Song of Blades and Heroes

Ganesha Games logo
Designers	Andrea Sfiligoi
Publishers	Ganesha Games
Publication	2012 (5th ed.)
Genres	Universal
Systems	Wargaming
Setup time	Varies depending on size of game. Usually 5 minutes.
Playing time	Varies depending on size of game. Usually 30 Minutes to three hours for campaign rules
Chance	Medium (dice rolling)
Skills	Military strategy, arithmetic
Website	www.ganeshagames.net

Song of Blades and Heroes is a tabletop miniatures game set of fast play fantasy rules that can be played with generic fantasy figures or model soldiers called "miniatures". The game uses three measuring sticks (called Short, Medium, and Long) to measure all distances. An average game lasts 30–45 minutes. A small campaign, a series of linked games played using the same miniatures, can be played in a single evening.^[1]

The Song of Blades and Heroes core rules (currently Revised Fifth Edition 2012) was originally written and illustrated by Andrea Sfiligoi of Ganesha Games in 2007.

Song of Blades and Heroes uses three six-sided dice, (also known as D6 dice) per player to determine the outcome of a character's actions. Each character profile has three basic statistics; Points, Quality, Combat and Special Abilities. Points refer to how many points it costs to use the character within the game. Quality is used to activate characters, i.e. to determine how many actions they can perform each turn. Combat is the number you add to a six-sided dice roll when performing a Melee or Ranged attack. Special Abilities cover any Special Abilities that the character may have.^[2] Players take alternate turns in activating models from their warbands. The miniatures are activated one at a time. The player can then choose to roll one, two or three dice versus the miniature’s Quality. A successful roll entitles the player to make an action, such as an attack or a move. If two or more failures are rolled, play will then pass to the opponent. This mechanic creates turns of variable length and encourages the player to form a plan in his mind before deciding how many dice to roll.

Melee combat is simultaneous and determined by opposed D6 rolls, modified by the character's Combat value and situational modifiers such as outnumbering or a surprise bonus (called ambush bonus in the rules). Beating an opponent means that he must recoil one base away or fall down; doubling an opponent's score (e.g., an 8 to 4)means that the opponent is killed; and tripling the opponent's score (e.g., a 9 to 3) means that he is gruesomely killed and all friends witnessing his death must make a morale roll.

There are stand-alone books where the core rules are repeated and one does not need to buy the core Song of Blades and Heroes Rule book to play.

Osprey Publishing have released "Of Gods and Mortals" (published October 2013) and "A Fistful of Kung Fu" (February 2013) which are written by Andrea Sfiligoi, and are based on the Song of Blades and Heroes engine.

Books produced by third parties that use the Song of Blades and Heroes engine include; Shadowsea, Deepwars and their supplements, Song of Our Ancestors and Firebrand. These are all stand-alone versions of the SBH rules with a specific world/background included in the book, but the core rules are highly compatible with SBH.

The following table lists expansions and supplements that have been developed for the Song of Blades and Heroes rules, and other stand-alone titles based on the same engine.

In 2008, Song of Blades and Heroes was nominated for the Origins Award as “Best Miniature Rules”.^[3][4]

The expansion Song of Drums and Shakos received 3 awards in 2009;

• WINNER: Best Historical Miniatures Rules at the Origins Award 2009^[5]
• WINNER, Silver Medal at HISTORICON 2009 ^[6]
• WINNER: Best Demo at HELLANA 2009

• Official Song of Blades and Heroes site
• Review of Song of Blades and Heroes - RPGnet

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