Champions of Chaos and Warhammer Armies Errata

I return to the Realm after a rather frustrating hiatus. If you recall my situation, I had to relocate to, frankly, an unusable location though I managed to get Trigger the horse painted. My collection was inaccessible, which meant that trades, projects and eBay sales all had to be put on hold. As did this blog.

Thankfully, today is the first day of my 6 week summer holiday and also the day I return to my regular modelling room. The builders have completed the wife's new kitchen and completed construction of the extension and in doing so have cleared access. I hope to use my free time to produce plenty of interesting old school articles for 80s Warhammer written in the coming days and begin this new sequence of blogging with the fantastic collection of painted Chaos Champions from inside WD107. I own most of these champions, save three, though none of them are painted. I have always thought that this page would be useful to inform a future painting project where all these models's paint schemes are copied. It's certainly something that others may be interested in doing so I have included the page here.

Also inside WD 107 was some little seen errata produced for Warhammer Armies. I felt that these three pages may be of use to Oldhammer fans as Warhammer Armies is probably the most influential book in the Oldhammern Scene.

Warhammer Armies: An Acceptable in the '80s Special

Deja vu? 

Yes, this is the second version of this post entry. The first one was published, but somehow I managed to delete it shortly after publication. I am not entirely certain how I achieved this feat of foolishness but I did, so there you go! So I find myself in the unenvible position of having to re-write what I have already discussed, something that I am not really that sparking with enthusiasm to do, so I have decided to write a completely different post instead. I am sure that some of the waffle my first post contained will be reproduced, but if you were one of the few people who got to read the original, I am sure that some of the old waffle will return too.

So where are we in this history? Issue 106 of White Dwarf actually. It contained a short article by Nigel Stillman (who I would love to interview, if anyone knows of his whereabouts these days) in which he discussed the 'why' and the 'why nots' of Warhammer Armies, the penultimate hardback supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Battle Third Edition. By this point, WFB3 was about a year old. The rulebook had been launched in the style of GW's output in the mid '80s; a large, hardbacked book with an impressive cover painting and loads of high quality (and varied art) in both black and white and full colour. This had been followed by Warhammer Siege and later, Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness which both followed the same pattern. Warhammer Armies was to be no different, only this book would contain not only army lists but actual images of GW stalwarts and their armies. 

The Army Photo. This is probably best exemplified by the Mighty Avenger himself . The recipe for success is simple:  assume a suitable pose, spread models out in front of you, and take the picture. 

Of course, Warhammer Armies went a little further, detailing the construction of the different units and so on and so forth. Here we see more of Bryan's chaos army, much of which Steve Casey has photographed for his blog, Eldritch Epistles. 

I will resist the temptation to publish them all. It will spoil the retro delight readers will experience when they first purchase this book and flick through its musty pages. So let these few pages serve as an appetite wetter for the future (for those who do not yet own this book) and a nice reminder for those who do. 

Now, for those of you who are in the former camp, you don't own the book, let me explain what you would be getting yourself in for should you decide to pick Warhammer Armies up. Firstly, you get the armylists themselves; and these can be split into major and minor lists. Forces like the Wood Elves, Dwarfs and so on get large lists and additional rules, while smaller forces (or contingents) like Zoats, Nipponese and Pygmy forces get a mention. There are plenty of others that I have not mentioned too. Another excuse to buy the book really, to find out what is in there!

There are also further rules for extra monsters missing from the Bestiary in the Main Rulebook itself; with the unicorn and Temple Dog being two of these intriguing beasts. There are also lots of magic item generation tables for weapons, banners and amulets and so forth. These really are excellent and are full of brilliant ideas. 

Right, back to Nigel's article then. Its well worth a read, so I'll include it all below. It contains several (to me, anyway) vital quotes because, with the growth of Oldhammer, Warhammer Armies has become rather controversial. The concept of having 'one book to rule them all' is relatively unknown to many younger gamers, who have grown up in an age of army books, but it really is possible to play Warhammer Third Edition with just the main rulebook. All the races are described, special rules provided and associate posts costs included. Warhammer Armies provides a framework with which to construct armies in more detail, as well as including different types of troops not mentioned before. It is not a 'legal' document that must be adhered to rigorously.

I am starting to see people interested in Third Editon writing things like (and I paraphrase) 'I only need five more models to have a legal Third Edition Dark Elf army' and 'I am not sure I can field my army yet, Warhammer Armies states that I have to have 20 skeletons as a minimum to field Undead'. These views are quite un-necessary when playing Warhammer Third Edition, and agreement on forces is largely down to your opponent, or even better, the GM who will create the game that you are going to take part it. 

Now, there are two quotes worth discussion from the article about in my view. I will present them for you below along with my views why they are important in the rise of Warhammer Third Edition gaming, perhaps you will agree or perhaps you will disagree. You may even have another quote that you think is equally, if not more so, of importance to those that I have selected! If this is the case, then please share your view with us, either by emailing me at realmofchaos80s@yahoo.co.uk or using the comments box below. 

Its up to you to pick an army that suits your character as a general and come up with right tactics in different battlefield situations.

That's right, it is up to you! There are no flavours of the month in Third Edition. No army that has just been released to clamour around. Nor will your list suddenly be withdrawn, changed or updated. Its static. This should allow the gamer and collector as many years as they would wish to spend creating and perfecting their force without any concerns that things will change. The term 'obsolete' often springs up to describe particular units and so on, on sites like Warseer. How can something suddenly become obsolete if there are gamers willing to play with particular models or rule sets? The same goes with terms like 'broken'. As all the lists for Third Edition (apart from the later chaos ones in Lost and the Damned) were written by the same few people at roughly the same time, the forces on offer to the Oldhammer general are, as far as I have experienced, fairly balanced. Sure, a daemonic army or a beastman horde are extremely powerful, and rightfully so, in Third Edition, but they are not unbeatable and daemonic legions cannot really be maintained outside the Realm of Chaos anyway, so are unlikely to be turning up very often. Now if you are building an army for narrative play, and quite frankly, most of us are, your forces need to be able to deal with more than just a set of given scenarios published in a book, the most likely one being a straight forwards fight across a table. 

There are two ways in which to use the lists... the purists approach... and the flexible approach.

Yes, you read that correctly. You can choose to use the lists in Warhammer Armies as they are written, or you can use them more flexibly (or even not at all). This is something that some gamers find difficult to get their heads around, particularly those coming from a more tournament based scene. Quite why this is, is open to debate, because as others have said, there is nothing stopping a gamer being flexible with any army list published on any date. Its just curious that some many people (and to me it seems the majority) are obsessed with the official rules rather than just getting on with the job of having an entertaining and mutually enjoyable experience. 

So if you are new to Oldhammer, or are interested in having a go at an older ruleset, I hope that this little article has helped clear a little of the muddy waters that seem to be swirling around what many of us are doing with Third Edition. Of course, if you have anything to add please do. You know how!

Orlygg.

Acceptable in the '80s: White Dwarf 103: Chaos Dwarf Whirlwind and Tenderiser

White_Dwarf__103 by Ryan Radgoski

Hey, here's a first! An article in my series about the history of Warhammer Third Edition when we have the actual issue available online to read through. I found this copy on Scribd, and thanks must go to Ryan for publishing this on the site. Well, issue 103 continued the Dark Future theme of imposing vehicle hurtling down a post-apocalyptic highway, only this time the painting was by Jim Burns. The issue continued the tradition of printing extracts from Realm of Chaos (extracts that I have not included in this history, as there are largely identical to those published later in Slaves to Darkness and The Lost and the Damned), more detail for Bloodbowl and Dark Future and a wealth of other stuff. Feel free to have a browse through the issue before reading my commentary about the Warhammer releases. 

One of the Warhammer highlights of the issue is this advert for the forthcoming Warhammer Armies (see my next post for my retro-review of this controversial book) that uses Chris Collingwood's classic cover painting as its basis. The advert contains a little detail about what to expect in the new supplement; namely new rules for daemonic summoning, new creatures and war machines a plenty. As a little related taster, one of the Warhammer releases that month were the Chaos Dwarf War Machines - the Tenderiser and the Whirlwind. 

As is typical during this period of White Dwarf, the article about the war machines begins with a little piece of narrative fluff related the the models. Sadly, this piece of throwaway fiction if far superior to the writing published in today's WD, or indeed many of the Black Library 'novels'. But as Rick Priestley has told us here at Realm of Chaos 80s, the studio staff were a fairly literate bunch back in the day and amusing little background pieces like this were knocked out with regular aplomb. As you'd expect, the tone of the piece is more light-hearted and self aware than the po-faced GrImDaRkTM of more recent times. 

Kev Walker provides a rather evocative, if simplistic, illustration of the Tenderiser in action which helps the viewer imagine just what one of these war machines would do to a packed rank or two of chaos thugs. Underneath, we have a detailed diagram of the different pieces to the war machines, just in case, I suppose, you had difficulty putting them together.

The article goes on to provide full rules and a Warhammer Armies list box detailing all you need to know to field these bizarre machines. And, as far as I know, this issue is the only place that these rules were ever published. Now I won't critique the rules here, I leave that to you. Read them, indulge them (maybe even try them out if you own the models - which I don't sadly, but I would very much like too, so if you have any rolling around I love to hear from you) but don't expect balance or fairness with what is published here. In the '80s, that was up to you and your opponent and it wasn't necessary to attempt to hardwire it into rules mechanic. 

Above we have the colour examples of the Tenderiser and the Whirlwind. I love these paint jobs! The green and orange faces really give the models a daemonic edge. And even today, with all the range and versatility of wargames figures, especially those in the fantasy genre, I have yet to see something this bizarre. After all, these machines are handcarts loaded up with whips, chains and massive hammers pushed along by a cross between a dwarf and a bull. Still, you could be looking at a fair price to pay for these classic models. I've seen individuals go for £30 on a good day (if you are a seller) and less than a tenner if its a bad day (again, if you are a seller) so they are obviously 'miniature marmite' to some people. 

And I thought the '60s were inspired by #ahem# natural substances!

Tacked on the end, we have nine 'proper' orcs sculpted by the Goblin Master himself, Kevin Adams. These ones were designed to fit the then new plastic crossbows (and they are a bugger to find on eBay now) rather than being part of the model. Perhaps a forerunner to what came later, true multi-part metal/plastic figures, for Kevin Adams' early '90s RT orks were the first in a long line of miniatures with plastic arms and weapons. I haven't seen many of these models on-line these days, nor do they turn up much on painted forums or blogs, or at least not seen by me, so I cannot state how rare these greenskins are today.

Perhaps you, dear reader, can tell me?

Orlygg.

'No Grand Plan' : Warhammer Armies Challenge

Where am I going with my blog? Where am I going with my collection of painted citadel miniatures from the glorious years of the 1980s? Originally I was going to simply build a warband for each of the four Ruinous Powers and play a campaign of Realm of Chaos- but I am afraid I have been totally bitten by the nostalgia bug and have a need to 'expand my horizons'. I am continuously  tempted by other non-chaos miniatures from the same period and feel like more of a challenge.

I am proposing to build over, say the next five years, an army for each of the lists published in Warhammer Armies in 1988 as well as a few extras published elsewhere during the same period. As with my warbands, the miniatures will all be 1985-92 originals and will be painted using original citadel paints. I have given this idea some thought I have organised the armies into a rather irregular list in no particular order. I have some models for nearly all of the armies and spend quite a bit of time of eBay so I have some idea on price and availability. Subsequently, the I have rated each army easy to very challenging based on my experience and my collection.


Dark Elves (easy) - plenty of models on eBay. Plastic regiments did a nice crossbow unit. I have Manhide Manflayer's Dark elves in metals too. Reasonably priced too.

Wood Elves (easy)- I already own plenty of the plastic regiments archers as well as a unit of wardancers and Skarloc's Wood Elf Rangers. Plenty of models on ebay. Quite Cheap.

High Elves (average)- more popular on eBay, therefore more expensive. I don't actually own any High Elf miniatures at the moment but acquiring them will just take a little more expense than their kin.

The Empire (challenging)- Range not really released until the final months of 3rd. The models were really produced for the infant fourth edition. I intend to build these units using the metal fighters models, Lords of Battle etc.

Bretonnia  (challenging)- Lovely sculpts (I have a few archers) by the Perrys. Still very popular on eBay as they are suitable for historical gaming as well. These will cost me a pretty penny when the time comes.

Chaos (easy)- I own plenty of chaos warriors, thugs etc that can be used to build units for this force. Do I take it further and build small mortal armies for each of the four chaos powers? I am completist so, yes!

Orcs (easy)- Plastic regiments did some lovely orc boys, I own wolf riders, metal orc archers and Ruglud's armoured orcs and two man manglers. I practically have an army of these already.

Dwarfs (average)- Two lovely Regiments of Renown boxes are available for about £30 each. I have plenty of war machines already as well as a few crossbows and, of course, the trusty plastic Warhammer regiments.

Slann (very challeging)- Extremely expensive and in limited supplies. I think this will probably be the most difficult force to build. I'd probably try and go for a small force.

Undead (easy)- I already own the Nightmare Legion, Skeleton Horde and a chariot in metal etc. Easy to build thanks to the plastic skeletons. Models very, very plentiful on eBay.

Skaven (easy)- Again, easy and I have plenty of models. Plastic regiments did a basic clan rat.

Norse (average)- The 'missing army list' published in WD107 (which I also own). Again plenty of models available but they tend to be expensive.

Khorne Warband (achieved)

Slaanesh Warband (achieved)

Nurgle Warband (achieved)

Tzeentch Warband (easy)- I have all the models planned and prepared so I just have to paint them up.

Halfling Contingent (average)- Popular models in limited supply. Shouldn't be too difficult to build a contingent though.

Zoat Ally Contingent (very challenging)- When I am a millionaire!!!

Afterthought!

I had forgotten to consider daemonic armies, purely made up from daemonic entities (with a few powerful mortals thrown in!) again encompassing the four ruinous powers.

Nurgle (easy) - I own three Great Unclean Ones, 15+ plaguebearers, nurgling bases and a beast of nurgle. I have plenty of nurgle champions too. Just need painting up really!

Slaanesh (easy) - I own a Keeper of Secrets (others are regular on eBay), 20+ daemonettes, a seeker, three fiends and plenty of steeds. Again, like Nurgle just needs a paint up with the addition of a few more fiends and another Keeper.

Khorne (easy) - I own two Bloodthirsters, 20+ bloodletters, 10+ bloodhounds and a juggernaut. Just needs painting with the addition of a few more juggers I think!

Tzeentch (challenging) - I have a single Lord of Change model, 15+ blue horrors, 3 pink horrors, a disc and a flamer. I would need a fair few more pink horrors and more metal flamers (I have only ever seen one on eBay, I bought it) before a force could be constructed.

The next question to ask is 'where do I start?' Having spent some time focusing of three of the four powers I feel like exploring the world of painting citadels a little further. I want to paint a bit of this and a bit of that. My collection is vast and I would like to paint some real classics (which I hope readers of this blog would like to see) rather than get bogged down army building. To contradict myself (something I do regularly), I also want armies to play with (either with other players face to face or over Skype) so I need to be a little focused on what I am doing rather than just paint away merrily.

I plan to paint small units and characters- these do not have to be in the same army- and flit between what I have. I am going to start with Undead and Orcs and probably flirt with my daemonic legions too. If you remember so time ago a posted a little page about Warhammer Fantasy Regiments and even painted up my first orc. All I can say is I was bitten by that particular bug too and have been working away secretly on my forbidden models (what would the dark powers of chaos say about that!) while working on the Bob Olley beastmen.

Let's have a look at a WIP of my first unit. Ten orc boys with full command.

Obviously, there is still a little work to do before they are complete. And there is the banner to think about. Hopefully by the end of this week these greenskins will be based and I shall be moving on to something else.

Here are a few close ups...

A classic and iconic miniature if ever there was one. The orc leader painted up in the opening pages of the 3rd Edition Rulebook. This is a recent purchase for me and I have wanted this model for over 25 years. Just needs a few lowlights adding here and there on the armour.

Cheeky standard bearer. I always preferred my orcs this way. Gangly, sneaky and cruel but with a comic splash. Lovely character, unlike the boring brutes of today.

A champion (still needs a shield) from the days when a command unit would have four models. Actually, I am surprised this wasn't re-introduced in 8th as it would have required the player to by additional models for all of their units.

Finally, another characterful model, this time the musician complete with gong. For those that are interested, this was the second orc I ever painted one morning as my son watched Show Me Show Me and the Numberjacks on Cbeebies!

Right, I am off to finish off these orcs and sort through my mountain of lead and ancient plastic sprues. Once the orcs are done what shall I tackle next?

Any suggestions?

Orlygg.