Intro

Previous editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles have included Nippon army lists and ally lists. GW produced several ranges of figures, including heroes, samurai, ashigaru, monsters, rocket launchers,  ninja, and even some undead samurai! While only a few of these figures are still available, there are many other companies producing suitable figures (see the Figures list).

I have had a continuing interest in Japanese history, warfare, art, and legends. I have made samurai lists for the past few editions of WFB, and once again decided to update the army. Previous versions tried to stay true to the older GW lists. This version, however, starts to step away from the last few versions, just as some of the 'official' WFB lists have undergone some changes.

Please understand that this is a list under evolution. It is still being completed, and undergoing playtesting. Send comments to: [email protected]
 
 

Terminology

I have opted to use standard WFB terms for all of the equipment. You can assume that when the list reads "spear", this indicates a Yari, a "halberd" is a Naginata, a two handed weapon is a No-Dachi, Tetsubo, or some other large weapon, etc. I may add a glossary to the list.
 
 

The Army List

As mentioned, this list starts to step away from the older versions of home brewed Nippon lists.

First, there is only one choice for a Lord. I saw this as being fitting, with the Samurai Lord ruling above all others.
As far as Core units, I wanted to make sure that the lower ranks of soldiers (Ashigaru, or low-end Bushi if you prefer to consider them as such) were well represented. This shows how the Samurai Lord's have an elite force of retainers (samurai), but that they must recruit from the lower ranks to field large enough armies. The peasants are limited to 1 unit becuase most samurai find it repulsive to consider commoners taking the field, but occassionally villages muster a group of reluctant and timid volunteers to pick up bamboo spears and take to the field. Watch The Seven Samurai to get a good idea of the quality of these troops. :)

The Special troops selection is where things really start to diverge. The monks, rocket launcher, and cannon are all sort of expected. Tengu are bird like creatures of legend, who taught certain heroes martial arts.

Most of the rest of the Special and Rare choices are monsters. I have read Japanese legends including giants, dragons, ki-rin, ghosts, spirits & demons (kami & oni), and giant versions of normal animals like spiders, centipedes, birds, etc. In addition, I can't say that I was totally un-influenced by modern anime either.  :)  So I thought it would be interesting to give the option for more monster types, but keep them limited in some ways. The biggest limitation is that most are only available singly, do not have enough wounds to cancel flanks, etc, and will not be able to stand up to a full sized unit (with ranks, standard, etc) in combat.

The elementals were inspired by an old Citadel Journal article. They are still under consideration, and need alot of work.

The centipede was mostly based on the gigantic spider rules, though included as a Special choice. The Ki-Rin and Dragon are available as riderless choices, becuase they are frequently portrayed as being more aloof. This is why the dragon may not have a rider at all. Please note that the dragon has no breath weapon either. This is also the only way to get a 4th level spellcaster in the army, so you actually have to spend a Rare AND a Lord slot.

Ideas for future additions? I've considered some sort of units of lesser kami or oni. These may take the form of animal spirits, or goblins, or some such critters. I have a bunch of the Clan War Naga figures, and would like to add some sort of option for them. I am not sure whether I will make them a sort fo "Dogs of War" unit (since I don't think they are exactly Japanese in flavor, but rather South/Southeast Asian). Heck, maybe I'll do a whole army list for them. :) Everyone's probably asking "where's the ninja?!? I will get to them, but I want to see how the other lists (Dark Elves and/or Skaven) handle assassins first.

The magic items list is still being developed, as is some background. I plan on getting some more photos added, and maybe eventually a battle report or three.

Commentsand questions are welcome!