Warhammer is a game of fantasy battles in which the
players paint large armies of model soldiers and then use them to play
out battles against each other. The player who inflicts the most
casualties is most often the winner. The game simulates movement,
combat, shooting and magic spells with a system of game turns, phases
and die rolls. There is plenty of opportunity for strategy, tactics and
luck. The game also opens the gates of a complete hobby where you will
want to collect and paint a lot of models. The game is produced by Games Workshop,
a British games company that also sells several other games (including
the similar Warhammer 40,000). Games Workshop also publishes a monthly
magazine called White Dwarf that has a lot of invalueable information
for any Warhammer player. Warhammer is currently in its 6th edition and
it is wise to check that any supplements or models bought are
compatible with these latest rules.
GW History
In my collection I have an old Games
Workshop catalogue. It was probably published in 1981. It tells the
story of how GW was founded by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone in
1975. They started as importers of American games (among them Dungeons
& Dragons).
In 1977 the first issue of White Dwarf was published and in 1979 GW obtained licenses to print the Dungeons & Dragons and Traveller games. In 1980 GW published their first games titled: Dr Who, Apocalypse, Valley of the Four Winds and Warlock. In 1981 GW had 22 employees and two shops.
The catalogue goes on to describe several games, among them the four above, AD&D, Traveller, Runequest and several others from TSR, GDW, Chaosium and other companies. One page is devoted to Citadel miniatures.
Moving through my game collection I find an old Monster Manual for the AD&D game. It was printed in December 1978 and has soft covers. It is interesting to note that it bears GW's logo right next to TSR's on page three. A small note says: "Published in the UK under licence from TSR HOBBIES, INC".
My
collection of White Dwarf starts off with issue 24 (April/May 1981). It
has a lot of articles for D&D, including an adventure called "The
Lair of Maldred the Mighty". There is also a one page ad for Citadel
miniatures, but no mention of Warhammer.
My
1st edition Warhammer was printed in 1983. It is a boxed game
consisting of three books titled "Vol 1: Tabletop Battles", "Vol 2:
Magic" and "Vol 3: Characters". The authors are Bryan Ansell, Richard
Halliwell and Richard Priestly. On the outside of the box you can only
see the Citadel logo and not the GW one. The layout of the books leaves
a lot to be desired. The different game systems are not at all that
different from today's Warhammer. They use almost the same turn
sequence, values and tables. All in all the game caught my eye because
the box said it was "the mass combat fantasy role-playing game", but it
never got played because the rules were messy and not very realistic.
I
also have a Citadel miniatures catalogue printed in the same year as
1st edition Warhammer. It offers variant rules for Warhammer, painting
tips, a Warhammer scenario (about the Slann; a frog-like (!) race) and
drawings of all Citadel miniatures.
Between
the years 1983 and 2000 GW went through the second, third, fourth and
fifth editions of Warhammer. Under 5th edition there was a great army
book for Bretonnia published and that was what pulled me back to the
Warhammer game. In October 2000 the 6th edition was released.
The Products
To
play the game you will need a rule book an army and an opponent (with
another army). Buying the basic gamebox will supply you with both a
rule book, two suitable armies of plastic soldiers, several dice and a
few templates. The only thing remaining is to get in contact with a
worthy opponent. The armies supplied with the game are adequate for
beginners, but will need to be expanded when the main game rules are
mastered.
The rule book is also available as a separate purchase
for those who don't want the armies provided in the basic game box. The
basic rule book lacks detailed information about the armies, so you
will need a so called army book for each army that you intend to
collect.
An army book contains more detailed rules for a specific army and also
gives good advice on painting the models. More on army books follows on
the coming pages. There are also three supplemental rule books called
Warhammer Annual 2002, Warhammer Chronicles 2003 and Warhammer
Chronicles 2004 available. These books contain clarifications and
errata that apply to the main rules.
The 6th Edition Warhammer Box
The
6th edition game is as well produced as ever a GW product was. The
models look nice (the Orcs are huge though) and the books are nicely
laid out and printed. It seems there are a lot fewer components in the
game box than in 5th edition and I particularly miss the game aid
charts (these were issued separately with White Dwarf #252 and #253).
The Rules
The hardbound version of the rule book (sold separately) is sturdy enough for repeated use and is nice to handle and read. The magic rules are better than before and a pleasure to use in games. As for the other rules there are mostly minor changes from the earlier edition. The combat system still favours the charger to the amount that high movement rates will win most games and the rank bonus is still figured in the same way (making most close combat a one turn affair). The added rules sections on sieges and skirmishes are a nice bonus.
Note that there are several misprints in the rule book (at least in the first printing) that will cause rules debates. These include errors in the appendices and diagrams that show the opposite of what the rules text says.
Many of the pictures in the rule book
are much darker in content than those in the old book. I like the new
ones, but they give the game a more serious/bloody atmosphere, which
might not be to everyone's liking.
In the foreword it states that "Our aim has been to refine and improve a much-loved game rather than effect radical changes in a system which is basically sound." I would have wanted to see a lot more changes in a system that is unrealistic and fairly slow playing. Some kind of simultaneous movement system would have been great, so that you didn't have to sit and wait while the opponent moves all her units. The combat system also needs some radical changes to move away from the "charger wins all" syndrome. But in the end the rules still provide an entertaining, but fairly unrealistic simulation of fantasy/medieval mass combat.
The Models
The new models are great and since many of them are available in boxes of entire plastic regiments it costs significantly less to build your armies than before. I also like the way the painters have moved away from the bright whacky colour schemes they used in 5th edition, and painted the models in a more realistic fashion.
Getting Started
Supposing
you have aquired the basic game box you are now ready to start learning
the game. Your first priority should be to get to grips with the rules.
The rule book can seem daunting with its almost 300 pages, but don't
despair, you will not need to read everything before your first game.
Start by reading the first 34 pages to get an overview of the game.
These pages contain no rules and need not be memorized. When you have
read this far you may want to start assembling the models. Advice on
how to do this can be found in a short article on page 18 of the rule
book. Having come this far you can now start reading the rules. Read
pages 35 through 86, paying particular attention to the turn sequence
described on page 42. It is now time to try a small game. Turn to pages
240 to 241 for two example army lists that accidentally fit the models
you now have precisely. Using these lists and referring to some of the
advanced rules on pages 87 through 156 you should be able to get a
first taste of battle.
The Army Books
Selecting
which army to collect and paint is almost as exciting as actually
playing the game. This being a Bretonnian site I cannot avoid
recommending the Bretonnian army to any reader, but preferences do of
course vary. Basic rules for all armies are collected in a supplement
called Ravening Hordes that was published together with an issue of
White Dwarf. Specific army information in Ravening Hordes is superceded
as new army books are published, but information for the armies that
have not yet had their book published can be downloaded from the Games
Workshop site. So far army books for the Empire, Orcs & Goblins,
Dwarfs, Vampire Counts, Dark Elves, High Elves, Skaven, Chaos, Tomb
Kings, Lizardmen, Beasts of Chaos, Bretonnia and Ogre Kingdoms have
been published. Some armies that have no army books have also had the
information presented in Ravening Hordes revised by articles in White
Dwarf, in the Warhammer Annual 2002, Warhammer Chronicles 2003 or in
Warhammer Chronicles 2004.
The Armies of Warhammer
This is a rundown of the Warhammer armies you can choose from:
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Bretonnia:
The Bretonnian army is of course the prime Warhammer army. It consists
of glorious knights in shining armour, mysterious enchantresses, lowly
commoners with spears or longbows and heavy siege engines in the form
of the feared trebuchet. They are a pleasure to paint and display and
the knights hit hard on the battlefield. The Bretonnian army book was
released in January 2004. 
Beasts of Chaos:
The Beastmen are evil monstrosities that rely on brute strength, hordes
and the power of mighty war chariots to defeat their foes. Most of the
models look fearsome enough to take their place on the fantasy
battlefield. Their army book was published in summer 2003.|
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Dark Elves:
The Dark Elves are the evil brethren of the High and Wood Elves. Their
armies have frenzied warriors with repeating crossbows and sinister
knights on reptilian mounts. This army looks great and has enough unit
choices to be really interesting. There is an army book available. |
Dogs of War:
The Dogs of War are mercenaries that support the highest bidder in any
conflict. Many models look too modern to fit in a fantasy setting, but
there are some exceptions. Dogs of War can be used by most other armies
(but not Bretonnia) and their army list is available as articles in
White Dwarfs #251 and #252 and in the Warhammer Annual 2002. |
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Vampire Counts:
The Vampire counts are fearsome undead lords who lead hordes of
shambling skeletons and zombies to the battlefield. |
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Dwarfs:
The Dwarfs are stubborn fighters who use great warmachines but no magic
in their struggle against their enemies. The models look nice with a
Nordic touch to their armour and weapons, but there are some silly
elements and I think the army is hard to play to win. They have had
their army book published.
The Empire:
The Empire army relies on units of men and warmachines. They have a
great selection of troops available to them and can have both hard
hitting knights and far reaching missile troops in their ranks. Almost
all the Empire models look too modern for a fantasy battlefield and the
powder weapons seem totally out of place. There is a published army
book available for the Empire.
High Elves:
The High Elves are haughty elite warriors from the island kingdom of
Ulthuan. They have knights, archers and great magicians as well as
charioteers and repeater bolt throwers available to them. The models
are nice and the list makes for a strong force. Their army book is
available.
Hordes of Chaos:
Hordes of Chaos contain both Chaos Warriors, who are evil and twisted
knights on enormous steeds, and the Chaos Daemons. Their armies are
supported by evil wizards who dabble in the dark arts. Some models,
especially the daemons, look silly but the list is very strong. Their
army book was released in early summer 2002.
Lizardmen:
Hordes of reptiles make up the bulk of the Lizardmen armies. They are
led to battle by fat toad like creatures of great magical skill called
Slann. Their army book was released in spring 2003.
Ogre Kingdoms: Relesed in 2005, the Ogre Kingdoms army features massive Ogres and their Gnoblar henchmen.
Orcs & Goblins:
Orcs and Goblins are evil, green skinned, brutes that crush their
enemies by superior strength or force of numbers. They have a very
varied army list that contains everything from rock hard infantry to
whacky war machines. Some models look a bit silly, but in this case it
fits the character of the army. The unit choices are very varied and
the list is very fun to play. Their army book has been published.
Skaven:
The Skaven are evil rat men that scurry over the battle field in massed
hordes. They have wicked contraptions of war at their disposal. Most of
the warmachines look too silly for my tastes. The Skaven army list is
represented by their army book that was published in early 2002.
Tomb Kings of Khemri:
The Tomb Kings of Khemri are evil mummies supported by liches, skeleton
warriors and carrion. The models look great and this army has a great
fantasy feeling to it. Their army list was published in late 2002.
I like most of the
models in this list except for a few that look more like they belong in
a gothic horror setting than in a fantasy setting. The Vampire Counts
have a published army book.
Wood Elves:
The Wood Elves excel at archery and are supported by strange creatures
from the forest of Athel Loren. These models look great and the army is
a pleasure to play (but perhaps a little hard for the beginner). Their new army book as just been published (09/2006).The Models
Models for all armies are available both in plastic and metal. The plastic ones are comparatively cheap and can be used for large blocks of troops. The metal models are expensive, but much more detailed and a pleasure to paint and handle. Some models have both plastic and metal parts.
The Painting
The painting of the models is as
involving as the playing of the game and can be taken to the extreme by
making every soldier a work of art. Basic guidelines for painting are
covered in articles in the Hobby Section, Pictures of other painters
are in the Gallery.