Editor‘s note

Warmaster Revolution (WMR) is a fan-based 2nd edition of rules for the Warmaster game.
Warmaster stopped being supported by Games Workshop (GW) in 2012, yet there are still
many players around the world who love this game and are playing it regularly.

WMR first started as a Czech community-based project but has since evolved into a project
supported by large parts of the international community. The Warmaster Revolution Rules
Committee (WMRRC), consisting of a number of players from around the world, was es-
tablished to discuss rules issues and potential changes to the army lists.

The main aim of the WMR rule set is to implement the combat system from Warmaster
Ancients – a second generation of the Warmaster rules system. In brief, this means a limi-
ted amount of combat rounds within one Combat Phase, among many other small fixes
and enhancements. WMR also features a set of optional rules that focus on adding more
dynamics to the game. Finally, a number of minor changes have also been introduced into
the existing army lists.

We believe that WMR offers more dynamic, smooth and “realistic” games than the original
version. But most importantly it shows, that though not supported by GW any more, the
game still lives on.

Make Wargames, not War!

In honour of Sergei Kushnir and all the fellow wargamers

who had to experience real war.

2023 WARMASTER REVOLUTION v. 2.0.1

 By

Rick Priestley
with Stephan Hess & Alessio Cavatore

Revolution edits and layout by Aleš Navrátil

with help from Jan Zapatka

COVER ART: ARTWORK:

Albrecht Altdorfer (1529) Matthew Street

Advanced Terrain Rules by C.J. Bennett; Siege rules by Rick Priestley edited by Alexey
Belianin and Geralt Denk; Campaign rules by Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson edited by
Aleš Navrátil;

Miniatures painted by:

Christophe Van den Eynde; draconian_minipainting; Jen Truby; Justin Curtis; Shane
Streeting; Vasilije Lalic; Remes@remremes; Benjamin Wendt; Aleš Navrátil; Dagmar
Navrátilová; Katcher; Piotr „RIP“ Zabrotowicz; Aitor Jimenez; Paul Winter;

Special thanks to:

Justin Curtis; Shane Streeting; Martin Nilsson; Peter Lam; Chistopher Orr; John Braisby;
Barry Pittman; Jim Beach; Iain Standing; Kristofer Dingwell; Radek Ratajczak; Andrzej
Kret; Radomír Klabačka; Matthew Kozikowski;
 CONTENTS
Introducing Warmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Confused units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Game Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Making way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Game Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Generals, Wizards & Heroes at a glance . . . 58
Command phase at a glance . . . . . . . 12 Generals, Wizards & Heroes . . . . . . . . . 59
The Command phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Game values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Initiative movement . . . . . . . . . . 13 Characters as game pieces . . . . . 60
Ordered movement . . . . . . . . . . 13 Characters & terrain . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Giving an order . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Orders from Wizards & Heroes . . . 60
Command penalties . . . . . . . . . . 15 Blunders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Charge! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Character movement . . . . . . . . . 62
Brigades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Joining a unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Movement at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Enemy moving through characters . . 62
Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Characters and shooting . . . . . . . 62
Movement distances . . . . . . . 19 Characters in combat . . . . . . . . . 63
Formation & movement . . . . . . 20 Monstrous and chariot mounts . . . 63
Moving by initiative . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Flying units at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Units which move off the table . . . . . . 25 Flying units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Shooting phase at a glance . . . . . . . . . . 26 Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
The Shooting phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Attack value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Home back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
How to calculate casualties . . . . . . . 28 Fortified troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Driving back enemies . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Shooting at charging enemy . . . . . 30 End of the battle at a glance . . . . . . . 68
The role of missile troops . . . . 31 The End of the battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Combat phase at a glance . . . . . . . . 32 Turns complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Combat phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Player concedes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Combat engagement . . . . . . . . . 34 Withdraw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Moving chargers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Victory points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Attack modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 ADVANCED RULES
How to calculate damage . . . . . . . . 42 The aim of the game . . . . . . . . . 72
Combat results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The spirit of the game . . . . . . . . 72
Supporting troops . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Artillery and machines . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Retreats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Stands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Artillery in combat . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Pursuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Enemy Destroyed . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Shooting overhead . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Advance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Artillery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Fall backs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Defended & fortified . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Confusion at a glance . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Casting spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Confusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Magic items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
When do units become confused? . 55 Advanced terrain rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
 CONTENTS
Battlefields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Flyers attacking fortifications . . . . . 95
Setting up armies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Character movement . . . . . . . . . . 95
Setting up scenery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Table size, deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Siege machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Scout rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Siege equipment list . . . . . . . . . 101
How long the battle lasts? . . . . . . . . . . 82 Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Into the breach . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Victory points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 The watchtower . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Take and hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Campaigns of conquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Battle for the tower . . . . . . . . . . 84 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Defending the village . . . . . . . . . . 85 Warmaster campaign . . . . . . . . . . 105
Wagon train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Starting a campaign . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Siege & fortresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 The largest empire . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Sequence of play . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Model fortresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Event phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
General siege rules . . . . . . . . . . 87 Revenue phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Challenge phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Battle Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Structure tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Team battles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Battering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Conquest and building phase . . . . 108
Breaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 How to win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Assaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Siege . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Giants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Naval operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Abstract battle resolution . . . . . . 112
 R
INI TRODD
T O
N UUCCIINNG
GWWA RMAS TER
ARMASTER

W armaster is a game of conflict on a grand scale,

fought over an area of ground that we might
imagine to be many miles square. Although our models
A comparable approach has been taken to missile
ranges. In the game, a bow can shoot as far as 30cm but
this represents a longer distance than a bow could really
are approximately 10mm high this should not be taken as shoot. This distance is not based on the range of a bow
a literal representation of scale when it comes to the size but the tactical area that a missile armed regiment is able
of the battlefield. to cover. We might imagine the regimental commander
sending individual detachments forward or edging the
The area occupied by a regiment of models is assumed
line to and fro to entice the enemy to their doom! For this
to encompass hundreds of warriors including all of their
reason missile ranges are not based entirely on theoretical
supporting elements such as mules laden with spare
weapon ranges – we are interested in the much broader
ammunition, surgeons’ wagons, preachers, servants,
ability of a missile-armed regiment to dominate the
messengers, scouts and all the paraphernalia of warfare.
ground in front of it.
Never mind that the actual number of warriors depicted
is typically about 30-40 in the case of an infantry The most important aspect of the game is the role
regiment – we must imagine the formation whole and allotted to the armies’ commanders. Warmaster is based
glorious as it marches to battle! This abstraction, by around the ability of generals and their subordinate
which a few models are taken to represent many more commanders to control the action around them. In the
actual warriors, shouldn’t concern us too much during game this is accomplished by dice rolls but in reality we
play, although it has a direct bearing on the way the rules might picture the general and his staff bent over maps,
have been formulated. eagerly awaiting word from their subordinates, reading
reports of distant fighting and dispatching messengers
Similarly, when considering the distances moved by our
with fresh orders. Generals influence the action around
troops it is wise to think of a standard move of 20cm
them by directing troops – their role as combatants is
or 30cm as representing a unit redeploying into a new
not especially significant – although a commander’s
position from which it is able to launch attacks or push
immediate presence can inspire troops to that extra bit of
groups of warriors forward to shoot, skirmish or scout
effort at critical moments!
ahead. Where troops charge their enemies it would be
inappropriate to imagine them running hell for leather
over this entire distance – rather, they march into
position, deploy their ranks appropriately and cover
only the very final part of their manoeuvre at anything
like a hurried pace. Hence, movement distances in
Warmaster are dependent upon a unit’s deployment and
command structure rather than on the notional speed of
an individual warrior.
Because Warmaster units represent such large bodies THE GAME RULES
of troops, the rules for combat emphasise the position
of units rather than the weapons with which individual The following pages contain all the rules for the
warriors are armed. Troops that are in advantageous Warmaster game. We suggest that you read through
terrain or supported by friends obviously fight more them before attempting to play but don’t worry about
effectively. Even poor quality troops will fight relatively trying to learn the game by heart. It’s far better to get
well in these circumstances. On the other hand, casualties stuck in! You can always check out the rules as you go
suffered have a direct bearing on a unit’s effectiveness, along. After a few games you’ll find the basic routines
not only making it weaker in combat but also eroding are easily remembered whilst more unusual rules can
its logistical support, making it harder for the general to be looked up as required. The rules are presented with
direct as he wishes. summaries at the beginning of each section.

6
 Introducing Warmaster

DICE Players who prefer to play using inches can do so by

halving the value of all the distances given. This gives
The Warmaster game uses dice to represent the chance slightly longer moves and ranges but makes no practical
element of shooting and close combat. To save space we difference so long as both sides use inches.
refer to an individual six-sided dice as a ‘D6’. So when
we instruct you to roll a D6 we are simply asking you to
roll a dice.
Sometimes you’ll be required to roll two dice and add
the scores together, in which case we will ask you to roll
‘2D6’. Occasionally, you will need to roll one dice and
multiply the score by another number, in which case we
write this as 10 x D6, or 5 x D6 and so on.
In a few instances the rules will also ask you to roll a
‘D3’. This is simply a convenient way of referring to a
random roll of between 1 and 3 achieved by rolling a
GET STUCK IN
normal D6 and halving the score rounding up. So, a D3 Although the scope and pageant of the game can only
roll of 1-2 =1, 3-4 = 2, and 5-6 =3. be realised by playing with miniature armies, for
the purpose of learning the rules you might want to
improvise by making your own troop stands from card.
RULERS & TAPE This will enable you to get a feel of how the game works
MEASURES right from the start.

In the Warmaster game, units move across the battlefield Similarly, you may want to field unpainted models that
by a measured distance. When troops shoot it will be you buy. You can paint your army later but this will take
necessary to measure to ensure that they are in range. All time so it’s best to learn the game and fight a few battles
distances are given in centimetres. We recommend that first.
players purchase one or more retractable tape measures Nothing else is needed, though a pen and paper are
for measuring distances. useful for making notes and a nice hot cup of tea is
always a good idea!

7
 GAME VALUES

S ome troops are better fighters than others, some are

better trained, some are more naturally violent and
Infantry, cavalry, chariots,
so on. So that we can represent these different qualities
in the warriors, monsters and weird creatures that are
monsters, artillery & machines
found in the game, we assign three values to each piece Broadly speaking, armies consist of infantry, cavalry,
or ‘stand’. These are Attacks, Hits and Armour. chariots, monsters, artillery and machines – this last
category includes various oddball devices, as we shall
discover.
The rules distinguish between these six types of troops.
Monstrous creatures of small to medium size are usually
classified as either cavalry or infantry – Ogres are clearly
infantry, for instance, although their appearance is no
less monstrous for all that.

Shooting attacks
If troops carry bows or other missile weapons then they
Attacks Hits Armour will have two Attack dice values divided by a slash,
3 3 6+ for example 3/1 or 2/2. In this case, the first number is
always that used in hand-to-hand combat and the second
value is that used for shooting.
This is the The number of The stand’s Armour
basic number hits the stand value indicates the
of dice rolled can suffer chance of nullifying
in combat – before it is hits scored against
the more dice, removed. it. A value of 6+
the better at indicates that a dice
fighting the roll of 6 is required
stand is and to nullify a hit, a
the more hits 5+ that a 5 or 6 is
it will be able required and so on.
to inflict. A value of 0 means
that the stand has
no armour. Attacks
3/1

Roll 3 dice in hand-to-hand Roll 1 dice when shooting.

fighting.

8
 Game values

COMMAND CHARACTERS
Command is another game value and a very important In addition to the troops described, armies always include
one too! Only your General and other important a General and can include other Heroes and Wizards
characters have a Command value and they use it when as well. These consist of a single stand which includes
issuing orders. Values vary from as low as 7 to as high as the mighty individual as well as assorted helpmates and
10 but only the very best Generals have a value as high as hangers on. These stands are referred to as characters.
10. More about command in due course.

MEASURING
UNITS Players are free to measure distances at any time, and
Infantry, cavalry and most other types of troops fight in in many cases this will be necessary to determine which
formations of several stands each consisting of a number target to shoot at or charge. There is no restriction
of miniatures glued to a 40mm x 20mm Warmaster on measurement during play itself; players can take
base. A number of stands form a regiment of infantry, measurements as and when they wish.
a squadron of cavalry, a battery of artillery, and so on.
All the stands in the same formation are always arranged
so they are touching, either side-by-side, one behind the ANYTHING ELSE
other, or contacting at a point.
TO LEARN?
For convenience, we shall refer to all of these formations Most armies have unique troops of one kind or another,
as units. Units usually consist of three stands of the same many of which have special rules to reflect their
type but this can vary and sometimes a unit can be just a sorcerous and fantastical abilities. You don’t need to
single stand, as we shall see later. know about these to begin with, so don’t worry about
them. Later you’ll see that this is what makes each army
Up to four units can be temporarily placed together to a different and challenging force to command.
form a brigade. We’ll be covering brigades in much more
detail in the rules that follow.

Troops are arranged into units consisting of a number of

‘stands’ – usually three but sometimes two or even just
one. This page shows typical infantry and cavalry units.
Infantry stands are always oriented along the long edge
of the base as demonstrated by the Empire unit shown
above. Generally speaking, all other troops, including
monsters and artillery as well as chariots, cavalry and
machines are oriented towards the short edge of the base
as demonstrated by the units shown to the right. Any
exceptions are indicated in the Army Lists section.

9
 GAME SEQUENCE

1 DEPLOY ARMIES
At the start of the battle both players line
up their armies at least 80cm apart.
Armies are deployed secretly by making a map of the
battlefield with the positions of units indicated or, if
players prefer, by placing one unit at a time, starting
with the player whose army has the most units.

2 COMMENCE BATTLE
Each side takes a turn one after the other,
starting with the player who rolls the
highest score on a D6.
Players can either set a number of turns to play or fight See the End
A turn is divided into three phases, Of The Battle
as shown below. These phases are until one side is forced to withdraw.
section (p.69).
completed in the order shown, starting
with the Command phase and ending
with the Combat phase.

Orders are The player whose turn it is issues orders to troops in the See the
COMMAND issued and Command phase. Troops move on their initiative or in Command
troops moved. response to orders as they receive them. section (p.13).

The player whose turn it is can now direct missile fire.

Troops shoot Shooting includes short-ranged weapons such as bows, See the Shooting
SHOOTING with missile as well as longer ranged weapons like cannons, and section (p.27).
weapons. magic spells. Often these will be out of range of the
enemy, so there will be no shooting that turn.

After shooting is complete, the players work out any

hand-to-hand combat. In the Combat phase both sides
Both sides fight fight. This phase is a bit different to the other phases See the Combat
COMBAT hand-to-hand because it is not just the player whose turn it is that section (p.33).
combat. takes part. In the Combat phase both players fight with
all their troops that are engaged.

3 THE BATTLE ENDS

The game finishes when one player
concedes defeat or an army is forced to
withdraw from the battle or, if players
Once a player has completed his Combat phase his turn
is over and it’s his opponent’s turn. His opponent then
takes a turn in the same way, starting with Command
and ending with Combat. It is then the first player’s
See the End
of The Battle
prefer, when an agreed number of turns turn again and so on until both players have completed section (p.69).
have passed. the predetermined number of turns or until one side
concedes defeat or is forced to leave the battlefield.

4 HAIL THE VICTOR!

Once the game is over and the dust of
battle settles, it is time to work out who
has won.
Once the battle is over, both players add up the number
of victory points they have scored. The more enemy
units they have destroyed, the more victory points they
will accrue.
See the End
of The Battle
section (p.69).

11
 COMMAND AT A GLANCE
ORDERS
1. Units move by initiative or by orders.
2. Units using initiative are moved first.
3. Other units require orders to move.
4. You must finish giving orders from one character before giving orders from
another character.
5. A unit can be given up to three orders by the same commander.
6. You must finish giving orders to one unit before giving an order to another.

COMMAND
1. A character must roll equal to or less than his Command value on 2D6 to issue
an order.
2. If a roll is failed, the order is not given and no further orders can be issued by
that character.

3. If the General fails to give an order, no further orders can be given by

any other characters.

COMMAND PENALTIES
Per full 20cm distance -1
Each successive order to the unit -1
Enemy within 20cm of unit -1
Within dense terrain -1
Per casualty -1

ISSUING ORDERS TO BRIGADES

1. Up to four touching units may be brigaded together and issued a single order.
2. Units moving as a brigade complete their entire move as a brigade unless one
or more units are charging.

CHARGE
1. A unit that moves into an enemy is said to have charged.
2. Once units are touching an enemy unit or supporting friendly units they are
engaged in combat.
3. Units in combat cannot be issued further orders.

12
 THE COM
MA
ND P
H ASE

ORDERED MOVEMENT
Issuing orders is one of the most important features
of Warmaster. An order is given to a unit to enable it
to move. Once a unit has moved, another unit may be

U nits are moved in the Command phase. A unit given an order and moved and so on. This represents the
usually requires orders before it will move but if process of relaying instructions by messenger, or a local
the enemy is very close, a unit is able to react directly commander’s interpretation of orders either given by
to its presence. Otherwise, if a unit receives no orders it signal or arranged before the battle.
remains where it is and awaits further instructions.
Orders are issued by Generals, Wizards and Heroes,
The Command phase proceeds in the following sequence: collectively known as characters. Specific rules for
Generals, Wizards and Heroes are given in the Generals,
Wizards & Heroes section of the rulebook (p.59).
1. Initiative Movement
Any units moving by initiative do so.

2. Ordered Movement
Orders are given to other units to move.

INITIATIVE MOVEMENT
Units within 20cm of the enemy at the start of the
Command phase can use their initiative to move without
orders. They do not have to do so – it is up to the player
to decide whether to use initiative or to issue an order. If
the player requires any of his units to use their initiative,
they must do so before any orders are issued.

Before we concern ourselves further with initiative

movement, we need to understand how ordered
movement works. For this reason, an explanation of
initiative movement and further rules for it are given in
the Movement section of the rulebook.

13
The Command Phase

GIVING AN ORDER Giving further orders

The player begins giving an order by choosing a unit When a unit is given an order, it moves to a new position.
which he wishes to move. He must then take a dice test Usually this enables the unit to move 20cm if it is infantry
to determine if the order is received and acted upon. This or 30cm if cavalry, but some troops move at different
works in the following way: speeds as we shall see later.
Roll 2D6 (ie, roll two dice and add the results to get a
score of between 2 and 12). If the score is equal to or less
than the character’s Command value then the unit has
received its order and can move full pace. If the score
is more than the character’s Command value then the
unit has not received its order and can move only half
pace (see Movement section p.19). This represents unit‘s
commanders being able to act on their own to some
limited extent.
Once a character has begun to issue orders, he must
finish issuing all of his orders before another character Once a unit has moved, the character can give it a further
can start to do so. It is not permitted for a character to order to move again or he can attempt to give an order to
issue an order, then a different character to issue one, a different unit. However, he is not permitted to go back
then the first character again. to a previously moved unit once he has moved another
unit. Nor is a different character permitted to give a unit
COMMAND VALUES an order if that unit has already been given an order that
turn, even if the order was failed. This is an important
This table shows the Command values for different rule so it is worth remembering right from the start. If
Generals. As you can see, there are three basic you want to move a unit several times, the character must
values and some are better than others. finish ordering it to move completely before he can try to
issue an order to a different unit. Note that a unit can be
High Elf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 given up to a maximum of three orders in succession. A
Dwarf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 unit failing to receive a further order cannot move at all.
Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 The player continues issuing orders and moving his units
Tomb King. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 until he no longer wishes to move or until he can issue no
Chaos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 more orders. It is possible to fail to issue any orders at all
Orc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 during a Command phase, although this happens rarely.
More commonly, a player might manage to move only
Once a character has failed to give an order, he cannot one or two units before a dice roll ends movement. This
issue any more orders in that Command phase. Once the represents the confusion of battle, the indecisiveness
General has failed to give an order, no further orders of unit leaders, occasional stupidity and all those other
can be issued by any other characters in that Command annoying things that bedevil the process of waging war.
phase even if they have not done so already.
The character has run out of time, the distance
between him and the unit he is issuing orders
to is too great for his signals to be
discerned, or the message may have been
lost or confused (perhaps the
messenger has been caught up in
nearby enemy action and killed).

14
 The Command Phase

COMMAND PENALTIES
Circumstances can sometimes make it harder to issue an 4. If the unit you want to move is in dense terrain then
order. For example, a unit might be a far distant speck on there is a Command penalty of -1. The penalty applies if
the horizon or it might be obscured within dense terrain. at least one stand is even partially within dense terrain.
All of these things make it harder for the character to Typical dense terrain features are woods, in and around
identify what is going on and less likely that an effective buildings, ruins and similar. See the Movement section
order will be formulated or received. To represent this, for more about dense terrain (p.22) as well as Advanced
we apply the following penalties: Terrain Rules for more examples (p.80).

1. If the distance between the character and the unit you Dense Terrain Command Penalty
wish to move is more than 20cm, the character suffers a Within feature -1
Command penalty of -1 per full 20cm of distance. When
measuring distances between characters and units in this For example, a General (Command value 9) wishes to
way, measure the shortest distance between them. order a unit of infantry to move forward. The unit is
25cm distant (-1 distance penalty) and within a wood (-1
Distance to Unit Command Penalty dense terrain penalty). The player therefore requires a
Up to 20cm none dice roll of 7 or less to successfully issue an order.
Up to 40cm -1
Up to 60cm -2 5. If the unit has lost one or more stands as casualties
Up to 80cm -3 then there is a Command penalty of -1 per stand lost.
per +20cm minus a further 1 Units which have suffered casualties are harder to
motivate than fresh units.
2. If a unit has already been issued an order during the
Command phase then there is a Command penalty of Casualties Command Penalty
-1 each time the character gives it a further order. This Each Stand -1
accounts for fatigue and the limits of time, so a unit
which has already moved several times is harder to move
again. This penalty is cumulative, so a unit’s second order
is at -1, its third order is at -2.

Order Command Penalty

First none
Second -1
Third -2

3. If the distance between the unit you wish to move

and the closest enemy unit is 20cm or less, there is a OPTIONAL RULE
Command penalty of -1. Units close to the enemy are
naturally inclined to use their initiative to react, so it is All Characters have +1 bonus to their Command
harder to give them a specific order. value for their first command of the first turn.
This represents a better state of organisation and
Closest Enemy Command Penalty communication before the battle commences. Note
Up to 20cm -1 that the Command value can never exceed 10.
More than 20cm none

15