WHFB - Total Realism Pt 2 [Armoury]

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

This is the second chapter of my remake. Please see the first part for additional information.

MELEE WEAPONS:

Special Rules:

Spear Breaker: Greatswords are primarily designed to fend away and cut off spears and pikes, and used to break through formations. Models armed with greatswords ignore the Spear Wall formation, and roll to hit as normal. In addition models armed with pikes do not strike first against models with greatswords, and models with spears don't get double initiative against them. Combat is carried out in initiative order as normal.

Horse Trap: When cavalry charges a spear or pike formation, the horses are in an extremely vulnerable position as they're more exposed to the weapons than the riders are. Models armed with spears and pikes hit the mount of a cavalry model on the roll of a 1-4 rather than the normal 1-3. In addition, as the mounts are actively running into the spears when charging (providing the riders can force them to do so), the momentum provides the spears or pikes a +1 Strength bonus on the turn they are charged by cavalry or monsters that moved further than their basic movement in that turn.

Weaponry:

Fists [Infantry & Cavalry] (Free)
Punch! All humanoid models in the game comes with fists and feet, which can be used to attempt to harm someone. This is obviously not particularily effective against an armed opponent, and most peasants make sure to bring at least a rusty dagger to the field.

Anyone who has nothing else to fight with than their fists, perform all their melee attacks with -1 Strength.

Handweapon [Infantry & Cavalry] (1 pts)
Knives, pistol butts, rusty iron sticks, carpenter's mallets, broken bottles and various mildly lethal implements. They have no special rules other than allowing models to use their basic attacks at their basic strength.

Handblade [Infantry & Cavalry] (2 pts)
A sword, long dagger or other type of light, bladed weapon. A versatile and deadly weapon, it's relative lightness, ease of handling and flexibility make it lethal against lightly-armoured foes and the weapon or sidearm of choice for the professional soldier. It can also be used to divert and parry with significant more ease than other weapons.

+1 Armour Save in close combat, and re-roll '1's to hit.

Handblunt [Infantry & Cavalry] (1 pts)
Hand axes, maces, clubs, and the assortment of hideous, spiky, nasty things designed to inflict catastrophic tissue damage through weight and force. The concentration of force offered by these weapons makes them ideal for dealing with more heavily-armoured foes, while their cheapness recommends them to lighter or less trained soldiers.

Armour Piercing.

Flail [Infantry] (1 pts)
The flail was designed on agricultural threshers, and is essentially a mace head attached to a chain. It can deliver tremendous blows, but becomes more difficult to use effectively in a thick melee as it needs room to manoeuvre.

+1 Strength bonus in first turn of combat.

Flail [Cavalry] (1 pts)
The levered position of a horseman is ideal for flails, as they have more room to manoeuvre and properly utilise the flail's impact strength, causing severe damage.

+1 Strength bonus.

Spear [Infantry] (1 pts)
A various number of long poles with a sharpened end, usually a small metal head. One of the world's most valued weapons, the spear is both exceptionally versatile and a remarkably good weapon for infantry of all types.

Doubles Initiative; Fight in two ranks; Horse Trap.

Spear [Cavalry] (1 pts)
The spear is one of the most common cavalry weapons used and can deliver powerful impacts on the charge. A backup weapon is recommended though, as they usually break on the charge and even if they don't the horsemen are in no position to recover them.

Doubles Initiative; Gains a +2 Strength bonus in the first round of combat when charging; One use only.

Pike [Infantry] (2 pts)

A long, two-handed thrusting weapon between four and eight metres, renowned as the premier infantry weapon for frontal engagements on level terrain. The pike's sheer reach compacted into several rows of densely-packed infantry makes it the ideal weapon for infantrymen of any type, they are incredibly hard to break from the front.

Always Strikes First; Fight in four ranks; Two-Handed; Horse Trap.

Lance [Cavalry] (2 pts)
A lance is essentially a pike on horseback, often modified with handguards for powerful couching impacts. Very common with knights and elite cavalry, and capable of delivering catastrophic force to it's target by transferring all the momentum and shock of a charging horseman to it's target.

Always Strikes First; Gains a +3 Strength bonus in the first round of combat when charging; One use only.

Poleaxe [Infantry] (1 pts)
Longaxes, long-shafted flails, mauls, billhooks, bardiches, glaives, scythes and similar dangerous implements. Very powerful and imposing, but in trained hands wieldable without any serious loss of agility, or in the case of oversized axes and mauls the creature that wields them is of sufficient size and strength to use them like a human would a smaller weapon. A blow from a poleaxe can compromise any armour and break any shield.

+2 Strength bonus; Two-Handed; Armour Piercing.

Poleaxe [Cavalry] (1 pts]
Shorter poleaxes such as simple two-handed axes can be used to limited effect on horseback, even if they're unwieldy due to the weight.

+1 Strength bonus, Two-Handed; Armour Piercing.

Spearaxe [Infantry] (2 pts]
Halberds, voulges, pollaxes, swordstaffs, military bills, guisarmes, and similar weapons designed to be used as both a spear and a heavy chopping weapon. They're extremely versatile and popular with infantry all over the world. At the start of each turn in combat, choose how the soldiers use the spearaxes:

As axes: +2 Strength bonus; Two-Handed; Armour Piercing.
As spears: Doubles Initiative; Two-Handed; Horse Trap.

Spearaxe [Cavalry] (2 pts]
Lighter spearaxes such as glaives can be used on horseback as an improvised spear, but the impact is reduced by the broad and awkward design of the blade as it is not able to transfer mass in the same manner as a spear.

Doubles Initiative; +1 Strength bonus in the first round of combat when charging; One use only.

Greatsword [Infantry] (3 pts)
Sometimes n used by elite soldiers or mercenaries, a greatsword is a two-handed longsword almost as long as a man. It is surprisingly light and well balanced, and can easily be handled by a trained swordsman, primarily to break spear and pike formations, sweeping the weapons aside.

+1 Strength bonus; Two-Handed; Spear Breaker, and re-roll '1's to hit.

Greatsword [Cavalry] (3 pts)
Fully-sized greatswords are very hard to use on horseback, but two-handed longswords and similarly sized swords such as the Imperial schlachterswerd are relatively common amongst knights.

+1 Strength bonus; Two-Handed.

Pistol [Infantry & Cavalry] (3 pts)
A pistol may be used as an improvised club, though they are little more than a weighted wooden cudgel. They counts as handweapons. See ranged weapons for their ranged profile.

RANGED WEAPONS:

Special Rules:

Side Weapon: Pistol-type and throwing weapons receive no penalty to hit after having moved, and may always make a stand & shoot reaction. This represents them being easier and quicker to ready, handle and fire than other ranged weapons.

Blackpowder: Enemies that take any casualties from a unit of at least 5 soldiers armed with blackpowder weapons must immediately take a Panic test as if they had lost 25% casualties to shooting. If they are mounted, this test is at -1 LD as their animals easily panic from gunfire.

Bounce: Throwing axes are used as shock and terror weapons to disrupt formations, as they start to bounce wildly after having struck the ground. Any unit fired upon by at least 5 soldiers armed with throwing axes, must take a Panic test as if they had lot 25% casualties to shooting. Cavalry, monsters and single models are immune to this effect.

Weaponry:

Javelin (1 pts)
A light spear designed for throwing. While short-ranged, it is powerful and easy to learn how to use, making it a common weapon with less experienced men in more primitive societies.

May be used as a handweapon in close combat.

Range: 10"/5"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -1/-2; Rules: Side Weapon.

Throwing Axe (2 pts)
A throwing axe is harder to throw than a spear, and doesn't offer significantly more impact. However, they have a tendency to bounce upon impact, making them devastating against infantry formations.

May be used as a handweapon in close combat.

Range: 6"/3"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -1/-2; Rules: Side Weapon.

Throwing Knife/Star (2 pts)
Small and easily concealed, throwing knives, stars and darts are favoured by assassins and infiltrators.

May be used as a handweapon in close combat.

Range: 6"/3"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -/-1; Rules: Side Weapon.

Sling (2 pts)
A simple weapon designed to hurl small stones. Surprisingly, it is both long-ranged and quick to reload, and make a dangerous weapons on the hands of a trained user.

Range: 36"/12"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -1/-2; Rules: Multiple Shots x2.

Shortbow (2 pts)
Primitive, compact short self bows often used by cavalry archers and smaller creatures. They suffer in range and power compared to larger bows, but are easier to carry and significantly more easy to use on horseback.

Range: 24"/12"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -/-1; Rules: Multiple Shots x2.

Self-Bow (2 pts)
Simple hunting bow made from a single piece of wood. While primitive, they are cheap to produce and readily available.

Range: 36"/12"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -/-1; Rules: Multiple Shots x2.

Composite Bow (3 pts)
A short bow composed of layers of horn, wood and metal, with a recurved design for greater power. Popular with nomad horse archers and the Elven races.

Range: 40"/15"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -/-1; Rules: Multiple Shots x2.

Longbow (3 pts)
A powerful, long-ranged bow easily able to deliver volleys at two hundred paces. This profile is for dedicated military versions of at least 80 pounds draw weight.

May not be used on horseback.

Range: 48"/20"; Strength: As user/As user; Armour Reduction: -/-1; Rules: Multiple Shots x2.

Crossbow (2 pts)
A crossbow consists of a short, powerful bow mounted on a stock that can store significantly more kinetic energy than most conventional bows. This version is relatively light and reloadable by hand or simple tools such as footrings. Can be used by cavalry through the means of a pushlever and ratchet drawing mechanism.

Range: 48"/24"; Strength: 4/4; Armour Reduction: -2/-3

Arbalest (4 pts)
Arbalests are large crossbows, only reloadable through winches, cranequins or complicated lever systems. They're mostly used in sieges, both by attackers and defenders, but are useful on any battlefield.

May not be used on horseback.

Range: 60"/30"; Strength: 5/5; Armour Reduction: -3/-4; Rules: Move or Fire.

Crossbow Pistol (4 pts)
A small, compact version of the crossbow. Short ranged and expensive, but very useful for infiltrators or as a side weapon for wealthy soldiers and cavalrymen.

Range: 16"/8"; Strength: 3/3; Armour Reduction: -1/-2; Rules: Side Weapon.

Repeater Crossbow (5 pts)
A lighter variant of the crossbow with a magazine holding several bolts. Though less powerful, it is capable of launching as many as 10 bolts in 15 seconds.

Range: 24"/12"; Strength: 3/3; Armour Reduction: -/-1: Rules: Multiple Shots x3.

Repeater Crossbow Pistol (5 pts)
Smaller version of the repeater crossbow. It is flimsy, short-ranged and prone to breakage, but can deliver a hail of bolts in seconds.

Range: 10"/5"; Strength: 2/2; Armour Reduction: -/-; Rules: Side Weapon; Multiple Shots x3.

Arquebus (4 pts)
Simple smoothbore firearms usually ignited through a matchlock firing mechanism. While prone to failure due to mishandling or rain, and highly inaccurate on longer ranges, they are very powerful and can reasonably be expected to penetrate most armour at point blank range.

Range: 24"/8"; Strength: 4/5; Armour Reduction: -3/-5; Rules: Blackpowder; Move or Fire.

Repeater Arquebus (16 pts)
These are experimental, complex multi-barrelled blackpowder arquebuses. While capable of a relatively high rate of fire, they are likely to break or jam during combat and take several minutes to reload, and are expensive to produce.

Range: 24"/8"; Strength: 4/5; Armour Reduction: -3/-5; Rules: Blackpowder.

Long Rifle (30 pts)
A long rifle is a finely crafted long-barrelled rifled arquebus. They are extremely expensive and primarily used by wealthy noblemen as a hunting weapon. Usually fitted with a wheellock firing mechanism.

Range: 40"/20"; Strength: 4/5; Armour Reduction: -3/-5; Rules: Blackpowder; Move or Fire.

Pistol (4 pts)
Pistols are smaller versions of the arquebus. While unreliable, they are very useful in close quarter fighting, where the soldier often carries several of them as there is rarely opportunity to reload them.

Range: 8"/4"; Strength: 4/5; Armour Reduction: -3/-5; Rules: Blackpowder; Side Weapon.


ARMOUR

Light Armour (1 pts)
Slightly effective against sword cuts, but largely insignificant. Most commonly worn by militia, peasants and huntsmen or tribesmen.

A padded cloth gambeson.
A leather jerkin.
A pair of iron greaves.
A tiny, round iron plate on the belly.
A simple iron or steel helmet.

6+ Armour Save.

Medium Armour (2 pts)
The most common armour issued to soldiers. It offers decent protection for a cheap cost.

A light chainmail haubergeon that covers the torso and half the arms.
A scale mail armour covering the torso.
A coat of plates that covers the torso.
A padded cloth brigandine.
A cheap iron munition breastplate.
A leather jerkin or gambeson with iron greaves, bracers and helmet.

5+ Armour Save.

Heavy Armour (4 pts)
Provides superb protection against most weapons. Common with well-equipped heavy infantry and mercenaries.

A full iron munition armour with cuirass, schynbalds, gauntlets and helmet.
An ankle-long chainmail hauberk or coat of plates with a helmet.
A steel plate armour that entirely foregoes leg protection for mobility on horseback.

4+ Armour Save.

Partial Plate (8 pts)
Partial plate is usually a mix of plate and mail armour, but also includes cut-down full plate armour. Most commonly seen on knights, noblemen and rich mercenaries.

A chainmail hauberk with an iron cuirass, gauntlets, greaves and helmet.
A cuirassier plate armour that foregoes the gauntlets and the greaves for mobility.

3+ Armour Save.

Full Plate (16 pts)
A full plate armour is virtually sword-proof and the best non-enchanted protection the modern world can offer. It is very expensive and usually worn by wealthy noblemen and knights. Primarily produced in the Elven kingdoms and in the Empire where, contrary to popular belief, it is not made by dwarves.

A full suit of interlocking steel plate armour, covering the entirety of the body with any joints protected by chainmail.

2+ Armour Save.

SHIELDS

Buckler (1 pts)
A small round shield usually made of metal. It is very useful as a companion to a melee weapon, but offers poor protection against missiles.

+1 to Armour Save in close combat. In addition, due to the buckler's ability to disorient, feint and outright punch the enemy with, it also counts as a handweapon.

Shield (1 pts)
Includes common shields such as the kite shield, round shield and heather shield. Offers solid protection against both melee and ranged attacks, and particularly against arrows, javelins and bolts as they're often completely stopped by the wood.

+1 Armour Save, increased to +2 versus ranged weapons (except siege weapons and blackpowder weapons).

Tower Shield (2 pts)
This includes cut-down pavise board shields and similar large shields, often used in sieges due to the increased protection they offer.

+2 Armour Save, increased to +2 versus ranged weapons (except siege weapons and blackpowder weapons).

MOUNTS

Horse (5 pts)
A normal battle-trained horse used by the majority of human nations around the world. Horses wearing Heavy barding will receive a -1 Movement penalty, increased to -2 if they are wearing Plate barding.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 3 - 3 3 1 3 0 3

Warhorse (10 pts)
A specially bred, large warhorse. Strong, aggressive and well suited for battle, though expensive to breed and train. Warhorses will receive a -1 Movement penalty if they wear Plate barding, but none for Heavy barding.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 3 - 3 3 2 3 1 5

Elven Horse (8 pts)
Common horses found in the Elven realms. They are faster and more intelligent than the horses bred by humans, as well as more agile. Elven horses wearing Heavy barding will receive a -1 Movement penalty, increased to -2 if they are wearing Plate barding.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
9 3 - 3 3 2 4 1 5

Giant Wolf (6 pts)
Fierce, imposing, cunning and can outrun almost any horse. Giant wolves are difficult to tame and master, but they provide a malicious mount for the races small enough to ride them. Giant wolves wearing Light barding will receive a -1 Movement penalty, increased to -2 if they are wearing Heavy barding and -3 for Plate barding, as their backs are not constructed to carry weight. A giant wolf does not cause Impact Hits.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
9 4 - 3 3 1 3 1 3

Boar (12 pts)
Extremely aggressive and temperamental, wild boars are only tamed by the most savage races such as Orcs and Beastmen. Their powerful tusked charge leaves few survivors. When charging, Boars receive an additional +1 Strength to their Impact Hits, increased by barding as normal. Boars will receive a -1 Movement penalty if they wear Plate barding, but none for Heavy barding.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
7 3 - 3 4 2 3 1 3

Winged Horse (16 pts)
Winged horses are found in most mountains around the world, and resembles smaller Pegasi. They are weaker and less intelligent, but easier to tame and train for battle. A Winged horse can Fly, and will receive a -1 Movement penalty if wearing heavy barding, increased to -2 if they are wearing plate barding. This affects flight moves at double effect, so a winged horse wearing plate barding would have a flight move of 16".

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 3 - 3 3 2 3 1 5

Cold One (15 pts)
Cold Ones are ferocious reptilian beasts used mainly by Lizardmen and Dark Elves. While powerful, they are slow to react and grow dormant in cold climate. Cold Ones have a natural Scaly Skin save of 5+, which may be increased by barding. Cold Ones will receive a -1 Movement penalty if they wear Plate barding, but none for Heavy barding. In addition, Cold Ones suffer from Stupidity in cold weather and are paralysed in freezing weather, which means they may not be used but are not replaced as climate and weather is rolled for after the lists have been settled (you may field the riders on foot if you have the models for it. Note that you still pay the points cost for the Cold Ones, and their riders even if you can't use them!). A Cold One does not cause Impact Hits.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
7 3 - 4 4 2 2 2 3

Wolf Rat (5 pts)
Wolf rats are bred by the Skaven for use as mounts or shock troops. They resemble a mutated enormous rat or some manner of rat-wolf hybrid. Wolf rats wearing Light barding will receive a -1 Movement penalty, increased to -2 if they are wearing Heavy barding and -3 for Plate barding, as their backs are not constructed to carry weight. A wolf rat does not cause Impact Hits.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 3 - 3 3 1 3 1 3

Skeletal Horse (5 pts)
These are simple undead horses. Slightly less effective than they were when alive, but at least they don't make a mess of the courtyard. Skeletal horses will receive a -1 Movement penalty if they wear Plate barding, but none for Heavy barding. Naturally they are Undead.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 2 - 3 3 1 2 0 3

Nightmare (15 pts)
A Nightmare is a huge beast fuelled by evil magic. They usually resemble black horses, and are supernaturally stronger than any living mount. They receive no penalty for any barding, although they are still Cavalry and not Monsters. They are Undead.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 3 - 4 4 2 3 2 8

Pegasus ( 40 pts)
Pegasi are powerful winged horses found in Elven lands, though a few dwell in the mountains of the Old World. They are often tamed by mages, as well as carrying Bretonnian lords into battle. A Pegasi can Fly, and receives a +1 Strength bonus when charging due to its impaling horn.

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8 3 - 4 4 3 4 2 6




BARDING

Light Barding (1 pts)
Includes leather armour and sheets, padded cloth covers and a badass attitude. Grants minor protection against sword cuts.

6+ Armour Save.

Heavy Barding (4 pts)
Primarily chainmail barding, as well as light iron plates. Solid protection against most weapons. Increases the Impact Hit Strength of cavalry by +1.

4+ Armour Save.

Plate Barding (10 pts)
Mainly used by the Empire and the elves, plate barding offers sword-proof solid protection even if its coverage can never be optimal. Increases the Impact Hit Strength of cavalry by +1.

3+ Armour Save.

WAR MACHINES

Onager (45 pts)
Small, somewhat more mobile catapult that can actually be conveniently transported. Can reliable be used against palisades, lighter stone walls and squishy soldiers. Require a crew of two.

Maximum range: 48"; Strength: 4 (8); Damage: D3 (D6); Rules: No Armour Saves.
Ammunition: Firebomb, Basket o' rocks.

Mangonel (60 pts)
Catapults and other large stone throwers, typically used to break down fortress walls, but can also hurl baskets of small stones or arrows, firebombs or disease-ridden carcasses. Require a crew of three.

Maximum range: 60"; Strength: 5 (10); Damage: D3 (D6); Rules: No Armour Saves.
Ammunition: Carcasses, Firebomb, Basket o' rocks.

Trebuchet (75 pts)
A larger stone thrower using a sling-driven hewing mechanism to hurl projectiles, with a much better accuracy than a common mangonel. They may also fire the same kinds of ammunition, and as so are generally better in most aspects, they succeeded the catapult in the human kingdoms. Require a crew of four.

Maximum range: 60"; Strength: 4 (8); Damage: D3 (D6); Rules: No Armour Saves; Accurate.
Ammunition: Carcasses, Firebomb, Basket o' rocks.

Accurate: May re-roll the scatter dice when firing.

Cannon (65 pts)
A simple smoothbore blackpowder cannon, shooting large stone or metal balls, or scrap metal. More widely used than other blackpowder weapons as they're easy to produce and handle, and devastating against castle walls. Require a crew of three.

Maximum range: 72"; Strength: 10; Damage: D3; Rules: No Armour Saves.
Ammunition: Firebomb, Grapeshot.

Great Cannon (80 pts)
A larger version of the cannon, primarily found in the Empire. Has a longer reach and fires larger cannon balls, but is cumbersome to transport and is often left behind for smaller cannons during an attack. Require a crew of four.

Maximum range: 90"; Strength: 10; Damage: D6; Rules: No Armour Saves.
Ammunition: Carcasses, Firebomb, Grapeshot.

Mortar (65 pts)
A device designed to lob cannon balls or explosive bombs from above, particularly effective in a siege. Require a crew of three.

Maximum range: 72"; Strength: 10; Damage: D3; Rules: No Armour Saves; Indirect Fire.
Ammunition: Explosive, Carcasses, Firebomb.

Indirect Fire: Needs no direct line of sight to fire at a target.

Bombard (80 pts)
A larger siege mortar, primarily used to project large balls of lead at castle walls and buildings. Require a crew of four.

Maximum range: 90"; Strength: 10; Damage: D6; Rules: No Armour Saves; Indirect Fire.
Ammunition: Explosive, Carcasses, Firebomb.

Indirect Fire: Needs no direct line of sight to fire at a target.

Falconet (40 pts)
A small, portable cannon, usually handled by two soldiers and sometimes paired in groups. Packs quite a punch for its size, and is much more practical to transport than any other cannon. Require a crew of two.

Maximum range: 60"; Strength: 7; Damage: D3; Rules: No Armour Saves.
Ammunition: Firebomb, Grapeshot.

Volley Gun (130 pts)
Experimental multi-barreled small-calibre cannon. Expensive to produce and prone to malfunction, but can be devastating against blocks of enemy troops. Require a crew of three.

Ballista (25 pts)
A simple spear-thrower, designed to hurl spears, lead balls or other unpleasant objects. Primarily used by Elves and more primitive races. Require a crew of two.

Maximum range: 72"; Strength: 6; Damage: D3; Rules: No Armour Saves; Penetrates Ranks.
Ammunition: Firebomb.

Repeater Ballista (50 pts)
An advanced ballista, able to keep up a steady rate of fire, projecting large arrows at the enemy. Require a crew of two.

Maximum range: 60"; Strength: 5; Damage: 1; Rules: Armour Piercing; Volley Fire.
Ammunition: -


WAR EQUIPMENT

Defensive Stakes (5 pts per tile)
Long, sharpened stakes forming a defensive wall in front of a unit. Are bought as an upgrade to an infantry unit and may not be moved, but the unit may move away from them. If they do, they are NOT destroyed and may be used by their parent unit or anyone else you fancy moving in behind them.

When charging a unit with a majority of models behind defensive stakes, all charging bonuses are neglected. This includes impact hits, spears and lances, the attack bonus for charging etc. Cavalry and monsters charging through defensive stakes take a S4 hit each, assigned to the mount.

Lodge Rams

Battering Ram

Siege Ladder

Grappling Hooks

Siege Tower

Fire Brazier (1 pt/model or 5 pts/war machine)
A brazier, goblet or goblin filled with fire for bowmen to lit their arrows with. Or a bloke with a torch. Soaked rags included in price. May also be wrapped around catapult stones and lit on fire.

Grants Flaming Attacks to any attacks made by bows, ballistas, onagers and mangonels (no other siege engines).


Rules for ammunition will come later, as well as rules for strapping horses or beasts to war machines with wheels, making them able to move around quicker. And the war equipment is a WIP as seen.

As before, questions and opinions are welcome of course.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Here are the formations I've completed at the moment. Will probably be more of them.

All formations require a Leadership test to be taken. When you declare you want to use the formation, take the LD test. If you pass, you form the formation. If you fail, your soldiers become confused and may not do anything in the phase where the formation was attempted.

Spear Wall

Any unit of at least 15 models armed with spears or pikes, may in the start of their movement phase declare that they're forming a spear wall. They may not move in that phase, although they may charge if the enemy is close enough. They may not cancel the spear wall during that turn. At the start of their next turn, they still count as keeping it unless they were broken in combat. In that and subsequent turns, they are allowed to either move or charge, not both. They may also cancel it freely in the second turn, moving normally.

A spear wall makes the unit counts as having a Defended Obstacle, meaning that they're only going to be hit on 6's until they lose a combat (note that losing doesn't necessarily mean fleeing). Also, cavalry (unless otherwise stated) have to take a LD test if they want to charge a spear wall, on the riders LD. If failed, nothing happens and the unit is free to charge something else.

Shield Wall

Any unit of at least 15 models with shields may form a shield wall. This takes the form of overlapping, all-covering formations. A shield wall is formed at the beginning of your movement phase, and follows the same rules of maintain and movement as the spear wall.

A unit with a shield wall gains an additional +1 armour save.

Volley Fire

A unit of at least 15 models with bows (not crossbows), may choose to fire a volley instead of aimed shots. A volley has the same range as the bows, plus an additional 6", and also the same damage.

When firing a volley, use the large template and roll to scatter and artillery as normal, guessing the range. A "hit" means the template does not move at all, and a "misfire" means the arrows have all missed. Roll to damage as normal, without any extra for the model under the hole in the template. May not be used to Stand And Shoot. The unit must not have moved in order to fire a volley.

Drill Fire

Drill fire may be used by any unit of at least 10 models, armed with crossbows, arquebuses or bows. This represents well-coordinated salvo shots, the first rank firing and then ducking, reloading while the back rank fires.

This allows unit to fire in two ranks even if not on top of a hill. If on a hill, it allows them to fire in three tanks. However, all shots are at -1 to hit as the rapid firing doesn't allow for much time to aim. May not be used to Stand And Shoot. The unit must not have moved in order to practice drill fire.

Schiltrom

The schiltrom, or hedgehog formation, allows units to make a last desperate stand when surrounded by enemies. May be used by any unit with at least 9 models and a roughly square-shaped formation. The schiltrom is formed at the start of your movement phase, and you may not move or charge at all while keeping it up. You may not drop the formation during the turn it was formed, but from the second turn it may be cancelled at the start of your movement phase and you may then move normally.

A unit holding a schiltrom has no flanks or rear.


These are what I have now. If you have any suggestions for more, please tell me. But I want them to have been fairly commonly (and dark age, medieval or renaissance. No phalanxes!*) used by a variety of nations, particularly in Europe.

Also there will be restrictions on who can use these formations, mainly undead (because they're stupid), gobbos and other silly creatures (see stupidity and add incompetence) and some frenzied, rabid or barbaric units.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Here follows a funky little guide to armour and weapons, based on GW's common models. It's designed to give people a general idea how the equipment is accounted for.

From A to Z.

Beastmen



Gors and Ungor generally have light armour. Some of the Ungor's chest plates would barely count as anything at all, but the majority states that they wear light armour. This chest and pelvis protection isn't exactly effective because it covers very little, but what it does cover is well protected. The Ungors are armed with spears, obviously. The Gors carry a mix of handblades and handblunts, many of which could be considered bastard weapons.



Bestigor have lamellar plate armour on a leather jerkin, chainmail suits and even a few helmets on that. A clear case of heavy armour. Their weapons are great weapons, but make the shaft a bit longer and they're quite clearly poleaxes. They look more like shortened poleaxes than anything else.



Centigors wear the same armour as Gors and Ungors, and ae so classed as having light armour. They also have spears and bucklers, their shields are too small to count as anything larger.



Minotaurs wear a variety of armour, but most would be light or possibly medium on this guy. In a unit, the majority would make this light. They are armed with great weapons and handblunts. Their swords are way too large and brutish to count as handblades, and a Minotaur is probably too frenzied to use it as one.



All Dragon Ogres have light armour, except this bloke, who has medium. They are armed with common handblunts or bastard handblunts, the models are seen to handle equally sized axes in both one and two hands.



Beastlords typically would have heavy armour, but as they wear studded leather jerkins and some plate on top of that, they can be bounced up to a half-plate. This is the player's choice really, as the armour could be heavy armour if it's made of iron and a bit shoddy (and the leather could simply be studded rather than hide lamellar plates like studs would normally indicate), or a half-plate if it's partly steel and good quality.


More will come soon.

[cheminhaler]

Dragon-ogres and minotaurs also have tough/scaly skin, so shouldn't they be counted as being slightly more heavily-armoured?

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

That's what Toughness is for.

Although attacking a creature with very thick skin IS more effective with an axe than with a sword... I'll give it some thought, maybe change the Scaly Skin rule for something like Natural Save or similar that applies to a number of tough monsters.

[Rolling Thunder]

Saurus already have 6+ scaly skin.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Yup, in that case the save will be called a 6+ natural save.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Small changes to spears and pikes, more might follow. Siege weapon ammunition, points costs and rules are nearly done, just kind of abandoned it before it got properly finished, but is picking up on it now. Have gotten into WHFB again after a lot of 40k-ing, and my male wants to start Lizardmen, so I'll probably be working a bit on this now.

[Rolling Thunder]

I want to playtest this.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Changes to formations and clean-up of poleaxe rules.

[Rolling Thunder]

WANT TO PLAY....

[Rolling Thunder]

And now for more extremely snazz pictures to appeal to everyone who likes snazz pictures and having an excuse to look at them, and also to provide anyone interested in this system with more of a reference as to what would be what in this game:

DISCLAIMER: Please note that when I post these units, they will have changed significantly. To whit, the vast majority of their special rules will have gone, and they themselves do not exist as a specific unit entry. Right now, if you wanted, say, a unit of Greatswords, you would purchase a unit of Imperial Elites (7 pts per model) and buy them Great Swords (3pts) and Heavy Armour (2pts*), making them 12pts per model of killy, killy goodness.




Now these soldiers are clearly inbred. However, in technical terms, they are armed with a handblade and shield, and the majority of models wear medium armour (plate cuirass). This gives a 5+ armour save, increased to 4+ by the shield. The sword gives an extra +1 armour save in close combat, so these soldiers will have a 3+ save in close combat.

The champion in the Empire unit is also equipped with a Great Sword, giving them him +1 Strength, and the Spear Breaker special rule.




These, are Dark Elf Executioners. They are armed with Great Swords. They are clearly armoured in half plate - they are wearing full chainmail armour with plates of what is presumably steel or mithril, giving them a 3+ save.




Here, we have the extremely snazz-looking Skaven Sturmkriegrattes, or Stormvermin. They are wearing a combination of plate and chain mail armour, which would probably count as heavy armour but could be buffed up to half-plate if the player wished so (which would be expensive, as Half-plate is rare for Skaven). They are armed with polearms, giving them +2 Strength and Armour Piercing. This makes the unit both extremely resilient and exceptionally powerful, with the Stormvermin's high initiative making them very hard-hitting and powerful.




Here we have a unit of Empire Pistolliers. They wear half-plate armour, giving them a 3+ save, and ride unbarded horses, which have no save. They are armed with a brace of pistols, which gives them not only a great deal of short-ranged firepower but gives them a decent assault punch.




High Elf Spearmen. Once the punching bag of every Fantasy race these is, now, relatively good due to our initiative-based combat, a serious points drop, and the Spear Wall ability. These models have a spear, and what is either Heavy Armour if the models only have cloth on their arms, or half-plate if the chainmail extends over the arms as well, giving them either a 3+ or 2+ save.




New Grave Guard; wearing what is clearly heavy armour (4+ save). The majority of the models are armed with hand blades and shields, giving them a 3+ save in general and a 2+ in close combat. The unit champion carries a Great Weapon, giving him +2 strength and -1 AP.




RAWR! SMASH!!

Ah, Ogres. The classic trope of brawn over...well, more brawn. The Ironguts wear a cobbled-together collection of shields, dustbins and sheet metal, which in game terms is probably medium armour (a 5+ save). The unit has two models armed with Great Swords, and two armed with Great Weapons, giving the player the option to choose what the unit is armed with at the beginning of the battle.




Dragon Princes of Caledor. These models wear what is clear full plate (giving a 2+ save), which, with a shield, gives them a 1+ save. They are armed with Lances, which give Always Strike First and a 3+ Strength Bonus on the charge, and what I assume are either handblades or handblunts as backup weapons. The horses wear heavy barding, giving them a 4+ save.




Dark Elf Black Guard. Elite, and exceptionally awesome. Armed with halberds, and armoured in what can only be Full Plate, giving them a 2+ save.




The less-evil counterparts of the Black Guard, the Phoenix Guard, are likewise armed with halberds, and wear what is also most likely full plate (though a player could ask for it to be half plate, at their opponent's discretion).




Empire Greatswords. Hardened, vicious veterans of a dozen campaigns, these murderous old war-dogs wear heavy armour (4+ save), and are armed with Great Swords, making them absolutely lethal against spear and pike units.




Ricco's Republican Guard. Armed with Pikes, enabling them to fight in four ranks, always strike first, form a spear wall, and getting a +1 strength bonus against charging cavalry or monsters. They also wear full plate armour, making them stupidly resilient.




Warrior's of Chaos. These models wear Chaos Armour - a crude, somewhat brutishly-made form of armour which counts as half-plate (but can be upgraded to full plate, representing Daemonically forged armour), and are armed with a mixture of handblunts and handblades, which means you can choose either the benefits of the handblade (+1 armour save in close combat) or the handblunt (-1 to enemy armour saves), and gain an extra attack against your enemy.




Bretonnian knights. These models are armed with Lances, handblades and shields, and wear what is either heavy armour or half plate. This makes them not only an extremely deadly, resilient shock unit, but also....wait, do you need an also? They'll pretty much destroy anything they hit on the charge unless it's stupidly hard or armed with pikes.




New Beastmen Bestigors. These models wear heavy armour (chain and lamellar combination) and are armed with Polearms. Nice little shock unit.




Tomb Kings Tomb Guard. They have hand blades, medium armour and carry massive pavise shields, giving them a 3+ save in close combat and against shooting.



Dark Elf Corsairs. They wear heavy armour, and carry 2 handblades, giving them a 3+ save and an additional attack in close combat...making them extremely dangerous against any kind of light or medium infantry.



Bretonnian Peasants. Well, the easy thing to demonstrate is that they wear light armour - while the front rant is heavily armoured, the majority of the models wear gambesons and nothing else much.

Their weapons are a different matter. As it is, they seem to be mix of bills, glaives, vougles, guisarmes and general polearms...which the peasants are using one-handed. And are carrying pavise shields.

A polearm, being a two-handed weapon, can not be used at the same time as a pavise, meaning that the peasants will not gain the shield bonus in close combat. Making them extremely vulnerable to being murdered by anything faster than them. If you want to use them as spearmen, then you would have to convert the heads of the poleaxes into spearheads - a simple convert.




Skaven Clanrats. One of the most undisciplined, horde-like mobs of pestilence in the entire game. Armed with spears, shields and wearing light armour, this unit is so disorganised that it can not use formations. Or, as Gabriel Lupus put it.

(Skaven Commander): Men, prepare to form a spear wall and block their cha- STOP BITING HIM!!!!



Orc Infantry. Armed with spears and shields, and wearing what appears to be light armour (leather, crude plates). Like Skaven, Orcs, Goblins, Night Goblins, Gnoblars and Undead, these units will not be able to use formations such as spear wall, shield wall or schiltrom due to their inherent ill-discipline/sluggish stupidity***.




Dwarf Warriors. Your basic, combat-trained dwarf. Wears what is either medium or heavy armour (Dependant on whether the mail armour covers their arms or not), and armed with handblunts (-1 to enemy armour saves) and shields. A basic unit, but a good one.




Zombies. BRRAAAINS. Cheap as chips, raisable, but useless in close combat, can't use weapons and generally a case of "All aboard the fail boat". Can be bought armour, for laughs. Can be returned from the dead.



Dark Elf Cold One Cavalry. Scary beasts. The riders are armed with Lances, shields and handblades, and wear full plate armour. The mounts wear no armour, save for their legendary resilience and scaly skin giving them a 5+ armour save, which can be improved with barding.




Wood Elf Eternal Guard. These models are armed with spears, doubling their initiative and allowing them to form a spear wall, as well as fight in two ranks, and wear what appears to be medium armour, giving them a 5+ save.




The classic Chaos Knights (reworked in our system as warriors of Chaos on horseback). These models wear what is clearly Chaos Armour (3+ save), a counts-as halfplate. They also use shields, and a hodgepodge of spears, handblades and a great weapon, but can be given any weapon in the Chaos Armoury (just like every other model presented here, aside from zombies).

In addition, the mounts have plate barding, giving them a 3+ save.




<sub>*When calculating the points cost of armour, deduct the cost of any armour present on a model. For example, an Empire knight who comes with half-plate already would only pay 8 points for a suit of full plate, wheras an Imperial elite, who only comes with medium armour, would pay 14, and an unarmoured Empire soldier would pay the full 16.

***While this is not an exhaustive list, it covers most of them. Undead units do not get to form formations, with the exception of units such as Wights and Tomb Guard, who tend to be more active and more carefully bound and responsive to the will of their masters. Greenskins and Skaven are generally so undisciplined that they spend half their time jockeying for position in the ranks, so forming an orderly formation is simply not a possibility for any unit other than specialised, professional-ish troops such as Black Orcs or Stormvermin.</sub>

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Thanks a lot for the work dear.

Just a thing, we need a name converter. The models may be called Dark Elf Executioners, but no such unit will exist in the codex, because it's too obscure and rare. Just like Greatswords, Phoenix Guard etc. These models aren't made to strictly represent a single unit in my game, they're meant to be able to be used at your leisure in a suitable manner. So...

Empire Swordsmen - Models could either be Duellists, Soldiers of the Empire, Empire Elites or most things really.

Dark Elf Executioners - Models would probably be Dark Elf Knights or Dark Elf Soldiers.

Stormvermin - Will actually be Stormvermin as the term refers to a number of mercenary, elite Skaven and are numerous enough to be in the codex.

Pistoliers - Could be any number of things, but most suitably Empire Knights as a cuirassier is nothing but an evolved, lighter version of a traditional heavy cavalry knight. Could also be Imperial Elites or even Soldiers of the Empire.

High Elf Spearmen - Obviously City Militia or High Elf Soldiers.

Grave Guard - They're Wights, can't be anything else.

Ironguts - Simple Ogres would be the most probable option, but could also be a yet unnamed more elite Ogre unit.

Dragon Princes - High Elf Knights. Possibly characters.

Black Guards - Dark Elf Knights. Possibly characters.

Phoenix Guard - High Elf Knights. Possibly characters.

Empire Greatswords - Imperial Elites or Empire Knights most probably, but it's not -entirely- unlikely that they'd be Soldiers of the Empire. Also good for characters.

Ricco's Republican Guard - Soldiers of the Empire or more likely Imperial Elites. The full plate is out of place though, so they could actually be argued to be Empire Knights fighting in an extremely disturbing fashion.

[ElegaicRequiem]

I'd be interested in learning WHFB, and trying a Dark Elf army with this remake.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Lucky for you, Dark Elves are up for the next armybook!

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Updates on great weapons (renamed to polearms) and pole axes (are now halberds, with the more questionable and brutish poleaxes thrown in the polearm category). Points costs adjusted. Flee for your life or get a crossbow.

[Gardelin]

Is the +1 to wound with Great swords old and un-updated or did I miss something again?

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

It's old and questionable. New profile in place now.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Armoury updated:

- Dumped bastard swords. What do you get if you have a handaxe with a slightly longer handle? That's right, a longaxe. Same with a bastard sword. Bastard weapons are unnecessary and removed, although I might make a Quarterstaff weapon just because I can.

- Upped the range of ranged weapons again. A longbow now has a basic 48" range. While not realistic, it's more reasonable and creates a somewhat logical resemblance of how a battlefield would look, without making you play in a parking lot. Ranged weapons are dangerous and have a long range. Which they should be and should have. Play tactically, use screening units, cover, flank cavalry and archers of your own. Enjoy, I've now added a completely new element to the game. Ranged weapons have roughly 50% of their real-life range in the game, counting from a general bloke making a direct shot (ergo, not professional longbowmen barraging).

- To compensate for the increased range of shooting weapons, shields give an extra +1 save versus arrows and bolts. A shield is a damn good protection against a bow, I'm even tempted to give them a 4+ Ward save against arrows and bolts. Blackpowder weapons and siege weapons ignore this. This also makes arquebuses less useless, hooray!

- Even better, costs of most ranged weapons are upped, representing the invested training it takes to make a good bowman.

- Pavises gives a +2 save in close combat, it's a huge shield that's almost impossible to get through. Initiative penalty remains and should be used to your advantage. Common soldiers forming a spear wall with pavises will suddenly strike at a mere Ini 4.

- Clarified rules on hand weapons.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Cleaned up some ranged weapon ranges. Sorry arquebuses. All weapons now roughly have 50% of the range they had in reality, counting a point black shot by a common soldier.

Clarified rules for thrown and pistol type weapons.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Did a minor overhaul of the weapons and armour. Everything's cleared up and more obvious, and a few things are changed. Seems like I've finally decided on what to do with the polearms as well, they're not two profiles, spearaxes and poleaxes. Obvious rules on how weapons work as infantry and as cavalry are implemented. Crossbows are changed into Crossbows and Arbalests, as we discovered during playtesting that light crossbows were vastly superior to heavy crossbows. It may seem silly that a crossbow doesn't have move or fire, but the first profile represents weapons that are at the maximum heavy enough to pull with a goatfoot, which takes approximately 10 seconds anyway.

Changes to bucklers, and armour is explained a bit better. If you have more suggestions as to what could be a specific type of armour, throw them at me.

[Makarova (M.I.A)]

Poleaxes and spearaxes changed. I failed realism, RT corrected me.