Song of Blades and Heroes

[jdizzy001]

So, I derailed a thread in another board (sorry guys). I got started on my Song of Blades and Heroes (SBH) rant. I would like to know who has played it and share your experiences here. SBH is a great minis skirmish game that uses minis of all kind. It is fast and simple for the beginner and complex and strategic for the advanced wargamer. It utilized 3D6 and 3 measuring sticks. Players generally field 3-7 miniatures. A game will last ~60 minutes.

 

Each mini has 4 elements (Point value, quality, combat, and special rules) that is it. point value is obvious (how much it costs to play), quality determines how effective it is in general (the lower the quality the better the mini. Its a converse relationship). Combat is how effective they are at fighting (higher is better). Special rules are … well, special rules. IE, the ability to fire a bow is a special rule (shooter). Running really fast is a special rule, being a hero is a special rule, the ability to cast spells is a special rule (and the list goes on).

 

In a nutshell, each mini is given the opportunity to perform 0-3 actions. Roll 1,2 or 3D6 . For each number that exceeds your quality that mini may perform that many actions. IE- human warriors have a quality of 3+. On my turn if I want my human warrior to act I roll a number of dice (we'll say 3). The dice land 2,3,4. Two dice came up as 3+ so I can perform 2 actions.

 

I won't say anymore. If you have played the game, please share your stories!

 

If you haven't played the game you have got to check it out! Those bones you just bought need something to do!

[smokingwreckage]

I was playing the "two fails forfeits your turn" version, and I didn't like that element of it at all. Still, simplest rules I've ever seen, very quick.

[Jokemeister]

Never played SoBH before but the simple ruleset has me very interested. I picked up the rulebook recently and am planning a Lord of The Rings campaign. Surprisingly, I couldn't find anything online so am having to build it out myself. :(

[Last Knight]

I have played and enjoyed it. Lack of free time is the only thing preventing me from playing more.

[jdizzy001]

Never played SoBH before but the simple ruleset has me very interested. I picked up the rulebook recently and am planning a Lord of The Rings campaign. Surprisingly, I couldn't find anything online so am having to build it out myself. :(

Here is a link to the online community for SBH. They even have templates for LOTR characters:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/songofblades/

 

The LOTR characters do utilize all of the supplemental keywords. I personally only use the special rules from the original release (to avoid powercreep).

 

 

 

I was playing the "two fails forfeits your turn" version, and I didn't like that element of it at all. Still, simplest rules I've ever seen, very quick.

This is how the game works. It can be horrid, but there are tricks to ensure you get a turn. Activate a character on 1 die, for example, means you can not fail 2x in a turn, therefore all of your minis will have a chance to act. However, you will soon be outpaced by the player who takes the greater risk and activates with 2 or 3 dice. Also, and this is the biggest aid to overcoming the 2 failure forfeit, FIELD A LEADER. Leaders improve your units quality by 1 point. Not to reveal all my strategies but in a 300 point game I will generally field a leader, 2 elf warriors, some human warriors and some sort of cheap meat shield. Elf warriors activate on a 2+. When they are in long range of a leader their quality improves to a 1+ therefore I have 2 minis that get 3 actions every turn without having to roll any dice!

 

Like I said, simple and quick for a beginner, and complex & strategic for a veteran. ;) (not saying you're a beginner, just reiterating that the game has lots of nuances that take time to learn).

Edited June 8, 2013 by jdizzy001

[Last Knight]

A 1 is always a failure, jdizzy.

[jdizzy001]

I take issue with that. I dont see any rule that indicates rolling a 1 to activate = a failure. Please cite the page where you read that. Not trying to be confrontational I just cant find the rule.

Edited June 8, 2013 by jdizzy001

[Last Knight]

SWW p. 25. "A roll of 1 on a Quality roll is always a failure. There is only one case of automatic success in Activation rolls, and that is covered by the Hero special rule."

[kitchen_wolf]

In the current basic rulebook, under activation (784 if you have the Kindle version):

 

"When making Quality rolls, a roll of 1 is always a failure, and a roll of 6 is always a success"

 

In bold, with its own separated paragraph. Andrea seems to think it's important. Also, an important difference in philosophy for Song of Blades vice most "tournament" games - if something gives off a strong hint of fermented dairy, odds are you're doing it wrong.

[Last Knight]

Heh, I thought it was in the Revised basic book, but couldn't find it in the FAQ.

[jdizzy001]

Odd it isnt written in my edition. How odd. Well, that doesnt change the fact that the game is great!

[Last Knight]

Odd it isnt written in my edition. How odd. Well, that doesnt change the fact that the game is great!

Errata... even the rules light games end up with it.

 

And I agree, it's a great game. I've bought a bunch of Heroscape minis for more war bands while I wait for my Bones...

[jdizzy001]

Here's a great war story for you. I was playing SBH with a friend. This was his first game so we didn't bother enforcing the personality limit. He fielded the Tarrasque, A dragon and some huge minatour. I fielded a batch of warriors one of which was 'tough.' By games end I was obliterated. The third player, my friends wife, had taken out the minatour with a great sniper shot, I don't recall what happened to the dragon, but my tough warrior (played by Dark Sword's Bronn: http://www.darkswordminiatures.com/shop/index.php/miniatures/george-r-r-martin-masterworks/bronn.html ) went toe to toe with the terrasque for 3-4 glorious rounds before succumbing to the terrasque's might! It was a great game!

[Gailbraithe]

I was playing the "two fails forfeits your turn" version, and I didn't like that element of it at all. Still, simplest rules I've ever seen, very quick.

 

That's my favorite rule in the game! That's where all the strategy comes from; it's all about knowing how to marshal your forces, how hard to push them, and perhaps most importantly -- what order to activate them in!

 

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Okay, so sorry for how absolutely HUGE these are, but they're life-sized. These are some "army lists" I'm developing for Song of Blades and Heroes, to make it easier for my friends (esp. non-wargamer friends, as SBH is an awesome intro to minis wargmaing) to pick up the game. The idea is that each player picks a force and gets five to eight models for their starting force, and then can recruit new models to their force with Victory Points (which can also be spent to buy Advances, with each army having a limited list of advances to choose from). Once these are all done, I'll print them up on cardstock and laminate them, so each player can just grab one, pick up a tray with the associated models, and jump right into the game.

 

 

[jdizzy001]

Very cool. Did you make these units with the sbh calculator or did you pull them from a book? I only recognize some of the templates