It looked as if a whirlwind had torn through a doll shop: bodies lay strew on the ground. Nearby, spread out and hunkered down behind whatever shelter could be found, were what remained of the 95th, they looked broken and shell shocked.

Andrews crawled forward on his belly, he’d seen the 95th take artillery fire through his glass, that there were any men still here alive was nothing short of a miracle, but he needed one more. “Daniel.” He called as loud as he dared as he crept forward, “Daniel…”

Andrews pulled himself into a ditch, a blasted crater from an artillery shell, he grimaced somewhat, and dusted the front of his jacket in a token gesture to his preference for clean boots and pressed collars; it was a long way from Sandhurst.

A leering face suddenly appeared, like that of a broken clown with no make-up.

“Daniel! Thank God!” Andrews breathed, “There’s no killing you is there Sergeant!”

“NoSir!” Daniel replied, his voice accented by the fact his jaw was almost locked into place by a mess of fused bone and scar tissue. Many years before, the then private Daniel Cooper had taken the effects of a large mortar shell to the face, scarring, a barely functional jaw and a maddening grin were all reminders that the devil had tried to take him once – and he’d survived.

“Daniel, we need a miracle.” Andrews rolled over and crept to the lip of the crater, indicating as he talked, “See that wall there?” Daniel joined him and nodded. “Well we need you to pull the 95th together, what’s left of them, and take that wall. Can it be done?”

Daniel lay, assessing the broken and open ground between them and the dry-stone wall Andrews was referring to. Even from here he could see the plumage of the Prussian Officers bobbing around behind it. His face, twisted as it was in a permanent mad grin, was unreadable.

“Can it be done?” Andrews asked again.

“Yessir!” Daniel replied with a sharp nod.

Andrews regarded the Sergeant as Daniel moved off to gather his shattered Section, that mad grin? That was a left over from the mortar shell all those years ago, but the mad eyes? Daniel was the sort of soldier who could be relied upon to charge the gates of Hell, and was lucky enough that he just might break through.

Dystopian Legions is our explosive 32mm scale platoon based miniatures game set in the same alternate history as Dystopian Wars. It is a tactical game, players need to make the most of their sections and the battlefield, as well as use the officers to get the best out of their men.

In 2014 Dystopian Legions was relaunched with the 2 player boxed set: Iron Scorpion. Since then we have released 20 boxes, realigning the currently available four factions (The Kingdom of Britannia, The Empire of the Blazing Sun, The Prussian Empire and The Federated States of America), in order to make constructing an army more cost effective and more in line with the way armies are constructed in 2.0.

What’s new?

Our playtest group has been working away diligently behind the scenes to refine and hone those nations, and the updated ORBATs reflect heavy playtesting. In addition to the new ORBATs there is a a new FAQ available. As well as clarifying a range of questions culled from the forums, we also made a few adjustments to the rules, including a comprehensive set of rules for Hitting the Deck. Other changes aim at increasing the focus on Morale, for example: a Section that is Shaken is no longer able to score points from an Objective they hold!

The rule adjustments and updated ORBATs are all designed to heighten the play experience. Over the next few months we will also make available some fun and thematic optional rules that expand game play, and are ideal when combined with the Progression System from the Legions 2.0 rules book.

Remember the Dystopian Legions 2.0 rules, ORBATs, FAQ and a host of other support material, including the platoon diagram, terrain charts, progression charts and quick reference are all available to download for FREE from our website!

If you’re interested in Dystopian Legions jump over to our forums, there is a painting competition currently running, and there will be more ways of getting involved coming up!

Fire up your tread-bike, lock the bolt of your Metford Rifle and gun the engines of your giant ironclad… Dystopian Legions needs you!

Spartan Giles