On first look, Hordes: Primal shows its common roots with the Warmachine game. Players collect and build an army of highly-detailed pewter miniatures, and play out skirmish battles against each other. The similarities with Warmachine are strongly evident, from the "Play Like You've Got a Pair" diatribe on page 5, to similarities in layout and the structure of the forces. Both games feature four major "factions" who have lots of reasons to fight each other, and there are similarities between the various troop types. The rules are almost identical, although there are some important differences that fundamentally change the way Hordes is played compared to Warmachine.
The book opens with the familiar "Play Like You've Got A Pair" page 5 diatribe. For those unfamiliar with Privateer Press' other games, the "Page 5 rule" states that the game is meant to be played in an aggressive, unrelenting, unforgiving, yet sportsmanlike manner. There has always been a conflict between two basic types of players in miniatures wargames; some players come from a background of historical wargaming, and are interested in creating balanced, flavorful armies that capture the "feel" of the game fiction. Others want to win, and build the most powerful "beardy" or "cheesy" force available. Page 5 clarifies that Hordes is meant to appeal to the latter group. In practice, this means that most players I have met are willing to take their lumps, and tend to spend less time arguing about rules and "fairness" than they do when playing other similar games. This is not to say, however, that there are never rules arguments, or that all of the players are great people. There are Hordes players who feel that Page 5 is an excuse for poor sportsmanship, and who cheerfully bend or break rules in order to win the game.
The book is full-colour, and beautifully illustrated. I was surprised at the high production value, and low cost, of the main rulebook. It is really a steal at the price. I suspect that Privateer Press sells the rulebook at cost, or very close to it, in order to promote the sales of their miniatures. The miniatures are top-quality, on par with Games Workshop. New players don't even need to purchase the rulebook to start, as one can simply buy a "Battle Box" for about the same price as a GW regiment box. Each Battle Box contains enough miniatures to play one side in a small-scale game, and an abbreviated version of the rules. Miniatures in the battle box, as well as the miniatures sold in separate blister packs, each come with a stat card containing all of the rules required for that model. Apart from certain special rules, it would be quite possible to play the game without ever buying the full rulebook.
The Hordes rulebook has pieces of short fiction scattered throughout, and for the most part it is well-written. The writers seem more concerned with the personal conflicts between the game's characters than with detailed descriptions of blood and viscera that fill so many wargame books (which I like to call "gore-nography"). This makes the background and setting more interesting, and it is interesting that the major characters within each faction seem to bear grudges against each other, as well. This continues the tradition of Warmachine, and sets a high standard for other games to meet.
The rules are fairly clear and straightforward. Play is turn-based, so one player will complete all actions and movement for his side, and then the other player does the same. At the start of each turn, the player must resolve any ongoing effects, like models who have caught fire, and decide if he is maintaining any spells that he cast on previous turns. Then he must manage his Fury, which is the source of magical power in the game - more on this later. He then moves his pieces, one model or unit at a time, resolving the movement and actions for each piece in turn. The game plays very smoothly, and tends to be quite fast-paced compared even to other "skirmish" level games. The basic rules are fairly simple to grasp, and players who are comfortable with the basic rules can learn the rules for various "power attacks". A Power Attack is one of several special attacks available to certain models in the game, such as a head-butt or a two-handed throw; these attacks add a number of strategic options to the game, and add a greater distinction between large monsters and small infantry than most games of this type. One of the interesting things about Hordes, along with Warmachine, is that there are no rules prohibiting attacking your own models, or similar artificial limits on tactical options. Through reading the army lists, and playing the game, it quickly becomes apparent that it can often be advantageous to attack your own units - for example, a warbeast might throw a footsoldier in order to knock down an enemy warlock. A small game takes between 30 and 60 minutes to play, and even a large game rarely takes more than two or three hours, which is a refreshing change from some wargames I have played. I do wish that there was a time limit built into or suggested in the rulebook - I have heard of players in tournaments who take the lead in victory points, and then start to play reeeaaally slooooowwwly so the clock runs out. A suggested time-per-turn limit wouldn't stop this, but it would help immensely.
A force is composed of several interdependent models. The leader of the force is called a Warlock; warlocks are powerful magic-users who have the ability to mentally control large monsters, called Warbeasts. Warlocks tend to be among the most powerful members of an army, but they are also the weakest link - when a warlock is killed, all of the warbeasts he controls will go wild. In most friendly games, killing the opponent's warlock signals the end of the game. As with warcasters in Warmachine, every Warlock is a unique character; there is no option to have a "generic" warlock, or for a player to develop unique powers and abilities for his own warlocks. At first this put me off, as my Warhammer generals were always individuals of my own creation. After reading the background fiction, I started to feel more comfortable with the characters. They are generally more interesting than characters I have seen in other wargames, and they are powerful but very well-balanced with each other.
Each faction has a number of different Warbeasts, hulking and simple-minded monsters that the warlocks can mentally control. Warbeasts are very powerful, but they can also cost a lot of points. Warbeasts must be "forced" to perform many actions, such as charging, trampling enemy troops, or making extra attacks. "Forcing" a warbeast causes it to generate Fury, one of the most interesting tactical features of the game. Fury is the magical power which warlocks must tap to use their spells and powers, but each warlock can only drain a certain amount of Fury each turn. When a warbeast has Fury left on it from turn to turn, there is a chance that it will frenzy - the player loses control of the warbeast, and it attacks nearby models. A frenzy can be quite handy in some circumstances, and can inflict heavy damage on the enemy, but a frenzying warbeast can also cause tremendous damage to its own side. Every warlock needs warbeasts to power his magic, and when all of a warlock's warbeasts are destroyed he becomes extremely vulnerable. Whether to force a warbeast, and how much to force it, becomes a tough tactical decision for the player.
In addition to warlocks and warbeasts, each faction has access to a number of different infantry and powerful "solo" units. In general, these units have a lot of offensive power. They are usually weaker than warbeasts, but in the right situation most units can kill or severely injure even the most powerful warbeasts. Infantry units are vulnerable because they must have orders from their unit leaders to run, charge, or perform certain special actions; once the leader is dead, the entire unit becomes much less powerful. Also, infantry and solos have "force allowances", meaning that a player can only select a limited number of each unit type to serve in an army of a given size. These units are powerful, but the focus of the game is clearly on the warlock and his warbeasts.
There are four factions in the game. The Trollbloods are led by the Trollkin, an Orc-like race of humanoids who have been pushed to the outskirts of human civilization. Assisted by their small cousins, the Pygmy Trolls, and their hulking but dim-witted Trolls and Dire Trolls, the Trollbloods are fighting for their survival as a species. They are tough as nails, although a bit on the slow side, and their magic is based around denying options to the enemy and supporting each other.
The Circle Orboros is a group of druids of the blood-and-sacrifice persuasion, rather than the tree-hugging druids of other fantasy settings. They fight with a collection of savage warriors, magic-users, werewolves, and stone golems. They rely heavily on their maneuverability, magic, and hit-and-run tactics, and are weaker in a stand-up fight than the other factions.
The Skorne are a savage race of humanoids that is invading from the east. They are cruel and ruthless fighters, clad in thick plate armour. Their warbeasts are cyclopes, brutish bipedal elephants, and basilisks. Their tactics rely on heavy synergy between various models, and on cold-bloodedly torturing and slaughtering their own forces in order to gain a tactical advantage.
The Legion of Everblight seems to be the most popular faction. It is led by a dragon who was killed centuries in the past. In the Iron Kingdoms setting, dragons each possess a heartstone, or an "athanc", which is a nigh-indestructible reservoir of the dragon's spirit and life-energy. Other dragons will consume an athanc if they get the chance, to increase their own power, so Everblight has prevented his own body from regenerating. His forces are composed of elves and ogres whom he has corrupted and mutated, and his warbeasts are draconic creatures spawned from his blood. The Legion of Everblight is very fast and hard-hitting, but their forces are relatively fragile, and have a hard time surviving a prolonged battle.
Overall, I have been very impressed with this game. It is fun to play, offers plenty of deep tactical options, and has a good community. I wasn't interested in Warmachine until I started reading Hordes, as the "steampunk" genre doesn't appeal to me any more than any other fantasy settings. The game is great, though, and I find that the Fury mechanics and interactions between warlocks and warbeasts make the tactical game more interesting than Warmachine. In Warmachine, there is often little incentive to take the steam-powered Warjacks in preference to regular troops, because running the Warjacks can actually decrease a warcaster's effectiveness. This is too bad, because it seems that Warjacks are supposed to be the main focus of the game. In Hordes, the ratio of warbeasts to troops is a much tougher, and therefore more interesting, proposition. A warlock needs enough warbeasts to power his magic, and killing warbeasts neutralizes the warlock. Killing the warlock also neutralizes the warbeasts. The troops are very valuable units, but one must trade off between having lots of troops, who are reliable and relatively independent from the warlock, and having lots of warbeasts, who are individually powerful and who change the warlock from a tough individual fighter into a ngih-unstoppable force of destruction.
The game is presented very nicely, in full colour, and the editing is not bad for this type of product. The miniatures are gorgeous, and as a miniatures painter I love the variety and character of the models. I have given the game a 5 for Style, because it is competitive with the best-designed and presented products in the entire gaming industry.
I don't like to give maximum marks in a review, but I also gave the game a 5 for Substance. The rules are well-written, and I have found that relatively few rules arguments and contradictions pop up, in spite of the fact that almost every model has a special rule (something that I used to loathe about GW games). The game is fast-paced, fairly simple, and requires deep strategic thinking, all of which are hallmarks of a great game. I am impressed with the way that Privateer Press has elevated wargame strategy to something beyond picking a kick-butt army and maneuvering it cleverly on the battlefield. There are plenty of tactical trade-offs, and situations where it is not always clear which of several options is the best one. I had one game where my warlock almost had an opportunity to kill the enemy warlock in single combat, but one of my troop models was in the way. Another player pointed out afterwards that I could have used one of my warbeasts to "slam" the trooper into the enemy warlock, which would have both removed him from my charge path, and knocked him down, guaranteeing me the kill. Instead, I went for one of the three or four other options that were immediately apparent, and risked losing the game entirely. On top of all this, the factions are fairly well-balanced against the factions in Warmachine, so although Hordes is a stand-alone game, it is also effectively half of a larger game. The skirmish scale of the combats also means that the game is far less expensive than some of the other fantasy wargames available, and I find it much more enjoyable to paint a few models for each of several units than I do to paint twenty-odd similar models for a single massive block of infantry.
This is a great game, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in a fun, fast-paced, miniatures wargame.
