I knew when I started writing playtest Insiders I’d tell this story eventually, but I wanted to save it for the right time. While I’ve written about fun sessions or favorite elements of our playtest games, this time I want to write about the most fun I had Game Mastering a playtest session.

When we first set out to playtest the new material in Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game: Kings, Nations, and Gods, I knew everyone would have their personal favorites: a favorite new career or perhaps a warjack they’d been itching to get their hands on. It’s to be expected.

What I didn’t anticipate was the reaction I’d get from Retailer Development and Support Specialist Bill French the week we began playtesting the Protectorate of Menoth careers. He was, in his own words, “so very, very happy.” He has an abiding love of the Protectorate in terms of both story and aesthetics and had been waiting for the chance to play around with their careers and equipment since the very first day of RPG playtesting.

Normally when we set up for a playtest I’ll grab miniatures from the collection downstairs for all of the player characters and NPCs we’ll need. When I was getting things ready for our first Protectorate of Menoth playtest, though, I came face to face with Bill French. He eagerly inquired whether we’d be testing the Paladin career. I was barely able to confirm we would be before he cut me off, calling dibs. In his hand he had a painted miniature all ready to go. Who am I to argue with that kind of enthusiasm?

The player characters were part of the Northern Crusade, dispatched to investigate claims that a group of river pirates were exploiting the desperate people of a crumbling village on the banks of the Black River. Upon arrival in the village, they found the people to be exhausted, underfed, and terrified. Bluntly interrogating the villager they encountered, they discovered river pirates had taken over the small dockside of the village, thinking such a small community could be controlled without drawing the attention of the Protectorate’s forces. They were, of course, dead wrong.

With Bill’s paladin moving ahead to shield his comrades, the group advanced to the Black River’s edge. Several buildings that had once flanked the streets around the village’s humble docks had been pulled down to create a makeshift barricade around the pirates’ “territory.” Fanning out, the Protectorate characters moved as silently as possible to the barricades to get a better idea of what lay in store.

Here’s where I get to admit something: sometimes when we playtest, I want to use the new toys, too. Within the pirate compound were a mix of single-career NPCs with the Pirate and Marine careers, all armed with appropriate equipment for their roles. Commanding them was a Pirate who also had the new Artillerist career—and a cannon next to him on the deck of his ship. The new cannons in Kings, Nations, and Gods are a lot of fun. Their rules makes them feel right for such massive artillery pieces, and they have the ability to fire a number of different ammunition types, letting them work equally well in a wide range of circumstances. Bill wasn’t the only one who brought his own miniature to the session; the night before, I had assembled and painted a Sea Dog Deck Gun expressly for use in this playtest.

The moment the pirates caught sight of the Protectorate intruders, it was on. The pirates fell back to the pier leading to their ship while the player characters advanced. At the front, Bill’s paladin ran stalwartly forward, rifle rounds cracking off his armor as he swung his firebrand into any pirate dogs brave enough to face him. The sheer glee on Bill’s face as he moved through the pirates, shouting praises to Menoth as he cut them down, was pretty spectacular.

Meanwhile, I got the chance to be gleeful myself. The Artillerist career lets you do some fun things with heavy guns, and I had a (please, forgive me) blast blowing entire walls down in my attempt to get at the player characters hiding behind them. I wasn’t always able to land a hit on the higher DEF characters, but it was extremely satisfying whenever I did. Since I built the Artillerist as a comprehensive NPC, I gave him feat points and was able to make use of the Artillerist’s new Battle Plan abilities. Wow! Between Scorched Earth and Battle Plan: Close Fire, I was able to put the hurt on two of the player characters as they closed the gap while doing no damage at all to friendly pirates.

Eventually, though, my nefarious pirates had to face the consequences of their lives of iniquity and excess. They kept falling back along the dock, until finally battling for their lives on the gangplank as the Protectorate characters forced their way on board. Bill’s paladin finally faced off with the pirate leader, condemning him to death before cutting him down in the name of Menoth.

As I’ve said before, our playtest games don’t generally play out like normal sessions of a roleplaying game. Once in a while, though, everyone gets so into the character they are playing or has such a clear idea of the character when they start that despite all the rerolls, fudged rolls, rewinds, and resets, a playtest game feels just like a great evening of gaming at home.

I hope you all will find your favorite part of the Iron Kingdoms setting in Kings, Nations, and Gods (releasing next week!)—or discover some new favorites.

Until next time.
—M