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Many of you may have stumbled unto this site by accident or were directed here by a friend. Whatever the case you probably have no idea what Warhammer is all about. If this is the case you're reading the right page! In the next few paragraphs I'll try to explain the world of Warhammer to you. Then you may have a faint idea of why we put this site up in the first place.
The most basic part of Warhammer is the physical layer. This includes the models, the board, and the books. The board is usually 4x4 feet long, but can be larger than 6x8 feet. The models are placed on the board along with terrain and sometimes small buildings. Models in Warhammer models come in all shapes in sizes. You have everything from small rat swarms to gigantic war machines. The game would not be the same without models! You must use some type of model to represent your troops. However, models get us nowhere if we don't know what they can do. In the rule book you learn the basic rules of Warhammer, without these you really would be at a loss for game play. Additionaly, the book has details on the many creatures in the Warhammer world so this is the perfect place to start deciding what army you will play. After deciding what army you wish to use you may purchase it's separate Army book. For example: If you would like to fight nobly for honor and glory you may purchase the Brettonian army book which features an army of mostly knights with supporting infantry. However, if you wish to command the forces of arcane evil you may purchase the Chaos army book. Chaos is ultimate source of evil in Warhammer. I will expound more on Rules and Army books in the next section.
Now we enter into the depths of
Warhammer. The written part of Warhammer consists of the rules
and army books. The rules tell us how to conduct the game and the
limitations of an army. The written part of Warhammer is the most
ambiguous. Rules can be taken many different ways and usually a
gaming group comes up with their own solutions. The army books
also gives us 'profiles' or 'stat lines' for our troops. Here are
the profiles for basic troops:
Warrior |
M |
WS |
BS |
S |
T |
W |
I |
A |
Ld |
Human |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
Dwarf |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
Elf |
5 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
Goblin |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
Orc |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
Chaos Warrior |
4 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
These profiles tell us the combat abilities of our troops. M reefers to movement which is the number of inches the warrior may move each turn. WS reefers to the weapon skill of the warrior. This determines how well the warrior hits in close combat. BS refers to the warrior's Ballistic Skill. This is for missile weapons (bows, slings, etc.). S is the models strength. T is the models toughness or his ability to sustain a hit. W is the models wounds if a models suffers more wounds then on his profile he dies. I is the models initiative. This controls the models reaction to events around him. A is the number of attacks the model can make in hand to hand combat. Ld is the models leadership. This controls the models mental reaction to events around him. These profiles are used constantly threw out the game. Seasoned Warhammer players not only know the profiles for their army, but their opponents too!
Now we get to the most enjoyable part of Warhammer: The Game! Before the game the players decide how big their armies will be and what time they will play etc. As the game starts models are placed on the table. During the game both sides advance and fight. Arrows and cannon balls fill the air across the battlefield. Brave Heroes slay monsters, faithful troops are killed, and evil goblins are routed. The when the game ends we count up the score and declare the winner. Hence the game.
The big question on most of your minds is: "Why? do you waste your time doing this?" or "Why don't you get a life?" (Ouch!). Ok, despite the fact these questions annoy me to no end I will attempt to answer them. I like the idea of having a small army of loyal troops willing to follow my every order. In reality, I'll never be a general of any sane army. I'd never have any great victories or crushing defeats. However, in Warhammer I can. In my mind every trooper comes alive. I can see the cannons smoke and hear the battle cry of the enemy. To the "get a life" crowed I say this: "What is a life?". Don't people who have lives get together with friends and do things they enjoy? Don't they dedicate a extraneous amount of time to that activity? I see nothing socially damaging about sitting a friend's basement while playing Warhammer over a can of Mountain Dew and some Cheese Balls.
