A new A4 rulebook and highly detailed 28mm miniatures to fight tabletop skirmishes carving out your territory in The Eternal City.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Acrobats, Thieves & an All the Minis Add-on
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Mar 24, 2023 at 02:37:13 PM
A few days ago we saw the new Brawlers sculpted by Paul Hicks revealed. Today, it's the turn of the Acrobats and the Thieves. When building your gang using the advanced rules, you can recruit new fighter types - Leader, Thief, Acrobat or Brawler alongside your mainstay fighters. Each type brings something different.
NEW: ACROBATS - FIGHTER CLASS
The daredevils in your gang are the acrobats. Pushing each turn to the very limits above the streets of Rome. Leaping and wheeling across the rooftops to get ahead of your enemies. Include the Acrobats in your pledge as an Add-on.
NEW: THIEVES - FIGHTER CLASS
In Gangs of Rome 2, you will need a thief or two if you want to take objectives off your opponents without killing them. You'll also find them extremely useful for pinching other players' stuff in campaign play. Include the Thieves in your pledge as an Add-on.
NEW: ALL THE NEW MINIS ADD-ON
You asked, and we listened. All the unlocked figures sculpted by Paul Hicks have been grouped into a single add-on, making it much easier to include them with your pledge.
Brawlers (Rixa) x2, Thieves (Furtum) x2, Acrobats (Agilitas), Vigiles Urbani with Big Sticks, Vigiles Urbani, Halt!, Vigiles Urbani with Lanterns, The Oscan Players, Puppeteer - Incola, Leper - Incola and the Vigiles Commander - Incola. That makes a total of 18 new white metal miniatures.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT...
As part of the campaign, George Asling has agreed to share updates on key areas of the new rules. If you have any questions about what you read, please ask them in the comments.
Lets Take a Look at... The Mob
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Mar 24, 2023 at 04:54:32 AM
Following our last update about how the game plays, this time we look at the Mob and how they work in the new version.
Mob bases are an integral part of Gangs of Rome. They are used to represent the shifting crowds of the city and its unpredictable nature. There are now three ways in which they interact with your Gang Fighters during a game. So without further ado, let's dive in.
Activated by a Player
One of the key differences with the mob in version 2 is how they are activated. Those of you familiar with the game's first iteration will know they activate in the Housekeeping phase. A (roman numeral) d6 would be rolled for each Mob Base in play, resulting in them being moved on the result of a 4 or more being rolled. The direction of this movement is determined by the ‘V’ on the dice. More often than not, we found this led to the Mobs not being involved in the game, so they were not adding anything to the gameplay.
In Gangs of Rome 2, a counter is now included in the draw for the mobs. The number of counters equals half the number of Mob bases used rounded up. The reasoning behind only having half the mobs activated by players in any one turn is that it keeps the mobs close to the relevant action without slowing the game down by activating mobs not currently involved in the drama.
When a player draws a Mob token, what happens? Well, the drawing player can choose to do one of two things:
Move the Mob - The activating player rolls a d6 and moves the mob in a direction of their choosing equal to the distance on the d6.
The player moves the mob 5"
Agitate the Mob - The activating player can try and agitate the mob by forcing them to roll a reaction dice similar to reacting to combat. The results of which are as follows:
1 or 2 - The Mob enters a Scared State and will immediately flee 6” away from the closest gang fighter.
The mob moves directly away from the closest fighter.
3 or 4 - The Mob will remain passive and not react at all.
The Mob does nothing at all.
5 or 6 - The mob will enter an Angry State and will immediately move up to 6” into base contact with the closest fighter and attack them with an Attack stat of 5.
The Mob moves into base contact and attacks the closest player.
Once the Player has completed the activation, play will continue with the Draw being passed to the next player.
Having the Mob bases activated by a player brings them closer to the action and means a player can attempt to manipulate the crowd to their will. Each action a Mob Base can do still has a random element representing the fickle will of the Mob, adding a risk when trying to manipulate them.
So what happens when a Mob Base is in a Scared state or Angry state? This is a nifty (or so we think) mechanic that gives a lasting effect from a Mob's last reaction. When a Mob Base is in a Scared state, place a d6 showing a 1 or 2 on the base so everyone can clearly see that it is currently scared. If the Mob base is in an Angry state, place a 5 or 6 on its base so everyone can clearly see that it is currently angry.
A Mob Base in an Angry state will gain +1 to its next reaction roll, meaning it is more likely to remain in an Angry state and carry on attacking Gang Fighters.
A Mob Base in a Scared state will lose -1 on its next reaction roll, meaning it is more likely to continue running away from the action.
Reacting to Combat
As in version 1, all Mob bases will react to any Melee or Grapple Combat that is taking place within 6” at ground level. This is easily resolved by making a Reaction Roll once the combat has been concluded.
If a result of 1 or 2 is scored, the mob will flee 6” directly away from the combat and enter a Scared state.
The Mob flees from the combat.
If a result of 3 or 4 is scored, the Mob will stand and watch the fight but not directly react. The Mob is now in a Passive state.
The Mob remains passive, watching the action unfold.
If a result of 5 or 6 is scored, the Mob will move into base-to-base contact with the closest Gang Fighter involved in the combat and attack them using a Melee Combat action with an Attack stat of 5. They will also now enter an Angry state.
The Mob Moves to join in the action.
If needed, a dice is left in place, indicating the current state of a mob base, affecting their mindset and making the same reaction more likely to happen.
Blending with the Mob
One of the most loved elements of Gangs of Rome was blending into the Mob and reappearing from the crowd in another battlefield area. This is still very much a part of Gangs of Rome 2 and is now an action that can be included in the Action stack detailed in a previous update.
If the Gang Fighter is successful and is able to carry out the Blend action, place the fighter on the Mob Base to represent vanishing into the crowd. While a Fighter is Blended with a Mob Base, they may not be the target of attacks or abilities or carry out any actions of their own.
If a Gang Fighter is unlucky and fails their agility roll when blending, they will trigger a reaction roll from the mob instead of blending with them!
On their next activation, a Blended Gang Fighter must use the Exit Mob action as the first action in their Action Stack. This action is unique, not counting as an action you must roll for, as it cannot be failed. So even though it takes up one of your four allowed actions, when checking your Action Stack successes, you start from the action immediately after Exit Mob.
That covers the most important parts of the Mob from the Core Rules. As ever, we will be expanding these in the Advanced Rules section of the book! Join us next time when we take a look at Combat.
Never forget, Rome is the mob, and the mob are Rome.
First look at the Gangs of Rome plastics
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Mar 23, 2023 at 02:42:57 AM
Here is the initial sighting of five gang fighters made from the Citizens of Rome plastic box set. We received this image from Wargames Atlantic last night, who, like us, are very keen to show you what we are working on together. We must stress these are first work-in-progress renders, and there is still some way to go, with much more to add. However, we have to say, what a cracking start!
The frame will consist of torsos, legs, arms and heads, providing maximum choice when building your fighters and mobs. For those of you who have already backed the plastics without seeing anything, thank you for trusting in us. You can include the Citizens of Rome plastic box set as part of your pledge as an add-on in the pledge manager.
-TEAM FOOTSORE
Free Rulebook PDF & Bases, plus the new Brawlers
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 01:36:23 PM
We unlocked another stretch goal yesterday, and with just nine days left to go until this Kickstarter ends, we thought it was a good time to send out our latest update, including a new stretch goal.
UNLOCKED FREE PDF
We unlocked our latest stretch goal for a free PDF of the complete rulebook. Everyone who has backed the veteran or beginner's pledge deals will receive a full PDF of the rulebook when ready to go to the printers. The idea behind this is for you to be able to start learning the rules as soon as possible.
NEW BRAWLERS - FIGHTER CLASS
Check out these new Brawlers. When building your gang using the advanced rules, you can recruit new fighter types - Leader, Thief, Acrobat or Brawler alongside your mainstay fighters. Each type brings something different, and Brawlers are those gang fighters your opponent will find particularly difficult to put down.
Paul HIcks has completed these two new sculpts to represent this new fighter class, and they look smashing.
NEXT STRETCH GOAL
Next up, when we reach £50k, we will unlock a new set of Gangs of Rome fighter bases which we will give away as a FREE STL for everyone who completes their pledge.
You always need bases, especially when playing Gangs of Rome campaign games. Therefore printing off these numbered bases as required, especially when replacing a swapped-out, injured, or dead gang member, will prove to be a really useful asset.
MEDIA
Find out more about version two by catching up on what has been said about Gangs of Rome on recent podcasts and shows.
Lets Take a Look at... The Action Stack
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 06:41:58 AM
There have been a few mechanic changes in Gangs of Rome 2, so over the course of the campaign, I thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look at some of them and see how they impact the game and how they work.
The first one I would like to take a look at is the much-talked-about Action Stack. The Action Stack is how each fighter is activated, and it lets them traverse the city, attack their enemies and interact with objectives and terrain.
How does it work? I hear you all asking. Well, let me explain…
When a Gang Fighter is activated, they may choose up to a maximum of four actions they would like to attempt. They do not have to attempt four actions; they may only choose one, two or three, depending on the situation. You may repeat any action as many times as you like (as long as you don't exceed the four action limit), and you can build your stack of actions using any combination you wish. The actions you have to choose from when building your Action Stack are:
Move
Attack (melee/grapple/ranged)
Leap
Climb
Blend
Bind
Pick up/Put down
Push/Pull
Exit Mob
You will notice that these actions are quite broad and generic. That is due to the intuitive nature of the system covering many situations in a simple and clean manner. Move, for example, would cover any horizontal movement, so anything you wish to do which requires moving in a line along a flat horizontal surface would be a Move Action. Climb covers any vertical movement up or down, so it would be a Climb Action when you wish to move your fighter vertically. This openness allows players to quickly categorize what they are trying to achieve into one of the basic actions before carrying it out without complex limits and restrictions for what would normally be a very complicated activation.
So to build an Action Stack, you would list each action in order, your Gang fighter wishes to attempt. For example, a Gang fighter may want to move to the base of some scaffolding, climb up the scaffolding, and then move along the scaffolding. This would make their Action Stack look something like this:
Move -> Climb -> Move
These three actions cover everything aiming to be achieved. The player places an action token at the end of each action to enable both players to clearly see what is being attempted. In our example, token 1 would be placed at the base of the scaffolding, token 2 on top of the scaffolding and token 3 placed at the end of the move across the scaffolding.
The Action Stack is laid out and ready for the Agility roll.
So, in a nutshell, an Action Stack is a complex activation made up of smaller, simpler actions. It allows for a cinematic and engaging activation that is quick and simple to execute.
Now, on to the exciting bit. It is not guaranteed that your Gang Fighter will be able to complete all the actions on their stack. This randomness represents the Gang Fighter's ability, unforeseen trips and stumbles and all manner of little things that could stop them from achieving their goal in the busy city. Once an Action Stack has been declared and marked with tokens, the controlling player will roll a number of dice equal to the Gang Fighters Agility stat. Like most dice rolls in Gangs of Rome, a result of 4+ is counted as a success. The number of successes rolled is the number of actions successfully completed in your Action Stack.
From our example above (Move -> Climb -> Move),
If three or more successes are rolled, all three actions are completed. The Gang Fighter will move to the scaffolding, climb it, and then move along it. Their activation will then end, and play will move to the next Gang Fighter.
The Gang Fighter has successfully completed all actions.
If two successes are rolled, only the first two actions are completed. The Gang Fighter will move to the scaffolding, climb it, and then they cannot take any further actions as they have no more 'successes'. Their activation will end, and they will gain one stress token for the action they could not complete.
The Gang Fighter has successfully completed two actions.
If one success is rolled, only the first action is completed. The Gang Fighter will move to the scaffolding. A failed Climb action, however, has an extra danger. A failed Climb action means the fighter will fall and take damage equal to half the distance they were attempting to climb. Once this has been resolved, their activation will end, and they will gain two stress tokens, one for each failed action.
The Gang Fighter has successfully completed one action.
As you can see, the more actions that make up your Action Stack, the harder it becomes to complete, but the more heroic it will be if you do complete it. The fewer actions that make up your Action Stack, the easier it will be to complete, but you will achieve less.
Activating your Gang Fighters becomes a fine balance between heroic deeds and actually achieving your goal. It means in some situations, you may want to risk it all in a game-winning Action Stack or play it safe and make sure your Gang Fighter survives to fight another turn.
The Stress tokens we have already mentioned also impact how far you wish to push your Gang Fighters. Much like in real life, failing to complete desired actions will lead to frustration and stress. A Gang Fighter will gain one Stress token for each failed action in their Action Stack. The side effect of Stress is simple. For each token your fighter possesses, their Agility roll is reduced by one dice. A Gang Fighter with an Agility of 6 with 2 stress tokens will only roll 4 dice when making an Agility roll.
Simply put, the harder you push your fighters, the greater the chance their stress will increase and hamper them later in the game.
This being said, Stress tokens can be cleared from your fighter by fully completing an Action Stack. A highly Stressed Gang Fighter would more than likely only wish to complete an Action Stack made up of one or two actions. This would greatly increase their chances of successfully completing all actions and removing all their current Stress tokens.
Hopefully, from this brief look at the Action Stack, you can see that it is a clean and intuitive activation mechanic that allows players to push for those heroic moments when they wish to. It allows a player to attempt any activation they can imagine quickly and smoothly without breaking the immersion or action of the game.
Thank you for supporting our project. Next time we will take a look at Mob Base activation and how that has changed in Gangs of Rome 2.
