The 40K Heretics Rulebook is Real... Only it's Not!

Yes… you heard that correctly. After a lot of digging and snooping around, the inter-webs and other virtual and real dustbins (did we say how much we enjoy old cheese and jam sandwiches) of the great citadel (or should that be Citadel), we have some very interesting news/theories (you decide) about the so-called Heretics 40K Rulebook… or the 6th Edition Leak for those with little flair for the dramatic!

We have come to believe that this is in fact an actual early version of the 6th Edition rules… but not quite. Apparently the Design department were let loose on the 40K system… they were allowed to try anything they fancied… we’re told that nothing was off the table. This “no-holds-barred” version was then edited down with the truly unworkable ideas removed and those that could prove to be exciting or contentious left in to be play-tested… so was born the Heretics 40K Rulebook!

This a version that was very likely sent to trusted play-testers (we still believe these guys exist!). Who like all trusted minions… were turned by the promise of power… or in this case internet notoriety and likely splurted the document all over the web!

I actually found this explanation to be not just more plausible (than the lone gunman theory) but a real breath of fresh air if true, and to me at least it shows a high level of innovation within the design team looking down upon us from the 'Ivory Citadel', and also shows that there is no shortage of ideas knocking around in there.

You can just imagine the design team having a real blast with this iteration of the rules (we loved it so why shouldn't they) but its not been hard to spot a lot of potential for (ED: asshats now now don't get carried away!) gifted players with a penchant for the meta side of our beautiful game... to discover unbalanced lists etc.

And there you have the crux of the issue the design team face, they could probably create a massively fun game at the drop of the hat, and simple folk like me wold love them dearly for it, but alas there is a whole other side (some say dark, Darrell says only!) to our hobby and that is the competitive win at all costs play.

So, fun as they may be, they’re not the final (or indeed likely to be anything like the complete) rule set for 6th edition… but what have we turned up about the actual 6th Edition Rules?

Well some really interesting stuff. For a start here’s what we believe wont make it from the Heretics Rulebook:

Evasion Values are Out – well we think this is a given… I’m sure every Dark Eldar player was praying for the day that their skimmers and flyers didn’t fall over in a stiff breeze, but that’s not all. Our Man in Havana has told us that Dark Eldar players will be very pleased with the 6th Edition updates.

Could that mean an overhaul of the skimmer rules… could it mean more deadly flyers?

Of course it could mean one, both or neither. However, more robust transports would make the Dark Eldar much more deadly… so keep your eyes peeled for more revelations.

The Turn Sequence will remain the same – The biggest shake-up and the one that would mean a rewrite of Assault weapons and the death of certain “shooty armies” ( Tau ), was the turn structure that put charging/melee before shooting. I would say it was unrealistic, but in a world of extra-terrestrial and supernatural horrors, where mankind has moved to the stars… that’s probably a bit redundant.

Anyway… the turn structure will likely remain the same as it is now, although i still think the reversal is tactically more interesting.

No Unit by Unit Activation – Yup that was pretty disappointing for me, (but who knows everything we have printed here could well be misinformation too! - fingers crossed I say.) I was sooo looking forward to faster more intricate games with that option. (Over watch would have been deadly)

Gargantuan Creatures will remain with Forge World & Apocalypse Games – That’s right… probably no supersized tanks and critters for the main rulebook… but does that mean we won’t get any Aracknarok-sized monsters?
Well it hasn’t been ruled out, and as Land Raiders are already that size, it’s doesn’t take a genius to think we’ll be getting more big kits.
In fact that's a definate area of discussion… we all like to gripe about GW prices.

However, it's pretty common knowledge GW are investing all the time in new kits, new moulds, more people (sculpting team is largest its ever been apparently - and picking up designers too - with the Hobbit on the horizon this would make perfect sense too!) and a bigger and better gaming experience… you can take that at face value if you wish… but if it means more plastic kits (and fewer Finecast), and more big bad creatures and machines is it worth it?

So who will be writing this new 6th Edition Rulebook I hear you cry?

Well as you can imagine the creation of a new rule set of this scale is a team effort… but some poor soul has to captain this vessel… so who is it?

Well… we simply don't know! that really is top secret and even we couldn’t get the name (and you can’t use thumbscrews on a corporation these days!)… but we have some ideas on who isn't. (Basing most of this off their recent commitments and things that have been let loose at recent events.)

So here are a few names who may well be involved, but most likely won’t be the lead writer… Matt Ward, Jervis Johnson and Phil Kelly… but if not one of them… then who - bearing in mind that on a project this size they are probably all involved in some way?

Will you need an update to your existing Codex when 6th Edition launches?

We’ve heard that the new rule book was written to take into account the latest releases and so there’s no need to post a massive errata.
However, we know that there are many codices that need a revamp. So I’m very sceptical that there will be “no need for an FAQ”.

Although I’m always prepared to be proven wrong.

So, while events unfold we'll try to keep this article up-to-date with info as it turns up (aside from fixes of spelling, grammar, readability and of course insults to the 'meta gifted!)

For now though… feel free to speculate all you want… or post a question. Perhaps we can piece together a puzzle with our 'spidy sense' and see if we can get the inside track. (US Military aren't the only ones experimenting with remote viewing these days - Remote Viewers please contact us to apply!) (Update: Jessica Moonbeam writes in to say she sees desks full of papers and scribbles - erm helpful Jessica, very helpful!)

Big caveats on this guys, in that while we're confident that the contents of the article are accurate you are relying on multiple sources and research, and... well... there could be many ways in which it may not be accurate (not necessarily deliberate by a source either, pieceing info together like this is tricky!) so take it that its just part of the business these days that while we do our best, there are no guarantees! We will work to keep this article updated.

All of that aside, is the Heretics 40K Rulebook good enough, different enough to warrant a following of its own? (I'm so tempted its unreal!)

BoW Warren