Rackham's Confrontation / Cadwallon

[USMC2USAF]

Does anyone in the store (or in the C-Springs area) play this?

Can anyone tell me more about the game? Is it an RPG or a miniatures based game? Or perhaps it is a hybrid of the two?

The miniatures for the system look beautiful and I would love an excuse to purchase several if I knew I'd actually have a purpose for them other than adorning a shelf in my house.

Any help/guidance/suggestion/clarification would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Stu]

Cadwallon is the rpg branch of Confrontation (skirmish) and Ragnarok (big war). You need the Confrontation and Cadwallon rules to start. It is definately a very beautiful world and the miniatures and materials are very high quality. The buy in has been a little high for me, though, especially since I can't paint my way out of a paper bag and I find the miniatures a little . . . daunting.

[USMC2USAF]

Stu:

I completely empathize with you...
I am not an accomplished miniatures painter by any means but the production value and quality of the materials appear outstanding.

Perhaps we can recruit some initial interest in the system?
I'm game!

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Stu]

You're killin' me!
It wouldn't take much arm twisting to push me right over the edge on that stuff. It's all so pretty . . .
If I have a favorite mythological creature, it's minotaurs. Rackham has the best ones. Even so--seems like it's a personal challenge to my character to prioritize something and get "serious." So maybe I shouldn't . . .

This has all the earmarks of token resistance I throw up to something I've already decided to do anyway.

Have you played Confrontation? I know there're a handful of players at the shop. Everyone wanted to play Wolfen, if I recall correctly. I wanted to play the little guys. They look more genuinely fantastic than other figures, in my opinion. More whimsical, creepier, more exotic. That goes for the whole line. But man. Rob got me the last Cry Havoc for the AT-43 stuff, and they had contest winners for the fantasy figure painting. It hurt my brain.

Maybe if y'all help me learn some mad phat painting skillz. You can hear it in my voice can't you? The talkin myself into it . . .

[USMC2USAF]

Stu:

I know, I know, I know... it is all very tempting!

At the very least, I'll probably purchase the main rule book (afterall, my birthday is coming up next week!) and go from there.

Of course, this is just a temporary roadblock. Once I see all of the beautiful miniatures once again, I'll be compelled to buy a few minis... and then let the onslaught begin!

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Stu]

"Onslaught" is the secret word of the day!! Huzzah!
Let the painting commence--let the minotaurs roam free!

[USMC2USAF]

Stu:

Well, based on our recent conversations and overall building desire welling up inside my RPG soul... I've decided to pick up a blister or two (or three or four...) of the Cadwallon minis. I'm especially intersted in the men-at-arms figures. Of course, at this point I have no idea what their use in the game would be but...

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Blackraine]

Well, I play Confrontation, and I've thought about Cadwallon, but those I know who bought the book weren't too impressed.

For one, I never really realized just how differently the minds of different cultures work until I picked up the Confrontation rulebook. The rules are all there, but they're laid out in a way that... well... just doesn't make sense to most Americans. It made sense to SOMEONE though, because the layout seems to work fine in France. It's not so much a language issue as it is a "where's the rule for X" issue, because none of the rules are where you would normally expect to find them... important rules blend in with the text, while less important rules have special call-outs, etc. It's almost like the book itself works the exact opposite of what you expect.

Still, once you figure out the rules, it's deceptively easy to play. Maybe not so much as Warmachine, but definitely as easy as 40k, and perhaps even easier than Warhammer Fantasy.

As for Cadwallon, though... as I understand it, it mixes the layout issues of the Confrontation book with just a "bad in general" translation. The rules would be difficult to understand if they were laid out correctly, but with the layout problems, it makes it almost impossible. Still, though, the game world itself is pretty cool, and the fluff seems to be pretty good too. If you're up to the challenge, I'd say go for it. Just be ready to house-rule some stuff, because there will be some rules holes that the text won't readily help you with...

Oh, and tables. The French LOVE their tables, apparently. If you don't like looking things up in a table, Confrontation/Cadwallon are definitely not for you. If, however, you DO like looking things up in tables, you may have just found your gaming Mecca.

[Stu]

I love tables. Tables are the bomb.
And one of the less despicable aspects of my Louisiana heritage is that I think backwards, like a Frenchman. So French games have been fairly easy to decode so far. Nonetheless--I appreciate the heads up. I will approach forewarned . . .

In the meantime, I picked up a couple figs: the Sessaries Minotaur, because that was a foregone conclusion, and Saphon the Purificator, because he's Solomon freakin' Kane! I know they don't have anything to do with each other in game terms. My goal is to paint them one tenth as well as I would like to. If I can pull that off, I'll pick up the Cadwallon book and maybe some more witch hunter type figs. I'll keep trying to paint and slowly digest the book, seeing what I need from Confrontation. If Rob happens to get a Confrontation introductory box in that time . . .
Man--I've got to pace myself. It's like watching a train wreck . . .

[Marrkat]

Stu and USMC2USAF -

I'm always up for a game of Confrontation, but I'm not much of a role player anymore. Plus I paint a bit, also. If you guys wanna throw down sometime, I'd be more than willing. I have LOTS of Rackham figs. I think Blackraine would be down for that as well...

Mark

[USMC2USAF]

Stu:

Well, I went ahead and purchased a couple of Cadwe militia figs and would have purchased more had Troy and Rob had the particular minis in stock.

I'm in brother!

Now we just have to paint and get things rolling.

Let's keep each other posted.

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Stu]

Sweet!

OK. Now where did I put that glue kicker . . .

[USMC2USAF]

Stu:

And while we're on the subject of Rackham...
I was also thinking of picking up the Confrontation Initiation Set.
I think it retails for $65.

Either way, I'm definitely on the Cadwallon bandwagon.

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Stu]

I was thinking of that also. You are correct on the price. It has a handful of figs, several helpful doodads and the rules. I like indoctrination boxes. We should see if we can get the boys to order a couple of those. You have a birthday coming up, don't you? I bet they'd put a bow on the box for you. :)

And as you saw over in the Confrontation thread, a couple fellas have awesomely offered to feed the addic . . . um, I mean--help us learn to play. I just have to get into it slowly, so I don't get overwhelmed. It's like a lot of things--it can be intimidating and painful at first. But if you relax, and try not to take more than you're ready for at once, it can be an enjoyable experience. Um. Yeah, I'm talking about painting.

[Blackraine]

Well, probably the best thing about confrontation is that the Tournament sized games (aka: game sizes most people play) are 400 points... that's generally between 8 and 12 figs at most. It's also pretty scalable in terms of "power level"... so for teaching people how to play, I can definitely tone down the cheese in Confrontation a lot better than I can in, say, 40k or Warmachine.

[USMC2USAF]

I'm still interested in a demo of Confrontation/Cadwallon... If anyone is planning on running a demo then please drop me a line.

Stu:

How is the painting coming along?

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[Stu]

Um . . . yeah--rock and roll, baby!!

Ok, ok.
I haven't exactly been burning up the brushes. But I'm still in and it looks like I'm closing in on having a usable workspace. So things are looking up!

[jpchapleau]

Any news on this? I have a few minis... I'm particularly interested in Cadwallon more than Confrontation...

[Rorschach]

While Cadwallon intrigues me, I've been focusing more on the new CONFRONTATION - system wise, I like it a LOT for a wargame. Simple, yet elegant mechanics for the most part. And their new army books have sections for Cadwallon as well.

I'd be happy to give a demo of the new Confrontation at next availability. LMK.

[jpchapleau]

Sure... Let me know when you plan on doing that. I'm interested.

[Rorschach]

I'll pick the next day Bernie and I will have a game, usually a Saturday, or a Thursday if I can get free from work early. Might be during the afternoon of the 24th, if I had to guess.
I'll confirm when I can.

[USMC2USAF]

JP:

I tend to gravitate more towards Cadwallon as well for it's mix of miniatures and RPG. I have some miniatures and even participated in a workshop at GenCon last year to learn more about it.
It sounds pretty good but, I want more hands-on experience with the system.

Respectfully,
KEVIN

[jpchapleau]

you guys let me know