[War of Ashes] Playtest Open Now!

Is that a... meat... polearm?

The War of Ashes playtest is now open! Go apply for it!

What is War of Ashes? Is that what you're asking? Well, it's based on Zombiesmith's wargame Shieldwall, in which four varieties of puppety oddballs cut a bloody swath of death and conquest across the island of Agaptus. Zombiesmith makes some detailed, distinctive miniatures for it in their trademark "grimsical" style. They're kinda like Muppets, but even more bloodthirsty, if you can imagine such a thing.

It also has an impressively rich backstory, which WoA lead designer Sophie Lagacé has used to create a whole RPG using Fate Accelerated Edition. I was lucky enough to get to do the combat rules, as previously mentioned, which are minis-compatible. The design goal there was to make a FAE game that can incorporate minis and tactical combat in a way that adds to the fun instead of feeling like a barrier to it. Shieldwall has some unique cultural stuff that shows up in the game, like Roar and Froth, and figuring out how to work as much of that material in to give WoA a Shieldwall feel was a fun challenge. I'm really pleased with the results.

So go check it out! Playtest! Go!