I feel that while system is important the scenario is more important, which got me thinking in a way I haven't before about the scenarios I enjoy and why. A big influence on what I feel makes a good Oldhammer scenario are the ones I had access to when new to the hobby, shaded by more recent gaming experience. Key factors seem to be size and mood.
In terms of size less than 100 models a side seem right to me. I don't want a true skirmish game of around a handful of models per side, I want the scenery to be something you can make use of rather than manoever around, and (surprising to me) I don't really want the massed ranks of troops. This isn't so much about avoiding all the painting so much as a magpie nature, I'd like to be able to do lots of different forces and setups rathern than build a monolith.
Mood is less easy to define but part of it comes back to the size question. I'm much more interested in a game about a boatload of vikings up to trouble or a raid on a caravan rather than formal battles, which especially in Warhammer seem to quickly tend to the self-important. I can't imagine an old school scenario which involves having to stat up the Emperor Karl Franz, nevermind putting him on a griffon...
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| Slann raid on Skeggi - a brawl not a battle! |
- The Legend of Kremlo the Slann (1st ed, 1983)
- Young Slann braves attack a Norse village as part of a coming of age ritual. The Norse try to destroy the Slann village in revenge
- Players: GM ("essential") and 2-6 players
- Skeggi - Troops A: 15 warriors, approx. 30 civilians (5d6 villagers, 12 fishwives) = approx. 45
- Skeggi - Troops B: 4d6 braves = approx. 14
- Zapotec - Troops A: 27
- Zapotec - Troops B: approx. 42 to approx. 64*
- The Magnificent Sven (2nd ed, 1984)
- 7 washed-up heroes / personalities are recruited to save a village from Slann raiders
- Players: GM and 2 or more players (up to 14 all with victory schedules!)
- Troops A: 7 heroes, 40 villagers = 47
- Troops B: 77 Slann
- The Dolgan Raiders (2nd ed, 1985)
- A tribe of nomadic humans attack a hobgoblin caravan passing through their lands
- Players: 2-4 players (GM not mentioned)
- Troops A: 45 humans, a centaur, 5 war dogs = 50
- Troops B: 6 lobotomised slave ogres (chained to caravans), 52 hobgoblins and goblins, 20 "civilian" goblins, 10 wolf riders = 88
- The Vengeance of the Lichemaster (2nd ed, 1986)
- A skaven raiding party and the Lichemaster both want the McGuffin hidden at the monastary. The Master of the monastary is an insane Frankinstein-esque wizard
- Players: GM and 3 players
- Troops A: Master, 12 warrior monks, 5 wizard monks = 18
- Troops B: 44 skaven, 4 firethrower crew = 48
- Troops C: Lichemaster, 52 undead (plus any summoned) = 53
- Blood on the Snow (2nd ed, 1987)
- A force of goblinoids have captured a dwarf outpost and occupied a nearby shrine to Sigmar. A force of dwarfs and humans aim to drive them out
- Players: GM and 2+ players
- Troops A: 54 dwarfs, 54 humans = 108
- Troops B: 65 orcs, 86 goblins and 3-man stonethrower = 151
- Forenrond's Last Stand (3rd ed, 1987)
- Famous but inept elven commander gets his troops drawn into an ambush and himself killed. His second in command tries to extracate the survivors
- Players: GM and 2+ players
- Troops A: 20 elven infantry, 32 cavalry = 52
- Troops B: 50 orcs, 73 goblins, 20 wolf riders = 143
- The Valley of Death (3rd ed, 1988)†
- A goblinoid raiding party looking for a fight is confronted by the armies of two dwarf holds, protecting their homeland
- Players: GM and 2-4 players
- Troops A: 128 dwarfs, 5-man stonethrower, organ gun
- Troops B: 64 orcs, 2 trolls, 142 goblins, 2 chariots and 5 bases of snotlings = 215
* It's very hard to count the Slann troops in the Zapotec scenario - the player gets to pick 3 units out of 5, and 3 of those units are a random size, as are the number of defending villagers at points throughout the gauntlet
† When first seeing The Valley of Death my thought was "that's a lot of figures", I've never played it and have no real desire to
Graphing those troop numbers the picture is rather clearer -
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| Troops for the listed scenarios, significant growth over 5 years but essentially the same ruleset |
- In the first three there are significant numbers of "civilians" who are pressed into combat, the last three are much more traditional Warhammer forces
- The Magnificent Sven has the most "heroic" setup, but the characters' backstories are jaundiced rather than pompous
- Vengeance of the Lichemaster has three conflicting sides, for the first three scenarios and Blood on the Snow there's conflict (or at least competition) within one of the sides
- Large skirmish - figures move as units, but individually (like SAGA or Age of Sigmar)
- Capacity for fine distinctions between troops, especially characters
- Variety between characters: not all leaders are strong fighters and vice versa; a skilled swordsman may be physically weak
- Guidelines for unbalanced sides and complex victory conditions (e.g. an outnumbered force needs to hold out for a certain period, or escape an ambush - how much smaller should they be?)
- Psychology reflecting the fantasy setting and stereotypes (especially fear, animosity and hatred) and other limits on the player's control of their troops
