Just Blowing Off Steam? Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound: Steam and Steel Reviewed

Title: Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound – Steam and Steel

Publisher: Cubicle 7 Games

Authors: Emmet Byrne, Michael Duxbury, Elaine Lithgow, and KC Shi

Artists: Johan Grenier, Mirko Failoni, Max Fitzgerald, Johan Grenier, Dániel Kovács, Sam Manley, Clara-Marie Morin, JG O’Donohue, Rafael Teruel, and Sam White

Year: 2021

Genre: Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound supplement aimed at bringing crafting, alchemy, and vehicular combat into the popular roleplaying game system

Pages: 126 pages

MSRP: $34.99 in hardcover or $17.99 in PDF at DriveThruRPG

Steam and Steel introduces crafting, alchemy, and vehicular combat in a robust, elegantly designed supplement sure to excite GMs and players alike.

As a game, Soulbound tends to favor a narrative-first ethos when it comes to design decisions; in other words, mechanics serve story, not the other way around. This leads to a system with mild to moderate crunch that remains accessible and fairly easy to understand. The systems introduced in Steam and Steel remain faithful to this approach with even vehicular combat remaining approachable.

Both alchemy and crafting have been carefully designed, making them not only viable as playstyles, but rewarding. The lore that accompanies them has value far beyond mechanics, adding depth and detail to the game’s cities and regions. The callout boxes scattered throughout the book provide fascinating insights that will spark the imaginations of players and GMs alike.

Player creativity is at the heart of both of these new systems; the text explicitly labels them as a chance to get creative, tell stories, and turn the mundane into the memorable. While Steam and Steel provides clear guidance and sensible guardrails, creation is as much about narrative as mechanical construction. The text includes structured steps and questions players can rely on as well as examples for what kinds of goods they might produce; however, as the book explicitly celebrates, different players will create the same object in vastly different ways.

Alchemy and crafting also necessitate good player-GM communication. While the systems are well-designed, they open the door for a single player to exert undue influence on the state of the narrative that may not be to everyone’s liking. Open communication helps to prevent the worst of this, while allowing the GM to maintain player interest with side quests and challenges related to the player’s creation goals.

While not as impactful as the systemic additions, Steam and Steel also inserts mobility chairs and prostheses into the Soulbound canon. Both can be upgraded, offering players powerful advantages; ever wanted a battle mobility chair? Soulbound now offers the chance. As disability within the game is a narrative choice as opposed to a mechanical consequence, it’s great to see these additions, as well as the explicit note that neither precludes heroism or becoming Soulbound. Likewise, the inclusion of an alchemical compound that allows a character to alter aspects of their physical appearance, including gender, carves space for trans narratives at the table.

Steam and Steel also benefits from some truly beautiful art throughout. While deftly included, many of the pieces included as chapter or section headers could have easily featured as full-page pieces instead.

Soulbound has always done a masterful job of balancing storytelling and structure, highlighting opportunities for player innovation while providing GMs the appropriate tools to help keep stories on track. Steam and Steel continues in this tradition of excellence, providing a substantive expansion to the core gaming experience. For players who loved alchemy in Skyrim or who have ever wanted to forge incredible weapons or armor, Steam and Steel delivers a deeply satisfying experience, elevating an already extremely strong game.