Axe and Brimstone Kickstarter

Ganesha Games has a new Kickstarter for the Song of Blades and Heroes game system.  This one is a narrative campaign, introducing two warbands; Halflings and Possessed Dwarves.  There will be miniatures, a book, and even a game mat!

Find it here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/9742092/song-of-blades-axe-and-brimstone

How to play Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes

Song of Blades and Heroes has been around for several years.  It was even nominated for the Origins Award for "Best Miniature Rules" back in 2008.  There have been many expansions and supplements for Song of Blades and Heroes (SoBH for short), even some third-party games that use the same or similar game engine; such as, Shadowsea, Of Gods and Mortals, and Song of Our Ancestors.  And recently the game has been updated into Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes, which adds even more spice to the mix.

A lot of forums have active threads about people playing SoBH or painting miniatures to use in SoBH.  But I was surprised at the lack of any videos about it online or the lack of any main-stream attention in general.  If you look at games like Kings of War and Frostgrave and Infinity, they've been around about half the time SoBH has and new battle reports pop up daily on Youtube or in forums about them.

In the several years since SoBH has been released, there has been only a small handful of videos out there, some of which are really old.  Well, its all about to change.  Ganesha Games has revealed a competition, which will lead up to their next Kickstarter called Axe and Brimstone.  The competition is to make a 15 min or less video explaining many of the basic rules of Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes and post it to Youtube before September 10th.  Well, I decided to give it a try.

Behold, a video tutorial of Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes!

Click the link below:

How to play Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes

Some "finished" sci-fi minis

I've been slowly finishing my mounds of miniatures.  They are far from being the masterworks found on most other sites, but they are 'tabletop' ready which is all that matters.  Then I can get back to playing again, games like In the Emperor's Name (ITEN).

Here are all the Sedition Wars Vanguard.  I went with a "Halo Master Chief" green theme, or perhaps a USAriadna from Infinity kinda.

Medic/Engineer, Heavy Gunner, Sniper, and Leader.

Grenade Launchers, Toxic Launchers, Heavy Plasma Gunners.

3 female troopers with helmets, 3 female troopers without helmets, and 5 male troopers.

Haqqislam Starter figures.  And then a converted Reaper Bones Chronoscope cowboy with a Mantic Corporation Trooper head, he kinda fits in.

The EM4 Troopers: three lasergunners, the sergeant with plasma pistol and power sword, and a shotgun trooper.

The heavily converted EM4 Gangers, now looking like mercenary psychos.  Lots of bits went into these guys, from Mantic and Games Workshop and Reaper Bones.

The EM4 Space Rangers, each from a different Clan.

Reaper Bones IMEF.  The middle girl was converted, gave her an assault rifle.

More Reaper Bones Chronoscope figures.

More Chronoscope conversions.  The right two were cowboys, now they are Space Elves.

Mantic Marauders.

Mantic Veermyn.

In The Emperor's Name - first battle report

I have had a copy of In The Emperor's Name since 2nd edition, never played it nor really read much into it.  Then I was googling, looking for a sci-fi skirmish ruleset to use with my new EM-4 miniatures.  I came across ITEN (In The Emperor's Name) now in its 3rd edition and decided to give it a try.

So I got some stats up for a five man Space Ranger squad.  Three of them carry bolters, one has a plasma gun, and the leader has a plasma pistol and chainsword.  All five took the Gun Kata ability.

Space Rangers!  They have different colors because I'm planning on them being like Star Knights, chivalrous heroes from different families/clans/star systems that unite to defend humanity.

Then I made a motley crew of mercenaries led by a Rogue Trader.  The Rogue Trader had a powerfist, autogun, and jokaero digital weapon.  Then some Reaper Bones to play a Medic, a two-gun Mercenary, and an IMEF gunner with Stealth and tricked out autogun.  

The IMEF Sarah Blitzer model was modified, hacked off her giant gun and replaced it with a more serviceable assault rifle with scope.  The three Chronoscope minis seemed to fit in a Rogue Trader style, crew members of some starship or perhaps as a retinue for an Inquisitor.

To fill out the Rogue Trader's crew were the EM-4 Gangers; two veteran mercenaries with plasma pistols and power weapons, a bionic merc with autogun, merc with heavy stubber, and merc with sniper rifle.

I modified all five EM-4 Gangers.  Easy additions were shoulder plates and knives and skulls (some from Mantic and some from GW).  The leftmost Ganger has arms and gun from a Mantic Enforcer.  The next in line has a cobbled together heavy stubber.  In the middle is the sniper rifle made from lots of little bits, using Mantic Dwarf Ironwatch arms as the base.  The veterans at the end aren't too changed except replacing their swords with better weapons.

This was my first time playing, so it went slow as I tried to figure out the rules as I was playing solo.  Eventually I got into the flow of things.  The gameplay was smooth and things picked up faster by the end.  I think next time I'll try a scenario instead of kill 'em all, which became apparent as casualties started mounting.

Space Rangers would deploy on the right, Rogue Trader and Mercs to the left.

Space Rangers deploy!

Mercs advance!  Look at all them books in the background.

The Space Ranger plasmagunner would set up shop on the third floor, clear sight across the board.

The heavy stubber and merc with autogun would attempt to take out the red Space Ranger from this doorway.

Merc sniper had a nice vantage point, but failed to capitalize on any of his shots.

The yellow and green-white Space Rangers would dominate this side of the battle.

It was about turn 5 and things looked grim for the Rogue Trader and Mercs.  So in a mad, daring rush, the Rogue Trader attempted to end this battle by taking out the Space Ranger leader.  With a powerfist, it seemed the perfect opportunity to inflict a major blow to the Space Rangers.  The yellow Space Ranger joined the fray to help his leader out.

Since melee combat is all simultaneous, things ended poorly for both teams.  The Rogue Trader's powerfist proved too dangerous for the Space Ranger leader, but he was avenged by the yellow Space Ranger.  Both teams would gather their injured and retire from the battle.

Note to self:  higher armor and cover versus weaker units equals game over.  The Space Rangers had stats like Space Marines (3+ everything and an 8+ armor save), which is why there is only 5 of them versus 9 regular mooks.  Once they were behind hard cover, that armor went up to 10, which is impossible for the Mercs only adding 2 or 3 to their die roll to hit.  So having an objective is key, and perhaps more ganging up with shooting and melee is the answer.  Then again, with Space Rangers moving cover to cover, blasting away, knocking down targets and shooting again thanks to gun kata, they acted like the brutal Space Marines they were emulating.

And I'm not sure why the dice gods were so ornery, but some odd things occurred.  For example, in one bout of Space Ranger shooting three mercs were hit, and all three rolled exactly their Grit which made them all knocked down.  Then in the post game, the Space Ranger leader recovered, the Rogue Trader made exactly his Grit so he would miss next match and the other mercs all died.  Fickle dice.

In this pic you can see the the Medic, a Veteran Merc, and the heavy stubber Merc are all laying on their backs.  They got shot, but when they rolled their Grit they rolled the number exactly.  So all three were knocked down, in one bout of shooting.  Crazy luck.

The Space Ranger leader recovers without a problem.

The Rogue Trader rolled exactly his Grit, so he would miss the next match but at least he is a live.  The other four Mercs that 'died' in the match all failed their post-game Grit roll so are now officially dead.

All in all, it's a great skirmish game, obviously designed for Warhammer 40k but you can easily stat up any sci-fi miniatures. I want to explore more of their scenarios especially the campaign system.  I think I'll try to make more random crews without allowing too many powered armor units on the same team and see how that plays out.  I still have some Mantic Deadzone Enforcers, Marauders, Veer-myn, and Corporation figures, along with the EM-4 Troopers, Sedition Wars Vanguard, and Haqqislam starter set to use.

EM-4 Miniatures

I was cruising the internet a while back, searching for sci-fi miniatures.  One company popped up that I've never had dealings with called EM-4 Miniatures (http://www.em4miniatures.com/).  Their prices were really inexpensive yet the miniatures appeared to be quite detailed and well proportioned.  I read some good reviews, even from someone that ordered directly from them to the United States.  So I took a gamble and ordered some of their plastic unpainted near future minis and hoped for the best.  

Well, today they arrived and I have to say, I'm impressed.  For starters, I placed my order on June 18th and today is June 28th; I received a package from across the Atlantic Ocean in less time than I've received things in the US from a couple states away.  Secondly, 15 plastic miniatures for approximately $17 (probably less now thanks to the whole Brexit scenario).  Thirdly, these little sci-fi guys have a nostalgic look to them, reminding me of the old Rogue Trader game.  Fourthly, they snap together, like without glue, although obviously I will glue them later its neat being able to assemble them so easily and how interchangeable all their pieces are.

Without further ado, here are some pictures....

These are the Troopers.

The characterful Gangers.

The retro-looking Space Rangers.

Snapped together the Space Rangers.  They come with three heavy/special weapons and four standard rifles, so you could decide what load-out to outfit them with.  I'm going to try to leave their weapons interchangeable if possible.  Their leader guy has sword, pistol, and nice shades.

The Troopers; two rifleman, two pistoliers, and a leader guy with pistol/knife combo.

The Gangers are a characterful bunch.  There are two pistol/knife combo arms, a pistolier, two rifle arms, and a shotgun.  I'm not sure what is going on with the girl with the flowing braid and ridiculously long feather off her head, but it screams retro sci-fi.

Here we have an Infinity Haqqislam, the EM-4 Space Ranger leader, a Deadzone Enforcer, and a Reaper Bones IMEF soldier.  Proportionately the Space Rangers should fit in quite well.

Then the EM-4 Trooper leader, a Sedition Wars Vanguard, EM-4 Ganger, and a Reaper Bones Chronoscope figure.

Here is a group shot to show scales.

Hammer and Forge review - supplement for Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes

I've just picked up a pdf copy of Hammer and Forge (http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_6&products_id=287).  This is a supplement for Ganesha Games' Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes (ASOBH), focused primarily on Dwarves.

The price tag is $10, from which you will get a thoroughly illustrated version and an ink-saving copy.  From the cover to the back it comes in at 82 pages.  Its crammed with lots of fluff, optional rules, new traits, and even a brief Dwarven Dictionary.  Whether you decide to play in their game world of Norindaal or not, you will find plenty of ideas on how to incorporate Dwarves in your games of ASOBH.  The rules for ASOBH are NOT included in Hammer and Forge, so the main rules are required to use anything out of this supplement.

The first part of Hammer and Forge is mainly to describe a certain part of Norindaal that pertains to Dwarves, much like the isolated area for Fightin' Fungi (the first official supplement for ASOBH).  It starts out with a nicely colored map, then introduces you to the background behind various Dwarven communities.  They also mention other creatures that inhabit this same region, including; hobgoblins, undead, possessed dwarves, and the obligatory dragons.   

Then comes the heart of all SOBH games, the traits.  Every character in your warband might have the same Quality and Combat, but the traits are what make them unique.  You might think there is only so many things you can add to this simple game engine to make it different, but Hammer and Forge adds a whole new level.  There are black powder weapons, drunken rules, dragonslaying, and even a battle giant (I think I need to make one of these!).  Black powder is completely optional in your games, but included are some rules to add a little chaos, such as smoke tufts from gunfire that drift in the wind each turn.  Later in the book is also rules on using cannons, awesome!

There's only a handful of new spells added in here as well as new group actions, but then brand new layers of customization are included in the form of Rune Magic, Magic Items/Beverages, and Feral Traits.   Some of these new rules can be slightly more complicated than what you want in your games, however, I personally like how many new options are available.  Nothing is mandatory in how you outfit your characters in your own games, use what you want.

Next up are scenarios, campaign rules, and profiles.  There are only a handful of scenarios, but each is a flavorful story, aimed to be one-shot adventures in your campaigns.  The profiles take up a good chunk of the book.  From orcs and goblins to dragons to the various Dwarven societies of Norindaal, you shouldn't run out of ideas on making your own warbands from all the listed characters.

Lastly are a few pages of a Dwarven Dictionary and some catch phrases.  Why do you need this?  You probably don't.  But Andrea Sfiligoi obviously has a well developed game world of Norindaal and is trying to input this wealth of background into these supplement books.  It just adds flavor to all the gamey material.

Overall I enjoyed Hammer and Forge.  If you are veteran player of ASOBH, I would recommend Hammer and Forge just to get all the new traits and abilities.  If you are new to ASOBH, I would say hold off on Hammer and Forge until you have reached the point where you want to inject some new rules into the game. 

Kings of War - Elves vs Orcs 2000 pts - in 6mm!

I pulled out the 6mm miniatures I got from Microworld Games ages ago and threw down a straight up kill scenario of Kings of War.

FRONT:  2 Flaggers, 1 Goblin Wiz.  SECOND ROW:  3 Troll Regiments, Goblin Rabble Horde, 3 Skulk Troops.  THIRD ROW:  2 Ax Regiments, 2 Greatax Regiments, 2 Morax Regiments.  BACK:  Giant

FRONT:  2 Army Standard Bearers, 2 Drakon Rider Lords.  SECOND ROW:  2 Kindred Gladestalker troops, 2 Kindred Tallspears Regiments.  THIRD ROW:  2 Drakon Rider Regiments, 1 Hunters of the Wild Regiment, 1 Kindred Archers Horde.  BACK:  2 Forest Shambler Regiments  

Elves on the left.

Orcs on the right.

No terrain :(  

All the Vanguard units advanced.

The Kindred Gladestalkers and Orc Skulks traded some arrows.

The Kindred Archer horde got a couple hits on the Goblin Rabble horde.

An Orc Skulk unit got 4 wounds on the Hunters of the Wild regiment, then rolled boxcars for the nerve, routing them.

One of the elf Army Standard Bearers took heavy fire from the Goblin Wiz and Orc Skulks.  The Giant and Kindred Tallspears would battle throughout the day.  An Orc Ax Regiment and Kindred Tallspears traded blows up top.

The Kindred Archers put 12 wounds on the Goblin Rabble horde after a couple turns, then rolled boxcars, routing them as well.

Forest Shamblers charge in as the Drakon Riders aim for the backfield.

Neither Forest Shambler regiments would survive their encounters.

The Drakon Rider Lords would lead daring flank assaults, one against a Greatax Regiment and the other on an Ax Regiment. 

The Elves' right flank was collapsing, only the Kindred Gladestalker troop remained.

That same Kindred Gladestalker troop was able to rout a Morax Regiment.  The Drakon Riders and Lords would continue to play havoc by flying over enemies to charge into others.

The end of the game, the Orcs were dominating.  Only the Kindred Archer horde, a Kindred Gladestalker Troop, and both Drakon Rider Lords and Army Standard Bearers remained.

This was an enjoyable game, with a couple surprising turn of events with some lucky and unlucky Nerve rolls.  The Orc Skulks and the Kindred Gladestalkers were stars of this game, proving that numbers don't matter in a big game like this, shooting their worth of points and more.  The Giant is a beast as expected.  The Drakon Riders/Lords were neat, being able to pinball their way thru the backfield.  A Morax regiment puts out an insane amount of dice.  The Forest Shamblers were a bit disappointing, I guess they are more for supporting main troops than leading a charge.  Trolls are kinda nifty as well being able to regenerate.

Its nice being able to fit large armies on a small table and to carry them all in a little storage container.  I really need to get around to finish painting these teeny tiny guys.  I've noticed that you need bright colors to make them stand out, so that might be on a future agenda.  I found the Kings of War rules to be perfectly suited for 6mm, just swap inches with centimeters.  I used the tiny dice I got from the Arcane Legions box for wounds and to indicate wavering results.  Works perfect.

Now I just need more troop types; cavalry, war engines, other races, etc.  But need to paint first, keep getting distracted with more purchases.