Campaign Creation
This section is actively being worked on and will change.
Playing a campaign is the best way to experience Blightmeer. Through it, players can see their own warband rise and fall along with other players' warbands. They can experience an emergent narrative, as warbands battle each other. Some may become tentative allies, while others might hold grudges. Heroes will gain Scars or possibly perish, while Henchman will commit heroic deeds and get Promoted to Heroes themselves.
The Factions that the warbands belong to will be seen, both through their appearances during in-game Events, but also as allies and enemies to warbands. Warbands will even do the Faction Agent's bidding at key points throughout the game to gain favour, before those Faction Agents help the warbands try to complete their own goals at the campaign finale. Faction Agents will become familiar faces, just as the Heroes of each warband will.
Once players are familiar enough with the rules, it's recommended to immediately jump into a campaign.
Gather Players
The first thing to do is gather a group of players to play a campaign. At least 2 players works, although 4 to 8 players is ideal. If there are fewer players, each player will verse each other player very frequently, which can exacerbate naturally poor matchups. If players are comfortable doing so, they can always play multiple warbands at lower player counts to increase the variety of foes.
For very high player counts, a campaign certainly works, but becomes logistically more difficult. Someone should be designated to handle scheduling and other bookkeeping to keep the campaign running smoothly.
Expectations should be set up front to make sure the group is aligned and the campaign runs smoothly. Some things to consider:
- How competitive the campaign is
- How long the campaign will be
- How often games will be played
- How missed games will be handled
- How terrain and minis will be sourced
- Any homebrew rules that may be used
Once these things are set, the players can begin prepping for the first battles!
Campaign Length
When starting a campaign, one of the key things is to decide on a campaign length. It's best to decide this up front, but the length can always be adjusted later if the group is in agreement.
Campaigns can ultimately be any length and structured however the group likes, but we would recommend choosing either a 'Short', 'Normal', or 'Long' campaign and using the structure provided below.
Short campaigns will be designed to finish quickly, but may mean people can't get quite into the swing of their warbands before the campaign ends. It can be a good choice if you expect to be tight on time.
Normal campaigns are the ideal way to play. They tend to end when it is becoming clear who the winners will be and before matchups against other players can start to feel repetitive. They last long enough for each warband to really grow and develop and to have a natural narrative emerge from the campaign.
Long campaigns are for those that don't mind playing the same warband for a long time and don't mind having runaway winners. If you want to see your Heroes grow into incredibly powerful units that tear through mere mortals, or want a particular epic narrative with a very deeply understood cast of warbands and Faction Agents, this may be the length for you. Game balance can start getting wonky towards the end, but this is part of the charm for some players.
The following table describes structures for various player counts. In all but the eight player campaigns, it is possible to play an equal number of regular games against all opponents. This isn't strictly necessary but encouraged to keep variety levels high for everyone.
| Players | Short Total Games | Short Structure | Medium Total Games | Medium Structure | Long Total Games | Long Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8 | 4 Games, Special Scenario, 2 Games, Special Scenario | 12 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 4 Games, Special Scenario | 19 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario, 4 Games, Special Scenario |
| 4 | 8 | 3 Games, Special Scenario, 3 Games, Special Scenario | 14 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario | 21 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario |
| 5 | 10 | 4 Games, Special Scenario, 4 Games, Special Scenario | 14 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario | 19 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario, 4 Games, Special Scenario |
| 6 | 7 | 3 Games, Special Scenario, 2 Games, Special Scenario | 12 | 5 Games, Special Scenario, 5 Games, Special Scenario | 18 | 5 Games, Special Scenario, 5 Games, Special Scenario, 5 Games, Special Scenario |
| 7 | 8 | 3 Games, Special Scenario, 3 Games, Special Scenario | 14 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario | 21 | 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario, 6 Games, Special Scenario |
| 8 | 9 | 4 Games, Special Scenario, 3 Games, Special Scenario | 13 | 7 Games, Special Scenario, 4 Games, Special Scenario | 21 | 7 Games, Special Scenario, 7 Games, Special Scenario, 4 Games, Special Scenario |
The winners of the final Special Scenarios are the overall winners of the campaign.
Warband Creation
At this point, players can create their starting warbands. This can be done separately or together, depending on the group. Each player must first choose their warband, then spend the 500 starting gold on units and equipment for that warband. The next page has the details on how to do this, step by step.
Faction Creation
After everyone has created their warband, the group can create each Faction for the campaign. This involves collaboratively deciding on who will be part of which Faction and who the Faction Agents of each Faction will be. This will largely dictate the flavour of the campaign and the neutral units players will meet throughout it. Faction creation is explained in more detail in a future section.
Special Scenario Selection
Finally, the group needs to collaboratively select the Special Scenarios for the campaign. The selection is based on the number of players and the exact makeup of the Factions. This will help give the campaign a more narrative structure, with different warbands trying to accomplish different things throughout the campaign. How to do this is also described in a future section.