Monday, August 31, 2015

Power Legion!

Blog has gone dark for a while, been busy with real world commitments.  In the meantime, I picked up a couple of new games.  The first, Song of Blades and Heroes, is a marvel of simplicity and streamlined gameplay.  Ran through a brief test game, but no pics to tell the tale.

I also downloaded:
Power Legion!  This is the Ganesha Games (known for Song of Blades and Heroes) Superhero Skirmish game.  As it happened, the boys and I wandered through the local wargaming store and picked up a few Heroclix figures to test it out.  I ran the When You Wish Upon a Star scenario from the Power Legion rule book.  In this scenario, heroes and villains fight over a crashed asteroid, hoping to gain control over the mysterious and potentially powerful space rock.

The Heroclix minis that we got a deal on are mostly DC characters (I'm more of a Marvel kind of guy myself) but we had a great time regardless.  Members of the Justice League squared off with a gang of baddies and a Rigellian with a ray gun who was intent on recapturing her lost space pebble, represented by a translucent green Lego brick.

Here's a couple of pics of the games, which we played twice under heavily simplified rules.   
First game:
Justice League takes the initiative and Bizarro gets ready to jump into the fray.  Scarecrow is already down on the right flank, having been crispered by Superman's heat vision.
Cyborg knocks out the Rigellian while Aquaman takes it to Bizarro.  Superman mopped up the rest of the badguys and the Justice League triumphed.
Second Game:
The Rigellian takes the initiative and races to the meteor crater.  She starts to make off with the rock as the heroes and villains fight around her.
The Beetle and a street thug get bowled over as the Rigellian nears the edge of the board.  Superman finally zaps her with his heat vision in the nick of time and the Justice League carries the day again.
First impressions:
We didn't really play the game by the rules, but simplified every mini down to one quality die - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20.  As I've started preparing for gaming under the full rules, I've come to agree with this review, which stresses the importance of preparing character sheets or other paperwork before playing.  I've been copying profiles from Dinah Cat of Danger's blog and have to admit, the simplicity of Song of Blades and Heroes can't be replicated with superheroes.  There are too many variables and too much of a range of abilities, so be forewarned - this game takes a bit more prep than the Ganesha flagship title, and rightfully so.

Regardless, I really look forward to playing a Captain America/Avengers-driven campaign.  More to follow.