Joe Abercrombie is one of my favourite authors of the last few years. I was introduced to his books by a friend of mine and after reading through The Blade Itself, the initial book in his The First Law trilogy, I was hooked. His books feature iconic characters like the grim Logen Ninefingers, scheming Inquisitor Glokta, and Bayaz, the wizard that might look like Gandalf but with none of the chill.

His characters and his world-building are up there with some of the best and it's almost criminal that his books haven't been turned into a TV series, movies (yet), or even tabletop games. With that in mind, how would you take the Circle Of The World, Angland, the Gurkish Empire, Styria, and the Far Country and all of its peoples and get them to the tabletop in game form?

What Kind Of Tabletop Game Would It Be?

To give a bit more background to the world that Joe Abercrombie has created, it's one that mixes together some classic Fantasy ideas but more often than not turns it on its head. On one side, you have The Union, a Renaissance-style people that command dominance over a decent portion of the world. You also have the powerful Gurkish Empire, one of their old enemies that lie to the South and are, more or less, a match to the Middle Eastern empires of antiquity. You also have The North, populated by barbarian tribes as The Union sees it. A constant thorn in their side, The Northmen fight amongst themselves almost as often as they tussle with The Union. You also have powerful Styria to the East alongside The Old Empire and well as the Far Country, all with their own problems and squabbles that turn into amazing stories by Joe Abercrombie.

The first series of books, The First Law trilogy, is joined by a second trilogy, The Age Of Madness (set much further on in the timeline following The First Law) as well as a series of standalone books, Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country. One of the immediately striking things about this is that there is so much content for you to dive into here and a ripe opportunity for gaming but you would need to try and do it whilst tying into the themes of Abercrombie's stories.

For that reason, despite the fact that there are massive countries with their own armies, and the books deal with huge conflicts pretty much all the time, I don't think that a large scale miniatures game would be the way that I'd dive in and tell these stories.

I genuinely think that, if you were going to bring The First Law or The Age Of Madness to the tabletop, your best port of call would be a roleplaying game. There are lots of systems out there that would be very good for matching up with the brutal and grizzled world that Abercrombie has created (The Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play system comes to mind) but there is also plenty of room for someone to create their own bespoke system.

The overriding thrust of Abercrombie's work is tied into a sense of grimdark realism. Characters live and die with very little given to the idea of "plot armour" and there are constant shifting loyalties with backstabbing aplenty. You also very much get to know the characters that Abercrombie creates and for that reason, I think the impersonal idea of a miniature wargame, especially at scale, just feels like it doesn't do his world justice. There is a lot of nuance in the way characters interact and the alliances they make and break, the friends they fight for and the enemies they fight against. A roleplaying game feels like it would fit the best when it comes to giving The First Law its due and capturing the essence of this world.

I think there are some great opportunities for doing something unique within the roleplaying game mechanics too. Duels often play an important part in the culture of The Union and The North and so bringing that to the fore in some fashion would be very cool. You could make it mechanically interesting in the way you face off against an opponent in one-on-one combat.

Because a lot of Abercrombie's work deals with the moral grey area that lies between good and evil, you could also make some serious use of morality mechanics in the way your characters behave and the way others deal with them. I am thinking something like the Audience system that you find in the likes of The One Ring where your reputation can proceed you and what you do, big or small, matters in the eyes of others.

Last but not least, you have the way magic is portrayed in Abercrombie's world. Magic is terribly, terribly powerful and can cause utter chaos but it always comes at a cost. Only some of the most powerful can harness it or those that take a very, very dark road. You could do some amazing stuff with magic and The Eaters (those who consume magical power by eating human flesh) to make it something utterly feared by your characters whenever they come across it. Let's put it like this, even Bayaz, one of the most powerful mages in the history of the world, takes a beating when he casts spells.

So...Not A Wargame Then?

Am I utterly opposed to The First Law or the Age Of Madness being a miniatures game of some description? Heck no! If they came out with one, I would leap on it in an instant. But, if they were going to do it, I would like it to be something similar to Rangers Of Shadow Deep. A narratively focused, scenario based campaign game would be the way that I would go. Joseph McCullough has done some great work in this area with other games like The Silver Bayonet, Frostgrave and Stargrave so there is a real appetite for these story-driven experiences.

This would allow you, if you liked, to get your miniatures fix whilst also embracing the storytelling and the narrative alongside the characterful nuance that you'd get from a roleplaying game. If you really wanted to theme it, you could make the game entirely focused on The North. Throughout The First Law, you follow The Named Men, those who follow Rudd Threetrees. These Named Men are warbands that fight for various lords but can also find themselves as band of mercenaries scouring the land and just trying to carve out a living for themselves.

I actually took some miniatures from the North Star collection and used them to make my own set of The Named Men under Rudd Threetrees and if that was taken up as a theme for a skirmish wargame, I could see a lot of folks being very intrigued by it. You could have folks decide upon their own Named Men or choose from a series of characters from the books and use them in a game akin to Frostgrave or Rangers Of Shadow Deep, switching alliances to different warlords and seeking to clamber to the top of the pile.

It would also allow you to introduce the Shanka as this overriding threat in The North. The Shanka are ape-like creatures that make an appearance in the first trilogy quite a lot and would be great to see brought into your games set in The North as the "wandering monsters" that could screw up your game at any moment!

Maybe I'm more in love with the idea of a miniatures game in this world than I thought...

The Heroes As A Board Game - Is THIS The Best Place To Start?

The Heroes is one of the standalone books still set within the same world as The First Law. It revolves around a three-day battle and the characters on both sides, The Union and The North, who are fighting for control of a valley. Much like with the choice of first film (fingers crossed on that front!) being tied to Best Served Cold (a great revenge story), The Heroes might also work as a good game to begin exploring this world because it's very self contained and a snapshot of the world.

If I was going to attempt this, I'd do it as a board game (with miniatures or without, personally I'd use standees with nice art!). The board itself would represent the valley they are fighting in with key locations marked out like Osrung, The Heroes themselves (a series of standing stones) and the surrounding hills and woodlands. All would have their own benefits and/or drawbacks to fighting in or around.

Designed as a primarily two player experience or perhaps a team game for four players, you'd take control of either The Union or The North and fight to see who comes out on top over the course of a three day (three turn) battle.

If I was looking at similar games to use as inspiration, The Battle Of Five Armies by Ares Games seems like a good shout alongside many of the Command & Colours games out there that simulate very specific battlefields and time periods. The Battle Of Five Armies is perhaps the more thematic of the choices to base this on with its focus on troop movement, card abilities and the narrative element running through the unfolding story as characters use their abilities to shift the victory towards one side or the other. Another game that comes to mind is Memoir '44, a classic I know, but one that would be very fitting if you were thinking of games that this could be like in mechanics and execution.

One of the key elements of storytelling in Abercrombie's work is the focus on characters and the importance they have. To that end, whilst there would be a lot of moving around of units, clashing of arms and breaking of resolve, you could put a strong emphasis on characters being able to swing things in your favour but with weaknesses that matched their personalities. That ties in a lot of that Abercrombie magic to the mechanics of your board game experience. For example, let's take some characters from both sides starting with The Northmen.

Black Dow

• Ability: Northman's Fury - Boosts the combat strength of all adjacent Northmen units for one turn, representing his capacity to inspire ferocity.
• Weakness: Unsettled Alliances - At the beginning of the game, one Northern unit is secretly disloyal. If Black Dow encounters this unit, it might betray him or switch sides.

Caul Shivers (the coolest character in all of Abercrombie's work?)

• Ability: Hardened Survivor - Once per game, if Shivers is defeated in combat, he can immediately return to play with reduced strength, indicating his tenacity.
• Weakness: Haunted Past - Certain Event Cards, hinting at his past, can reduce his morale or strength temporarily.

Curnden Craw

• Ability: Honourable Stand - Can choose to protect an adjacent friendly unit from attack for one turn, taking the brunt of the damage himself. This mirrors his role as a protector and a straight edge in the North.
• Weakness: Weight of Decisions - If any of his direct unit (the dozen) falls in battle, he suffers a temporary reduction in combat strength due to the emotional toll.

Whirrun Of Bligh

• Ability: Cracknut's Charge - Once per game, he can move and attack twice in one turn, showcasing his unpredictability in battle.
• Weakness: Eccentric Ways - Specific Event Cards can distract or sidetrack Whirrun, causing him to miss a turn.

As you can see, there are already some intriguing ideas here for how you could make this a "wargame" in the traditional sense but with a lot of focus on making sure you use your characters wisely whilst being aware of their shortcomings. This links your board game into the events from the book and gives you that added bit of "oh yeah, remember that!" when players sit down to play. With some ideas for The North, here are some ideas for The Union side of things...

Colonel Bremer dan Gorst (you have to do his squeaky voice when you use him)

• Ability: Guardian's Rage - Once per game, Gorst can engage in combat with multiple adjacent enemy units, representing his unmatched prowess in battle.
• Weakness: Disgraced - Starts the game with reduced morale, needing to achieve a specific objective or victory to reach full strength.

Finree dan Brock

• Ability: Strategic Insight - Once per turn, she can redraw an Event or Action Card, signifying her political and strategic acumen.
• Weakness: Ambition's Cost - If her personal objectives (drawn at the beginning of the game) aren't achieved, her unit's morale suffers.

Lord Marshal Kroy

• Ability: Organised Retreat - Allows adjacent friendly units to retreat without a morale penalty once per game.
• Weakness: Burden of Command - Kroy's decisions are always about the bigger picture. If a named Union character falls in battle, Kroy loses one turn due to the weight of his responsibility.

I think this would be a great way of marrying the themes of Abercrombie's work with gameplay mechanics in a way that would be a solid introduction to the world. It should be a nice bit of spice for new newcomers whilst also being a love letter to fans of the books and his universe.

As I mentioned earlier, it's tough to know where to start when it comes to just how you'd adapt Abercrombie's work to make it fun on the tabletop. I hope this look at a few different ideas gives some folks ideas to start building something themselves or perhaps motivation to go and read the series for yourself!

Always remember, you can never have too many knives...

Extra thanks to community member @ewokkebab for getting me thinking about all this!

Artwork from Andrey Vasilchenko and Raymond Swanland