« Review of Call to Arms | Main | Free Epic! »

Monday, May 7, 2007

Officlal Word: The Sounds of Music (Part I)

Goblin MusiciansThe latest post on the official blog site introduces the first of the specialist figures for BattleLore: Goblin Musicians!

New units and figures like the musicians are deployed with the use of Specialist cards. Continuing the advantages of the card deployment system over normal point-based systems, normally only 2 Specialist cards will be allowed for each player, which stops one player ‘out-purchasing’ another and filling up their army with special units, but still allows for a lot of choice and unit flavour.

The first specialist unit to be released is the Goblin band. Goblin musicians can be fielded in one of two ways—first, as a complete band (band leader and three drummers), which gives a Support presence, or half the support required for a unit to be fully supported (Bold) to all friendly units in the same Section of board (or both sections if it is on a dividing line). Second, as individual drummers embedded in existing foot units to make that unit Bold.

Musicians enbedded in a unit are removed as casualties when the controlling player decides, ie. usually as the second-to-last figure before the banner bearer.

It looks like this new mechanic of embedding specialist units within other units will become a common feature of BattleLore as it expands further. I wonder if Heroes will be embedded in units this way, or be free figures on the battlefield?