Warriors in Flames Of War There are many iconic, some mythical, people in the vast story of World War II. Many brave soldiers fought hard for personal convictions and for the men they served with. Many paid the ultimate price with their valour. To honour these heroes and their sacrifices, we have included many warriors into Flames Of War. Names such as Upham, Witman and others are well known with players. They represent special soldiers and their heroic deeds. Warriors are very fun to play and add excitement and flavour to games.

The Making of a Warrior A lot of time, effort and testing goes into creating a warrior. There is, of course, plenty of research involved. During the process, books are read, websites are consulted, and articles are tracked down. Once we have the story and all the facts possible, we move onto the question, “how does this hero fit in Flames Of War?” We then create special rules and text that best captures that hero’s story. There is a significant amount of thought that goes into the game balance of each warrior. This is addressed through discussion here in the studio, but also among our playtesters who go to work trying to find loopholes and exploits. Sometimes we cannot find a specific person to base the hero on, but we feel that there still needs to be a Warrior that helps capture the flavour of the situation. Such was the case of Tom Stanley. While he didn’t exist as a real person, we felt that there was a need to emphasise the vital role of the 6 Pounders in Normandy after reading many accounts of their actions, and thus a new Warrior was born. Others, such as Michael Wittman, are easily identifiable as potential warriors. Wittman’s illustrious, though short, career made it easy for us to come up with his rules—he just gets all the Tiger Ace skills!

Warriors and Our Books Warriors are created based on a moment in time. They are tailored specifically to the time period covered by the book in which they are included. Since Warriors are created based on a specific moment in history, it is entirely possible that we might revisit a hero later in his career.

Furthermore, each Warrior is designed to be used with the force they served and as such this is how they are playtested. This issue of balance is one of the specific reasons why Warriors can only be used with the Briefing that they are attached to. For example Ernst Barkmann was created based specifically on his impressive actions in Normandy bocage country. He was designed to be used with Waffen-SS forces found in Cobra. Sometime in the future, we may revisit Ernst Barkmann based on his exploits in 1945, and it might not be appropriate that the Cobra version of Barkmann be used.

Warriors and Tournaments Because we do use playtest Warriors extensively, we do believe that they are balanced and ready for use in tournaments. Tournament organisers are, of course, free to determine whether or not to include Warriors in their event. Lest We Forget … Warriors are a fun addition to the Flames Of War game. They help us honour the memories of the men and women who served under arms in the Second World War. It is our pleasure and duty to bring these notable soldiers to your miniature battlefields.