Songs of Blades and Heroes

[grubman]

OK, I just finished the SBH rulebook (a very easy read) and the core bits of the SGD book. All I can say is that I’m in total awe…seriously.

Now I don’t heap praise lightly. I’ve read and played (literally) hundreds of role playing, war, and mini games (over 500 last time I tried to make a comprehensive list), and there are VERY few of those that I consider to be truly great. In actuality, I usually sell off most games after one session or sometimes without even playing them. My shelf of games I regularly play is very slim and it is very rare that I add one to the collection.

That said, not only has SBH earned a spot on that shelf, but I’ve even got to say that it pretty much supersedes all the other mini games I enjoy. That might sound pretty funny, having not even played the game yet…but I’ll tell you, I’ve been doing this long enough to recognize when a game is going to work, when it has done away with all the silly stuff and reduced things to streamline, concise, and practical rules, and most importantly…when it is going to be fun!

The rules don’t appear perfect (I’ve noticed a few missing elements, questions I have, and such…and a few more will probably arise as I play), but I must admit that the rules really impressed me with how well Andrea Sfiligoi streamlined and simplified skirmish rules…yet created a game where the level of available tactics are so high! Honestly, IMHO, these are all around the best mini rules I’ve personally read (for the type of gaming I like to do).

I’ve been high on Legends of the Old West (as Western skirmish game) from Games Workshop lately, but reading these rules has already made me decide to drop those rules and write up a wild west plug-in for SBH. The beauty of it is that it really won’t take that much work to capture that genre (or any other, for that matter) with these rules.

Oh well, that’s my take and the love I’m sharing today. Expect a full review soon as well as lots of threads with pics!


LINK: http://www.songofblades.blogspot.com/

[bobrunnicles]

That's some recommendation, dude! Can't wait to read a fuller review, ideally before I plunk down any cash for it Still, $4 for the pdf isn't bad whatever way you look at it....

Edit: I see from the review on rpg.net that it suggests a 3'x3' table for 25mm minis - you'd almost think you made Davestown especially for it LOL

[grubman]

Originally Posted by bobrunnicles

Edit: I see from the review on rpg.net that it suggests a 3'x3' table for 25mm minis - you'd almost think you made Davestown especially for it LOL

It is a bonus . I'm going to try the game a few times with 15mm fantasy figures on a 2x2 table first. I never used or painted 15mm figures before, so that is going to be an exciting new experience for me.

But seriously, I told my friends "I've been having more fun these last few months (working on minis) than I have in years"...but reading and planning for this game makes me “feel ALIVE again”.

We often reminisce on how great it was when we were 12 and could read a rulebook in a few hours and be playing...but then we always remember that we were 12. But, I read this book in a few hours and it made me feel like 12 again...but with a game that has enough cool tactics to challenge a 39 year old. I'm pretty pumped.

Now I’m sure it won’t be for everyone…but if your like me and want a game that does everything a 300 page rulebook can do, but in rules streamlined enough to be read and comprehended in a few hours, it’s certainly worth taking a look.

[Mr_Pleasington]

Thanks for pointing this out, grubman. I was just looking at all the reviews and previews and am downloading it now. Did you pick up the first expansion?

[venusboys3]

It's been my new favorite game lately too...
And like you said, it takes me right back to those weekend afternoons as a teenager, playing out those simple Metagaming pocket games on the living room floor...
Except I'm pretty sure this is better written and thought out than most of those... and a whole lot more versatile.
It's really nice to be able to look at all my miniatures and see them all as useful again in these new rules... I can pit Rackham Mid Nor Dwarves and Skaven again Warmachine steam golems without very much trouble at all.
All my old Grenadier demons can come out to play with my Reaper Vale Guard.

It's also nice to know that there's all sorts of other stuff in the works... like a Science Fiction version of the rules... and historicals.

[momotaro]

It looks seriously neat - packed with ideas for such a small couple of books. Picked it up a while back - not had a chance to play it yet, but the PDFs have such a ridiculously low price that it's worth adding to your collection just to mine for those ideas.

Fairly light rules - a very simple core, with a ton of special abilities added for flavour and tactical depth. The tone is definitely away from kit (armour, weapons) and focuses squarely on skill and abilities. It's a "build your own warband from scratch" system with a load of pre-generated stock fantasy character types to get you started.

[grubman]

Originally Posted by Mr_Pleasington

Did you pick up the first expansion?

Yep, lots of cool stuff there too. The bulk of that book (Song of Gold and Darkness) details taking the game into the Dungeon (both for skirmish games and Dungeon crawl type campaigns (even solo play)) but also includes a good chunk for the tabeltop game (like new spellcasters (Necromancer anyone!) and more rosters. I haven't read this one cover to cover yet, as I want to concentrate of the core game for a while (get a table and terrain ready and paint up those 15mm figures...and play!) before I go off on a tangent, but I will be using some of the rosters (Goblin Weasel rigers, how can I resist!?) and such for my game.

[grubman]

Originally Posted by momotaro

It's a "build your own warband from scratch" system with a load of pre-generated stock fantasy character types to get you started.

Not to mention there is an excell spreadsheet on the Yahoo group that lets you create your own point balanced minis in a few simple steps. If you can imagine it (or have it sitting on your shelf) you can play with it.

[Thalaric]

Cool. At that price I may have to order the PDF and take a look at it. A good skirmish system is always a nice thing to have. One that lets me also use whatever is just a nice bonus

[komradebob]

Expect a full review soon as well as lots of threads with pics!

I'm bad with delayed gratification. Just tell me, system-wise*, what's so damn great about this one, eh?




* I've seen and played enough systems now to think that claims of being able to play with whatever minis you own are mostly a nice way of saying that the writer never forsees being able to produce the minis they envision for the game.