Playtesting the New Chaos in Carpathia Lists

Although my blogging continues to suffer, there's been quite a lot of development on the Chaos in Carpathia front lately. I'll show you some shots of some recent games between the other Jason and me. I've been lucky enough to work with Tom Weiss on the improved warband lists so I'll give you a few indications of what's coming when the new list is released.

Jason's Gypsies are a hard nut to crack. The combination of the Knife Fighter ability along with the Dancing Girl's Mesmerize ability and the Old Woman's Gypsy Luck ability make them a very unique warband to face.

We've gotten into the habit of laying out interiors right next to the outdoor terrain set-up. Here we see Brechen (sword-raised) scouting into the dungeon ahead of the Master Vampire. I just recently painted the Master. The new Romanian Vampire list makes the Vampiric Might ability exclusivly available to the Romanians. Furthermore, the ability has more functionality in the game now than it did.

The model on the left is Commodus, one of my newly-painted Nosferatu, leading a ghoul on the right. The Nosferatu have lost Vampiric Might but have gained a new abililty - Mind Control. This multi-use ability allows the Nosferatu to control their ghouls and wolves in the form of extra activations.

I usually designate between 1/4 and 1/3 of the table width for interiors. The interiors below represent three buildings and a small underground complex under the settlement.

The Magistrate's Chair was one of six objectives spread across the table. Like the other objectives, it would only be of interest to a player with a SEARCH secret objective card.

Ms. Emmalina Grunberg was placed in a small underground chamber. As the Person of Interest, she was of special interest to any player with a RESCUE/KIDNAPPING secret objective card.

Here are some scenes of an epic battle that took place between my Nosferatu and Jason's Gypsies. The Nosferatu's ability to control the ghouls is particulary useful in combat when an extra attack here and there can make a big difference.

We still use my Indoor Furniture Rules. Searching objects such as Chests, Sarcophagi, and Bookcases add a small wildcard element to the game.

Later on, I played my Hungarian Monster Hunters and Jason played his Nosferatu warband. He held the FOG campaign card and chose to activate the event rather than saving the card for bonus points and the end of the game. It was a good choice as the fog cloud stopped my shooters from targeting his ghouls while they got into position.

Jason has painted up some of the Westwind werewolf models to correspond with his Nosferatu minis. This is important since all Nosferatu now come with one use Shape of the Beast and an option to purchase another. Jason has taken the full upgrade for most of his Nosferatu so his band is particularly deadly in combat. As you can see below, teamwork is the key to defeating vampires. Of course, the stake that Helmut plunged into his chest helped as well.

Konrad Von Krumm, my Expedition Leader, found himself set upon by ghouls. He made a bold stand but was taken down before help arrived.

During my game against the Nosferatu, I the RESCUE/KIDNAPPING card as well as a SEARCH card. I decided to send half of the warband underground the rescue Ms. Grunburg and to find the necessary number of clues while they were down there.

I know what the hardcore Carpathia players are thinking. "Can I have the new lists?" The answer is "Soon." I believe that Tom is still playtesting some of the changes on his end as well but I doubt that much will change at this point. In general, you'll notice that Monsters are generally stronger, tougher, and more capable, yet more expensive. Humans, on the other hand, saw some decreases in points without losing many abilities at all. This means that the Monster wabands tend to be slightly less numerous than their human counterparts. However, human characters generally need to work together to really succeed in the game.

On a final note, after Tom releases the new lists I'm going to try to find somewhere to host my "gamepack" for Carpathia which includes my Indoor Furniture rules as well as my Secret Objective Cards and my Campaign Cards. We've finally tweaked the game to the point that it's the perfect mix of wargaming, roleplaying, and strategy to suit our tastes.

I'll try to be more diligent throwing up photos and as always, thanks for reading,
JET