[ENG] To start or not to start...

[Cara]

Hello Kensei-Community!

Well, I can't really call myself part of the community yet, since I don't have anything... Unfortunately I didn't notice the KS last year (or this year...) but yesterday I stumbled upon this game... and well, I am kind of hooked.

I was always fascinated with Tabletop games, but either didn't have the money/time/patience or lacked friends that shared the hobby... (I started with the HdR Tabletop once... and quit after I didn't find anyone to play with...)
Now things are a little different and I'm thinking about getting in on Kensei.

But before I do that I thought I'd ask one or two questions...

Since chances to find someone who might also want to get into this game as a hobby are quite slim I thought about just getting two small armies, so I can invite friends to play it... no investment needed from them, and I have double the pretty models in my display case.

Since there are these Clan Army Boxes I basically thought: Just get two of those! I saw in the rulebook (yep, spent last night reading the whole thing... )even example 200pt armies with them soooo... seems like a good idea? What do you think?
After that - assuming the game is as fun as it seems to be - these armies seem to be easily expandable to 300pt with a unit of cav each, adding more versatility and new options, for not too much money...

Also, it seems like the game is mainly build around these scenarios that seem to usually need some type of terrain... (even some clan "powers" revolve around manipulating terrain)
Now... I don't have anything in the way of Tabletop terrain... Is it viable to just... take two armies, set them up and fight for 5 rounds and see who lost more? Like, simple 1v1?

Hm, yeah, that's it I think for now...

Greetings,
Cara

P.S.: Does one need specific glue for metal minis? Or does normal super glue for resin miniatures work?

[ajmendoza]

Hello Kensei-Community!

Well, I can't really call myself part of the community yet, since I don't have anything... Unfortunately I didn't notice the KS last year (or this year...) but yesterday I stumbled upon this game... and well, I am kind of hooked.

You are already part of this. Some people do not play at all but are writing so exciting stories (in the fanfiction forum) and other are just painting and sharing and... there are so many ways to be part of the community. The main one is enjoy your visits!

Since there are these Clan Army Boxes I basically thought: Just get two of those! I saw in the rulebook (yep, spent last night reading the whole thing... )even example 200pt armies with them soooo... seems like a good idea? What do you think?
After that - assuming the game is as fun as it seems to be - these armies seem to be easily expandable to 300pt with a unit of cav each, adding more versatility and new options, for not too much money...

It is hard to find new players for wargames and the best way to do so is, as you said, building two armies and invite some friends.

Thanks for reading the rules (hope you enjoyed it). Two army boxes are more than fine to enjoy the game. There are enough minis for 250 army points more or less.

The game is pretty deadly but it scales well. You will have at least 1 hour and a half of game if you play a standard kensei game. Also you could try to play Torii (bands, 10 miniatures. With the army box you will have moore than enough) or the "Raid" game mode for kensei (smaller battles, 3-5 miniatures units fighting in skirmishes scenarios). You can find the Raid rules in this forum (actually there is no rules, they are just some minor modifications) and Torii can be found in the website on the store.

Also, it seems like the game is mainly build around these scenarios that seem to usually need some type of terrain... (even some clan "powers" revolve around manipulating terrain)
Now... I don't have anything in the way of Tabletop terrain... Is it viable to just... take two armies, set them up and fight for 5 rounds and see who lost more? Like, simple 1v1?

The point of the scenarios is to give some diversity to the games but most of my games lastly has been pretty big games with several friends (2 vs 2 mostly and 400 points each) and we played the standard 1vs1 battle with scenery just for decoration. So it works pretty fine in that scenario.

Actually, the most important thing in Kensei to win a combat between units is know when and how to hit. So two facing armies with nothing in between is one of the most interesting ways to play kensei. Also, the activation system make this situations, when many units can charge, quite stressful (in the good sense) and fun.

P.S.: Does one need specific glue for metal minis? Or does normal super glue for resin miniatures work?

Superglue is fine. I prefer to use Gel-superglue. It dries faster and the join is stronger, but the standard superglue is perfect.

Thanks for joining us! Do not hesitate to participate and ask us any question you have.

Cheers!

[Cara]

Heyho!

Thank you for the answers!
So, I decided to give it a try. One Buke Army Box and one Otokodate Army Box are on their way.

Really looking forward to it.

Greetings,
Cara

[ajmendoza]

Heyho!

Thank you for the answers!
So, I decided to give it a try. One Buke Army Box and one Otokodate Army Box are on their way.

Really looking forward to it.

Greetings,
Cara

Yeahhhh Thanks!!!

[Cara]

Well, as you can see (-> Battlereport) everything has arrived and most of the models are assembled.
Sadly from the three friends I tried it with, one complained quite a lot about the game (due to reasons I could not really understand, like... he did too little damage with his Yumi Samurai?) and mentioned that he had no interest to give it another try, one is the girlfriend of him, and did also not really enjoy it (though I personally think I wouldn't have either, in his team...) and my teammate had quite a bit of fun, but I don't think he's the type to invest in something like that... but nethertheless, I guess I can get him to play a round with me from time to time at least if I provide an army for him.

So, yeah. I had a lot of fun, now to widen my search for people to play with.

[ajmendoza]

Well, as you can see (-> Battlereport) everything has arrived and most of the models are assembled.
Sadly from the three friends I tried it with, one complained quite a lot about the game (due to reasons I could not really understand, like... he did too little damage with his Yumi Samurai?) and mentioned that he had no interest to give it another try, one is the girlfriend of him, and did also not really enjoy it (though I personally think I wouldn't have either, in his team...) and my teammate had quite a bit of fun, but I don't think he's the type to invest in something like that... but nethertheless, I guess I can get him to play a round with me from time to time at least if I provide an army for him.

So, yeah. I had a lot of fun, now to widen my search for people to play with.

Ooohh, I am sorry your friends did not enjoy it. It is true the game is balanced to focus in hand to hand combat, although a good bunch of archers/teppo can make you suffer a lot xD.

Gladly you had fun!! yeahh!!

Where are you from? I could try to help you to find new players through social media. The Kensei's facebook page has many followers as well as many people involved in the groups.

I am going to check the battle report right now! Thanks for that!

[KokeKitsune]

So, yeah. I had a lot of fun, now to widen my search for people to play with.

Nice one, glad to see more picking it up. You from the UK by any chance we've got a fair bit of kit so always happy to fix up a game some time if you're in this neck of the woods.

[Cara]

Hey there,

well, I'm from Germany, so... UK is out of the picture.

And unfortunately I live in a small town that doesn't even have one of those typical tabletop/roleplaying game shops where you can find groups etc.
I'll post details in the specific thread.

But there is a small "convention" (like maybe 50 people over 3 days) twice a year here, where one can present roleplaying or tabletop systems and offer small test rounds. I'm thinking about getting units for such a small test round painted (don't have the time or skill to do it myself, but money is not so much of an issue) and present it there.

Best wishes,
Cara

[KokeKitsune]

Hey there,

well, I'm from Germany, so... UK is out of the picture.

And unfortunately I live in a small town that doesn't even have one of those typical tabletop/roleplaying game shops where you can find groups etc.
I'll post details in the specific thread.

But there is a small "convention" (like maybe 50 people over 3 days) twice a year here, where one can present roleplaying or tabletop systems and offer small test rounds. I'm thinking about getting units for such a small test round painted (don't have the time or skill to do it myself, but money is not so much of an issue) and present it there.

Best wishes,
Cara

Ahh sad times! Maybe some day we'll get a game in Keep it up, looking forward to seeing your forces painted up!

[PascalH]

Hey Cara,
I wrote you a DM because I work at a place gar nicht mal so weit weg von dir