"Warmaster rules questions" Topic

Can anyone tell me where I might be able to get answers to Warmaster rules questions (the original, not ancients or any of the other variants)? There is a Yahoo group, but it looks like it has has very little activity in recent months.

thanks

Try ricks-warmaster.com

There should be a contact link where you can send in questions.

Keep trying the yahoo site also, or ask on TMP. You are already here.

Asking here might be helpful. We can give it a shot.
What questions do you have?

Also try the Specialist Arms forum. It is the unofficial forum for the old specialist games, and still has many active members.

OK -- I'll try here. How do you handle saves in multiple unit combat? For example, I have three units with one unit saving on 6, one unit with no saves and one unit saving on 3+. The enemy scores 12 hits on the brigade. How do I roll for saves because they are all different values (6,0,3)?
Perhaps I'm handling the multiple unit combat wrong? I had the three-unit brigade touching two non-adjacent enemy units and fought it as one giant combat, which is what I thought you were supposed to do.

thanks

Each attacking stand rolls attacks against a unit it is in contact with, not against the enemy brigade as a whole.

Yep! And if it is in contact with two or more units with different saves you choose where the attacks will go before rolling the dice.

Ah-ha. That makes sense.
Also -- are there any limitations to how units maneuver? For example, in my test game, I have one unit that is now on the flank of an enemy and would like to turn and attack. It appears I can just make a 90-degree turn and march right over to the flank and have the other stands in the unit line up beside the first or adjust position as needed (all three would not exceed their maximum move). Is this correct?
(As a Napoleonics player, I'm using to units having to "wheel" into position. The movement here seems a little more fluid.)

And Part B: Supporting units retreat with the "parent" unit but do not advance after combat with it, correct?

Thanks for all the help!

Part A: if you're simply moving, not charging, then the unit may orient itself in any way you choose (even facing the other way) at the end of the move. The only restriction is that the unit can only move to a position it can see from its own front. The exception is an evade, which is a move backwards away from a visible enemy in 20cm (or, of course, flying units, which can pretty much go anywhere).
If the unit is charging, however, the closest stand always moves to the closest enemy base edge it can see, and turns flat against that edge, with the remaining stands lining up beside it (if possible). So the orientation is determined by the position of the defender, not the charger. But whether or not the charger hits a flank is also determined by the charging unit's position relative to the defender's orientation. Imagine lines drawn at a 45 degree angle at each corner of the closest defending stand. The base edge the attacker hits is determined by which side of this line the bulk of the charging unit is on. So you can't just hit a flank because you can see it; you have to have that flank be the closest, dominant edge of the defender you're charging.

Finally, pursuits after combat are different, as in this case the pursuing stands "wrap around" the defender (if possible), rather than automatically lining up beside the first stand; potentially a stand could wind up hitting a base edge it technically "couldn't see" at the start of the pursuit.

Part B: You are correct. Only the unit directly in contact during the combat round may pursue a retreating enemy; supporting units that were not directly engaged remain where they are.

For a helpful example: I once played a game in which the bulk of my line was on one side of an "enchanted wood," while I had one dwarf unit that I had sent around the other side of the wood. My opponent charged the bulk of my line, defeating units, then stopping with the wood on his left flank. My dwarf unit could not see the enemy due to the wood, but could see the open are behind the enemy. I ordered the dwarf unit forward past the wood into the open area, and at the end of the move oriented the line so they could see the enemy rear. I then attempted a second order, succeeded, and sent the dwarfs crashing into the enemy rear. Caught between hammer and anvil, the enemy was crushed, and I won the battle. But note that it took two separate orders to create this flanking maneuver-- one to get to where the dwarfs could "see" the enemy rear, and then one to attack that rear. Either could have failed the dice roll, leaving me in bad shape.

Thank you -- this has all been very helpful. I had read the rules probably 10 times through and reread various sections beyond that, but made it to the first combat on the first turn before I was unsure what to do.
I also need to remember the differences between moving and charging and the limitations of both. I had overlooked that aspect as well in my initial turn.
Are there any general tactics that are recommended from a deployment level? I'm assuming it similar to an ancients setup where you want a line with some supporting units plus maybe some cavalry on the flanks? The problem with playing solo is that you sometimes don't see everything you should from a tactics standpoint – and don't learn much from your opponent.

The game favors attacking over defending, even with the defender in a strong position. The added dice from the simple act of charging are nothing to scoff at!
Also, the command value of your officers (heroes) and generals need to be considered. If you've got an army with low values (orcs and goblins), you want to have lots of heroes, but plan for the fact that your heroes will fail to issue orders quite often, leaving you with static troops. Brigades and orcs don't mix well, if you don't have a backup plan when your line of four orc warrior units decides to ignore the hero and pick each others' noses.

Also, while a supporting line can be a great thing, if you lose the melee you risk confusion when your retreating front line has to push through the support. Sometimes giving up a support position to allow for an open retreat path might be wise (but then, you're giving away a guaranteed point towards the combat engagement win without that supporting stand…)

Initial deployment should therefore be made with an eye towards maximizing your initiative opportunities (being able to move without a command roll) and accepting the possibility that your command rolls might fall flat.

Another consideration is that charges are restricted to the closest enemy unit, so be aware of the fact that the nasty cannon you'd like to knock out might be shielded by a line of warriors angled enough to draw your troop's charge away from the cannon. That, too, is a tactic you will want to consider in your own deployment, with melee-weak range units placed in the "valley" of a wide V formed by heavier melee troops, making it difficult for the opponent to knock out your hard-hitting range unit.

Other than that, solid lines anchored on dense or impassable terrain (if possible), light troops up front and some shock cavalry in reserve is never a bad idea.

What forces do you have, by the way?

Thanks for the tactics tips, Parzival, very helpful and more things I hadn't really thought about -- especially the orcs and brigade thing.
Forces are kind of freelanced. I started buying and building armies before really picking a rules set. Kind of stumbled across Warmaster and liked what I saw and it's fairly straightforward. As a result, my forces don't match what's in the book.
I have a sizable goblin force, orcs, elves and a lot of humans in different factions, including barbarians. I also have a good start on an undead army.
I just assign values from the army lists that seem appropriate for my particular units and have at it. I'm playing solo, so I don't even worry about points or balance.
Figures are 15mm instead of 10mm and are a mix of Old Glory, Splintered Light, Essex and bits from older ranges.

Sounds like a good mix. I also have some Splintered Light in my WM stuff, as well as Eureka, Kallistra and Copplestone, along with GW's Battle Of the Five Armies. I recommend finding that rulebook, if you can, as it contains the updates and corrections to the "guts" of the rules which GW had previously only released as an extensive FAQ/errata PDF.