Archived from groups: rec.games.miniatures.historical (
More info?)
I think DBA would be a good starting point. There are plenty of
resources now for new players to help them fiugre things -- DBAOL, the
free online version; fanaticus.org, with a ton of friendly users in the
forums and lots of articles; and the DBA yahoo group, again with many
patient, helpful users. DBA is easy to learn and every DBA player I
know prefers it to DBM. Although the author himslef sees DBA as a
"starter" set to get you into DBM, there is no need to add the complexity.
DBA is also great for beginners because small armies of 12 elements are
affordable and can be painted quickly. If you like bigger battles,
there are option rules to multiply the game into 2, 3 or more 12-element
armies to a side.
WAB is not bad for beginners either but you really need a lot of figures
to get going, and from what I can tell most players use 28mm figures.
John Secker wrote:
> In message <40e98d8f$0$20320$9b4e6d93@newsread4.arcor-online.net>,
> Markus Steffen <markusssteffen@arcor.de> writes
>
>>Hello group !
>>
>>I would like to start playing games with 15 mm miniatures in the ancient /
>>medievil period.
>>I was wondering, wich rule-set will be best to start with. I thought, DBA
>>might be a good one.
>>What minis are best in casting.quality ?
>>Does anyone know a shop in Germany where Essex or Old Glory´s are sold ? I
>>would like to take a "real look" at them before I buy the stuff.
>>
>>Thanks in advance !
>>
>>Markus
>>
>>
>
> Markus,
> I will leave the figure comparison to others - I like Museum and
> Chariot, myself - but I would not personally suggest DBA or its big
> brother DBM as starter rulesets. DBA is essentially a mini stylised
> version of DBM, played on a small table with just a dozen elements a
> side. There are some very nice concepts in these rules, and they were
> truly revolutionary fifteen years ago, but they are written in a very
> obscure style, intended to avoid the slightest ambiguity which a
> rules-lawyer could exploit. They are also very dependent on knowing the
> rules mechanisms - the exact spacing between lines or units, for
> example, is crucial. It's no good just turning up and doing historical
> things - you also have to manage the details or you will get wiped out
> by someone who knows the game better than you do. Good tournament rules,
> but not for starters. Warhammer Ancient Battles are easier to learn and
> less "serious", though typically used with 25/28mm figures. Another
> system that a lot of people like (and many hate) is Piquet - the
> card-based activation mechanism is probably the most distinctive element
> here. Armati is another system with some devotees - initiative is the
> key here, with the army which wins initiative able to move first or
> force its opponent to do so. A fairly simple points system (compared to
> DBM anyway) and a split between heavy and light units makes army
> selection fairly quick.
> Personally I go back to the rule sets of the 80's - WRG 6th and 7th,
> Newbury Rules, Shock of Impact. Very focussed on details of weaponry and
> armour and unit type (regular/irregular, light/medium/heavy, close/open
> order).
> In the end, I'm afraid, it will come down to what suits you, and the
> best bet is to find a group or groups who are playing different rules
> and try them out. One last thing - in basing terms, DBM is pretty much a
> standard, and most rulesets will be consistent with DBM, or at the least
> not force you to rebase. So you can start to collect and assemble your
> armies without having to commit to a particular set of rules.
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