Little Wars TV, a great YouTube channel which focuses in on the Historical side of tabletop wargaming have released a new set of entirely free Dark Age rules called Ravenfeast to help get you started with your very own Viking raiding party.

Ravenfeast // Little Wars TV

The entire premise behind Ravenfeast is that it allows you to get started in Historical wargaming, specifically the era surrounding the Viking invasion of Britain. Making the rules free, they are hoping to draw more people to the tabletop to give this period of history a go, reenacting these skirmishes and mighty battles.

Capturing Alfred The Great // Ravenfeast

The Rulebook is available in either a full-colour PDF or in black and white and they have managed to condense the rules, some starting scenarios, tips for building your first warband and more into just forty-four pages.

Ravenfeast Rules // Little Wars TV

Everything within this book is easy to follow and the system seems quick, aiming to deliver an interesting tactical game which keeps both players included from turn to turn. The rules have aimed to mirror the kind of clashes that you'd expect with rules for shieldwalls and the like plus statistics which match the warriors you'd find battling it out during the Viking Age.

In addition to that, they've also thrown some more "heroic" elements which make for exciting tabletop moments. The "Death Worthy Of A Song" rule is particularly fun and adds a nice edge to gameplay.

Ravenfeast Unit Types // Little Wars TV

As well as including options within the rules for making your Viking warband which has headed across the sea to settle in Britain, you've also got some options for making your own unique characters which would suit specific scenarios and the core of an Anglo-Saxon force as well. So, if you don't just want to clash with Viking clans then you can bring in the Anglo-Saxons who are valiantly fighting to defend their land in the name of God too.

Additional Options

As well as the core rules for Ravenfeast, the folks at Little Wars TV have also built on this with a few extras for more experienced gamers. Rune Cards offer up ways to tweak gameplay and give you chances to "break" the rules in order to get momentary advantages for example.

Ravenfeast Rune Cards // Little Wars TV

But, you've also got a few additional options presented as part of the rules too. Maybe you want to throw in the optional rules for Geld which creates an in-game currency which fluctuates from player to player during play, allowing you to make re-rolls and such.

Little Wars TV also has plenty more in the works. Rules for spells, enchanted items, heroic individuals, trolls, giants and more are on the way for those who want to build an epic saga. They are also looking to make things even easier to try out with their own (free) printable paper models so you can start out without having to touch plastic at all.

Ravenfeast Rulebook

Ravenfeast Quick Reference Sheet

Ravenfeast Scenarios

Ravenfeast Rune Cards

Ravenfeast seems like an awesome game to dive into and try out, especially if you're just starting out. Are you tempted to give it a go?

Drop your thoughts on Ravenfeast below!