A Warhammer Bestiary: Skaven

Hello all! Long time no blog. Well, blame the job for that! Still, I cannot complain as I only have one more week to complete (albeit one with Parents' Evening in) and Autumn Half-Term is here. As those of you of an UK extraction will know, this means a whole week off to recharge the batteries until the Christmas Half-Term begins!

Hooray!

I managed a few hours painting today and the result of that is a couple of new models complete in my Warhammer Bestiary project. The first of which I can document here with the first skaven to be added to my collection for some time. 

I have always loved the rat-men, as they started life, and find them to be the most interesting of the more evil races in old school Warhammer. Chaos is the BIG SHOW that will inevitably destroy the world and few humans even know of its true existence. But even few know about the teeming hordes of chaos ratmen that lurk beneath the world poised to conquer all!

As time went by, the skaven became less and less threatening as the 'cowardly' side of them was played to the full. I much prefer the insidious version that saw light of day in the early parts of the Enemy Within Campaign. Cunning schemers who'll do anything to keep their existence a secret, despite their long quests for warpstone. 

This skaven is one such ratman! 

The paint job was relatively simple as I needed something to ease me back into the painting lark after some time away. I basecoated the entire model in brown before basing each of the different parts of the model. Once dry, this got a generous wash of brown ink and was left to dry. It was really easy to just repaint each part in the base colour and highlight up with a little Bleached Bone. 

An enjoyable few hours. 

Acceptable in the '80s: Skaven background and miniatures

Just when you thought that Warhammer Third Edition was dead in the water, propped up with casual reprints from the Lost and the Damned and the monthly releases from Marauder Miniatures, White Dwarf published a completely out of the blue article of background. Not just a one page wonder either, but a deep analysis of the dark, underground world of the Skaven, from the pens of Rick 'Mr Wargiming' Priestley and Jes 'Mr Miniatures' Goodwin. 

Now we know that there were many such articles written in the Design Studio in the late 1980s and many of you may recall Graeme Davis' story about his background article about trolls. Sadly, for reasons he alludes too in his interview, few of this material saw print in relationship to Warhammer Third Edition, though I suspect it was ransacked for armybooks and further articles later on in Warhammer's history. 

So what do we have here then? Well its an article that gives a great overview to the skavan circa 1989. What really struck me was how little the background has changed to this day. everything we know and love about the ratmen is present in this article, even the iconic Screaming Bell and Council of the Thirteen! There are a couple of really interesting snippets of information within though, that are probably worth a little discussion and you fill find those at the bottom of the article. 

The model bottom left appears again in an 'Eavy Metal article. The third time at least if I recall correctly. That makes him probably the most republished model in WD until the creation of the Citadel plastic giant in 2006!

So what did you spot that was different? Well, for me two things stand out. The first is the way that Cathay is described. In this article it is described as an 'abandoned city', so its seems that both the country and its capital shared the same name, similar to Rome and Romans I suppose. Now I am no expert at all, but I am pretty sure that I have never read anything else about there being an abandoned city called Cathay in the Warhammer background, have you?

Now this little fact is fascinating for a nerd like me. Why was Cathay abandoned? Was the idea ever fleshed out back then? It implies in the article above that the Skaven simply took over the city of Cathay after it was abandoned but it doesn't seem to me that they were the cause. 

The second interesting thing that article brings up is mention of the Black Ark, which sounds all very Indiana Jones and the Search for the Lost Ark style, only with rats instead of Nazis and a chunk of warpstone rather than the writings of Moses. 

Interesting points. What do you think?

Orlygg

Acceptable in the 80s: The First Warhammer Battle Reports

The publication of the Dwarf Mountaineer rules in White Dwarf 116 was, in my opinion, the last fresh rule release for Warhammer Fantasy Battle Third Edition. There were more articles to come, however these were all tasters for forthcoming publications (such as The Lost and the Damned) rather than something totally new to the game. 

There were other fantasy rules and scenarios after WD116, but much of this was related to Heroquest and its follow up, Advanced Heroquest rather than WFB3 itself. Apart from some background material, the Marauder Miniatures line and a few odds and sods (mostly scenery building or army painting articles) Third Edition was 'done' as a game. The future would very much be Rogue Trader, and the big box games.

However, during this time a new idea crept into White Dwarf. An idea that began with rather charitable beginnings but would later grow to be an ubiquitous part of WD and one that became much derided. I speak of the battle report!

Many of you will be surprised to find out that the battle report wasn't always part of White Dwarf's regular output, and indeed did not become a regular feature at all until well into the 1990s. As far as I can tell, the first recognisable battle report appeared in White Dwarf 107 and was actually a report of a fundraiser rather than a design choice made by Games Workshop. The Roundabout Youth Club organised a twenty-four hour game of WFB3 as part of ITV's Telethon (no, I don't remember them either!) and an overview to the action was written up by Robin (future GW employee and White Dwarf editor) Dews.

24 Hours at Carik Mound by orlygg

Looking back over the article again, what really surprises me about the very first battle report is how many of the key features of the future were in place. There are photographs of the action (well, grainy back and white jobs - it was the '80s!) and difficult to interpret maps of the battlefield. Actually, this is rather cruel an observation as with a little effort it is possible to work out most of the movements of the troops during the game on the map, especially with the addition of a key. The piece also begins with a little bit of narrative to get the battle going, and this story is returned to several times during the article. In later years, the narrative became my preferred part of the battle reports that I would read, but as GW and WD began to lose writers who could actually 'write' these became rather generic and dull, at least to me anyway. 

Reading through the article's introduction brings back a great deal of memories of my own gaming in the 1980s. The plaster covered polystyrene tiles being once such fond memory. Now these were really good value and are still available, see here for example. I think I may well do a few old school experiments with these in the summer months and try and create a Carik Mound of my own. Another things that strikes me is the willingness to just chuck everything on the table and just get on with it. No rules lawyers here. No armybooks or rare choices either, if the group wanted to field it, it went on the table. A quick look through the opposing forces reminds us all what fantasy battles looked like back then, with the 'goodies' a collection of knights, humans, dwarfs and halflings and the 'baddies' practically everything else, including an undead war mammoth!

Unlike some of the appalling Battle Reports in the last issues of WD that I read, this battle is told as a narrative. You can feel that conflict slowly build and read about some of the more titanic events that happened due to the lively style in which the report is written in. There were no 'my orcs moved 6" fowards and I rolled to see what affect my Staff of Bamwham would have on the... zzzzzzzzzzzz'. But perhaps the most telling detail of this 'first battle report' is presented to us in one of the final sentences: 'Thanks too, to GW for several copies of WFBIII and about 200 figures.'

Imagine that in these corporate times.

Ten issues later, another battle report was published in White Dwarf. Again, it wasn't an official 'studio' game but a retelling of a game played at Games Day '89. In those days there were no tournaments as we have today, for they had something even better - the Osprey World Warhammer Fantasy Battle Championships! 

The Best Laid Plans Battle Report by orlygg

Yes, there was a Warhammer World Champion!

It seems that this article was intended to be one of several write ups about the battles fought in this World Championships, though only this one seems to have seen the light of day. Its a far more professional effort by Peter Morrison, with a detailed look at the army compositions (and some of the rules behind them) as well as some excellent artwork that looks drawn specifically for the article. I find the army lists really interesting here, as we can see how veteran players were constructing their forces for the skaven and wood elves in the late 80s. Anyone considering building a similar force as part of the Oldhammer Community may well want to have a more detailed look at these. There are, alas, no photographs of the game, but there are plenty of characterful maps to help show what was going on. 

Like the previous battle report, there is an interesting nugget for us old schoolers residing in the last paragraph of this battle report. 'This battle was a credit to both players, who conducted themselves in a sportsmanlike manner and avoided the temptation of trying to find gimmick armies.'

It seems that the 'cheese' build or 'loop-hole' brigade existed in the glory days of the 1980s after all! 

A few months later, in White Dwarf 123 Peter Morrison returned with a final 'Third Edition' battle report. There is no mention of the games being held at the Derby Rooms here, so I cannot state whether this was a game carried out at the World Championships or just an 'in-house' game of some sort. The article follows a very similar pattern as the previous one, with troop choices, detailed army lists (useful this time for Chaos and Goblinoid players), tactics and a detailed look at the battle itself. Again, the artwork supporting the article is excellent, and by Gary Chalk, though if these pieces were commissioned for the article I do not know - they look rather Warhammer Armies to me. 

96685745 the Clash of Evil by orlygg

Before I depart I would like to ask you a question. What is your opinion of battle reports? Do you enjoy them? Did you enjoy these? Or are you like me, and find them rather insipid and dull. An in the age of social media and all the apps at our disposal, what are your thoughts about what the future of battle reports might be?

Do tell!

Orlygg.

Acceptable in the '80s: White Dwarf 94 Miniature Releases Retro Review and Plague Cart Rules

I really enjoyed the retro review I did regarding the work of Bob Olley and I discovered that there are plenty of Olley fans out there but some agreement that some of his work is a little, what's the word, passable. So I have decided to continue. We are sticking with the same issue as before, White Dwarf 94, and I have reproduced for you all the releases of that month. 

Talisman Dungeon 

First off, a double set; Talisman Dungeon and Mercenaries. Let's start with the models released as part of the Talisman range. I have recently (by which I mean this week) seen a fairly complete set of these models going for about £100 so they are clearly still a popular series of sculpts. Now, those of you who don't know, Talisman was (and still is) a board game in which the players taken of a character type in a quest to gain possession of the Crown of Command. Though the game can be played without metal miniatures, such was Citadel's nature in the 1980s, a set of models was released for the game and the many subsequent expansions. I came late to the party, purchasing the third edition of the game when it was released in 2008, and played many games of it with my wife and it remains to this day the only GW game that she will play. 

The miniatures in the range are varied and well sculpted, I own only one of this series, the red robed inquisitor in the centre of the page, and are full of character. They would make fantastic character models for third edition games as well as interesting painting challenges in their own right. My favourite model? Most definitely the Sprite. I love the tones of green and flesh on this piece and it is certainly a scheme I would like to copy some time in the future. 

Mercenaries

The second set are entitled Mercenaries and are again nice a varied. With fourteen models in this set they would make a very characterful unit for third edition. I have a particular fondness for NOB who seems to be positively waddling forwards ready to engage his next opponent. Sadly, I have never seen any of these on eBay nor do I own any of them. I suspect many of these sculpts were added to the later FIGHTERS range but I have no evidence of this at present. There is little fantasy on show here, which suggests the hands of the prolific sculpting force known as the brother's Perry. The obvious nod to medieval dress would have made these models useful for historical forces as well as fantasy ones. 

Nick Bibby's Giants

Ahh! Nick Bibby's giants! I am a big fan of Nine Fingers and have said so publically before. I think that the model has a wonderful dynamism and its body is perfectly positioned. I cannot say the same for the other sculpts in this range. Wither Wattle, who bears a strong resemblance to a young Bob Naismith, is okay and obviously shares much in common with the Nine Fingers sculpt in terms of positioning but I just cannot stand the model of Bottle Snottle! Its the really, really crap hand, massively out of proportion to the rest of his body, that puts me right off. He looks like he has spent a long, long time in prison with a giant stack of 'magazines of gentleman's interest' and little else to pass his time. The fact that his weapon, a rather fetching stone headed club,  seems rather incongruous to the rest of the model cements the fact that this model is always going to be passed over in my collection.

Plague Cart and its rules

The Plague Cart on the other hand is an absolute must for my Undead army. I have slapped a bid down on this beauty more than once only to be pipped at the post. The wheels may be familiar to keen eyed enthusiasts, for they are the very same ones that appear on the skeleton chariot that I have been working on recently. The model has some interesting rules too.

The cart can be used in any game. You roll a 2D6 at the start of each turn; on a 2 or a 12 the chart appears on the middle edge of the left or right table edge (an equal chance of either). It then moves in a straight line across the battlefield at 4" per turn, leaving through the middle of the opposite table edge. The insubstantial cart may pass through obstructions and even units of troops. It causes fear in all living creatures with 6", and terror in any living creatures through which it passes. It is immune to non-magical attacks. As it goes, the spirits rise from the slain, following it wailing and moaning.

The Plague Cart may be summoned by a level 3 Necromantic spell, summon plague cart (cost 12mps) passing across the battlefield. It gains the following powers when it encounters an undead army.

1) Undead creatures with 12" are immune to instability.
2) Any living humanoid slain with 12" rises as a zombie behind the cart with hand weapon and appropriate rules. Each model is marked (perhaps with plasticine) and is under the control of the undead player.

Plague Cart

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	WP
4	3	0	4	4	5	3	0	-	-	-	-

Spectral Driver

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	WP
4	4	0	0	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5

Special Rules: As a normal spectre, the creature is armed with a scythe.

Command Groups

These command groups are ideal for pairing with the rank and file troops of the plastic Warhammer Regiments, a relationship that I have always felt was a deliberate one on the hands of Citadel. I love all the sculpts in this range and own one of two of them. I have the goblin shamen, the elf standard bearer, the skaven champion and elf the musician. I would certainly be interested in obtaining the rest of these models, especially the goblin leader which I feel to be one of the finest gobliniod models Citadel has ever produced. The dark elves are suitably militarilistic and the skaven leader is an absolute classic sculpt of Jes Goodwin that was, until relatively recently, still available to buy from GW.

The paint schemes or these models is also highly inspirational for me. The distinct blue and purple of the dark elves, the bright greens and golden yellows of the elves, the dirty, heavily shaded browns of the skaven and the sickly greens of the goblins are THE colours I like to use in my paint pallete. This is because this page of White Dwarf is one of the best examples of the colour scheme and painting style of three of the most important third edition armies.

The Gob-Lobber and the Gob-Lobber Appeal

Classic '80s Warhammer through and through! The second of the Perry engineered sculpts on today's post. The addition of some gruesome goblin heads turns this from being just another catapult into a wonderfully zany weapon that just begs to be fielded in all dwarf armies. Some of the crew members were recycled for use in other later dwarf war machines, though others were only available with this set - such as the dwarf cook with a pig on a spit (sadly not pictured here) and the pipe smoking commander.

I am lucky enough to have won this particular war machine recently. If I remember correctly for the rather cheap sum of £7. Sadly, I didn't win the crew that went with the machine but they tend to crop up quite often so its only a matter of time until I have my hands on them too. However, I am missing the wheels! I was wondering if any Oldhammerers out there could do me the kindness of lending me a wheel from this model so I can take a cast of it and create some greenstuff copies. If you could, please contact me and I'll be eternally grateful!

Orlygg