Steamforged Games is back at it with a new Epic Encounters set. This one might be my favorite one yet. Send in the Steelborn!
At this point I think I’ve made my appreciation for the Epic Encounters sets from Steamforged Games pretty well known. I still think these are some of the best aides a Dungeon Master can have in their arsenal. Regardless if you’re a hardcore miniature painter or seasoned DM these boxes are a life saver. That said, I think the Steelborn sets might end up being my absolute favorite so far. Let’s get into why.
We’ll get to the insides in a sec but I did want to point out that you get 20 miniatures, a double-sided game mat, the excellent Adventure Book that includes tips on how to run everything as well as monster stats, and the box makes for a great way to store everything once you’re done. Anyhow, on to the insides.
The Game Mats
The double-sided mat comes with the 1″ square grid already drawn on. Perfect for your standard 5e Adventuring. Both sides of the mat are really cool as well. One side is a super cool looking land-tank thing. Steampowered? Perhaps. But it’s definitely a cool set piece to battle on. The flip side is a crazy looking mystical workshop. There’s even what appears to be a stairwell that might lead to another follow-up encounter…
Anyhow, these are full color (obviously) and while I did have to angle them pretty funky for the pictures these make an excellent addition to any DM’s collection. While they are designed for this specific set, there’s really no reason you can’t reuse/repurpose them again and again for your sessions. having a pre-drawn grid map is just plain handy. And this one is double-sided, too!
The Contents of Sanctuary of the Steelborn
Before we get to the miniatures I again want to call out the Adventure Book. I didn’t want to spoil anything for this unboxing as I want to take a deeper dive into the adventure later. I have plans for this one.
Anyhow, it’s great as always. You get a stat block for all of the included miniatures, adventure hooks to get your party into the mission, plot points, etc. You can run this one right from the book with very little prep time. If you’re a DM that needs an idea or just a break for your next session this is a really cool adventure. And, again, you can run this one as a one-shot or combine it with the follow-up adventure. Which I’ll get to on Friday…
That said, let’s get to the real selling point for lots of folks: The Steelborn!
The Steelborn Miniatures
Okay, I was sold on these before I got them and now I’m officially over the moon for these miniatures. The set come with that handy plastic container for easy storage — we’ve seen that before. But these miniatures are just fantastic. I also want to call out their bases which are pre-sculpted and have cool designs on them, too! Each Steelborn miniature has a ton of detail and I wish the lighting wasn’t washing out some of that detail. Now, these aren’t hard plastic miniatures but they still hold the details really well. On top of that everything is pre-built. I didn’t do anything but pull these out of the box.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.
In total you get the 20 miniatures in 7 different sculpts. And, to be honest, these are some of the best representations of Warforged I’ve seen. There’s tons of the standard species in D&D: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, etc. But good Warforged miniatures are few and far between. If you’ve ever wanted to run a Warforged character this box is for you. That said, I know these are technically named Steelborn. But in your own games you can do whatever you want with your miniatures.
Best Set Ever?
So why do I think this could be the best set ever? I just really like the sculpts and the quality to be honest. There’s also something about this particular set that appeals to me. Maybe it’s my wargaming background. Maybe it’s my appreciation for the Steelborn/Warforged characters in general. But I honestly want to paint this entire set of miniatures up. I have a strange urge to make this a completely painted and cohesive fighting force. I know these are technically for 5e. But I want to use them in a tabletop wargame so bad.
I mean, I know that Steamforged Games has the rights to The Iron Kingdoms (aka Warmachine/Hordes) now. And they have been cranking out some really cool miniature for that. But again, there is just something about this set that screams “We were made for more than just your next RPG session.”
At this point, I’ve got more than a couple of these sets. I really feel like there’s a few miniature wargame rulesets that these (and the other sets) would slide into perfectly. Slightly larger than skirmish games, but not as large as a full-scale wargame. I dunno, I might be crazy, but I think there’s something there. And I haven’t even gotten to the “Boss” miniature for this Epic Encounter pair. Which…I can’t wait to show that off.
For now, this set (as well as the follow-up) are available for Pre-order from Steamforged Games. They are officially out with a release date of October 7, 2025.
Epic Encounters: Sanctuary of the Steelborn $54.99
Oh, and this whole box clocks in at $54.99. At that price it’s a crazy good deal. It’s an adventure night in a box — and you get to reuse these miniatures forever. That is a winner, folks.
Thanks again to Steamforged Games for sending us to review early. I’m going to circle back to this set in a couple weeks. I’m going to paint these up and run the encounter. — I’ll let you know how that goes!
Steamforged Games knocked this set of Epic Encounters out of the park!
Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.