time of legends joan of arc part 1 (1)

Time of Legends: Joan of Arc Narrative Battle Series Part 2

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Published: September 17, 2019 2:00 PM

Time of Legends Joan of Arc is a legendary scale miniatures game from Mythic Games. Originally a successful Kickstarter, Mythic Games are bringing a retail version later on and also an updated Kickstarter, Joan of Arc 1.5 will come to Kickstarter in Fall this year, and has just been revealed to include a Teutonic Knights expansion.

Joan of Arc is a historical miniatures game that blends mass combat with heroic characters. It's taken from a medieval standpoint, and the myths and monsters that people believed in during that time are real. The Legendary Scale allows battles between and these creatures of myths and legends.

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There are 2 ways to play Joan of Arc, either by playing out set scenarios or in Battle Mode where players are free to create their own forces. We decided that rather than straight review for Joan of Arc, we'd report back on the scenarios we played through, detailing our thoughts as we talk about the scenario.

The Kickstarter came with a huge amount of content and so that you know what we're playing with, we're listing the content that we have here. The sheer amount of content from the Kickstarter is what makes a straight transition to retail an interesting task for Mythic Games.

The content we have is:

  • Joan of Arc Core Box
  • Reliquary Box
  • Super Exclusives
  • Legendary Dragon
  • Neoprene Playmat
  • Plunder Box
All of the above with the addition of Unleash Hell make up Wave 1 for the Kickstarter backers, so we're sharing the same experience as most players out there.

A note on the scenarios we play, these are simply recounts of our play, a result of our choices and dice rolls, you may experience entirely different results in your games. My opponent for all games is Kit, the owner of ABZ Games in Aberdeen, which is also the location for all our games.


To experience a different side of Joan of Arc, for the next game we set up The Hanged Wolf's Cross, the Werewolf mission.

Kit took on the role of the Unholy forces for this mission. The Werewolf scenario shows off how well JoA functions beyond a wargame, adding in some very interesting mechanics for searching and interrogating.

The Unholy forces in the area have seduced several members of the local population and are operating under their control. The Holy order have dispatched a team of representatives led by Sir Jehan to investigate and eliminate any unholy threats.

4 members of the local populace have been acting suspiciously, the blacksmith, the soothsayer, a local farmer’s daughter, and a citizen.

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The Unholy forces begin by gathering wolves to their cause.

Within moments of entering the vicinity of the village, howls could be heard in the distance as the blacksmith was observed herding groups of wolves together. The Holy troops advanced towards the village, stopping to talk to a Bonesetter, living alone in the woods. Sir Jehan was able to gain some much needed local knowledge and continued their advance towards the village.

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Sir Jehan talking to the Bonesetter in the woods.

The Blacksmith also found some peasants hiding on the outskirts of town and thought he could turn them to his evil cause. He was however mistaken and the villagers remained loyal to the church and waited on the far side of town.

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After fleeing from the wolves, Sir Jehan and his forces enter town from the far side.

As Sir Jehan's forces approached the outskirts of the village, a huge pack of wolves descended on them, taking out the priest and loyal pikemen as the rest fought free. After fleeing from the wolves, Sir Jehan found himself and what remained of his forces on the far side of town. Quickly gathering a scattering of loyal peasants to his cause, he rode directly into town at the young village girl. Using the small amount of knowledge gained from his dealings with the Bonesetter, he revealed the girl’s true form as the Werewolf.

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Using intrigue points, the Werewolf is revealed.

The werewolf, seeing they were outnumbered, quickly fled through the ranks of their wolves into safety. The holy forces took up position in the village, using buildings for cover.

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The Werewolf fled out of town, into a wood nearby, leaving their wolves to slow the advance of the holy forces who met them in combat.

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The Werewolf flees into a forest, only to be set upon by a peasant militia unit laying in wait.

However, unknown to the Werewolf, the unit of peasants that the blacksmith had found were an undercover elite Werewolf hunting commando unit, who saw the werewolf flee into the tree line, and followed them to end their reign of terror, removing the bewitching spell over the village and bringing light to the area.

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The failing rally roll that ended the game.

The depth of this single scenario is truly an incredible thing. There are several ways that each force can attempt the scenario. Kit didn't even attempt to search the houses, which have more units and equipment to arm his forces. He also had the option for his civilian units to pray and reveal a crypt, which can earn XP and Legend tokens for use. The Bonesetter can also be turned into a Witch to fight for the Unholy side.

The game was entirely decided on the fact that Kit turned over the peasant unit, forgetting that he needed a legend token to turn them to his side, and then forgot about them while the Werewolf fled into the woods. The Werewolf was entirely protected from the Holy forces by his screen of wolves, but the crack commando unit were poised to strike. 2 lucky rolls in the Holy army's favor and it was done. Victory for the forces of good!

 

Did you back Time of Legends Joan of Arc? Are you waiting for retail? Which mode are you most interested in, Battle or Scenario? Let us know in the comments below.

 

The range of Time of Legends Joan of Arc products used in this article were provided by Mythic Games.


A Potts TechRaptor
| Senior Tabletop Writer

Adam is a Tabletop Specialist for TechRaptor. He started writing for TechRaptor in 2017 and took over as Tabletop Editor in 2019 and has since stood down… More about Adam