Hey folks, SinSynn here.
Time to crack open the new Flames of War 3rd Edition rulebook, and see what's goin' on!
No preamble necessary, amirite? Let's just get right to it.
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| *Still has that 'new rulebook' smell* |
It's full color, and printed on slick, glossy paper- very nice.
At the staggering price of FRIGGIN' FREE, it puts any GW publication whatsoever to absolute shame.
This book would've easily gotten thirty or so odd bucks outta me, had Battlefront chosen to ask for monetary compensation.
The book is lovely to hold, to look at, and it 'feels' very, very official, if you know what I mean. This is by no means a lil' freebie from a company looking to make a splash- this is a full blown ruleset, with no shorts taken whatsoever.
Kudos to Battlefront for giving these things away. I mean that, really. When you have this thing in your hands, you can't help but be like, 'OMG, are you surreal? For free?'
Yes, really- free.
For those that don't have a 2nd Edition rulebook, go hit the Warstore, and place an order for any Battlefront FoW stuffs, and they'll mail you one with your order.
Easy peasy.
Go get yers....do it now.
:)
Ok, that being said, let's take a look see at what's inside.....
Firstly, the Table of Contents and Index have been vastly improved, as the 2nd Edition versions were laughably bad.
No longer is half the stuffs listed in the Table of Contents, and the other half listed in the index, so good news there.
Unfortunately, the stupidity of listing everything in the Index in 'military phonetic style' continues (instead of A, B, C, it's Alpha, Bravo and Charlie).
I imagine the folks at Battlefront think this is clever.
It's not. It's annoying and unnecessary.
Ah well, the new 'where do I go to find stuffs' sections are much better overall, so...victory, I guess.
This love also extends to rules in the book that reference other rules- page numbers are always included now. Yay!
The basic presentation of the book, graphics-wise, is quite interesting.
Here's a pic taken from Fields of Armor, prolly my fave FoW blog...I hope Robinoc doesn't mind...
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| *Despite appearances, that is NOT Sergeant Rock in the corner there* |
As you can see, it's done in a 'comic book' fashion, even down to the fonts.
Virtually each and every page has a pic like this, basically any time a visual description would aid in understanding the text.
Oh, I'm sorry- were you used to top-down, lame ass, black and white diagrams that more closely resemble electrical schematics than they do gameplay?
Yeah, that nonsense is dead.
Welcome to rulebooks in the modern era.
I found this presentation to be refreshing and amusing.
Comic books use graphic presentation in a way most gamers probably inherently understand, being that we're, well...gamers, and we're all familiar with the medium.
Very clever on Battlefront's part, and I approve.
This by no means they've skipped over the text, of course. Virtually every rule receives a lil' going over, and clarification via text description.
I'll be honest- sometimes it seems as if the book is written for drooling idiots, since the explanations can be a bit overlong, and often in verbiage that's better served telling people not to run with scissors.
However, this does prevent multiple interpretations of the same rule in many cases, simply because it eliminates rules-lawyering 'wiggle room.'
Therefore, I also approve.
Sometimes it gets a little silly, though, like this example from page 139 discussing AOP planes:
'An AOP plane carries no weapons, and cannot shoot, assault, or be assaulted.'
A paragraph or so later, this line appears:
'Self defense Anti Aircraft weapons can shoot at an AOP, even if not attacked by it.'
Wait, but I thought...what now?
I understand they're referencing the 'self defense' mechanic these weapons have, since they're primarily used to defend the vehicles that bear them from attacking aircraft, but still...
Momentary 'what the' moment.
The whole book is rife with moments like these, but with 295 pages of rules, I suppose it's inevitable.
Like all somewhat bloated rules compendiums of this ilk, it could've probably used a bit more 'clean up,' but as a mini gamer I suppose I'm used to this sort of nonsense.
Tell ya what, though, this is where my issues with FoW 3rd editions begins- the bloat.
At nearly 300 pages and containing NO FLUFF whatsoever, and teeny tiny text to boot, it's hard to be surprised...
Take a look at this:
(Note- Also taken from Fields of Armor)
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| *makes my head hurt* |
That's an example of the terrain and movement chart.
Oh dear lord, what bloat.
What it boils down to is 14 unit types moving through 3 different types of terrain.
Not, uh, exactly streamlining....
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Another example of bloat can be found in the new Turret rules.
I imagine this stems from the issue many FoW players had with turretless vehicles having a front 180 degree firing arc and pivoting in their firing step, which rendered turrets largely pointless.
A points decrease for some turreted vehicles that were being passed over for their turreted counterparts (Panzer IV's fell out of favor, and folks ran Stug's instead) seemed a fair solution, and an easy one.
Especially NOW, with the added annoyance that is the new turret rules.
When firing flank shots on something with a turret facing you (altering the front arc of the vehicle), you must now roll a die.
On a roll of 1, 2 or 3 you hit the hull, and a 4, 5 or 6 means a turret shot.
A hull shot means you roll against side armor, and a turret shot means front armor.
'Random' is never good, and I'm pretty sure Tank Commanders would aim at the most vulnerable part of an enemy vehicle, and were aware of where these points were.
Now you've got an extra die to roll as well, and a 50/50 chance of suffering a flank shot despite the fact that you turned your turret!
I understand that Battlefront is attempting to make turret movement a tactical consideration that actually impacts the game, but adding a random factor and an additional step is just bloat.
I fail to see how this is any kind of improvement, at all.
Adding to the bloat are all of the things that were previously relegated to supplements like 'Das Book,' like full blown fortifications rules, and eight entire pages dedicated to Armored Trains.
Fun stuffs, no doubt, but definitely better left in supplements and downloadable PDF's to ease the bloat..and maybe do that whole 'streamlining' thing.
This is another instance where I understand what Battlefront was 'going for.'
Someone new to the game would be filled with oooh's and ah's, no doubt, but I kinda just roll my eyes.
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| *Winner- most phallic armored train pic I could find* |
Regarding the Armored Train rules- here's the biggest piece of 'dumb' I've found so far:
Enemy teams can SEE THROUGH IT, counting your teams as concealed.
Your teams CANNOT SEE THROUGH IT, at all.
*Massive facepalm*
Apparently, these massive pieces of rail-mounted DEATH were somewhat transparent to the Allies, and their bullets went right through!
Ze Germans were completely dumbfounded, I'm sure.
Battlefront, you DO realize that you just lost a ton of sales on this 100 dollar plus unit, do you not?
I almost feel as if a GW games designer snuck into your offices, and is attempting to sabotage you.
I kinda wanted one of these, but definitely have no desire for one now.
Thanks for the HUGE laugh, though!
Again, as a mini gamer I'm well aware that most rulebooks contain reams of silliness we never use in 99.9% of our games, so whatevs...Armored Trains are useless.
*shrug*
It happens...
However, in case you were wondering, 3rd Edition Flames of War is NOT streamlined, or 'simplified,' or 'quicker and easier' in any way, shape or form.
Not only are additional steps (like the turret rules) pretty much the norm throughout, but there are many notable complications being thrown in the mix, like the fact that units can now see 16 inches through smoke bombardments, with spotted teams counted as being concealed and gone to ground.
Why this changed from the generic 'concealment' rule that smoke bombardments benefited from in 2nd is, quite literally, beyond me, but is another perfect example of...anti-streamlining, I guess....
There are, of course, some nerfs, some needed very badly (AOP planes were infamously broken in 2nd), and others seemingly a result of lengthy complaint posts on the Battlefront forums (Rocket Launchers can no longer re-roll hits and must use a double wide template always now, aircraft automatically range in on targets in the open, for example).
There are many perks as well, ironically also most likely generated for the same reasons- MG teams are now RoF 2 when pinned, and a boost to Mech lists in that destroyed transports no longer count against platoon morale.
Unfortunately, transports are now subject to all kinds of dumb 'bailing' rules, where a single destroyed transport forces the entire platoon to take motivation test or dismount their vehicles, which immediately get sent to the rear.
'Oh my goodness, we're under fire! Everybody hop out here, where we're getting shot at!'
....and then your ride leaves.
Nice.
Combine this with the fact that transports without the Mounted Assault special rule MUST be sent to the rear when passengers dismount, and a new set of rules that invokes their return in case they're needed, and you end up with two things- more bloat, and the continued ineffectiveness of mech lists in a tournament environment.
I don't even wanna get into the rules for 're-summoning' transports to the field, but let's just say it's not likely to happen a lot, and very closely resembles the rules for pulling off an ambush- out of LoS and/or in concealment (4 inches, natch), no recce teams nearby, blah, blah, blah.
Fortunately for me, German halftracks have the Mounted Assault rule, so nyah, Allied players.
:P
We'll see your mech lists in 4th Edition....maybe, suckas.
Get ready for Panzer Lehr lists up the ying-yang, though.
:D
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| *Example of a ying-yang I'd assault and never dismount* |
Fear not, folks, there are MANY 'booyah!' changes to FoW in 3rd- Here's a few quickies:
-Recce rules have been improved- no more 'forced to disengage,' and now they can reveal every enemy gone to ground team in LoS through 'eyes and ears.'
-Infantry teams can now 'grab a lift' on tanks...just not flame thrower tanks. Lol.
-Speaking of Flame Throwers- they can only bail armored vehicles now (Crocodile nerf, or whatevs, this makes me VERY happy).
-Combat attachments now contribute to the stand count for platoons they're added to for morale purposes.
-When rolling 3 or more dice for reserves, you'll automatically receive one platoon, even if you fail the roll.
-Platoons can dig in while they're pinned.
-Unreliable vehicles now get Bogged instead of breaking down.
-Gone to ground gun teams now get a 3+ save instead of a 5+.
-HMG teams are now RoF 3 when moving or pinned.
-Gun teams can now defend themselves from incoming baddies by firing as rifle teams.
There are more, and I'm sure over the next few months all the little nuances and whatnot will sink in and make sense.
Like the new rules surrounding Warrior teams, which makes me think we'll be seeing more of those wacky FoW 'heroes' in upcoming books...like the forthcoming Battle of the Bulge, which I am ever so psyched for.
I'm still reviewing the new missions, and digesting the changes, but I'm happy to report that they're just as retarded as the missions in 2nd, and with the exception of the classic 'Free for All' pretty much border on lame.
Free for All is improved due to the new 'meeting engagement rules,' where the player who goes second no longer counts as moving on turn one.
ALL of the missions get hurt with the new reserve rules, however, which limit the amount of armor that can go on the table for anyone but tank companies in missions with reserves.
Yay for new, completely unnecessary restrictions!
-_-
Sigh...I had hoped for better missions and a universal boost to mech lists that would see more variety added to the tournament scene.
Ah, well...can't have everything, I guess.
Hmph.
Ultimately, the book is an evolution of an already great system, and there are many refinements. Most of them involve the actual organization and presentation of the rules themselves, however.
Additional unneeded bloat, and changes for the sake of selling models (especially airplanes) leave me a lil' hesitant to outright gush about 3rd Edition FoW.
As it stands, my grade is a solid C+ (it lost a B the instant I read that Armored Train rule- that's quite literally one of the dumbest rules I've ever read, anywhere...ever).
For the record, I thought the 2nd Edition ruleset was worthy of an B+ and was only held back from a A due to the missions.
What we have here is a 'clean up and reorganization,' with a handful of perks and nerfs.
Unfortunately, there are also added, somewhat uncalled for complications, like the new turret and transport rules, outright stupidity like the Armored Trains (it's see-through for enemies only!), and new, needless restrictions to Armor usage in non-tank lists.
In the end, I feel like this was a missed opportunity by Battlefront to take Flames of War to the next level.
We got bloat instead.
This may or may not change as games get played, tournaments attended (I played my last 2nd Edition games recently at an event at The Brothers Grim in Long Island), and the whole kit and kaboodle settles into my Hamster infested brain.
Tell ya what, it's hard to complain about 'free' though, huh?
;)
Until next time, folks- Exit with catchphrase!
-SinSynn
P.S.- Yes, I managed to slip a Megan Fox pic into a FoW post, and for no good reason, really...
Victory for SinSynn!
;)
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