We at ZombieSmith have been hard at work on our upcoming fantasy setting, War of Ashes. Our first book in the setting will be out this summer, War of Ashes: Shieldwall.
Today, we are releasing a preview pack for the first of the four initial races, the Elvorix.
The Elvorix
The Elvorix are the last bastion of civilization in a world full of chaos and barbarism. Some say they are cunning tricksters, having fooled the Vidaar into departing on a hopeless quest across the globe. Others say they are stalwart warriors, as they fight tooth and nail to reclaim their lands from the fierce Jaarl armies. Others say that the Elvorix are quite delicious, once you get past all the fur. (Well, not very many say that, just the Kuld hordes from the icelands of the north and south.) The Elvorix don't say much about themselves, as doing so would draw the attention of their God, and these encounters have a tendency to end in world-changing catastrophe. As the sun grows ever more crimson in the sky and the ice encroaches from the north and south, the Elvorix fight a losing battle to protect the last fertile land in Agapta against the ravages of war, and against being eaten.
War of Ashes: Shieldwall
War of Ashes: Shieldwall is the next setting and ruleset from the designers of This Quar's War and Songs of Our Ancestors. Concentrating on command and position instead of unit statistics and abilities, WoA: Shieldwall provides simple rules that bring with them difficult decisions.
Taking the gritty tactics and concepts of the Dark Ages and setting them in the whimsical world of Agaptus, WoA: Shieldwall begins with the Roar Phase, in which both sides rally their line and taunt their opponent. The goal of which is generating Froth, a resource used throughout the game to bend the rules and adjust position in the line.
To represent the flowing nature and chaos of the battlefield, WoA: Shieldwall utilizes a blind, random activation system in which the commander never quite knows how far he can push his fighters before the momentum of the battle passes to his opponent.
Once two lines have met, the fighting begins. Unlike most ranked-unit games, casualties are removed from the point of contact, and the lines begin to merge. Each slain opponent brings with him a decision – advance and break their line, or hold and preserve your shieldwall!
A preview pack of Elvorix is available now, a pack of Vidaar are coming soon, and the Kuld and Jaarl are in the near-future! Full armies and the rulebook this summer!
