Confrontation in Kustaa

The town of Kustaa sits on the southeastern edge of the Livwald Forest

The other night we were able to play a little Song of Blades and Heroes, and it was quite a blast. Prep time was minimal and the rules were very easy to pick up; being my first time to play. We fought a three-way battle with the game objective being that of a 'king of the hill' situation, but instead we used one of Andy's craters for the 'hill'. I used my Wood Elf band, Andy went with his Djedetians, and Chri3 fielded Nezumi (Skaven).


Lady Talon's Livwald Delegation was in Kustaa...


...as were the minions of Djedet


Lady Talon and her Wood Elf Companion defeat Magus Skulk...


...and in short order, his Rat Ogre bodyguard, Kingsley


Djedetian monsters attack the Tree Man in the streets...


...and with support from their masters, slay him


The sultry Sylph and giant hornet outflank the Djedetians


The Elves brace for a fly-by attack from the giant bat...


...who is subsequently laid low by their steel and magic


The Livwald Delegation bravely hold their ground, surrounded by foes

Lady Talon's life force was crushed by the mandibles of the giant scarab


The Nezumi attack the giant scorpion en masse, scoring a victory


The last seen of the lone Wood Elf Warrior was the flash of his twin blades as he cut a swath through the ranks of the Nezumi. He would fall later in the battle. The Livwald Delegation was wiped out, every last one, and what Nezumi managed to survive, fled from Kustaa and into the woods beyond the town's perimeter. Although the giant monsters (bat, scorpion, and scarab) were all killed, the Djedetians' mage-leader still lived, as did his bodyguard. Their stone golem was too slow to ever see combat, but it didn't matter. With the Elven host slaughtered, and the Nezumi fleeing in fear, the Djedetians clearly held the higher ground, err, crater in this case and were the victors of the confrontation.

I've gotta say, these SBH rules were very easy to hit the ground running with. The game moved at a quick pace, and nothing seemed too out-of-whack or unbalanced. The turn sequence was kind of neat too, and made for some tension to see if all of your forces would get to go or not (if they roll too many failures your turn ends immediately). I thought the magic was a little weak sauce at first, but it grew on me, I'll have to play it some more to really see. Overall the game had that elusive "fun" factor that's been rumored to exist.