From Impetus to Basic Impetus

I'm sure that many readers are aware that I am a die-hard Impetus player, and in fact, it's the Impetus content that draws many readers to this site. However, unlike most Impetus players, I did not get my start with Basic Impetus. I dove straight into the full version of the game and never looked back... until now.

My nine-year old son has started gaming with me. We've tried out Song of Blades and Heroes, Legends of the Old West, and have had a great time playing Memoir'44. A short while ago I downloaded the free Basic Impetus rules and realized that they were perfect for us. After unlearning some assumed knowledge from Impetus (discipline tests, multiple moves, etc...) we started playing the game and have had some really great ones.

I've generally been playing my 6mm Romans. The Basic Impetus force consists of FPx3, FLx2, Tx1, Artx1, and CMx1.


Ben, on the other hand has been marching Stu's Parthians across the field. The army consists of CPx3 and CLx5.

This has been great fun, but I'm already starting to ponder where we could go with it. Ben is not particularly interested in painting at the present time but I don't want to quell his interest in war gaming, so I've decided that if we pursue a new Basic Impetus project, I'll be the one to throw the paint on the models for now. Some different possibilities I've considered lately in no particular order:

15mm Irish vs. another Dark Age army
I've accumulated enough Irish infantry to create a Dark Age Irish or Scots Irish force. I could simply choose a viable opponent - Vikings, Saxons, Normans, Picts - or another army that wouldn't be too far fetched, and paint them up.

15mm Marian/Imperial/Late Romans vs. Parthians/Huns/Gauls/British/Spanish/Etc...
If I embark on something new I'll be aiming for 15mm models as I like the price, the look, and I can play them interchangeably against other models I already have painted. Ben really enjoys the Parthians and has told me that he leans towards a cavalry force. This would give me an opportunity to paint some more Corvus Belli models and perhaps to paint a few Parthians by Peter Pig (which I've become quite partial to).

20mm Soft Plastic Armies
I'd prefer to keep the historical projects at the 15mm scale right now, but considering Ben's age, as well as the low prices, I've looked at some of the 20mm plastic offerings by Zvezda, HAT, and Caesar. Some of the kits are great, but one has to be careful what is chosen when creating a Basic Impetus army. If four or five boxes have to be purchased to satisfy the variety of unit types in an army, it defeats the money-saving potential, and I'm better off staying with 15mm metal. A Parthian army could be created with just two boxes of models, but some others would require numerous boxes and considerable wastage.

28mm Basic Impetus Fantasy
I already have all of the models to complete a Corrupted army for Basic Impetus. I could model and paint an opposing fantasy force and I'm sure we'd have lots of fun, However, my one hesitation with this idea is that Ben has really shown interest in the historical armies and I don't want to sweep aside that developing interest.

Anyway, all of this is simply conjecture and mental exercise for the present. We will continue playing with the 6mm Romans and Parthians while I finish painting my Gothic Horror project and my Alkemy models. As always, any advice is welcomed.

Thanks for reading,
JET