[house rules] Improving Warhammer Battles for better friendly games (9th edition, Warzone Nephilim)

The fearsome Canoptek Kraken has never survived the first turn

1 - House rules to help players have fun with their armies

This section mainly outlines some rules to help "balance" the game a bit so that each player can exploit the full range of their armies and minimize entirely negative feedback moments where the player is punished without real agency. See the designer commentary at the end of the article for some additional notes.

Vengeful Surge

All armies have access to the Vengeful Surge Stratagem

• Vengeful Surge (* CP) - When a unit is completely destroyed, before removing it from the battlefield, you can either cast psychic powers as if it was your psychic phase, shoot with it as if it was your shooting phase or fight with it as if it was your fight phase. The target unit gets a -2 penalty to cast and a -1 penalty to hit with their attacks. A model that has a degrading profile uses the stats as if they had maximum wounds for this sequence. After finishing that sequence, remove the model as you normally would, applying any consequences such as disembarking units, rolling for explosion and executing enemy consolidation moves, etc. This Stratagem costs variable CP: it costs 0CP on the first battle round, 1CP on the second battle round, 2CP on the third battle round and it cannot be used on the 4th and 5th battle rounds.

Better Charges

• Surge Movement: When failing a charge, the player controlling the unit must move the charging unit for the amount rolled for the charge so that all models of the charging unit are closer to their charging targets. The first model moved in this manner must be placed as close as possible to it's original charge target. A unit that was forced to make a Surge Movement will not be considered as having charged in the subsequent fight phase.
• Coordinated Charge: When selecting a unit to charge, a player may declare up to 2 characters within 3'' of a unit to make a coordinated charge. Those characters are considered to charge the same targets and have the same charge result as the declared unit. The models in the unit can be moved alongside the characters at the same time, as if they belonged to the same unit, until the charge movement is completed for the unit and the selected characters, but any effects triggered  as a response to that charge (such as overwatch) are resolved against the original unit, not the characters involved. The characters and the unit are then considered to have made a charge move against the target.

The Dreadnought lined its lascannons on the oncoming beast, knowing its carcass would be a fleshy, natural barrier for the oncoming hordes

2 - House rules to make cinematic, narrative battles at the expense of a bit of complexity

This section aims to revive and put in writing some of the rules we have always carried over from older editions of the game. They add complexity that has no place in a 2.5 hour long tournament game, but can be extremely engaging on a more socially-driven narrative match. See the designer commentary at the end of the article for some additional notes.

Explosions, craters, wrecks and carcasses

• Explosive overkill: Any unit that has a rule to explode gains a +1 to that roll if it was wounded by a weapon with a strength higher than its Toughness characteristic on this phase. Add an additional +1 to that roll if the damage dealt on its last wound was greater than its remaining wounds. 
• If a model explodes in this fashion, place a small crater (Area Terrain with Light Cover, Difficult Ground) in its place after removing the model from the table.
• Wrecks and Carcasses: Any Vehicle or Monster that has 10 wounds or more and does not explode is left on the table as a Wreck/Carcass.
• Wrecks/Carcasses are considered Obstacles with the following traits: Breachable, Difficult Ground, Dense Cover, Unstable Position, Obscuring, Light Cover.
• Wrecks/Carcasses have the Inspiring keyword, but are considered to have the faction keywords of the opponent's army, meaning your wrecks/carcasses boos your enemies morale!
• You can mark Wrecks/Carcasses by removing any magnetized/removable parts and weapons, putting skimmers and flyers on the ground instead of on their flying bases, using smoke markers on vehicle wrecks and covering monster carcasses with red lichen for added visual effects!

Facing for vehicles and monsters

Vehicles and Monsters of 10 wounds or more are affected by facing.

• Firing Arcs: Units affected by facing must declare all of their attacks in a single 180 degrees arc in front of the unit.
• Side-mounted weapons: Some crewed vehicles have independent side-mounted weapons, players must agree on these weapons before the game and they can be shot at a 180 degree to the side they are facing instead of the frontal arc.
• Turret/pivot-mounted weapons: Some vehicles and monsters have weapons on turrets that can rotate as well as weapons on arms/shoulders, players must agree on these weapons before the game. For the purposes of these weapons, the vehicle/monster can declare a 180 degree firing arc in any direction, and shoot all their turret/pivot weapons towards that arc.
• Vulnerable rear arc: Any ranged attacks made against the rear arc of a unit affected by facing receives either a +4 to its strength value or +2 AP value, chosen by the player who controls the unit firing the weapon.
• All-rounded plating: Some vehicles that have a 2+ save (Land Raiders and Necron Monoliths, as examples) are historically durable and players must agree that these units suffer half the vulnerable rear arc effects (+2 str or +1 AP for the firing unit).

Unpredictable Deepstriking

Any rules that allow units to be set-up anywhere on the battlefield after deployment are subject to the following rules:

• Uncertain landing: After setting up the deepstriking unit, Roll a D6 and consult the effects below:
• 1 - Perilous approach vector: Roll 1D3 + an extra D3 per every 10 models on the unit, dealing that many mortal wounds to the unit that was just set-up, then roll again.
• 2, 3 - Inaccurate Landing: The increase the minimum distance you have to set-up your models from enemy models by 3''. 
• 4, 5, 6 - Precise landing: Place your models as intended!

Hold the line men! Fix Bayonets and stab the horrors as they approach!

3 - Reactions for 40k games - introducing more counter-play

We are still experimenting with these reactions since the new 30k set was announced, and they are not an integral part of the above rules by any means.

However, we think they add so much dynamism and counterplay that we want to give them a shot, as they engage players in equal amounts at all turns. It'd be a missed opportunity not to at least give them a try in 40k, but these are completely not part of the above rules that we have been using for a while, and simply my first attempt at adapting these to 40k as it is played now.

Each player can perform 1 reaction per phase on their opponent's turn.

Movement Phase reactions

You can react by declaring a reaction and selecting a target unit within 12'' of the unit the opponent has just finished moving. These are not available against enemy reinforcements, reserves or deepstriking units.

• Advance: Move up to 3'' towards the enemy unit that was just moved. Every model moved must end their movement closer to the enemy unit activated. Cannot be issued to models within engagement range of enemy models.
• Withdraw: Move up to 3'' away from the enemy unit that was just moved. Every model moved must end their movement farther away from the enemy unit activated. Cannot be issued to models within engagement range of enemy models.

Shooting Phase reactions

You can react by declaring a reaction after an opponent has declared all of the targets of their ranged attacks for a single unit and at least one of the weapons shot is a heavy weapon.

• Return Fire: Before the enemy can resolve their attacks, choose one model on your army to shoot at the model you are reacting to. If the enemy models are destroyed by this, they do not finish their declared attacks.
• Evade: All hits from the firing unit get -1 to hit.

Charge Phase reactions

You can react by declaring a reaction after an opponent has declared the targets of a charging unit.

• Snap shots: All targets of the charge may make an Overwatch attack for free, as if they had been targeted by the Overwatch stratagem, but cannot use blast weapons. You can still use the stratagem normally on another charge target, but the unit that used Snap shots cannot Overwatch at the same time or later that turn, as well as a unit who was the target of the stratagem cannot declare this reaction.
• Hold the line: On the following fight phase, when a model in the unit that was the target of the charge is removed as a casualty roll a D6: on a 4+, before removing that model from the battlefield, you can make it's melee attacks against the unit who destroyed it, remove the model as usual after resolving these attacks.

Designer's Commentary

• Vengeful Surge: This is really meant to help bring more balance to the IGOUGO base system of 40k. While the new mission packs do bring a lot of balance to the game, they do not prevent you bringing your newly painted giant unit to play and it being obliterated turn 1 before you can even use their weapons. This is why the Vengeful Surge stratagem lets you use stuff as it gets destroyed. It also has the benefit of creating more carnage early on, clearing the battlefield and speeding up the game, as you always get a chance to swing back with powerful character units and fragile glasscannons. While some may argue that it lowers the consequence of bad placement, it is a part of the meta that can be exploited and opens up new ways to target prioritize and list build.
• Better Charges: this is a way to help melee armies on a shooting game. This allows them to cover the field faster and get some benefit out of failed charges, simply as put. The coordinated charge rule is to prevent some instances when character/unit synergy is essential (i.e. charging Lychguards and a Cryptek) and failing one while the first succeeded end sup as a detriment for the player.
• Explosions, craters, wrecks and carcasses: Yes, it's a lot of work, but playing on a shifting landscape is really fun.
• Facing for vehicles and monsters: Facing was the one thing I wish they'd have simplified but not removed from the game. It adds so much tactical depth, especially when paired up with deepstriking and fast-moving units like land speeders and drop-pod scouts getting those rear-facing melta shots. I want that back.
• Unpredictable Deepstriking: The scatter dices were too much punishing sometimes, especially if dropping in the middle of a crowded warzone, but the current deepstriking rules are just too regimented and predictable. I love the push your luck feeling when a drop pod gets you right into charge range as much as figuring out what to do if you end up way off-target. I tried to keep it as simple and streamlined as the current 40k rules system dictates, using simple D6s and placement rules to do the job.
• 30k Reactions for 40k: The reaction system is one of the best innovations of 30k and I just want to give genestelaer cults, drukhari and all the fantastic depth of 40k some of that added counter-play feeling.