51. Oathmark: Battlesworn

I’m still not getting a review writer, but as the already 3rd supplement is published for Oathmark, I thought that I make a short series about them. Let’s start with the first one, because (to spoiler my post) its leaves a better feeling at the end if we get the worst things first. And Battlesworn is the worst of the Oathmark series…

The core of Battlesworn are elite forces of the marches, but I would say that most of the book is built around water. The rules for elite forces is kept very (I mean way too) simple: they get 1/2/3 rerolls (per game, not per turn!). Aaand, thats it. Yes, that was all. And that for +10%/+20%/+30% point costs, which seems pretty overpriced for me…

Also new rules for engineers (for every fraction except undead), who can build and destroy covers and bridges (1. water). That’s a nice addition, with a plus tactical tool for the tabletop general, mostly for defensive situation and moving over impassable terrain (would have been nice if they could build roads across rough terrain, or chop out woods too…). There are simple rules for using two different sizes of ships (2. water): fighting from them, but more importantly, to embark/disembark from them. With those rules You can create a wide range of interesting narrative scenarios, which is always nice to have.

In the next part there are, watchacallit (quote from Mel, the terrain building legend), military expeditions. Its practically a short campaign of battles, where the armies may get a small bonus, depending on the result of the previous battle, and the kingdoms can get unique rewards (territories). The military expedition in this book is built around (guess what) water: there are lakes and rivers on every map (3. water). In the appendix is the description of the unique territories, some new, water dwelling creatures (4. water), and at last, some new spells (mostly connected to ships, so 5. water). And not to forget about new strange and catastrophic events (which occur, when the initiative rolls are doubles or quadruples, but honestly, I never used them before), mostly water themed (a sudden flood, for example, so 6. water).

Cons:

• Rules for elites are a welcome addition to the game, but these are overly simple and they are much less useful as the point cost would suggest.
• Engineers could have more functions, and could maybe be a bit tougher: the low armor value and the lack of shielding makes them very vulnerable. And so it’s questionable if they will survive until the point where they can be useful.
• As a lot of rules are related to water, You will need a lot of special terrain to be able to use them.
• I could have imagined a bit more new creatures and spells.
• There is a lot of reused artwork in the book… That’s a disappointment. (But if You look carefully, You can find some hints for the future...)

Pros:

• Building and destroying bridges and covers is a great tactical addition.
• Rules for using ships is quite easy to use.
• Military expeditions are a great addition for story driven games.
• Printing quality is great, as is used to be at Osprey.

In summary:

This supplement has some interesting additions, but overall, it’s by far the worst in the Oathmark series. Elites feel so simple, that it adds almost nothing to the game, engineers could have more options, new spells and creatures are also too few. Rules for ships are nice, but I think there are not too many players with the needed terrain/ships to really use them. Military expeditions are great, but only if you want to play more narrative, or a campaign, and it’s only a small part of the book. So, with a bleeding hearth, but I must say, that if You aren’t a collector of the series, or don’t have a lot of water-terrain in Your collection, skip this book…

To be fair, I have to mention, that this supplement was planned for later publishing. The first supplement should have been Oathbreakers, but Covid hit… Im sure, that a lot of the cons comes from this unfortunate twist.

And to end this post a bit more positive, all the other supplements are better. A lot better!