RE: [Epic] Hello (E40K???)

From: Miller, Chris <CMiller_at_...>
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 10:44:56 -0500

>> Umm... Excuse me? Much as I loved the game, I'd have to say that
>> SM/TL had the worst rules system of any wargame I've played. An
>> unorganized morass of contradictions and undefined situations just
>> waiting to happen. If your group fine-tuned it with house rules
>> so that it worked that's fine; but then it only worked for your
>group.
>
>OK. Fair enough. The Space Marine game is questionable without the
>house rules, but with them I love it. It is really a "Veteran's only"
>game.
>
-----> Anyone notice it's usually the sloppiest / least tightly defined
rules systems which people really get into ? D&D was popular
originally not because it was so well defined, but because it was
a cool idea with enough info to get you started. GW's early games
were similar - 1st ed 40K, 1st couple editions of Fantasy, early
Epic - all of these are heavily modified (or maybe that should be
based on assumptions) of/by individual groups. "Rifts" is one of
the more popular RPG's now, and it's a horrible mish-mash of
rules with a bad combat system where each new book adds
more powerful equipment, races, and creatures. It's poorly
organized, often contradictory, and counter-intuitive. (Stop me if
any of this sounds familiar...) Yet people are nuts about it
because it has some interesting ideas, cool artwork, and
everyone can find something/someone to play. To any
experienced player, the system just grates on the nerves
at first, but it's worth some work to make it playable. People
 seem to have the same feelings with the old epic - it's hardly
a simulation of anything, but even some of our ASL crowd has
fun with it - it's worth some hassle.
        The newer version lacks some of this flexibility - there's a
system for making units to some degree, with the "powers" list,
instead of the old "new rules for new units" procedure. It may be a
tighter system than the old, but it remains to be seen if it will
"Inspire" players the way the old one did. If it was largely the mini's,
then I think the new one is OK, but if it was the openness of the
rules, then there may be a problem.
        The best thing about the current version is that it does remove
a lot of the old house rule problems when playing a new goup or
heading up to the local shop to play "in public", but as to whether
it's a better game, I'm not sure.

>Chris Miller
Received on Wed Jul 02 1997 - 15:44:56 UTC