HALL OF HEROES

Wikström introduces a few of the characters of Agemonia. “Each character has their own background story, their own dilemmas and aims, as well as solo stories that players read and play between the scenarios. These can be anything from romance to mystery, from occult stuff to serious revelations. We have a wide array of people from stone creatures to disgraced knights. I wanted this part of the game to be played solo and the decisions to be made individually so it would give an interesting angle to the game and be something out from the alpha player problem.”

LUNARA KNIGHT / PALADIN

Lunara is from a house of powerful magi and cosmographers, attempting to stay honourable amongst the intrigue and deceit of the Republic of Benem. When Lunara refuses to take part in the plots of rival houses, she gets herself in more trouble than she can get out of...

TORRAX GUARDIAN / GEOMANCER

Agurians hold much wisdom lost to the other peoples of Agemonia. They carve their memories in their stone flesh, sleep for aeons, then wake up and live again. The runes in their skin remind them of their past. But Torrax’s runes have been smoothed out, and he knows not who he is. When his mentors are killed for their crystals, he sets on a journey to find out the truth of his past.

VENIA ASSASSIN / WITCH

The bird-like quothians live in ancient Heartwood, worshipping the skulls of their Grandmothers, tasked to keep the demons of the Breach at bay. Venia is given a mission by the beaked skull of her dead ancestress and must face untold horrors to save Heartwood.

ZUVA´SAI HYDROMANCER / TELEPATH

Under the sea live the Korallians. Although Zuvasai’s telepathic skills set him apart, he has a lowly job censoring foreign texts. When he finds out about the mythical Staff of Bekora, he realizes it could grant him the power to become rich himself. Or would he rather use it to set his people free from the tyranny of the Creators? But first he must find all of its pieces...

Snowdale Design’s Dawn of Peacemakers is inspiring. Most games revel in the dark recesses of human behaviour – war, capitalism, and imperialism. It’s unsurprising that Peacemakers then must adopt anamorphic protagonists in search of pacifism.

This is a co-operative game of course. Players choose one of several lively and well articulated animal protagonists who band together to answer the call. As adventurers turned peacekeepers, you embark on a scenario driven campaign that mimics a miniatures wargame. The goal is to broker a ceasefire to the Scarlet Macaw invasion of Ocelot territory.

What happens is extremely interesting. The two factions are run by asymmetrical AI decks which provide unpredictable behaviour. It will tell you which figures – coded by various symbols – move or attack. There are special cards and the decks even evolve as you make your way deeper into the story.

Meanwhile, the players take turns drawing and playing cards from a shared deck. These multi-use options allow you to move about, as well as deliver soothing platitudes to calm the various warriors seething on the board. You’re attempting to lower each side’s morale but they must both reach this state simultaneously to execute a mutual withdrawal. One faction beating the other down is disastrous and results in the equivalent of a loss.

So you walk this tightrope while plastic beats on plastic and you work tirelessly to smother the ruffled feathers. While this is a pretty gripping experience, particularly as it turns so many conventions on its head, the formula would tire rather quickly if played as a one-off. What keeps this engine revving is the campaign system.

There’s a definite ‘legacy game’ influence here as you open new envelopes and packets over time. Nothing is marked or torn up, which means it’s theoretically resettable, but there is a real sense of discovery as new mechanisms and components are delivered. There are some outstanding surprises packaged here which I could talk your head off about, but I’ll refrain from spoiling those juicy bits.

The important element here is that the pacing is wonderful. The pacing within the game itself – scenarios typically take a little over an hour – as well as the overall progression of narrative over time. The writing is pretty solid and the twists satisfying. There’s a real accomplishment from the designers in keeping the whole affair light while still tackling some heavier themes of conflict and its fallout.

It all comes together expertly. You’re fighting to control this growing storm which keeps threatening to bash you in the face, ultimately proving a wild ride. Just when you think you’ve figured the whole thing out a new set of cards is unwrapped and you’re slugged in the gut.

While I prefer Dawn of Peacemakers in a small group, it actually works rather well solo. You lose the ability to discuss strategy and formulate a plan with others, but the tactical challenges remain, as well as the solid overall story progression. The only nitpicks I retain with this one are a couple of small thematic cracks which distract from the wonderful overall coherency of the design. These include the requirement to damage warriors on both sides of the conflict, typically through the use of a “poison” card, which undermines the message of amity. The second detail is the notion that your characters are embarking on this mission in exchange for a monetary reward as opposed for altruistic reasons.

Those are relatively minor misgivings though. Overall, Dawn of Peacemakers is a brilliant design that attempts to educate on compassion and friendship triumphing over carnage and hate. Rarely does a design even attempt to explore these themes, and even rarer does it manage to stick the landing.