I’d already read Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook, which was co-written by John and Rick Priestley, so I was familiar with his work. I thought the handbook was decent, but I read it more out of curiosity rather than any serious attempt to write my own game.
Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios, on the other hand, felt like it was written just for me. I’ve been avidly collecting rulesets and rulebooks since my return to the hobby five years ago. I enjoy reading them and learning the various mechanics and ways a tabletop battle can be fought.
There are more than a few miniature agnostic games I’ve played and grown to love dearly. But I’ve come to realise that, if a game existed which had “the perfect ruleset”, it could only take you so far if you just played pitched battle after pitched battle.
In my opinion, a pretty average set of rules, played under an engaging and compelling scenario, will trump a slick mechanical system where the objective is simply to kill or be killed.
So, finding a book packed full of things todo, obtain, and achieve, was a “take my money” moment. And, it wasn’t exactly “take all of my money”, being priced at only £12. I could see the use-to-value ratio being extremely high, here.
As much as I was almost certain I’d love Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios, nothing was guaranteed until I had it in my hands and started to leaf through the pages. I wasn’t disappointed. The book really is top-notch, packed cover-to-cover with useful and interesting content. A big part of which is obviously…
36 Sci-fi Skirmish Scenarios
The main event is in the book’s name – there are 36 scenarios here. I’m not going to say that they’re all completely unique, as there is the odd slight overlap or similarity, but it still gives you a tonne of options for moving away from the “let’s try to kill one another” objective we see all too often in our hobby.
John brings a flavour and depth to these scenarios by weaving them into his own story world of The Sprawl, which isn’t a million miles away from the dystopian hive cities of Necromunda. The default narratives for each mission describe how (and why) gangs, cultists, or futuristic squads of “law enforcement” troopers are to face one another, and what needs to be done to win the day.
Is This Only for Sci-Fi Wargamers?
A major reason that this book is such good value is that the sci-fi element is really just a skin that can be peeled off and re-skinned in any way you like. I totally understand why John has opted for this theme, as it would be far too generic and filled with caveats otherwise. But these scenarios and missions can easily be adapted for any fantasy or historical setting. The framework is all there – the hard work has all been done; all the player needs to do is swap out the miniatures, terrain, and ammo for whatever fits with their own preferred sandbox.
Beyond the Scenarios
The 36 sci-fi skirmish scenarios alone are more than value for money. But the book doesn’t begin and end there.
John opens by offering advice on world-building and storytelling in your games. He may have fleshed out his own setting to demonstrate the missions and objectives here, but he’s in no way insisting that you have to play in it.
Towards the end, we also get a random scenario generator, which gives you limitless possibilities. Then, there are a couple of really nice solo scenarios combined with tips for making these games more interesting and thematic.
Finally, there’s a guide on how to tie your scenarios together into a narrative campaign. It’s more than just a guide, really, as there are three blueprints already laid out for you to get started right away.
Key Highlights
I honestly didn’t think there was a wasted page in the book, and it has immediately become my favourite hobby-related book to date. I’ll get years of use from it, setting up scenarios to play everything from Stargrave, Rogue Planet, and Planet 28, to Song of Blades & Heroes, Open Combat, and Brutal Quest. As I say, you’re in no way limited to the sci-fi genre, here.
If I had to pick three notable sections, though, I’d go with:
Drone Dance (Scenario 3.6): This is a really cool idea where warbands compete to catch a drone which is bouncing around the table edges like a ball. This mechanic got me thinking about some ideas for single miniature or arena-based games, too.
Electric Screen (Scenario 6.5): Here, an electric screen has been erected to separate two feuding gangs. The technology controlling the screen is unreliable, though, and a few lucky miniatures might still be able to make it through for some bloodletting. Potential for some fun cinematic moments.
Wandering Monster (p. 126): This one’s a random event for any scenario. The monster is an NPC, but players roll off to control it at the start of each turn. A great way to spice up a pitched battle with no other real objectives or narrative.
Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios
Thanks for reading my review of Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios. If you’re keen to get yourself a copy right away, you can find it on Amazon or Amazon UK.
I first heard about the concept of “slow hobbying” in a 2021 episode of the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast. During this conversation, guest Rik talked about a blog post on the Ninth Age forums (which sadly no longer seems to be available). The idea struck a chord with me, and it’s always something I’ve wanted to revisit and try to solidify.
With that in mind, here is an (admittedly quite grandiose-sounding) attempt at a “manifesto” for the Slow Hobbyists out there.
In the realm of tabletop miniature wargaming, we, the Slow Hobbyists, proudly declare our allegiance to a philosophy that values depth over breadth, tradition over trends, and the joy of a well-crafted experience over the rush of the new. Our manifesto stands as a testament to our commitment to the slow and deliberate pursuit of the hobby we love.
1. A Miniature-Agnostic Approach
We embrace a diverse array of miniatures, choosing models based on our personal preferences rather than succumbing to the pressure of the latest releases. Our armies are a unique reflection of our individual tastes and creativity.
2. The Art of Patience
We reject the notion of instant gratification and embrace the slow, meditative process of painting. A little progress each week accumulates into a masterpiece over the course of a year. Our armies are not just collections; they are the product of patience, dedication, and love for the craft.
3. Deep Dive into Rulesets
We immerse ourselves in the intricacies of rulesets, delving deep into the nuances of each game system we adopt. We value mastery over variety, savouring the richness of each rulebook and relishing the strategic depth that comes with a profound understanding of the mechanics.
4. Resistance to Hype
We resist the allure of new releases and the constant drumbeat of hype that surrounds them. Our choices are guided by genuine interest and the desire for a lasting connection with our miniatures and the games we play. Trends may come and go, but our commitment endures.
5. Nostalgia as a Guiding Light
We cherish the nostalgia of old rules systems, classic miniatures, and the timeless aesthetic of traditional craftsmanship. Our journey is a celebration of the history and evolution of the hobby, honouring the pioneers and the classics that paved the way.
6. Quality over Quantity in Gaming
We may not have the opportunity to play games frequently, but when we do, it is a cherished occasion. Each game is an immersive experience, and we savour the camaraderie, strategy, and narrative unfolding on the tabletop.
7. Favouring Storytelling and Narrative Experience
We prioritize the narrative experience on the tabletop, weaving rich stories around our armies and battles. Each miniature represents a character with a history, and every game unfolds as a chapter in an ongoing saga. The narrative adds depth and meaning to our hobby, transcending the mere mechanics of play.
8. Rejecting the Notion of Perfect Balance
We reject the pressure for every game to be perfectly balanced and fair. Embracing the unpredictability and quirks of the rules, we find joy in the narrative twists that arise from the unbalanced nature of our chosen games. It is in these imbalances that stories become more vibrant, unique, and memorable.
9. Being Good Stewards of the Hobby
We recognize our role as custodians of a rich and storied tradition. We lead by example, inspiring younger generations to embrace the slow, deliberate approach that defines our passion. We encourage patience, creativity, and a genuine love for the craft, nurturing a community where the values of the hobby endure and flourish, and all are welcome.
10. Community and Camaraderie
We build a community based on shared values, camaraderie, and a genuine passion for the hobby. Our gatherings are not just about the games but also about the exchange of ideas, tips, and the joy derived from our collective creativity.
In embracing these principles, we, the Slow Hobbyists, stand united. Our journey is one of mindful creation, enduring appreciation, and a commitment to the timeless essence of tabletop miniature wargaming. Together, we forge a path that enriches our lives and leaves a lasting legacy in the world of miniatures and games.
How can a “one mini each” pub table game keep things dynamic, and not regress into a sterile dice rolling exercise?
I’ve always been fascinated with the question of “How small could this be?” when it comes to miniature games. In particular, I like the idea of a system where both players control a single miniature each. The reasons for this would need to fit your own preferred sandbox, but an obvious setting would be some sort of gladiatorial or arena combat.
Anyway, the problem, as far as I can see it, with 1v1 games (with the essential caveat that I’m not a games designer) is that the miniatures could simply become an aesthetic, rather than an integral part of the game. If you think about it, it’s likely that they’ll either both find static positions to take cover and shoot from, or, get into hand-to-hand and remain there. In both examples, these become dice-rolling exercises rather than dynamic tabletop experiences.
After a while, I stopped giving the idea any more thought. Then, I had a bit of an out-the-blue lightbulb moment when reading John Lamshead’s brilliant Sci-Fi Skirmish Scenarios.
In the book, John details a scenario where two warbands are trying to catch a drone. The drone is controlled by the game’s AI and is essentially bouncing around like a tennis ball, rebounding off the edges of the table, mat, or playing area.
I thought it was a nice idea, and that there was potential for a mechanic like this to exist that would actually do harm to the miniatures. For example, could it be a drone with whirring blades, a ball of malevolent magic, or some sort of slaver with a range weapon taking aim for a pop at a combatant?
Immediately, this would solve the problem of players keeping their minis in the same place. Their miniatures would need to stay mobile and break from bouts of melee combat regularly to risk being killed. From a cinematic point of view, you might also see a stronger or healthier character trying to hold an opponent in place to use this non-player weapon against them.
As discussed in my musings (ramblings?) on narrative solo and co-op wargaming, fighting the conditions, table, or game can often throw up more interesting situations than a “kill all the other guys” approach.
Back to this concept, though, it’s not necessarily about having whatever tennis ball-style weapon that fits your setting bouncing around the table. It’s about both players having a reason not to stay in one place for long. And that could apply to the entire playing area.
Maybe the arena is built on some sort of irradiated ground, electrically charged sheeting, or enchanted with a dark and cruel magic. Whatever the reason, it might mean that miniatures remaining static for more than one turn take an attack roll at the level of a low or medium-strength weapon. Maybe they wouldn’t simply be hurt, either – what if they were blasted off in a random direction (and range) using a D20 as a scatter dice?
Once you start to give it some thought, there are so many ways turn a low model count game into something dynamic, frantic, and cinematic. It could even work as a solo game using one single miniature.
I’m writing about this idea while fresh in my head and purely from a “this could be fun to try” perspective. For all I know, such mechanics or systems might already exist in games I haven’t encountered before. And, if that’s the case, I’d love to hear more about them!
Feedback on Single Miniature & Arena Combat Game Ideas
Dr Spork said, “My mind was drawn to thinking about Robot wars. The randomly activated hazards and the house robots make things more interesting than one on one battles. Another aspect to consider is giving the combatants extra options/skills that provide some tactical options outside the simple punch or shoot. D&D has a bunch of stuff like this that could be cribbed to make the combat a bit more varied. Grappling, pushing opponents back, rapid fire pinning them down, that sort of stuff.”
Gibby said, “One ruleset for this that I found to be really clever is Red Sand, Blue Sky by 2 Hour Wargames. It’s a game about Roman Gladiators (complete with a campaign about being a Lanista and running a gladiator school, and a campaign where you play as a gladiator trying to survive to retirement). The coolest mechanic in it was each combatant begins with a certain number of dice, which are used to throw attacks or pull off various tricks and such. Thing is if you ever run out of dice, then your character is exhausted and drops to their knees, there to be at the mercy of the crowd (or Emperor). Plus, you could do stuff like kick sand into your opponent’s eyes and such.”
And William said, “Maybe Melee or it’s supplement ‘Wizard’? They are hex-based games with an emphasis on duelling”
Our recent survey asked which game or ruleset you spent the most time playing, planning for, or thinking about in 2023.
On the plus side, there were no patterns, which shows the diverse tastes of the community. On the downside, this makes it difficult to create any sort of meaningful headline or write-up around.
That said, folks were keen to get a flavour of the outcome, so I did what any lazy content creator would do and pumped the raw data into ChatGPT. Here’s what it came up with. (excuse any factual errors, which ChatGPT is always so keen to point out that it regularly makes)
Tabletop Triumphs and Miniature Marvels: A Year in Review and Anticipation for 2024
Introduction: As we bid farewell to the gaming adventures of 2023, let’s take a moment to reflect on the myriad tabletop games and miniature delights that captivated hobbyists throughout the year. From the battlefields of Warhammer to the creative chaos of Gaslands, the community shared their gaming triumphs and miniature marvels. In this blog post, we’ll explore the most played games, favored miniatures, and the highly anticipated releases that promise to shape the tabletop landscape in 2024.
Tabletop Triumphs: Most Played Games of 2023
1. Warhammer, Gaslands, 40k 2nd Ed: The triumvirate of Warhammer 6th edition, Gaslands, and 40k 2nd Edition dominated the gaming tables, offering diverse settings and strategic challenges.
2. Rebels and Patriots: Daniel Mersey’s Rebels and Patriots, part of the Rampant series, led players through historical conflicts, proving that the allure of historical wargaming remains strong.
3. Rogue Trader Supplements and More: Rogue Trader supplements, including Waargh the Orks and Freebooterz, captured the hearts of enthusiasts exploring the rich lore of Warhammer 40k.
4. Frostgrave, Dragon Rampant: Fantasy skirmishes thrived with Frostgrave and Dragon Rampant, providing immersive adventures in magical realms.
5. Stargrave, Necromunda: Space mercenaries and gritty gang wars were brought to life with Stargrave and Necromunda, offering players thrilling narratives in unique settings.
Honorable Mentions:
Several games received honorable mentions, from the quirky Space Weirdos to the classic Kill Team and the narrative richness of Rangers of Shadow Deep.
Miniature Marvels: Most Enjoyed Miniatures of 2023
1. Warlord Games, Gripping Beast: Warlord Games and Gripping Beast led the charge in providing top-notch miniatures for historical gaming enthusiasts.
2. Ramshackle Games, Warmonger/Wargames Foundry: Ramshackle Games’ imaginative creations and the vast range of wonders from Warmonger/Wargames Foundry captured the imagination of miniature painters.
3. Etsy 3D Prints, Stargrave: The accessibility of Etsy 3D prints and the thematic richness of Stargrave miniatures made them favorites among hobbyists.
4. Wyrd, Mezgike Miniatures, Oathsworn Miniatures: In the fantasy realm, Wyrd, Mezgike Miniatures, and Oathsworn Miniatures stood out for their exceptional designs.
Honorable Mentions:
Old School Miniatures, Anvil Industries, and Games Workshop’s classic models earned honorable mentions for their enduring appeal.
Anticipating 2024: Games and Rulesets to Watch
1. Hail Caesar: Hail Caesar promises to transport gamers to historical battlefields, offering a fresh perspective on ancient warfare.
2. Forager and Squad Weirdos: Forager, a Napoleonic skirmish game, and the anticipated Squad Weirdos are set to bring exciting new dynamics to the tabletop.
3. Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader, 1st Edition: A nostalgic journey awaits as Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader, 1st Edition, makes a triumphant return, inviting players to rediscover the roots of the iconic universe.
4. Dungeon Saga Origins and Full Spectrum Dominance: Dungeon Saga Origins brings new adventures to the tabletop, while Full Spectrum Dominance promises intense and immersive gameplay.
Honorable Mentions:
Outsiders/Notorious expansion, Frostgrave, Space Weirdos, and 15mm Pony Wars are among the eagerly awaited releases that promise to make 2024 a thrilling year for tabletop enthusiasts.
Conclusion: As we step into the unknown realms of 2024, the tabletop gaming community remains vibrant, fueled by the passion for strategic challenges, immersive narratives, and stunning miniatures. Whether you’re a seasoned wargamer or a newcomer to the hobby, the diverse array of games and miniatures ensures there’s something for everyone. Here’s to another year of epic battles, creative painting, and the joy of rolling those dice in the pursuit of tabletop triumphs!
The Blood-Eye Orcs’ rank and file are from Pendraken. Their command comes via Ral Partha. The standard bearer fell over, chipped, and had to be re-painted about six or seven times. I hate him.
The big lad was a generous freebie from Alternative Armies, where I’d ordered a lot of my 15mm rank-and-file from, including the mounted knight and archer who’ll eventually have their own regiments to join.
The noble Frostguard Paladins were purchased from Ral Partha, too.
I have some waterslide transfers to try out on the mounted knight’s shield, as well as the banners on both regiments. I think the orc’s shields might be too small to accommodate the ones I got from Essex Miniatures.
I’ve enjoyed my first forays into painting 15mm, and I’m content with the results. I’ve plenty more to be working on for these rival orc and human armies, and I expect they’ll keep me busy through to the end of 2024.
The following scenario has been created for Song of Blades & Heroes, though it can be easily tweaked to fit any skirmish gaming system.
The aim is to take on the role of a Chaos sorcerer who roams a small village, attempting to recruit as many allies as possible before a band of bounty hunters arrive to take him dead or alive.
As Thul’garr the Eldrich, a tentacle-faced servant of chaos, and his formidable bodyguard, Jarek the Damned, descended upon the remote hamlet of Middensbury, the forces of corruption drew nigh, veiled by the fading light of day.
Pursued by relentless bounty hunters, Thul’garr and Jarek had sought refuge in this unsuspecting outpost on the edge of the Empire. Their pursuers, driven by vengeance, gold, and the desire to extinguish the sinister influence Thul’garr embodied, drew closer with each passing day.
Thul’garr, a master of manipulation and cunning, had a plan as simple as it was sinister. He intended to exploit the villagers, to bind them unwittingly to his nefarious cause, using his dark, corrupted magic. In the throes of chaos, they would become both a shield and a weapon against his relentless pursuers.
Yet Thul’garr knew of a witch hunter’s presence in this region—a relentless and deadly foe dedicated to quelling chaos. Caution was his ally.
As twilight settled over the rustic roofs of the Middensbury hovels, the stage was set for a dark and insidious transformation. Thul’garr the Eldrich had arrived, ready to whisper forbidden incantations and weave the threads of corruption into the very soul of the settlement. Villagers went about their business, oblivious to the horrors that drew closer, the very essence of chaos beginning to infest their souls.
Under the guise of a charismatic leader, Thul’garr extolled the virtues of chaos and its transformative power. His words would sway some, whilst others would prove strong enough to resist. Maybe even to fight back.
But with each step, Thul’garr whispered the promise of power and the temptation of chaos. The air in Middensbury crackled with unspoken promise, as the dark priest extended his influence. And as the bounty hunters closed in on the village, Middensbury’s fate hung in the balance between chaos and order.
Chaos Player Objectives
Try to convert as many allies as possible in six turns before the bounty hunters arrive.
Watch out for the undercover witch hunter.
Dark magic makes Thul’garr and Jarek appear normal to the villagers unless they become hostile to the pair.
Hostile villagers will turn any other villagers within 6” hostile, too.
Converting Allies
Move into range of any villager and spend an action to attempt a conversion.
First, draw from a deck of villager cards. If you draw the joker, this villager is the undercover witch hunter and is now hostile. See suggested witch hunter rules below.
If any other card is drawn, roll to proceed with the spell.
Villagers have varying conversion difficulty. Roll a D20 and compare it with their split number. For example, 10/15.
On a roll of 1 to 9, Thul’garr has failed, and the villager is now hostile.
On a roll of 10 to 14, the spell is unstable, and you should roll on the Unstable Magic Conversion Table.
On a roll of 15-20, the spell is a full success, and the villager is now under Thul’garr’s control until they are killed.
Unstable Magic Conversion Table (D20)
1, 2 – Villager Dies: The villager succumbs to the chaos or the stress of the situation and dies.
3, 4 – Villager Becomes Hostile: The villager’s encounter with chaos has driven them into a frenzy, and they become hostile to everyone, including your characters and other villagers.
5, 6 – Temporary Conversion: The villager converts to your side but only for a limited duration, lasting for D4 turns. Use their newfound allegiance wisely.
7, 8 – Villager Transforms into a Rat: The villager undergoes a bizarre transformation, turning into a rat. You gain control of this peculiar rat, which may have its uses in the future. One time outcome, re-roll this result in future.
9, 10 – Villager Transforms into a Chaos Spawn: The chaos taint within the villager fully emerges, transforming them into a chaos spawn under your control. Roll a D6 to determine the spawn’s Quality and another D6 to determine its Combat rating. One time outcome, re-roll this result in future.
11, 12 – Villager Enters a Trance: The villager enters a mysterious trance, revealing vital information about the situation or the surrounding area. They share this crucial knowledge with your characters before passing away. Reduce bounty hunters by D4. One time outcome, re-roll this result in future.
13 to 18 – Villager Fully Converts: The villager undergoes a moment of intense mental deliberation and fully converts to your side, becoming a valuable addition to your warband.
19, 20 – Villager Opens a Chaos Portal: In a chaotic twist, the villager somehow becomes a portal to the Realm of Chaos, inadvertently unleashing a greater daemon. Control the daemon, but be wary of its formidable powers. Pass a Quality test each turn, or the daemon will be hostile to the Chaos player. One time outcome, re-roll this result in future.
The Witch Hunter
There’s a possibility Thul’garr will attempt to convert a villager who’s an undercover witch hunter. Should this happen, here are some options for the impact on the game.
Reduce the number of turns until the bounty hunters arrive.
Increase the number of bounty hunters.
Turn another D6 number of villagers hostile to Thul’garr and Jarek.
There’s been a large Jervis Johnson-sized hole in Bedroom Battlefields’ list of interviews with hobby legends (such as Gav Thorpe, Tuomas Pirinen, Rick Priestley, and Alessio Cavatore). Suffice to say, that hole has now been plugged. Thank you so much, Jervis, for taking the time to respond to these questions.
Jervis Johnson: I think it exists because it offers a combination of things that other hobbies don’t, namely ‘collecting, painting and playing games with toy soldiers’ (or ‘with exquisitely crafted miniature figures’ if you prefer 😉). Digging deeper into that, hobbies like ours allow people to exercise their creativity; no one else will have an army/collection quite like yours, it is unique and only exists because you created it. Not everybody needs to exercise their creativity like this, but many do, and I think this is why the hobby is unlikely to die out in the face of things like video games and such-like. Although you can say that a tabletop wargames and video games are both ‘games’, they scratch very different itches.
What’s your favourite book of all time? Doesn’t need to be hobby-related.
Jervis Johnson: I found it impossible to pick one, so instead, I’ve picked my top 5:
Dune: I first read Dune when I was 14. I recently re-read it, and it still stands up. The latest movie finally does it justice, and there are some great games based on it too (a particular favourite with my local boardgames group is Dune Imperium).
The Lord of the Rings: (though the Conan stories by Robert E Howard come a very close second). I read all of these at more or less the same time as I read Dune, and I still think they are great to this day. I’m also a big fan of the Conan comic book series, especially the early run with the artwork by Barry Windsor-Smith. The adaption of Red Nails by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith is one of my favourite comic books of all time.
Peter the Great: His Life and World: I read a lot of non-fiction history books and always have, but this book by Robert K. Massie is my favourite. I picked it up because it had such great reviews, knowing nothing about the subject, and it was a revelation. Never was ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ more apt! A fascinating man, an eventful life, and an extraordinary world.
Dreaming of Babylon: This is a strange little book by an American author called Richard Brautigan. He mainly wrote rather surreal short stories, but this is a proper novel. It’s set in 1942 and is about an inept private eye whose investigations are hindered by the fact that he keeps daydreaming about an alternative life where he lives in ancient Babylon. If that sounds weird, well it is, but there was something about the main character that spoke to me, because I tend to spend a lot of time ‘living in my head’ too.
Grendel: Another strange little book, this time by an author called John Gardner. It retells the story of Beowulf, but from the perspective of the monster that Beowulf ultimately kills. It’s just beautifully written and deals with all kinds of interesting themes, but I especially like the way it deals with issues to do with good and evil; in Grendel, the monster is not really an evil being, more a hopelessly alienated one.
Who or what is your biggest inspiration in what you do?
Jervis Johnson: My biggest inspiration would have to be Charles Grant (senior). It was his book Battle: Practical Wargaming that first introduced me to tabletop wargames, and the battle reports he wrote for Military Modelling magazine were the inspiration for the battle reports that Andy Chambers and I created for White Dwarf. I think he is probably the best pure writer about the tabletop wargame hobby there has ever been; I found (and still find) his writing to be witty, erudite, wise and helpful. When I first started writing J Files articles for White Dwarf, I tried to channel my inner Charles Grant, and I hope that I achieved that goal to some small extent, but for me, he is still the master.
What’s your best-value budget hobby purchase? (sub £20)
Jervis Johnson: I think I would go for a Daylight Bulb and a Hands-free Magnifying Glass. When I was working full-time painting during the daytime wasn’t usually an option – I was a rules writer, not a member of the ‘Eavy metal Team – so I, like most hobbyists, painted my miniatures in the evening after work. As I got older my eyesight slowly got worse, until I found it really difficult to paint miniatures. Someone recommended I get a good Daylight Bulb and a Hands-free magnifying Glass, which made things so much easier.
If you could live in any historical period, where, when, and why?
Jervis Johnson: Well, it’s sort of a historical period, so I am going to go for the village where Asterix the Gaul lives. I love the Asterix books, and I’ve always said that if I could live anywhere it would be in that village with the rest of the indomitable Gauls, where my only fear would be the sky falling on my head!
Do you think there are any under-utilised settings or periods in tabletop gaming?
Jervis Johnson: On the whole, no. I think that more attention could be paid to counter-factual history (e.g. British military involvement in the American Civil War), and I’d like to see more campaign-level tabletop wargames (e.g. where you refight the whole of the Waterloo campaign as a tabletop game, not just the individual battles), but I can’t say I’ll lose any sleep if this doesn’t happen!
What might people be surprised to hear you’re not very good at?
Jervis Johnson: I’m not sure how surprised they’ll be to hear it, especially if they read my battle reports against Andy Chambers in White Dwarf magazine, but I’m not a very good player of the games that I have designed. I know I’m not the only game designer who is like this; I think it’s because I try to play the game the way I wanted it to work, which isn’t always the best way to use the game system to actually win the game!
What have you recently changed your mind about?
Jervis Johnson: I used to be obsessed with watching the news. However, what with COVID and the war in the Ukraine, I found that the relentlessness of the (bad) news cycle was starting to really get me down. Then about 18 months ago, I came across a book called ‘Stop Reading The News’ by Rolf Dobelli, which pretty much explains why you should do exactly that. So, for the last year and a half, I haven’t watched the news, read a newspaper, looked at a news feed or even read a newspaper headline, and I feel much better for it!
When was the last time something in the hobby surprised you?
Jervis Johnson: I’ve been around for a while now, so not much surprises me. The most recent thing that really stands out is the success of board game cafes. There are three in Nottingham (not counting Warhammer World), and when the first one opened, I thought it was doomed to failure; I wasn’t at all convinced that people would be willing to pay money to be able to sit at a games table. My wife was of quite the opposite point of view and made the really good point that games cafes would be great places for people that want to go out and socialise but didn’t want to go to a pub or club. Fortunately, she was proved right and I was proved wrong, and the Nottingham’s games cafes are thriving.
Tell me something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Jervis Johnson: Gosh, there are so many! As a rules writer, one of the things that you quickly learn is that things that seem self-evident to you are not nearly so obvious to other people! But to pick one, I’ll go with something almost none of my geek friends agree with me on, which is that it’s good to periodically clear out stuff from your collections. I’ve never been much of a packrat, and over the last decade or two, I’ve ended up moving several times; each time I moved I ended up culling my collection of hobby stuff – games, miniatures, comics and books – down a bit. To start off with, it wasn’t a choice but a necessity, but each time I had to do it, I found it liberating: a literal weight being lifted.
It also made me go through each item in my collection to decide which made the cut and which didn’t, which is an interesting and illuminating process in and of itself. After my last move, I have my own (small) study with shelves and glass cabinets, and I follow a rule that if I can’t put something where I can see it, then it has to go. So, no lead under the bed or in the attic for me! I will often tell my geeky friends that they should do it too – without exception, they look at me as if I am crazy!
Are there any common hobby myths and misconceptions that make you roll your eyes?
Jervis Johnson: Probably the biggest is the idea that errors in a rulebook or lack of balance in an army list is because the rules writer is lazy or incompetent, or because of a lack of playtesting. This is usually followed by a comment like, “After all, if we could spot these things within a few days of the rules coming out, how could they have possibly missed it?”. It shows such a complete lack of understanding about how difficult these things are to get right, and also of the actual process by which rules and army lists are written.
Anyway, for the record, I have never met or worked with a rules writer I’d consider lazy or incompetent. Furthermore (comrades!), rule’s writing is a process of constant iteration and rewriting that carries on until you hit a deadline. In my experience, almost without exception… actually, no, without exception, errors and balance issues are caused by things that were changed in the last set of rewrites before the deadline was hit, and they were made to fix issues that playtesting had revealed. Having written rules for 40-odd years and never managing to get a set published without at least an error or two, you learn to be sanguine about it and to be ready to get the errata and clarifications out there as fast as possible!
Tell me about a particularly satisfying mechanic you’ve created yourself or encountered while playing someone else’s game.
Jervis Johnson: One mechanic I came across recently and really like is used in a series of games called Table Battles, published by a small company called Hollandspiele. The games recreate various famous battles from history and use cards to represent the major formations of each army.
In your turn, you roll six dice, and then allocate them out to cards in your army; each card needs certain combination of dice to be able to carry out an action. So one card might need a pair of 5s to attack, while another might need you to place a 4, a 5 and a 6 on the card, and so on. Any dice that are placed on a card can’t be rolled again until they are used, so the dice are a limited resource, and you need to think hard about where to place them. At the start of your turn, before you roll the dice, you can carry out an action you have set up with your earlier dice rolls.
What I especially like about this mechanic is that sometimes, when you attack, you will force your opponent to make a reaction, and this will stop them from carrying out their action in their next turn (they are reacting to your attack rather than unleashing their own). These simple mechanics do a lot to represent command and control issues, and they also capture the idea of one side gaining the momentum in a battle, which is something I have read about in lots of historical accounts but very rarely seen recreated in a game.
Do you have any advice for those who want to follow your path?
Jervis Johnson: The advice I always give is to consider carefully that doing so could well lead to you losing your hobby, by turning it into your job. If you spend all day designing games, then, if you are anything like me, you will find that the last thing you want to do when you get out of the office is play the game you’ve been working on from 9-5. Luckily for me, I love all sorts of different games, so I was able to side-step this problem by playing historical games, non-GW board games and classic games like bridge and backgammon outside work. But if your hobby is purely, say, 40K, then you need to consider seriously that getting a job with the 40K rules team might kill your love of the hobby stone-dead.
What are you working on right now, and what would you like to share or promote with the audience?
Jervis Johnson: I’ve been working away with miniature designers Alan and Michael Perry on a set of historical wargame rules called Valour and Fortitude. They are available for free – you can download them from the Wargames Illustrated and Perry Miniatures websites. They started life as a sort of thought experiment to see if we could come up with a set of rules designed to fit onto just four sides of A4 (or, more specifically, a A3 piece of paper folded in half).
A similar design process was followed with the army sheets and scenarios needed to play the game. The army sheets are designed to fit onto a single piece of paper and contain all the information and special rules a player needs to use an army in a game of V&F. The scenarios also fit onto a single side of A4 and provide all the information and special rules needed to fight a battle. So, if you have the rules sheet, your army sheet and the scenario, you are good to go! The result is a tight little set of rules that, being only 4 pages long, are easy to teach and to use. You can download the rules from Perry-Miniatures.com or wargamesillustrated.net, and there is a V&F Gamers Group page on Facebook, too.
Huge thanks to Jervis Johnson for taking the time to chat. We really appreciate it!
As Bedroom Battlefields continues its mission to become a digital version of a 90s White Dwarf magazine, the latest legendary presence to give us some of their time (and wisdom) is Rick Priestley. (here are the conversations with Gav Thorpe, Andy Chambers, Tuomas Pirinen, and Alessio Cavatore!)
Rick Priestley is a name that resonates deeply within the world of tabletop gaming. With a career spanning several decades, Priestley has earned a reputation as a visionary game designer and a true luminary in the industry. He first rose to prominence in the early 1980s when he, alongside Bryan Ansell and Richard Halliwell, co-created the iconic Warhammer Fantasy Battle, a game that would forever change the course of tabletop gaming. His imagination knew no bounds, as evidenced by the grim and captivating universe he unveiled in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader in 1987.
Gav Thorpe and Rick in a White Dwarf Necromunda battle report
Post-GW, Priestley continued to shape the gaming landscape, lending his expertise through consulting work and involvement in Warlord Games, renowned for its historical miniature wargames. His influence extended to the design of the acclaimed World War II wargame Bolt Action in 2012, cementing his status as a game designer par excellence.
With an illustrious career marked by creativity, innovation, and a dedication to the art of gaming, Rick Priestley remains a beloved figure in the gaming community, leaving an enduring legacy that continues to inspire gamers and game designers alike.
It was a real privilege to be able to put some questions to Rick, and here’s what he had to say:
Why do you think this hobby still exists?
Rick Priestley: Wargaming – broadly – I can’t see any reason why it shouldn’t continue to exist, whether we are talking about tabletop, historical, board wargames, or video games. Historical tabletop wargames – my main interest – does seem to be an older crowd, but there’s plenty of younger players coming over from fantasy and science-fiction games.
Games Workshop has done a great job of bringing wargaming to the attention of youngsters; effectively recruiting new players and stimulating an interest in the model-driven tabletop wargame. The hobby as a whole has benefited from that, and I imagine will continue to do so for years to come.
What might people be surprised to hear you’re not very good at?
Rick Priestley: I’m not sure there are any surprises there! I’m pretty bad at exactly the sort of things you’d expect me to be bad at. Years ago, when folk used to ask me how to get into working in wargames, I used to have a stock answer: be bad a something else. At that time all the people I knew who worked in wargames had basically failed to do whatever it was they set out to do beforehand. My boss chucked in a degree in Maths to start a wargames company. Jervis Johnson gave up a career as an undertaker (it takes all sorts). And quite a few of us had worked in archaeology, including me. I wasn’t a very good archaeologist because I hated being outside in the pouring rain, shovelling spoil in the rain all day, sleeping in a wet tent, and resorting to the countryside by way of toilet facilities. All of these things had limited appeal.
After that, I tried my hand as a figure designer, but I couldn’t make enough to earn a decent living, and so got dragged into the world of casual work at Citadel doing mail order, and then a full-time job, and so on. Hence, my advice to anyone starting out in the world of wargames: be bad at something else, because if you’re good at something else, you’d be better off sticking to it!
When was the last time something in the hobby surprised you?
Rick Priestley: I think the development of thermoplastic resin injection into silicon rubber moulds was a bolt out of the blue. I never expected that technology to work. Oddly enough, many years ago, Games Workshop did have a go at developing rubber-in-steel inserts to fit into plastic injection moulding machines. That experiment never worked out. Basically, the pressure behind an injection moulding press is so great it distorts the rubber, no matter how stiff a rubber you use. This was in the days of ‘black’ organic rubber, so you had what you had, unlike today when you can get different grades of silicon rubber.
The company that pioneered that new technology has built its own injection machines of course, and to be honest it has not been plain sailing either. Teething problems aside, it’s now used commercially by several wargames manufacturers, and the quality of materials gets better all the time. That’s been a real game-changer.
Tell me something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Rick Priestley: There is nothing so unbearably tedious as sport, especially football. Why people take an interest in this kind of thing, let alone raise individuals to the level of celebrity on the basis of kicking a ball, skipping, jumping about, etc, is all a mystery to me.
Tell me something you once believed about the hobby that turned out not to be true.
Rick Priestley: Nothing springs to mind, to be honest. When we did the third version of Warhammer, I thought we could extend the range to include not only army lists for competitive gaming but also narrative-based scenarios and campaigns. This being the sort of gaming I’d always enjoyed, I thought there’d be a market for campaign packs, and we produced a number, including The Grudge of Drong, Terror of the Lichemaster, and so on.
The idea was to expand the range of gaming, or rather to cater for a style of gaming that had hitherto been quite successful in earlier versions of Warhammer, e.g. Ork’s Drift. The trouble was, we’d been so successful with the new format of Army Books complete with army lists, that the game had turned towards that style of one-on-one competitive play. The new campaign packs did sell reasonably well, but sales expectations had moved forward, so they were not judged a success at the time and were dropped fairly shortly. So, I guess the market wasn’t what I hoped it was, and what people really wanted was army lists and competition-style games.
Are there any common hobby myths and misconceptions that make you roll your eyes?
Rick Priestley: Are there such things? I suppose there are a few odd things folks say about games I’ve written that continue to do the rounds even though they really aren’t true. One is that Warhammer was originally a free set of rules given away with mail order. That isn’t true, but it was an idea that was floated at the time, and we used to include stats and rules for Warhammer on mail-order sheets, so you can see how the story got around.
The other one is that some folks cite Laserburn as an early form of Warhammer 40,000 or influence upon it. It certainly wasn’t, but Bryan Ansell, who was running Games Workshop at the time, wrote Laserburn, and he would go on to initiate several projects for 40K supplements, so I suppose there may have been some ideas or concepts common to both. Oh – and Bolt Action is derived from 40K… it really, really, isn’t! Oddly enough, WH40K 3rd edition (and all subsequent editions that use that same basic mechanic) was derived from my home-crewed WW2 rules that John Stallard and I used to play 15mm WW2 games.
Tell me about a particularly satisfying mechanic you’ve either created yourself, or came across whilst playing someone else’s game (or both!)
Rick Priestley: I thought the turn over mechanic in Blood Bowl was an interesting way to sequence a game, and I took the idea and adapted it to my Warmaster system. So, to activate a unit you rolled dice to give an order; if successful you continued to move and order units, but if you failed, it’s turn over. It’s interesting because you have to decide which things to move first and which to leave until last and risk not being able to move at all. I later adapted the same mechanic to Black Powder and Hail Caesar for Warlord Games, so it’s had a good run!
Another mechanic that I’ve always thought would be interesting to adapt is the combat mechanism in a game called Warlord. Warlord is a game of nuclear warfare published in the 70s and later re-boxed and marketed by Games Workshop as Apocalypse. Anyway, it works like this:
When making an attack you take a dice and secretly select a number by hiding it behind your palm, you can only choose a number up to the total number of pieces you are attacking with. Your opponent guesses what number you have chosen, and if correct, you lose that number of pieces, if incorrect, your opponent loses one of their own pieces.
The attacker can stop at any point if things are not going well. Assuming things do go well, once an attacker removes the opponent’s last piece, you get to move into the space and take it over, but the number of pieces you move in has to be the number you last selected. Thus, the initial attacks can be random, although choosing a high value risks losing a high number of pieces, which encourages you to choose a low value… but your opponent knows this… and you know that they know… and so on.
When it comes to your last attack, the fact that you take the space with the number of pieces nominated means you want to choose as high a value as possible… but your opponent knows this… and you know that they know… and so on. I just like the element of double guessing and the potential for a lucky guess to unravel an attack.
Anything you’re working on right now that you’d like to share or promote with the audience?
Rick Priestley: I’ve hung up my spurs and can’t see me undertaking any big new projects anytime soon – retired now and enjoying gaming for its own sake 😊
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, Rick!
Solo wargaming has been on my mind a lot recently. Playing with or against friends has so many obvious benefits and there’s no need to go into them here. But family, work, and a lack of human opponents can really limit your opportunities to roll some dice.
I’m not a vastly experienced wargamer. In fact, the range of games I’ve played is probably quite limited compared to most others. But, for what it’s worth, I consider Joe McCullough’s Rangers of Shadow Deep the gold standard of solo and co-op narrative wargaming. I also see his Perilous Dark book (predominantly created around Frostgrave) as something of a Bible in this area.
As much as I enjoy Joe’s games, I’m always keen to try out others, and my latest points of interest have been Brutal Quest and Planet 28, two titles by Mammoth Miniatures.
With an enjoyable solo sci-fi game of Planet 28 already under my belt, I’m now in the process of planning a narrative solo campaign for its fantasy alternative, Brutal Quest. I wanted to draw heavily from Rangers of Shadow Deep and Perilous Dark to make this complex, immersive, and challenging, even without the involvement of another human player.
With that in mind, I’ve gone about putting together this solo and co-op narrative campaigns guide. And, though it’s based around Brutal Quest, it’s easily transferable to any other gaming system.
I’ve also spent the past few months tinkering with AI. I know some folks are, at best, suspicious of such technology, but, in my opinion, it has a lot of great potential to enhance solo and co-op narrative wargaming campaigns. I think you can liken AI to magic in any fantasy story – too much of it can be overwhelming, but, when used acutely and wisely, it offers a lot of benefits and advantages.
That said, I’m not someone who wants to bring the digital world into my analogue hobby, so I’d never be looking to use AI during my games. This is more about crafting ideas and narratives in the preparation and planning stages.
I also acknowledge that AI has its flaws. Every output it generates must come from somewhere, and there’s always a very real risk of plagiarism. Not that this guide is intended as a product for sale. It’s just something I’ve been putting together anyway as I plan my own narrative campaign.
I figured that others might enjoy and benefit from it, too, so I’m publishing it in the hope that it might help you add a few extra dimensions to your solo and co-op games. If you’d like to chat more about it offer any feedback, suggestions, or pointers, please join the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Discord, which is a brilliant community of enthusiastic and friendly hobbyists.
For now, though, let’s crack on with building this campaign…
My Campaign Narrative
So, to my story, then. I’ll be setting it in the Warhammer World where I’ll aim to take a traditional RPG-style party of four (sorcerer, barbarian, dwarf, and ranger) on a journey from The Dark Lands, North through the World’s Edge Mountains, skirting around the edge of The Empire, and onwards to the Realm of Chaos itself.
They are in pursuit of an antagonist, and they’re not your typical band of do-gooder heroes.
Zargul Fireweaver, a Hobgoblin Shaman
Drakar Bloodtracker, a Hobgoblin Ranger
Courtney Lovecraft, a Mutant Barbarian
Xarzul Twobeards, a two-headed Chaos Dwarf
The antagonist is another Chaos Dwarf by the name of Balrik Flameforged, the estranged cousin of Twobeards, who betrayed an imprisoned him in The Dark Lands. The other three are also former prisoners and slaves of Flameforged, and each has their own personal desire for vengeance.
The campaign will pit the party against a diverse range of opponents in a wide variety of environments. There’s a real risk in situations like this where you feel like you’re repeating the exact same game only with a different set of miniatures and terrain on the table. This guide is an attempt to avoid that.
When creating examples for each of the sections in this guide, I’m going to use a scenario where the party face-off against Festerblade Rotsworn’s Nurgle worshipping warband. This includes Festerblade himself, a Chaos Warrior called Brother Rust, a daemon called Festemus, a Best of Nurgle called Festergrub, multiple bases of Nurglings, and several Plaguebearers.
Cards & Random Roll Tables
Cards and tables will play an integral role in this narrative campaign. I know these aren’t unique to Rangers of Shadow Deep and Frostgrave, but to me, they’re standout factors in both games. These can be used for anything, from treasure and clues, to plot points and major events.
Having a standard deck of cards where each card is assigned to a particular random event can keep games fresh and unique. And, having more cards than there are turns, means you don’t know exactly what’s going to be drawn or included.
With that all said, let’s kick on towards part one where we’ll look at scenarios and mission objectives in solo, co-op, and narrative wargaming campaigns.
Scenario & Mission Objectives
If you’re playing a solo or co-op game, then you won’t get a lot of mileage out of filling the table up with baddies and trying to kill them. Instead, think about what your characters need to achieve. The baddies or monsters are still there to try and stop them. But killing them all probably isn’t the big-picture goal.
In Perilous Dark, Joe McCullough uses the example of characters trying to destroy a statue, and coming up with some potential reasons for why said statue needs to be destroyed. He also talks about missions where players are tasked with collecting a certain number of artefacts or items.
Here, it can be as simple as looking at your terrain and miniature collection, deciding what you want to put on the table, and then creating a story (and objective) from that.
Narratives That Go Beyond Combat
Taking to AI for a moment, here are some examples of objectives that go beyond trying to out-kill a bunch of NPCs.
Retrieve the Artifact: Your party must secure a valuable artifact hidden on the battlefield and successfully escape with it.
Hold the Line: Defend a specific area or objective for a set number of rounds against waves of enemies to win.
Infiltration: Infiltrate the enemy camp, gather intelligence, and escape without being detected.
Sabotage: Destroy a critical enemy structure or weapon within a limited number of turns.
Rescue Mission: Locate and rescue a captive ally or important NPC while fending off enemy forces.
Race to the Finish: Your party must reach a specific location on the battlefield before the enemy does.
Diplomatic Solution: Negotiate with a neutral faction on the battlefield to gain their support or cooperation.
Escort Duty: Safely escort a vulnerable NPC or convoy from one side of the battlefield to the other.
Protect the VIP: Defend a high-value target within your party from assassination attempts.
Survival Challenge: Outlast a continuous onslaught of enemies for a specific duration without losing all party members.
Of course, these can offer a lot more fun (and meaning) when they are a small part of a bigger narrative campaign. For example, my own warband are trying to track down and kill the antagonist Balrik Flameforged. Therefore, each battle they fight should tie into that wider story.
Scenario Objectives & Outcomes
Going back to AI, I told it all about Festerblade Rotsworn’s Nurgle worshipping warband my party of antiheroes will be up against, as well as the general setting and layout of my terrain. I can then ask it to come up with some potential victory conditions.
Here’s what it offered me:
Claim the Moldering Banner: Festerblade Rotsworn’s banner, crafted from flayed human flesh, is a gruesome symbol of power. Your heroes believe that capturing this gruesome symbol could lead to clues about Balrik’s whereabouts.
Harness Nurgle’s Corruption: As your party pursues Balrik, they discover that he’s been tampering with the forces of Nurgle. Completing forbidden rituals or manipulating the taint’s energy can provide your heroes with the unholy strength needed to confront him. These rituals might uncover secrets related to Balrik’s plans.
Exploit the Valuable Captive: Rotsworn’s warband holds a captive who may hold knowledge of Balrik’s whereabouts. Your goal is to rescue this hostage and exploit their knowledge or worth to your advantage. Victory involves securing their cooperation or extracting valuable information.
Plunder the Plaguebearer Nests: Plaguebearer nests conceal tainted relics and artifacts. Your heroes must locate and loot these nests, seizing any valuable items for their gain. Winning requires plundering all the plaguebearer nests.
Disrupt the Chaos Portal: Rotsworn’s warband is attempting to open a rift to the Realm of Chaos in an effort to aid Balrik Flameforged’s escape. Reach the portal’s location and perform sinister rituals to bend its power to your will. Victory involves establishing mastery over the portal.
Seize the Forbidden Relic: A powerful relic hidden in the desolate terrain beckons your heroes. They believe that possessing this artifact could give them an advantage in the hunt for their nemesis.
Survive the Plague Wind: A noxious Plague Wind is sweeping across the battlefield, carrying deadly diseases. Your objective is to survive a set number of turns while dealing with the effects of the Plague Wind. You win by keeping all your heroes alive until the end.
I can then choose the one that appeals the most and dig for some more details about what success (or failure) could look like in this encounter. Let’s opt for “Exploit the Valuable Captive”.
“Your party has learned that Rotsworn’s warband holds a captive of significant value, whether it be a skilled artisan, a spy with crucial information, or someone with connections to your primary target, Balrik Flameforged. Your goal is to rescue this hostage and exploit their knowledge or worth to your advantage. Victory involves securing their cooperation or extracting valuable information.”
Potential Victory Conditions
Rescue and Extraction: The primary condition for victory is successfully rescuing the valuable captive from the clutches of Rotsworn’s warband. To achieve this, your warband must reach the location where the captive is held, confront any guards or obstacles, and escort the hostage to safety. Victory is yours if the captive is safely extracted by the end of the game.
Secure Cooperation: In addition to rescuing the captive, another path to victory is gaining their cooperation. This could involve persuading, convincing, or even intimidating the hostage into willingly aiding your warband. Victory is achieved if, by the end of the game, the captive is cooperative and provides valuable information, assistance, or services that will aid your campaign.
Interrogation and Intelligence: If your warband successfully captures and interrogates the valuable captive, you may obtain essential intelligence or secrets that can be used to your advantage in your quest to track down Balrik Flameforged. Victory is achieved if your warband successfully interrogates the captive and acquires valuable information.
Evasion and Escape: If Rotsworn’s warband becomes overwhelmed or incapacitated, and your warband manages to escape the battlefield with the valuable captive, it’s considered a victory. This outcome acknowledges that Rotsworn’s warband’s power and control over the hostage have been broken.
Limit Nurgle Influence: If your warband can disrupt Nurgle-themed rituals, actions, or spells aimed at corrupting or manipulating the captive, you may hinder Rotsworn’s warband’s influence over the hostage. Achieving a certain number of disruptions within the game may lead to victory, as it demonstrates your warband’s ability to protect the captive.
Clue Markers & Plot Points
In Perilous Dark, Joe McCullough talks a fair bit about treasure tokens and clue markers that can further an investigation, as well as a narrative. Let’s look at how such plot points might look within the “Exploit the Valuable Captive” scenario.
Captive’s Journal: Your party finds a bloodstained journal near a clue marker. It belongs to the captive and contains cryptic notes about Balrik Flameforged’s recent activities and connections to a hidden artifact. The journal hints at the artifact’s location.
Hidden Chamber: Investigating a clue marker reveals a concealed chamber beneath the battlefield. Inside, your party discovers an ancient tome filled with forbidden rituals. The captive’s knowledge of these dark arts could be exploited to your advantage.
Secret Meeting: A clue marker leads your party to a location where members of Rotsworn’s warband held a clandestine meeting. Intercepted documents detail a plan to ally with a different chaos faction, revealing potential weaknesses in the Rotsworn’s warband’s defenses.
Enchanted Shackles: Your characters find a set of peculiar shackles near a clue marker. These enchanted restraints were used to hold the captive. Upon inspection, your party realizes that these shackles could be repurposed to restrain a powerful enemy in the future.
Cryptic Map: Your party uncovers a torn map that seems to point to a hidden cache of valuable items. The captive’s information confirms that these items are essential for your campaign against Balrik Flameforged.
Traitorous Note: A note found at a clue marker suggests that a member of Rotsworn’s warband might be willing to betray their leader in exchange for safety. This information could be used to sow discord within the enemy ranks.
Random Event Cards
Now, we can add further flavour to the narrative and challenge to the gameplay with some random event cards.
Foul Stench: A putrid cloud of noxious gas engulfs the battlefield. All characters, including your own, suffer a -1 penalty to their Attack and Agility for the next turn as they struggle to endure the foul odor.
Pestilent Aura: Rotsworn’s warband’s presence exudes an aura of pestilence. Characters within 10cm of any Plaguebearer or Festemus must pass a Psyche test at the start of their turn or suffer 1 damage. Rotsworn’s warband members are immune to this effect.
Swarm of Nurglings: A horde of Nurglings erupts from the ground at a clue marker, obstructing your path. To pass, a character must defeat the Nurglings in combat. Victory allows you to proceed, but defeat results in a -1 Agility penalty.
Brother Rust’s Vengeance: Brother Rust, the Chaos Warrior, seeks vengeance against one of your characters. Randomly select a character; they are targeted by Brother Rust during his next activation, ignoring other targets if possible.
Festemus’ Pestilence: Festemus, the Daemon, releases a burst of pestilential energy. All characters within 10cm of Festemus must pass a Psyche test or become diseased, suffering -1 Agility until cured.
Nurgle’s Resilience: Rotsworn’s resilience is bolstered. All Nurgle followers gain +1 Melee for the next turn, making them even more challenging to defeat.
Plague Wind: A noxious cloud of pestilence sweeps across the battlefield. All characters must make a (P) roll. Failure results in suffering 1 damage for each point below the target number. Nurgle followers are immune.
Rotten Ground: The ground becomes treacherous as it turns to rot and decay. All characters moving through or standing on open ground suffer a -1 (A) penalty for one turn.
Nurgle’s Resilience: The Plaguebearers’ bodies become more resilient. They each gain +1 to their armor rolls for the next turn.
Plaguebearer Regeneration: Plaguebearers exhibit their unnatural vitality, restoring lost wounds. All Plaguebearers recover 1D6 lost hit points.
Nurgle’s Blessing: Nurgle’s blessings bring despair to your warband. One random player-controlled character must make a break test. Failure results in that character losing 1 action point on their next turn.
Epidemic Outbreak: Nurgle’s diseases spread rapidly. Each character within 10cm of a Plaguebearer must make a break test. Failure results in suffering 1 damage for each point failed. Nurgle followers are immune.
Character Dynamics & Development
For any story to live and breathe on the tabletop, we need to see our miniatures as characters, rather than something akin to chess pieces. Being on the same side doesn’t guarantee that your characters get on. Some might even hate each other and see their alliance as nothing more than a temporary necessity.
We can also use random events to give clues about a character’s backstory, or to add or limit certain character effects.
A concept I’m drawn to, though, is one of individual personal objectives that exist alongside the overall scenario objective. Let’s dig up some options from our AI gaming buddy.
Personal Objectives
Zargul Fireweaver (Hobgoblin Shaman)
Blightbearer’s Curse: Zargul aims to weaken Rotsworn’s warband by placing a curse on one of the Plaguebearers, sapping its strength. His objective is to cast a debilitating curse on a Plaguebearer during the battle.
Drakar Bloodtracker (Hobgoblin Ranger)
Secure the Escape Route: Drakar is tasked with ensuring the group’s safe escape after extracting the captive. His objective is to locate and secure a viable escape route marked by a clue marker.
Courtney Lovecraft (Mutant Barbarian)
Engage Festemus in Battle: Courtney wishes to challenge Festemus, the Daemon, in combat to prove her strength. Her objective is to engage Festemus in melee combat and emerge victorious.
Xarzul Twobeards (Two-Headed Chaos Dwarf)
Gather Intelligence on Balrik: Xarzul seeks information on Balrik’s whereabouts and weaknesses. His objective is to gather intelligence from a clue marker regarding Balrik Flameforged’s location.
Internal Warband Dynamics
Now, let’s generate a character dynamics table that you can roll on, prior to playing a particular scenario.
Bitter Rivalry: Two characters in your warband have a long-standing feud. They refuse to work together and receive a -2 penalty to skill rolls when they are within 5cm of each other.
Unlikely Allies: Two characters who previously disliked each other have found common ground during a recent mission. They now receive a +2 bonus to skill rolls when they are within 5cm of each other.
Mentorship: One character takes another under their wing, providing guidance and training. The mentee may reroll one failed skill roll per turn while within 5cm of the mentor.
Hidden Affection: Two characters in your warband have developed romantic feelings for each other but are keeping it secret. If they fight alongside each other, they gain a +1 bonus to skill rolls.
Frenemies: Two characters have a love-hate relationship, often bickering but still working together effectively. They may reroll one failed skill roll per turn while within 5cm of each other.
Grudge: One character holds a grudge against another for a past mistake. When within 5cm of the target of their anger, they receive a +1 bonus to skill rolls but suffer a -1 penalty to (P) rolls.
Loyalty Test: A charismatic character challenges the loyalty of their comrades. All characters must make a (P) roll. Those who fail receive a -2 penalty to all skill rolls for the next turn.
Estranged Friends: Two characters who were once close friends have drifted apart. When they fight alongside each other, they suffer a -2 penalty to skill rolls.
Sacrifice: One character is willing to sacrifice themselves to save another. If they are in combat together, they can use their actions to protect the other character, but they cannot attack or move.
Sibling Rivalry: Two siblings in your warband are highly competitive. When they fight together, they gain a +2 bonus to (A) rolls but a -2 penalty to (P) rolls.
Shared Tragedy: Two characters share a painful past event that has brought them closer. If one of them is injured, the other gains a +2 bonus to skill rolls until the end of the turn.
Old Friends: Two characters have been friends for a long time. When they fight together, they gain a +1 bonus to all skill rolls and may share an action once per game.
Secret Admirer: One character secretly admires another from afar. If they are in combat together, they gain a +1 bonus to skill rolls, but the admired character has no knowledge of the admirer’s feelings.
Sibling Protection: An older sibling is highly protective of their younger sibling. They may use one of their actions each turn to protect the younger sibling, granting them a +1 bonus to (A) and (M) rolls.
Revenge Pact: Two characters have sworn vengeance against a common enemy. When they fight that enemy together, they gain a +2 bonus to skill rolls and may reroll one failed skill roll each.
Unwavering Loyalty: One character is unwaveringly loyal to another. If the loyal character is within 5cm of their chosen ally, they may use one of their actions to reroll a failed skill roll for that ally.
Jealousy: One character is envious of another’s success. When the successful character gains a reward, the jealous character must pass a (P) roll or become distracted, receiving a -2 penalty to skill rolls for one turn.
War Stories: Two characters enjoy sharing tales of their past exploits. When they’re near each other, they gain a +1 bonus to (P) rolls and a +1 bonus to break tests.
Ongoing Character Development
When playing a campaign, you’re going to want these dynamics carry over and evolve from game to game. It’s a good idea to implement a campaign system that tracks character development, interactions, and storylines. Here are some ideas:
Campaign Record Sheet: Create a campaign record sheet where players can track their warband’s progress, character relationships, and significant events. Include sections for each character’s name, traits, abilities, and any notable relationships.
Character Advancement: Characters should gain experience points (XP) or campaign points (CP) based on their performance in each game. These points can be used to improve skills, acquire new traits, or deepen relationships.
Relationship Points: Introduce a mechanic for tracking relationship points between characters. Positive interactions and teamwork during games can earn relationship points, while negative interactions or betrayals can lead to lost points.
Character Bonds: Encourage players to develop character bonds by creating backstory connections. For example, two characters might be childhood friends, siblings, rivals, or sworn protectors of each other. These bonds can provide bonuses or special abilities when characters are together.
Evolve Relationships: Allow character relationships to evolve over the course of the campaign. For instance, a rivalry might turn into mutual respect, or a secret admirer might eventually reveal their feelings. Let players role-play these changes during games.
Campaign Events: Introduce campaign-specific events or scenarios that focus on character development and relationships. For example, a scenario could revolve around resolving a conflict between two characters or helping two characters become closer friends.
Narrative Consequences: Make the narrative consequences of relationships more apparent. For instance, if two characters have a strong friendship, they might gain additional bravery or synergy during games. Conversely, a broken relationship could lead to penalties.
Character Arcs: Develop character arcs based on their relationships and backstories. Characters can have personal goals related to their connections with other members of the warband. Completing these goals can lead to character growth.
Events and Choices: Incorporate choices and events that impact character relationships. For example, a critical decision in one game might determine whether a rivalry intensifies or resolves in the next game.
Campaign Storyline: Weave an overarching campaign storyline that integrates character relationships and personal goals. Make sure that the narrative reflects the evolving dynamics within the warband.
Campaign Events Log: Keep a log of significant campaign events, including character interactions, rivalries, alliances, and any major storyline developments.
Relationship points
I liked the suggestion of creating a Relationship Points (RP) mechanic for narrative campaigns. This definitely has the potential to add depth and storytelling opportunities to our games.
I decided to ask the AI for a guide on how to implement and use an RP system in narrative campaigns:
Define the Purpose of Relationship Points
Determine what RP will represent in your campaign. RP can signify various aspects of character relationships, such as trust, friendship, rivalry, or even romantic interest. Decide whether RP will be a measure of positive or negative interactions between characters.
Establish Starting RP
At the beginning of the campaign, assign starting RP values to characters based on their backstories, bonds, or pre-existing relationships. This sets the foundation for how characters feel about each other at the campaign’s outset.
Determine RP Gain and Loss Conditions
Clearly define the conditions under which characters can gain or lose RP. Consider the following factors:
Successful teamwork and cooperation: Characters gain RP when they collaborate effectively during games.
Saving or protecting another character: Award RP for acts of selflessness or heroism.
Achieving shared objectives: Characters earn RP when they work together to accomplish goals.
Personal quests or favors: Completing a mission or assisting another character in their personal quest may result in RP gain.
Set RP Thresholds
Determine RP thresholds that trigger specific effects or consequences in the campaign. For example:
Crossing a certain RP threshold might solidify a friendship or create a lasting rivalry.
High RP between characters can unlock special abilities, bonuses, or unique scenarios.
Low RP might lead to distrust, conflicts, or personal quests to mend relationships.
Track RP
Create a campaign record sheet or digital tool to track RP between characters.
Implement RP Consequences
As RP values change, introduce consequences that reflect the evolving dynamics between characters. These can include:
Bonuses or penalties to skill rolls or combat effectiveness based on RP.
Personal quests or character-specific scenarios triggered by RP thresholds.
Role-played reactions and dialogue between characters during games.
Opportunities for characters to resolve conflicts or deepen their bonds in-game.
Campaign Progression
Let RP influence the overall campaign progression. For example, RP milestones could unlock new story elements, alter alliances within the warband, or affect the warband’s reputation in the game world.
Adapt and Evolve
Be flexible with your RP system. Allow it to evolve organically as characters grow and develop.
Implementing an RP mechanic in your narrative campaign adds a layer of storytelling and character development to your games. It encourages you to invest in their characters’ relationships and creates memorable, narrative-driven experiences.
Gaining or Losing Relationship Points
Continuing on with the Relationship Points system, here are some more in-depth examples of how a character may gain or lose them.
Gaining RP:
Rescuing a Teammate: A character saves another character from certain danger during a game, earning gratitude and trust. +2 RP.
Effective Teamwork: Characters consistently work together efficiently during battles and challenges. +1 RP per successful cooperation.
Completing a Personal Quest Together: Two characters assist each other in achieving their personal quests, deepening their bond. +3 RP.
Gift-Giving: One character gives another a thoughtful gift between games, symbolizing their friendship. +2 RP.
Losing RP:
Betrayal: A character betrays the trust of another by stealing, lying, or endangering them during a game. -3 RP.
Conflict and Disagreements: Characters frequently argue or disagree without resolving their issues. -1 RP per unresolved conflict.
Failure to Protect: A character fails to protect another during a dangerous situation, leading to resentment. -2 RP.
Selfish Actions: A character consistently prioritizes their own interests over the group’s well-being, leading to mistrust. -2 RP.
Failure to Fulfill Promises: A character repeatedly fails to follow through on promises or commitments made to another character. -2 RP.
Time limitation
Given enough time, a human player will usually get the better of their NPC opponents. So bringing in some time constraints is another dynamic we can add to the mix to keep things challenging and interesting.
Keeping in theme with this guide, we want to have some narrative reasons for time constraints. You can limit yourself to six or eight turns, but what’s the in-story reason for that hard stop? Not only that, but how can each turn be more challenging than the last, priming us for a frantic and desperate finish? Here are some examples designed for the Festerblade Rotsworn scenario:
Captive’s Degeneration: The captive’s condition deteriorates rapidly due to their exposure to foul energies. Your party must secure their cooperation or extract vital information within a set number of turns before the captive succumbs to the corruption. To make it more challenging, every few turns, the captive’s health worsens, reducing their ability to provide information effectively.
Festering Rift: A temporal rift has opened nearby, causing erratic time fluctuations. Every few turns, there’s a chance for a time warp event to occur. During these events, the scenario clock advances by two turns, forcing your party to expedite their objectives. Additionally, with each time warp, the battlefield becomes increasingly unstable, making movement and actions more challenging.
Festerblade’s Ritual: Festerblade Rotsworn is preparing a dark ritual with the potential to unleash a cataclysmic plague. Your party must complete their objectives and escape before Festerblade’s ritual is completed. Each turn, roll a dice, and if you roll a certain number, the ritual advances, increasing the urgency. As the ritual progresses, the battlefield becomes corrupted, making it harder for your party to move and act.
Nurgling Infestation: The nurglings accompanying Rotsworn’s warband are multiplying rapidly and spreading throughout the area. Your party must achieve their objectives within a limited number of turns before the nurglings become overwhelming. To make it more challenging, the nurglings’ numbers grow each turn, hindering your party’s actions and mobility.
Noxious Fog: A toxic, time-altering fog envelopes the battlefield. This fog will lift in a fixed number of turns, but until it does, your party is unable to achieve their objectives. To escalate the challenge, as the fog persists, it releases poisonous spores that damage and hinder your party, making each turn more perilous.
Enemy Effects or Generation
It’s likely that you’ll start any scenario with a set amount of NPC enemies on the table. The danger of more arriving will keep things challenging, interesting, and add to the time-sensitive nature of your mission.
Spawn points are a popular and easy way to do this. Clue or event markers might also reveal enemies as opposed to information or loot. Here are some ideas for bolstering the ranks of Festerblade Rotsworn’s warband:
Reinforcement Wave: At the start of every second or third turn, a reinforcement wave of Nurgle’s minions arrives from a specific edge of the battlefield. This could represent additional Plaguebearers, Nurglings, or other corrupted beings drawn to the conflict.
Summoning Circle: There’s a large summoning circle at the center of the battlefield. At the end of each turn, there’s a chance that Rotsworn’s warband uses their dark rituals to summon more daemonic reinforcements. Roll a dice; on a specific result, new enemies appear at the summoning circle.
Corrupted Ground: Designate certain areas of the battlefield as corrupted ground. At the end of each turn, any unclaimed corrupted ground has a chance of spawning Nurglings or other foul creatures. Your party can purify or claim these areas to prevent further spawns.
Festerblade’s Standard: Festerblade Rotsworn carries a standard made of flayed human flesh. As long as he’s on the battlefield, the standard emits waves of dark energy that periodically summon additional Plaguebearers to his side. To stop this, your party must defeat Festerblade or capture the standard.
Captive’s Suffering: As the captive’s condition deteriorates, their suffering attracts the attention of Nurgle’s followers. At the end of each turn, there’s a chance that enemy reinforcements, eager to witness the captive’s torment, appear near their location. Speed up your efforts to rescue the hostage to prevent more enemy arrivals.
Noxious Eruptions: Mark specific terrain features as Noxious Eruption zones. At random intervals, these zones release bursts of toxic gas, spawning Nurglings or other minor daemonic entities. Your party can disable these zones or avoid them to prevent further spawns.
Rotting Remains: Scatter the battlefield with rotting corpse markers. At the end of each turn, there’s a chance that these corpses attract scavengers, which may include Plaguebearers or Nurglings. Your party can destroy the markers to deter scavengers from gathering.
Festemus’ Influence: Festemus, the daemon in the Rotsworn’s warband, exudes an aura that corrupts the area around him. At the end of each turn, this corruption has a chance of spawning additional Nurglings. Your party can confront Festemus to disrupt his corrupting influence.
Traps
It isn’t just living enemies who can hurt or kill your characters. Traps can be even more brutal in some instances. Here are some examples for my Nurgle warband encounter:
Toxic Fumes: Characters entering a cloud of toxic fumes must roll a D6. On a roll of 1-2, they take 1D6 damage from inhaling poisonous gases.
Blighted Puddles: Characters stepping into blighted puddles must roll a D6. On a roll of 1-3, they take 1D4 damage as their skin burns from corrosive liquid.
Nurgling Ambush: Characters ambushed by hidden Nurglings suffer 1D8 damage from their surprise attack.
Quicksand: Characters moving through a patch of quicksand must roll a D6. On a roll of 1, they get stuck and take 1D6 damage from the struggle.
Pestilent Fog: Characters passing through a pestilent fog bank must roll a D6. On a roll of 1-3, they become sickened, suffering a -1 penalty to all actions and skills for 1D4 turns.
Obstacles
Whilst traps can injure or even kill your characters, certain obstacles can slow them down, hinder their progress, and bog them down in some pretty grave situations:
Fetid Swamp: A deep and stinking swamp restricts movement. Characters must roll a D6 when entering the swamp. On a roll of 1-2, they become stuck and can only move half their normal distance for the next turn.
Contaminated Pools: Pools of foul, contaminated water hinder characters’ vision. Any character in or adjacent to these pools has their line of sight reduced to 5 cm, making ranged attacks less effective.
Nurgle’s Plague Totems: Enormous totems covered in grotesque Nurglings emit an aura that reduces characters’ agility by 2 cm if they end their turn within 10 cm of a totem. Destroying the totem removes this effect.
Pestilent Grounds: Certain areas of the battlefield are covered in pestilent ground. Characters moving through these areas must roll a D6. On a roll of 1-3, they become sickened, suffering a -1 penalty to all actions and skills for 1 turn.
Toxic Vapors: Noxious vapors rise from vents in the ground, obscuring vision and making it difficult to breathe. Any character in the path of these vents suffers a -1 penalty to agility and shooting actions for 1 turn.
Nurgle’s Bloated Corpses: Corpse-filled craters litter the battlefield. Characters moving through or near these craters risk disturbing the bloated corpses, releasing toxic gases that cause sickness (-1 penalty to skills and actions) for 1 turn.
Churning Miasma: A thick, churning miasma drifts across parts of the battlefield. Any character within it has their movement reduced by 2 cm and gains a -1 penalty to ranged attacks due to poor visibility.
Swarms of Flies: Swarms of plague flies cloud specific areas. Characters within the swarm are distracted, suffering a -1 penalty to ranged attacks and perception checks.
Weather & Conditions
Two final factors that can liven up solo or co-op games and create a memorable story are weather and conditions. In my opinion, these should only be used once per game, as the risk of dramatic changes from one turn to the next could get a bit silly. With that in mind, I’ll likely add one weather or condition card to my event deck, then roll on the following table if I draw one out during the game.
Clear Skies: The sun shines brightly, and the skies are clear. All ranged attacks gain a +1 bonus to hit.
Heavy Rain: A torrential downpour makes movement difficult. All characters’ speed is reduced by 3cm. Ranged attacks have a -2 penalty to hit.
Thick Fog: A dense fog rolls in, limiting visibility. All ranged attacks beyond 10cm suffer a -3 penalty to hit. Characters may not make shooting actions beyond 20cm.
Blinding Snowstorm: A fierce snowstorm engulfs the battlefield. All ranged attacks suffer a -2 penalty to hit. Characters must make a (A) roll to navigate through the blizzard; failure results in them being disoriented for one turn.
Gale Force Winds: Powerful winds sweep across the battlefield. All ranged attacks suffer a -1 penalty to hit, and any flying characters or creatures are grounded for one turn.
Eerie Silence: An unsettling silence falls over the battlefield. All characters’ skills are reduced by 1 for one turn as they feel an eerie presence.
Electromagnetic Storm: A strange storm disrupts technology and magic. All characters’ abilities and spells require a successful (P) roll to activate. Failed rolls result in the loss of an action.
Swampy Terrain: The ground becomes a treacherous swamp. All characters’ speed is reduced by 4cm, and movement through swampy terrain requires a (A) roll to avoid getting stuck.
Mystic Aura: A mystical aura surrounds the battlefield. All characters gain a +1 bonus to (P) rolls for spells, abilities, and break tests for one turn.
Supernatural Eclipse: A rare supernatural eclipse darkens the sky. All characters’ abilities and spells cost one less action point to use during the turn.
Winds of Magic: A surge of magical energy fills the air. All spellcasters gain a +2 bonus to (P) rolls for spells with no risk of mind death for failed rolls.
Volcanic Ash Cloud: A volcanic eruption blankets the battlefield in ash and darkness. All ranged attacks suffer a -3 penalty to hit, and all characters take 1 damage at the start of their turn from inhaling ash.
Swarm of Insects: A massive swarm of biting insects descends upon the battlefield. All characters suffer a -2 penalty to (A) rolls and a -1 penalty to (P) rolls for spells and abilities for one turn.
Earthquake: The ground trembles and shakes violently. All characters must make an immediate (A) roll or be knocked prone, losing their action for the turn. Terrain features may collapse, creating new obstacles.
Aurora Borealis: A dazzling display of colorful lights fills the night sky. All characters gain a +2 bonus to (P) rolls for spells and abilities for one turn, and ranged attacks receive a +1 bonus to hit.
As I mentioned at the start, I’m using Brutal Quest as my game system of choice, but this is all easily transferable to any other miniature wargame in any other genre.
I know there’s a tonne of info in this guide: all of it is hypothetical and designed to get your creative juices flowing. I also don’t advise trying to cram all of it into a single game at once, I think that might become a bit overwhelming. I intend to cherry pick bits and pieces at a time, testing them out as I go. But the game still needs room to breathe, and there’s a definite risk you can overdo all of this if you’re not careful.
If you try anything here out, adapt it for your own narratives, or have suggestions or feedback, please join the Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast Discord, which is a brilliant community of enthusiastic and friendly hobbyists. It’d be great to see you in there!
Whether you’re fighting it out with a warband of daemons deep in the Chaos Wastes or exploring the horrors of Innsmouth in the world of HP Lovecraft, there is lots of potential for extraordinary and innovative random events. These can keep your games fresh, engaging, and cinematic, even if you don’t have another human opponent to play against.
I’m using the Brutal Quest/Planet 28 rules systems as my framework here, but they can easily be tweaked and ported over to any other ruleset. Just like these new traits, abilities, and spells, I used AI to help generate this list. With the right prompts, follow-up instructions, and light editing, the possibilities for narrative really are limitless here. Enjoy…
Realm of Chaos Random Event Table
Distorted Reality (Surreal): The very fabric of the realm distorts. All characters suffer -1D4 to their agility until the end of the turn as they struggle to move through the shifting terrain.
Twisted Terrain (Surreal): The battlefield transforms into an otherworldly landscape. Choose a terrain feature (e.g., a forest, rock formation). Characters within 10cm of this terrain are affected by a random supernatural effect until the end of the turn.
Ethereal Echoes (Supernatural): Ghostly echoes of past battles fill the air. All characters may make one extra action this turn. However, any character who slays an opponent this turn suffers -1 brutality as the ghostly echoes haunt their psyche.
Daemonic Infusion (Supernatural): Chaotic energies infuse the battlefield. Choose one spellcaster character. They may cast one spell of their choice without spending an action this turn. However, after casting, they roll 1D6. On a roll of 1, they suffer mind death.
Twisting Shadows (Surreal): Shadowy tendrils reach out from the chaotic rifts, wrapping around a character’s limbs. That character may not make any actions or move this turn.
Flickering Realities (Surreal): The battlefield itself becomes uncertain. Roll 1D6 for each character at the beginning of their turn. On a roll of 1, the character is briefly transported to a random location on the battlefield. Roll 1D10 to determine where.
Chaotic Surge (Supernatural): Chaotic energy surges through one character’s body, making them temporarily invulnerable. Choose one character (yours or your opponent’s). That character gains immunity to damage until the end of the turn but cannot attack.
Baleful Mirage (Surreal): Illusory duplicates of all characters appear on the battlefield. Until the end of the turn, opponents must declare their target before making any attacks or actions, and then roll 1D6. On a roll of 1, they target a duplicate, and their action is wasted.
Chaos Incarnate (Supernatural): The embodiment of chaos takes form on the battlefield. Choose one character (yours or your opponent’s). They become a living conduit of chaos, gaining +3 brutality points but also suffer 1D6 damage at the end of their turn as the energies consume them.
Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror Random Event Table:
Eldritch Whispers (Maddening): Strange whispers fill the air, causing characters to question their sanity. Each character must make a (P) roll. Those who fail suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls until the end of their next turn.
Void Beckons (Terrifying): A portal to the void yawns open briefly. The character must make a break test. If they fail, they are drawn into the void, removed from the battlefield, and considered defeated.
Inexplicable Mutation (Bizarre): Cosmic energies warp one character’s form. They gain a random physical mutation (e.g., extra limbs, distorted features) that affects their abilities for the remainder of the battle. This should be determined by rolling on a random mutations table.
Cursed Relic (Dreadful): A malevolent relic surfaces on the battlefield. The character must make an (A) roll to resist touching the relic. If they fail, they are cursed, suffering a -1 penalty to all rolls until they defeat another character in combat.
Cosmic Revelation (Mystical): A character has a sudden, mind-bending revelation about the true nature of the cosmos. They gain +1 to all rolls for the remainder of the game.
Unearthly Shadows (Unsettling): Strange, shadowy figures flicker at the edges of the battlefield. All characters must make a break test. Those who fail are overcome with paranoia and suffer a -1 penalty to all rolls until the end of their next turn.
Whispers from Beyond (Maddening): Characters hear voices from beyond the stars. Each character must make a (P) roll. Those who fail are compelled to spend their next turn moving toward the nearest enemy character.
Cthulhu’s Gaze (Terrifying): The terrible presence of a cosmic entity looms over the battlefield. All characters must make a break test. Those who fail are filled with dread and suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls until the end of their next turn.
Eldritch Awakening (Dreadful): A character becomes a vessel for eldritch power. Choose one character (yours or your opponent’s). They gain a new ability called “Eldritch Blast” that allows them to deal 1D8 damage to any character on the battlefield. However, using this power causes them to suffer 1D6 damage due to the strain on their sanity.
Otherworldly Whispers (Mystical): Alien whispers guide one character’s actions. For the next two turns, they must move and attack as directed by another player of your choice.
Maddening Visions (Bizarre): A character experiences horrifying visions of a future ruled by cosmic horrors. They are filled with dread and must make a break test. If they fail, they are stunned and unable to take any actions for one turn.
Cosmic Mirage (Unsettling): The battlefield shimmers with bizarre illusions. Roll 1D10 for each character on the battlefield. On a roll of 1-3, the character becomes disoriented, suffering a -1 penalty to all rolls until the end of their next turn.
Sanity’s Erosion (Cataclysmic): The fabric of reality weakens further. Choose one character (yours or your opponent’s). They must make a (P) roll. If they fail, they lose 1 point of permanent (P) for the remainder of the campaign.
Stars Align (Mystical): The alignment of the stars grants one character insight into a powerful ability. They gain a unique, game-changing ability for the remainder of the battle. This ability is determined by rolling on a random table.
Cosmic Resonance (Terrifying): The cosmic forces resonate with one character’s presence. They become the focus of the cosmic energies, gaining +2 to all rolls until the end of their next turn.
Realm of Chaos, Cosmic Horror, & Lovecraftian Random Events
As mentioned earlier, I’m using the Brutal Quest/Planet 28 rules systems as my framework here, but they can easily be tweaked and ported over to any other ruleset. Just like these new traits, abilities, and spells, I used AI to help generate this list. With the right prompts, follow-up instructions, and light editing, the possibilities for narrative really are limitless here. Enjoy…
This website collects cookies in order to feed the ogres. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
