Review: The first Citadel Compendium

So how old is this thing? 1983. The first thing one sees when the open the cover is an advertisement for the first edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle Rules ("Let's Smash Skulls". That's right, this magazine is the precursor to the Citadel Journal line.

Introduction

Not much here, but Bryan Ansell writes the introduction, in which he promises "Rogue Trader" (the title of first edition of Warhammer 40k).

A Player's Guide to Warhammer

The magazine launches into an article that elaborates upon what is in WFB 1st edition. I describes in some detail the three books the game is made of as well as touching upon the Ziggurat of Doom and The Redwake River Valley, introductory adventures to the game. It also mentions two alignments: Avarice and Hunger, the latter of which requires the character to eat dead enemies to gain in experience. Realm of Chaos is mentioned here as well so it seems that even in the early 80's GW/Citadel had some idea of what they were intending to do with the line.

Warhammer: The Continuing Saga

This article is of little interest except for those who are playing WFB 1st edition, since it is primarily rule errata and embellishments upon the rules, and additional concepts to apply to play.

The Legend of Kremlo the Slann

This is the perk of this edition, the one thing that makes it sought out. This six page scenario introduces us to Lustria and the Legend of Kremlo the Slann, a Slann discovered and saved as a youth by a Norsemen who rises to prominence over a Norse village in a time of conflict. It provides a few tantalizing details regarding Lustria but not much else. Still it is a welcome addition to what little detail there is regarding Lustria.

Goblins

As with the "Warhammer: The Continuing Saga" portion of the article this is of little use, merely being rules for dealing with Goblin rivalry.

Miniature Lines

This was a time when illustrations ruled the world and photographs had yet to evolve from the primordial ooze. The middle portion of the book is the Citadel Catalogue but most of the miniatures are illustrated rather than photographed. The line is comprised of the following:

The Citadel Giant
CO1 Fighters
CO2 Wizards
CO3 Clerics
CO4 Thieves
CO6 Dwarfs
C13 Goblins (including lesser goblins? Snotlings by the looks of it…)
C15 Armoured Orcs
C28 Giants
C29 Creepy Crawlies
C35 Knights of Chaos
Legend of Kremlo set

Photos:

Specialty Sets: (Warriors of Chaos, The Dwarf King's Court, Knights of Chaos, Goblin Raiding Party, Warrior Knights of Law, Dungeon Adventurer, and Dungeon Monster Set)

Brian Ansell's Heroic Adventurers
Brian Ansell's Chaos Marauders
Tony Ackland's Monstrous Orc War Machine

Advertisements (Coming your way!)

An announcement of Forces of Fantasy that was released and reviewed in an earlier Strike to Stun).

Realm of Chaos advertisement which teased the gaming world with a product that would take years to produce.

SF Rogue Trader - whose advertisement promises a game that sounds dramatically different from what GW eventually released ("Can you survive an encounter with Dr. Gostalo's Amazing Inter-Galactic Psycho Circus? Can you handle Fear and Loathing in Los Asteros?").

The Absolute Beginner's Guid to Painting Miniatures

This is where it started folks, the ubiquitous How to Paint your miniatures guide which has long replaced the background in nearly all the warhammer books released now by Games Workshop.

Warhammer & Science Fiction

For all those who think that at its heart Warhammer is a Fantasy game, I say "You're wrong!". Here is outlined many of the weapons that will later appear in the WFB and 40k games, Laser Pistols, Needlers, Bolt Guns, and Hand Flamers as well as "The Flame Lance". It goes into some detail with the various weapons and introduces an adventure "The proposition of Eric Bogesson" which has a very "Jules Verne" feel about it.

The Mark of Chaos

The rest of the magazine is dedicated to the Forces of Chaos, namely a creature list which provides the likelihood of chaos attributes by creature as well as a list of chaotic attributes (i.e. mutations) for the servants of chaos. It is functional but lacks much of the flavor of later lists. It concludes with suggestions on how to convert your minis to reflect the influence of chaos.

Conclusion:

As a collector's item this magazine is mandatory for any collection. Historically it is important for documenting early pre-release accounts of what later documents would promise. Just as useful is seeing prototype rules that are still applicable to games and have aged quite well. For those seeking background the Legend of Kremlo the Slann provides a nice introduction to Lustria. If you're a serious collector, you own it; if you don't own it, get on ebay and start bidding!

-- By Rev. Lepper