| If you're a keen follower of Kickstarter you may have a memory of Twelve Elements of War which started out as a Kickstarter. Like many a good idea, Kickstarter wasn't the forum for it and Sword & Board Games (the people behind Twelve Elements of War) cancelled it. But exciting news came when we went to CanCon 2015 and there they were - miniatures, games demonstrations and all! So what is Twelve Elements of War? Read on... |
To get down to brass tax we went straight to the source and spoke to Tristan from Sword & Board Games, PLUS we have a look at some of the excellent miniatures from their range!
BH: Can you explain the universe of Twelves Elements of War – who would we find there and what are they fighting for?
TEoW: The Eastlands of Dothmora, a realm riven by intrigue, feuding lords and warbands fighting in the secretive Shadow War.
Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Fauns, Trolls, Ogres, Orcs, Goblins and Halflings – live in harmony, owing allegiance not to a RACE but to one of the mighty factions that make up this war-torn kingdom.
Highguard: Noble and proud, Highguard once ruled all of the Eastlands… but that day is now past.
The Mining Guild: Ruling an ever-expanding subterranean realm, the Mining Guild is a faction renowned for the toughness and tenacity of its warriors and citizens.
The Geniocracy of Toth: Masters of invention and technology, the Geniocracy makes extensive use of clockwork constructs, aiding its citizens in menial tasks and marching alongside its armies when it goes to war.
The Shadow Hold: Shrouded in darkness, the acolytes of the Shadow Hold are Runecasters who wield powers beyond comprehension and are feared across all of the Eastlands.
The Keepers: Religious fanatics who believe they alone can save Dothmora, the Keepers are a fervent order who see it as their divine duty to rid the Eastlands of dangerous Runecasters.
These factions are also supplemented by
Heroes for Hire: Warbands can be supported by a number of unique “Heroes for Hire” lending their services to your noble cause (for the right amount of sovereigns of course)
TEoW: The Eastlands of Dothmora, a realm riven by intrigue, feuding lords and warbands fighting in the secretive Shadow War.
Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Fauns, Trolls, Ogres, Orcs, Goblins and Halflings – live in harmony, owing allegiance not to a RACE but to one of the mighty factions that make up this war-torn kingdom.
Highguard: Noble and proud, Highguard once ruled all of the Eastlands… but that day is now past.
The Mining Guild: Ruling an ever-expanding subterranean realm, the Mining Guild is a faction renowned for the toughness and tenacity of its warriors and citizens.
The Geniocracy of Toth: Masters of invention and technology, the Geniocracy makes extensive use of clockwork constructs, aiding its citizens in menial tasks and marching alongside its armies when it goes to war.
The Shadow Hold: Shrouded in darkness, the acolytes of the Shadow Hold are Runecasters who wield powers beyond comprehension and are feared across all of the Eastlands.
The Keepers: Religious fanatics who believe they alone can save Dothmora, the Keepers are a fervent order who see it as their divine duty to rid the Eastlands of dangerous Runecasters.
These factions are also supplemented by
Heroes for Hire: Warbands can be supported by a number of unique “Heroes for Hire” lending their services to your noble cause (for the right amount of sovereigns of course)
BH: So tell us about the mechanics of the game:
TEoW: Twelve Elements of War is a 28mm Tabletop skirmish wargame with a typical warband of between 7 - 12 models (depending on your faction and style of play), activating one model at a time.
Players alternate turns activating models, keeping both players engaged and thinking. Despite only activating one model at a time, it successfully simulates combined attacks with multiple models; the first attacks in a round weaken and lock-down a model, making it easier to finish off by attackers later in a round.
It uses a multiple D6 dice, one-roll system for all rolls during a battle.
Roll a number of dice equal to the Model Statistic that you are using to attack/defend/employ, add bonus dice if you have an advantage of some type, like charging. Compare the result of this roll to the enemy model's statistic or enemy model's roll to see if you succeed.
The dice system does not use charts or tables & is used for all rolls, making it extremely easy to learn.
Each faction choose from the 9 fantasy races, bringing balance to each other - despite having multiple fantasy races and at least 6 roles per Faction to choose from. Creating a balanced warband is only the start; quick thinking, using the right model at the right time & an assertive battleplan is the key to completing your objectives while denying your opponent theirs.
Twelve Elements of War has a complete Campaign system that sees your models gain experience, better abilities, new skills, money and magical runic items as they play battles and also explore the world of Lumria acquiring strange and unique items.
You will also have the option to visit a town after each game. In town you can choose to go to the Tavern to recruit new members and heroes, The Market to purchase new items and equipment, the Arena to watch pit fighting and maybe pick up a few pointers. Lastly the Temple, where you can prey to the gods to heal your wounds or ask for their blessing in future battles.
Plus with 100's of magical item combinations to try out and over 36 unique runic spells to cast with your magic users, this game has a large amount of re-playability.
TEoW: Twelve Elements of War is a 28mm Tabletop skirmish wargame with a typical warband of between 7 - 12 models (depending on your faction and style of play), activating one model at a time.
Players alternate turns activating models, keeping both players engaged and thinking. Despite only activating one model at a time, it successfully simulates combined attacks with multiple models; the first attacks in a round weaken and lock-down a model, making it easier to finish off by attackers later in a round.
It uses a multiple D6 dice, one-roll system for all rolls during a battle.
Roll a number of dice equal to the Model Statistic that you are using to attack/defend/employ, add bonus dice if you have an advantage of some type, like charging. Compare the result of this roll to the enemy model's statistic or enemy model's roll to see if you succeed.
The dice system does not use charts or tables & is used for all rolls, making it extremely easy to learn.
Each faction choose from the 9 fantasy races, bringing balance to each other - despite having multiple fantasy races and at least 6 roles per Faction to choose from. Creating a balanced warband is only the start; quick thinking, using the right model at the right time & an assertive battleplan is the key to completing your objectives while denying your opponent theirs.
Twelve Elements of War has a complete Campaign system that sees your models gain experience, better abilities, new skills, money and magical runic items as they play battles and also explore the world of Lumria acquiring strange and unique items.
You will also have the option to visit a town after each game. In town you can choose to go to the Tavern to recruit new members and heroes, The Market to purchase new items and equipment, the Arena to watch pit fighting and maybe pick up a few pointers. Lastly the Temple, where you can prey to the gods to heal your wounds or ask for their blessing in future battles.
Plus with 100's of magical item combinations to try out and over 36 unique runic spells to cast with your magic users, this game has a large amount of re-playability.
+ + If you've ever played an RPG like Dungeons and Dragons, this type of adventuring may sound familiar - then add the element of advancing your character and places to rearm or get new team members and you have the playability of console games like Fable or PC games like Guild Wars + +
BH: One of the really unique elements to Twelve Elements of War is you have a character system that isn’t divided on racial or gender lines. What lead you to come up with this idea?
TEoW: I have always wondered why most miniature or RPG games segregated races and had them fighting each other or made specific races evil.
So I asked myself, why are orc portrayed as bad?,
Why are Humans and Elves generally portrayed as the moral goodies?
When I pitched this idea to some gamers to get feedback in rubbed some of the fantasy gaming purists up the wrong way.
I didn't see a reason not to include female characters in the game either - having both male and female characters in the game gives more depth and shows that women in the Twelve Elements of War world have just as much to provide as their male counterparts.
You will find also with the majority of our female miniatures that they have been sculpted for the conditions in which their faction inhabits - you won’t find a female model hailing from the frozen north fighting in a chainmail bikini. Why? Because it’s practical and fits in with the lore.
TEoW: I have always wondered why most miniature or RPG games segregated races and had them fighting each other or made specific races evil.
So I asked myself, why are orc portrayed as bad?,
Why are Humans and Elves generally portrayed as the moral goodies?
When I pitched this idea to some gamers to get feedback in rubbed some of the fantasy gaming purists up the wrong way.
I didn't see a reason not to include female characters in the game either - having both male and female characters in the game gives more depth and shows that women in the Twelve Elements of War world have just as much to provide as their male counterparts.
You will find also with the majority of our female miniatures that they have been sculpted for the conditions in which their faction inhabits - you won’t find a female model hailing from the frozen north fighting in a chainmail bikini. Why? Because it’s practical and fits in with the lore.
+ + This is a really smart move by Sword & Board Games - women are an integral part of this hobby and encouraging women to not only be supportive of their friends and partners but also be active players (and developers) can only be a good thing for the hobby as a whole. Victoria Lamb for one is a woman who is doing amazing things in the hobby, a few hundred more like her would be amazing! + +
BH: Lets talk about the miniatures. They are beautifully detailed and a lovely true scale rather than heroic scale. Where did your design process begin?
TEoW: The process began with me finding different styles of armour, looks and textures and then applying them together to form the various faction styles.
The next step was getting the detail and style from the concept art to the 3D sculpt. This took several rounds of back and forth before each model was just right.
The printing, moulding and production was the longest process and also the process that was out of my control. The good thing is that pretty much what you get on the 3D sculpt, you get in the finished product.
BH: I think plastic miniatures are the future, why did you go with resin and not the traditional metal?
TEoW: Due to the high price of postage, resin seemed like the obvious choice to keep prices down. A single miniature weighs around approximately 10 grams.
TEoW: The process began with me finding different styles of armour, looks and textures and then applying them together to form the various faction styles.
The next step was getting the detail and style from the concept art to the 3D sculpt. This took several rounds of back and forth before each model was just right.
The printing, moulding and production was the longest process and also the process that was out of my control. The good thing is that pretty much what you get on the 3D sculpt, you get in the finished product.
BH: I think plastic miniatures are the future, why did you go with resin and not the traditional metal?
TEoW: Due to the high price of postage, resin seemed like the obvious choice to keep prices down. A single miniature weighs around approximately 10 grams.
BH: Away from Twelve Elements of War itself for a minute, where did you start in the world of gaming and do you play any other systems?
TEoW: I started back in 2nd edition Warhammer 40k with the starter box of space marines and Orc + Goblins. This was followed by games such as Gorkamorka, Necromunda, Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, Warmchine, Dystopian Wars, Infinity and various other board, card and RPG games along the way.
BH; Where to next?
TEoW: I have years of ideas for supplements, miniatures, lore, additional rules and even a few novels for Twelve Elements of War. Like all projects in all comes down to funding.
The support we were shown at and after Cancon 2015 shows me that we are heading in the right direction with Twelve Elements of War.
TEoW: I started back in 2nd edition Warhammer 40k with the starter box of space marines and Orc + Goblins. This was followed by games such as Gorkamorka, Necromunda, Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, Warmchine, Dystopian Wars, Infinity and various other board, card and RPG games along the way.
BH; Where to next?
TEoW: I have years of ideas for supplements, miniatures, lore, additional rules and even a few novels for Twelve Elements of War. Like all projects in all comes down to funding.
The support we were shown at and after Cancon 2015 shows me that we are heading in the right direction with Twelve Elements of War.
A huge thanks to Tristan of Sword & Board Games.
The universe sounds great and here's hoping we can all see it's full potential.
The miniatures are available now at their online store and are not only great value, but beautifully sculpted.
The universe sounds great and here's hoping we can all see it's full potential.
The miniatures are available now at their online store and are not only great value, but beautifully sculpted.
Here's a look at one of their miniatures I bought at CanCon. As you can see the detail is exquisite!
I'm looking forward to getting paint on this guy!!
I'm looking forward to getting paint on this guy!!
So what do you think?
Twelve Elements of War - are you a Beardy who would love to have the feeling of D&D back and combine it with your miniature hobby?
What do you think of the true scale of the miniatures? Those Halflings are tiny next to an Ogre.
Certainly brings perspective to the world...!
Twelve Elements of War - are you a Beardy who would love to have the feeling of D&D back and combine it with your miniature hobby?
What do you think of the true scale of the miniatures? Those Halflings are tiny next to an Ogre.
Certainly brings perspective to the world...!
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