What will Warhammer: The Horus Heresy‘s third edition rules actually be like? We’ve got weeks, maybe months of teasers to look forward to, as Games Workshop drip feeds spoilers for the new edition of the game in the run up to the launch of the Saturnine box set. But what little has been revealed so far has me excited – and anxious – in equal measure.
When I was wishlisting features for the new edition of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, I noted that the rules were already as complex as I can stomach. Second edition has more stats, systems, unit types, and keywords than the rule set it grew out of, Warhammer 40k 7th edition, which was already the most convoluted iteration of that game since Rogue Trader. Heresy is only really saved because 80% of players use the same army, the Space Marine Legions.
So when Games Workshop revealed the new rules coming in the Saturnine box set would include three new advanced unit stats, expanded weapon statistics, and four distinct unit statuses, I was very concerned. It seemed like extra complexity heaped onto a system that was already groaning under the strain.
Those concerns might still be borne out. But having reflected on how those proposed systems compare to the current edition, I think there’s good reason to be optimistic.
In computer coding, there’s a process called ‘refactoring’, where programmers rewrite their code so that it does the same thing but better. That might be as simple as making it easier for humans to read, or it might be to change some parts so they achieve the same goals while using less resources, or so that one process can cover many more situations..
I think that Horus Heresy’s rules are being refactored. This will bring some functional changes, but a lot of what initially appeared to be completely new systems are actually reworkings of existing rules in ways that should be easier to use and understand.
Advanced Stats
Let’s start with those advanced stats. Leadership is being joined by stats for Cool, Willpower, and Intelligence. Respectively, these will handle tests to do with sudden shocks (like coming under sniper fire), Psychic powers, and technical tasks under pressure. It’s a callback to the first edition of 40k.
This change will decouple several kinds of unrelated competence from a unit’s Leadership test. In second edition, both a Librarian’s psychic powers, and a Mechanicum Archamagos’ Cybertheurgy (l337 hacking skills) were based on Leadership. Now they have their own stats, so a unit can be a very effective mechanic but a terrible unit leader.
This also brings the rogue Battlesmith skill – which currently has a unique, single D6 testing system – under the same system as Cybertheurgy. It wasn’t a hard system to use, but it’s one less to master.
My one concern is that the new stats will be hard to distinguish: what, really, is the difference between Willpower, Leadership, and Cool? The tests being grouped under each heading need to have a clear connection, either on the type of action (Intelligence only relates to using technology), or game rules they relate to (Cool tests are only triggered by shooting attacks).
Weapon stats
The new stats for weapons are another clear example of refactoring. Most of the changes to here are just new names. Ranged weapons will gain a “rate of fire” so there’s no possibility of confusing it with a unit’s Attack stat. That wasn’t likely before, but hey, now it’s impossible.
The new Initiative Modifier stat for melee wepons looks novel, until you realise that there are at least two key words with the same effect. Unwieldy sets a unit’s initiative to one, while Reach(x), which increases the unit’s initiative by x. You could even count Duellist’s Edge here, which gives a +1 Initiative bonus only during Challenges.
Not only can those keywords get in the bin, the designers are now free to pick any value they like for a weapon’s initiative modifier.
The Weapon Damage stat is another apparent addition, but it’s also not without precedent. There are ways for weapons to deal multiple wounds in second edition Horus Heresy – they’re just horribly inelegant.
First there’s Instant Death, which is both a weapon trait and the product of a weapon having twice the Strength of the target’s Toughness. This kills a model outright – unless they have a way to mitigate it, such as Eternal Warrior, or an Atomantic Deflector.
Then there’s Brutal (x), which forces a wounded unit to take multiple saves, applying the result of each failed save – which might include Instant Death. A Damage stat is so much simpler, has practically the same effect in many cases, and could go a long way to addressing the overwhelming power of Dreadnoughts.
Tactical Statuses
Third edition will feature four ‘Tactical Statuses’ that can be marked onto units with tokens. Based on comments in Games Workshop’s live stream, the four statuses are Pinned, which prevents a unit moving, Suppressed, which prevents a unit from firing, Stunned, which prevents a unit from reacting, and Routed, which makes the unit break and fall back.
If that’s exactly how they work (and they may be a little different, as the live stream was very brief), we can map three of them onto existing second edition game effects:
- ‘Routed’ is just a better name for the state of a unit that is Falling Back (since it isn’t also the name of a type of movement).
- The new version of ‘Pinned’ limits movement the same way that the current version of Pinned does, and the same way that the current vehicle damage result Stunned does.
- ‘Suppressed’ hampers shooting, which is the second effect of the current version of ‘Pinned’, the same as the vehicle damage result ‘Shaken’, and a status without a name that can affect units inside a transport when it takes minor damage.
Generalising, standardising, and emphasising these statuses makes them easier to understand. New plastic tokens are a very literal representation of how they’re shifting in the rules – they’re more central, more accounted for, and hopefully designers and players alike will have a lot more practise with them.
All told, I’m eager to see what’s still to come for third edition, and still a little nervous. The designers might be clearing all this ground simply to pile more stuff on top of it. But I have high hopes.
Are you busy painting up a force of the Warmaster’s finest, or the Emperor’s chosen, to do battle in the new edition? What do you think of the rules changes revealed so far? Come and chat about it in the official Wargamer Discord community.
Really intrigued by the Horus Heresy? Make sure you check out our comprehensive guide to the Horus Heresy book order, which runs down the full novel series, and gives dedicated reading lists for each of the Legions.
Source: Wargamer
