Details on possible Nippon update

As you know, the current Nippon book is pretty much just the Legends of Five Rings in Warhammer, and while the background is certainly great and fits the fantasy setting, it doesn't exactly feel like it's at its own in the Warhammer world. As such, I will probably redo the book (again) some time in the future (maybe a year or two) and give them their own history and Clans based on the real clans of the Sengoku period. This of course means that the list would change quite a bit, currently looking like this, essentially a mix of the new and old list:

Lords:
Daimyo
High Shugenja

Heroes:
Taisho
Shinobi
Shugenja
Hatamoto

Mounts:
Warhorse
Kirin

Core:
Samurai Warriors
Samurai Cavalry
Yari Ashigaru
Bow Ashigaru
Matchlock Ashigaru

Special:
Sumo Warriors
Kabuki Dolls
Ninja
Oni
Yabusame
Wako Pirates
Battle Maidens
Red Devils
Tengu
Warrior Monks

Rare:
Mangonel
Flaming Arrow
Ronin
Kitsune
Kirin Cavalry
Shrine of the Kami

So while you certainly shouldn't expect any of this any time soon as there are plenty of other lists that needs proper updates, feel free to use this post to come up with ideas and suggestions.

Announcing: Warhammer Expansion - Special Characters!

After reading through the old "Champions of Chaos" booklet, I thought to myself "man, why aren't these in the new rulebooks?". Looking through the old 4th and 5th ed army books showed a whole bunch of special characters that have been put on the bench for years now, which is a damn shame. As such, I've decided to compile these old special characters into one booklet with updated rules for 8th edition, giving you folks who still have models for them the chance to use them in your games. Or at the very least read their fluff and look at pretty pictures ;)

Version 1.0 will likely only contain those characters no longer available in the new books - like prince Imrik, Zacharias the Everliving, and Crom the Conqueror - but I might also include the new special characters from the current books as well in a later version.

Feel free to throw in any characters you would like to see that I might otherwise miss (preferably with a source and artwork if you can find it), be they from White Dwarf, Storm of Chaos or any other GW publication. Because I have already updated Bretonnia and am working on Chaos Dwarfs, special characters from these books will not appear in this one.

Bretonnia:
Sir Amalric of Gaudaron
Gilon, Duke of Aquitaine
Sir Richemont
Iselda, Keeper of the Tower
The Holy Knight
Gravain the Fair
Castellan of Quenelles
Aloys of Montjoie
Elanor of Quenelle
Bagrian, Priest of Taal

Daemons of Chaos:
Be'lakor
Amon 'Chakai
Azazel, Prince of Damnation

Dark Elves:
Rakarth the Beastlor
Kaldor the Cruel
Malida
Caldath the Black
Mortharor

Dwarfs:
Ungrim Ironfist
Garagrim Ironfist
Grombrindal, The White Dwarf
Alfrik Ranulfsson
King Kazador
Burlok Damminsson
Kragg the Grim
Brok Stonefist
Crazed Khargrim
Krudd Mad-Mattock
Skag the Stealthy
Drong the Hard
Queen Helgar Longplaits
Loki Whitebeard
Bazrak Bolgan
Skeggi Threkksson
Grim "Dead Eye" Grunnson
Durzak Dragonbac
Grombold Kruddson

The Empire:
Thyrus Gormann
Magnus the Pious
Valmir von Raukov
Aldebrad Ludenhof
Valten - Champion of Sigmar
Valten - Exalted of Sigmar
Manfred von Bock
Ulrich
Magister Zorn
Konrad
Rutgar, Graf von Rutgarburg

High Elves:
Alarielle the Everqueen
Sea Lord Aislinn
Belannaer
Imrik the Dragonlord
Eltharion the Swordmaster
Lord Salendor or Tor Achare
Liandra Athinol
Fendar
Tethan
Ardath
Eldroth
Calaidan
Imrallion
Alatar
Kelendar
Selafyn of the Annulii

Lizardmen:
Lotl Botl
Inxi-Huinzi
Nakai the Wanderer

Ogre Kingdoms:
Ghark Ironskin

Orcs &Goblins:
Borgut Facebeater
Gorfang Rotgut
Morglum Necksnapper
Badruk 'Eadsplitta
Oglok the 'Orrible
Oddgit, Night Goblin Shaman
Snagga
Uzguz
Nazgob
Grotfang
Git Guzzler
Kap'n Skabend & Slygit
Grotsnag
Grabnatz Soutbelly & Gula
Durkol Eye-Gouger

Skaven:
Nurglitch
Ghoritch
Klawmunkast
Morbus Sangui

Tomb Kings:
Nagash

Vampire Counts:
Zacharias the Everliving
Sethep
Melchior
Neferata
Walach Harkon
Dieter Helsnitch
Luthor Harkon
The Red Duke
The Dark Knight
The Banshee
Renar the Necromancer

Warriors of Chaos:
Vardek Crom
Arbaal the Undefeated
Egrimm van Horstmann
Count Mordrek the Damned
Aekold Helbrass
Dechala the Denied One
Harald Hammerstorm - Harry the Hammer
Valnir the Reaper

Wood Elves:
Ariel, Mage Queen of Loren
Naieth the Prophetess
Thalandor
Lothlann the Brave
Durthu the Treeman
Scarloc
Wychwethyl the Wild
Sceolan
Skaw the Falconer
Gruarth the Beastmaster
Athelwyn of Athel Loren
Elthryn
Gwercus the Treeman
Yolath the Terrible

All right, I think that should be all, though I have probably forgotten someone. Let me know if you know of anyone I've missed.

New Nippon update out now

Only a small update here, that fixes the following things:
- Oni are now Monstrous Infantry (copy/paste error)
- Shinobi now have S4 and T4.
- Ashigaru Arquebusiers costs 8 pts/per model
- Various small bug fixes

Development Update: Sartosa

Been silent for the last two weeks since I haven't finished anything new as of yet, but I have been working on some stuff at least!

The Sartosa list is well under development at this point, with most of the bestiary done (which will then be reviewed with my co-author, Stefan Wolf). The list in it's current state looks the following:

Lords:
Pirate Lord
Witch Doctor

Heroes:
Pirate Captain
Voodoo Priest
First Mate (BSB)

Core:
Swabbies (expendable, slaves)
- Press Ganger
Pirate Crew (basic troops, HW, pistols)
- Deck Hand
Deck Gunners (handguns)
- Deadeye
Buccaneers (skirmishers)
- Swashbuckler
Harpooneers (skirmish, javelins)
- Leviathan Slayer

Special:
Ship's Mates (elite crew, stubborn if joined by captain)
- Boatswain
Swivel Gun (S6, range 36", similar to Jezzails)
Deck Cannon Cannon (normal cannon, with weapon upgrades like chain-shot)
Orc Freebootaz (Orc pirates, what else?)
- Loota Boss
Wokou Raiders (cathayan candles)
- Shanghai'er
Dwarf Sea Dogs (slayer pirates)
- Sea Rover
Norse Raiders (frenzy, same as DoW book)
- Helmsman
Ghost Pirates
- Cursed One

Rare:
Gatormen (MI, GW)
- Crush-snapper
Sea Serpent Riders (MC, poison)
- Storm Rider
Shipwreck Angel (MI, 2HW, unbreakable)
- Dark Maiden
Turtigon Battle Platform (Mo)
Commodore Cannon (large cannon)

Unit Upgrades:
Navigator
Bosun
Grogmaster
Master Gunner
Look-Out
Surgeon

Nothing set in stone, and special characters will of course be included. You could probably expect a release sometime this month.

Fimir background removed

After some discussion with the original writer of Warpstone Magazine's Fimir article, I have decided to remove the current Fimir background from the book. Instead, the background will be rewritten to something more in line with 8th edition.

Note that this a project rather far down the line, probably some time next year, as there are other books that need a lot more attention rules-wise. The Fimir rules are still up and can be downloaded if you intend to play the army, but if you want to read about their history and society until then, you will have to get Warpstone Magazine #25.

Warhammer: Nippon - proper 8th edition update out now!

Well, that went quicker than expected, finished with the large update, and it's not even halfway through October yet! This is the first (and possible only) book completely in colour. It's 10 pages shorter than the last version since I've done away with the insanely long timeline. I've updated all the background, magic items, units, army list - well, pretty much everything. I have not incorporated every bit of fluff there was on the subject, because that would be mean the book would be over 1000 pages long, which is just not feasible when trying to use it for games. As such, only what I consider essential information (about 50 pages) is in there.

The list as a whole looks very different, maybe to the point where some might be disappointed. The entire special section is new, and there are large changes to both core and rare as well.
The book as a whole has been given a lot more emphasis on its source material, Legend of the Five Rings, and as such, each Greater Clan now have their own unique unit, and you can buy Clan Mon to your characters which gives them a special ability and influences how you build your army to a small degree.

A summary of what has been added, removed and replaced:

Death before Dishonour - new army special rule
Hatamoto -> hero character, BSB
Ashigaru -> 3 different unit choices
Peasant Doshin - removed
The Damned -> replaces Sumo Warriors
Doji's Fan - elite horse archers
Mirumoto Mountaineers - samurai scouts
Lion's Pride -> replaces Hatamoto
Yoritomo Marines - ambushing samurai
Legion of Flame - samurai with ward save, improves in large numbers
Scorpion Claws -> replaces Kabuki Dolls
Battle Maidens -> replaces Red Devils
Ninja -> moved to rare, have gotten a stat boost, can now Infiltrate
Shinobi -> replaces Shadow Eye
Shrine of the Kami -> completely new Blessing effects
Flaming Arrow - Cannon/Bolt Thrower
Mangonel - stone thrower
Oni -> moved to rare
Kitsune -> can be taken in units, no longer casts bound spells
Thunder Dragon  - removed
Ronin - removed
Hida Kisada - new SC
Doji Hoturi - new SC
Togashi Mitsu - new SC
Akodo Setai -> new SC, replaces the Red Ronin
Yoritomo Kumiko - new SC
Isawa Ochiai -> new SC, replaces Agasha Chieh
Shosuro Nodage - new SC
Otaku Komoko -> new SC, replaces Utaku Yu-Pan


Well, that should be it, I think. Some sacrifices had to be made to ensure that all units still fill their own role to avoid overlap (had 11 special units for a while there). Hopefully you'll like it, though I'm sure it's not to everyone's tastes.

I probably won't be out with any new rules before November (unless Regiments of Renown are finished by then), but sometime next month you should see the release of either Pirates of Sartosa or Cathay.

Edit: uploaded a new version which fixes a small bug (as always), rewrites part of the Warrior Monk background, and gives Samurai Cavalry their own page.

New Araby update out now!

Finished another update for Araby.  Changes include:
- Proper table of contents
- New summary page
- New back cover
- Minor formatting changes in the army lists
- Lasting Enmity rule removed.
- Increases the points value of the War Elephant to 165.
- Nerfs the Bladedancers's attacks and abilities, cost lowered to 45 pts. Bladedancers now also gain "Look Out, Sir" from friendly units.
- Desert Riders and Camel Riders raised to 15 pts each
- Casting values of Lore of the Desert raised, Mirage changed, Lore Attribute nerfed.