Battle In Balin's Tomb - Team Evil

One of the interesting ideas that Games Workshop has been exploring in the past few years is producing hybrid board/miniature games using pre-existing models in smaller packaging at a lower price point.  To be honest most of those hybrid games haven't really appealed to me because I'm not their target audience (they're really designed to introduce non-gamers to hobby gaming) and if I was excited about the miniatures those games contain I would already own them.  The break in that trend and the game that finally drew me in was Battle In Balin's Tomb.  Lord Of The Rings was one of Games Workshop's biggest sellers during my time in the company and to be honest in the early 2000's it was my favourite GW rules system.  It's one of the few GW games I've kept up with consistently since leaving the company, and I still semi-regularly play Legends Of The Old West which uses the Lord Of The Rings core mechanics.  But I digress...

Battle In Balin's Tomb is the third box game to use the Moria Goblin plastics (one of the first Lord Of The Rings releases in 2000), and the second box game to use the highly underrated Fellowship Of The Rings plastic models.  The game itself is extremely basic, using a Heroquest-esque combat dice mechanic to play a 12 turn skirmish on a board largely devoid of features.  If you're new to hobby games or a big Lord Of The Rings fan and you want a simple introductory game with a fantastic selection of models this game is a great choice, if you're looking for an engaging strategy game that's honestly not what this is here for.

I'm looking forward to playing some games of Battle In Balin's Tomb with my daughter and possibly my niece over the Christmas season.  They are both squarely in the wheelhouse of the target audience for the game, both big fantasy movie fans, both like miniatures, and neither are interested in a complex game system.  I decided to start off by painting team Evil;  12 Moria Goblins, and the amazing and underrated Cave Troll model.

Moria Goblins with shields

Moria Goblins with spears

Moria Goblins with bows

Cave Troll

Team Evil!

That's basically half the box painted, I'm hoping to paint the Fellowship by Wednesday.

I'll show some more new/old models later this week and hopefully have a game to tell you about next week!

Battle In Balin's Tomb should be available now from your FLGS

-Jay

Review - The Stennard Courier Vol. 1

 Today I'm looking at the newest release from Nick Baran at Breaker Press Games; The Stennard Courier Vol. 1.

The Stennard Courier is a 'zine that continues to flesh out Breaker Press' grim and grimy fantasy setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics.  The 'zine describes the town of Stennard one of the principal early locations of a current ongoing series of adventures and campaign materials in what feels like a very old-school fantasy setting.  For adventurers playing in Breaker Press' game world Stennard is likely to be their first base of operations, and a likely starting location with all the features a low-level party will need between adventures.

The Stennard Courier itself is a 40 page 'zine that is absolutely PACKED with; NPCs, rumours, adventure hooks, world building, and commerce.  It's the exact kind of campaign starting point that every RPG box set or GM guide should include to give players and game masters the kind of world that feels full and lived-in to establish the tone of the game.  Within it's 40 pages the Stennard Courier gives 11 detailed locations (with additional allusions to other areas), 11 detailed NPCs (again with more from other Breaker Press products alluded to), as well as 12 separate lists of rumours (enough for an entire campaign), and price lists for 3 local businesses.  As I mentioned before this is the exact kind of supplement that a GM needs to make their game world feel more 'real' and less like a series of disconnected quests or missions.  The overall quality of the writing is outstanding with rich full descriptions of NPCs and their locations laid out in a clear easy to understand format that will make the material extremely easy for a GM to integrate into their own campaign.  The artwork has an old-school aesthetic to it that immediately puts me in the mind of the original Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Overall the Stennard Courier is a must-have for anyone looking for a starting/home location for a low-level fantasy RPG, as well as being an excellent reference for anyone looking to create their own small town in terms of what both completeness and utility should look like.

The Stennard Courier Vol. 1 is currently available directly from Breaker Press Games at: https://breakerpress.storenvy.com/products/34299427-the-stennard-courier-vol-1-pdf

As well as via DriveThruRPG at: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/378456/The-Stennard-Courier-Vol-1--BPGDCZ004?term=stennard

For a small indie business that already has a track record of outstanding releases this might just be their best and most useful yet!

-Jay

Shadow Throne

 The invasion has already begun....

After a few years of not playing any of Games Workshop's 'core' games my buddy Ash has decided to pull me back in.  It's been a while since I collected anything new for 40K but as staunchly Imperial player for my 30ish years in the game I figured a new collection of the Imperium's finest citizens on Earth was the perfect place to start.  What's great is (based on my understanding) the figures on the new Shadow Throne box set will also make an excellent starting force if I want to play Necromunda or Kill Team as well.  Such is the glory of humanity's great Four-Armed Emperor!  Praise be to him!

I started off by painting the 10 loyal Imperial citizens working in the mines.

These brave souls have picked up their mining implements as well as some light weapons left behind by the local PDF to arm themselves to see off any threats to the great Emperor.  Praise be to him!

Next is a leader.  We call him the foreman but for some reason we have heard the forces of the oppressor refer to him as a Primus.

If you can't already tell we are truly blessed in the holy light of The Emperor.  Many non-believers suffer from pale pallid flesh but those of us who reside in the graces of the one true Emperor of mankind maintain our healthy pink skin even after generations working underground in the hive mines.

The Four-Armed Emperor has also seen fit to send up a true prophet, one who can work great miracles in the Emperor's name.  Behold the glory of our good and fair Magus.

The Magus shares his many gifts with us.  And as he is truly touched and blessed by the Emperor he has gifts so share with even non-believers.

To aid in our clearing of the mines a new friend has joined our ranks.  Her job is to reduce the rocks and debris that stand between us and the Emperor's bounty, though the oppressors call her Reductus Saboteur.

Her third arm must truly be a sign that she is growing closer to our great Four-Armed Emperor.  Oh praise be to him!

And finally unlike the forces of the false Emperor who claim to worship a desiccated husk on a golden throne our TRUE Four-Armed Emperor appears before us and joins us when we face troubles.

BASK IN HIS MAGNIFICENT BEAUTY!

We have already begun spreading the joy and love of our Emperor throughout the homeworld.  We look forward to welcoming all of you into the flock soon.

To join our flock please contact your FLGS where Shadow Throne will be available for sale this coming Saturday.

-Neophyte Brother Jay