Galadrin
Member
I've been thinking of the different eras of Warhammer... Urhammer (1e), Oldhammer (2e and 3e), Herohammer (4e and 5e) and Newhammer (everything else). I noticed that people rarely bring up Herohammer. The same can be said for 1e, but 4th/5th in the 1990's was a breakout period for Warhammer and Games Workshop—sales increased dramatically, Warhammer entered new markets (perhaps most importantly North America), new production techniques brought boxed expansions with cards and templates as well as big box starter sets, Games Workshop expanded into new formats like boardgames and many new players were introduced to the wargaming hobby through Warhammer and 40k 2nd Edition. Technically speaking, there should be a lot of gamers that first cut their teeth on Herohammer. Yet this silent majority remains quiet...
Certainly Herohammer gets some flak. The common criticism—that heroes and magic were "too powerful"—is well known enough to become a predictable and uninteresting truism. Yet, everyone played and loved the game during that era as well—something we can see in the expansion of Warhammer sales and the growth of the community in this period. The strength of the tournament scene even suggest that, in some practical ways at least, the fear of overpowered characters didn't stop most tournament-goers from showing up to organized events in droves.
So, pushing past the fog of forgetfulness and apathy, what did Herohammer do well? If you were one of those who joined the hobby in the 90's, how did 4th/5th capture your imagination?
Certainly Herohammer gets some flak. The common criticism—that heroes and magic were "too powerful"—is well known enough to become a predictable and uninteresting truism. Yet, everyone played and loved the game during that era as well—something we can see in the expansion of Warhammer sales and the growth of the community in this period. The strength of the tournament scene even suggest that, in some practical ways at least, the fear of overpowered characters didn't stop most tournament-goers from showing up to organized events in droves.
So, pushing past the fog of forgetfulness and apathy, what did Herohammer do well? If you were one of those who joined the hobby in the 90's, how did 4th/5th capture your imagination?