Back in 2012 the story of Factious Waste began. It's been a long haul, with groups from across the world playtesting and feeding back on their experiences, but the final push to get this near-future dystopian miniature RPG to release is upon us! My to-do list has got pretty short now, with sculpting all but finished and final pe-launch costings done. So let's have a look at how the Kickstarter is shaping up.
Factious Waste c. 2013
It would be fair to say that I am a bit... apprehensive? Nervous? about the campaign. Necromunda is on the horizon and the Ramshackle Games Mini Gangs project has launched late- sci-fi skirmish fans have plenty to choose from and this will be the largest project we've done to date with a boxed set, big sourcebook (calling it a rulebook seems unfair, only a fraction is actually rules) and 50 sculpts plus templates, dice etc.
That being said, Factious Waste has attracted a lot of interest from games shows we've taken it to. Miniature Wargames and Wargames Illustrated both offered to cover it, the Golden D6 is plugging it and the engagement on social media seems high.
Factious Waste on display at Colours and the latest edition of the Golden D6 featuring Oakbound articles
In terms of content I have largely finished the layouts for the rulebook and testing of the campaign system is well advanced. My initial plan to have the whole thing read as a graphic novel has gone by the wayside (sadly) due to art costs, but I'm delighted that we have some amazing artists on board who have captured the comic vibe perfectly. Simon Lee Tranter and Mike Tenebrae may be less familiar to you than our own Tony Yates (check out their websites- they do stunning artwork!) but I'm sure you'll all be aware of the work of Dark Future, 2000AD and Thrud artist Carl Critchlow who is lined up to produce the cover. Working with these guys over the last year has been an amazing experience and the world has grown in richness and sprouted out in fun and exciting new directions as a result of their concepts.
Simon Lee Tranter, Mike Tenebrae and Tony Yates doing what they do best...
Inside the 200-page rulebook there's a load of background on outworld and the 7 main factions which inhabit it, the SystemMech rules with setting-specific Action Tables, a simple 3-step posse creation system, skills tables, traits, comprehensive equipment lists and rules for using and customising vehicles, location activities for some commonly-frequented settlements, a guide to narrative gaming and 25 objective-based scenarios. Definitely the work of 5 years' development!
Equipment lists- yes you can take a flamethrower and a chainsaw!
The miniatures are divided into 5 sets, one for the boxed game and 4 'faction packs'. The boxed game "War for 1984" contains 10 models and lists for using them as 2 pre-generated posses. They are all tributes to classic action movies of the 80s as a clear indicator of where the game draws its inspiration. There is no prize for listing them all! The faction packs are "Enforcers" (GenCorps and Doughnutters), "Reprocessors" (ReFrat and Trash Runenrs), "Wastelanders" (NeoPrimitives and Artisans) and "Workers" (Luddites and other boiler-suited types suitable for use as civilians). So even if you don't end up playing Factious Waste you should be able to find a use for one or more of these packs in your games, be it Arbites, pulp gangsters, wasteland tribespeople or civilians for a dystopian future.
A Frat Brat putting the Gangsta' into Gangster, Trash Runner and Artisan characters.
Over the course of the campaign I'm going to be stepping out into the world of videos, with streaming Q&A sessions and how-to-play videos (the first of which is below, comments and suggestions welcome!
Then there are the all-important add-ons. We've had great support from several companies who have offered casting services, bespoke items and discounts on their own product lines for kickstarter backers. I'm particularly grateful to Fogou Models (who also do wonderful Dark Age stuff) for making exclusive trash piles and barricades for the kickstarter and to Scotia Grendel who have put up some resin scenery as stretch goals and add-ons. There'll also be custom dice, counter sets and once again the opportunity to have yourself sculpted into the range so you can lead your posse in person!
Fogou Models specials, only available in the Kickstarter.
Cost will, of course, be an important factor. I have done very detailed spreadsheets to keep prices as low as possible. Despite my efforts to keep the boxed game under £50 it has ended up at £55, but balancing budget and content I think you'll be happy to spend the extra £5 for the bonus bits that will be going in! Faction packs are coming in at £25 each (£2.50 a model plus extras). There will be a limited opportunity to pick up the whole lot for £125 (saving £30) and offers for traders and clubs (contact geoff@propworkshop.co.uk if interested).
Add-ons and Stretch Goals
The kickstarter goes live on the 7th October and we'll be having a launch event at Blast-Tastic Bristol. It runs for two weeks, ending on the 21st. Please spread the word and let's make amazing things happen!
This all sounds like great fun! I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got. You're right, there's a lot of skirmish games out there, but there's still that special something I've been looking for that I haven't found, something to make telling a story a little easier. Something where the players can collaborate more richly, rather than simply being in competition with one another. Something just a little bit more flexible. It's crowded, but there's still space. And even if your system isn't the one I dream of (which it just might be) it still looks like a fabulous book and the miniatures look gorgeous and quite useful. Either way, this looks like a winner. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks The Composer, much appreciated. Doing more narrative games on the tabletop was very much my intention so I hope this will tick some of your boxes! Captain Crooks did some playtesting a couple of years ago and produced this brilliant report, well worth a look if you haven't seen it already! http://funkywenisrodeo.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/factious-waste-playtesting-up-coming.html
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