Please roll 1D6 and compare to the following table:

1: Skip to the conclusion of this review

2-3: Go eye the ruleset for a bit and add it to cart without buying it

4-5: Read this impression normally

6: Look at Midgard or Saga and really consider where you want to dedicate some Vikings

Okay, opening gag done. Let’s be blunt: there’s a lot of tables in this ruleset.

Pillage is the new Viking era ruleset from Victrix. I’ve eyed it warily, as I don’t generally believe a plastics developer is good at actually choosing what makes a good ruleset. They’re acting as publisher for a small French developer who clearly put their heart into this game. I have sat down and read the rules in their entirety in a single sitting, taking notes as I went on my opinions as they formed. The intent here is a simple impression of the rules and should not be taken as a review or anything resembling a review. I cannot tell you the quality of a game without actually playing the game.

All of that said, my impression on reading the rules is lukewarm. It feels like a ruleset that mistakes the term “narrative” to mean “We wrote a rule and made a table for everything.” I made a joke about this to some friends, then found a rule for berserkers taking magic mushrooms, as they may have done historically.

Rad! Wait, no. Ruleset, no!

Sincerely, I play TooFatLardies rulesets. I like friction. I don’t mind tables. There’s a right and a wrong way to do this, though. This ruleset, upon read through, feels like it’s trying hard for the wrong way. There’s many instances where you roll on unique tables–each with a logic that makes sense, but there’s a lot of them. I did not find a preexisting QRS, so I started making an Excel to track the tables for play. I can’t imagine memorizing all of them without this being your absolute main game.

It’s… a lot. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some good here. The core rules seem viable and simple, if deadly. For the most part I have no complaints. The fire rules, ostensibly a big selling point, are worthwhile. They’re easy to play at a glance and you could honestly adapt them into any rules system readily. This is honestly ironic given how many tables exist otherwise.

The production values are exceptionally high (MAJOR except: the PDF is way too large and that hinders performance badly) and the rules are clearly written. I love the historical bits throughout, with several being worthy of producing scenarios or entire campaigns around! Weapons are distinguished to what I’d deem the right level, where spears, dane axes, and hand weapons (maces, swords, etc) are major categories with distinguishable features. I don’t find this necessary in a ruleset, but for something skirmish scale I like to see it.

The rules go as far as to include naval battles (boarding actions, really). If you can think of it, there’s rules here, and likely slightly more than you really need. That’s not necessarily bad if you want something at a medium level of crunch. I’d class this as a game for folks that like Necromunda, which again, if that’s your desire I’m not trying to yuck your yum. Just do me a favor and take a look at all the tables.

I’ll say I like these a lot more than Baron’s War. These feel interpretable and with a QRS I don’t doubt the game will run smoothly, if slow. That slowness does worry me: there’s a lot of small decisions, dice rolls, and table look ups buried away in these rules that would discourage me from playing with dozens of figures per side. This is not a light and breezy ruleset, even if understanding each component is simple.

I think at the heart of it, if you just play a simple game of some dudes against some dudes and don’t wrap in ships and the like, while minimizing opportunities to climb on stuff or jump across things or swim or… you get the idea, you end up with something plenty playable. I’m signed up to play these rules at Historicon, and while I’m debating dropping (I will definitely check for other games in the time slot) I’m likely to still attend and give the game a shot. I also have a player in my group that wants to roll dice on it so I’d like to give it a shot with him at least once.

Conclusion

I just walk away from this read through unconvinced. There’s a lot of competent execution here and much of the core reminds me of small things I like about Lord of the Rings Battle Strategy Game, except there it’s more elegantly executed. As a result it also reminds me a lot of Elf Knyghte Pyke Sworde which recently released with far lower production values and what I felt was far better rules cohesion ergonomics on read through.

Again, I have not played either. I lean toward saying the rules do not look especially worthwhile unless you really intend to dive in and give them their serious due. My only other note, and I believe it’s very important, is that the PDF is awful. I buy rulesets digitally and had to open these rules in a paid copy of Adobe to reduce the file size from 250 megabytes to 41, which made it actually possible to run smoothly on my Samsung S21, my iPad, and even my gaming computer. Otherwise the pages take a few seconds to load and it’s incredibly obnoxious to deal with. If you’re buying digital, make sure you’re equipped to repair the rules. Otherwise, don’t bother.

This is, to me, a ruleset that needs a second edition with a streamlining pass to improve the ergonomics of play. That’s really the heart of my impression. I don’t think it looks like garbage and I don’t doubt it can deliver a fun game–but after reading it I’d sooner want to try out Elf Knyghte Pyke Sworde or play more Saga or perhaps Ravenfeast. This just doesn’t appeal to me and outside the chance to play at Historicon and my inherent desire to promote historicals within my club, I’d likely never roll dice on this ruleset. That’s a shame–I wanted to believe Victrix would swing better than Wargames Atlantic has thus far. They kinda did, but it just isn’t quite enough to justify the hobby time.