Help a noob play learn the basics whilst teaching another noob the basics. :-X

[Stormwind]

Hullo all!

I have only played 3 games of Warmaster this time last year when a friend quickly painted some old armies and indulged me for a bit.  I have enough models that I've accumulated to make 5000 points of Elves, 3000 points of Dwarves, 2000 points of Empire and 1500 points of Chaos, with 2000 points of Kislev coming soon but they are mostly all in blisters or bags still.  I've stopped and started with preparing / stripping / repairing these but so many other projects appeared and I am terrible at reading / explaining rules so I've never got anything off the ground.

Well, this Saturday my friend Herr Christoph is willing to give Warmaster a go at his house.  I currently have, not painted but glued, a 1225 point bunch of High Elves.  Still waiting for more Kislev to arrive - thinking I might have to glue some Dwarves instead or just do more Elves and have a Civil War maybe?

In any case - I really really want to just have a game - and feel excitement about playing and teaching it - then hopefully I will feel inspired to get units painted and stored properly.  Any advice for a good basic scenario or set up - or "illegal" little jousts just to get the hang of combat unit on unit?

If I start playing it - other people might be persuaded to dig out their mothballed blister packs and get them going again.

[forbes]

Keep if fairly small and simple so that you can get the hang of the core mechanics.

So avoid, Wizards, War Engines, Flyers and Monsters. 1000pts of core troops should be plenty for a starting game - perhaps even drop to 800 if you avoid the specials I listed at the start.

The key bits to understand are:
Command, how the modifiers work, how brigades work. Getting multiple moves. The general (normally) wants to order last as his failure ends your turn. Initiative.
Shooting - the basic to hit and wound dice rolls. The effect of shooting (occasional stand removal, vs drive backs)

Combat - lining units up when they charge. Modifiers (these generally add dice, rather than changing the to hit score). Multiple rounds of combat. Advances to new combats.
Combats can be involved and it is best to step through them until you get the hang.

WM has some fiddly bits - but it is a fun game, so good luck and have fun.

[jchaos79]

Be prepare to check the rulebook during the game, but if it stops the rythim too much time, my advise is to decide the situation with a roll dice 1-3 is possibility A, 3-6 possibility B of whatever doubt. The next day with calm check the rulebook carefully for that situation or ask here. You will learn the rule for your next game and your gaming afternoon did not get stucked by hours and spoiled the fun of the battle.

Maybe one of the most important rules that used to forget in the middle of the battle is "infantry can not pursue cavalry".

Do not improvise the scenery. Hills, forest or urban areas seems very easy when first read the rulebook, but when the miniatures are on the table, starts the doubts about if a cavalry could charge... Think about the scenery element you are going to use before the battle and explain how it works to your opponent before starting the game.

Don't pretend to use all the rules in your first game, Forbes provides you with a great bunch of advise.

Go for a short battle (even 500 points could be great). If you finish quickly take a second game exactly with the same army and the same battlefield, you will see that the second one is completley different and even more exiting.

Have fun and enjoy.

[Edmund2011]

For a first game I won't go over 1000 pts per side. As Forbes and JChaos say it isn't about using all the rules, it is about "feeling" the game.

Well, this Saturday my friend Herr Christoph is willing to give Warmaster a go at his house.  I currently have, not painted but glued, a 1225 point bunch of High Elves.  Still waiting for more Kislev to arrive - thinking I might have to glue some Dwarves instead or just do more Elves and have a Civil War maybe?

If possible try to put under Christoph command an army-theme he likes, that's motivating for the player and fun!

The scenario should be pretty simple (pitched battle), and it doesn't matter if figures are not even painted. The main goal is have fun and learn.

Good gaming!

[Stormwind]

I'm afraid that only the Dwarves and Elves are glued and ready!

The Chaos and Empire need much more trimming / base sanding to be presentable!  I'm afraid his Warhammer armies are Chaos and Empire so he will have to wait to give those a go. =-P

Thank you for suggestions - I could give him some Steppe Archers or Lancers as allies as I just cleaned and glued a couple of units of them!

[Stormwind]

OK, am I bonkers or did there not used to be the whole Warmaster ruleset online?

I looked at the GW site and they have the armies list and the errata but nothing else.

[jchaos79]

Don't know about GW site, but Dave Army Selector has a great collection of rules in the upper right of the application.

[Stormwind]

O thank you, jChaos!  I didn't realise!

This is excellent.  For your amusement a shoddy shot of me playing with my toys on the bedroom floor - teaching myself the rules.  I really think I might finally get the hang of things.  I just rolled a 6 to move the eagles around with my general.  Then a second order to charge resulted in a blunder and a roll of 2 on the table.  So I think the Eagles have retreated off the table. =-P

[jchaos79]

That is an interesting situation.

Solo plays are fantastic to learn the rules!

[Stormwind]

I had a bit of a problem - the dwarf cannons shot through the silver helms to the archers.  I rolled for driveback and got a 6 making the silver helms confused.  I then rolled for the archers and they got driveback and got confused as well.

Should I have driven back the silver helms first, through the archers and THEN rolled for the archer driveback?

[jchaos79]

Not sure about the rules, but we play this way: the elf player roll the dice for driveback, and knowing the distance to driveback each unit, he choose the order of the drivebacks. So he had to think the combination that benefit him more. Even he can choose to not make way.

[Stormwind]

OK, that sounds quite orderly, thank you. =)

[Stormwind]

My archers were facing a full brigade of 4 chaos warriors/marauder units.

I was facing them at an angle, shooting always the closest one.  When I shot them, I forced them back and each time the brigade was disrupted and the warriors had to make way for each other. 

Just with 3 archer units positioned well this threatening mass of warriors was sent into disarray.

Is this correct, or should the brigade have moved back as one mass with each shooting?

[Lex]

My archers were facing a full brigade of 4 chaos warriors/marauder units.

I was facing them at an angle, shooting always the closest one.  When I shot them, I forced them back and each time the brigade was disrupted and the warriors had to make way for each other. 

Just with 3 archer units positioned well this threatening mass of warriors was sent into disarray.

Is this correct, or should the brigade have moved back as one mass with each shooting?

This is correct, when the effects of shooting are determined. The only say your opponent MIGHT have is which unit to move first, if multiple units took shooting hits.

Also, remember that units making way must do so in the shortest way possible !!!  be it backwards, sidewards or FOREWARDS

also be aware that ONLY the stands need to make way and there is some leeway in positioning other stands around the one that actualy DOES move out of the way