Lustria. At first it may sound like a top holiday resort for the man-at-arms about town with a few sovereigns to spare, but the reality (as ever in the world of Warhammer) is somewhat different. A plastic picnic knife just doesn't cut it in the primordial jungle. Boots will not save you from burrowing bloodworms or constricting leeches. A hanky with knots tied in the corners is no real protection against having your head bitten off by a gigantic carnivorous plant.

Warhammer Realms: Lustria is a first. It details a realm rather than an army and gives you a rules set for a particular environment, much as Codex: Cityfight did for Warhammer 40,000. Presented in this book is a whole new way to play Warhammer. You can use the rules therein to transform your normal games, which usually take place in something akin to a lush park, into a bloody close-quarter struggle set in hostile jungle terrain. The emphasis is on the word "hostile" – the terrain will actually rack up a kill count of its own as the game goes on.

Not only that, but Warhammer Realms: Lustria contains a complete campaign system for those wanting to take the fight to this green and unpleasant land as well as two variant army lists: one for the Lizardmen and one for the Skaven, the main protagonists in the millennium-spanning war known as the Rise of Sotek.

MR. HOARE, I PRESUME?

After a long, hard search, I tracked down Andy Hoare, the Games Developer responsible for the project, in the murky depths of Bugman's Bar. One coffee later, and Andy talked through the early decisions in the Lustria project.

Andy Hoare

Andy: "The Warhammer Realms series is about taking your favorite armies somewhere they've never fought before, loading up the baggage train, and seeing how well your models fare in a new environment, one that is as deadly to them as the enemy. Not only that, but the Realms series allows us to revisit and refresh the model ranges of the armies native to each realm we write about."

A good excuse to release a couple of new boxed sets, then?

"Yes, indeed. Two of the major releases for this project are the Skaven Plague Monk plastic kit and the Lizardmen Saurus cavalry."

Music to the ears of Lizardmen players everywhere. The Saurus cavalry models include a new Cold One, which draws heavily on ancient Inca designs. The new plastic Plague Monks are by far the most disgusting and pustular plastics we have produced yet. There will also be a new Rat Ogres and Giant Rats boxed set, but more on that later.

"The chance to refresh these ranges also gave us an opportunity to work up some top quality metal miniatures. We have some new Censer Bearers to accompany our Plague Monks and more Hero models for each of the armies involved than you can shake a Staff of the Old Ones at."

So the driving force behind the project was to develop two of our races as well as to introduce a new style of play?

"Not exactly. Warhammer is unlikely to have a lot of new Army books added to its repertoire. We'd rather go back to the earlier Army books and make sure they are as good as they can possibly be. Warhammer Realms has the potential to produce a different type of supplement and keep things fresh while we work our way through the existing Army books."

Supplements like Warhammer Realms: Lustria will enable players to use armies that they might otherwise think about retiring.

"Simply by introducing a lot of scenery, we end up with a different style of game."

A horde of Skaven overwhelm the Empire defenders of the ruins of Xahutec.

Next: It's A Jungle Out There