The Death Star is dead! GW just gave us a rundown on how character models are going to work in the new 8th edition of Warhammer 40k.
Warhammer Community just revealed how the Characters are going to work in 8th edition, let’s see what they had to say.
EDITOR’S STRONGLY WORDED NOTE:
While we appreciate your return to social media and organized play overall Games Workshop, please recognize that <add prefix>-stars were created as a direct result of your poor rules writing in 6th/ 7th edition that allowed shooting armies like Tau and Eldar to dominate all realms and formats of play.
Speaking of formats of play- because of your pull out of organized play, the community fractured into a ton of tiny fiefdoms of formats. Which in turn created even new <add prefix>-stars to give players a chance against those same Tau and Eldar that seemed to dominate any tournament format they were put into, like a invasive species would in nature.
Real recognize real Games Workshop, if <add prefix>-stars are such a hot button issue, please understand that you alone facilitated the conditions that created these armies over that last few years in our hobby.
That being said we welcome your return, but please let’s stop with the live and written <add prefix>-star shaming, and all agree that there will always be ways to break your game no matter how may playtest hours you throw at it.
It is our belief that is why continued tweeks and updates are necessary to nurture and grow any game out there, not just in tabletop wargaming.
So please continue to communicate with the community to address the issues, and follow though with your mention of a yearly general’s handbook type update for the game (or make changes sooner if necessitated).
So here’s a big thing – Characters can’t join units anymore. The age of the <add prefix>-star is over.
Instead, you’ll tend to find that a lot of Characters will have an ability that affects nearby units with a certain Keyword within a radius of effect. For example, the mysterious Dark Eldar Character Drazhar lets you add 1 to the hit rolls of all friendly Incubi units that are within 6″ in the Fight phase, while the Kroot Shaper allows nearby Kroot to re-roll wound rolls of 1 and share his superior Leadership.
To counter the fact that these Characters cannot join units and “hide” from enemy fire, there is a rule in the Shooting phase that means you can’t target a Character unless they are the closest enemy model.
This represents the difficulty in picking out individuals amidst the maelstrom of battle and applies to all Characters with a Wounds characteristic of 10 or less, including things that previously might not have benefited from any protection. For example, Roboute Guilliman, who has 9 Wounds, can now realistically advance in the centre of a disciplined Space Marines army, directing his troops while remaining relatively safe from incoming weapons fire. Really big heroes, like Magnus the Red, will still need to brave enemy fire, but with, in his case, over a dozen Wounds and a respectable invulnerable save, he holds his own just fine.
The final part of the Character ruleset is Heroic Intervention. This allows Characters near a combat to pile in and attack if the enemy comes close enough, even if they themselves aren’t charged (because your Chaplain’s not just gonna stand there and let your Assault Squad have all the fun now is he?)
These rules, together, mean that you’ll see Characters advancing in the midst of their armies surrounded by groups of units benefiting from their particular expertise – which looks great on the tabletop, reflects the background we all know of the 41st Millennium, and offers some interesting tactical challenges as players try to get the most from their army’s leaders while keeping them alive…
Characters can no longer be a part of a unit and now instead give benefits to units nearby with the associated keyword. Does this sound like AoS to anyone?
We all know the Deathstar was a big flaw in the game, and well it seems they’ve found a fix. The other good news is you can’t target a Character with 10 or less health unless they’re the closest enemy model. This is going to allow you to still keep the strategy of type formations and proper placement of your troops.
Your big guys with 11+ health are still be able to hit no matter what, but with the save and invulnerable save rolls, are you really that worried about it? The Heroic Intervention rule also seems like an interesting middle ground. It allows your Character units to pile in and attack if the enemy gets close enough, even if it’s not that Character they’re attacking.
Once again, keeping a tight formation is really going to benefit you with the new Character rules updates.
What are your thoughts on the new info put out on Characters? Let us know in the comments below, and check back with us tomorrow when they go over more weapon profiles in the new edition.
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
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About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
