NEWS: New Artisan Miniature for City States and New Army for The Hundred Kingdoms - Para Bellum Games

Para Bellum Games have let us know about some new mini's coming to their Conquest worlds for players.  First off is the mega exciting Terataur Prime, for the City States (well we had to announce this one first as we're going to be fielding a City States Army.)  As well as a brand new Hundred Kingdoms Orders Starter (both of which are coming towards the end of September 2026.)  Here is whats happening in Para Bellum Game's own words:

Terataur Prime:

At the center of the Terataur program stand the Terataur primes, possessing not only the unstoppable mechanical might of the Terataurs, but a fully human mind.When the mortal form of a commander or decorated hero is injured beyond even the ability of the City States chirurgeons to recover, they are given a choice: a hero’s death or the promise of external glory. The few brave, or foolish, souls who agree undergo a fiendishly complex surgery. Through the divine power of phlogiston, their conscious mind is ablated layer by layer onto thin metal sheets. The techne of the City States Theurgists allows them to reconstitute the mind, or those parts that have survived transcription, by layering these sheets with incredibly complex clockwork and crystal arrays, creating a copy of the mind that came before. 

Distant and other, these incredible artifacts are then fitted into the bespoke form of a Terataur, granting 

it a power and resilience it never possessed in life, a true and unstoppable fusion of metal, techne, will 

and phlogiston. 

As an Artisan Series release, the Terataur Prime is sculpted in Conquet’s premium resin tier, making it an amazing model for painting as well; as play, and a striking new addition to a collectors shelf or on the tabletop. First Blood fans will enjoy rules that make this play as either a Populist Hero or Scholae 

Masterwork unit, each with their own strategic advantage, and disadvantage to create a challenge both 

for the gamer using this, and their opponent! 

Look for the City States Artisan Series Terratur Prime coming in September to your LGS and on the Para Bellum E-Shop (not there at the time of writing this article but should be there shortly).

Hundred Kingdom The Orders One Player Starter Set:

Para Bellum Wargames, developer and publisher of the fantasy Regimental Miniature Wargame 

“Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings” and updated Skirmish system “Conquest: First Blood,” 

announces the Hundred Kingdoms One Player Starter - The Orders, a complete Orders-themed army ready for either gameplay system. These new items will be released on September 25, 2026. 

This one-player starter delivers a fully playable First Blood army and a strong foundation for TLAOK, including the new dual-kit St. Lazarus regiments, the new Order of the Sword Priory Commander, an Order of the Sealed Temple Cavalry Set, and a dual-kit Order of the Sword/Militia infantry set. Also included are quick start guides for First Blood II and TLAOK II , assembly instructions, a Path of Conquest guide, twelve 16mm dice, a 2D Terrain Set, an Ea Paper Map, and all necessary Command Cards, bases and stands. 

Leading the force is the Order of the Sword Priory Commander, a peerless swordsman who steadies his 

Brothers Militant in the thick of battle. He’s joined by the Penitents and Martyrs of St. Lazarus, a dual kit pairing an unbreakable defensive wall with a reckless, morale-breaking vanguard, and the Order of the Sword infantry, whose Silubaster-veined arms make them among the most feared infantry in the game.  These are brand new units to the Hundred Kingdom forces that further build the Orders sub-faction. 

The Hundred Kingdoms field good troops in great numbers, backed by cavalry second to none and a 

flexibility that keeps opponents guessing. From disciplined infantry lines to thundering charges to shrewd combined-arms tactics. Learn more at  para-bellum.com/the-hundred-kingdoms . 

The Hundred Kingdoms One Player Starter - The Orders is available for preorder now, with release on 

September 25,2026, at your favorite FLGS and the Para Bellum E-Shop (Not there at time of writing this article but should be up shortly.)

Now I don't know about you, but we're pretty excited for both of these releases and unfortunately for us, both of these boxes are going to be must purchases.  So whilst we were initially looking at a secondary army of W’adrhŭn, this Hundred Kingdom force is looking very likely to overtake it, especially when paired with the fabulous Trebuchet.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

STARTING A NEW GAME: Picking our First Warband for Conquest: First Blood - Totally Pawsome

There comes a time when you are the newbie in any hobby, so rather than try to give advice based on what others have said or our own experiences with other miniature games, we've decided to jump in at the deep end and purchase our first Warband forPara Bellum Games Conquest II: First Blood.  

Now as you've probably guessed the first option is to see which one speaks to you.  Having spent a hell of a lot of time going through each army, falling in love with them all, I narrowed it down to two that I really wanted to start with.  These two choices were:

The City States:

While the rest of the world crumbled under the might of the Fall, the City States were flourishing, picking through the greatest secrets of the old Dominion and delving into the secrets of archemy and divinity. Today, they are the greatest repositories of knowledge and the inheritors of the glory that was once the Humanity’s Dominion. At least that is what the Locutors of the City States would have one believe. While the City States were founded on the highest principles of philosophy, ethics and education available to mankind, the vision of their founder was tarnished soon after its birth. Today, the City States stand split among the Demagogue, Militarist and Academic Councils, wielding their glorious heritage and advanced technology to challenge each other; and any who might threaten them for supremacy.

The W’adrhŭn:

Orcs on Dinosaurs! Enough said… 

On a more serious note, the W’adrhun were created by the Spires when they tired of spawning their armies and sought instead to breed them. Driven by their own sense of superiority and perfectionism, initial failures led the Spires to create the Primes: W’adrhun bodies powerful and perfect enough that they could be animated by the Primordial Aspects of War, Death, Famine and Conquest. Prematurely unleashed upon the Dweghom during the Fall, Conquest, the living goddess of the W’adrhun orchestrated their escape and survival even as her siblings each perished in the conflagration. Bred for war and baptized in the flames of battle, the W’adrhun have nonetheless struggled to find their own path in the world, seeking to shape their own culture away from the overwhelming influence of their own tailored creation. 

And by the closest of margins the winners were The City States, purely because, I've been painting a ton of Orc figures recently for Warhammer 40K and I wanted something a little different.  I will be doing a W’adrhŭn Army, but that's on the back shelf for now.

So now that I've picked where I'm going where do I start?  Well, thankfully Para Bellum Games has that in hand.  I'm going with the Warband, the best place to start with some mini's to get going with.

Warband:

1x Aristarch

4x Thorakites / Agema (Leader)

4x Selinoi / Satyroi

4x Sacred Band

1x Companion Cavalry

3D Terrain (includes 2 pieces at random from a series of 6 structures)

Pack of 6 Dice

Measuring Tool

First Blood Quick Start Guide

License Card.

Reinforcements (Available 28th August 2026)

After I have that done, my next purchase is going to be the Reinforcement box which looks like this and breaks down as:

1x Andromachos Miniature

4x Thorakites with Leader (Dual Kit Option Available)

4x Agema (Dual Kit Option Available)

x4 Companion Cavalry

x4 Command Cards

2 sets of 3D punch out Terrain (randomly assorted)

x1 License Card.

Leader:  Persenia the Gorgon (Aristarch) (Released 28th August 2026)

x1 Resin Miniature

x1 Infantry Base and Stand

x1 Command Card

x1 License Card.

So thats my current purchase list, however the way I'm going to do it is buy one, then get it done, then the second and finally finish the third before I start adding other bits.

Obviously currently we're just going to order the Warband (as the others aren't out yet.)  But its a good solid start to entering into the Conquest Hobby without a massive layout as each part is designed to build upon what has gone before to a greater whole.  (Which is something I think is a great way to go as anyone you play with a warband will have an equally balanced force, and likewise with each addition)

This also means that you get to game and learn how your forces work best so you know which strategy you can employ for each part of your boxset without having to absorb too much too soon, or worrying about having to buy x so you can do y only to learn small parts of the game without getting the full experience.  Likewise you don't end up with a ridiculous sized army to paint with nothing done.

On  the whole I am getting pretty excited to start and looking forward to getting on with it, so I'm going to be scheduling box openings, painting tips etc as I go along.  I'm not an expert, I'm not an award winner, I'm all about painting them to the best of my ability and getting them on the table to play with. 

The only thing that I'm going to critique for this that stops this from being my ultimate force is rather than utilising human cavalry, what would have made it epic would have been Centaurs in Greek Armour.  Likewise, for the future, I'd also love to have Harpies for zipping about the board as this set does engage deeply into the whole mythos (with us having Satyrs and also Minotaurs.)

So join us for the journey (and hopefully its going to be legendary), and we hope that we'll inspire you too, to pick up a set and give this game a go.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

PRE-ORDER MINIATURES: GenCon, Conquest: FIrst Blood, Last Argument of Kings and Special Offer - Para Bellum Games

We tend to keep an eye on a lot of our favourite miniature producers and this time Para Bellum Games have a huge amount of new Pre-orders that are going to be released on the 28th August (apart from the Oni Kishin which are released on 30th July), so we thought we'd go through our favourites for the new Reinforcement Sets alongside our top key picks for the heroes that they mentioned last week in their Legends of Ea who will be available individually for the first time.

As such for the Individual Heroes these are our Top Three (in no particular order):

1)  Persenia the Gorgon (City States)

Special Rules:

Shield, Flawless Strikes, Parry, Flurry, 

Flank, Gladiatrix, Petrifying Display, 

Blessing of Vengeance

Unique Special Rules:

Gladiatrix:  (Draw Event) This [Character] may 

immediately perform the Duel Command Ability.

Petrifying Display: While participating in a Duel, Enemy 

Warriors within Command Range are never Inspired!

Blessing of Vengeance: This [Character] never suffers 

the effects of the Deadly Blades and Deadly Shot Special Rules.

2)  Reginleif the Faithbearer (Nords)

Special Rules:

Spellcaster 3, Quicksilver Strikes, Blessed, 

Faithbearer, Council of Crows, Hrokksdóttir

Unique Special Rules:

Faithbearer:  Friendly [Mortal] Warriors within Command 

Range gain the Bravery Special Rule.

Council of Crows: (Draw Event) This [Spellcaster] 

gains 2 Essence. 

Hrokksdóttir: Once per game at the start of the Supremacy 

Phase, you may choose to become the Supremacy Player instead of 

Rolling

3)  Andronicus the Flamebringer (Old Dominion)

Special Rules:

Never destined to experience the 

Spellcaster 4, Aura of Death 2, Bravery, 

Flames of Salvation, Burning Crusade, 

Malum Ignis

Unique Special Rules:

Flames of Salvation:  When a Friendly Warrior is Slain 

within Command Range, gain an Essence.

Burning Crusade: Friendly [Legions] Warriors within 

Command Range gain the Bravery Special Rule.

Malum Ignis: Enemies within Command Range must Re-roll all 

successful Resolve tests caused by Wounds from the Aura of Death 

and Lethal Demise Special Rules.

And for our top 3 favourite Reinforcement Sets (again in no particular order):

1)  W’adrhŭn Reinforcement Set

For us, Cavalry is always a top choice, something that can cover ground and smash its way through the foes, what's not to love, this box contains

1x Aberration Miniature

3x Raptor Riders Miniatures

1x Thunder Rider

x3 Command Cards

x2 2 sets of 3D punch out Terrain

x1 License Card.

2)  Dweghom Reinforcement Set

Marching Lost heralds that enrage the others in the force to savagery and destruction, with troops to help support the line.

1x Herald of Fire Miniature

6x Hold Thanes / Hold Warriors Miniatures (Dual Kit Option Available)

4x Initiates / Wardens Miniatures (Dual Kit Option Available)

2x Lost Miniatures

x7 Command Cards

x2 randomly selected 3D Terrain slabs

x1 License Card.

3)  City States Reinforcement Set

Rounded force that will nicely back up your Warband giving mobility and line troops to help steady the line.

1x Andromachos Miniature

4x Thorakites with Leader (Dual Kit Option Available)

4x Agema (Dual Kit Option Available)

x4 Companion Cavalry

x4 Command Cards

2 sets of 3D punch out Terrain (randomly assorted)

x1 License Card.

Honourable Mentions

Finally, because we had such a hard time picking, we wanted to give a couple of honourable mentions to the article, these are Pre-Order Miniatures that didn't quite fit into the two catagories that we just fell in love with because of what they can do and because they look just too beautiful to leave out.  

Oni Kishin Raiu (Dual Kit) (Yoroni) (Released 30th July)

First Blood

Charging into the fray with the fury of a thunderstorm, the Oni Kishin Raiu are devastating shock cavalry. Equipped with impressive back banners, these mounted warriors support your forces while striking the enemy like a lightning bolt.

The Last Argument of Kings

Riding the lightning itself, the Kishin Raiu descend upon their foes, breaking formations and shattering armor in a single devastating charge. As an elite Shock Cavalry Regiment, the Kishin Raiu specialize in smashing highly disciplined infantry formations and crushing even the toughest armored opponents.

Founder’s Exclusive “Kerveros” (Old Dominion)

“A Mounted Strategos is the epitome of this ancient warrior code, a paragon of a bygone age mounted on his ritual companion, whose faded glory and tattered panoply cannot dim the blazing intellect and sheer will that smolder within this faded vessel.”

This three headed monster is a numbered edition of 1099, bringing the Roman Undead “to life” in a completely new three-way. An amazing model for painting and play as a Mounted Strategos.

This was picked purely for the beauty of the sculpt, we can't wait to learn what it does on the battlefield

GENCON 2026

We hope you've enjoyed looking at these as much as we have and if you happen to be at GenCon, if you nip along to booth 3031 you can get to see some of these mini's with your own eyes as well as getting the chance to enjoy learning how to play Conquest: Last Argument of Kings or Conquest 2: First Blood.

First Blood Warband Offer!

Para Bellum Games are offering two First Blood Warbands of your choice for just $124.99 / €109.99 which allows you to build your own perfect Two Player Starter with the factions you really want!  Here is the direct link to the offer on their website for you to use.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

LATEST NEWS: Special Characters for your Warband in Conquest: First Blood and Gen Con 2026 - Para Bellum Games

In this latest news from Para Bellum Games they've released as PDF for Characters that you can use in your army Warband for Conquest: First Blood that can be used in all types of play right up to competition.  The new characters currently available in this document are:

Included are the following Legendary Characters:

King Fredrik (Hundred Kingdoms)

Erich Schur (Hundred Kingdoms)

Ragodosh the Stone Faced King (Dweghom)

Nagenyua (W’adrhŭn)

Persenia the Gorgon (City States)

Murakame Wako (Yoroni)

Skypiercer Yindak (Sorcerer Kings)

The Alchemist (Spires)

Faithbearer Reginleif (Nords)

Andronicus the Firebringer (Old Dominion)

Oberon, Consort of Summer (Weaver Courts)

The only thing that you can't do with them is purchase upgrades as they already come with their own special rules.

To read the full release please go here, where you can also Download it for free.  

BREAKING NEWS:  Para Bellum Games Conquest at Gen Con Reveals:

Para Bellum Wargames, the developer and publisher of the fantasy Regimental Miniature Wargame “Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings” and updated Skirmish system “Conquest: First Blood” releases a raft of new items!

GenCon will be the debut of three items in booth 3031!

The new Yoroni Oni Monstrous Cavalry brings a new look to the tables. These are cavalry units, sized in a new way that dominates the play. The perfect fusion of honor, power and ruthless force, an Oni Kishin bears different ritual weapons: unleashing the brutal impact of them with their ceremonial Yari as Raiu, the Storm; or as Kiba, Fang Horsemen, bearing an Odachi, symbolizing their hunger for challenge and glory. Demon brutes on equally ferocious “horses” makes this a must have item for Yoroni players. Look for the Raiu and Kishin on July 30th at GenCon and your favorite FLGS.

Balancing the Yoroni brutality with beauty, we bring forth the Sorcerer Kings Marid Artisan Series. Two different models, the Apsara and Shaytan, are stunning models for painting or playing. These are the expansion into the Water forces, enigmatic and reclusive, they are, however, not immune to the powers and efforts of the Water Sorcerers in enlisting their aid. When they arrive onto the battlefield, they seldom do so alone, suddenly appearing with their entire court to deal a decisive blow, enhanced by their spellcasting ability. This is an Artisan Series, which for Conquest indicates a resin model that has had exquisite sculpting, making the most of the full artistry that the original concept art launched. Available July 30th at GenCon and at FLGS worldwide.

And our GenCon Con Exclusive for summer fun is “Traveling Gillbury”! Part of our Murderous Fish Gnome army, this maintains their irreverent looks and comes with a fun “MFG” scenario game for additional play value. Fans can also use any of these in any casual game as an alternate model just for fun! The Traveling Gillbury makes sure gamers are not alone anymore as they play in the dirty world of Ea and head for the end of the round! Available during GenCon only at Booth 3031, and our E-Shop for that week. And only for that week.

More news as we get it,

ThunderMouser

LATEST NEWS: Conquest: FIrst Blood: How to pick your Army - Para Bellum Games

OK, you've been seeing the name Para Bellum Games and know that they have two fab games out that use the same miniatures, Conquest: Last Argument of Kings and Conquest: First Blood but you have no idea where to start.  Well you've come to the right post to direct you to the right place.  Our blog friends, Jacob and Joel Rasmussen (who we had the pleasure to interview a few weeks ago.), have created a guide on where to start.  You can read it here.

If you want a brief overview of how to play, you can catch up with Leo in the video below:

More news as we get it,

ThunderMouser

RULES AND POINTS UPDATE: Conquest: Last Argument of Kings: Old Dominion and Spires - Para Bellum Games

Yesterday saw Para Bellum Games give some updates for Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings forces the Spires and the Old Dominion.   When new updates are available we'll post them here...

Old Dominion:

NEW TREASURE – Hierotekton (Treasures, The Grim Crypt), – 15 Pts 

(Hierodiacon and Archimadrite Only) The [Character] gains Bone Golems Army List Entry as a Mainstay. If this artifact is bought on the Hierodeacon Bone Golems in this Warband lose [The Creed] and gain [The Fallen Pantheon] Battlefield role. 

The [Character] must attach to The Bone Golems Regiment, changes their Type to Brute, gains the Impact (2), Aura of Death (2) Special Rules and adds +1 to its Clash and Attacks Characteristics

Bone Golems:  Now 60pts per Stand.

Text Adjustment – Surrounded by Fear and Dead Men

Last sentence changes to: Each friendly stand destroyed as an effect of this ability grants one additional Empowerment Token to the Fallen Pantheon Pool.

Developer notes: We know that there was a lot of confusion on whenever it is 9 or 12 for our favourite statues therefore we clarified the intent.

Spires

Developer notes: This is another set of small quality of life updates for Spires we had in our backlog. We want to make sure that every strain has its use case and it can be used more often while maintaining risk associated with using it. Moreover we want to give you some more strategic options and better flow of a game.

Merchant Prince:  Add TEXT: The Best That Money Can Buy: The Regiment this [Character] is currently attached to suffer half Wounds (Rounding up) from the Decay Special Rule.

Developer notes: Merchant Prince is expensive for a reason, but broadly it can be problematic to find a place for him outside of lists specifically tailored for him.

The Directorate- Lobotomytic Override

[Always Active] Once per Round, immediately upon drawing a Command Card, but before performing any Draw Events, you may place it next to the Command Stack face down, without revealing it, and Draw the next Card. Place the first Command Card either on the top or bottom of the Command Stack and proceed with Activating the second. 

If you put the Command Card on the top, upon drawing that Card without using the Entourage Rule, should it be a Regiment it may use its Strain Expression [Draw Event] without suffering the Decay Special Rule.

If you put the Command Card on the Bottom, upon drawing that Card should it be a Regiment it gains +2 to its Attacks Characteristic until the end of the Round.

This ability cannot be Activated if there is only one Command Card left in your Command Stack.

Developer notes: We love this sect rule, but sometimes it is not enough to make an impact on your game. Therefore we shot two birds with one stone and also made sure you can use strains more often if you time it right or deal devastating blows with your last activation.

High Clone Executor- Ruthless Competence

Change the first sentence to: “Friendly Infantry Regiments using Strain Expression [Draw Event] gain +1 to their March Characteristic until the end of the Round.”

Developer notes: We wanted something to justify adding non-clone regiments into HCE Warlord lists for more variety and also give HCE  “Ruthless Competence” vibes. Moving faster seems like a good idea.

Lineage Prideborne

Gain Action – Action: Sharpshot (Out-of-Combat Action) Target one Enemy Regiment within Character’s Barrage Range, it suffers 1 Wound. This does not trigger resolve tests.

Lineage Highborne

Action: Mighty Swing (Combat Action) Target one Enemy Regiment Engaged with Regiment this Character is attached to, it suffers 1 Wound. This does not trigger resolve tests.

Developer notes: We wanted something to justify adding non-clone regiments into HCE Warlord lists for more variety and also give HCE  “Ruthless Competence” vibes. Moving faster seems like a good idea.

Master of Flesh – Move to Eccentrity (Clone Character Only) 15 Points

Once per Game: Should this [Character] be destroyed, instead of removing it from play you may immediately replace a non-Command Stand in the first Rank of Friendly Regiment  with this [Character] Stand. The Regiment may not currently have a [Character] attached and must have a matching [Character]’s Type. The replaced Stand is removed as a casualty, but it does not count towards making the Regiment Broken or Shattered. The [Character] does not count as being destroyed as a result.

Note: Should this character be removed as a consequence of the Duel action it can still join the same regiment it was attached to if it’s possible. 

Developer notes: Clones should clone themselves. I do not think this require further explanations.

Consumption Beast Points go down to 190 (from 200)

Developer notes: Overshadowed by Abomination a little bit – Should be even now.

Leonine Avatara

Strain: Longshot

Clash: Reduced to 2 (from 3).

Developer notes: One of the best shooting Regiments in the game and therefore had to be tuned down a bit when Engaged.

Stryx: Points go down to 110 (from 120).

Developer notes: A small incremental buff.

Force Grown Drones – Optimized Fodder

This Regiment can only suffer a maximum of 6 Wounds from any given instance of the Decay Special Rule. In addition, should this Regiment consist of at least 6 Stands during List Building:

The Regiment Strain ability permanently changes to Lethal Demise (2) and adds +1 to its March Characteristic.

The Regiment Regeneration Draw Event permanently changes to Regeneration (+4).

Developer notes: A small incremental buff.

Onslaught Drones: March characteristic increased to  6 (from 5).  Points increased to 135 from 130

Developer notes: It was hard to find a place for it. Should be easier now.

Vanguard Clone Infiltrators:  Add text to Army List Entry – Should this Regiment consist of less than 4 stands, its stands contribute barrage to the volley action regardless of Rank.

Developer notes: We quite like the square formation!

Hyperadrenal Stimulation – 10 pts (from 20)

Degenerative Aura – remove lethal demise note from it (app bug fix)

No Matter the Price – 20 pts (from 30)

Linked Neuroreceptors – 10 pts (from 15)

Endocrine Overstimulation – Remove

Convulsive Doom – 10 pts (from 15)

Developer notes: Minor cost rebalance.

NEW APPARATUS- Affliction Absorption

Once per Round: When another Regiment within 8” suffer wounds from Decay Special Rule you can allocate that wounds into the Regiment this [Character] is attached to. These wounds do not trigger resolve tests. These wounds cannot be avoided or reduced.

Designer note: Your Regiment can absorb more wounds than it can take and as a result be destroyed by Affliction Absorption.

Avatar Projection: (Biomancer, Pheromancer, or Merchant Prince only) This Eccentricity can be purchased multiple times.  The [Character] changes their Type to Brute, gains the Impact (3) Special Rule and adds +1 to its Clash and Attacks Characteristics.

Developer notes: Works well in Weavers. Should do the same here.

Mutations – Each Character can now buy multiple mutations.

Developer notes: Mutations should be the signature of Spires – no limits here

All the best,

ThunderMouser

NEWS: UKGE is live today - UKGE

Today marks the first day of UK Games Expo which runs from the 29th to the 31st May at the NEC in  Birmingham's.  Running from 9AM through to Midnight on Friday and Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday.  At the event are a number of blog friends who are going to be there so please go visit them and get a look at a ton of absolutely fabulous games and mini's.

Demo's on Stand: 

Conquest: First Blood - Para Bellum Games 12+  Tickets £15 Various 3-462 (also the limited edition Winters Bite for the Weavers Court can be picked up from here) 

Crits and Tricks, Ice and Idols and Thieves of Eldris - Inside Up Games (4-302) - Various

Cryptid Smash - Noctilux Ltd - 7+   Various 3A-644

Cyberpunk TCG - WeirdCo - 4-779

Feed the Kraken - Cheatwell Games - Various - 3A-318

Gundam Asssemble - 3A-343

Kryptothera: The Cryptid Pursuit - Noctilux Ltd  14+  Various 3A-644

The Mad Kings Ire - Converge Games (3A-166)  Various

Malediction - Loot Studios (3-1129)  Various

P3 Paint - Paint and Take Feature - 4-814

Orcwood Showdown - Orcwood Games (4-274) - Various

Three Kobolds in a Trenchcoat - Fan Crafted - 10+  Various  3-154

Tunnels and Trolls - Rebellion Unplugged (3A-502)

Warmachine - 4-413 - Various

Sellers:

Amber Works Studio (Realms of Tiberium) Featuring Pandemonium Miniatures Painting (Saturday)

Bad Squiddo - 3-913

Bags for Dice - 3A-T46

Chaos Cards - 3-302

Chaos Curio's - (selling Lost Haven Studio TTRPG's) 3-T20

Cryptic Cabin - 4- 823

EN Publishing - 2-921

Fistful of Crits - 3-621

GMS Hobby Games & Handiwork Games - 3-846

Iconic Smart Hobbies - 3-824

Lucky Leaf Tea and Objet d'Artifice - 2-981

Magic Madhouse - 3A-144

Mig Ammo (Paint Range demonstrated by Pandemonium Miniatures on Sunday)

Monford Tales - 3A-412

Tabletop Tinkering - (3-967)

Trench Crusade (3A-506)

Warbases - 2-494

Wayland Games - 2-502

Finally to help you keep up with everything, there's a fab map done by The Offline Gamer on their article, here.

Hope Everyone has a fab time,

All the best,

ThunderMouser

INTERVIEW: Conquest and Conquest: First Blood Creators: Joel and Jacob Rasmussen - Para Bellum Games

Jacob (L) & Joel (R) Rasmussen

We love the opportunity to talk to people within the TTRPG community, and one of the interviews we're really proud of this year is this one with Para Bellum Games Jacob and Joel Rasmussen, designers of Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings and Conquest: First Blood.  Getting to delve into their past, their straight forward approach to gaming being easy to learn and where their love for TTRPG's all began...

Totally Pawsome:  As a creator for the Conquest games, what inspired you to design it and what do you feel it brings to a table that will have people falling in love with the setting?

Jacob:  Our goal with the new First Blood was to create a system with simple yet very flavorful and immersive rules. You can truly feel each clash as a struggle between two warriors which makes for some very heroic and memorable moments!

Joel:  For the new First Blood, a goal established early on was creating an experience that was truly unique yet familiar to the rank-and-flank version of Conquest. We asked ourselves: “how can we experiment and differentiate while maintaining the essence of the prior versions”? We feel that we landed on quite the sweet spot, incorporating some essentials such as rolling low=good and same statlines, while adding new innovations such as a dice comparative combat system and hidden card based deployment.

We also place a high value on variety, theming, and differentiation when writing statlines and armies. When you look at a miniature and read their lore, that should translate to how they play on the tabletop. The naming of abilities and addition of unique special rules act as a gateway to the full background and setting of Conquest. If a player reads a cool name or effect, they will be inclined to read more about the lore to get a better understanding of their faction and the world of Eä.

TP:  What would you say is the best selling point of your Wargames?

Jacob:  Something we are both very pleased with is that First Blood is a very approachable game, simple to learn yet hard to master, the best sort of game for all sorts of players. As players battle it out, they will slowly find ways to improve and get more out of each Warrior on the battlefield. (but none of these tricks/optimizations learned come at the expense of the experience!) It is truly magical when a competitive player can battle it out against a laid back opponent where both can walk away satisfied.

TP:  With so many Heroes and species within what was your favourite to design, play and why?  (This could be multiple answers.)

Joel:  I feel that the City States turned out very well. Translating a faction that relies on order, discipline, and the formation of soldiers into a skirmish game is no easy task. Having the choice of maintaining the strategy that you set at the start of the round which benefits your disciplined Hoplites  versus breaking formation that abandons the set gameplan which benefits your auxiliary troops such as Minotaurs is great fun. 

Jacob:  The Yoroni are an obvious choice when discussing fun, as each Warrior is of brutish stature (worth about 4x that of a normal warrior) they all are extremely noteworthy and unique. From their Unique Activation system to all of their fun flavor rules (Yes, the Sumo-like Kami Ayakashi can body slam Enemies), each individual Warrior truly brings something new to the table.

TP:  Where do you see the Conquest world developing to and can you tell us anything about future products?

Joel:  We would love to implement even more variety in how our players can interact with our games and setting. Official support for slow-grow league play, narrative map-based campaign systems, multiplayer battles, and anything else that we can add to the Conquest experience. For what shiny new miniatures are in the pipeline, all we can say is to tune into our Happy Hour streaming events for the first glimpses into what is currently in the works.

TP:  When you designed your world what were the key things you wanted to include and why?

Joel:  Our home lies in the dungeons of game design, such lore questions are better answered by Leo Stavros, as the world of Conquest is his brainchild. Para-Bellum does offer an incredibly beautiful and insightful lore book which covers factions not yet adapted into playable armies. I would recommend looking there if you want to see what the future may hold!

TP:  Who do you think would love to play your Wargames and why?

Jacob:  We like to think there is something in First Blood for everyone, but the players that will be most fulfilled playing First Blood are those looking for replayability, on-your-toes strategy, and memorable experiences. First Blood’s Dynamic Scenario system along with hidden deployment truly makes no two games quite the same. 

TP:  Where do you see your TTRPG writing career taking you in 5 years?

Joel: There are a plethora of new factions and mysteries to yet explore in the world of Conquest. There are also possibilities of even more ways to use your miniature collection, such as dungeon crawling games and siege battles. At Para-Bellum there are even more esoteric ideas and endeavors that are pondered that I cannot discuss here! 

TP:  If budget was not a problem and you had an infinite fund to call upon, what do you think you'd like to develop and bring to the fore?

Jacob:  This is a difficult one to pin down, there of course are many ideas that are kicked around and some are definitely more “realistic” than others but we feel that we can't share too much here as no one truly knows what the future holds…

Joel:  I see room for innovation by incorporating more digital aspects into miniature games, merging video game and tabletop game experiences together. Touch screen battlefields that interface with miniatures, dynamic apps that track ability cooldowns; the possibilities are endless!

TP:  Who do you admire in the Independent TTRPG writing space and why?

Joel:  We have to pay respects to the giants that exist in this space for their legacy and for onboarding new players into the wider world of tabletop gaming. With that being said, we are always appreciative of companies and individuals that truly try to do their own thing that offers game mechanics and experiences seen nowhere else in our sphere.

Jacob:  With how big the once-niche hobby of tabletop gaming has grown, it is a bright future where many individual designers and small teams are creating some truly unique experiences for all to have. We greatly appreciate when we see things that are genuinely new appear in the market, as their success pushes everyone else to grow and create better games for us all to enjoy.

TP:  What got you into TTRPG's in the first place?

Joel: We come from a very nerdy little area of the American midwest in Wisconsin, with a strong tabletop gaming community that stretches back decades. We are right by some of the largest miniature and tabletop gaming conventions, and also only a 20 minute drive to the town where Dungeons and Dragons was created. It was only a matter of time before we would get sucked in!

I love the blend of artistry, strategy, and creativity that miniature gaming consists of. There is something I find so satisfying about pushing your little dudes around the table that you built and painted yourself that you cannot find in any other hobby.

Jacob: When we set our first foot into our local hobby shop, it was love at first sight. The tactile experience of building/painting minis, rich fictional worlds to explore, AND fun games to play with your friends? The multi-faceted nature of TTRPGs is what makes it the vastly growing success that it is; no matter your mood, the individual, or your time to spare there is always some way to engage with it. As we become more and more attached to our technology, it really is no wonder so many people are picking it up!

For those going to UKGE please visit the Para Bellum Games area on Conquest Avenue (3-462) for a chance to learn how to play the games, discuss history and pick up some fab miniatures.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

BRAND NEW FEATURE: Unboxing and Building of Alternate Jarl - Para Bellum Games

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks,

Well, we finally did it, we're doing our first unboxing and build on our You Tube Channel and wanted to put it up here.  I won't say it was a smooth job, but as they say, you learn by doing.  (Or in my case you learn by incompetency.)  So hopefully you'll enjoy our first endeavour for Para Bellum Games. Conquest, where we built the Nord Alternate Jarl.

All the best,

ThunderMouser