It’s Friday, and here on No Rerolls that means it’s time for an all-new 5 on Friday. We’re going to start with 5 exciting releases for this week before moving on to our usual digest of some of our favourite articles from the past week. Of course, we’re slow readers, so don’t be surprised if there are some articles that are a little older – these are just some of the great articles we happen to have actually read in the past week.
Releases & Previews
Every week there are many games and miniatures released. This will probably be a mix of previews, preorders, and releases, and with release dates being the way they are in this industry, it’s always pretty approximate. Excuses out of the way, here are 5 of the releases that caught our attention this week:
Games Workshop releases new Generals Handbook for Age of Sigmar – It is widely said that Age of Sigmar, as a game, was pretty bad until the release of the first General’s Handbook. I’d agree. Certainly, that’s when I first saw the game as worth playing. Since then, the General’s Handbooks have set the tone of the game for a given stretch of time within the context of each edition. This is the third General’s Handbook for third edition and it promises to tweak the game quite significantly.
A fair amount of content (some of the Battle Tactics, Grand Strategies, and scenarios) are carried over from the previous book, but there’s plenty of new content here, too. The focus of this GHB will be the smaller characters who traverse the battleground on foot. I’m really looking forward to the new season.
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Free League’s Blade Runner RPG sees a physical release – I don’t need to sell you on Blade Runner at this point. Either you like it or you don’t and, honestly, I get you either way. I love it, but I appreciate it’s not for everyone. Free League seems to have snapped up the RPG license and has modified their (fantastic) Mutant Year Zero system for it. I like MYZ a lot, so that and Blade Runner are a pretty solid combo for me. I previously looked at the PDF release of this book, but it’s now making its way into UK retail channels.
The thing is, is it too late? There are so many cyberpunk games out there just now. There have been a bunch of 5E settings released, along with Altered Carbon, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Neon City Overdrive, The Sprawl, Interface Zero, Genesys Android… the list could go on, I’m sure. Nobody really questions the number of generic sci-fi and fantasy games that come out, I suppose. Maybe I’m being unfair. I just think of cyberpunk as a genre being narrower, y’know? Either way, yeah, this is a good property and a good system.
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- DriveThruRPG (PDF edition)
Christian Eichhorn releases gutter_PVNKS, a CY_BORG Supplement – I really like the MÖRK BORG-based RPG, CY_BORG. It takes the strange, dark, dangerous tone of MÖRK BORG and transposes it into a cyberpunk setting. I do enjoy a good cyberpunk setting. I also enjoy a few bad cyberpunk settings, but that’s by the by. It’s also cool to see supplements like this start rolling out for the game.
The supplement promises to fit a lot into 48 pages, including locations, encounters, NPCs, an adventure, new classes, and more. The preview pages show a fantastically-produced book as well.
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GMT’s upcoming COIN title, A Gest of Robin Hood, is currently on P500 – Why am I continually drawn to games that I have demonstrably struggled to get to the table? GMT makes such gorgeous games. This offering, currently on GMT’s P500 preorder system, is a 2 player COIN game based on the stories of Robin Hood:
The COIN series is a hugely successful series of counterinsurgency-themed wargames. There are a lot of games in the series now, and they’ve been branching out in interesting, new directions. These have recently included one set on Mars, rather than the typical historical settings. This Robin Hood edition is likewise a nice twist on the series.
B. J. Keeton releases CyKnight, a player class for CY_BORG – I guess I’m reading a lot about CY_BORG just now, eh? This is a much smaller supplement, just featuring a cool, new class for use in your games:
Visually, this is well-produced. It’s simple, concise, and cool. The actual class is interesting as well. I especially love the idea of the adaptive CyBlade. The idea that it can shift and transform as required is really cool.
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Blog Posts & Articles
The meat of 5 on Friday, the articles are listed in no particular order, so let’s get into some recommendations:
Wizards of the Coast OGL Debacle @ GoCorral – How could I not include at least one post about the ongoing OGL nonsense? This article gives a rundown of the situation and is a good primer for those unfamiliar with the situation. The one bit I’ll really disagree with is the assertion that the licensing arrangements around 5E are the reason that this edition garnered so many new players. I feel that the community that is really involved in this aspect of the hobby overestimates its importance to the average player. Otherwise a good writeup, though!
New General’s Handbook Pitched Battles 2022-23 Season 2 and Battlescroll : Galletian Champions Review @ Sprues & Brews – The usual solid review from Sprues & Brews, this is a cool overview of the General’s Handbook for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. I agree with the criticism of the Sharpshooters battalion, and the concerns about the Sons of Behemat. Why does GW hate my stompy boys?
Witch Hunters Assemble @ Bogenwald – I’m enjoying seeing the warbands that are being churned out on this blog. Having set myself a goal of painting up some skirmish forces this year, I should take a leaf out of this author’s book and print up some suitable minis! Cool models, and well painted.
Wizards of the Coast OGL Assurances Not Enough for Paizo, Who Plan Their Own Open Game License @ Tbletop Tribe – More OGL shenanigans! This is another overview, with more of a focus on how some other companies are responding to the situation.
Tournament Review: Blood in the Snow @ Woehammer – This is a good writeup of an event that the author attended. What I really like is the inclusion of the lists that are referenced in the game reports. This is often something missing from these sorts of articles. Makes for a good read.
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Since my last 5 on Friday, I’ve published the following posts:
- A Kickstarter-Watch on some acrylic tokens.
- Plenty of finished miniatures:
- A bunch of Flesh Hounds of Khorne.
- The endless spell, Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws.
- Kairos Fateweaver.
- Another Feculent Gnarlmaw.
- A Throwback Thursday about a Games Workshop skirmish game.
In the coming week, I’m looking to share more painted miniatures. I’ve finished a few and am working on more. I’ve also been tinkering with my 3D printer and have had a go at printing up a themed Mega-Gargant for my Troggoths:
Now, I just need the weather to lighten up so I can spraypaint.
Catch ya’ll next week!
No Rerolls 
That troggoth is huge! Can’t wait to see it painted!
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