We’ve been posting quite a bit recently about tournaments – the March to Immortality Tournament System, the Immortals tournament itself, and so on. You might even be forgiven for thinking that competitive play is all we care about, but that is certainly not the case. We love that we have developed a very tight set of rules that can be played in a competitive setting, but we are also fans of more casual and narrative play.

A few years ago, we released a pretty sizable document called Dark Age Chronicles: Forsaken that contained special scenarios for each of the Forsaken sub-factions, along with some special “named character” versions of Forsaken unit leaders. Well, although it has taken us a little while to revisit this format in a slightly modified manner, we have returned. You can now go to the Downloads menu on the site here, select Organized Play, and then download the Dark Age Chronicles: Forsaken document.

http://dark-age.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/DarkAgeCampaignSystem.pdf

This time around, Dark Age veteran Robert Allen has written a short campaign that sees the forces of St. John march south from New Ashkelon to investigate terrible rumors coming out of the Blackmire swamps and the Green Sea. Although the mini-campaign has been written for St. John forces (and various antagonists), Robert has also provided alternate ways to play the scenarios if you don’t own the forces involved.

We currently have another Dark Age Chronicles packet “under construction”, and the plans for a third being fleshed out, so we are looking forward to keeping this narrative play rolling along. Look for these later this year.

You can download the Dark Age Chronicles: Forsaken – The Tribulations of St. John edition HERE:

http://dark-age.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DAChronicles_Forsaken_StJohn.pdf

PS. We printed a copy of this mini-campaign was a once-off promotional item for attendees at CMON Expo 2017. While the format may differ, the contents are the same.

OBJECTIVES! – WARSENAL HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK.

May 23, 2017



We are very excited with the new scenarios in the 2017 Master Rules book and the 2017-18 MTI document. There are a few new approaches and a very cool new size of objective for the Caravan Control scenario (3’x5′). You may have also noticed that we reworked the iconography for all of the factions and sub-factions for the Master Rules. Our graphics guy, Jeff Yu, put in a lot of work and has created some lovely icons that we are quite proud of.

While we were working on all of these things, we were talking with the guys at Warsenal. Bill and Jay and the team loved the ideas we had, and came up with a few of their own along the way. Now these ideas have been made concrete (well, acrylic and MDF) and are available for purchase by you, the dedicated Dark Age gamer!


First off, we have the Caravan Cart that is perfectly sized for the Caravan Control scenario. Sure, you could use an index card or something similar, but this Cart really brings the world of Dark Age to your tabletop. It is no coincidence that it looks like the cart in the art of glorious New Ashkelon (above). Check it out HERE.

https://warsen.al/collections/designed-for-dark-age/products/dark-age-cart


Secondly, there are a set of three Cages which can be used as scenery by themselves, or function as objectives once dropped into 50mm deep well bases. The fit perfectly with Slavers forces, and will no doubt be incredibly popular once the new Skarrd start hitting the shelves. Take a closer look at them HERE.

https://warsen.al/collections/designed-for-dark-age/products/dark-age-objective-cages


Finally, there are these wonderful, full-color, printed acrylic objective markers with the faction and sub-faction icons on them. You can find a set of three markers for each of the 27 faction/sub-factions you might already play HERE.

https://warsen.al/collections/markers/products/dark-age-full-color-objectives-3

So much wonderful stuff going on, we are very excited about the future of Dark Age!

str00dles1 wrote:
Problem with Meeple is when I go to checkout, it says it wont deliver to the US.

FPgames is old, and only 22 items.

How they still haven't gotten a deal with Miniature market or warstore is beyond me. Id rather them not release anything new til they got that set up. But that's wishful thinking. Al my ordered have come from CMON, which is one of the worst companies/sellers out there. Every order I ever place needs me to create 2-3 tickets to get the ball rolling so they mail it. Just ordered the new objective cards on the 20th, its still processing... They said they moved to a new warehouse so things ship faster, but I don't see it.

 Alpharius wrote:
I think FRP isn't a 'current' stockist for Dark Age.

Meeplemart looks promising - but I'm not seeing a lot of actual pricing on their site?

But thank you for the heads up - much appreciated!

 highlord tamburlaine wrote:
Of course you still have to deal with CMON's store, which is a chore in and of itself, and who knows how long the package will take to arrive...

Cool Mini Or Not have a reputation for their incredible board games packed full of miniatures. It’s no real surprise then to find out that CMON also have a healthy stable of current and future miniatures games. One of these miniatures games, the oldest one in CMON’s line, has been flying under the radar, all the while doing really incredible things. The game is Dark Age and there is no better time to take the plunge.

WHAT IS DARK AGE?



Dark Age is a skirmish sized miniatures game. This means that the average tournament-sized faction will typically sit around the 10 models, and with competitive events taking about 75 minutes per game. With that being said, there is a lot of freedom in list construction within the different factions and allows you the freedom to take a larger or smaller force than this. The game itself has 7 main factions but many of these factions are further broken down into sub-factions. Each sub-faction is able to take “generic” models from their chosen faction but also have a number of exclusive models that belong only to those sub-factions.

Miniatures games often include a deep narrative lore and a universe that ties everything together. Dark Age is no different and contains an incredibly rich, diverse setting filled with heroes, villains, and those who are somewhere in between. Interestingly, many of these “dramatis personae” are included in the game, have models and are completely playable. Additionally, the story for the game continues to evolve and grow with each release containing both rules and fiction set in this cool backdrop.

The factions themselves are incredibly interesting and diverse, ranging from humans of multiple flavours (some good, others not so much), slumbering space aliens who are waking up, AI constructs, lab experiments gone bad, and even invading space Mayans. Seriously.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE PLAYING IT



Dark Age just released their 2017 Master Rules and they are, in a word, great. Unlike other game systems which release a new edition of master rules and completely invalidate entire armies, forcing their player base to start from scratch, the 2017 Master Rules are basically an upgrade. Think of it more as a video game patch, moving from version 1.0 to version 1.1, and you are on the right track. Two months prior to the release of the 2017 Master Rules, CMON released the first ever 2-Player Starter Set, Path to Glory. The best part of these two releases is that despite the Path to Glory set being released under the old Master Rules, the entire box set, including its Quick Start Rules, are 100% compatible with the new 2017 Master Rules. Did I also mention that every rule in the game is free to download?

The models for the game are also incredible (as to be expected from CMON) and being updated and modernized. Right now, all but 2 of the factions have received a modern facelift, with one of the remaining releasing this year at GenCon. After that, pick an aesthetic you like and go to town. Do you want a Mad Max-style band of humans, eking out an existence in the barren wastelands? Got them. Are AI robots, including an AMAZING robo T-Rex more your thing? Got those too. Fundamentally, the breadth of the Dark Age universe pretty much guarantees that there is something in their range that you are going to love.

HOW DOES IT PLAY?



Of course, the best universe and models, aren’t enough if the game itself isn’t fun to play. Dark Age is a deep, tactically satisfying skirmish game. Scenarios have both primary objectives and you have hidden secondary objectives to fulfill, which are randomly drawn from your Secondary Objectives deck. Cover & movement are both incredibly important and the game itself is a D20 system. You really only need 2 D20s to play a full game so there is no messy dice rolling or cleaning. The D20 mechanic is a boon for all of you poor dice rollers in D&D because the game is designed for you to roll low. A roll of “1” is a critical success and a “20” is a critical failure; my D&D group will be delighted to hear that my knack for rolling 1s is useful somewhere.

Dark Age has a ton of balance between shooting and combat with no aspect of the game having an advantage over the other. An “On Hold” system allows for a lot of tactical depth as you are able to react to your opponent’s actions, either move a model outside of the range of weapons or even take a melee or ranged attack, depending on the situation. Combine the ability to hold actions with a game that boasts alternating activations and you create a game that feels very much like a game of tactical cat & mouse as you jockey your models and activations to give yourself an edge and deny your opponent the same thing.

THE BEST PRIZE IN ALL OF GAMING



Dark Age has arguably the best prize in all of tabletop gaming. Every year they have a tournament circuit called The March to Immortality. This is a series of qualifying events held at major Cons throughout the year. Winning a qualifier earns you a coveted Bludgelt (although depending on the size of the event, CMON has been known to hand out additional Bludgelts for completing additional challenges, at their discretion). Bludgelts are the currency in the game universe and they are the only way to buy your way into the final Immortals tournament held at CMON Expo. Winning the final Immortals tournament allows you to work with the game designers to create any model you want to see in the game. Many previous winners have created themselves in the game (http://dark-age.com/immortals-2015/), while the most recent winner worked with the design studio to invent a new sub-faction (they loved his idea so much they committed to creating a sub-faction around it). (http://dark-age.com/the-dragyri-lost-characters-and-a-little-extra/)

If you are unable to meet CMON at a March to Immortality qualifier, but still want to get your hands on a Bludgelt, there is one final way to get your hands on one. You can challenge anyone with a Bludgelt to a “winner takes all” game of Dark Age. Beating the holder gives you their Bludgelt and you can use it to pay your way into the Immortals final tournament. With that being said, each time a Bludgelt is used to buy your way into the Immortals, they stamp it, on a piece of railway track, no less.


After 2 stamps, it can no longer be used and you will have to earn yourself another one. It’s a great system and turns the Bludgelt into a highly coveted piece of gaming swag.

Obviously, I’m a huge fan of the game and the universe, the game, and the mechanics. If you’re looking to check the game out and connect with other players, I recommend checking out the Dark Age: Samaria Reborn Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/183757445321780/), where you can find myself and other players sharing tactical advice, painting inspiration, and generally geeking out about the game.

Right now, all but 2 of the factions have received a modern facelift, with one of the remaining releasing this year at GenCon.

Hey everyone!

There’s some new stuff to show off for you today. We’re right around a month out from the new Brood Rules Test release! This update will breathe a whole new life into the most “alive” faction of Dark Age, including some new styles of play, new special rules, and of course new tactical combinations. We know you all are chomping at the bit to get a look at what is coming out, so we thought we’d give you a little teaser to whet those appetites. How about some new sculpt renders and a couple of the new updated stat cards, hmm?

Yeah, we figured you’d be interested in that.

First, let’s check out some stat cards for some old favorites:












That should get those tactical juices flowing for you. As you can see, Brood are good about getting numbers out onto the field and really making the most of them. They can heal up using Consume Brood and Regeneration, and one lucky creature can even gain a boost to their Armor values by using Calcifying Blood when it is injured! Opponents are going to want to make sure to bring extra bullets, since just because a Brood monstrosity is on the ground and bleeding out, that doesn’t mean it’s out of the fight!

Next, the new renders. The majority of the line is being redone, with gruesome new sculpts that will be released over the rest of 2017 and into 2018. While we would never tell you to stop using your existing Brood models – you should still check out the new direction these beasties are taking!

Pud Swarm Render


Pud Render


Broodhound Render


Grist Render


A lot has gone into these new sculpts. The Brood are products of genetic tinkering… mostly in the form of “throw the useful ingredients into the pool and see what crawls out” and that’s reflected in the figures. Puds are nasty, crawling mouths filled with hungry teeth that can patch up wounds with their own bodies, while Broodhounds will happily rip you limb-from limb with their long claws, and the Grist stare into your soul with their dead eyes and howling visage as they pump energy blasts out of their bio-projector!

That’s what we’ve got for you now. Stay tuned for more previews as we get ever-closer to the new Brood rules release!

 Alpharius wrote:
OK, the whole Brood line is desperately in need of a resculpt!