Welcome to the ‘For Reign or Ruin’ website.
‘For Reign or Ruin’ is a set of miniature wargame rules for historical ancient, medieval and fantasy battles between armies. it was written for 15 mm fantasy and in addition to rules for all historical troop types such as infantry, cavalry, artillery and commanders, it also contains rules for heroes, monsters, swarms, undead, magic and flyers. it is independent from a specific line of miniatures or background so you can recreate your favourite battles and armies. You can download the rules, counters and army lists for free and start playing.
Is it for you?
‘For Reign or Ruin’ is a miniature wargame simulating large scale battles with thousands of soldiers on each side, organised in units, brigades, etc. The player takes the role of army commander trying to win the battle. If you are unfamiliar with miniature wargames you can find a short introduction here.
Unit bases
A unit is represented by a single base and is the basic element of the game.
Focus on command
Focus on command through issuing orders and positioning of commanders and heroes.
Scale independent
Works for any miniature scales that fits the unit base. 2 mm to 18 mm shown.
For all backgrounds
For all fantasy backgrounds and historic battles from antiquity to the middle ages.
Fast combat
Simplified quick combat resolution for rapid progression over many game turns.
Large battles
From small engagements to very large, multi player battles.
‘For Reign or Ruin’ is a wargame that focuses on command rather than combat. Therefore, orders, morale and the influence of commanders requires most of your attention. Combat is simplified and is mostly used to determine the outcome of those command decisions. If you prefer complete control over your troops for movement, combat, etc. this is not the game for you. If you appreciate both the tactical challenges and the struggle of a general to stay in control, you might like it.
‘For Reign or Ruin’ was written for large scale battles, but also works for smaller engagements. It works with multiple players per side, three of more sided battles and has rules for solo play. It can be used to recreate battles from any of your favourite books, myths, films and games, or historic periods from ancient to medieval. Army lists are available for many fantasy armies, some mythological armies and historic armies and more will be added in the future. As the game rules are separated from army and troop description, you can create new troop types, monsters, etc. and the army organisation they are part of, to reflect your favourite background or an army you already have.
An introduction to the game concepts and a short description of gameplay is available in the Rules Primer,
Finally…
The rules are ready to use and contain everything you need to play. An Army Book is in the works with more detailed instructions on the construction of any army and troops, campaign rules and more, but everything you need to play you can find in the rules and on this website.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions, I would love to hear from you.
Enjoy!