Warhammer The Old World - January FAQ 2025

January has seen the newest installment of the FAQs for Warhammer the Old World. As with normal we've got a host of minor adjustments and picking at the edges of the less engaging elements of the game. I'm going to quickly run through and highlight the key amendments which have been made. If you wish to give them a read yourself then you can find them here.

Main Rulebook

Errata

Cannonball Changes - A pretty hefty change here and a clear indication that they're trying to stop people targeting things they can't see with cannonballs and getting lucky with "tactical overshooting". In effect this now means that if shooting at a target on a hill then the cannon ball will stop after its initial impact point has been decided. Great - good change, more of these to tidy up around some other terrain types please.

The Weapon Which Keeps Changing - More Berserker Blade changes. Now instead of Frenzy we're giving our character (and by default any unit they're in) Impetuous as a rule. But you do get Extra Attacks (+1) and Magical Attacks along with the +1str of the blade thrown in. It's a neater way of applying different Frenzy to the character and stops some interactions with Beastmen Brayherd units, can't see it being taken loads but you might still, especially if you've got a character who's already Impetuous as you don't have to test twice.

FAQs

We have a clarification on something which should have been obvious to anyone who's played Tabletop games before, but for those who haven't, it's a nice clarification. Clearly they were getting this question asked a lot if it made it into this document. Next we have what is effectively a minor rule change, unless stated magic buffs don't stack, great, sorted, next. Next we have, what I presume is a question which has been asked a lot of people who've played older editions of WHFB, it just makes it clear that wheels during a charge before contact with made with the enemy have to be paid for.

The combat section of the FAQ has a couple of clarifications. First we get it confirmed that you pick what you're attacking when you get ready to attack, so no losing out through weird sequencing. The next one is a pretty big thing, if you charge a unit which is defending a low linear obstacle then you aren't making making it into base to base contact and as a result don't get to make stomp or impact hits. It's a pretty big clarification, so it's just a case of making sure that both players have read this before you get into some feel bads in games. I do expect to see events trying to get a few more low linear obstacles on the board to see how this works out as a result. Finally, while not technically under combat, it's also noted that champions can get overkill bonuses in challenges, a nice catch following on from some more recent internet drama.

Universal Special rules have a bunch of clarifications as well so lets have a look through this. Armour Bane (X) has been confirmed to work with Stomps and Impacts, we can also roll this out to other special rules as well with confidence I believe. Counter Charge has been clarified to state that you can mess up when doing so and exposing your flanks to the enemy, I hadn't seen it argued anywhere it couldn't do that before but doesn't hurt to have it written down. The next question clarifies that troop type doesn't change, again not sure where I've seen it argued that it does but the unit type is now clearly the unit type, no matter who/what joins it. The final Counter Charge related question is a little sassy but states that Counter Charge is always D3+1", no matter what the movement value of the unit using it is.

The next ones a little counter intuitive in that you can be Immune to Psychology and still Fear things as a Warbeast or Swarm, but it's there in magenta and white for now. Apparently some primal urges are just too strong to overcome, no matter how otherwise dense you might be. Next also relating to Fear it's been confirmed that when a unit has some Fear causing models in it you only count the Fear causing models Unit Strength for relevant Fear related rules.

Units with Move Through Cover don't pick up and carry models in them without the rule, makes sense. If you've got 10 racehorses of course the donkey in the middle slows them down. Next we have confirmation that "loses a wound" means it's just removed from the profile, so no regeneration against crumble tests is the example given. Again, people must have been asking it for them to answer it. We also have confirmation that Scouts mean that you might not get the bonus +1 when deciding who gets the first turn in games. It's been this way since the game was released but almost everywhere I've seen it played they used to make Scouting units exempt as per old WHFB, it's nice to be 100% sure on the right way to play it though.

Stupidity has some confirmation on how you apply its rules as well. In effect you move straight forward between 0.01" and your maximum movement value. In addition you can't enter combat if that move takes you into combat with the enemy. Pretty clear. We've also had a couple of minor amendments from previous FAQs around Vanguard'ing ranked units vs Vanguard'ing skirmishers and that regen isn't effected by items unless it specifically says so. The final FAQ in this section confirms that you have to declare if you're using Swiftstride before you roll any dice, no seeing the results of the 2D6 first, then adding in the other dice later.

Unusual Formations has some information on how to work around skirmishers getting charged by multiple enemy units from different angles. In effect you roll the distances for the charging units, pick one to move first, the skirmishers "form up" to that for combat and then you move the next. We also have confirmation that skirmishers never really rank up enough to have flanks/rears and as a result enemy units can't claim that bonus in combat.

We've had a minor update on how character inspiring presence interacts with leadership modifications as well, nothing too big or changed wildly from the last FAQ here, just some clarification.

Next we follow up on something I've seen ruled (now confirmed) incorrectly before. Clumsy only takes effect when a non-Clumsy character wants to join a Clumsy unit not when a Clumsy character wants to join a non-Clumsy unit. In effect the character and their mount are too important to be worried about squashing the odd member of their infantry blocks.

In Magic we have a different interaction (at least from my point of view) to the expected one with Spectral Doppelganger and Great Weapons, in effect it's saying that if you want to use that weapon then you make your Spectral Doppelganger attacks at that Int Value. No more Vampires on big beasties making loads of great weapon attacks at high Int values it seems.

Confirmation follows regarding Obsidian Lodestones don't stack with other sources of Magic Resistance and that the Razor Banner doesn't provide the Magical Attacks rule to the weapons in the unit, it just makes them sharper or more pointier. We've also had it confirmed that putting a Wizarding Hat on a wizard is a stupid idea. The final thing of note in here (and maybe the biggest) is that the Lore Familiar doesn't allow you to pick your faction specific spells as a signature spell when using it. This seems to effect certain armies/lore combination more than others. For example Bretonnians can no longer pick The Lady's Gift or Burning Gaze when using the Lore Familiar to get all the good Battle Magic spells for example while Undead wizards of both the wet and dry variety will rarely pick the Lore Familiar now due to not being able to get their reserve move spells from their army specific lores. This is massive in cases where it really matters.

Force of Fantasy+

Errata

Questing Knights are now 3+ instead of 5+, not a big change and I presume it will mean you'll still see exactly the same amount on the table as you did before (not a lot). Sisters of the Thorn are the big ones here. Confirmation that a change is being made so characters joining the unit don't benefit from the 4+ ward provided by the unit (not that I ever thought it did) and arguably the bigger change is that you now have to roll for your spells randomly rather than picking. This means, bar some amazing odds defying streak, you'll never have to play against 5+ Pillars of Fire again in a single game and that alone makes this change worth it.

Goblin Hewers now have rules to back up the model with 2 crew being present instead of the 1 on its profile previously and it's been confirmed that the Green Knights comes out of woods and water features, not hills, not templates not anything else.

FAQs

We've had it confirmed that Giant Slayers aren't actually unit champions and Motley Crew is sometimes a rule which requires a little bookkeeping. In effect make sure that you know how many of each Slayer type you have left in each unit and while you have enough Giant Slayers available one of them will always carry the standard, meaning (as you have no champion) the standard is always the last model to die. In addition the Master Rune of Hesitation is confirmed to work as most people will have been playing it. In addition, as it's clearly stated, Weapon Runes apply to the Doomseekers Impact Hits.

We have a little bit of clarification around Steam Tanks charging for those who needed it. While Bretonian players are reminded they still have to follow the rules of the game around challenges in two different ways. One thing which was needed was confirmation that if your Lance gets Counter Charged you aren't blunted, which is good to see. The final part here is a question around High Elves and their Marial Prowess rule which is maybe, the weirdest question in the document, please make sure you've read the whole section of a rule before sending in questions guys.

Ravening Hordes+

Errata

We've got a few things here. First the 'Eadbuttin' 'At is now 0-1 per model, no more Orc Warbosses causing 5 Impact hits through stacking hats. Skin Wolves have been confirmed to go on 50x50 bases so I've got a bit of rebasing to do, their Champion is now an actual Champion and they now also cause Fear which is great. The Warpfire Dragon now has the Close Order rule as that was missing from the Army list entry as well.

FAQs

Night Goblin Fanatics have had it laid out how their Victory Points are calculated (all related to the parent unit) and we've had it confirmed that the Big 'Uns special rule for +1Str applies to all parts of the model, even the mount. It seems that the big guys get the big boars, so that does make sense. The Glowey Green Amulet can indeed also be taken by a wizard (which is good, as I've been doing that for ages) and we now know for sure that the Idol of Gork doesn't effect range self spells.

The Wolves of the Sea challenge mechanic has been confirmed to not be in effect vs armies without single wound champions (boo) while it's also confirmed that champions in effect stride out of their unit for the challenge so don't get bonuses such as banners from the unit they are in for this fight.

Finally the Blood Greed special is confirmed to only be in effect while the unit is actually Frenzied and by the powers of magic and the wind they create the Casket of Souls can indeed move when it has the Reserve Move special rule gifted it by spells.

Conclusion

Where to start right? It's not a big set of changes or FAQs and most of it is just correcting printing errors or confirming rules one way or the other where they was a little debate. I think the main thing out of it will be the Lore Familiar confirmation, especially for my META where it's in 60-70% of army lists at tournament level.

What I do think is important to mention though is that it's nice we're getting regular Errata and FAQs for the game, they seem to be on a 6 month rotation at this point with the first one in January last year shortly after release, then again in July and now in January again. We know what we're playing with for the next few months now and once again it's important that everyone does email Games Workshop with queries as that's how they get answered.

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Tags: FAQ | The Old World