{"id":3538,"date":"2016-05-12T11:44:10","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T11:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iga.ie\/?p=3538"},"modified":"2023-05-05T21:10:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T21:10:45","slug":"old-world-to-mantica-from-warhammer-fantasy-battle-to-kings-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iga.ie\/old-world-to-mantica-from-warhammer-fantasy-battle-to-kings-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Old World to Mantica \u2013 from Warhammer Fantasy Battle to Kings of War"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cThis is how the world ends . . . not with a bang but a whimper\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n With the return of Nagash, the End Times were upon the Warhammer World <\/em><\/p>\n When T.S.Eliot wrote about the world ending without a cataclysmic event he was not talking about the doom of the Warhammer World. Ending spectacularly with the destruction of the world, the Warhammer Fantasy universe concluded explosively, with a new universe taking its place. The Age of the Warhammer World was over, and the Age of Sigmar has begun.<\/p>\n Veteran Warhammer players enjoyed the Warhammer universe because it had wonderful depth, and had a rather dark and gritty feel to it. The models to accompany the universe were arguably the best miniatures in the world. Rules-wise, many of us felt that they were reasonable but could be improved upon. Towards the end of Eighth Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle, many of the armies were brought up to date and they were more balanced than we\u2019d seen since the Ravening Hordes version at the outset of Sixth Edition.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The tome that was Eighth Edition<\/em><\/p>\n Things were not all wonderful in the garden however. Games Workshop were acutely aware of the vulnerability of their Warhammer Fantasy Intellectual Property which itself was based heavily on the worlds created by Tolkien and Dungeons and Dragons. In addition, Warhammer Fantasy Battle simply didn\u2019t sell particularly well, and there were many barriers to entry \u2013 particularly for the new wargamer. Barriers included the high model count (meaning high cost) and rules that were occasionally complex and always voluminous.<\/p>\n Games Workshop decided that the best solution would be to close this chapter on the Warhammer World, and start afresh. Over the space of a series of sourcebooks which provided some wonderful new fiction and artwork, not to mention interesting rules and scenarios, the End Times story developed a punishing narrative for the Warhammer World until its final destruction. All eyes were on Games Workshop for the next edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and all players eagerly awaited the next instalment in the series.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The Age of Sigmar rules were released without charge on the Games Workshop website with much fanfare among the gaming communities. A new offering, an entirely new proposition, was launched \u2013 one that bore almost no resemblance to what had gone before. Entirely removed were hefty tomes of rules, replaced with four pages of text. Out the window went ranked units, replaced with individual models on round bases. A new world was being developed and built, with new narratives formed.<\/p>\n Reaction from players varied widely. Many lapsed players saw this as an opportunity to return to the game and dusted off old models. New players applauded that the game was far easier and cheaper to get started with.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n White Dwarf 148 – The Battle of Blood Keep<\/em><\/p>\n Every wargamer has had a moment where the game became a hobby. My moment was reading a battle report in White Dwarf in early 1992 which included the army above. I loved the ranked units, the tactics and strategy and the wonderful models and terrain. It captured my imagination of how a wargame should look and feel, and I\u2019ve been biased towards that aesthetic and those mechanics ever since.<\/p>\n Age of Sigmar doesn\u2019t look or feel the same as this, and the game has moved in a different direction. Without the game aesthetics and ranked unit strategies, and with the destruction of the World that was developed over three decades the game lost a lot of its stickiness for veteran players.<\/p>\n