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So, Blackstone Fortress had my attention with the unique miniatures and that was enough to sell me on the game. Originally, that was all I wanted and intended to use them in Necromunda, FFG RPG's, or narrative 40k games. However, the game itself was a great bonus and it's well-worth playing. I'll discuss this below, and I'll use a Q & A format.

Q: So, how many people are required to play this game?

A: You can play this game all by yourself, or as I like to call it "playing with myself but grimdark". And it's kind of fun to do that for a one-off mission to pass some time, but be advised- there's some parts of the game that you'll have to skip if you're the only one playing (the cards will let you know). Otherwise, there's 4 heroes in the group so you're either controlling all of them, and as more people play you divide the 'party' up.

But, there is ONE thing to make you aware of- the game is for up to 5 players- and the 5th player is controlling the enemies- and let me be clear, they're not really making decisions for the enemies. They're following a script and moving the pieces around. Well, at least that's the way it is if you're following the rulebook. You're not 'playing' so much as 'doing the work'.

For a fun challenge, you can have the 5th player control them as he pleases and develop a system for determining if his guys retreat away. Just be advised you'll have to do some house-ruling to make that person's experience feel like they're actually playing and not doing game chores and watching everyone else have fun.

Q: What kind of character can I be? Can I bring my [insert thing you like]?

A: The game's characters are set- there's nothing like Silver Tower with a bunch of other player character options for other GW models, aside from the recent White Dwarf featuring rules for a Solitaire (who is meant to be played alone, by himself). There's also rules for a few 'retinue characters' which are like extra buddy characters that help out (this is another way to incorporate a 5th player).

The characters are in spoiler tags below, to save space.



However, don't let that stop you from being creative and making what you want. I've made rules for Deathwatch marines, Assassins, Necromunda characters, Inquisitors, and quite a few other things. You'll be homebrewing your own rules, of course. And don't worry a lot about balance- as the game stands you can take a few specific groups of the default characters and jut slaughter the b'jeezus out of everything once you figure out the synergy. Just make what seems fun to you, and adjust as you play to make it more challenging or easier, if need be. And here's a blank character card, should you need it: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2113305/new-playable-character-inquisitor-templatus-blankm

Also, you can totally find alternatives to the existing characters and use them (A commissar as Janus Draik, Illic Nightspear as Amallyn Shadowguide, etc.) It's a board game, so have fun and do what you like. As far as proxies go- I've seen some hilarious ones. One guy bought the game without miniatures (someone just wanted the models), so he made his own... except all the enemies are loyalists and the heroes are all heretics. When his project is finished, I might share it here if he's okay with it.

Also, if you've got the means to do it- you can even make custom enemies. I've seen multiple people do this.

Q: Are there any other uses for the game, or the models?

A: All of the models for the game have rules for Warhammer 40k, and Kill Team. Also, there are Kill-Team rules for the Blackstone Fortress as a battleground. They're pretty fun. Also, the Escalation expansion has cultists that make a pretty solid Chaos Cult gang for Necromunda. The Chaos models can be combined together to make a "Servants of the Abyss" Battalion Detachment for ~500 points.

Unrelated, but one thing I have seen a lot of people doing is adding in their own variations of hostiles from their personal collection. The newer Chaos Marines look MUCH better than the ones included in the game, and some of the "Chaos Lord with Hammer" models I've seen put Mallex to shame. Also, the standard Chaos Cultists work just fine alongside the game's cultists from Escalation.

Q: How many expansions are there? Do I need them all? How do they work?

A: Woo boy, okay. Here we go. Aside from the core game, they are listed below and how to use them and additional info.

First and foremost, no expansion is required to play any other expansion.

-Escalation: The biggest expansion, same core system but works a bit differently than the main core game. You do this expansion after you 'beat the main game'. Comes with new heroes and new cultist enemies- However, you can still add in the cultists from the start of a normal game and play the heroes from the start of a normal game.

-The Dreaded Ambull: It's an Ambull and his little bug babies, with the missions to go with him. You should do this after you do the main quest for the core set, but I would say you could probably do it before you do the final mission.

-Traitor Command: Traitor Commissar and Chaos Ogryn: Same as above, do the main quest and maybe do this after the Ambull if you have it.

-Endless Peril: A deck of cards for the scenarios and challenges, basically 'new missions'. Worth getting for the sake of variety over time.

-Advanced Arsenal: cards for new items you can use. Most of them pretty useful.

-Abominable Intellect: 'Hard mode' cards that really just spawn more enemies (and to do this, you'll need to buy extra hostiles that GW conveniently released at the same time). Not really what I'd call 'hard mode', just 'more work' and this one is probably not worth the money- there's better ways to make the game more challenging (spawn in a Chaos Marine or Rogue Psyker, and always apply the Twists if you want a real challenge).

A good thing is that all the expansion cards have an icon on them, so you know what they came from and can pluck them out and separate them if you want.

Q: But is the game actually fun?

A: Yeah, I think so- but it can get repetitive if you're not with an entertaining group of people. Really, the only downside of it is finding a group that can play regularly enough to complete the campaign. The best luck I've had was gathering a group of people that wanted to be Deathwatch Marines, we made rules for all of them- and then we rotated out missions between all of us. That way, there was always someone. I also have a way to 'tone it down' if there aren't enough players, so that 2-3 people can still do the missions without getting erased.

Q: Okay, you handsome and charming devil. Take the keys to my car, go over to my house, and get in bed with my wife. But is there anything bad about it?

A: Ah, you flatter me, Mr. Nonexistent Question man. It's almost as if you were deliberately made to stroke my ego. But I'll be honest...

1- Storage can be a pain. That's a lot of stuff, a lot of cards, and you'll want some way to store them.

2- Oh, yeah- most of the cards are sizes "GW Stupid" so it's a pain finding sleeves for them.

3- The tokens, tiles, etc. are still cardboard so you'll want to invest in a game mat to protect the stuff.

4- The rules are gonna take a few readthroughs, and are oddly... out of place. I strongly recommend making copies of the references on the back of each book, and then making a basic 'how to play' simplified version for your players to hand out. The books (yes, plural there's a book for playing and a book for combat and a book for when you finish combat... it's absurd) aren't very good at making it simple and easy to follow, and the video showing how to play is... well, GW "how to" so it's less useful than excess Finecast flash.

5- Some of the models are VERY delicate, and I can tell you right now- Amallyn's rifle is the first thing to break. I gave up trying to replace her and just made a Drukhari Wych and gave her a Dark Lance. Wyches love Dark Lances.

I'm open to anything anyone wants to ask or add.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Clarification:

As far as any of the expansions goes, you don't need any of them for the core game. There's nothing like any updates.

You can pick any one of them that you like and use it without buying any of the others, as long as you have the core game.

HOWEVER: Some of the White Dwarf supplements require some expansions.

That was a very good summery, AD. For a moment there I was ready to order the game itself, but the Inquistion vs Chaos theme always puts me off as a mostly xenos player.

That said I do own a copy of The Dreaded Ambull( always wanted an Ambull! ) which made me consider BSF but the releases afterwards just killed that idea. If they had done a xenos BSF expansion I would have gone for it and a Drukhari set - with a cool Wych would have sealed the deal.

May I ask, AD, what your opinion of this months Harliquin Solitare in White Dwarf?

SamusDrake wrote:
That was a very good summery, AD. For a moment there I was ready to order the game itself, but the Inquistion vs Chaos theme always puts me off as a mostly xenos player.

Thanks for the positive feedback. Believe it or not, sometimes I can manifest a useful post.

No Inquisition involved. It's all Rogue Traders and their retinue. One of the playable characters is an Aeldari Ranger Sniper chick, another is a Kroot Mercenary.

SamusDrake wrote:
That said I do own a copy of The Dreaded Ambull( always wanted an Ambull! ) which made me consider BSF but the releases afterwards just killed that idea. If they had done a xenos BSF expansion I would have gone for it and a Drukhari set - with a cool Wych would have sealed the deal.

Off the top of my head, I'd say that you could easily proxy a Wych for Janus Draik. He's got a mediocre pistol and a solid melee attack with a flurry of blows.

SamusDrake wrote:
May I ask, AD, what your opinion of this months Harliquin Solitare in White Dwarf?

It's entertaining for a one-off, I modified those rules to make an Eversor assassin and it was fun (I don't own a Solitaire).

Thanks for that AD.

Yeah, to be fair some of the player characters are xenos, which is cool in itself. The big robot dude looks a hoot too!

I assumed Tad and Pious were somehow linked to the Inquistion - able to burn heretics and all that fun stuff they do on a Saturday night...

"We found a witch...may we burn her?"

SamusDrake wrote:
Thanks for that AD.

Yeah, to be fair some of the player characters are xenos, which is cool in itself. The big robot dude looks a hoot too!

I assumed Tad and Pious were somehow linked to the Inquistion - able to burn heretics and all that fun stuff they do on a Saturday night...

"We found a witch...may we burn her?"

The robot is a monster in combat, just can shred enemies all day long AND he regenerates, but only gets 3 actions and he moves only one space. Still, he's really cool.

The Rogue Trader with 2 revolvers is pretty nasty as well.

Keep in mind, you can always make the characters you want. I'd be willing to help you if you like.

I find the robot synergises nicely with explosive ammunition

If you want a GROSS combo:

Robot, Sanctioned Psyker, Angry Pope, Crusader.

Updated Information:

The Kill Team Annual 2019 has rules for the Master of Possession and the two Possessed from the Shadowspear box.

So, some more Q&A:

Q: The models included with the game are Black Legion, but I want to use them in 40k with my [INSERT ANY OTHER TRAITOR LEGION]. Can I just paint them as [INSERT OTHER LEGION] and it be fine for both Blackstone Fortress and 40k?

A: As far as using Chaos Marines and Mallex (the Chaos Lord) in Blackstone Fortress- you can paint them any way you want. You can even use other models entirely (the newer Chaos Marines look cooler than the ones included, IMHO). I've painted my own as Alpha Legion. I've seen others use Death Guard, and made some very interesting substitutions with Apostate Preachers replacing Traitor Commissars, Plague Ogryns or Gellarpox mutants replacing the Chaos Ogryn, and Poxwalker/Gellarpox conversions as the Traitor Guard. Proxies are, as stated before, cool.

BUT- if you want to use the BSF miniatures in games of Warhammer 40k, it's a faction called "SERVANTS OF THE ABYSS". This is where it might get a little tricky.

Mallex and the Chaos Marines have the BLACK LEGION keyword, in addition to SERVANTS OF THE ABYSS. All the other units lack the BLACK LEGION keyword, so they are not tied to any specific Chaos Legion.

The Chaos Marines can ONLY be in the Detachment if Mallex is also in the Detachment- and there are only two of them (You can't take more), and there's nothing really special about them otherwise. And no, they can't be equipped with anything but a bolter and bolt pistol.

HOWEVER- you can still run a SERVANTS OF THE ABYSS detachment without Mallex and the Marines- The Traitor Commissar is a valid HQ choice, and makes an interesting small detachment of traitor guard. Essentially, you drop Mallex and the Chaos Marines, and boom- now you have a detachment without the BLACK LEGION keyword, and instead it has only the SERVANTS OF THE ABYSS keyword.

I can't say for sure how useful they are, I've never used them. I'm also certain that anyone who runs a Renegades & Heretics army can say whether or not they compare or are better just folded into a R&H army.

Also, yes- you can totally use them in Kill Team. Mallex and the Marines still have the BLACK LEGION keyword, and they're still their own faction called SERVANTS OF THE ABYSS- they are not a part of Heretic Astartes and can't be merged together.

The main difference with Kill Team is that you are not limited to 2 Chaos Space Marines and you don't have to take Mallex (obviously, unless you play Commanders). However, they are still limited to being basic bolter dudes.

the master of posession/greater possessed are NPCs right?

possibly I should start another thread for these questions...

how do you guys deal with spawning reinforcements? there was some argument as to whether it was "if any (at all? in the group? ) died in the previous turn" or "if any died in any previous turns", I highly suspect it's "if any died in that group in the previous turn", thus if they die, don't get reinforced, they can become wiped.

Ah, heres one; does the BSF annual include the rules for fighting Kill Team battles in the Black Fortress? The KT annual doesn't seem to have them...

SamusDrake wrote:
Ah, heres one; does the BSF annual include the rules for fighting Kill Team battles in the Black Fortress? The KT annual doesn't seem to have them...

It sadly does not. However, I'll make it simple for you:

-Draw a card, that's the battlefield. Choose a number at random and that's your deployment area.
-Reinforcements come through portals.
-Apply close quarters battle rules from Rogue Trader.

If I didn't think that it was against site rules, I'd scan them and upload them.

Otherwise, BSF doesn't have anything that isn't in a WD.

Cheers for that.

SamusDrake wrote:
Cheers for that.

Keep in mind, pretty much everything in the BSF Annual requires you to have expansions except one mission.

I'm on a Holiday Break right now, so I am avoiding my office like it's flooded with Nerve Gas until after the New Year. However, I will see if I still have the scans of all my WD pages and send them to you.

If you want, I can also tack on:

-"Blackstone Fortress for Dummies" guide (A basic little handout)
-Blank Character card
-House rules so the game doesn't last forever
-Guidelines for increasing difficulty.

Stay tuned, I'm gonna do a brief rundown of how to make your own custom character and post it here.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
"I want to make my own Character in Blackstone Fortress, and I don't want to proxy"

Then perhaps this can help you, made-up person. Let's break down the way things work really quick.

You should start thinking about what kind of character you want to play. What weapons he has, armor, etc. Now, don't worry too much about "weapon stats"- I'll explain why, going through the basics- this is also kind of assuming you have a basic understanding of how the game is played.

You have 4 major stats: Movement, Agility, Defense, and Vitality.

The Average Movement is 2. It doesn't sound like a lot, but that's basic for pretty much everything except the big robot or the fast little Ur-Ghul. So keep that in mind when you're determining your movement stat.

As far as the other ones go, it's going to come down to your better judgement. Here's a basic table of the dice percentiles for success & crit: https://imgur.com/a/xqpA8s8 (R's are a reroll)

If that's too much for you, then I'll keep it simple: The more sides the dice has, the better the skill. And if you roll more than one, that's even better chances. So, a 2D12 roll is a super badass, a 1D6 means you suck. Keep that in mind when applying them to your stats.

Now, you're going to ask about balance- I would say, don't worry too much about it. The game can be imbalanced with a few combos of the default characters, so I wouldn't stress it too much unless your character is just erasing everything he looks at with one dice roll and hasn't taken a wound or two every mission. Then you may wanna recalibrate.

So, here's an example of a basic Adeptus Astartes traits:

Movment: 2 /Defense: D12 / Agility: D8 /Vitality: D12

Now, that sounds pretty potent, but it's not too terrible. A D12 is only about a 33% chance of success.

Now, comes the combat stuff. You're still using the same dice. However, this is the tricky part- Don't think about what specific weapons you have, but rather think of it this way- how powerful are your attacks at different range bands, and what attacks would require your character to commit more focus/effort/luck?

Using the Space Marine example, let's just say he has a Bolter and a combat blade. That's pretty basic, but that's obviously going to be more dangerous up close. So-

1: D12 / 2-3: 2D8 / 4+: D8

That's pretty reasonable. Just remember, the weapons are kind of important, but overall- whether it's one weapon or two, or a small arsenal- what matters is how powerful his general combat attack would be at a given range band. You can determine that these are different weapons entirely- A bolt pistol and Heavy Thunder Hammer could have two different entries, because the Heavy Thunder Hammer could require a higher activation dice roll to use.

So now you're left with "special abilities", which is where you gotta get creative. I went with something simple-

"Astartes may recover a grievous wound on a critical success vitality roll, as long as he is not engaged."

So, I hope that's basic enough to give you an idea. Again, don't worry about 'balance'. You can always tweak this as you play.

UPDATE: So I can't find the guy that did "Blackstone Fortress but the Hostiles are Imperium" guy. He apparently shut down his Instagram. Either way, I started going off Memory and what I came up with was pretty simple.

Mallex: Any Space Marine Captain with a Heavy Thunder Hammer (or Power Fist) and a Plasma Pistol.

Black Legionnaires: Literally any Space Marine with a Bolter.

Traitor Commissar: Loyalist Commissar with Power Fist & Bolt Pistol.

Chaos Ogryn: Bullgryn with Maul, kitbashed 'claw' on opposite hand (I believe he used a modified Charonite Ogryn for this).

Traitor Guardsmen: Imperial Guard (2x sergeant with pistol and chainsword, 4x Guardsmen with pistols and melee weapons, 6x Guardsmen with lasguns, 2x guardsmen with flamers).

Beastmen: Goliath gangers converted to have melee weapons and pistols. Alternatively, use the new Enforcers/Subjugators with pistols and shock mauls.

Spindle Drones: This might require some creativity, just making little floaty robots. Even some cherubs with guns might be hilarious.

Ur-Ghul: Dogs (not sure where he got them from, though Artel W. Makes some decent ones).

Rogue Psykers: Sanctioned Psykers.

So, after going through this... I might make my own little project.

Additionally, one thing I've discovered that can be pretty fun is using the Encounter cards as a sort of 'Movie Marines' game hostile spawning thing on a Zone Mortalis board.

This thread is great. I just picked it up because I found a copy for half-off and the possibility of playing solo means I might actually get a chance to play it. Thanks for all the info.