Fighting the plague of the undead is a topic that has been discussed many times in various computer games and fantasy movies. The idea is also used in RPGs. So, if you like horror movies where you can meet the undead, role-playing, and you don’t lack a sense of strategy, then it’s worth taking a look at The Company of Blades .
The last bastion
Before we get to the mechanics, it’s worth getting acquainted with the game’s story background. It takes us to a post-apocalyptic world that, from our perspective, could be set in the early 17th century. About ten years earlier, the Ash King appeared here, able to resurrect the dead and create his servants from them. Since then, mankind has been at war with him. Legion, because that is the name of the united army facing the enemy, has both numerous successes and failures. The main force in repelling the undead were the Chosen Ones, filled with divine power. They recently fought a great battle on the fields of Ettenmark. Unfortunately for the living, they suffered an ignominious defeat. The undead crushed the Legion’s forces to dust, defeated the Chosen, and recruited all the fallen into their own troops. And that’s exactly where you come into the game.
Unusually
RPG players are used to the fact that they usually control one character and the Game Master does the rest. In this case, things are a bit different. Yes, we are creating our hero here, a Specialist, a much more trained soldier who can do more than others on the battlefield. However, this is not the only character we will be directing. In addition, together with our co-players, we will have to make decisions for the entire staff of commanders and manage recruits. First things first.
Let’s start with our main character. At the outset, I would like to point out that it is not worth getting too attached to our heroes here, because the mortality rate here is quite high. The forces of the Ash King have the upper hand over us – and it shows. At the same time, continue to embody the character you created well, give him personality and story. This will help to create the right atmosphere, and the Game Master will be able to reward us for it, more on that later. First, choose your origin. There are extremely pious Bartans, influential and powerful Orians, those who come from the forests, slightly wild Panjars and Zemians who come from the mountains. Each of them, of course, has its own heritage traits that will make the game easier for us. It is also worth adjusting your pedigree to the specialization we choose. Here, in turn, we can choose between a centurion, a heavily armed man, a feldsher, sniper and scout. Each faction has a different set of actions, i.e. skills useful on the battlefield. They also get a set of selectable abilities, as well as a set of starting items. It is worth discussing with the team who wants to heal, who is in charge, and who will be assigned the role of protecting the rear. When choosing, however, it should be noted that each mission will involve more soldiers than players at the table. We will also get a few Rookies at our disposal. We choose their initial abilities, which, however, will be much more limited than in the case of our Specialists – but they can still be extremely useful on the battlefield. It is also not worth treating them like cannon fodder, because first of all: they will also gain experience and will be able to develop, becoming better and better helpers, and secondly – each death will affect the morale of the team and the rewards that will be obtained after completing the task. Of course, if we actually manage to return to the camp alive…
Players will also take on the role of commanders and decide for themselves where they will direct their steps, what equipment they will take and what missions they will perform. We will have to determine who will be the Legate directing the quests and paths, who will be the Tribune managing the soldiers, and finally the Quartermaster distributing resources. Optionally, the Chronicler and the Master of Spies will be able to join this group. Each role will have a huge impact on your entire campaign.
Complementing the choices facing the players, it should be added that it will also be decided which deity, here called the Anointed One, will watch over you. You have three options – Shreya, Horned and Zora. Each has a special set of supernatural powers that will help you during the fight against the plague. Their Evil side counterparts are the Corrupted Splitter and Warpbreaker. Deciding who to become your opponent will affect the availability of missions. Finally, you’ll choose which team you belonged to before the Battle of Ettenmark Fields, and you’re ready to go!
A task for six!
A company of bladesis a difficult game. It’s not about the rules themselves, but about the level of gameplay. Here we will mainly use six-sided dice, where only throwing the highest result will give us full success. At 4 and 5, our plans will be partly realized, but there will also be unpleasant consequences. Scores from 1 to 3 mean a failure. Fortunately, thanks to your skills, you will usually have more than one die in your hand, and only the highest score will count. What’s more, playing a character can make things a bit easier for us. There is such a thing as “flashbacks”. The player can tell a story from his life that will give him dice or even allow for automatic success. For example, we can beautifully tell how in our youth we worked in the circus, being tightrope walkers. The Game Master has the right to decide that crossing the footbridge will not be a bigger challenge for us. As for other aspects of mechanics – in many cases we will manage troops, resources and missions ourselves. The host will have a lot of work to do, and it’s a good idea for the players to tell him their intentions at the end of the session so that he can prepare accordingly.
Preparations
To start your adventure with the Company of Blades , you should of course read the manual published by Stinger Press and distributed by Alis Games. It contains 451 pages and was released in hardcover. In it we will find, among others A map of Aldermark and black and white drawings of both Legion soldiers and Ash King forces. Principles are, of course, the most important thing for us. These are described in a simple and understandable way. Properly described chapters and an index make it easy to find the fragments you need at a given moment. However, the order can be confusing. First, the rules for creating heroes and mission phases are described, and only then the relevant rules and description of the world. Fortunately, we can always turn the pages, otherwise we would create everything blindly, at random, and only later would they find out if we chose our skills well. The biggest drawback here is the lack of character cards. You won’t find it in the manual,
Something new
Blade Company is certainly something refreshing in the RPG market. In addition to role-playing, it gives you the opportunity to plan and play strategists. It also allows players to have even more influence over their campaigns. At the same time, it still leaves a lot of room for the Game Master to show off. In such a huge “sandbox” a lot of adventures and unusual meetings await us. Quite simple mechanics and the possibility of improvisation also favor subsequent sessions. The dark atmosphere should also appeal to all horror fans. So it’s worth getting acquainted with this title!
