renegade scout has easily come to be one of my favourite squad level sci fi miniature game (or even skirmish, given that rules for those and just about anything you can think of are included) . well written, despite being more conversational in tone, it avoids any overly elaborate or unecessarily convoluted explanations of rules, making it easily digestible for anyone who's had some experience in miniature gaming before.

this expertly crafted system injects life into the popular-gothic-sci-fi-wargame of the 1980s to early 90s, as well as offering a really great launchpad for devising your own narrative scenarios in such a gritty and nostalgic setting. the system has lots of well thought out balancing measures for if you want to create your own units, whilst keeping the game fair. that said, of the half a dozen games i've played, all have been down to the wire. never having one side retain a crushing advantage over the other suggests to me, a well thought out ruleset. So well balanced is this game, that i seldom keep track of an armies points any more, rather just pitting a couple of retro-40 000 squads against one another and having (a lot) of fun with a friend. After all as i see it, the game was written with casual and narrative play in mind.

so pick out your old metal guys, set them up in an aesthetically pleasing way, and let the scenario unfold, always to a dramatic conclusion. such well written rules have become a staple of nordic weasel's products, and so i am glad to say that the £15.70 i spent on this all-encompassing ruleset was well worth it.

First, I should point out that I provided some playtest feedback and some photographs for the game, but I did buy my own copy.

With that out of the way, I really like "Renegade Scout". The problem is that it's hard to say exactly why.

I mean, it's a solid set of rules that are comprehensive and easy to understand, so that's good. It has sort of an "old-school" feel, but cleaned up and engergized with some modern sensibilities, so it feels familiar and comfortable but not burdensome or outdated. And I can't think of anything that I would want from the game that it doesn't cover. Vehicles, robots, sneaking, campaigns, character advancement, helpful and inspiring random tables, "off map support", falling, interrogation, reinforcements, and just a ton more. Maybe I'm just uptight, but that thoroughness really feels good.

Oh! And the magic/psychic powers! They're fun and semi-random, with cool names and effects. What I like in particular is that some powers are persistent, like "Float the Wind" which lets the caster hover over terrain without penalty (and without having to actually "cast" the effect), and some powers are maybe a little more powerful or desireable than others (but not too much). What I like about that is that your caster can, over several campaign games, "collect" the spells that they want, and when you finally roll up "Mind Plague" (or whatever you're hoping for), it's an exciting event. Also, the table of critical failures for powers has the possibility of warping your caster and any other figures and terrain nearby into the void, never to be seen again. It's not likely, but man, that would be something to remember!

On a less bonkers note, I also like the "sheltering" rule. It basically lets your units "hide" as they move around the board, and makes terrain important for more than just a defense bonus. Basically, your sheltering units can't be shot at if they are sheltering, unless your opponent can pass a "spotting" roll, which is based on the distance between the units. It's all very elegant and tactical, and the extra die rolls, when necessary, add to the texture of the game and aren't a burden (IMO).

So, those are some great things, but that still doesn't really explain how much I like this game. I think, in the end, it's just that when I've played, I've really felt engaged and had fun. Hooray, fun!

If you're interested, here are a couple examples of my fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eSlETsQ-fs&list=PLYUGDcghM-GWjAYDZPakeJzmQF4bfzGq9

https://redplayerone.blogspot.com/2018/11/renegade-scout-prydians-vs-maligs-at.html

This is the third ruleset I get from Nordic Weasel, the others being Clash of the Fringe and FiveCore, and this is the one that I will actually play. Not because the others are bad, but because it's exactly what I was looking for, and what it says it is: a refurbished version of warhammer40k rogue trader.

The author really is passionate about game design and it shows: the rules are clearly laid, written in a concise, straightforward way that while its not "fun" to read, it makes things crystal clear.

What makes it interesting to me (and probably many other fellow gamers) is that it's full of options, rules for weird situations and guidelines for scenario building that, somehow, manage to convey the "magic" of the old days but in a rule frame that feels more agile and coherent than the ones from back in the day.

All I can say is, thank you!!

Disclaimer: I backed the crowdfunding campaign and have been in contact with the author since earlier drafts of the rules.

These rules achieve exactly what they set out to do. It's a game that is compatible with original Rogue Trader content, but is still an almost completely new game. It's not just the original mechanics that have been streamlined or tweaked a bit, it's more like comparing the 1987 model and 2018 model of a car. The stat lines are basically the same (most of the names of the stats have just been changed a bit), so original RT units stats can easily be converted over. Even though it keeps the same stat line, the rules have been written such that it is much quicker and easier to use (despite being the infamous super long GW stat line). Almost every die roll has been made a simple 1d6 or 2d6 roll-under, so you no longer have to look at any charts or tables. Activation and turn order in Renegade Scout is a very nice mix between the classic GW IGOUGO turn order (with the movement phase, shooting phase, etc.) and a more modern alternating activation.

Like all NWG products Renegade Scout comes with some excellent random tables for gear, scenarios, etc. At this point my favorite thing about the rules so far is the "Wyrd Powers" list. It's just ridiculously awesome. Also, in the tradition of classic wargame rules there is a Painting and Modeling section included, which is pretty nice. As someone who learned how to paint their fist miniatures as a young teen be reading those few pages at the back of the book, it brings back good memories of first starting out in the hobby.

Renegade Scout can obviously be used with old RT/40k models, but it comes package with the "Unified Space" setting used in other Nordic Weasel titles (notably UFA). "Unified Space" is an sci-fi universe that draws from existing tropes, and is generic enough to be able to fit any model you have into, but is also pretty interesting and fun all on its own.

The layout/design of the book is a new high standard for Nordic Weasel Games in my opinion. It's simple but nice, and definitely rather printer friendly. If you are interested retro-inspired miniature gaming, but still want well designed modern game mechanics, Renegade Scout is definitely worth the 20 bucks.