Calculating Points Values

By Jervis Johnson

I must admit I've held off sending this information out for general consumption because I feared that people might just use it 'straight' to get points values for troops, rather than as a starting place as is intended. On the other hand the information would clearly be useful to those of you working on your own lists, so I've decided in the end to release it. All I ask is that you use the information with restraint and care!

How It Works

I use my base stat line charts to get working points values for troops in an army list. If a troops types characteristics don't fit exactly it's usually quite easy to 'guestimate' a value based on what is on the charts. The value of any equipment is then added on, againing 'guestimating' the value of equipment not on the list

These starting points values then get adjusted for things like special abilities, as well as 'gut instinct' if the system brings in a pv that seems too high or too low. To be honest, gut instinct is probably the most important guide to points values; some times a points value just seems wrong, though I'd be hard put to say exactly why. Having got a draft list, all you need to do is start using it, and you can then adjust points values as you go along based on the feedback you get. The important thing is not to be afraid to change a points value if it seems to be wrong, radically if need be.

There are two other things well worth bearing in mind when working out the points values for troops in a list. The first is that "points values are internal", and the second is"if in doubt, apply a limit".

Points Values Are Internal

By this I mean that the points values for a troop type are only really important   with regards to other troops types *from the same list*. For example, there is not much  point comparing a Knight from the WotR army list to a Roman Legionary from the Imperial Roman list. All that is important with regard one list and another is that an *army* picked from each list has an equal chance of winning (i.e. a 1,000 army from the WotR list has an equal chance of winning as a 1,000 point army from the Roman list).  

Returning to the Knight, his points value needs to be compared to the other troop types in the WotR list, and should be set to make players think "hmmmm, should I have more Knights or more Men At Arms, I'm just not sure....". Once you start playtesting the list you can adjust points values both on the 'micro-level', so that there are valid choices between different troop types in the list, and on a 'macro-level' so that it is balanced against other lists.

If In Doubt Apply A Limit

Sometimes you'll find that a troop type seems potentially unbalancing, but to change it in any way would either make it not worth having, or would destroy the character of the list. When presented with such a dilema, I find the best thing to do is to apply a limit of some kind (usually 0-X units allowed), rather than changing the points values or rules. This is usually easily justifiable, as the units that give problems are usually the ones that tended to be rather rare. 

While on this subject, don't be afraid of including what may seem to be 'over the top' units in the army list. In my experience it is these that give an army its real character, and they shouldn't be avoided just because they are hard to balance out. This goes against a recent message on the list [The Warhammer Ancients Mailing List - ED] warning about a Warhammer (fantasy) style army list 'arms race'. Such criticisms of the Warhammer army books are actually unfounded, and contrary to popular opinion, newer lists perform no better in tournaments than the older ones (the last Warhammer Grand Tournament was won by a Goblin army(!), with an Empire army in 3rd place, while the army that statistically did worst was the recently 'revamped and updated' High Elf list). Where the new lists are better than the older ones is in the variety of troops with interesting special rules and abilities, and it tends to be this that players with older lists point to as 'what they want' in the next edition of their own lists. Anyway, the point is that you should be scared of being a bit over the top sometimes, as long as the result is characterful and playtesting shows that the resulting army is balanced.

But that is quite enough of my ramblings. Following is the base points values charts I use, and which I hope that budding list writers will find of use.

Base Stat Lines

Below are a number of 'base stat lines', along with a points value. Use these as a guideline to work out the base points cost for a model without any equipment (oo-er missus!). The important thing is that the characteristics below can act as a starting point. This especially applies to points values, which should be adjusted up or down in the light of playtesting and experience.

I SAY AGAIN (sorry to shout) THE POINTS VALUES BELOW ARE A STARTING POINT AND SHOULD BE ADJUSTED UP OR DOWN IN THE LIGHT OF PLAYTESTING.

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