Horus Heresy: Vehicle Facing & New Vehicle Rules Head To The Tabletop

The Horus Heresy is getting an update the the Vehicle Rules in the new edition. Armor Facing, Hull Points, and reworked Vehicle damage ahead!

Games Workshop is reaching into older editions of Warhammer 40,000 to bring back some classic ideas remixed with new ones for the upcoming edition of The Horus Heresy. Get ready for the return facing and Armor Values as well as other blasts from the past.

via Warhammer Community

“Vehicles work differently to infantry in the Horus Heresy, where they have different types of stats and other rules unique to them. For existing players this will be reassuringly familiar, but there are a few key changes in the new edition that are worth casting our explorator augury web over.”

Vehicle “Updates” In The Horus Heresy

I hesitate to call these “updates” because these rule concepts aren’t new. These are blasts from editions pasts. It really does feel like a mad scientist has Frankenstein’d rules together to create these rules. So let’s just get into them.

The Predator still retains the Movement and Ballistic Skill stats. However the other stats have been replaced with Armor Values. Front/Side/Rear and also Hull Points instead of wounds. Again, this shouldn’t be too crazy for most players. Personally, I’m a little conflicted about this simply because I do remember the arguments about which facing was being shot…but this does provide more variety attacking vehicles.

“If the attacker hits with their shot, there aren’t wound and save rolls to determine damage. Instead the attacker makes an Armour Penetration test by rolling a D6 and adding their Ranged Strength (RS). “

If you fail to meet or beat the Armor Value then the shot bounces off harmlessly. If you meet the armor, then you get a glancing hit. And if you manage to beat the value you get a penetrating hit. Again, these concepts should be familiar for players of a certain vintage. Having said that, the rules for Glancing hits have changed, too. There’s a different chart.

“Unlike in previous editions however, Glancing Hits don’t automatically strike off a Hull Point. Instead, you get to roll on a table to inflict a random Tactical Status: Impaired Sensors for Stunned, Broken Motors for Pinned and Weapons Damaged for Suppressed. “

I do like the fact that the Glancing Hits can (eventually) cause Hull Point damage. I think this is a good change overall as mass bolter fire in the rear of a vehicle has a chance to do some real damage. That’s not a completely uncommon occurrence in the Horus Heresy.

So what about Penetrating Hits? Those just bypass the chart and do their damage value to Hull Points directly. If that seems deadlier than before that’s because it is. To compensate a bit vehicles have had their Hull Points increased.  That should prevent them from becoming wrecks too fast.

“This does mean that the old Vehicle Damage Chart is no more, but it lives on in spirit as much of its functionality – such as reducing accuracy and impairing movement – has moved to the Glancing Hits table. Vehicles are now more durable in general and less prone to inopportune critical hits.”

Bring On The Big Boys

So what about the Knights and Titans marching around the Heresy-era? Good question. Knights retain some of the other stats (like Weapon Skill) and, because of their ability to face their enemies, only have a Front and Rear armor arc.

I like this change as I think it’s a good split between the vehicle rules and the walker that Knights are. Titans on the other hand got an even larger rework. In fact, there’s an entire chapter in the upcoming Liber Questoris book for running them. But here’s the basics.

Titans actually don’t have the standard facings. They have specific targeting points that have their own Armor Values and Hull Points. These can each be independently targeted. How does that play into destroying a Titan?

“Reducing the Hull Points of a location to zero doesn’t outright destroy a Titan, but rather cripples that location, causing further attacks to roll against a lower armour value and cause devastating internal damage. Rolling on the Titan Critical Damage Table might result in the loss of an entire weapon, collapsing to the ground, or even mortally wounding the Princeps, while a particular stroke of fortune can detonate its reactor in spectacular fashion.”

To say I have questions about how Titans will work in general is an understatement. I really what to know how blast weapons interact with these different targetable parts. Unfortunately we don’t have a full breakdown on their rules (yet). One advantage I can see here is that these Titans won’t go down as simply as before. I think this should allow them to chug along and take damage as the fight goes on. Crippling a part doesn’t destroy a Titan outright and I think that’s a good idea.

The new vehicle rules are remix of ideas new and old — What do you think about them?!

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

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