Warhammer Ancient Battles (WAB)

Overall score:

I have always been fascinated with the past. I loved reading about the campaigns and conquests of long dead generals, and of the repercussions they had. Until recently I never took this interest onto the gaming table, but when I came across a copy of Warhammer Ancient Battles, I decided to take the dive. This game, although published under the Warhammer name and written by some of GW’s writers and sculptors, is not a standard GW game. They do not make models for the game, and it is not advertised in their magazines or on the website, despite its strong similarity to the Warhammer Fantasy game. This means that even GW-haters should be able to stomach its purchase.

The rules of WAB will be familiar with anyone who has played either of GW’s two main games, as it uses their rules ‘engine’. For those readers who have not played GW’s games, here is an overview.

In WAB, each soldier has his own statline. This contains several stats, which detail his physical strength, toughness, ranged ability, melee ability, reaction time, morale, his ability to resist death, and the number of times he can attack. These soldiers are chosen for a points cost and placed into units. Units, called regiments, move about as one, and must all do the same thing: move to the same place, fire ranged weapons at the same target, etc. The typical regiment is 10 – 20 models strong, with most armies having several such regiments.

The game progresses in several phases, which follow a strict order. These are mostly self-explanatory: movement is the first one, where you move troops, declare charges, and so forth. Shooting is next, where you attack with ranged troops, and Close Combat is the last phase, where you determine who succeeds in melee and apply the results. Once one player has done all of this, he passes control to the other player who moves through the turn order. It is assumed that each player will have 4 turns in which to make his moves, after which the battle ends and the victor is declared. This will generally take 2 hours or more; if you want an ultra quick game then the Wizkids line of games will be more appropriate.

The actual results of your decisions are determined by a combination of your models' statlines, and the dice. Every roll except some artillery rolls is made with D6 (6 sided dice). The statline, and sometimes the opposing statline, is used to show what number is needed; the die roll then shows the result. With regiments of troops, you will need a large dice box; this is a game for people with large hands. Despite the numbers of dice, it is a fast paced game, with lots of opportunity for tactical manoeuvres and attacks. The only problem with the system is that it simply does not feel like a full scale battle. With 16 man Legionary units, it feels closer in scale to a skirmish game, unlike its opponent DBA, although the authors recommend that you regard each unit as a full cohort or legion. If you desire the feel of huge armies smashing against each other, DBA is probably a better bet.

The system is remarkably easy to pick up and remember, and you will soon be able to use the advanced rules for characters, morale, formations and more. For seasoned veterans of Warhammer fantasy, here is a quick summary of the changes.

The game is based on WHFB edition 5. This means that, for example, there is no unit strength rule, only model numbers. Cavalry have a reduced rank bonus, so they have a maximum of 2. Archers can only fire from the first rank, and cavalry models only have 1 statline and 1 attack each. Camels and Elephants both are introduced with special rules, showing both how they affect enemy cavalry and how they fight enemy formations. Chariots have much expanded rules, being divided into 3 types; light (mobile archery platforms), heavy (close combat monsters, just like normal fantasy chariots) and scythed (suicide chariots). And most notably, characters are far less powerful than you will be used to. The average general has only the option of a shield and warhorse for upgrades, and only has WS 5. The focus is most definitely on the rank and file here.

In general, the WAB rules, like the Warhammer rules before them, place a strong emphasis on blocks of infantry and cavalry. The larger the better. Skirmishers have always had second place in fantasy, and here the trend continues, with heavy infantry ruling the roost. Cavalry, however, is far underpowered compared to their fantasy counterparts – you cannot expect to decimate heavy infantry on the charge any more, which is as it should be.

The book itself maintains GW’s high production standards, with narrow margins and a two-column layout. Sidebars have quotations from historical sources and some additional rules. The book is full of black and white drawings, with a large number of crossed shields and spears making an appearance. These are of high quality, if rather repetitive, and together with the historical quotes in the sidebars add a much-needed atmosphere to the stale nature of the rules sections. The rules themselves take up most of the book, and are fairly well written and easy to remember, with the writers taking a slightly informal tone. Chapter headings are a full page with a small picture in each corner.

After the rules section the book features a list of scenarios to play, and a short colour plate section with painting tips and shots of regiments and buildings from the authors collections. They show a lot of inspirational terrain, and encourage the reader to make his own. This section shows that, like all GW games, you are meant to take time and loving care with your models. WAB is the game you play if you spend more time painting and modelling before the game than you do actually playing. After this section are two army lists; Imperial Rome and the Barbarian hordes. These lists are fairly bulky, with a wide selection of troop types and a 2 to 4 page outline of the armies nature. Sample army lists and a rules summary make up the first part of the last chapter in the book, with information such as blank roster sheets, drawings of Celtic and Roman buildings, and contact information for manufacturers and magazines in the historical wargaming industry.

It should be noted that for a Warhammer Fantasy player, WAB is an enormously cheap game. Depending on the scale you choose, it can cost half or a third of the cost of GW’s models, and the models are often of comparable quality. Just goes to show how overpriced Games Workshops' stuff is. The authors recommend 15 – 20mm scales, but note that it makes no real difference. A search online will yield an immense range of online dealers, and any of the industry magazines will be full of advertisements by companies. I purchase 25mm models, mostly using Wargames Foudry and Old Glory Miniatures. It's a good idea to check the scale used by local players before splashing out, and to make sure that different manufacturers models look “right” together.

A big drawback of this specific book is its lack of army lists with which to choose your force. You will have to buy Armies of Antiquities, a separate book, in order to get these, or one of the other WAB supplements.

The WAB range is now, 2 years or so after its initial release, impressively extensive. Books dealing with Alexander the Great, the Fall of (western) Rome, El Cid’s Spanish campaign, the wars in Britain from 500 – 1000 AD, the biblical period armies, as well as a standalone (has its own rules) book for the English civil war. You'll be able to find rules and army lists for the most common and popular armies, so you're likely to find one that interests you.

In conclusion, WAB is a fine game. Cheaper than GW’s games, with a solid ruleset for small scale, company-level battles, I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in historical wargaming but has never made the jump before now. WAB encourages you to make beautiful forces and to make the battles look as good as possible, thus making it a ‘hobby’ game in the vein of Warhammer Fantasy. It should be noted that DBA, a game which is strikingly similar to Warmaster, has a better feel for pitched battles and has an immense following. The two games are very different in their actual game ‘feel’, but are competitors for your gaming time.

Written by Charlie82 on September 13th, 2003