[COMMERCIAL] I Bury The Gods, a new game for fantasy skirmish campaigns

[HYPERPOWER!]

Hi All!

I’m Michael. You may have played one of my games called Firebrand (LINK). I’ve made a new game. This one is called I Bury The Gods.

Here’s why you might like it:

• Simple, consistent rules for skirmish games. The game was designed for a fantasy setting, but, with a bit of fiddling, you can use the rules for anything you like.
• Campaign play that will see your soldiers gain experience and grow more powerful over time. Intended for two or more players.
• An original setting. If you like worldbuilding, give I Bury The Gods a go. It draws inspiration from books like The Goblin Emperor by Sarah Monette and video games like Pillars of Eternity.
• You’re welcome to use whatever miniatures you have on hand. You’ll need about a dozen a side.

The rule book is currently 41 pages long, of which fourteen or so are dedicated to the setting. You can see some sample pages below:





Here’s an excerpt from the setting intro:

Life in its myriad shapes spreads across the multiverse. Bound by the laws of its own world, it is a rare creature that will journey into another. A demon among the natives, it may attempt to subvert its surroundings to better fit its kin.

Several factions of demons seek to expand into this world. They have established native followings—cults—using dreams and visions to communicate with their disciples. Entire religions now demand the worship of some demonic patron, often to the exclusion of others.

Many of the cults possess enough influence to practice their rituals with impunity. Their goals, however, put them at odds with one another. A balance of sorts ensues, as the cults keep each other in check to prevent a rival demon’s rise to power.

The official website is here: www.iburythegods.com

I’m in the process of setting up a community forum, and I will make some Let’s Play videos to demonstrate the rules in the next few weeks. I’m also in touch with a couple of YouTube content creators; you should see some third-party Let’s Plays pop up in the next month or so. I’ll keep this thread updated.

If you have any questions, ask away! Alternatively, you can email me on hello@chumak.io. If you have a blog, and you’d like a review copy of I Bury The Gods, drop me an email (along with a link to your blog).

Happy New Year!  

Best wishes,
Michael

[Gibby]

Sounds interesting. I am a sucker for world building, and I'm sure I do my friends' heads in with it!

I think a battle report of some kind would be a brilliant advert. Do you have plans to do one?

[HYPERPOWER!]

Hi Gibby,

Definitely going to be putting out some battle reports. I'm on a holiday at the moment, visiting some extended family; I'll get to it once I'm back next week.

[Splod]

I've been looking for a simple fantasy ruleset, I'll pick it up and have a look-see.

I do have a blog, but I definitely don't have the following yet to justify a review copy 

[HYPERPOWER!]

I've been looking for a simple fantasy ruleset, I'll pick it up and have a look-see.

I do have a blog, but I definitely don't have the following yet to justify a review copy 

Thanks for your support, Splod!

Hope it's cooler on your side of the Bass Strait.

[HYPERPOWER!]

Heya!

A free preview of the rules for I Bury The Gods is now available on the website: www.iburythegods.com.

It contains all of the basic rules (sans magic), as well as a sample company and a scenario for you to try out.

I've overhauled the website a bit to make it more informative. Was also hoping to get a tutorial video up on YouTube this weekend, but it's unlikely I'll get the time to do it. Aiming for next weekend instead!

Best wishes,
Michael

[Gabbi]

I've read rules a couple of times, and I would have a couple of clarifications to ask:

1) Movement rules (p.7) says that a soldier "can end her movement anywhere within 10 cm of her starting spot, as long as there is a clear path to her destination within the 10 cm radius". Also, rules about broken ground (p.8 ) states that "If a soldier who begins her turn on broken ground wants to move, she will have to spend two simple actions to do so".

Now. what about the following situation?



I admit it's a corner case (10cm are not so much (about 4 inches) and having a thin strip of broken ground running all through the movement area and leaving open space behind would not be a common situation, I think). Anyway, how should be handled the above situation?  Can the figure in the above example move to the spot marked with the red X in a single action? - if so, broken ground would have no effect in such a case.
My guess is: broken ground is not "clear path" so the figure would have to stop as soon as it contacts/enters it. Then, next turn it would suffer the broken ground penality.
Speaking of which, it seems to me that paying two actions for one move (so basically, doing nothnig more than a single move next turn) is a bit a big hindrance. What about changing it to move just 5cm (with a single action) ?


2) Disengaging (from Close combat) rules (p.8 ) says "A soldier can disengage and move away from close combat if friendly soldiers engaged in that combat outnumber hostile ones." Now, what exactly is a "combat" and who participates in it? Do everyone be in contact to every other participants? Or the "combat" can be a "chain"?
Example from your sidenote example:



Does the image above correctly represent what could be the situation described in the sidenote example on page 8? So the Mage can disengage because friendly soldiers are more than enemies.

What about the following situation?



Can the Mage still disengage? I would say yes, both to keep things simple and because friendly soldiers engaged in combat are still more than enemies, but the enemy Spearman on the right engages (and is engaged) by the Mage only, so this could sound a bit weird that the Mage can freely walk away...


3) Greater Terror (p.10) says that "A soldier must pass a Discipline check to successfully move into base-to-base
contact with an enemy soldier with greater terror. You must roll at least two winners to pass the check." Banner (p.9) says that "If a soldier who has an allied soldier with banner within line-of-sight fumbles a Discipline test or check, she can ignore that roll and re-roll the dice immediately." So a soldier that fails a Discipline check (to move in btb contact with a enemy with greater terror) by rolling just one success can not benefit from Banner, am I right?


Thanks in advance for any clarification

[HYPERPOWER!]

Hi Gabbi,

Thanks for your questions.

1) The model would be able to move to point X as a single action. If the strip of broken ground is than narrow, it won't pose much of a hindrance. Generally this means you can cut through the corners of a broken ground patch, but the broken ground should be big enough that if you try to cross it at its thicker bits, you'll end your move on broken ground.

2) Your first image correctly illustrates the example. According to the rules, I would allow the Mage to leave the combat. This will subsequently put the Spearman outside of combat.

3) Correct. The soldier will effectively waste one action.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best wishes,
Michael

[Gabbi]

Thanks for reply, Michael.

Excuse me, but it's unclear to me the reply to point 2.

2) Your first image correctly illustrates the example. According to the rules, I would allow the Mage to leave the combat. This will subsequently put the Spearman outside of combat.

This means that only situation in first image is correct? In a situation like the second image the Mage would not be allowed to disengage?
If so, I would rephrase the sentence "a soldier can disengage and move away from close combat if friendly soldiers engaged in that combat outnumber hostile ones" into something like "a soldier can disengage and move away from close combat if every enemy soldier contacting it/him is also engaged with another friendly soldier" or something like this.

It's also unclear to me the point of your sentence I've colored in blue. It seems to me that its referred to the second image, while you were talking about first one (sorry I'm no native English speaker).

Thanks again.

[HYPERPOWER!]

Hi Gabbi,

Your interpretation of both situations described in the last two images is correct.

The first of the two combat images is straightforward—the Mage can leave, but none of his allies will be able to afterwards. This is because the number of your soldiers and your opponent's soldiers engaged in that combat is the same.

The Mage in the last image can leave combat, because he and his allies outnumber the enemy. This will leave the enemy Spearman out of combat as a result. Players can use this to their advantage and break the combat up into smaller scuffles.

Hope this clears it up.

Best wishes,
Michael

[Gabbi]

Hope this clears it up.

Yes, it does. Thank you very much.

[Gabbi]

I played first game and I have a couple more questions:

1) how turns are played? one players activates all his soldiers, then the other activates his; or players alternate activating one soldier at a time?
Looked through the manual, but didn't found clear indications on the subject.

2) attacking in melee generates a Martial contest. If the defender wins, would it simply survive the attack, or it will kill the attacker?

Thanks in advance

[HYPERPOWER!]

Hi Gabbi,

1) It's IgoUgo. Here's the relevant excerpt from Taking turns:

All of a player’s soldiers must take their turns before the next player will begin to activate her own soldiers.

2) The defender simply survives. Combat would be crazy deadly otherwise. The only exception to this is a soldier who fumbles her test when outnumbered—she'll get knocked out. Here's the bit from the rules:

A soldier attempting to strike another soldier down in combat will trigger a martial contest. If she scores more winners than her opponent, she will knock her opponent out.

I'll add a sentence to make this more explicit.

Hope you've had some fun!

Best wishes,
Michael

[Gabbi]

2) The defender simply survives. Combat would be crazy deadly otherwise.

Yes, it is. We played this way ^^;
Also, a trait like off-hand would rarely be useful, as it was very rare to begin a turn engaged.

The only exception to this is a soldier who fumbles her test when outnumbered—she'll get knocked out.

And this should had me wonder if my interpretation was wrong (if attacker could be killed by defender, this only come in effect when attacker is outnumbered and both fumbled).

But I never had doubts on the subject, until I played the game and saw that, playing this way, the combat was shallow and unrewarding. I could barely reach an opponent and wait to fight on his turn that was the same as fighting in my own turn. Glad I was wrong.

I'll add a sentence to make this more explicit.

Great, thank you.

Also, please note that in scenarios section there's a minor mistake. Under Ambush - Setup you write: "The attacker must choose which side of the board she will deploy her soldiers on. She then chooses a spot on the board around which, within a 10 cm radius, the defender will deploy her own troops.", then shortly afterward: "The defender will then place one of her own soldiers within 10 cm of the board’s edge on her side of the board." while I suppose the defender would place his soldiers inside the previously defined area.

Hope you've had some fun!

We did. I'll write a more detailed commentary via email
Here's a pic of the battle:



Thank you.

[HYPERPOWER!]

Yes, it is. We played this way ^^;

Hmm, yeah, I can see how the rule can be misinterpreted, leaving you entirely at the mercy of the dice. I'll add a clarification, along with the scenario description change, to the PDF tomorrow. Thanks for your feedback!

That teaser photo looks fantastic!