“It seems the Quar have always been at war…”
-A Rhyfler’s Pocket-Book
Maybe you’ve heard the name Quar spoken in hushed whispers by the most grizzled grognard “down at the club.” Maybe you’ve seen it pop up in Wargames Atlantic marketing emails. Maybe you just read every article that Goonhammer puts out and have no idea what I’m talking about (thank you btw, be sure to visit our sponsors). No matter how you got here, I’m going to answer the question on everyone’s lips:
What’s this whole Quar thing anyways?
On the most basic level Quar are WW1 tech level anteater-like creatures with the disposition of violent hobbits and vaguely Welsh names. But they’re also so much more. Quar are the brainchild of Josh Q., founder of Zombiesmith. Zombiesmith has perfected a vibe that’s come to be known as “grimsical.” A combination of the unending grind of a continent-spanning war with a very humanized (quarized?) face to the conflict. There are no totally good or bad factions, only individuals doing good or bad things in the midst of ceaseless suffering caused by The Long War.
Alwyd is the name of the continent that makes up the “known world” of the Quar. There are no real world analogs here. You won’t find “Quar France” or any such thing. However you will spot some cultural touchstones. It’s a strength of the worldbuilding that there’s very little temptation to attach our moral preconceptions to each nation and faction, while still being drawn to the aesthetic of something like the desert-dwelling Kryst, for example.
Alwyd is broken up into many nation states, with the war causing allegiances and borders to constantly shift. Principalities declare independence and get conquered, fealties are sworn, alliances are brokered and broken, and the Long War carries on much as it has for centuries. Things began to change when an officer from Tok had a new vision for the future of all Quarkind. Sune Alykinder Rhynn Venk (commonly referred to as Alykinder) saw a road forward where Quar were not trampled under the feet of the ruling clans, but would work towards freedom and justice for all regardless of their station at birth. Combined with an innovative approach to warfare, such as introducing airship mounted airmobile infantry, Alykinder kicked off a military, political, and social movement called The Crusade.
In order to bring the Long War to a close and enact sweeping reforms, Alykinder knew that the conflict would have to be intensified first. The Crusaders acknowledge the difficulty this brings into their ideology, and have termed it the Grim Paradox. As zealous Quar Crusaders spread their new paradigm across Alwyd using the latest tactics and equipment, new battle lines were drawn as others rallied to the cause to take up the cry of freedom and equality or defend the last bastions of Quar civilized society. Crusaders and Royalists are now locked in what many hope is the final phase of the Last War: a battle for the heart and soul of the Quar of Alwyd.
Creativity is critical to the vibe of Quar. Players are strongly encouraged to develop their own regiments, characters, and localities. The official lore is a guide to give you a feel for the world, not an exhaustive list of the only things that exist. There is plenty of room in Alwyd for everyone’s lore to coexist!
I’m sold! Is there a game?
If you’ve made it this far and want to throw in your lot with Alykinder’s Crusaders, the Royalist nation of Coftyr and their allies, or any of the neutral nations and principalities spread across Alwyd, you’ll need to grab some models and start waging war across the verdant continent (or your kitchen table). It can be somewhat daunting to approach a world that’s been supported since before the 20teens. Thankfully, a partnership with Wargames Atlantic (our affiliate link is here) has allowed Zombiesmith to break into the mass market with 28mm Quar plastic kits.
The Clash of Rhyfles starter box contains everything that two players need to get started (Editor’s Note: we have an upcoming review of the starter set!). Plastic minis for both players, a rulebook, dice, cards, and even terrain you can cut out of the box (also available for download for free from https://rhyfler.com/rulebooks/ as “terrain cards”), this thing has everything to play the quickstart rules that are currently branded as A Rhyfler’s Pocket-Book (RPB2 for short). If you’re an experienced wargamer with a garage full of dice and terrain, you can instead purchase faction-specific boxes and download a PDF of the rules for free.
For those looking to dive into the current lore of Alwyd (the timeline tends to get moved forward every few real world years), be sure to download the free PDF of Western Iron. It’s also available for purchase as a paperback, and I highly recommend buying one to flip through. This is a gorgeous lore only book that has the feel of an RPG sourcebook. It’s beautifully illustrated and laid out for easy skimming or deep diving into the various factions of Western Alwyd.
Quar are also available for purchase in a newly updated 15mm line designed for mass battles. Again, the rules are available for free download or purchase in softcover. I’ll note that there’s also a line of 6mm figures, but they’re a legacy and aren’t currently being updated or supported with new models. They don’t have their own ruleset, but you could always use them with whatever your favorite mass battle rules happen to be.
Where are the other factions you mentioned?
The short answer is that they’ll be here Soon™. Many conversion parts are already available for purchase as STL files or physical prints from the Zombiesmith or Wargames Atlantic webstores. New models are released monthly through the My Mini Factory “Tribe” system, and are typically available for purchase by anyone the following month. Wargames Atlantic will be releasing Fidwog (Royalist allies of Coftyr, famed for their mines), Easky (a newer faction known for their state-of-the-art tractors [which is how Quar refer to their tanks]), and my personal all-time favorite models: Partisans, each with their own plastic kits.
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