Gary Chalk's Fantasy Warlord Mass Combat Ruleset...

Fighelm

Fighelm

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Somehow I stumbled across this website this lunchtime whilst searching for old FW miniatures:- https://landing.fantasywarlord.com/

Thoughts on Fantasy Warlord?

It takes you too a relatively new website (well, back end of 2025) covering Gay Chalk's Fantasy Warlord ruleset. Now I had a copy of the rules from back in the 80's but never played it, sold it with rest of my minis & stuff +25years ago. I had picked it up again from a charity shop circa 2 years ago for a steal.

Still haven't played it. Don't think I ever will. Has anyone any experience of it? Or is it heresy to some?

Not about to register on that particular website, but keen to understand where people sit with this breakaway set of 'oldhammer' game rules. Have read Gary's account of his after departure from GW back in the day and the development of the game. Seemed to be quite stoic about it nowadays looking back on its release and poor uptake- taken it on the chin I guess- after the original hubris? I think my interest comes from some sort of nostalgia for the then WHFB 2ed, Blood bath at Orcs Drift, etc., as that is what I was weened on as a young teenager (after a few cursory tabletop battles of WHFB1 a year earlier). Of course, Gary Chalk's illustrations have a lot to do with my attraction back to it and buying up an original old rulebook again. Followed him on twitter for a few years, but not heard anything from him for a while. Wonder if he knows about 'this'?

Strange distraction really, as I was actually looking at the Alternative Armies website at the old range of F.W. figures they still cast. Down a rabbit hole I went! Anyhow... :D
 
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We tried it as we wanted the same sort of feel as WFB but for quicker results.
We stuck with it too, though then we moved onto EPIC shortly after, so did not play it much.

Now, it was many years ago, 30ish? But I recall we liked it, quite different, more cross referencing but less rolling?

I would be inclined to buy it again at some point just to see.
 
Michael Stockin said:
We tried it as we wanted the same sort of feel as WFB but for quicker results.
We stuck with it too, though then we moved onto EPIC shortly after, so did not play it much.

Now, it was many years ago, 30ish? But I recall we liked it, quite different, more cross referencing but less rolling?

I would be inclined to buy it again at some point just to see.
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Yeah, interesting. Just think by his own admission it never took off. None of my mates were at all interested in expanding into another fantasy tabletop gaming set back then, so it was left gathering dust. It was all WHFB 2ed as we invested in it and supplements between 4 of us, and that's where it ended! We went straight into RT 1st ed after that and played up until late teens. We had carried on with first editions of Bloodbowl, Dark Future, Car Wars, Battle Cars, Talisman, etc., buying minis (and never painting all of them, only priming the majority!). Even had Chainsaw Warrior. But never took a shot at Fantasy Warlord- life took hold, etc etc. :D


[Edit Just realised there was a thread done 11years ago by Fimm McCool !] https://forum.oldhammer.org/threads/fantasy-warlords.6017/
 
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Played once or twice many years ago, but for whatever reason it didn't really stick and we stayed with WFB. I don't remember the rules being bad or anything however, I guess just not "better" so we stuck with what we knew. I did pick up a copy a couple of years ago in a nostalgic moment when I saw a copy in a charity shop. As as kid we used to play with Gary's son since he only lived two doors up the road from us and my parents were friends with the Chalks. Not that I think we as youngsters properly quite clocked what his Dad did for a day job. Although I do remember a lot of miniatures, but strangely I don't ever remember seeing his art, but it was many years ago now and I couldn't tell you what I had for lunch today! :)
 
Eric said:
Played once or twice many years ago, but for whatever reason it didn't really stick and we stayed with WFB. I don't remember the rules being bad or anything however, I guess just not "better" so we stuck with what we knew. I did pick up a copy a couple of years ago in a nostalgic moment when I saw a copy in a charity shop. As as kid we used to play with Gary's son since he only lived two doors up the road from us and my parents were friends with the Chalks. Not that I think we as youngsters properly quite clocked what his Dad did for a day job. Although I do remember a lot of miniatures, but strangely I don't ever remember seeing his art, but it was many years ago now and I couldn't tell you what I had for lunch today! :)
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Excellent! Nice to hear the connection with the Chalk family, Eric. And agree, that's what we did as friends, stuck with WHFB! It seems the feedback from wargamers at the time: a) it was too balanced; b) the supplements / extended army lists never came out (although 'Red Giant' mag ran for two issues and had scenarios) and; c) the rules were too similar to a realistic historical gaming precedence rather than a purely anything goes fantasy slant. Gary's own interviews are always interesting and brutally honest, to the point of being downright blunt :D. The one I found from about 15yrs ago he does seem to suggest that GW cornering the market at the expense of other smaller games companies + warhammer fb's popularity + the economy tanking/recession in the early 90's all added to the end of the print run, the dissolving of the company, and turning his hair white... Anyhow, it's his artwork in the rulebook that attracted me to it again and it's that which fires up the nostalgia.
 
I too have vague recollections of playing the odd game many years ago and then trying again when I picked up a copy for a whole pound off Ebay about 15 years later (although that was back when you could get RoC beastmen for 50p so not quite the steal it sounds). I love and still love the illustrations and background but my recollection is the rules lack a bit of randomness due to the percentage system. You could never fluke a combat which you ought to lose heavily, only lose by a bit less or bit more. Although I am in awe of Eric hanging out at the Chalks' house. I suspect artists hanging their own work up in the house is some kind of faux pas but I bet he had an awesome study/man cave/shed.
 
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I was thinking more in the attic which is where I seem to remember most of the models were, although maybe he had a studio somewhere else in town. I'll have to ask my brother if he remembers when they moved and if it was before we were properly getting into gaming.
 
...Still ruminating over this and drifting through old internet reviews, etc + the wiki page last night. This interview is kind of insightful of the background to the game: https://doggysdoings.blogspot.com/2011/10/gary-chalk-interview.html

Obviously the 'room was not read' at the time by both Chalk and Bailey with Folio Works, despite both their commercial positions previously at GW.

I think for me the appeal for that ruleset was the Chalk illustrations and photo'd minis, comfortable with the fantasy world I knew as a young teenager. This blogger seems to think the same (but not that impressed with the system) in the 'review'. I agree that it- the world of Fantasy Warlord- seemed stuck as a kind of strange reiteration of WHFB 2ed and the popular supplements of Orcs Drift, McDeath, etc. Although the mechanics were v. different. Maybe appealing to an older more ponderous wargamer generation rather than the (high turnover) youth demographic? I guess by 1990 GW had already moved onto WHFB 3ed by that time (three years into it!), and 4ed then was released as Fantasy Warlord was already dying by '92! Timing is everything as they say: https://khanofsomet.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/fantasy-warlord-a-review-of-sorts/
 
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