Fated Blade - Heroic Fantasy Skirmish

Fated Blade - Heroic Fantasy Skirmish 

Fated Blade is a 'Sword and Sorcery' inspired sandbox game which plays in 30 minutes to an hour. It is designed with ergonomics and playability at the fore, a game full of strategy and cinematic moments. The core rules fit on just four pages of A4!

There is minimal list building and the warbands are designed to be as 'agnostic' as possible - so you can use most of your fantasy collection. 

This is a unit-based, D6 skirmish game for individually-based 28mm miniatures. Players can also use their 15mm or element-based models with a bit of imagination. Players generally need 30-40 models on a 36" x 36" battlefield to play. A large miniature collection is ideal for this game, as players get to bring on randomly determined reinforcements and want to maximize their options.

In the standard game mode each player chooses an Exalted One - a hero of immense power - their Retainers, a Monster and a few units of troops. Every turn reinforcements will arrive for both sides - an escalating engagement where which troops you bring on is an essential part of the strategy.

Players can set their games of Fated Blade in any setting they wish - it is a broad set of rules and very flexible for your needs. From ancients to medieval, this game has got you covered!

The game engine

Fated Blade uses a refined version of my tried and tested Spears of Valour engine, with a lot of innovation sprinkled on top. I have cut out anything that slows the game down, reduced calculations almost to zero and created a lean machine which can play in 30 minutes!

Players share a turn, which is broken down into phases. Starting with the Attacker, players alternate between activating their units. An activated unit gets two actions - 'Move' and 'Shoot' - which they can perform in any order or twice. Some units have special orders which take up both actions - such as Horse Archers skirmishing. Every activation is a question of strategy - do you double 'Shoot' with your archers or do you move into position? Do you activate your Light Cavalry and charge into combat or do you risk a volley of javelin-fire against them? Do you charge your hero into two units and pin them down or do you pick off the weaker one?

Special characters come with (Active) and (Spell) abilities which can be used at the cost of one action (and some abilities are so powerful they take up the whole of a model's activation!)

Game play is fast and furious. If one archer can see an enemy, the whole unit can shoot. If one model is in base contact, the whole unit can fight in melee. Combat is straight forward - roll equal or under your Skill to hit, roll equal or under your Strength to wound. If you took casualties and are engaged in melee combat, roll one D6 per casualty - every roll equal or under your Valour is a pass, every fail causes an additional wound. If a unit is armoured, halve incoming hits. Magick attacks ignores armour, but warded units halve incoming magick attacks. 

There are minimal special rules on your standard troops and elites, so you can focus on the flow of the game. The Exalted One and Great Foes have their own character sheets with special rules and abilities. These powerful individuals are the only such models - and they deserve a few bells and whistles being fantasy legends afterall!

What types of unit are in the book?

Fated Blade has ten different types of Exalted heroes - the Assassin, the Barbarian, the Druid, the Necromancer, the Nomad Archer, the Ranger, the Royal Knight, the Templar, the Vestal and the Wyrdmancer. Each have their own attacks, abilities and unique play style. These heroes are extremely powerful and are the foundation of your strategy.

Every Exalted is accompanied by Retainers - elite bodyguards who serve as their right hand. These are archetypes such as 'Heavy Guards', 'Snipers', 'Arcane', 'Winged' and so on. Players can interpret these archetypes with their own imagination.

Troops are broad and varied, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. From standard Light Infantry (think pawns in chess) to mighty Heavy Cavalry, there is something for everyone. Which troops you bring on as reinforcements plays a massive part in the strategy and players need to decide which unit will serve them best (if you are up against lots of armoured troops, apprentices are good. If you need to jump on an objective, Light Cavalry are king. If you need a swift unit to move and shoot a hidden mage, Horse Archers have your back).

Monsters are your typical fantasy fare of Gryphons and Giants and Drakes and Evil Eyes! They serve as auxilia to your army, an extra flyer here or an extra shock unit there.

In addition to these unit types are Great Foes - massive monsters that only feature in special scenarios! These are perfect for climactic battles where the hero ventures into the monsters lair, facing the Great Foe and it's last line of desperate followers. 

What is in the core book?

The core book contains all the rules you need to play the game. These rules fit on about four pages of A4! They also come with examples, a cheat sheet and a sample turn.

There are four 'Game modes' each with massively different strategy. These are Escalating Engagement, Territorial Conquest, Breakthrough and Lair of the Beast.

There are stats for plentiful Exalted, Retainers, Troops, Monsters and Great Foes.

For lore-lovers there is a sample campaign - the Eldnox Saga - with a bit of background and narrative to get you started. 

Finally there is an appendix with bonus rules (such as magick lores), a sample warband and a small hobby section talking about collecting miniatures!

Final Note

If you have any problems with the PDF or would like stat sheets, playtesting opportunities for the expansion, or any rules queries, feel free to send me an email (on the first page of the book).