Oathmark: Is your army WYSIWYG?

To start, I should state that I saw no mention in the rules on whether your armies in Oathmark need to be WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). That said, I always like it when the models on the table match what they are actually supposed to be carrying. It leads to less confusion, and it just plain old looks nice!

For those that don’t know about Oathmark, it is Osprey Games and North Star Military Figures newest Mass Combat Fantasy System. This game focuses on simple fantasy rules and a campaign system. In it, you build a Kingdom and wage wars against your neighbors. There are four core races in the rule book (Dwarf, Human, Elf and Goblin/Orc). Those races all get along within a Kingdom, but will fight for their lords against neighboring kingdoms.

I have an article on this site specifically for the strengths and weaknesses of each race. This article looks at the specific units in each army and how they are armed.

The official figures to the game are by North Star Military Figures and look really nice. They are done in 28mm. As a note, this game is miniatures agnostic so you can use whatever miniatures you want.

Now, let’s get into how to make your Oathmark army WYSIWYG!

What is WYSIWYG?

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) is the practice of having your models represent physically what is on their stat profile for the game. If your model’s profile says that they are armed with heavy armour, a sword and shield, then the model will have something like plate armour, a sword and a shield to represent this.

This practice makes it easier to identify units on a table and keeps you from having to remember which units are armed with which weapons.

In This Article

In this article I list all of the units in the Oathmark Core Rule Book and how they are armed. Using these lists, you can determine if your army is WYSIWYG and decide if you want to get in further on the game.

You can also use it as a tool to help determine how you want to model your miniatures for an Oathmark army.

An Exception to The Lists

Before going further, I want to point out that Character models can equip more than what is on the lists below. The rule book actually encourages you to model and equip your characters however you want, but you still use the basic stat line for the model.

All of these character figures can also purchase magic items and equip themselves slightly differently. Using these items, you can essentially create a banner-man, a hero good at ranged attacks or even a king that regenerates. Furthermore, your characters take on the attributes of whatever unit you place them in with some small bonuses.

I am not going to get into the bonuses, but here is an example. If you place your character with a group of Spearmen, they count as a Spearman. That said, they also have the option of stepping out in front of the group and taking on an enemy troop all by themselves. This could be beneficial if your hero has stronger stats stronger than the remaining group profile. If used in this way, the unit basically becomes hit points for your character.

It sounds complicated, but it isn’t to difficult to grasp as laid out in the rules. Characters include Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses, Generals, Captains, Spellcasters and even champions.

With that out of the way, onto the lists!!!

The Dwarfs

The Dwarfs in Oathmark have the best overall defense values and the second best activation (and moral) values in the game. They happen to also be the slowest army in the game and none of their units can take mounts.

Available Units

The following units are available to a Dwarf leader. I will leave the word “Dwarf” out of each entry as it can be assumed that all of the standard units in this list are Dwarfs. I also make mention of their armaments in case you want to see if the model types match up with your army or preconceived notions.

• A King (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour)
• A Prince (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour)
• An Army General (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour)
• Captains (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour)
• A Champion (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour)
• Spellcasters (Hand Weapon)
• Soldiers (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Spearmen (Spear, Shield, Light Armour)
• Archers (Hand Weapon, Bow, Light Armour)
• Warriors (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour)
• Linebreakers (Two-Handed Weapon, Heavy Armour)
• Border Guards (Hand Weapon, Bow)
• Militia (Two-Handed Weapon)
• Light or Heavy Catapults
• Indirk (wooly rhinoceroses)
• Eachy (a large regenerating humanoid creature)
• Barghest (giant horse-sized dogs that can vanish and reappear)

The Humans

The Humans in Oathmark don’t have much special. There stats are pretty average, but they also happen to have the second cheapest troops in the game. One thing to their favor, though, is that their cavalry has a better defense value than any of the other races.

Available Units

The following units are available to a Human leader. I will leave the word “Human” out of each entry as it can be assumed that all of the standard units in this list are Humans.

• A King (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• A Prince (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• An Army General (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• Captains (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• A Champion (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• Spellcasters (Hand Weapon – can take a Horse)
• Soldiers (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Spearmen (Spear, Shield, Light Armour)
• Archers (Hand Weapon, Bow, Light Armour)
• Warriors (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour)
• Linebreakers (Two-Handed Weapon, Heavy Armour)
• Militia (Hand Weapon, Shield)
• Ranger (Hand Weapon, Bow)
• Mounted Ranger (Hand Weapon, Bow)
• Cavalry (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Heavy Cavalry (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour)
• Light or Heavy Catapults
• Ogres (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Ogre Linebreakers (Two-Handed Weapon, Heavy Armour)
• Buggane (a shaggy ogre like creature with magical abilities – Hand Weapon)
• Giants (Hand Weapon)

The Elves

The Elves in Oathmark are the elite of the elite. They have the best fight, shoot and activation (moral) values of the game. That said, they also cost the most per figure in terms of points when building your force.

Available Units

The following units are available to a Elf leader. I will leave the word “Elf” out of each entry as it can be assumed that all of the standard units in this list are Elves.

• A King or Queen (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• A Prince or Princess (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• An Army General (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• Captains (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• A Champion (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour – can take a Horse)
• Spellcasters (Hand Weapon – can take a Horse)
• Soldiers (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Spearmen (Spear, Shield, Light Armour)
• Archers (Hand Weapon, Elf Bow, Light Armour)
• Warriors (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour)
• Linebreakers (Two-Handed Weapon, Heavy Armour)
• Ranger (Hand Weapon, Elf Bow)
• Pathguard (Hand Weapon, Shield)
• Cavalry (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Mounted Ranger (Hand Weapon, Elf Bow)
• Hunt Master (Hunt Master – Hand Weapon, Pack of Dogs – no weapons)
• Ballista
• Lundwurn (Winged Wyverns)
• Giant Spider
• Wulver (Werewolves)

The Orcs and Goblins

Orcs and Goblins count as a single entry in the book, but they are recruited differently from each other. As such, I broke the races down into two groups.

The Goblins

The Goblins in Oathmark can field the cheapest troops points-wise. This means they can overwhelm their opponents through sheer numbers.  They also have the worst stats, so don’t expect them to hold up long without numbers on their side.

Available Units

The following units are available to a Goblin leader. I will leave the word “Goblin” out of each entry as it can be assumed that all of the standard units in this list are Goblins.

• A King (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• An Advisor (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• An Army General (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• Captains (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• A Champion (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• Spellcasters (Hand Weapon – can take a Wolf Mount)
• Soldiers (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Spearmen (Spear, Shield, Light Armour)
• Archers (Hand Weapon, Bow, Light Armour)
• Slaves (Hand Weapon)
• Slingers (Hand Weapon, Sling)
• Wolf Rider (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Wolf Rider Scout (Hand Weapon, Bow, Light Armour)
• Wolves
• Goblin Light Catapult

The Orcs

The Orcs in Oathmark specialize in fiercely charging and attacking their foes. Their fight skill is better in most cases than their human counterparts, but they lack the discipline of the others races. In fact, the only other group as unruly as them are the Goblins.

Available Units

The following units are available to an Orc leader. I will leave the word “Orc” out of each entry as it can be assumed that all of the standard units in this list are Orcs.

• A King (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• A Prince (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• An Army General (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• Captains (Command ability, Hand Weapon, Shield and Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• A Champion (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour – can take a Wolf Mount)
• Spellcasters (Hand Weapon – can take a Wolf Mount)
• Soldiers (Hand Weapon, Shield, Light Armour)
• Spearmen (Spear, Shield, Light Armour)
• Warrior (Hand Weapon, Shield, Heavy Armour)
• Linebreaker (Two-Handed Weapon, Heavy Armour)
• Archers (Hand Weapon, Bow, Light Armour)
• Heavy Catapult

Also Available to Orcs and Goblins

The following units are also available to the armies of the Orcs and Goblins.

• Trolls
• Knucker (Enormous Serpents with a poisonous breath attack)

Available to All

If you select the right terrain types in your Kingdom, the following are also available to your army.

• Gargoyles
• Bodachs (magical fey creatures that generally take the form as old men)
• Surmas (six legged serpents that can turn enemies to stone – a.k.a. Basilisk)
• Dragons (with or without wings)

Wrapping it up…

There you have it. The unit and armament list from all of the races in Oathmark. Using this, you can determine how you want to build your future army or if your existing army is WYSIWYG for Oathmark.

By the way, don’t those North Star Military Figures miniatures have a lot of character?

As mentioned in my previous article on each race’s strengths and weaknesses, you can bring any race you wish into your campaign game army. Orcs can fight along side Humans and Trolls. As long as they are all from the same Kingdom, they all get along just fine.

Special thanks goes out again to Osprey Games for sending me a copy of the Oathmark rule book for review. Don’t forget to also check out my review of the game’s core rule book.

Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!