Thinking about Kingdom Death again...

So I had been stockpiling funds in my games budget to spend on Cthulhu Wars expansions...but thanks to a job I did over the holidays (copyediting and revising a massive Secrets of the Lost Tomb update), I've found myself in striking range of Kingdom Death. So now I'm kind of thinking about just getting it instead of the CW expansions, which I can presumably pick up later at retail (or comped by MM, I hope).

I keep going back to the Web page and almost ordering it...I wish I could find a used copy, but it seems like this is one of those things that folks aren't going to let go due to the miniatures and so forth.

Someone push me one way or the other. I need the Internet to help me decide.

I think you are already clued into its Achilles heel. You mention it in your post above. It's miniatures game.
If it had cardboard standees I would say get it.

Having not played but just read the rules, assembled the first minis and looked over the components I would say this.

It looks exceptional and very awesome. However, a huge bulk of the cost is in the true Hobby quality miniatures. They are good minis but some of the kits are extremely difficult to put together (Phoenix in particular).

I don't think you would get the value out of it and it's also something that you need to play as a campaign to really experience. We're talking 12+ sessions.

I think you would like the game but I imagine you'd get more play out of those Cthulhu Wars expansions which we're not sure what will hit retail.

I got it for $290 (no shipping, local) and felt sick spending that much on a game. I can't imagine spending nearly half a grand on it when you have so much else to play.

With that being said, when I eventually get to play it I'm sure I'll be on here raving about it.

Yeah, I think the modeling is terminal...I was just looking over the sprues again and thinking "how the hell am I going to STORE those figures"...plus putting them together, which I really don't want to do.

So frustrating...because the game looks so interesting, but I just don't care to get into all the modeling. I keep thinking maybe I'll just deal with it or maybe even make my own stand-ups. Or use proxies. Like use one of those stupid Imperial Assault AT-STs for the Phoenix or something.

It does seem like a lot of the value comes from the modeling...if you're all up into painting, I can see the $400 price being not so punishing.

Michael Barnes wrote: Like use one of those stupid Imperial Assault AT-STs for the Phoenix or something.

Next you'll be playing Dreamblade using wooden cubes.

Similarly, if I had the patience to do the modeling I would be all over this. But as it is there's no way it would get played.

You also have to think about the fact that if you're spending that much you'll have to expect to love it, which isn't unreasonable. If you love it, you'll want all of the expansions. Those are now believed to be $100 a pop for the bigger ones. So you need to quantify this expenditure as closer to $1000 to be realistic.

I already started putting away money for them.

Yikes. Yeah, I think I'm swayed. Plus I just realized that I could get the $200 or so worth of Cthulhu Wars I wanted and then use the rest to do a little X-Wing catching up. Prepainted, pre-assembled miniatures- yay!

If I were you the only way I could justify purchasing it would be if you bought it, made standees, and sold the minis to offset some of the cost. If it were me, I would plan to sell the minis but, since I'm addicted to minis, I'd cave and then kick myself for how much I spent.

While I understand where the other respondents in this thread are coming from, I don't know if I can agree with them fully. The moment you pick up that gorgeous KDM rulebook and leaf through it you'll forget all about having paid the equivalent of a day at Disneyland for the game.

The Halloween "magazine" is fundamental to Psycho Raiders, and from what I've heard the art, color scheme, and typefaces are core aspects of Cave Evil. The miniatures are like that with KDM.

This is, fundamentally, a singular design. Really nothing like it out there. Does a great job of streamlining the "delving" (for lack of a better word) and highlighting the campaign and character progression. Its uniqueness reminds me of things like Cave Evil, City of Chaos, etc. -- doubt that anything like it will come along for awhile; it's just so weird. At the very least, you need to go play Frank's copy.

If he does a $100 set with bubblegum figs I would be processing my credit card in 2 seconds. Until then, this game is a myth.

This is out of left field, but I offer a third option. By the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG book. Everything about that book is fantastic. And it's like $30.

If I had the money and the same choice, I'd go with KDM, but I'd probably get really annoyed with making the miniatures. It's a lot more original and engrossing than Cthulhu Wars. Especially since you're into solo games, I could see you liking it... minus all the issues with storing that huge-ass (with hands) Phoenix.

Or here's another idea.

I figure you'd probably play it by yourself or maybe show it to a couple of interested friends. The campaign would obviously be easier (or faster) playing solo. You'd only need to assemble a few of the necessary figs, or use proxies. IF, big if, you're really smitten with the game, then it's a win for you. If not, you'll still have played your fill of it (1-2 campaigns might be plenty), and then get rid of it as you usually do, the resell value should be pretty steady. Or even eBay some sprues or all of them if you think you want to keep the rest of the game.