Cadence Wargame System
Cadence is a set of tabletop wargaming rules that are the foundation of many different games, across many different settings. Each of these games typically see 2 players bring a collection of miniatures representing different kinds of forces, from epic fantasy armies, to a squadron of agile starfighters, and more, to battle across a war torn tabletop battlefield. Cadence provides the rules that underpin how these models move and fight, while each game provides it's own unique custom rules, army lists, and scenarios.
In order to play any game that uses the Cadence system you'll need to familiarise yourself with these rules.
You won't need to memorise every rule, you can always look up a rule while playing, though after a few rounds of a game you will find they are fairly straightforward and easy to remember.
Gameplay Overview
Before reading the rules it can be helpful to have an idea of how the game plays in brief. As already mentioned a game is typically played between two players who field some kind of army consisting of a collection of miniatures and these can vary greatly depending on the chosen game. Once players have their army ready they will pick an interesting scenario and create a tabletop battlefield to suit, much like the miniatures used, this typically involves creating or buying models to represent the terrain they will fight over.
Cadence is played over a number of rounds during which the players will take turns picking out models to move and fight. The core rules tell you which models you can activate in this way and when, how to move them across the battlefield, and how to resolve actions like shooting an enemy, or securing a battlefield objective. Ultimately, as the battle progresses, one player will gain an advantage and emerge victorious, sometimes soundly defeating their opponents, other times victory riding on the final lucky roll of a dice.
Game Modules
If the core rules are how you play, then game modules are what you play. Each module is really it's own unique game, providing army lists to choose your models from, custom rules for that setting, missions, stories and almost anything else you might need.
There are several games available for you to try, some light and some more in-depth. Beyond that we encourage players and designers to get involved, to help us expand our modules, to balance and modify them, and to create their own.
License
The Core Rules are licensed under a Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License.
This license means the text of the rules are free, anyone can duplicate them, modify them, use them for any purpose (even commercial) so long as attribution to the original project is given. This does not extend to games made with the system which will be individually licensed, and any art, or other materials on this site.
Community Developed
One of the major goals of Cadence is to become a truly community owned project. While the initial project has been the work of a single person the project is looking for developers and players to drive the future of the game. Every aspect of community development is desired, from simple feedback on rules, promoting the game, creating new modules and future versions, and to manage any community spaces. The easiest way to get involved is to visit the GitHub discussion page.