If you’ve come across 28 Magazine before, you’ll know about its striking aesthetic, stunning artwork, and incredible photography. On this episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast, I’m joined by editor Sampsa Nylund to find out more about 28, not just as a magazine, but as a community.
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There’s also an audio battle report of a slightly homebrewed version of Song of Blades & Heroes. I set the scene for this scenario a few weeks ago (see Telling Stories in Your Miniature Games), and it was time to get down to it and roll some dice.
A big thanks to Warbases for sponsoring this episode. Here’s a pile of their single figure movement trays.
I’ll be using them to identify monopose or similar-looking miniatures in warbands for things like turn order and wound tracking. No more dice following them round the battlefield!
Chaos Reborn
As for our game, the focus was on Rannveig Whitebeard and his Reavers, who had travelled South from Norsca to Morbid Moor, escorting the evil Hierophant X’ulthar the Abhorrent on a mission to summon Az’Rath the Blackhearted.
Morbid Moor is an isolated and sinister settlement on the forgotten edges of the Empire. Built on and around the shrine of Az’Rath, its residents worship him. Utilising the talents of their young shaman Jimmy Shadowcaller, they, too, seek to complete their own summoning ritual.
And so, a fight it was.
A (Sort of) Blades & Heroes
Here’s how it all worked.
- Instead of Quality rolls to activate, it was a deck drawing system to clearly define the turns
- At the end of each turn, an Event card was drawn (see events below)
- At the end of each turn, both players rolled a D6 for the summoning ritual
- The first shaman to hit 21 completed the ritual
- Both players then rolled off to see who had recruited Az’Rath, with the summoner getting a +2
- There were no wounds, pushing back, or knocking over – you lose a combat, you die
- Each miniature had two activations per turn
- All miniatures (except the wolf) moved a short stick’s length.
- All villagers and both shamans were unmodified in combat
- All marauders were +2 in combat
- Az’Rath and the wolf were +3 in combat
Event Cards
An event card was drawn before the beginning of a new turn. The deck contained ten cards, five of which were “no event.”
Here are the actual events:
Wolf
A massive wolf leaps from the darkness, attacking the next character whose card is drawn. Place them in base contact on the standing stone side.
Storm
The dark clouds can hold their weight no longer, a torrential downpour soaks the landscape, reducing visibility and turning the ground into a boot-sucking bog. Reduce activations to 1 in this turn.
Laughter of the Dark Gods
The Gods are amused by the events unfolding below and watch on with interest. They decide to test someone’s faith. Draw the next card and roll a D6. On a 1-3, the character is struck dead by lighting. On a 4-6, they are blessed with a combat bonus (+2 for villagers, +1 for marauders)
Blessed Stone
The nearest character to the stone is blessed with a combat bonus (+2 for villagers, +1 for marauders)
Cursed Stone
Any characters within a long stick’s distance to the stone are blasted back in a straight line to the table edge or nearest obstacle. They take no damage or face any further penalty.
