Enderain - A review

 

I was recently sent a copy of Enderain by Skyseer Games to review. After playing several games I feel I am able to give my opinions on how the game plays, and if you should think about picking up a copy.

I would love to start off by talking about the world of Enderain; unfortunately there isn't really any lore to talk about. Besides a page at the start of the book and a few paragraphs dotted around, there is no world building done. It is very much a generic Sci-fi world for you to use with as you wish. For an experienced DM looking to create stories in a Sci-fi world this is probably really good, it's very much a clean slate to work from. However, for players who like to have a bit of structure given to them, the world has very little to make it unique. There are some weapon manufacturing company names given, but without any context these don't have any meaning to them. I personally felt like I would like some more lore and backstory to the world, but it seems very empty.

The game is a squad based miniatures agnostic game, primarily aimed at campaign style play. You will create a team of 8 people (plus options for cyborgs and bots) and through playing multiple games they will level up their skills. It can be played solo or with up to 4 players. Enderain has some unique features, which let it stand out from its competition (think Necromunda in a Netrunner style world). The game comes with a set of cards, as well as 2 dice for NPC's, and a wound and experience tracker.

The contents of the game

The cards are used to decide activation order, as well as special actions during the turn. These cards are one of my favourite things about Enderain. Each card has a number in the corner as well as an action you can take. Before each round, players secretly select a card from their hand, and the turn order is decided from lowest to highest number. However, the deck management aspect comes in with deciding between activating first, or keeping hold of the most powerful actions (these include free activations and dice rerolls). Cards can also be played during the turn; a free activation is very useful to get a character out of range of the enemy who is about to come charging in.

Enderain also has a clever NPC mechanic. Using the two dice that come with the game you can add NPCs to the table. The dice mean you never know what they will do each time they activate. I've seen some systems that can become quite predictable and playing with NPCs becomes a chore, but not here, you never know which NPCs will activate or how they will act. The dice can also spawn in more NPCs at random points on the table. Because of this, they always feel like a threat and keep games interesting, even for solo play. This is a really nice touch that I feel makes Enderain feel unique in its field.

Holding the stairs as the enemy approaches

The game is played using a D12 system, every action is completed on a role of a D12. This works well, adding more variation to results than the D6 used in a lot of other games. Characters can use their relative skills (shooting, fighting etc.) to alter rolls, turning failures into success if they have high enough skills. Once you have learnt the system it becomes fairly intuitive pretty quickly, although it is slow to start as you work out modifiers and what is required on each roll. The D12 may be an issue for some people, you do require quite a lot of them, the game recommends 8 with one being a different colour. As it is a less common dice people may not have a lot of them tucked in a box somewhere, so you may need to pick up a set or two separately to the game.

There is quite a steep learning curve to the game. Experienced table top wargamers will probably be able to pick up the rules fairly quickly, but this could be a problem to newer players. There are a lot of skills and powers to keep track of, and remembering what does what and when can be quite daunting, especially for less experienced players. Unfortunately, the game doesn't have any introduction missions to slowly introduce the extra mechanics to players, so it can be a lot to keep track while you are learning. In fact, the book doesn't include any missions or scenarios to play, there are a couple on the website, but it would have been nice to have a couple included in the book.

The patrol approaches a lone trooper

As mentioned before, the game is miniatures agnostic, meaning you can use whatever models you have in your collection. For creating your team this is great, as you can see in the pictures here I used Necromunda models, but any Sci-fi models will work well. However, the NPCs could be an issue for some people; the list of spawnable NPCs is quite large and without a very varied collection of miniatures you may struggle to find an appropriate model to use. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, but it may involve having some less than ideal proxies on the table.

The game is designed to be played as a campaign. Although it is fun for a one off game, I found the most enjoyment in stringing together a series of games and watching my team grow. Like most campaign systems, your team will grow and level up over the course of several games, with members increasing stats and skills. I perhaps would have liked to see slightly more negative effects being possible, the only risk to a team member going out of action is death. It would have been nice to see the possibility of injuries and stat reductions to add an extra element of risk for your characters. However, it is always fun in a post game to see how much loot you have found and buying new gear for your team.

I enjoyed my time with Enderain, it is a solid rule set for people who are looking to create their own stories in a Sci-fi universe. There is a depth to the mechanics, even if the learning curve is perhaps a little to steep for newer players. The card and NPC mechanics are what allows Enderain to stand out from other games and are the real unique points to the game. I would have liked to see the world developed more and have some scenarios to play included in the rule book. However, if you are looking for a rule set that will allow you to stretch your own creativity, then there is a lot of scope to be found here. If you enjoy the campaign system and gang creation of Necromunda, I would recommend giving Enderain a try, or if you are a DM who is looking for something different for your next campaign, think about perhaps dipping your toe in. It can take a while to get to grips with everything the game has to offer, but once you do, there is a lot of fun to be had.

Enderain is available now from Skyseer Games at: https://www.enderain.com/