Rollenspielverein Biberach e.V. Palaver - Verein für Rollenspiel

Some of this is copied from my thread over at Advanced Tau Tactica, some of it is not as it's more relavent here. Yesterday I was at the GW HQ for their design Studio open day and was fortunate enough to spend some time speaking to Jervis Johnson and two of the 6th rules/FAQs team (one of whom was Simon Grant, an assistant rules developer) who were good enough to clear up a few questions I had. They're mostly Tau & Eldar as I field both of those, but there's a few general things in there too.

These answers are directly from members of the game design team themselves, they did not always have time to fully justify their explanations and there is none of my opinions stated below unless otherwise written. Please do not bust my chops if you don't like the official line - it's not my fault or problem!


Tau:

Iridium Armour
Reduces our jet pack assault move from 2D6 to 1D6 which is then affected by external modifiers as appropriate.

Our Target Lock removal should be replaced with it providing the Split Fire rule.

The above should be FAQed imminently, apparently.

I was asked by a fellow ATT member to field the following Skyray Qs:

Originally Posted by O'M'yen'Suam
1. Does hitting flying Monstrous creatures with a markerlight cause a grounded test.
2. Can seekers be launched at flyers at BS5 in response to a marker hit (it's been hinted towards but would be nice to have it expressed for sure in the FAQ).
3. Do markerlights launched in overwatch have any affect? (can they be used to remove cover if they are networked or do they stay on the unit until the next tau shooting phase)
4. Is the skyray intended to have the skyfire rule?

The answers were not exactly what us Tau players were hoping for, but see my mention of codicies further down:
1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Can only lower cover save if applicable, has to be networked markerlight for firing unit to benefit.
4. No.


Eldar:

Karandras' Stealth rule is indeed the Stealth USR (grats, Mercury14!); the mention of Scorpions in brackets is just an example and the rule is indeed conferred to any unit he can join.

Howling Banshees cannot be armed with any power weapon as their codex entry specifically states they the unit type is armed with power swords despite the army list entry saying 'power weapons'. The only Banshee model without a sword is an old Exarch model which is actually armed with an old Executioner. Simon then went on to say that even if Banshees could be armed with power axes they would still strike at I1, rendering their Banshee masks useless, but as they can't be armed with axes the point is moot.


General Stuff:

Power weapons can only be chosen by the player if a unit's FAQ, codex entry and army list entry fail to specify a type. See the Banshee example above. (I assume that this is because previous editions of 40k didn't differenciate between types of power weapons, just allowed them to ignore armour so whatever weapon the model had was purely cosmetic and this is no longer the case.)

The Character trait for a troop type is only applicable if that model is leading a unit. I specifically asked about the SW's Wolf Guard rulebook entry at the back and the official line was that you cannot have a unit of characters, only the leading model is considered to have that trait. So in the case of Wolf Guard, they are only a character when used as a Pack Leader, but this restriction applies to any unit with the (Ch) suffix in the rulebook. (I have no idea why GK Paladins are listed as characters, I didn't think to ask at the time.)

No units have access to flakk missiles at present. The ammo type has been listed in the rulebook with the intention of being assigned via future codicies.

Simon Grant (with Jervis Johnson sat next to him) stated that while his team and other internal GW staff are extremely limited by corporate policy when it comes to updating existing GW units, Forgeworld are not so much when it comes to theirs. "...[Forgeworld] are allowed to bend the rules but we are not." were his exact words, which would explain the lack of AA/skyfire FAQ/rules for the Tau Skyray, for example, but Forgeworld's own units have updated FAQs (like the Eldar Firestorm). Simon then went on to say that his team have been giving a big push to codex development recently, to the point where a lot are almost ready to go ("We have books that we have read but you guys haven't seen yet" were his exact words) and should start to be released "very soon" with more releases every 2-3 months thereafter. So there's hope for us IVth edition codex players yet!

That's pretty much it, I think. As stated at the start the info listed above is direct from Jervis Johnson & Simon Grant (long-term strategy manager/game designer & assistant game developer respectively (There was also a woman on the panel, but I didn't get her name)) answering my questions, in person, directly. While I cannot prove that any of the above is codex - I can scan my event ticket & the pages of my rulebook signed by Jervis Johnson & John Blanche if you like - I expect most, if not all, of the above answers to either end up in minor FAQ changes and/or new codex entries. There's not much point in trying to argue or criticise any of the above, I am not in contact with either of the chaps above and I'm just the messenger sharing what I hope is useful info.

Chaos Codex Rumors

Well, the last thread was locked into submission after devolving into wish-listing and other related madness, so here's some actual info from Faeit 212:

Hey Natfka, great job. Also CSM codexes is just being distributed to warehouses worldwide now. I saw a new sculpt for Kharn. Or im pretty certain its him. Looks very cool. Also the Chaos Dragon thing is pretty nasty at other flyers. But im sure you'll see soon enough.

From the comments, there's a few confirmations of Chaos Codexes arriving in warehouses, plus this bit of information:

Release date – 1st September (7 weeks he said) and it is a hard back like the 8e WFB Army Books. <=Gut.There is an Eye of the Gods esque table (Warriors of Chaos players will know what I am talking about (und wir wissen alle, dass diese Tabelle überhaut nicht so funktioniert wie vom Entwickler gedacht/gewünscht)) that you get to roll on whenever a character kills another character in a challenge, or a Walker or Monstrous Creature. There is a multitude of gifts (and curses) that your Characters can acquire which range from +1 Save, +1 Toughness, or becoming either a Spawn (na toll!!!) or a Daemon Prince!!!Chaos Cultists are definetely in (but we all kinda know that already), as is the ‘Dragon’ – think Necron Night Scythe with the main chassis been replaced by a massive mechanical dragon head with segmented wings sweeping forward and around from it.(hört sich an wie die kleinen Tzeench-Jäger aus Epic, also nix für meine Nurgliten (aber dafür sind meine Dohnen jetzt richtg geil geworden hehe ) On top of those there are also:

Dark Apostles – evil Chaplains basically
Warp Smiths – evil Techmarine that can curse vehicles and degrade terrain.
A new Daemon Engine – half way between a Dreadnought and a Defiler.
Speaking of Defilers as they are Daemons they have a 5+ Inv save. (dachte ich mir schon nach dem FW Errata)
‘Cult’ units are all Elites and are unlocked to Troops by appropriate HQ choices (hoffentlich braucht man dafür nur einen HQ mit einem Mal und nicht gleich ein besonderes Charaktermodell), but there are no Cult Terminators which makes me sad. (mich auch )
Obliterators are exclusively for shooting – so no powerfists. (gut, dass ich gerade welche modelliert habe...danke GW) BUT there is a new unit which is basically a close combat Obliterator.
There are 2 types of Raptors now; regular CSM with Jump Packs, and then some kind of Possessed Daemonic Raptors that all come with Lightning Claws! (na das ist doch was für Andreas!)
Possessed are meant to be amazing, and take a lot of benefits from the Eye of the Gods esque table.(wahrscheinlich wie Auserkorene in WHFB)
There are NO Daemons in the Codex because that is what Allies are for.(ach nööö)


That is all I can remember for now. Sorry I am VERY tired. But regardless I have to say I am excited to see the Codex in the flesh and get cracking on some themed lists with Allied Daemons or Guard (for a proper Lost and the Damned army).

If the September release is true, that'd explain why we haven't heard a thing about this book yet, despite the rumored August release date hovering over our collective noggins. Would love to see it earlier, but one month isn't too long a wait...

New post on BoK: CSM Rumors

-Hard back (my guess as well)
-There is an Eye of the Gods-like table ~like the WFB Warriors of Chaos table.
You get to roll on whenever a character kills another character in a challenge, or a Walker or Monstrous Creature. There is a multitude of gifts (and curses) that your Characters can acquire which range from +1 Save, +1 Toughness, or becoming either a Spawn or a Daemon Prince!!! (Sorta True — trying to lump all the funky stuff into one table is not totally accurate. CSM codex is table land. Expect many random charts and upgrades it will be hard to keep track.)
-Chaos Cultists are in (true– said this and others before)
-The Dragon flyer is in – think Necron Night Scythe with the main chassis replaced by a massive mechanical dragon head with segmented wings sweeping forward and around from it. (True – The thing looks like a dragon head attached to the Owl from Clash of the Titans)
-Dark Apostles – ~Word Bearers rejoice!!! (True– but more of cultist leader/moral buffer)
-Warp Smiths – Chaos Techmarines that can curse vehicles and degrade terrain. ~maybe they’ll have anti-psychotic grenades ( True -Think Doc Ock )
-New Daemon Engine – half way between a Dreadnought and a Defiler. (True -I would say halfway between Defiler and Trygon)
-Defilers are Daemons and have a 5+ Inv save. (Yes a Demon, and some extra lovin…)
-’Cult’ units are all Elites and are unlocked to Troops by appropriate HQ choices (True- Said this before, but have some good news on that front)
-No Cult Terminators ~boo hiss!!! (-True, boo hiss!!!)
-Obliterators are exclusively for shooting – so no powerfists. (-False they will shoot, but still have a powerfist)
HOWEVER there is a new unit which is basically a close combat Obliterator. (True)
-There are 2 types of Raptors now: regular CSMs with Jump Packs, and Possessed Daemonic Raptors with Lightning Claws. (True)
-Possessed take multiple benefits from the Eye of the Gods table. (not sure)
-NO Daemons in the Codex. (true, but allies FTW!)



–Important Designer Note–
The new CSM codex is not a return to the 3rd edition codex, this is the successor to Gav Thorpe’s creation– the current CSM codex. Unlike before Phil Kelly was put in charge of building from the ground up; Space Wolves, Dark Eldar, and Orks codexes he instead has taken a much more subtle approach with the CSM Codex. This is not the reinvention of the wheel at its core this is a validation for Gav Thorpe and perhaps if you could ask Gav, Phil Kelly’s CSM codex would have been the codex he wished he could have written, but wasn’t allowed to.


–What will be Released–
We will know if GW has changed policy. This codex will reveal if GW has abandoned the wave method to model release with a new codex or if they have stopped caring and show you all the new models even if they don’t come out right away.
Finecast: Dark Apostle, Warsmith, New Lord, Oblits, All Old Special Characters not updated already
New Plastic: Dragon, Raptors, Dreadnaught, Demon Engine, Assault Oblits, Chosen
Upgrade Packs: Plague Marines, 1k Sons, Emperor’s Children


–General Changes–
Almost all of the old units are either the same point cost or have gotten cheaper. With the notable exceptions of Chosen, Terminators, Defilers getting more expensive. The notable cheaper ones being basic CSM, Oblits, Zerkers, The CSM is really an upgrade codex, while things have gotten cheaper you will be hard pressed to keep your units inexpensive with all the wargear you can add. The cheaper units doesn’t come without a cost as well, almost all units saw a LD drop. Also you will start to see a lot of the new USRs in the CSM book.


–What has stayed the Same–
The Cult units are the same in stats and basic wargear. No new Spacial Characters. Abbadon is still the only one with Eternal Warrior. Demon Weapons still can kill you. The Dreadnaught is still Crazy. The unit sizes have stayed the same as well as the wargear options found in the old codex; e.g. Chosen can still get a butt load special weapons.


–Psychic Powers–
As can you expect each Chaos God gives their chosen Sorcerer access to their own set of spells. That allows you to pick from Basic Spells and the new ones for each God. If anyone was wondering Lash of Submission is gone.
Ok now that we got the basics out-of-the-way let us get to the good stuff


–Daemons–
A good number of units in the CSM codex have this USR.
Raptors
Oblits
CC Oblit
Defilers
Demon Engines
Dragons
Possessed
Demon Prince


–It Will Not Die–
Wonder who was getting this new USR well you guessed it CSM is.
Dragons
Defilers
Demon Engines


–Demon Possessed–
Demon possessed just got a whole bunch cuter really. Instead of not being able to embark in demon possessed vehicles they now will only eat one of your guys and repair itself. Otherwise works the same way as before lose BS and ignore shaken and stunned, In addition some things get wargear automatically.
Dragons
Defliers
Demon Engines


–Challenges–
All CSM characters must always accept challenges


–Icons and Marks–
Marks and Icons are both purchasable by most units. That means you have five new Icons and the same four marks, in which units can have a combination of two. This is a list of the USRs and stat bonus possible.
Fearless
FnP
+1 T
+1 Invul Save
Rage
Soul Blaze
Furious Charge
Fear
+1 I


–Space Marines Better Hide–
Almost all CSM units get Hatred Space Marines. Now I am not sure if this includes all Space Marine variants or just Smurfs and friends.


–?Eye of the Gods Table?–
Yeah this will be the chart to end all charts and competitive players will cry everywhere because it is random. All 60+random abilities! Yes you heard it right over 60! How it works I don’t know, but characters can get multiple rolls on the chart through various methods.
Time for some specific models right? Sure why not!


–Dragon–
Oh the Dragon yeah the model on everyone mind. This is a CSM answer to other flyers it is designed almost exclusively to hunt and destroy other flyers. Clocking in about the same points cost of Carnifex these little hell on wings Vector Strike and bring pain to a lot of things. Did I mention it gets to re-roll wounds and armor pens.


–Demon Engines–
The other mystery model that has been leaked. These guys sit on the large bases like Trygons. They have an assortment of special weapons that have never been seen before. They are designed for Building and Heavy armor destruction with Melta CC weapons and bonuses against buildings. They as well get to re-roll wounds and armor pens. Side note: Defilers as well get to re-roll wounds and armor pen.


–Dragons, Demon Engines, Defilers oh my-
So let me put this in perspective. All these models ignore shaken and stunned, have 5+ invul saves, re-roll wounds and armor pens, and can recover wounds and hull points lost.


–Cult Units–
I know much of the Internet was crying about them only being in the Elite slot when I first mentioned it. How dare they force me to take Kharn to spam Berserkers! Well don’t worry is not as bad as you think. You can also get a generic Lord and buy the correct mark and unlock them as troops as well. As for the rules themselves just minor changes.
Zerkers: Rage, Cheaper
1k Sons: Soul Fire, Same cost
Emperor Children: Weapons Ignore cover and now have Salvo USR, Cheaper
Plague Marines: Poison Weapons, More Expensive


–Typhus and Cultists–
Typhus is now a mastery level 2 sorcerer of Nurgle. In addition as reported earlier he can make any cultist a zombie. Zombies are going to be disgusting in 6th edition. FnP, Fearless, Fear, and all for no additional cost. As for Cultists they are cheap not conscript cheap, but close. You can get over 30 of them in a squad.


–Daemon Princes, Sorcerers , Chaos Lords–
Princes got more expensive wargear bringing them in line with the Demon Codex. Sorcerers are pretty much the same with the ability to buy up to Master level 3, but they only ever have 2 wounds. Chaos Lords are where it seems to be at, Phil Kelly wants you to design a Lord tailored to your army, their list of wargear options is easily the largest of any model in the book. Also remember they allow you to make Cult Units troops.
Ok that is all I got for now, depending on how the week goes and what GW does I might get more rumors for you, but until now that is all I got. Wait, no I just remembered something…

A lot of this I havent read anywhere yet, but I'm assuming some of it's new. Credit goes to http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2012/...ex-rumor-drop/ i'm particularly happy about the hatred: space marines if that comes true because all I face in my group are SM of different flavors.