As 02 Hundred Hours is a quite unusual sort of wargame, I thought it would be useful do a deep dive in to tactics in the game. As always, if you have additional ideas (or disagree with any of mine) then please jump onto the Facebook group and share your thoughts!
The first thing to say is that this is not a highly competitive, tournament-style game, so don’t get overly hung up about winning or losing. It’s more of a story-driven game, inspired by the most dramatic scenes of commando movies and stealth-based video games, aiming to recreate those tense moments and exciting twists.
That said, it’s nice to win, right?
An ’average’ game of 0200 sees the attackers sneak around for the early turns, taking out sentries, getting into position and building up an advantage, before something goes wrong, the alarm goes off and the defenders start their fight-back, bring on reserves and swing the game back in their favour.
This asymmetric approach means that staying covert as long as possible will likely help the attackers, while setting off the alarm early will often give an advantage to the defenders. However, depending on the mission, you may still be able to achieve your objectives with good tactics and a bit of luck!
Having lots of interesting terrain on your battlefield really helps create the story, but it can have a significant effect on the outcome. As a general rule, having lots of dense terrain, so fighters can easily stay out of sight or at least in cover, will benefit the attackers. And conversely, lots of wide open spaces makes it easier for the defenders to spot their assailants.
So if you find that one side seems to win every game, or you want to give a new player an easier time of things, think about adjusting the terrain accordingly.
Some players may find it hard to root for the ‘bad guys’ in a WW2 game. The defending player may also find the first few turns a little demoralising, as their men are picked off and the attacker has all the fun. For these reasons I recommend letting novice players be the attacker, to avoid any negative first impressions!
I find it helpful to think of the defender’s role at the start of the game as similar to a GM in a roleplaying game – controlling the monsters, creating the story, providing the challenge for the other players. Then later, once the alarm is raised, you can be more competitive and get stuck into a firefight to see who comes out on top.
You will certainly benefit from a good mixture of troops and weaponry.
My first recommendation is to take all the possible characters you are allowed for the points limit you have chosen. Their extra actions and better stats means they are well worth their points cost, and the one character who deploys from the start is often key to spotting the attackers and raising the alarm. If you draw a Veteran ability that will help in that role, make sure to give it to that starting character.
Feldgendarmes are better than normal sentries at recon so you’ll want some of them start on the table, walking the patrol route, using their increased Smarts stat to seek out the enemy.
Standard sentries meanwhile are better at shooting, so come into their own once the alarm is raised. Consequently it makes more sense to put them in reserve. However, they may take their time to arrive and get into the fight, so having a few deployed from the start is not a bad idea.
Guard Dogs are great at sniffing out covert attackers and hard to sneak up on, so definitely deploy them from the start. They are also a tough proposition in a fight with the extra option of the long-range dog attack!
As for weapons, you will mainly be choosing between standard issue rifles and SMGs. A rifle’s long range means it can be good for reserves who might struggle to close enough to the action otherwise, and the higher Strength is deadly if you can hit – find a good firing position and use the Accurate medal effect to help with that.
Meanwhile the 3 dice of an SMG makes it a lot easier to get a hit, and if the target is out of cover, that means they will at least use up an action ducking out of the way. Plus of course the Spread effect helps you mow down any clumps of enemies.
Note that giving one of each gun to a pair of sentries is a good flexible option, as you can choose which fighter to lead when the pair acts, with the Assist effect for good measure.
Finally, pistols are a handy choice, especially for characters – if they get one hit, the Double Tap effect gives them the chance of another. They also give a bit of extra protection against murderous commandos coming at you with a combat knife.
Forming your patrol route is a tricky balance. Placing a tight ring as close as possible to the objective may be tempting and will certainly make it hard for the attackers to get past undetected. However, this can make it much easier for the attacker to bring on his troops and close in with little opposition.
Conversely, spreading the route very wide gives you a chance of spotting attackers as the enter the table, but will leave gaps where the enemy can slip through.
The best answer is somewhere in between. Try to predict where attacking soldiers might move and hide as they approach the objective and place your Patrol markers to keep these areas in view whenever possible.
Minimal control of how your fighters move, sentries being taken out and only having half your force can all add up to a frustrating start for the defender. But don’t despair – you will get your chance later in the game once the alarm is raised.
The first few turns for the defender is all about taking small steps to optimise your chances of raising the alarm level.
Choosing which fighter to act with is key, so try to pick those who have the possibility of a making a Recon roll or even getting up close.
If the dice are unkind and you don’t get a Recon roll (or fail it), then facing towards an attacker still makes it harder for them to Sneak. This means that turning in their direction is useful even without rolling a Medal.
Even if the attackers are completely out of view, consider which routes they might use to approach and turn to look that way if possible.
The other thing to consider is attackers trying to get in position to take out a sentry or slip through a gap which your sentries are not covering. Naturally you should avoid these outcomes wherever possible by your choice of who to activate, holding a sentry back or hurrying them forward as needed.
Once the alarm is raised, prioritise firing with your best shooters and when the bonus dice stack the odds in your favour, but don’t neglect bringing on your reserves. It can often take a few turns to get them into the fight and if they miss most of the battle, you’re wasting their value. With inferior troops, it’s vital to make your numbers count!
Event cards add spice to the story and generally provide some advantage to the defender. As the player with less control on the battlefield, it is very rewarding when a surprise Event card turns the tables.
Some Events may seem inconsequential but used at the right time and with a bit of luck, they can make a real difference. Look for opportunities to foil your opponent’s plans, moving your sentries in unexpected ways or interfering with an attacker’s action at a crucial moment.
However, quite a few Events can only be used before the alarm goes off, so use them while you can rather than waiting for a perfect time that might never come!
Don’t forget there are plenty more Event cards in the different Expansion sets – It’s a Trap from Guards of Facility 9, Hesitation from Partisan Resistance Cell and Flare from the forthcoming Desert Raiders are some of my favourites.
Coming Soon – Part 2: Attackers
]]>A member of the Facebook group recently commented with surprise at the photos shown here, assuming perhaps that Grey For Now's products are shipped, fully finished, from China. So I decided it would be a good idea to briefly explain our manufacturing process...
Grey For Now Games is essentially a one-man company (me!). I do the writing, design, layout and quite a bit of the sculpting (as well as the boring business-y stuff). For over a year, I also did the product assembly and dispatched all the orders. Fortunately for my sanity these vital tasks are now handled by the excellent team at Sarissa Precision - makers of all that lovely terrain.
The boxes and cards are printed locally, and for sets with fewer cards (eg, 18 in the Takeda set) we collate them ourselves. Metal models are cast by a couple of local companies while a few elements, such as dice, are made in the EU and of course plastics come from Wargames Atlantic in the US - but I try to keep things as local as possible.
Finally, once everything is present and correct, the Sarissa team assemble it all on site ready for dispatch to you lovely people!
]]>How To Play - Fighters, Dice and Tokens (8 mins)
Includes: Fighters, Recruitment cards, Stats, Covert/Detected, Dice, Alert markers, Action tokens, Turn sequence and Time tokens. https://youtu.be/vNJsRoZ8IiY
How To Play - Patrol, Sneak and Advance (12 mins)
Includes: Line of Sight, Covert & Detected, Facing, Advance, Roving Patrol, Patrol Route, Sneak, Medal effects - Recon, Caution, Awareness, Freeze. https://youtu.be/FJf4yN3mo7E
How To Play - Shoot and Fight (13 mins)
Includes Shoot, Fight, Duck, Defend, Wound rolls and Trauma rolls plus common Medal effects. https://youtu.be/P1eTTcT-CPE
How To Play - Mission 1 Walkthrough (33 mins)
First in a series of How To Play videos, a walkthrough of some gameplay. This is a great way to get a feel for the game before diving into the full detail of the rulebook! https://youtu.be/ZDMJz2KAE4
Plastics in Detail (10 mins)
I show you the plastics, covering all the components and weapon options in full detail: https://youtu.be/oEYe2QAdVQM
Full Game
Full length battle reports from various reviewers.
Keep in mind though, that a few of them made rules mistakes that have thrown off the balance a bit!
7th Son (Mission 1): https://youtu.be/tgPVX7fSoDo
7th Son (Mission 3): https://youtu.be/Q2vqULbUUpI
Modelling for Advantage (Mission 2): https://youtu.be/sdNxQYF0PGs
Tabletop CP (Mission 3): https://youtu.be/nbhYmqLKAk4
Family of Gamers (Mission 1): https://youtu.be/TpkFgys9kqo
Starter Set Showcase
Travis at Tabletop CP has been assembling and painting his forces made from the Starter Set contents - here is the finished result: https://youtu.be/2pE_B4VFbMM
Painting Guide
Also from 7th Son, this excellent guide to painting the 02 Hundred Hours German sentries: https://youtu.be/xtcNJ0BNw-0
Unboxings
OnTabletop: https://youtu.be/AO0q7l0umc4
Wargames Illustrated: https://youtu.be/YuH8sUJKE70
Tabletop CP: https://youtu.be/YJdj-P8uzW4
7th Son: https://youtu.be/YgCImhOPkTc
Family of Gamers: https://youtu.be/57i2JhNlqDg
Tabletop Basement (German language): https://youtu.be/l3v_zUCKTN0
Agents of Sigmar: https://youtu.be/X9aGIE8j9ww
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I have always liked games that generate an exciting story, a narrative of events that takes you beyond a test of manoeuvre and dice-rolling. When I play a wargame, I want to feel like I’m living out the finale of a classic action movie, with distinct characters, heroes and villains, moments of heroism and sacrifice, high tension and bad fortune all playing their part.
For 02 Hundred Hours, my focus was night-time commando raids in World War II. There is a rich pool of inspiration, both historical and fictional – films like Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone, as well as the many incredible real-world operations that took place…
After the disaster of the German Blitzkrieg and the retreat to Dunkirk, Churchill ordered the creation of a new type of fighting force, based on the ‘butcher-and-bolt’ tactics of the irregular soldiers he had encountered during the Boer War, 40 years earlier. Such ungentlemanly behaviour was actively opposed by the military establishment, but their success led to the aggressive ‘commandos’ being replicated in various forms by every nation in the war.
Small groups of the SAS infiltrated the enemy lines, assisted by spies from the Special Operations Executive as well as local resistance fighters. Under cover of darkness they launched attacks on radar stations, airfields and rail lines, sneaking past sentries, taking them out with silent take-downs or opening fire in deadly ambushes. They would plant charges, grab intelligence or even kidnap enemy officers and then fight clear before reinforcements could arrive.
These were the events I wanted to recreate on the tabletop, and that required rules for something that is not often tackled in wargames – stealth.
Of course, in any wargame the players have a god-like view of everything on the table (and generally don’t play in the pitch black!). As such, the ‘fog of war’ – the fact that your toy soldiers wouldn’t actually know where enemies are – is either ignored completely or, as in my case, had to be simulated by the game rules.
In 02 Hundred Hours, the first step to achieve this is that at the start of a game, none of the fighters on either side know where their enemies are. This is referred to as being ‘covert’. If a combatant is spotted or gives themselves away somehow, they become ‘detected’, allowing the enemy to move towards them and potentially attack.
My initial idea was for one dice-face to represent alerting the enemy, so the more dice you roll, the more likely you are to be seen or make a noise. This quickly evolved into two types of dice, one white, representing noisy actions with the chance being detected, and the other grey, for quiet, stealthy behaviour with the chance of cancelling out an ‘Alert’ from the noisy dice, and allowing detected soldiers to become covert again, slipping away into the shadows.
In fact, many actions use a combination of both dice. A Sneak action might use two of the ‘quiet’ dice and one of the ‘noisy’ dice, so you’re likely to stay hidden but there’s always a small possibility of things going wrong! On the other hand, firing a Tommy gun uses three of the noisy dice, so it’s likely (but not guaranteed) that the enemy will spot your position.
I’ve played plenty of games in which darkness is represented by a ‘spotting roll’ to randomize how far a model can ‘see’ before shooting. However, you rarely see any restrictions on how models move around, which makes it impossible to do anything particularly secretive. If you try to sneak a unit behind enemy lines, your opponent can simply move troops to counter the threat, even though the men on the ground would have no idea it was coming.
So for 02 Hundred Hours I needed some limitations on the way models move about. Firstly, the lowly sentries move along a patrol route that the defending player marks out at the beginning of the game. Other defenders make a Roving Patrol move, which heads in a random direction pointed by the chevrons on the dice. A good roll allows the player to choose which direction to follow. However if there is a detected enemy close by, the defenders make a faster move directly towards that enemy. This often leads to spotting more foes and raising the alarm, but also pulls the sentries out of position and may leave holes for the attackers to exploit.
The attackers have a little more leeway, sneaking slowly in any direction, but can only move fast towards a detected enemy.
For a realistic behind-the-lines raid, the game starts with the defenders unaware they are under attack and they won’t open fire straight away. No point waking up the whole garrison if that thing rustling in the bushes is just a stray dog, right? Only once a certain number of enemies are detected is the alarm raised, and the defenders are free to shoot and fight. Naturally things like gunfire, explosions, finding a body or coming face-to-face with a foe set off the alarm much faster.
Even once the alarm has gone off, defenders who are too distant from a detected enemy must use the semi-random Roving Patrol to move around – not always in a useful direction. Players may find it jarring that they don’t have full control over where their models go, but keep in mind that the soldiers on guard duty in the rear echelon were not generally front-line veterans. More often they were inferior, older conscripts, and in many cases they were men from occupied countries, coerced into the ranks by threats to their families. Such troops could certainly not be relied upon to run towards gunfire or behave exactly how a commander might wish, but you do at least get a lot of them!
The result is that even in the final stages of the game, with the alarm raised and a firefight raging, there is still scope for covert fighters to sneak around and get the drop on an unsuspecting foe or make a final dash for an objective.
The final piece of the puzzle was to give each miniature a facing, with a front and back (the dividing line goes through the shoulders). Fighters can only see to the front, which creates entertaining possibilities for attackers to nip behind sentries once they have passed along their patrol route. This is balanced by the chance of that sentry turning to look at just the wrong moment!
In addition there are crucial bonus dice when attacking from the rear (as well as for being covert), turning melee attacks with a Fairbairn-Sykes combat knife from a noisy brawl into a silent cut across the throat.
I won’t go into much detail about the workings of combat. They are fast, intuitive and easy to learn so that after a single game you’ll have them down pat and be able to concentrate on tactics. Although the dice mechanics are very different, the overall sequence will be familiar to anyone who has played Test of Honour.
Soldiers that survive an attack may suffer ‘trauma’, representing minor wounds as well as suppression or pinning. This makes them lose an action and repeated trauma can take them out of the game altogether.
As an extra layer of detail there are also several types of cards, drawn as the game progresses, that introduce all sorts of heroics, unique skills and unexpected occurrences.
The attackers have Order cards, allowing them to take two actions in a row with the same soldier (such as a sneak move and then attacking), or for two soldiers to act together (such as one spotting an enemy and the other shooting).
Meanwhile, the defending player gets Event cards. These reflect more unusual defensive efforts such as radio intercepts, searchlights or changing the patrol route, as well as random, unfortunate occurrences and mishaps that could befall the attackers such as bright moonlight, low ammo or even a sudden sneeze! For the purposes of the game, the defender gets to decide precisely when these things happen, hoping to mess up their opponent’s game-plan at crucial moments.
Finally, both sides have Veteran cards that allow you to personalise specific troops with improved abilities such as being an expert scout or extra kit like smoke grenades or a hip flask of whiskey. If you are playing a series of battles in a campaign, Veteran cards can be kept, so your force becomes more experienced over time.
There are no army lists restricting which models you can use. If you want you could have an attacking force with a mix of British, Americans, French, maybe even a German defector. You can choose to stick to historical references or emulate the assorted cast of those classic movies!
The defenders can select from Heer sentries, Feldgendarmes (military police) and guard dog handlers, plus characters including officers, sinister Gestapo or an unscrupulous scientist! And of course you could switch in Italian or Japanese troops depending on the theatre.
The opportunity is there to write your own incredible war stories.
02 Hundred Hours is without doubt an extremely characterful, entertaining skirmish game. And I think it breaks new ground by taking us beyond the standard wargaming mechanics of ‘move, shoot, fight’. It adds the element of having to discover the enemy, not as an afterthought but baked right into the core of the game, so you now have ‘move, spot, shoot, fight’. The result is a very different gaming experience!
The plan going forward is to introduce more forces and countries in the same manner – French partisans, Americans, Italians, etc. There may be rules for different environments, such as the deserts of North Africa or the jungles of Asia, both distinct settings that saw many raiding missions during the war. Jungle is particularly interesting as dense foliage has the same effect as darkness in terms of cutting down line of sight and weapon ranges.
In addition, there have been a lot of requests for a fully solo version. It wouldn’t require too much adjustment to come up with an AI system for the defending sentries, so this is high up on my list.
And I’m also thinking about the possibility of a ‘versus’ mode that uses the night-fighting and alert system for a head to head battle. This would allow players to bring the game’s sneaky approach to a more competitive environment, fighting out the result when two patrols bump into each other in the darkness!
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UK customers still have VAT applied as normal.
For everyone else - USA, Australia, etc - we don't charge tax. This means that when you check out you get a price reduction as the VAT is removed!
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Cue wibbly camera effect as we go back about 6 years to a time with slightly more hair...
I was working in a small dusty office at Warlord Games when a certain Andy Hobday mentioned that he'd like to play a samurai tabletop game. That night I came up basic mechanic for combat where warriors didn't get 'locked' in melee, trying to recreate that fluid, swirling fighting style of the old samurai movies we both remembered. We carried on developing the game over the following months until we had a rather fun system (using normal D6s back then).
It was around then that Warlord bought the rights to a variety of Wargames Factory plastic kits, which included Samurai and Ashigaru, and they approached us about using our system to create and publish a boxed game - naturally we jumped at the chance.
A lot of late nights ensued as the game was converted to using special dice with the addition of Dishonour cards and acquiring Skill cards during play (previously this was just a campaign thing).
When the game was released, 5 years ago this week, it's popularity surprised everyone - the first print run sold out within a month! This spurred us on to make a number of expansion sets with metal models including ninjas, bandits and Onna Bugeisha.
Early champions of the game were the Jez, Keiran and Matt who created the 3 Swordsmen podcast and have helped immensely over the years - thanks guys!
Fast forward a few years and Andy and I had both left Warlord, but still wanted to look after the game and develop it further. I set up Grey For Now Games and we agreed with Warlord to take over as publisher, with Footsore Miniatures doing the casting.
The new edition allowed me to polish up the rules based on gamer feedback, and add a few new elements such as Honour cards (for those players who didn't want to be no-good backstabbing ronin). There was also a revised look to the game with the fantastic artwork of Carmen Cerra.
Of course I was aware that a lot of players would still want to use their 1st ed models so I updated all the cards into the Clan and Enemy Forces packs so everything would still be useable.
As 1st edition had focussed on military style, armoured samurai, I made the Unlikely Allies to represent the eclectic cast of characters you might find in a classic samurai movie for a more story-driven approach. Still my favourite set!
More fantastic models added to the range, each with new cards that gave a unique character to how they play in the game.
The Sengoku expansion book allowed me to add a huge amount of depth to the game, with extra rules and historical information for the most famous clans of Japan. There are also 20 new scenarios, new weapons and rules for burning buildings!
Lockdown brought the unexpected effect of giving me time to try my hand at digital sculpting, and after discovering I rather enjoyed it, I designed some new sets. With quite a few years gone by since 1st edition, I decided it was time to go 'back to basics' and do some Samurai and Ashigaru. These are all one-piece models apart from the sashimonos, simply because I get fed up with sticking together fiddly parts!
I still have a long list of sets I want to do for the game and a sketch book full of designs, so there is plenty more on the way for Test of Honour.
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Night raids in World War II
02 Hundred Hours is a forthcoming skirmish wargame focusing on night-time raids in World War II.
Field an elite force of Commandos, SAS, Paratroopers and Rangers to infiltrate the enemy lines under cover of darkness. Recruit SOE spies and local resistance fighters to bolster your chances. Launch attacks on radar stations, munition factories, airfields, bridges and rail lines. Sneak past sentries, take them out with silent attacks, or open fire with a devastating ambush. Plant charges to destroy your objective, assassinate a target or grab vital intel, then fight your way to safety before reinforcements arrive.
Or play as the defenders, carefully setting patrol routes so your sentries can spot raiders in the shadows, utilise guard dogs, officers or even the dreaded Gestapo and make use of informants and intercepted transmissions to thwart the attackers’ plans.
Inspired by classic war movies as well as historical events, 02 Hundred Hours is a fast paced game with roughly 10-20 models on either side. The game’s Alert system makes stealth a core part of the action – spotting your enemy in the darkness is key to victory!
Join the 02 Hundred Hours Facebook Group to watch as things develop, suggest your own ideas, join in the discussion and even help out with playtesting.
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The clans included are Hojo, Mori, Takeda, Uesugi, Saito, Yagyu, Oda, Honda, Toyotomi, Shimazu, Date and Tokugawa (and of course you are free to use the rules to 'count as' any other clan you like).
Note there is still no restriction to what you can actually have in your force. When picking your clan you are just choosing your allegiance. While the 'classic' clan force might consist of samurai and ashigaru, you could have a force of Ronin and Ninjas fighting for the Oda clan or a force of Onna Bugeisha and Sohei Monks loyal to the Shimazu clan.
You can also have an independent force of Ikko-ikki, Ronin, Bandits or Ninjas if you don't want to pledge allegiance to one clan.
As with the main game, you are free to tell your own story!
Belonging to a particular clan (or independent faction such as Ikko-ikki) provides your force with extra abilities called proficiencies during a Test of Honour Sengoku battle.
Proficiencies represent techniques that a clan preferred or were famous for – such as a specific weapon or a way of fighting – as well as a clan’s wider influence and reputation, its politics and diplomacy.
During recruitment, each player chooses two of his clan’s proficiencies to use during the coming battle. You then choose one of your ally’s clan proficiencies, for a total of three.
So for example, if your chosen clan is Oda, you might choose the Gunnery Drills and Disciplined proficiencies. And if you chose the Saito clan as your allies you could also use their Ruthless proficiency.
Each clan also has three favoured skill types that best reflect its nature. For example, the Oda clan favours Strength, Infamy and Commander skills. If a character reaches his max with only favoured skills then he can gain an extra skill of any type.
Having plenty of favoured skills also makes many of the proficiencies more powerful.
When playing a Test of Honour Sengoku battle you’ll need to add two extra tokens into the container along with the Action and Fate tokens. When you draw one of these 'Clan tokens' you get to choose one of your proficiencies and activate its rules.
Spare blood drop markers work fine as your Clan tokens or you could perhaps paint two of your Follower tokens a distinct colour. However it just so happens that those lovely people at Sarissa Precision have created a colour printed MDF token set including the required Clan tokens.
Each scenario in the book is inspired by the history or character of a particular clan (though they can be played by anybody).
For example 'Cunning Ruse' is based on one of Oda Nobunaga's early battles where he tricked the enemy with an 'army' of straw dummies and flags.
'Open the Gate' emulates the heroics of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who scaled a mountain to gain entry to an enemy castle and led a surprise raid, blowing up the gunpowder store and opening the gate for the main army to pour in.
'Sudden Betrayal' starts at the moment when one side's allies turn on their former friends, inspired by the devious deals of Ieyasu Tokugawa at the great battle of Sekigahara.
There's a selection of new armaments to give you some new options on the battlefield.
The ozutsu heavy musket gives you a Strength 5 missile weapon (new models for these incoming).
Ninjas get some extra choices with tiger claws for fast climbing and weighted chains to entangle the enemy.
A man catcher will help you control your opponents while a jitte can trap their blades. Perfect for clans trying to impose law and order on their territories.
Next there are three new arrow types that can replace the standard armour-piercing point - barbed arrows inflict vicious wounds, screaming arrows whistle through the air and spook the enemy, while fire arrows can make the foe flinch back from a defended position, not to mention setting things on fire (which I'll come to in a minute...).
I've also included rules for cannons. Obviously these aren't something a small warband would generally lug around, so they should only be used if both players agree or in a specially designed scenario. However I know some of you have cannon models so I thought it would be a fun addition!
Setting buildings on fire opens up loads more interesting avenues for scenarios and tactics during games.
You can set a fire using fire arrows, flaming torches (both accessed with Trait cards) or using a Test of Wits if you're inside the building. This will start placing fire markers, which may spread each time a Fate token is drawn or may be doused by the defenders.
A number of the new scenarios concern setting fires as the objective, but it is an option in any game if you're feeling destructive! Unaware warriors move towards a fire, so this provides some new possible angles during a sneaky mission.
Nope. A few people asked this question on Facebook and the answer is no, this is not a different game system. It's the same game with an extra level of detail to give the various clans unique rules.
No. However, in Sengoku battles part of your force is denoted as allies from a different clan. These could just be some of your existing models, although you might like to recruit some new warriors as your allies, maybe with a different colour scheme to show the difference.
Hojo, Mori, Takeda, Uesugi, Saito, Yagyu, Oda, Honda, Toyotomi, Shimazu, Date and Tokugawa. As well as rules, there is a historical account of each clan and if you read them in sequence, they the tell the story of the Sengoku period.
Not at all. The freedom to include whatever warriors you want stays the same. For example, you could have a force of Ronin hired by Takeda, Sohei siding with Mori, Ninjas working for Oda or even bandits doing the dirty-work of the Saito clan (or a mix of all of them). Onna Bugeisha naturally fit with any clan.
You can also have an independent force of Ikko-ikki, Ronin, Bandits or Ninjas if you don't want to pledge allegiance to one clan.
The aim of this guide is to help new players understand what they need to play the game and also to help those who have the 1st edition of the rules to transition over to 2nd edition.
As a new player you should start with the Test of Honour Gaming Set. This has the rulebook, dice, cards and tokens needed to play. One set is enough for two players to play (though some extra dice can be handy!).
The Gaming Set has one samurai model inside, but of course both players need a force of miniatures in order to have a battle.
The Gaming Set has rules for the most common troops of the period - Samurai and Ashigaru (foot soldiers) – so this is the obvious place to start.
Test of Honour forces always include one hero, up to two other character models, plus any number of lower-ranking warriors, called Followers in the game.
You’ll generally end up with 10 to 20 figures in your force for a battle, but you can start smaller. There’s a get-you-started intro scenario in the rulebook that uses one samurai (the hero), three spearmen, an archer and a musketman on each side.
Models go on 25mm round bases, and you’ll likely need a few 60mm ‘multibases’ that each hold three 25mm bases. These are for groups of followers of the same type – like a mini unit.
24 points is a good size for a force, but you can go smaller or bigger as you wish.
There is a growing range of Test of Honour expansion sets, new for 2nd edition, that contain 6 to 8 miniatures as well as a unique card set with the additional rules for those minis.
Note that there’s no requirement to use the ‘official’ figures to play – there are various excellent ranges for feudal Japanese miniatures that we stock at testofhonour.com and others are available too.
Test of Honour has a unique style when it comes to creating armies. Unlike many games that force you to go in one direction, Test of Honour allows you to mix and match any combination of warriors you want - although you can theme your force in one direction, you don’t have to. This is because a force doesn’t necessarily represent a military unit – it could be based on a disparate bunch of characters inspired by a samurai movie! And even if you prefer a military basis, historical samurai armies were often joined by Sohei Monk allies or hired Ronin and Ninjas. In short, you have a completely free choice!
The rules for these other factions are mainly found in our two themed army card packs, which act a bit like army lists in other games:
Many of these cards are updated versions that were originally found in the older 1st edition expansion sets but they can be used with any suitable models. The set contains cards for the following factions:
Like the Clan Forces this provides profiles from the 1st edition sets, updated and revised to work with the new edition. These cards cover:
And that’s plenty to get yourself up and gaming in the exciting world of Test of Honour. Check out the webstore for a whole host of other gaming items as well a huge pile of FREE bonus cards and gaming aids.
If you have been playing Test of Honour from the 1st edition, it’s very easy to upgrade. You can buy the full gaming set if you like, but it’s not essential.
The new dice are bigger and the tokens have been restyled, but the old ones still work fine. So the minimum you’ll need is the rulebook and the new cards. Luckily there’s a Minimum Upgrade Bundle with just that.
If you bought any of the 1st edition faction box sets, you’ll find the updated rules in the Clan Force and Enemy Forces sets mentioned above.
If you have models from both then check out the Faction Cards Bundle that contains both these sets plus the Veteran Ashigaru card set at a reduced price.
In a pinch, sure – the majority will still functionally work with the new rules. But there have been many tweaks and balances made, and you’ll be missing out on some of the key aspects of 2nd edition – in particular the new Honour/Dishonour system and the Traits that allow you to customise your followers in new ways.
By the way, there is a series of designer’s notes here on the blog that detail all the changes from 1st to 2nd edition.
Hopefully that will answer all the questions people have. If not, remember we have a busy community on the Test of Honour Facebook group who are always happy to help new and old players alike.
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TOH | Card Title |
1 | Samurai Hero armoured |
2 | Samurai Hero unarmoured |
3 | Battle-worn Samurai armoured |
4 | Devoted Samurai armoured |
5 | Wise Samurai unarmoured |
6 | Travelling Samurai unarmoured |
7 | Ashigaru Spearman |
8 | Ashigaru Loyal Spearmen |
9 | Ashigaru Experienced Spearmen |
10 | Ashigaru Bowman |
11 | Ashigaru Loyal Bowmen |
12 | Ashigaru Experienced Bowmen |
13 | Ashigaru Musketman |
14 | Ashigaru Loyal Musketmen |
15 | Ashigaru Experienced Musketmen |
16 | Banner Bearer |
17 | Sergeant |
18 | Musician |
19 | Sergeant of Archery |
20 | Ashigaru Sergeant of Gunnery |
21 | Bow/Musket |
22 | Samurai Hero armoured |
23 | Samurai Hero unarmoured |
24 | Battle-worn Samurai armoured |
25 | Devoted Samurai armoured |
26 | Wise (elder) Samurai unarmoured |
27 | Travelling Samurai unarmoured |
28 | Ashigaru Spearman |
29 | Ashigaru Loyal Spearmen |
30 | Ashigaru Experienced Spearmen |
31 | Ashigaru Bowman |
32 | Ashigaru Loyal Bowmen |
33 | Ashigaru Experienced Bowmen |
34 | Ashigaru Musketman |
35 | Ashigaru Loyal Musketmen |
36 | Ashigaru Experienced Musketmen |
37 | Banner Bearer |
38 | Sergeant |
39 | Musician |
40 | Sergeant of Archery |
41 | Ashigaru Sergeant of Gunnery |
42 | Bow/Musket |
43 | Impetuous Rage |
44 | Reloading Practise |
45 | Pathfinders |
46 | Private Shame |
47 | Public Disgrace |
48 | Public Disgrace |
49 | Timid Troops |
50 | Timid Troops |
51 | Timid Troops |
52 | Loss of Respect |
53 | Loss of Respect |
54 | Loss of Respect |
55 | Loss of Respect |
56 | Ask no reward |
57 | Forward Momentum |
58 | Forward Momentum |
59 | Prove their Worth |
60 | Prove their Worth |
61 | Prove their Worth |
62 | Utmost Respect |
63 | Utmost Respect |
64 | Utmost Respect |
65 | Utmost Respect |
66 | Leg Injury |
67 | Leg Injury |
68 | Arm Injury |
69 | Arm Injury |
70 | Torso Injury |
71 | Head Injury |
72 | Lingering Wound |
73 | Unbeaten |
74 | Path of Honour |
75 | Path of Dishonour |
76 | Path of Balance |
77 | Evasion |
78 | Deflect Arrow |
79 | One with Nature |
80 | Vault |
81 | Master-Forged Weapon |
82 | Exceptional Armour |
83 | Debt Owed |
84 | Commanding Presence |
85 | Special Instructions |
86 | Defensive Drills |
87 | That's an Order! |
88 | Proud Troops |
89 | Issue Challenge |
90 | Inspiring Speech |
91 | Prayer for the Fallen |
92 | Map |
93 | Military Scholar |
94 | Local Guide |
95 | Perfect Aim |
96 | Defensive Form |
97 | Fencing |
98 | Tough Hide |
99 | Knock Down |
100 | Barge Past |
CF | Card Title |
1 | Cover |
2 | Daimyō Osugawa |
3 | Mounted Samurai Hero |
4 | Mounted Wary Samurai |
5 | Mounted Dutiful Samurai |
6 | Mounted Retainer |
7 | Mounted Retainer |
8 | Mounted Retainer |
9 | Mounted Sergeant |
10 | Glory Seeker |
11 | Lord and Master |
12 | Terrifying Visage |
13 | Kyudo Master |
14 | Momentum |
15 | Self Confidence |
16 | The Widow Takeda Naoko |
17 | Mounted Bowman |
18 | Mounted Bowman |
19 | Mounted Bowman |
20 | The Side of Right |
21 | Class Distinction |
22 | Fabled Weapon |
23 | Family Heirloom |
24 | Brilliant Plan |
25 | Powerful Charge |
26 | Honour Above All |
27 | Uncover the Secret |
28 | Balance |
29 | Katō 'the Shadow' |
30 | Ninja Master |
31 | Ninja Lieutenant |
32 | Ninja Assassin |
33 | Ninja |
34 | Ninja |
35 | Ninja Group |
36 | Ninja Group |
37 | Black as Night |
38 | Silent Running |
39 | Swift Take-Down |
40 | Shuriken |
41 | Backstab |
42 | Smoke Bombs |
43 | Poisoned Supplies |
44 | Silent Killers |
45 | Ghost |
46 | Tadashi 'the Dishonoured' |
47 | Ronin Hero |
48 | Ronin Second |
49 | Ronin Brute |
50 | Ronin Thug |
51 | Ronin Thug |
52 | Ronin Thugs Group |
53 | Ronin Thugs Group |
54 | Ronin Thugs Group |
55 | Dirty Trick |
56 | Dangerous Reputation |
57 | Bribes |
58 | Scum |
59 | Slow-Acting Poison |
60 | Poisoned Weapon |
61 | Hidden Attacker |
62 | Lightning Thrust |
63 | Explorer |
64 | Wealthy |
65 | Massacre |
66 | Takahashi Tae |
67 | Senior Onna Bugeisha |
68 | Resolute Onna Bugeisha |
69 | Venerable Onna Bugeisha |
70 | Onna-Bugeisha (Naganita) |
71 | Onna-Bugeisha Naganita Group |
72 | Onna-Bugeisha Naganita Group |
73 | Onna-Bugeisha (Archer) |
74 | Onna-Bugeisha Archer Group |
75 | Onna-Bugeisha Banner Bearer |
76 | Defender of the Home |
77 | Supple as the Willow |
78 | Fight Another Day |
79 | Counter-Attack |
80 | Insubstantial |
81 | Awareness |
82 | Tanto-jitsu |
83 | Superior Shot |
84 | Defender of the Family |
85 | Like the Wind |
86 | Strike back |
87 | Hearth Guard |
88 | Fountain of Blood |
89 | Vengeance |
90 | Red Mist |
91 | Leap Back |
92 | Drunkards |
93 | Noble Purpose |
94 | Masterful Riders |
95 | Cavalry Charge |
96 | Fast Cavalry |
97 | Oda Nobunaga |
98 | Kamiizumi-Kanchou |
99 | Geisha Spy |
100 | Cover |
EF | Card Title |
1 | Cover |
2 | Oni no Kojirō |
3 | Bandit Chief |
4 | Bandit Bruiser |
5 | Bandit Lieutenant |
6 | Bandit |
7 | Bandit with bow |
8 | Bandit with musket |
9 | Bandit Group |
10 | Bandit Group |
11 | Thief |
12 | Mob Tactics |
13 | Ambush |
14 | Looter |
15 | Dead Man's Shoes |
16 | Rotten to the Core |
17 | Diversion |
18 | Well Laid Trap |
19 | Successful Raid |
20 | Banzuiin Chōbei |
21 | Renegade Boss |
22 | Renegade Enforcer |
23 | Renegade Overseer |
24 | Renegade |
25 | Renegade with bow |
26 | Renegade with musket |
27 | Renegade Group |
28 | Renegade Group |
29 | Outrage |
30 | Vigilante |
31 | Ultimate Sacrifice |
32 | Friendly Aid |
33 | Infuriating |
34 | The Ends Justify the Means |
35 | Lead from the Front |
36 | Immoveable |
37 | Hold Your Ground |
38 | Charity |
39 | The Head of the Snake |
40 | Senzo, 'the Thorn' |
41 | Pauper Hero |
42 | Pauper Militant |
43 | Pauper Demagogue |
44 | Pauper Bowman |
45 | Pauper Musketman |
46 | Pauper Bowmen Group |
47 | Pauper Musketmen Group |
48 | Flip to Feet |
49 | Informant |
50 | Healing Herbs |
51 | One with the Target |
52 | Plentiful Sake |
53 | Hidden Marksman |
54 | Protector |
55 | Man of the People |
56 | Masahiro, Warrior Monk |
57 | Masked Hero |
58 | Masked Firebrand |
59 | Masked Zealot |
60 | Masked Man |
61 | Masked Man |
62 | Masked Men Group |
63 | Masked Men Group |
64 | Coordinated Attack |
65 | Ignore Pain |
66 | Ancient Curse |
67 | Offering |
68 | Prayer and Devotion |
69 | Pure Weapon |
70 | Single Minded |
71 | Jump Kick |
72 | Nemesis |
73 | Commander |
74 | Wise |
75 | Honourable |
76 | Hozoin In'ei |
77 | Sohei Superior |
78 | Sohei Abbot |
79 | Sohei Disciple |
80 | Sohei with Naganita |
81 | Sohei with Naganita Group |
82 | Sohei Bowman |
83 | Sohei Bowmen Group |
84 | Foreknowledge |
85 | Calming Spirit |
86 | Calming Mantra |
87 | Winds of Fate |
88 | Feinting Attack |
89 | Shove |
90 | Defence |
91 | Distract |
92 | Sensei |
93 | Pillar of Calm |
94 | Defend the Masses |
95 | Mystic |
96 | Untested Troops |
97 | Vicious Reputation |
98 | Evil Intent |
99 | Expert Shots |
100 | Cover |
The core set now has 2 types of Samurai hero and 4 Samurai companions - half of these armoured and half unarmoured. The companions all have different stat lines to add a bit more variety and interest.
By the way, as in v1 there is a duplicate set of all the recruitment cards with a different colour flag, so there's enough for two players to pick from.
There's a new Sergeant of Gunnery to boost your musket ashigaru, helping them reload faster. He can be armed with or without his own gun.
Characters can now upgrade to a musket as well as a bow. It's sometimes said that samurai felt firearms were dishonourable, and I'm sure there were some instances when that was true, but there are plenty of examples when samurai did arm themselves with teppo.
One of the new traits - Pathfinders and nearby friends can nip through the woods with ease, perfect to catch your enemies off guard!
A selection of the Honour cards that form a counterpoint to Dishonour in the game. There are some really tasty bonuses that will boost your troops as they are inspired by your noble example!
The addition of Honour cards have opened up some new options for Quests, such as the Path of Balance. Remember, completing a Quest during a battle gets you an immediate extra Skill card.
The Map skill has changed from its old rather weak rule, now providing a free move towards the nearest objective.
That's an Order! is a brand new skill that allows the character to donate their action to a nearby follower - I foresee some cunning uses of this one!
The base line stats for single warriors each have an extra point somewhere - generally matching the numbers their groups have always had. This makes those single guys a bit more useful and a bit more interesting!
Lastly, some of the Trait cards from the two Forces sets. Evil Intent and Untested Troops are from the Enemies pack. The former gain bonuses while you have most Dishonour and the latter start with a penalty but get a big boost after they kill someone!
Fast Cavalry is from the Clan Forces pack (FYI everything cavalry related is in that set). Combined with the new faster cav rules, this allows your horse archers to move 6", fire and gallop on another 3".
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A couple of changes to the weapon bonuses. Firstly naginatas - in v1 these were notably better than other weapons because you could get an extra action (Follow Up) on both the Avoid and Damage rolls. My intent was always that all melee weapons should be more or less equal, so Naginatas now only get a Move Up on Damage rolls. Consequently, Sohei and Onna armed with them now cost 1 point less.
Throwing Weapons have also changed. Now their bonus on the Strike roll is to move an extra 3", making you more nippy , dashing forward or diving back into cover after the attack. Look out for those ninjas!
At the back of the rulebook I've included a section of optional rules and play-modes. These are not considered the 'official' way to play, but are well worth trying out...
For starters there are suggested rules for handling bigger battles and multi-player games. I've also talked about Deck Building, which is an approach that some players really enjoy.
My favourite bit is the Fateful Events. These are interesting occurrences that crop up during a battle when you draw the last Fate token each turn. They range from bad weather, unexpected reinforcements or even warriors betraying their friends and switching sides! We actually played with these rules when we were first playtesting the game and I guarantee they are loads of fun. However, they can on occasion have a big effect on certain scenarios, even game-winning, which is why I've left them as optional.
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We now have comprehensive terrain rules, while still keeping things simple and intuitive. Defended positions, climbing and leaping are included, and cavalry can now dismount in order to enter buildings!
There are 18 scenarios in the rulebook. The introductory battles from v1 (I love the story it tells!), 6 standard battles ideal for one-off play, and 6 further battles that introduce more complex and story-driven elements - such as a last stand or an attack while your hero is at prayer.
Many of these battles can be changed further by making them night-fights or launching a surprise attack - this means the attacker has less troops but the defender starts unaware of the enemy!
In v1 Quests were rather underused - they only applied in campaign games and even then they were an option that not many people bothered with.
Quests are now fully usable in one-off games. You choose one at the start of each battle and it forms a sort of secret mission than you can, if you want, try to complete during the game.
This could be killing a specific character, gaining a certain number of Honour cards, holding objectives, etc. As soon as you complete the requirements you reveal your Quest and take an extra Skill card as your reward!
Continuing the story of your hero and his companions from game to game was always a fun element in Test of Honour, and it has now been expanded considerably!
As well as retaining Skill cards as before, after each battle you roll on the Aftermath table for each of your characters. This is modified if you won or lost, if they were injured or cut down, or if you completed a Quest. The result could be anything from a permanent wound, a rowdy celebration, getting captured by the enemy, or even improving your stat line!
As v1 was developed, people started asking which Skill cards they should include in their Fate decks. Our ruling was to limit you to the cards that came in the same sets as the characters in your force. In v2 we've put an identifier icon on each Recruitment and Skill card, which has allowed me to develop this a bit further:
The various icons represent a similar outlook, approach, fighting style, etc, known as a Path. So for example, Sohei Monks, Masked Men and the Priest from the new Unlikely Allies box all follow the same path and have the same icon, as do all the Skills and Quests associated with them. This means that if you take a character from this path, then you have a much wider pool of Skills to draw from, all with a mystical, religious theme. It also means that over time we can improve and add to these paths with new sets, rather than keeping each new release in complete isolation.
The different paths are:
Glorious Charge - Daimyo's Retinue, Mounted Samurai
Protect and Sacrifice - Onna Bugeisha, Seven Ronin, Hostess
Rebellion - Pauper Soldiers, Chobei's Renegades, Wise Old Man
Ambush - Ronin, Bandits & Brigands, Ninjas, Ronin Marksman
Mysticism - Sohei Monks, Masked Men, Priest
Military - Veteran Ashigaru, Clan Envoy
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All the cards have been converted into the new style and split into these two sets: Clan Forces and Enemy Forces, each containing the updated cards from 5 of the old sets.
Each set contains 100 cards - here's the breakdown:
Mounted Samurai
Daimyo’s Retinue
Onna Bugeisha
Ronin
Ninjas
Sohei Monks
Chobei’s Renegades
Bandits & Brigands
Masked Men
Paupers
I've done a full review of all the stat lines - v1 was written in fits and starts, with a number of different people contributing, and the result was certain troop types and characters were simply better value than others. So I've taking the chance to smooth out these inconsistencies and make sure everything is fair!
Basic single warriors have all had a 1 point addition somewhere on their profile. This means that rather than them all being exactly the same with 3s across the board, now there is a distinct difference to each troop type. Balancing this, groups now just get the standard Aim and Honour bonuses if they have enough warriors left.
There are a few Skills that have changed completely. These are mainly Skills that have been made redundant by changes to the core rules - cavalry, etc. And for a couple of cards, the number of Honour cards you have is now a factor (by the way, the Skill cards that used to be labelled Honour have been changed to Duty, to avoid confusion with the new Dishonour / Honour card system).
There is also a larger number of wording tweaks that don't change the spirit of the card but clarify the details and remove any ambiguities.
Finally a lot of the Quest cards have changed, for reasons I'll explain below...
For starters I've included unnamed heroes and two different companions for each of the troop types - want an all-Sohei force? No problem! Or why not add a Ronin Ruffian, a Pauper Demagogue or a Masked Zealot!
There are also 9 new Traits across the two sets, including Fast Cavalry, Untested Troops, Evil Intent and Drunkards!
Oh and lastly, the Clan Forces set includes cards for Kamiizumi-Kanchou, Oda Nobunaga and the Geisha Spy and just had room for Red Mist and the other Skills from the old dice set.
Not the most exciting start, but important! The old system of dividing warriors into Samurai and Commoners was fine for the starter set but broke down with things like monks and ninjas, who needed leaders but clearly weren't samurai. Equally in sets like the Daimyo's Retinue, all the models are designed as samurai but some of them had to be lower-level warriors. So here are the new terms:
Of course there are also lots of minor tweaks and clarifications in the new book, making sure the v1 FAQs are properly covered, etc, but let's just get to the tasty stuff:
While 1st edition gave you the temptation of pursuing the Dark Side and following the path of dishonour, what about players who like to be good guys?
2nd edition has both Honour and Dishonour cards.
All your characters can gain them now, not just your hero. However, you can't just take one when you want any more, instead you make the decision whenever a character attacks an enemy who cannot avoid. At this point, imagine you can either sneak forward and stab them in the back or announce yourself and give the opponent a second to react. This will give you +1 or -1 dice plus the appropriate card. (You can also choose neither and attack normally.)
There is more variety in the cards now - 4 different for Honour and the same for Dishonour. As you'd expect, the Dishonour cards make your troops start to lose faith in their leader, while Honour cards do the opposite, giving your force bonuses and even free actions. It's a tricky dilemma between a short term boost or a long term gain!
In v1, groups were dominant, while single warriors and in particular mounted warriors were seen as under-powered. So there are a few important changes to get things more in balance.
Firstly cavalry are more nippy than before: they charge 9" and can move 6" and shoot. Infantry with long pointy weapons still get a bonus against them, though reduced from before - spears only in defence and naginatas only on the attack.
These bonuses now form part of a 'tactical triangle' (game designer-speak) - so melee infantry (with the right weapons) have an advantage against cavalry, cavalry get +1 attacking missile troops and missile troops get +1 firing at groups.
The result is to make manoeuvring your troops against the right opponents more important, rewarding good tactics and making the game more exciting!
Trait cards are a new element in the game that allow you to upgrade your followers (commoners as was).
They are chosen when you pick your force and each cost 1 Recruitment point. Each card upgrades 1 group or 2 followers, and gives those warriors new abilities. For example, they could become Pathfinders, able to find hidden tracks through the woods, Fast Cavalry for some expert horse-archery, or even Drunkards!
Trait cards will start appearing in the various sets we produce. If you bought the Veteran Ashigaru card set then you'll already have the Coordination trait, and there's one in the Unlikely Allies set too.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Graham Davey, writer of the original ruleset. Andy Hobday and I developed the game, and now we’re making plans for taking things forward.
I’ve set up a company called Grey For Now Games, to become the new publisher (if you could see my miniatures collection, you’d know what inspired the name!), and the brilliant team at War Banner will be handling casting and delivery.
The first product of this new era is already out - this gorgeous set is inspired by a certain iconic Japanese film...
As befits these epic heroes, they have special rules allowing all of them access to Fate cards.
This set is available in the webstore.
The original version published by Warlord Games is now off sale, so we are busy working on a new edition to replace it...
Andy and I have been throwing around ideas for ToH2 for a while now, so I thought I would write down the gist of our thinking. This should give you a sense of what to expect from the 2nd Edition, and hopefully a warm glow of anticipation!
First and foremost, we don’t want to ruin what is good about the existing game. Test of Honour has been vastly more successful than we ever expected, and it would be insane to change things so much that we lost all the wonderful, enthusiastic fans that are out there already.
So we won’t be messing around with the core rules system. The game will still be quick to learn and fast to play, with those great cinematic moments as your hero slays a whole run of enemies in a single move!
Lots of you have invested time and money in the game over the last few years, so it’s important that we don’t invalidate all that effort.
As such we won’t suddenly restrict which models you can recruit, remove weapon options or anything like that. And wherever possible stats and rules on cards will remain consistent too.
There will of course be new models… we are working with a great sculptor to get some fantastic miniatures created.
We are also thinking about putting out card sets on their own – something many of you have asked for to make it easier to play the game with different model ranges.
On the whole the rules only need a bit of spit and polish. Thanks to the 32-page limit when I wrote the original mini rulebooks, there are a number of areas that could be explained better and improved with an example or two.
We’ll also include lots of the bits that are currently available in the Optional Rules, and add in the material from the Darkness and Deceit booklet as well, to create a more complete rulebook.
However, it wouldn’t be a proper 2nd edition without a few tasty new changes and additions:
Many of you have commented that cavalry seem too weak in the game, and there have been some fascinating Facebook threads with your ideas on how to redress the balance.
It should be clear that we don’t see a ToH skirmish as the opportunity for the thunderous, galloping, unstoppable charges you would experience in a full-scale battle wargame. Each turn lasts perhaps a second or two, so you would barely have a chance to urge your horse into motion and canter a few steps.
That said we agree the balance isn’t quite right at the moment, so we will be making some tweaks. At the same time, it’s vital not to let things swing in the other direction. ToH is an infantry game at heart, so we can’t let cav become dominant. Expect a light touch!
The more unscrupulous players of ToH take great glee in taking those Dishonour cards to give their hero a boost – who cares if their troops start to lose faith.
We are playtesting a variety of new effects for the cards, so the penalty is less predictable.
But what about all those players who prefer to take a more noble path?
One of the key additions in the new version will be Honour cards. These are essentially the inverse of Dishonour cards – taking a short term disadvantage for a later boost in the courage and loyalty of your troops.
I also have plans to flesh out the campaign system, lots of new Fate cards, as well as a few other cool ideas...
We're aiming to publish this Summer. We'll let you know as soon as the date is confirmed!
This has been a quick(ish) recap of our ideas so far. I'll send out more newsletters as and when we have exciting developments to share!
Please let us know your ideas and comments on the Grey For Now Games Facebook page.
Thanks for reading!
Graham