STALKER7

Another Nightwatch game?

Yes.

Mutating like a virus, Raid and Ruin emerged out of running narrative war games and RPG one-shots for kids and new players.

Most of you know I’m not a fan of the ‘combat-grind’ typical to many RPG systems, so I started tweaking Nightwatch for combat encounters in these games over the past year. RnR is the result.

Streamlined

What’s different?

For starters, I worked up pre-generated ‘force lists’ for four common fantasy enemies: goblins+orcs, the undead, evil cultists, and crawly things. Then I dialed the Dark Spawn down a notch. I kept Traits to flavor each type and faction appropriately, and added Behaviors so they would act consistently on the tabletop. But fewer Traits means they are slightly less lethal out of the gate.

For the Nightwatch Heroes, I borrowed Grit from Scrapjacks, modified it, and folded in to the players’ stat line. Grit allows heroes to add an extra ‘umpf’ to their actions, a chance to dig deep and act heroically as it were. But they cannot do so recklessly. Or automatically.

The ‘heroic effort’ is now costly in that to do so requires one of the die types in the Action Dice Pool; it’s risky because while probable it’s never guaranteed; it’s versatile, meaning the effort can be applied to either attack or defense; and finally it is meaningful because it really makes a difference when it works.

SMALL PARTY + OBJECTIVE-BASED MISSIONS

Cooperative, mini-agnostic, low model count, open setting, with a small foot print, it’s like most of my other games. RnR focuses on small teams of seasoned fighters – a Pact – tasked with conducting missions behind enemy lines. With an 8-turn limit games, Hunters from each main character class – plus occasional allies – head out to free a prisoner, recover an artifact, destroy a supply depot or source of malevolent arcane energy on a 3 x 3 area.

Like the other Nightwatch titles, each class has sub-classes of sorts; weapon or training options that cater to particular fighting style. There are three options for the fighters, two for the alchemist and spell caster support types. The goal was to keep characters simple, but not homogenized.

The Towers of Blackmere

Five fires burned when the Scourge lost his throne.
Five fires bound him beneath earth and stone.

Five fires hold him in iron-clad hand.
Five fires bright to ward the Northland.

Five fires lost will darken the skies.
Five fires cold, the cruel king shall rise.

The Sturgis crew has agreed to investigate reports of the Undead stirring in the remote Blackmere province. A party of five means they’ll face more Dark Spawn models each turn, but I’m sure it’s nothing they can’t handle. First session is this weekend. Provided they don’t perish, there will be multiple AARs coming.

Nightwatch Raid and Ruin will be available soon. The Towers of Blackmere will follow later this year.

That’s all for now. Feel free to drop by and ask any questions here or at the S7 FB Group.

Good Hunting.