8 WHITE DWARF

WARHAMMERWARBANDS

Over the years, players and GamesDesigners have developed a number ofways of playing Warhammer on a smallscale from Chaos warbands, toMordheim, to Skirmish, to Path to Glory,to Quest for the Grail, to Warhammer in aFlash. In this first of a short series ofarticles, we attempt to combine the bestelements of all of these games and presenta new warbands system in a scalable rulesset thats 100% Warhammer and great forbeginners, experienced players starting anew army, as well as veterans looking fora new twist.

While history and legend remember only major battles and great generals, it is often insmaller actions that the fates of nations are decided.

All have heard tales of the vast Undead hordes that assailed the Empire and wereturned back in the times of the great Vampire Count Deitrich the Bold, but few knowthat this great victory could not have been won had the infamous Witch HunterGunther Mordrab and his followers failed to slay the many Necromancers andVampires that plagued the hamlets and villages in the area.

Similarly, the Skaven attack on Dwarfen hold Karak-a-Kajerm was overwhelming, buteven their great numbers would have amounted to nothing had a small team of Skavensaboteurs failed to open the gates of the keep.

The wily animal cunning of Khazrak One-Eye, bane of men in the forests ofMiddenland, is well known, and his name is used to frighten children throughout theEmpire. Long before that twisted minion of evil ever sacked a town or terrorized theEmpire, his ambushing skills and unorthodox tactics were honed by untold andunheralded small raids against villagers, militiamen, and travelers along the lonelyroads through the dark forests.

It is a wise warrior who considers not only the size of the battle but the significance of its impact.

From the teachings of Bartolo Miachevelia, Advisor to Kings

Theres a school of thought that holds thata game of Warhammer at any size is awonderful thing. While many of us wouldagree with that statement in the abstract,more of us tend to fall into the rut of the2,000-point line em up and bash emgame that has become the commondenominator of Warhammer. Games at2,000 points are great fun, of course, butthe enormous and imaginative scope of

Warhammer doesnt have to be confinedto a standard points size and straight-upcompetition. Over the next few issues,White Dwarf will feature a series ofarticles that detail rules and guidelines forsmaller games of Warhammer. These rulesare designed to be scalable. As yourmodel collection grows, so too can yourWarhammer warband...but were gettingahead of ourselves.

Beastmen ambush the escorts of a Wood Elf noble en route to his forest home.

A Giant and his personal entourage.

Whether youre a new player juststarting your first army or a seasonedveteran looking for a new twist onyour favorite game, these warbandrules provide a great way to playgames of Warhammer that are smallin scale but big on tactics.

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While all the previous small-scaleWarhammer rule sets opened many funand creative gaming doors, none of themquite did it all. The rules for Chaoswarbands and Path to Glory were greatfor players starting Chaos armies, but itwasnt possible to incorporate otherarmies into the system. Skirmish andMordheim were fantastic rules for gameswith 10 or 20 models, but the ruleswerent scalable and became a littleunwieldy when the forces grew larger.Players who wanted to link a longer seriesof games and expand the size of theirwarbands as they went were out of luck.Enter Warhammer warbands.

WHAT ARE WARBANDS?Warbands are simply scaled-downWarhammer armies. In essence, warbandsare the same as standard tournament-sizedarmies but are simply in a growing stage.For our purposes, the term warbanddescribes a Warhammer force in the rangeof 100-500 points. Warbands are not quitelarge enough to be called armies but arelarge enough for unit-level gaming (asopposed to gaming on the individual-warrior level like Skirmish or Mordheim).Players can imagine their warbands aspatrols, reinforcements, specialcontingents sent off to accomplish specifictasks (e.g., raids, sabotage,assassinations), or simply a small force inthe growing stages. When you think aboutthe characteristics of the different armiesof the Warhammer world, its easy toimagine stories for the various types ofwarbands: an aspiring Orc Boss and hissmall mob of recruits, a young High Elfnoble out to prove himself with a band ofloyal volunteers, or a Captain leading apatrol through the wilds of the Empire.

WARBANDS RULESThe rules for doing battle with warbands are exactly the same as thosefor playing standard games ofWarhammer. Units fight in formation;ranks, standards, flanks, and so on count toward combat resolution; and only units with the Skirmish rule mayadopt a skirmish formation.

The only differences, beyond specificscenario rules, are in the minimum sizesfor each unit and the selection of yourtroops and characters. Once bothwarbands have been assembled per thewarband composition rules, playprogresses exactly as it does in a standardgame of Warhammer.

An example of what a typical Vampire Count warband in the 450-500 point range might look like. The warbands of the Vampire Counts tend to depend highly on recuperative magic.

Thus, a level 2 Necromancer is present to bolster the Skeleton units numbers with Necromancy. A large unit of Dire Wolves provides an excellent flanking force that causes Fear to boot.

The two stands of Spirit Hosts will harass and tie up tough enemy units.

A Dwarfen patrol prepares to make quick work of Skaven saboteurs.

Your choice of Commander is crucial toyour battle strategy. Will you take anexpensive and powerful Hero-level

character or choose a Unit Champion asyour Commander and use the saved

points to field more warriors? Its a toughdecision but one youll have to make.

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FOR SMALL WARBAND GAMES (1-199 PTS) Warbands must include at least two Core Units

Warbands may not include more than eight units

Warbands at this scale may NOT include

Special or Rare Units Lord-Level Characters War Machines Chariots Flyers Magic Items of any kind

Warbands must include one Commander model, which is nominated by thecontrolling player. This model can be either a Hero-level character worth no morethan 75 points (including all equipment, upgrades, abilities, and the like) or a UnitChampion. If a Unit Champion is selected as the Commander, he must remainwith his unit at all times. The Commander functions as the warbands General inall respects. (Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings armies, which normally require aspellcaster of some sort to animate the Undead, need not include such a model in awarband. Assume that the Undead have been animated by some spellcaster nearthe battlefield.)

Warbands must obey the army list restrictions placed on the maximum number ofcertain unit types (e.g., Vampire Counts warbands may include 0-1 Bat Swarm,and Empire warbands may include 0-1 unit of Huntsmen).

FOR LARGE WARBAND GAMES (200-500 PTS) Warbands must include at least two Core units.

Warbands may not include more than 10 units.

Warbands may include up to one Special and up to one Rare choice. However, ifthe controlling player does not select a Rare choice, he may select an additionalSpecial choice instead.

Warbands may include 0-2 Hero-level characters, though their combined pointscost (including all equipment, upgrades, abilities, and the like) may not exceed150 points. Warbands may never include Lord-level characters.

Warbands must include one Commander model (see the rules and restrictionslisted in For Small Warband Games). If a Hero-level character is chosen as the Commander, his point cost counts against the 150-point maximum described above.

Warbands may include 0-1 war machine or Chariot. (Note that this rule applieseven when the Army book allows more than one such item per selection. Forinstance, 1-2 Goblin Wolf Chariots normally count as only 1 Special Unit choice.However, an Orc & Goblin warband could include only one Goblin Wolf Chariot.)

Warbands may include one flying unit or creature.

Warbands must obey the army list restrictions placed on the maximum number ofcertain unit types as described in For Small Warband Games.

UNIT SIZESThe minimum unit sizes in awarband are smaller than those in astandard Warhammer army to reflectboth the small size of the force andthe warbands tactical flexibility.

Base Size of Models in Unit

Minimum Unit Size (Not Unit Strength)

20 x 20 mm25 x 25 mm

25 x 50 mm

40 x 40 mm50 x 50 mm

3 models

2 models

1 model

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This 200-point Empire warband is a great start to a new Warhammer army.

With a few more warriors, the warband has grown to 350 points.

The warband has now grown to 500 points with the addition of a couple of models and a mounted Captain.

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OVERVIEWThis scenario describes a very general situation in whichtwo rival warbands come into conflict. Though eachCommander knows he must strive to destroy hisenemies, his foes purpose in this conflict is uncertain.

WARBANDSBoth warbands are chosen from the Warhammer armylists with the additional restrictions imposed by theWarhammer warbands rules.

BATTLEFIELDThis battle takes place on a 4' x 4' playing area. Lay outthe terrain in any mutually agreeable manner.

DEPLOYMENT1. Both players roll a D6. The player who rolls highest

may choose the table edge on which he will deployhis forces and deploys the first unit. His opponentwill deploy on the opposite table edge.

2. Taking it in turns, each player deploys one unit at atime within 12" of his table edge.

3. Unit Champions are always deployed with their units.Character models may be deployed with a unit if theywill start the game associated with that unit or maybe deployed on their own as a unit of one.

4. Scouts and other units with special deployment rulesmay be deployed per those rules.

WHO GOES FIRST?Both players roll a D6. The player who rolls highest maychoose to go first or second.

LENGTH OF GAMEThe game lasts 6 turns.

SPECIAL RULESUnknown Objectives. Battle has been joined, as thewarbands are bitter enemies. However, eachCommander can only guess at his opponents tacticalobjective. Before deployment, each player shouldprivately roll a D6, consult the Unknown ObjectivesTable to determine his objective for the game, andsecretly write down which goal his warband must fulfill.At the end of the 6th turn, the Unknown Objectives arerevealed, and a winner will be determined!

VICTORY CONDITIONSPer the rules described on p. 198 of the Warhammerrulebook, calculate VPs for enemy units and models thathave been destroyed, are fleeing, have fled off the table,or have been reduced below half strength. (Note thatno VPs are scored for table quarters, slain Commanders,or captured unit or battle standards, unless one of theseis an Unknown Objective.) In addition, a warband thatachieved its Unknown Objective in battle may claim abonus number of VPs equal to 20% of the enemywarbands starting points value. Use the Victory

Conditions Table to determine the victor (D = Draw, V = Victory, M = Massacre).

WARBAND SCENARIO A LITTLE WAR

UNKNOWN OBJECTIVES TABLED6 Result Objective

1 Assassinate. Your warband must slay theenemy Commander.

2 Invade. At least one-third of the starting UnitStrength of your warband must end the gamein your opponents Deployment Zone.Fleeing models dont count toward this total.

3 Capture the Colors. Your warband mustcapture at least one standard from the enemyand control it at the end of the game. If, afterdeployment, you discover that your opponenthas no standard, you must announce youroriginal Unknown Objective and then secretlychoose a replacement (choose dont roll)and write it down.

4 Annihilate. Your warband must destroy theenemy by reducing the enemy warband to50% of its starting Unit Strength by the endof the battle. Units or models that are fleeingat the end of the game or that have fled offthe board count as destroyed.

5 Hold Territory. Your warband must attemptto control the battlefield. At the end of thegame, divide the table into four quarters. Youmust control more table quarters than theenemy. To control a table quarter, you musthave a unit at minimum starting size (seeUnit Sizes) in the table quarter with noenemy units at minimum starting size in thequarter. Fleeing units dont count.Independent character models cannot controltable quarters.

6 Choose. Choose any objective from thoselisted above for your warband.

VICTORY CONDITIONS TABLE

1-99 100-199 200-299 300-399 400-500

0-24 D D D D D

25-49 V V D D D

50-75 V V V V D

50-99 M V V V V

100-149 M M V V V

150-199 M M M V V

200+ M M M M M

Size of Battle (Points)Difference in Victory

Points

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To demonstrate the new warband rules, wedecided to pit veteran Warhammer playersJoe Sleboda, who would command a DarkElf warband, and Rob Hawkins, whowould lead a Vampire Count force, againsteach other in a little head-to-head action.The players would play the specialwarband scenario entitled A Little War.Because of the Unknown Objectives specialrule in this scenario, the players would notknow what their battlefield objectiveswould be as they crafted their warbandlists. As such, Rob and Joe would have todesign flexible warbands capable offulfilling a variety of battlefield missions.

PLAYER THOUGHTSRob: I had to build a flexible 350-pointforce with expensive Vampire Countsmodels not an easy task. I decided tostart with two small units of Ghouls.Ghouls are relatively cheap troops (byUndead standards) and usually are wellworth their points in small games. With themaneuverability of Skirmishers, Toughness4, and 2 Attacks, the Ghouls should serveme well in the game. I decided to take amedium-sized unit of Zombies to bulk outmy ranks. For my one Special choice, Iwent with two Fell Bats, which are bothmaneuverable and capable of targeting anysmall units, war machines, or individualcharacters that Joe might field. I alsodecided to field a Banshee. Though shesexpensive and uses up a Rare choice,Banshees can be devastating in a low-pointgame in which units tend to be small andLeadership scores also tend to be low. OneGhostly Howl can cripple, Panic, or evendestroy a small unit with low Leadership.

I thought long and hard about my choice ofCommander. Because of the specialwarband rules, I was not required to take aWizard, and I considered taking a WightLord with a halberd instead. With Ld9 andeffective S5, such a character would beboth a great leader and a fearsomeopponent in combat. In the end, however, Idecided to go with a level 1 Necromancer.Being able to raise the dead withInvocation of Nehek was just too good topass up. With a few lucky spells, I couldalmost double the size of my force by theend of the game!

My plan is pretty simple: close with theDark Elves as quickly as possible to avoidreceiving a lot of missile fire. Ill use thefast-moving Ghouls on the flanks and tryto keep my Necromancer in a centralposition so that the Ghouls can takeadvantage of his Leadership. Ill also usethe Fell Bats and Banshee to seek anddestroy small units, war machines, orindependent characters. Now, on to battle!

Joe: I was overjoyed to be asked to helpout with a White Dwarf battle report.However, I was a little hesitant, becausethe magazine staff asked me to bring aDark Elf warband, which would not havebeen my first choice for a small-pointgame. Nonetheless, I dove in and set aboutdrafting my army list.

My first choice was a 10-strong unit ofCorsairs with full command. In a battle ofthis size, itll be nice to have a unit with arank and a standard. I definitely want tohave that standard to help with combatresolution, as its the one thing upon whichI can absolutely rely (at least in the firstcombat the unit fights). Die rolls can gosouth; ranks can be taken away with flankattacks; wounds can be saved; and unitscan be outnumbered. With a standard,however, I would be guaranteed at least 1point toward combat resolution. Plus,Corsairs are a great buy for the points,particularly because they get an extraAttack with their additional hand weapons.

I also decided to take some missile troopsto pick on small units or independentcharacters. Shades fit the bill nicely. I alsowanted a Dark Elf Sorceress to cast ChillWind at the enemy (if I didnt roll thisspell, I could always choose it as areplacement, as its the first spell on thelist). With both regular missiles and thisMagic Missile spell, Im confident that Illbe able to shoot something full of holes. Iconsidered taking a level 2 Sorceress, butafter I spoke with Rob about the game, weentered into a gentlemens agreement tokeep magic to a reasonable level and put alevel-1 cap on spellcasters.

With the few remaining points I had left, Ichose a second unit of five Corsairs. SinceRob will likely bring (or raise) at least oneunit with a rank or two, it will be nice to

have a unit capable of flanking and takingaway ranks. I will use my two units ofCorsairs as a one-two punch to try and takedown any big units of Skeletons orZombies that Rob might field. With this inmind, Im off to the games table!

Sorceress Khordella looked over the misty fields of the manor, the family lands of Toht Nhemisis. The beautiful gardens that had once adorned the greatStirland estate had grown fallow, and many had been replaced by graveyards, Potters fields, and barrows grim evidence of Necromancer Tohts perverseexperiments. Soon after Khordella ordered her Shades to advance up their left flank to take position in the wood, she spied some of the enemy ghouls,zombies, and giant bats from the look of them rise above the crest of a barrow mound. With a wry smile, she thought that perhaps this raid would not be aseasy as she had first imagined.

INVASION OF NHEMISIS MANOR

THE LEGION OF THE INFERNAL SKULL

(VAMPIRE COUNTS)

HEROToht NhemisisNecromancer, Level 1 65 pts

COREThe Shanks5 Ghouls 40 pts

The Bones5 Ghouls 40 pts

The Nameless Rabble12 Zombies 72 pt

SPECIALThe Blood Seekers2 Fell Bats 40 pts

RARELotte SaengerBanshee 90 pts

TOTAL 347 pts

THE HELLPIT STEEL REAVERS(DARK ELVES)

HEROKhordellaSorceress, Level 1, Dark Steed 102 pts

CORE5 Shades 70 pts

10 Corsairs 125 ptsFull Command

5 Corsairs 50 pts

TOTAL 347 pts

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Rob Hawkinss Legion of the Infernal Skull

Joe Slebodas Hellpit Steel Reavers

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BEFORE THEBATTLE/DEPLOYMENTBefore the battle began, both Rob and Joehad to generate spells. Both players rolled1s for their spells. Thus, the Necromancerwould have Invocation of Nehek, and theDark Elf Sorceress would add Chill Windto the Druchii arsenal.

Per the scenario rules, both players alsohad to generate an Unknown Objective,which, if fulfilled, would earn the playersadditional Victory Points at games end.Joe rolled Invade, which dictated that athird of the starting Unit Strength of hiswarband would have to end the game inRobs Deployment Zone. Rob rolledAnnihilate, which meant that he had toreduce Joes force to half of its startingUnit Strength. With these goals in mind,the players set about deploying.

Joe set up his two units of Corsairscentrally with his mounted Sorceress justbehind them. His Shades, with the Scoutsspecial rule, would deploy last.

Rob set up much of his warbandsomewhat defensively behind the burialmound in front of his Deployment Zone,

Joe concluded the Deployment Phase byplacing his Shades in the wood on Robsfar right flank, just outside of hisDeployment Zone.

VAMPIRE COUNT TURN 1Joe won the dice off and asked Rob totake the 1st turn. Toht Nhemisis ordered ageneral advance. The Ghouls on the leftflank, the Zombies, the Fell Bats, and theBanshee moved directly forward andseemed to be heading toward the twounits of Corsairs in the center of thebattlefield. The Ghouls on the right flankclimbed atop the barrow mound andstrained to see though the wooded area onthe right flank where the Shades seemedto be moving into position.

Toht ended his turn by casting Invocationof Nehek, which the Dark Elf Sorceresspromptly dispelled.

DARK ELF TURN 1Joe began his turn by advancing the twounits of Corsairs and forming a somewhatdiagonal battle line to face the oncomingUndead. The Sorceress Khordella movedbetween and slightly behind the two units ofCorsairs. Joes placement of Khordella wasclever. The Sorceress had a small windowbetween the two units of Corsairs. Thiswindow was large enough for her to gainline of sight on the enemy and cast her ChillWind spell but small enough that no enemycould charge her. To end the MovementPhase, the Shades exited the woods andmoved into a good firing position.

In the Magic Phase, the Sorceress called fora Chill Wind to blast the oncoming walkingdead, but a quick gesture from NecromancerToht dispelled it. To end the turn, the Shadestook aim at the Fell Bats but missed.

Joe set up near the center of the board. His Shades (Inset) took the far left flank in a stand of trees.

Rob deployed somewhat defensively behind the barrow mound.

where he placed the Fell Bats and theBanshee. Rob deployed the Necromancerand the unit of Zombies with which hewas associated just left of center. The twounits of Ghouls took up positions oneither Undead flank.

The Undead shamble forward to take up position against the Dark Elf threat.

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VAMPIRE COUNT TURN 2The Undead hordes continued theirshambling advance. The Ghouls on theleft flank and the Zombies continued toadvance forward, but Necromancer Tohtthought better of risking an engagementwith the Dark Elves in close combat, leftthe Zombie unit, and hung back a bit. TheBanshee, gliding silently for now abovethe misty battlefield, drifted between theZombies and Ghouls and into thegraveyard on the left flank. The Fell Batsflew directly over the Dark Elf battle linesand turned to face Khordella. The Ghoulson the Undead right flank moved off thebarrow mound and made best possiblespeed toward the Shades. Toht again triedto raise more Zombies to bolster the

Nameless Rabble, but the Sorceress,calling upon her own dark powers,dispelled the attempt.

DARK ELF TURN 2The 10-strong unit of Corsairs declared acharge on the Zombies, but Fear overtookthe troops. As a result, the Corsairsdisobeyed the commands of their Reaverand refused to charge. The smaller unit ofCorsairs, seeing their comrades frozen inplace, only crept forward toward theenemy. The Sorceress, spying theoncoming Fell Bats, moved forward andbehind the smaller unit of Corsairs todiscourage the charge of the Fell Bats.She then raised her arms and called for aChill Wind to blast the Bats, but

Necromancer Tohts countermagicsproved effective once again. To end theturn, the Shades shot at the advancingGhouls and dropped one of them.

VAMPIRE COUNT TURN 3Predictably, the Fell Bats chargedKhordella, who failed her Fear test andwould require 6s to hit in the subsequentCombat Phase. The unit of Ghouls on theright flank charged the Shades, whodecided to stand & shoot but failed towound any Ghouls. The Shades also failedtheir Fear test and would require 6s to hitthe Ghouls. The Banshee moved out ofthe cemetery and into position slightlybehind the large unit of Corsairs.Following closely on her heels were theGhouls on the left flank, who seemedhungry for combat. The Zombie unitmoved a few inches forward and wheeledslightly to keep both units of Corsairs inits front arc.

The warbands begin to close the distance.

In a cunning maneuver, the Fell Bats swoop behind the Dark Elf battle line.

The Ghouls make quick work of the Shades.

Necromancer Tohts Invocation of Nehekwas again dispelled by SorceressKhordella. Thus far, magic had had noeffect on the battle. For the first time, theBanshee opened her mouth and sang, butthe Ghostly Howl had no effect on thelarge unit of Corsairs.

At last, the enemies met face to face. TheFell Bats injured the Sorceress, who didno damage in return. However, becauseKhordella was mounted, her Unit Strengthwas 2, the same as a 2-strong unit offlying skirmishers. Thus, she would notautomatically break from the Fear-causingFell Bats. Passing her Leadership test, shewould remain to fight another round.

On the Undead right flank, the Ghouls fellupon the Shades with fury and werehungry to feast upon Druchii flesh. In notime at all, two of the Dark Elf Scoutsfell, and their comrades in arms could donothing against the wrath of thecannibalistic lunatics. The Shadesautomatically broke and were pursued offthe table by the Ghouls.

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DARK ELF TURN 3The large unit of Corsairs yet again triedto charge the Zombies but failed theirFear test a second time. They would notmove this turn. To preserve whatremained of the Dark Elf battle line, thesmall unit of Corsairs held their position.

Because the Sorceress was locked incombat against the Fell Bats, she couldnot cast her Magic Missile. There wouldbe no shooting, as the Shades, Joes onlymissile troops, had fled the battlefield.Thus, the turn quickly moved to theCombat Phase. The Fell Bats dispatchedKhordella and paused briefly to taste thehot blood pouring from her wounds. Withtheir mistress lying dead, the Corsairsgripped their weapons with grim resolve.They knew their fight was not going well.

VAMPIRE COUNT TURN 4Sensing that the tide had turned in theUndeads favor, the Fell Bats charged intothe rear of the small unit of Corsairs, whopassed their Fear test. At long last, theDruchii were able to control their nerves.The Ghouls on the right flank gobbetsof Dark Elf flesh still dripping from theirlips reentered the board and looked forfresh meat. Their companions on the leftflank moved behind the large unit ofCorsairs, while the Zombies shambledforward a short distance. The Bansheedrifted further behind the Dark Elf battleline and eyed the small unit of Corsairswith a detached, knowing smile.

Necromancer Toht, now that Khordellawas dead, was able to call upon hisNecromantic powers, and two fresh

corpses rose from the ground and joinedthe Nameless Rabble. The Bansheeopened her mouth, and an unearthlyscream echoed across the field and killed three of the Corsairs engaged withthe Fell Bats.

After the Banshees howl took its toll, theFell Bats were faced with only twoopponents, who were quickly dispatched.The Bats then overran toward the VampireCount Deployment Zone to avoid anycharges by the one remaining Dark Elfunit, the 10 Corsairs. However, the lastDark Elves on the field, feeling thatdiscretion was the better part of valor,Panicked and ran back toward theirDeployment Zone.

Things look grim for Khordella as she tries desperately to fend off the bloodthirsty Fell Bats.

The Undead circle around their prey and prepare to close in for the kill.

The remaining Corsairs break and flee.

DARK ELF TURN 4The Druchii turn was a brief one. Thefleeing Corsairs rallied and turned to face the oncoming hordes of Undead.Even with the steely resolve of theCorsairs, who turned to face an enemywho greatly outnumbered them, only amiracle could save the Dark Elveshopes for victory now.

VAMPIRE COUNT TURN 5All of the Undead troops moved towardthe lone unit of Corsairs. The Ghouls onthe left flank charged in, and the DarkElves passed their Fear test. Toht againcast Invocation of Nehek successfully, and11 Zombies joined the ranks of theNameless Rabble. To assist the Ghouls infighting the Corsairs, the Banshee letloose a piercing Ghostly Howl anddropped one of the Dark Elves.

In the Combat Phase, two Corsairs fell tothe raging Ghouls, who were reveling inbattle now that they had finally shedblood. The Corsairs held the line bravelyand killed a single Ghoul. Even in theface of the brave resolve of the DarkElves, the Ghouls nerves held, and theywould fight again next round.

18 WHITE DWARF

DARK ELF TURN 5Joe had no decisions to make, as his oneunit was in combat. With higher Initiative,the Dark Elves would attack first.Although the Corsairs directed 11 Attacksat the Ghouls, only one fell. In turn, theGhouls killed a single Dark Elf. However,with higher Unit Strength and a Standard,the Druchii won the combat, broke theGhouls, and ran them down a bit ofpayback at last!

VAMPIRE COUNT TURN 6The Corsairs pursuit brought them withincharge range of the Zombies, whoshambled forward to engage the DarkElves. The Corsairs, failing their Fear test,had had enough and fled from theonrushing horde. The rest of the Undeadtroops moved into position around thefleeing Druchii, just in case Joe had anysurprises up his sleeve for the last turn.

In the Magic Phase, Toht raised anadditional two Zombies, and to end theturn, the Banshee howled at the fleeingCorsairs but had no effect on them.

DARK ELF TURN 6The Dark Elves saved a bit of face byrallying on the last turn of the game.Turning to face the Undead, the Corsairsmade defiant gestures and resolved toreturn one day to avenge themselves onthe walking dead.

RESULTSThough it was clear to all observers thatthe forces of Toht had won the day, therewas still the matter of tallying up theVictory Points to get the final score andthe definitive outcome of the game. Robscored 222 Victory Points for destroyingthe Sorceress, the Shades, and the small

unit of Corsairs plus an additional70 Victory Points for fulfilling his

Annihilate objective. Joe scored only 40Victory Points for destroying a single unitof Ghouls and no bonus as he had failedto fulfill the terms of his Invade objective.With a difference of 252 Victory Points,Rob had achieved a Massacre!

PLAYER THOUGHTSRob: Im pretty pleased with the resultsof the battle. I stuck to my battle plan, andmy warband functioned as I intended. TheGhouls were fearsome in combat. The FellBats took out the independent character.The Banshee weakened small enemyunits. Fear worked to my advantage, andgenerally speaking, I was able to dictatethe terms of the battle to Joe.

I have to hand it to Joe, though. He playeda good game, but luck was not on his side.Failing so many Fear tests, even with theDark Elves respectable Leadership of 8,certainly cost him the game. I also thinkthat a Dark Elf force of 350 points istough to play, because losing even a singleDark Elf model is a significant setback.

In retrospect, I wish I had gone with aWight Lord instead of a Necromancer.The Necromancer was able to raise a few Zombies, but they had little impact onthe game. If the Wight Lord had been ableto charge in and do some damage, I think the victory would have been evenmore decisive.

Still, Joe played a great game, and it wasa pleasure doing battle with him. Anytime youd like a rematch, Joe, you knowwhere to find me.

Joe: Well that didnt go well at all!Though Rob played a great game and wascompletely relentless in pursuing hisAnnihilate goal, I think the real gamewinner was Fear. When my large unit ofCorsairs failed to charge the unit ofZombies on Turns 2 and 3, I was prettysure I was doomed. Fear also played asubtler role in a number of fights andcertainly gave Rob the edge.

If I had to do it all over again, what wouldI have done differently? Well, I definitelywould have passed those Fear checkswhen trying to charge the Zombies! If Icould have charged and brought 11Attacks, the extra rank, and the banner tobear, I would have likely beaten theZombies and been able to move past themtoward Robs Deployment Zone and myInvade objective.In retrospect, I think I definitely shouldhave gone with a level 2 Sorceress bysacrificing a couple of Scouts and aCorsair from the big unit. With an extraPower Die, I might have had moresuccess casting Chill Wind. Either that orI could have gone a whole different routeand fielded two units of Dark Riders and aunit of Harpies. With the small table sizeand the small points value of thewarbands, the maneuverability of theseunits might have won the day for me.

Ah well, there will be another day, Mr.Hawkins. There will be another day.

Eager to feast on Elven flesh, the Ghouls press the attack against the rallied Corsairs.

With renewed resolve, the Dark Elves repel the Ghouls but are faced with overwhelming odds.

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Now knowing the level of opposition they face, the remnants of the Dark Elf raiding party fall back to plan their next attack.

With a gesture, Necromancer Toth raised the bodies of the Dark Elves that had fallen in battle. The corpses, suddenly jarred back to life,lumbered forward to join the ranks of zombies. Striding to the center of the battlefield, Toth spied the body of Khordella. Years ago, hemight have found her beautiful, even though her corpse was bruised and bloody. Now, he saw her as nothing more than raw materials forhis experiments. Bring her, he commanded two of his undying soldiers. Slowly, two of his zombies lumbered toward the fallen sorceress todrag her body to their masters laboratory. Toth turned and walked with the corpses back toward his cold home.

THE FUTURE OF WARBANDSThis article describes the basic rulesone needs to play one-off,competitive games of Warhammerwarbands. Future installments of thisseries will detail army-specific rules,multiplayer games, leagues,escalation campaigns, and newscenarios. Make sure to check outnext months issue for more rulesand great gaming ideas.

In next months issue, look for rules that will help balance less conventional armies.