My latest tabletop wargame project, When Nightmares Come, is an occult investigation/supernatural warfare game. Set in the modern era, vigilante monster hunters work together to track down and put an end to an otherworldly threat before it puts an end to them.
Another solo and cooperative game like Exploit Zero, Nightwatch, and Insurgent Earth, Nightmares is the latest iteration of the same, core mechanics but modified to accommodate an enhanced narrative element. Calling it a ‘tactical RPG’ makes it sound more sophisticated than it is; it’s still just an excuse to put cool minis on the table and start rolling dice. Nightmares offers a tool box for generating a campaign story line to go along with the epic battles, and introduces some consequences for the non-combat scenes and challenges.
MINIATURES?
When Nightmares Come is also another ‘open-miniature’ game – which is biz-speak for “doesn’t have an official line of figures” – and I wonder if that will hurt or help the game in the long run. I get a kick out of tracking down or converting miniatures for game scenarios. But unlike sci fi or standard fantasy minis, there’s not a lot of modern era monsters or non-military monster hunters out there. I suspect I’ll see a lot of repurposed Zombicide minis representing the heroic but misunderstood civilian vigilantes of today’s Nightwatch.
For creatures though, that wretched diversity of Cthonic, Demonic, Cursed, Afflicted and otherwise vicious and ugly beast that terrorize humankind from the shadows, I’m guessing boardgame figs will be a good source. Ebay has helped me out in this regard. But it’s still tough to locate themed figs for every tier of adversary. Maybe the game will get enough traction, enough press and table time, that one or two of the outstanding 3D sculptors out there will whip up a range of themed baddies. I’d be all for that.
WHEN?
Good question. Slated for Osprey Wargames’ Blue Book range, Nightmares’ release window is early next year. The full rules are complete and with the editor, so now we’re in the trim the fat, tighten the flow, exterminate those typos phase. That should be enough time to hammer it into shape for the wargaming public.
There are other hobby-projects in the queue, but for the foreseeable future, I’ll devote some writing time to a couple fiction projects that have languished. Including Part 2 of the post-apoc fantasy, Shattered Worlds.
That’s all for now. Game hard. Have an excellent day.
Leave a Reply