AI & Blogging - helping with writers block

 Ok, so there hasn't been anything posted for a while - primarily because life has gotten in the way a little - My other half has started a new job, and my mental health has taken a turn- probably not connected though :) so, I've been more dealing with ADHD burnout than much else.

Past few days however I've been tinkering with AI - initially out of curiosity, but  It's... ok... for helping write things - I say helping as I don't see the point of just feeding it a prompt and copy/pasting that down.~~I have fed it the Second Age Sci-Fi Rules I've been writing though, and had it spit out a blog post about it - something I've been thinking about, but not been able to even decide where to begin on it..

 

So, without much more ado - Here we are (Thought the title is a bit.... much......)

 

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5 Surprising Rules That Make This Sci-Fi Wargame a Masterclass in Battlefield Chaos

For many tabletop wargamers, the rhythm of a battle is familiar. We follow a predictable turn order, we roll to hit, we roll to wound, and we remove models. Victory often comes down to simple attrition—a mathematical exercise in efficiency and target priority. While there's a certain satisfaction in that clarity, some rulesets reach for something deeper, aiming to simulate the chaotic, unpredictable, and psychologically grueling nature of real combat.

The "Second Age" ruleset is a fascinating case study in exactly this kind of design philosophy. It's a game that trades straightforward simplicity for a more granular and often brutal simulation. This article explores five of its most impactful and surprising mechanics that transform the game from a simple dice-rolling contest into a masterclass in battlefield chaos.

1. It’s Not About Killing, It’s About Breaking Their Will

One of the first things you notice in Second Age is that a unit doesn't have to be destroyed to be neutralized. The "Suppression" mechanic is identified as a "core concept," and it completely redefines the objective of an attack. It represents the crushing psychological pressure of being in a firefight, and it's far more important than raw casualties.

Units gain suppression markers from a variety of sources: if an enemy unit hits them with at least one shot (even if no damage is dealt), from taking any actual damage, or from seeing a nearby friendly unit break and flee. As these markers pile up, a unit's performance degrades significantly, making it more likely to become "Pinned" (forced to seek cover) or "Broken" (fleeing the battle line entirely). This mechanic shifts the tactical focus from simply annihilating enemy squads to applying sustained pressure, maneuvering to threaten flanks, and deliberately eroding the enemy's will to fight.

This has been included to remove the whole Shoot and destroy the whole unit to remove it as a threat - Pour enough fire into a unit, and whether it takes actual casualties or not, it is increasingly likely to break.

2. Command is Chaos: The Initiative Deck

Forget the rigid "I go, you go" turn structure. Second Age uses a standard deck of playing cards to represent the "random and back & forth nature of movement and action in warfare." This "Initiative Deck" system ensures that no player can ever be certain of when, or even if, their units will get to act.

The core mechanics are elegant in their simplicity. Each player is assigned a color, Red or Black. A card is drawn from the deck; its color determines which player gets to activate units. An ODD numbered card allows one unit to activate, while an EVEN card allows for up to two. If the JOKER is drawn, the turn ends immediately, regardless of how many units have acted.

The most counter-intuitive and brilliant feature, however, is the "Steal the Initiative" rule. If the same color card is drawn twice in a row, the opposing player can use an element with the "Command" ability to initiate a contested dice roll. If they succeed, they steal the activation and get to use the card themselves. This system creates a tense, dynamic battlefield where momentum can shift in an instant, plans can be shattered by a bad card draw, and a bold commander can seize an opportunity when their opponent least expects it.

3. Overwatch Isn't a Sure Thing: The Perils of a Trigger Finger

In most wargames, "Overwatch" or "Reaction Fire" is a reliable tactic—an automatic shot at an enemy moving in the open. In Second Age, it's a tense gamble that perfectly simulates the fog of war and the risk of misidentification in a chaotic firefight.

A unit on Overwatch doesn't just shoot automatically. When a target moves into its line of sight, the overwatching unit must first perform an "Identity test"—a D10 roll against its "Fortitude" stat. The potential outcomes are what make this rule so compelling:

• Friendly Target: If a friendly unit moves into the arc of fire and the test is failed, the overwatching unit misidentifies them and opens fire on its own side.

• Enemy Target: If an enemy unit moves into the arc and the test is failed, the unit misidentifies the threat and takes no action, letting the opportunity slip by.

This simple check transforms a standard wargaming tactic into a nail-biting decision. It introduces the real possibility of catastrophic error, forcing players to weigh the potential reward of covering a fire lane against the disastrous risk of friendly fire or hesitation.

4. The Ultimate Sci-Fi Sandbox: A Points System for Everything

While many games offer players army lists with predefined units, Second Age takes a radically different approach. The rules include a highly detailed "Unit Building" section that provides a comprehensive suite of formulas, allowing players to calculate the point cost for almost any custom-built unit, vehicle, or weapon imaginable.

The depth of this system is staggering. Instead of just picking a "Heavy Trooper" from a list, you build them from the ground up. The point cost is derived from a granular breakdown of stats like "Element Strength," "Morale," "Defence Dice," and "Melee Speed." Weapons are costed out based on characteristics like "Range Band," "Number of Shots," and "Number of Wounds." Even powerful special abilities are quantified with a specific point cost; for example, making a unit "Unbreakable" costs 25 points, while adding a "Distortion Field" costs 10.

This approach transforms the game from a fixed ruleset into a versatile engine or toolkit. It's a deliberate design choice that empowers players to design their own unique fighting forces and create stats for any miniature in their collection. However, for those who prefer to jump straight in, the game also provides pre-generated army lists, offering balanced starting points and examples of what the system can produce. It's a comprehensive approach that caters to both the meticulous army builder and the ready-to-play general.

5. Psychic Power Comes with a Price: The Risk of Exhaustion

The "Psychic Wars" expansion adds psychic powers to the game, but it does so with a nuanced system that makes their use a deeply tactical choice fraught with peril. It's not just about picking a power and rolling to cast; it's about managing a finite mental resource that can easily backfire.

The core mechanic involves a Psyker rolling a number of dice to achieve a required number of successes to cast a power. The critical risk factor is "Exhaustion." If a Psyker, when rolling to cast a power, rolls all 1s on their dice (or all 1s and 2s on their second power use in a turn), they become exhausted. The consequence is severe. An exhausted Psyker must spend their entire next activation in a "trance-like meditative state" to recover. They can perform no other actions, not even react to being charged.

This introduces a potent risk/reward element, but the potential reward is immense. A player will only risk their psyker being incapacitated if the payoff is game-altering. With abilities like Accelerate Time, which lets a target unit move and attack twice, or Hurricane, which halves all movement and grounds all flyers across the entire battlefield, the temptation to push your luck is always present. It prevents players from simply spamming their best abilities and forces them to consider if the immediate benefit of a power is worth the risk of being left completely vulnerable.

Conclusion: The Beauty of Brutal Complexity

Through its interlocking systems of morale, chaotic command, battlefield confusion, and deep customization, Second Age offers a different kind of wargaming experience. It’s a ruleset that prioritizes the narrative of a chaotic, psychologically taxing battlefield over streamlined, predictable play. This is a system where the design choices are interconnected; a player can use the deep sandbox of the unit builder to create a force optimized for the game's psychological warfare, perhaps by stacking cheap units to generate overwhelming Suppression, or by investing heavily in high-morale Command elements to dominate the chaotic Initiative Deck. Each of these five rules contributes to a game where victory is not just about killing the enemy, but about outlasting them, outthinking them, and holding your nerve when everything descends into chaos.

In an age of streamlined, simple rules, what do we gain when we dare to embrace this level of beautiful, narrative-driven complexity?

 

A Matter of Scale.

How often do you see someone with a sword run up to an emplaced rifle squad without getting the absolute bejeezus shot out of them?

I mean.. it was such a problem in the First World War that a few things were invented to help with it.

Clankity! Clankity! I'm a Tankity!

Yet, i've seen plenty of wargames where someone with a sword , or exclusive close combat type kit can not only charge and engage at a greater range than the rifle, but can also do it before the opposing unit has a chance to shoot.

"Realistic" - No. But then, suspension of disbelief is a thing in Fantasy & Sci Fi wargames. I do have limits however.

The thing I notice, which bring up the subject of the post is the SCALE of the game 

...No..........

What I mean, is that in a wargame there are three basic scales - all of which can vary.

Figure Scale.
Ground Scale
Timescale.

Figure Scale

This is two things - 1 is the physical size of the mini - 6mm,10mm,15mm,25mm,28mm etc - This should be fairly self explanatory.

the other is what it represents - from 1 'man' to several.
For example:
Third Empire (15mm SF Skirmish)
We use 1:1  - A base with 1 model on it represents 1 man. 1 vehicle model             represents a single vehicle etc.

Legions - 15mm Mass Battle
This has a mixed ratio - but, as it is based on the 'element' - Generally a 50x40mm Base it can be slightly more abstract -
For Most Infantry we have 6-7 on an element base, with a 50:1 ration - each physical mini represents 50 'men' so an element is around 300 ish troops.
Cavalry is the same, but with only 3 to an element base.

Polemos - 6mm Historical/ACW
This ruleset by Baccus has two basing styles, depending ont he size of battle represented - Regimental level, or brigade.

For Regimental level:
A 60mm x 30mm base of cavalry represents a regiment of 300-500 men and horses. A 30mm x 30mm artillery base represents two batteries each of 4 to 6 guns.A 30mm x 30mm Officer base is use for Generals, Corps and Divisional commanders

For Brigade Level:
A 60mm square base of infantry represents an infantry formation of between 1200 and 2000 men. This may represent a brigade or division, depending on the size of the army being modelled.
A 60mm square base of cavalry represents between 1200 and 2000 men. This may represent a brigade or division.
A 30mm x 30mm artillery base represents 16 to 24 guns,

Third Empire - Micro - 6mm SF mass battle
Another Mixed ratio - This is more 1 base = 1 squad, so the 5 or 6 minis on the base can represent 5-20 odd depending on the organisation.
Vehicles are still generally 1 to 1 individually based.
 
Third Empire - Pico - 3mm SF mass battle
Much smaller mass battle - for most units, 1 base = 1 platoon (or equivalent).
Superheavy Vehicles and walkers are generally a 1:1 basis.

Time Scale

This can be rather nebulous, as missile fire, especially modern weapons can fire ridiculously quickly, so 1 shot per element per turn may seem low, unless you consider it as representing a whole turn of firing and the rolls are for the effect. Again, a little abstract, but not too much.

Generally, we look at a turn being 30 seconds to a minute for 15mm sci fi

5 minutes a turn for 6mm sci fi and 5-10minutes for 3mm sci fi.
This, combined with ground scale (see next) is what really sets up how fast unit should move.

Ground scale

the way I look at this, is for skirmish games, a 1:1 ratio to figure scale isnt too bad - E.G. for 15mm Skirmish we use a 1:100 ground scale (15mm is roughly 1:100-1:120).
but, for a massed battle, that starts getting a bit wierder - Generally, for Fantasy massed battle we use about 1:200 or so
for smaller scales, it get's even more abstract, for 6mm/1:300 (Fntasy and Sci fi) we use 1:3000 ground scale and for 3mm/1:600 we use 1:6000 ground scale.

For various ranged weapons, and, indeed statlinew we start of with a baseline - usually an 'average' human and assault rifle.
for example a Modern assault rifle can shoot around 350-550 ish meters. thats in ideal circumstances, so feasibly, under combat circumstances, halving that wouldn't be too unreasonable - so 175 to 275 meters - average it out to 200 meters for simplicity.

That, in the various scales would give us ranges of:

15mm/1:100 ground scale: 200cm/2meter range on the tabletop -
The way we work the ranges in 15mm is everything has an infinite range, but they also have range bands - where the chance to hit decreases after each band, meaning the actual effective range would vary depending on the skill of the firer along with a few other factors.

6mm/1:3000 ground scale: 6.6 cm range on table top.
This could be generously increased to 10cm, with a 5cm range band (meaning it gets harder to hit after every 5cm of range)

3mm/1:6000 ground scale: 3.3 cm range on table top - effectively close combat/assault only.

Overall

What I'm trying to say, probably quite badly as my brain is bouncing around various bits & bobs, is that, when designing a wargame, the Scale(s) are a major part of it.
In certain well known 28mm scale games, it appears to me that the ground scale for shooting, and moving are VERY different, and that affects the whole thing.

For example
28mm scale is roughly 1:72-1:64 depending. So, lets split the difference to 1:68.

No ground scale is mentioned in any of the editions I've ever read, so we can assume it's the same as the model scale.
Similar with a turn - there's no mention of how long is represented by a turn.

One, actually, most of  of the standard (or, you could say - baseline) weapons has around a 24"/60cm range.
So, for 1:68 scale, would be just under 41 meter range (40.8m)
An average walking speed is around 4 miles, 6437meters an hour.

In a turn, most units could move 4-6" (10cm-15cm) that equates to 6.8-10.2 meters.
107 Meters per minute
Which, at 6437 meters/hour would take about 3.8--6 seconds

Yeah.. a bit bonkers I think, especially when you consider some units could move at 4 times that speed.

Table sizes come into it as well.
So, going with the above scales:
26mm = 1:68
15mm = 1:100
6mm = 1:6000
3mm = 1:3000

Scale area
Table Size	28mm 1:68
3'x3' (91.5cm x 91.5cm)	62m x 62m
3'x4' (91.5cm x 122cm)	62m x 82.96m
4'x4' (122cm x 122cm)	82.9m x 82.9m
3'x6'(91.5 x 183cm)	62m x 124.4m
4'x6' (122cm x 183cm)	82.9m x 124.4m

Scale area
Table Size	15mm 1:100
3'x3' (91.5cm x 91.5cm)	91.5 x 91.5m
3'x4' (91.5cm x 122cm)	91.5m x 122m
4'x4' (122cm x 122cm)	122m x 122m
3'x6'(91.5 x 183cm)	91.5m x 183m
4'x6' (122cm x 183cm)	122m x 183m

Scale area
Table Size	15mm Fantasy Mass battle 1:500
3'x3' (91.5cm x 91.5cm)	457.5m x 457.5m
3'x4' (91.5cm x 122cm)	457.5m x 610m
4'x4' (122cm x 122cm)	610m x 610m
3'x6'(91.5 x 183cm)	4575m x 915m
4'x6' (122cm x 183cm)	610m x 915m

Scale area
Table Size	6mm 1:3000
3'x3' (91.5cm x 91.5cm)	2.74km x 2.74km
3'x4' (91.5cm x 122cm)	2.74km x 3.66km
4'x4' (122cm x 122cm)	3.66km x 3.66km
3'x6'(91.5 x 183cm)	2.74km x 5.49km
4'x6' (122cm x 183cm)	3.66km x 5.49km

Scale area
Table Size	3mm 1:6000
3'x3' (91.5cm x 91.5cm)	5.49km x 5.49km
3'x4' (91.5cm x 122cm)	5.49km x 7.32km
4'x4' (122cm x 122cm)	7.32km x 7.32km
3'x6'(91.5 x 183cm)	5.49km x 10.98km
4'x6' (122cm x 183cm)	7.32km x 10.98km

However, there have been interviews with the original rule designer, where they have stated that weapon and movement ranges were based on table size, not any particular scale... which... Hmm......  Especially  when you consider that a 6x4foot table would be about the size of a rugby pitch and a half, and with what's int he game nowadays

Well, if you enjoy it, more power to you - as I've said before.
Play the game how you want it.

I'll stick with a movement/weapon range that are proportional, after all - There are more historical examples of charges getting slaughtered by weapon fire, than not.

Redesigning the Chubby armoured unicorn Pt2

 In the last post, I waxed lyrical on redesigning the 'Humble' Rhino APC.

While I have been tinkering with it 

If a rhino had a baby with an M113.....

I've also been looking at alternates.

One of the ones I've been enamoured with was this:

Battletechnology Goblin APC

It's a vehicle designed for use in Battletech, and given that in our world (name to be confirmed eventually :D) the none imperial city-states will need slightly different vehicles. (They have at least one Standard template construct machine to give the basic designs) I see no reason not to use whatever vehicles that we like.

I have done some tinkering with the original model, partly to re-arm it with a Heavy bolter, rather than the generic heavy machine gun and simplify parts of the mesh to make it easier to manually take a chunk out of the underside, to reduce the amount of resin used, and negate the need to hollow the model in the slicer (That comes with it's own potential issues)


Give us this:

Affectionately referred to as the Rhinogob

Still, the Rhino itself, along with the Predator and Land raiders are classic designs from Rogue trader, and I've had a soft spot for them for years, despite the varying impracticalities of the designs - they are distinctive after all.

Plus they would be a really handy addition for the 15mm & 6mm Horus Heresy Projects :)

So, overall my overactive, short circuiting, meth addicted Squirrel of a brain has gone through a few iterations of ideas and kind of settled on the current ideas:

Rhino:
1) Change the transport capability to 5 Marines
(which in our rules could be done by keeping it at 10 and amending the transport requirements for Heavy Infantry to 2 each, so 5 Marines/Heavy Infantry, or 10 Infantry/None Power armoured troops)
2) Amend the Armament to a Single Heavy Bolter
3) Model up variations - Mortar carrier, Command Variant etc (Using things like the M113 and FV432 variations as inspiration)

Well... that escalated quickly to:

Predator:
This isn't a main battle tank. (And I'm not a fan of the Sicarian design...)
Based on the similar hull the the Rhino, It'd be more suited as a light tank, or up armoured a little to a Medium tank, and  the clasic Autocannon/pair of Sponson Las cannon armament does suggest to me more of an anti-light-mendium vehicle target - but the problem there is the removal of a blast effect from the autocannon that it used to have in Rogue trader, which makes it terrible against infantry. 

]so I'm considering the alternate armament version of the Twin LAscannon in the turret and heavy bolters in the sponsons - a better mix for most targets.

Land Raider
As much of a soft spot I've got for these things, they have always given me a connundrum - Are they a tank, or a transport. And to me, they are a jack of all trade. Over-expensive to use as a transport, and over-expensive to use purely as a battle tank.
Solution to that is again straight forward:
1) Remove the transport capacity and it becomes a reasonable Heavy Tank.

With Original for reference

The above (to my eyes) also work better with the size/scale of the vehicle models themselves for both 15mm and 6mm

So, we have 3 classes:
Troop Transport/Misc: Rhino APC - 2 Crew: Driver, Commander/Gunner

Light-Medium Tank: Predator: 5 Crew: Driver, Commander 3 Gunners
Heavy Tank: Land Raider. 5 Crew: Driver ,Commander, 3 Gunners

So. Overall - The original models I can't remember, or find on my Hard drive where they came from... I've had a search for them and they appear to have fallen off the 'net for now.
But, I think it's a good example of playing the game how you want to.

Redesigning a Chubby armoured unicorn.

Past few days my mind has fixated ons omething that's bothered me for quite a while now.

Redesigning & re-arming the Rhino.

Ummm... not this one.

Whose game are you playing?

A thing that occurred to me while I was working one one set of rules or another (I forget which one exactly... probably Legions)



Whose game are you playing?

Probably not this one...

It may sound an odd question, but the core of it is, to me:

If you didn't write the rules then you're playing the game (whichever setting it may be Sci-Fi,Fantasy or Historical etc) how somebody else envisages it

 Which, if you are happy with how it's playing is no bad thing.

After all, there's no right or wrong way to enjoy the hobby, despite what some people/companies say. It's not like the Inquisition (Spanish or otherwise) are going to turn up to haul you away to somewhere unpleasant( Like.... say... Leeds...) if you don't play the "right" way..

Honest...

Anyway........ Moving on...

And that, is primarily why I ended up going down the rabbit hole of writing my own rules. I've got a stack of "commercial" rules, ranging back to the 80's, and to me - every single one has a varying level of "Things I don't like about it".

As you've seen, if you read my old blog:

Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here aaaaand Here. 

I had opinions back then, and tried to fit them in with the ruleset(s) we were playing then.
It kinda worked, but each change ended up needing more tweaking, which led into more tweaking, which ... well... you end up eating your own tail in the end.

Eventually we just went from scratch - that way I'd be playing what I want to play, or more accurately how I wanted to play and how I saw things working in the settings and force lists.

I mean, the very first set of rules that I remember writing was something i called "Oilwar" - Memory is fuzzy, as I was only just in double digits, and this year I hit a half century but, looking back through the mists of time 

Not just misty, but probably rose-tinted as well

 

it was a simple square based board game about capturing oil wells... I think :)

 Nowadays -  there's several. I'm just not sure if I'm going to put them online or not - having had some 3d stuff I posted a while back pinched and claimed as their own.. I'll admit - I'm a bit reticent to share again.

But at the same time - If I share it, it may give others ideas for their own games.

It's certainly a quandry.

In any case - if you're happy with what you're playing don't let anyone tell you otherwise. At the same time, never be afraid to try new things - some things might be more "what you want to play" than others, and unless you're playing in tournaments - remember:
Backgrounds are not rule specific. You can play whatever ruleset you want with whatever back ground and figure (or even counters) you want.

Or more accurately - Play your game. Regardless of the form it takes, and remember - Have fun.

15mm Sons of Horus colours

 SO, back on the old blog, one of the resurrected posts I did before moving over here was about choosing colour schemes for 15mm Horus Heresy Legions.

 At the time, I couldn't decide on a colour for the Sons of Horus, so ended up deciding to go with/settle for my second choice - The Death Guard.

 

However... my brain Decided to hyper-focus on the Sons of Horus. The joy of Adhd!

Yeah... It's kinda like this sometimes

I tried a different xpress/quick turquoise - In this case AK Quick Gen Turquoise Green.

A similar to-but-slightly-more-intense, and a little more grey (only it's... not) colour than Xpress Heretic Turquoise

(And... I've realised.... I am terrible at spelling turquoise! thanks gods for spell check)

Didn't quite work. but it did give me an idea for a different legion.

A bit more researched suggested I was going the wrong way - the Sons of Horus Green to my eyes, is more of a grey-green with a hint of turquoise.

"Sons Of Horus Green Colour Swatch"

 

Green.

Turquoise.

 

Well... I dunno about your eyes... but I'm seeing 3 different colours here.

So. in the end I went sod it. It's described as sons of Horus GREEN, described in the novels as pale GREEN, and the artwork is older then the mini and the paint colour any how (And yes.. I know the amount of retconning in the setting is a bit bonkers but still.....)

I'm going for a greenish, aiming to match the artwork.

Oddly, it only took an evening... and a fair few test models - I tend, at the moment to use some 15mm Vietnam-era marines from 3d breed: as paint test dummies as they have a lot of texture, and I'm replacing them with a stronger resin.

And a few mixes:

Paint!

Incidentally - the palette I use is actually a fidget toy... but being silicone the paint doesn't stick and peels off easily when you pop it out after it's dried.

Eventually, I settled on a mix that I liked. And yeah.. i know this aint the best photo... and a couple of the bits of sepia over the gold studs were still wet... but eh...

Tiny Test Heretic!

Its a little greener in the flesh (crap white balance on my phone) so to speak, but it's good compromise in any case.

I think the key thing was realising it's actually a grey-green, which is handy, as WW2 German uniforms were a greyish-green, which Vallejo do in xpress as Landser Grey. But.. that wasn't quite grey enough.

However, it's ALL XPress paints - which was one of the main aims of the exercise.
The recipe being:


    6:2:1:1 Space Grey : Landser Grey: Black Lotus : Heretic Turquoise


 

6 parts this

2 parts this

1 part this

1 part this

And bosh. you've got the colours for a very naughty legion indeed using just Vallejo Xpress that I'll be using for 15 & 6mm.

I mean.. this covers both Horus and Lorgar really....

New Blog, New (re)start

 Well. New blog, newish start.

Only not so much - it's more a reinvention of my old blog given the way things have changed with my older Blog  Life in a warped reality

The idea is going to be more about what I'm doing with painting, modelling and gaming, rules discussions, theories and scenarios.

I'm also sill up in the air as to whether or not I want to put the rulesets I've written / am writing on here or somewhere like wargame vault...

But my thoughts on that are probably good fuel for a future post.


In a way, this is good timing a recent game has managed to inject new life into our gaming, and again... the reasons behind that may be the subject for a post in & of itself.


Still, I'm off to get some modelling done for our 15mm Horus Heresy project.


Watch this space - I'll be updating various links and favorites shortly.