Author: Red Ones Go Faster

Armageddon at Drawbridge Gate: Summer 2025

Armageddon at Drawbridge Gate: Summer 2025

This Summer at Drawbridge Games we’re launching a store-wide Warhammer 40k Crusade Campaign, designed for all players in the community to participate in. The goal is for people to get in games to tell the stories of their own armies whilst being a part of the bigger narrative for the store, culminating in two mega-battles at the end of the campaign to decide things. We’ll be loosely using the 2025 Crusade supplement for Warhammer 40k, but players will not need that to play the games. You’ll find the campaign’s story, procedures, and plan below.

Story

Like Angron’s attack on the planet of Armageddon, the planets in the Drawbridge Gulf system are in a moment of extreme, planet-threatening crisis. In the past, strange causeways formed in the warp between planets in the Drawbridge Gulf (see here for an example: https://youtu.be/RBBMz3_EXn4?si=bT3VybVjBlXamYk5 ), and the machinations of Chaos are yet again playing havoc on the connections between planets in the system. Warp anomalies and rifts have begun forming on the twin planets of Ponte Levatoio and Drifbrú. Ponte Levatoio is a mining world rich with resources, recently partially developed by the tech priests of Mars to begin manufacturing. From scrap to rare resources many factions would love to either control the planet or quickly extract its resources and escape. It’s sister planet of Drifbrú by contrast has the other commodities of the galaxy. Not only is it a lush and prosperous agri-world teeming with life and with a huge population of human workers, but its also an ancient touchstone of the war in heaven, with buried artifacts of both Necron and Aeldari significance forming powerful warp ley-lines to converge on the system. In short, every faction has decided that the moment of the warp instabilities connecting the two of them is the perfect time to strike and get their gains or thwart others’s aims.

Mining World Ponte Levatoio with the serene Agri-World Drifbrú in the distance

Procedures

The Campaign will use the basic 40k Crusade system described in many supplements. Any 10th edition Crusade rules description will get you the basics you need to play–here is the basic version from Warhammer Community which includes the printable roster sheet as well as the cards to track each unit: https://assets.warhammer-community.com/warhammer40000_crusade_crusaderules_eng_24.09-x7lpyyilc9.pdf .

Players have a set maximum number of points you can bring to games based around spending requisition points, and units gain Battle Honors to represent their Upgrades (traits, weapon upgrades, and relics) through experience points (XP), and Battle Scars from defeats. Players should draw up a Crusade Roster and track their units, starting at 1,000 points as usual. The specific Crusade goals of each army from their army book will not be used, as each army will be working on the Armageddon Campaign goal. Note that “goal” is the general term I’m using for the back-of-codex rules for each faction’s own progress toward their own narrative that results in faction Campaign Badges (e.g. Death Guard brewing plagues, Orks accumulating scrap, Eldar doing their absurd weaving three strands of fate book-keeping). Of course players can track their own army progress toward these unique faction goals that yields them their faction-specific Campaign Badges–but that’s for fun only–tho it may affect what your forces do to try and gain XP. No benefits for units are accrued from these–only the unit upgrades from the Armageddon book (awarded by Campaign HQ) will be applied.

Campaign HQ will release a weekly guide for what mission should be played in that week by campaign players, with all the info you’ll need for running that mission. Players additionally get ONE Agenda each game that they can pursue, which can be chosen from the list below from the Armageddon Crusade, or can swap in one of their Codex-specific Agendas if they prefer. There will be bonus chances for unit XP based around players bringing and modeling various Warp Anomalies to represent parts of the missions (a number of missions have strange “neutral antagonist” warp creatures that assail both sides of the battle at random as part of the mission).

Battle Honors Upgrades and Scars will be randomly assigned as part of the Campaign HQ update each week–so you’ll need to tune in to those to see what happened to your forces in the aftermath of the battle. This will make the game more fun because players are not cherry-picking upgrades, and also will give a sense of renown for the units that are becoming either glorious victors or scarred-but-scrappy competitors. You can request the type of Battle Honor Upgrade assigned from the following types: Weapons Modification, Crusade Relic, Faction Battle Trait (found in your army codex), or Armageddon Battle Trait (found in the Crusade: Armageddon book).

After a game, players will submit some short information to the following form: https://tinyurl.com/49k6csun. They must submit their name, the name of their opponent, the campaign mission played, the results of the battle, a photo from the battle of their forces in action, and photos and bit of info on any units that gain new Battle Honor Upgrades or incurred Battle Scars. These will then be featured in the Campaign HQ updates. The rest of the info of Crusade progress, such as Requisition Points and how they’re spent, size of force, Crusade Points, and replacement of units are tracked by each individual on their own as normal for Crusade play.

Players can play more than one game per week, but are encouraged to play them with different armies and opponents to vary things up (see “plan” below for why multiple armies are fine). If you play multiple games in a week just know that the effects of any battle traits or battle scars will not be issued until after the week is finished. To play a game players find an opponent (in the store on Thursday nights or weekends is most likely, but also in the 40k chats on Messenger or the Store Discord–ask to be a part of them if you’re not), agree to a points value that works for both players (remember that Crusade can balance somewhat different points values, but keep things relatively even by generally playing where the lower roster size player is at), select units and play the assigned mission for the week. If two players want to play prior missions from earlier weeks to “Catch Up” then you also can do so during the time frame of the campaign. Those may or may not affect the outcomes of the planetary narrative (e.g. it may be too late to “save the village” if the village was wiped out by last week’s results), but I want people to be able to have fun, play the missions, and feel a part of things so it’s fine to go back and play prior missions.

Painting requirements for Crusade games are a bit more relaxed. We ask that people make a good faith effort in painting their models and follow a “more painted this week than last week” approach to their games. The one rule is that unpainted models cannot be part of the Campaign HQ upates. So they cannot receive Upgrades due to Battle Honors as we’ll want photos of the painted models for those updates. So hopefully getting a unit enough XP to reach these milestones would mean that players are incentivized to put at least battle-ready paint on those models. Likewise, unpainted units that receive a Battle Scar means the player MUST spend a Requisition Point on the Repair and Recuperate action to remove it after the battle (or paint up the models before submitting results). Players can delay submission of the Battle Results to allow painting time if they wish (but the results may not figure in to the planetary narrative in that case (similar to playing prior missions).

Remember: “battle ready” can be as quick as a bit of contrast and a couple of highlights

Team games are also permitted in the campaign, so if you want to play as a group you’re more than welcome to do so. The main thing about these is that only one faction (see below) per side gets advanced with the results of the game, so just be clear about which side is being fought for when submitting results from a team game.

Plan

As part of this campaign, each army represents one of four competing general Alliances seeking control of the pair of planets. Those Alliances are The Imperium, Chaos (including any Guard and AdMech forces that wish to declare themselves as Chaos), Order Xenos (T’au, Drukhari, Aeldari, and Votann), and Annihilation Xenos (Orks, Tyranids, Genestealer Cults, and Necrons). The overall campaign tracks the wins/losses of these forces to determine which end up controlling various aspects of the two planets through the course of the summer campaign. At the end of the Summer/conclusion of the campaign, there will be TWO Mega-Battles on two different days to determine the final outcome of the two planets. These will feature one massive board and be all-day Armageddon Style mega battles with objectives for each player and board elements effected by the games of the campaign. This is why players are encouraged to play a couple of different armies throughout the campaign if they like–as you can take part in any Mega-Battle that you fielded forces for in at least one game. The matchups and which planet they take place on will be determined by the results of the campaign games–so it might be Imperium vs Chaos on Ponte Levatoio while Xenos clash on Drifbrú, but it could also be a harried defense of Pointe Levatoio by the Order Xenos facing Chaos, whilst the Imperium seeks to repel the Annihilation Xenos from the shores of Drifbrú. Either way, both should be fun endcaps to the campaign when taken together, and give people multiple days to be able to participate in at least one of the campaign end events.

Right now the plan is a bit flexible by interest from the community, but we’re thinking 7 weeks of campaign games and then the culminating two mega-battles in early-to-mid August. That means roughly the following schedule:

Hopefully this gives our community a fun way to play some linked 40k games this summer, get some cool stories built, and really go all-out for some big 40k fun. We’ll hopefully do footage of the two Mega-Battles at the end of it to again compose a video about the event that people can look back on to remember the summer of Armageddon!

Update: Campaign HQ Mission Briefing Week One is Now Live

For those who prefer to read, here is the relevant data for how the first week’s mission will run:

100 Guardsmen vs a Gorillanaut

100 Guardsmen vs a Gorillanaut

Time for new 40k nonsense at Drawbridge Games. This time we’re inspired by a ridiculous meme debate that is making its rounds on social media. Who cares whether 100 humans can defeat a Gorilla? What we care about is how much can 100 Imperial Guardsmen handle? What can take 100 T’au Fire Warriors, Aeldari Guardians, Tyranid Gaunts, or Necron Warriors? Let’s find out on the tabletop!

The event will take place on Saturday, June 7th starting at noon at Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Players can bring their troops and any big models with which they want to test their luck against these hordes. Can they take a Lord of Skulls? How about a Warhound Titan? Would a Gorkanaut kill the 100 while a Morkanaut would fail to?

For bringing line troops, players can bring models with special weapons but they’ll all have only the basic gear of a line trooper. All models must be painted and based (at least earnest attempt). We will only run groups that can reach 100 models total, and they’ll have limited combined datasheets in the groups (see the chart below). There will be a door prize, and participants can get entry into the drawing by running either side (a horde or a big model), by painting up at least 20 new infantry models for the event, by bringing an entire 100 models of one type themselves (huge undertaking!), and by managing to win with any horde against highest points cost foe they can manage.

FactionHordesCommitted to Contribute
Astra Militarium10 or 20 Cadian Shock Troopers with lasguns; 10 or 20 Catachan Jungle Fighters with lasgnsu; 10 or 20 Death Korps of Krieg Troopers with lasgunsAL: – 20 Catachans
Adeptus Sororitas10 Battle Sisters with boltguns 
Adeptus Mechanicus10 Skitarii Rangers with galvanic rifle; 10 Skitarii Vanguard with radium carbine 
Chaos Space Marines10 or 20 Chaos Cultists with autopistolsJ: 100 Cultists
Death Guard10 or 20 Poxwalkers with improvised weaponsJ: 40 Poxwalkers, AL: 10 Poxwalkers
Aeldari and Drukhari10 Guardians with shuriken catapults; 10 Storm Guardians with shuriken pistols; 10 Kabalite Warriors with splinter rilfesAL: 30 Kabalites, 20 Storm Guardians, 10 Guardians
sOrks10 or 20 Boyz with any mix of sluggas+choppas or shootas+ccw’s; 10 or 20 Beast Snaggas with slugga+choppa; 10 or 20 Gretchin with grot blastas and 1-2 herdersAL: 10 Beast Snaggas; 30 Grots
T’au10 Strike Team Fire Warriors with pulse Rifles; 10 Breacher Team Fire Warriors with pulse blasters 
Kroot10 KrootJ: 100 Kroot
Tyranids10 or 20 Hormagaunts; 10 or 20 Termagaunts all with fleshborers or all with devourers or all with spinefistsDL: 70 Termagaunts, 10 Hormagaunts. RC: 40 gaunts
Genestealer Cults10 or 20 Neophyte Hybrids with hybrid firearms 
Leagues of Votann10 Hearthkin with bolters 
Necrons10 or 20 Necron Warriors all with gauss flayers or all with gauss reapers; 10 Immortals with gauss blasters or tesla carbinesAL: 20 Warriors, 10 Immortals

More info to follow! Right now we’re just working out how many groups of 100 infantry we can manage to have as options for the event.

Screenshot
Dark Shadows (pt.2)

Dark Shadows (pt.2)

It was a stormy day when the scattered forces finally emerged onto the island of Albion proper. The forces of the Goblins, Trolls, Undead, and Chaos were united under the leadership of the mysterious Dark Emissary. Amidst ferocious gale winds and rain, a loose collection of the expeditionary forces of Dwarfs and Elves were joined by strange Lizardmen streaming out of the foliage to try and defeat the collection of marauding forces before they established further reach onto the island.

The Dark Emissary was joined by a strange beast seemingly grown from the island of Albion itself: a Fen Beast. It rampaged into the High Elves’ lines, but stalwart defense managed to resist its predations.

Magical spells from both sides swirled and eddied, and the strange fates woven about the island shifted alongside the battle’s results. The forces united under the Dark Emissary were bested, but only temporarily as they had extensive reserves waiting behind their initial battle line. The defenders had dabbled in Battle Magic and Elementalism, while the full host of magic lores leveraged by the attackers included Waaagh Magic (had been most powerful on Albion, surely what lured the scattered tribes there), Daemonology, Necromancy, and of course the Dark Emissary’s own destructive spells. That left the Winds of Magic on the island at the following point (chart active for upcoming 3/13/25 game):

LoreRankEffect
IllusionOne+3 to the casting total of each spell, but any double rolled (except a double 6) is a Miscast
Waaagh! Magic (plus Gork and Mork)Two+2 to the casting total of each spell
Elementalism (plus Lustria and Troll)Three+1 to the casting total of each spell
Saphestry, Naggaroth, and Athel LorenFour+1 to the casting total of each spell
TruthsayerFiveNormal rules apply
Battle Magic (plus the Lady, Hashut, and Great Maw)SixNormal rules apply
Dark EmissarySevenNormal rules apply
Necromancy (plus Undeath and Nehekhara)Eight-1 to the casting total of each spell
Dark Magic (plus Beasts)Nine-1 to the casting total of each spell
High MagicTen-2 to the casting total of each spell
Daemonology (plus Daemons, Horned Rat, and Chaos)Eleven-3 to the casting total of each spell, but there is so little magical energy here you cannot Miscast or cast a Perfect Invocation

What would happen next? And what of the strange figure seen summoning power atop the ridge line of the hills–lightning striking his upraised staff? The lightning strikes illuminated a set of Ogham Stones in a central clearing–and even at a distance the carved glowing runes in them spoke of immense magical power to those that controlled it. Forces from all sides raced forward to try and be the ones to secure it!

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows

What better time to break out a Warhammer Fantasy Battles campaign supplement from 2001 than right now in 2024 with the Old World rules? Well we’re doing it!

Campaign Details: Whether by tunnel or by ship, various forces have found their way to the misty aisle of Albion. They will be playing out a series of campaign games that affect one to the next in story fashion, using the full Dark Shadows rules (see below).

ParticipantsFaction
AndrewLizardmen
Dave FTomb Kings
Dave LChaos
EnricoDwarfs
RyanTrolls and Goblins
SteveHigh Elves

Truthsayers, Dark Emissaries, & Fen Beasts

Stats, Abilities, and Wargear are the same as the original Dark Shadows Campaign. The Truthsayer and Dark Emissary spell list has been adjusted to put in line with Old World casting values (generally adding 2 to the difficulty, tho matching spell casting values with matching spells, such as Light of Battle matching Elementalism’s Earthen Rampart). The Campaign will determine when these characters are added to players’ forces.

Winds of Magic

The winds of magic are always swirling in Albion, and as they are channeled by spellcasters the magical might of different lores waxes and wanes depending on their triumphs and mishaps. The following chart shows the current standing (start of campaign 2/13/25) of the lores of magic, and the effect of that standing. As the campaign progresses, the lores will shift in position due to game results–but the same structure of rank holds for whatever lore occupies it at the time.

LoreRankEffect
Waaagh! Magic (plus Gork and Mork)One+3 to the casting total of each spell, but any double rolled (except a double 6) is a Miscast
IllusionTwo+2 to the casting total of each spell
Saphestry, Naggaroth, and Athel LorenThree+1 to the casting total of each spell
Elementalism (plus Lustria and Troll)Four+1 to the casting total of each spell
Dark EmissaryFiveNormal rules apply
TruthsayerSixNormal rules apply
Necromancy (plus Undeath and Nehekhara)SevenNormal rules apply
Battle Magic (plus the Lady, Hashut, and Great Maw)Eight-1 to the casting total of each spell
Dark Magic (plus Beasts)Nine-1 to the casting total of each spell
High MagicTen-2 to the casting total of each spell
Daemonology (plus Daemons, Horned Rat, and Chaos)Eleven-3 to the casting total of each spell, but there is so little magical energy here you cannot Miscast or cast a Perfect Invocation

Albion Weather

Whether because it is an island or because of the specific wards of the Old Ones, the weather on Albion tends to be worse than elsewhere in the Old World. Not only that, but it’s changing constantly. These rules determine the effects of the weather on each battle.

At the start of each game round, roll a d6 to determine the Outlook: whether things are getting better or worse. On a 1-2 apply a -1 to the current weather on the weather table. On a 3-4 there is no change. On a 5-6 add a +1 to the weather table. The weather for each game day of the campaign may be pre-set or players may be instructed to randomly generate. Without any other guidance the weather begins at Number 5 – Light Drizzle.

NumberWeatherEffect
1Hail StormFlying models must use their ground movement speed . Effects of Driving Rain and Gales and Showers also apply. -1 results on the Outlook roll have no effect.
2Driving Rain and GalesUnits take the worst result of the two dice rolled when charging, falling back, fleeing, or pursuing. All missile fire is -1 to hit. War machines that do not use BS to hit need to roll a 3+ on a d6 to fire this round. Effects of Showers also apply.
3ShowersTreat Forests and Roads as Swamps (dangerous terrain, impassible to war machines and chariots).
4Light Drizzle and FogAt the start of a Game Round with this weather roll an artillery dice and multiply by three. That is the distance in inches that models can see. Models cannot declare a target of a charge or attack if they cannot see the target. A misfire means a momentary lifting of the mists and line of sight is treated as normal.  
5Light DrizzleEveryone expects drizzle in Albion, so no effect.
6Cloudy PuddlesPretty nice, but the pooling effects of recent rain treat Forests  and Roads as Swamps (dangerous terrain, impassible to war machines and chariots).
7Ominous CloudsThe clouds hang dark and low in the sky and gather for an imminent cloud burst. Hills and other tall features lose the Vantage Point special rule. Effects of Cloudy Puddles also apply.
8Lightning StormRain is imminent, and lightning strikes begin to scatter the battlefield. At the start of a round roll a d6 for every unit that is on Open Ground more than 3” away from a piece of terrain taller than them. Add a +1 to that roll if the unit is judged to have significant metal gear. On a 6, that unit is struck by lighting and suffers d6  Str 3 hits with no armor save permitted. Effects of Cloudy Puddles and Ominous Clouds also apply.   Also, if an Outlook result of +1 is rolled after a turn of Lighting Storm, the storm truly breaks loose, and the Weather is immediately set to level 1: Hail Storm.

Further updates on campaign specifics, teams, and more will follow as we flesh things out.

Knight Night Fight Night 4: Tag Teams Go Big

Knight Night Fight Night 4: Tag Teams Go Big

It’s time. Another round of one of the best events at Drawbridge Games: Knight Night Fight Night! The game where people bring some of the big baddies of the game to slug it out for glory and to be added to the Knight Night Fight Night Trophy! This is the 4th incarnation, and this time we’re going extra BIG with it! It will be taking place on Thursday, January 30th, 2025 with setup at 6:30pm and first dice thrown at 7:00pm sharp. As always, we’ll have a door prize drawing, so just participating gives you a chance to win!

This time year it’s time for Tag Teams again, where everyone gets a paired team of two Knight-class models. Players can either field two models themselves, or two players can team up as a Tag Team. We also are going to let players “go big” this year if they wish. While it’s Knight Night, this is a good chance for people to field a bigger titan if they so wish to–the point is to keep us modeling, of course! So if you’ve got that Warhound, Ta’unar, or something else massive you’re tinkering with, know it can be included–the one caveat is that you don’t get a Tag Team partner if you field anything larger than Knight class.

Event Rules

Teams of two Knights (can be a single player who brings two, or pairs of players who each have one) will be placed in a central, circular Royal Rumble arena. The goal is to be the last model standing–knocking all of other competitors “out of the ring”–and that last standing model wins the event for their team.

To start the event, all teams will have the points of the two models in their team calculated. The highest two PL total teams will have their models start in the ring. After each round, the next two teams in PL are added to the ring (making their grand entrances, with entrance music if so desired).

Every round of combat all participant Knights in the ring are dealt a playing card, and play turns will run in that order: lowest numbers first, with suit order high-to-low in reverse-alpha to break numerical ties, so Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs, with Aces low. The active Knight will move, shoot, can charge and fight. Note that models attacked won’t swing back (there’s no ordinary combat phase). The goal is to incapacitate opposing Knight models by taking all of their wounds, which represents knocking them out of the ring (over the top rope). There are a few different special rules we’ll be using that will both help this happen, and give Knights a chance to keep fighting in the ring.

“Recover In the Corner” action: Declare at the start of your turn. Roll 1d6 and recover that many wounds. Can move (including advancing) but cannot fire any weapons, charge, or make any melee attacks until the start of its next turn.

“Re-roll Chip”: Every Knight gets one re-roll chip. Every Tag Team who put up a promo (posted on the Drawbridge Events Facebook page and/or Discord) gets a second re-roll chip per player participating in that promo. The player with the best promo (judged by Enrico) gets a third re-roll chip. Re-roll chips can be exchanged or traded as you wish during the game with other players. They can be spent to re-roll any one d6 roll (including the “Out of the Ring” table or the result of a “Recover in the Corner” action). They can also be spent to get rid of the card you’re dealt at any point for turn order, and be dealt a new random card from the deck. Note that no one will have CP’s to keep things simple, this is a sort of replacement for that.

“Out of the Ring” chart: Whenever a model is reduced to 0 wounds, they immediately must roll on the following chart (any model rules that might trigger on “when reduced to zero wounds” such as exploding are ignored). Conceptually a Battle Royale is about throwing your opponent out of the ring and their feet hitting the ground (indicating they’re out). While we don’t have an actual ring to be thrown out of, these are the results when the participants take those devastating finishing attacks.

RollResult
1 “I’ll get you back”Both feet hit the ground and this model loses. However, they’re not quite ready to accept that. They immediately get a single turn of shooting to try and take an opponent with them (using lowest profile), and then are removed from the board.
2 “Ouch, he’ll feel that one”Both feet hit the ground and this model loses. It is removed from the board.
3 “Thats a tough break, J.R.”Both feet hit the ground and this model loses. It is removed from the board.
4 “Hanging on the ropes”The Knight hangs on, just barely. It is restored to 1 remaining wound, and cannot be targeted any further this round until it acts or until the start of the next round if it has already acted this round.
5 “Push thru the pain”This model grits its teeth and keeps on fighting. Immediately roll a d6 and restore that many wounds to the model. This model cannot be targeted/damaged any further during the current opponent’s activation.
6 “You just made me angry”This model channels the punishment into newfound strength. Immediately restore the model to 12 wounds. This model cannot be targeted/damaged any further during the current opponent’s activation.

Painting Requirements: All models participating in Knight Night must be painted to a tabletop standard and based. Part of this hobby is, well, the hobby, so I want to encourage people to paint and get models finished for events. There will be additional chances at prizes for those who paint up a new Knight model for the event.

Tag Team: Players can choose to field two Knights from the following lists, or bring one Knight and team up with another player. You can choose and coordinate teams in advance, and we can also pair up likely allies on the day of the event–so don’t let having just a single Knight limit you. Come and have fun and game with new and old folks in the community alike. Activations are separate by Knight model, but victory goes to the team (even if one of the team member Knights has been eliminated). And we’ll have an extra Knight model with rules on hand in case we have uneven numbers to make certain all who show up can join in the fun.

Knight Options and Choices

Knight Options: Players can choose any non-character Knight from the Imperial Knights or Chaos Knights codex with gear allowable from the data sheet (no relics or warlord traits). No army rules, detachment rules, or upgrades that aren’t part of the basic datasheet entry for the Knight will be used. These are vanilla versions of the data sheets folks. I

When is a Knight not a Knight: We’re not able to allow in every Xenos and Chaos faction, but applications to field other types are allowable if they’re comparable in stature to a Knight (note they may not be comparable in points).

  • Stormsurge
  • Wraithknight
  • Gorkanaut
  • Morkanaut
  • Stompa
  • Lord of Skulls
  • Seraptek Heavy Construct
  • Trygon
  • Mawloc

Go Big: The following is a list of allowed “go big” options. These are “wrestlers” so big that they can be expected to take on a tag team just solo (think Andre the Giant, the Big Show, or Happy Humphrey).

  • Warhound Titan
  • Reaver Titan
  • Warlord Titan
  • Revenant Titan
  • Phantom Titan
  • Hierophant Bio-Titan
  • Ta’unar Supremacy Armor
  • Gargantuan Squiggoth
Nuffle: The Spooky Skull Trophy Cup

Nuffle: The Spooky Skull Trophy Cup

DRAFT VERSION – CHANGES PENDING FROM DRAWBRIDGE NUFFLE HQ

DRAFT VERSION – CHANGES PENDING FROM DRAWBRIDGE NUFFLE HQ

“Welcome back sports fans to another season of Blood Bowl, projected to your home crystal ball live from Cabalvision’s Drawbridge studios. I’m Sir Walter Waffleiron, here as always with my fellow a announcer Snazza “Da Skar”. Snazza, we’ve got a big announcement: the Spooky Skull Cup is coming up, and our participating teams have all been signed!”

“That’s right Walter. And while it’s a big announcement, there sure are some small players amongst the teams this year. It seems like all the cabinets, cupboards, and caves emptied out onto the pitch with all the Snotlings, Gnoblars, Goblins, and Halflings I’m seeing on the rosters.”

“Hey! Halflings live in burrows, thank you kindly. But let’s look at the teams!”

“Snazza, you’ve won the Chaos Cup twice during your time with the Stampa Bay Bucks-n-Steers, and been recognized as an all-career-best Sneaky Stabba by your sponsor: Fozzler & Fozzler, Ettin Attorney at Law. What can fans expect from these line-ups?”

“Well Walter, I expect this chase for the cup to be especially bloody. Ogres, Trolls, Treemen, and Bloaters will be making a mess of the little ones all season. Fans can definitely expect the Bloodweiser Babes to be distributing drinks liberally. Their slogan this season is “Every Kill, Time to Swill”.

“Sounds like a great time!! The winning team will not only take home the glory of cheers from hometown fans and our Sylvanian hosts, but also the Spooky Skull Cup itself.”

“Not only that, but some big money is behind the Spooky Skull Cup this year, which has mean a lot of Star Players flocking to these teams. Expect to see some big names hit the pitch soon!”

Eternal Battle at Drawbridge Gulf (for Extra Life)

Eternal Battle at Drawbridge Gulf (for Extra Life)

So every year Drawbridge Games helps support the Extra Life charity: a window of 24 hours of gaming and fund-raising fun. This year I’m running an event as part of Extra Life, which will be the Eternal Battle at Drawbridge Gulf. It’s a bring-and-play event, and we’re hoping to get as many total points having hit the table as possible during the course of the very long day, to clash in one big 40k game.

Date and Time: November 2nd through 3rd is when the Extra Life game day happens in 2024. At Drawbridge we’ll be running the Eternal Battle 40k game from 8am on the 2nd to 3am on the 3rd. Not the full 24 hours but we’re old. Players can show up at any timing that is convenient to them: I’d love to have folks there for the whole stretch with me, but if you can only show for an hour, that’s of course welcome too.

Game Flow: The game will be one continuous game of Warhammer 40k, where each side’s turn is one hour exactly. We’ll stick to the clock on this pretty strongly, and there are times for a break for both lunch and dinner.

This will use the logic that the Mordian Glory Youtube channel uses for their mega battles: where there may be more points on the table than get used in any given turn, but it represents the units closest to the fighting getting involved. We’ll also have a lot of roadways that can allow models to cover more distance on a turn to place them close to the action for the following turn’s engagement. Each side will have a set of objectives they’re trying to accomplish during the day, and those objectives can change as the game progresses depending on what terrain features the sides decide to explore (to ensure that one side is not immediately just “oh we lost”).

Armies and “Eternal”: There will be two broad sides for this battle, and as players step in and out they can join the appropriate side. That might mean that at times there may be disparities in numbers between the sides, and that’s just fine. As part of the trick to this is that units are all eternal. Once they are destroyed, in their player’s next movement phase the models can be deployed again on the battlefield–and count toward our points totals for the full event. That means that players can join in and have fun whether they are bringing a huge force or just a Combat Patrol worth of models. When players arrive they’ll be placed on a side given the faction they brought and/or the balance of play. Ideally we’ll have the forces line up as follows (note the groups that can be for either side).

We encourage players to bring as many points as they wish to in order to make this a pretty damn epic game, but try to stay within one faction (with some flexibility for units from a closely-allied faction, like a couple of Imperial Knights joining with a larger Blood Angels force). We do ask that people play things as close to WYSIWYG as is possible just to keep confusion at a minimum across so many players and a long day of play. Legends models are allowed as long as they are the GW sculpts of those models.

Extra Life Effects: One of the fun things about Extra Life is that players can make donations to gain extra game benefits. As it’s about the fund-raising ultimately we wanted these to be useful in game.

Other Miscellaneous Notes: All models utilized must be painted to at least three colors, and based is strongly encouraged. Command Points are not used just to keep the battle flowing smooth as we can, so donations are the only way to use Strategems. Please have a roster sheet handy (even if on scratch paper), so when units join the battle or re-join the battle I can update the total participating points total. Also make sure you’ve got a durable source of rules (or a charger if you’re using an electronic source). If you’ve got one-use model rules those things reset if the unit is destroyed and brought back. If you have one-use army-wide rules (like Waaagh) then you can use that rule twice during the game (once in rounds one through four, and once in rounds five through eight).

Orktober 2025 – Drawbridge Games

Orktober 2025 – Drawbridge Games

So it’s already July, which means it’s the perfect time to look forward to Orktober at Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, PA. Previous Octobers we’ve done different Ork-themed events at the game store: wacky races, mega-battles, and even a “how many Grots can your vehicle or monster kill” game.

Thursday, October 24th we’ll do a mega-battle game we’re calling Survive the Green Tide: players will bring a smaller-sized force and see how long they can survive and what they can take down against a massive (and recycling) horde of Orks that rush forward and fire indiscriminately… which is no different than usual.

Survive the Green Tide

Players can choose to be on the Ork side and join us GM’s (if they bring Orks) or the player side (anything else). For player-side players, they will each bring a small force of 750 points*, chosen as normal. The Orks will deploy on one side of a massive table, the players on the other side. The goal of the game is to see how long the players survive against the relentless Ork push, as well as what all they manage to take down in the process.

A prize pool will exist for this one, and draws will be added for number of rounds survived, as well as for eliminating the biggest and most units. That means entries for things like most points killed, biggest models killed, most Ork boyz killed, etc. The full list will be provided at the event–players will get kill count tracking sheets for that purpose. Balanced forces may be able to score lots of points, but also specialized boyz killers or tank killers could ensure they win specific things. And survivable units may also be the key. Enter and find out.

As a bonus, players on the non-Ork side can loot their own vehicle for the Orks to includd in their throng. It will use all the rules for the vehicle as normal, except it’s Ballistic Skill will be a 5+ for all weapons (regardless of modifiers like Heavy or other special rules). Players will also get a bonus draw in this big game if they manage to kill the model they made (run by their Ork opponents of course).

Ork players should contact Andrew and Rico to register their interest, and get a sense of how we’ll be handling the battle on the Orks side.

All models must be painted (meaningful attempt) and based to be utilized.

* Note that depending on total amount of Orks available and anticipated number of players, that number may grow or shrink. Our best estimate is that all will be able to field 750 and it’ll work out. But keep in mind we might adjust when we get closer to the timing!

Ravenloft Campaign Character Creation

Ravenloft Campaign Character Creation

Welcome those who I’ve invited to my newest Dungeons and Dragons campaign! Here is the info you need before we start.

Background

The player characters in this game are all Halflings (pg. 26-28 of Player’s Handbook, Lightfoot subrace, tho using the “Hairfoot” descriptor). You have recently reached adulthood in your community—which is a vast set of small Halfling villages all crowded across a hilly province called The Moot. This is the image of the Moot and Halfling society you should have in your mind (which should be pretty familiar): https://youtu.be/-PcUnqlPA8A?si=uXlWRX2Lp1LCV2QU&t=59.

Part of growing up in the Moot includes a coming-of-age ceremony of sorts—escorting the Fall Harvest wagon of goods to supply the tavern of the most legendary Halfling Paladin, Sir Walter Waffleiron, which is located a few days’ travel beyond The Moot. You and the other young halflings will need to travel a road that transits a dangerous Gnarlthorn Forest for three days to reach the Human settlement where the Tavern is located. This is a moment when Halflings who have always been sheltered in the Moot get to see the outside world, and learn to cope with a bit of danger (but not too much danger). The three worst incidents in recent memory: 1) a journeyer got his leg bit off by a Wolf, 2) a journeyer got a patch of skin on her shoulder necrotized from a bad large spider bite, and 3) an entire group got lost, ran out of rations, and had to eat and drink most of the delivery for the Tavern (until they were found by Sir Walter who came looking for them).

Your character has been training in an adventuring profession alongside their work for the family, but they’re still very much novices in that area. You’ll be starting as a level 1 character.

For purposes of character introductions in our first session, you’ll be giving them as if one of your Halfling parents was talking about you in the local market or pub in The Moot. Think about the way parents talk about their kids when they’re just launching their lives and you’ll be in the right spot for it.

Before the session, come up with your character’s first name. At the start of session one we’ll roll up your two families (each parent’s side) from the chart below. You can choose to take one of them, or hyphenate, but you should record both so you know your family origin (and what families are closer relatives).

1Banks (related to Puddifoots)11Hogg (related to Bolgers)
2Boffin (related to Bunces)12Lightfoot (related to Tüks)
3Bolger (related to Hoggs)13Longhole (related to Grubbs)
4Burrows (related to Tunnellys)14Proudfoot (related to Rumbles)
5Bunce (related to Boffins)15Puddifoot (related to Banks)
6Chubb (related to Underfoots)16Rumble (related to Proudfoots)
7Cotton (related to Greenhands)17Stoor (related to Harfoots)
8Greenhand (related to Cottons)18Tük (related to Lightfoots)
9Grubb (related to Longholes)19Tunnelly (related to Burrowses)
10Harfoot (related to Stoors)20Underfoot (related to Chubbs)

Family Work and Starting Gear

Instead of using the starting equipment rules in the Player’s Handbook, the following determines what your character is carrying when they set out on their journey.

Every character starts with the following gear to be ready for their journey: Bedroll, Backpack, Waterskin, Mess Kit, five days Rations, Flint and Steel, extra pair of clothes (rolled in bedroll or tucked in backpack).  

If your class is a spellcaster you get the stuff you need for doing so (spellbook, spell component pouch, holy symbol, focus, etc.).

If your class can wear armor, you can be wearing a suit of Leather Armor.

You may choose one “diversion” choice from the following list, and are carrying that item or set of items: Dice set, Dragonchess set, Playing Card set, Drum, Flute, Lute, Lyre, Horn, Pan Flute, Shawm, Viol, Thieves’ Tools and a practice Lock, Book (novel), Disguise Kit, Calligrapher’s Supplies, Painter’s Supplies, Woodcarver’s Tools, Pipe w/ Pouch of Pipeweed.

In addition, you will have a bit of gear depending on your family’s background. It includes the weapon option that your parent(s) give you to defend yourself on your journey though the forest (pick ONE from the Heirloom weapon list). If your chosen character class cannot normally wield that weapon you get to add it to your list of weapon proficiencies for free as you grew up training with it.

FarmersAdditional three days rations, Pony with Pack Saddle, Pouch with 2gp
Heirloom Weapon: Sickle, Trident, or Whip
BlacksmithsShield, Steel Mirror, Smith’s Tools, Heavy Apron, Pouch with 10gp
Heirloom Weapon: Light hammer or Warhammer
ButchersAdditional three days rations, Iron Pot, Flask of Oil, Apron, Pouch with 3gp
Heirloom Weapon: Handaxe or Dagger
CarpentersPole, Carpenter’s Tools, Pouch with 3gp
Heirloom Weapon: Greatclub or Quarterstaff
WeaversChalk (x2), Bar of Soap, Weaver’s Tools, Pouch with 3gp
Heirloom Weapon: Dagger or Net
BarbersHealer’s Kit, Magnifying Glass, Potion of Healing, Pouch with 5gp
Heirloom Weapon: Dagger or Darts (x5)
ApothecariesVial of Antitoxin, Healer’s Kit, Flask of Alchemist’s Fire, Vial of Perfume, Pouch with 5gp
Heirloom Weapon: Sling or Blowgun w/ 5 Needles
BakersAdditional three days rations, Apron, Pouch with 3gp
Heirloom Weapon: Quarterstaff or Greatsword
MillersMerchant’s Scale, Hooded Lantern, Pouch with 3gp
Heirloom Weapon: Sickle or Mace
ClergyFlask of Holy Water (x2), Pouch with 1gp
Heirloom Weapon: Flail or Club
CandlemakersCandles (x10), Hourglass, Sealing Wax (x2), Pouch with 5gp
Heirloom Weapon: Longsword or Battleaxe
FisherfolkAdditional three days rations, Fishing Tackle, 50 ft Hempen Rope, Pouch with 2gp
Heirloom Weapon: Spear, Javelin (x3), or Shortbow w/ 10 arrows in a Quiver
MerchantsVial of Ink, Ink Pen, Scroll case with 3 pages of Parchment, Vial of Perfume, Pouch with 50gp
Heirloom Weapon: Crossbow (light or heavy) w/ 10 bolts in a Quiver or Rapier
Brewers1 Liter Barrel Keg, Tankard (x2), Brewer’s Supplies, Pouch with 10gp
Heirloom Weapon: Club or Quarterstaff

I ask that players coordinate with each other and everyone comes from a different background of family work (e.g. only one Brewer).

Other Miscellaneous Game-Rule Stuff

Ability Scores will be determined by the Variant: Customizing Ability Scores rules on pg 13 of the Player’s Handbook. It’s a point-buy system, and you’ll have 27 points to spend as indicated.

Alignment: Please play characters who care and are concerned with some others in the world. Don’t start as evil characters please (but that can change through your actions).

Character Classes: You’re welcome to take any character classes that appear in the Player’s Handbook, with the following notes. If you’re inclined to take anything from other sources, just send me a link to it first so I can confirm if it’s workable in the campaign.

Bard, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, or Sorcerer: All options fine.

Cleric: Available Deities will be the Greyhawk Deities (pg. 295 of Player’s Handbook) plus Yondalla the Halfling goddess (pg. 296) and Brandobaris, a Halfling God of Stealth and Thievery (not in the Player’s Handbook but a long-time Greyhawk option). Note that Brandobaris followers all claim to worship Yondalla (and her holy symbol works for his followers too). Brandobaris’ suggested domain is Trickery.

Druid: All options fine. For purposes of Wild Shape as you level up, so far in your life you have seen the following animals: Hawk, Owl, Songbird, Sheep, Goat, Rat, Mouse, Pony, Snake, Pig, Dog, Cat, Freshwater Fish, Badger, Deer, Bat, Hedgehog, Mole, and Frog.

Warlock: Most options fine. For your Otherworldly patron, I would strongly advise Archfey. Pick Fiend or Great Old One at your peril.

Wizard: Most options fine. Halfling wizarding training in The Moot is a bit more hedge-magic than formal wizarding, so that limits some options. The schools of magic that you can choose as your Arcane Tradition are limited to: Abjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, and Transmutation. Divination, Conjuration, and Necromancy are not taught in-depth (you can certainly have and use those school’s spells, but cannot select those schools as your Arcane Tradition).

No Barbarians, no Monks, and no Paladins. Sorry, they just don’t fit the vision of this campaign. They may appear in NPC format, but cannot be PCs.

Ravenloft Basics

Okay, so this is info that you as players can know but your characters do not know (“yet” in some cases). I just want to set expectations. There will be segments of this campaign that take place in Ravenloft, a Dungeons and Dragons demiplane that is best described as “Gothic Horror”. We’ll be going for a horror feel to the game—keeping the party as young and naïve Halflings will allow for some fun amidst that.

Things to know about Ravenloft and rules:

Ravenloft is a set of connected Domains, each ruled by a powerful ruler that controls the domain. They can seal their Domain’s borders in a variety of ways (confusing mists, walls of impenetrable thorns, poisons that manifest inside the body of those trying to leave, etc.). In Ravenloft, the land itself is the monster: it’s cursed, evil, and dark… and the populace that reside there lives in various sorts of nervousness and fear (and even the rulers of the domains are prisoners themselves in certain a sense). The commonfolk can be superstitious and suspicious of outsiders, particularly to those that may display physical aspects or magical talents that might be viewed as signs of “evil”.

I’ll be using some of the 2nd Edition (AD&D for the real nerds) rules for the Ravenloft setting, modified to fit with the current 5th Edition (and adapt to 6th if it’s released while we’re playing and we decide to convert). And I’ll be using the 2nd edition fluff, which includes some very cool stuff (like specific Tarot Cards that will be used in the game).

Critical for your player knowledge, that means the following:

Fear Checks and Horror Checks. There will be times when something might scare or unsettle your character, and there will be rules for what check you make and how your character responds if they fail.

Influence of the Land. Ravenloft can have its own influences on those that tread its lands. There may be moments when the demiplane itself seems to speak to your characters—you can choose to listen or not.

Curses. These exist in a way that usual D&D Geas or Bestow Curse spells don’t capture. Curses can happen in Ravenloft, and they will have specific rules for how they manifest. They’re not spell-based, but linked more to the people’s interactions with the land itself. Anyone in Ravenloft can call down a curse if the conditions are right (and they’re not doing so lightly).

Spell Changes: Certain spells behave differently in Ravenloft. Spellcasters should run their potential spell lists past me before selecting any to ensure you know how they’ll be effected. In particular spells that rely on detecting/affecting “Evil” alignment do not work the same way in Ravenloft (they only give Lawful vs Chaotic). And travel spells such as Teleport can be affected as well. Short version: Spellcasters just check with me as you progress, and we can discuss any options you’re thinking of and how they might be affected.

Enter the Mists

That’s it! That should be all you need to draw up your characters, but let me know if you need more info or have any questions. I’m looking forward to guiding adventures in the mists with you all. Oh, and I’ll get a custom mini printed/made for each character once they’re established, and you can either paint them or I’m happy to paint them for you if you like.

Armies Across the Drawbridge 2024

Armies Across the Drawbridge 2024

Heya Drawbridge Games (Pittsburgh PA) players and hobbyists. I’ve conferred with Enrico and we’re going to do a version of the Games Workshop “Armies on Parade” hobby modeling, terrain, and painting competition. It’s called “Armies Across the Drawbridge”, and it’s a chance to show off a force of painted models on a custom-modeled display base. Judging will take place on September 29th, when the Games Workshop competition is also happening. And entrants must register their participation by signing up in the store by June 30th. Entry fee is $10 and participants must be Gatecrasher Members.

Photos from the 2023 GW Armies on Parade, and here’s the FAQ from that event: https://www.warhammer-community.com/armies-on-parade-faqs/

For Armies Across the Drawbridge 2024 we’ll have the following categories for winners:

Best Army – Best Terrain/Display

Judge’s Choice (Best Overall) – Drawbridge’s Choice

Participants will be invited to bring their board and set it up for the Sunday, September 29th judging session. Judges will do careful consideration (they will do the Best Army, Terrain/Display, and Judge’s Choice), and at the same time visitors to the store will be permitted to cast their votes for the Drawbridge’s Choice winner. And the Judge’s Choice/Best Overall winner will be awarded one Combat Patrol or Vanguard box of the winner’s choice (based on availability).

The Army award will be focused on painting of the models and the Terrain on the actual display board. Judge’s Choice / Best Overall will be for the overall combo of model painting and display creativity. And the Drawbridge’s Choice will be the one that wins the public’s vote.

The display must fit within a board with base dimensions of 2’x2’ (61cm x 61cm). The board and models must be painted to a minimum standard (three colors and based miniatures), but it can certainly be simple. Even just a 2’x2′ piece of chipboard with textured paint and a drybrush will make the army on it pop! And I’m sure people will do even more creative things.

The army must be between 1,000 and 2,000 points for Warhammer 40k, Horus Heresy, Age of Sigmar, or Old World. Models must be a majority Games Workshop models (70%) tho conversions and custom models to enhance your armies are certainly welcome.

Board and miniatures must both be constructed and painted by the participant themselves.

We’ll host some hobby nights where folks can sit and paint and discuss plans/materials/painting/theme. So start getting your force ready to march out!

Source: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205323007

If you have any questions contact me here on the blog, on Facebook Messenger, or in the Drawbridge Discord. I’ll update our own FAQ below as needed.