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Gadzooks it’s the Apocalypse

We have about 60 people who have pledged their support, so the rules will go to press at the end of the week.

🙂 Thank you to everyone who contacted me with their continuing support for the rules.

If you have recently received an email from me and you haven’t replied, I need to know your location for postage please.

We will print 100 copies, so if you haven’t previously contacted me but would still like a copy I need to know ASAP.

email: stevelampon@yahoo.co.uk

The offer remains the same as the Kickstarter offer.

Rulebook & QRS £20.00

Rulebook QRS and a set of counters £35.00

Postage rates

Rules only, UK large letter – £3.00

Rules + tokens, UK small parcel – £4.00

Rules only, Europe – £6.00

Rules + tokens, Europe small parcel – £9.00

Rules only, World Zone 1, (everywhere that isn’t Europe or Australia/New Zealand) – £10.00

Rules + tokens, World Zone 1, (everywhere that isn’t Europe or Australia/New Zealand) small parcel – £14.00

Rules only, World Zone 2, (Australia/New Zealand) – £10.00

Rules + tokens, World Zone 2, (Australia/New Zealand) small parcel – £15.00

Many thanks

Steve

Rulebook, QRS and 2 x A4 sheets of counters
Example character sheet
GitA tokens
Game tokens

 

Gadzooks it’s the Apocalypse are a set of ‘Renaissance skirmish rules at the end of time’. I am hoping to turn this into another self-publishing project similar to Setting the Scene, with the rules author Steve Danes who is another wargaming friend of mine. A dedicated website and Facebook group will be set up in due course.
Gadzooks it's the Apocalypse.
Gadzooks it’s the Apocalypse is a fantasy battle game set in the first half of the seventeenth century. This was a period of widespread warfare, religious strife and general unrest. It was a time when very bad things were happening and when people had very definite ideas about what was going wrong with the world. Many saw this time of war and disorder as being the early signs of the coming Apocalypse and the end of time. So it is in this time of catastrophe, prejudice and fear that the players will be entering – what a great setting for a game!

The action takes place early in seventeenth century Europe where the majority are struggling to hang onto their medieval beliefs in a world where science, reason and enlightened thought are beginning to take hold. Will humanity be able to struggle forward into an age of reason or will it fall back into blood and hatred and carnage?

Gadzooks it's the Apocalypse spreads.
Gadzooks it's the Apocalypse spreads.

Each player will control one character figure and a bunch of dubious looking henchmen. The character will have a detailed profile, a number of skills and qualities that can be improved upon if scenarios are survived and experience is gained. Henchmen are cheap and expendable and there are always plenty more to hire. If the character gains renown, better quality henchmen can be hired. Each character will have a specific profession or class that will determine the type of skills and powers that they can acquire and improve upon in time.

But players should beware, evil forces are at work at every turn. Characters that indulge in wicked and cruel acts will begin to attract the attention of sinister powers, maybe this new hero will become a champion of evil? Perhaps they will lose all shred of humanity and take on a demonic or corrupted form. Players will have to remember that the battle at the end of time approaches and sides will need to be chosen.

Gadzooks is a skirmish/roleplaying game comprising two opposing sides of one or more players each. If there is more than one player per side all players will strive to gain victory for their side – but some players will strive more than others. Just because there is more than one character on the same side does not mean that each character will work in perfect harmony. Even on the same side, different characters might have different objectives and motivations. It doesn’t even matter if players have characters that seem highly antagonistic to each other, some might be overtly evil and others undeniably good – but they can still join forces to defeat their enemy and claim their rewards.

Game Concept
Steve’s interest in this period not only extends into its military history but also the religious, scientific, cultural and social history of the seventeenth century. Although Gadzooks is clearly a fantasy game with the emphasis on fun and entertainment, Steve has tried to create a game that delivers an accurate representation of warfare of the period but which also gives a glimpse of some of the religious beliefs held at the time, especially regarding the apocalyptic significance of such events as the Thirty Years War and English Civil Wars. Belief in witchcraft, demons and other powerful supernatural forces seemed to have been an everyday part of many people’s lives – especially those people caught up in terrifying conflicts or suffering from the effects of harsh and poorly understood natural phenomena such as famine and plague. So this game brings these forces ‘to life’ – demons and undead creatures roam the battlefield, devilish magic can be conjured by those evil enough to wield it and saints in gleaming armour can hack their way through hordes of foul demonic foes.

If you would like to register your interest, please leave a comment below.

Thanks

Steve

Gadzooks


Comments

  1. Thom Osborn says:

    I would be interested in these rules. I was thinking about doing something similar but using “Donnybrook” rules.

  2. Looks interesting, love to hear more!

  3. Simon says:

    Excellent idea – I would be intrigued!

  4. Paul Beck says:

    Sounds great! Count me in.
    I was wondering, how is this differnet then the
    Pike, Shotte and Zombie rules?

  5. Gary Keep says:

    Hi This look interesting especially for the witchfinder ames in England, and the associtated evil alignments. When are they being published Very interested

    Gary Keep

  6. George says:

    How is this different from Witchfinder General?

  7. Steve Lampon says:

    Hello, thanks for commenting on the GitA! rules. The rules are being proofread/edited at the moment and should be complete in a month or so.

    Whilst that is happening I will be trying to raise awareness on social media and various wargames forums.

    Printing will be dependant on how successful I am at raising that awareness. 100 buyers is the minimum and would just about cover costs. 200-300 would be better and is what I am aiming for.

    Price is obviously dependant on numbers, at the moment the minimum cost will be £18.00 – if we manage to get the 200-300 buyers, if we only get 100 then the cost will be nearer £20.00.

    Sorry, I have no knowledge of DonnyBrook, Pike, Shotte & Zombie or Witchfinder General rules so I cannot compare.

    Many thanks for the interest.

    Steve

  8. Eliseo Vilalta-Perdomo says:

    I’m interested. Let me know next steps

  9. Jim Hale says:

    Sign me up for a copy, I’ll can finally put all those 17th Century socio-religious modules I endured at uni to use!

  10. White Knight says:

    I’m definitely interested, I already collected all the models for such a game.

  11. Stephen Danes says:

    Hi Guys, I haven’t played Donnybrook or Witchfinder General but I did write Pike & Shot & Zombies so I can explain the difference there. P&S&Zs is basically a zombie survival game set in the 17th century where one or more players takes the role of a survivor or survivors and the other player is the umpire who creates the scenario and controls all of the scary stuff. GITA is a skirmish game between two sides with one, two, three, four (etc) players per side and it does not require an umpire. Obviously the setting is very similar but GITA has many more nasties in it and a wide range of characters that can either stick to the path of Good or go down the Evil route, which many seem to do! There is more of a skirmish game feel to GITA as oppose to the survival style game that is P&S&Z and there is more of a roleplaying/campaign feel to GITA. Players can create scenarios for GITA but don’t really have to because the random events (mostly random apocalyptic events) generation system quickly creates a story and objective in most games.

  12. Finn says:

    Hey there – this looks great – put me down for a copy please!

  13. Renooij says:

    Interested. I will buy a copy

  14. David Ugley says:

    Have to declare I have played them many times …enormous fun

    But they do encourage backstabbing, so you need a group that gets on well!

  15. Paul Beck says:

    I am interest in seeing these rules. Keep me posted on their progress!

  16. Martin Dodds says:

    I’m very interested – this sounds exactly what I’m after, stocked up on plenty of lead too.

  17. Tim says:

    I think these look like a lot of fun! Count me in.

  18. JJ Parus says:

    Woooooosh

    Noooooooobody expected the Renaissance Apocalypse

    Our Chief Problem is Famine
    Famine and Plague
    Plague and Famine

    Our Two Chief Problems are Famine and Plague and Foul Demonic Foes

    Our Three Chief Problems are…
    I’ll come in again….

    Wooooosh!

  19. John R Sowerby says:

    Any thought on giving a guide on suitable miniatures etc for this? I’ve had some good luck looking at the Pike and Shotte range from Warlord, but I’m presuming there’s a few more out there
    .

  20. John R Sowerby says:

    Not that I want to jinx it but are there enough backers for a digital edition?

  21. Ulrich Drees says:

    I’m so interested in this projekt, because I’m working on RPG-related Material for the period. If only my English was better, I really want to support you.

  22. Gary Keep says:

    Hi Steve
    Shame about the kickstarter not reaching the funding levels, as it is not viable to have a printed copy of the rules, is it worth considering a pdf version for purchase, then perhaps any further interest would justify a printed copy.

  23. Steve Blease says:

    Disappointed the KS didn’t reach its target. Please keep me updated on any new plans…

  24. John Haines says:

    Sorry the Kickstarter didn’t reach enough people.
    I’m interested in this sort of small scale action that has a definite story behind it. While you’ve fixed it in the 17th century it would seem to be applicable to a wider range of periods when superstition was powerful.
    Please keep me informed.

  25. Peter W says:

    Backed the kickstarter, sorry it did not succeed, but be keen to know what your future plans are for the project.

  26. John R Sowerby says:

    A couple of thoughts, as I am certainly interested in any way you can get this rule set out.

    1). Digital copy, through one of the online places, like Wargame Vault.

    2). I know I went for the Kickstarter option with the MDF tokens. I’d gladly pay the same price as that just for the rule book, to help defray costs, and get this published.

  27. david boulton says:

    came here from the kickstarter still interested and want to be kept in the know]]dave

  28. Joe Gepfert says:

    I’m still interested. You might want to explore print on demand with Wargame Vault or Lulu. I can also wait for the magic number of 70.

  29. Laurence says:

    Sorry to see the Kickstarter failed, looking forward to a future attempt though

  30. Finn Newick says:

    A shame you didn’t make the target – if a print run happens (or you make a PDF available to buy) I’m definitely still interested! Cheers, Finn

  31. Kevin Mansell says:

    I am very interested in a print copy of Gadzooks. A shame about the KS, as I went in for the full monty.

    Here’s hoping the ruleset can be produced

  32. Tim says:

    Potentially interested in a printed book, sounds like a great game and setting!

  33. Jim Cockburn says:

    I backed the KS and am still interested if you can arrange a print run.

  34. Andy says:

    Very sorry that the Kick Starter didn’t come through. I remain interested if you manage to get the numbers required. Have you considered approaching one if the ecw figure manufacturers to see if they’d be interested to form an alliance?

  35. Gary says:

    Shame the kickstarter didn’t get there. Would be interested to see the book in print.

  36. David Dalrymple says:

    I’m interested in keeping this going! Please feel free to contact me with further information

  37. Michael Weaver says:

    I am interested in this rule set (sorry I did not spot the Kickstarter in time).

    -Michael

  38. Kevin Shope says:

    Send me info!

  39. Jonathan Smith says:

    I’m interested, please contact me about how to obtain a copy.

  40. Kevin Stork says:

    Steve i am very interested in getting a copy

    Kevin

  41. Laurence says:

    Would you be able to make the various sheets and quick reference available in pdf?
    I’d like to print some out to run a multiplayer game but I don’t have a scanner

    • Steve Lampon says:

      Hi Laurence, I will add a link to a pdf file at the top of this page in a few minutes. Will you post an AAR of your game somewhere? I would like to post/share it to generate some more interest in the rules. Many thanks, Steve.

  42. Tomasz says:

    I’am interested.

  43. George says:

    Hi,

    I have a copy of these rules. I’ve read them and have a few queries. Where can I go to get my questions ansered?

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