Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 71: Chronopia

 Hi!

Well I've just sat through the presentation by Uhrwerk Verlag on their new and updated Chronopia!

It's obvious that the team behind the game are really passionate about Chronopia and I'm really pleased to see that they are keen to stay true to the original game but introduce updates in line with the advancements in technology, specifically sculpting.

We got so see some sneaky peeks of the renders for the new miniatures as well as a few painted samples and it's looking really promising!

The images we've been getting to see have been mostly the Blackbloods, an empire ruled by Ogres and featuring Orcs, Goblins and Trolls but given a Middle Eastern vibe, doing away with the more usual Tolkienesque brutish and savage Bad Guy Orcs and Goblins and giving them a really rich and advanced culture of their own:

Trolls

I remember the old Chronopia Trolls were forced to wobble about on 25mm round bases as that was the only base size in plastic that was readily available back in the day and the renders look fantastic with more dynamic poses but staying true to the art. 

Painted Trolls

The painted samples are rather nice but I would say they could really do with getting a professional painter for them as they're decent but a pro could really make them pop and draw more folks in who may want to get the figures just to paint but that's a minor niggle.

Orc Swordsmen

The Orcish Swordmen look fab and if you look closely, their musician is wielding a Lute! This is rather fantastic and really original and I really want to get one to paint!

Orc Swordsmen and Ogre

Similarly, the painted examples are nice but again I can't help but feel that they could do with some more professional painting and presentation but hopefully we'll see better paint jobs in the coming months.

Orc Alchemist

the Orcy Alchemist looks fun and I particularly like the lizard carrying his supplies and like these little extra elements we are seeing already.

From my scribbled notes, it's looking like there will be a Kickstarter by the end of the year (sadly nothing more definite as yet) with the plan being to release the Firstborn (humans), Blackblood Empire (ogres, orcs, goblins and trolls), Dwarves, Elves and Devout (evil monster summoning villains!) with there being an initial 5 troop choices being available from the kickstarter and if things go well, this will be upgraded to ten choices.

The miniatures are going to be available in boxes of troops and specialists and will be made of resin but will come with the units stat card and equipment cards too. They are also really keen to emphasise that the game is going to be supported with monthly releases of miniatures and regular expansions (mention has been made of the North and the Sons of Kronos and the Swamp Goblins of the South)

Rules wise, they are reworking the original rules which I'm really pleased to hear as Chronopia is a brilliant ruleset and despite being over twenty years old, I still a really dynamic system that was well ahead of its time and will be great to play again!

Unit Cards

What is really exciting about the game is that they are designing it with scalability in mind, there will be four sized forces, Heroic Skirmish with 5-7 figures and a game lasting 30 minutes, Patrol with two units a side or about 15-20 figures, Medium or Classic which has 30-40 a side and a game lasting up to two hours and finally a mass battle option with possibly hundreds of figures a side.

I'll be interested to see how this works out but they seem to have some really interesting ideas for the smaller skirmish with individual figures acting as heroes fighting their way through mobs of enemies. 

They also have a built in solo option which is great too and there are apparently going to be 648 different scenarios to play (6 basic scenarios, each with different deployment types and secret missions). This will ensure that the game has lots of playability in it from the get go.

There has also been mention of a basic and advanced version of the game which I'm guessing harks back to the difference between heroic skirmishes and mass battle with streamlined rules to keep things moving or a bit more crunch for small scenario driven games.

From the presentation, they are also clear that they want to really establish the first five factions and then expand with new factions (Sons of Kronos, Swamp Goblins and Stygian) and possibly introduce entirely new forces we've never seen before. The world of Chronopia has been described as vast so there's a huge scope to really delve into a thoroughly original setting and forces and I'm eagerly awaiting further updates which I will of course share here!

What I'd really like to see though is more content on the CHRONOPIA WEBSITE with artwork, miniatures (even if they're just renders!) or fiction. With a market that has dozens of fantastic Fantasy wargames, Chronopia deserves attention but if there's nothing for folks to see and get excited about, it may struggle to get said attention.

Hopefully we shall have an update from Warzone Eternal in the next day or so and I'll be able to enthuse about that too but in the meantime, All the best!