High fantasy, high drama
AGE OF SIGMAR: SOULBOUND
Designers: Various | Publisher: Cubicle 7
We all know that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but if you’re looking to get a handle on Soulbound you can probably make an exception this time. In many other games the kind of scene the front of the rulebook depicts – a tableau of heroic battle where golden-armoured warriors wield sparks of blue-tinged lightning as the fend off a legion of undead – would probably mark the desperate climax of a campaign. In Soulbound it’s Tuesday night.
‘Powerful’ might be the best way to describe Soulbound as a whole. Drawn from the Age of Sigmar wargame, it drops its players into a world inspired by only the highest of high fantasy. The characters you play aren’t common adventurers rounded up in the nearest tavern, but mighty heroes chosen by the gods.
While this may all sound like it’s ripped from the big book of fantasy clichés – because, frankly, it is – the joy of Soulbound doesn’t come from breaking new ground but rather by smashing together a whole pile of ideas ripped from the genre’s century-old history. It gives you a chance to run up walls as a dagger-wielding elf assassin, channel unknowable power as a battlemage and take to the skies as an armoured angel – all from the very start of your campaign.
The core rules of the game are handled by a dice-pool system that will feel familiar to anybody who has played Shadowrun or the Alien RPG. Essentially, characters tackle obstacles by stacking up a pile of six-sided dice based on their stats and skills, and then trying to roll as many successes as possible.
So far this feels fairly similar to many other games out there, but Soulbound’s special quirk comes from the fact that the GM can also declare that the players need more than one successful roll if they’re to pull off particularly complex tasks. If that door has multiple locks you need to crack or chains to tear through, you might need as many as three successful rolls to actually achieve your goal in time.
It’s a rather slick system that allows for plenty of flexibility, though the GM does need an unusually solid head for stats if they want to keep their complex rolls feeling fair. If you aren’t careful to keep track of players’ dice pools it isn’t hard to accidently call for checks that are either virtually impossible or laughably easy.
Fortunately, much of the need for judgement calls are removed in Soulbound’s frenetic combat system, which flows rather wonderfully and allows for a great blend of tactical decision making and cinematic storytelling. Positioning is all handled by divvying the battlefield up into zones, and while simply smacking your foes with basic attacks is a solid strategy, there’s also plenty of scope for mixing things up with called shots to your enemy’s helmet or knocking them prone with special talents.
Indeed, one of the game’s biggest strengths is the fact that players can usually decide how much complexity they want to handle in their game, whether this is in combat or during character creation. It’s easy to simply follow the book’s recommendations and pick a couple of cool powers for flavour, but if you’re interested in tinkering there are some rather fascinating blends of skills and gear waiting to be unlocked.
Really, this is the joy of Soulbound – the knowledge that you can do pretty much whatever you feel like and come out with something that looks, feels and plays cool at the end of it. It’s not subtle or particularly nuanced, but it’s easy to grasp and incredibly fun. That feels like a success, at the very least.
RICHARD JANSEN-PARKES
WE SAY
It’s as subtle as a gold-plated brick, but that doesn’t stop Soulbound from being hellishly good fun.
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
If you’re into high fantasy but want something a bit more malleable, with faster combat and even more scope for shenanigans Soulbound is well worth checking out