Goatboy – Woohoo 40k Monday!
Goatboy up and at em again – posting on this excellent July 4th. Locally we are in a drought so instead of looking at fireworks at night my happy goat butt will most likely be catching up on some TV shows. I want to continue some 6th edition discussion.
I know the rumors are well rumors so the idea that there could be a change still warrants some thought. I did some cleaning of my “office” and I noticed how much damned plastic I have. So much so that the thought of completely changing to another game is rather daunting. So I want to discuss why I think 6th edition won’t change as much as all these recent rumors are pushing towards.
1) Fantasy Has Some Issues
Look at the tournament scene. I know everyone isn’t a tournament player but normally if a game system is balanced and decent you see a lot more tournament players coming out of the woodwork. Lately I have seen a drop in the game being played. With the increase in “oops” I win moments in the magic phase and the overall difference in balance of the new hardcover books versus the old softcover books and you got a rather uneven game. Yes the new models are amazing and I think that is the only thing keeping people buying those models. The conversion ability of some of the new stuff helps keep some models moving off the shelves. So taking a look at those rumors, if they gum up the rules to 40k might risk repeating exactly what has occurred in Fantasy. So I really expect a clean up versus a massive rules change due to the fact the bigger changes in Fantasy did not seem to spell out a massive increase in playability.
2) 40K Codices Would Need Massive FAQ’s.
Look I like have my rules be in a book form that I can easily grab and look at. If I have to have a massive amount of print outs to complete my army then I won’t be excited to bring out my printed copies. It just doesn’t make much sense to create a “new” game that needs massive changes. Unless Games Workshop is all about fixing the codexes and re-releasing them quickly then I see any massive change as a bad idea. Hell we’ve just have a good deal of new very different books so the new rules would have to fit with the latest codices.
3) This Game is Marketed Towards Kids
I don’t care how important you feel about the game – at the end of the day GW is all about the new players not us old fogies with 12 armies encased in foam and hate. Any rules system that is overly complicated (different minuses to your BS based on the unit??? WTF???) is not a good system to try and market. Simple, clean rules with neat interactions is the key to a good system. Look at Magic the Gathering and Warmachine. They strive to make sure things work right and it shows in their rule system. Hell when I am playing pretend game designer I am looking at making as simple of a game to help increase competitive play. Rules that make sense and don’t get you into English diction arguments would be for the best. Wouldn’t it be great if the game played as well as their minis looked?
4) Fundamentally the Rules Work Now
Why change something that isn’t broken? Why not just fix some dangling things and call it a day? The rules work fairly well right now. Yes there are some stronger armies – but creating new rules is not the way to fix that. I rarely have arguments now with the game as the community have really hammered out any grey areas (INAT FAQ for example) and have a good control of the game and its flow. Small tweaks and this game is pretty much golden right now.
Goatboy’s Final Word
Look I am all for a clean up of the rules but any massive change in the system will be for the worse. Fantasy has suffered and I feel 40k would too if they change up the rules by over inflating it and pushing it back towards the dark days of 2nd Edition with overly complex ideas. Taking out random movement and just creating a difficult dangerous terrain style system – awesome. Making crazy rules that you have to keep up your -BS modifiers to keep the right number idea? BAD. Really adding more upkeep to generating hits and damage is just a bad idea. The chart to hit and wound is simple and easy so adding more nonsense to that is just not worth the headache.
I know that this is really early to be talking about things but I just want to get some ideas I have rolling around as I read these tidbits and morsels of wished for, made up, or true rules we have been given. I just see too much difficulty instead of something fresh to liven up the game. So on balance, I’m having a hard time believing that last massive dump of rules, and more importantly hope they aren’t a sign of what’s to come.
~How about you? Happy 4th – and get grillin!
