The Burnt Bugbear Blog

Note: The product reviewed here was acquired with my own hard-earned gold coins.      For me, there is something beautiful about the idea of Song of Blades and Heroes . Most of my. . .let’s call it “idealized fondness” for that quite venerable fantasy skirmish comes from the fact that it lets you build your warbands/retinues/parties as you see fit (mostly). For those who don’t know, SOBH basically says “hey, here’s a simple statblock: staple whatever traits you think help make your model come to life, and have fun.” Years before apps and doohickies made their way into RPGs and wargaming, SOBH was giving you an online statblock builder that let you, theoretically, make whatever fantasy character you wanted to.      Again, my fondness is idealized . In practice, I’m not a huge fan of SOBH. The rules are too simple for my tastes, the rolls too swingy, and the whole “look dad, there’s two stats on my character sheet: isn’t that awesome!?” approa...

Note: The product reviewed below was bought with my own coin, which was rightfully collected by gate guards enforcing just and fair sumptuary laws.       Some reviews are grand, planned affairs. This one is not that: it’s mostly the result of being highly impressed with the material and casting quality of some minis I recently managed to acquire. We’re doing it live!      I picked up Guardhouse Heroes on a whim as I work through the collection of minis I need to play Guards of Traitor’s Toll . Though my guard squad is done and dusted, I thought it might be fun to play with some of the special characters that have been added by the “wave 2” releases for the game. 'Tis a shame that the NPC box with some more distinct personalities (a vampire to suck the life out of the city, an assassin to terrorize its fancy pants nobility, etc.) was out of stock at my FLGS, but I suppose I can track it down in the new year. A fine box: I find the "sketchy" styl...

     Last post, I talked about Torch and Shield ’s core book and why it kicks all sorts of ass. It really is a game that’s left me feeling giddy to get models on the table, and I’m very much hoping it is something which catches on in my gaming group.      Today, we’re going to take a look at something I have far more critical words about: the official miniatures from Grimskald. While Grimskald is very much a modern gaming company (that is, it strongly encourages 3d printing, and sells all its miniatures in digital form for you printing enthusiasts), I’m not a very modern gamer. My beard may be short and my hairs mostly un-greyed, but for me the miniature collecting hobby is not the same as the 3d printing one. I could invest in printing hardware and learn the craft of making my own miniatures, but that’s not the hobby I want to engage in. I want to build and paint minis, and that’s it!      To this end, when I made my first To...

Note: The products reviewed below were all obtained by me, the Burnt Bugbear, using my own hard-earned spondoolies. This review is not sponsored in any way.      While the temptation to begin this little blog with a proper introductory post remains strong, I have nonetheless decided that the only proper way to kick off a blog about tabletop gaming is to do so by looking at a game. A good one, too! After all, anything which is about dwarves is bound to be good, and yours truly is pleased to report that rattling about in this thick skull are a whole lot of thoughts about Grimskald’s Torch and Shield: Brutal Combat in the Darkness of the Ruined Dwarven Empire. Only dwarves? A fine cover indeed!      Brace yourselves, because it’s about to get very, very short and bearded ‘round these parts.      As the subtitle suggests, Torch and Shield is primarily a game about dwarves. Sure, if you look hard enough (especially at the new...