Armies

Chaos Dwarfs Army

Chaos Dwarf Levl 15 Hero Guthrum as commander, with two units of 10 warriors and three units of 10 chaos goblins with bows, and five chaos centaurs. Chaos Goblins got gifts of cowardice on one unit (pass a Cool test before charging, fear any outnumbering enemy) and iron skin on another (+1 save). The Chaos Centaurs got both Giant Fangs and Razor Sharp Claws, which effectively grants a second round of attacks by them – half at +1Str, and half at +1 to hit.

Undead Army

Necromancer Necrus Adeptus is commander, a level 5 wizard. For his randomly allocated Necromantic spells he got Hand of Death (all hits automatially wound) and Summon Undead Champion (create a level 5 champion). Since WHFB 3rd permit you to cast spells before battle is joined, he used all his available MP to cast Summon Undead Champion four times, and Hand of Death on himself.

The army consists of three blocks of skeletons with spears and shields, the largest of which Necrus has joined, and a block of Death Rider skeleton horsemen with lances, light armour and shields. They are accompanied by two units of Ghouls.

The Battle

With limited ranged capability, both armies sidled up to each other using move, reserve move and simple manoeuvres.

Battle was joined proper on the Chaos Dwarf second turn – the Chaos Goblins changed formation on their archers to allow them all to fire, and let loose – destroying four skeletons on the left flank. On the Right, the Chaos Centaurs charged obliquelty across the battle line into the ghouls opposite, and the first round of WHFB 3rd Combat took place. Presumably part of the interest of this battle report are the mechanics of WHFB 3rd as distinct from other games, so here goes:

Since the Chaos Centaurs charged, they strike first and at WS3 vs Ghoul’s WS2 they hit on 4, causing two hits. Their base strength of S4 plus +1 for Double Handed Weapons, mean they wound on a 3+ versus T4 and cause 2 casualties.

Due to their Chaos Gifts they make 2 attacks at +1 to hit (hit on 3’s) causing 1 casualty, and 3 attacks at +1 Strength, causing another 3 casualties. This kills more than the entire front rank of ghouls so they are unable to strike back, and depsite having a rank bonus they lose the combat by 5. Ghouls auto-rout on losing combat, so they recieve a free hack from the Centaurs which auto-hits. They flee and are pursued, the action of bringing the pursuers into B2B with the fleeing enemy means another free hack action is taken and the last of the Ghouls are wiped out.

The Centaurs have successfully turned the flank of the undead force, and the Necromancer must address this; he advances on the left flank, but uses simple manouvres to turn his blocks of skeletons ready to cut down the Centaurs on the next turn:

The Chaos Goblins loose their arrows once again – inflicting major casualties on the leftmost Ghouls causing a panic test, oblerate the leftmost Skeleton unit, and attempt to fire on the Death Riders but fail their leadership test (the Death Riders cause fear and are within Charge range)

The Undead have a chance to swing the balance – the Deathriders charge the Warriors, and the Necromancer’s retinue charge the Centaurs. The Warriors hold, but the Centaurs run away.

The Chaos Dwarf Hero Guthrum’s aim is off, but his cohort drag down 4 of the riders, leaving only the champion and immune to psychology he won’t panic or rout!

In the following turns the right hand skeleton unit is whittled down by the Chaos Goblin archers, and the Deathrider Champion obliterated. At least, Necrus Adeptus finally gets into combat and despite losing in casualty figures, his unit’s rank bonus and charge bonus break the Centaurs:

Unfortunately, the corrupted living have won the day – only Necrus and his bodyguard were left above the firmament.

Closing Thoughts

The familiarity of the Warhammer system paid dividends here – if I were to come at WHFB 3e from scratch I imagine it would be all but incomprehensible, but being familiar with the systems and stats since I was a teenager has meant I could play a meaningful game without too much head scratching.

Some things are obviously a little clunky – the Reserve Move phase really should be part of the Movement Phase (as it was to become later), and the various Manoeuvres and their costs/penalties, as well as the ‘unformed’ status do add some unneccesary bloat.

You can’t deny though, it’s full of fun and flavour and really FELT fantastical without being a complete free-for-all like Sword Weirdos.