Venus: Bauhaus Forces of War

The many universes of the varied role playing games have led to proliferation of detailed supplements to provide the gamer with background information on the lands traversed by the player characters. This need for source material quickly found an audience in the miniature figure wargames with each new rule set being published with supplemental material. For a fantasy or science fiction wargame rules set centered in a world (or worlds) different from our own, these source books provide a means of enhancing the game by giving a colorful background and purpose for the battles fought on the table top.

I have had little or no experience with the Warzone system prior to receiving several items for review. Now, I'm seriously rubbing my chin and contemplating making an investment in the system, as my wife despairs. In truth, I have little patience with BSMSs (Big Shoulderpad Miniature Systems), but there's a depth to the Warzone milieu that I find jaunty and stylish.

Venus: Bauhaus Forces of War is the first supplement to the Warzone second edition rules. As the title states, this supplement provides the details on the planet Venus in the Warzone universe and of the Corporation of Bauhaus, one of the five major corporations. Venus is a terraformed, jungle planet cursed with a day of rotation longer than its yearly orbit around the Sun leading to a Venus day that is 117 Earth days long. Bauhaus, whose roots harken to an imperial Germany, is the dominant corporation of Venus. Through this supplement, players will find a rich new world to fight over and detailed information on the armed forces of Bauhaus.

Okay, so what do you get for your hard-earned shekels? The book contains nearly 100 pages of information. After a brief introduction, the book gives 30 pages of maps and short graphic vignettes, which introduce the six campaigns covered in the book. These vignettes provide campaign maps and visual glimpses into the continual fighting on the jungle world. Next come detailed sections on Venus, the Bauhaus Corporation, and the four ruling Duke Electors. The six Venusian campaigns are outlined, allowing for combat between Bauhaus and any of the other four Corporations or the forces of the Dark Legion. Several new rules for Warzone follow. Among these are rules for night fighting, including concealment, tracer rounds and flares, and for the hazardous jungle, which can be as deadly as the enemy. The final third of the book deals with the Bauhaus Armed forces, giving information on various troop types, special units, heroes, weapons, vehicles, and a thousand point army list for each of the four Duke Electors. The book also includes two pages of punch out templates and counters for use with the new rules. My only gripe with the book is the total lack of a table of contents or index, making it hard to quickly locate specific information.

The supplement is visually striking with illustrations or photographs of Warzone miniatures on every page. The graphics portray the terrain of Venus and spark the imagination. Photo vignettes of miniatures offer inspiration and ideas for jungle terrain for the game table. The visuals distinctly evoke the Target Games style. In the army section, each troop type is illustrated at least once and those types with miniatures available have photos of the figures. The different uniforms and camouflage patterns along with the differences in helmet types are clearly shown.

The Verdict

My overall impression is that Target has a winner. The background material is rich and allows the reader to easily imagine the savage fighting in the dark jungles of Venus. The Bauhaus troop types and army lists provide a variety of units, which can be tailored for fighting on any part of the planet and will forma basis for Bauhaus forces elsewhere in the solar system. The supplement covers the subject and I await reading the next one on Mars and the forces of the Capitol Corporation.