H.R.E.N.28 - Turnip28 Narrrative Event Report

We gathered 24-27 July in Medvode, Slovenia for a narrative Turnip28 event. Turnip28 is an indie tabletop miniatures game and setting developed by British artist Max FitzGerald. The world of Turnip28 is a combination of postapocalyptic with napoleonics and root vegetables. Each player commands a Regiment of miniature soldiers, warmachines, and misshapen creatures, led by incompetent and careless officers. You can learn more about it here: TURNIP28.

The event was put together by Luka @turbine_mill, Vane @lord_blackfang_28, Miran @miranmakesstuff, and Blaž, backed by Amulet d20 - a Slovenian association for fantasy enthusiasts.

My regiment: 13th Royal Horseradish

Formerly a cavalry regiment, they brought shame to their name by eating their own mounts to save themselves from starvation. Now they must walk through cold mud, haunted on every step by the spectre of their disgrace. The Ghost, the Horseradish Spirit, the Spectral Root is a manifestation of the regiment's shame, which haunts the soldiers and follows wherever they go.

I finally expanded my guys to a whole playable regiment. Went with 3 units of blackpowder Fodder, and one of melee Brutes + a pair of Toadies. I selected Tod’s Folly for my Cult, so in place of the Toff I had Tod. The models are 3D printed; official Turnip releases and a few dark fantasy sculpts from Bestiarum, all with a few small conversions here and there. Used this as an opportunity to implement some cool Bestiarum sculpts I’d been eyeing for a while. And I included one of my metal Folk Horrors as a unit standard. The colour scheme and theme were already established by the single unit of Fodder I had already painted in 2022. The regiment was completed gradually over the course of months, mostly while hanging out with fellow H.R.E.N.28 participants from Zagreb.

The miserable bastards of 13th Royal Horseradish were at first impressed by Tod, and soon after he appeared among them he displaced their old Toff. When he led them into the Idiotic Schism they eagerly followed, hoping that the Shooting Star may very be the cure for the torment of their equine hauntings. And so they headed to the muddy lands about the city of Ptui.

The Turnip28 Narrative Campaign

On the first day of gaming we got to play three games. With twelve players, there were six tables available, each representing a location with unique features. The locations changed over time instead of reseting between games - meaning the tables looked slightly different, had a different scenario, and a fresh pair of players every time. We were all assigned our regiment’s path on a map handout (below). A lot of hard work went into this, so congratulations to the team!

There were a few extra mechanics and a house rule. We had a chance to earn Shiny Norberts, the currency of Turnip28, and could spend them on re-rolls during play. After each game, the victor got to pull two random Relics from the Relic Deck, pick one and pass the other one to the other player. This was the only mechanical effect winning/losing had on the campaign. Relics had varous in-game effects, and could be traded or sold off for more Norberts.

As for the house rule: instead of removing a model for each panic token, hitting Impassable Terrain caused a wound per panic token. Thus it was less deadly for big things.

Chapter 1: Whack-A-Toe (Root Canal)

Through copious beet-ings, bribes and hay-rolling antics with the local peasantry and stragglers from rival pilgrim groups, the Regiment obtained information that could save them a whole day’s hard march: attempting to cross a certain arm of the canal which they’ve been assured was dry this time of the month. When the Regiment reached the spot, they were surprised to see the banners of 44th Good Root Disciples flying on the other bank. Tod’s order was to descend into the crab-infested mud of the canal… They would all soon find out there were worse things down there than cranky crustaceans.

My first game was against Witold and his 44th Good Root Disciples (Strangling Harry’s Wretched Recruits cult). His regiment consisted of 3 Snobs, Blackpowder Fodder and Chaff, Bastards, and Rootlings. Our goal was to get as much of our Regiment across the board while killing off giant Probing Fingers that attacked us along the way. I deployed wide across my entire board edge, while Witold concentrated his forces on a single corner of his deployment zone. There was much trudging, shooting, and blundering. Tod got to fight and defeat Dame Emilia in a Toff Off!, but was then slapped down into the mud by friar Drożdż. In the end we were tied foor the main objective, so the number of fingers slain determined my Regiment the winners of the encounter.

Chapter 2: Feeding Frenzy (Slovenly Farmstead)

Having successfully crossed the Root Canal, the Regiment stumbled upon a quaint little farm in the middle of nowhere. It had a lovingly kept garden, a well, a purple dog… and a mean old farmer with far too much food for his own good anyway. The men were starving again, so they snuck into the gardens to help themselves to the crops. But it was not at all an easy meal they were expecting!

The second game my Regiment fought Seraphim’s 47th Tuberculose Musketers (The Feast of Charybdis cult). He fielded 3 Snobs, Fodder, Chaff, Bastards, and a giant egg fella named Étienne (counts as Scuttlers). This was a simple scenario of controlling as many as one can of the nine objectives. The objectives were farmer Yoško Yoras’ produce, which had a random effect when claimed. For us it very often turned out to be either violent Vampire Beets, or uneatable garbage. Étienne got to massacre my Brutes and one whole unit of Fodder before the others shot him to bits. The final victory went to Seraphim, and our regiments moved on to the final battle of the day.

Chapter 3: Munchausen Express (Grater City)

Still starving, the Regiment arrived at Grater City of Ptui. Formerly Swill’s local trading and diplomatic outpost, a once bustling hub of trade and pollution has largely fallen into disuse as Swill’s interests shifted elsewhere. A singular landmark looms in the cityscape: the Big Fucking Cannon. Their faith in the Regiment’s new commander now shaken, the men’s extremely hangry minds concoct a plan: if Tod is so great, they will send him up into the sky - on a one way ride to the Shooting Star. "He will either get it for us, or become it!"

Game three was versus Tara’s Soldiers of Misfortune, a ragtag group of specialised mercenaries from all over Cist (Strangling Harry’s Wretched Recruits cult once again). Our mission was to be the only one with a Snob around the base of the Cannon at the end of a turn. My guys were really eager to launch Tod into orbit. The opposing Regiment had Blackpowder Fodder and Brutes, Missile Fodder, and a Lump. Tara was a super kind opponent, constantly reminding me of special rules that benefit me, while unfortunately forgetting his own. We had another Toff Off, pitching Tod against Thodd, the Robber Baron of Geets. The little guy was again the victor, throwing the Baron from the mouth of the giant cannon where the duel took place. As the 13th Royal Horseradish overwhelmed the Soldiers of Misfortune, the Tod cannon space launch was ultimately successful. And the Regiment never saw him again!

This table had a fun bit, with blunder effects being preventable by electing to grate fresh horseradish on top of your blundering unit. Plus, one could do the same to help anyone at another table (with permission). I’m still picking horseradish shavings from my movement trays, haha.

That concluded the first day of gaming.

For the next, the organisers had something special in mind: a mass naval battle with all twelve players. Each got a crew of three on a ramshackle boat (of the Swill kind) and raced to fish out the Shooting Star from the bottom of the ocean and take it away.

Chapter 4: Dredge

The rules were written for the occasion, dubbed Dredge28. Before the game there was an auction where we could bid for a better armed boat with our remaining Norberts. Then we deployed and the mayhem commenced. The two far sides of the table had little interaction until the Star was dredged out, and everyone began violently scrambling for it. Crews jumped over to commandeer other boats, alliances were made and broken, the Star was lost and dredged again, the mighty White Radish emerged ro devour those fallen overboard. It was quite a spectacle. After three or so hours, four Regiments had their representatives on the boat that escaped with the Shooting Star, and the gaming portion of the event concluded.

My Impressions

Before the event I had only played a demo game of Turnip28 earlier this year. Now that I got to experience it further, I must say I’m really pleased with the rules system. It’s a fun game and I wouldn’t mind playing again every once in a while. Homebrewed Dredge28 mini game was also a blast!

Besides the obvious gaming part, during the four days together we got to hang out, hike, and craft. The event was sick, our organisers and hosts went above and beyond with their effort - and it absolutely showed. They even made sure the ambiance of the venue was suitably moody and immersive. And we were at all times well fed and watered. It was impressive and I wish I was still there. Thank you guys!

Check out the organisers and participants on their hobby socials (below, in no particular order), and check out Amulet d20 as well.

• @H.r.e.n.28
• @amulet_d20
• @manglingminis
• @shrike_studio
• @bwdeathworld
• @vmkuriljov
• @minisbydrtm
• @dreams.of.dk
• @lazaraie
• @miranmakesstuff
• @lord_blackfang_28
• @iron.caul
• @turbine_mill
• MadogIdaho
• @miniaturemurt
• @surf_metal
• DorianM

You can find a report by @bwdeathworld on their blog here:  H.R.E.N.28: Turnip Adventures of the 44th Good Root Disciples, and a report by UMS"Agram" members HERE.

I’ll update this with links to any future reports that may come out.