. Their product line includes a wide range of genres – ancients, medieval, American Civil War, etc. They also sell support material, including an all-in-one basing package that comes with everything you need to base your miniatures.

Posted on January 16, 2020February 7, 2021 by Michael Love

A Brief History of Conflict

This article is the first in an irregular series in which we’ll be taking a closer look at the period covered in the Ages of Conflict – Historical Companion. This supplement covers three periods of history – the ancient world, the classical world, and the Middle Ages. For our purposes, the ancient world includes the dawn of human civilization to the 8^th century BC at which point many historians date the beginning of the classical age. Note that for many, the classical world includes only the civilizations of the Mediterranean, though we’re expanding the scope to include everything from the 8^th century BC to the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages is typically dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the west in the 5^th century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.

Posted on January 10, 2020February 7, 2021 by Michael Love

Ages of Conflict Update

We’ve been a bit quiet lately, (We’ll do a better job of not letting that happen again.) though we’re still moving full steam ahead with Ages of Conflict. Below are some pictures from a couple of recent play tests.

First up are a couple of pictures from a recent play test of a sci-fi battle. Ages of Conflict is multi-genre – one set of rules to cover ancients to the far future, so our sci-fi play tests are validating that the rules work not just for swords and maille, but also for magic, monsters, and tanks with laser cannons.

Posted on July 3, 2019February 7, 2021 by Michael Love

Ages of Conflict Art

We’re working with the talented Miguel Santos to develop art for the Ages of Conflict Historical Supplement. Miguel’s research into the subject of his pieces is excellent, which is reflected in the quality of his work. Below are a couple of the pieces he has provided to us.

Posted on June 8, 2019February 7, 2021 by Brian Peak

New Playmat and Prototype Tokens Have Arrived

The new 6’x4′ playmat and the prototype tokens for Ages of Conflict have arrived. Just in time for this weekend’s play testing.

The playmat is going to help make our photos look outstanding and the tokens are very important pieces to Ages of Conflict game play.

The tokens will be used to designate what order you will be assigning to your units, what formation they are in, and other various things you need to track in Ages of Conflict.

Posted on May 2, 2019February 7, 2021 by Michael Love

Some Unusual Sci-Fi and Fantasy Terrain

Living close to the beach, we spend quite a bit of time in the water looking for fossils – sharks teeth, ray plates, crocodile teeth, etc. I also grab nice looking rocks that may work as good miniature terrain. At the same time I started picking up washed up barnacles. (Don’t worry – nothing alive in these. We didn’t evict any creatures from their homes.) Below are some pictures alongside some 6 mm sci-fi miniatures. I think they work pretty well; maybe I’ll add some color to some of them and put on a coat of varnish to keep those with natural color from losing it.

Posted on April 1, 2019February 7, 2021 by Brian Peak

Playtesting Using Tabletop Simulator

Here at Bad Goblin Games, we have been using Tabletop Simulator to playtest games over the internet when we can’t meet face-to-face. This works very well for testing game play multiple times using the same setup. You can construct the virtual table with terrain and miniatures and save it. Then, if you want to use the same setup again, you just reload the saved game.

Posted on March 19, 2019February 7, 2021 by Michael Love

Combat in Ages of Conflict

Ages of Conflict is a game of battle. Opponents square off to destroy or drive their enemy from the field. As such, combat is an essential element to the game and so it’s time to give a brief example.

We have two small battalions of Roman and Celt warriors facing off.

The Romans have a Hand value of 3d10 and Defense Target Number (TN) 6. The Celts have a Hand value of 3d10 and Defense TN 5. A unit’s Hand value determines how many dice it rolls when attacking; the more dice in the pool, the more effective the unit is in hand combat. The Defense Target Number determines what each individual die must roll to be a success.

A sample stat line for a unit of human warriors with basic training is below. Elite troops, levy, and some fantasy will differ.

Posted on March 6, 2019February 7, 2021 by Michael Love

Movement in Ages of Conflict

One of my major pet peeves with games is a rule that exists just because that’s the way it’s always been done. It’s akin to performing some task at work with a process you know isn’t good, though when you ask why you are doing it this way, you are simply told, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Why do modern RPGs and war games continue this behavior? Why do RPGs continue to pretend as if studded leather was a real thing? Why do many miniature war games continue to ignore cavalry’s reluctance to charge into a wall of spears? The answer is that’s the way the developer learned. That’s the way they’ve always done it.

And so, when working on a rule for Ages of Conflict, I often ask myself, “Does this rule exist because it’s the best way to handle this situation or because this is the way it’s always been done?”

Tag: AoC