In the latest of my interviews with TOs for Southern Hemisphere Open I caught up with Georg who will be running two separate one day campaigns for Gates of Antares at SHO.
What is the system you will be running at the SHO?
Beyond the Gates of Antares by Warlord Games, a game based on the bright shiny sci-fi of the 70s.
Tell me a bit about yourself
My name is Georg Malter. I’m a stay at home day and have two young kids. I have a distinct love for languages, cultures, mythology and teaching which probably helps explain how I fell so deeply in love with gaming. Within gaming I love introducing people to new games, especially to smaller games that don’t have a strong following. I am a fairly prolific painter, where the kids allow, which allows me to try and make games into a spectacle, a feast for the eyes as well as being fun to play.
What is your gaming history?
My journey into gaming started about 25 years ago with AD&D and Warhammer Quest. From that first entry I jumped headlong in. I’ve played virtually every GW game released from the mid 90s onward. Warhammer stayed as my favourite game for about a decade until I started looking various other systems. Since that first step I’ve jumped about playing games from a variety of other manufacturers including but not limited to: Mutant Chronicles Warzone, Battletech, Relic Knights, Arcworlde, Malifaux and many more. I tend to focus on a given system for several months before hopping to a different system so I actually play the various games I have. Campaigns are among my favourite way to play. I am almost always running one or planning one. The best run I’ve had to date is a 5 year long Horus Heresy refight. The emphasis on campaigns is one of the many things that drew me into playing Antares. I am also help run I’d Crit That, a gaming club based in Noranda.
Tell me about this system (stretch your imagination and pretend I’ve never played this system, explain it to me, why do you play it? Why do others play it? Who would enjoy it?)
Beyond the Gates of Antares is a hard-ish scifi game set in the very distant future. Humanity spread to the stars and discovered a vast network of gates that connect to the star Antares, a vast jumpgate artifact created by the mysterious Builders. The gateways from Anatres connect disparate solar systems across space, time and dimensions. The setting has been deliberately left open to allow for an incredible amount of expansion, which was a definite draw for me. It also does a few things other sci-fi games rarely do. The aliens in the setting are really alien, be they bizzare rock crab looking gribbles, 4 winged sky worms full of teeth or 6 legged, 2 armed Giger inspired monstrosities. If it looks like a human with a knobbly forehead it is a human, albeit one that has evolved or been engineered away from its original form. Drones and probes also play a major part in the game with entire armies of drones being possible. The fans have also had a tremendous influence on both the fluff and direction of the game, and some lucky few have even managed to have their ideas added to the game itself. Antares focuses its attention on expanding the narrative through campaigns. Although fan created content is strongly encouraged and hosted on the Antares Nexus, which includes tournament mods.
Antares is a platoon sized game with the average army clocking in at about 30-50 models. The game has a number of really cool details that make for a different experience. The various probes and smaller drones offer lots of supporting elements to an army, providing concealment, force fields, medics, targeting data and other effects. Weapons have ranges better suited to the scale of the models so even a pistol can fire 30″. One of my favourite aspects of the game is the various munitions X-launchers (mortar equivalents) can fire. These range from gravity sinks that pull in incoming fire, emp-esq scrambler rounds which can shut off various high tech gear such as probes and armour, to plain old blowing people to bits. Another great mechanic is the turn structure which involves order dice chosen from a dice bag to randomly determine who activates the next unit (the same mechanic bolt action uses). This keeps you engaged during the entire turn as the initiative is constantly passed back and forth.the game also uses some fairly minor tweaks here and there to give its factions various play styles, without the need of an overabundance of special rules.
What is the system’s history in WA and how is it supported locally?
Antares is a game that got picked up by people all over the place locally but never in any real clumps of players. As such there is only a small group of Antares players in Perth based out of I’d Crit That. Unfortunately Antares isn’t very well supported in WA with Tactics being the only local supplier I am aware of and they only have some older odds and ends (although they do have some starter sets). Warlord Games or Mighty Ape are the best way to get Antares products at this point.
What is the games history at SHO?
Last year I ran a tournament on the Saturday and demo games on the Sunday and Monday. I had a few people come up and tell me that they had picked up the game when if was first released but had no one to play with, which is exactly why I ran the demos and tournament in the first place. The demo games got a fair bit of attention and we even got a few people who dropped by a few times, even if just for a chat. Fingers crossed I get to catch up with them again this year.
How are you associated with this game?
I am just a fan that is in love with what this game and setting bring to the table. Players have really helped shape the setting and even the game mechanics to a certain point, and I love that the creative team has really embraced the efforts of the players. That more than anything else is what prompted me to actively share Antares, rather than one of the myriad of other games I play.
What is unique/exciting about this event at SHO?
The Antares event at the SHO is a campaign weekend split over 2 separate events. The event is based around the narrative in the first Antares campaign pack The Battle for Xilos. With the emphasis Antares has around campaigns there is to my mind no better way to showcase the game than with a campaign.
Why should people come and play this event?
Antares is a great, engaging system that is easy to pick up but offers a lot of depth. The campaign itself will add a great narrative to the battles with the final story depending on the results of the games played. The games are intended to be a relaxed and fun affair almost a casual player’s tournament.
Anything else you want to add?
If you are interested in learning the game you can contact me by email. If you are interested in joining in the campaign there will also be several armies available to borrow for the event.
There will be a two one day formal events for Antares at SHO on the Saturday and Sunday, while the games are linked players can choose to attend one or both days. There will be demos all 3 days as well as displays. Players packs for both events are available and tickets are on sale through Humanitix.