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2022/04/08 18:03:46
Subject: Introduction to Argatoria - Fantasy wargame from Spellcrow | Barbarians vs Reptilians
Argatoria is a new fantasy wargame from Spellcrow. Works on this game began in 2016. It was created thanks to many talented, engaged people - from sculptors and illustrators to painters and testers. In the rulebook, you will find spectacular artworks made by artists such as Halil Ural and Ralph Horsley, outstanding black-and-white illustrations by Michael Rechlin, beautiful sketches and designs by Tommaso Lucchetti, as well as old-school pencil works by Mateusz Dąbrowski. The history of sculpting the miniatures for this game starts from Marek Rurarz who was inspired by Conan and Kane, and over time, involves more and more sculptors, and then miniature painters. The rules of Argatoria were written by Piotr Pirianowicz and then, several incredibly determined testers were improving them - it's worth mentioning here especially Paweł Budzeń and Damian Kobiałka who had the biggest influence on the final shape of the rules.
All miniatures are hand-sculpted and cast in high-quality resin. If you have never painted any 10 mm miniatures before, don't worry - it's easier and much more relaxing than it looks (I'm saying it from experience).
The game is set in Argatoria - a vast land of forests, fields and mountains inhabited by different tribes which fight for domination. In the beginning, there are 4 armies - 2 Human tribes (Dirandis & Vaendral) & 2 Reptilian tribes (Arox & Sorgax). Starters for them are shown below and already available at spellcrow.com.
Now, a bit of information about the mechanics:
First of all, you will be happy rolling 1s, because in most cases, you'll have to get results equal or LOWER. The game is dynamic in terms of activating the units and fighting. Starting from the Initiative Test which determines who begins the cycle, you will activate your units alternately, and the number of units you must activate depends on the Roll for Activation - you roll 2d6 and choose the lower result. Then, the other player does the same and both of you keep on doing it until all units from both armies are activated. They can move, charge, fight, etc.
Heroes like generals, command groups, champions and mages are activated after the units in a separate phase. They can support the units with more attacks and special rules (which mostly require a d6 test). The general of your army can issue 3 orders per battle to one friendly unit in 30 cm - 4 or less means that the order is successful, which means you immediately activate that unit (you can move, charge, or simply fight if you're already engaged in combat). The Mages have an access to magic spells and items which have some extra rules. The command groups allow to use different tactics like a backward move, or they give a better chance to reach the target of the charge - the only condition is that the unit has to be in 5 cm from the command group. Which reminds me of another important thing - the game uses cm, not inches.
Each army has its unique special rule, e.g. the Arox army allows to re-roll a failed Initiative Test, which means they will be first more often. Almost all units can pray (except for a few which have a special rule forbiding it) to gain some bonuses, but they must take a 2d6 test and get a result equal to or lower than their LD stat. Examples of prayers: Fortune (you can re-roll all failed hits until the end of the cycle), Enemy's Misfortune (your enemy has to re-roll all successful hits until the end of the cycle). In your army, only 1 unit per cycle can attempt to pray, but for every Mage in your army, you get +1 unit that can do it. Except for all the things I mentioned, units have their own special abilities.
Of course, there's a lot more interesting stuff like rotating up to 90 degrees around a d6 die, unique rules of charging, etc. But maybe I won't write an essay here - if you want to know anything more, simply ask. There will be some tutorial videos very soon. But if you know Polish, there is already a battle report that you can watch to see how the game looks like in its most basic form:
The premiere of the English rulebook is in April, but you can already see the Polish one, page by page, in the following video:
Been looking forward to the English rules for some time now.
Had an order a couple of weeks ago with another on its way to add to my collection.Will have all released miniatures when it arrives.
The sculpts are really well done for the scale and not too cluttered with details.
There are also more releases due this month along with the English Rulebook.
The starter armies above are 600 points just in-case anyone was wondering.
Release schedule for Spellcrow products including the Argatoria stuff to come.
The game is dynamic in terms of activating the units and fighting. Starting from the Initiative Test which determines who begins the cycle, you will activate your units alternately, and the number of units you must activate depends on the Roll for Activation - you roll 
