I have always enjoyed the Orks of the Warhammer setting. Maybe it’s juvenile humor shot through their existence. Maybe it’s the working class accents. Maybe it’s the glee of tearing down the gloomy institutions of the setting with giant spiky hammers and other over the top weapons. Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound: Champions of Destruction brings orks, gobins, hobgoblins, ogres and trolls into playable characters and factions of the the game (or more specifically, orruks, grots, hobgrots, ogors and troggoths as their newer, more trademark friendly names). Cubicle 7 sent along a review copy of the book written by Emmet Byrne, Michael Duxbury, Elaine Lthgow and KC Shi. Is it a worthy addition to your Soulbound library? Let’s play to find out.
Champions of Destruction sticks to the same format of earlier titles such as Champions of Order and Champions of Death. Rather than the soulfire of the base game, groups of these characters channel WAAGH! Which feels like a cross between barbarian rage and a rowdy crowd at a live venue. Champions of Death portrayed their faction in an uneasy alliance with Sigmar, while these warriors are seen as more of a problem for both the forces of Order and Chaos. The key seems to be pointing people like the Kruleboyz or the Gloomspite Gitz in the right direction when the WAAGH! Over takes them.
The book offers the usual collection of new spells, weapons, talents and other bits flavored to these agents of chaos (but not agents of Chaos, that’s an upcoming book). While the intent seems to be running an all destruction party, there’s also plenty of discussion about integrating characters into a classic soulbound game. There’s a discussion of how WAAGH! Energy works differently than Soulfire but that ends with a sidebar that just sort of shrugs and saysif you don’t really care about the differences and want to mix and match, that’s fine too. Soulbound is an epic fantasy tale after all, and one of the classic tropes of these stories are the heroes who break the rules the rest of the world uses.
My favorite inclusions include the downtime activity where the players can get an unflattering nickname to stick on a rival. New talents include some fun options for loyal companions like giant spiders and bats, not to mention the ability to attack with projectile vomit. I also enjoyed the boss skewer, which can be made after killing a Champion or Chosen opponent by sticking their head on a spike for a bonus to intimidate any minions left in the battle.
The main difference between a Destruction group and a regular soulbound group is the inclusion of Da Boss. The biggest, meanest member calls the shots, though they can be challenged for leadership at any time. Different species bring different talents to the table. Ogors are common enough mercenaries that the band can take part in downtime activities in Order-friendly cities as Da Boss. Grots are masters of holding grudges as Da Boss and they can retreat, shake their fists at an opponent and come at them later with spite -fuelled bonuses. Not only does this change the dynamic of the game, the designers also included some excellent discussion of how to handle this power dynamic within the player group. Being Da Boss in the game doesn’t have to mean absolute leadership. Players can step out of play, discuss courses of action democratically and then filter those decisions back into the story. The goal in this structure is tossing jokes and insults at each other while advancing the story. It’s nice to see this backed up with advice on how to make sure real feelings don’t enter into it.
Champions of Destruction offers some great options to explore the world of Soulbound from a fresh new angle.
