Kings of War the Roleplaying Game

Welcome to the Kings of War the Roleplaying Game Pledge Manager! Grab a pledge now to help us continue funding an RPG set within the epic fantasy world behind the extremely popular Kings of War miniatures game.

Mantic's Kings of War is a popular global brand that has led to equally venerated games such as Vanguard and Dungeon Saga. For the first time ever, you can now explore Pannithor through the medium of a roleplaying game tailor made for this epic fantasy setting.

Red Scar are collaborating with Mantic Games and Winged Hussar Publishing to tie together lore that stretches across aeons, all with the purpose of creating a roleplaying game that lives, breathes, and enables your character to take control of their own legendary destiny.

In addition to a Quickstart using our very own TriCore ruleset, we've provided a conversion of the introductory adventure for folks who prefer their RPGs with a 5E flavour. Feel free to download either or both!

NOTE: both the TriCore and 5E Quickstarts can also be downloaded from drivethrurpg.com (simply click on the relevant text for your preferred ruleset).

Kings of War is a fantasy setting of epic scope. Originally envisioned through the medium of a tabletop wargame, Pannithor has since been expanded with the Dungeon Saga board game and the Kings of War: Vanguard skirmish game. With Kings of War the Roleplaying Game, GMs and players will be able to explore this grandiose fantasy setting like never before!

The balance and stability of the world of Pannithor was cataclysmically destroyed in a long-ago age. The surviving Celestians — the gods worshipped by many races — were torn in two, each split into a ‘good’ and ‘evil’ aspect as their energies sundered with the breaking of the enchanted Fenulian Mirror. The surviving deities that now presided over the world, the Shining Ones and the Wicked Ones, plunged Pannithor into an age of warfare as they led man, elf, dwarf, and other species into the countless bloody battles of the God War.

The seemingly endless war waged for centuries, claiming the lives of countless thousands of all races. Civilizations rose and fell, entire kingdoms and empires were ruined, and alliances and rivalries were forged that endure to this day. The Wicked Ones created ranks of monstrous beasts charged with annihilating the humans, elves, and dwarfs who fought for the Shining Ones. Colossal battles raged across the world as armies on a scale previously unknown tore each other asunder. Domivar, son of Mescator, God of Justice, took to the skies to fight against Oskan, Father of Lies, and chief power amongst the Wicked Ones.

In a climactic duel that raged across the heavens, Domivar defeated Oskan and took from him the Black Axe, symbol of his dark powers. Domivar plummeted from the heavens, smashing the axe into the world and tearing a great wound across Pannithor’s surface. The cursed axe shattered and the dark gods pulled inexorably into the gaping tear, but spent too was the noble Domivar, having sacrificed himself to put an end to the God War. The great scar gouged out of the world’s surface by his heroic sacrifice became known as the Abyss, and its physical and spiritual gateway to the underworld became home to the dark creatures created by the Wicked Ones.

But this is merely a brief glance at the world, a few verses in a chapter of the great book of Pannithor. This is now your world to explore, to choose your path for good, for balance, or for darkness. This is your world to create your own stories and your own adventures. In a world of heroes, it is time to forge your own legend.

The Kickstarter funded the production of a printed edition of Kings of War the Roleplaying Game. This full-colour hardcover rulebook of approximately 320 pages will not only provide new content for Pannithor, but will also feature the TriCore ruleset; a lightweight ruleset designed to empower both GMs and players alike with the ability to use the system to keep the game focused on both characters and the narrative.

Rather than act as separate entities that share the same setting, part of our aim is to provide as much cross-platform support as possible for the Kings of War franchise. We are including crossover rules for Dungeon Saga, Vanguard, and Kings of War. Bust into a dungeon and claim a relic that will help with future adventures or engage in a skirmish that will make exploration easier in later scenarios. The possibilities are endless!

Please note, however, that there is absolutely no need to pick up any of the other Kings of War systems. First and foremost, Kings of War the Roleplaying Game has been designed as an RPG ruleset that allows each group to tell their own epic stories. As each crossover component of the game also has a narrative counterpart, the system will run brilliantly on its own as a traditional pen-and-paper RPG. Mantic produce some truly amazing miniatures and scenery, though, so we wanted to enable as much compatibility as possible.

You can read all about the dynamic TriCore ruleset in a series of blogs taking place over at the Red Scar website, including in-depth breakdowns of the core Keyword mechanic, crossover elements for the Kings of War range, and Payback. That's not all. however, as we'll be adapting the exciting elements of TriCore into a PDF for the popular 5E mechanics.

Choosing a pledge level will not only help us reach our funding goal, but will also provide you with amazing content once the Kickstarter is complete and we have finished production. The handy graphics below summarise the content you will receive with your pledge.

Please note, however, that there is absolutely no need to pick up any of the other Kings of War systems. First and foremost, Kings of War the Roleplaying Game has been designed as an RPG ruleset that allows each group to tell their own epic stories. As each crossover component of the game also has a narrative counterpart, the system will run brilliantly on its own as a traditional pen-and-paper RPG. Mantic produce some truly amazing miniatures and scenery, though, so we wanted to enable as much compatibility as possible.

You can read all about the dynamic TriCore ruleset in a series of blogs taking place over at the Red Scar website, including in-depth breakdowns of the core Keyword mechanic, crossover elements for the Kings of War range, and Payback. That's not all. however, as we'll be adapting the exciting elements of TriCore into a PDF for the popular 5E mechanics.

If you're new to crowdfunders and pledge managers, please feel free to get in touch. We will take out time help you.

If you have pledged previously through Kickstarter, you can freely confirm or upgrade your pledge.

If you are here for the very first time, grab yourself the pledge level you would like and confirm your details.

Add-ons allow you to include additional items with your pledge, such as extra dice or miniatures.

We've participated in a lot of interviews and playtesting sessions since the announcement of Kings of War the Roleplaying Game, plus involved groups from around the globe. Here are a few words from Ronnie Renton at Mantic, plus some of the highlights of our journey to date.

A playtest video from a mid-iteratioon of TriCore:

Plus a recent playthrough of the quickstart adventure, Ashen Gold, at Mantic HQ:

Podcast interviews listed in chronological order:

• December 2019 - The Xboxcast
• January 2019 - Frantic Gamers Podcast
• June 2019 - Counter Charge Podcast
• July 2019 - The Uncertain Sore Point Podcast
• July 2019 - Counter Charge Podcast
• August 2019 - Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk
• September 2019 - GMS Magazine

An excellent review from Paco at G.M.S. Magazine:

We also have regular development posts appearing on our blog, giving you an insight into the system and the mind of our developers.

Feel free to hop on to our Discord server and talk about your current exploits on Pannithor, plus follow our small crew each week on Twitch!

• Overdue Update [24/02/2022 10:17]
• Fresh Focus [15/10/2021 16:24]
• Not OK [09/08/2021 07:22]
• Progress Report [02/12/2020 21:44]
• Final Renders [02/10/2020 11:54]
• Pledge Manager Closing and 5E News [11/09/2020 14:11]
• Progress Report & UKGE [13/08/2020 13:31]
• Checking in With New Renders [13/06/2020 11:35]
• Mini Update & Mantic Virtual Open Day [08/05/2020 19:24]
• I Fought an Ogre... and Lost [31/01/2020 17:11]
• New Stretch Goal [24/12/2019 16:00]

• Retailer Support Für £ 25
• Retailer Fulfillment Für £ 60