WEALDCON 2023
By Kip Trevaskis, Steve Rowlinson and Julian Wild
Article originally written for Volume 6 of 28-Mag
Late August 2023: In a small European municipality on the outskirts of the Black Forest, members of the Weald community gathered from across Germany, Switzerland, France, England and Scotland to embark on a bloody campaign over the course of a weekend. As the mist settled over the tall pine trees surrounding our destination, it felt like the perfect place to throw some dice and meet those whom we had cultivated friendships with online in real life. WealdCon was the amalgamation of all those grand plans: narrative ideas, rules discussions and enthusiastically kitbashed models. We were incredibly lucky to have the most delightful hosts, a large space where we could let our games take place on beautifully built terrain, and the company of those who share our passion.
What devilry is this?
A little bit more about the Weald, for those who don’t know. The game is a low fantasy miniature skirmish game that follows the ethos of 28-style gaming: a relatively low model count, focusing on grim and brutal narratives rather than larger mass combat, storytelling, exploring themes of isolation and superstition, and of course an encouragement of converting and kitbashing unique warbands to fight with. The setting is a wide forested expanse known as “The Weald”. Villages and outposts toil to raise small warbands known as “Wardens” to defend against the oncoming scourge of The Rot; a mysterious blight that plagues the
land and consumes humans and animals alike. Those unfortunate enough to become infected turn into shambling monstrous shells of their former selves, who the people of the Weald call “Gnarl”. The Weald is a brutal, miserable place, full of superstition and dread. The Weald, for the majority of us, has become a place where a community has thrived around a centralised Discord server. A springboard of inspiration to enjoy that has space for everyone to make it their own. The loose setting and spectrum of the theme allows everyone to have their own take on the world in which these Grimdark fantasy skirmishes take place. The factions are open to interpretation, much like the other indie 28 games occupying this sphere. This framework inspires creativity and collaboration
and allows the (poorly coined!) “Wealdiverse” to expand in scope – with many members of the community discussing updates to the rules, amendments and expansions, whilst more often than not embarking on their own side projects. This collaborative incubator made it a no-brainer for our social gathering to be based around a centralised campaign – and so “The Siege of Mudmire” was created. We designed a campaign that would be played over a two-day period, with games taking place on multiple tables. “The Siege of Mudmire” pitted a regiment of Warden warbands against an invading swarm of Gnarl warbands – each played by a team of 4-5 players.
The Siege of Mudmire
The village of Mudmire is perched in a clearing in the South West of the Hollar – deep within the Weald. Connected by the Baron’s Road. It is a vital point of trade and agriculture-historically significant due to peasant rebellions, Summer fayres and rumoured cult connections. At the request of Baron Von Julian III, multiple parties of Wardens have been summoned to defend it from troubled happenings over recent weeks. Various Gnarl sightings have been reported in the nearby forests and the Baron requires this vestige of trade, food supply and coin to be defended at all costs. But the Gnarl have other plans.
Mudmire was split into nine different areas representing the village, the forest and contested spaces between, with thematic rules and rewards for each area. Fisherman’s Swamp, for example, had a giant Eye Toad (a one-eyed toad from Weald lore) that would leap around the map, causing damage to models it landed near, whilst the Dilapidated Church and Graveyard had a simple central objective that battles would be focused around.
The main aim of the campaign was to have as many people playing games at once, in various areas of Mudmire, the results of which would feed into a broader battle map and outcome. With space for players to experience the post-game rewards and warband growth – altering their model count and equipment to suit the next game. After each game, the winner would be rewarded with an item, new model or campaign-altering trinket that could impact the game state slightly, or just allow them to buy new weapons,
mutations and upgrades. Between games, each team’s players were also allowed to reinforce their fellow team members with models – in hopes they could turn the tide in the next game, and so to the overarching campaign. Upon winning a game, territory was gained or lost. Victory in a contested territory resulted in the winning faction being awarded a “Crown”, a currency we used to determine the overall score. Play would proceed with teams deciding which areas to try and take, defend or reclaim, in hopes they could dominate the majority of territories on the battle map. The entire campaign document is available for download on the Weald Discord server.
Waging War
Over the course of the two-day campaign, fifteen games were played in all, with the Wardens achieving eleven victories against a paltry four wins for the Gnarl players. Mudmire was saved, and the siege failed!
The Wardens held strong and the Gnarl were pushed back to the forests from whence they came. Whilst all the games were incredibly fun and the overall campaign worked well – the wins did sway towards the Wardens by an overwhelming number and it was difficult for the Gnarl to recuperate, with various injuries, lost models and a potentially more complex play style.
There were some games that were super close, with the last few models battling out for dominance – many blamed some bad dice rolling, whilst others questioned some of their offensive and defensive decisions from previous turns. Each game was filled with desperate combats, valiant feats and glorious failures. The Gnarl players accepted their decimation with good humour and the whole campaign was a riot of fun.
Key learning points taken from the experience, for us as game designers, and players, was that there is always a portion of luck, knowledge of rules and playing experience that feeds into the overall balance of a ruleset. Whilst a top-down view of the game seems as though the factions are balanced, there were some small inconsistencies with the various abilities and mechanics that could be tweaked and often required some quick adjustments or clarifications in the midst of battle. These often led to comical moments where players chose to interpret improvised rules in ways that would partially benefit their situation, or felt like a more narrative-driven option. A great example of this was when a player had the option of disengaging by being pushed near a ledge. It wasn’t stated that this action would force them off the ledge, but the player declared “I choose to fall!” – incurring damage but allowing their pesky Gnarl to go and terrorise another Warden. Many notes were taken for future development.
We’ve always aimed for the Weald to be a space of narrative gameplay, and combined with the campaign setting, it fulfilled this expectation. We learnt a lot from this compact series of games that could not be obtained from singular pickup games at a club. I think one of the main takeaways is that playtesting in a compressed setting has so much value when it comes to game design – small issues, flaws, understanding the rules and accessibility are laid bare when you observe the outcomes of multiple games. Like some sort of experiment, WealdCon will now serve as our “control” as we tinker with the rules, improving playability and balance, while expanding on a game and setting we love, for a community we adore.
Spreading the infection
Like a hideous rot-ridden Gnarl hulk, the Weald as a project is always growing and adapting, driven by the collective vision of the Weald community and its enthusiasm for the game. Plans are afoot for a new edition of the core rules, with many adaptations that are a direct result of the information gathered at Wealdcon.
Crunchy updates such as reevaluating the weapons and armours; more flavourful aspects such as new abilities and effects;
separate injury tables for Wardens and Gnarl; and further refinements of the experience and campaign systems are all being devised. Other plans for the future include more supplement releases such as rules for hireable creatures and characters, as well as curated collections of community-made stories and artwork about life (and death) in the green hell of The Weald.
One final sentiment that can’t be stated enough is the importance of community – we live in such a troubled age, but it really gives us all hope and widens our worldview when talking to fellow members of the 28 community from across the world. If there is one thing we took away from this experience, it is that you really get out what you put in: everyone was excellent and we genuinely had such an incredible time.
Don’t be afraid to pack up some models in your backpack, travel to meet some like-minded souls and most importantly: throw those dice!
Special thanks to Julian Wild (@hightechoger), Marcus Harland (@reliquat28), Sam Derache (@sam_f._derache), Pierre Berthierr (@grimstuffworld), Thomas Burlett, Florian Baumeister (@dark_surge_studio), Fabien de Vries, Tom Pedley (@petlozki) and all the Wild family for hosting us!
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