The gamecrafters at Privateer Press are at it again. After introducing their Iron Kingdoms campaign setting for the d20 RPG and the WARMACHINE miniature wargame, and progressing each of these products a bit through subsequent expansions and add-ons, they’ve decided to take a hard left turn away from giant metal juggernaughts and rifle brigades and into the realm of big brutish wild-men with axes. Hyped as the Next Big Thing in their magazine No Quarter, we finally got some details.

Hordes will be an alternate version of the WARMACHINE miniatures game that focuses on four new factions, some of which we IKRPG fans are already familiar with: a cabal of Druids (presumably Blackclads), the diverse Trollblood populations (including proper Trolls as well as Trollkin), the Skorne (originally seen in the Witchfire trilogy), and the minions of a previously-believed-to-be-destroyed dragon Everblight (the subject of the Wyrmcycle Saga, alluded to in a number of Iron Kingdoms works). This game will have play mechanisms extremely-similar to that of WARMACHINE, and is promised to be fully compatible with the old system. This means you’ll be able to pit Warpwolves and Woldwardens against Cygnaran Longgunners, and Skorne stormtroopers against Cryxian Helljacks.

This also means that a wide assortment of monster miniatures that are Iron Kingdoms-appropriate will be released into the wild. Expect prices on these figures to be more in line with those of wargames minis (which they are) than with traditional RPG minis, of course. This also means that we can probably expect a slowdown in the release of new units and ‘jacks for Cygnar, Cryx, Khador, and the Protectorate, as well as a shift in the tone of the over-arching main plotline of this setting.

I find it interesting that even as the Liber Mechanika is being shipped out, with all its mechanika goodies, the Privateers are focusing onto the wild and hairy portions of their game world. I suspect that given a couple more shifts like this, the Iron Kingdoms will be a remarkably well-rounded place to adventure in.

Today I picked up the first issue of No Quarter Magazine, a periodical by the notoriously-tardy Privateer Press. I’m highly interested in whether they’ll be able to keep up with the inherent deadlines, as previous publications have suffered some rather disappointing setbacks.

First, the bad stuff. I know this is a terribly sticklerish thing to bring up, but the contributing writers to this title could use some more firm editorial filtering. Small grammatical errors and stylistic foibles slip through in nearly every article. This is acceptable in obscure weblogs (hi!) and web fora, but I wince when I see such errors in a magazine. I rarely catch them in Time or Newsweek, and I am confident that the Privateers are at least twice as smart as those douchebags. Also in the “bad” column is the possibly-intentional inclusion of references to unpublished rules. A prime example of this would be the mysterious “Khadoran Conscript” feat listed with the example Iron Fang NPC. Another minor complaint is the recycled artwork in the Professor Pendrake section. Stylistically, the font being used for the cover masthead needs to be used more sparingly. It is practically illegible at smaller sizes. These are trivial annoyances, which I will set aside as subjects for expected improvement and growth.

Now to the rabid fanboy gushing of praise and such. No Quarter is doing a fine job of mixing the tabletop miniatures game WARMACHINE and the Iron Kingdoms roleplaying game setting. With the preponderance of miniatures-gamers on the Privateer Press Fora, I had some concern that things would be more one-sided.

The artwork, as is to be expected from these folks, is fantastic. The full-color artwork for Karchev and Terminus particularly stand out. The full-page picture of an Iron Fang in repose takes the cake. My previous typography complaint aside, the magazine itself is lovely. The page layouts were clearly put together by people that simultaneously understand the benefits of consistency and the desire to be able to flip through the pages and find an article quickly. Without garish 3rd-party advertisements, articles are uninterrupted and read smoothly.

No Quarter additionally made good use of Privateer Press’s online resources, pointing folks to web enhancements and fansites liberally. As a frequent forum-monkey on their site, I can see that they take the recommendations and ideas of their fans seriously, and are putting forth a strong effort to give us what we want. Within reason.

If you have USD$5.99 handy and a local hobby store that carries it, pick it up. Folks that play both WARMACHINE and the IKRPG will get the most value out of it, but enthusiasts of either will get their money’s worth.

I’ve been playing a Bodger (an Iron Kingdoms-specific character class). Bodgers excel at working with all things mechanical. They’re able repairmen, are skilled an improvising tools for whatever occasion may arise, but aren’t the most capable death-dealers in the world. I intended for this character to use a variety of tools and clockwork widgets to help an adventuring party overcome the sorts of problems normally tackled by a traditional D&D Rogue.

My Bodger has been adventuring with three Fighters, so combat has been especially challenging for me. As the party is Fighters get an excellent BAB, and tend to emphasize dealing copious amounts of damage with the single swipe of an over-sized blade or hammer of some sort. After a few sessions of flailing around, I found the following to be good tactical approaches to a violent situation:

• Manipulating initiative: this is vital when playing a character that doesn’t have a lot of magical abilities. When you do something can be just as important as what you do. By readying an action until a teammate or opponent is in position, you can accomplish much more, faster.
• Flanking: with a low-BAB character type, fighting a high-AC opponent can be frustrating. An extra +2 attack bonus can be of great assistance in actually delivering a little damage to the enemy. This is especially important for Rogues, who can deal additional Sneak Attack damage when flanking his target. Initiative manipulation is very important here, as you want to set up your flanking situation to optimal benefit; if your Fighter is probably going to hit even without the flank, let him move in first, then move the Rogue into position for the Sneak Attack. If the weaker melee combatant isn’t likely to land a blow even with the bonus, and especially if the stronger melee combatant is having trouble hitting, get the weak character into position first. Even if you feel you are doomed to miss, you can provide your teammates with a bonus this way.
• Attacks of Opportunity: especially useful against spellcasters and opponents with good ranged capabilities, attacks of opportunity are wonderful. If you cannot get to an enemy Wizard with a Charge action (move twice your movement rate in a straight line, followed by a single attack at +2 to hit), run up next to him anyway, hoping for a free attack on his action, possibly interrupting whatever he was doing.
• Readied Actions:Once you’re in close, ready an action to perform a Partial Charge on a spellcaster or ranged combatant’s initiative, hoping to force a Concentration check. This prevents a clever opponent from simply taking a five-foot adjustment and casting spells from outside your reach. Readying a partial charge limits your character to a single attack, which is somewhat of a disincentive at higher levels, but against a difficult opponent this tactic can turn the tide of a battle.
• Communication: if you’re moving somewhere just to set up a flank, or readying an action for later, let the other players know why. Team tactics require teamwork, and teamwork requires communication.

Note that this doesn’t just apply for Bodgers. Other characters with low BAB progressions, such as Sorcerers, Wizards, and Arcane Mechaniks can make a substantial contribution when they’re out of spells through these means.