Warmaster Three-Way Battle

Some of you might know that over the last year, I've really got into Warmaster - GW's 10mm Fantasy Game from many years ago, for those who don't know.  It's a really nice game, very simple to learn and play, and the models are fantastic.  Its simple mechanics have influenced my own game design, persuading me to strip out complex shooting rules from Two Splendid Lines and replacing them with simple, single dice rolls.

When I get the chance, I pop round to my friend Mike's house, and we play a game in his newly-renovated attic (almost all my games photos from the last year were taken in here).  The ability to have a dedicated space for gaming and terrain has revolutionised the way we play.  Now we've got storage, all the odds and ends of terrain and armies is now stored in a single place.  By pooling our resources, we're fortunate enough to be able to create some stunning battlefields.

Our gaming group, which began as a group of friends who all went to the same school, is now spread over quite a bit of the country but concentrated in Newark.  Whenever I can (all to rarely) I drop in for a game.  Recently, it's all been Warmaster.  I play with a rare army of Dwarves, Mike has some fantastically-painted Bretonnians, and Dan is the valiant Empire.  Here are a few flavour pics from our most recent game, where Dan triumphed over us both in a climactic three-way battle.

(As an aside, this is the first time I've ever bought a painted army second hand.  Although I don't feel as attached to these chaps, it was refreshing to be ready to play games straight away without a month of building, painting and basing).

The battlefield.  We try to go for busy, realistic battlefields which offer a challenge for manoeuvering commanders.

An overview.  Mike's Bretonnians at the top, with Dan's Empire on the right.  My Dwarves are a smaller force (ba-dum tish) but also further away.

And they're off!  I had to get a shot of Mike's lovingly-painted Bretonnians.

The Dwarves defending the pass.  Flame Cannons to the front!

First line handgunners, second line warriors, with slayers in reserve.

Dan's beautiful Empire army, complete with Steam Tank!

Mike races to seize the village...

Only to be hit by the dreaded Fog of War!

Dan's Empire come storming across the bridge...

...to be met by the Bretonian squires.

For valour!

Apologies for the lack of proper storytelling pictures.  I wasn't trying to document the battle, rather to get some lovely pictures to put up on the blog.

Oh, you want to know what happened?  Well, after a bloody fight in the village, the two humans put aside their differences in a heartwarming display of backstabbery and ganged up on the Dwarves.  Depsite all my efforts to fracture the alliance, I was soundly stomped, but I managed to beat up Mike's Bretonnians pretty well, leaving Dan as the last man standing and the de facto winner.  Huzzah!

Ed