Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Charging in 8th Edition

When reading warhammer the 8th edition rules for charging, I pretty much said:
"Yeah yeah this is the same as 7th ed, except for the dice rolls determining my charge distance".
Did you too make this mistake?
(uh oh, if I glossed over this when reading the rules, how many other parts did I gloss over?)

Of course, it may well have been just me and the usual suspects I play with which missed the following. I have a feeling a lot of said usual suspects were waiting for someone else within the group to read the rules and explain them...

IMG_2075

There are two main things I missed. The charge order and the free wheel.

Charge Order (or: no more sneaky meat shields)
In 7th ed we (the group I normally game with) resolved charges instantly. Declare charge with unit A against unit B, unit B states charge reaction, unit A measure distance, if successful moves immediately into hand to gland combat. This could sneakily be used to move a 'meat shield' unit out of the way, allowing a unit hiding behind to now see a target unit and charge.

In 8th ed [See p16: Charge Summary] you:
  1. declare a charge with unit A
  2. unit B states charge reaction
  3. resolve charge reaction (yes, do it right now. Either flee, stand and shoot, or hold)
Unit A is now done, repeat steps 1-3 for any other charging units.
Once all charges have been declared and reacted to, then you make the charge rolls and actually move the units into combat.

Free 90 Degree Wheel
(or: dwarf charges are full of meaty goodness)

I can't tell you how many times in 7th edition the measly 6" dwarven charge distance and millimetre-mongers (I love mixing measurement systems) meant I haven't gotten the charge in. All that's changed for the better.

When charging, you now measure the shortest distance between the two units, and that is your charge distance. If you roll higher, then the charge is successful.
Note that the charge distance is a direct measurement between the two units and does not include the cost of a wheel movement.
[See p19: Calculating Charge Range:
...If the charge range is equal to or greater than the distance to the enemy unit, the charge is successful.]
Unfortunately I'm expecting some arguments as to the definition & meaning of 'distance to the enemy unit', but I'm pretty damn sure I'm correct.

The charging unit also gets a free 90 degree wheel during the charge.
[p20: Move Chargers: 
Successful charges now move into base contact with the enemy. They move directly forward, but are permitted one wheel of up to 90 degrees as they move, and another of unlimited arc once in combat.]

There are some other changes to charging, but these are the doozies I've missed to far.

1 comment:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...