Battalions Lost: Pre-Launch Development and Community Feedback

[peterthanpeteParticipant 32xp 0]

Battalions Lost: a community-made WW2 mod of Star Wars: Legion

Hello fellow gamers! I’ve been working on a custom scenario for the Star Wars: Legion rule set that changes the setting of the game from a long time ago in a galaxy far-far away, to Earth in the 1940s, when the global conflict known as World War 2 was raging.

This (free, community-made, and not affiliated with FFG, Atomic Mass, or Asmodee) game mod uses the official rules, dice, tokens, measuring tools, and unit card format of Star Wars: Legion (which all can and should be found on the Fantasy Flight Games website), BUT it is played with World War 2 miniatures and terrain!

Major differences between the un-modded Star Wars: Legion game (abbrv. ‘SWL’) and Battalions Lost are few, but necessary:
-The Factions are the countries that fought WW2 (examples Germany, US, Soviets, UK, Japan, France, Italy, etc.)
-Terrain will represent WW2 battlefields
-Unit models used will be 28mm (or larger) WW2 miniatures of your choice
-There are no Repulsor vehicles
-There are no Climbing vehicles
-There are no Speeder vehicles
-There are no Force powers
-There are no Lightsabers
-There are no Ion weapons
-There are no Poison weapons
-Army List unit options and upgrade options have been re-worked to apply to WW2-era combatants and armaments (listed below)

Army List unit options for Battalions Lost mod:

Commander unit options
-Captain/Hauptmann (appropriate faction only)
*planned additions include generic LT, generic Major, and ‘characters’ like Patton, Montgomery, Rommel, etc.

Corps unit options
-Infantry Squad
-Elite Squad (vague enough to apply to a variety of models you may have or want, like paratroopers, rangers, commandos, etc.)
-Mortar

Special Forces unit options
-Sniper Team
-Bazooka/Panzerschreck Team (appropriate faction only)

Support unit options
-Machine Gun Team
-Anti-Tank Gun

Heavy unit options
-Sherman/Panzer IV Tank (appropriate faction only)
-Stuart/Puma Tank (appropriate faction only)

Army List upgrade options for Battalions Lost mod:

Personnel upgrades
-Infantry Trooper (Infantry Squad Only)
-Elite Trooper (Elite Squad Only)

Heavy Weapon upgrades
-BAR/MP44 Trooper (appropriate faction only)
-Thompson/MP40 Trooper (appropriate faction only)
-M1903/K98k Sniper Trooper (appropriate faction only)
-Bazooka/Panzerschreck Trooper (appropriate faction only)

Grenade upgrades
-Frag Grenades
-Smoke Grenades

Comms upgrades
-Radio

Training upgrades
-Take Cover!
-Offensive Push
-Interdiction

Gear upgrades
-Marksmanship
-Intel
-Binoculars

Command upgrades
-Commanding Presence
-Strict Orders

Generator upgrades
-Extended Ammo Belt
-AP Rounds

Hardpoint upgrades
-Pintle MG

State of the mod:
-All armies have access to the same unit/upgrade options (army list force organization category(rank) limits are listed in the SWL rules)
-2 Factions have a full set of unit cards created (US and Germany)

Future of the mod:
-Adding full sets of unit cards for more countries (UK, Soviets, Japan, France, Italy, etc.)
-Adding more unit options in every category, ex. ‘heroes/characters’
-Adding more upgrade options in every category

The Big Question:
One big fork in the road for the mod overall is the question of whether or not the army list options should remain equal across all factions, or if some intentional asymmetry would be better. On the one hand, the “scale/scope” of SWL lends itself to the difference between, say, the MG42 and the Browning M2, being negligible and treating them as the same. On the other hand, the WW2-buff in all of us would rather see the rules reflect the difference between an MG42 and a Browning M2. This is where I have to defer to the community and those who are experienced in game design. I need your help! : ) Adjusting stats and point costs is something I could take a stab at, but I would need help to refine it and balance it. The current method, however, is inherently balanced, and guarantees that each faction has access to the same tools for winning WW2 battles. It is also easier to learn (once you know one faction, you know them all, and you know your opponent), which makes the game more accessible to new WW2 gamers, and leans the experience closer to the casual/quick/fun end of the spectrum, and a bit further from the true simulation end of the spectrum.

Here is the link to the unit/upgrade cards that I have already created:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18wivs9kJ6w_N5fj99vUIklKZ8DAQZNcX?usp=sharing

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and happy gaming!

*Battalions Lost is not affiliated with Fantasy Flight Games, Atomic Mass Games, or Asmodee Games. The items needed to play the game should be purchased from FFG or an authorized SWL dealer. As for the miniatures, I recommend the most popular 28mm scale WW2 miniatures range.

[Author]

Posts