In Ashbane, every battle begins long before steel is drawn.
A warband assembled. Fault lines exposed. Blood already wagered. Every Freeblade enters the field shaped by abilities, stats, gear, and the company they fight beside.
The Order of Battle
Every unit gets a turn unless an effect prevents them from taking action. The order is determined by initiative, which reflects how quickly a unit can seize the moment and throw themselves into the fight. The higher a unit’s Initiative, the earlier they act in the round. Equipment, buffs, and debuffs can all shift that order, making turn timing a vital part of controlling the flow of battle.
Specialization and Warband Synergy
Freeblades can be shaped to fight in very different ways. Abilities can strike in arcs, stars, bursts, and other patterns, whether aimed at a single target or unleashed across a wider area. Some demand line of sight. Others can reach the enemy wherever they stand.
Specialization is not simply about hitting harder. It changes a Freeblade’s role on the battlefield. The Templar’s Cauterize is one example. At its base, it deals sword damage, but one specialization path adds a weak burn, letting the wound keep working after the blow lands. That path can be pushed further, leaving the target more vulnerable to fire and setting them up for the next strike from a fire-based ally. Another path could instead spread the burn to nearby enemies, turning a focused attack into wider pressure.
Stats, Gear, and the Blade's Edge
Specialization is only part of what shapes a Freeblade. Gear and attributes can push an ability even further, adding new layers to every strike. A Templar wielding a blade with Blood Drinker, for example, could turn that same attack into more than a wound, carving health from the enemy while burn and fire vulnerability take hold.
As Freeblades gain experience, they do more than unlock new paths. Their attributes rise, and with them the battlefield stats that decide who lands a blow, who endures one, and who falls behind. Raise the right strengths, and a Freeblade becomes more than the sum of their abilities.
Layering the Kill
A warband is more than a collection of strong Freeblades. Its real strength lies in how those warriors work together. The deadliest companies are built around pressure, timing, and layered effects that turn one strike into an opening for the next.
That same Templar who shaped Cauterize around burn and fire vulnerability can set up a Confessor to follow with Brand the Wicked, driving the weakness deeper and punishing the enemy with even greater fire damage. Other combinations lean less on damage types and more on control, using debuffs to strip away defenses or make devastating attacks far more likely to land.
But synergy cuts both ways. A warband built too heavily around a single trick can falter just as quickly. A company that leans entirely on fire may find itself in a brutal fight for survival against enemies who shrug off flame. Strong combinations win battles, but flexibility keeps your Freeblades alive.
The Shape of the Battlefield
Knowing your warband’s strengths is only half the battle. You also need to know where to place them. A Dvergar Warlord, for example, can be shaped into a heavily armored frontliner who holds narrow ground, blocks movement, and cuts off lines of sight, even if that comes at the cost of raw damage. Behind him, a Hunter can work from safer ground, picking targets from the backline. With the right specialization, even that positioning can change, allowing certain shots to pass through allies.
But the battlefield is never just open ground. Traps can be laid. Vines can block the way. Ice can imprison a unit where they stand. Some tiles punish movement entirely, burning, hindering, or weakening anyone forced through them. Positioning is not just about where your Freeblades stand. It is about turning the battlefield itself into a weapon.
Death, Graves, and Resurrection
Death on the battlefield is permanent, but that does not always mean a fallen Freeblade is done fighting. When a unit dies, they leave behind a grave and can no longer act. Certain abilities can call the dead back as ghosts for the remainder of the battle, letting them rise once more in a weakened state with reduced health and stats. When the fighting ends, however, the fallen are still lost.
Graves themselves become part of the battle. Either side can stamp them out to deny what might come next. That can mean destroying an enemy grave before it is raised against you, or even crushing the remains of your own fallen before the other side can twist them into a weapon. Even death becomes another struggle for control.
What Comes Next
A warband is not forged by battle alone. In the next devlog, we’ll return to your guild’s home city, where warbands are rebuilt, contracts are claimed, coin is spent, and the next expedition begins long before the first blow is struck.
Wishlist and follow Ashbane to stay with us as development continues. Until next time, keep your blades sharp and your contracts profitable.
- Shiverblade Studios