| 
Warhammer Realms: Lustria Preview by Andy
Hoare
Warhammer Realms: Lustria is a brand-new supplement
for players of all Warhammer armies that provides rules and
scenarios for fighting in the perilous depths of the Lustrian
jungle. Also featured are two new army lists – the Lizardmen
Red Host of Tehenhauin and the Skaven Bubonic Court of Nurglitch
– and a new special character for each. There’s
also a complete campaign system, detailed background, and
a whole lot more. Any army can be fielded in this setting,
and doing so provides a wealth of entirely new tactical challenges
to overcome. Those bold enough to brave the green hell of
Lustria will soon find out that the environment is as much
an opponent as the enemy, and it takes the most cunning of
generals to overcome both!
 Far
across the Great Ocean lies the legendary continent of Lustria,
a vast and sweltering land of dense tropical jungle, warlike
natives, and uncounted riches. Not surprisingly, it is the
last of these that draws, from every corner of the world,
explorers intent on penetrating the perilous realm of the
Lizardmen in search of gold, arcane artifacts, slaves, or
the very secrets of the ancients themselves.
However, the Lizardmen have guarded their domains for eons
and brook no intrusion from the warm-blooded and ignorant
“young races.” Furthermore, the jungle itself
is wont to repulse invaders before they have traveled more
than a few hundred yards through its shadows. Many, varied,
and painful are the ways to die in the Lustrian jungles –
insects whose bites carry poisons that reduce a man’s
blood to pus within days, acidic algae that sear skin, carnivorous
plants capable of eviscerating the mightiest warrior, and
creatures such as the brainfluke, the bladder maggot, and
the bile wyrm. All of these organisms have gruesome ways of
killing and consuming (though not necessarily in that order)
their victims that would turn the stomach of even the most
seasoned campaigner. Thus, few who attempt to uncover the
secrets of the jungle ever return.
Nonetheless, each year brings yet more adventurers, each
more foolhardy and avaricious than the last. Each year, more
artifacts sacred to the Lizardmen are irretrievably lost and
sold at exorbitant prices to the highest bidders of the Old
World’s scholarly elite. Vast fortunes are made but
at such terrible costs that few are bold enough to embark
upon these perilous journeys to the New World.
| Fighting in the depths of the jungle
is an entirely different kettle of fish from fighting
a set-piece battle across an open plain. Thus, Warhammer
Realms: Lustria contains rules that add an
additional layer of detail to the Warhammer rules.
Rules are provided for undergrowth,
ruins, fast-flowing rivers, as well as light, dense,
and impenetrable jungles. In addition, rules for
a new formation called Loose Order provide the
means
by which warriors can negotiate the hazardous landscape.
And speaking of hazards – the perils of the
jungle come to gruesome life through the Events
and Encounters Tables. Events take place before
the game begins and represent such things
as the army getting lost, being mired in
a tropical downpour, or hiring the services
of a native guide. |
| Encounters
take place during a new phase of the
game – the
Encounters Phase – and feature all
manner of unpleasantness from voracious
carnivorous plants to wicked native traps,
all of which are deadly to any warrior foolish
enough to stray too close. Furthermore,
Encounters are played by one player to the
detriment of the other, a fact that adds
a further level of guile and intrigue to
game play.
|
|
|
Next: Scenarios & Rise
of Sotek
|
