Games Workshop recently released (January 2009) a new set of errata and FAQs for Warhammer Fantasy Battle. The original can be found on this list in GW’s website. Here’s a direct link to the pdf file as well.

I love FAQs because I love rules… and FAQs are a great time to see some bizarre rules that people have pushed as far as they could until GW closed the loophole. I’d suggest you at least skim through the entire thing, but here’s a highlight of a couple of the more interesting points that I noticed.

Magic Lances and Dead Horses

Q. If a character using a lance in close combat has his chariot/monster mount destroyed/killed can he continue to fight in subsequent rounds of the same combat, as lances are ‘mounted only’?

A. If this happens, the lance effectively disappears and the character must start using a hand weapon (which he is assumed to carry). Note that this happens even if the character was equipped with a magic lance, which is now lost.

This is an interesting rule that makes perfect sense to me, although some Brettonian players may not agree. If you’re talking about a mundane lance, that’s no big deal. Throw it away and yank out a hand weapon.

That’s a pretty nasty blow to someone who’s wielding a hefty magical lance, though. It also clears up any rules issues where someone would argue that a magical lance isn’t really a lance – it’s just a one handed weapon that looks like a lance.

Note: There’s a similar question about magic weapons with the “Mounted Only” special rule. These, too, are lost and converted into regular hand weapons.

Base-to-Base and Challenges

Q. Do characters engaged in a challenge only count as being in base to base contact with one another? Or are they considered to still be in base to base contact with other friendly/enemy models around them?

A. Characters engaged in a challenge are still in base to base contact with other friendly/enemy models. Thus the challenge participants may be affected by magic items/abilities originating from outside the combat (and vice versa).

This one interested me because my Chaos characters will no doubt see their fair share of challenges. It’s good to know that everybody is still in base contact, for the purposes of items like the Warrior Familiar and Word of Agony.

I’m wondering, however, whether items that trigger at the “start of close combat” are resolved before issuing challenges. For example, if my Sorceror is in base contact with a unit champion, can he have a Warrior Familiar kill the champion and then not have to issue a challenge? Conversely, if the two characters aren’t in base to base contact initially, can items like the Warrior Familiar be used during the challenge?

Brush Up on Your Rules

There are a lot of rules in Warhammer, and it’s easy to forget or overlook them. Take some time to flip through the rulebook every once in a while and definitely look through that new FAQ.

You don’t want to be that guy that tries to do something ridiculous because you didn’t read the rules closely.