"Sire, the reinforcements have arrived on our left flank!"
"Excellent Windsor, let's give these French degenerates what for"
"But Sire, their uniforms... "
"What about their uniforms?"
"They look... well Sire, I swear they look like Austrians"
"By God man, if they are shooting at the French, what does it matter what they look like?"
We all have a shelf full of dusty miniatures: Those 8 grenadiers you bought because you were going to build an army, 20 Austrians and a few Seven Years War cavalry you never got around to using.
Scum of the Earth is a game intended to help get those figures off the dusty shelf and on to your table.
The goal is to remove as many barriers as possible to play: We use small units (6 figures/stands for infantry), the game plays on a 2x2 foot table and require only a couple of dice to play.
Features include:
*Core game rules that can be explained in a couple of minutes.
*Character figures such as flag bearers and leaders are included.
*A Trait building block system letting you construct units that are colourful and interesting. Your French Hussars might be Arrogant and Stalwart while my British regulars are Veteran Scum.
*Campaign rules using a card system, letting you play a character-ful campaign without relying on maps.
*Rules for retaining your battle hardened veterans across multiple games.
*A quick scenario generator.
*Random terrain and battle complications.
*Notes, rules adjustments and traits to let you play the following conflicts:
English Civil War, Seven Years War, American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, First Schlesvig War, Crimean War, American Civil War, Second Schlesvig War, Austro-Prussian War, Colonial battles, Franco-Prussian War, Spanish American War, Russo-Japanese War and 1914.
Each period is brought to life with a few rules to adjust the core game mechanics as well as colourful traits such as "Courtesy of Norway", "Rebel Yell" and "Every man a Marshal".
The goal of Scum of the Earth is not to provide an exacting simulation, it is to provide a flavourful microcosm of warfare in the black powder era (and just beyond).
Most importantly, it is about getting picking up a pack of figures that you like the looks of, painting them as you like them and getting them on the table.
