Oathmark: Battles of the Lost Age

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It's been a long time, but Oathmark finally made it to the table again.
Oathmark.jpg
We pretty much played a repeat of our last game, 1800 point armies, with some minor adjustments to the composition. With a half year between battles, we were basically relearning it, so it took us a while to get into it, but the rules came back quickly and by the third turn we were calculating all our battle results without referencing much.
Brother's all human army won the day. We essentially fought a wheeling, right-flank attacking battle, with my mix of human and skeletal soldiers crumbling his archers, but once his cavalry took out mine he was able to get quick follow-up attacks that cascading along my line. It was over pretty abruptly once the blood started spilling.
Couple things I really like... After the battle, I could recognize major mistakes I made with my troops and think of better ways to use them in the future. Always a good sign to me when a game gets the strategic wheels spinning that way. The initiative system is really excellent. The game is filled with really tough decisions where you can never quite get everything done you want to. In one round in order to get off a crucial cavalry charge, Brother delayed rallying a disordered unit of soldiers. I was able to fire another volley at them, causing more casualties and another morale check, and they broke and fled the field. It was a big moment, and even though his cavalry charge gamble paid off, it definitely wasn't a sure thing.
Biggest complaint though is cavalry. I just can't see how they aren't too powerful. And there's no limit really on how many you could field. If someone wanted to cheese it, you could make an 1800 point army with just 8 units of 5 cavalry and probably steamroll every battle.
We need more terrain. Obviously, cavalry should dominate on an open field, and the terrain rules do have some decent rules, so it's not a big complaint, but informally we are putting limits on how much cavalry can be included in our armies.
 
I love your table! Is it purchased or a DIY job? Also, who makes the mat?
Thanks. The table was built by a local guy here in KC. He recently did the tables for my local game store and I got his info from the owner there. I am very happy with it.
The mat is from Game Toppers. Very nice quality, no complaints there, but it is one of the more expensive game mats out there ($150 for a 6x4). I'm looking to buy an ocean style mat soon for playing Oak & Iron and have found ones from WarzoneStudio on Etsy for $80, so I'll probably give that a try and see how it compares.
 
Arise from the dead, 4-year-old thread!

I've been reconnecting with Oathmark since about a month ago. I haven't played much of it, but I liked the simple combat rules, and the kingdom construction, which guides army list builds. I've also had the itch to get back into rank 'n' flank fantasy army play - and I'm just not sure that I'm going to make the dive into Warhammer: The Old World. (And I don't really like Kings of War).

My focus on Oathmark changed over the past 4 years, since I first started this thread. Apparently, I was assembling a Dwarf force back then. Those models are still around but shoved in a closet. And by 2022 I'd shifted to collecting and assembling a Human army. I played a 500-point game then - which I enjoyed - but there wasn't much of a headwind for Oathmark in my area, and I didn't put in much effort to recruit players. I assembled a decent-sized force over the course of 2022, but it's sat mostly unpainted since.

A couple of months ago, I pulled that Human army out of my gaming closet and took stock of where my painting had ended. Not a bad start. A fair bit of work to do, but achievable over the span of a few months with some dedication. Perhaps by late Spring or Summer I can paint up what remains...

Oathmark Humans.jpg

I know a few gamers that have recently expressed interest in giving Oathmark a shot. So, I'm hoping to get that Human army completed and back on the battlefield this year.
 
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I really like how Oathmark set up their sprues to do two or three different units. I'd probably be happier if there weren't so many spares. My ideal setup would still be six bodies with just enough arms and heads, so one box could make three units. Maybe go with units of twelve to keep the box size down.
 
I really like how Oathmark set up their sprues to do two or three different units. I'd probably be happier if there weren't so many spares. My ideal setup would still be six bodies with just enough arms and heads, so one box could make three units. Maybe go with units of twelve to keep the box size down.
I have gotten attached to sprue resellers for buying Northstar plastics for RPG and skirmish gaming. Not sure if that would help you or not with Oathmark.

What are good sizes for units for this game?

IIRC, they're based on multiples of 5, but in practical terms, is 5 too small for anything in most situations (other than maybe cavalry or some sort of super elite troops)? Is there a unit size that is just too big to be practical?

It probably sounds a bit silly, but three of the big draws for me to this were:

The minis remind me of '70s LotR art by the Hildenbrandts (sp?)

I just liked the idea of making up cool, multi-race armies with a kingdom whose backstory justified its composition.

As usual; with this designer's games, the in-world background is so briefly sketched that re-skinning and substitution of minis from other companies is nearly painless and even encouraged by the designer and fan culture.
 
What are good sizes for units for this game?

IIRC, they're based on multiples of 5, but in practical terms, is 5 too small for anything in most situations (other than maybe cavalry or some sort of super elite troops)? Is there a unit size that is just too big to be practical?
With infantry, I would say units of 10-20 are very functional, depending on the role that they play in combat. A unit of 5 would be fine for a group of Archers, Cavalry or Rangers, but I wouldn't want to march a unit of 5 Soldiers/Warriors around the battlefield without some kind of unit-screen or cover, because they're probably going to evaporate quickly from ranged fire, or after their first melee combat exchange.

With infantry units capped at 20 models, and cavalry capped at 10, you're not seeing massive hordes maneuvering around a battlefield. An army list could just get impractical if you're maxing out unit sizes for expensive units (Elven cavalry, for example), and fielding many of those units. You'd have a lot of punch and mobility, but you'd have a lot of points sunk into fewer units than your opponent and could get overwhelmed if your cavalry gets tied up in close conflict.
 
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