Astoundingly Awesome Tales was recently released for Fallout Wasteland Warfare with less fanfare than other releases so I was curious to see what all it contains. Unlike other Fallout supplements, Modiphius released this one in both physical and digital forms which was great to see. At the time of writing, the physical copy is around $24 in the United States and the digital version is $7. I received both a physical and digital copy when I ordered it directly from Modiphius’s US store. The physical version is paperback and is of a similar quality to the rulebook and Campaign Handbook included in the Starter Set.
With the basic information out of the way, you’re probably wondering, so what’s in the book? There are mini-campaigns for five different Fallout 4 factions, Regional tables to help you generate cards for your games, and Background tables which can be used to randomly generate backstory for a particular faction. There’s just over 50 pages in the book which means it is a pretty meaty supplement.
As I flipped through the scenarios, I noticed a couple of things right away. The battles are some of the smallest in Wasteland Warfare. Many scenarios are 2×2 which is a nice surprise and should help people who are challenged with space constraints. These smaller battlefields also mean that you should need less terrain to play them which makes this supplement very new player friendly. In fact, I would go so far as to say, if you’re new to Fallout Wasteland Warfare and want to get a supplement for scenarios beyond the Campaign Handbook, Astoundingly Awesome Tales #1 is highly recommended.
Kudos to the designers of this book for including cards for each scenario and for giving sample forces. At the same time, you can make your own force with a points limit if you like. That should make these scenarios pretty replayable but also quick to get going on your table which is always nice.
Another part of the scenarios that I appreciate is that the battlefields are easier to set up compared to some of the free scenarios that James Sheahan designed. It almost felt like James’ scenarios were becoming more complicated as he made more and more content. I don’t mean this as a criticism of him as a designer either because I think he did a great job with Fallout Wasteland Warfare but I was starting to wonder if there was room for them to increase in complexity. I also think it is good for the game to have a mix of simple and complex scenarios so I welcome the move towards smaller and less complex scenarios here.
With that said, here are my thoughts on each campaign.
Survivors – This is a nice little campaign that starts with a lone Survivor in a vault trying to break and slowly builds up their forces not unlike the start of Fallout 4. I think this campaign could be a fun way to start a longer campaign that uses Settlement Mode or Into the Wasteland.
Super Mutants – In this campaign, you’re a Super Mutant Leader who is trying to take control of new territory and become the area’s toughest boss. There is a scenario which is won by killing more troops than your opponent and every unit that dies is replaced by another fighter of the same type which sounds fun. The only potential challenge is that you need a Super Mutant Behemoth for the second scenario of this campaign which is a larger and more expensive model.
Brotherhood of Steel – A patrol has gone missing and in these three scenarios, your team will attempt to search and rescue them. These look to be thematic and fun for anyone who likes BoS.
Raiders – This one feels least like a campaign because the scenarios are pretty eclectic and feel unrelated to each other. The most interesting scenario involves being on a Raider game show/competition which sounds pretty fun. Its worth noting that these scenarios are slightly more complicated than the scenarios in previous campaigns.
The Institute – The scenarios here also don’t feel very campaign-like but they are creative. One scenario has you guiding a single Courser in a settlement while they try to install surveillance without being noticed. Another has you trying to repair or put down malfunctioning Synths before they cause you too much damage.
All in all, there are creative and fun-looking scenarios here. The Survivors one looks like the most fun and useful to me but I would happily play any of these scenarios and campaigns. I think Raiders and Institute fans might find their campaigns less satisfying, though the individual scenarios look to be pretty fun.
The scenarios are undoubtedly the main focus in this book, but like other rules supplements that Modiphius has released, there is some cool “bonus” content too. Regional Tables are an interesting inclusion in the book because they let you pick a terrain type that suits your battlefield (train tracks, city, scrapyard, to name a few) and roll a D20 to generate a random item, creature, or danger. While I don’t know that this saves tons of time, it could be useful for people who don’t want to have to make the decks before playing a game. I’ll be curious to give this a try when I get a chance to see if I like making the deck beforehand or rolling a dice to determine what items and creatures I come across in the wasteland.
Perhaps the most surprising inclusion is the Background Tables which let you roll two dice and get a random backstory for either your leader or a random opponent. I actually think these tables are perfect for people playing the Fallout RPG since a character’s backstory/motivation is crucial there. The thought of using a backstory in Wasteland Warfare is cool, though I’m not sure how easy it is use them for playing a scenario or two. I think you’d have to take some time and think about what scenario or scenarios would fit the background and goal of your character before using it. With that said, it is a cool idea and I don’t think anyone can fault Modiphius for thinking outside of the box here.
All in all, I’m very happy with Astoundingly Awesome Tales #1. I love new scenarios and while I already have tons I’ve yet to play but hope to get around to, I’m still always glad to see more, especially when they’re so creative and thematic. I reviewed Caught in the Crossfire a while back and was impressed with that supplement. I feel that Astoundingly Awesome Tales #1 is not only the better purchase for new players, but if you like the narrative side of Fallout Wasteland Warfare, then I would recommend this before you try Caught in the Crossfire or any of the other supplements. This one is more approachable from a model and terrain count. It also is bound to have some fun scenarios for at least one Fallout 4 faction you like. For all of these reasons, I give Astoundingly Awesome Tales #1 a strong recommendation.
Kuribo's Painting 
I sont play the game but I’m enjoying getting a view into it from your posts. Seems like a fun selection of scenarios for sure. Is there much flexibility in terrain placement? Or is the game expecting you to match the layouts in the pictures pretty closely?
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I’m glad to hear it! Yes, you definitely have flexibility with terrain placement in most scenarios. Generally, the “map” or layout for a scenario will show you any required buildings or barriers. The little symbols you see on the maps in this article, are mostly markers and the distance with which they need to be placed from each other so many scenarios leave it completely up to you to place terrain in a way that is fair for both sides. I mostly like their system though I wouldn’t mind if they showed you pictures of the battlefields they used for inspiration like GW sometimes does in MESBG.
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Ok that makes sense! I do like those battlefield pictures, helpful for terrain set up and also a good source of inspiration for making your own terrain!
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Great review Jeff, sounds like it has a good mix in there and as you say the smaller playing area and less scenery would be great for beginners, so a very useful book indeed.
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Thank you and that is well said, Dave. I’m looking forward to playing some of these and my hope is that they inspire me to actually want to work on terrain this year too 🙂
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Always a joy to read your Fallout posts… although a lot of what you say sounds like something a Synth would say. 😉
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Thanks for giving it a look. You must be mistaken though, I’m a card-carrying member of the Railroad 😀
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I knew it! Exactly the kind of place a Synth would end up!
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Haha! Fair enough 🙂
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Sounds like you’re pleased with it, Jeff! 🙂
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I am and more importantly, it buys me another week to get some things done before my next hobby update! 😀
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Nicely done review. Will be helpful to Fallout players. A good service. 😀
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Thanks, Stew! If you liked the service you received today, please leave me a review on Yelp to help support a small business 😉
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This supplement sounds like GW could take lessons from; various levels of difficulty, various amounts of figures required, various sizes of board needed.
I can always dream.
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I agree. I think GW’s supplements suffer from trying to be all things to everybody. If you look at the community, I would say a huge chunk of it is playing in tournaments so points games are the life force of the game. GW has always wanted to include the narrative side in the game too so supplements have tried to cover both sides of the game at once. I’m not sure that is the most effective approach and I suspect that they put way more energy into balancing factions and keeping the tournament scene fresh than they do coming up with strong Narrative content, but since I don’t really play anymore, maybe I’m not entitled to have an opinion. Either that, or my opinion isn’t all that educated anymore! 🙂
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I think in addition to what you nailed on the head is that they do scenarios that include as many of their new models as possible. The only scenarios that don’t follow that model are ones included in their box sets.
Long gone are simple narrative scenarios with minimal models.
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Yes, I think you’re spot-on in that criticism. I get the sense that GW views the narrative stuff as kind of an add-on to the points matches. Collect a Rohan army, build some terrain, and then play some narrative scenarios with a friend (who has Isengard or Mordor hopefully) as an alternative to points matches. There’s nothing wrong with that approach and if I had regular opponents or entered in tournaments frequently enough, that approach would probably work for me.
I think the game really needs more supplements like Scouring of the Shire which focuses on low model counts that are achievable in a reasonable amount of hobby time. I think the narrative scenarios need more playtesting too because a lot of times, they are easily ruined by competitive play or the balance isn’t quite right which is crazy considering how good the rules are and that the game should be fairly balanced considering the interest in points matches.
I’d love to see these things happen and maybe I’d get back into MESBG if they did occur but I’m not holding my breath because I think their team who work on the game are limited and points games and tournaments are what drives sales in GW’s mind. For all I know, they might be right on that and they’re making the correct business decision.
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On a completely different note, do you get HBO/HBO Max and been watching the Last of Us? Very well done so far.
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I hear nothing but good things but I haven’t watched any yet. I am generally opposed to watching a TV version of a video game that I’ve already played and enjoyed but maybe I’ll make an exception. You’re now the third person who has recommended I watch it so you’re in a good and growing company 🙂
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It focuses on the story vs standard fighting like the Resident Evil movies. My wife who hasn’t played the game (who even wouldn’t be caught dead on a playstation) is enjoying the show.
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That is a strong endorsement. In a lot of ways, the fighting in the game is almost extraneous from the story which is really good. I enjoy scavenging and exploring as much as I do killing clickers myself.
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I refuse to read anymore of your Fallout posts.
I’m sorry Jeff, but I just can’t afford to. I know that, if I continue reading, I’ll be forced to have to go out and buy the damn game, and it will be all your fault, so stop it!😉
It was an excellent read, though, and you certainly sell the game – goes and bangs head against the wall – and I like the narrative style – hand credit card to wife and tell her to hide it – and the fact that it can all be played solo too – puts loaded gun to head!😬
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Haha, I’ll take that as a compliment then! 😀 You’re going to be pleased to hear that I have another Fallout rules supplement to read and review in the near future as well!
To be a bit more serious, I wonder if Fallout would be more your speed than Bolt Action is. This is a dangerous line of thinking but my impression is that it isn’t that solo friendly and isn’t designed to be played that way. Having said that, with either Fallout, Bolt Action, or MCP, you’ve got tons and tons of hobbying to do to get in a playable state so this dangerous sentiment is probably best left forgotten! 🙂
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Yes, you’re probably right. Fallout would have been more up my street, but it is what it is now.
BA is my long term project because I’ve always been an historical wargames fan and though I really love Napoleonic and Ancients, WWII seemed an easier option when it came to painting.
MCP – Well, it’s Marvel for starters😁 The fact that you don’t need a lot of characters to play a game means I can keep up with the painting requirement and actually get some games played!
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You’ve made your bed and now you have to sleep in it, mate! 😉 In all seriousness, I think you know the plight of wargamers all too well now too. Board gamers can more easily cover various interests and genres but wargamers are very much limited by hobby time and storage space for terrain. There are things I’d love to play like a skirmish fantasy game and Ancients but who knows if I’ll ever have time or space to do anything with them!
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My problem all over is that I want it all and I can’t help dabbling!
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It is hard to stay focused! The best thing you can do is know when you’re reaching your limit and not try to take on too much more or at least that’s what I’ve learned 🙂
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Looks like a fun book for Fallout players! (And a cool cover!) Luckily with Fallout (like the GoT game) I’ve managed to not fall down a hole buying yet another system I’ll never get to paint fully or play! 🙂
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There’s always room for one more, if you change your mind, mate! 😉 Thanks for giving this one a read as well.
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