Hey everyone, I posted a long while back but life got in the way of any follow up so this is my "do-over".  I'm in the process of getting organized for a big Epic push over the next year.  The plan is to try to get all of my stuff organized, assembled, painted, bought and whatever else I have to do to be able to put on some big games.  Hopefully what follows is some interest locally and maybe some people will buy in, fingers crossed anyway!

I played Epic 40K for a few years and it's probably one of my favorite games, it beats 40K by a long shot in my opinion and quite a few other like games both GW and non GW.  I like the balance, that tacics and strategic possibilities.

I've got tons of orks, TONS lol.  If I had to guess I'd say I've probably got around 20-40K in Orks, I'll make a list of what I own later as I plan to document my Epic developement over the next year.  I've also got a handfull of imperial stuff and some Chaos odds and ends so I'll be fleshing those armies out down the road as well, Imperials first since I think most people would be interested in seeing them on the table.

My big question right now is where to go from here?  I own the rule books, army book, scenario book and several Firepower magazines for Epic 40K, some experience playing it, and I know I really enjoyed it.  however sometime after I got out of the game Epic Armaggedon came out and so I have to make a decision....

I know the pros for Epic 40K - my experience says I like it, theres tons of information out there for it that makes it easy to flesh out as I go along.  Of course there doesn't seem to be much support for it now but with the tons of stuff already out there maybe there doesn't have to be, or I'm fully capable of fleshing things out where I might find I need or want to.

Epic: A is a mystery to me at the moment.  The pros are obviously it's all free on the web, so easy to get for other players (epic 40K is too I guess but some of the supplements may not be available?).  There's obviously a community here supporting it so that's good.

I guess my big question is, what are the differences in the systems?  Is Epic:A just classic "new system-itis" from GW?  Is it an improved version of Epic 40K or is it just a different edition designed to drum up interest?  I'd appreciate any input on what the differences are, I'm open to going that route if it seems like it's worth it but if it's just a 'different' way of playing the game I may just stick with Epic 40K.

thanks in advance, I look forward to documenting my progress.  In the next few days I'll tally up what I have, where I'm at, maybe take a few pictures while I'm at it for a "before" shot.  The plan is to strip some already badly painted stuff - most of it was given to me years ago and it's been alying around free rolling in boxes so along with nasty paint jobs they're all chipped and broken so I have my work cut out for me.  I plan to do my Titans and other large war engines as centerpieces to my army, put lots of work into those while quickly but nicely painting up everything else so I can get it on the table sooner.
I also plan to build some specialized terrain.  If they come out well enough I'll probably make some molds and cast a few pieces, we'll see, that's down the road anyway!

As Hena says, read section #1, and try out some of the scenarios to get a grasp of the rules (which are quite different from earlier versions).

Opponents are always helpfull, so check out the sister site:

http://www.epic40k.co.uk/cgi/players.cgi

EDIT: Also, see this thread

And if you are in the UK, you could do a lot worse than come along to the various tournaments that will occur this year (potentially around '8'. Keep an eye on the "tournaments thread" for details). The guys are very friendly and will help novices through the rules.

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"Play up and play the game"

Vitai lampada
Sir Hemry Newbolt

I respect that Epic40K was your favorite game, but it has even less interest than NetEpic. If I were trying to drum up interest for a game with new players I'd definitely go with the one that is most current.

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-Malakai

"You'll never understand how much watching other people's pain gets me off, hearing their screams and knowing that I have the power of a god." -Velvet Acid Christ

Does Epic: A cover alot of the wierd units from Epic:40K, such as weirdboy towers, and those wierd Ork vehicles with the lifta grabba like arms?

Alot of my models are older style models, older squiggoths,plastic battlewagons those sorts of things and I want to make sure it's all useable.

Of course I'll be reading the Epic:A rules but I'm also interested in hearing opinions on the board!

Also, I'm in the US so unfortunately won't be participating in any of the UK events in the foreseeable future!

I'm in the US as well. Epic A has a cool rule called "counts as". This allows you to use any model in your force. Have a look in the back of the EA rules. There will be a chart that helps you convert them.

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-Malakai

"You'll never understand how much watching other people's pain gets me off, hearing their screams and knowing that I have the power of a god." -Velvet Acid Christ

As Malakai says, a lot of the 'old' models are still actually current, or can be proxied using the 'counts-as' rule, so the whole lot can be used in some capacity or another.

A pity you are in the US, but there are some events over there as well - though you are obviously best off with a regular group of friends or a club.

Good luck with the game

_________________
"Play up and play the game"

Vitai lampada
Sir Hemry Newbolt

thanks for the input so far guys, I've sort of skimmed over Epic:A now and it looks interesting, possibly more detailed than Epic:40K?  I'm wondering how large and how long a typical game takes?  I know Epic:40K allowed for tons of models on the board and still played in a solid 3-4 hour time slot, which was nice.  I'd like to play really large battles, something like 150-300 models per side on the table on occasion but smaller games would be fine as well.  Ideally, 8-12 detachments (formations I guess in E:A?) with a couple of warengines per side would be a fun sized game.  how long would you say that plays in Epic:A?

Well as a guide, UK tourneys for E:A usually have 2.5 - 3 hours for a 3000 point game which is ample for experienced players to complete 3-5 turns. There are usually between 8-12 formations per side, and depending on the races involved that equates to between 50-150 units per side, fought on a 6'x4' table.

What I think you are angling towards is somewhere around the 6000 point game, which really needs a bigger table (12'x4' would be ideal). However, the duration of the game would not normally be double because of the (usually) high attrition rate in formations, so probably 3-5 hours for experienced players. Inexperience of course will slow the game down significantly, which is why playing through the training scenarios is strongly advised, so you can learn the rule system without the added complication of trying to also learn the strategies and tactics.

I cannot really comment on the comparison between E:A and E40K because I have not played it. However in summary I understand that this was Epic version #1, and as such was relatively simplistic. Version #2 added a number of extra details for colour, and formed the basis of NetEpic when Version #3 was introduced because that was so disliked. E:A is version #4, and has gone for a more simplified approach, though one that is not really like Versions #1 or #2. Others may be able to comment further on the specific differences, though like Malakai says, I would use E:A or NetEpic as the latest set of rules.

_________________
"Play up and play the game"

Vitai lampada
Sir Hemry Newbolt

As a long time player of version two (Space Marine/Titan Legions), I feel that the new rules are an improvement in that they are more streamlined (fewer individual unit special rules to worry about), but they also maintain unit diversity.  The lack of unit diversity was one of the major factors in Epic 40K falling flat on its face in my opinion (it's certainly one of the reasons why I refused to play it at any rate).

I still like Space Marine, and I suspect that I would enjoy NetEpic, but the rules for Space Marine were more complicated in my opinion, and the rules for Epic Armageddon seem more realistic.  Epic Armageddon also tends to be quicker to play as a result (once you've learnt the rules of course).

On the subject of using older models, I use all my Eldar models from the days of Space Marine, and it doesn't cause any problems at all.  Okay, some tanks, such as the Prism Cannon were much bigger then than they are now, but I don't see this as being a major issue.

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