The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Major strengths

You defiantly get your money's worth: Derailed includes rules for flying machines, steam vehicles, trains, horses, boats, some new gizmos, and some rules errata and revisions in a 64 page book. (Some of the errata might appear on the Pinnacle web site under Pinnacle's policy of posting any rules that the players should have gotten in the first place.) The troop cards, vehicle templates, upgrades and status chits are all printed out on high quality, full color, glossy cardstock.

The rules were an easy read. The vehicle rules add to the game without greatly adding to the complexity and in general are fairly intuitive and easy to remember.

Other strengths The vehicle templates are also useable for the roleplaying game. $20 is probably a bit steep for just some cardboard templates however, especially since two of them, the Maze Runner and Submersible Boat, also came in The Great Maze boxed supplement. But if you are a primary RPGer who happens to buy every Pinnacle product like I do, it's a nice bonus.

>From just eyeballing the rigs, it appears that the points are balanced, ie. the bigger badder things and the better upgrades all cost more points. I'm certain that extensive playing will result in the emergence of a one combination that has more bang for the buck, but right now the points "seem" pretty good. I have a prediction that the high mobility and firepower of the vehicles, combined with the limited number of turns in a GRW game, will make armor the king of the battlefield.

Major weaknesses

The rules seem rushed and are often vague. (Specific details follow at the end). The feeling I got from reading the book is that the deadline to put the product out at a specific date. After a year of chronically being behind schedule and another year of catching up on their timeline, I think the deadline pressure has just made itself appear in these rules. Common sense can dictate a lot of these rules, but that's not something to rely on in a tournament. Or - it could just be a case of they've played the rules so often that they knew what the meant when they wrote them down.

Other weaknesses All of the units in the book are for use by everyone. Nothing was done to expand on the uniqueness of the different rail barons. Probably economically unfeasible (more cost on producing the book, requirement of "unique" vehicles being cast in lead, etc) but it would have been nice to see a different vehicle for each baron.

You are stuck with 45, 90 and 180 degree turns for wheeled vehicles. There are no rules for a 50, 100 or 170 degree turns.

The templates, chits and troop cards are not pre-cut. Yup - in order to use them, you'll be sitting there with a pair of scissors. Admittedly, this is better then the GRW: Reinforcements sloppy punch-out edges and is cheaper then cutting and bagging the chits, taking more packing material - perhaps even a box which would add to the cost of the game without appreciably adding to the value of the game itself. Still, be warned and bring scissors.

The artwork on the Maze Runner and Submersible is noticeably better then the artwork on the Train template. The lack of the same detail on the train adds to my feeling of rushed-jobness that I have about the book.

Misc. If you plan on playing GRW outside a small group of friends, Derailed is an essential purchase. That is more a comment about the way miniatures games work then it is a direct praise for the product. If you do not know these rules, you will be at a disadvantage if you face them in a tournament.

Seeing the Turning Keys keys put me in the mind-set of cars wars. But the keys aren't as complex as good ole' CW. Looking into the book shows that Derailed is not a CW clone, but the turning keys reminded me of it anyway.

A quirky rule. A hero that learns to drive a rig has his starting drivin' die type based off of his shootin' skill. Um, well, it had to be based on something I guess.

Fuzzy rules.

So, how do you make a 110 degree turn to turn that Hanging Judge into a speed bump.

Page 8: "If a crew has more then one Action Card (from an attached Hero, for instance)...." I didn't think that Hero's gave the posse more actions.

Page 13: "A rig that hits a troop takes half damage. Roll all the dice,then halve the total (round down.) Armored targets like Automatons make slightly better speed bumps. Add a target's Armor level to the damage the vehicle takes." Is that before or after halving?

Page 14: (paraphrased) To board a rig while it's moving requires a Jump (strength roll based on the pace of the vehicle) roll on behalf of the boarder. When opposed by the crew "The procedure is similar to Jump!m with a few notable exceptions. If there are passengers or crewmen in the way, they can oppose the jumper. They all make Fightin' rolls, and the jumper subtracts for each opponent after the first, as usual." Does it take first a Jump! roll then a Fightin' roll, or is it a straight Fightin' roll with no jump? I would say first Jump! then fight, but that's not explicitly stated.

Page 25: (Jumping from an airship) "A really excitable hombre can perform the maneuver we told you about in Chapter One, but he's going to take Falling damage as well as any he suffers for the vehicle's current Pace. If the jumper makes it, he takes damage equal to +1 pace AND (emphasis from the book) altitude level lower than his rig currently is. If he fails, he takes both Crash and Falling damage. Okay - the rule referred to in Chapter 1 is the Jump! rule. Easy enough. But the second part has me scratching my head. Should it perhaps read "he takes damage equal to -1 pace AND as one altitude level lower than his rig currently is." or does it mean you calculate damage as if the vehicle was moving faster, but was lower to the ground?

Page 55: (scaring horses) "If a creature with Fear or Terror (or a machine) gets within sight and 6".... Is that a machine with Fear or Terror, or any machine?

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

The Great Rail Wars: Derailed
Author: Shane Hensley Category: miniature Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group Cost: 19.95 Page count: 64 pages and cards Capsule Review by Allan Seyberth on 06/09/98. Genre tags: none	Major strengths You defiantly get your money's worth: Derailed includes rules for flying machines, steam vehicles, trains, horses, boats, some new gizmos, and some rules errata and revisions in a 64 page book. (Some of the errata might appear on the Pinnacle web site under Pinnacle's policy of posting any rules that the players should have gotten in the first place.) The troop cards, vehicle templates, upgrades and status chits are all printed out on high quality, full color, glossy cardstock. The rules were an easy read. The vehicle rules add to the game without greatly adding to the complexity and in general are fairly intuitive and easy to remember. Other strengths The vehicle templates are also useable for the roleplaying game. $20 is probably a bit steep for just some cardboard templates however, especially since two of them, the Maze Runner and Submersible Boat, also came in The Great Maze boxed supplement. But if you are a primary RPGer who happens to buy every Pinnacle product like I do, it's a nice bonus. >From just eyeballing the rigs, it appears that the points are balanced, ie. the bigger badder things and the better upgrades all cost more points. I'm certain that extensive playing will result in the emergence of a one combination that has more bang for the buck, but right now the points "seem" pretty good. I have a prediction that the high mobility and firepower of the vehicles, combined with the limited number of turns in a GRW game, will make armor the king of the battlefield. Major weaknesses The rules seem rushed and are often vague. (Specific details follow at the end). The feeling I got from reading the book is that the deadline to put the product out at a specific date. After a year of chronically being behind schedule and another year of catching up on their timeline, I think the deadline pressure has just made itself appear in these rules. Common sense can dictate a lot of these rules, but that's not something to rely on in a tournament. Or - it could just be a case of they've played the rules so often that they knew what the meant when they wrote them down. Other weaknesses All of the units in the book are for use by everyone. Nothing was done to expand on the uniqueness of the different rail barons. Probably economically unfeasible (more cost on producing the book, requirement of "unique" vehicles being cast in lead, etc) but it would have been nice to see a different vehicle for each baron. You are stuck with 45, 90 and 180 degree turns for wheeled vehicles. There are no rules for a 50, 100 or 170 degree turns. The templates, chits and troop cards are not pre-cut. Yup - in order to use them, you'll be sitting there with a pair of scissors. Admittedly, this is better then the GRW: Reinforcements sloppy punch-out edges and is cheaper then cutting and bagging the chits, taking more packing material - perhaps even a box which would add to the cost of the game without appreciably adding to the value of the game itself. Still, be warned and bring scissors. The artwork on the Maze Runner and Submersible is noticeably better then the artwork on the Train template. The lack of the same detail on the train adds to my feeling of rushed-jobness that I have about the book. Misc. If you plan on playing GRW outside a small group of friends, Derailed is an essential purchase. That is more a comment about the way miniatures games work then it is a direct praise for the product. If you do not know these rules, you will be at a disadvantage if you face them in a tournament. Seeing the Turning Keys keys put me in the mind-set of cars wars. But the keys aren't as complex as good ole' CW. Looking into the book shows that Derailed is not a CW clone, but the turning keys reminded me of it anyway. A quirky rule. A hero that learns to drive a rig has his starting drivin' die type based off of his shootin' skill. Um, well, it had to be based on something I guess. Fuzzy rules. So, how do you make a 110 degree turn to turn that Hanging Judge into a speed bump. Page 8: "If a crew has more then one Action Card (from an attached Hero, for instance)...." I didn't think that Hero's gave the posse more actions. Page 13: "A rig that hits a troop takes half damage. Roll all the dice,then halve the total (round down.) Armored targets like Automatons make slightly better speed bumps. Add a target's Armor level to the damage the vehicle takes." Is that before or after halving? Page 14: (paraphrased) To board a rig while it's moving requires a Jump (strength roll based on the pace of the vehicle) roll on behalf of the boarder. When opposed by the crew "The procedure is similar to Jump!m with a few notable exceptions. If there are passengers or crewmen in the way, they can oppose the jumper. They all make Fightin' rolls, and the jumper subtracts for each opponent after the first, as usual." Does it take first a Jump! roll then a Fightin' roll, or is it a straight Fightin' roll with no jump? I would say first Jump! then fight, but that's not explicitly stated. Page 25: (Jumping from an airship) "A really excitable hombre can perform the maneuver we told you about in Chapter One, but he's going to take Falling damage as well as any he suffers for the vehicle's current Pace. If the jumper makes it, he takes damage equal to +1 pace AND (emphasis from the book) altitude level lower than his rig currently is. If he fails, he takes both Crash and Falling damage. Okay - the rule referred to in Chapter 1 is the Jump! rule. Easy enough. But the second part has me scratching my head. Should it perhaps read "he takes damage equal to -1 pace AND as one altitude level lower than his rig currently is." or does it mean you calculate damage as if the vehicle was moving faster, but was lower to the ground? Page 55: (scaring horses) "If a creature with Fear or Terror (or a machine) gets within sight and 6".... Is that a machine with Fear or Terror, or any machine? Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

The Great Rail Wars: Derailed