‘Warhammer: The Old World’- GW, We Need More Regiments of Renown

Warhammer: The Old World needs more heroic units and Regiments of Renown. Here’s how GW should do them.

The Old World has done a great job of bringing back some classic ideas and units from older editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. The War Wagon is a great example of this. The Arcane Journals add a lot to the game in form of alternate and new units and armies. But one thing the game hasn’t really delved into deeply is the idea of Regiments of Renown. Now they are in the game, barely, but I think we need a lot more here. They are a great addition to the game and a cool lead into a potential Dogs of War army. Lets take a look at what these are and how they can be added.

What Are Regiments of Renown?

Over the years Warhammer has had two ways of doing Regiments of Renown (AoS also has them, but we aren’t going to talk about that here). The classic way, what we saw in old WFB, was to have be unique special units. These would be their own brand new unit, sometimes a mish-mash of others. It would have a name and often be led by a named character. These were effectively the named hero version of units and could do some pretty cool things. Getting a “pocket” hero (normally of the 2 wound variety) was always a nice bonus, and they had a lot of flavor.

The second way of doing Regiments of Renown is what you mainly see in the Warhammer Total War games. These are normally unique upgraded or elite versions of existing units. For example you might have the Carroburg Greatswords. These would just be a slightly upgraded version of Greatswords. While they wouldn’t be a whole new unit, they might get a new rule or something to make them a bit different. It’s a cool way of adding in some different units without a lot of work.

Regiments of Renown in ToW

Now the Old World does actually have a RoR. Prince Ulther’s Dragon Company is a RoR that acts as Mercenaries for a couple of factions. They are a RoR in the old WFB style. These guys are a totally unique unit. While they has some aspects of say Dwarf Warriors there is no other way to get a unit like this, with its rules and load out. It’s also led by a named champion AND a named multi-wound hero. This is very much a classic Dogs of War unit. However it is currently really the only one we have seen.

The Game Could Use More Like This

I think Regiments of Renown are just a really cool idea and I’d be down with the implementation of both types. Mildy different/elite versions of existing units are a cool and fun way to add a little flavor and customization to a list, though they have some overlap with the new units the AJ’s give armies. The more old school system of unique units is also very cool and lets you get some very interesting and fun things and leads us towards a Dogs of War army. However that system likely needs to have new models released, or a lot of converting. This can be cool! But it’s also a hurdle to seeing them added. I also don’t need them to be particularly good, as long as they are fun.

I’m not really sure what Regiments of Renown we should get in ToW. Most of the classic ones likely aren’t active in this time period. The Carroburg Greatswords on the other hand are active and play a role in the Great War Against Chaos. Indeed some cool Regiments of Renown getting added are a great way to show off the mixed armies you would see in the war without having to go full on allies. The lack of clear choices to be RoRs does allow for a lot of freedom and this is something I’d really like to see explored in the future.

Let us know what you think about getting more Regiments of Renown, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.