Already 20 stalwarts (no doubt wearing bright red army jackets or Pickelhaube) have donated to make the Victorian Scifi rules a reality. I am hoping to reach 40 so a quick update (and also i started working on the rules, so I am excited to talk about them).

https://nordicweasel.posthaven.com/nwg-does-victorian-scifi-weasel-funder for the first post.

I wanted to share a few more details at this point, as things are starting to come together and answer some of the questions that have cropped up. As usual, "Q&A" posts are a sort of amalgamation of questions I get, not the exact wording of each email or post or whatever

What scale will the rules be for?

As with Squad Hammer, any scale you like. The rules will default to 5 figure infantry squads since that's pretty cheap in 28mm and works well as a single stand in 15mm or 10mm, but you can use larger units if you like.

I am guessing 28 will be the most common.

Any rules innovations to the Squad Hammer engine?

Yes, each player will have a handful of "Generals Orders", like rallying a unit, rushing a unit forward or getting a firing bonus for a turn. Each is usable once per game. 

You will also be able to unveil a "Grand Plan" once per game, giving you extra actions (the lower of 2D6).

The activation system will otherwise be 6 actions per turn. You can combine those to take 2 actions with each of 3 units, take 1 action with each of 6 units or any other combination.

Since the game takes place on Venus, all visibility is capped at 24". As all scientists know, the humid jungle environments of Venus limits long range visibility. 

What unit types will there be?

Unit types will be characters (a single officer or hero), Squads (5 figures nominally), fighting machines (steam /ether/whatever powered robots), beasts (dinosaurs and giant bugs), heavy weapons (gatling guns and cannon) and balloons (er....its a big thing filled with hot air).

There will be 3 or 4 alien mercenary types. These will be mostly described through their traits and game stats, so you are free to pick whatever cool miniatures you really like. 

Im thinking 5 or 6 types of infantry squad, but we will see when we get a bit closer.

Will this be steampunk?

With a game like this, the line is pretty fine. I am confident a lot of the armies people will build will look very steampunk, others will be more "victorian with one weird thing". In the end, that's really up to you. 

To me, the "correct vibe" is very realistic looking late 19th century infantry with their correct weapons, alongside a dinosaur and supported by a steam-powered battle walker. But your vibe may be very different from that. 

I can't stress this enough: This game really is meant to be a creative exercise for army builders and kitbashers as much as a tactical experience. 

Can I use Napoleonic (or other black powder) minis?

Yeah, the exact infantry you pick is up to you. The flavour of the game assumes you are using rifles, but I may include some notes on using smooth bores instead. Or you can just use the rules as is really. Infantry is infantry, up to a point. 

If you have not yet committed to help make this game a reality, please consider doing so:

You can do this through a direct Paypal donation to nordicweaselgames@icloud.com 

Your donation becomes a discount towards buying the full game once it is released. I expect the final book will be in the range of 15 to 20 dollars. Anyone donating gets a shout out in the book and 25+ dollars also gets you a name drop in a game example or story.