Preview: War Stories- WWII RPG
by Mitch Reed
Like many of you, I am willing to try any historical game, whether it be a board game, miniatures, or video game. However, one type of gaming I have never tried is role-playing games.
The new game from Firelock Games called War Stories has gotten me to change my mind and take the plunge. Lead designer Gabriel Garcia really got my attention for this World War Two-based RPG when we chatted in my interview with him on our podcast. Prior that that discussion, I did not believe that a topic as WWII would translate well in the RPG format.
However, the depth and breadth of War Stories really had me wondering why this has not been done before.
The book itself is over 200 pages and is full of everything to bring the experience of WW2 into the hands of dedicated RPG players. Using a Year-Zero game engine, the player can create a very detailed series of characters to recreate some of the toughest and most challenging skirmishes of the war. Characters are created with great attention to detail, and you can roll to see what type of life, education, and skills your player character had before the war.
Once you get the background then you pick a specialty where you can assume the role of a rifleman, medic, engineer, partisan or combat correspondent just to name a few.
Once this is done you then pick a nationality that your character serves in. The list includes: an American Joe, a British Tommy, as well as Canadians, and even a free Polish soldier, along with six other nationalities that fought for the allies in the war.
A player can be a member of the elite 101st Airborne jumping into Normandy on D-Day or a crew member on a British Cromwell tank. The mix of options is almost limitless and lets players explore the many different aspects of the war close and personal.
The game centers around combat and the mechanics here are a huge draw for me. In combat, the players develop a plan, then based on their initiative which uses a card draw.
The action is then fast and furious as the player and their teammates play out the skirmish in rounds where they can take specific actions. I wondered when I first heard of this game how it will manage the quick and violent action in a manner that would be fun and challenging.
War Stories excels in this and anyone who appreciates tight and well-done mechanics will see the greatness in how the design team got this right.
Knowing how bloody the war was, I also wondered how the game would handle what could be a short life for the characters in the game. Once again, the game blazes a great path where if your character dies you can then switch to a non-player character that the player also creates.
A testament to the game’s detail is the exhaustive list of tanks, anti-tank guns, and other heavy weapons that are in the game. War Stories even has all the types of ammunition that each weapon uses which is a detail that many games often ignore.
Having played many games based on WWII, I am drawn to games that do not miss any details and offer a player a rich and well-rounded gaming experience. Many board and miniature games strive for such accuracy and detail, and few succeed. War Stories gets the narrative of the war correct in an immersive experience that will draw non-RPG players to this type of gaming.
The Campaign Book
War Stories may be the first RPG I play on a regular basis. Without the background of the very seasoned RPG community, starting a campaign seems like a daunting task.
The campaign book takes away this worry and gives you all the tools you need to start playing with your RPG group. I feel this is an important point because I see this game breaking the normal RPG realm and becoming popular with players who already play WWII-themed games and who love the history behind it.
The 124-page book focuses on the 101st Airborne Division during the Normandy invasion and is also the inspiration for the book’s title, which is part of the unit’s history from its inception.
The campaign book features seven missions ripped from the history books that took place around the start of Operation Overlord. For those who loved the book or mini-series Band of Brothers, the battles in this campaign book will be very familiar and I feel this is a great way to introduce War Stories since Band of Brothers has such a popular appeal.
Each mission gives the players the historical context of their mission and the objectives they have to meet in order to succeed; however, in such a game I think living another day is a victory in itself. Along with history, the ready-built missions come with maps, enemy forces, and the size and composition of your force of paratroopers.
Many of the missions are not just singular operations and have the follow-on battles that took place. There are aslo enemy counter-attacks, such as at La Fiere, which is described as being part of the “wider battle.” Along with the historical missions, the book comes with about fifteen mini-missions that you can throw into the seven main missions. This will ensure re-playability and keep veteran players on their toes.
Along with the backdrop of the war, the book also gives you the option to take one of the already-made characters to start your fun right away (I think rolling up a character is going to be a blast). The non-player characters that play a huge role in the game are also in the new book, to make the game master’s job that must easier.
What I really found interesting was the handouts for the players. Maps look like the type that a commander would give out prior to a mission. The game also has a seating chart for the C-47, so you can get your “chalk” seats correct.
Those who have been following this game for a while now should not be surprised by any of these details. The game is as much a history lesson as it is a game. The research that the design team put into this game is so impressive and unlike a fantasy RPG, where you can make stuff up, this game is a tribute to the men and women of the greatest generation who gamers will emulate in War Stories.
As with the other games from Firelock, the artwork is stellar and adds so much to the flavor of the game. I know some may pick up the books for just their art and history and maybe use War Stories as the backdrop for their miniature campaigns. I can see many using their collections of miniatures to make War Stories come to life, which would be fitting since one of the most popular and oldest RPGs on the market today was designed as a miniatures game first.
I think this game will have a broad appeal, and if you are into RPGs picking up War Stories is a no-brainer. However, I hope that gamers I know from board and miniatures circles will join me and play War Stories and see why I am so excited about this game.
I hope to “see you on the DZ” soon.