So far we have described units as consisting of identical rank-and-file troops. However, more often than not, warriors march to war under the leadership of a captain or some other officer, to the accompaniment of a drum or horn and beneath the fluttering standards of their cities and rulers. The regiments of the Empire march under flags bearing the arms of their Electors and their Emperor. Bretonnians go to war before the glittering heraldic banners of their lords and King. Ores wave banners covered in glyphs proclaiming the might and power of their chieftains.

Standards and drums also have a practical value: they are used to signal to the troops, direct their unit's movement and provide a highly visible point around which formation changes and manoeuvres can be made. The rules that follow represent the boost that Standards and Musicians give to a unit's fighting prowess.

The unit's Standard Bearer, Musician, Champion and any characters within it, must be placed in the front rank. When the unit turns round to face the side or rear, its Champion, together with the Standard Bearer, Musician and any characters in the unit, are automatically rearranged into the new front rank.

Except, as discussed elsewhere, these special models, including any characters that have joined the unit, ate always positioned in the front rank, with the Standard Bearer in the middle. Only if all the character models cannot fit into the front rank alongside the Musician and Standard Bearer are they placed, into the second rank. Characters in the second rank cannot take part in close combat in any way unless they are directly engaged, via a flank charge for example.

A unit of troops may carry a standard which might take the form of a flag, banner, totemic idol or similar device. The standard is carried by a Standard Bearer. He is assumed to be armed and armoured like the other models in the unit and fights in exactly the same way. Although the model might actually lack a shield or substitute a spear for a sword, such things are ignored as making no difference to the unit's overall fighting ability. The Standard Bearer also has to carry a banner as well as fight, but he is chosen from the meanest and most determined individuals in the unit, and this more than makes up for any disadvantage suffered because of the weight and inconvenience of his standard or difference in his armour or weaponry.

The enemy cannot specifically attack Standard Bearers or Musicians as he can character models. Standard Bearers are not normally removed as casualties, as it is assumed that if the Standard Bearer were killed another warrior would pick up the banner and take his place. Therefore, the player can always remove an ordinary warrior in preference to a Standard Bearer, even if the ordinary warrior is not in base contact with the enemy.

If a unit includes a Standard Bearer then it will be more determined than ever to beat its foe. A unit which has a Standard Bearer may therefore add +1 to its combat result when deciding which side has won a close combat. See the Close Combat section for a complete description of how to work out which side has won a combat.

If a unit is defeated in close combat and subsequently breaks and flees then the enemy automatically captures its standard if they pursue. The standard is captured regardless of whether the pursuers catch and destroy the fleeing troops. Standards are also captured if an enemy unit is completely destroyed in close combat.

If victors do not pursue then the standard is lost in the tide of battle but it is not captured. In either case, the Standard Bearer model is removed from the unit, and in the case of a unit which is not destroyed, it is replaced with an ordinary trooper model.

Note that standards are only lost if the unit is defeated and broken in close combat, not if the unit flees after it has panicked or because of a failed Fear test.

Captured standards may be placed behind the unit which captured them and carried about as trophies for the rest of the game. Trophies have no fighting value; they are merely used to indicate that the unit has captured its adversary's flag. The player's Standard Bearer model is surrendered for the duration of the game and his jubilant enemy places it behind his unit to proclaim his victory (or removes it from the table if this is more convenient).

Trophies may be recaptured along with the defeated unit's own standard if it breaks and flees from combat. Captured trophies may therefore be recaptured by defeating the unit that has them, thereby avenging their initial loss and restoring them to a proper place of honour.

Once the game is over, a player can claim extra Victory points for standards he has captured and still holds, as described in the Scenarios section.

An army marches under its banners but it does so to the beat of drums and the call of blaring horns. A unit of troops may include a Musician model, either a horn blower or a drummer, to accompany it into battle. Like Standard Bearers, Musicians fight just like an ordinary member of their unit, even if the model itself has slight variances in armour or weaponry. Also like Standard Bearers, the player does not have to remove Musicians but can substitute an ordinary model instead. Unlike Standard Bearers, Musicians are not removed automatically when a unit breaks and flees from combat. Their instruments are somewhat lighter and less cumbersome than a weighty standard. Musicians cannot be captured as trophies.

A Musician model is placed in the front rank of its unit. His effect on the fighting ability of the unit is not as great as a Standard Bearer but is useful nonetheless.

If a unit of troops has a Musician in its front rank then an inspiring horn blast or rousing drum beat can turn retreat into a stalwart defence.

A fleeing unit with a Musician will gain a +1 Leadership bonus in any attempt to rally (note that a unit's Leadership cannot be increased to more than 10 in this way): Also, if close combat is drawn but one side has a Musician and the other doesn't, the side with a Musician wins the combat by one point. If both sides have a Musician then the result is still a draw.

A unit of troops can often include a single Champion. He can be bought as an upgrade to a normal model in the unit as described in the Warhammer Army books. Champions are often extremely strong, tough or astute members of their race, and comrades look up to them and take pride in their prowess. Champions of units have various names depending on the army they fight for; Ore Champions can be called Bosses, while Empire Champions can be called Sergeants or Marksmen, for example. No matter what their name, Champions always follow the same rules.

Although powerful, Champions are not characters but members of their regiment and always fight as part of it, moving, attacking, fleeing and pursuing alongside the unit as a whole. If the unit has any special rules which apply to it then these also apply to the Champion. Unlike characters, a Champion never moves and fights on his own, and can never leave his unit or join another one. They are effectively another model in the unit with enhanced characteristics. If killed in close combat, any excess wounds caused against them are carried over to normal rank-and-file models in the unit.

The Champion is always armed and equipped in the same way as the rest of his unit, unless otherwise noted. The Options entry in each army list tells you whether you can upgrade one of the unit members to a Champion. Except where noted elsewhere, the Champion is always placed in the front rank along with the unit's Standard Bearer and Musician.

Unlike Standard Bearers and Musicians, you can direct attacks against Champions and kill them - if a Champion is removed as a casualty he is not replaced by another Champion. Even though they are not characters, Champions are subject to the following rules which govern characters: they can accept and issue challenges and benefit from the 'Look out, Sir!' rule. See the Characters section for details.