Game Values
Some troops are better fighters than others, some are better trained, some are more naturally violent and so on. So that we can represent these different qualities in the warriors, monsters and weird creatures that are found in the game, we assign three values to each piece or ‘stand’. These are Attacks, Hits and Armour.
| Attacks | Hits | Armour |
|---|---|---|
3 |
3 |
6+ |
↙ |
↓ |
↘ |
This is the basic number of dice rolled in combat – the more dice, the better at fighting the stand is and the more hits it will be able to inflict. |
The number of hits the stand can suffer before it is removed. |
The stand’s Armour value indicates the chance of nullifying hits scored against it. A value of 6+ indicates that a dice roll of 6 is required to nullify a hit, a 5+ that a 5 or 6 is required and so on. A value of 0 means that the stand has no armour. |
Infantry, cavalry, chariots, monsters, artillery & machines
Broadly speaking, armies consist of infantry, cavalry, chariots, monsters, artillery and machines – this last category includes various oddball devices, as we shall discover.
The rules distinguish between these six types of troops. Monstrous creatures of small to medium size are usually classified as either cavalry or infantry – Ogres are clearly infantry, for instance, although their appearance is no less monstrous for all that.
Shooting attacks
If troops carry bows or other missile weapons then they will have two Attack dice values divided by a slash, for example 3/1 or 2/2. In this case, the first number is always that used in hand-to-hand combat and the second value is that used for shooting.
| Attacks | |
|---|---|
3/1 |
|
↙ |
↘ |
Close Combat Attack value |
Shooting Attack value |
Command
Command is another game value and a very important one too! Only your General and other important characters have a Command value and they use it when issuing orders. Values vary from as low as 7 to as high as 10 but only the very best Generals have a value as high as 10. More about command in due course.
Units
Infantry, cavalry and most other types of troops fight in formations of several stands each consisting of a number of miniatures glued to a 40mm × 20mm Warmaster base. A number of stands form a regiment of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, a battery of artillery, and so on. All the stands in the same formation are always arranged so they are touching, either side-by-side, one behind the other, or contacting at a point.
For convenience, we shall refer to all of these formations as units. Units usually consist of three stands of the same type but this can vary and sometimes a unit can be just a single stand, as we shall see later.
Up to four units can be temporarily placed together to form a brigade. We’ll be covering brigades in much more detail in the rules that follow.
Characters
In addition to the troops described, armies always include a General and can include other Heroes and Wizards as well. These consist of a single stand which includes the mighty individual as well as assorted helpmates and hangers on. These stands are referred to as characters.
Measuring
Players are free to measure distances at any time, and in many cases this will be necessary to determine which target to shoot at or charge. There is no restriction on measurement during play itself; players can take measurements as and when they wish.
Anything else to learn?
Most armies have unique troops of one kind or another, many of which have special rules to reflect their sorcerous and fantastical abilities. You don’t need to know about these to begin with, so don’t worry about them. Later you’ll see that this is what makes each army a different and challenging force to command.
Troops are arranged into units consisting of a number of ‘stands’ – usually three but sometimes two or even just one. This page shows typical infantry and cavalry units.
Infantry stands are always oriented along the long edge of the base as demonstrated by the Empire unit shown above. Generally speaking, all other troops, including monsters and artillery as well as chariots, cavalry and machines are oriented towards the short edge of the base as demonstrated by the units shown to the right. Any exceptions are indicated in the Army Lists section.
