27
4 Right, before I start I’m supposed to write a little bit about myself – the writing guidelines state that you’re all terribly interested so look sharp! I’ve been a key- timer at the Warhammer World store for over two years now, but have been into Games Workshop stuff since I was a kid (not that long ago, I’ll have you know!) and I’m afraid I play all of them – it’s as simple as that. The whole tactics and grand strategy thing involved in Warmaster is still a little over my head, but I’m working on it! Anyway, on with the article… THE FAIR FOLK It is probable that any Warmaster gamer reading this article is also a Warhammer player of some form, and so is likely to be aware of the existence of the reclusive race of Elves who inhabit the enchanted forest of Loren – the Wood Elves. Elves first settled in the forest of Loren long before the civilised realms of man came into being in the Old World, during the great period of war between the Elves and the Dwarfs known as the War of the Beard. The first Elven settlers of Loren sought to protect this beautiful forest realm from the ravages of the Dwarfs, who would have felled the mighty trees to fuel their furnaces and provide timber to build their war machines. After many years of fighting, the War of the Beard finally ended with the Dwarfs retreating to their mountain halls and the Elven colonists abandoning the Old World to protect their homeland of Ulthuan. However, not all of the Elves returned home with the armies and ships. Some could not bear to leave their newly founded homes, whilst others were unwilling to return to the decadence and intrigue of the noble courts of their homeland. Whatever their reasons, a small number of the Elven settlers remained in the Old World, and without the Phoenix King’s armies to protect them, they soon took refuge with the guardians of Loren, and made the forest their new home. The descendants of these first colonists are the race of Wood Elves, and they continue to protect their forested home to this very day. W OO D E LV ES A labo ur of love! b yR o bA tkins WAR8_04_09 8/13/04 10:44 AM Page 4

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Page 1: THE FAIR FOLK - Forum Gw Tilea Magazine... · 2004. 8. 13.  · Warmaster battle. I scoffed in the faces of those who told me that it was a crazy idea, citing the fact that there

4

Right, before I start I’m supposed to write alittle bit about myself – the writingguidelines state that you’re all terriblyinterested so look sharp! I’ve been a key-timer at the Warhammer World store for overtwo years now, but have been into GamesWorkshop stuff since I was a kid (not thatlong ago, I’ll have you know!) and I’m afraidI play all of them – it’s as simple as that. Thewhole tactics and grand strategy thinginvolved in Warmaster is still a little over myhead, but I’m working on it! Anyway, on withthe article…

THE FAIR FOLKIt is probable that any Warmaster gamerreading this article is also a Warhammerplayer of some form, and so is likely to beaware of the existence of the reclusive raceof Elves who inhabit the enchanted forest ofLoren – the Wood Elves.

Elves first settled in the forest of Loren longbefore the civilised realms of man came intobeing in the Old World, during the greatperiod of war between the Elves and theDwarfs known as the War of the Beard. Thefirst Elven settlers of Loren sought to protect

this beautiful forest realm from theravages of the Dwarfs, who wouldhave felled the mighty trees to fueltheir furnaces and provide timberto build their war machines. Aftermany years of fighting, the War ofthe Beard finally ended with theDwarfs retreating to theirmountain halls and the Elvencolonists abandoning the OldWorld to protect their homeland ofUlthuan.

However, not all of the Elvesreturned home with the armiesand ships. Some could not bear toleave their newly founded homes,whilst others were unwilling toreturn to the decadence andintrigue of the noble courts oftheir homeland. Whatever theirreasons, a small number of theElven settlers remained in the OldWorld, and without the PhoenixKing’s armies to protect them, theysoon took refuge with theguardians of Loren, and made theforest their new home. Thedescendants of these first colonistsare the race of Wood Elves, andthey continue to protect theirforested home to this very day.

WOOD ELVESA labour of love!by Rob Atkins

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5

Wood Elves

It is safe to say that the Wood Elves are notthe most active campaigners in theWarhammer world; rather the vast majorityof their battles are fought in the defence ofLoren – a cause to which they are dedicatedwith single-minded determination. Duemainly to their small numbers, the WoodElves prefer to deal with their enemies usingdeception and guile rather than attackinghead-on. Death through traps, ambushesand the unseen arrow all await the unwaryintruder into the enchanted forest kingdomof the Wood Elves. Indeed, a large Wood Elfhost will only be assembled to fight an open,pitched battle under the direst ofcircumstances, most often to repel adetermined invading army. In such times asthese, the Wood Elf warriors will fall upontheir opponents with all the savagery of theWild Hunt, slaying all who would seek todespoil their beloved forest. Often all thatremains of the invaders are several largecairns, beneath which lie the bodies of fallenenemies. These serve as a grim warning toall who trespass beyond the boundarystones marking the edge of the realm – youare not welcome here, death awaits.

WOOD ELVES FOR WARMASTER?Why not? Wood Elves fight large battles tooyou know, just not as frequently as otherraces (in fact they go out of their way toavoid them), which is probably why theyweren’t chosen as one of the six armies to bedescribed in the Warmaster rulebook. Okthen, I’ll admit it – I did a Wood Elf army forthe simple reason that I really really likeWood Elves! They are my Warhammer armyof choice (not my only Warhammer army byany means, but my army of choice) and I sawno reason why I should be denied theopportunity to wield my favouriteWarhammer fighting force on the fields of aWarmaster battle. I scoffed in the faces ofthose who told me that it was a crazy idea,citing the fact that there were no models forthe Wood Elves in Warmaster and that Iwould have to convert all my own. Later, inthe quiet of my own home, I realised thatthey may have a point…

Tiny Wood Elves!Right then, so how exactly did I go aboutmodelling an entire army in Warmasterscale? Well, it wasn’t the easiest modellingproject I’ve ever undertaken, but it wasmade a whole lot easier by spending a lot oftime searching for just the right miniaturesto base the army on. The breakthrough camewhen I managed to blag a number of testpieces of Warmaster scale Bretonnians fromMatt Fletcher, one of the guys in charge ofWarhammer World. These made an idealbase to work from in the creation of myArchers and Glade Guard, though High Elfinfantry would be just as suitable if youdon’t mind all your models wearing littleskirts!

Both the Archers and the Glade Guard weremade in much the same way. This involvedremoving anything blatantly Bretonnian inorigin from the models (stuff like kettlehelmets, excessive chainmail, that sort ofthing) and then modelling on lots of littlecloaks made out of Green Stuff. Now, whenyou are faced with sculpting forty-twoindividual, minute little cloaks just to createone unit of Glade Guard you are obviouslykeen to find a quick way of doing this! Idiscovered that if you stretch the Green Stuffout so that it is flat and then leave it until it

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Wood Elves

is virtuallycured, then it is

very easy to cut out alittle cloak shape, and it

retains just enoughstickiness to allow it to be

placed on the model andadjusted to a natural poise –

not bad! All that was requiredthen was to extend some of the

very Bretonnian shields intosomething more like Elven

shields and my Archers and GladeGuard were ready to be painted.

At this point in time, prior topainting, I’m afraid to say that my creationsdidn’t look very much like Wood Elves. Infact, they looked more like hacked-upBretonnians, with little Green Stuff cloaksand shields, and I was told as much by manyof my colleagues at Warhammer World.Luckily, as is often the case with miniaturesthis small, a great deal of the finishedcreation relied upon the painting. By using acarefully chosen selection of very naturaland ‘Wood Elfy’ colours, mainly dark greens

and browns, (in fact, largely the same colourscheme as for my Warhammer army) Imanaged to create the illusion that thesewere indeed Wood Elf warriors, and not justa bunch of disfigured peasants from thefields of Bretonnia as previously supposed!

The Glade Riders were created in exactly thesame way as the other units, except that theywere based upon High Elf Reaver Knights.My first attempt at creating a Glade Riderinvolved cutting up a Bretonnian Knight, anEmpire Archer and a Kislev Horse Archer(again, all test pieces), and then indulging inlots of sculpting! Thankfully for my sanity Idecided to stop at one of these hellishlyover-complicated creations, and painted itup as a mounted Wood Elf Hero instead. Idecided quickly that it would be wise to seekother means of modelling Glade Riders!

Forest DragonGo on; admit it – the High ElfDragonrider model is crying out to beconverted into a Forest Dragon! It’s solong and sinuous, with a perfect long,heavily beaked head and even the scalesare roughly the same shape (ok ok, so allscales are ‘roughly’ the same shape whenthey’re that size, but hey – any excuse!).This model was in fact the first thing tomake me think of going for a Wood Elfarmy. It was a case of ‘Hey, that dragoncould be made into a Forest Dragon…yeah, I could make a whole army ofWood Elves… yeah…’ Unfortunately bythen it was already too late to turn backand I was soon adding extra large hands(from a Warhammer Harpy), more hornsand a whole host of other minor littleconversions (including extensive re-modelling of the rider into a Wood ElfLord). The model was painted as close tothe Studio Warhammer Forest Dragon asI could get it, as I don’t have one in myown Warhammer army (I find dragons alittle too unwieldy for most games ofWarhammer) but I wanted somethingvisual to confirm that this was a Forest

6

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7

Wood Elves

Dragon you were looking at, not just someconverted High Elf Dragon!

TreemanMy Treeman was probably the model I spentmost time on in the production of my army.It was created by singing a tiny Bonsai treeinto shape over a period of several weeksusing my mastery of the ancient Wood Elf artof tree singing. Back in the real world, Ithink it’s pretty obvious that the Treeman isbased largely on Warhammer Dryads. In fact,mainly just one Dryad, with its legs

shortened and its arms lengthened (usingthe bits taken out of the legs) and a certainamount of repositioning and sculpting. Thelarge areas of pale bark for which TrishMorrison’s Treemen are so famous werereplicated in Warmaster scale using GreenStuff, in the same way as the Wood Elf cloaksdescribed earlier.

What follows is Rob’s Wood Elf army listand whilst this is unofficial do feel free toplaytest it and tell us of your findings,which we might feature in future issues ofWarMag – Ed.

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1. Woodland Folk. Due to living amongstthe forests of Loren their entire lives, allWood Elves can move through woodlandwith exceptional skill and swiftness.Therefore Archers and Glade Guard do notsuffer the usual -1 Command penalty whenwithin woodland. When fighting within theforests Wood Elves are near impossible tosee and count as Fortified rather thanDefended.

2. Archers and Glade Riders. Wood Elvesare just as famed for their bow skills as theirHigh Elf cousins, and as such these Elvenunits add +1 to their dice roll when makingShooting attacks. Therefore these unitsscore a hit against targets in the open on a3+, against defended targets on a 4+, andagainst fortified targets on a 5+.

3. Glade Riders. Glade Riders areaccomplished light horsemen, who canmove freely through wooded terrainfeatures. Therefore they may enter woodedterrain and do not suffer the -1 Commandpenalty when within woods. Note that allother terrain features normally impassable

to Cavalry units remain impassable toGlade Riders.

4. Giant Eagles. These live in the peaks ofthe Grey Mountains surrounding Loren.They are intelligent creatures that exist inpeace and harmony with the Wood Elvesand are ready and willing to aid them inbattle. Giant Eagles can fly.

5. Treemen are incredibly ancientcreatures that have dwelled in the Forestsof Loren since long before the arrival of theElves. Over time, the Treemen came to trustthe Wood Elves and will now aid them inthe defence of their mutual forest home.Treemen are large creatures, often severaltimes the height of an Elf, with huge, trunk-like limbs, gnarled bark-like skin and deepcracks in place of their eyes and mouth.When they remain stationary (the majorityof the time!) they can easily be mistaken fora tree. A Treeman may not be Brigaded withany troops other than Treemen. Being thegigantic and imposing creatures that theyare, Treemen cause Terror in their enemies.In addition, as the flesh of a Treeman is dry

Wood Elves

8

Type

Atta

ck

Hit

s

Arm

our

Com

man

dU

nit S

ize

Poin

ts p

er U

nit

Min

/Max

WOOD ELF ARMY SELECTOR

Troops

Glade Guard Infantry 3 3 6+ – 3 55 2/– *1

Archers Infantry 3/1 3 0 – 3 75 2/– *1*2

Glade Riders Cavalry 3/1 3 6+ – 3 110 –/3 *2

Chariots Chariot 3 3 5+ – 3 95 –/3 –

Giant Eagles Monster 2 3 6+ – 3 70 –/1 *4

Treeman Monster 4 6 4+ – 3 125 –/1 *5

General General +2 – – 10 1 150 1/1 –

Heroes Hero +1 – – 8 1 80 –/1 –

Mage Wizard +0 – – 8 1 80 –/1 *6

Giant Eagle Monstrous +2 – – – – +20 –/1 *7Mount

Forest Dragon Monstrous +3 – – – – +100 –/1 *8Mount

Chariot Chariot +1 – – – – +10 –/1 *9Mount

Spec

ial

Special Rules

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9

Wood Elves

and woody, they are especially susceptibleto fire-based attacks, and as such any attackof this kind (such as Dragonfire or the Ballof Flame spell) that wounds the Treemanwill inflict double damage – i.e, 2 woundsinstead of 1 for each wound caused.

6. Mages. I would suggest using the HighElf spell selection for Wood Elf Mages (youcould go to the lengths of re-naming themto add character – Awakening of the Woods,Call of the Wild Hunt etc.). Note that WoodElf Mages do not get to use the High ElfMage ability of re-rolling a failed attempt tocast a spell. This represents the fact thatWood Elf magic and learning is of a farmore informal and intuitive structure thanthat of their High Elf cousins.

7. Giant Eagle. Generals, Mages andHeroes may ride a Giant Eagle. Thesecreatures can be found in the GreyMountains overlooking Loren and are anintelligent species, living in peace andharmony with the Wood Elves. An Eagle canfly, increasing its rider’s Move from 60cmto 100cm, and it adds +2 Attacks to thoseof its rider.

8. Forest Dragons have lived in the remoteand inaccessible Chasm Glades within theforest of Loren for centuries and have

evolved into a separate sub-species ofDragon. Unlike other Dragons, they arevegetarian, using their rows of saw-liketeeth to rip up branches, logs and any othervegetation they feel like eating. However,they are similar to other Dragons in thatthey are intelligent and also immenselypowerful creatures, capable of uprootingtrees and tossing them about in a scarilycasual manner when enraged. Anexceptional Wood Elf Lord or Mage maysucceed in winning the trust of one of theseimmense creatures, and in doing so willhave secured himself a fearsome mount toride into battle!

Generals, Mages and Heroes may rideForest Dragons. A Forest Dragon can fly,increasing its rider’s Move to 100cm, andadds +3 Attacks to those of its rider. Anyunit joined by a character riding a ForestDragon cause Terror in their enemies andso long as the Dragon is attached to a unit,it can use its Corrosive Breath attack. This isa shooting attack with a range of 20cm,which can be directed against one target asnormal. The breath has 3 Attacks, which areworked out in the usual way.

9. Chariot. A General, Mage or Hero mayride a chariot. The character riding thechariot adds +1 to his Attacks.

CONCLUSIONS…The more astute amongst you will havenoticed that I have not yet produced modelsfor all of the troop types I have included inthe army list. However, this is not throughchoice and is more to do with being a verybusy man (honest!). Mainly Chariots andother characters. For the Chariots, Iintended to re-model High Elf Chariots,possibly using some spare Bretonnian foottroops as crew, and replacing a lot of theHigh Elf imagery on the chariots themselves.

It may also not have escaped you that I havelimited the choices in the army lists to reflectmainly ‘core’ troops from the Warhammerlists, and have missed out a lot of the more‘interesting’ troop types. The specialisttroop types that add spice to the way anarmy fights in Warhammer wouldrealistically only come in very small numbersand probably not have any great effect on abig battle.

The other reason I have neglected to includerules/models for such troop types as

Wardancers and Dryads is that, at the time of

writing at least, I have yet to think of an

effective way to model any of them (ideas on

a postcard please!).

Finally, I would like to say that this article

has been left deliberately open-ended in

places, as an encouragement for players to

experiment with and tweak the rules I have

provided. I myself have ideas for Wood Elf-

specific magic, and ways of representing the

fact that Wood Elves always endeavour to be

close to woodland of some sort when they

fight their battles, but without further

playtesting they shall remain in idea form for

now. I have no delusions of being a master

games writer of Rick’s standing and

experience (after all, the first edition of

Warhammer, co-written by the fellow, was

released when I was but two years old!) and

as such, please take these scribblings for

what they are – merely my own thoughts on

the matter…

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16

Having recently swapped to a Chaos army Ihad scored only defeats and a couple of nearmisses. After discussion with my gaminggroup and a foray onto the Internet([email protected]) I hadformulated a new plan. With this knowledgeI would pursue the opponent who hadmeted out my most recent kicking – the stoicmen of the Empire.

The fledgling army was now under scrutinyfrom its patrons, who were less than pleasedby its performance so far; they were likelywarming up the mutation vats for a weekendof fun and ganglions. The mortals of theEmpire had inflicted their most recentdefeats, but word had come of complacencyin their guard.

Gathering together the warhost once more,the Chaos band made their move upon thetown of Middleton, however they ran intoEmpire troops in the mountain passoverlooking the town.

Here then is a tale of revenge.

CHAOS vs. EMPIRE (2,000 points per side).

FORCES OF CHAOSI started by grabbing all the heroes that Icould as my plans usually involve sprawlingbattle lines – not always recommended for aChaos army, but it’s my style of play (I’meagerly awaiting the Dark Elves you see!).For my command I chose a General, Heroon Dragon with the Sword of Destruction, asecond Hero, and two Sorcerers with theRod of Repetition and Wand of Powerrespectively. Two Sorcerers suit the

Tzeentchian colour scheme of my troopsand the Dragon choice was due to myrecently painting up a Greater Daemon ofTzeentch from the Epic range (still animpressive size in 10mm). You’ll notice thatI didn’t take the Orb of Majesty. That’ll bedue to me having terrible Command rollswhenever I do include it – must besuperstitious!

The core to my army would be formed fromthe stoic Marauders and Chaos Warriors: twounits of Warriors and four of Marauders tobe exact. I like using Marauders to bulk outmy army as the second layer to my theme ismore akin to a barbarian horde (I’mcurrently building a Marauder stockadefortress as opposed to the traditional Chaoscitadel). I shouldn’t forget to mention theDragon Ogres as they might get miffed. Theymay be lots of points to buy, but when theyhit they leave only bloodstained grass intheir wake!

Finally, the mobile element: two units ofMarauder cavalry, a unit of Chaos Knightswith a Standard of Shielding, a unit ofChariots, a unit of Chaos Hounds, and a unitof Harpies. The Chariots tend to draw morefire than the Marauders, but that’s fine byme as long as the Knights get to charge!Harpies are a must-have in the army,harassing rear ranks and terrorising artillery.The Hounds are great for two reasons:cheap ablative protection for the rest of thecavalry and an extra +1 on the breakpointfor only 30 points!

DEFENDERS OF THE EMPIREThe Command consisted of the General, aHero on Griffin, a second Hero, and twoWizards. The army core ranked up asfollows: four units of Crossbowmen, fourunits of Halderdiers, two units ofFlagellants, four units of Knights, and a unitof Knights Panther (no House Rules, justnice models!). Ubiquitous artillery support

THE BATTLE OF HELL PASSA Battle Report By Andy Meechan

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17

The Battle of Hell Pass

was provided by two Cannon batteries, andtwo Steam Tanks (our next game saw Theotaking Pistoliers and Handgunners insteadof the Steam Tanks. A much scarier prospectto play against!). Oh, and and some magicitems.

FIELD OF BATTLEAs we were playing in a mountain pass,terrain was going to be sparse and spaceconstricted. We toyed with playing along theboard, but found two 4' long hills anddecided a 5x4' board was going to be achallenge. Here’s the scenery anddeployment from the Chaos point of viewthen (from left to right):

Impassable mountains running along theedge, river also running along the edge, butwith a meander just past the halfway (and acouple of rock-bridges for a bit of tacticaloption). A hill next to the meander, lots ofopen ground and then a rockslide from theright flank mountains providing a bit ofrough going.

DEPLOYMENT & CUNNING PLAN!Two units of Marauders and a unit of ChaosWarriors would move to take the hill (theirleft anchored by the river), the Harpiesdeployed to their rear would occupy themeander to threaten the flanks (and spy outthose Cannon). In the centre Marauders,Chaos Warriors and Dragon Ogres were todefend the flank of those on the hill, with aMarauder unit in front to run as ablativearmour for, hopefully, both brigades. On theright flank were the Chariots, Knights, andtwo units of Marauder Cavalry, with ChaosHounds in front as ablat... aw, you guessed.

The Empire reacted to this deployment byplacing two units of Halberdiers on oneflank, two units of Crossbowmen, a unit ofHalberdiers and Flagellants on the other. Onthe flank facing-off against my Cavalry weretwo units of Cannon, the Knights, and fourunits of Knights with the Steam Tanks to therear.

KEY Chaos

K CC

H

M

CKDO

MC

H

CH

CW

CN

ST

C

F

Halberdiers

Flagellants

Cannons

Steam Tank

Chaos Warriors

Marauders

Harpies

Chaos Hounds

Chaos ChariotsMarauderCavalry

ChaosKnightsDragon Ogres

Knights

Crossbowmen

Empire

EMPIRE ARMY

M MM CW

CW

HCHAOS ARMY

DEPLOYMENT

M CH

DOCC CK MC MC

H HC CH F

C CH F

CN CN

K K K K

K ST ST

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The Battle of Hell Pass

Turns 1 & 2The Chaos infantry advanced and took thehill and the centre, the ablative units ofMarauders weathering minor blusteringprovided by the Cannons. The Empirecavalry moved forward, as did the Cannon,with Crossbowmen-aided infantry brigadesmoving into range and disrupting one unit

of Marauders on the hill. The Harpies fledbehind the hill (I rolled a Blunder! on theCommand roll – pick the one unit whose‘full pace move’ is the largest and ask themto get out of line of sight of the enemy...).The forces of Chaos were waiting for theEmpire army to give them that opening.

18

EMPIRE ARMY

M M

M CW

CW

H

CHAOS ARMY

M CH

DOCC CK MC MC

H H

C CH F

C CH F

CN CNK

KK

K

K

ST ST

TURN 1

TURN 2

EMPIRE ARMY

M M

M CW

CW

H

CHAOS ARMY

M

CHDO

CC CK MC MC

H H

C CH F

C CH F

CN CNK

KK

K

KST

ST

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19

The Battle of Hell Pass

Chaos Turn 3The expected attack didn’t come, so myChaos army had to force the Empire player’shand a little! The Dragon Ogres charged aSteam Tank that had puttered into thecentre, the Chaos Warriors attachedbreaking left to support the attack on theEmpire infantry (they didn’t make it tocombat, but their presence on the fieldprovided good fodder for emergencyplanning). The left flank attack hit homeand, backed by the Harpies to the enemy’srear, destroyed a brigade. However, the

fickle Chaos gods had seen to punish thedark horde for previous transgressions –saving throws were thrown away and asingle stand from each attacking unit fellback to the hill.

The Dragon Ogres made short work of oneof the Empire’s ‘big tin cans’ and flanked theKnights. Unfortunately their own flankclipped the Empire cannons and the combatwas lost on a pile of bad luck with theDragon Ogres dying later, stranded in frontof Cannons and Crossbows. Ouch!

CHAOS TURN 3

EMPIRE ARMY

M M

M

CWCW

H

CHAOS ARMY

M

CH

DO

CC CKM

CM

C

H H

C CH F

C CH F

CN CNK

KK

K

KST

ST

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The Battle of Hell Pass

Empire Turn 3With the lure of stranded units of Maraudersand Chaos Hounds in the centre (well, notexactly stranded as I had placed them theredeliberately – for once!), the Empire Knights

broke their line and inflicted the expectedcasualties. The Empire breakpoint sat at 5/10and Chaos 3/7, but with Chaos having threeunits with one stand each, victory wasn'tassured.

20

EMPIRE ARMY

M M

CW

CW

H

CHAOS ARMY

M

CC CK M

CM

C

H HC CH F

CN CN

KK

KK

K

ST

EMPIRE ARMY

M M

M

CW

CW

H

CHAOS ARMY

MCH

CC CKM

CM

C

H HC CH F

CN CN

KK

KK

K

ST

EMPIRE TURN 3

CHAOS TURN 4

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Chaos Turn 4 & VictoryThen the Chaos Knights hit home. Withsome cunning (okay, and fortunate)manoeuvring (I had been watchingdistances carefully all game – a new one forme) the Chaos Chariots and Maraudercavalry hit one unit of the Empire’s finest,the Chaos Knights and second Maraudercavalry hit another (yes I was getting flankhits). A Chaos sorcerer joined the Knights tocast (I later realised that I only had to bewithin 30cm to cast Boon of Chaos giving+6 attacks! and not actually attached to theunit. Still, Chaos lives with its choices and ifthe Wizard had failed he must be punished,so he’ll likely get attached from now on!).

The Harpies, meantime, had taken a standcasualty to a brawl and then charged theEmpire cannon in the flank. Fortunately theyhad taken the casualty as stand placementmeant the cannon couldn’t fire! Two units of‘Big annoying shooty things’ went under thehammer...

The Chaos Knights did their job andadvanced into another unit of EmpireKnights, finishing them off quick smart too(thanks to Boon of Chaos) and taking onlyone stand as casualty (thanks to theStandard of Shielding!).In the meantime theMarauder cavalryadvanced into the samecombat as the ChaosChariots – that didn’t lastlong (a new personalbest: 36D6 in one roundof combat! The Grouprecord is currently 45held by the High Elves).Before I could rampageelsewhere the gameclosed down as theEmpire army withdrew.

Counting the CostThe Chaos army got offlightly in terms of our

campaign with only three units fullydestroyed to the Empire’s ten. Unfortunatelythe Dragon Ogres were one of those felled,but I’ve now learned not to push anadvantage too hard!

As the Harpies picked at the remnants of theEmpire army, the Chaos Warmaster gazedpast the edge of the mountain pass, a surgeof pleasure coursing through him as hespied the now defenceless town lying in thepath of his warhost. His gods would favourhim tonight...

CONCLUSIONSWell that was certainly one of ‘those games’that brought tension, despair and pleasurein odd amounts. The Chaos army is limitedin its tactics and so your opponent holds thecards as they can spot your weaknesses amile off. Aside from the usual advice ofpicking an army whose units complimenteach other I would suggest that timingseems to be the key to fielding a competitiveforce. Knowing not only where, but alsowhen to strike is of utmost importance asthis allows you to strike as hard as possible.Not many armies can come back from asneaky Chaos kidney punch – and they haveto live in the knowledge that it was a wrongmove, or pair of failed Command rolls thatdid for them! (A low blow indeed).

CREDITSThanks to my opponent, Theo, for makingme think all the way through this slugfest.Thanks also to Chuck & Lothaire (from thegw-warmaster Yahoo! group) for some grandadvice prior to this game.

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The Battle of Hell Pass

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The sons of the Empire’s nobility oftenchoose to join one of the selectbrotherhoods of Knightly orders. There aremany such brotherhoods throughout theEmpire. Some of the smaller Orders recruitfrom the local nobility, such as the Knights ofthe Blazing Sun, the Knights of the BlackRose, the Knights of the Broken Sword, etc.Some restrict their membership toworshippers of a particular god and arereferred to as Templars, such as the BlackGuard of Morr or the Knights of theEverlasting Light. A Knight displays theemblems of his order on his armour andshield, and the style of his armour and dressfollows a traditional design. Knights owetheir allegiance directly to their lord: theGrand Master of their order. Each Order hasa very complex hierarchic structure, butalmost all of them are governed by an InnerCircle of Knights. These heroic warriors haveaccomplished a mighty feat of arms,distinguishing themselves and earning theright to ascend to this important position.The Knights of the Inner Circle are the eliteof the Elite, certainly the best fighting menof all the Empire.

Elector Counts oftencall upon theKnights of an Orderto come to arms andfight as part of theirarmy. To add thiscrack heavy cavalryto their own army is

vital for the Counts.This makes the Grand

Masters very powerfulindividuals, because theirs

is the final decision whetherthe Order will join the Count’s

army or not. Often the conditions for thishelp is that the Grand Master himselfassumes command of the army. ManyElector Counts are only too happy to accept

this condition, since it is well known that

Grand Masters make formidable leaders.

REIKSGUARD KNIGHTSThe Reiksguard Knights form the bodyguardof the Emperor. The Order was foundedduring the reign of Wilhelm, the firstEmperor of the lineage of the Princes ofAltdorf. Devout Templars of Sigmar,Reiksguard Knights swear to give their livesto protect the Emperor, who is the livingincarnation of Sigmar. Their Grand Master isthe Reiksmarshall of the Empire,commander of all the Empire’s forces,second only to the Emperor himself.

KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE WOLFThe Knights of the White Wolf are based inthe city of Middenheim, where they werefounded following a great victory againstChaos outside the city walls. The Knights areall followers of the God Ulric who isworshipped throughout the Empire, butmost notably in the northern provinces,especially Middenland. The Knights wearmantles of wolf skins over their armour,carry neither shield nor helm and ride tobattle bare-headed to show off their longhair and beards. Their weapon is a mighty

KNIGHTLY ORDERS

OF THE EMPIRE

Reiksguard Knights

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Knightly Orders of the Empire

warhammer which theyswing round their heads,knocking enemy horsemenfrom their saddles andpounding the skulls of foeson foot.

KNIGHTS PANTHERThe Knights Panther tracetheir origins to the warsagainst Araby, whenreturning crusaders broughtback outlandish animalsfrom the east. Some of theseKnights adopted the pantheras their emblem, creating theOrder of the Knights Panther.

KNIGHTS OFTHE BLAZING SUN

The Knights of this order arelocated deep in the South ofMiddenland. They are a smallbut much respected orderwith a distinguished history.They were the first of theKnightly Orders from thewest to travel to Nuln andjoin with Magnus the Pious.The Knights take great pridein their weapons andabilities. They can often beseen charging on thebattlefield in their highlypolished and resplendentarmour of black and gold.

The Order has developed atechnique using theirpolished mirrored shields tofocus sunlight onto theenemy’s face as they charge.This disorientates anddazzles the poor fools justbefore they are chargeddown.

Knights of the White Wolf

Knights Panther

Knights of the Blazing Sun

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WARMASTER PRE-GAME STRATEGYBy Jerry McVicker & Joe Noll

This article was taken with the kindpermission of the guys on the MaximumWarmaster website now sadly defunct!

Battlefield ZonesThe battlefield should be set up betweentwo players, sides selected and deploymentzones marked. Each deployment zone ismarked into three distinct zones. Left flank,centre and right flank. The centre zoneshould include half the total area of thedeployment zone. The right and left flanksshould include half of the remaining half ofthe total area of the deployment zone each(a quarter!).

Example: If your deployment area starts at120cm wide, your centre zone is 60cm wideand each flank zone is 30cm wide (Seepicture below.).

During deployment any troop type candeploy in the Centre zone. Within the flankzones, you may only deploy cavalry,monsters, flyers and up to one third of yourtotal number of infantry units (total thenumber of infantry units and divide by threeand round up to the nearest whole number.This is the total number of infantry units youcan deploy into your flank zones).

Strategy PointsAfter selecting and writing up an army eachplayer then calculates the number of‘Strategy points’ available to his army.Strategy points are earned from thefollowing sources:

• General’s Command rating: 1 point of Command translates as 1 Strategy point.

• +1 Strategy point for each Hero or Wizard in the army

• +1 Strategy point per 1,000 points of troops. Armies of less than 1,000 points donot get any bonus Strategy points.

Example: The Empire General has aCommand of 9 which gives it 9 SP. TwoHeroes and a Wizard, for 3 additionalpoints and 1500 points of troops for anadditional 1 point. This gives a total of 13SP to be spent in the pre-game strategicphase.

Once the Strategy point totals are calculatedthe player, can then buy any of the followingstrategic effects. All effects must bepurchased and written down (in secret)before any are executed. Each player writesa list of the options he purchases and marksthem off as used. When ready, before thestart of the game, both players roll 1D6 andthe highest scoring player announces one ofhis purchases – this is called the Strategy

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We’ve received quite a few submissions for WarMag since its inception, most of whichhave been a very high standard a few, well... they’re preventing my desk from wobbling!Some good submissions, whilst being interesting and innovative, have been very difficultto put into any kind of context within the magazine. Are they purely fun throw-awayhouse rules? Are they strictly Trial Rules that must be playtested thoroughly with an eyeto changing the whole game? Well, not really. These rules ideas that follow are not justthrow-away because they bring an interesting aspect to the game but at the same timethey don’t so much change the game but sort of add to it in an unconventional manner.So, although we’ve titled this section ‘house rules’, do give ’em a whirl – they’re rules youcan use between tournaments without ruining your appetite!

A FISTFUL OFHOUSE RULES...

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A Fistful of House Rules

phase. Each player reveals each of hisstrategy options one at a time, taking turnsuntil all have been announced. All PickGround options must be announced beforeany other option. Once all Pick Groundoptions have been announced, the playerscan continue, in order, using their otherchoices.

Strategy OptionsSome of the points for the options listedhere may seem too small for the effect theyproduce, but players should keep in mindthat this system is also used for the selectionof terrain. If a player selects too many specialeffects, he may find himself fighting in openground or assaulting his enemy on hills orworse in fortified positions.

Alter Fate............................ 1 Strategy Point

Each point spent allows a re-roll for anysingle throw of the dice during the course ofthe game. This can be used for castingmagic, shooting, combat or command. Thenew roll must be accepted and can not bere-rolled a second time. Any army can haveone of these per 1,000 points of troops.

Ambush............................ 3 Strategy Points

Within your deployment zone you canconceal one unit in any terrain that blocksline of sight. These terrain types includewoods, towns, rough, rocky or any otherterrain designated so at the start of thegame. The division or unit must be able tophysically fit in the terrain feature. Recordthe position of the unit on a piece of paperand reveal when the unit is moved or anenemy unit comes within 10cm of it. This ofcourse, cannot be used until some terrain isplaced on the board.

Deploy................................ 1 Strategy Point

This effect allows for the stretching of yourdeployment zone. For each Strategy pointyou may increase any of your individualdeployment areas (Right flank, Centre orLeft flank) either 10cm in depth or 10 cm inwidth. (the centre zone must be expandedin equal amount to both sides – 5cm per

side). You may not increase yourdeployment zone closer than 20cm to youropponent’s deployment zone.

Fortify................................ 2 Strategy Points

Allows the placement of linear fortifiedpositions. Linear sections are 20cm long.Linear fortified positions are trenches orwalls. Units in or behind these will count asfortified if attacked across the front of thelinear position.

March or Die...................... 1 Strategy Point

Allows the commander one automaticcommand success to a single unit onceduring the game. This simulatespredetermined orders given to a unit. Nosingle unit may have more than one Marchor Die order. Any army can have one of theseper 1,000 pts.

Outflank............................ 2 Strategy Points

The player places one unit off board. On anyturn after the first the player may choose tocall in these troops on the predeterminedflanking board edge (must be writen downin secret before the start of the game). Afterannouncing he is doing this, he rolls on thefollowing chart:

D6 Effect

1 Flanking unit is two turns late.

2-4 Flanking unit is one turn late.

5-6 Flanking unit is on time. Up to fourunits may be used as a brigade to flank left or right. Each flanking unitcosts 1 SP. The purchasing player only has to announce that he has purchased a flank manoeuvre and not which flank they will enter on or which troops are to be used. Thisinformation can be revealed by theuse of a scout.

Reserve............................... 1 Strategy Point

This is the same as Out Flank but thedivision is always on time, and is deployedon the player’s own board edge.

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A Fistful of House Rules

Scout................................ 1 Strategy Point

Scouts are used in the Strategy phase inorder to discover the enemy’s plans. The useof a Scout reveals the location and strengthof any one of the following: Ambushes, OutFlank, and Reserve. The player having aScout played against him may also play hisown Scout to cancel these effects, but onlyonce for each protected manoeuvre.

Example: The Empire player has purchasedan Out Flank for four units (4 SP) and twoScouts (2 SP). The Elven player haspurchased two Scouts (2 SP). During hisStrategy phase, the Empire playerannounces he has purchased an Out Flankmanoeuvre. The Elven player goes next andannounces the use of a Scout to explore thismanoeuvre. The Empire player could eitherreveal the flanking side and the troops, orhe could use a Scout to cancel the ElvenScout. The Empire player decides to use aScout to cancel the Elven Scout. The Elvenplayer then uses a second Scout on the samemanoeuvre. The Empire player MUST revealthe flank manoeuvre because he cannotcancel two Scouts on the same manoeuvre.Unfortunately for the Elves, they have nomore Scouts and the Empire could haveanother trick up their sleeve.

Place of Power................... 1 Strategy Point

Player nominates one terrain feature to be aPlace of Power. This terrain feature is now

endowed with magical energy that can betapped into by any spell caster. To utilise thepower the spell caster has to occupy theterrain feature while casting. A caster canadd +1 to any attempt to cast a spell fromthis point once per game. Multiple casterscan utilise this power on either side, but asingle caster may not use it more than once.

Pick Ground.....................1 Strategy Points

Players buy terrain features and place themon the table. Below is a chart of terrainfeatures and their costs. Some terrainfeatures may be superimposed on others.Terrain features are bought with Terrainpoints (TP). For each SP a player can putdown 6 TP of features, remove 3 TP offeatures or reduce the opponent’s next PickGround by 3 TP. Players alternate playingPick Ground until there is no Pick Groundoptions left to either player. Each areapurchased can cover approximately a 20cmsquare area (I.e. the bigger the hill the moreTP it costs and maybe more SP). Unused TPfrom one option may be used in the nextPick Ground option. Unused removal pointsare not carried over. Terrain may not beplaced in the opponent’s deployment zone.

Terrain Features Terrain Points

Hill 3

Woods 3

Lake 4

Rough Ground 3

Village 4

Swamp 4

Linear terrain types can also be purchased.The cost of each section is variable and

dependent on where it is placed andwhat type. The central

zone is the area thatextends across the

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A Fistful of House Rules

table no greater than the width of bothsides’ original deployment zones. Thesefeatures may be placed through otherterrain features.

Linear Zone CostFeature Central Flank Max Width

Road 3 TP 2 TP 40 mm

River 6 TP 4 TP 80 mm

Set-upOnce completed, each side may deploytroops on the table in any predeterminedway. The only restrictions being types ofunits and zones of deployment mentionedabove. The game then proceeds as normal.

TERRAIN RULES IDEASBy Karl Hiesterman

([email protected])The rules for terrain in Warmaster are simpleand effective, but lumping all terrain typesinto one category is highly unrealistic.Different landscape has different qualities,advantages and disadvantages, and theserules set out to give you a more varied set ofterrain. Feel free to pick and choose theterrain rules you would like to use, but besure to be in agreement with your opponentas to which rules you are using! Players arealso encouraged to combine these terraintypes, or create their own as they see fit.

RoadsRoads are seen throughout the civilisedlands of the Warhammer world, linkingtogether key population centres. Thesecentres often become focal points ofWarmaster battles, and thus should appearon most battlefields. Roads are 20-40mmwide and allow all units to traverse terrainthey could not normally enter.

Roads also aid in commanding troops, bothby helping messengers move quickly to unitsand by making those units easier to find.When measuring the distance for commandyou may trace a path down a road and thenhalve the distance when imposing modifiersto command. The command path may notbe traced through enemy units on the road.Roads create a clear line of sight throughterrain that normally blocks line of sight, butonly along the defined route.

ForestsForests are a common terrain feature,particularly in the Empire, and often areseen on the field of combat. Forests shouldbe clearly delineated in some way,commonly as a created piece of terrain or byplacing a piece of felt in the shape of theforest, then decorating with trees, etc.

Forests are the same as in the Warmasterrules. Defenders are hit on a 5+ by missilefire and count as Defended. All units can seeand shoot into woods by up to 1cm. Thus,infantry may charge enemy infantry that is1cm from the edge of the woods. Onlyinfantry may enter aForest.

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TownsThese are terrain pieces that predominatelyconsists of buildings and other urbanfeatures. Small hamlets and villages tomighty cities are referred to as Towns. Thesealso need to be delineated in some way,often as a terrain piece or by placing a pieceof felt and then decorating it with buildings.

Towns normally contain roads runningthrough them. This needs to be indicated insome way so units that cannot normallyenter Towns may move through the Town.Towns give the Defender the usual benefitsof the Warmaster rules. Unlike a Forest,units may not see into or shoot into Townsbut may see/shoot units on the edge ofTowns. Only infantry may enter Towns

Individual BuildingsSome buildings are not part of a Town, butare just obstacles; farmhouses, tombs,temples, etc. These cannot be entered byunits other than infantry and block line ofsight.

SwampsSwamps are vast, sticky, wet expanses ofworthless ground, and are impassableterrain that do not block line of sight. It isimpassable to all units. Like Forests, Flyersmay move over them but treat them asimpassable terrain for all other movement.

HillsHilly terrain normally refers to gentlysloping hills that can be traversed by all units(Note that hills may contain other terrainthat does restrict movement. Hills can havewooded slopes, or impassable cliffs, etc). It

is important that the terrain piece used torepresent a hill has an obvious method ofdetermining which stand is higher than theother. Attacking up a hillside is very difficultand tiring, whereas attacking down a hill cangive the attacker powerful impetus. Standsthat are below their opponent’s stands incombat are at -1 Attack per stand.

Stakes & ObstaclesThese are often stakes driven into theground or other small obstacles. These actjust like hedges and walls, and offer infantrybehind them Defended status. However,they must be placed during deployment,and are removed if the unit they areprotecting moves in any way. It costs 5 pts toequip a unit with them.

RiversThe world is crossed by many mighty rivers,and these waterways are the backbone ofmany an economy. As such, they are oftenthe focal point of a campaign and fightingover them and along their banks iscommonplace.

For all intents and purposes Rivers are thesame as Swamps except that crossing pointsmay be made on them.

FordsFords are shallow places in a river, where thelower water allows easier crossings. Infantry,cavalry, and monsters may cross the river atthis point.

BridgesAll units may cross a River at a Bridge. Anyunits on a Bridge may count as beingDefended.

ARCANE ARMOURYNew Magic Items for Warmaster

By Mike HeaddenMagic Items can be useful in Warmaster, theyare rarely battle-winners but they can give askillful general an edge when it is mostneeded.

Given the number of times after a battle thatI’ve gone ‘Oh no, I’ve forgotten to use theSword of Fate, Battle Banner, etc.’ myopponents may feel that new Magic Itemsare the last thing I need to be introducing tothe game! Despite that, I’m an inveteratetinkerer so listed opposite you will findsuggestions for a few more items to heartenyour troops and confound your enemies.

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A Fistful of House Rules

HEALING POTION

Infantry, Cavalry, Chariots................ 5ptsA stock in trade of many alchemists,Healing potions are comparativelycommon in the Warhammer world. Thismagic item represents a supply largeenough to heal a significant number ofwarriors.

Cancels one hit. Hits from shooting, meleeor magic can be cancelled by this item. Thehit is counted as never having happened andso doesn’t count for drive-backs or decidingwho wins combat. Use after any armoursaves have been taken and failed. Use onceper battle.

POWER BOW OF RIATSALA

All but Artillery and Monsters.........15ptsThe Kislevite shaman, Riatsala, madeseveral of these bows. Most of those still inuse are copies. Lesser known wizards oftentried to boost the value of their work byusing the great mage’s name. Even thecopies can be potent weapons though.

If given to a unit, one stand gains +1shooting attack, range 30cm. If given to acharacter, character gains +1 shootingattack, range 30cm. Characters may onlyshoot if they join a unit. Normal armoursaves apply even if the unit concernedwould normally reduce or negate thetarget’s armour.

THE BELTS OF SIWEL

Infantry........................................... 50ptsSiwel was a Priest of Sigmar who used hispower to enchant several sets of belts. Eachset contained enough belts to equip a singleunit. The belts channel the blessings ofSigmar to the wearer making themsteadfast and brave. Since the belts do notaffect horses, cavalry and chariots may notuse them. Though once available only to theEmpire, several sets have been lost sincetheir making and they may now be foundin the armies of any race.

A unit equipped with the Belts of Siwel aredriven back or pushed back 1cm less than

normal, except that they will always bepushed back at least 1cm. If a unit equippedwith this item pushes back an opponent theopponent is pushed back an additional 1cm,drive-backs due to shooting by the unitequipped with the item are not affected.This may affect routs and also pursuer’scombat bonuses due to the increase orreduction in the total distance moved.

A unit equipped with this item may elect tostand their ground rather than fall back ifthey draw a combat.

DOOM SHOT

Infantry, Cavalry, Chariots...............10ptsThis enchanted ammunition createsadditional wounds by causing the missilesto multiply, explode, or by similar means. Itmay be used to inflict additional damageon an important target or it may be used asa last line of defence against chargingopponents.

Only troops with a missile attack can use thisitem. Only troops armed with bows,crossbows and other weapons which do notmodify a target’s armour save can beequipped with this item. This item can onlybe used once per battle. The unit makes D3attacks in place of one single attack. Forexample, a unit of Skeleton Archers wouldmake 2+D3 attacks if it were at full strength.

SHADOW WEAVER’S CLOAK

Generals only................................75ptsThese cloaks are rare indeed and sofabulously expensive that most beings canonly dream of owning one. Woven of smoke,dreams and shadows these cloaks provideperfect concealment for a limited time.

Only Generals are important enough to beequipped with this item. Once per battle aGeneral who is with a unit which isdestroyed may avoid destruction and joinanother unit, providing there is one within30cm. Any mount is lost and the figure mustbe replaced by a figure on foot or horseback.If the player does not have a suitable figurethen the General is lost.

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A Fistful of House Rules

ELITE UNITSCustomising your units

(Unfortunately we lost the name andaddress of the author– DOH!

whoever you are please get in touch!)Every lazy gamer’s favourite words must be‘this counts as…’ fantastic! My army can beunique with a distinct flavour and historywithin the Warhammer world.

Most Warmaster players are old Warhammerplayers who thought a bit bigger (or smalleras it were!). So who could field a Dwarf armywithout inviting Josef Bugman and friends?No problem they ‘count as’ Rangers. AnEmpire army without Outriders? No worriesthey ‘count as’ Pistoliers. Unfortunately thisapproach will only get you so far, how aboutthe High Elf Phoenix Guard or Dwarf IronBreakers? These reasons are exactly why Ideveloped these following house rules forrecreating these Famous Elite Units.

• An Elite unit may only be Infantry, Cavalryor Chariots.

• You may only have one Elite unit in yourarmy.

• The unit must be known in theWarhammer world.

• The unit must be represented on the tableby distinctive models.

• The unit may have no more than threeupgrades and never more than one of thesame type (see below).

All Elite units have the base statistics of theappropriate troop type from the army list.Players may then customise this unit withthe following upgrades

Upgrade Points Cost (Inf/Cav & Char)

+1 Attack +15/+25

+1 Missile +10/+20Attack

If Missile attack has -1 save or forHigh Elves +5/+10

+1 Armour +15/+25

+1 Hit +20/+30

Fearless* +15/+30(Immune to Terror & Drive-Backs.)

Disciplined* +15/+25(Automatically obeys the first order each turn.)

*Undead may not take the Fearless orDisciplined options.

EXAMPLES OF ELITE UNITS

Phoenix Guard............................... 90 ptsAs High Elf Spearmen with +1 Attack andDisciplined.

Swordmasters................................ 90 ptsAs High Elf Spearmen with +1 Attack andFearless.

Iron Breakers............................... 140 ptsAs Dwarf Warriors with +1 Armour andDisciplined.

Long Beards................................. 140 ptsAs Dwarf Warriors with +1 Attack andFearless.

Knights of the White Wolf............ 165 ptsAs Empire Knights with +1 Attack andFearless.

Knights Panther............................ 160 ptsAs Empire Knights with +1 Attack andDisciplined.

The Cursed Company..................... 45 ptsAs Undead Skeletons with +1 Attack.

Golgfag’s Mercenary Ogres......... 155 ptsAs Ogres with +1 Attack, +1 Hit andFearless.

These rules are not meant for power gamersto abuse, but for gamers who miss key unitsand want to introduce them on a new scale.

I would suggest maximums of 5 Attacks,4 Hits and 3+ Save should be observed andpreferably not combined, unless that unitcould be shown to exist in the Warhammerworld, ie featured in an army list or in somefiction. I for one don’t wish to face an Attack5, Hits 4, 3+ save Dwarf CharioteerHandgunners! (Nearly 400 pts of fun in onelittle packet).

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You’ve decided between ordinary terrain(OT) and modular terrain (MT), built yourgaming table and made yourself comfortablewith the principles of modules and/or bases.So let’s decorate them.

PLAIN & PLANE (P&P)TERRAIN

Plain stands for plain simple to build and forplain texture and colour. Plane stands forer... plane or flat.

P&p is used as the kind of terrain OTwargames tables are covered with. This kindof terrain has to be on a vertical plane (flat),because you must be able to place bases ofterrain features flush with your gamesboards and enable efficient and safe storageof the table. It has to be plain to be easilymade and to allow for simple matchingwhen making bases for terrain features.

P&p is used on each featureless terrain edgeto allow the seamless (as far as it goes)arrangement of modules. It has to be planebecause the featureless module edges areplane and it has to be plain to allow simplereproduction and matching.

P&p is also used for what wargamers callopen ground. This gives troops space tomanoeuvre in and is in general the placewhere big formations will move and fight.Open ground must be plain and plane to beable to position models on the terrain asfreely as possible and with the least risk ofthem falling over.

Because of its use for the gamingtable/module edges and its use as openground, the p&p will decide the overallappearance and theme of your wargamestable.

The typical choice for p&p terrain isgrassland, but dessert dunes, snow plains or

just earthy ground are also good choices.Even a mix is possible, but with OT the baseswill have to be designed to fit (colour andterrain wise) all the basic terrain types andwith MT adaptor modules, making thetransition between terrain types will beneeded.

THE GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOMEGrass mats are a quick way to create largeareas of grassland. The mat is a sheet ofpaper flocked with static grass. Grass matswhich end directly at the table edges may getrolled upwards and ripped eventuallythough. To prevent this use mats larger thanthe surface to be covered and fold themaround the edges. Alternatively, you coulduse a frame that will cover the edges of thegrass mats. Neither frames nor folding canbe used with modules, as both will disturbthe module arrangement. The only way togo for MT is to be extra careful when fixingthe mat onto the module edges.

When choosing a grass mat, do not go for anoverly gaudy or bright colour, be sure thatthe mat is available in a suitable size (ie,large enough to cover a module or part ofthe table) and be sure that themanufacturers offer static grass in the samecolour and make. You will need thematching static grass for irregular shaped orelevated areas and to cover seams betweenmats.

Always cut a grass mat larger than the areayou need to cover and trim the mat when itis fixed and the glue is dry.

Many manufacturers recommend wood gluefor fixing the mats onto a surface. The theoryis that you put wood glue on the surface tobe covered and then put the mat on top andweigh it down to keep it flat. Any folds willbe removed, because as the glue dries themat will contract. However, this method hasnever worked for me, I can’t explain why, it’sjust one of those things. Recentlymanufacturers started to recommend sprayglue, which in my experience works muchbetter than wood glue. Personally, I getmuch better results using contact glue.Cover (the paper side of) the mat and thetable/module surface with contact glue

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MODELLING MASTERCLASS part IIIBy Stephan Hess

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Modelling Masterclass

using a serrated putty knife,wait until the glue feels tackyand nearly dry and then pressthe mat onto the surface. Youdo this beginning on one edgeand rolling out the mat using arubber roller or smoothing itwith your hands – it is verymuch like laminating a picture.This needs some practice, butgives good results.

Using wallpaper paste alsoworks, but it is a bit messy. Theprocedure is just the same asfor decorating a wall.

A simpler approach is to usedouble-sided tape. Place thetape along the edges of thetable/module and place some additionalstrips running parallel to an edgethroughout the depth of the module.Starting at an edge you draw/roll the matsonto the module. Practice will allow you toget good results.

Using double-sided tapeWhen in a hurry (ie, you have to prepare tentables for tomorrow’s tournament) you canuse the parcel wrapping method. This isonly recommended for OT and is onlypossible if the mat is large enough to befolded around the edges. Put the grass matonto a table (grass side down), put the baseon top, fold the mat around the edges andfix it, just like packing a parcel or wrappinga book in a jacket. The results aren’t greatcompared with the above methods but it letsyou get things done extremely fast. Scientificresearch has shown that the parcel packinggene runs stronger in the female of the

species, so ask, your girlfriend, mother,sister or wife for help! Always use tape orglue (a hot glue gun is handy in this case) tofix the mat. When you use nails or staplesthe mat tends to rip easily when you pull itflat.

Wrinkles are a trademark of wrappingThese mats are not too flexible, so when youuse them for bases or bumpy terrain youmight have to cut slits to allow for simplerarrangement, or use a number of smallpieces. Cover any resulting gaps with staticgrass of the same make.

If you can’t get mats that are large enough tocover the entire surface of your table youwill have to use two mats side-by-side. Thelarge seams are less obtrusive when cut intoan irregular shape and where necessary youcan cover the seams with static grass.

Using static grass effectivelyStatic grass comes in many colours andnow also in different lengths. It is madefrom short plastic fibres and because it isstatic the grass will align along an electricalfield. This feature ensures that the grasswill stand upright when making a grassmat.

There are different ways to proceed, butwith all you have to prepare a bedding. Thebedding will take the grass and bond it tothe surface. The bedding I use is madefrom wood glue and acrylic wall colour inthe same measure, and a shot of washingup detergent. Depending on theconsistency you might want to add somewater, but the mixture should not be freeflowing. The wood glue’s purpose isevident; the colour keeps the glue for a bitlonger and prevents the surface colourfrom shining through. Choose any hue youDouble-sided

Grass mat

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like, but usually greens give the best result.The hue used will influence the appearanceof your grassland and you can use differenthues to good effect to break up an otherwiseboring stretch of grassland. It can also beused to mark boggy areas or to make adarker grass for wooded areas. The washingup detergent will break the surface tensionof the glue/colour mix. When a surface issmooth (especially with foams) and youapply colour or glue you will realise that theglue tries to form drops, so that some spotsdo not stay covered with colour or glue. Thedetergent prevents this.

When you have brushed the bedding on,you will need to apply the grass with one ofthe methods that follow. The mixture willdry quickly, so it is best to do a few smallerareas than one big area. You can add somewallpaper glue to the colour/glue/detergentmix to keep the mixture workable for alonger time. When dry shake off the excessgrass onto a newspaper to be used again oreven better use a vacuum cleaner to removeany excess grass. If you use a wide nozzleand cover it with nylon stocking the grasswill be caught in the mesh and can be usedagain (a device like this can be seen on thetools and materials photo below).

The next step is to seal the grass to preventit getting rubbed off easily. You could usespray glue or even varnish, but I personallyprefer thinned down wood glue(consistency of milk) with a shot of washingup detergent – no colour this time. If youuse a brush to soak the grass, the grass mightstart to swim away and/or fall flat, so fill theglue/water/detergent into a spray bottledesigned for spraying water on flowers andspray it over the grass. If you do not cleanthe nozzle immediately after use it will glue

itself shut. I found some cheap spray bottlesfor less than a pound each, so it is not toobig a loss if this happens.

Tools and materialsIf you feel that the grass is too sparse youcan add another layer of grass while the sealis still wet. When dry you will have to sealthe new layer as well.

The simplest, but least satisfying way toapply static grass, is to pour the grass fromthe bag onto the bedding and press the grassin carefully. Not very surprisingly it will justlook like static grass poured onto a table.

A better way is to use a plastic bottle with aremovable cap. The cap should have anumber of holes of about 8mm diameter. Itis important that the bottle is soft enough sothat you can squeeze it. Fill the bottle threequarters full with static grass and shake it.Hold it about 10 to 15cm above the bedding,opening downwards, and squeeze thebottle. The grass gets hurled out, hopefullyaligning itself because of the electricalcharge created by shaking the bottle. Theforce should be strong enough to set thegrass firmly into the bedding, but if you arenot satisfied you can press the grass carefullyin (avoid flattening the grass).

The hand is quicker than the eyeI know of two devices that are designed toease the process. The first one is from acompany called Noch and costs about fiftypounds. It looks like a hair dryer with adefective heating coil, that runs on 12 voltsand has a container for static grass on top. Itworks reasonably well, and whilst it is morefancy than ‘squeezing a bottle’ the resultsare neither considerably better, norconsiderably faster. The other device is from

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Modelling Masterclass

Tools used throughout this article

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Heki and costs about £500. It is a stickwith a grass container on one end andtwo cables on the other. You will haveto mount a metallic piece into thebedding (a nail) connect one of thecables to the piece and the other cableto the power supply and switch on thedevice. The stick has a high voltagegenerator built in which creates anelectrical field between the grasscontainer and the bedding via the nail.This draws the grass into the bedding,aligning it on the way down. Theresults are picture perfect, but theprice tag is too steep for the casualuser.

FlockingGrassmats and static grass are bothkinds of flock. There are also othermaterials that fall into this category and thatcan be applied to bedding and sealed asdescribed above, but in contrast to staticgrass you just pour them on or shake themthrough a sieve.

Flock used to represent earthy ground orgrass is often called turf. Flock to be used forleaves is called foliage and coarse flock forundergrowth or small plants is called clumpfoliage. Older hands will be familiar withcoloured sawdust. For modern eyes it looksa bit crude and has been widely replaced bystatic grass or foam flock.

Foam flock (like the one from GW orWoodland) is made from sponge-like foamand comes in an endless number of coloursand sizes. For Warmaster basic terrain a finegraded foam flock is recommended, leavingthe coarser grades for representingundergrowth.

Of course you could use sand. Prepare abedding as before, pour on thesand and seal it. Than use aspray paint to colour the sandand when dry drybrush it in thecolour of your choice. Themain advantage is that it ischeap and you can have anycolour you like and using thesame flock for different kinds ofterrain because you set thecolour by painting. ForWarmaster use a fine sand, likethe sand you get in petshopsfor use in birdcages. If you canget finer sand, then great.There are two drawbacks: forone painting the sand takespractice so that it does not looklike painted sand, and second

it’s hard on gaming materials as well as yourhands. I remember a tournament where allplayers had red and sore fingers at the endjust from taking the dice off the table. Beforeyou call me a ‘Sissy!’ remember that you dopick up the dice several hundred times inthe course of a tournament.

Some people swear by textured wall paint,but I find it too coarse to represent any kindof Warmaster terrain.

I’VE GOT SAND IN MY SHOESDesert sand is also quite popular as p&pterrain. The obvious choice to make sandyterrain is to use sand! Use a sand as fine asyou can get, some railroad accessorymanufacturers offer sand finer than isavailable in pet shops. Apply the sand usinga wood glue/detergent/water mix (nocolour). After the first layer of sand, theterrain will look rather disappointing, like atable with sand glued on. A second layer will

Modelling Masterclass

The hippy hippy shake!

Types of flock

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improve the look and if you use three layersthe result is quite good.

You can get even better results by using apaste. Mix sand, glue, water and detergentin a bowl until it has a creamy consistency.Then pour it on the surface, distributing itevenly. You will have to attach some frame toyour table to prevent the mixture flowing offthe edges. With gaming tables, you couldbuild the frame as part of the table, but withmodules, you will have to attach the frameonly until the mixture is dry. You will need tocoat the frame with partition fluid. To makesure that the frame can still be removedafterwards.

Fine scale modellers will recognise thatwhatever sand you use it will be out of scale,because you will need sand 175 (nominal)times finer than the smallest sand. Somemanufacturers offer powders tobe used like flock. These mightbe in scale but just like usingpaint the results seem lessrealistic to the eye. It’s probablymore the existence of thetexture than its grade thatcreates the impression of sand.Still you should use a sand thatis as fine as possible.

SNOW WHITEIn the last few years the interestin winter-based tables hasincreased. A very quick anddusty way is to put flourthrough a sieve over yourterrain. Add some diamantin(this is a very fine glitter) andyou get some convincing snow.

The major drawback is that flour isfood and I’m not enough of achemist to anticipate what it willlook like after a year or so. Also, itdoes not take contact with watervery well and is very difficult to fix.However, if you want to change thetheme of your table for a battle or ashort period, flour is fine and whenthe battle is over, just use a vacuumcleaner to bring the summer back.

For longer lasting winters usingsemi-gloss white spray paint worksmuch better. Before spraying on thecolour you really should apply afiller or the grain will shine throughas you can see on the picture below.Using a brown or green priming coatfirst and adding the white in a waythat the undercoat shines throughon parts is a nice variant. To increasethe appearance even more you can

sprinkle diamantin into the still wet colour.While colour works better at representingsnow than representing grass the result isstill not that great.

The best method yet is a special flockdistributed by Noch and Woodland. It has avery fine texture and is bright white. It isused like any other flock but should beapplied through a sieve. This flock givesgood results which can again be improvedwith diamantin.

Spray to the left and flock to the rightYou can mix diamantin with your snow orapply it later on top. It gives a nice frozensnow glitter effect. Diamantin is offered byFaller, but similar products are availablefrom other manufacturers. Faller also offersa winter set with diamantin, a special snow

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Modelling Masterclass

Sand

Snow

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plaster, special snow colour,some leafless trees and someicicles made from translucentplastic. There’s not enoughcolour for a wargames table,but the diamantin, trees andicicles are quite useful.

A note of warning: Because ofthe bright white colour, asnowy wargames table willshow traces of use and dustmuch quicker than any otherkind of terrain.

BACK TO EARTHYou might want to use plain oldearthy ground, not only for theChaos Wastes, but also for open ground. Youcan take the real thing remove the stonesand bits using a very fine sieve and apply itlike you would apply sand. The results varydepending on the earth. Use only dryordinary earth, not special compositions forgardens or potted flowers.

Woodland offers some flock in differentgrades and colours, which give a goodrepresentation of earth. It is just flock likeany other flock and the same rules apply.

A further method which gives a nice effect isto cover the surface with a coat of thinnedplaster. Just before the plaster dries, sprinklesome plaster (as it comes out of the bag) ontop. Then put some acrylic earth colour on apalette and water it down a lot. Use a largebrush and apply the watery colour. If youjust hold the brush to the plaster the colourwill soak in. Do not dab firmly or brush, justlet the colour flow into the plaster. Water thecolour down with different amounts ofwater to create different shades. When dryfix it with spray varnish or spray watereddown glue/detergent onto it.

FIGHT BOREDOMLarge areas of p&p terrainmight look very boring, thegreen grass mats often look likeendless parks. A very simplesolution is to use a grass matthat is not only green, but hassome flowers or stones mixedin.

You can also add some coarserflock to represent undergrowthor mix in spots with a differentshade of static grass. Recently,meshes with flock or long fibrestatic grass were introduced.They can be glued on top or can

be massaged into static grass, whether fixedin bedding or as part of a grass mat. Ofcourse you can also add stones or gravel ofany variety. Outdoors, model railway shopsand pet shops are good sources for stonesand gravel. Be prepared to paint the gravelbefore use because the natural look of thestones will often look artificial andmismatched on a gaming table. Irregularshaped stones should be glued on using ahot glue gun as the area they touch thesurface is very small. When you addgravel/undergrowth it will look better andwill be easier to make if you glue on it firstand than apply the flock or static grass.

You can also use colour to increase thevariety. Just drybrush on some lighter colouror change the colour used in the bedding forflock. Using stones or other protrudingfeatures to break up the plain surfaces has tobe well considered, because they may easilybe ripped off and can hinder the positioningof bases and models. This is mainly aproblem for the p&p covering the wargamestable of OT.

This concludes this article, which coveredmore terrain than ground!

Modelling Masterclass

Coarse Sand texture

Earthy plain

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