Charge! A Warhammer Fantasy Battle Third Edition Era Skirmish Game?

One question that I get asked a lot is 'does WFB3 have any skirmish rules?' And the answer is always the same, 'no'. I would usually go on to say that the game was written in the age of the DIY gamer, who just changed the rules to suit their particular situation as and when. Sadly, this attitude is no longer present in many people who approach miniature wargaming in all its forms. Too often do I read the words of individuals who complain about rules not being balanced or fair, yet they remain hopelessly obsessed with keeping up with the Jones'.

"Oh, this version of 40K totally nerfs my list!" 

Play the other version then!

"Oh, but my gaming group only uses the latest version of the ruleset. And we only use the latest versions of the models, too!"

Find some new mates then! 

Over here in the Oldhammer Community we have no such problems. The rulesets we use are old, old and old. Still, I do sometimes yearn for a simple version of the game that could be used to play tiny narrative scenario using only a few figures. Then, flicking through issue 115 of White Dwarf I made a discovery. One of those 'hiding in plain sight' jobs. 

I am referring to the game 'Charge!', written by the bods in the Design Studio circa 1988 for use with the Combat Cards range. Reading through the rules, you can see that Warhammer and WFRP are clear influences. As are the streamlined rules used in the Fighting Fantasy books. Now I know my readership, you will not want a longwinded analysis of this ruleset, but would much rather just read the article in your own time. 

So here it is. 

Charge 0001 by orlygg

As you will now now if you have a flick through Charge!, the system is very simple. Yet character creation, magic, victory points, scenery creation and special rules and what not are also covered. All in 5 pages or so. It was rather satisfying to finally find out what all of the funny symbols that appeared on the front of the combat cards were actually for. 

Long time readers may well remember my article on 'Attack!', an even easier set of rules for using the Combat Cards with, though dependent on a chessboard for a playing surface. However, this article also had a series of special rules that may well be appropriate to using Charge! as a skirmish game. 

having read through these rules are a fairly confident that they could be used with little adaption to run a good sized skirmish game. With some clever photoshopping it would also be possible to photograph my miniatures and create my own 'Combat Cards' with their own stats. This would provide a really easy entry point for all of those people interested in Old School gaming but put off by perceived issues not being familiar enough with the rules. 

What do you lot think? Is there scope for a skirmish game in the spirit of old school Warhammer here?

Please share your opinion. 

Orlygg. 

Acceptable in the 80s: Combat Cards

Today I would like to talk about the first Edition of the Combat cards, published in the late '80s. To me, they are a stand up product that remind me of those glorious days of creative invention. Why? I think the answer lies in how cheap they were and how easy they were to move around with. I mean, back in 1988 I was hardly flush with cash, being at school, and £20 for a Big Box game was a big investment. These cards were different and could be picked up for the same amount as you could find down the back of the sofa. Like the Top Trump cards that inspired them, the Combat Cards slipped nicely into a pocket and could be taken anywhere. I can recall games on the school bus, in the back of the car, full scale battles using WFB3 with each card a character. Loads of great memories.

But there was one thing that made these cards stand out to me and my friends then. It is the same thing that makes the cards stand out now. The fantastic selection of old school miniatures that were photographed so nicely by, presumably, Phil Lewis. These cards are a remarkable record of the wonderful models that Citadel produced back then and the bright paint jobs that went with them. Thankfully, we know know that most of the models depicted on the cards are likely to be part of Bryan Ansell's collection but for much of the last twenty years they stood as a marvellous record of a remarkable time in the toy soldier field.

Let's have a closer look at some of the cards themselves.

This photograph comes from the blog of Fimm Mc Cool, and is well worth looking at for his work in collecting all the figures that appear on the cards themselves. They show the cards off beautifully in terms of this article. Each card displayed a character, gave their name and rank (if that is the right word), and shared the same values of weapon skill, strength, speed, bravery, intelligence and toughness. There were also a series of strange symbols beneath the photograph that perplexed me to their purpose. All was to be revealled when I bought issue 114 of White Dwarf as the magazine contained an interesting article about how to use your cards for a slightly more complicated game. It was written by Jervis Johnson and is presented below.

So if you wondered why Nabrat Twocutters had that funny zombie face screaming away at the bottom of the cards? Now you know. To conclude, these cards are very special to me, and I expect the same will be said by other followers of the Oldhammer Community. They show off wonderfully painted and characterful models that just inspire you to paint your copies of these sculpts 'just like that!'. Collecting these cards is easy, and quite cheap too, with plenty of copies available on line. Later in the 1990s, a second run of combat cards were produced, but by then the many of the models GW were putting out had lost much of the zany charm the 80s releases had in abundance. The general design was also not as interesting and, personally, I found the second run quite bland in comparison.

Combat Cards Online. Combat Card megafan, Ben Harrison, has collected together and scanned the full set of the original cards, so if you never seen them, or want a nice stroll down memory lane, I would suggest clicking on the link.

Do you have an opinion on these cards? Are you a fan? Did you play in earnest with your deck on the back of the bus or elsewhere? If so, please share you memories with us here! Additionally, if you were at the Design Studio at the time and can remember any the detail around the creation of these cards, please share those details too!

Right, time to paint my Nabrat just like he is in the picture!

Orlygg

Acceptable in the '80s: Iron Claw Rock Lobber and Goblins, Skaven, Combat Cards and Warhammer Townscape.

Apps aren't always the easiest way to communicate. I fancied trying out the Blogger app available on the iTunes app network on the wife's iPad. I wrote out a long and detailed post about the releases below. It was erudite, amusing and informative. Sadly, it didn't save as the app is poor at best so you will have to put up with this far inferior re-write I am afraid. 

As you may know, we have been exploring what Citadel put out for Warhammer Third Edition through issues 104, 105 and 106 of White Dwarf. In truth, these three issues are of great importance to fans of the era because they saw the release of two very important supplements, namely Slaves to Darkness and Warhammer Armies. They also contained a wealth of fantasy models, mostly chaos, but there were also a number of ads for further Iron Claw miniatures, sculpted by Bob Olley.

Now we have discussed Olley's work before. Though we neglected to discuss his goblin range, focusing on his Gothic Dwarfs and Undead models of 1987.

His work is best described as the 'Marmite' of miniatures (those of you not an Anglophile or resident here in the UK need to know that Marmite is a vegetable starch product used on bread and toast- its distinctive taste divides opinion, people either love it or hate it, a view not lost of the manufacturers) with collectors and old school gamers either raving madly with frothy lips about his work or casting their eyes away in disgust as soon as one of his strangely fungoid models appears in front of them. Back in the day, I did not like his work at all. But as I have become used to handling more models as I grew older, I learnt to really appreciate his distinctive and original style, especially in today's market of near generic sculpting. 

Olley's goblins are fun and varied. They have the sense of depth and realism that most of his work shares. The models in this selection contain a wide range of suitable weapons, from spears and axes to the iconic ball and chain. The clothes too are suitably goblinoid, and a special mention must got to the wonderful mushroom (or should that be toadstool?) inspired hat! Less sneaky than Kevin Adam's work, these sculpts don't lack charm however. These greenskins seem to have a rather cowardly menace to them (if such an oxymoron is possible) but they rank up nicely alongside their Citadel brethren, indeed they were later incorporated into the line when Iron Claw was dropped. 

Of special note here are the shields. There are some lovely designs here for any old school style painter who wants to begin work of developing a free hand style. Not as complex as the shields of Blanche or Dixon, these examples are no less than effective. 

The stone thrower released as part of the Iron Claw range has been discussed before. Though I doubt many enthusiasts have had the chance to read the fluff that was published for it, nor have a quick gander at the Warhammer Armies rules box so it has been presented for you below. 

However, we haven't talked about the skaven models in the lower part of the colour ad. These expand on the models released in 1985 with some additional models. Now, these are not really War Machines are they? More gun powder and chemical based weapons. All are worth collecting, and in my view, these models remain the best ratmen the Citadel have ever produced. The skaven Jessail is worth a particular mention as these models are quite collectable. 

Before I sign off, I thought I would share with you these two ads. Both are a sign of what is to come on this blog, as both releases are worth posts dedicated to them, namely the Citadel Combat Cards and Warhammer Townscape. 

As always, if you have a memory or an opinion to share about anything discussed today, please do.

Orlygg.