Games - Warmaster

Home > Listing Index > Games > Warmaster

	Games - Warmaster

Warmaster is a tabletop wargame created by Rick Priestley, published by Games Workshop, and set in the Warhammer Fantasy
setting. It is different from Warhammer Fantasy Battles in both appearance and gameplay. It uses smaller 10mm miniatures. Basic troops are based on stands, of which typically three make a unit. Generals, Heroes and Wizards are mounted individually or with their retinue.

Gameplay focuses on control and command, and while magic is used in the game it is limited. The game is designed to focus on the general's ability to command rather than just the armies ability to fight. Players say the game avoids a common critism of the Games Workshop Warhammer games that battles are often decided based on army selection rather than the players' skill in battle.

It was originally released in 2000 as a rulebook with miniatures available separately. As with most of Games Workshop Specialist games, the rules are available on-line as a . New rules and information are also available from the including many taken from the Warmaster 2002 and 2003 Annuals.

In 2005 Games Workshop released a boxed game called Great Battles of Middle Earth: The Battle of Five Armies based on the battle from The Hobbit. The rules are heavily based on Warmaster and it uses same miniature scale. The boxed set contains rules, plastic 10mm miniatures, and scenery (Plastic hills and a cardboard river)

Also in 2005 Warhammer Historical published Warmaster Ancients, a modified version of the Fantasy rules suitable for battles covering a period from early Biblical times to roughly 1066. The rules are different from the original fantasy version to better represent historical battles and units.

Warmaster Gameplay

Warmaster works at a higher organisation level than Warhammer Fantasy to represent very large battles in the Warhammer world. The components of an army are divided into two basic types : units and characters. The 10mm scale miniatures are based on 40mm x 20mm elements. The miniatures are cast in strips with about 5 figures per strip, formed into two lines to create a massed effect. Units are normally made of three such elements each. Infantry are based along the 40mm edge, while cavalry, chariots, monsters and artillery are based along the 20mm edge. Characters represent commanders such as generals, heroes and wizards and may be based as the player desires.

Units in Warmaster must be activated and moved by rolling against the command value of a character, units can be activated multiple times, though the roll becomes progressively more difficult Units may be moved into contact with enemy troops and are considered charging. To enable commanders to move their armies around, units can be formed into brigades of up to four units. If a commander fails his activation roll, he can no longer command units in that turn.

Once all units have been moved eligible units are allowed to shoot and wizards may attempt to cast a spell. Shooting is not very deadly, but any hits scored may force an enemy unit to fall back. Shooting is therefore primarily aimed at disrupting enemy formation and cohesion rather than destroy them.

After the shooting phase follows the combat phase, all units involved in combat may roll a number of D6 dice equivalent to their attack value. Units based along the 20mm edge have a tremendous advantage against units based on the 40mm edge, allowing them to pack all their attacks in a narrow frontage, with two units being able to combine their attacks onto a single enemy unit. Once two units have exchanged blows the number of hits are totalled. The loser with the lowest total hits is forced to fall back, while the winner has the option to stand, pursue or fall back. Fights may continue, even against multiple enemy units in succession, until one side is destroyed or the attacker does not wish to pursue the enemy.

Warmaster Ancients Gameplay

The gameplay for Warmaster Ancients follows the same basic procedure as Warmaster Fantasy, but differs in the following way :

Units may only receive three consecutive orders.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Warmaster ]

Games - Warmaster

Warmaster Gameplay

Warmaster Ancients Gameplay

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay