Followers of Chaos
One of the interesting things about this book is it doesn't go about things the way you'd expect. Being essentially an army book for a wargame you might think it would have a section of fluff for the faction, a section of game stats for the model range, and finally an army list to allow you to use them in games. Well, early GW preferred to do things
differently. They even released the first 40k Ork book with
no game stats or rules included at all, and made you wait a year before printing anything with an actual army list in. So it isn't entirely surprising when Slaves to Darkness out of nowhere spends a large chunk of the book providing in depth rules and random tables (so many tables!) for running a mini-campaign themed around competing Chaos Champions and their warbands. The next chapter is named "Followers of Chaos" and pretty much straight away lays out it's stall. It begins with the warning that whilst "Warhammer Fantasy Battles presents five formal character profiles for Chaos Warriors and Sorcerers... in keeping with the other intelligent races given in the rules" that "Realm of Chaos makes no attempt to use the system of profiles and advances given in WFB". Got that?
Every other faction in the game might have to make do with the normal way of doing things, but Chaos is extra-speshul for no damn reason. As you might have noticed, this is something of a theme.
An 80's gaming trope that has (thankfully) fallen away in recent years is the deeply ingrained idea that more random = more fun. I think this reached it's zenith in this book and the early 40k Ork books (I still have trouble believing someone had the balls to print the Madboyz series of nested insanity charts), but 80's and early 90's GW products always had some kind of chart to roll on. Now, a certain amount of random determination between equivalent options can add a fun element of uncertainty, but as we'll see this book sometimes expects you to stop playing Warhammer and start playing Chart Inception to determine the results of an action. Seriously, you roll on a chart that tells you to roll on a chart and as a result you have to roll on
another chart that generates D6 rolls on the original chart. It's fucking MADNESS. When those results can be anything from "You become a living God" to "You lose the use of your arms" it removes any skill or tactics from the game. You are effectively playing a more time consuming version of craps. There's even a handy flowchart showing all the chart rolling you have to do:
Just look at that shit!
Anyway, this chapter details the process by which you generate a random Chaos Champion and his retinue. Rather than simply reading through a list of units and picking them like you might expect in a points based wargame, instead you randomly roll your prospective champion's starting stats and bonuses for experience like he was an RPG character. You might think this is a little bit TOTALLY INSANE aswell as incredibly hard to balance against more traditional list-generated armies, and you would not be wrong. Where you would be wrong, however, is if you thought the authors gave two shits about any of that rubbish. Chaos means random and random means fun. So fucking roll your units like a man and stop whining! I know you got a Goblin with an arse for a face and a limp and the other guy got a Minotaur with Iron Skin and a Lascannon for an arm, but that's Chaos for you. In the section "Points Values And Followers Of Chaos" it makes no bones about this. "The points value of a Champion of Chaos is not directly related to his powers" it opens with, as if this makes everything okay. "The points value of a Champion's retinue is calculated at 10 points per model" is stated, without reference to the fact that a retinue can consist of anything from Hobgoblins to a Hydra or Jabberwock (Yes, it's not only D&D that ripped of Carroll in the early days). Playing against a Chaos army at the time you had no idea if it would be a cakewalk or an unwinnable massacre until the opposing army hit the table.
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[/img]
Vorpal sword my ass!
Now, while this does fall down as a method for generating a balanced army in a competitive wargame it works a lot better in the context it was obviously intended for. The main thrust of this book is dedicated to the idea of everyone rolling up a random Chaos Champion and their retinue and then having them fight each other over the course of a Mordheim-style campaign. After each battle your champion gains Chaos Rewards and mutations, gains or loses followers, and makes progress towards becoming either a Daemon Prince (Good!) or a degenerate Chaos Spawn (Not so good!). Whilst this is a perfectly good idea for a game, and indeed our gaming group got a lot of mileage out of these books for exactly that purpose, it amazes me that they didn't just section this part off and have the WFB Chaos army work in a more traditional way. That would have worked much better than having to randomly roll the stats for every unit in your army.
So, first you need to generate your Champion of Chaos. There's a handy table shown here:
It's weighted heavily towards Humans, but with a smaller chance of a Chaos Dwarf or Dark Elf and a 5% chance of something wacky like a Werewolf or Zoat. The highest chance is of a baseline human, but roll well and you could start with a WS6 S4 T4 W4 badass with four attacks right from the start. Any prospective Champion immediately receives two Chaos Rewards, a pre-set Gift from their chosen God and a random Chaos Attribute. Chaos Rewards were a big part of this book, and they come in the form of, yes, a random table. These are basically exp advancements and are granted through winning battles, performing deeds in keeping with your chosen God and through defeating enemies of the opposing God. Winning a roll on the Chaos Reward table might result in a Gift, such as a Daemon Weapon, stat boost or a reward directly from your God, or it might result in a random Chaos Attribute. Chaos attributes could be good or bad, and getting too many means risking becoming a Chaos Spawn. Rolling 91% or above on the Reward table brings "The Eye of God". This meant that your Champion has been judged by his chosen Patron, and depending on his number of Gifts vs. Attributes received could be elevated to Daemonhood or cast down as a Spawn. It's interesting that performing well in the game only gives more rolls on the table, and these could be good or bad. This meant that it really was pretty random whether a given Champion was rewarded or punished, which I guess fits with the Chaotic aesthetic. Campaigns of Chaos Warbands tended to be wildly unpredictable, with a runaway leader suddenly having a powerful champion turned into a spawn with no real warning. This was lots of fun in a beer'n'pretzels "What will happen next?" way when we were teenagers and we would spend hours rolling up random Champions and seeing what ridiculous combinations we could produce.
Hey, look what I rolled up!
Aswell as generating your Champion this chapter also included rules for their Retinue. This involved rolling on
another chart to see what followers your champion received. There was no rhyme or reason to the results, and you were as likely to get D6 Goblins as you were D4 Ogres or a Chaos Sorcerer. In addition even the number of rolls you got on the table weren't fixed but were randomly generated. I swear Jervis Johnson can't get a hard on unless he rolls on a chart every 10 fucking minutes of his life. Every two rewards gave you a
chance of a roll on the table, although if you were lucky you might get two rolls, so Fuck You extra hard if you got none! The retinue was basically a small adventuring party, and in WFB was smushed into one big unit with hilarious conseqences given the lack of rules for such mixed-model units in the base game.
A fun thing about the warbands campaign system was that your Chaos God effectively only contributed a list of Daemons you could summon, a starting Gift and a customised Reward chart. This meant that generating your own Chaos powers was pretty easy, and the second volume The Lost and the Damned even included a randomised God and Daemon generation system. Generating a random Chaos Power and their Daemonic servants and then rolling up a bunch of Chaos Champions to serve them was endlessly entertaining. There was also the option of using a previously graduated Daemon Prince as the Patron for subsequent Champions, although I don't think any of our campaigns ever went on that long.
There are also some gonzo additions hidden away in this chapter, like the option to raise your Champions from the dead and have them come back as a Skeleton Champion. The mechanism for doing this is to roll a D100 for their "God's favour" and then roll another D100 and try to get under the first score. I'm not even joking. There's also a brief page with rules and ideas for Champions of Chaos in WHFRP, which bascially amounts to "lolno" given the normal scope of the game involves rat-catchers and office clerks.
As you can probably tell I have fond memories of the Warbands campaign frame presented in this book, despite it's awfulness and insane addiction to random tables. It was our group's first exposure to the kind of gaming that would later emerge more successfully in Necromunda and Mordheim and looking back I think it could still be fun if you toned down the wild power disparity and reigned in some of the randomness. But maybe that would dilute the essence of the thing, the gonzo 80's weirdness that attracted the early players that made GW the powerhouse it is today.
So that's the end of the chapter, next up we take a look at the Magic of Chaos...