List writing for Epic Armageddon.
So, you’ve been reading the website for a while, watching and occasionally joining in the endless churn of development and you’ve enjoyed yourself hugely. In fact, lately you’ve begun to feel that buried inside you, struggling to be free is your own army list, your own contribution to the Epic gaming system.
Fair enough, it’s what motivates us all. And there’s (always) a lot left to do, so welcome aboard.
1. THE MISSION
So. What’s the theme of the list in a single sentence?
Does this already exist? (search carefully)
Is your list sufficiently different to warrant the amount of work you will have to put into it? (we are talking hours and hours of formatting and play testing. Time spent actually thinking is negligible but enjoyable)
Is your list tied to a supplement? (The best epic lists tend to be campaign specific, see the original Armageddon rulebook, or Swordwind, or Raiders or Siege ect).
How focused is your list? (A tightly focused list will be faster and easier for your to develop, easier for other people to assess and thus has the best chance of progressing to Official status. It can also be quite inspiring. A very broad list that tries to do six or seven or ten things will often not do any of them very well. A well balanced broad list is the holy grail, but generally never get finished, sadly)
Are you committed to developing this list? (There’s no shame in a ‘fire and forget’ fan list, somebody else might pick it up later and develop it, or they might not. Just make it easy to search for)
2. OBJECTIVES
How will you structure the list? (Always, ALWAYS start with the formations)
What are the list’s weaknesses? (Don’t worry about the strengths yet)
How is it intended to play?
Can you think of five different armies that would fit that theme?
What do they have in common? What are their core troops?
Are there any other iconic units that SHOULD be in the list?
What would their formation or place in the list be?
Are there any design guidelines you should make? (I.e., no transports or limited AV ect)
How does the supplement (if there is one) affect the list construction?
What other existing lists must you not trespass upon? (E.g., it was quite difficult to make the Skittari PDF list not just ‘ a better’ version of the Steel legion list)
Got all this? Got it written down? DOCUMENT the design and development of the list. Often the same ideas or arguments will reoccur, in which case the design notes are helpful for the end user to see your intentions. It’ll also help others should you need to hand over the list to somebody else to continue work. (e.g., after a new baby).
3. SPECIFICS
OK. Let’s shape your army. The biggest point of contention with fanlists is often the special rules. There’s nearly fifty lists in development or planned, so new special rules really have to earn their place, otherwise we’ll drown in them.
Formations are the key thing about your army. They dictate everything else. Get them right first.
As I understand it, the priorities are.
1. What Formations are appropriate?
Aim for about possible 15 formations, including allied forces.
2. Currently unused units with a miniature or proxy available
3. Currently unused units without a miniature, but in the fluff (I’d say not too many, but I play Sisters of Battle )
4. An army wide special rule with SIGNIFICANT impact on play
5. Unique or new units where appropriate or needed.
6. A second army-wide special rule
7. As 2. but with a NEW special rule
8. As 3. but with a NEW special rule
This is only a rough guideline. Most lists have at least one army wide special rule, but it’s still best to show in your design documents that it’s needed. As a rule of thumb, set point costs a little too high if you’re unsure. It’s often easier to identify formations that need help then ones that are a little overpowered for their cost.
4. RELEASE into the WILD
Format it nicely, preferably include the unit stats sheets and upload for the world to admire.
Be prepared for disagreements, to justify what seems to you to be perfectly obvious and decide ahead of time what is critical to the original mission, and what you’re prepared to compromise on.
Don’t be disenheartened if nobody picks up your list to play. Keep testing it yourself, people will often only try a list once it’s been shown to be reasonably stable. Development often occurs in waves, depending on what the Army Champion is focusing on that month, what supplements are coming up soon and often if 3-4 people just start testing the list together.
5. AIM HIGH.
We’ve no annual sales budget to meet, no Christmas release deadline, so take your time and do a god job. Aim for a tightly focused list that does exactly what the mission states, and does it well. Oh, and if it’s not fun to use, nobody will.
If time permits, I'll create an example for the design process. It'll be a fan list though, since I can't paytest at the moment.
