Blog Review – Fallout Factions The Battle For Nuka World Review

Building the Crew

Battle for Nuka World contains twenty miniatures (ten each for the Operators and the Pack respectively) which is more than enough to play through a large number of games (and possiblya full campaign) for two players. The models are multipart HIPS plastics, something of a recent
area of expansion for Modiphius who are more typically known for highly detailed cast resins. The change lends itself well to a modern starter box for a wargame, where the cost for resin would be prohibitive and harder to work with for newer hobbyists. The shift to plastic has also allowed for a myriad of weapon and build options on the sprues, which also come loaded with extra pouches, holstered pistols, trophies to decorate bases with etc. Modiphius have invested in specialised artists and engineers to work in this medium and it’s clear that the experienc they’ve brough on board is paying dividends in terms of the quality of these miniatures. Whilst no plastics are likely to ever hold fine detail quite as well as resin, these raider models (along with the Disciples which are available separately) hold up extremely well and are comparable to some of the best on the market.

Despite having an array of options and poses, the actual build process is not complex for thesekits; most models will only have five to six components, generous contact surfaces and everything fits together neatly. I could have had some minor concerns about mould lines and joins given how (relatively) new Modiphius are to multi-part plastic models but there was nothing of note that made the process diƯicult. There was surprisingly little clean up and even less need to fill gaps on the joins. One note of warning (as opposed to an actual criticism) is the dual-purpose o the kits included in the box; these models are designed to also be used in Wasteland Warfare so there are some weapon options that simply aren’t available in Factions. This is actually called out in the book and players are advised to read the rules and get a handle on the available gear for their chosen faction before building the models in order to avoid mistakes. The box also doesn’t include physical instructions to build the models; instead there is a QR code linking to the Downloads page of Modiphius’ site which contains all the necessary documents. This is becoming a more prevalent practice within the hobby industry but may well catch some players picking up the box unawares if they’re, understandably, expecting a physical instruction booklet in the box. Another potential note of caution for newer hobbyists (or those more accustomed to Games Workshop or AMG) is the scale of the models; Modiphius tends to produce miniatures nominally to the 28-32mm ranges but proportioned to be fairly realistic, meaning that, even with these plastics, there’s a fair amount of finer detail when it comes to painting. Regardless, on their own merits these are excellent kits whose design and execution add a great deal to the impact of Factions as a complete hobby experience and I’m excited to see Modiphius’ range of these sets grow (with further iconic Fallout groups such as The Brotherhood of Steel and Supermutants already confirmed to be getting their model ranges refreshed with hard plastic core sets in the coming months, which will dovetail with their full rules release for Factions).

Running the Gauntlet

The rules for Fallout Factions have been developed by a team led primarily by James Hewitt, an industry veteran and previous Games Workshop employee who, most pertinent to this topic, was a lead writer for their 2017 reboot of their classic Necromunda; a game with a fairly similar
scope and scale. For any player familiar with ‘Munda’, particularly its recent incarnation, there will be some familiar fingerprints with the core rules for Factions. Some of which are simply hallmarks of a lot of modern skirmish wargame rulesets; alternate activations, two actions per round per model (sort of; more on that later), stat-lines with various attributes to make skill tests against, weapon traits etc. but there is a readily apparent throughline in terms of the structure with some of James’ prior work. Much of this is superficial however as the fundamental mechanics of Fallout Factions oƯers up some original ideas within this crowded design space and there is a neatness and elegance to the system which creates enough granularity to reward clear thought and planning in a game, whilst maintaining an overall experience that is refreshingly fluid and accessible. As might be expected for a game set in the Fallout universe; the character statistics are based on the video games’ S.P.E.C.I.A.L system; an instant touchstone with the franchise and giving anyone familiar with it a reasonable expectation of what each statistic does (e.g. Strength typically governs a model’s ability with melee weapons, Endurance how durable they are etc.).

The activation system is a particularly unique way of players operating their crews throughout any given round. All the models, rather than having a rigidly set number of actions, have threshold for Fatigue (normally this number being two) with most actions giving a single point of Fatigue and the model becoming Exhausted once they’ve reached their threshold (at which point they can no longer perform actions). Whilst in practice this will nominally mean that most models do perform two actions, they don’t have to perform both within the same activation. This creates a huge amount of tactical depth and decision making for players as they could, for example, move a model at the start of a round (gaining them a Fatigue) but then leave them in position until much later in that round to perform an attack if a more opportune target presents itself. It’s a mechanically simple system that feels almost both familiar and refreshing to anyone experienced with skirmish level wargames. Attacks are likewise straightforward in many respects; each weapon states the number of dice rolled and the statistic the roll is checked against, some of which may be Luck dice that allow for a given weapon’s special eƯects to potentially trigger. The cover system neatly sidesteps a lot of the issues similar games deal with by just assuming that all models will be in cover most of the time and only oƯering a bonus (to the attacker) when it’s very clear that there is no obstruction at all between them and their target.

Each crew class has a series of set equipment loadouts, chosen at recruitment which they then keep throughout and customization is limited primarily to a handful of weapon modifications; ancillary equipment beyond expendable chems don’t really feature in this game which keeps
bookkeeping at a minimum. Progression is somewhat more comprehensive, with experience offering statistic upgrades and access to perks; which feels very much in line with the Fallout franchise and gang-wide bonuses depending on how far along they are in their individual campaign; a feature that’s somewhat similar to Warcry and is less reliant on a regular gaming schedule. There’s nothing intensely deep or intricate but there’s enough to be satisfying and feeds into the general style of Factions as a punchy ruleset with dynamic combat and enough detail to make a campaign feel like a worthwhile undertaking.