SGII, Points and Epic

From: "Karl A. Bergman" <karlbergman@charter.net>

> I used to play their Epic rules, and even enjoyed it some. I finally

They stopped doing this in Epic about 5 years ago.

What they didn't do was stop producing a complete new rules system every 5
years... which could be really, really good, or really, really bad.

I myself *like* the Epic 40k ( Epic version 3) rules best, but the new Epic
Armageddon (Epic version 4) set looks like a reasonable compromise
between the (very good IMHO) reserves/mutual support/combined arms of
E40k and the detail of the original Space Marine( Epic version 1).

For example, it gives stats for all (well, nearly all) the old models, but *no
points values* for them, a la SGII. In Competitive games, the army lists are
simplified, and only stats for models currently in production and
available are permitted - *but you can use any model you want* as long
as the opponent is informed what corersponds to what. The only rule is that
you must be consistent.

The emphasis is on scenario design, and interesting battles, rather than
competitive play.

I consider Jervis Johnson to be one of the truly great miniatures games
designers, but in the blurb in the E:A rulebook he freely admits taking
inspiration from more conventional miniatures rules sets. He play historical
miniatures, and I strongly suspect SG2 and DS2 as well. But IMHO he sells
himself short: there is at least as much truly original work as "flattery", as
in "imitation is the sincerest form of...",
and no-one should be ashamed of borrowing a good mechanic if it's the
best
available - and conversely, originality that leads to a worse way of
doing things is no virtue.

The "crossfire" and "rally/blast marker" rules would not be out of place
in any good WW2 or modern miniatures simulation. Or even DS3...