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Ballad of the Longbow $9.99
Average Rating:5.0 / 5
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Ballad of the Longbow
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Ballad of the Longbow
Publisher: Nordic Weasel Games
by Christian F. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/30/2020 13:00:38

There's a lot to like about Ballad of the Longbow, it's a fun little indie title that sits at a crossroads between wargame, OSR and PBTA and offers a refreshingly unique blend of the three as it tries to specifically tell the story of a band of gray-area outlaws taking on corrupt officials looking to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

The system itself is a roll-under D20 with a skill list, 15 in total, available to all characters. They are pretty general but fit pretty well with the default setting, including things like Religion, Education and Etiquette, beyond the usual fight skills. Character Types in Longbow are more like PBTA playbooks in that they are strong archetypes from the type of story the game emulates. No generic fighters, instead you have Knights, Beggars, Yeomen and Outlaws. 11 in total, the Character Types are largely differentiated by their starting equipment list and their 'Abilities', which are actions characters can take without rolling. Some Abilities add combat mechanics, while others add narrative flair to things that could be otherwise be solved with a skill roll. Sure you could make a stealth check to try to eavesdrop on guards, but the Beggar could simply plop down in the square and Loiter.

Combat has an interesting fast/slow phase mechanic borrowed from the FiveCore games instead of traditional initiative. It shows its wargame roots, a successful strike doesn't always wound, but even two wounds are fatal. It's robust enough to use with or without miniatures and has reasonable tactical depth without being a slog. Barring extra bad dice, combat should go quick. One combat move I especially like is 'Bravado', a catch-all for anything fun in combat like kicking someone over a railing or leaping off an extra tall building.

For GMs, the advice is relatively sparse. It assumes a GM who's done it before. Still, it adds some fun ideas. The game has specific opinions on how to play a big bad. Villains (capital V) and Allies also have evocative Abilities like PCs, "Fueled by Malice" and "It was a Trap!". The setting itself is not explicitly detailed beyond "Robin Hood, you know, like in the stories" although some of the mechanics take care of that. Anyone playing this is probably not looking for hyper-detailed organizational structures of medieval serfdoms. Knowing a local magistrate with a hilariously petty goal and a bunch of willing goons of varying strength is probably enough.

All told, Ballad of the Longbow is a good system for medium length campaigns that don't want to get too bogged down in tedious combat while still keeping tactical combat entertaining. Another excellent entry from Nordic Weasel Games.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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