Firelock Games reveals ‘War Stories: roleplaying WW2’

By Tyler Stone

As things get back to normal in the world (hooray, Historicon on the horizon!) are ramping up their offering of games yet again. Besides to their tabletop wargames ‘Blood & Plunder,’ ‘Oak & Iron,’ and ‘Blood & Valor‘, they’re making their first forays into some bold new territory; Historical Roleplaying Games.

Although they are sticking to their ‘piratical’ roots with ‘Under the Black Flag‘, it’s their World War 2 entry which is the furthest along. They’re missing a prime marketing opportunity by not calling it ‘Hedgerows & Hetzers,’ but the team at Firelock has decided on the much less tongue-in-cheek title of ‘War Stories‘.

Historical Roleplaying Games?
‘War Stories’ takes Firelock to a new historical era; the Second World War. At launch, the game will focus on the Western Front, from 1944. The sample scenario in the rulebook has players taking the role of the American 101st or British 6th Airborne Divisions on D-Day. The game also allows players to create characters drawn from the regular infantry, armored formations, or resistance and partisan forces. There are even options for playing noncombatants, such as war correspondents. The game focuses on squad level combat, a natural fit for reconnaissance-oriented Airborne troops.

There are no fantasy or sci-fi elements present here. The writers researched equipment loads to make sure that your character is toting everything a real soldier would have when his boots hit the ground. There is also a wealth of information on German kits and weapons for the Game Master. This allows them to play your adversaries and allows you to loot gear from fallen foes. There will also be rules for a wide variety of military vehicles, allowing characters to drive trucks or work together crewing a tank.

Combat is fast and deadly, as it should be. Since your character will be “playing hero” on dangerous missions, the odds of them getting through the entire campaign in one piece are understandably low. Even the attention of a Medic often only determines whether you are evacuated to a rear area, or you bleed-out on the battlefield. Offsetting this lethality, are rules for fellow squad-mates and supporting characters created and driven by the players. Whenever a “main character” is taken out of the action, the players can quickly swap to one of the supporting cast and stay engaged in the story.

Game art showing the internals of an allied Sherman tank. Official art by Peter Diesen Hosfeld. In similar fashion, no one player is the ‘leader’. This avoids party friction, but players can agree to have one person take the mantle of Corporal or Sergeant if they wish. “Levelling Up” comes with improvements to your skills, and does not represent promotions or grant extra hit-points or special abilities. Contrary to propaganda, Gen. Patton’s high rank does not allow him to fly or breathe fire.

Currently, there are no plans to add other fronts or factions in the initial release. You won’t have official material that allows you to run a squad of Soviet sappers up hill 233.3 at Kursk, land with the Marines at Guadalcanal, to chase Rommel across the battlefields of Africa, or duel Kesselring in Italy.

While expanded material might be available in later releases, my experience with roleplaying games has taught me that bending the rules is never difficult. After all, we have the information for German units and weapons already. Creating a new armory by re-skinning the rules for existing weapons would not be difficult; such as using the British Sten as the basis for the Soviet PPSh. It’s not a perfect solution, but it would “get you by” until official rules come out.

What is the ‘Year Zero Engine’?
The ‘Year Zero Engine,’ or ‘YZE’ is an Open Game License, created by Free League Studios for use in any roleplay setting. Think of it as a game designer’s toolbox. Using the YZE framework, developers can create anything from traditional fantasy settings to post apocalyptic sci-fi.

At the core, YZE is a streamlined game system using four Attributes and D6s to resolve actions. This straightforward approach leaves room for the game to add effects that make it well suited for gritty realism. Rules tracking fatigue, hunger, dehydration, mental stress, and lingering wounds all make appearances in most YZE titles, and ‘War Stories’ is no different.

YZE makes perfect sense for a Firelock roleplaying game. Both companies produce rules that are as sleek as possible. Intuitive rules make the game easy to learn without detracting from detail or realism. The system is straight forward enough that games masters should be able to adjust them as needed.

Fitting RPGs into your Historicals
You might wonder why Firelock would choose to launch a roleplaying game, or how it fits into the realm of historical gaming. Firelock has strived to fill ‘niches’ in the community. Before them, nobody was making a 17th century skirmish game. A micro ships game focusing on the Anglo-Dutch war was unheard of. Likewise, there are no roleplaying games for Historical gamers.

I also believe that the idea for ‘War Stories’ sprung up during the Lockdowns. Roleplaying games don’t need miniatures, terrain, or tape-measures. You can play them via Skype or Discord, or online programs such as Roll-20. During lockdown, I was able to finish a D&D campaign with friends from across the United States. We met in online chats every odd Sunday and played for a few hours. It was not that different to sitting around a table with our books and character sheets.

I can see ‘War Stories’ fitting into the convention scene as well. The rules are clear enough that players can work out the basics in a few minutes. A simple scenario like the 82nd searching for the guns at Brecourt Manor, would make memorable scenario. In this format, the game would not be dissimilar to the classic ‘Charlie Company’ Vietnam title. Both games pit a Games Master against a team of players in narrative-driven scenarios.

The early playtest rules are being finalized as I type this. For now, if you’re interested in ‘War Stories’, you should check out and the ‘War Stories’ group on Facebook. An official release date is still uncertain, but it seems likely that we will see them early in 2022. Let us know in the comments what kind of character you would run in a War Stories campaign.