Song of Blades and Heroes

[Tom T]

Think anyone will run it at reapercon this year? it sounds like a game I would like to try before buying

Don't have a clue. But at 8 US $ for the revised pdf, why wait to try 'em? (And you get free updates when new editions come out!) Heck, Song is why I couldn't resist Reaper's Sweet Bones KS!

 

For me they're the perfect set of rules.Life has gotten busy and I don't have as much time, or chances, to just sit down relax and play. Except for a couple of special one offs with Old Friends Song is all I've been playing for the last four or so years. Heck, it's all I want to play! The rules are good and flexible, Fast and Fun. They're quick and easy to remember and yet there's a subtle depth that will keep you playing.

 

Go ahead and get Song of Deeds and Glory too. Playing a Campaign really does add a lot. (We haven't tried the Shadowsea version. Sounds like I need too. Thanks!)

[jdizzy001]

I plan on going to reapercon 2014. I'll run it.

[Tom T]

the leader kill issue can be a big problem for horde builds like kobolds. the "bodyguard" rule is an excellent way to give a little extra longevity to a vulnerable (low c) swarm leader. just give him a posse to take some hits and while they focus on your leader, rush with mooks.

 

the sub-commander option is really nice option. for some warbands they gain the benefits of a leader consistently, but suffer none of the drawbacks for a much cheaper price.

 

the 2+ Q elves are nice, but you only get a handful, and i have seen games where an elf player is outnumbered 5 to 1.

 

the fiercest build i have seen was a mele centaur warband - super fast and hit like a tank. the speed meant he could rush objectives, pick off stragglers with ease, and steer clear of nasty opposition.

Or hordes of Goblins(Q4 C2) . . . Our answer was to agree to make them "Gregarious" because it made sense to both of us (That isn't in the roster but Andrea mentioned it somewhere, maybe the yahoo group?). And Thanks, I hadn't thought of "bodyguard"!

 

As to AElves ~ yep. part of the real beauty of this system are the decisions and trade offs you have to make. And then having to live with 'em when you play a Campaign!

 

I'd really like to know more about those Centaurs! I tried running a warband of 'em and got stomped. Bad. So I'd really appreciate any pointers, cause I'd really like some motivation to get the rest painted and on the table top!

 

Apologies for hogging this thread with multiple posts ~ it's been a good long day and I'm just now checking in.

[Talae]

Played for the first time today. I played twice. Once was a three player game and once was a two player game (one guy left). I ran an Orc Leader, Orc Savage, Small Dragon, Dwarf Cavalry, and a Troll. We didn't realize until later that the Troll shouldn't have been in my warband due to the tough ability but it didn't really come into play.

 

My thoughts: limiting access to the edge of the map and having choke-points can be bad. I went from winning by a ton to had every mini die due to a morale check and not having anywhere to go.

 

Lower quality numbers adds fun. I had mostly Q3 (leader on top of that too) and another guy had mostly Q4 with no leader. He spent the first three rounds doing nothing due to poor rolls.

 

Campaign would add an element of fun for sure, but we wanted to play a few times first.

 

The supplements sound good. Will definitely try them.

 

We plan to use this game to help keep us motivated to paint our BONES pledges.

 

I need to spend some time reading over more rules. I am still uncertain about a few things (do leader activation options make it so a mini could attack twice -oncea as a group and once solo? Does poison work on a miss? Can you move through allies? Do you select your warband and then roll for scenario? Do you have a bunch of terrain sitting nearby to pick from for the defender or do you theme encounters? Etc)

[jdizzy001]

Atk'ing more than once per turn: a unit may only attack once per turn. The leader option makes it easier. The idea is to decrease the number of times you roll for activation. Roll once to activate 2-5 units as opposed to rolling for each guy. Once they have been given the action(s) they resolve their "Group" action and that is their turn. They don't get to go again. The only way a mini can attack more than once is if they have a special rule (i think its combat mastery).

 

Poison only works on a hit. Per the poison entry, "Roll a die every time a poison attack hits; on a 6 the target's quality increases by 1."

 

Moving thru allies: According to Andrea, the only thing that blocks movement are opponents and blocking terrain. Yes, you can move "through" allies up to an including due to recoiling through allies. (unless it was clarified otherwise in a later edition).

 

Scenario: Pick warband THEN roll for scenario.

 

Defenders and terrain: from the manual "Defenders lay out terrain ... If playing a scenario the defender must abide by the scenario's rules for terrain placement.

 

And one rule I struggled with: Morale checks while engaged in combat: The way I interpret the morale section (again, if it is cleared up in a later edition please pipe up). A fallen model with no enemies in base contact will use actions to stand up then run to the edge. In all other cases (transfixed, fallen with adjacent enemies, etc [i interpret etc to mean engaged in combat] a model failing a morale check is out of action [killed]) meaning if a model does not roll a complete success while engaged in combat they are dead. Basically what I have gleaned from the yahoo group and experience, if a character does not make a complete successful morale save (3 successes), and can not make a clean get away, they are removed from play.

[Gailbraithe]

Really nice job on your army lists Gailbraithe! I'd like to do something similar. Any pointer's on how you did that or what you used? Thanks in advance!

 

I used OpenOffice Draw to do the layout, and the GIMP for some image manipulation.

[Tom T]

Thanks for the pointer Gaibraithe, much appreciated!

[Tom T]

And one rule I struggled with: Morale checks while engaged in combat: The way I interpret the morale section (again, if it is cleared up in a later edition please pipe up). A fallen model with no enemies in base contact will use actions to stand up then run to the edge. In all other cases (transfixed, fallen with adjacent enemies, etc [i interpret etc to mean engaged in combat] a model failing a morale check is out of action [killed]) meaning if a model does not roll a complete success while engaged in combat they are dead. Basically what I have gleaned from the yahoo group and experience, if a character does not make a complete successful morale save (3 successes), and can not make a clean get away, they are removed from play.

If you're adjacent to one, or more, enemy yeah morale failures get rough fast! "If a model leaves a melee because of a failed Morale check, though, any adjacent enemy gets a Free Hack at him, and that Free Hack is Lethal (that is, the fleeing model is removed from play even if beaten by just 1 point)." But there still is a chance of your enemy fluffing their free hack roll/s.

 

Three failures = route, gone for good.

 

But what's sweet is that morale effects don't carry over to the next turn. They might break up your groups and make things harder for you but you might still be able to win the game.

[jdizzy001]

 

And one rule I struggled with: Morale checks while engaged in combat: The way I interpret the morale section (again, if it is cleared up in a later edition please pipe up). A fallen model with no enemies in base contact will use actions to stand up then run to the edge. In all other cases (transfixed, fallen with adjacent enemies, etc [i interpret etc to mean engaged in combat] a model failing a morale check is out of action [killed]) meaning if a model does not roll a complete success while engaged in combat they are dead. Basically what I have gleaned from the yahoo group and experience, if a character does not make a complete successful morale save (3 successes), and can not make a clean get away, they are removed from play.

If you're adjacent to one, or more, enemy yeah morale failures get rough fast! "If a model leaves a melee because of a failed Morale check, though, any adjacent enemy gets a Free Hack at him, and that Free Hack is Lethal (that is, the fleeing model is removed from play even if beaten by just 1 point)." But there still is a chance of your enemy fluffing their free hack roll/s.

 

Three failures = route, gone for good.

 

But what's sweet is that morale effects don't carry over to the next turn. They might break up your groups and make things harder for you but you might still be able to win the game.

 

I really need those updated rules. So many clarifications :)! I've sent an email to Ganesh games about my free update.

[smokingwreckage]

WIth the updates, or with a future edition, are more of the special abilities moved to the core book?

[jdizzy001]

WIth the updates, or with a future edition, are more of the special abilities moved to the core book?

On the yahoo group Andrea said some of the abilities from the supplements are now in the core book. She specifically mentioned combat master and heavy armor were moved to the revised edition.

Edited June 23, 2013 by jdizzy001

[Gailbraithe]

On the yahoo group Andrea said some of the abilities from the supplements are now in the core book. She specifically mentioned combat master and heavy armor were moved to the revised edition.

 

Andrea is a man. He's Italian, and Andrea is the Italian equivalent of Andrew.

[jdizzy001]

Oops, my bad (apologies Andrea). See what happens when I never go to Italy!

Edited June 23, 2013 by jdizzy001

[Talae]

What edition is the current one? I think we played with fourth.

[ObsidianCrane]

My version is 5.0 with a forward dated Sept 13th 2012.