This battle report saw Mark Watts (Chaos) face off against Richard Helliwell (Blood Angels).
So following on from our previous articles;
Our latest votes are in and you’ve all voted that games should take up to two hours and that measurements should be carried out in inches.
Now we can start getting into some more detail of the game, such as the gaming area and the smallest element of the game.
There are a few things we need to take into account here. The first is that we wold like the game to take up to two hours. Therefore, we have to consider this when we think about our gaming area, a smaller gaming area may result in either more detailed rules or a ruleset where it becomes difficult to kill units, this is because with a smaller gaming area there will be less units on the board and therefore you want those units to be in play for a longer period of time in order to have the opportunity to survive till the games end.
Likewise, if the table is too large then there will be many more units on the table and the rules will have to be adjusted to make them either easy to kill or make it so that there movement or range becomes a lot further than you would expect in order to make it across the gaming area.
I’ve therefore narrowed these options slightly to ensure that the rulesets don’t become too influenced by these affects.
Our next question is about the smallest element in the game, what should this represent. I’m using this to classify air and ground units only, as with the space combat element, we’re going to assume the elements are the individual ships themselves.
There are a number of options to go with here and these will have an affect on the way in which the overall ruleset is contructed. For example, should we go with a single base representing a squad of men, or should it represent an entire Regiment? Should it be an individual tank or should it be a squadron of tanks? If we choose a base representing a squad or a single tank then we have to write the rules to represent this, likewise if the elements represent a platoon, battalion or even a brigade. So the question here is what level do you want individual battles to take place at?
All the options below are based roughly off the modern military formations of the British Army;
INFANTRY
ARMOUR
Next week we’ll look at basing our elements and whether they should be on round or rectangular bases and what base size they should be on.
This battle report saw Andy Chambers (Orks) face against Jervis Johnson (Squats).
So work has continued a pace with the solo wargaming system which I’m hoping to have ready for people to play with from 1st January.
The cards as shown in my previous post will come in their own box (imagine Warhammer 40k data cards) along with a small leaflet on how to use them effectively.
I’m going to print a set if these soon for testing and a few at Woehammer will also be having copies to test with. Once I’m happy with where these are I will post a video on the website on how the whole system will work.
In the meantime the cost of printing out these cards is expensive, but with your support I can make it a reality. Please consider supporting us through Patreon. For as little as £1 a month you can help me make these a physical product which you can buy,
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
This is just a reminder that we have a painting competition taking place where the winner gets their choice of a Start Collecting or Combat Patrol box. We wouldn’t be able to give away this fantastic prize without the support of our good friends at SCN Hobby World. Why not join their emailing list and receive 25% off Games Workshop products whenever you place an order with them?
To enter you’ll need to paint a miniature with a base size no larger than 50mm and send it’s picture to thewoehammer@gmail.com. you’ll also need to send a small fee of £1 to the same address via PayPal. Your miniature doesn’t even have to be a Games Workshop model, it can be from any range you like.
One of your pictures must include a picture of your email address on a handwritten note. This should prevent people using internet photos for their submissions.
The closing date of the competition is 30th November where submissions will be placed into groupings of four and placed on the Woehammer Twitter account for a poll. The winner of these polls continue into the next round and so on until only one submission remains.
There you have it, get painting! If you want to find out more then either please leave a comment below, on my twitter profile or as an email to thewoehammer@gmail.com.
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
Chambers is best known for his work for Games Workshop, where he worked from March 1990 to March 2004. He worked extensively on various Warhammer 40,000 rulebooks and sourcebooks, and also authored multiple fiction novels set in the same universe. Chambers was the lead designer on a number of Warhammer 40,000 spin-off games, such as Necromunda (1995) and Battlefleet Gothic (1999), produced by Specialist Games. These games were released at a time of major growth for Games Workshop and were designed with expansions and more miniatures sales in mind.
In 2003, Chambers joined Mongoose Publishing as the lead designer of the company’s development team for the Starship Troopers tabletop miniatures game. Starship Troopers won “Best New Game” in the 2005 Origins Awards.
Chambers was also made the lead story writer for Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty for which he is given much of the credit for completing the project by other members of the company such as Megan Farokhmanesh.
Andy Chambers has also been involved in numerous other projects over the years such as Dust Warfare (2012) releases by Fantasy Flight Games, Dropfleet Commander (2017) by Hawk Wargames and Blood Red Skies (2017) publisher by Warlord Games.
Like Jervis Johnson and Alessio Cavatore, Andy Chambers has been involved in the designing of over 100 rules and accompanying supplements for many publishers including Games Workshop, Warlord Games, Hawk Wargames and Fantasy Flight Games to name but a few.
Following on with our series of interviews, this week I talk to Declan (@rightangle79) about his gaming history.
Previous interviews;
Ok, first question. When did you first get into wargaming?
I first played in 1989 on the floor of a friend’s living room! We played Space Marine 1st Edition (the Epic game that came after the Titan only version). I played Blood Angels (unpainted) and he played Ultramarines also unpainted!
Already getting ready for Heresy!!
So was Space Marine the first game you collected an army for?
Yes, blood angels but I didn’t really know what I was doing. I bought 2nd Ed warhammer and played some 2nd Ed Blood Bowl but it was the 3rd Ed warhammer starter set with Goblins and Elves that got me collecting… and I immediately knew I wanted to play goblins… which was great because another friend liked the Elves.
Do you still have those first Goblins you bought?
Definitely have some of them. They are the monopose ones with spear and bow. I have a unit of the bow Gobbos in my AoS Gloomspite army.
So what drew into the hobby? What do you find it gives you?
I love all the many facets. I first did it to play with friends then at Uni I only did the painting side as there was no club there (but I got into board games there). Now I paint in the evenings so I’m not just staring at a screen all day and then go to some tournaments. With COVID this was obviously not allowed but my wife is very good about me going to tournaments at weekends so I’ve got quite a few organised before Christmas.
What’s your most memorable gaming moment?
I was playing GG with allied Gitmob grots at Sheffield Slaughter against Nurgle with their first book. It was against a GW employee who I won’t name as they get enough grief! His Great Unclean One had a -1 to hit within 12″ bubble. My shaman cast a spell on 60 Gitmob archers, who walked into the 12″ range, fired at the GUO and took it off! He was a little shocked but took it very well!
You’ve been to many tournaments now, are there any armies you particularly fear when you see their name on the list?
I’m okay with most although if I’ve got my Gitz there’s a fear for all of them! More seriously it’s more the player than the army in most cases. Sure Tzeentch/Archeon before the FAQ or Nagash and friends is very difficult but they aren’t pick up and play lists.
The worst thing for me is playing against a shooting army that can’t be caught or can do so much damage I can’t get close enough. I think GW routinely underpoint shooting units. Still I have a unit of 60 Shootas which are almost as expensive as 30 sentinels so they must be as good! 🤞
Hahaha! So if Gloomspite were to get a new Battletome what changes would you like to see?
Removal of ‘Keyword Bingo’ – Fanatics are not Grots for example and the Fungoid Shaman can’t have the Wizard Artefacts. A few bonuses to cast. Giving back some cheap units (we lost units of 5 Hoppers and 6 Squigs in the GHB2021 but Aetherwings are still allowed in 3s!) I’d like to see each of the four ways to play the army work (Grots, Troggs, Squigs, Spiders). New models for Spider Riders and Spider Boss. Simplify the Gobbapalooza. And give us a theme rather than just ‘comedy’. And finally… they need to point random movement correctly. Boingrots seem to be pointed like they always roll a 12″, so either reduce randomness (6+D6) or reduce points. Sure it runs the risk of everything working and us being unstoppable for one game in 36… but stops us losing the other 35!!…. I’ll get off my soapbox now 😀
It would make sense to point random movement a little more than the average dice roll in my opinion.
They definitely point it as if you get the maximum! Definitely not the average. Bounders are 7″ movement cavalry but pointed very high!
So apart from Age of Sigmar, which other games do you play?
I play a lot of board games and keep track of them on Boardgamegeek. This year there’s been a lot of Hanabi, 7 Wonders and Terraforming Mars. I find it really interesting to see all the different rules available the interactions and how theme is dealt with.
For wargames I like historical but haven’t played recently. I have a 2000 point ‘War and Conquest’ Saxon army and loads of painted Greeks and Macedonians. This game was designed by Rob Broom who was head of GW Historical before they stopped the line.
I also play lots of Warmaster and have an Empire army and recently painted Goblin army and a Macedonian Army for Ancients. Its such a great rules set that generalises the units and make maneoveur and where you charge the key element.
Have you ever been tempted to write your own rules for a game?
I keep thinking I’d like to design a board game but with so many releases now it needs to be good to be a commercial success. Normally I’m happy to play with rules friends are using… during lockdown I Painted a 15mm army for ParWars for example just to give me more potential games and opponents.
What was the last game your played, and against who?
2000 points against Will’s KO at the club (Chumps). I was trying out my Gitz and he was trying a slightly off meta KO list with some units deployed on the board not in boats.
I made a deployment mistake with my Spider and he killed it turn one, but such that I couldn’t counter in my turn 1. I also wasn’t aggressive enough with my unit of 60 Shootas as I was worried about Unleash Hell. When I did charge though it was fine! It was a close loss and very useful game.
What are you working on at the minute, and do you have any pictures?
I am doing some scenery for Kill Team having just finished a quick Genestealer Kill Team (which is an article!!).
Name five GW games that aren’t AoS or 40k.
Warmaster, Epic, Battlefield Gothic, Blood Bowl, Necromunda.
Name one game you would love to see be remade by GW.
My gut feeling is warmaster because I’d like to see the toys they would sculpt, but I would be worried about them changing the game… so I’ll say Battlefield Gothic or a re-release of Cursed City.
Magnus did nothing wrong! Yes or No?
Magnus — He did nothing wrong!
If you were to fall to chaos which power would you devote yourself to?
Nurgle… I have in the past played a small Warhammer Fantasy Chaos army in a very fetching putrid green!
Ultramarines are…..?
Goody Goody Two-Shoes.
Last week I interviewed Woehammer Ben from the channel, which you can read here. This week we’re moving onto Woehammer Dave, also known as our very own Chaos Dave.
When did you first get into wargaming?
My first year of senior school.
And what game was it that first drew you in?
A friend had been given the Epic Space Marine starter box for their birthday. We played a few games together and I got hooked.
But you hate Space Marines!
I don’t hate space marines, I dislike Primaris. Also, back then it was Space Marines or nothing as that was all that you got in the box.
So your first game was epic? What games do you play now?
Currently AoS, 40K and Kill Team are the ones I’m actively working on. With a bit of interest in a few others but not the time. Historically, I played Epic, Adeptus Titanicus, Necromunda, Battletech, Warhammer Fantasy and 40K.
I’d consider non-GW games but there aren’t active gaming communities I’m aware of.
You’re big chaos player, has that always been the way?
Not really. I started out in Epic with Salamanders, I painted my marines dark green because that’s the paint I had. I flitted around with armies in fantasy for a while, between orcs and goblins and high elves (good starter set) before settling on Undead for a long time. When I started 40k my first army was Orks, then I collected Space Wolves.I had a break from the hobby and when I started again I collected Dark Eldar (from the starter set) and then later Word Bearers. In Fantasy I collected Skaven and Empire and in 8th edition Beastmen and mixed chaos.
I started playing Ultramarines later on after another hobby hiatus.
No! Not the Smurfs!
That was one of the reasons I started them. They’re cool and don’t deserve the hate.
When I started Epic the poster boy armies were Ultramarines and Thousand Sons. I would have done ultramarines then if I a. Had the paint and b. My mate hadn’t got dibs
I prefer the twilight marines….. So what was your last game and against who?
Age of Sigmar against @dreadmund (Ed). Slaves to Darkness versus Lumineth.
How did that go?
My take a bit of everything list did not do too well against Ed’s tournament list.
What are you working on at the minute, and do you have any pictures?
Ossiarch Bonereapers for Age of Sigmar. I got an eBay ‘rescue’ army for cheap. I’m aiming to have them finished for end of 3rd October.
This is the one I’ve finished. No pressure!
What’s happening on the 3rd?
Nothing. It’s just the deadline I’ve set myself.
Love that paint job.
Thank you. I might add some pigments to the base because it feels a little bit flat.
What’s your most memorable gaming moment?
The first Warhammer Fantasy campaign I took part in ended in a big four way battle, which was another first for me. My High Elves and my friend’s Imperial Dwarves versus a combined Wood Elf and Empire army. It was the first time I’d used Wardancers and I remember charging them into a unit of trash human infantry and just blending them. They just kept blending and blending these infantry units which kind of suited our opponents but I was having a wonderful time. It kind of defined how I tended to like to play the game from then on. Sometimes I’ll charge even if it’s a bad idea, just for the blood and glory!
So what do find you get out of the hobby?
I find the painting to be relaxing and a good stress reducer. Also enjoy the banter. Playing the game is obviously challenging to some extent at the moment but I enjoy the spectacle of the games.
Quiz time! Name five GW games that aren’t AoS or 40k.
Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Horus Heresy. Dark Future. Trolls in the Pantry. Gorkamorka.
Magnus did nothing wrong! Yes or No?
Everybody has ‘done things wrong’, especially in 40k. I think his initial motivations and intentions were largely good but also self-serving and hubristic.
If you were to fall to chaos which power would you devote yourself to?
The Lore Nerd answer is all Gods are Chaos Gods. So my answer would probably be Tyrion for AoS as he doesn’t seem, unusually, to be actively shit to his followers. Cegorach for 40k for similar (though less strong) reasons.
If you’re going to hold me to the ‘big four’ though…. my answer is Tzeentch. Or is it?
Ultramarines are…..?
A Legion or Chapter of loyalist Space Marines.
You can follow Dave on Twitter here.
I’ve included some shots of other models below that Dave has painted since I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him.
