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Author Topic: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?  (Read 3159 times)

Offline Gujarish

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Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« on: August 28, 2019, 06:02:55 AM »
Hello everyone,,
I got my start in WHFB back in the heady days of third edition, and my first army was Skaven. Back then noone else in my area was playing the rats and I loved their aesthetic of lab rats gone very very bad; the coke snorting grey seers were the icing on the cake. After awhile I took a break from gaming and when I came back, noone was playing Empire and I found I wanted the challenge of an army that demanded a combined arms approach with no real point and click deathstar unitsีีีีufabet9x For me it was the gaming challenge of the Empire, the fluff was secondary.  What drew you into the service of the Emperor? What does the Empire offer you that other armies don't?
« Last Edit: October 15, 2019, 06:38:38 PM by Gujarish »

Offline The Black Knight

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2019, 11:53:15 AM »
As you've said, the combined arms aspect is a large factor for me also. I generally tend to build pretty balanced and well rounded forces, no matter what I'm playing. I like to have multiple hammer and anvil units, that can cooperate on the battlfield. That way if I lose part of my army, I can work to get back into the game and often turn the tide.

I really dislike the "if you kill this unit you win" type of thing. Deathstars are boring to play with and against IMHO.

That being said the looks of an empire army were a major pull too. I really liked that it's mostly devoid of the fantasy aspects, just regiments of troops marching to the sound of drums and blasts of gunpowder. The 6th edition army book really captured this feel perfectly! I am not that fond of the weird wagons and demigryphs they've introduced in 8th.
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Offline GamesPoet

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2019, 12:29:15 PM »
I like the combined arms concept, and the fluff. :icon_cool: :::cheers:::
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

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Online Warlord

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2019, 03:23:21 PM »
I generally gravitate to the human faction in the games I play.
Warcraft and Starcraft are two other examples off the top of my head where they are my preferred race.

Then, the first miniature gaming experience I had was HeroQuest, and other than the Barbarian and Wizard there were no humans, so their rarity made them sort after. First miniatures I bought were the single pose halberiers from 5th edition.

I also bought an old White Dwarf with the “Battle for Blood Keep” which pitted an Empire army against combined Wood Elf snd Dwarves.
I liked their aesthetic snd flexible playstyle, as well as so many unit options.

In 6th, they were also a lot of fun to play, and thats when me and my friends really got it it.
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Offline GamesPoet

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2019, 04:38:02 PM »
A more detailed answer than I provided above ... I hadn't done much gaming in maybe 15 years or more, maybe 18 to 20.  Garry Gygax passed away and I wondered what was happening at game stores.  Mostly 40K at the local places, although a few were doing WFB.  It was the time of 6th Edition, and I liked the historical look of Bretonnians, but in getting back to the hobby, didn't want to paint so many horses just yet while Empire had the combined arm's semi-historical feel I was looking for at the time.  When I started reading about Empire, there was a piece of fluff regarding some one's Averland army that attracted me to that Province, and then off I went to buy the 6th Edition starter set.
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Gargolock

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2019, 04:50:34 PM »
I started with Chaos Dwarfs, I really liked Chaos Dwarfs due to initial appeal of mostly appearance. When I was 6 I would play with my dads talisman 3rd editions miniatures and to a kid the huge cartoonish hat, tusks and nose were great on that miniature. Also the plumpness of Warhammer Dwarfs made little kid me love them.

I switched to Empire mostly due to wanting a break from painting Chaos Dwarfs, but now I have gotten really into the Empire. What made me pick it initially was the cool looks, the historical inspiration and the nice characters and lore made for it.
Now I have fallen in love with this faction. The whole Faith, Steel and Gunpowder thing really appeals to me. I love the fact it has no upper hand, not the magics of the undead, the dark omnipresence of chaos, the numbers of the skaven, the technology and stubbornness of the dwarfs, the size of the ogres or anything else. The Empire has nothing special, its Renaissance Europe placed into a world of Demons and Magic. It's amazing how even with no special cards to play it thrives in a world it doesn't belong in. It's carved its place with pure willpower and nothing else.

I love when the Empire is just Europe. I dislike the Celestial Hurricanum and Luminark, I don't like the idea of a griffon leading an imperial army, impressive lords like Valten feel out of place.
The best part to me is it doesn't have any upper hand, other than strategy and will to survive. It shouldn't have big or impressive things. The Theme of the faction is the impressive part. I hate humans in fantasy if they are done like Basilea in KoW. Humans in fantasy should always feel weaker, even Lotr humans are barely holding on. The Empire requires a lot of thinking to win or survive. Which I love.
Another thing I love about the Empire is it's variety, as the 4th edition WHFB Empire book said, "Its the perfect Army for a Master Tactician". Which is true. You can do anything, you can have a balanced force, an all cav rush or a gunline. I love the ability to be able to do so much with my army.

Came for the looks, stayed for the theme and tabletop play.


Offline Cèsar de Quart

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2019, 08:43:09 AM »
The whole Faith, Steel and Gunpowder thing really appeals to me. I love the fact it has no upper hand, not the magics of the undead, the dark omnipresence of chaos, the numbers of the skaven, the technology and stubbornness of the dwarfs, the size of the ogres or anything else. The Empire has nothing special, its Renaissance Europe placed into a world of Demons and Magic. It's amazing how even with no special cards to play it thrives in a world it doesn't belong in. It's carved its place with pure willpower and nothing else.

I love when the Empire is just Europe. I dislike the Celestial Hurricanum and Luminark, I don't like the idea of a griffon leading an imperial army, impressive lords like Valten feel out of place.

Although I do think that the fantasy aspect begs for griffins and the like (and I mounted my Knights Panther Grandmaster on a suitably panther-spotted Gryph-charger), the Empire shines the most when it's just your dudes facing insurmountable odds.

I started with Orcs (like most people at that time, I think), changed rapidly into Vampire Counts, and through the Vampire Counts I started painting Imperial state troops because they were their natural enemy. Also, the novels are almost always written from the Imperial point of view, and I read my fair share of them back in the day. It didn't take long before I knew the names of all Elector Counts, the main cities, the full breath of the lore.

I think that, as a history buff, I was drawn by the familiarity of it all. In the Warhammer world, most things are alternate versions (if not outright references or black humour jokes) of real world concepts. This makes it very easy to get into the lore. You hear "Nippon", you know what to expect. When the Nippon army comes in, you won't get angry at the lack of originality for having ninjas and samurais. You will expect them to.

So you read the first couple lines in the Bretonnia army book, and you already know much of what you should know. Medieval France with Arthurian legend? Got it. Bertrand de Bergerac and his merry men? Got it. Kislev? Got it. Tilea? Got it. Some say it's very unoriginal, but to me, it's familiar. Cozy. Feels like home.

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2019, 11:03:43 AM »
Cesar's post has brought out the following thoughts of my earliest memories that include a little of Warhammer ...

My first encounter with GW's Warhammer was back in my college days when I vaguely recall some sort of set of rules, and the figures came on hex style bases.  The Olde World at the time was not recognizable for what it is today, and I recall it beginning to advance in that direction through its early roleplaying system.  If I remember correctly, White Dwarf in those days actually provided scenarios for the roleplaying rules of the Warhammer world.  However, I was more into AD&D and sometimes other roleplaying games, purchased a few GW figures from a hobby store, yet found they didn't really match the size of the various 25mm ones I was collecting at the time.  I fondly recall those days with moments of pure adventure, escape, exploration, and fantasy.  The memories of traveling from the college campus on a shuttle bus to a downtown area where there was a hobby store, and walking in to see all the things I couldn't buy, and having to pick and choose my priorities, then climbing back on to the next shuttle bus that came along to return to the school with my new prized hobby possessions.  I felt like such a young guy looking out the shuttle window at the cars and the river and the snowy landscape, but also peering into those purchases and dreaming of something more.  One set of purchases that comes to mind is slowly accumulating the booklets that contained the world of Harn, oh my what memories this brings back reading those, and by the way, I still have them stored and tucked away, probably need to go find them and squirrel off into my world of younger days and enjoyment.
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Offline Artobans Ghost

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2019, 01:02:58 PM »
Your library shelves in your new unit should be in ascending order. A good walk down memory lane. I’m still disassembling my books and will get my act together shortly and send out parts of my collection. Last year was mostly stress from September to this very minute but I really like where I am now.
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Offline The Black Knight

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2019, 11:09:19 PM »
Quote from: Cèsar de Quart
So you read the first couple lines in the Bretonnia army book, and you already know much of what you should know. Medieval France with Arthurian legend? Got it. Bertrand de Bergerac and his merry men? Got it. Kislev? Got it. Tilea? Got it. Some say it's very unoriginal, but to me, it's familiar. Cozy. Feels like home.

That's what I love about warhammer. The familiarity mixed with the fantastic elements is a brilliant concept. Lets the audience digest the lore much easier.bThere's like a hundred new games and backstories born every year in the wargaming industry, but it's so hard for me to get into any of them - I just can't be bothered to read the lore, if I can't understand what I'm looking at at a glance.

Warhammer fantasy was brilliant at pulling people in. It was filled with magic and weird things, but familiar enough for them to not be confused.
"All right... we'll call it a draw".

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Offline Rowsdower

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2019, 12:07:24 AM »
Because after painting camouflage green aircraft and olive green tanks; its fun to paint Not-Renaissance-men in vibrant colours

Offline Zygmund

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2019, 01:20:32 PM »
I mostly collect & paint Empire these days.

I started in the late 6th ed, dropped the ball with the 8th ed Empire book, then had a brief honeymoon with the Ninth Age, and nowadays mostly think of Kings of War or Hail Caesar/Shadow Storm as games which depict battles as I imagine them in the Old World. Somewhere inbetween the gaming ventures I've collected about Empire 1500 models, and painted about a third of them.

It's about humans, Renaissance, early gunpowder, regiments & detachments, puny humans surviving horrors, ordinary things instead of Hollywood, a very historical HRE take (at least when the Perry brothers still skulpted), multi-usability of many of the models in other games, Flagellants (6th ed Perry sculpts), colorful massed ranks (spears!), etc. An army that I can mentally connect to.

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Offline GamesPoet

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Re: Author Topic: Why do you play Empire?
« Reply #12 on: March 08, 2023, 03:13:55 AM »
Bumping this topic so that hopefully I'll remember to review for setting up a Poll on it. :icon_cool:
"Not all who wander are lost ... " Tolkien

"... my old suggestion is forget it, take two aspirins and go paint" steveb

"The beauty of curiosity and creativity is so much more useful than the passion of fear." me

"Until death it is all life." Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra