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Warhammer Battle)
Warhammer Battle minatures - Dwarfs, Gotrek & Felix
Warhammer Fantasy Battles is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop and set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting.
The game is played with 'regiments' of fantasy miniatures . It uses stock fantasy races such as humans, elves, dwarves, undead, orcs, lizardmen, etc.
Each race has its own unique strengths and flaws. Elves for example have the most powerful archers and magicians in the game but have fewer specialised close combat units.
Warhammer is periodicaly updated and re-released with newer rules and changes to the gaming system to improve playability. The 6th edition of the game is currently the official one.
The miniatures
The games uses models on the 28mm (approximately 1:64) scale. This is defined as being the height of a normal human, larger creatures such as dragons can be up to 10cm long.
Models come unpainted and unassembled. The players spend a great deal of time painting and modifying the miniatures so that they represent the army's background. This is reinforced by annual painting competitions held by games workshop known as the Golden Demons. Players compete in a number of catergories to win; bronze, silver and gold golden demons for painting.
To build an average army one has to buy at least 50-100 miniatures (depending on the army he chooses to play) which makes Warhammer an expensive hobby. However the gaming system is flexible so that players can easily opt to play smaller battles of 30-40 models etc. Generally a plastic squad or regiment
costs about $40 (canadian) for about 16 models. Individual characters are
usually cast in metal and therefore cost more, however these can often be
expected to be more powerful and worth more anyway.
Playing the game
The game is played in turns with each player completing a full turn before handing control to thir opponent. The turn is broken down into phases: movement, magic, shooting, and close combat.
The games comes with a number of 'scenarios', which contain rules detailing how the armies are chosen, how the playing area should be set up, how long the game will last and how the winner is decided. This last is normally on a points-based system, where points are gained for 'killing' opposing models and for completing pre-determined objectives.
The armies
The armies available in the current edition of the game:
Bretonnians are derived from medieval England and France, and much of it is
based upon the tales of King Arthur. The basis of the army is, as in the Arthurian romances,
knights, with a supporting cast of downtrodden peasants and beautiful damsels. The land of Bretonnia is
equivalent geographically to France.
- Chaos (Daemonic forces, Norse/Steppe nomad culture)
The Legions of Chaos are composed of evil madmen who worship the Four Dark
Gods of Chaos, who are Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle and Tzeentch. The Legions of
Chaos are aided by powerful daemons summoned from another world.
Dark elves are pirates hailing from the dark lands of Naggaroth. They seek
only to pillage and slaughter the other races, and to ultimately place their ruler, the Witch King Malekith, in his "rightful" place upon the throne of Ulthuan, their ancestral island home-and currently home of their cousins, the High Elves. Their land of Naggaroth is geographically equivalent to eastern North America.
The Dogs of War are a mercenary army. Units from the Dogs of War may be used by other races (with certain restrictions, e.g. High elf mercenaries won't work for Dark elves) or can be used on their own. Many of the
mercenary units are from 'Tilea', equivalent geographically to Italy.
- Dwarfs (Dwarves, Germanic culture)
Dwarfs are stout mountain dwellers who greedily mine for gold in their huge
fortresses. Like J. R. R. Tolkien's Dwarves, they are based on
northern european myths
The High Elves are a race that used to rule large portions of the world, but have now retreated to their homeland island of Ulthuan, geographically equivalent to the mythical location of Atlantis in the mid-Atlantic. They fight in a way similar to the Roman armies, and are constantly at war with their Dark Elf cousins.
The Empire is based on the Holy Roman Empire during the Renaissance. Divided into many sub-states ruled by Elector Counts, the Empire is nominally ruled by the Emperor. Their armies are amongst the most diverse in the Old World. Their primary deity is Sigmar, the legendary founder of their country. The Empire is geographically equivalent to Germany
Lizardmen are tribal jungle-dwellers lead by the Slaan, toad-like creatures
with extremely powerful magic. They built many cities in the jungle, complete with ziggurats - most of which are now ruined. Their land of Lustria is geographically equivalent to South America
Orcs & Goblins are exaggerated, humurous parodies of the creatures originally
created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Their army also includes Wyverns, Giants,
Trolls, and other monsters in the same vein. Some Games Workshop designers claim that orcish culture and military tactics are loosely based on Scots Highlanders. Orcs and Goblins are found all over the lands of Warhammer.
- Skaven (Rat-men, no particular culture)
Skaven are giant rats that stand on two legs. They come out of deep tunnels in
great hordes to destroy the workings of the other races.
The Tomb Kings rule over large armies deep in desert wastes. They are lead by a
great pharoh, Settra, who has commanded his servants to awaken and reclaim the
world from the living. The land of the tomb kings is geographically equivalent to Egypt.
The Vampire Counts are a loose collection of various undead lords, Vampires, each with their own agenda. There are five different families ('bloodlines') of vampires, each with different characteristics, and their armies generally reflect this. While originally based on slavic vampire myths, the introduction of newer 'bloodlines' has allowed the race to diversify.
Wood Elves are reclusive beings who live at peace with nature in deep forests. They bear
a grudge with the other Elves for turning their backs on nature, and worship forest deities with names almost exactly the same as Celtic gods. There land of Loren lies in the south-east of Bretonnia. Lorien is geographicly equivalent to Savoy
Chaos Dwarves resemble Dwarves, but have become barbaric and now worship the
Dark Powers. Many of them have become mutated into bizarre forms such as the
bull-centaurs.
- Kislev (Humans, Russian culture)
In Recent times, Kislev has re-arisen as an "allied" race to be used with Empire (and other) armies, but can be used as a separate army on its own as well. The land of Kislev is geographically equivalent to north-west Russia and the Baltic states.
- Beastmen (Goatmen, Aboriginal/ancient germanic culture)
Beastmen are the animals of the forest twisted and warped by proximity to Chaos
Daemons. They now thirst for blood and hunt the other armies. GW designers claim to have loosely based the current incarnation of these creatures on Roman-era Germanic tribes. Beastmen are primarily found in the forests of the Empire, geographically equivalent to Germany.
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