Marcher: Empires at War

Marcher: Empires at War is a d10-based, alternating activation tabletop wargame set in a gritty, retro-futuristic dieselpunk alternate history universe, it merges deep historical flavor with advanced science fiction elements.

The Setting and Lore

The game takes place in an alternate 1938 where the Industrial Revolution occurred nearly a century ahead of our own timeline due to the discovery of “Cavorite”—a gravity-bending element. Instead of the traditional timeline, world powers are locked in a devastating global Great War fought across eight continents and three worlds reachable via celestial jump gates.

Key lore elements include:

The Factions: Major powers include the United States of America, a Holy Roman Empire that never fell, the New French Republic, the Russian forces, and an imperial alliance forged between Japan and Great Britain.
Technology: Armies clash using a hybrid of standard early-20th-century aesthetics augmented by heavy combat armor, mechanized battle walkers, shield generators, energy weaponry, and massive aetherships.

Core Gameplay Mechanics

Designed to fill the “middle ground” between highly simulationist historical rules and rapid sci-fi skirmish games, the system provides distinct mechanics:

Alternating Activations: Players trade activating single units rather than moving their entire army at once, ensuring high engagement.
Dice Randomizer: The game uses standard d10 dice where a natural 1 always fails and a 10 always succeeds.
Tactical Depth (“Crunch”): Matches implement advanced tracking for vehicle armor facing (front, side, rear), blast template markers for explosive payloads, and suppression penalties for pinned infantry.
Army Building: Standard games typically consist of 10 to 20 units (such as infantry squads, attached command officers, or battle tanks), usually targeting a 1,000 to 2,000-point limit.