WHITE DWARF · FEBRUARY 2004
Bretonnian design and heraldry, Dwarf tactics, Epic Armageddon, Ork clan lists and the opening of the siege of Gondor.
COVER TO COVER
In printed page order
Paul Sawyer turns from the Eye of Terror campaign to the coming Storm of Chaos, introducing Archaon’s invasion and a supplement containing ten army lists. The editorial connects earlier narrative developments to the approaching conflict. It also announces a practical publishing change: beginning with the next issue, White Dwarf will go on sale on the last Friday of each month.
News of the original Warhammer Online project includes a screenshot caption competition and development-team prizes. Other notices introduce Dan Abnett’s Ravenor, the Sedition’s Gate expansion for the Horus Heresy card game and revised age groups and evenings for UK store gaming. An online-store update and a reproduction of Archaon’s sword round out this snapshot of the month’s hobby activity.
Anthony Reynolds and Phil Kelly describe a bargain between Archaon’s emissaries and Throt the Unclean. Captive northern tribesmen give Clan Moulder new material for grotesque experiments, including rat-hounds, altered warriors and daemon-bound Rat Ogres. A parallel story follows a disgraced chieftain who discovers what the agreement means for his own people. The pact prepares both Chaos and the Skaven for the approaching invasion.
Throt’s character rules combine an oversized Killing Blow weapon with a whip that works from the rear of a unit. Nearby Clan Moulder beasts benefit from his authority and discipline, while his altered body regenerates wounds. His hunger prevents pursuit, creating a drawback for any unit he joins. The profile makes him a specialised leader for Giant Rats and Rat Ogres rather than a conventional Skaven general.
Paul Gayner explains how a theme can guide army selection, conversions, characters and magic items without requiring an unofficial army list. His own Night Goblin merchant caravan grows from the idea of defending valuable scrap, with monsters, war machines and eccentric shamans supporting its identity. Other examples show how changing a faction’s usual assumptions can produce a distinctive force. Names, personalities and accumulated battlefield reputations then make ordinary games feel like episodes in a continuing story.
Anthony Reynolds explains the darker visual direction of the new Bretonnian army and the design process that established it. He describes replacing a shooting-only blessing with a broader ward save and simplifying the triangular lance into ranks of three. Changes to virtues, knightly orders and peasant leadership aim to preserve chivalric character while allowing more varied armies. Pegasus Knights and the Trebuchet add useful support without replacing the mounted charge at the army’s centre.
Jay Browning argues that Dwarfs must compensate for slow movement while denying the enemy easy use of speed. Shooting can weaken attackers, but armoured infantry, protected flanks and supporting reserves must finish the work. Diagrams demonstrate trapping a charge, redirecting pursuers and combining bait with a counterattack. The advice balances terrain, runic equipment and formation placement rather than relying on an artillery line to win the battle alone.
Dave McCurdy paints small groups together, varying the placement of a few cloth colours to avoid a uniform-looking regiment. A dark undercoat and shared brown treatment make the leather and clothing quick to finish, while simple metal shading and skin drybrushes keep the method accessible. The shields use the king’s red-and-blue heraldry over a light grey base. The same approach can be applied to other Bretonnian peasant units.
Olde Weirde separates extravagant tavern rumours from his research into the northern Kurgan peoples. Accounts of Crom’s Kul, the bloody Draghars and Aelfric Cyenwulf’s Iron Wolves compare religion, weapons, customs and tribal identity. Illustrated equipment reinforces their different visual character. The investigation ends with an uneasy question about whether destroying such enemies would require the Empire to become as brutal as the people it fears.
Mike Walker discusses the habits that make movement and measurement quicker and less contentious. Movement trays, marked starting positions and agreement before an awkward manoeuvre help avoid disputes, while a neutral adjudicator resolves close distances. His group distinguishes useful information from unnecessary measurement and chooses consistent reference points for artillery. Humorous examples of indecisive players and destructive tape measures accompany advice on making the game flow.
Tammy Haye explains how fields, emblems and marks of excellence identify a Bretonnian knight’s family and achievements. Restricted colours and contrasting metal or plain fields keep designs readable, while increasingly elaborate versions of the same emblem express advancement through the knightly ranks. A transfer workshop shows how to trim, soak, protect and alter designs. The guide combines fictional heraldic conventions with practical ways to personalise a large mounted army.
A single unicorn design progresses through four knightly ranks. Simple flat colours and a protected transfer suit the Knight Errant; extra shading and borders distinguish the Knight of the Realm. Brown and pale washes give the Questing Knight campaign wear, while gold, a grail symbol and finer decoration mark the Grail Knight. Reusing the basic colours makes advancement visible without losing the underlying family identity.
Jervis Johnson introduces Epic Armageddon’s large formations and war engines, then sets out the principles behind its redesign. Alternating formation actions create decisions about timing, and Blast markers represent suppression as well as casualties. Separate weapon effects against infantry and vehicles allow individual units to remain distinct without excessive special rules. The article also outlines the initial armies and plans for expanding the miniature range.
Dark Angels and Orks race to secure a communications relay after an Imperial defence line is breached. The compact scenario provides forces, deployment instructions and an objective that must be held for a full turn. It adapts the rulebook’s training battle to opposing factions, making the encounter useful both as a playable mission and as the foundation for the following rules demonstration.
Che Webster’s Orks fight Brian Aderson’s Dark Angels around a central relay, with detailed explanations of actions, suppression, assaults and crossfire. Early Marine success encourages an overambitious Assault Marine attack, and the remaining detachments move close enough to be assaulted together. The Ork warband breaks all three formations in one decisive engagement. The narrated game shows how formation spacing and activation choices can outweigh the quality of individual units.
A Necromancer escapes Zhufbar carrying two stolen books while the Dwarfs pursue and an Undead relief force approaches. Objective points reward possession, deciphering the texts and the fate of key characters. Modified deployment rules let Miners tunnel and give the escaping Zombies a looser formation, illustrating how rules from other armies can support a particular story. The books can change hands repeatedly, keeping the chase uncertain until the end.
Andy Smith’s Dwarfs pursue Geoff Porritt’s Necrarch army in an approximately 3,000-point game built around recovering stolen grimoires. The Dwarfs reclaim the books, but delayed charges, fear and the destruction of their king undermine their position. A final Zombie attack and successful summoning return the texts to the Undead. Both players examine how the custom objectives changed their decisions and how supporting units created opportunities for the decisive assaults.
Andy Chambers and Andy Hoare add clan-specific army composition to Codex: Orks. Core mobs move into Troops and fill compulsory slots, while common and rare units alter selection limits. Warboss equipment and alternative mob leaders reinforce each clan’s character. The framework distinguishes themed clan forces from the separate Feral Ork and Kult of Speed lists, and explains that named warlords’ own composition rules take precedence.
Flash Gitz become core troops, while an expensive Warboss and optional Mad Doks or Mekboys express the clan’s wealth. Background explains its unusually fast-growing teeth, commercial habits and conspicuous equipment. Selection limits keep less characteristic assault troops uncommon, producing a force shaped by resources and firepower rather than simply a yellow paint scheme.
Kommandos form the army’s core, supported by looted vehicles and unusual Imperial-style transport. The Warboss and a sufficiently small retinue may ride in a captured Chimera, while mobs can use medical or technical leaders. Background connects camouflage, dealings with humans and willingness to retreat to the clan’s untrustworthy reputation among other Orks.
Lootas provide the compulsory backbone of this scavenging army, and looted vehicles are common. A Warboss’s lucky tattoos use Cybork Body rules, while troop mobs can replace their Nob with a Mekboy. The accompanying background links blue skin, superstition and salvaged equipment, making the army’s mechanics reflect its habit of collecting the battlefield’s remains.
The Goff list makes Skarboyz core troops and encourages large, hard-hitting mobs. Free Big Horns and a required Waaagh! Banner reinforce the Warboss’s aggressive identity, while many vehicles and specialist units become rare. The background explains the clan’s black wargear, restricted decoration and contempt for Orks who prefer shooting or sneaking to close combat.
Snakebites must include Huntas from the Feral Ork list and gain access to Boarboyz and Madboyz. The Warboss may ride a Super Cyboar, while advanced weapons and machines are limited. The article distinguishes a clan that chooses traditional ways from an entirely primitive tribe: the latter is better represented by the full Feral Ork list, regardless of its colour scheme.
Warbikes become the core of an Evil Sunz army, and the Warboss may take the mounted option from the Kult of Speed list. Mob-leading Mekboys carry force fields, while slow or less characteristic units are restricted. The accompanying discussion separates this particular clan from the fully developed speed cult, which can attract members of any Ork clan.
Ghazghkull’s rise follows a near-fatal head wound and his claim to receive the will of Gork and Mork. The history traces the invasions of Armageddon, his rivalry with Yarrick, the fall of Golgotha and experiments with teleportation at Piscina. Repeated fighting becomes part of his strategy: Orks thrive where Imperial defenders are exhausted. His disappearance leaves the Imperium containing a war whose wider consequences continue to grow.
The special-character profile gives Ghazghkull an adamantium head-butt and a once-per-battle Waaagh! that strengthens Ork morale and his own protection. Restrictions shape his force around Goff preferences and require a sufficiently large army and agreement to use special characters. An accompanying intelligence list estimates the warbands and war engines involved on Armageddon, placing the tabletop leader within a much larger invasion.
David Rodriguez Garcia presents prize-winning and display miniatures, explaining choices in colour, conversion and basing. His Space Wolves use dark red accents, while a large Grimnar Dreadnought required months of work and separate painted subassemblies. Other pieces include a frozen-action duel, a Mordheim Ogre and unusual treatments of familiar characters. The commentary emphasises individual visual decisions rather than providing complete step-by-step recipes.
Pete Haines follows Iron Hand Gaumech through surgery and memories of the battle that destroyed much of his body. His Chapter’s contempt for weakness extends to terrified human allies, while his own endurance cannot prevent catastrophic wounds in a cultist-held foundry. After receiving bionic replacements, Gaumech regards the loss as a blessing and a step towards Ferrus Manus. The story exposes the harsh beliefs underlying the Chapter’s pursuit of mechanical perfection.
Iain Miller develops a Death Spectres force from his interest in Space Marine background, adding a command structure, scythe motifs and a flexible Punisher Group identity. Practice games lead to an assault squad and Land Raider Crusader before a tournament heat tests the army against varied opponents. Two wins, two losses and a draw are enough to qualify after painting and knowledge scores. The account values a personal army and the tournament community alongside battlefield results.
Frodo and Sam must cross Mordor while Orc sentries wander and Gollum follows their trail. The exhausted Ringbearer cannot rely on his normal reserves or use the Ring, making concealment essential. Rival groups of Orcs can turn on one another when Good gains priority, offering opportunities to pass through the patrol. A points-match alternative lets other small forces attempt the escape.
Steve Cumiskey and Adrian Wood build four modular terrain squares for their developing Gondor and Mordor forces. Planning the hills and crevasses on paper lets the sections work in several arrangements. Polystyrene, grass mat, textured surfaces and slate create varied ground, finished with brown and grey drybrushes that match the models’ bases. Their first games demonstrate how the terrain shapes a battle’s story as well as its appearance.
Adam Troke assesses Mordor’s heroes and warriors under The Return of the King rules. Mounted Ringwraiths disrupt powerful enemies, Captains supply Might, and Trolls benefit from coordinated heroic actions. Ordinary Orcs, Uruk-hai, Easterlings and Warg Riders fill different roles without surrendering the army’s numerical advantage. Sample forces and advice on banners, cavalry and enemy shooting show how to turn those options into a flexible fighting force.
The final Ringwraith scenario sends a wounded Frodo towards Rivendell on Asfaloth while his companions and Glorfindel hold back the Nine. Exhaustion limits heroic resources, and wraiths held in reserve may arrive from unexpected directions or fail to appear. Reaching the ford begins the chance to unleash Elrond’s flood, which endangers anyone in its path. Campaign instructions carry surviving Ringwraiths and their remaining Will forward from the previous encounter.
Paul Crowcroft extends the replacement-Fellowship campaign through the events of The Return of the King. Revised selection fixes the Ringbearer and companion pair, then lets players distribute the remaining heroic roles within a points limit. A campaign tree tracks linked scenarios, equipment rewards and restricted recovery, while permanent deaths can change later battles. Advice favours preserving the quest’s essential characters over winning every encounter at any cost.
The preview introduces a supplement covering the struggle for Gondor before and during the siege of Minas Tirith. New warriors and characters accompany eight scenarios arranged into two mini-campaigns. Refreshed siege rules add towers, engines and customisation options, expanding the game beyond ordinary field battles. Photographs contrast the defenders’ artillery and fortifications with Mordor’s advancing forces.
A regional map accompanies a chronology from the first assault on Osgiliath to the opening of the Pelennor battle. The entries trace the fall of Cair Andros, Faramir’s retreat, the investment of Minas Tirith and the breaking of its gate. Beacons, roads and river crossings show how these events connect geographically, providing a useful narrative reference for the supplement preview and related scenarios.
Imprint confirms issue 290, February 2004. The promised Slaaneshi showcase is replaced by David Rodriguez Garcia’s gallery. Main features, substantial rules and tutorials are indexed; catalogues, directories, advertisements and art-only pages are excluded.