Review of Ex illis 8-6-2010

After buying Ex illis at Gencon I wanted to start a running review of the game. Here is a link to the companies website.

OK! the first thing I have to show you is this! They are releasing one heck of a large demon. This is a picture of the base. It measures 5 inches across!!

And here it is...

Heres some pics during the demo.

Pictures of some other new releases for the bad guys. In the background you get a size comparison for the new demon.

Archangels. I bought these guys as well and they are awesome models.

First thoughts on the models. I am pleased to say that I am not disappointed. One of the key things for me is that the weapons are not and clothing is true to scale. What I mean is that the swords are not super thick and the clothes didn’t look like the model was wearing a parka. I can tell you already that if I want to paint a model for a competition I will be looking through the ex illis range.
The big selling points for me were
1. Everything other than the models and terrain is completely free. That’s right, you don’t have to worry about buying a rulebook.
2. its not the usual turn based game. Instead it is based on an initiative system. Where the actions of your model during the game will determine how soon they will be able to act again.
3. your units gain experience and abilities the more you play.
4. The storyline itself drew me in. The setting is an alternate timeline during medevil erurope where creatures of legend have emerged. For more on the story check out this link.
5. It’s a hybrid game. What I mean is that they developed a software program (which is FREE) to run track the actions, combat and the models initiative during the game. Ex illis also stores a database of every fight and your individual renown.
6. All the models are plastic and highly detailed.

Well that’s all I have time for now, but I will be adding my thoughts on Ex illis as I explore the game.

Carl

could you discuss more on how the game is actually played between the board and the computer? Do I roll dice anymore? Or do I just do what he software program tells me to do?

You enter you army build into the computer ,in order of deployment, and it tells you intuitive. You move your minis on the board, to shot ,flee or charge is done on the computer . The battle results are determined on the computer

Taken from the website.

Quote :

In Ex illis, you play on a large battlefield divided into 'zones' and the units move from one zone to another. On a unit's turn, you choose between the various actions available to your unit in the Rule Keeper software, such as attacking, charging or casting a spell. The screen then shows the miniatures fighting, blocking or evading hits, so both players can witness the results of their actions on enemy troops.

The physical battlefield gives you all the game's macro information (the General's view), while the Rule Keeper software shows one zone at a time (the soldier's view) in more detail (Hit Points left, status effects, etc). This means you create all your strategies by looking at the battlefield, and you feel like you are right in the thick of the action as your troops exchange blows with the enemy.

You can still be flanked and have terrain affect movement moral fatigue levels and lots more. Ive been sinking my teeth into the system for the last week and have seen how much they have put into this. Your able to make a board thats literally as large as you want in any shape you want to represent different battlefields. for instance having a T shaped board or whatever is needed. As far as rolling dice goes, because they used the software they were able to make the functionality of the game much more diverse. Meaning it would be more than a simple series of die rolls would resolve. On their forums they talked about how during development they used an excel spreadsheet to do all the calculations and because of how much is there, it took a full 8 hours to play a single game. Now they have it so that you can play massive battles in an hour.
You also don't need a ruler. They have taken movement into account as well. The further a unit has to move to engage the more worn out they will be, it will affect other stuff as well like their aggressiveness in combat and more.
To build a list you can literally use everything they have released in your army.... lol But heres an overview of how it works. First off anyone can make an account and use units from the trial tab to build an army and play with the mechanics before ever spending a dime. they even give you a pdf of the unit to use in games so that you can proxy them. Anyway, as you add units the system uses an algorithm to ensure that your building a balanced list. As you exceed the normal parameters the game will still allow you to add as many of a unit type as you want. The different types are melee, shooting, special, magic, monster, fast, elites and heroes. What happens when you do go exceed the lists parameters you start to incur a penalty that is automatically tallied and added to the cost of the unit. So your able to bring a massive heavy cavalry, peasant or militia list if you want to and the game will adjust the point cost of the units automatically for you.
Ive also been digging into the different factions your heroes can belong to. Depending on the hero chosen you can choose between 5 and 19 different factions to join. Each of the different factions has different effects on your muster from what you pay to field a unit to the moral they have on the battlefield. Heres and example..


Gloucester (name of a faction)
Motives (how belonging to this faction affects the different units moral.)

*
Basic: +20
Affected units
o Vilein (30)
o Arbalestier (30)
o Billman (20)
o Franc Chevaler (20)
o Longbowman (20)
o Mangonel (30)
o Hobelar (20)
o Ympe (20)
o Dominicani (20)
o Swordsman (30)
o Spearman (30)
o Evocati (20)
o Nephilim (20)
o Minores (20)
*
English: +40
Affected units
o Billman (20)
o Longbowman (30)
*
Noble: +40
Affected units
o Franc Chevaler (30)
*
Lowborn: +20
Affected units
o Vilein (20)
o Arbalestier (10)
o Longbowman (5)
o Mangonel (5)
o Dominicani (5)
o Minores (5)
*
Demonic: -20
Affected units
o Ympe (-10)
o Nephilim (-15)
*
Mercenary: -20
Affected units
o Arbalestier (-10)
o Billman (-10)
o Mangonel (-15)
o Hobelar (-10)
o Swordsman (-20)
o Spearman (-20)
*
French: -40
Affected units
o Franc Chevaler (-10)


Faction rules

*
Saxon Blood
Lowborn units gain 15% in Toughness
*
Dean Miners
Commoner units gain 50% in Earth Resistance


Promotion cost (the extra cost to make a hero the army general)
+ 20 %


Well there's today's overview Ill add more to it later.