Characters

Today, Warhammer Community has posted about Characters. Apparently the characters in Warhammer 40,000 shows a lot of character. And have a lot of characteristics. Okay, I should really stop now.

Anyway, what's new about characters? First one, right of the bat...dum, dum, dum...NO MORE Independent Characters! That's right. There's no such thing as Independent Characters...actually, well, there are. Independent Characters still exist, but the major change is that they can't join units anymore. So no more Death stars, Screamer stars, Invisible 2++ saves Stars, or whatever. YAY!

I don't use Independent Characters except Tech-priest Dominus anyway, so let's be honest. I don't really care about Independent Characters. That said, I usually hide my Tech-priest Dominus with Kataphron Destroyers, and just put him in the Cohort Cybernetica Formation, so maybe it might hurt me. Other than that, nah...I mean, I use Leman Russ tanks and my tank commander or Company Command Squad are not Independent Characters, and neither are my Imperial Knights. So this actually benefits me a lot more.

So now that Independent Characters can't join units and hide among them, what can they do?

Well...apparently they're now sort of like Real Time Strategy heroes that emanate an area of effect buff that...well, buffs nearby units. I don't really play MOBAs or whatever, but I'm thinking of Real Time Strategy games like Starcraft 2 where nearby units benefit from a hero character (movement speed and attack speed increase, HP buff, reduced damage) just by being within his aura or something. Warhammer Community gives specific examples where units within 6" of a particular charaacter all gain Preferred Enemy, for example, or allows nearby squads within a certain distance to share his Leadership. Neat.

Another thing that helps Characters now that they can't join a unit to hide behind meatshields is that enemy units are not allowed to shoot Characters unless those Characters are the closest enemy models. Take note, this only applies to Characters with 10 Wounds and less, so Magnus, who has more than 12 Wounds, will not benefit from this rule. On the other hand, with that many Wounds and a respectable Invulnerable Save (still no news on how this works in the new edition), he can apparently hold his own just fine.

Oh, and we have Heroic Intervention too. I'm not sure but apparently it allows a Character near a combat to pile in and attack if the enemy comes close enough, even if they aren't charged. I mean, if you can't shoot a Character, you can't charge him, but apprently if the squad next to him gets charged, your Character can perform a Heroic Intervention and join combat. I don't know how it'll work in melee - will your Character strike first, or will the chargers still strike first? Hmm...

Anyway, like Real Time Strategy games, you would want to bubblewrap your Characters - and trust me, the units bubblewrapping your Characters will gain quite a lot of benefits too - and have them charge alongside your armies. Make sure you keep them alive though! While it's awesome to maximize the buffs they provide your armies, they're still pretty vulnerable out on their own, even if they can't be shot unless they're the closest enemy model (which can be countered by your opponents positioning and moving his army accordingly). I don't know if Look Out, Sir! still comes into play, but we will see.

Anyway, we'll be getting new weapon profiles tomorrow, so stay tuned!