Blood on the Ice (GWAR)
Release Date: 2018
Set Size: 34 cards
Publisher: None
New Rules: P-Swing, "Gwar Going First" rule
Rare: Bozo Destructo [p(8,8) p(12,12) p(20,20), p(30,30), p(X,X)]
Amount Printed: 64 (4 prototypes, 30 seized by GWAR)
GWAR: Blood on the Ice is a fan set featuring the characters from the band GWAR's mythology. The set included twenty-two regular characters, four "rare" style characters with special abilities written on the cards, and seven "MacGuffins," or Variable Dice modifying cards (similar to The Winslow from the Studio Foglio set).
Due to the graphic nature of the subject material, the set was not approved for inclusion on buttonweavers without a thematic adjustment. This lead to the Dürer Räwg set a few years later.
In addition, the set contained a basic rules overview and three 'token dice' cards intended to be cut out and substitute for more obscure dice such as d30's, d1's, and d2's.
Abilities included in the set were several variations of variable dice, Twin Dice, Maximum Dice, Mighty Dice, Warrior Dice, Stinger Dice, and Poison Dice.
The set was playtested via a Button Men Online beta test site and all characters are balanced for play both within the "Blood on the Ice" set and with other officially licensed Button Men sets. The full prototype set can be viewed at Board Game Geek.
When permission was asked of Cheapass Games to work on and pitch the set to the band GWAR, Cheapass Games responded "After reviewing some of GWAR's work, this isn't a license we'd be willing to grant based on the subject matter in their songs and their onstage effigy mutilations. If the button men are for fan use, you can do whatever." In an agreement with one of the members of GWAR, the set had to be limited to the minimum amount possible, each purchaser of the sets would have their information forwarded to GWAR for their mailing lists, and the creator of the set would gift one set to current and former GWAR members for each set purchased. The set also spurred a fan art policy on what was and was not permissible as far as fan artwork and projects were concerned. According to the set's creator,
The goals of Blood on the Ice were to design a balanced large set that adhered closely to the GWAR theme both aesthetically and mechanically. Most of the antagonists have Poison Dice, so Oderus is immune to poison is one example of mechanics serving the flavor of the set.I wanted to have a set that both did justice to GWAR (who at the time only had a war game that was very hard to find the figures for) and a set that would be a good introduction to Button Men for people who had not played it. The set ended up being a little more complex than a basic set, but less complicated than the war game GWAR already had published. The 'entry level' product idea was also why substitutes for harder to find dice (like the d30) were included with the set.
The individual characters were created with both their fictional personas in mind as well as their actors' known traits (the 4/20 Option Dice being one that was common for several members of the band). There are a few in-jokes inserted into the characters' dice selections, too, such as having a Maximum 4,4 Twin Die on the band's drummer (It's effectively a Maximum 8, but the joke doesn't work if that's what's on the character) or Mr. Perfect's dice being an imperfect fibonacci sequence. Sometimes Twin dice were used due to the reputations of the characters, too.
The MacGuffins were an attempt to remake a balanced version of The Winslow and the abilities of already printed rares available to the new players I was hoping to bring to the game of Button Men.
Some things that were taken away due to balance were Twin Stinger dice (which couldn't be used as a 1) and Maximum dice on the two Maximus clan members. I went with character traits (stingin' guitar licks) instead of the Maximum dice, as I didn't want the entire band to only have four dice as several of them already had. Balance was more important than flavor.
The dice used I restricted to the dice you'd get from both currently available Button Men products, the Cheapass boxed set and the Sailor Moon Crystal Dice Challenge sets. That's why there's no d10s directly on the characters and why I included the d6/d10 "d30" strips. I thought the Sailor Moon set could be used for those when needed, as they came with 4d10.
| Villain Protagonists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balsac
M(8) M(12) (20) (P) |
Beefcake
H(6) H(12) (20) (V,V) |
Blothar
(6) (20) (30) (4/20) `(8) `(12) |
Jizmac
M(4,4) g(12) (20) (P) |
Pustulus
g(4) (12) g(12) (20) (4/20) |
| Supporting Sinners | ||||
| Bonesnapper
(4) (6) (12) (20) `(X) `(Y) |
Cuttlefish
(4) (6) (8) (12) `(1) `(2) |
Estrogina
(6) (8) (T) M(T) `(4) `(8) |
Flattus Maximus
(6) (12) g(12) (20) p(X) |
Oderus
(6) (8) g(8) (12,12) (4/20) Poison Dice are scored as though they did not have poison. |
| Scroda Moon
(4) (4) (12) (P) May remove one of own dice to reroll an opponent's die. |
Sexecutioner
(6,6) g(12) (X) (X) (X) |
Sleazy P.
g(4) (20) (X) (X) (X) |
Slymenstra
(4) (6) (8,8) g(12) o(Y,Y) |
World Maggot
(20) (20) (20) (30) (20/30) |
| More Villains | ||||
| Cardinal Syn
g(8) g(8) (8,8) (12) (X) |
Dickie Duncan
(4,4) (6,6) (8,8) (Y,Y) |
Dr. Skulhedface
(X) (X) p(Y) g(Y) |
Flesh Column
Copies opponent but one die smaller and with no Dice Skills. |
Gor-Gor
(8) (6,6) (20) p(30) (U) |
| Morality Squad
g(4) H(6) (8) (V,V) `(4) `(6) |
Mr. Perfect
(1) (1) M(2) M(3) (V) |
Porcelon
(6) (12) (12) (12) Removes one of opponent's dice from the game at the beginning of each round. |
Sawborg
(12) (12) (20) (20) p(P) |
Techno
(12) (8,8) p(30) p(30) g(4/20) |
| The Master | ||||
| The Master
(8) (30) (30) (30) (U) |
||||
| Objects of Rock | ||||
| The BiledriverAll your variable dice gain the Stinger skill. | Bozo's HeadfinsYour variable dice gain the Poison skill and become Twin dice. Twin Variable dice become Triplet dice. | Cosmic Control HelmetYou may not change your variable dice. You may change your opponent's variable dice between rounds. | Nitro Burnin' Funny BongRemove your variable dice from the game. You may use an opponent's die as part of any two-die skill attacks. | |
| The TabletThe Tablet replaces a variable die. The tablet's die value is always 1. When the tablet is captured, add it to the opponent's active dice instead of their score pad. The player who finishes the game with The Tablet gets fifteen points and must use it the next round. The Tablet cannot be captured twice in a row. | Unt LickYou cannot go first. All your variable dice become Power Swing (P) Dice. If all your (P) Swing Dice are captured, your opponent may use Unt Lick next round. If both players reveal Unt Lick, neither player can use Unt Lick. | Vulvatron's Mobile ThroneYour variable dice become two T-Swing Warrior Dice. They regain their abilities after being added to your Active Dice. |
| Token Cards (front and back) | ||
|---|---|---|
