Hi all,
It’s time for another narrative review! Today we are looking at the Cities of Sigmar (CoS) rules. They are heavily tied into the Dawnbringer crusades which is both a strength and a weakness.
Army Special Rules:
As mentioned the CoS rules are only focused on the Dawnbringer Crusades. On the one hand this makes sense, given the current lore, however it feels a bit limiting. Then again, Path to Glory is all about territorial expansion so that does make sense. You start on crusade without the ability to control any territories. Instead you get Crusade points based on your victories. After each battle you must roll on one of two tables, either a blessing (if you win a victory) or a setback.
These tables’ effects vary from devastating (every shooting unit can run out of ammo by rolling a “1” after every shooting attack) to mild ( you cannot recuperate after the battle). The blessings provide smaller buffs like getting a free unit on your roster, or reducing your casualty rolls.
After you get 25 Crusade Points you can play the custom mission to found your city.
Quests:
The CoS get four quests that only work while your army is on crusade. All Quests set up a specific Path to Glory missions.
- Across the plains:
- Over the Mountains:
- Into the Mires:
- Through the Forests:
These quests are simple. You add your crusade points together and then, when you have enough the battle occurs. All Quests yield some bonus amount of Crusade Points. It’s a fun way to build a story behind why your army is fighting a mission, but kinda sad that they lose all utility once you settle down.
Custom Mission:
For this mission your forces are trying to outlast a horde of enemy units. Your opponent can nominate any of their units to be “Hordes” which do not get veteran abilities, injuries, renown etc. However, these units are replaced anytime they are destroyed. The CoS player must survive until round 3, then they roll a die to see if dawn breaks (adding the round number). If they roll a 9+ the game immediately ends and the CoS player wins, otherwise your opponent wins when all your units are dead.
This mission is pretty thematic and fun, but requires a lot of coordination with your opponent.
Veteran Abilities:
The CoS get a full, 6-option table but many of the abilities are tied to specific units:
- Elite Cavalry: Mounted units only, + 1Hit/Wound when charging
- A Resounding Welcome: Artillery, shoot twice only in the first battle round (amazing!)
- Masters of Ambush: Aelf only, re-roll charges
- Stoic Willpower: Duradin only, ignore the effects of a spell.
- Swift Like the Wind: Mounted ranged units only, run and still shoot (very good)
These are some really good options and each has a use. Once you level up a unit a few times, you will run out of custom options. Aside from these abilities, if you win the custom mission every unit that participated gets a bonus ability to re-roll hit rolls of a “1” once per battle.
Territories:
The CoS get a full table with six options.
- ARABLE RECLAIM: Get additional reinforced units, also get additional glory points after every battle.
- GUARDIAN IDOL: Unlocks a free Guardian Idol piece of terrain for each battle.
- DUARDIN QUARTER: Additional War Machines and Priests
- AELVEN QUARTER: Additional Wizards and monsters
- FREEGUILD BARRACKS: Every time a freeguild unit gets recuperated, get additional Renown (very useful)
- GEOMANTIC NEXUS: Get a free Nexus Syphon that buffs your ward saves to 5+ (another amazing option)
These are all quite good and, unless you don’t own much in the way of faction terrain, can really buff your army. The only downside is that some of these terrain pieces can be expensive, and not something people expect when preparing for a Path to Glory campaign.
Conclusion: Overall, I like these rules, however they feel more supplemental than integral. You may set up your city fairly early and lose access to a lot of your custom quests and the like. They do a great job of building a story behind your units, but dies down after that. Like many of these other Path to Glory rule sets there is a lot to like, but they still feel a bit shallow.
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