The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms, How to Start

How to start The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms: buy the Core Rules Box Set first, then one Faction Starter, Imperial Legion or Stormcloak. The Core Rules Box holds the rules, cards and dice but no miniatures, and each Faction Starter is five heroes and soldiers to play with. Call to Arms is Modiphius's 32mm adventure wargame set in Skyrim, where you delve into Draugr haunted tombs or fight the civil war.

What kind of game is Call to Arms?

It is an adventure wargame set in the world of Tamriel, with two ways to play. You can gather heroes and venture into ancient Nord barrows, searching for treasure while the restless dead rise against you, or fight Skyrim's civil war as the Imperials and Stormcloaks battle for the future of the province. The Core Rules Box covers solo and cooperative delves as well as two player battles, with AI adversaries working against both sides, so you can play alone, together or head to head.

What do you need to start playing?

This is where new players trip up: the rulebook alone is not enough. The Core Rules Box Set (Revised) is the real starting point. It holds the Revised Core Rulebook, 5 Hero cards, 13 Follower and Adversary cards, 6 Faction Reference cards, more than 200 Quest, Event, Trap, Item and Spell cards, and 13 custom dice. Miniatures are not included, which is where the Faction Starters come in.

The standalone Revised Core Rulebook is for existing players who want the cleaned up rules. It folds in the errata collected since launch, restructures the book to cut down on page flipping and adds two new chapters. It is a rules reference only, and you still need the cards, dice and tokens from the Core Rules Box or a Starter Set to play.

Imperial Legion or Stormcloak: which should you pick?

Skyrim's civil war is the easiest first matchup, and one player on each side is the obvious first game. Both starters are five 32mm multi part hard plastic miniatures with bases.

The Imperial Legion Hard Plastic Faction Starter is Hadvar, Hero of Helgen, who leads with tactical expertise, an Imperial Mage deadly at range and up close, and three Imperial Soldiers with sword and shield as a stalwart backbone. The Stormcloak Hard Plastic Faction Starter is the rebellion: Yrsarald Thrice Pierced and Ralof, who stalks the field with bow and axe, backed by three hard hitting Stormcloak Soldiers with greatswords.

Both factions also come as resin Faction Starter Sets with scenic bases, the Imperial Legion and Stormcloak resin versions, with the same heroes and soldiers.

How do you play the dungeon delves?

With the undead. The Bleak Falls Barrow Delve Set is the natural companion to the faction starters, built around one of Skyrim's most famous tombs. To grow the Draugr, the Draugr Ancients brings the most dangerous of the undying from the deepest chambers: a Draugr Deathlord, a Restless Draugr Frostblade and three Hulking Draugr with axes, five resin miniatures on scenic resin bases.

For a single big threat, the Frost Atronach is summoned from the coldest reaches of Oblivion, deadly in melee with its icy spike and clubbed fist, and still dangerous in death, when it explodes into a sphere of ice shards. It is one resin miniature on a 40mm scenic base.

What other factions are there?

Once you have a warband and a delve or two, Call to Arms opens into Skyrim's guilds and questlines. There are Core Sets for the Bandits, the Dawnguard and the Vampires, the Dark Brotherhood in sets like the Council of the Dark Brotherhood, and adventuring parties like the Adventurer Delvers. Pick the questline you loved in the game.

What do you need to build the miniatures?

Every kit comes unpainted and needs some assembly. The faction starters and the delve set here are hard plastic, while the Draugr Ancients, the Frost Atronach and the resin starters are resin, and the two materials want different glues. Our guide to miniature glues covers which bottle does which job. Dry fit the parts before gluing, then prime, and our guide to painting your first army fast with Speedpaint gets a warband on the table quickly.

Grab the Core Rules Box, pick your side, and take the fight to Skyrim. Everything is in The Elder Scrolls collection.