The Alternative Armies Blog

Welcome to the Alternative Armies blog. This blog tells you all about what we are up to and it is where we post our latest tabletop gaming news and articles.
We cover Flintloque and Slaughterloo, High Fantasy, Other Ranges as well as our 15mm scale fantasy, science fiction and historical ranges.
Our game systems and free content such as PDF downloads and reading articles. Enjoy and do dig back in time to see what was going on before now.

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Slaughterloo


Slaughterloo is the sister game of Flintloque and is done in very much the same vein and style. Now you can order the fates of thousands as your characters take command of entire Divisions on the field. From the rumble and rattle of cannon as they jolt past, pulled by their limber beasts; to the snorting and stamping cavalry formations with their heavy sabres and piercing lances. While platoons of Light Infantry such as the infamous 105th Orc Rifles harass the lines of the enemy with their sniping shots and the special units of your Army take their places, such as the Elf Field Hospital, it is the turn of the Line Infantry to shine. Making up the bulk of your Napoleonique Army the Infantry are a multitude of colours and classes. From Line to Grenadier to Militia and Guard every force on Valon from the Orc and Elves to the Dwarves and Dogs, not to mention the Undead and the Othermann has a varied choice each with their unique properties.
                                                                                            
As with Flintloque you must choose which side you are to ally yourself with. Will it be the Orcs of Albion or another part of the Grand Alliance, or will you draw your sword for Mordred or another member state of the Ferach dominion. Then you could assemble an Army of your own making from one of the tiny Dwarf princedoms or kneel before the Star Wraith and receive your legion of the walking dead. Do not discount the lure of the Isstanbaal treasure house as a Vizier of the Othermann Empire you can prostate yourself at the feet of the Sultan.

It is not only the make up of your Army and its' Divisions that is your concern as a General of Valon, as with your skills as a skirmisher, it is your command of the rules of war and how they affect your regiments that will bring victory.


With a distant thump and a billow of grey the cannonball approach the thin woods and the slope behind them, its force expended in the effort of crossing more than a thousand yards in the clear morning air. It burst through the green leaves and branches, splintering a dew covered trunk and then vanishing from view into the invisible clearing beyond. The cheers of the Elf gunners mingled with the sound of thousands of Elven feet marching in perfect order in the distinctive blue tunic columns that had won the tyrant Mordred and his Ferach Imperial Armee the largest Empire that Valon had ever known. Only a few lands like Catalucia held out, and few enemies like the accursed Albion scum in their stubbornness. They never knew when they were beaten; they never knew when to kneel to the inevitable...... 

The Slaughterloo game holds immense appeal for many hundreds of loyal players across the world. It perfectly combines the colour and drama of 'Napoleonique' warfare with my predilection for fantasy gaming. Add to this an entertaining and humorous take on our own real world history and you have a lot of fun on your hands. Of course this would all amount to nothing if the game itself was not fun to play. At the heart of the system is a beautiful thing - the Form Roll! This is a powerfully simple mechanic to enable a player to control (or lose control!) of his or her troops on the battlefield This device allows for flexibility of command but also sets limits depending on your troop's current status and overall training.  The other mechanic of play in Slaughterloo much admired was the Order Cards system which gives commanders a powerful tool to manipulate the command and control of the Army. 

Together, the Form Roll and the Order Cards make for an incredibly fun combination to play with because it manages to achieve a genuine feel of suspense and a fog of war to the game - you are never sure if your risks will pay off or what surprise the enemy have planned.  The game gives you just enough rope to hang yourself with or to lasso yourself out of the grips of defeat! This makes for truly entertaining and fun game, which we think, is why we all play war-games, that and the artful joy and spectacle of collecting and fielding a Slaughterloo Army. 

In this Second Edition of Slaughterloo, the Form Roll and Order Cards are still at the heart of the game. These and many other of the core elements of the Slaughterloo first edition game remain within this Second Edition and constitute the STANDARD RULES game. What the Second Edition as brought is a new phenomenon the ADVANCED RULES.  The ADVANCED RULES are the product of the Second Edition play-testing rituals and are the collective answer to the mission brief. How can Slaughterloo game be made better without sacrificing its current strengths. It is our hope that you will find the ADVANCED GAME does meet that brief and manages to build on the sound foundation of the original edition rules to provide a higher level of Slaughterloo play.  Once the STANDARD RULES are mastered the ADVANCED RULES will offer exciting new opportunities and challenges to commanding an Army on the battlefields of Valon. 

From the outset the Second Edition of Slaughterloo game has sought to and succeeded in: 

- Adding refinement to the existing core mechanics of the game 
- Propose new rules that impart a greater Napoleonique period feel 
- Not sacrifice Slaughterloo's basic tenet of reasonably simple, fast and enjoyable gameplay. 
- To make no alterations that will in any way make redundant already collected miniatures. 
- At all times the inspiration for new ideas has been filtered through this perspective. 


Title Page pg1 
Map of Valon pg2 
Rolling Fyre! pg3 
Contents and Credits pg5 
What is a Slaughterloo Game pg6 
The World of Valon pg7 
The Napoleonique Style of War pg8 

The Mordredian Wars pg9-15 
An Account of the Present and Past Conflicts of Valon 
The Time of Annul pg9 
The Unified Powers pg10 
The Ferach Armees pg13 
The Grand Alliance pg15 

The Rules of Slaughterloo pg16-89 
An Introduction to the 2nd Edition pg16 
The Armies of Valon (2.1) Setting Up your Army (2.2) pg16 
Unit Statistics and Characteristics (2.3) pg17 
The Troops Maketh the Unit (2.4) pg18 
Units on the TableTop (2.5) pg19 
Formations and Effects of Battle (2.6) pg21 
Building a Division and an Army (2.7) pg22 
Slaughterloo Rules of Engagement (2.8) pg27 
Setting Up the Field of Battle (2.9) pg27 
Battleplan and Deployment of Troops (2.10) pg30 
The Turn of Battle (2.11) pg31 
The Command Phase (2.12) pg32 
Can an Army’s Commanders Die (2.13) pg34 
The Order Cards (2.14) pg35 
The Initiative Phase (2.15) pg37 
The Action Phase (2.16) pg37 
Morale Checks (2.17) pg37 
Activating a Division (2.18) pg41 
Performing Actions and the Form Roll (2.19) pg42 
Units left on Guard (2.20) pg43 
Unit Actions (2.21) pg44 
Formation Actions (2.22) pg44 
Movement Actions (2.23) pg45 
Terrain Effects on Movement (2.24) pg47 
Combat Actions (2.25) pg50 
Terrain as Cover (2.26) pg50 
Firing (2.27) pg52 
Firing Artillery (2.28) pg58 
Melee (2.29) pg61 
The Advance into Melee (2.30) pg61 
Blood on the Field (2.31) pg67 
Breaking Divisions (2.32) pg68 
Advanced Game: Divisional Morale (2.33) pg69 
Wylde Magicke Artefacts (2.34 to 2.59) pg70 
The Undead Army of the Dark Czar (2.60 to 2.62) pg77 
The Othari of the Otharmann Empire (2.63 to 2.66) pg81 
Advanced National Character Abilities (2.67) pg85 
Optional Tules for Smoke and Fire in Battle (2.68) pg88 

The Armies of Valon pg90-163 
Power Blocks of Valon pg90 
Theatres of the Wars and Army Lists pg91
The Elves of Armorica (Ferach Empire) pg92 
The Confederation of Finklestein (Ferach Empire) pg96 
(Tiny States, Beervaria, Hunvaria, Saxhunde, 
Pudigrochumsberg, Kartoffelberg, Von Rotte, Tuscani) 
The Todoroni of Nepolise (Ferach Empire) pg104 
The Rabbits of the Burrovian Republique pg107 
The Troll Races (Trolka and Trolkin) (Ferach Empire) pg110 
The Dutchy of Coltz (Centaurs and Werewolves) (Ferach Empire) pg113 
The Guinalean Legion (Bog Orcs) (Ferach Empire) pg115 
Elves of the Swizzic Republique (Ferach Empire) pg116 
Great Britorcn the Untied Kingdom (Grand Alliance) pg117 
(Orcs of Albion, Ratmen of Joccia, Hob-Goblins of Taffsea, Bog Orcs of Guinalea, 
Ogres of the K.G.L, Dwarves of Brewswick, Halflings of the HEVC, Elves of Korsuca) 
The Goblins of Al-Garvey (Grand Alliance) pg131 
The Dark Elves of Catalucia (Grand Alliance) pg134 
The Dwarves of Krautia (Grand Alliance) pg137 
The Dogmen of the Ostarian Empire (Grand Alliance) pg140 

Engineers in Slaughterloo Battles pg145 

The Undead of the Witchlands pg146 
(Zombie Legions of Moskova, Desiccated Depots of Odetha) 

The Otharmann Empire pg153 
(Greater Realm of Isstanbaal, Orhari of Aegypt, Halfing Beys) 

Deserters, Brigands and Mercenaries pg160 
(Obidiah’s Deserter Army, Barfry Coursairs. Mercenaries) 

The Morning of Kooruna pg164-167 
Before the huge climatic battle between Surjon Moore and Marshal Sault at the port of Kooruna there was a smaller engagement between two divisions commanded by General Gordon and General Marchant. A simple starter scenario for Slaughterloo. 

Free Resources & The Miniature Range pg168 

For your games of Slaughterloo some details on how to get a load of free files for play and also details of the Alternative Armies miniature range for the game.