Better than the Rest: Creating Heroes in WFB

Personalizing Heroes: Beyond Special Characters

The Appeal of Customization

In wargaming, part of the joy of creating a narrative and immersive experience is the ability to shape your army’s leaders to reflect your own strategic preferences and creative vision. While special characters like Teclis, Nagash, or Archaon bring iconic flavor to battles, they may not always fit the vision players have for their army. Many players desire the option to create their own unique heroes, with subtle stat tweaks or minor abilities that suit their playstyle. This concept of character customization has been explored in a variety of articles, from Citadel Journal to White Dwarf, and has seen increasing popularity in modern wargaming circles. This article will explore how small, meaningful tweaks to a hero’s stat line can create a more personalized and dynamic gaming experience.

Citadel Journal 8: Hero Cards

Gav Thorpe’s article in Citadel Journal 8 for Warhammer 4th Edition introduced the idea of Hero Cards, which are used to provide stat upgrades or special abilities for generals and heroes. The key benefit of Hero Cards is their ability to personalize a hero without resorting to predefined special characters. As Thorpe explained, Hero Cards could be used in place of a magic item allowance, making them an excellent tool for customizing heroes to better reflect a player’s army or personal style of play.

Why Personalization is Fun

Every Warhammer player has dreamed of a general who embodies their army’s story. Whether it’s a grim Dwarf slayer obsessed with redemption, a cunning Elf general with centuries of experience, or a Chaos champion blessed (and cursed) by fickle gods, we all want our leaders to stand out. Thorpe’s Hero Cards provide a way to customize your characters, adding flavor and flair without upsetting the game’s delicate balance.

The genius of the system lies in its simplicity. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or demand new rules; it builds upon the existing framework of 4th Edition. By tying Hero Cards to magic item slots, Thorpe makes customization a tactical choice. Do you give your general a powerful magic weapon, or do you forgo it for a Hero Card that reflects their unique backstory? The choice becomes a matter of strategy as much as narrative, and that’s where the fun begins.

Building Your Own Hero

The joy of this system is that it empowers you to create heroes who feel genuinely yours. Hero Cards are not about rewriting the rules but bending them slightly to reflect your character’s personality or quirks. The process feels like a creative collaboration between you and the game’s mechanics.

Imagine an aging High Elf Prince. You decide he’s spent centuries studying not only martial skills but the intricacies of strategy. Instead of arming him with a magic blade, you equip him with:

• Master Strategist: Gain a redeploy at the start of the battle, reflecting his foresight.
• Favored by the Gods: Once per game, re-roll a dice to show the divine favor his experience has earned.

Now, this prince isn’t just another entry in the High Elf Army Book; he’s your prince. His abilities reflect his story, and his presence on the table makes him memorable to you and your opponent.

The Balance of Hero Cards

Thorpe’s system doesn’t just invite creativity; it safeguards balance. By linking Hero Cards to magic item slots, it forces players to make meaningful choices. A Champion can take one Hero Card instead of a magic item, while a Hero can trade an item for two Hero Cards. This restraint keeps the system from turning every character into a powerhouse.

Moreover, the restrictions on stacking abilities—like limiting characters to two additional saves—ensure that customization doesn’t spiral into absurdity. A hero with Blessed by the Gods might shrug off cannonballs with an unmodifiable save, but that ability comes at the cost of magical weapons or armor. It’s a trade-off that enhances the game’s tactical depth.

Narrative-Driven Gameplay

The best part of Hero Cards is how they elevate the narrative of your games. They bridge the gap between the generic and the extraordinary, turning every battle into a chapter of your hero’s story. Perhaps your Orc Warboss has Fearsome Charge, sending foes scattering before him, but is felled by a lucky Halberdier. Or maybe your Chaos Sorcerer, armed with Unholy Resilience, survives an onslaught, only to meet their doom at the hands of a plucky Bretonnian Knight.

These moments resonate because the Hero Cards make your characters feel alive. They’re not just units on a roster; they’re personalities with strengths, flaws, and destinies shaped by the dice.

Expanding Beyond Fantasy

The beauty of Thorpe’s system is its adaptability. Though designed for Warhammer Fantasy Battle, its principles can enhance other games as well.

A More Immersive Hobby

Implementing Hero Cards also enriches the hobby beyond the battlefield. When you design a hero with unique traits, it inspires every aspect of the model. Perhaps your Dwarf Lord with Unyielding Resolve gets a custom banner bearing his family crest. Maybe your Skaven Warlord with Shadowstrike is posed mid-leap, his assassin’s blade ready to strike. Painting and modeling become an extension of the character’s story, tying the narrative and visual elements together.

A New Way to Play

Finally, Hero Cards open the door to new styles of play. They’re perfect for narrative campaigns, where each hero’s journey unfolds over multiple battles. You might start with a basic hero and allow them to earn Hero Cards through victories, reflecting their growing legend. Conversely, you could let defeated heroes swap cards, representing lessons learned in the crucible of war.

These dynamics make every game feel like part of a larger story, deepening your connection to the characters and the world they inhabit. Whether you’re fielding an ancient Elven commander, a fanatical Chaos Champion, or a cunning Goblin Warlord, Hero Cards let you craft a leader who is truly better than the rest.

Applications in Warhammer Fantasy Battle

Thorpe’s system is particularly well-suited for 4th Edition, where:

1. Character Profiles Are Standardized: Hero Cards enable players to break free from the rigidity of the game's profile structure, offering an intermediate step between stock characters and overpowered special characters.
2. Magic Item Allotments Are Important: The cost of using item slots for Hero Cards ensures they remain a balanced addition rather than an overwhelming advantage.
3. Narrative Play is Key: Customizing characters with minor yet meaningful tweaks supports the storytelling aspect of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, allowing players to craft a general that feels uniquely their own.
4. Flexibility in Armies: Players can create characters who align more closely with their army’s theme or backstory without relying on special characters, which often come with fixed fluff and predefined army alignments.

Practical Examples for Implementation

1. Aging Elf General:

   • An Elf Hero could use Hero Cards to reflect centuries of battle experience:
     • Blessed by the Gods: A once-per-game re-roll to represent divine favor.
     • Master Strategist: Allows one additional deployment re-deploy to reflect tactical acumen.

2. Dwarf Slayer Lord:

   • A Slayer Hero might forgo magical weapons to gain:
     • Fearless Fury: Immune to fear and terror.
     • Unyielding Resolve: +1 to combat resolution in challenges.

3. Chaos Champion of Nurgle:

   • A Chaos Hero could use Hero Cards to demonstrate Nurgle’s blessings:
     • Unholy Resilience: A 5+ ward save that ignores armor-negating attacks.
     • Aura of Pestilence: Enemies within base contact suffer a -1 penalty to hit in melee.

Strengths of the System

1. Balance: By tying Hero Cards to magic item slots, Thorpe ensures that players must make strategic trade-offs when customizing their characters.
2. Encourages Creativity: Players can build characters tailored to their narrative or tactical goals without needing special characters.
3. Supports Immersion: By personalizing their heroes, players can deepen the connection to their army and its story.
4. Simplifies Power Scaling: Customizations are kept minor, preventing unbalanced "superheroes" that disrupt gameplay.

Why It Matters

Heroes in Warhammer aren’t just about mechanics; they represent the spirit of your army. Through careful upgrades and thoughtful strategic use, these characters become more than just pieces on a board—they become the protagonists of the epic tales you weave on the tabletop. Thorpe’s article serves as both inspiration and a practical guide for players to elevate their gaming experience, offering balance, creativity, and excitement in equal measure.

So, take the plunge—forge your hero, and let them lead your forces to glory!

 

 

 

  

White Dwarf 196: Creating Your Own Characters

Similarly, in White Dwarf 196, Jervis Johnson discussed the importance of creating your own characters rather than always relying on special characters. Johnson’s focus was on giving players the freedom to define their generals and heroes, tweaking stats, selecting unique skills, and designing backstories to match their army’s theme. He encouraged players to move beyond the iconic special characters and instead develop original heroes that fit organically within the world of their army.

Johnson uses the Dark Angels and Blood Angels from Codex Angels of Death as examples to illustrate this. The special characters of these two chapters emphasize distinct characteristics, reinforcing the different thematic identities of each army. For instance, the Dark Angels’ characters highlight their secretive, mysterious nature, while the Blood Angels’ characters focus on their tragic and intense emotional traits. This illustrates how special characters are meant to deepen the player’s connection with the army's background rather than simply enhancing gameplay.

The article then shifts to discuss the overuse of special characters, particularly in competitive or tournament settings. Johnson, along with colleagues Rick Priestley and Andy Chambers, acknowledges that while special characters don’t inherently imbalance a battle, their frequent use can make gameplay repetitive and predictable. The example of Nagash, the Supreme Lord of the Undead, leading every Undead battle is deemed unrealistic and somewhat absurd, reinforcing the argument for limiting special characters' appearances in campaigns and battles.

In response to this, Johnson suggests that special characters should primarily be reserved for friendly games or situations where it is appropriate for the character to be involved. The example of Abaddon, leader of the Black Crusade in a campaign, highlights this approach. While Abaddon, a newly created special character, led one major battle against an Ork Warlord, his involvement in every skirmish would have been out of place. This reinforces the narrative focus, ensuring that these characters contribute meaningfully to the storyline rather than simply being a tactical advantage.

The article concludes with a personal note from Johnson, acknowledging that some readers may disagree with the points made. He invites feedback, showcasing an open and reflective stance on the debate. Johnson also encourages players to create their own special characters, with custom rules that reflect their army’s unique traits, thus enriching the gameplay experience even further.

• Personalization vs. Predefined Icons: Johnson’s article emphasized that wargaming is about storytelling and immersion, and creating your own characters allows players to forge deeper connections with their armies. By personalizing a general's stat line or abilities, players can infuse their own narrative into the game, which can lead to more satisfying and memorable battles.

 

 

Ian Pickstock’s Space Marine Chapter Masters (White Dwarf 209)

In White Dwarf 209, Ian Pickstock tackled the concept of creating your own Chapter Master for Space Marine armies, a key figure who leads a Chapter of elite warriors. The concept of a Chapter Master is introduced as not just a powerful leader but as a character that can be tailored to fit the narrative and gameplay style of the player’s custom Space Marine Chapter.

Pickstock opens the discussion by acknowledging the appeal of using established Chapter Masters like Commander Dante of the Blood Angels or Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines. However, he emphasizes that if a player has created their own Chapter or chosen a unique color scheme, they should develop their own Chapter Master rather than simply using these iconic figures. This approach, Pickstock suggests, fosters creativity and enhances the narrative of a player's army. Rather than relying on existing characters, players are encouraged to craft their own unique leaders that fit the backstory and identity of their custom Chapters.

To help facilitate this, Pickstock includes a guide for creating a Chapter Master, providing a simple yet flexible set of rules that allows players to tailor their character to fit their vision. The Chapter Master is depicted as a mighty hero, capable of receiving special upgrades for extra points. Importantly, these upgrades are restricted to original characters rather than established special characters, preventing players from overly enhancing existing icons like Calgar. This maintains balance while still allowing for creative freedom.

Pickstock’s article emphasizes that the Chapter Master isn’t just a powerful leader on the battlefield but also a key figure in the narrative of a player’s army. By allowing players to customize their Chapter Master, the article fosters greater personal investment in the army's background and story, giving them the tools to create a leader that feels authentic to the unique traits of their Chapter. The inclusion of various upgrades allows players to shape the character's fighting style, whether that’s through raw combat prowess or strategic genius. This customization elevates the character beyond mere gameplay statistics and turns the Chapter Master into a central figure in the ongoing saga of the Space Marine Chapter.

• Customization and Flavor: Pickstock’s example of the Space Marine Chapter Master customization showcases the synergy between character personalization and army identity. This system allowed players to adjust their Chapter Master’s stats and abilities based on the unique traits of their Chapter, providing both strategic advantages and thematic coherence.

 

Iron Mitten’s Roman Centurions (Iron Mitten Blog)

On his blog, Iron Mitten introduced the concept of personalizing Roman Centurions for his Roman Civil War campaign.  From Iron Mitten: This is chart I drew up to add some extra character to the Centurions and officers with in the(WAB)Roman Campaign. It really worked and made the battles even more enjoyable. As Centurions had to earn their rank, their options on the table are advantages. However, The officers rank was often down to family connections or Political advancement, so some of their options on the table are less favourable. There's nothing like having a bad Officer in charge of your Army...It makes for a great Campaign story. After a long break the time to start up the Roman Campaign has come around again, so you may see a lot more Romans on the Blog.

• Tactical Variety and Historical Flavor: Iron Mitten’s example demonstrates how small adjustments—like adding a unique special rule or tweaking a model’s stats—can give each hero a distinct role in the battle. This enhances both the player’s tactical options and the narrative of the campaign.

 

 Examples of Minor Tweaks and Benefits

Some simple ways to personalize a hero could include:

• Stat Adjustments: Adding +1 to a general's Leadership or improving their Weapon Skill to reflect personal combat experience.
• Special Rules: Introducing minor abilities like “Tactician” (allowing re-rolls on deployment) or “Veteran” (reducing the risk of wounding from enemy heroes).
• Unique Equipment: Adding equipment with slight tweaks, like a magical sword with the ability to strike first, but at the cost of reducing the hero's armor save.
• Backstory Influence: The hero’s background could influence their stats, such as a former scout gaining bonuses to movement and ambush abilities or a veteran of a particular battle gaining bonuses against certain foes.

These tweaks are all minor but can have profound impacts on gameplay, allowing for unique army compositions without overshadowing the core balance of the game.

Encouraging a New Era of Hero Customization

The idea of personalizing generals and heroes, whether through stat line tweaks, unique abilities, or simple adjustments to equipment, provides a rich avenue for creative expression within wargaming. By looking at examples from Citadel Journal, White Dwarf, and the work of other hobbyists, we can see that personalization is more than just a tactical tool—it's an opportunity to enrich the narrative, deepen player engagement, and create truly unique characters on the battlefield. As wargamers, we should continue to explore these options and push for systems that celebrate individuality and creative customization.