Rattle and Rend Alpha Playtest Release!

Miniature Wargaming, Rattle and Rend
April 1, 2025

Lots of work has been going in behind the scenes drafting rules, editing, and playtesting towards a full alpha release for my game of rules-lite, miniatures-agnostic, 10mm scale fantasy skirmishes: Rattle and Rend.

And now I’m excited – and no small bit relieved – to share that the Alpha Playtest release is ready to share!

Key Changes in the Alpha Playtest (Release 02):

Simplified Stats: I’ve replaced the cumbersome “Toughness Ladder” for defense and morale with a simpler “Will” stat that uses the core 2d20 roll over mechanic.
Streamlined Attack Mechanics: Groups now have a range (“RNG”) stat. Both melee and ranged attacks use the same mechanics, with the key difference being how Bonuses and Penalties are applied. Makes gameplay more streamlined
Warband Traits! These are the key driver in customizing your gameplay and tactics, making two warbands of the same roster composition play very differently – while still keeping warbands quick and straightforward to build and gameplay not slowing down around multiple rolls, phases, and rules edge cases.
Randomized Setup and Scenarios: A robust – but quick to complete – setup phase randomizes deployment and scenario conditions. Options kept to the book for speed, but puts the focus of the game on the skirmish itself and limits “gaming the game” to metagame standard scenarios and wincons.

Rattle and Rend Alpha Playtest Downloads:

Coming in the Future Beta Playtest:

Warband Drives: Another customizable aspect of the warband, focused on providing advantages during the setup phase while allowing for a narrative flourish
Environmental Conditions: Another gameplay randomizer – which will also be affected by warband Drives
Simple Campaign Rules: Rattle and Rend is a simple game by design – designed for players who don’t have the luxury of the cool, in-depth Mordheim and Frostgrave campaigns. But for those that want something to connect games in a longer campaign while still remaining minimalist, the Rattle and Rend campaign rules will focus on providing options through an extended roster (think Kill Team 1E), rather than lots of fiddly rules and mechanics.