Tuesday, March 15, 2016

I Really Miss Warhammer Fantasy

I was thinking over the weekend about gaming and it dawned on me I really miss playing Warhammer Fantasy Battles.

That doesn't mean I'm not enjoying Kings of War - which I think is a really good game - rather that I'm missing the Warhammer World. Not unexpectedly, I don't feel the same sense of attachment to the Mantica world that I do with the Old World. That has nothing to do with depth - I think Mantic have done a good job providing context - but more with familiarity. I just don't care about Mantica the way I cared about the Warhammer World.

I have made a conscious effort to embrace Ratkin but when it comes down to it they don't mean as much to me as Skaven. The Council of Thirteen's plans to take over the world really would have worked if they had just been given time! Certainly my Grey Seer, the Mighty Seerlord Morskitta was but an inch from world domination - and he would have got there too but for that silly gold nose*.

But it is not just the fluff I miss, it is also the game itself. I really really loved 8th Edition. I liked the mechanisms inherent in the game....the requirement for risk rather than resource management. Towards the end of the five year lifespan of the rules I got a bit jaded but that I put down to playing a lot of ETC-hammer with the same list (guaranteed to squeeze the fun out of any game).

I miss the Magic Phase, I miss Random Charge lengths........basically I miss the fun.

Of course this is all rose-tinted glasses. I don't miss the ubiquitous Banner of the World Dragon, the 1+ Rerollable Armour Saves with 4++ Ward. I don't miss the points denial that the 20-0 scoring system created. But I think at its heart v8 was a "fun" game. And I'd like to play it again.

18 comments:

  1. Preach Brother! It wasn't until I found myself explaining Adepticon to someone a few days ago that I realised how much I really missed Warhammer. It was just such a fun and deep game that provided me with thousands of hours of enjoyment.

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  2. I miss the Warhammer world more than the game. From a gaming perspective I think KoW is a better all round game, but I didn't play much 8th edition, or much warhammer at all this millennium. I hope the fluff gap will be addressed over time

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  3. I was talking with Adam on the weekend about starting to play WHFB 8th again for many of the same reasons. KoW will still be around - no reason not to play both. I would wager there is quite a few WHFB refugees around who would still give it a go.

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  4. No ones broken into your house and stolen the game! (Just your heart) It's all still there.
    Henry

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    1. Yes they did....and they may have interfered with the budgie as well

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  5. 8th is a great game.
    I'm gonna play with local mates, & make lists that I would never take to a tournament.
    I think that's what killed the fun for a tonne of people, the same lists / combinations over & over.

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  6. There are still 8th ed enclaves out there; all you need is an opponent or two willing to give it a crack.

    I cracked out the tomb kings last week again for a game of one of my semi regular opponents; was a refreshing change from Beastmen and really reinforces the variety that is there.

    Besides which; 8.5 has started to release some of the sub armies from yesteryear updated for 8th (and 100% compatible with 8th ed) from Grimgors Ardboyz, Dwarf Slayers, to the Army of Sylvania; more than enough content for casual Warhammer Fantasy.

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    1. Thanks John...appreciate your work with v8.5

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    2. Do you have a link to the 8.5 files?

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    3. Here are a few links to some of the files; a far more comprehensive list is located at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1483795728606274/?fref=ts (The Warhammer Fantasy 8.5 G

      WHFB 8.5 Errata & FAQ
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/pf0ax1rud9nedr2/WHFB%20-%208.5%20FAQ%201.0.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 FAQ Beastmen 1.0
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yh7jt76nolw310/WHFB%208.5%20-%20FAQ%20Beastmen%201.0.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 FAQ Bretonnia BETA 0.6
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/wlihnyfiua1a3de/WHFB%208.5%20FAQ%20Bretonnia%200.6.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 Beastmen 1.0
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzxzsyzdtz8rxmt/WHFB%20-%20Army%20Beastmen%208.5.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 Dogs of War 1.0
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/94k1t4imss8a28c/WHFB%20-%20Army%20Dogs%20of%20War%208.5.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 Dwarf Slayer Army of Karak Kadrin 1.0
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5dmgp8dejqkjr9/WHFB%20-%20Army%20The%20Dwarf%20Slayer%20army%20of%20Karak%20Kadrin%208.5.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 Grimgors 'Ardboyz
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/anicf2nirsl6x3b/WHFB%20-%20Army%20Grimgors%20Ardboyz%208.5.pdf?dl=0

      WHFB 8.5 The Army of Sylvania
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/7dv7bhqr6u9kqu6/WHFB%20-%20Army%20The%20Army%20of%20Sylvania%208.5.pdf?dl=0

      Warhammer: Regiments of Renown
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/jpfxmgvyb6qgsvn/WHFB%20-%20Supplement%20Regiments%20of%20Renown%201.0.pdf?dl=0

      Warhammer: Skirmish
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/lkuhxacrqwyy7ul/WHFB%20-%20Supplement%20Skirmish%201.0.pdf?dl=0

      Warhammer: Legendary Battles
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/gg13jmotdftr3vz/WHFB%20-%20Supplement%20Legendary%20Battles%201.0.pdf?dl=0

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  7. Pete, Your seerlord is always welcome to quest in Felgast as a seeker of knowledge. We already have dark elves, beastmen, and humans. So it seems likely that rats would also infest the ruins as well.

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  8. Mantic could do with finding some talented writers to put some flesh on Mantica's bones from a fluff viewpoint. Regarding some of the mechanisms you miss - sounds like a good reason to hold some big 8th Ed games a couple of times a year, like Hoodling. Might also serve to remind you of the comparative pleasures of KoW!

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  9. I know what you mean. I don't necessarily miss playing but the 'World' was something I've known about for a long time. I've read about it, 'researched' it, studied the maps and pored over the legends. It's something I've known for decades and, even if I lost contact for a while, when I came back it was like an old friend with new yarns and good times.

    I think the greatest End Times shock was that that 'friend' was dead, and killed for bluntly commercial reasons at that. I miss it like I'd miss that friend- no more stories, no more epic tales and no more mutual adventures.
    Yep, KoW is there but it's a new friend and that's good.. but not the same.

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  10. Never fear, Total War: Warhammer is on the way to scratch the itch of the old world :)

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  11. 9th is looking pretty good Pete. I am loving the dwarf book at the moment. 1.0 comes out in April and should be a stable rule-set for almost a year (but tweaks are just that, tweaks).

    The only thing I don't like is the lack of double 1's when beaten in combat.

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    1. What are its benefits over 8th, in your opinion?

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    2. The issue with 8th is that as is it is difficult to support as it is not moving forward. I still love 8th but just don't see it as a viable option moving forwards. At OTT in Feb we only had 8 of us left.

      The benefits of 9th for me is that it is a lot more balanced, both internally and externally. No it will never be perfectly balanced but because the balance is better you will see a much wider range of builds that will do well.

      They are also including new units for each army, the dwarf book has had a lord level engineer, Vengeance Seekers (doom seekers) and Hold Guardians (runic statues). Many units also have more options such as throwing weapons, spears, skirmish etc. For me it gives it more flexibility and variability with army lists.

      With regards to gameplay a lot of the broken rules which lead to an insta-loss have been changed or are mitigated so that if you are willing to spend the points you can combat it. I.e. the 6 diced IF purple sun. Sure you can still chuck 5 dice at is but the risk of the miscast is a heavier cost to pay and it can still be scrolled or dispelled with a monster roll of the dice. Likewise with cannons, the laser guidance system has been changed to hitting on BS skill with some tweaks like ignoring cover and +1 to hit for large targets. With regards to cover, the height of the models are streamlined like KOW so you can't model massive units or tiny greater daemons etc.

      So lots of improvements there. A lot of gamers are pushing for the continuance of more randomness, in the latest update forest goblins (yes you can take them as an entire army) got the option to have poison attacks in combat, but like nets on a 1 on the D6 the opposition gets it! With the new books there should be more lore in there and some great new art created by the team which I am looking forward to.

      The only thing i hate so far is the lack of double 1's, but I just play that when I am social gaming anyway.

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  12. You could always dust off the 8h books and play it again. I'm sure most people who read your blog still regard it as the best of all the games going round

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