INTRODUCTIONOur gaming group has a long tradition ofholiday season games. Be it a race withreindeer sleds or a Warhammer battle withspecial Easter bunny allies, it is alwaysentertaining and reminds us that gaming issupposed to be for fun and not just aboutwinning (we usually forget it as soon as theholiday game ends though). So it was only amatter of time until Warmaster would beunder attack from the holiday spirit.

In Germany the Christmas tradition differsbetween regions and in the last few yearsAmerican and English tradition has gotmingled in with the ‘good old German’ wayof Christmas.

The 24th of December is Heiligabend andthe 25th and 26th are the first and secondWeihnachtsfeiertag. In the early eveninghours (or late afternoon if there are smallchildren or very impatient adults) of the24th the Christkind puts presents under theChristbaum. The Christbaum (ChristmasTree) will have been decorated with baubles,candles and lametta (thin metallic threads),depending on the age of the children, thiswill be done by the family or the Christkind.Often children are tortured by having theBescherung after dinner, and whilst thechildren eat as fast as possible their parentsuse the opportunity of revenge and eat realslow. If the children are still quite small theymay be sent out of the room, whilst theChristkind arrives and puts the presentsunder the tree. Because the Christkind hasto give presents to so many children it doesnot stay long and when the small silver bell

calls the children the Christkind is alreadygone. And now it’s time for a presentsfrenzy. Older children or children with cruelparents might have to sing some Christmascarols before being allowed to open theirpresents, but in these modern times the CDplayer takes over, much to the joy of thechildren but to the grievance of the adults.On Christmas eve children as well as adultsreceive presents, but for the children thereis also a second day which promisespresents. While Christmas eve is joy andhappiness (besides the yearly bath and beingcombed and dressed in your best clothes)the second day is a strange mix of joy andpain. On the 6th of December Nikolaus(Santa Claus) is coming to town. He is theguy who records all the children’s good andbad deeds and on the 6th of December it ispay day. The good ones will receive presentsand the bad ones will be beaten with a Rute.Often most parents will have somebody todress up as Nikolaus and so a big, whitebearded man in a red cloak will appear andcause terror in smaller children and laughterin the older ones. Some of the children willhave to recite Christmas poems to placateNikolaus and rather unsurprisingly it alwaysworks. Nikolaus puts in an appearance on

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FESTIVE RULES

Weihnachtsmann armyBy Stephan Hess

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Festive Rules

the 6th of December. In historictimes (long ago when I was achild!) Nikolaus was accompaniedby Knecht Ruprecht and theyplayed the good guy, bad guy gamewe are so familiar with fromAmerican cop movies. Nikolauswould check his database and ifthe entry was positive he wouldgive a present but if the entry wasnegative Knecht Ruprecht wouldgive some lashes.

Before the wave of American andEnglish influences there was nowide spread theory on whereNikolaus might live, get hispresents from or who wasproducing the presents for him,but enough introduction and onlyone thing is left before we startwith the army list:

Merry Christmas and a HappyNew Year– Stephan

Note: The army list has morespecial rules than is normal for a Warmasterarmy, but as this is a fun list it doesn’t posea problem.

LAND OF SNOW AND PRESENTSAll of the north of the Warhammer World ispart of the Chaos Wastes. All of the north?According to legend, not entirely all, a small,seemingly barren, mystical isle directly onthe North Pole is still free from the influenceof Chaos, where a small communitystruggles for freedom and independence.

This island has no name, nor do itsinhabitants belong to a nation in the usualsense. The area itself is just known as the‘North Pole’. These people appear to haveno sense of patriotism nor any realunderstanding of economic mechanics andprocedures. They produce goods (mostlysweets and toys) all year long, but deliverthe entire year’s production on a single day.And the most unbelievable part of all is thatthey do not even charge the recipients fortheir goods.

The ruler of the ‘North Pole’ is reputed to bethe Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas).This large fellow has a long white beard anda deep, throaty laugh. He always dresses inred and wears a special hat with a jingly bellat the end, a bit like a jester’s. Don’t befooled by his appearance though, he might

say he only wants to make your wishes cometrue, but he’s really a despotic tyrant. Hisword is law and he sends out presents orthugs as he sees fit. The ‘Ho, ho, ho’, hischilling laugh, can make the blood of eventhe toughest men freeze.

At his side is a girlish-looking woman calledChristkind, a real fancy dresser, still youthfulafter who knows how many hundreds ofyears. She always wears expensive silksdecorated with mystic symbols of stars andglitter. Some sources give mention to wingssprouting from her back. Her preciserelationship with Weihnachtsmann isuncertain – she could be his daughter, loveror some kind of counsellor. Christkind doessome of the delivery in the Empire of men.

This legendary hoarded wealth can easilylead the foolish into thinking that the NorthPole would be an easy and rewarding targetfor any conquering General. But the fact thatthis place has existed for thousands of yearswithin the Chaos Wastes hints that there ismore here than meets the eye. It is not onlyprotected by strong enchantments but alsoby a formidable army. It is not unheard of foran army from the North Pole to be sent outto clear trading routes (probably bettercalled delivery routes as the goods arestrictly going only one way) or to free someof their people who are being held forransom.

Festive Rules

North Pole armies are usually lead by aNikolaus (St. Claus). This appears to besome kind of hereditary title as all the armyleaders seem to bear the same name. Thisman looks like a younger version ofWeihnachtsmann and some sources hint atthe possibility that Weihnachtsmann iselected yearly from all the Nikoläuse. Othersources state that they are all theWeihnachtsmann’s sons, and that he is justtoo lazy to think of any new names. The lasttheory is supported by the fact that allNikoläuse have the same build as FatherChristmas, the same beard and the sameappaling dress sense. They can often be seenriding a reindeer-drawn sledd, a convertiblemodel also favoured by Weihnachtsmann.Wild tales about the sleighs being able to flyare obviously pure fiction.

Excerpt from: ‘My Travels in the North’ byGerhard the Wanderer

TROOP TYPESKnecht Ruprecht (Grizzle)For dirty work like punishing naughtychildren, Nikolaus has Knecht Ruprecht athis side. Knechte Ruprecht also serve asarmy officers. There is no furtherinformation on them, but it seems obviousthat Knecht Ruprecht is a hereditary title anda Rute seems to be their sign of office.

Weihnachtssänger (Carol singers)The North Pole army does not have anywizards per se, but they can cast magic withsongs. These Christmas Carols, as they arecalled, are able to bewitch even the coldestof hearts. Legend has it that in ancient timesthe singers were accompanied by a brassband, but when the city walls of Jericho felldown during a concert, this was abandoned.

Elfen (Elves/Fairies)The main force of the army is made up by Elfinfantry. The literal translation would beElves, but the Elfen look more like Goblinswith sharper features than true Elves. TheElfen are part of the working class,producing toys, sweets and most othergoods. They are small and nimble and,unlike Goblins, quite clever. They aresurprisingly good fighters and are oftenequipped with the most exotic of weapons,the double-handed teddy bear probablybeing the most exotic from all. Their reflexesmake them very difficult to hit in combat andhas proved to be as effective as the hardestarmour.

Wichtel (Gnomes)The Elfen work on the artistic aspect of theproducts, but the technical aspect is handledby the Gnomes. The Gnome’s technical andmechanical skill, but also their physicalappearance show that they share a commonparentage with the Dwarfs. Wichtel wear redZipfelmützen and sport beards likeNikoläuse which are often quite shortbecause whenever they get stuck in somemechanism (which happens quite often)they have to be cut free. The Wichtel arehighly skilled but not very strong, so theyprefer ranged attacks over close combat. Theweapons are of the Wichtel’s own design andare usually quite short ranged, butdevastating. A projectile from a chewing gumgun can bring a regiment to a halt and asugar can in the eye is no sweet sight.Thanks to their technical expertise theirarmour is much better than that ofcomparable troops.

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Knecht Ruprecht

Weihnachtssänger

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Festive Rules

Mail Order TrollsA rather recent addition to the North Polesociety and army are the Trolls of the MailOrder. We are still in the dark about theorigin of their name as none of them wearmail nor any other kind of armour. With theworld’s population growing so fast (despiteall those wars), Weihnachtsmann, Christkindand Nikoläuse sometimes just can’t manageto deliver all the goods in one day. In thiscase the Mail Order Trolls step in and deliversome of the goods. Mail Order Trolls fall intotwo broad categories: Stone Trolls, becauseanything delivered by them looks as if hadbeen hit by a big (and I mean a very big)stone, and River Trolls, because anythingdelivered by them looks as if it had fallen ina river.

Green ZipfelmützenBefore becoming a Nikolaus you will have toendure an apprenticeship. During theapprenticeship the trainee has to wear agreen Zipfelmützen (hooded cloak), whichhe can replace with the customary red oneon passing the final exams. Candidates whofail the exam can still opt to become aKnecht Ruprecht. The Green Zipfelmützen’smost favourite lessons are sleigh driving. Thebest and most reckless of these GreenZipfelmützen form the Sleigh units in anyarmy.

Polar BearsThe only land animal native to the NorthPole are polar bears. These creatures havebeen befriended by the people of this landand are used mainly as guard bears. Sometried to use them as lap bears but this provedto be a short, bloody and largelyunsuccessful experiment. The fur of polarbears is usually snow white as this is theperfect camouflage in the snow wastes of theregion, but in a small area call Dalmatiathere are hot black stones which stick out ofthe white snows. The bears living in that areaare called Dalmatians and their fur patternhas adapted to their surroundings, beingwhite with black spots. Rumour has it thatthere are always 101 Dalmatians at any time.

Christmas TreesThe North Pole is an awfully cold and barrenregion, and the fact that any plants growthere at all is a miracle. The only plant thatcan thrive in these snowy wastes is a type ofpine tree called a Christmas tree. The peopleof North Pole are so happy to have at leastone kind of tree that they decorate them

with small painted glass globes, sweets andlights. Rumour has it that the trees can moveand wherever they rest for a while presentsappear beneath them. Researchers still arguewhether the presents are some kind of fruitor whether the tree and its merry lights act asa homing beacon for Nikoläuse so that theyknow where to deliver the goods.

Ghost of ChristmasSometimes an army is accompanied by aGhost of Christmas. There appear to bethree kinds: the Ghost of Christmas Past,Present and Future. There is a theory that theGhost of Christmas Past is used to frightencustomers who haven’t paid last year’s bill,and the Ghost of Christmas Present frightenscustomers who haven’t paid this year’s bill.However, this theory is bound to be wrongas no-one is ever sent a bill anyway, and theGhosts of Future Christmas wouldn’t haveanything to do as you never know who willnot pay their next bill.

Present LobberSometimes presents have to be delivered toplaces which are not easily accessible. Inthese cases presents are delivered with thehelp of a Present Lobber. Needless to say, thePresent Lobber is an invention of the MailOrder Trolls.

Snow CannonOnce in a while the sleighs have to travelwhere there’s no snow. The inventiveWichtel have designed a cannon that canmake snow just for those cases. The cannonitself is mounted on a sleigh and makessnow in front of itself, gliding over thefreshly made snow it is followed by the othersleighs. The snow cannon can also be usedas a short ranged weapon.

Christmas Trees

Festive Rules

1 Wichtel. Range 15 cm(ordinary firing arc)

2 Trolls. These are especially stupidcreatures. When issuing an order to a unitof Trolls or to a brigade containing one ormore units of Trolls, there is an commandpenalty of -1 in addition to any othermodifiers. Trolls also have the ability toregenerate wounds. This is represented byregenerating 1 wound per combat roundafter removing of whole stands. The woundbesides being regenerated still countstowards the combat result.

3 Green Zipfelmützen. The sleighs can flyand are therefore treated as any other flyer,but also get the additional +1 A for chariotscharging an enemy in open terrain. (Notethe fact that they fly allows them to attackunits on castle walls and such, but thoseunits still count as fortified as stated in thesiege rules).

4 Bears. Although they are monsters, Bearsare mounted facing the long edge of thebase, like infantry. As creatures of theforests and mountains under the control ofhuman Beastmasters, Bears are able tomove over or into any wooded ormountainous terrain features in the sameway as infantry. This does not entitle themto claim defended status. Because of theirirascible, ursine nature Bears cannot bebrigaded with units of other troops, onlywith other Bears. Due to their ferocity aBear unit which scores more hits in the firstround of a combat than the enemy willautomatically strike 1 more Attack per standbefore the combat result is worked out.Resolve these attacks as normal and thenwork out results. Bears must always pursueretreating enemy where possible and mustadvance if they are able to do so. Note thatthese rules apply only to Bear units – not tocharacters that ride Bears.

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CHRISTMAS ARMY SELECTOR

Troops

Elfen Infantry 3 3 5+ - 3 60 2/- -

Wichtel Infantry 2/1 3 5+ - 3 55 1/- *1

Mail Order Infantry 5 3 5+ - 3 110 -/3 *2Trolls

Green Chariot 3 3 5+ - 3 110 -/3 *3Zipfelmutzen

Bears Monsters 5 3 0 - 3 85 -/1 *4

Christmas Monsters 3 4 4+ - 3 125 -/1 *5Trees

Ghost Monsters - - - - 1 100 -/1 *6

Present Art 1/1 3 - - 1 30 -/1 *7Lobber

Snow Art 1/2 2 - - 1 35 -/1 *8Cannon

Nikolaus General +3 - - 10 1 165 -/1 *9

Knecht Hero +1 - - 8 1 90 -/1 *10Ruprecht

Weinacht Wizard +0 - - 7 1 45 -/1 --ssanger

Special RulesSp

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Festive Rules

5 Christmas Trees. Although they aremonsters, Christmas Trees are mountedfacing the long edge of the base likeinfantry. Christmas Trees can enter woodseven though they are monsters, but still donot count as defended when attackedwhilst in woods. Christmas Trees candeploy like any other troops in their owndeployment zone or (quite special) in anywooded area on the table. Any good armyi.e. Empire, Dwarfs, High Elves, Kislevitesor Bretonnians will expect to find presentsunder the trees so they are not willing toput the presents at risk and will not chargeChristmas Trees on Initiative. In additionany unit of any army within 20cm of aChristmas Tree stand gets an additional –1command modifier (i.e. –2 for enemywithin 20cm instead of –1 [Undead get –1instead of nothing]) as they are veryreluctant to go away before they have gottheir presents (and even the baddies andthe Undead (old habbits die hard) hope forpresents. Even if they do not believe inChristmas, they still hope).

6 Ghosts. Ghosts can only brigade withother Ghosts. The Ghosts are etherealcreatures and cannot attack or be attackedby any means. But they do cause Terror inany enemy stands within 20 cm. Ghosts aretreated like characters regarding Line ofSight. Friendly units can move throughGhosts but cannot end their move so that aGhost is still in their ranks. Enemy units canneither charge nor move through a Ghostunit.

7 Present Lobber. Range 60cm. Can’tstand and shoot. The Present Lobber shootspresents into the enemy ranks. If theLobber hits, no wound is inflicted and theunit is not driven back, but the enemy unitis automatically Confused, because the unitis fully occupied with unwrapping thepresents. The unit is not driven back, evenwhen hit by other missile fire or magic thatwould normally drive them back (casualtiesare still removed). Should the affected unitbe drawn into close combat by any means itis treated as any other Confused unit.

8 Snow Cannon. Range 30cm. The SnowCannon is used to... err shoot snow! Thissnow is mainly used to create someChristmas atmosphere and to allow everyone the excuse to drink some hot spiced

wine. The snow is cold enough to drivepeople away, but not cold enough to killanybody. So, instead of rolling to hit youjust roll 2 dice for the drive back (or add 2dice to the drive back roll, when the unitalready had been hit). The number of diceis modified for Fortified or Defendedtargets as normal and all other drive backrules apply. When the cannon shoots aspart of a Stand and Shoot reaction, thecharging unit looses 2D6 of it’s movementallowance. This might result in the unit notreaching it’s intended target. In this casethe unit is moved as if the charge wouldhave been successful and is then movedstraight back the distance it failed thecharge by.

i.e. a infantry unit 17 cm away chargesand the snow cannon rolls a 8. So themovement of the charger is reduced by 8(12 cm left). So the infantry will be movedinto contact and then 5 cm directly back.

If the charge has taken place in theCommand phase then the active player isallowed to give further orders to the unit, ifit happened in the Initiative phase the unitcannot be moved any more in that Initiativeor the following Command phase.

9 Nikolaus. Nikolaus is mounted in a flyingsleigh. The sleigh counts as a flying chariotand the additional attack is alreadyincluded in his profile.

10 Knecht Ruprecht. Because of hisreputation for being extra tough, a unitaccompanied by Knecht Ruprecht causesTerror against evil armies (Undead, Orcs,Chaos and Skaven).

Special Rules (cont)

Festive Rules

CHRISTMAS CAROLSAs aforementioned, The Army of the NorthPole has a weird form of magic in Christmassongs!

STILLE NACHT (Silent Night)4+ to cast.............................Range 30 cm

Nominate a single enemy unit within range.Silence will fall heavily on this unit. It can’tbe given any commands in the nextCommand phase. It can still use Initiative orhome backs to move.

O’TANNENBAUM (O’ Christmas tree)6+ to cast.....................Unlimited Range

If there is a wood or forest on the table thetrees can be transformed into ChristmasTrees. If successfully cast, place a unit ofChristmas Trees in any wood or forest on thetable. The unit cannot be raised into closecombat. This spell may only be cast if thereare spare models available.

IHR KINDERLEIN KOMMET(O come little children)

5+ to cast.............................Range 30 cm

Nominate a single enemy unit within range.The unit will be moved its maximummovement distance towards theWeihnachtssänger. If it has enoughmovement to reach or even pass the

Weihnachtssänger the unit will stop 1 cmbefore it reaches them. The stand closest tothe Weihnachtssänger is moved first in astraight line and ends its move facing theWeihnachtssänger and the other stands arearranged as the owning player sees fit. Themove should be as straight as possible.Impassable terrain is circumvented, buttroops of the moved unit’s side have tomake way or the unit is stopped andbecomes Confused (remember to roll forConfusion if unit(s) make way). If the pathof the first stand’s move crosses an enemyunit the moved unit has to charge that unitby performing an ordinary charge.

FRÖHELICHE WEIHNACHT ÜBERALL(We wish you a merry Christmas)

4+ to cast.............................Range 30 cm

The spell is cast on a combat of which atleast 1 stand (friend or foe) is within range.Please note that this can affect more thanone unit of each side. The combatants arefilled with the spirit of Christmas and decidenot to fight. The combat ends before it evenbegins! Roll for and execute a fall backimmediately as if both sides had drawn incombat. The enemy (of theWeihnachtssänger) has to fall back first.

More of Stephan Hess’ festive madness canbe seen on the inside back cover.

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Festive Rules

WichtelGhost of Christmas

Mail Order Trolls

Wall under Present Lobber assault

Polar Bears The Snow Cannon