Brimstone and Lead: Arena

Hell keeps its own. Hell respects strength. Hell rewards innovation. And hell is, above all else, a meritocracy. The proof is in the results. A litany of conquest. A blood-soaked trail of planets. A hungry, seething, circuit of power drawn across the cosmos in gutted suns and gnarled towers of iron staked into the hearts of worlds. The best, the brightest, the strongest and hungriest prove themselves by natural selection. They survive. They take what they need from the weak and fashion reality to suit their vision. And they rule in hell.
Hell is cruel, but it is honest. When it descends on a world, when the stars rise black and the moon is as blood and a people stand in defense of their homes and loved ones, they find themselves. They find their courage. Their unity. Their ability to die for a cause.These deaths are not meaningless but a sacrifice. And this is beautiful and worthy. Because those who survive, those who rise from the ashes are stronger, clearer in purpose and vision, and hell gives them what they need to make their vision real. The weak are fashioned into tools. A roiling mass of liquid power for the strong to wield. And the strong endure, lifted up by their will to power. And they rule in hell.
Hell is ultimately an experiment. The heart of your world cut bleeding from its carcass of oceans and continents is a gift. A gift to you. The wise. The strong. This apocalypse is the crucible in which you forge your heart and find your strength and lead the way forward.
And you shall rule in hell.

What is this?

Brimstone and Lead: Arena is a skirmish “heartbreaker.” It’s my “fixed” version of skirmish rules designed to reproduce the adrenaline -pumping and blood-spattered combat of games like DOOM, Quake, and Gears of War. It is a skirmish game with overpowered arsenals of rocket launchers, miniguns, and magic spells. It’s Gothic architecture and interdimensional portals. It’s demons and shotguns. It’s a heavy metal album cover.

Currently the game is in beta playtests. These rules are feature complete for the basic game, but there is more coming. Including:

• Campaign system for tracking conflicts over longer periods!
• More robust classes with special abilities and progression!
• Additional cleanup, clarification, and examples!
• Index and glossary!
• More art!

Why play this game?

Brimstone and Lead: Arena is designed to be fast, brutal, and tactical.

Lean and Fast Playing: Concepts like reactions, suppression, and overwatch are all built into the action economy. There is no measurement. Movement, LOS, and weapon ranges are built into the same uniform system. 

Psychological Warfare: At the heart of Brimstone and Lead: Arena is the "Refusal" mechanic. The active player gets more actions, but the reactive may stop a single model from activating. This forces the active player to use lesser actions in an attempt to bait their opponent into wasting their refusal.  

Tactical and Bloody: Positioning is key. Brimstone and Lead: Arena is a game of controlling fire lanes and ensuring overlapping fields of fire. The clever use of models' special abilities is crucial to accomplishing your goals. Models are fragile, but they respawn, so the game is exciting from start to finish.