i-Kore is a company that has been making its presence felt lately with its promotion of its new game, VOID. How so? Very simple... they've been offering their rules for free. First, they offered 1000 free copies of the rules by mail. Now, they let you have one free copy of the rules if you buy a boxed setof their minis. I suppose they feel pretty confident that they can turn turn a profit on this game if they can get enough exposure. Now, having seen the rules for myself, I suspect they may be right.

Initially, I wasn't all that interested in picking up another miniatures game. I've already got a pretty substantial investment of time and money in Warhammer 40K and Vor. Recently, however, I was looking for some miniatures to use as starting points for a conversion project I have in mind, and I felt that the Viridian Marines box set looked like it was worth a try. Since a copy of the rules came free with the purchase, I picked up the rules too.

After perusing the rules, I was quite pleasantly surprised by what I found. In no particular order, here are the good points:

* Easy Navigation. The VOID rulebook is quite slim, and well organized. This allows one to find the various sections of the book quite quickly. Anyone who's had to flip through a rulebook in the middle of a game knows that being able to find the rules you are looking for quickly is a godsend. Warhammer 40K can be impossible to navigate, first because the rules are a small section of such a huge book, secondly because rules bearing on a particular subject are often split between several different sections of the rules, with no internal references. Vor is a bit better, but often you do have to look things up between the main rules and the forcebooks you may be using.

* Completeness. VOID starts with a description of the major factions and their homeworlds, goes right into complete rules, briefly segues into a full color catalog section depicting the miniatures available at the time the book went to press, then closes with complete army lists for each faction. 40K, it is true, offered complete force lists in the main book. However, these lists were not and in all cases are still not completely supported with miniatures, and the specific rules for each army are subject to change in their respective codices... changes which are not guaranteed to be any better thought out or balanced than the original rules. Vor did not offer army lists for all its various armies, and those lists which were offered were not complete or balanced.

* Balance. It is difficult to tell without having played a game whether it is really balanced or not, but there are some things you learn to look for. For example, in Warhammer 40K, Space Marine Characters can buy Terminator Armor for 25 points, a kind of heavy powered suit. Terminator Armor comes with Terminator Honors, an enhancement which provides an extra attack in melee combat, which can also be purchased separately for 15 points. In the Dark Angels Chapter of Space Marines, all Characters are already automatically equipped with Terminator Honors, at the standard cost. However, if a Dark Angel Character wishes to buy Terminator Armor, he must still pay the full price... the cost of Terminator Honors is not deducted from the price of the armor. The Dark Angels are being hurt by a poorly thought out rule, and most 40K players will agree that they are weaker than other armies because of this rule, and other rules that hurt them more than they help. Another example can be found in Vor. The Union has access to the Draco Rocket Launcher, which has unlimited shots, for 65 points. The Neo-Soviets have the similar Havoc Rocket Launcher, which is slightly weaker and can only fire two rockets per game, for 62 points. As someone whose forces have been on the wrong end of a Draco, I can testify that there is a big game difference between two shots and unlimited shots. VOID manages to avoid most of these problems by one simple solution. Four of the five factions in VOID are human. While each of the separate human groups has some unique troop types, they also share many common troop types and weapons. If there is an unbalanced weapon in VOID that proves far too effective for its point value, it's likely that it will be a weapon available to every army, so everyone has a chance to benefit or suffer from its cheesy power.

Other Stuff: Now that I've praised the highlights of the game, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty.

Background: VOID is set in a galaxy, centering on the Viridia Solaris-Leviathan binary star system and the colony worlds settled by the major powers. Rather like Star Frontiers, VOID postulates a human species with no connection to Earth at all. Instead, they come from the world of Viridia, a lovely blue-green world third out from its sun, with lush vegetation, active vulcanism, plenty of water and an oxygen atmosphere. Colonists from Viridia first settled the world of Ironglass, a harsh desert planet fourth out from Viridia Solaris. Next, Prime, a strange, cold world, farthest out in their solar system, dense with an unusual compound called prime obsidian, a natural room-temperature superconductor, was discovered and colonized. VASA, the Viridian Astronautics and Space Agency, was formed to regulate interplanetary commerce between the three worlds, and built a base on Vacillus, which cirles the dead star Leviathan. The two colonies eventually attained independence from Viridia. Ironglass developed into a harsh mining world, also specializing in salvage, thus their nickname, the Junkers. Prime developed along hi-tech lines, specializing in robotics and cybernetics. Viridia serves as the 'bread-basket' of the system, as it is the only world with a naturally livable environment. About this time, a space drive was developed which took advantage of Leviathan's deep, relatively stable gravity well. Leviathan became the gateway to the stars, and VASA, it's key. Each world has engaged in a colonization program, although none more heavily than Ironglass. Recently, the farthest colonies encountered the Koralon, an enigmatic alien race of amphibians who use a unique biotechnology and have established their own empire. This contact has resulted in a brutal war which the Koralon have thus far been winning. In order to preserve humanity, VASA has cut off the outer colony worlds, concentrating its defenses on only the oldest and best-established colonies. This is the current situation in the universe of VOID.

Point to troop ratio: VOID suggests that a 500 point game would last a few hours, while 3000 or more points would last most of a day. For 500 points, you could field as many as 25 or so typical troops (which range from about 15 to 20 points each, more for elites and special weapons), or even more cheap troops (such as 9 point Junker Suicide Bombers... ;). This puts it at about the scale of Warhammer 40K.

Structure: VOID does not have any kind of limitations on army structure. This means that you could field an army consisting entirely of vehicles or elite troops. This could be a serious flaw in the game. However, units seem to be fragile enough that sustained fire from even the normal weapons carried by grunts could wear down such specialized armies.

System: VOID uses a turn-based activation system, such as that used in VOR and Warzone. During a turn, each side rolls for initiative: the winner may either choose to go first, or allow his opponent to go first. Each side then takes turns activating squads or individuals until all units have been activated. Once activated, a unit is given 'orders'. These orders are carried out in the following sequence: first Move, then Hold, then Shoot, then Assault. A Move may either be normal movement or a Rush move that allows it to travel double the distance but then ends its turn. If a unit decides to Hold, it's turn ends, but the unit may then fire or contercharge later. Shooting is normal weapons fire. Assault allows a unit to move into melee combat. At least one model in the unit must be able to reach base to base contact with an enemy model for it to be allowed to assault. Units are defined by a Profile, a set of eight numbers which determine how well the unit can shoot, fight, how strong it is, how tough it is, how much damage it can take, how good its morale is, how large the model is, and how far it can move. These numbers range from 1 to 10. Humans, on average, have values of 4 in most areas, except for having 1 Wound, Command 5, and Size 2. Even vehicles are rated with the same profile, except that vehicles also have special mechanical damage result tables. All random rolls are handled with a d10. Rolls are made when shooting a weapon or engaging in melee attack, wounding an opponentor making command checks. The basic rule is this: You want to roll high. 10 is good, 1 is bad. The precise number needed is determined by taking a Profile value, such as Shooting 4, subtracting that from 10 (10-4=6), and rolling that result or higher on a d10, applying modifiers to the die roll, not the target number. For example, a Convict Legionaire, with Shooting 3, wants to fire his Autoshotgun at Short Range, giving him a +1 to hit. His base target number is (10-3=7) 7+, and he adds +1 to the roll for being at short range. The most complex result determination table in the game is the Damage Table. Here, you compare weapon power against target toughness to determine the d10 result needed to wound. The basic rule is that if the weapon power and target toughness are equal, you need a 6+ to wound. For every every point by which the weapon power is more or less than the target's toughness, the target number decreases or increases, respectively.

Other rule elements: One thing I like about VOID is the way they handle weapon ranges. In most games, each weapon has its own unique range profile... pistol A may have a short range of 5", pistol B has a short range of 6", etc. In VOID, there are pre-defined range bands, and each weapon is good out to a certain range band. The ranges are Close Combat (base to base contact), Short (12"), Medium (12+ to 24"), Long (24+ to 36"), and Extreme (36+ to 48"). The uniqueness of each weapon comes from its damage type, use of templates (if any), and power. It is possible for weapons to get several chances to hit and/or several chances to damage an opponent. This information is expressed in the weapon profile like so: HIT/+1(x2) DAM/6(x3). This indicates a weapon which can fire twice at +1 to hit, and which can cause up to three wounds per hit at power 6. Note that this would be a fairly monstrous weapon in VOID terms, and there are no weapons with that specific profile. Another important factor in combat is armor. Powered armor troops are common in VOID, and this is indicated by increased strength and toughness of the trooper. Real 'Heavy Armor' is indicated by the 'Heavy Armor' special ability. Units with Heavy Armor (including vehicles, troops carrying 'negatron shields', and Exo-Suits) get to make an extra save against wounds... a d10 roll with a target of 10, modified by their Heavy Armor Attribute, which ranges from 3 for Exo-Suits and Negatron Shields, to 5 for the combat vehicles. However, some weapons, such as Rocket Launchers, have the Armor-Piercing ability, which applies a negative modifier to this roll.

Downsides: One of the factors which made Warhammer 40K so popular, at least in the beginning, was the interesting backstory to the game. Although not at all credible, it was very entertaining, and you could really put yourself into the mindset of the brainwashed monasticism of the Space Marines, the despair and ennui of the Eldar, or the pure sociopathic joy of Orkness. Several very good novels were written in the setting, the Inquisition War series by Ian Watson being of special note. If VOID has a major downfall, it's that the setting so far doesn't have the same life and color to it. Still, i-Kore seems to be economizing on fluff in order to put out product, and if VOID does do well, there's plenty of room to expand on its hard-SF setting. I also have some minor rules quibbles. The biggest problem, it seems to me, is the question of size. This is really only a problem for the Koralon, the alien race of the setting, who can have models of significantly larger size join units of a smaller size, as in the case of a Broodmaster being part of a Brood unit. Broodmasters are large enough that units shooting at them get a +1 modifier to hit. As the rules now stand, there are no guidelines for determining how to allocate shots so that some get the +1 modifier for shooting at the large model, while others get no modifier for shooting at the smaller models that make up the bulk of the Brood squad. Keep in mind that adding a Broodmaster to a Brood squad is optional, and ordinarily, they are separate individuals which can be separately targeted. One element of the game which could be considered either a good point or a bad one is the lack of customizability. This word has two senses in miniature wargaming. In the sense of offering many choices for individual equipment, VOID doesn't offer much at all. Squad sergeants differ from normal troops only in having better morale and the ability to make a squad fire on a strategic target rather than the closest threat. Similarly, individuals also lack customizability and a wealth of special powers. Contrast this with Warhammer 40K, where you are free to tool up individual models into fearsome killing machines. This is generally considered bad, because it turns ordinary squads into character-delivery systems. However, it also allows you to identify more closely with your miniatures, especially if you take the trouble to convert a mini by grafting new parts to it, sculpting with putty, or giving it a special paint job. In the second sense of allowing you to create your own armies, VOID also loses out, but not as badly. Vor offers custom force creation rules in the main rulebook. These suffer from a lack of flexibility, but at least they made the effort. Still, with its many troop types, it's not impossible to import other miniatures into the game. The easiest matchup is Space Marines. The standard boltgun-armed Space Marine is very similar to the power-armored, gauss rifle-equipped Assault Marine of VOID. The difference in appearance from VOID miniatures could be explained by having your troops originate from an independent colony world with its own style of equipment. One of the ways VOID manages to economize is by having, as I have mentioned before, four of the five factions share troop types. Specifically, basic Marines and Convict Legionaires are available to all four human factions, as are the two vehicles described in the main rules. It is entirely possible for the Junkers, whose special troops include the Suicide Bombers, Sand Runners, and Exo-Suits, to field an army composed entirely of Marines, while the Syntha, known for their Andro Synths and Grav Bikes, could field a bunch of Convict Legionaires. The only way to really know who your troops are is to give them a special paint job. Unfortunately, many miniature gamers never seem to get around to giving their troops a coat of paint.

Final thoughts: I used to think of myself as a roleplayer, primarily. I started painting miniatures to use as game pieces, and never really thought of getting involved in wargaming. Fortunately, a friend of mine started me on Warhammer 40K, and I haven't looked back. Sure, I'm still up for the occasional dungeon crawl, but to tell you the truth, I've been finding many roleplayers to be awfully silly and pretentious for years now, and I'm having more fun playing tactical combat games. This is not to say, however, that such games are without their own problems. Warhammer 40K is rife with flaws. In spite of having been engaged in the design and publishing of wargames for something on the order of 20 years now, Games Workshop still can't put out an inexpensive, coherent set of balanced rules to save their lives. 40K can be a lot of fun to play, but... oh, the hell with it, if you want detailed criticism of 40K, go to rec.games.miniatures.misc and wade through the muck a while. Vor, my latest love affair, is also proving to be something of a disappointment. It seems as though a lot of the rules are being made up on the fly and crammed into each new forcebook without sufficient playtesting or checking for overall cohesiveness. I would be willing to give 'em a break, this is the first edition, after all, but FASA doesn't seem to be making any effort to correct these problems with errata. In this internet age, it's not like they lack channels... there's the company web site, the creator's home page, any number of mailing lists and usenet newsgroup... but nothing's there. A bad sign, I believe. Now, we've got VOID. To me, this seems like a much cleaner set of rules than either 40K or Vor offers. Although they lack the personal touch that both 40K and Vor offer, they also seem to be free of the errors, oversights, and exploitable loopholes that its competitors are rife with. That's enough to sell me right there. Also on the positive side, VOID has a lot of minis out, including vehicles. On the down side, the official website is still just a company logo and a promise, leaving it to unofficial channels to preview upcoming miniatures and serve as a mouthpiece for the company.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)