FANTASY WARRIORS:
The Grenadier Edition

• Summary of the Game
• Supplements Formerly Available
• What You Thought of the Game
• Online Resources for Fantasy Warriors
• A Detailed Description

Supplements Formerly Available

Also includes new and completely revised army lists, and clarifications for the core rules.

What You Thought

If you would like to add your opinion here, send email to the editor.

Online Resources

Rules Clarifications

Our experts attempt to answer your rules questions.

A Detailed Description

• Building An Army
• Pre-Battle Action
• The Battle Turn
  • Threats
  • Ranged Combat
  • Movement
  • Close Combat
  • Issuing New Orders
  • Influencing Units
  • Losing Command of the Army
• Annihiliation and Other Details
• Magic
• The Army Lists

As the designers explain:

In Fantasy Warriors there's much more to battle than launching your army in a head-on attack -- discover the perils and rewards of scouting, boasts, omens, threats and, of course, magic...Giving the right orders and changing them when the moment is right is the essence of generalship...

Before play begins, the players must construct their armies. They agree on a point total which each can spend. Each player pays points for his units, according to the costs listed in the various Army Lists.

At the head of every army is the Warchief, the ultimate giver of orders. His army is divided into Commands, each of which is led by a Battle Leader. (The Warchief can, if the player desires, directly take charge of one of his army's Commands.)

Each Command is made up of one or more Units. A unit is composed of Warriors, all of which must be of the same type. The type of warrior determines the maximum and minimum possible size of the unit.

In addition to Warriors, Units also include a number of Specials. There are four types of Specials --

Lastly, the player can add Individuals to his army. They exist outside of the normal units, but are assigned to the various Commands. Not all armies have access to all types of Individuals. The posssible Individuals are --

There are eight steps to be taken before the tabletop clash can begin.

Once battle has begun, the game is played in Battle Turns. Both players share the turn. Each Battle Turn consists of seven steps --

At the start of each Battle Turn, Tribal and Fanatic units have the chance to threaten their enemies. If two units threaten each other, only the larger unit's threat counts.

The victim must then make a Threat Test. A die is rolled, and the result is correlated versus the unit's Type on the Threat Test Results Chart. The dieroll is modified due to the victim's Quality, situation (i.e., bad light, Terrible creatures nearby, etc.), morale status, and the presence of Specials or Individuals. Musicians have great influence, particularly if with the threatening unit.

As a result of a Threat Test, the target unit could:

A unit which survives the Threat Test without suffering any result has the option of counter-threatening the unit which initiated the threat. (Exception: Stupid units cannot counter-threaten.)

During this part of the Battle Turn, both players may resolve attacks with troops capable of ranged combat (i.e., bowmen, gunners, and large projectile weapons). All combat is considered simultaneous.

At the start of play, each ranged-combat unit is issued several Volley Counters. During the Shooting Phase, the unit may spend one or more of its Volley Counters for its attack, subject to a limit due to its type (for instance, bowmen can use their Volleys faster than crowwbowmen).

To resolve the attack, a number of dice are thrown equalling the number of figures in the unit times the number of Volleys being used. Any "6" is an automatic Hit; any "1" is an automatic failure. Any other result is modified due to Quality, range, rate of firing, morale, and situation -- any modified result of 4 or better scores a Hit.

For each Hit, one die is rolled. Any "6" is an automatic Kill; any "1" is an automatic failure. Any other result is modified due to the attacker's Strength, target's Resilience, and whether the target is in favorable terrain or has a shield. The final result is then compared to the Shooting Chart, correlated for weapon type and target's armor, to see if any additional Kills are scored.

At the end of the Shooting Phase, any unit which lost a fourth of its figures this phase must take a Casualty Test. A die is rolled, and the result modified by Quality, losses, morale, situation, and the presence of Specials or Individuals. Depending upon the unit's Type, it might become Shaken, Rout, or suffer Bloodlust.

Unlike the other steps of the Battle Turn, actions during the Movement Step are not simultaneous. Instead, both players dice for Initiative.

Initiative. There are two systems for resolving Initiative. Using the Movement By Armies system, both players roll dice, adding their warchief's leadership to the result. (Leadership is a score which is paid for in points when the army is built.) The player with the high score decides which player will conduct movement first. When that player has moved all of his units, the opposing army may move.

The Movement By Commands system provides more tactical options. First, both players roll a number of dice roughly equal to the number of Commands in play, adding a bonus for the combined Leadership of the Warchief and Battle Leaders. The players then alternate placing numbered markers next to the Commands, starting with the player who won Initiative. Once all of the counters are placed, the Commands are moved in the order of the numbered markers assigned to them.

Orders. What a unit can do depends in part upon the Order which it currently has. If the Command has Hold orders, none of its units may move. On the other hand, units with Attack orders MUST advance toward the enemy. Lastly, units with Oppose orders can move more or less freely, except that they cannot move into contact with the enemy.

Maneuvers and Formations. A unit can move straight ahead or veer at an angle of up to 45 degrees from such a course. It can make a turn, but only if the turn comes before any movement in that step. Wheeling is also allowed. Before or after movement, a unit may attempt to change its frontage (width) -- a dieroll indicates how many figures can be moved, with Quality modifying the result.

A unit in contact with an enemy unit cannot move.

Disorganization. Units which are Disorganized (often as a result of having been Shaken) may Reorganize during the Movement Step, if they do not move and are no longer Shaken or in Bloodlust.

Similarly, a Wizard which is low on Power Points can opt to Rest during the Movement Step. He can either accept the standard Power Point reinforcement, or can risk a dieroll to either double his current power or lose yet another Point!

During the Combat Step, all units in base-to-base contact with enemy units engage in battle. Only the figures on the front row can fight, unless the unit is equipped with long-reaching weapons (such as polearms). All fighting is considered simultaneous.

To resolve a unit's attack, the player totals the Worth of the figures able to fight, and rolls that number of dice. Bonus dice are added if a Champion is present, or if the unit has Attack orders.

Any "6" is an automatic hit; any "1" is an automatic miss. Any other results are modified due to Quality, Disorganization, whether polearms are being used, and whether the enemy has shields. Any modified result of "4" or better scores a Hit.

Now, one die is rolled for each Hit. Any "6" is an automatic Kill; any "1" is an automatic failure. The remaining results are modified due to the enemy's Resilience, and whether the attacking unit is in Bloodlust. The modified results are compared against the Combat Chart, correlated versus Weapon and Armour types, to see if any additional Kills are scored.

Capturing the Standard. When making an attack, a unit can declare that it is trying to capture the Standard of the opposing unit (only if it has a Standard Bearer, of course). If the attacker causes more Kills during this Combat Step than its opponent, the Standard is captured (and the Standard Bearer becomes a bonus Kill). However, a unit which is defending its Standard gets a bonus on its Kill Rolls...

Combat Tests. All units which suffer casualties during the Combat Step must attempt a Combat Test. A die is rolled, with the result modified due to Quality, casualties, orders, morale, and the presence (or absence) of Specials or Individuals. The final result is compared against Troop Type on the Combat Test Results Chart to see if the unit suffers Bloodlust, Routs, or becomes Shaken.

A Command must operate under the Orders given it at the start of the battle, until the Warchief changes those orders. If the Warchief is lost, new orders cannot be given. If a Battle Leader is out of action, his Command cannot receive new orders for the duration of the game.

The Warchief may give new orders to a Battle Leader by moving into base-to-base contact, or by sending a messenger (any available figure) or courier (a type of Individual trained to deliver orders). The Battle Leader can only receive orders when he is within command range of all of the units he commands.

When a messenger or courier is sent, the new order must be designated (the appropriate counter is given to that figure). When the messenger arrives at its destination, that order must be given -- even if the player has changed his mind in the interim.

When a Battle Leader receives a new order (either by messenger or a visit by the Warchief), a Battle Leader Test is made. A die is rolled, modified by the Battle Leader's Leadership (a stat bought when the army is designed) as well as situational factors. (For instance, there is a bonus when a warchief personally delivers orders, or sends a courier rather than a messenger; there is a penalty if the Command includes Shaken, Disorganized, or Bloodlust units.)

As a result of the Test, the orders might be refused, the entire Command might be set into Disorganization, the wrong order might be implemented, the Battle Leader might require further explanation (try again next turn!), or panic might occur (the entire Command is Shaken, and an attempt is made to kill the messenger...). Or the new orders might take effect.

During the Influence Step, Battle Leaders (only) may attempt to influence the units in their Command. They must be in base-to-base contact with the unit in order to do this. A die is rolled, and compared with the figure's Leadership stat.

In the event of Success, a Bloodlust or Shaken unit returns to normal status. However, Disorganization is not affected.

If the leader fails by a large amount, something Horribly Wrong occurs. A Shaken unit will rout, taking the leader with them. A unit in Bloodlust will try to kill the leader...

Under certain conditions, the Warchief and each of his Commands must attempt a Command Test. For instance, the death or loss of a Warchief, Battle Leader, or Hero forces the army to undergo the Command Test. This takes place during the Command Tests Step, at the end of the Battle Turn.

The player decides which order to make the individual Command Tests in. For each Test, one die is rolled, with the result modified due to Leadership, omens, boasting, status of the other Commands, and other tactical considerations.

Depending upon the result, all units in the Command may become Disorganized, Shaken, or may even Rout. If the Warchief fails the Test and routs, all Individuals in the army also rout.

When Kills are received, normally this means that a unit must remove one figure for every Kill. However, Specials and Individuals are a special case.

For every three Kills, the attacker may roll to see if he scored any bonus Kills versus Specials or Individuals. If so, he can designate which of these special figures to remove from play. (Exception: Standard Bearers can't be selected unless they are the only figure left.)

However, Individuals, high-ranking leaders, and some unusual troop types receive the benefit of a Saving Throw. This allows them a chance to ignore a Kill, if they succeed at their dieroll.

If a unit receives more Kills than it has figures, Annihiliation rules apply. All troops without Saving Throws die instantly, while the other figures must make multiple dierolls (depending upon the number of Kills) to stay alive.

The rules also provide for:

A Wizard can cast a spell at any time during the Battle Turn, except in the middle of combat resolution. A Wizard's ability to cast spells is determined by his Power Points, which are purchased at the start of the game. The Power Cost of a spell is random, but is partly determined by the strength of the effect which the spellcaster desires.

If a spell turns out to cost more Power than a Wizard has, the spell fails, the Wizard dies, and that army must attempt a Command Test.

The spells are:

When designing an army, players must choose troop types from one of the six Army Lists provided. These armies are:

Provided as supplemental troop types are Trolls and Ogres. Each army can also include one Command from another army list, if that list is allowed as an ally for that army.

Players are not necessarily limited to the armies and troop types listed in the rules. Though no rules are provided for designing your own forces, inventing the stats is easily done...except for arriving at a point cost for new units. In a friendly game, however, or in a battle based on a campaign, point costs might not matter.