House Rules Compendium

We use lots of different house rules, many of which have been established over years. Just little tweaks to improve balance/playability/verisimilitude among friends.

A couple of examples are below.

Cannonball hits on ridden monsters are randomised with a 5-6 hitting the rider and a 1-4 hitting the monster.

With Stone thrower or equivalent hits on ridden monsters the template centre hit is randomised the same way as a cannon and the normal/lessor template hit applies to whichever is not directly hit.

Ushabti and Bone Giants have light armor.

A ridden monster can attack a unit if it's rider has only been challenged by a mere unit champion.

Magic resistance works in test or die spells.

In the event of a failed combat break test the fleeing unit/s flee directly away from whichever unit caused the most combat resolution. Ie, flee from the Aracknarok spider (assuming it caused more combat resolution) as opposed to the 10 goblins in the same combat.

Well established and accepted 'legendary' characters from previous editions which used fixed item builds can be used under the same loadout/points that they were under their previous army book. Ie, Big Nuff the Deathcheater (Ogre Tyrant) from the 6th Edition Ogre Kingdoms book battles on into 8th Edition.

To balance Brets out in our current club comp, Knoffles gave their cav the devastating charge rule. Makes them a lot more tanky in the first round of combat which is more true to the lore. Trick is just to survive the first charge.....

For a number of years, a lot of the UK tournaments used the 'Independent WFB FAQ Document' that I think was put together by chaps on the old Warhammer.org. Version 1.4 (the last one dated 17/12/14) was as follows (I have it as a word doc if anyone wants):


MISCELLANEOUS

*Dark Pegasus and Eagle models may be mounted on either a 40mm or 50mm size base.

*A Treeman, Treeman Ancient or Durthu may be mounted on their 75x50mm base facing either towards the long end or the short end.



MOVEMENT PHASE

*Virtual Pivots are not allowed. I.e. a model is not allowed to ignore the 1” rule while pivoting. This means a model with the Random Move special rule may only move forward if another model is standing 1” away from its side.

*Only 1 character may charge out of a unit per phase.



MAGIC PHASE

*All spells in army books that were released prior to 8th Edition will follow the normal targeting restrictions set out for all spells as per the Main Rule Book (page 31). Except when the wording of the spell directly contradicts these restrictions.

*For the purposes of Spirit Leech, you may use the highest leadership in the models unit or use General’s Inspiring Presence. No other modifiers are taken into consideration, even for General’s Inspiring Presence. You use his base leadership with no modifiers. This is then passed on.

*Open ground counts as a type of terrain for the spell Curse of Anraheir.

*No character can get a Look out Sir from damage from a miscast template.

*If a Ridden Monster such as a Dragon with rider gets affected by Pit of Shades or Purple Sun then each part takes a test on their own initiative value rather than 1 test at the best value.

*Timewarp cannot increase a unit’s movement value above 10, so max march would be 20 inches.

*A unit affected by Final Transmutation is subject to stupidity and is so therefore Immune to Phycology until the end of the unit’s next movement phase.



SHOOTING PHASE

*All buildings count as “impassable terrain that would in reality stand in the way of the shot” as far as cannon balls are concerned. They will not bounce through them. They stop on the building and inflict hits upon any unit garrisoning the building. Also all impassable terrain will stop cannon balls.

*Cannons need line of sight to their target unit and not a spot on the ground when shooting.

*Templates which scatter fully off the board are discounted, even if they may later return to the board.

*Units that shoot in a similar manner to war machines, such as Ironblasters and Hellcannons, may not perform a free pivot in the shooting phase.

*A model making a Sniper shot will still suffer a -2 modifier for hard cover if the target model is 50% obscured by any other model, even a model inside the target’s own unit. This -2 modifier is on top of the -1 modifier for making a sniper shot.



CLOSE COMBAT PHASE

*Models may “slide” sideways as part of a Combat Reform as long as no model is taken out of combat.

*A Character model may make way at the start of any round of close combat.

*A model in a challenge cannot be affected by any enemy breath weapons or impact hits done by models from outside the challenge.



MAGIC ITEMS

*Fleeing models may not use magic items as per the Main Rule Book FAQ. This does not include items that the bearer has no choice in using. For example magical armour that gives armour save, Talisman that gives a ward save etc.

*Ironcurse Icon works against all Weapons that fire like a War Machine.

*A Rank and File model affected by The Other Trickster’s Shard is considered to be a separate target to the other Rank and File models in the unit. You may target these “Sharded” models if possible, following normal targeting restrictions, and all casualties are still removed from the rear of the unit.



SPECIAL RULES

*Immunity to Killing Blow also gives immunity to Heroic Killing Blow.

*Frenzied units that declare a charge don’t need to take a Berserk Rage Leadership test.

*A model with Always Strike First and with equal or higher initiative than an enemy model with Always Strike First and Always Strike Last will get to re-roll attacks in close combat against that model.

*If a unit contains any model with the Stupidity special rule, then the whole unit is subject to stupidity and so is therefore Immune to Phycology.



FORMATIONS AND CHARACTERS

*If 2 characters have incompatible base sizes to the unit they are joining then they are placed on either side of the unit. A 3rd character with an incompatible base size may not join the unit.

*If the general character model is killed but his mount survives you still receive the +100vp for killing the general.

*A unit with an incomplete last rank is considered to have a complete last rank when determining the centre of the unit.



CHAOS DWARFS

*Chalice of Blood and Darkness may not be used in between casting and dispelling a single spell.



DAEMONS OF CHAOS

*All mounts, except ridden monsters, are ignored for leadership purposes for the Spell Treason of Tzeentch. In the case of chariots the creatures pulling the chariot and the chariot’s leadership are ignored.

*The Tally of Pestilence has no affect while Epidemius is held in reserve.

*The Blue Scribes must use power dice when casting bound spells when using their Spell Syphon special rule.

*Daemon characters may benefit from the following magic weapons even while not using them: Eternal Blade, Wand of Whimsey, Sword of Anti-Heroes, Fencer's Blades and Berserker Sword.

*When a Beast of Nurgle, which is part of a unit, is in a challenge, treat the model as if it were a champion for the duration of the challenge. The Beast of Nurgle in the challenge starts unwounded. Wounds do not carry over from challenge to rank & file models and vice versa. After the challenge is finished and all break tests are taken, merge the wounds in the unit and remove any models if required.



DARK ELVES

*The re-roll To Wounds from Strength of Khaine also apply to Shooting and Magic.

*The army list does not need to state any Lores for Morathi. She chooses her Lore(s) at the start of each game as per her special rules.

*A model with Hatred (High Elves) has Hatred against all models taken from the High Elf Army Book.



HIGH ELVES

*Frostheart Phoenix’s Blizzard Aura does not stack.

*The High Magic Lore Attribute increases all Ward Saves as well as all conditional Ward Saves a model may have. If a model only has conditional Ward Saves then it also receives a 6+ Ward Save.

*The army list does not need to state any Lores for Alarielle. She chooses her Lore(s) at the start of each game as per her special rules.


LIZARDMEN

*A model making a supporting attack may not benefit from the Predatory Fighter special rule.

*Piranha Blade only gives Multiple Wounds (D3) Special Rule while being used in close combat.

*Burning Alignment and The Deliverance of Itza target all enemy units within the specified distance of the spells. This applies even if the enemy unit is engaged in close combat or in the rear/flank arc of the model casting the spell.



SKAVEN

*Cracks Call may cast into combat and through friendly units as it does not have a target.

*A charging Skaven unit that has moved forward d6 inches as a result of a Screaming Bell allows no charge reactions.

*A Hellpit Abomination that has had its strength reduced or increased will use the new strength when working out any of its special attacks.



VAMPIRE COUNTS

*When making their special movement attack, Hexwraith models measure distance moved from starting point, to enemy unit they are attacking and back to a legal position. The distance moved cannot exceed their movement value or double this if they marched.

*Death Shriek and Ghostly Howl are not considered shooting attacks.


WARRIORS OF CHAOS

*All mounts, except ridden monsters, are ignored for leadership purposes for the Spell Treason of Tzeentch. In the case of chariots the creatures pulling the chariot and the chariot’s leadership are ignored.

*Soul Feeder may benefit from both Stomps and Breath weapons.



WOOD ELVES

*Multiple Wood Elf units may purchase the same type of Enchanted Arrows.

*If Naestra and Arahan are riding their Great Eagle, Gwindalor, into battle they are considered a single model with Toughness 4 and 3 Wounds only. If the model loses any number of wounds in a phase but is not slain, then the whole model is healed back to 3 wounds at the end of that phase.

For Beastmen



Beastmen armies can take Marks of Chaos from the Glottkin army book for the points listed therein. If the Beastmen army contains no units from the Glottkin, Warriors of Chaos or Daemons of Chaos army books it remains a pure 'Beastmen' army and not a 'Legions of Chaos' army.

This give Beastmen quite a few more army building/ flavour options and slightly enhances an 'underpowered' army.


A Beastmen giant costs 200 points. This brings it in line with all the other Giants.

If a unit of Centigor takes Full Command (champion, standard, musician) they may be equipped with throwing axes for free.