Warhammer 40K: How to Fix 9th Edition’s Worst Part – Morale
Let’s dig into what many consider the worst part of Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition.
The other week Adam asked an important question, “Does Morale Even Matter” and this really got me thinking. Overall I find the core rules for 9th Edition to be fairly solid. Sure there are things I’d change, but the core book is pretty good. One part of the game however really stands out to me and that’s leadership/morale. I find this to really be the weakest part of the core rules and overall a poorly implemented idea. Let’s take a look at what that is and if anything can be changed.
Why Morale Sucks
The current morale rules are pretty lackluster and, most importantly, not very fun. When Adam asked if they matter, it was a pretty fair question. 9th Edition has significantly reduced the effect morale will have on a game. A few of the reasons I really don’t like it are:
- It disproportionally affects larger units (thus promoting MSU) by making them not only more likely to take higher losses, but more likely to take losses at all.
- Many units can simply skip the entire phase by being small, 3 man units with LD 8 effectively ignore morale, while 5 man units with good LD are almost never affected.
- It’s been poorly implemented in books, with very few things playing into the rules and many armies having next to no bonus, positive or negative.
- Whole armies are effectively immune.
- Even when it has an effect, it tends to be a very minor one with a handful of models at best being lost.
- It’s next to impossible to destroy a unit with morale.
- Due to its often minor effects, it’s better to just wipe units out with overwhelming firepower, which in turn leads to fewer morale checks and it having less effect.
Honestly, while I’m sure it happens, I can’t really recall the last time I saw morale make a difference in a game. Indeed I have to say I feel like the current morale system is even weaker than it was in 8th. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the system then, at least if you killed 27 out of a 30 model unit you could normally count on them being destroyed by morale (barring the use of a stratagem). In 9th it’s fairly unlikely. So what are some things that could be done to fix the system?
Fewer, But More Impactful Tests
I think the overall goal I would like from morale would be to take fewer tests, but have the ones you take be more impactful. In 9th Edition, you take a ton of morale tests. Any time a unit has lost a model that turn you need to take a test. In theory this could lead to needing to take hundreds of tests a turn. In an actual game however the vast majority of tests have no effect. In lots of cases, the unit simply hasn’t lost enough models to be able to fail a test.
In fact it’s pretty rare at all to see a unit that can fail a test from losing only one model. So, even though technically you “take” a lot of tests, most of them are simply skipped because they cannot be failed. Even when you get to the point of needing to take them, the impact is often low, a huge number of tests take are very unlikely to fail and again the result of failure isn’t really all that bad. Ideally, you’d take far fewer tests, but have the results be meaningful.
Return to Percentage Based Systems
One way to take fewer tests is to bring back a percentage-based system. In previous editions the need to take a morale test was based on how many models were lost, normally a test was required if 25% of the unit had been killed that turn. Personally, I like a system like this for two main reasons. The first of course is that you take a lot less tests with it. Instead of having to take a test if just one model is killed, you normally need to have lost a few to take a test. The other reason I like it is that it’s more fairly applied across different sized units. Right now smaller units are effectively immune to morale, but a percentage system makes them just as, if not more, likely to take a test as a large unit. Now large units normally are easier to kill on a model per model basis, so it’s not really unfair, but it does mean that a 3 man unit can suffer a test.
Maybe Go Back To the Two Dice System
Changing back to a percentage-based system would also require a change in how tests are taken to have any real impact. Personally, and not to sound like I just want things to go back to an older edition, I think that going back to the “roll two dice and try to get under your leadership” system would work. It’s a simple system and requires less math than your average charge roll. Now the one real advantage of the 9th system is that it does make things more punishing for units that have lost a lot of models, which would be removed in this change. So maybe there is still some way to get some modifiers into the system.
Fun and Impactful Results
We’ve already talked about how failing a morale test isn’t really that impactful. On top of that however I also just found the results to be dull. Some models are removed. The end. How boring. Now I know not everyone liked the older system that had units physically moving around the table and possibly getting wiped about if they were caught. It was complicated and not always fun to have a unit that couldn’t do anything. However, I think there are some other effects you could have. 9th already has a fair amount of status effects so it wouldn’t be unprecedented.
So here are some ideas for additional effects you could have when you fail a morale test.
- Get a -1 to hit in the next turn.
- Move/charge at half speed.
- Be unable to charge.
- If you are in the engagement range of enemy units you must make a fall back move on your next movement phase.
- Can’t advance.
- Can’t be affected by friendly auras.
- Can’t take actions on your next turn.
- Lose objective secured for a turn.
- Don’t count at all towards controlling objectives for a turn.
- All weapons (aside from grenade and pistol) count as heavy.
Let us know what you think should be done about morale, down in the comments!
