Imperial Armour: Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy review

Forge World's supplement for Games Workshop

by Dave McAwesome

Ever since the first Imperial Armour book from Forge World, tabletop mechanized warfare has never been the same. In relaunching the Imperial Armour series, Forge World has turned a once minor supplement into a major addition to Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Ya gotta understand something. I've become too cynical to geek out on much of anything. Breakfast cereals? Well, sure. How can I NOT get excited about the new chocolate version of Captain Crunch? When it comes to Games Workshop stuff, well, hell, they've created a dark, pseudo-gothic universe that's better than most of the crap in theaters. It's their universe (with many references to our own historical events, particularly the Roman, Dark Ages and Medieval times) and artwork that appeal to me. The game? Er, I ain't got time fer that, dude. There's beer to be drunked. Hm, that reminds me...

Here's a quick orientation of Games Workshop for those who have no fricking clue what I'm talking about. Forge World, meanwhile, makes specialty resin models for Games Workshop. The quality of their sculpts is superb. They've begun making rules supplements, of which Imperial Armour: Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy is the first. Later editions include more background info in the way of full campaign reports told from one or more of the participants.

So if you've read about why I can still geek out on this stuff, here's yet another reason: my childhood fascination with the war machines of World War I and II. As a kid, I found an old Avalon Hill game tucked away in my basement. It had a full color poster of the various units represented on the game pieces. In the days before the Internet Superhighway of Porn and Crappy Blogs, this was gold. If you wanted information like this, you'd have to go to the library (remember those? the ugly buildings staffed by homely unmarried women?). There's a simple quality about holding paper in your hand that no Google search can match. In between books about dinosaurs and UFOs, I'd snag something about WWII. The merit of the book was directly proportional to the number of photographs between its covers. I was pleased to find such influences amongst the Games Workshop stuff. The design of the Land Raider tank, for instance, borrows heavily from the British Mark I, Mk. IV and Mk. V tanks from WWI. Treads are exposed. The design favors multiple gun emplacements instead of a main turret (wasteful in terms of space for the gun and ammo). Regardless, it LOOKS cool, and I would not have bought one if it were simply a "futuristic" assified version of the M1Abrams or equivalent. Space Marines go into combat with Roman sigils and iconography. Infantry and armor go into battle with random hoses and chains dangling off them. And it doesn't matter. Games Workshop and Forge World aren't shy about taking form over function when form totally kicks ass.

Forge World is compiling and adding to the content from the original Imperial Armour series in a new series of hardbound tomes. Volume One, by Warwick Kinrade, covers standard tanks through super-heavy tanks, support vehicles, weapons platforms and naval aircraft. Each vehicle receives a half-page of background, a page of Adeptus Mechanicus Departmento Manufacturum technical specs, rules, suggested color schemes and an assortment of model pictures. The background fluff is not the typical mix of narrative stories and interstellar transmissions that populate White Dwarf magazine and Games Workshop codices. Instead, it reads like a history book--a well written history book. The opening section explains some of the inner workings and practices of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the chapter forges of the Space Marines. A section detailing four famous Imperial tank commanders is a nice touch. There are also rules to use each of their customized tanks. To add further color to the use of tanks on a tabletop battlefield, Imperial Armour includes advanced rules for battle cannon ammunition. High-explosive shells, incendiary rounds and smoke shells are but a sampling of the new ammunition choices.

Some of the tanks covered are too specialized for small games. Titan-killers like the Shadowsword and Stormblade super-heavy tanks are best suited for Epic 40K (standard 40k is best suited to combat between multiple squads; Epic is scaled for larger encounters between battalions or army groups). There are also siege weapons (Medusa siege gun, Thunderer siege tank), multi-purpose gunships (Vulture), the Cyclops remote control demolition vehicle (at 25 points, it's the least expensive unit in the book), plus an assortment of vehicles which are more adept at adding character and realism to games instead of firepower (such as the Trojan munitions carrier and tow vehicle or the Aliens inspired Sentinel Power Lifter). Rare tanks like the Leman Russ Vanquisher are great to reward those elite tank commanders in your own army who have proved their mettle. Even if Forge World models are not on your immediate 'to buy' list, this book is an excellent source for conversion ideas (many of the tanks are based on the Leman Russ body frame).

Here's an example of one of the many little scene-setting blurbs throughout the book (due in no small part to Rick Priestley's original Warhammer 40,000 book): "Thought for the day: Faith grows from the barrel of a gun." Tell me that doesn't stir the 15-year-old, wanna-be-general deep inside your office-drone-type body.

The presentation is astonishing. Almost every page is adorned with a gorgeous photo or technical drawing. Tony Cottrell and Warwick Kinrade tweaked the digital photos of the studio models and terrain to look like they were taken straight from the lens of a battlefield photographer. Because many of the tank designs borrow heavily from the British Mark IV and V tanks from World War I (and similarly the grandaddy Mark I), many of the photos have a 'Great War' feel to them. The smokey, low contrast black and white photos lend an air of realism. Very striking, indeed. Imperial Armour: Volume One is a wonderful reference and great coffee table book. All the same, I'd reconsider the coffee table placement with a hot girl coming over. I'm not saying hide it; I'm saying don't be an idiot. Priorities, man. Priorities.

Next in the series is Imperial Armour: Volume Two - Space Marines and Sisters of Battle.

For more details on Forge World and Imperial Armour: Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy check out the Forge World Web site.