THE BASICS
Hammer of Democracy is going to deliver a set of World War 2 miniatures gaming rules, suitable to play anything from small skirmish actions to sweeping battles with lots of miniatures.
It is aimed squarely at providing a fun, quick-moving battle without getting bogged down in excessive detail, though we find the game to be surprisingly realistic at times as well.
The rules will be based on the successful Squad Hammer rules and it’s derivatives Trench Hammer, October Hammer and Winter Hammer, but adapted to the full battle fields of the second world war.
The aim is a one-book solution, giving you all the tools you need to play out countless fun table top encounters, using any miniatures you would like.
THE ACTUAL PRODUCT
The aim is a PDF rulebook, illustrated modestly and produced to the same standards as other recent Nordic Weasel releases (such as Renegade Scout).
The intended page count is around 150 pages, much of which will be support material to help set up games and armies.
That’s it. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy to get hung up on or go wrong later.
You support the campaign and you get a game in return.
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CORE RULES FEATURES
* Negotiated combat.
We use a concept we call Negotiated Combat to determine the dice rolls.
Essentially, the players will set the target numbers for attacks, based on the factors you feel should be applied to a given situation.
This means that you can be as detailed as you like.
This process takes a little to get used to, but once you are in the groove, it lets you play much faster in a game that feels more realistic and responsive to your input.
Want to factor in that it’s raining? The smoke from a burning Panzer III? That your men didn’t sleep last night? Go for it.
This also makes it phenomenally easy to use any miniatures and vehicles in your collection.
As long as you have a basic idea of how a given weapons system or vehicle functions in real life, you can use it on the table.
We offer a Matrix-game style “argument” system to help you get started but if this sounds a little too wishy-washy, we also offer pre-baked target numbers where you can just look it up on a table.
* Straight forward command system
Battle is all about friction: No plan ever goes exactly as intended and orders get delayed or mis-understood.
Rather than complex systems of order relay and written commands, we use a simple dice system to determine what you can do each turn.
You are never stuck being unable to move, but you probably won’t ever get to do everything you need to do either.
* Surprisingly clever damage system
The rules take a broader view of battle effects.
Rather than tracking morale and casualties separately, we take inspiration from the venerable John Hill, creator of Squad Leader, and combine them into a single damage value, assuming that units suffer a loss of confidence as they are subjected to hostile action.
This also means that things like suppressing fire before an assault really works and can be resolved far quicker than in many other games.
As a consequence of this system, withdrawing troops from the front line and rallying them becomes vital, allowing you to be as aggressive or as cautious as suits your play style.
* Easy to teach
It’s important to us that our games are easy to learn for new players.
Inexperienced players tend to get frustrated if they feel like they are struggling against a system they don’t understand.
Our core mechanics can be explained in 5 minutes or less, so you can focus on actually solving the tactical challenges on the table, instead of figuring out exactly what to roll for a given situation that just occurred.
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CONTENT WE INTEND TO PROVIDE
* Two game levels.
The game will be playable at two different levels of action.
The default will be the Platoon level, where each unit represents a single tank, heavy weapon or infantry section.
Players who prefer to think a little bigger will be able to play in Battalion mode, where each unit represents a platoon of vehicles or men.
* Scenario compatibility
In Platoon level games, the scale matches that of games like Chain of Command, I Ain’t Been Shot Mum, Crossfire and Advanced Squad Leader.
In Battalion level games, the scale matches that of games like Command Decision and Spearhead.
This allows you to use your pre-built armies, army lists, orders of battle and scenarios, making the transition between rules sets as easy as possible.
* Random army generators
Tables will be provided to roll up a random army with a few quick dice rolls.
Leaders rarely get to pick their commands: The true test of battle is to win with what you have available, instead of relying on a hand-picked super army.
* Mission generator
Quickly generate a mission complete with objectives, special circumstances and terrain layout guides.
War is chaos and with the generator, no two battles will be exactly alike.
* Lists of equipment and vehicles.
We can’t cover every gadget and truck manufactured in the war, but the rules will provide guidelines for a variety of equipment.
* Leader types
Different types of commanders to lead your forces. Some may be better at rallying, some may be better at leading the assault and yet some may have unique abilities to help confound your enemies.
* The tool box
Like most Nordic Weasel games, we will include a Tool Box full of rules and suggestions, so you can handle everything from blowing up bridges to interrogating prisoners.
This will help enable you to create scenarios as well as resolving unusual situations as they come up.
* Campaign rules
No game is truly complete without a way to link your games together.
Rather than a convoluted system that you’ll never get to finish, we’ll offer systems to play a fun, story-driven campaign game and watch your leaders and troops develop a bit along the way.
* Solo mechanics
We will include at least basic guidelines for solo gamers.
* Supporting arms
Rules will cover all manner of supporting formations, including off-map artillery, air support, partisan activity, command raids and more.
* Introduction sections
Additional information introducing players new to world war 2 gaming, discussing basics of land warfare, unit types and a broad overview of tactics.
Ideally will also include painting and basic modeling guides.
POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL CONTENT
* Pre Battle Sequence
A pre-battle sequence where you can select different fighting styles (such as Extensive Preparations, Frontal Assault, Cunning Deception or Seize Initiative) and dice for unique advantages.
* Weather rules.
Whether its fighting in the pouring rain or deep snow, we’d like to make weather rules that are interesting and fun to use, rather than being an annoying chore.
* Army traits
Optional rules to make the armies feel distinct from each other, affecting how they are given orders and what options are available to them on the battle field.
Think of these as similar to the “national characteristics” many games have.
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
Any project has challenges that must be overcome.
For rules writing, the main issues tend to be mechanical (do these systems actually work? Are they fun to play?) in nature.
Since we are using an already proven system, we can avoid most of those issues, meaning we can focus on taking what we already know works and adjusting it for the topic in question.
Many game projects run into problems due to unpredictable shipping costs, third parties failing to deliver peripherals or spiraling costs.
Due to this being a PDF only release, we can avoid almost all of these problems:
There are no expensive components that need to be produced in China and no packages that have to be shipped to backers in Tristan da Cunha.
A final problem that seems to plague some crowd funding projects is that the project simply never gets written. The designer burns out or gets overwhelmed by the project, particularly if they are new or inexperienced.
I would like to point to my track record of writing, completing and releasing dozens of rule sets ranging in size and complexity.
I have run crowd-funding projects before (notably Renegade Scout) and delivered the finished game in a reasonable time frame.
This does not mean that challenges are impossible.
For example, I could become ill, suffer a catastrophic computer failure or a family emergency might take up all my time.
While I can alleviate most problems (for example we do have spare computers in the home and I have the ability to work while traveling) any honest creator must admit that there’s a non-zero chance that something terrible could happen, preventing the project from completion.
If so, I am prepared to offer backers with PDF copies of existing Nordic Weasel titles, equal to the amount you backed the campaign for. While that would certainly be a disappointment, at least nobody would be out their money with nothing to show for it.
