Warmachine
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Introduction
Warmachine is a tabletop wargame produced by Privateer Press that takes place in the Iron Kingdoms D20 Role Playing Game setting. Battles are fought between Warcasters from rival kingdoms, the large steam-powered warjacks that the warcasters control, and troops consisting of humans and fantasy races.
In 2004, Warmachine won the Origins Awards for Best Fantasy Miniatures Rules of 2003 and Best Fantasy Miniatures Series of 2003
The Troops
Warmachine's most distinctive feature is the inclusion of "warcasters" and "warjacks"(the warmachines from which the game derives its name). Warjacks are multi-ton technomagical constructs designed for waging war. They are powered by a coal-burning steam engine and guided by an arcane supercomputer-like 'brain' called a cortex. Heavily armored and often carry oversized weaponry, warjacks fill a role similar to traditional military armour such as tanks and artillery. Many times more durable than normal troops, they pack a harder punch as well. They are also, however, far more costly.
Warcasters, the pivotal characters of the game, are wielders of magic who have learned to control warjacks. They serve multiple roles; in addition to guiding the warjack's destructive power, they are army commanders and archmages. Each warcaster has a special feat that can be used once per battle; these effects range from subtle to explosive, and often are enough to change the tide of battle.
In addition to warcasters and warjacks, armies can take support troops. Some are infantry or gunners, while others have more specialized roles, from warjack repairmen to spellcasters. Most of these troops are human, but some are other races, such as elves, dwarves, gobbers, ogrun, and trollkin.
Gameplay
A distinctive feature of Warmachine is that the overall gameplay is designed to encourage aggression rather than defensive tactics, such as sitting behind fortifications. Each turn, the player activates their units in any order. The player moves a model or unit and then performs its action, which can be attacks, spells, or other special actions depending on the model/unit. The turn is over when every unit has been activated. A game round consists of each player taking a turn.
Each model has a corresponding statistic card which details their numeric traits in several categories: Speed, Strength, Melee Attack skill, Ranged Attack skill, Defense, and Armor. Troopers will also have a Command stat, and Warcasters will have a value for Focus, which is magical power.
The basic game mechanic is very simple: roll two six-sided dice, add one stat, and compare the total to an opposing stat. To see if you hit, you add Attack Skill to the roll and compare it to Defense. To see how much damage you do, you add the attack's power to the roll and compare the total to the target's Armor.
Rolls are also affected by another core mechanic: Focus. Each Warcaster has a pool of Focus points that can be used to pay for spell cost, heal damage, or allocated to warjacks. These replenish at the beginning of the player's turn. Spending a point during an attack or damage roll will "boost" it with an additional die, and warjacks spend Focus points to perform certain actions such as running or performing additional attacks. Good Focus management can often be the difference between winning and losing.
Iron Kingdoms Background
The Warmachine game is set in the world of Caen, upon the continent of Immoren. Western Immoren, where the game is set, consists of 8 major political powers known collectively as the Iron Kingdoms. They are:
- Cygnar
- Protectorate of Menoth
- Khador
- Cryx
- Ord
- Llael
- Ios/ Nyss
- Rhul
Of the 8, the first three (Cygnar, Menoth and Khador) are full fledged kingdoms; Cryx can be considered a kingdom due to their sheer size and ability.
Ord and Llael are lesser kingdoms primarily allied with and reliant on Cygnar. Ios is a nation of Elves. Nyss can be considered a breakaway colony of Elves. Rhul is a nation of Dwarves.
The various powers listed here are explored in more details in the Iron Kingdoms RPG. In Warmachine, the focus is on the four major factions: Cygnar, Khador, Menoth and Cryx.
The Factions
Cygnar is the most technologically advanced of the Iron Kingdoms, taking its flavor from a combination of America and England. Its ballistic technology is unsurpassed, and the Cygnaran specialty, arcane electrical energy called Stormtech, can fry opposing warjacks' cortices, rendering them far less effective at hitting and causing damage.
Khador is the imperialistic, Russian-themed nation to the north. Their warjacks are slow and have a hard time hitting other combatants, but they have the heaviest armor and can deal out massive damage. Khadoran troops, however, are some of the most mobile and best-trained in the game. Khador specializes in freezing enemy troops, making them much easier to hit and destroy.
The Protectorate of Menoth, formerly part of Cygnar, is a nation of religious zealots. Menite troops are sometimes individually weaker, but their abilities combine to great effect, and they are often designed for hard-hitting suicidal attacks. Menites have a penchant for setting their heretical enemies on fire. Lead for the moment by the charismatic Hierarch Garrick Voyle, the Protectorate recently began a holy war against their great enemy, Cygnar.
Cryx is a nation of vile necromancers who worship Toruk, father of all dragons. They are the masters of devious magic. Their troops, nearly all undead, are numerous, and their warjacks are fast and nimble, though they fall more easily to a solid blow. Cryxian attacks often coat their targets in acid, slowly corroding flesh and metal.
Mercenaries run the gamut, possessing many different types of abilities. Each mecenary will fight for two or more of the main factions; in addition, an army can be composed solely of mercenary troops, regardless of whom they will fight for. Whether or not mercenaries truly constitute a faction is a subject of debate among Warmachine players.