A very large update here around 1.5 years in the making, with it even jumping from 2.X to 3.0 – admittedly I should perhaps have done that with the jump from 2.2 to 2.3 as well, but whereas that update was mainly focused on reworking the magic system, this update is a bit more all encompassing. Let’s go through the main changes one by one.
For starters, I've included rules for turning and redressing the ranks from other Warhammer editions, which replaces the current swift reform and adds more options besides wheeling and reforming.
Stand & Shoot now only works if the charging unit comes within maximum range of the weapon. This solves the issue of throwing weapons potentially reaching enemies 2-3 times beyond its max range. Only enemy units that fail their charge need to take panic tests from Heavy Casualties. Stand & Shoot is now limited to the minimum charge range rather than base movement, making it a bit more difficult to use it against fast troops.
Counter-charge has been added as a new charge reaction, finally seeing an end to cavalry stand-offs. This works similarly to TOW, with the charged unit required to pass both a Leadership test and be far enough away from the charging unit to be able to counter-charge, as well as not allowing units that failed their charge the previous turn to attempt it. This makes cavalry even more likely to get the charge, but they have lost a lot of damage output to compensate for it.
Hold now has been given an added benefit in that units charged to their front gain +1 ranks for the purpose of steadfast, meaning that defensive units are more likely to want to hold than counter-charge and risk putting themselves in a bad position. This is mainly a buff for infantry blocks which are now more likely to stay put.
I've added rules for aura and area spells to Spell Types, better explaining how such spells work without requiring this to be repeated in every spell description.
Direct damage no longer limits you to the front arc, meaning that several damage spells that are currently hexes can now be changed into proper direct damage instead. It overall offers direct damage more versatility and sets them apart from magic missiles more, and is more in line with most other spell types.
Wizards now have a range limit of 24” in order to dispel, similar to TOW. This makes positioning more important, and solves the problem of one Wizard stacking dispel bonuses that cover the whole table, unlike casting bonuses that only apply to the wizard casting it. You can still dispel any spell using dispel dice as normal - the limitation only means you no longer automatically get all the dispel bonuses from the Wizard regardless of distance.
Innate bound spells have been removed since priests now use Ld for their prayers, and the various units in the game with bound spells now have them be part of magic items instead. All bound spells will be given a spell level, meaning you will be able to use more than 2 dice for them. This also means that the spells can be given proper casting values instead of being limited to power level 5, which made them poorly balanced.
Shooting has been given a new (old) modifier - long range. Long range gives a -1 penalty to Hit, and is separate for each weapon, rather than just "half range" like in 8th ed. Long range will mostly affect long range weapons in the first turn, which is when they have had the biggest impact hits before combat starts. Units that stand & shoot do not suffer an additional -1 To Hit if they shoot while the enemy is at long range since they have more time to aim then.
The To Wound table has been reworked more similarly to 6th, 7th and TOW, where weak attacks will struggle to wound much higher Toughness. Whereas in the past wounding everything on 6’s meant spamming lots of low S attacks would actually inflict more wounds than fewer medium strength attacks, that is no longer the case. This means things like Giants and the like no longer take huge amounts of damage from certain spells, swarms, blowpipes and repeater crossbows – none of which are intended to be anti-monster weapons to begin with. The new table instead requires you to roll a 6, followed by a 2-6 depending on the S/T difference.
Armour saves have been limited to 2+, rather than 1+. This makes it easier to deal with heavy cavalry, especially Monstrous Cavalry which are currently considered overpowered. What this means is that things like full plate, chaos armour etc, will simply counts as heavy armour. Gromril armour will remain as is since Dwarfs cannot be mounted anyway.
Ward saves have been renamed to Invulnerable saves like in 40k. The reason for this is that back in the day, essentially all Ward saves were magical in natural, whereas later editions then expanded this with Parry, Dodge and Regeneration, but still kept the term “Ward save”. Magical Wards are now called just that, with “Invulnerable Saves” being the umbrella term. This removes the need to have unique special rules for every model with a Magical Ward, and fixes certain item interactions and rules that are only intended to affect Magical Wards.
Combat has also seen a change by allowing a minimum of 5 models to always strike, even if they are not all in base contact. This resolves issues with certain models having larger or smaller base sizes, reduces the amount of base-to-base measuring required, and avoids multi-charges doing very little.
Cold-blooded has been split into Disciplined – the former now only applies to Psychology tests and Break tests, whereas the latter applies to other Ld tests. It means Cold-blooded is useful to avoid fleeing, and Disciplined makes the model more likely to follow orders.
Ethereal models now have a 3+ Magical Ward, instead of a 2+/5+ depending on the source of the attack. Magical Attacks instead now inflict a -1 penalty to all Magical Wards, making it more effective against them by default while reducing the power gap. This also makes magical attacks in general more useful since it can be used to combat monster characters with good ward saves, and makes magic hand weapons more useful compared to just picking a mundane great weapon.
Magic Resistance now inflicts a casting penalty rather than a dispel bonus, and only affects the model rather than the whole unit. It now also affects aura and area spells. Many items that give MR will have it affect the whole unit, so the effect will work as is – the change is mainly to solve issues with stacking due to edge cases. For other items and characters, they will go down in cost.
Fear and Stubborn now stack, with Fear becoming Terror while Stubborn x2 allows re-rolling break tests. Poison stacking now adds +2 To Wound instead of auto-wounding on 6’s – making it a bit simpler – and leaves the secondary effect to be used for spell and magic item effects instead.
March & Shoot is a new special rule that applies to certain weapons like shortbows and other short range weapons, rather than being part of the skirmishers/fast cavalry rules. This gives them more of a unique role for mobile troops, whereas fast cavalry with longer range weapons have to choose between marching or shooting.
Parry can be used by mounted troops now, making sword and shield cavalry a bit more useful.
Quick to Fire has been renamed to Quick Shot. This no longer ignores movement penalties if the model also marches, making it a bit more balanced overall and means marching is no longer a no-brainer choice for missile troops.
Stomps on Monsters now works against LoS3, meaning they can stomp Monstrous Cavalry. This also buffs Steam Tanks and similar grinding attacks.
Strider now ignores combat penalties from terrain, making it a lot more useful for the units that have it, rather than just ignore certain types of movement penalties.
Uncommanded is a new special rule that applies to war beasts, monstrous beasts, swarms, monstrous creatures, monsters and various "mercenary" units. It means that these units cannot use Inspiring Presence or Hold Your Ground, making them more unreliable in that regard. This works similarly to the Levies rule from TOW.
Volley fire no longer gives -1 To Hit, but is limited to only being usable at long range. It also no longer applies to javelins, but has been given to slings – better representing how these weapon were actually used and avoids weird edge cases when using Quick Shot.
Skirmishers have seen a lot of changes overall. You can no longer fire in more than two ranks to avoid missile spam, but by contrast they are now more effective in combat since they can now gain rank bonus and be steadfast as normal after the first round of combat. Skirmishers will henceforth always be a paid upgrade, rather than sometimes being free for close combat units. This also solves the issue where a unit might not be skirmishing by default which can make it confusing to keep track of which unit would be eligible for rank bonus/steadfast after they have been engaged in combat for a while. Skirmishers can now also fire & flee like Fast Cavalry, sacrificing D6 Movement to do so, making it a bit of a gamble. There are now also rules that limits heavily armoured characters from utilizing the skirmisher rules.
Vanguard has been completely redesigned - rather than being an extra move after deployment, it now allows you to deploy further ahead instead - making skirmish screens more useful since they no longer force your battleline troops to deploy further back. Vanguard models can deploy ahead a distance equal to their Movement, scaling better than the old 6/12". The Fly rules have also been cleaned up a bit to clarify how vanguard and movement is affected.
For troop types, I’ve removed the Large Infantry type - it only affected a small number of units, and since these troops are allowed to use 30mm bases now and are also allowed to attack with 5 models regardless of how many are in contact, there simply is not much of a need for it to remain.
In an effort to scale down the dominance of mounted troops, Impact Hits from Cavalry and Monstrous Cavalry have been removed from their troop types, and mounts are not allowed to make supporting attacks. Likewise, Centaur-like creatures are limited to 1 supporting attack. Monstrous Infantry and Monstrous Beasts may now make three supporting attacks again. It's not a perfect system, but it puts things back to the level of 8th ed pretty much.
Swarms are no longer skirmishers – instead they just have vanguard. The skirmish rules were never really a good fit for them since it was meant to represent light troops using hit and run tactics, not separate "islands" of creatures. As a normal ranked unit, Swarms now act like the mass of creatures they are meant to represent.
Spears now only benefit from Mighty Blow if used two-handed, similarly to pikes. This is to help out spearmen that do not have shields, making it a choice whether to prioritize offense or defense.
For missile weapons there are a lot of changes, mainly due to the addition of effective range and long range. All missile weapons now have more realistic effective and maximum ranges overall, without really becoming more powerful due to the long range penalty and march & fire limitation.
Bows have been removed, instead you have just shortbows and longbows, and their range has been increased to 24" and 36" respectively. Shortbows can march & fire and fire multiple shots while moving, making them much more mobile, and longbows have the same Strength as the user, replacing the need for the warbow. This ensures each bow has a unique role, rather than having each bow be identical with incremental increases in range. Greatbows likewise have a range of 42" and the same S as the user +1.
Slings have been increased to a more realistic 30" range, but no longer shoot Multiple Shots – slings are slower to fire than bows, and since it's mainly a skirmishing weapon, requiring to stand still to get Multiple Shots meant the latter was rarely used anyway. It has Armour Piercing still to set it apart from longbows.
Pistols no longer give extra attack, making them solely missile weapons. This is to make sure additional hand weapons have a stronger role and distinguish them as missile weapons rather than a hybrid.
Throwing weapons/axes now have a 9" range like in TOW, which will be implemented for other various grenades as well.
Blowpipes have seen a change with the loss of both rapid fire and quick to fire – however, they are now S3, and can fire 3 shots per turn instead.
Great Cannons have been removed – they will instead have a unique cannon profile in their separate army book, so mechanically it's unchanged.
Organ Guns have a 30" range, allowing them to fire the first turn, which is balanced out by suffering from long range now.
Mortars and rocket launchers now have longer ranges than stone throwers which both make them more realistic, while also setting them apart mechanically more. So stone throwers have shorter range, but a more forgiving misfire table, and rocket launchers use the large template, but always fire indirectly.
Leaders and Musicians have been redesigned a bit, with Leaders given the ability to re-roll failed counter-charge rolls. However, they no longer affect marching – instead this effect has been given to Musicians like in TOW, which no longer have swift reform. Swift reform caused discrepancy issues between units with and without the option for musicians, and was a bit "all of nothing" in terms of success. The new turn option instead allows any unit to "swift reform" by losing a quarter of their movement.
There have been a few changes to terrain – mostly regarding ranks, LoS and movement – to make them a bit more important. Buildings are now also easier to enter and leave without using the unit's whole movement.
For Choosing Your Army, I've decided to do away with the Lord/Heroes as categories, instead you just have Characters. The army lists will be updated to have each previous Lord/Hero of the same type as one unit entry, with the same points costs for upgrades, rather than having two nearly identical unit entries spread across two categories. I've also done away with the requirement of "minimum number of units" – instead there is a new limit keeping any character or unit from costing more than 25% of your total points, thus ensuring that both hero hammer characters and deathstar units are kept in check.
For Magic Items, I've removed a lot of items from the book, which will appear in the various army books instead. These are mainly items whose effects are a bit too unique for common items, which is what the rulebook items are intended to be. Likewise, many items that just do the same thing as items in another category, or are nearly the same as items in the same category, have been cut to reduce bloat. However, there are also five new items to replace the cut ones.
For spells, there are no major changes, but plenty of minor tweaks to help improve the balance further, based on player feedback. See the patch notes for the full list.
Overall, this was a lot of fun to work on, and I’m happy that the rules are finally close to reflecting how I actually want the game to play, with me implementing a lot of things I've been wanting to add to the game for many years now.
Hopefully most of you will enjoy the majority of the changes, and many thanks to my Patreons for your continued support!
Next up will be a new poll to determine the order of book updates for the 3.0 version of the game – I expect most of them to go fairly quickly to update to the new system - it's mainly going to be a case of merging character slots, updating bows to either shortbows or longbows, and updating bound spells, Magical Wards and Magic Resistance in accordance with the new rules. Aiming for 1-2 updates done every week until they are all finished.
PATCH NOTES
BASIC RULES:
- Clarified Modifying Dice Rolls: Sometimes, you may have to modify the result of the dice roll, such as adding or subtracting a number from the result. For example, where you gain a +1 modifier means that where the roll might normally require you to roll a 4+, you now only need to roll a 3+. By contrast, a -1 modifier means that where the roll might normally require you to roll a 4+, you now need to roll a 5+.
- Expanded and clarified the rules for deploying terrain.
MOVEMENT:
- A model may always wheel as part of a normal move.
- Added movement rules for Turn and Redress the Ranks.
- Units may now move within 1" of impassable terrain.
- A Stand & Shoot reaction can only be declared if the distance to the enemy is greater than the charging unit's minimum charge distance.
- To resolve a Stand & Shoot reaction, first roll the charging unit’s charge distance. If the charging unit has enough Movement to enter the maximum range of the holding unit’s weapons, resolve the shooting attacks for each weapon as if the charging unit had just entered that weapon’s range. If the charge fails before reaching that range, the Stand & Shoot reaction for that weapon has no effect.
- A unit that is charged to their front may attempt to Counter-Charge the enemy if the distance to the enemy is greater than the charging unit's minimum charge distance, and the unit did not fail their charge the turn before. This is done by taking a Leadership test; if failed the charged unit remains in place. If passed, the unit moves D6" directly towards the enemy unit, wheeling as needed. Both units are considered to have charged during this turn. If the counter-charging unit cannot complete its move for any reason, it does not count as charging and loses any associated bonuses for it.
- Reduced march block range from 8" to 6".
MAGIC:
- Note that a Wizard may only have one Signature spell. If a Wizard can take spells from multiple lores, you must choose which lore you pick that Signature Spells from.
- Aura spells affect all units within a radius equal to the spell’s range, measured from the Wizard. If a unit is no longer within range, it immediately loses the effect. Aura spells always affect units engaged in combat, regardless of spell type.
- Area spells target a point on the battlefield within the spell’s range. Most area spells use one of the templates described earlier in the book. For round templates, the centre must be placed within the spell’s range. After placement, small round templates scatter D3", while large round templates scatter D6". For line and flame templates, the spell itself describes how they are placed.
- Direct Damage spells: The target does not have to be within the Wizard's forward arc (unless specified).
- In order for a Wizard to be able to dispel an enemy spell, they need to be within 24" of the model casting it.
- Wizards need to be within 24" of the spell or its target in order to be able to dispel a remains in play spell.
- Reworked Bound Spells. Bound spells can use power dice equal to spell level plus 1. You no longer need to use dice from the Power Pool to cast them. Removed Innate Bound Spells.
SHOOTING:
- Reworked 7+ to Hit to scale from 2+ to 5+, rather than 4+ to impossible.
- Any shots taken at an enemy that are at long range suffer a -1 to Hit modifier.
- Models that are making a Stand & Shoot reaction suffer a -1 to Hit modifier, but ignore penalties from long range.
- Reworked To Wound table to make it more difficult to Wound higher Toughness targets. In the boxes where there are two values listed, this means that in order to successfully score a Wound, you must first roll a 6, followed by another D6. In situations where the roll might have a modifier to it, this primarily affects the second roll before the first. For example, a Strength 2 Attack with a +1 modifier treats Toughness 4 as only requiring to roll a 6+ To Wound, rather than a 6+ followed by a 2+.
- Renamed Ward Saves to Invulnerable Saves. Old Ward Saves are now a special rule called "Magical Ward".
- A save of any kind can never be better than 2+.
CLOSE COMBAT:
- A minimum of five normal rank and file models in the front rank may always attack, as long as the unit is in base contact with any model of the enemy unit. This is what is referred to as the fighting rank.
- Note that unless the model is in direct base contact with two or more enemies with different profiles, the attacking player can only direct the attacks against normal rank and file models in the unit. This means they cannot target specific models like characters, handlers or other unique models, unless those are the only options available.
- A model can make a supporting attack if it is in the second rank and directly behind a friendly model that is itself in base contact with the enemy.
- If a defeated unit has a higher number of complete ranks after the first than all individual enemy units in base contact, it takes its Break test on its unmodified Leadership.
- Units that only chose Hold as a charge reaction this turn counts as having one more complete rank than they actually do for the purpose of Steadfast.
PANIC:
- If a unit fails its charge and suffers Heavy Casualties from a Stand & Shoot reaction, it must take a Panic test after completing its Movement.
SPECIAL RULES:
- Breath Weapons in combat can hit each model more than once, just like Stomps or Impact Hits.
- Cold-blooded: Whenever a unit where the majority of the models have this special rule takes a Psychology or Break test, it rolls an additional dice and discards the highest result.
- Disciplined: Whenever a unit where the majority of the models have this special rule takes a Leadership test that is not a Psychology or Break test, it rolls an additional dice and discards the highest result.
- Ethereal models have the Magical Attacks, Magical Ward (3+) and Unstable special rules (described later in this chapter).
- If a model has the Fear special rule from two or more different sources (such as a combination of different special rules, spells or magic items), it instead gains the Terror special rule (described later).
- A unit that includes one or more Frenzied models can never choose Flee as a Charge Reaction, and must pass a Leadership test if it wishes to choose a charge reaction other than Counter-charge. If this test is failed, the unit must declare a Counter-charge instead as per the normal rules for it.
- Magical Attacks: Models with this special rule inflict a -1 penalty to Magical Wards. Unless otherwise stated, a model with this special rule has both Magical shooting and close combat attacks (though any special attacks are unaffected).
- Enemy spells that target a model with Magic Resistance suffer a casting penalty equal to the number shown in brackets after the Magic Resistance special rule. This casting penalty also applies to aura and area spells, if the model would be within the aura's range or under the area's effect when initially cast.
- Magic Resistance no longer affects the whole unit. Magic Items that give Magic Resistance to the unit will have it specified in the description.
- March & Shoot: Models or weapons with this special rule can shoot even if they marched this turn.
- Characters with the Loner special rule can be the Army General.
- Parry can be used while mounted.
- If a model has the Poisoned Attacks special rule from two or more different sources (such as a combination of different special rules, spells or magic items), it gains a +2 modifier to its To Wound rolls.
- Quick to Fire renamed to Quick Shot. Models or weapons with this special rule ignore penalties for Moving & Shooting (unless they also March). Any shots fired while charging suffer a -1 To Hit penalty, but ignore penalties to long range.
- Models with Random Movement cannot declare charges, can only choose Hold as a charge reaction, and must always move in the Compulsory Moves sub-phase.
- Slow to Fire renamed to Cumbersome.
- If the model is a Monster, it may also Stomp models with a Line of Sight value of 3 or less.
- Models with the Strider rule treat that piece of terrain as Open Ground, meaning they ignore any combat and movement penalties or Dangerous Terrain tests otherwise caused by it.
- If a model has the Stubborn special rule from two or more different sources (such as a combination of different special rules, spells or magic items), it may also re-roll failed Break tests.
- Uncommanded: Models with this rule have the Loner special rule. In addition, they may never use the Inspiring Presence or Hold Your Ground special rules. Note that Characters and Mixed Units that still have their Handlers ignore this special rule, unless specified.
- Volley Fire: A unit cannot use Volley Fire if the target is within the weapon’s effective range, if the unit moved earlier in the turn, or when making a Stand and Shoot charge reaction. Volley Fire no longer causes a penalty to Hit.
- Removed Fire on the March from Skirmishers and Fast Cavalry.
- Removed Light Troops from Skirmishers. Skirmish Formation renamed to Loose Formation. Skirmishers cannot fire in more than two ranks.
- All shots aimed at a unit of two or more Skirmisher models with an individual Unit Strength of 2 or less suffer an additional -1 To Hit penalty.
- Skirmishers gain no bonus from their ranks (such as rank bonus or Steadfast) in the first round of close combat.
- A unit of Skirmishers armed with missile weapons that chooses Flee as a Charge Reaction can choose to fire their weapons first. If it chooses to do so, the unit will first fire upon the target following the rules for Stand & Shoot (this also counts as moving and shooting for the purposes of shooting modifiers). After this, the unit makes a flee move, rolling one D6 less than normal.
- Units containing one or more models with an unmodified close combat armour save better than 5+ cannot use Fire & Flee or Feigned Flight. If the armour save is better than 4+, the unit cannot use the Fast Cavalry/Skirmishers rule at all.
- Flying units containing two or more models follow the following rules for Skirmishers: Loose Formation, Skirmishers & Combat, Free Reform.
- Any modifiers to the model's Movement from spells or special rules also affects its Fly move.
- Vanguard: When starting deployment, all units that choose to Vanguard must be deployed first. Models with this special rule may deploy up to a distance equal to their Movement characteristic (or Fly move) beyond of their deployment zone. However, this cannot be used to deploy a unit within 12" of the enemy. In addition, units that deploy this way cannot declare a charge in the first turn if their army goes first.
TROOP TYPES:
- War machines may choose to either be mounted on a base, or be placed on the board as is.
- Removed Large Infantry.
- A Monstrous Infantry/ Monstrous Beast model may make up to three supporting attacks. In addition, their fighting rank is three models rather than five.
- Unless specified, any effect that would modify the model's characteristics or their dice rolls affect both the rider and mount.
- Swarms, War Beasts, Monstrous Beasts, Monstrous Cavalry, Monstrous Creatures and Monsters have the Uncommanded special rule.
- Swarms are not Skirmishers. Have Vanguard.
- Mounts are not allowed to make supporting attacks.
- Monstrous Cavalry without a split profile can make up to three supporting attacks.
- Swarms, Monstrous Infantry, Monstrous Beasts and Monstrous Cavalry have a Fighting Rank of 3 models rather than 5.
- Removed Impact Hits from Cavalry and Monstrous Cavalry by default.
- If the Monster includes any riders in addition to the character, their armour saves are ignored when calculating the overall armour save of the model – only the character's own armour save is used.
- Clarified that Chariots and Shrines use the Split Profile rules for cavalry.
- Clarified that scythes add +1 Impact Hits.
- Clarified that magical missiles can draw a 360° LoS on Chariots, Shrines and Ridden Monsters.
WAR MACHINES:
- At the start of the Close Combat phase, before any blows are struck, the player whose unit(s) are attacking the war machine must choose models worth up to Unit Strength 10 who will fight in the combat.
- If a war machine has crew with two or more different profiles, you must choose how you wish you allocate your attacks against them.
WEAPONS & ARMOUR:
- In order for a model to be able to choose a particular piece of weapon (such as great weapon, polearm or two hand weapons) they must be able to pick this as a mundane option or have it as part of their default equipment, unless it is specified.
- Missile weapons typically have two ranges – the first number represents the weapon's effective range and the second its maximum range. Shots fired beyond the weapon's effective range count as long range.
- Separated spears into one-handed and two-handed rules. One-handed spears do not gain Mighty Blow.
- Shortbows, javelins, throwing weapons and throwing axes have March & Shoot.
- Shortbows have a range of 16/24". Can fire Multiple Shots while moving.
- Removed bows.
- Longbows have a range of 24/36".
- Longbows use the same S as the user.
- Removed warbows.
- Greatbows are Strength as user +1.
- Crossbows have a range of 24/36".
- Handguns have a range of 12/24".
- Slings have a range of 15/30". Do not have Multiple Shots (2). Have Volley Fire.
- Javelins have a range of 12/18". Do not have Volley Fire.
- Pistols have a range of 6/12".
- Pistols do not give extra attacks.
- Blunderbusses have a range of 6/12”.
- Throwing weapons have a range of 6/9".
- Throwing axes have a range of 6/9".
- Blowpipes have a range of 6/12". Are S3, are not quick to fire and do not have rapid fire. Can march & shoot.
- Removed Great Cannons. If a cannon only has one value of Multiple Wounds listed, it causes that damage on both direct hits and the bounce.
- Cannons have a range of 12-60".
- Grapeshot has Rapid Fire.
- Stone throwers have a range of 12-48".
- Mortars have a range of 12-60".
- Rocket launchers have a range of 12-60". Rocket launchers use the large round template by default. They always count as firing indirectly (explained further below).
- Note that a trajectory weapon that moves and fires the same turn is always considered to fire indirectly.
COMMAND GROUPS & CHARACTERS:
- A unit that is accompanied by a Leader may re-roll failed Leadership tests when Counter-charging, Redirecting a Charge, Reforming from Defeat after losing a round of close combat, and Restraining from Pursuit.
- Some Leaders also have the option to take specialised equipment. If this is the case, it is clearly stated in their entry in each separate army book. Note that when resolving attacks against a Leader, treat them as being armed as the rest of the unit.
- Removed Swift Reform from Musicians. A unit that is accompanied by a Musician may re-roll failed Leadership tests when Marching within 6" of enemy units and Rallying. Fast Cavalry and Skirmishers that have fled using Feigned Flight automatically Rally.
- A character cannot join other Lone Models. Removed mention of forming whole units of characters.
- If a character has a special rule or magic item that affects any unit they join, that effect only applies to the unit for as long as the character remains part of it.
BATTLEFIELD TERRAIN:
- A unit with the majority of its models fighting uphill does not gain any bonus from ranks.
- Added rules for Escarpments and Rocky Hills.
- A unit with the majority of its models fighting in marshland does not gain any bonus from ranks.
- A unit with the majority of its models fighting in a forest does not gain any bonus from ranks.
- Models in or behind forests cannot see or be seen through it if there is more than 3" of forest between them and the enemy. If it is less than 3", they can see and be seen through it for all purposes, as long as you can draw a Line of Sight to them as normal.
- Models in rivers and streams halve their movement value (rounding up) while moving through them.
- A unit with at least partially in a river does not gain any bonus from ranks.
- When a unit enters a River of Light, it is immediately the target of a randomly chosen Level 1 Light Magic spell.
- If a unit completes a charge against a defended blazing barricade, it immediately suffers one Strength 4 Hit with the Flaming Attack special rule on each of its models in contact with the obstacle.
- Temple of Skulls is a Mystical Monument.
- All units within 6" of a Charnel Pit suffer a -1 penalty to their Leadership, unless they have Immunity (Psychology).
- Units can now garrison a building after marching.
- The unit may not march in a turn that it exits a building.
CHOOSING YOUR ARMY:
- Removed requirement of minimum number of units.
- Lords & Heroes are no longer separate categories, but just Characters.
- No single character or unit in your army may cost more than 25% of your total points.
MAGIC ITEMS:
- Armour of Destiny costs 60 pts.
- Armour of Fortune costs 40 points.
- Gambler's Armor costs 20 pts.
- Armour of Silvered Steel costs 30 pts.
- Shield of Ptolos costs 15 pts.
- Armour of Resilience costs 30 pts.
- Banner of Iron Resolve costs 25 pts.
- Razor Standard costs 25 pts.
- Banner of Defiance costs 25 pts.
- Wailing Banner costs 35 pts.
- Rampager’s Standard costs 25 pts.
- Standard of Shielding costs 15 pts.
- War Banner costs 15 pts.
- Ranger's Standard costs 20 pts.
- Banner of Eternal Flame costs 15 pts.
- Trickster's Helm and Dawnstone are Infantry, Monstrous Infantry or Cavalry only.
- Scroll of Shielding: This item can be used whenever an enemy attempts to cast a spell targeting one of your units. The target of the spell is granted Magic Resistance (3) against the spell.
- The Crown of Command gives the bearer and any unit they join the Disciplined special rule for as long as the bearer remains with the unit. Costs 20 pts.
- New Magic Item – Alleviating Armour: Medium armour. The bearer gains the Regeneration (6+) special rule.
- New Magic Item – Seamless Armour. Medium armour. This armour ignores negative modifiers to its save.
- New Magic Item – Wand of Jade: The bearer gains +6" casting range to their spells (excluding auras).
- New Magic Item – Wand of Onyx: The bearer gains +6" dispel range.
- New Magic Item – Wand of the Winds: The bearer of this item may re-roll one D3 when determining the Winds of Magic in each Magic phase.
- Removed Dragon Blade, Sword of Anti-Heroes, Fencer's Blades, Sword of Fortitude, Relic Sword, Tormentor Sword, Warrior Bane, Helm of Discord, Dragonbane Gem, Pigeon Plucker Pendant, Hex Scroll, Book of Ashur, Rod of Power, Mystic Shield, Spellshield, Mystic Maze, Hypnotic Eye Scroll, Trickster's Shard, Gem of Taranto, Wizarding Hat, Folding Fortress, The Other Trickster's Shard, Lifestone, Orb of Thunder, Arabyan Carpet, Mask of Eee!, Ironcurse Icon, Battle Banner, Banner of Might, Scarecrow banner, Banner of Duty, Banner of Valour, Lichbone Pennant, Dread Banner, Banner of Courage.
SPELLS:
- Kindleflame only inflicts D3 Hits.
- Meteoric Ironclad is 13+ to cast.
- Verdant Apotheosis renamed to Gift of Life.
- The Vengeful Hood Ignores Armour Saves.
- The Curse of Anraheir: Models already in Dangerous Terrain suffer an additional -1 penalty to the test.
- The Beast Cowers: The unit cannot voluntarily move until the start of the caster's next Magic phase.
- Star Tides Ebb is a hex area spell with a range of 24".
- Crystal Prison is 8+ to cast.
- Sapphire Arc: The unit will then emerge anywhere on the table at the start of your next Magic phase, just like a summoning spell.
- Steed of Shadows: The Fly move is equal to 10 minus the model's Line of Sight value.
- The Dance of Despair is 8+ to cast.
- Crown of Taidron is a direct damage aura spell with a range of 12".
- Okkam's Mindrazor gives Magical Attacks.
- Death Dealer gives Fear.
- Spirit Leech: For each point the caster scores higher, the target suffers a -1 penalty to their Strength and Toughness (to a minimum of 1) for the remainder of the battle. Is 7+ to cast.
- Drain Life is a direct damage aura spell with a range of 12".
- Scythe of Shyish has 18" range.
- The Fate of Bjuna is Remains in Play. While the spell is in effect, the target suffers a number of hits equal to the model's current number of Wounds at the end of each of Magic phase.
