Might & Melee is a standalone book. Players familiar with Fistful of Lead will find the core mechanics the same. What we’ve added is flavor for the genre.
This rulebook can be used by itself for skirmishes between knightly retinues or barbarian warlords, but it is also the first book of three for using Fistful of Lead in a larger fantasy setting. The second book introduces magic, while the third brings in mythical monsters and the underground world they often inhabit.
We’re using the term Medieval in a broad sense. You should be able to use these rules for anything from a Viking Raid to a skirmish between Yorkists and Lancastrians. Covers Dark Ages, Middle Ages, and War of the Roses. You could also use these rules, with a few tweaks, for non-European combats like those between samurai.
Might & Melee doesn’t focus on huge battles. Instead we’re focusing on individuals. A knight could go his whole life and never see a battle, but he would see numerous skirmishes against robber knights, old enemies and bandits. Not to mention the occasional marauding dragon.
Fistful of Lead: Might & Melee IS NOT a faithful historical recreation of Medieval combat, but rather a Hollywood version of it.
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Customer Reviews
Fistful of Lead Fantasy is an ideal ruleset that has enough crunch to the rules to appeal to experienced wargamers but is also approachable enough that roleplayers and people who are new to wargaming are able to jump right in and play. The magic system is intuitive and the plethora of traits make it possible to build just about any characters you could possibly want. I have been running Fistful of Lead Fantasy at several Greater Philadelphia gaming conventions like Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo in Oak, PA, PAX Unplugged in Philly and Concoction in Vineland, NJ. All the players had a great time and I was able to teach the basics of the rules in less than 15 minutes. By turn 3, the game is pretty much running itself. I am looking forward building more scenarios and retinues so I can introduce the game to even more people.
There is enough depth to make one on one interesting without being overly complicated and the traits let you build a unique feel for each your figures. So far I’ve been using them for historical scenarios between the supporters of King Stephen I and his cousin Matila (1138-53) and the games have all had memorable narrative moments, some spectacular, some humorous (mutual fumbles and dropped weapons ending in a fist fight 😁)
