Chaos Farts on your Face! it's 5th edition WHFB!

I write this, because the new Blood Bowl pc-game had me browsing my old white dwarf issues for that one Tactics article I remembered it had. I didn't find the article. What did happen is that I began to remenisce about my time as a warhammer player in the old editions. I browsed the net to see if there are still some websites about it, and there aren't... or maybe there are in the abysses of angelfire... My final motivation for this blog came from the few glimpses I got of 7th edition warhammer as I browsed page and boards. Apparently the High Elves gained always strike first as a faction-wide special rule and when close combat is discussed, the huge amount of dice for certain units astound me. How does a 20 man unit of waraxe wielding dwarves get 13 attacks if they're ranked up 4x5? shouldn't they have spears for that? they probably changed the charge rules... are they trying to make it warhammer 40k Fantasy?

I thought they fixed warhammer with 6th edition

Now they're breaking it again with 7th... I wouldn't be surprised if they bring back the Chaos Farts on your Face phase too...

I'd like to play the game again some time in the near future. But I'd rather play the version that got me started, that had me obsessed and of which I have the fondest memories: 5th edition. but then... who would still play that if it's 8 years out of date... damn. It's been just 8 years?

no I would prefer 5th... even if it has the Chaos farts on your face phase.

5th edition is generally refered to as Hero Hammer, and while winning the origins award at the time it was released, many gamers criticized it for the powerful magic and characters on/with monsters.

I say that it depends on your game experience if Hero Hammer is the proper term.

If you used special characters, or did not use the "Set Limits" option of the battles book, or played a tournament, you'd have a game in which, indeed, the characters were the most powerful. Still vulnerable on their own, but hard hitters none the less. With monsters, especially flying monsters it could be terrifying. It's nice 6th edition fixed it a little (it is now possible to spend more than half your points on characters, in 5th the limit was 50%, 75% for Bretonnians), but a Hero Hammer force is still possible. What about the Vampire Counts army with not a single vampire among it's ranks, all character slots filled with necromancers for magic superiority?
And what about the fact that many older players decide to do 1,999 points battles to exclude the option of taking a Lord level character? I thought they fixed the power of the character!?

The only things 6th edition properly fixed was flying, magic, the Empire and removing the Chaos farts on your Face phase.

I had some fun with 6th, and I must admit, the reason I stopped playing was mostly girlfriends, guitar music and college... and the lack of like-minded players in the new generation of 14 year olds... who all seemed just a bit more naive and lazy (didn't know the rules at a tournament) than I was when I started.

Then it hit me...

5th edition wasn't broken

the players were...

... to a certain extent.

Some players just couldn't see past the stats and items into the rich background like any critic of the game did, any critic I agreed with... I was criticized by fellow players for using Halberdiers (useless unit). I took them because the background told me they were the empire's Mainstay, criticized for not always taking a Wizard Lord of 200+ points, because i'd rather have more regiments. Always gave the Knights Panter a dispel banner (arcane protection?) because that is how their banner was described in the 'eavy metal section (had I bought White Wolves, they'd have had the Dread Banner, cause that's how it's described). off course, there were many, many players who were like me, I just didn't know them... and to be frank, the new editions are actually quite an insult to a players own imagination. Chaos didn't need to be split up, players could decide for themselves, undead didn't need to be split up, players could choose the theme to be Vampire or Mummy or anything else (ghoul?). They made it dumber, so dumb players can't abuse the rules anymore... but the smarter cheesecakes, beards and munchkins could still find their way... just fill your character slots with wizards on dark pegasi.

however, there was one sure and fun way to curtail the dominance of monsters, mages and characters was to play with the Campaign Rules in the battles book. you were allowed one character, one magic item and one war machine. For all additional awesomeness you needed the applicable territory.
especially the 600 points/1000 points campaigns we did were a blast. It was in fact, Warhammer fantasy battles as it was meant to be, and anyone who still has 5th edition rules but backed out of officially playing it... try these rules as campaign game for a month or two with armies not greater than 1500 points (600 is actually the coolest size*). You'll be pleasantly surprised.
You could even use it for one-off battles as force restriction and terrain generator!

Thus, to break a lance for the Ole' fiver, I'd be posting here my memories and any new idea's that come up. I'll be there for the Longbeards who just couldn't be bothered with the new stuff, backed out because of cost or bad experiences with things like Assault of Stone or the infamous Chaos Farts on your Face phase and any new beardling who likes to know what it was like before Storm of Chaos... heck, even before Dark Shadows, the only on-line campaign I could actively take part in by virtue of steady opponents at the time.

... and I do love the living history GW made... If i can ever get a group for a 5th ed. campaign (almere region the Netherlands), it will actually be about the whole world. Every campaign event of the past years will be represented... reshape Warhammer History like YOU would like it!

* I even think it's actually the avarage points value of the 5th edition diorama/battle scene photographs in the books.