Dissent is a miniatures skirmish game of medieval mercenary companies exploiting the strife of civil war. Fully compatible with our other CRUX games, here are some basic features:
Miniatures agnostic. You can use whatever medieval-friendly minis you have on hand and adapting to smaller or larger scales is a breeze.
Adaptable scope. A 3’x3’ table space works well, but you can go bigger or smaller and the rules include guidelines for using grid maps instead of the standard inch-based free measurement if you prefer. (We routinely mix this up from battle to battle for our own campaigns.)
All the dice. Each player uses a full set of polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d10, d12, d20). Most rolls will range between d4-d10, but those “swingier” dice (d12s and d20s) may come up when stacking advantage from tactics.
Roll-off. At the core of the game, each unit has a “CRUX die” (between d4 and d10) that is rolled with a modifier (attribute + applicable skill). This is most often compared to a roll made by another unit (attack vs defense, for example), but can also be rolled against a scenario-based difficulty (“get a 7 or higher to lift this crate”). Advantage and disadvantage will raise or lower the type of die rolled.
High crunch. Intuitive once you learn it, the game is difficult to master, with multitudes of possible builds and strategies, giving plenty of texture and ensuring that there isn’t just one way to win. In Dissent, each unit is a fully developed character.
Dynamic initiative. Units test their Alertness skill (also used against things like stealth) at the start of the battle and are recorded into an initiative queue (similar to common RPG combat). The queue becomes a character in its own right, mixing up the flow of player interaction and fostering adaptive strategies.
3d printable miniatures. Though fully minis-agnostic, Dissent launches with a full range of bespoke 3d-printable miniature and terrain STLs for those who want them.
THINGS TO COME…
There are a number of expansions to Dissent on the horizon. The following are just a few!
Low-fantasy elements. Though you can freely mix Dissent with our other CRUX games, expansions will include dedicated rules for costly and dangerous supernatural elements drawn from folklore.
Horses. Somewhat prohibitive in the tight quarters of war-torn ruins, rules for mounted warfare will be a major addition as you take your battles beyond the crumbling walls.
Scripted campaign paths. Want to take your companies through a short narrative? These modules of connected scenarios will tell a story and bring new rules to your table!
Hearty rules manual. But not too hearty! Clocking in at 45 pages, the rules codex is fully illustrated, featuring art by Arthur Cordeiro with a cover by Matias Trabold Rehren.
Build options. With the core rules out of the way in the first few pages, the company building section features tons of material, with 10 unit types (including hounds!), a full arsenal of medieval equipment (which you can customize to an era or leave as anachronistic as you like), and over 80 special abilities that will uniquely personalize your warriors.
Narrative campaigns. Will you fight for clergy, the nobility, or perhaps the common folk caught in the middle? A full section on campaign rules will help you to establish faction elements, randomized weather, battle scenarios, and track loot, injuries, and renown.
