In my previous post, looking at an old issue White Dwarf, I commented on the lack of material for new players and the way in which most articles were mysterious, even impenetrable, to anyone not already steeped in Games Workshop background lore. This has lead me to reflect a little on my entry into the wargaming hobby and Games Workshop in particular.
Back in the 1990s there were fewer Games Workshop stores about, but still plenty, and, once I had discovered White Dwarf it wasn't hard to track one down. My first experiences were simulatenously enthralling and baffling. Whilst Games Workshop of old did maintain gaming and painting tables to support players, the carefully pitched sales routines with intro games were still well into the future. Games Workshop was also a much more diverse company selling a number of gaming systems: Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000; Space Hulk; Epic; Advanced HeroQuest; Blood Bowl; Dark Future. Even Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, board games like Talisman and Dungeon Quest, and the child friendly troll games had space within the store and, usually, a range of miniatures to go with them. There was no easy division of the store in Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and Lord of the Rings.
It didn't help that branding was also more diverse. Each individual race for Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 had its own blister pack design, with separate designs for Epic and Blood Bowl, also broken down by race. Boxed sets, though usually strikingly designed, were similarly diverse, with only small references to games systems and logos unique to that particular box. Often they would have rules references on the back of the boxes that referred to earlier editions of the games, which further added to the confusion.
The rules were also not well organised. Most games were sold as boxed sets, with the notable exception of the big two, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000, both of which were sold as rule books. For Warhammer there was also the Warhammer Armies book, which contained all the army lists for 3rd edition except individual Chaos Powers (which were in Realms of Chaos), so getting started wasn't too hard. Warhammer 40,000, in contrast, was a mess.
There was no consistency at all to the way rulebooks were presented. The majority of army lists started out as White Dwarf articles which were later collected into two books: the Warhammer 40,000 Compendium and the Warhammer 40,000 compilation. The former had lists for Space Marines, Squats and Imperial Guard, the latter Eldar and Genestealers, though it also had supplemental material for the Space Marines. The Orks were strangely well supported, with two huge, hardback rule books: "'Ere we Go" and "Freebooterz". Chaos was, again, covered by the Realms books. Then the designers started tinkering with the basic rules of Warhammer 40,000 without releasing a new edition. They rewrote the vehicle rules and released the Vehicle manual to cover the changes, then they rewrote the close combat and many of the weapon rules and released the Combat manual. By the end of 1st edition the only rules you would actually use the main rulebook for were movement.
Then there was the packing of the models, which often failed to reflect the way they were used in games. For example, Eldar Aspect Warriors were fielded in strict squads of five (except Dark Reapers who got three), initially this was how they were sold, but Games Workshop then started selling them in packs of four. Exarchs, meanwhile, were sold in packs of two identical models. The packs were much cheaper back then, but you were still left with redundant models you couldn't use. Warhammer was little better, I once bought a goblin regiment pack containing 12 models. It was a bargain at the time, but while most of the models had swords and shields, four were equipped with bows, rendering them unusable as a single regiment.
The problem for new players was that it wasn't clear where you should start. There were too many games and no clear advice, not even an introductory leaflet. I'm sure the store staff would have assisted me had I asked, and I'm sure plenty did. But the staff did not, at that time, trained to approach new gamers and ease them in.
Things started to change as Games Workshop introduced fourth edition Warhammer and second edition Warhammer 40,000. They started to move to consistent branding, focused on easy to read rules with good introductory rules and realigned their supplements to focus on individual armies. Things weren't perfect, they still sold Warhammer infantry in packs of four, with command groups in threes, making it unnecessarily hard to put together a regiment, and some models described in army lists weren't released until sixth or even seventh edition, but, at last, there was a clear path for the new player. It's probably no coincidence that it was then that Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 really took off with my friends, who had been reluctant participants at best until then.
Of course, in retrospect, it was also the point for many that Games Workshop started to go downhill. The diversity and creative freedom, as well as a White Dwarf magazine with useful hobby material, started to drift away. Arguably GW went too far in the opposite direction, focusing on an endless cycle of new players at the expense of the veterans.
It's not just Games Workshop that has changed of course. The industry as a whole has become more focused and, I would argue, more professional. As technology has advanced, graphic design has gotten easier and rulebooks are better printed and presented than before. Most fantasy and sci-fi games offer starter sets of one sort or another and starter rules have become easily available through the Internet. Historical wargaming also seems more accessible now, with more appealing rule books and companies more willing to provide starter armies. The internet is naturally a first port of call for the budding new wargamer.
I have been wallowing in nostalgia a bit these last few weeks. Don't get me wrong, it has been enormously enjoyable to revisit old White Dwarfs and rule books as I prepare my Chaos Warbands, but it is easy to slip on Rose-tinted spectacles. The hobby has changed greatly in the last twenty years and it would be a mistake to ignore the positives and focus on the negative. One thing I can say, is that it is easier to start out as a wargamer than ever before.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Sunday, 3 July 2011
White Dwarf Retrospective - 121 January 1990
Today's post heralds the start of a new semi-regular feature (I hope). As I have mentioned a few times before, my Chaos Warband building has had me looking back over old White Dwarfs looking for images and inspiration. The amount that the magazine has changed over the time is striking, but what surprised me is how much I had forgotten about how it used to be when I first started collecting. With that in mind, I am going to take a close look at one issue a year until I reach the end of my collection and see if I can chart the changes as they emerge.
For my first issue I will be looking at the very first issue of White Dwarf I ever bought, issue 121 dated January 1990. This makes the magazine a little over 21 and old enough to drink in America, making me feel extremely old. Back in 1990 it cost the princely sum of £1.50. The cover image, by David Gallagher, reflects one of the main features, a preview of new Warhammer 40,000 Ork models and rules, and depicts two Ork warbands meeting accidentally and violently. It became a very well used image, appearing on the front cover of the plastic Space Orks boxed set, the Epic Ork Invasion set and the cover of the Ork rule book 'Ere We Go.
Starting at the beginning of the magazine, one of the most striking things is the absence of a list of new miniatures and prices. Instead, almost at the start of the magazine, is a listing of Games Workshop stores (a very short list) and after a few pages of adverts we reach the preview page = Culture shock. This very wordy column offers information about expansions for Space Hulk, Epic and Bloodbowl as well as Games Workshops slightly bizarre foray into Heavy Metal music production with a news item about the band Bolt Thrower. The feel is very haphazard, with Games Workshop willing to talk about products still some time from release, in contrast to their modern emphasis on controlled news access.
The major news preview comes later in the magazine however with an 8 page preview of new Ork models and the 'Waagh the Orks' background book for Warhammer 40,000. By modern standards, its quite an odd preview. There are no detailed design notes, information about rules or anything approaching a release schedule. It doesn't even focus solely on one game, with material about Epic mixed in with Warhammer 40,000. Games Workshop appear to be previewing a change of aesthetic to their orks more than anything else.
Introduction to the new Orks
There is a lot of new rules material in this issue, much of which is White Dwarf specific, not a preview for a new game or supplement. The major preview material is 'the Gifts and Magic of Nurgle' article which would be reproduced exactly in the Realms of Chaos: the Lost and the Damned book, but it would be usable to any player with a copy of Slaves to Darkness and keen to start a Nurgle warband. In addition to this we have a quest for Advanced HeroQuest, the more 'advanced' dungeon-crawl spin-off to HeroQuest which I have written about before, rules for Chaos Terminators in Space Hulk (the first of a two part article) and one part of an ongoing series for Warhammer fantasy Roleplay. The last details part of the city of Marienburg and was intended to be collected into a supplement, but was ultimately never completed (the Marienburg supplement released years later by HogsHead publishing contained different material). This was not uncommon for Games Workshop at the time who would often release material in White Dwarf before collecting it together, sometimes they didn't get round to releasing the full collection.
The 'Eavy Metal pages, a show case for painted models, seems quite chaotically assembled, with pictures of whatever the studio painters have been working on regardless of any consistent theme. There are a few images of soon to be released miniatures, but these are almost thrown away, mixed in as they are with conversions and already available models A particular highlight is a page of heavily converted Titans by John Blanche. Also of interest is the two pages of dense text given over to explaining how the miniatures were painted and converted. Even if it mostly just describes the colours used, it is still welcome and helps to elevate the pages above simple eye candy. The 2D counterpart to 'Eavy Metal is Illuminations, a 4 page article given over to showing off the art work of Kev Walker which, perhaps surprisingly, is entirely black and white.
The Lack of colour throughout is quite jarring. Most of the magazine, and all of rules material is in black and white, including half the Ork preview. Colour is reserved for where it is most necessary, Eavy Metal and, no not Illuminations, but adverts. It seems very odd to see non-Games Workshop adverts in White Dwarf, even if they are decidedly unusual - a play by mail roleplaying for example. This issue also features two large double-page ads for Talisman and Bloodbowl. These are actually useful introductions to the games and available materials, but were sadly not used again in the magazine.
This is unfortunate as there is very little for new players. At time I was enamoured by the Ork preview and spent ages pouring over rules and tables in Realms of Chaos without having a clue what they were for. It was a good thing for Games Workshop that I had this mind-set, because there is nothing to ease in the new players or introduce the games. This would not be so bad these days, when Games Workshop stores are fully geared up to introduce new players to the hobby, but back in the early 1990s Games Workshop stores were slightly baffling and intimidating places for new players.
So in summary, the issue contains lots of useful rules content for several different games so there was probably something of interest to most players. On the other hand, diversity of games material means that you would have to be pretty committed to Games Workshops full range of products to get use out of all of it. Also, as valuable as the content is to an experienced player, it is actively confusing to a new one. While it may have been my introduction to Games Workshop hobby, it was a somewhat confusing one to say the least.
For my first issue I will be looking at the very first issue of White Dwarf I ever bought, issue 121 dated January 1990. This makes the magazine a little over 21 and old enough to drink in America, making me feel extremely old. Back in 1990 it cost the princely sum of £1.50. The cover image, by David Gallagher, reflects one of the main features, a preview of new Warhammer 40,000 Ork models and rules, and depicts two Ork warbands meeting accidentally and violently. It became a very well used image, appearing on the front cover of the plastic Space Orks boxed set, the Epic Ork Invasion set and the cover of the Ork rule book 'Ere We Go.
Starting at the beginning of the magazine, one of the most striking things is the absence of a list of new miniatures and prices. Instead, almost at the start of the magazine, is a listing of Games Workshop stores (a very short list) and after a few pages of adverts we reach the preview page = Culture shock. This very wordy column offers information about expansions for Space Hulk, Epic and Bloodbowl as well as Games Workshops slightly bizarre foray into Heavy Metal music production with a news item about the band Bolt Thrower. The feel is very haphazard, with Games Workshop willing to talk about products still some time from release, in contrast to their modern emphasis on controlled news access.The major news preview comes later in the magazine however with an 8 page preview of new Ork models and the 'Waagh the Orks' background book for Warhammer 40,000. By modern standards, its quite an odd preview. There are no detailed design notes, information about rules or anything approaching a release schedule. It doesn't even focus solely on one game, with material about Epic mixed in with Warhammer 40,000. Games Workshop appear to be previewing a change of aesthetic to their orks more than anything else.
Introduction to the new OrksThere is a lot of new rules material in this issue, much of which is White Dwarf specific, not a preview for a new game or supplement. The major preview material is 'the Gifts and Magic of Nurgle' article which would be reproduced exactly in the Realms of Chaos: the Lost and the Damned book, but it would be usable to any player with a copy of Slaves to Darkness and keen to start a Nurgle warband. In addition to this we have a quest for Advanced HeroQuest, the more 'advanced' dungeon-crawl spin-off to HeroQuest which I have written about before, rules for Chaos Terminators in Space Hulk (the first of a two part article) and one part of an ongoing series for Warhammer fantasy Roleplay. The last details part of the city of Marienburg and was intended to be collected into a supplement, but was ultimately never completed (the Marienburg supplement released years later by HogsHead publishing contained different material). This was not uncommon for Games Workshop at the time who would often release material in White Dwarf before collecting it together, sometimes they didn't get round to releasing the full collection.
The 'Eavy Metal pages, a show case for painted models, seems quite chaotically assembled, with pictures of whatever the studio painters have been working on regardless of any consistent theme. There are a few images of soon to be released miniatures, but these are almost thrown away, mixed in as they are with conversions and already available models A particular highlight is a page of heavily converted Titans by John Blanche. Also of interest is the two pages of dense text given over to explaining how the miniatures were painted and converted. Even if it mostly just describes the colours used, it is still welcome and helps to elevate the pages above simple eye candy. The 2D counterpart to 'Eavy Metal is Illuminations, a 4 page article given over to showing off the art work of Kev Walker which, perhaps surprisingly, is entirely black and white.
The Lack of colour throughout is quite jarring. Most of the magazine, and all of rules material is in black and white, including half the Ork preview. Colour is reserved for where it is most necessary, Eavy Metal and, no not Illuminations, but adverts. It seems very odd to see non-Games Workshop adverts in White Dwarf, even if they are decidedly unusual - a play by mail roleplaying for example. This issue also features two large double-page ads for Talisman and Bloodbowl. These are actually useful introductions to the games and available materials, but were sadly not used again in the magazine.
This is unfortunate as there is very little for new players. At time I was enamoured by the Ork preview and spent ages pouring over rules and tables in Realms of Chaos without having a clue what they were for. It was a good thing for Games Workshop that I had this mind-set, because there is nothing to ease in the new players or introduce the games. This would not be so bad these days, when Games Workshop stores are fully geared up to introduce new players to the hobby, but back in the early 1990s Games Workshop stores were slightly baffling and intimidating places for new players.
So in summary, the issue contains lots of useful rules content for several different games so there was probably something of interest to most players. On the other hand, diversity of games material means that you would have to be pretty committed to Games Workshops full range of products to get use out of all of it. Also, as valuable as the content is to an experienced player, it is actively confusing to a new one. While it may have been my introduction to Games Workshop hobby, it was a somewhat confusing one to say the least.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Make do and mend
One side-effect of revisiting the old Realms of Chaos warband rules is that I have found myself trawling through back issues of White Dwarf looking for examples of warbands and models. The process has been illuminating about the way in which the wargaming hobby and Games Workshop in particular have changed over the years. The most obvious difference being the price.
Back when I started gaming in 1990, Games Workshop charged a standard £2.99 for a metal blister pack which contained, on average, 3-5 metal models. It didn't take very long for them to put up their prices, within a year they were £3.99 a pack, but even then it seems ludicrously cheap by modern standards. First issue of White Dwarf I ever bought contained a special offer deal for a 2,000 point Dark Elf army. This deal got you 84 metal models for £50. A modern Dark Elf battalion boxed set now costs £60 and gets you 53 plastic models.
It's actually very difficult to say with certainty how much something has increased in cost in real terms. Inflation has a huge effect as does the price of certain raw materials. Another factor is changes to game rules. I may be wrong, but my impression is that armies have gotten bigger since the 1990s (while points costs have gotten lowwer) which effects the overall cost of collecting an army quite apart from the cost of the individual models.
I bring all this up, not as a way to bash Games Workshop for putting up the prices, but because it made me remember my early experiences gaming. For a while now I have been commenting on blogs and message boards expressing my view that GW are in danger of pricing their customers out of the market, particularly given that their market is mostly teenagers. Oddly, looking at these old prices has lead me to revise my view.
The £50 army looks like a good deal to modern eyes, but the thing is, I couldn't afford it and neither could any of my friends. Maybe if we saved pocket money for months, but that wasn't going to happen. We used to buy models in fits and starts where we could and, like most teenage boys with limited patience, our focus was on low cost high impact models. It's no wonder Games Workshop started focusing on special characters, for a few pounds you could buy a single model as powerful as most units.
When my friends and I first started playing we used to improvise, using experimental rules from White Dwarf, proxying models, ignoring minimums and maximums, all so we could get in a game. In the early days we didn't even have the right dice and used to employ spinners or rolling odd number of six-siders to get the effects we needed.
Back then GW didn't produce much in the way of scenery, a few trees and fences, but certainly not the big plastic boxes of today. But if they had I doubt we would have bought much of it. Why spend money on scenery that you can spend on models? So we used anything to hand: books, video cases, polystyrene packaging and lego trees. I remember one memorable game of Warhammer 40,000 in which Eldar took on Space Marines in a 'Mountain Pass' made from the gap between the sofa and the coffee table. I even played one opponent whose Tyranid army was two-thirds paper counters.
My point is that for teenagers everything is too expensive, from video games to trainers. Miniatures are no different. Most teenagers have no source of income beyond their parents it didn't stop us then and I doubt it would now. While I would have jumped at Mantic Games cheap plastics had an equivalent existed, high prices were not going to push me out of the hobby.
It's a point that adult gamers can easily forget. Games Workshop may be at the pinnacle of high priced miniature companies (and I emphasise may), but this is an expensive hobby across the board, expensive in both money and time. It takes a level of dedication and commitment, possibly even a touch of obsession, to make something of it in the first place. The teenage audience that Games Workshop focuses on has this in spades, even if it doesn't have much money. I had forgotten just how keen I was to get my miniatures and get in a game, even if I couldn't afford to spend the kind of money I do now. With all that in mind, I wonder how badly Games Workshop's prices really will effect their audience? Perhaps, as long as they keep the quality up, price is less important than I thought.
Back when I started gaming in 1990, Games Workshop charged a standard £2.99 for a metal blister pack which contained, on average, 3-5 metal models. It didn't take very long for them to put up their prices, within a year they were £3.99 a pack, but even then it seems ludicrously cheap by modern standards. First issue of White Dwarf I ever bought contained a special offer deal for a 2,000 point Dark Elf army. This deal got you 84 metal models for £50. A modern Dark Elf battalion boxed set now costs £60 and gets you 53 plastic models.
It's actually very difficult to say with certainty how much something has increased in cost in real terms. Inflation has a huge effect as does the price of certain raw materials. Another factor is changes to game rules. I may be wrong, but my impression is that armies have gotten bigger since the 1990s (while points costs have gotten lowwer) which effects the overall cost of collecting an army quite apart from the cost of the individual models.
I bring all this up, not as a way to bash Games Workshop for putting up the prices, but because it made me remember my early experiences gaming. For a while now I have been commenting on blogs and message boards expressing my view that GW are in danger of pricing their customers out of the market, particularly given that their market is mostly teenagers. Oddly, looking at these old prices has lead me to revise my view.
The £50 army looks like a good deal to modern eyes, but the thing is, I couldn't afford it and neither could any of my friends. Maybe if we saved pocket money for months, but that wasn't going to happen. We used to buy models in fits and starts where we could and, like most teenage boys with limited patience, our focus was on low cost high impact models. It's no wonder Games Workshop started focusing on special characters, for a few pounds you could buy a single model as powerful as most units.
When my friends and I first started playing we used to improvise, using experimental rules from White Dwarf, proxying models, ignoring minimums and maximums, all so we could get in a game. In the early days we didn't even have the right dice and used to employ spinners or rolling odd number of six-siders to get the effects we needed.
Back then GW didn't produce much in the way of scenery, a few trees and fences, but certainly not the big plastic boxes of today. But if they had I doubt we would have bought much of it. Why spend money on scenery that you can spend on models? So we used anything to hand: books, video cases, polystyrene packaging and lego trees. I remember one memorable game of Warhammer 40,000 in which Eldar took on Space Marines in a 'Mountain Pass' made from the gap between the sofa and the coffee table. I even played one opponent whose Tyranid army was two-thirds paper counters.
My point is that for teenagers everything is too expensive, from video games to trainers. Miniatures are no different. Most teenagers have no source of income beyond their parents it didn't stop us then and I doubt it would now. While I would have jumped at Mantic Games cheap plastics had an equivalent existed, high prices were not going to push me out of the hobby.
It's a point that adult gamers can easily forget. Games Workshop may be at the pinnacle of high priced miniature companies (and I emphasise may), but this is an expensive hobby across the board, expensive in both money and time. It takes a level of dedication and commitment, possibly even a touch of obsession, to make something of it in the first place. The teenage audience that Games Workshop focuses on has this in spades, even if it doesn't have much money. I had forgotten just how keen I was to get my miniatures and get in a game, even if I couldn't afford to spend the kind of money I do now. With all that in mind, I wonder how badly Games Workshop's prices really will effect their audience? Perhaps, as long as they keep the quality up, price is less important than I thought.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Chaos Warband 2 - Saargash Warpscarred
In a tiny backwater on the edge of the Empire, a poor farmer's wife gave birth to a baby boy with a single eye in the centre of his forehead. Terrified of the taint of Chaos and the consequences to herself and her family she begged her husband to take the child and dispose of it. Her husband agreed, taking the baby into the forest, but when the moment came he found he couldn't bring himself to murder his son. Instead he abandoned it, reasoning that nature would take its course and offering a silent prayer to any watching God. The prayer was answered..
A Chaos centaur, hunting in the forest stumbled across the infant. A helpless human child would normally be no more than an easy meal for a centaur, but this one saw the child's single eye and recognised him as a gift from the Chaos Gods. He took the child back to his tribe where he was raised among the Centaurs as one of their own, naming him Saargash (meaning gift of fate or fortune).
Spells: Level 1: Acqueisance, Cure Light Injury, Hammerhand,
Level 2: Pavane of Slaanesh, Mystic Mist, Cause Panic
Equipment: 2 swords
Equipment: Hand Weapons and Shields. 1 carries a banner, 1 carries a drum.
Saving Throw: 6+
After I had written up the details of my last warband, it occurred to me that I hadn't written anything about the process that created it. I had forgotten that just because I had a copy of Realms of Chaos to hand, it doesn't mean everyone did. So for this warband I will explain how it was created.
I started with my champion and rolled on the Starting profiles table. This got me a human, hardly surprising as this is the most common result though Chaos Dwarves and Dark Elves are also a strong possibility. Having generated a human, I rolled again to find out what type and got lucky rolling up a Level 15 Wizard. The level 15 refers to the number of bonus points added to the standard human profile, so my wizard has a total of 15 bonuses.
Next I chose my patron God. As a wizard, Khorne was right out and I already had a champion of Nurgle. Tzeentch would have been an obvious choice for a Wizard, but my little brother had generated a Tzeentch warband so I decided on Slaanesh. My choice of patron determined my champion's Mark of Chaos, for Slaanesh this got me a +1 bonus to my champions willpower and a random chaos attribute. For the latter, I had to roll on the gargantuan d1000 Chaos attribute table and got 1 eye. This doesn't do much except reduce his ballistic skill, but at least he didn't lose a leg or an arm.
My next step was to generate starting equipment, as a level 15 wizard my champion got d6+2 points to spend, but I only got 3. As a Wizard, my champion couldn't use armour or a shield without reducing his ability to cast spells, so I simply bought him two hand weapons so he could benefit from an extra attack. Finally, I generated my Champions magic points and spells. A level 15 wizard can cast up to level 2 spells, and has three at each level. I had to take the level 1 and 2 Slaanesh spells and then picked a selection from the Battle Magic list that seemed interesting.
With my champion generated, I had to roll for his followers. My first roll got me d4 centaurs. I rolled a 2. This left me with an unusual warband, a human wizard leading a pair of centaurs and it took me some time to think up a background story that made sense. I was inspired by a passage in the Realms of Chaos section on beastmen that described how mutant children are sometimes abandoned by their parents and raised by beastmen. If beastmen could do it, why not centaurs and so Saargash Warpscarred was born.
A little while after this my brother and I decided we would give our champions two rolls on the followers table as this would make for more interesting battles. My second roll got me 5 beastmen who automatically got a standard and a musician.
Saargash's warband ready for painting
A Chaos centaur, hunting in the forest stumbled across the infant. A helpless human child would normally be no more than an easy meal for a centaur, but this one saw the child's single eye and recognised him as a gift from the Chaos Gods. He took the child back to his tribe where he was raised among the Centaurs as one of their own, naming him Saargash (meaning gift of fate or fortune).
As the child grew he displayed signs of magical power and the Centaur's counted themselves blessed. Taking Slaanesh as his patron he assisted the Centaurs in the raiding. However, spoiled by his Centaur 'parents' he became increasingly arrogant and vain, demanding the other Centaurs treat him as a superior and provide him with tributes and gifts. Many of his tribe resented this, but more troublesome was his frequent attacks on human settlements, born from a desire for vengeance against his true parents. With Saargash drawing unwanted attention, many started to speak out against him.
Open conflict was only avoided when Saargash announced his intention to leave the tribe and seek his fortune as a Champion of Slaanesh. Secretly, he had long tired of the Centaurs limited ambitions. Two of his centaur 'brothers' joined him in his quest and formed the first members of his warband.
Saargash's first destination was a clearing inhabited by a small band of beastmen. The Centaur's had had dealings with them before, trading plunder for alcohol and weapons that the centaurs were too clumsy to construct themselves. Saargash intended to trade for supplies, but when he approached the camp a more sinister idea came to mind.
With his centaur brothers in front, acting as bodyguards, Saargash strode into the clearing chanting arcane words and raising his hands in strange and obscure gestures. The confused beastmen rose to their feet ready for attack, but then something strange happened. The beastmen started to dance around the clearing in a stupor. They dropped their weapons and ignore Saargash and his warband. As the dance reached a crescendo, Saargash's brother stepped forwards and thrust his spear into their leader's heart. The dance ended immediately. The Beastmen, confused and leaderless, saw that Saargash was a mighty champion and falling to their knees submitted to him. Saargash simply smiled.
The Warband of Saargash Warpscarred – Champion of Slaanesh
Saargash Warpscarred – Champion of Slaanesh (Level 15 Human Wizard)
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | INT | CL | WP |
| 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9+2 | 9+2 | 9+2 | 10+3 |
Chaos Attributes: One Eye
Magic Level: 2
Power Level: 23Spells: Level 1: Acqueisance, Cure Light Injury, Hammerhand,
Level 2: Pavane of Slaanesh, Mystic Mist, Cause Panic
Equipment: 2 swords
2 Centaurs
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | INT | CL | WP |
| 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Equipment: Hand weapons, Shields
Saving Throw: 6+
5 Beastmen
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | INT | CL | WP |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Equipment: Hand Weapons and Shields. 1 carries a banner, 1 carries a drum.
Saving Throw: 6+
After I had written up the details of my last warband, it occurred to me that I hadn't written anything about the process that created it. I had forgotten that just because I had a copy of Realms of Chaos to hand, it doesn't mean everyone did. So for this warband I will explain how it was created.
I started with my champion and rolled on the Starting profiles table. This got me a human, hardly surprising as this is the most common result though Chaos Dwarves and Dark Elves are also a strong possibility. Having generated a human, I rolled again to find out what type and got lucky rolling up a Level 15 Wizard. The level 15 refers to the number of bonus points added to the standard human profile, so my wizard has a total of 15 bonuses.
Next I chose my patron God. As a wizard, Khorne was right out and I already had a champion of Nurgle. Tzeentch would have been an obvious choice for a Wizard, but my little brother had generated a Tzeentch warband so I decided on Slaanesh. My choice of patron determined my champion's Mark of Chaos, for Slaanesh this got me a +1 bonus to my champions willpower and a random chaos attribute. For the latter, I had to roll on the gargantuan d1000 Chaos attribute table and got 1 eye. This doesn't do much except reduce his ballistic skill, but at least he didn't lose a leg or an arm.
My next step was to generate starting equipment, as a level 15 wizard my champion got d6+2 points to spend, but I only got 3. As a Wizard, my champion couldn't use armour or a shield without reducing his ability to cast spells, so I simply bought him two hand weapons so he could benefit from an extra attack. Finally, I generated my Champions magic points and spells. A level 15 wizard can cast up to level 2 spells, and has three at each level. I had to take the level 1 and 2 Slaanesh spells and then picked a selection from the Battle Magic list that seemed interesting.
With my champion generated, I had to roll for his followers. My first roll got me d4 centaurs. I rolled a 2. This left me with an unusual warband, a human wizard leading a pair of centaurs and it took me some time to think up a background story that made sense. I was inspired by a passage in the Realms of Chaos section on beastmen that described how mutant children are sometimes abandoned by their parents and raised by beastmen. If beastmen could do it, why not centaurs and so Saargash Warpscarred was born.
A little while after this my brother and I decided we would give our champions two rolls on the followers table as this would make for more interesting battles. My second roll got me 5 beastmen who automatically got a standard and a musician.
Saargash's warband ready for paintingFor the body of Saargash Warpscarred I used an Empire Flagellant, my brother and I had acquired a box as he had ended up with 4 Chaos Cultists as his starting followers. The torn and bedraggled robes seemed to suit a champion who had grown up in a forest and probably had to scavenge and make his own clothes. I replaced the weapons with two swords from my Beastmen box. As a Champion of Slaanesh, I wanted Saargash to start out reasonably good-looking so I used a spare head from the Bretonnian Knight boxed set, using greenstuff to cover up his eyes and add a new one to his forehead.
The warband was fairly simple to put together. I already had a beastman boxed set and used spare parts from the Chaos Marauder warband to give them a standard and a musician. For the Centaurs I decided to use Centigors, grabbing two from Games Workshop mail order before they convert them to finecast.
The warband was fairly simple to put together. I already had a beastman boxed set and used spare parts from the Chaos Marauder warband to give them a standard and a musician. For the Centaurs I decided to use Centigors, grabbing two from Games Workshop mail order before they convert them to finecast.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Chaos Warband 1 - Rolf Hurtziger
Rolf Hurtziger was a member of mercenary band plying its wares in the Northern Empire and Kislev. He was a physically large and powerful fighter, the Regimental Champion and first into the fray in every battle. Celebrated by his colleagues he was secure in his position. This was to change.
Following an encounter with a group of Northern Bandits, Rolf woke one morning to find his arms covered in marks. At first he took them for sores and feared he was coming down with a nasty disease, but on closer inspection he realised he was covered in tiny suckers. Fearful of his comrades reactions he covered his arms and tried to carry on as before. But the changes were to continue, the bones in his arms softened, the joints disappeared allowing him to flex them in all directions. When his fingers shrank away into his hands he could no longer keep his mutation concealed.
His comrades caught him sneaking away from a battle and at first assumed he was deserting. Pursued, Rolf panicked and, finding he could still grip his sword in his tentacle arms, killed three of his former friends before he knew what he was doing. Chased by his own band, Witch Hunters and Imperial troops, Rolf fled into the Drakwald forest..
Abandoned and starving, Rolf cursed fate, his former comrades and the Gods that had abandoned him. He defiantly vowed he would serve any God who restored him to his former place. His call was answered by the Chaos God Nurgle, his pain dulled and his skin took on a sickly pallor.
Still lost and alone, Rolf blundered through the Forest until he came across a small band of Beastmen. Rolf drew his sword expecting to fight, but the Beastmen recognised a Champion marked by a Chaos God and pledged their allegiance to him, becoming the first of his followers.
Leading his new followers into the depths of the forest, Rolf encountered a small group of Orc scavengers camping out after raiding a merchant caravan. Rolf had faced Orcs before and knew how best to handle them. Approaching their leader he bellowed out a challenge. An angry armoured Orc with two massive cleavers faced him. Armed with an axe given by his Beastmen followers, Rolf slew the Champion, his tentacle arms giving him a longer reach and range of motion.
Standing over the body, Rolf expected the Orcs to flee, but they seemed uncertain. Recognising Rolf as an aspiring champion of Chaos and seeing his Beastmen followers, they threw down the weapons and pledged to join his warband. Rolf gave a silent prayer to his new God for guiding him to these new followers.
The Warband of Rolf Hurtziger – Champion of Nurgle
Rolf Hurtziger - Champion of Nurgle (Level 5 Human Hero)
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | INT | CL | WP |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Chaos Attributes: Tentacle Arms (2)
Fear Points: 1
Equipment: Sword, Light Armour
Saving Throw: 6+
3 Beastmen
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | INT | CL | WP |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Equipment: Hand Weapons and Shields. 1 carries a banner, 1 carries a warhorn.
Saving Throw: 6+
6 Orcs
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | INT | CL | WP |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
Equipment: Spears, Hand Weapons, Light Armour and Shields
Saving Throw: 5+
Rolf's warband, assembled but unpainted
The Warband of Rolf Hurtziger was my first randomly generated warband. Everything was randomly generated, though MLB agreed to let me fudge the rolls I got for the Orcs, swapping war boars for spears.
Rolf's body, cloak and upper arms, are a spare Gripping Beast plastic Saxon. One major advantage of the Gripping Beast box sets is I ended up with a few spare parts. His tentacle arms are bit box pieces, probably from the plastic Chaos Spawn box. His head was a spare Bretonnian Man-at-Arms, who I thought had a suitably grim look. Finally, I got the axe and pendant from the Marauder Horsemen box, the latter covering up a rather inappropriate Crucifix on the original miniature.
Rolf's warband needed little converting. The Beastmen are from the current GW Beastman Gor box, which seems a lot more reasonably priced when you only need a handful. I swapped out their banner, which seemed a little large for such a small warband, for a spare from the Chaos Marauder box. The Orcs are veterans of Warhammer 3rd edition; they originally came from the Ruglud's armoured Orcs boxed set, which still exists today in a somewhat different form. These were the first Orcs for my original 3rd edition Orc army and have fought with me through 4th and 5th edition, though I never got around to painting them. The 3rd edition aesthetic and battered armour seemed to suit a Nurgle warband.
A painted Rolf, ready for battle
A Brief look at Realms of Chaos
Back in early 1990s, Games Workshop's production of supplements for its core games was not nearly as straightforward as it is today. Now each army has its own army book released along with most of the miniatures for that army. Back then things were a touch more haphazard. Warhammer Fantasy Battles 3rd edition was not too complex, the majority of the games army lists were included in the single source book Warhammer Armies. Warhammer 40,000 players, however, had a more difficult time. Each army list was published first in White Dwarf, the majority of which were collected into two best of collections the Warhammer 40,000 compendium and the Warhammer 40,000 compilation. The Orks were lucky or unlucky depending on your point of view and got two huge source books 'Ere We Go and Freebooters. In addition to this, 40K received two supplement books revising the rules for vehicles and weapons.
Front cover of Slaves to Darkness
It was in this context that the Realms of Chaos books appeared. If it isn't now, back then Chaos was certainly regarded as the defining idea of the Warhammer and Warhammer 40K games, as well as being the concept that linked them together. Realms of Chaos was Games Workshops attempt to provide the definitive sourcebook to describe Chaos in all its forms and across its games. It was released in two huge hardback volumes, subtitled Slaves to Darkness and the Lost and the Damned, costing a hefty (for then) £18 each. They covered Warhammer, Warhammer 40K and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Interestingly, rather than split the books by game system, Games Workshop chose to divide them by Chaos Power. Slaves to Darkness focused on Khorne and Slaanesh, the Lost and the Damned on Nurgle and Tzeentch.
As well as rules for Daemons, Chaos Magic, Chaos Weapons and army lists for both games, the books provided extensive rules for randomly generating Chaos Champions and their Warbands. These could be added to your armies, or used as the basis for a Campaign pitting champion against champion in a quest for Daemonhood. This was an early example of a campaign system that saw players lead small groups of miniatures that gained experience over time and foreshadowed the systems used by Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Gorkamorka and Mordheim.
The rules were certainly complex and not always well explained. Champions were randomly generated, received randomly generated followers, fought battles and gained further followers and Chaos rewards. Slave to Darkness outlined the system, but didn't do a great job of it. A two page diagram intended to explain it visually ended up making it more confusing.
See, simple!
It was left to the Lost and the Damned to really run with the idea, simplifying and clarifying the basic rules as well as updating the followers table. It also included new rules for Beastmen, Minotaur, Centaur and even Dragon Ogre champions and a series of random scenarios, concepts and locations for games. The rules strongly encourage using a Games Master to moderate proceedings, which was probably sensible as the rules were decidedly rough and ready and little attempt was made to explain how such small 'armies' worked in the context of a game designed to accommodate large forces.
Front Cover of the Lost and the Damned
The rules read very much like a tool box that players can dip into and use, picking and choosing what elements they like and ignoring what they don't. In that way they mirror Warlord games Black Powder and Hail Caesar, though Rick Priestly was only credited as contributor on the first volume and co-writer of the second.
One of most enjoyable aspects of the rules for me is how glorious random it all is. Games Workshop of old loved d100 tables and there are plenty of them: a table for randomly generating starting champions (mostly humans, but allowing Dark Elves, Chaos Dwarves and a range of strange possibilities including Gnomes, Vampires, Halflings and Werewolves); tables for randomly generating followers, with separate tables for Minotaurs and Beastmen; tables for magic items; tables for Chaos rewards (plus one for each God); Chaos weapon tables; a table to determine the features of a randomly generated daemon prince; and best of all a d1000 table for Chaos attributes, a range of mutations from tentacles arms, cloven hooves and beaks, to invisible, walking head and growing a futuristic weapon out of your arm. Following the tables exactly would have meant hacking your models to pieces every few games to produce new conversions.
It's also completely unbalanced and unfair. Although the tables skew towards weaker followers and champions it is entirely possible to see a starting warband lead by a Level 25 Minotaur Champion (Warhammer 3rd edition ranked champions in levels from 5 to 25) with two dragons facing an ordinary human with a single goblin armed with a stick. This is another reason why a Games Master is all but mandatory. But to some extent this fits the concept. Chaos is inherently random and random isn't fair.
Another interesting thing is that the rigid distinction between armies present in modern Warhammer does not exist here. It is perfectly possible to see Goblins, Orcs, Dark Elves and Skaven join a warband. Even halflings and Vampires can get in on the act. This reinforces the idea that Chaos prevails throughout Warhammer world touching all races and that anyone can pledge themselves to a Chaos god. Chaos armies and warbands united by religion, not race and Chaos is a concept that touches the whole Warhammer world.
When I first started collecting Games Workshop models, Slaves to Darkness had been released but the Lost and the Damned was still on its way. At that time, the first port of call for any Games Workshop news was always White Dwarf and extracts from the new book were printed regularly. Long before I even knew what Warhammer was, I knew what Realms of Chaos was and the concept of randomly generating and building warbands fascinated me.
With modern Games Workshop miniatures having gotten so expensive now seems like the perfect time to return to a way of playing Warhammer that requires only a small number of models and that can be built in increments.
With that in mind, my little brother and I have dug out the rules and have been rolling up random warbands in earnest in preparation for a new campaign. We have made some slight tweaks to the rules to, hopefully, make a more interesting campaign. Each starting Champion gets two rolls on the followers table instead of one, this is because one character and one unit each does not make for a very interesting game. We also agreed to re-roll ridiculously extreme results, a rule we had to follow very quickly when MLB's first champion managed to generate a sword with a Daemon Prince trapped inside it.
In many ways, the Chaos Warband system is ideally suited for modern Games Workshop models. Plastic miniatures are more easily converted than metal, come in multiple pieces and, mostly, provide plenty of spare bits for conversions. I've accumulated a pretty substantial 'bitz box' over the years, which makes it easy to put together a few warbands. With the price of miniatures constantly rising, a small, skirmish game seems far more appealing than mass-battle Warhammer. Expect to see more posts on our progress soon.
Front cover of Slaves to DarknessIt was in this context that the Realms of Chaos books appeared. If it isn't now, back then Chaos was certainly regarded as the defining idea of the Warhammer and Warhammer 40K games, as well as being the concept that linked them together. Realms of Chaos was Games Workshops attempt to provide the definitive sourcebook to describe Chaos in all its forms and across its games. It was released in two huge hardback volumes, subtitled Slaves to Darkness and the Lost and the Damned, costing a hefty (for then) £18 each. They covered Warhammer, Warhammer 40K and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Interestingly, rather than split the books by game system, Games Workshop chose to divide them by Chaos Power. Slaves to Darkness focused on Khorne and Slaanesh, the Lost and the Damned on Nurgle and Tzeentch.
As well as rules for Daemons, Chaos Magic, Chaos Weapons and army lists for both games, the books provided extensive rules for randomly generating Chaos Champions and their Warbands. These could be added to your armies, or used as the basis for a Campaign pitting champion against champion in a quest for Daemonhood. This was an early example of a campaign system that saw players lead small groups of miniatures that gained experience over time and foreshadowed the systems used by Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Gorkamorka and Mordheim.
The rules were certainly complex and not always well explained. Champions were randomly generated, received randomly generated followers, fought battles and gained further followers and Chaos rewards. Slave to Darkness outlined the system, but didn't do a great job of it. A two page diagram intended to explain it visually ended up making it more confusing.
See, simple!It was left to the Lost and the Damned to really run with the idea, simplifying and clarifying the basic rules as well as updating the followers table. It also included new rules for Beastmen, Minotaur, Centaur and even Dragon Ogre champions and a series of random scenarios, concepts and locations for games. The rules strongly encourage using a Games Master to moderate proceedings, which was probably sensible as the rules were decidedly rough and ready and little attempt was made to explain how such small 'armies' worked in the context of a game designed to accommodate large forces.
Front Cover of the Lost and the DamnedThe rules read very much like a tool box that players can dip into and use, picking and choosing what elements they like and ignoring what they don't. In that way they mirror Warlord games Black Powder and Hail Caesar, though Rick Priestly was only credited as contributor on the first volume and co-writer of the second.
One of most enjoyable aspects of the rules for me is how glorious random it all is. Games Workshop of old loved d100 tables and there are plenty of them: a table for randomly generating starting champions (mostly humans, but allowing Dark Elves, Chaos Dwarves and a range of strange possibilities including Gnomes, Vampires, Halflings and Werewolves); tables for randomly generating followers, with separate tables for Minotaurs and Beastmen; tables for magic items; tables for Chaos rewards (plus one for each God); Chaos weapon tables; a table to determine the features of a randomly generated daemon prince; and best of all a d1000 table for Chaos attributes, a range of mutations from tentacles arms, cloven hooves and beaks, to invisible, walking head and growing a futuristic weapon out of your arm. Following the tables exactly would have meant hacking your models to pieces every few games to produce new conversions.
It's also completely unbalanced and unfair. Although the tables skew towards weaker followers and champions it is entirely possible to see a starting warband lead by a Level 25 Minotaur Champion (Warhammer 3rd edition ranked champions in levels from 5 to 25) with two dragons facing an ordinary human with a single goblin armed with a stick. This is another reason why a Games Master is all but mandatory. But to some extent this fits the concept. Chaos is inherently random and random isn't fair.
Another interesting thing is that the rigid distinction between armies present in modern Warhammer does not exist here. It is perfectly possible to see Goblins, Orcs, Dark Elves and Skaven join a warband. Even halflings and Vampires can get in on the act. This reinforces the idea that Chaos prevails throughout Warhammer world touching all races and that anyone can pledge themselves to a Chaos god. Chaos armies and warbands united by religion, not race and Chaos is a concept that touches the whole Warhammer world.
When I first started collecting Games Workshop models, Slaves to Darkness had been released but the Lost and the Damned was still on its way. At that time, the first port of call for any Games Workshop news was always White Dwarf and extracts from the new book were printed regularly. Long before I even knew what Warhammer was, I knew what Realms of Chaos was and the concept of randomly generating and building warbands fascinated me.
With modern Games Workshop miniatures having gotten so expensive now seems like the perfect time to return to a way of playing Warhammer that requires only a small number of models and that can be built in increments.
With that in mind, my little brother and I have dug out the rules and have been rolling up random warbands in earnest in preparation for a new campaign. We have made some slight tweaks to the rules to, hopefully, make a more interesting campaign. Each starting Champion gets two rolls on the followers table instead of one, this is because one character and one unit each does not make for a very interesting game. We also agreed to re-roll ridiculously extreme results, a rule we had to follow very quickly when MLB's first champion managed to generate a sword with a Daemon Prince trapped inside it.
In many ways, the Chaos Warband system is ideally suited for modern Games Workshop models. Plastic miniatures are more easily converted than metal, come in multiple pieces and, mostly, provide plenty of spare bits for conversions. I've accumulated a pretty substantial 'bitz box' over the years, which makes it easy to put together a few warbands. With the price of miniatures constantly rising, a small, skirmish game seems far more appealing than mass-battle Warhammer. Expect to see more posts on our progress soon.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Thanks for all your support
For some time there has been discussion in the online Wargaming community about the lack of support for Warhammer Ancient Battles from Games Workshop of late. This has only escalated since the sudden arrival of the Ancient rules boom, with fans of Hail Caesar and Clash of Empires keen to declare WAB dead and gone.
During the early years of WAB, it was well supported by range of supplement books that generally choose a particular era or conflict as a theme and provided background, scenarios and Army books. This proved to be an eclectic mix, with supplements chosen seemingly by whatever subject an author felt like doing. But they were much loved by the wargaming community due to their high production values and comprehensive detail. Since Forge World took over the running of Warhammer Historical. Since the much delayed release of WAB 2.0 there has been now further support. This has, understandably, lead to much grumbling.
Interestingly, there has been strong opinions expressed that the further support from Games Workshop really doesn't matter. This does not seem to be motivated by any great love of GW, but more by a belief that a rule set does not require continuous support to be viable.
I find myself personally divided. I own a copy of WAB 1st edition, but have never really played. I toyed with the rules when I first started looking into Samurai, but was put off by lack of a dedicated supplement. The long promised (and unfortunately named) Divine Wind has been endlessly delayed. This is the essence of the WAB problem, the extent to which the lack of support bothers you is dependent on whether the supplement you want has been released.
This raises the question of why we as gamers want "support"from games producers. If the rules work use them. The key is the extent to which the game is complete. We don't hear demands for further support of Warhammer: English Civil War, because rules and army lists are all in the book. Field of Glory similarly saw a complete set of army book released and then the supplements stopped with no sign of complaint. DBM is similarly complete in its four comprehensive army list supplements.
It's instructive to contrast Games Workshop's approach WAB with its approach to Warhammer Fantasy. Here we have a game that could do with a good deal less support. There has been a complete set of rules and army lists since 2nd edition twenty years ago. And apart from the addition and loss of a small number of armies, everything released since has been a re-jig of everything that came before. The latest trend is full colour hard back books.
If anything it would be nice if the company stopped producing new army books. Most players have no desire to buy a new book and reorganise their army every four or five years. Wargaming is not computing, there is no need to update rules to keep up with technological change. The only motivation for the endless cycle of re-releases is a need to sustain interest in a product that has already been completed. Interest in Warhammer waned when GW stopped new releases.
This leaves gamers and game producers in conflict. Popular and successful gamers justify a rapid run of releases, which means they run their course quickly and interest has to be artificially sustained with unasked for releases. In contrast, less popular or niche games see slow and incomplete support stretched out over a period of years.
So what does this tell us? Possibly that gamers will always want what they don't have or that the commercial interests of games companies will always conflict with their customers, but mostly that Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer Ancient Battles need to swap players.
During the early years of WAB, it was well supported by range of supplement books that generally choose a particular era or conflict as a theme and provided background, scenarios and Army books. This proved to be an eclectic mix, with supplements chosen seemingly by whatever subject an author felt like doing. But they were much loved by the wargaming community due to their high production values and comprehensive detail. Since Forge World took over the running of Warhammer Historical. Since the much delayed release of WAB 2.0 there has been now further support. This has, understandably, lead to much grumbling.
Interestingly, there has been strong opinions expressed that the further support from Games Workshop really doesn't matter. This does not seem to be motivated by any great love of GW, but more by a belief that a rule set does not require continuous support to be viable.
I find myself personally divided. I own a copy of WAB 1st edition, but have never really played. I toyed with the rules when I first started looking into Samurai, but was put off by lack of a dedicated supplement. The long promised (and unfortunately named) Divine Wind has been endlessly delayed. This is the essence of the WAB problem, the extent to which the lack of support bothers you is dependent on whether the supplement you want has been released.
This raises the question of why we as gamers want "support"from games producers. If the rules work use them. The key is the extent to which the game is complete. We don't hear demands for further support of Warhammer: English Civil War, because rules and army lists are all in the book. Field of Glory similarly saw a complete set of army book released and then the supplements stopped with no sign of complaint. DBM is similarly complete in its four comprehensive army list supplements.
It's instructive to contrast Games Workshop's approach WAB with its approach to Warhammer Fantasy. Here we have a game that could do with a good deal less support. There has been a complete set of rules and army lists since 2nd edition twenty years ago. And apart from the addition and loss of a small number of armies, everything released since has been a re-jig of everything that came before. The latest trend is full colour hard back books.
If anything it would be nice if the company stopped producing new army books. Most players have no desire to buy a new book and reorganise their army every four or five years. Wargaming is not computing, there is no need to update rules to keep up with technological change. The only motivation for the endless cycle of re-releases is a need to sustain interest in a product that has already been completed. Interest in Warhammer waned when GW stopped new releases.
This leaves gamers and game producers in conflict. Popular and successful gamers justify a rapid run of releases, which means they run their course quickly and interest has to be artificially sustained with unasked for releases. In contrast, less popular or niche games see slow and incomplete support stretched out over a period of years.
So what does this tell us? Possibly that gamers will always want what they don't have or that the commercial interests of games companies will always conflict with their customers, but mostly that Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer Ancient Battles need to swap players.
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