Rick Priestley on Warmaster

I met up with Rick Priestley again, this time to hear him talk about Warmaster. Great to hear some of the background and development of the game, a look at some of Rick's armies (I'll post some more pics on my instagram) and how Warmaster was the basis for some of his more recent games like Black Powder and Hail Caesar.
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[@rickpriestley4569]

It was a pleasure as always Tom - and what better than to get a chance to talk about Warmaster after all these years! I must say, the recent upsurge in interest in Warmaster has taken me by surprise, and I've been mightily impressed by the efforts of all those involved in the community-based Warmaster Revolution project - as well as by the various 3D printed models which are available - if only we'd had those back in the day! Search on Warmaster Revolution and you'll find the page - plenty of links and downloads in there too. As Joshua points out, I did indeed forget about The Battle of Five Armies - the version of Warmaster adapted for the battle at the end of the Hobbit book - which did feature plastic figures as well as scenery. Don't know why that slipped my mind - I have the original Paul Dainton painting of the cover framed in my wargames room so you'd think I'd remember huh! Yes - those resin tooling masters (technically six ups) were from The Battle of Five Armies - the tool steel insert of Elves was a test piece (makes a great paper weight). I think Five Armies was one of those projects I managed to push through the system at a time when the company was losing its ability to deal with anything other than 40K/Warhammer and the then new LOTR 28mm game - so it was a bit of a 'battle' in every sense. Aside from the sheer joy of being able to revisit the battle with Warmaster - I had two main objectives: to fulfill a contractual requirement to make a game for the Hobbit without necessarily commiting to a huge 28mm range, and to make a multi-part plastic hill that mimiced the ones we'd made from styrene in the studio. Getting to make more scenery in the shape of plastic ruins was something of a bonus - nice little pieces that I still use to this day!

[@TimelessTabletopGaming]

Funnily enough, I just finished painting up a Battle of Five Armies box set. Such a wonderful little boxed game, thanks for pushing for it be released. I'm currently shopping around for alternatives to the the few additional miniatures that were released alongside it as the originals are like hens teeth now. I did manage to pick up the original giant though which is a superb miniature. Glad to hear that you remember the game fondly!

[@joshuagarcia4523]

Sir, thank you for taking some time to type out this comment! I appreciate it.

[@irishmarine3]

Thanks for the writeup Rick. It's funny you mention the game started as Fantasy, moved to Ancients/Medievals, then Blackpowder, then back to Ancients, because you might as well include the "Commander" series of games that adapted the same system to Cold War, WW2, and Sci fi :D

[@PlasticraicGaming]

I'm really enjoying hearing these stories of the good old days. Brings back nostalgia from when I first got into the hobby. Sadly I never dabbled in Warmaster as what little money I did have for hobby back then I suspect was spent on my spacewolfs or Dwarfs. Good times indeed!

[@kevincarrucan5328]

Brilliant feedback. Many thanks.

[@paulwinter1688]

I’m on the rules committee for warmaster Revolution. It’s made a great game even better.

[@LordMacKaber]

I must say, i startet playing tabletop games in 2006 and startet warmaster in 2023. I never hat so mutch fun with a games so balanced and close Till the end

[@paulwinter1688]

@@LordMacKaberThat’s what we try to do!

[@EmmanuelKa]

Truly a great game version! Thank you for all your hard work.

[@chrisshockey8883]

My Warmaster Revolution Vampire Counts army kicks butt!

[@biak111]

Rick is a top bloke

[@BittermanAndy]

One of the best games GW ever published. The Ancients version was then even better.

[@ravermunky1]

Warmaster always felt like 'proper' fantasy battles to me. 28mm just isn't the right scale for rank'n'flank gameplay - there's a reason DBA/DBM is so everpresent. Loved the sculpts too, so much character and the monsters could be truly monstrous. The new wave of 3D printing has brought along some fantastic 10mm Warhammer-compatible armies, so now is a great time to get into it!

[@BittermanAndy]

I mean, you say DBA/DBM is so everpresent, and it certainly has been around for a long time, but I've never seen or met a single person who plays it at any of the gaming clubs I've ever been a part of, and I don't recall ever seeing it being played at a convention either. I've heard of it for decades, for sure, but as far as I can tell nobody plays it.

[@vanthspiritwalker]

To this day, Warmaster remains the best game that GW has ever done by quite some margin.

[@strangersun7721]

Middle Earth Strategy Battle game would like to have a word!

[@Valathiril]

Where can I get minis for it?

[@stonehorsegaming]

The best wargame that GW have ever made. Thank you Rick for this gem of a game. Sadly GW let it die, but it lives on with 3D printing now.

[@dirtyhandskev]

Absolutely love Warmaster - to me it's the game Warhammer always sold itself as. Just want to say how awesome it is to see how happy rick is to talk about Warmaster - I feel like he's done the song and dance so many times talking about RT and fantasy he seems almost bored and with this you can really see how much the game means to him - and the fact he played and competed for so long really says a lot. I also been having a great time with the Warmaster Revolution ruleset - the community and committee have done a wonderful job realizing the full potential of the game. Out of all of the games that GW worked with the public via Fanatic/specialist games, Warmaster the the shining example of what 'could be' and how to enshrine and thrive long after GW leaves a game behind. I'd wager that Warmaster is most likely more popular now than it ever has been thanks to the awesome community surrounding it. Excited to see where the next few years takes us!

[@nagashthegod]

My favourite game system by far. Still get plenty of games in with my Kislevites, Skaven and Empire (plus a little force for all the other official lists). I even have a few of the test pieces picked up from GW staffers ovet the years. Historical really refined the game. Agree on the impact on my eyesight of painting them. Still in the middle of my repaint. Thanks for bringing it all to life again.

[@wonderdog8895]

Warmaster is by a long stretch, my favourite wargame. I play Warmaster Revolution (the most common fan update, based on the slightly updated Warmaster Ancients rules version) regularly, and have several gorgeous 3d printed armies which started to appear via talented Patreons designers in the last couple of years (Forest Dragon, Greenskinminiatures, Minirat Studios etc). Thanks for your work on the game Rick!

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

In a way, Warmaster did eventually get a plastic box set; iirc, the Battle of the Five Armies was just Warmaster with a LotR skin draped over it. In fact those upscale masters you showed off look a lot like some of the BotFA sculpts, so wouldn’t be surprised if maybe they recycled some for use in that. Not surprised that the higher-ups lacked enthusiasm for Warhammer Historical; they probably looked at it as advertisement for rival miniature companies due to GW not producing historical minis, and the books probably just didn’t turn enough of a profit to please the bean counters. Don’t know if it was just a local nickname, but down my neck of the woods I remember people nicknaming Warmaster, Warhamster. 😆

[@tabletopstandardsteve3219]

Yes! Thank you for this Warmaster was always one of my favourite GW games

[@scorpionwargames4610]

I recently finished a series of Warmaster campaigns using Mighty Empires 1991 as a campaign system.

[@magot42]

Great video. There is a community project called Warmaster Revolution that seems to be the place to go for Warmaster these days.

[@matthayward7889]

A friend has lent me the warmaster rule book, this is the ideal interview to watch before I read though it!

[@watleythewizard2381]

This is the one I’ve been waiting for. Warmaster was brilliant. I only just finishing painting my high elves after twenty years of neglect, about 4000 pts. Rick made wargames fun.

[@drummerwarrior1]

Always loved the look of Warmaster - Epic scale is my thing, although I never got to play this. Terrific interview!

[@darthcheese7971]

That Roman 10mm army, looked amazing. Another great video.

[@granthuxham2491]

ohh to have these available to purchase now (and paint and wargame with) - and to be 20 years younger - that would be heaven

[@kurtl8425]

Great game. I still play using the Warmaster Revolution rules. In fact I’m presently painting Bretonnians. With 3D printing we’re able to do things we could only dream of 20+ years ago.

[@craigarkle1077]

I sadly missed out on warmaster as it was most popular during my hobby hiatus, however it is always a pleasure to hear Rick’s enthusiasm and lift the veil on the behind the scenes!

[@williamford3605]

After seeing this interview I can’t wait to start playing - believe it or not!!

[@stephenashworth1328]

Coming from playing Warhammer back in the old days, buying the box set, battle magic box set & High Elf army book on discount, from when Games Workshop moved into bigger premises in the Arndale centre in Manchester. We came across the Warmaster rules later on, and thought they were excellent for making Warhammer into a proper epic game. Using cardboard tokens for the armies (we found these to work brilliantly), we had loads of excellent games of this. It’s a shame that GW never produced a box set like they did for Warhamme, I would be the fist onboard if they did.

[@joshuagarcia4523]

I am surprised that Battle of Five Armies didn't come up during this chat. I had previously heard or read somewhere that it was a huge passion project for Rick, but he seems to have completely forgotten about it. Also, those 10mm Perry sculpts are incredible.

[@JackWsChannel]

See RP's comment above 😀

[@lesliemitchell4984]

The best game GW I every played. I went from Strongest man to Winning GT. I Miss my eggs from those days. You still owe me a warmaster game

[@benjaminhayward5921]

My notification was cut off, so it said "Rick Priestly talks about Warma" and my first thought was, "Whoa, what? Rick's going to talk about Warmachine?!" 😆

[@craigwelter5862]

It would be great to see it come full circle, and get a Fantasy version of Epic Hail Caesar from Warlord Games.

[@sirbobulous]

Can use the factions and design style from their Warlords of Erehwon system for it too.

[@peterpienczuk2664]

Great Interview keep them coming

[@davidwasilewski]

My favourite GW game of all time, along with epic.

[@RTL2L]

Thank you!

[@vvaleiko193]

Thank you! Great interview, I always enjoy listening to Rick's stories. Warmaster is a game I haven't played yet, but, fortunately, I've managed to get an Ancients book just before my local store closed not too long ago. And the book is fantastic! Definitely looking forward to try it on the tabletop. I'm glad I could learn more about it.

[@demonstructie]

Few people actually have a story to tell, and fewer still know how to tell it. Rick is one of those few people though.

[@NLoGBB]

I still love Warmaster. It fitted my interest in wargames perfectly. Hard to find players but my son plays it with me when he's home. About 7 y ago I found a big pile of Warmaster blisters in a local store. Was in a bit of hurry and on the train home I asked on a gaming forum about the value of some of the things. The morning after I got to the store and someone had called them and bought the whole box. You snooze you lose, and I did snooze. Someone had put a lot of effort to track my address.

[@uncouthboy8028]

Rick just sold me on Hail Caesar

[@GhostGuitars]

Surprising it hasnt had more attention from the Total War Warhammer fanbase. You can get a good size army on the table for a lot less cash than WHFB/Sigmar and it literally epic scale

[@strangersun7721]

Thank you for this video! Rick has some great game design observations here. Loved hearing them.

[@falconiusazurius5572]

Warmaster is as beloved as Epic and Battlefleet Gothic in my book. I wish I discovered these games much earlier. I would have done so, had GW bothered to have these wonderful games in their shops in the heart of London circa 2002.

[@kenfisher4860]

By far my favorite GW game. Currently building an Empire and a Vampire Counts armies to play Revolutions with.

[@wilhelm992]

Amazing, this is so valuable 😢

[@chrisr9320]

It's a great ruleset, but I get why it never had enough "mainstream" appeal... There's even a WW2 version of it, called Blitzkrieg Commander, which I was obsessed with for a while.

[@johnsullinsiii3510]

Still one of my favorite games!

[@rob9943]

Always such a pleasure to watch. I got all gung-ho about warmaster last year, got a whole vampire counts army printed up by a friend, and then spectacularly failed to get anyone else on board. The vampires remain on my shelf, accusingly.

[@alecmulinder5759]

Loved listening to this. I was born in '68 so Rick Priestly gas always been a bit of a hobby idol! So these vids with him whittering on are special

[@ianknight5120]

I wonder if a lot of the success of the 'specialist games' is down to them being designed as games first, rather than designed with minis first which sounds like the approach the main games take

[@tabletoppdx]

Retro con here in the NW had a warmaster game it was delightful to watch and super engaging. Quick compared with modern games.

[@benjaminpowers609]

As I listen to these I recall sensations I had from the 90s which, to me, were natural and a part of gaming, that now I realize was a byproduct of the mentality of the studio. Wild stuff.

[@earnestwanderer2471]

Off to pull out my copy of Warmaster and give it a look. I remember being daunted by the scale twenty odd years ago.

[@braddl9442]

Warmaster was one of my fav games. When I launched me and my group all got armies and played it into the dirt. But eventually people got burned out or wanted to play other stuff. And there was not much new coming out for it. It really was not marketed and there was not much updates for it.

[@stefan-georgfuchs9618]

Love this reminiscences. Being a Warhammer player since 3rd. Edition ( 1984ish ) , lot's of stories come up...Unfortunately, Warmaster was not very popular here in Germany. Although it was , imho, one of the best games from GW. Still not perfect, but a very good start. Today's fanbased version, WM Revolution, is great. As "Hail Caesar" from WLG. Of course HC is not a 100% replication of historically accurate battles, but it gives fun and the flavour of such battles. As does Warmaster/Revolution with regards to Fantasy. 10-15mm is a great scale for such massive battles. I play WLG Epic battles Pike & Shot in 13mm and also Legions Imperialis ( 30k ) in 8mm. As one who loves great and grand battles, these rulesets are perfect. But I think one could also play old WHFB like 6th./7th. or 8th Edition or WAP in 10 / 15mm scale. The only problem is, to find likeminded gamers...

[@craigwelter5862]

Those 8mm armies look great! It would have been amazing to have those in plastic.

[@vedrengrabelox3231]

Never got to play this one, gonna have to change that. So many games, not enough time!

[@spaceork6973]

Please also talk about the LOTR port, the battle for 5 armies

[@hamster55789]

I remember when these masters first appeared in the mould room 😂 we weren't happy

[@Huscarle09]

I still play WH Ancients! Love the game!

[@andyconnell7432]

Good to see it verified that all the cool kids keep their minis in box files.

[@tanyaf2097]

I'd hardly got in any games when it was released due to lack of opponents. Recently I've been playing Warmaster Revolution and it is more popular than it seemed before.

[@ja37d-34]

I really like Warmaster.. thanks!

[@paulcocks7299]

One of my favourite games, all be it in the form of Blitzkrieg Commander set in WW2. The early editions of which acknowledged Rick with thanks.

[@Anchises]

So interesting to see the epic scale tests. I always felt Warmaster would have had more success in 6-8mm with factions produced as a single sprue. Would have let you play with armies that really felt massive compared to WFB.

[@Oldhammerandtongs]

Another fantastic interview! Thank you!

[@PA1606X]

My favourite rule set, I play a mash up of the original, ancients and medieval. I have everything from Rapier 6 mm minator hopolites who are spot on 10 mm to 28mm Wargods satyres as beastmen giants with some 15mm Slanash demons in between. In addition it is cheap.

[@kentocogburn4553]

I love playing black powder, whenever the old timers at the club get an all day battle going at least and i'm not too busy in my youth to join them.

[@noops9220]

Rick is a gem

[@heinrichkemmler5695]

Merci, merci et encore MERCI !!!

[@blairoakley3015]

Rick needs to start up a company and make games like he used to.

[@Svengar]

I find the idea of small scale minis for fantasy really intriguing. Shame it didn’t hang around for good. If they had of been done in plastic it might have made them more accessible At least there is still an option of 3d printed armies to use the same rules with plus the new epic scale games from Warlord to scratch the same itch

[@jamesbaker2019]

magic! love the videos :)

[@jonathanw3258]

Brits: you need to knight this man.

[@deletter]

Très intéressant, je suis en plus fan de Black powder, je possède 4 armée en 28mm etc en 10mm. ❤

[@tomrichardson7792]

Yay :)

[@chaoscarl8414]

Man... Warhammer Epic sounds... Well... Epic... Don't get me wrong. 10mm is an okay scale, but for mass battle gaming I much prefer 6mm. That seems - to me, at least - to give a much better visual representation of the scale of such games.

[@Maximus_Vulpes]

It would be great if GW, with their whole new "epic games" range, relaunch it.

[@charleshill9546]

Why? It's doing fine without them

[@Maximus_Vulpes]

@@charleshill9546 yes of course, 25 people playing it around the world is "fine", just as epic was doing "fine" before the LI relaunch.

[@charleshill9546]

@@Maximus_Vulpes Tournaments are hot, tickets sold out - often year in advance. More than 25 people in a room. Heck My LFGS can't match that with 40K events.

[@lesliestevenson5261]

Excellent and interesting. I've just read the rules for hail caesar this morning from the hannibal box, signed by RP himself! Very much looking forward to playing it. More so nowt that I know a bit of the history behind it.

[@ja37d-34]

Very good with some type of command.. Not always having troops do what you want them to. Should be more into Warhamemr. Would weed out some of the muppets..