Oriental Heroes and the Lands of Nippon- Warhammer style

All kinds of amazing!

(Blog Note: WoooHooo! 100th published blog post — better make this a good one! Onwards toward 200.)

Much like my recent foray into Oriental Adventures, I thought I’d pause and retrace some steps back to Warhammer. I’ll be taking a moment to comment on Oriental Heroes and the line of minis for Nippon in Warhammer Fantasy Battle. I’ve been working on a Nippon Army in an on-again, off-again fashion over the years.

But first, a very cool diorama (see to the right). I’m not sure where it’s from, but I found it while scouring the web for Nippon imagery for Warhammer.

Right now I’m in a bit of a prolonged lull in regards to Warhammer that has been going on for a number of years. After being burnt out with the Word of Hashut webzine and all that came with it, I’ve been largely uninterested in Games Workshop’s wares. I’ve found it’s far better to wait until my disinterest wanes and I’m interested again, rather than forging ahead for no reason other than to do it. This happens to me from time to time, but this one has been far longer. In the meantime, I’ve been having fun collecting minis from the Oriental lines of Games Workshop in the 1980s — minis I really wanted back in the day but was never able to secure more than three of them, being on the other side of the pond…

Nippon was a curious case for minis. They figured right from the earliest days of Games Workshop, appearing in the rules here and there, but never had their own dedicated army other than the mercenary contingent in the 3rd Edition Warhammer Armies book (see below). In the orange 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle rulebook it notes on page 205: “Lustrian, Steppeland and Cathan creatures and races are dealt with in sufficient detail for you to assemble armies of Slann, Nippon etc. but we feel that only by dealing with each area in a separate supplement can we hope to do them justice.” It became obvious when looking at the history of Games Workshop at the time that they were already underway with 4th Edition Warhammer and weren’t going to revisit these lands, at least not in the 3rd Edition
sense.

Nippon Army contingent from 3rd Edition

It was not to be, however. Aside from this blurb along with the Nippon mercenary force listed in the aforementioned Warhammer Armies book, that was it. I have a feeling it was a number of factors that led to this decision:

• The 2nd Edition Nippon army list in Ravening Hordes was enough?
• If they did a Nippon army, would they have to create a Cathay one as well? Would there be an outcry for Amazons? Norse? Pygmies?
• By the time the 3rd Edition Warhammer rules were gaining steam, the “ninja craze” of the 80s was already waning.
• Limited resources?
• The rise of Warhammer 40,000, which would become (and still is) its “breadwinner.”
• The oft-repeated line of “there are already two human armies in the game.”
• Some combination of these?
• Perhaps none of these?
• Too many manga/anime inspired fans?

In any event GW showed no inclination to move on an Eastern themed army. I don't see them ever doing it either. I don't have an inside info, this is more or less just a hunch, a hunch backed by 25 years of watching Games Workshop. NOTE: they would eventually release a Cathay army for Warhammer Old World.

Here is a partial list/number of links of the actual GW line of minis, at least enough to give an idea for those not in the know.
Oriental Heroes at the Stuff of Legends
Ninjas at the Stuff of Legends
Ninjas at the Stuff of Legends
Ninjas at the Stuff of Legends
Older Oriental Heroes at the Stuff of Legends
Temple Dog Riders

Onto my oft delayed Nippon Army, as of right now it has a serious amount of lead for it as chronicled here. I'm hoping as the weather turns colder in the Fall to get back to working on it. In the meantime I'm continuing to trade for minis at the excellent site Oldhammer Forum. I'm a big fan of the guys and the excellent work they are doing there. In fact I just secured some more ninja bringing me closer to having one of every GW ninja from the Oriental range.

Unlike in the past when I've worked on an army I've always been in a rush and with an eye towards playing. In reality I get to play so infrequently that its no my prime concern. So with that in mind Im working on my Nippon warband in terms of how they might have looked or been configured for 3rd edition warhammer using the 3rd edition Mercenary contingent as a guide.

In the meantime while I get my act together regarding my Nippon army here are some great images to get inspired by (I found the thread here).

 What are your thoughts? Tired of the same old pseudo-medieval European campaign worlds?