I love historical fiction, and have read many of the ‘big’ series released over the years including Sharpe, Hornblower, and Master & Commander. So, I was very happy to receive Protector as a Christmas present as I was in the middle of Gates of Athens at the time and thoroughly enjoying it.
Protector by Conn Iggulden
From the book:
Themistocles stands as the battle-scarred leader of Athens. Yet he is no nobleman and is distrusted by many. But those who stand against him cannot argue with two things: his victories as a warrior, and the vast Persian army heading their way . . .
And so Themistocles must fight. Fight the invaders. Fight the allies who despise him. Fight for his city. As the Persians draw close, he must prove himself again and again in battle. Because history belongs to the courageous . .
The Gates of Athens was led by Xanthippus, and – whilst Xanthippus is still a main character – the lead here is Themistocles. The Persians have burned Athens and , and this time they aim to burn Athens to the ground under the leadership of Xerxes. The Athenians have retreated to the island of Salamis and there is a huge naval battle, where the Persians outnumber the Greeks (including Spartans, Corinthians and others). It is a battle that would make the western civilization possible.
Conn Iggulden brings the events and people to life from both the Greek and Persian sides. It is a book written from the views of the Greeks with the the Persian’s being the ‘others’ in the stories – as the ancient sources from Greek did so before him. His descriptions of the battles are as good as in his other books, but it is the building of the era and the atmosphere that makes the book so good. Iggulden has clearly visited the modern Greek locations and describes them in vivid detail… including those aspects no longer there such as the Spartan wall across the Peloponnese behind which they hid.
It’s definitely different from the Warhammer and Warhammer 40k universes that we normally inhabit here on Woehammer, but if you fancy a bit of a change or inspiration for an historic era to get involved in… you can do a lot worse than reading Iggulden’s books.
Before I begin, jus a quick thank you to Peter for designing our new Featured images. I like the simplicity, but also that it brings many of our articles under a common theme. Ta Peter! Do let us know what you think of them on our Discord.
My reading over Christmas was limited with family and time off for a new addition to the family, but I did manage to get Fire Made Flesh by Denny Flowers finished – and I love Necromunda stories.
Black Library
From the book:
The Fallen Dome of Periculus, once a hub of sanctioned commerce and illicit dealings, is lost no more… and the prizes it holds are sought by noble, Guilder, and hive scum alike. For Tempes Sol of the Guild of Light, Periculus is an opportunity to not only prove his superiority over his superstitious peers but also to see the end of Lord Silas Pureburn, Keeper of the God-Emperor’s Eternal Flame, bringer of fire and faith to the rioting masses, and his most hated rival.
But Periculus did not fall by chance. Dark secrets lurk in its shadows – forbidden archeotech, twisted creatures that feast on flesh, and an insidious rage afflicts all who dwell inside its confines. As madness and violence erupt within the fallen dome, the legacy of Periculus threatens not only to consume the underhive, but ultimately Hive Primus itself.
Necromunda (like Imperial Guard books) are amongst my favourite of the Warhammer 40k universe, because they involve (mostly) ordinary humans just trying to survive in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future where there is only war. It makes the characters much more relatable than the super warriors of the Space Marines, or the intrigue of the Eldar. With all that said, what was Fire Made Flesh like?
It begins with Periculus being discovered by a Goliath gang, but unlike the game of Necromunda this is not about the gangs, or a gang war – it is about other denizens of the underhive – from pit fighters to ratskin scouts, from Pureburn to Tempes Sol (from the upper-hive). Lord Silas Pureburn puts all his resources into ensuring any archeotech found in Periculus benefits him. But he’s not the only one in the hive interested in the new location and hivers come from far and wide to make their fortunes.
This is a great little book, with one shortfall – there were just too many characters for me and too many interwoven plots for me to follow all of them. That said it was still a fun read and a must read for those who lie Necromunda – however it probably wouldn’t be a good introduction into the world of Warhammer 40k.
At Woehammer we do a lot of articles on the competitive side of the hobby, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded that the hobby is about more than competition. We can have just as much fun with smaller games taken at a casual pace… and playing something a bit different.
So it was that I was invited to a friend’s Birthday at Warhammer World on Friday, and a gaming day of doing whatever we wanted to do. We last did this in 2019, before COVID ruined any chance of further get-togethers so it was great to meet up and play.
Age of Sigmar – 1000 points
Competitive Age of Sigmar is not necessarily where you want to play your first game of AoS, or even your first game of AoS3. It’s great to have a relaxed location and game where you can get used to your warscrolls. It also allows your opponent to remind you of things you can do… or suggest tricks of the army you may not have thought of yet.
Which is how I found myself playing against Marcus’ Nighthaunt with Chris helping him. I had brought my Ironjawz because they are easy to use – although I didn’t upgrade them to Big Waaagh as I often do. I thought the Wurgogg might be a bit much for a friendly game against someone with no shooting!
Ironjawz vs Nighthaunt on a table at Warhammer World
Age of Sigmar – the game!
The table we had reserved had some lovely big terrain in the middle and Marcus had brought the models he had painted or nearly finished painting. I had a Megaboss on foot, a Warchanter and lots of Brutes… Waaagh! Marcus won the roll off and forced me to go first so I went as quickly as I could forward, allowing Marcus some long charges in his first turn… Chris (helping Marcus), failed the one he was responsible for but Marcus made 3 9″ charges significantly affecting my armour save and killing 5 Brutes… ouch!
He then got the priority. As it was Marcus first game with the new Nighthaunt I reminded him that he could retreat, so he did so; charged in a did damage to the Megaboss whilst killing another 2 Brutes… but then I could swing back. The Megaboss cleared the Spirit Hosts in the centre whilst the Brutes finished off the Chainrasps. By end of Turn 3 Marcus had only characters left so he cast Arcane bolt and charged into my Megaboss… with two charges of 10 or over… oh dear! The Megaboss fell and – whilst I killed his general so did my Warchanter and Brutes in the centre. Fortunately I had two units of Brutes left who had been fighting Spirit Hosts on the left and right and they can in and finished off the last character, with the last roll of turn 5… very close!
Necromunda
I have a Van-Saar gang, but I don’t like how I’ve painted them so we went Goliath’s vs Orlock with 2 players per gang – at 1.000 creds. This was great fun as we chose an objective that moved after it was captured. The Goliaths proved a little weak with their initial shooting, but our Turn 4 kept us in the game whilst we snuck around a zone mortalis board and kept the Orlocks from the objective with ‘knockback’ ammunition.
After a bit of to-and-fro we won the third roll turn and got a charge…. our Tyrant with his Power-Maul. This was only the second time my co-captain (a different Chris!) had charged in. So, he rolled the dice and killed his opponent. This meant we captured the objective – which promptly ran off to our gangers. It was clear we were going to win, and when the Orlock plasma-gunner ran out of ammunition (thanks to our Tactic card (Click)) the game was ours.
I love Necromunda and don’t play it nearly enough. It’s a great game as long as both players know not to ‘min/max’ which was the case here – and the Goliath’s got a win!
Aeronautica Imperialis
I have wanted to play this since it’s release but didn’t have anyone locally so let it ‘fly’ past (sorry). It was good to see a game of Space Marines v Eldar where the Eldar failed to hit anything. So I could learn some of the rules… so I took over the Eldar for game 2.
For those that don’t know the game: You’re flying small planes across a hex board using different manoeuvres, but you have to select them before you see your opponents. It’s then ‘you go, I go’ with each plane. Move all; then Fire all.
Eldar are very good at close range, whilst Space Marines are mostly good at medium range. So I ramped up the speed and tried to get within close range – and it worked! Despite them killing one of my four planes with their first shot. After much manoeuvring and shooting I had got the Space Marines. It was a great fun game and thanks to the gang for teaching me.
There was a final game of Imperial vs Space Marines. Darren managed to get his planes (Imperial) behind the Space Marines. In Aeronautica Imperialis this allows you to shoot twice In the game it resulted in 2 dead Space Marine planes.
Tailing is very powerful in Aeronautica Imperialis
Thanks to everyone for a great fun day and remember that not everything needs to be competitive. You can have just as much fun just rolling dice and (sometimes) pushing tiny planes around.
Somehow we’re three months through 2022, and British Summer Time is already upon us. This tends to mean that I try to spend a little more time outside – reading, painting and walking. And so Hobby switches a little to other priorities, but Toy Soldiers is always on the agenda.
In January I wrote an article on some Hobby Goals for 2022 in an attempt to get some progress made and complete some projects.
So – how am I getting on?
1)General –Hobby Bingo
Peter has been keeping us honest with our Hobby Bingo and I completed 4 items up to end Feb, but I’ve had a bit of a painting catch-up in March with some Kruleboyz which I painted to help Peter with his army requirements! So whilst I am not at the 25 required (yet) I am still on course to complete it!
2)Painting – Finish a Trogg Army
Not so much progress made here – which is to say none. When I put this as a Hobby Goal I was anticipating that the Gloompsite Gitz would get a new book soon as one of the worst performing factions in Age of Sigmar three – having been hit with a number of rules changes which adversely impacted their playstyle. But alas Gitz are not on the release schedule and with no White Dwarf article in sight I’m feeling a little deflated.
I have at least finished Kragnos, so I can bring him in if needed, but I want Gitz to be able to compete on their own!
Kragnos is the only model I’ve painted for ‘Gitz’ in 2022!
3) Gaming – Get two 4-1 results in 2022
If the Troggs is a story of disappointed, this is one of celebration. I got a 4-1 at March to War (Purple Sparkly Unicorns) in January with Big Waaagh which was a great start to the year and this aim, but that was over-shadowed by a 5-0 at Dazmaul tournament a few weekends ago also with Big Waaagh! So a big tick against this one – and it’s only April!
4) Painting – A Full Vampire Counts army for Warmaster
There’s always going to be some aims with less success than others, and this is like the Troggs – not quite got started! I have painted a little Warmaster – but Squigs. So this one still needs work this year.
They’re 10mm, but not Vampire Counts!
5) Gaming – Play more Warmaster
Having played only 8 games in 2021, I have played in 8 in 2022 in the first 3 months, helped by the Tri-Wiz event and a regular monthly meet up at a local gaming store – Battlefield Hobbies, Daventry. If you’re in the Midlands and want more Warmaster give me a yell and I’ll get you on the WhatsApp Group.
I’m still using my Goblins and enjoying all the games with them – the horde definitely has potential in Warmaster and I’m learning all the time. Great fun!
6) Painting – Astra Militarum Force
Less success here, but I have found some models I painted in the past… will need to get Apothecary White on them to bring them back to the right standard, but it’s nice to know I have some infantry partially painted.
7) Painting – Snotling team
No progress to report… sorry Gitz!
8) Painting – Necromunda Van Saar
No progress to report… sorry lads!
9) Gaming – Non Competitive
With RAW announcing recently that they are hanging up their organising gloves, I’ve signed up to narrative event with Warhammer Witney, which I am really looking forward to. Do need to do prep, but definitely taking my Squigs with me for a bit of fun!
Not necessarily helped by some prizes from recent tournaments, but I’ve not bought any toys for Warhammer since December, and have painted 3 of the 6 squig herds for Warmaster I got. So, Pile of Potential has reduced!
11) Get my terrain on bases for use in games
I’ve found out others use a jigsaw for this, but I must admit I’m a bit wary as I’m not the most practical person. Am considering if there are other options available but still definitely on the ‘want to do’.
12) Writing – maintain the blog.
I think it’s fair to say that this one is going well. Peter will be updating you all on the progress of the Blog in April but needless to say that we are both amazed and very happy with the number of visitors we are getting for all our content from Hobby, painting & collecting, all the way to tournament results and our popular ‘Top Three’ series.
Overall a great start, with a superb result for my gaming goal. Still can’t believe I won a tournament 5-0 since playing for 20 years in tournaments of various types! Definitely a highlight.
It would be great to know how your Hobby Goals are doing for 2022.
So I’ve spent some considerable time digging around my room to find what’s in my pile of sh… potential. This list is still missing a lot of non-Warhammer miniatures, but that aside this is complete. The remainder will be filled out once I get the time to look through my last remaining boxes.
As mentioned I have already posted about my Age of Sigmar collection. But here is the list in its entirety.
So what am I going to do with this? Well for a start I need to stop buying so much! Then I need to consistently paint stuff from start to finish, too many times have I painted a model to 80% completion then left it to do something else.
Therefore, this year my focus on painting will be the following:
Get the Kruleboyz Tournament Army ready for March 26th
Paint the Rogue Trader collection as and when they are received and don’t buy any more until complete
Finish the many, many models that are 50-80% complete and start clearing the semi-painted backlog
Get Cursed City painted ready to play with my family and friends.
Once that’s done it’ll be choosing units at random to paint to completion.
It’s 2022 and that can only mean one thing for a Wargaming blogger… it’s Hobby Goal time!
With the situation in the world at the moment I’ve tried to keep my aims reasonable… but I may not succeed.
1)General –Hobby Bingo
Peter has already announced that we will be trying to complete bits of the Hobby Bingo card from the last White Dwarf. I’m not planning on getting all the boxes – 25 different things to paint is a lot – but I’m hoping to get a reasonable score and of course there’s always the Woehammer competition and the honour of leading the pack! No doubt I’ll be third now.
2)Painting – Finish a Trogg Army
I have a small Trogg army collected for my Paths to Glory campaign. It consists of 1 Dankhold Troggboss, 6 Fellwaters, 9 Rockguts so I’ve got a good start. There have also been 9 Rockguts on my painting table for some time waiting for inspiration and my #hohohobbyvices presents included another Dankhold… so it may not be the most competitive but I plan to get something done
9 of my Rockguts… in various stages of red!
3) Gaming – Get two 4-1 results in 2022
I was fortunate to get a 4-1 in 2021 (at the superb Leicester GT) in a 20-0 system. I would like to push to try to get 2 in 2022. If I take my Gargants or Ironjawz I think this is possible although I do struggle against the top armies & players due to lack of exposure playing them.
4) Painting – A Full Vampire Counts army for Warmaster
Having finished 4th at the Warmaster Worlds in London in 2021 I was fortunate enough to win a starter army from Printing in Detail. I added on a ‘few’ extras and got a full army in 10mm resin from them… but have not looked at it in detail yet. In 2021 I completed a Goblin army, so this should be a similar amount of work – with the Skeletons being mostly contrast I think!
Zombies from Printing in Detail
5) Gaming – Play more Warmaster
I only played 8 games of Warmaster in 2021, and I love it… so I need to play more! Lots more! Hopefully the pandemic relents enough to let that happen. There is a vibrant scene in the UK of Warmaster with 4-5 tournaments a year (mostly one-dayers), and everyone is very welcoming to new (and old!) players alike.
6) Painting – Astra Militarum Force
I’ve been painting and collecting Astra Militarum since they were the Imperial Guard, but never managed to get a full 2,000 point force completed. I have models in various states of painting and dis-repair. They are meant to be the PDF of Baal Secundus, so I’ll need to come up with unit numbering and marking as well! Quite a bit of thought required here.
This will be my option for #NewYearNewArmy as well!
A part painted Chimera… should really finish these.
7) Painting – Snotling team
Finish my Blood Bowl Snotling team. I got two boxes of these to have enough generic linesmen and painted up two Trolls to go with them, but assembling the pump wagons broke me. I don’t have a lot of do, but it would be great to have a finished team, so I can start finishing bottom of Stunty leagues all across Northamptonshire. Would be great to pick up a game or two as well.
Most of the Team already done
8) Painting – Necromunda Van Saar
I painted my Necromunda Van Saar in a rush with contrast paints a few years ago in order to get them ready to meet mates in Warhammer World. They were great fun and we all had a laugh playing on the great boards with my Van Saar in their old school green… but I’m not happy with the paint scheme I’ve gone with (Contrast Ork Flesh)
Just not happy with them…
9) Gaming – Non Competitive
Get some non competitive games in. Whilst I’ve had fun with the cutting edge (…!) of the UK scene it is great fun to play different games… like a 3 person Warmaster game, Realms of War, Kill Team or Necromunda. It’s also a great excuse to catch up with friends without having to worry about getting everything right as well.
I made the decision in 2021 to only paint and collect Destruction for AoS because the releases are just too quick (in a good way), but I have lots of boxes of ideas that I need to pass to new homes. This doesn’t mean that I won’t paint outside Destruction… just that I’m unlikely to paint an army for them.
11) Get my terrain on bases for use in games
During the last 2 years, I’ve significantly increased my terrain collection as it’s great fun to paint when I’m not in the mood for adding too much detail. Although I do tend to use edge highlighting too often!
I now have lots of smaller pieces of terrain that would be better but on bases to make themed tables for gaming. Whilst most tournaments in the UK provide terrain now, it’s great to have some available for club nights.
Just a small selection of the terrain I’ve painted over the last few years.
12) Writing – maintain the blog.
As Peter said we have been overwhelmed with the initial response to the blog from the huge number of people wanting to view the Blackout lists to the occasional visitor looking for their next book it’s been one hell of a ride… and fun!
I’ll also have more non Warhammer content including Board Games so keep tuned.
So there you have it… 12 goals for 2022.
I’ve gone for so many to give me wiggle room and no doubt fail a few but I’ll keep you all up to date – I’m also likely to change my mind throughout the year!
Rick Priestley grew up in Lincoln and dtart d writing wargames as a teenager with his friend Richard Halliwell. In 1979 the pair wrote their first game Reaper while still in school. Tabletop Games (a small games publishing company with no sales output) printed their rules and they contacted Brian Ansell who worked for Asgard Miniatures at the time before his move to Citadel Miniatures. Brian Ansell put them in contact with Nottingham Toy Soldier Shop who agreed to sell the Reaper rules.
Halliwell & Preistley’s first game
With one rulebook for sale, Halliwell and Priestley collaborated on a second effort, a science fiction miniatures wargame titled Combat 3000, also published by Tabletop, that used 15mm/25mm “space marine” miniatures from Asgard. Around this time Brian Ansell left Asgard Miniatures, and with backing from Games Workshop set up Citadel Miniatures.
Priestley joined Games Workshop in 1982 as part of their subsidiary company Citadel Miniatures. At that time Citadel produced the miniatures for use in Dungeons and Dragons. Brian Ansell the manager of Citadel asked Richard Halliwell to develop Games Workshops’ first in-house game, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Rick Priestley and Tony Ackland developed the product. Warhammer Fantasy contained many of the core mechanics or Priestley and Halliwell’s earlier game Reaper. Warhammer Fantasy was released in 1983 and was a huge success.
It allowed them a vehicle through which they could sell their own Citadel Miniatures. Earlier miniature wargames were designed to be played using generic models that could be bought from any manufacturer, but Warhammer Fantasy’s setting featured original characters with distinctive visual designs, and their models were produced exclusively by Games Workshop. This paved the way for Games Workshop to become the company it is today – all thanks to the three men who developed that first game.
Since before his time at Games Workshop Priestley had been working on a set of rules of Spaceship Combat called Rogue Trader which mixed Science fiction and fantasy elements. Priestley incorporated many aspects of this setting such as the lore and space travel into Warhammer 40,000 and dropped the ship combat element due to not having enough room in the book.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Games Workshop planned to sell conversion kits for their fantasy line to make them useable in Rogue Trader but eventually decided to instead dedicate an entire production line to the game and in 1987 Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was born.
During his years with Games Workshop he was involved in the design of virtually all of their top games such as Necromunda, Mordheim, Warmaster, Lord of the Rings, Gorkamorka, Mighty Empires and Warhammer Ancient Battles (affectionately known as WAB by those in Historical gaming circles).
Warhammer Ancient Battles (WAB)
Rick Priestley left Games Workshop in 2009 stating that the corporate culture had grown too focused on sales and no longer cared about innovation in Games Design. He expanded on his view of Games Workshop in an article with Bell of Lost Souls in March 2015. In that, his thoughts on where Games Workshop was heading, was as a manufacturer of collectible miniatures and not games design.
After Games Workshop, Priestley co-founded Warlord Games which after Games Workshop is arguably the next biggest games and miniature manufacturer in Europe.
With Warlord Games, Rick Priestley has continued to develop fantastic wargame rulesets and being no longer held back by Games Workshop, these have included historical as well as Fantasy and Sci-Fi. The biggest games at Warlord such as Bolt Action, Black Powder, Gates of Antares, Hail Caesar, Pike and Shotte and Warlords or Erehwon have all been designed with Priestley’s input.
Bolt Action
In 2011 Rick Priestley was elected to the committee of the Society of Ancients. The Society of Ancients is a non-profit organisation that intends to promote interest in Ancient and Medieval history and wargaming.
This man is a true legend of Wargaming, is the father of Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 and has done a lot that Games Workshop fans and historical wargaming fans have to thank him for.
I have tried to give a flavour of the 115+ rules and add-on’s he’s developed below. But as with Jervis’ article, this really does not even scrape the surface as to the lore and depth of his many games. Rick, thank you! I can’t wait to see what you come up with next.
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.
