When my wargaming friends and I have gotten deeper into our drinks, our conversation steers towards the limits of d6 based rules systems for tabletop wargaming. I was reminded of this at GenCon upon seeing a demo set up for a game strewn with a polyhedral set of dice. My usual impression is that this would be some kind of RPG, but the eye catching table was for a game of Freeblades, a fantasy themed skirmish game, by DGS Games.
The table was well set. The two factions battling it out on the table were the Eclipse and the Traazorites. The Eclipse are a group of women fighting against the Traazorite oppressors (described in the best way as Romans with dinosaurs), at least in this scenario. The person running the demo mentioned that each faction has an ability that gives them a leg up against another, or something similar. In this case, the Eclipse would not have to make morale checks against Traazorites. They always pass.
If you have ever played the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Games from Games Workshop, the rules will sound familiar. There is an initiative phase where both parties role, then magic, shooting, and combat phases. The combats happen more or less simultaneously. A big difference here is that instead of just the d6s in the former systems, Freeblades makes use of multiple polyhedrals. Through the demo I ended up rolling d8s and d12s, though it appears there are options for d10s as well.
Looking at their website later, I am impressed by the variety of models, particularly that there are female models at all. Further, the female armor is often practical (and another example), as opposed to many of the fantasy tropes involving female armor that is skimpy and obviously not workable. Representation matters in tabletop games, and I’m glad to see a company putting forth factions like this.
The round we played was quick and fairly intuitive. I’ve picked up a copy of the rule book and I’m looking forward to playing a couple rounds of this in the future to get a better feel for how the game plays. There are many sci-fi/steampunk skirmish games available right now. Having a solid skirmish fantasy game on the market, and one with really well sculpted miniatures, just gives more of an excuse to add to the collection.
Ross Blythe is a Chicago based gamer interested in all things tabletop. He enjoys reading history as well as fiction, and so has a soft spot for historical wargames like Pike & Shotte. For the campaigns he runs as a DM he often looks to history for inspiration, for the lessons of the past to challenge the players at his table.
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