40K: Fun Things I’d Like In Chapter Approved
What CRAZY rules would you like added in a Chapter Approved Book?
The other day I talked about changes to the game I would like to see come out of Chapter Approved. Now at the time as I mentioned I was focusing on changes to competitive play. Because of that the rules changes were I mentioned I’m hoping for were pretty minor and could be added to Matched Play rules without changing the fundamentals of the game. A lot of people it seemed however were hoping for some additional, expanded you might say, rules. While these types of rules might not work well in matched play (VDR) they are great addtions to narrative and non-competitive play. Lets take a look at some fun additions I’d like to see in a Chapter Approved at some point.
More Cover/Terrain Rules
The terrain rules in the core rules are, frankly pretty sparse. In fact its not until almost the end of the main rule book that terrain gets fleshed out at all. Even with these expanded rules, there isn’t a huge amount of variety, with most terrain having very similar effects. Though there are rules for a few cool types of terrain almost every table I’ve seen has hills, forests and ruins… and that’s about it. I would love to see some more terrain rules added in. Some of the crazier features of the 40K world could be brought into the game . Rivers of lava, Chaos Shrines, ‘Nid Spawing pits, Eldar Webgates, etc could all get cool abilities to liven up the table top.
To go along with this more variances in cover could be added. Maybe some very heavy cover could give you a +2 to a save. Maybe a heavy forest could give a -1 to hit units behind it? Anything that can help bring the battlefield to life would be cool additions to the game.
Battlezones Galore
Going hand in hand with the above, Battlezones are one of the cooler ideas in the main rule book. Where as terrain rules add a twist to a localized part of the broad, battlezones effect the whole table. The main rule book only comes with three battlezones, Night Fight, Fire and Fury, and Psychic Maelstrom. Each of these battlezones simulates an environment a battle might be fought in. They add both new rules and new stratagems to the fight. In addition to these three I can see so many more battlezones that should be in the game. I want my Zero-G/Vacuum Battlezone, an Ice/Lava World Battlezone. Or how about Battlezone Death World? These could add some really amazing flavor to games.
Expanded Vehicle Rules
Look, to be honest I find the vehicle rules in 8th to be a little bland. In addition I know I am not the only person who feels this way. However despite how I feel I can also recognize that we are not going to get any major changes to the core rules of how vehicles work until 9th edition. That doesn’t mean we can’t get some optional rules. The main rule book in 7th introduced the Death From Skies expansion. This optional play mode introduced extra rules for flyers, including facing and dogfighting rules.
I would love to see a similar expansion for ground Vehicle rules. There is no reason we can’t get a tank focused expansion of optional rules, adding in things like facings and partial damage (immobilized?). Base the expansion around all tank games, but allow players to adapt the rules as they like to the rest of the game. I think this could be a really fun option and add some cool rules.
Character Design Rules
If we can get VDR rules, why not CDR ones? But seriously, how cool would it be to have a set of rules for building you own custom character to lead you army? I know plenty of people come up for background for their warlord, and many others have really cool ideas for characters that simply aren’t supported in the rules. A pretty simple set of CDR rules could allow anyone to build a custom hero, that they could then convert and play with. It wouldn’t even be all that hard to do. Since weapons are already priced in each codex you just need to do a few simple things:
- Base costs for a hero of each race, maybe have two stat lines, a major and minor hero, or a single universal stat line they you pay to modify.
- Pick your Keywords- maybe the first 3/4 are free, and additional cost points?
- A list of like 20-30 generic abilities (“Friendly units with keyword X within 6 inches re-roll ones to hit”) with points.
- pick x- weapons from your codex- pay the points.
- Some generic options for mounts, bikes, wings, jump-packs, etc.
With just a few additional tweaks you could have something really cool there.
A World Of Options
Maybe not that world though, it looks a little used.
These are just a few of the fun and wacky things I’d love to see added in a Chapter Approved book at some point. Chapter Approved has always been a vehicle for not just fixing rules but adding fun optional additions to the game. With so many great ideas out there I hope some of them make it in at some point.
That’s it for today folks! Let us know what fun and wacky rules you’d like to see in a Chapter Approved, down in the comments!
