Dragon Rampant Second Edition
What really changed my mind was another train of thought which started as I reflected on the game. I started mentally reminiscing about my involvement with fantasy wargaming. Why and how did I start gaming in this genre? How had my involvement changed between the 1970's and now, particularly in the choice of rules systems?
I have always been a keen reader of fantasy and science fiction and in my early teens decided that wargaming battles from 'The Lord Of The Rings' would be great fun. I was already buying metal wargames figures in very small quantities and discovered the Minifigs Mythical Earth range in about 1973/74. The problem was that some of the figures just didn't live up to the images I had in my head from reading the books . Had the sculptor even read the stories? I have since read that they were sculpted from descriptions given by a terminally ill customer of the company, who had requested they create the range. I have no idea if this is true, but if so, its an unusual origin for the range.
As we entered the 1980's I discovered the fantasy figures being sold by Citadel and started to think again about the possibility of fantasy wargaming. I was soon a regular customer at Dungeons and Starships in Birmingham and then the Games Workshop store which followed. I was buying figures but couldn't find any rule system to use them with that I liked. There were one or two sets available but they were very complex and not very user friendly. Then in 1983, the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle dropped and the world would never be the same again! Yes it was clunky and a bit quirky, but it was not another overly detailed Wargames Research Group clone set of rules. It was an innovative new way of table top fighting and was full of exciting pictures and ideas. It was a literal breath of fresh air.
I now had rules that I wanted to play games with and started to paint in earnest to create two armies, in case a potential opponent didn't have one of their own. These long gone, early forces are still captured in the two old photos below. They were a mix of manufacturers, including Essex medieval figures, but I had some enjoyable, if infrequent games with them.
I was still interested when the 3rd edition of the rules came out in 1987, but this was to be the year that my heart was stolen by the new game on the block, Rogue Trader, Warhammer 40k!
Warhammer 40k (Rogue Trader) hit the shops and my energies, enthusiasm and resources were all absorbed by the game that would be my 'go to' game for the next 25 years. I had always loved Science Fiction as a genre. I remember watching the broadcast of the first episode of Dr Who in 1963 and have watched most sci-fi related tv programs ever since, from Space Patrol (still a favourite) to Star Trek. WH40K combined all of this, with the sci-fi books I avidly devoured and mixed a lot of fantasy elements in as well. I have been a fan of the game and its background ever since, although I finally stopped following new output about six or seven years ago. However that's a tale for another day and blog post! It did mean however, that I lost pretty well all interest in fantasy wargaming until Peter Jackson bought Middle Earth to life in the original film trilogy in the early 2000's.
I wanted a set of rules for games where you could field between 50 and 100 figures a side, in distinct bodies or units, with simple fun mechanics. So I continued to collect and paint until the solution I had been looking for arrived in the form of the first edition of Lion Rampant, published by Osprey Publishing in 2014. Lion Rampant were of course designed for medieval wargaming, but I immediately saw the potential to use them for fantasy wargames and particularly battles in Middle Earth. The rule set felt like it had been written just for me. It had the right level of complexity with original game mechanics, whilst remaining easy to pick up and play. Importantly it was flexible and capable of being used for small or large games. I was an immediate convert and started to use it for all of my games, even stretching the period to early Renaissance gunpowder weapons.
It was not long before the first edition of a companion volume was written and published by Dan Mersey, Dragon Rampant! Such had been the success of Lion rampant and the obvious ease with which the rules system could be used for fantasy wargames, that Dan expanded the basic rules system to encompass magic and mythical creatures in their own right. The results were all that I could have hoped for and Dragon Rampant became my preferred set of rules for all of my fantasy wargaming. The second edition of Dragon Rampant was published in 2025. It essentially expands the options open to players and refines the rules slightly, without adding any unnecessary layers of complication.
I know some people don't like the 'Rampant' rules. They are written very much for players who want to throw whatever figures they have on the table, roll a few dice and just have a fun game. The rules are open enough that players can exploit certain aspects and are really not designed for a very competitive environment. A particularly common complaint is that a players turn can end suddenly on the failure of an activation dice roll. The uncertainty this mechanic brings to the game, just adds to the enjoyment in my mind. For some players, however, they just want to be able to move all of their troops every turn and this spoils the game for them. I can understand their point of view, but as I now exclusively wargame for fun and only with old and close friends, I don't mind uncertainty in my games. Perfect balance is not a feature of real warfare and is not necessary in my games either!
So there we have it. Aspirations to wargame the struggles of Middle Earth finally found form in 2015, some 40 years after the idea formed in the mind of a young teenager. Many rulesets came and went until I found the one for me in Dragon Rampant. I am still painting and acquiring figures for Middle Earth games and I will share some of my forces in later posts.
As a footnote to this post, I suspect Warhammer Fantasy Battle had much more promise than I gave it opportunity to show. The third edition in particular, is very fondly remembered by the 'Oldhammer' community, but seems overly complex now to this old man. I am aware that Games Workshop have relaunched the game and it may be excellent, but I am happy with my games of Dragon Rampant. So much so, that I am expanding my fantasy collection with new forces of almost predominantly 'pre slotta' figures, from Citadel, Asgard, Minifigs, Ral partha etc. More of that project another day however. I hope to be able to use some of these forces in Middle Earth games as well if required. I will leave you with some concluding photos from the game which I hope amuse.
Tara a bit!
Very little now remains of the evil force, with two of the three tokens now in the hands of the good force the game is effectively over!e
