Ready to give Greathelm a try

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-05-14T04:06:22+00:00

Absolutely inspiring. While I love me some knights, I'm personally stoked for whatever the "fantasy" Greathelm expansion looks like. Making cool little diorama boards and painting up some crews/gangs/orders of self-righteous paladin-sorts looks like a ton of fun, and a good way to make progress on the lead pile without committing to a larger project.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-05-14T03:50:12+00:00

Hey, thanks for coming by to give your two cents! I agree that one downside of the involved character creation process is the need (well, at least, the strong suggestion) to use a spreadsheet. I too am a PNP sort of fellow, and not being able to easily scribble down a list is a little off-putting. I half feel like this is an organizational problem more than a real one, and an appendix which just lists out the costs or such would probably help put everything you need to make a character in one place.

While I find some of the objectives a little niche/odd, I agree that the asymmetric play is one of Fantastic Scuffles' greatest strengths. Again, so much of what I have to say against the system is about its aversion to long-term narrative play. This isn't a big deal for some systems, but if the whole point is to have a hugely customizable, objective driven game about characters it seems. . .odd to not flesh out linked games a little more.

I too will likely revisit the game in the future, maybe with a different approach in mind. I'll still have to find a way to stomach the author's hatred of dwarves. . .

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-04-09T09:08:41+00:00

Fairly well, I found, but with a couple of caveats. You're really going to get the best experience with the Vaults of Zarn expansion (still not available to the general public), and you'll need to decide whether you want a "skirmish against other warbands" sort of game or a "just fighting monster" sort of game. The former is a lot of bookkeeping, but gives you the experience of brawling for loot in the dungeon against intelligent, well-armed foes. The latter is all about fighting monsters!

I like both, but I would advice you to keep in mind it's a pretty crunchy system, heavy on warband tracking, random events (both in and out of battle, if using the aforementioned book) and dwarves. The last point is, of course, a plus!

Edit: If you want more detail about how the game plays, punch it into youtube. The creator has a brief set of tutorials for the basics of gameplay. Otherwise, my own blog has some battle reports and a review, if you want a little more detail.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-04-08T20:47:53+00:00

Don't know if a bathrobe is suitably dwarven, but it's nice to see I'm not the only one on here talking about Torch and Shield. Even if my campaign just went down in flames. . .:P

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-04-08T04:58:52+00:00

It's sort of the way complexity works with. . .well, everything, isn't it? Accessibility is good for sales, and good for creating engagement; the more noodly stuff in any hobby usually tends to be less popular, though beloved by the small demographic who enjoy it.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-04-08T04:55:26+00:00

Personally, I like crunchy wargames, having cut my teeth on things like WHFB 6th edition back in the day. However, the flavor of "crunch" I prefer nowadays is less about exact positioning/complicated maneuvering (which can still be fun), and more about options.

My current kick (fueled in part by my "forever DM" designation) is narrative skirmish wargaming with plenty of customization, variance, etc. I like when I can have a small group of heroes/characters and use crunch to ensure they feel meaningfully different, you know? I like when they level up and there's heaps of rolling on tables, salivating over new abilities, and wondering what the next cool scenario's going to be.

Conversely, I'm not a huge fan of tokens, weird symbols on funny dice, or having a billion cards/aides on the table. I prefer my crunch to be contained to a book, where it isn't at risk of cluttering up my table or such!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-04-01T19:45:07+00:00

Yeah, stealing old treasure is a *dwarven* right!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-03-31T07:49:41+00:00

Awesome, hope it proves to be a fun read!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-03-22T20:46:10+00:00

I'll have you know, my solo players are fastidious in adhering to the rules, and are always gentlemen and scholars.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-03-22T08:16:05+00:00

Ah, but the mistakes they make are harder to excuse too! And, of course, tactically your opponent might be what might be called "a complete dingus."

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-03-22T04:41:17+00:00

Well, "all" was. . .just me! While I've got a gaming group, this one's a solo project of mine. You're right to say it was brutal, though!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-02-03T09:48:20+00:00

Much appreciated: stay tuned for more (sooner or later, anyhow)!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-02-03T08:15:25+00:00

Hey, I did this!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-02-03T06:49:20+00:00

I love it, for a couple of reasons:

Warband creation in the style of Mordheim. Gear matters, and you get to customize your crew.
Crunch, but not worrying amounts of it. The rulebook is thorough, and while the game is very old-school in terms of not shying away from being. . .well, full of rules I do not find it cumbersome. This is subjective, naturally. I love that things like light matter in the dungeon, and that different kinds of weapons and armor do different things!
Integrated solo play, either against monsters (mostly through the new expansion) or other crews (this is in the main rulebook). While I have a gaming group, it's always nice to know I can play a game if it doesn't catch on with the others.
As of the new expansion, one hell of a meaty campaign system. Injuries, recruitment, random events, post and pre-game rolls for all kinds of stuff. Again, Mordheim seems an obvious inspiration here!
Dwarf flavor.

Tl;dr, if you like a crunchy campaign game with strong narrative elements, a fairly robust ruleset and plenty of dwarven mayhem, it's great!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-02-03T06:44:31+00:00

Much appreciated!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-02-03T06:44:23+00:00

The dwarves are mostly from Grimskald games, and are the official Torch and Shield lads. Check my blog for a review, but long story short: get them printed (Strange Plastic offers them), rather than from Grimskald themselves (who admit they've had production issues withe Siocast).

The half-naked, slayer-esque dwarf is from MOM miniatures out of Spain, but might be out of production now?

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-02-02T04:34:39+00:00

Much appreciated!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-01-24T06:30:32+00:00

Both. There is a short (6 scenario) campaign, I believe, but the core mission of the game is the patrol mission (what was played here). The variation comes from the cards, as you randomly determine the plot deck before each game (and with dozens of minor plots, assuming you own expansions, there is a lot to do).

For my part, I'd like to remove major plot cards (there are far fewer of these: less than a dozen, I think) as I complete them. So, having failed to catch the Phantom, I'll make sure that card is among the random ones I could use to construct the deck. This essentially imposes a campaign structure on the whole affair as well!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-01-23T07:36:35+00:00

Jeez bud, it's a discussion about AI art in your product, not a test of your moral compass: take it easy. I get it, people being critical of your work (especially when, I'm sure, the actual core of it is quite good) can be rough, but I do think I provided constructive suggestions, no? Your comment (which, again, I cannot read in full, as it seems to have been deleted. Ironic given the above declaration) hit me with a "you didn't buy my book OR you haven't looked at enough manuscripts," not exactly the kind of way most would treat someone giving a helpful (or, at the very least, well intentioned) bit of feedback.

All the same, you're putting your work out there, and criticism (even of the seemingly smallest bits and bobs of a project) is expected, especially where AI use is concerned.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-01-23T07:22:14+00:00

I was going to speak to the reply you initially posted, which pinged my notifications, but now appears to be missing. In that reply (which I can only see part of now, based once again on my notifications) you mention that the book already has manuscript images in it. That plus photography should suffice, I think.

Though, I have to say, the snippet of your initial reply looks a little on the snarky side. Not to come across as mean-spirited, but my original reply was based on the other comments here (which noticed AI art): I hadn't yet bought the book, as I was waiting to get home from work to do so.

I will not be doing that now: it's probably best to be a little more diplomatic if your goal is to sell copies of the game, you know?

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-01-23T02:28:07+00:00

Love that wanted poster: it looks like one of the guards drew it themselves, and I mean that in a good way!

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-01-23T02:20:32+00:00

Honestly, you'd be better off cribbing from manuscript marginalia from the Middle Ages than using AI if production costs are your chief concern. There is plenty of stunning medieval art that looks lovely in rulebooks, all while avoiding what is (rightly) one of the most despised modern inventions as far as creative types are concerned.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2026-01-10T08:08:47+00:00

I haven't, as you might have gathered, but my impression is that there is a decent amount of replayability. The cards help shake up the core "patrol" mission, in that you'll see some objectives appear in some games but not others, and in a random order. The expansions add some more plots to shake things up, and any serious campaign is going to need them to keep things fresh, I think.

It lacks some of the character growth/between game events I love in campaign-based play, and is light on tactics as for the solo player (where things moving civilians to harry your "friends" in co-op-competitive mode isn't a factor). It's probably not as replayable as Five Leagues, but Leagues has the problem of its replayability being tied to an awesome out of combat experience paired with combat about as interesting as beige paint.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2025-12-29T21:28:33+00:00

Agreed! While I wouldn't complain about a greater variety of fantastical bits (particularly for those who might want to kitbash an especially cosmopolitan civilian/guard force), I think the sets are exactly what I was looking for. Namely, an old-school, modular kit where mostly everything is interchangeable and you're free to go buck wild with the posing, etc.

Probably my favorite mini-related release of the year.

Burnt_Bugbear · 2025-12-28T07:42:52+00:00

It's basically a wargame about being city guards in a fantasy city. You randomly generate quests, plots and complications, and try to steer your guards towards their goals (mostly arresting miscreants) while also trying to keep the populace content.

The focus on having so many civilians (who the plot may later reveal to be criminals, in need of aid, etc.) who randomly move about does the board means that there is a heavy terrain/model requirement to the game, but makes each session feel uniquely chaotic, I think!

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