As I’ve mentioned in the past, my ultramodern warfare projects are set in ChargeReal, an alternative universe set in approximately the modern day but with a few modifications and tweaks to allow the setup of whatever situation or series of events I want to play, without causing any potential problems with players or commentators. Building a whole world up is a monumental task but it is definitely something I’m enjoying.

As I am an incredibly practical/lazy man, my world-building is not particularly visual. I know many people sit down with a piece of paper, draw a map and then start filling it in. In contrast, I start by thinking about which interesting geopolitical situation I want to make, work out what nations it needs to border and then create a spider map to show the connections and work out a rough location. For example, this is what the current region

Look, I know I’m in the middle of packing up to move but it’s close to the end of the year, I just had the new BPRE box arrive in my hands (more on that this week) and Spectre earlier this week sent me an email talking about how they are no longer selling their ruleset. It’s a lot all at once and it’s got me thinking a fair amount about the main wargaming genre I spend my time in (even if fantasy is chasing up behind it at a concerning speed). So I’m going to throw words into this blog post and see what comes out of it.

Also, I just need to stress – the thoughts in this post (like everything on the blog) are my opinion. If you disagree, I’m interested to see what other people in the community are thinking.

First up, the big news from

Long ago, there was the source.

From it flowed all magic.

Its mages were called sorcerers, and they guarded their power jealously.

For with it, they dominated all things.

The empire of sorcery ruled over the entire continent.

Yet in time all empires fall.

–

The source was shattered,

From it came the Tempest,

and from the Tempest came the Winds.

Now the Winds have made mages of us all.

So begins the website for Magewinds, a miniatures agnostic fantasy warband game made by my friend Rachel where everyone is a mage. Designed to be easy to pick up, quick to play and packed with tactical gameplay, I can attest to all three being true. The rules are more importantly really fun to play – thanks to the card-based magic system, every activation with every character is packed full of possibilities, while the combat system keeps both players involved