I swear I have that joke out my system now.
In layman's terms the annual update to Kings of War has been released in book format. It's not essential for the game to work. It is the culmination of countless hours of playtesting, discussion and analysis to produce updates. These updates improve the play experience and revitalise tournament play to prevent stagnation. More importantly it introduces the rules for the Halflings and Riftforged Orcs: new armies and model ranges released this year.
First Impressions
This is a very comfortable book to hold and light enough I can carry it one handed. Don't trust a rulebook you can't read whilst making a cup of tea. The cover art is really cool and the overall layout is pleasing. You get the impression whoever did the layouts and editing would excel at making in universe publications. A Mantic bestiary in their hands would look stunning.
Throughout the book there are beautiful illustrations that evoke the feel and theme of their respective armies. The Halflings use greens and browns for their full colour pieces and like to bring the Shire itself into focus as a character. In contrast the Riftforged Orcs use much colder colours to create busy, claustrophobic scenes of battle and raging storms. Essentially Halflings are Realism and the Riftforged are Romanticism. I fully expect the Orc Legions to sing Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights on the march.
The good stuff...
Here we open with the history of Halflings. Going from somewhere between Roma/Traveller and First Nations inspiration, pulling in some Home Counties feeling, a nod towards Irish Republicans then ending up decidedly Tolkien. I may well be missing a beat on those so don't take that as definitive.
Expanding on the origin story we get a look at Shire life and recent Brexi... Err exit from Europ... The League of Rhordia. I don't believe it's intended as a Brexit narrative given the Halflings had a justifiable reason to cut ties. Then again there is a trend for splitting/isolating narratives in UK games design at the moment so, y'know. The Shire is a pretty lovely place of agriculture and family values. It's also a terrifying place of agriculture and family values. You're as likely to be invited in for dinner as a wandering stranger as you are to be chased out the village at gunpoint. Stay well clear of any family disputes.
This theme of hidden malice premeates the Halfling background. It's great. I had wondered what the story behind the Greedyguts model was. Turns out the Sauceror's have been doing twisted and (ultimately) evil experiments on some unfortunate Halflings. The result being ravenous monsters ready to devour all living things in their path. They are kept in cages and everything.
The only let down in the Halfling background is a paragraph or two on gender. For some reason they had to add nonsense about women losing political influence over time and there being fewer women serving in the regular militia musters. It adds nothing and detracts from the otherwise excellent story.
Technically this is under the good stuff heading but deserved its own title.
These new Orcs were made by some overly angry loser in hell called Oscar or Gerkin? I forget which. Then they spent a decade fighting everything in hell before being unleashed into reality. It's kinda interesting but without much depth or emotional resonance. If Orcs and being brutal on the battlefield are your thing then this may be exciting. Honestly I got kind of bored after a page or two.
Fortunately the new Legions of Super Orcs weren't deployed with a consistent plan of attack. More left to their own devices as they rampage across the lands. There's nothing like piecemeal invasions to ensure your elite fighting force is doomed to ultimate failure.
I don't want to get too negative here. As an antagonist the Riftforged Orcs are great. Scary, merciless, uncompromising. All you need in a threat to civilisation. They'll also be a great addition to the existing Orc range on the battlefield. As far as their story goes I struggle to find investment in a faction lacking hearth and home. A bit more focus on inter-legion rivalries and culture shock as these manufactured warriors meet the wider world would add a lot to an otherwise emotionally bland faction.
Most importantly there will soon be Orcs on magical sky kitties available so keep your eyes out.
The rest...
There are also some rules updates for the game and all the armies. Which is nice.
