In new edition, there's always some short intro saying just how much the tiny little change who gived birth to a 60$ (Can) book were necessary and fun. But, there were a age before that. A whole era of only in-game topic, without mind numbing speech about spent money and "evolution".
Here my question to all of those who are aged enough to have played first and second ed of warhammer and 40k: Just how much those games had improved?
Please! Tell me horror story about stange unit or over the top rule! Tell me how you begin to play to this "New game"! Tell me what tragical lost the many edition brougth! Tell me!
Please.
Climb into the Chao with a friend or two
And follow the Way it carries you,
Adrift like a Lunati Lifeboat Crew
Over the Waves in whatever you do.
(HBT;The Book of Advice, 1:3)
I started WFB during 4th edition, though I did play 2nd edition 40k extensively. Though I loved it more than 3rd edition, Virus Outbreak and Vortex Grenades were simply too devistatingly silly, and I'm glad they went (my IG hated Virus Outbreak). Also, the CC system for that version was extremely FUBAR...
"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
- Albert Einstein.
Magic, and heroes were broken. Special characters were dumb, magic was ridiculiously overpowered, poison was +1S (like it should be now) and Corsairs had unmodifiable AS of 5).The game was messy. Fun, but messy. 6th ed was a godsent.
I read the old WH40k (first edition, I think), and atleast parts of some ancient WH fantazy edition. Slaves to Darkness, or possibly the Souls of the Lost and Damned (so many years, I forget which, I think it had Nurgle and Tzeentch, but I'm note sure).
Never got around to playing back then though.
Did play WHFRP back in the first half of the 90'es though.
Unit strengths and bases are covered here.
Updates are here.
1st and 2nd edition Warhammer was more of a skirmish-level game. 3rd was designed for bigger battles, but was seriosusly flawed. Fun, but flawed. I first started playing in 3rd edition, although I had some general awareness of 1st and 2nd.
The higher levels of magic in 3rd edition were insane. For example, you could summon an elemental with 10 across the board on stats that nothing else on the table could touch.
4th Edition was a big change and improvement across the board. To many changes to detail . . .
I wish I could have played the older additions.... just so I know how the game has progressed... but unfortunatly I started on 6th.... Ill be vet soon as 7th comes though!
Almost forget perhaps the most insane spell of all in 3rd Edition . . . . . .
"Illusion of Army"
Thats right, you plopped down a whole bunch of units on the table along with your regular army, and your opponent got to guess which ones were real and which were illusory. Not only powerful, but a big invitaton to cheaters. Nobody I knew ever cast the spell since they didn't have the models for it, but the mere fact that it even existed shows how messed up things were.
And there were customizable magic weapons -- the parasitic (add +1 to a stat of your choice for each wound you deal), vorpal (no armor save) frostblade (unsaved wounds kill) was an old favorite.
The fluff has also changed a lot since the early editions. GW has gotten rid of entire races. Chaos Dwarfs still have a place, at least in the fluff, but how many of you out there remeber the Fimir or the Zoats?
Slaan have also undergone a major transformation. There used to be entire armies of frog soldiers instead of the Slaan just being the ruling caste of the Lizardmen.
but how many of you out there remeber the Fimir or the Zoats?
I remember brief bits of fluff for them in 40K. Fimir were a seperate race and Zoats were mind contolling nids IIRC.
I have heard of them mentioned in WHFB but not what they were.
I also vaguely remember from an old catalogue fantasy chaos heros with 40K weaponry like plasma pistols (not just gifts from Albion) and marine jetbikes and guard landspeeders.
Zoats in WFB were like a good version fo Dragon-ogres in many ways. They were an ancient centaur-like race that had an large humanoid (ogre-sized) torso joined to a body like a rhino. In 3rd Edition, they did not have their own army list, but could be used with verious good armies under the mercenary/ally rules of the time. Zoats were powerful in combat and I believe they were also spellcasters.
May Khaine save us from such thing as illusionary army and frog soldier! Damn, I would I've so loved a frog army. Anyway, I think I started to play in the 5 ed. (When the boxed set was Bretonnian vs Lizard) and I sure miss our light cav. abilitie to shoot and flee. I guess that back then we had the better ligth cav of all without much of an argument. I also remember the Executionner doing 1d3 wound with their killing blow abilitie. Man, I dream of dealing 1d3 wound to the many tree spirit lurking around!
Climb into the Chao with a friend or two
And follow the Way it carries you,
Adrift like a Lunati Lifeboat Crew
Over the Waves in whatever you do.
(HBT;The Book of Advice, 1:3)
