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| 10 goblins charge towards Keith's two characters at the start of a game of Sellswords & Spellslingers |
I'd been wanting to see if the Sunday night gang would enjoy playing
Sellswords & Spellslingers. I knew we would be pushing the envelope on size for this cooperative miniatures game. We typically have six players with the GM making seven. Still, I was eager to try and they agreed to give it a go. I gave each player the option to create 50 points (instead of the standard 60) points worth of characters, or use one of the samples I'd created. This would mean 300 points of player characters against the enemies, which would be controlled by the game mechanics. The slightly reduced points I gave my six players actually equaled five player's worth of enemies. A small difference, I know. But I hoped it might make the numbers of figures on the table more manageable?
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| Look at the table with its rain-drenched, slippery, rocky areas infested by hordes of orcs & goblins |
I chose the "Orcs and Slippery Stones" scenario from the base rules. I increased the table size to 4'x3', though. However, I think I will shrink it back down to 3'x3' for our next game. I was worried about the table being too crowded, but I don't think that was the case. Populating the board with the Foes to equal 300 points of player characters meant I placed five Orc Brutes, five Goblin Warriors, and five Hordes of 3 Goblin warriors each. A dozen player characters against 25 Foes -- at least initially. More Foes would come on table as a result of the event cards. I decided to let the players, who were sitting spaced out around the table, deploy where they chose and not all on the same edge. They ended up deploying on all four edges. This meant they were not really in support range of each other, except for Keith and Tom, who quickly moved closer together as they were facing the bulk of the orc and goblin horde.
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| An orc brute followed by four goblins barrel towards Mike W's two characters on the board edge |
After a quick rules explanation (some had played it once or twice before), we began. The players started off awfully with their activation rolls. They failed to roll an 8+ on a 1d20 on the first five rolls. It didn't get better as turns went around the table. The typical roll was one success and two failures. Several of us were shaking our heads in disbelief. Each activation rolls has essentially a 65% chance of success. As an event card is flipped for each failure, new Foes swelled the orcs and goblins ranks on the tabletop. One player said they weren't being paid enough to face this many orcs and goblins! I tried to keep their morale up, pointing out each success they had shooting down or slaying an orc or goblin in melee. See, I would say --it's easy!
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| Five of the six players as they contemplate how to drive off the horde of orcs & goblins |
A massive horde of orcs and goblins charged towards Keith and Tom, who formed up, shoulder to shoulder. They were a wall of steel and began cutting down hordes of goblins. Tom's archer stood behind the other three characters and picked off ones at range. The orcs and goblins were funneled against the three other fighters, who stood together to keep any from being overwhelmed. Slowly, they began to whittle down the number of attackers. Meanwhile, the Sams brothers, Allen and Joel in opposite corners, cut down the first group of orcs and goblins that charged them. They were left with few enemies to fight, so had to begin moving across the expanse of the table to aid their companions. Mike S, who'd created a mage and a fighter, was swarmed by a pincer movement of orcs and goblins. His mage was contacted in hand to hand and was soon down to one wound left. By a heroic effort, he killed the goblin in contact with him and then fled the off-table to safety. The fighter was nearly surrounded, but kept swinging and orcs and goblins kept falling.
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Mike S's two characters stand their ground against an incoming mass of orcs & goblins |
Mike W had deployed near a horde of goblins and was beset almost immediately. Although he killed many, one of his fighters was also down to one wound. The goal of the game is for the players to kill enough foes so that they outnumber the enemy. It was a steep order, with the event cards constantly replacing the slain. Eventually, the worm turned, though, on their activation die rolls. The players went from failing repeatedly to succeeding most of the time. As the activation die rolls evened out, more and more foes were cut down. I know that technically the game wasn't supposed to end until all enemies leave the table. However, it was such a heroic effort to whittle down the vast numbers of orcs and goblins, that I called the game when they finally outnumbered them. I said the orc's and goblin's morale broke and they ran from the field.
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| Fearghall prepares to strike down the last of a goblin trio who had charged him (& wounded him) |
It was our first game and I didn't want it to degenerate into tediously chasing off every last figure. In the two-plus hours, they got a good taste of how Sellswords worked. I wasn't sure how they liked it, but when I asked if they were interested in playing it again, all were positive and said yes. So, I will give them a chance to create their own characters. Then, I think I will likely run the
Last Stand at Mistham campaign for them. I was happy they enjoyed a game of cooperative fantasy miniatures skirmish. I really like the Sellswords system, and think the ebb and flow of dice rolls really add to the game. Things looked bleak as the players failed their rolls more than average, and then momentum changed, and they struck back and began to win.
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| Litko blood spot markers show where goblins have fallen to Keith & Tom's trio of heroes |
So, hopefully we'll play again soon. If you haven't tried out the Sellswords system, I highly recommend it. It's a great cooperative (and solo) game.
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| Down 2 of his 3 wounds, Mike S's mage at left tries to fight off an armored goblin in contact |
MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025- Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
- Miniatures painted in 2025: 292
TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025
- Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
- Terrain painted in 2025: 80
SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025
- Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
- Scatter painted in 2025: 213
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