History & Setting
Originally created in 1983, the Warhammer franchise is best known for their tabletop fantasy battle game. Since the initial release of the core game rules, there has been seven updates with the most recent update being released on July 10, 2010. The Warhammer tabletop and follow up video games take place in a world that is best described as a mix of medieval Germany and J.R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. The world is characterized by being darker and grittier than most standard fantasy settings. This is a world at war and the populace and countryside is bleak. There are various races that live and battle in this setting and many of them are standard to most high fantasy settings. The races are:
· Beastmen
· Bretonnia
· Daemons of Chaos
· Dwarfs
· High Elves
· Lizardmen
· Ogre Kingdoms
· Orcs & Goblins (Greenskins)
· Skaven
· The Empire
· Tomb Kings
· Vampire Counts
· Warriors of Chaos
· Wood Elves
Tabletop Gameplay
The tabletop game is played using army miniatures, multisided dice rolls, and an established setting, The creation and painting of these army miniatures is a core component of the game and can be very expensive and time consuming. To many players, the story and background of the miniature characters and armies are just as important as the games themselves. The tabletop games can involve multiple armies as the setting would allow. There is a tournament circuit for hardcore players as well as gaming sessions in local comic book stores for the more casual crowd. Due to the strategic nature of the tabletop game, the ideal genre of video game for Warhammer is strategy, either turn based or real-time. The strategy and setting of the universe directly inspired the Warcraft series of games from Blizzard Entertainment.
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