Forgeworld's Badab War books - how are they?

[loveless]

Hey all,

I was thinking of picking these up (I'm a bit late to the party, I know) and wonder how they ranked in terms of background and general "cool factor".

I remember the old White Dwarf article about the several warbands some players built and did a sort of campaign/story about hunting down Huron - it was rather delightful and I always recall it with fondness.

The books seem to be a little on the pricey side (and I take it you might as well get both) - so what are my chances of buyer's remorse?

Thanks!

[ForgottenLore]

I consider the Badab War books to be, hands down, the best of FWs books. I have never liked space marines, lays found them dull and very uninteresting, but reading FWs treatment of the Badab War got me so enthused about marines I actually started planning a marine army.

[Yodhrin]

I agree with ForgottenLore, the Badab books are hands-down the best FW books, I would go so far as to say the best books GW has ever produced when you consider the totality of the rules, fluff, and art. They're worth picking up for the huge variety of interesting special characters alone, if you're a Marine player(gotta love Counts As ); if you're even remotely into the background they're also worth picking up purely on that basis.

[LawrencePhillips]

na, the Valks trilogy was better but the lists in the books haven't aged well at all.

Badab is pretty good, however I was disappointed as they started to diverge from the style of writing.

Proof reading in these books have gone downhill big time too.

[Colonel Kolm]

the Badab war books were the first two imperial armor books ive bought. ive since bought them all. they are absolutely fantasticly done books. the fluff is outstanding. the rules are great, and it has great examples of the models for painting etc. i would highly recommend any of the books. although i will agree with the above poster my personal favorites are the vraks trilogy. as to the lists aging well from what ive been reading(so i could be mistaken) GW is updating all of the books to make them compatible(again i could be mistaken its just what ive seen in various rumor posts etc)

[KingDeath]

They are massive spessmuhreen **** with a few glaring logic holes of the "and then chapter xy captured an entire planet against thousands of defenders"( yes thousands, imperial planets are apparently sparsely populated...) kind. Forgeworld's believe that you could defend a star system with a bunch of minefields and stations is equaly painful but a bit more forgivable, since that appears to be a rather common scifi trope.

[Col. Dash]

Awesome pair of books. Especially for an old timer like me that got in when the original articles were being released. It misses a few things like camo on marines, but it does include the Tigers Claws chapter (which were the original Astral Claws until GW changed the fluff completely) and I like how they keep them relevant to the fluff even if they didnt go back to the original material on that point. Overall I would rate them at A+.

[IcedCrow]

They are phenomenal.

[Sqallum]

Absolutely great! They contain 17 Special Characters, all with their unique special rules and Chapter Tactics. There is also a Dreadnought siege list, a Space Marine Siege Master, and rules for Guard Miltia. A must buy

[CaptainSicarius]

I would also definately recommend these books. Probably the best in the IA series, due to excellent storyline (with some actual character development and a high degree of consistency and originality), a very nice assortment of special characters (which I myself particularly like), usable army lists and high quality lay-out. It is also rather clear the authors took the effort to create a compelling story, while at the same time nicely meshing it with the existing fluff. It does have some minor flaws, as some people have pointed out the proofreading wasn't all too good, and it is pretty much solely about Marines (which I personally don't think is a problem). If you are getting them, be sure to get the dual package for the nice case and poster! Enjoy

[badguyshaveallthefun]

i'll pretty much echo what most others have said:

This was a VERY good series of books, and if you even remotely are a fan of Space Marines it's worth the investment. There are pages and pages dedicated to the organisations and paint colors of the different chapters involved (which is one of the main reasons I like the IA books in general) not too mention the alternate lists for playing different types of armies, but there are also a few Apocalypse formations as well (which I play monthly, so they're of great worth to me).

Since others have brought it up, I will also mention that the Vrak's trilogy was also very well done, but I personally liked the Badab War much better, there's just something about Luft Huron and his fall from grace that gets to me, I always enjoy reading about stories like this, watching someone go from "good" to "bad" and the justification and the little things that help to speed up that path. (I also love the Horus Heresy for these same reasons, watching Primarchs succumb to vanity and pride)

My 2 (maybe more) cents.

[Sandlemad]

In addition to everything already stated, they each contain ten Index Astartes-style articles which in truth are far better written (in-universe 'history') than the original Index Astartes articles in WD.

[SilentCivilian]

The Independent Characters podcast have done a full review of the Badwar books. May be worth listening to those episodes and taking it from there.

[Navar]

I bought the Valks trilogy first and got these when they came out.

I believe that the Badab War books are better. Not simply the rules, but the way that the book differentiates between the different Space Marine chapters.

These books inspired me to make a Sons of Medusa chapter.

[Capussa]

I have all 11 IA books, the badab war books are awsome for marine players, the stories in 3 onwards vary but are all good and include lots of stuff for guard players and a little for marines, each book also includes a campaign for the story and some additional rules for another faction

[nagash66]

Badabooks are worth every penny and are a must buy for any marine fan.

[MvS]

I also would like to add my voice to those who are recommending these books. They are excellent in every relevant sense.

[Inquisitor Kallus]

I bought the Valks trilogy first and got these when they came out.

I believe that the Badab War books are better. Not simply the rules, but the way that the book differentiates between the different Space Marine chapters.

These books inspired me to make a Sons of Medusa chapter.

I didnt ever see a book on 'Valks', though The siege of 'Vraks' books were great...

Anyway, ive got one of the Badab books and found it to be great reading, just like the majority of FW books background (spelling mistakes aside). Go for it dude, im sure youll like it.

[Inquisitor Engel]

I didnt ever see a book on 'Valks', though The siege of 'Vraks' books were great...

Oh don't be pedantic.

The Badab Books are amazing and well worth the money. If you can buy them, buy them.

[The_Trans]

Just finished reading them. Really changed how I looked at Huron, and loyalist marines..Huron was trying to do the right thing at the start..and well "loyalist" marines are just as much murdering unheroic butchers as their chaos brethren...