Next big thing for fantasy is the hordes of Chaos re-release - according to my manager, that's happening in November.
Where the previous Hordes book focused on all manner of chaotic entities from the entire realm of chaos and the chaos wastes, this one will be more themed towards the "armies of the north", as my boss put it. First of all, miniatures will include new metal lords (foot and mounted) which are apparently so detailed as to be mistaken for special characters - incidentally, there will be at least one new special character to add to Archaon and Galrauch, the model for which is apparently drool-inducing. Plastic knights are confirmed, possibly with chosen mutation upgrades and marks included in the kit.
New units for the book include the chaos giant and hellcannon, as seen in the temporary "get-you-by" army list, most likely with some clarified rules for the Hellcannon. Also making an appearance will be a unit called "forsaken" - according to Phil Kelly, in a conversation with my boss, the book will follow both the upward and downward paths of chaos - so, as well as the usual marauder > warrior > chosen > aspiring champ > exalted > Lord > daemon path to glory, there is also a path to spawndom that includes the forsaken; regular folk who sprout mutations and are accidentally damned by the gods with their over generous "gifts". I think these guys are gonna be the mutant marauders that were mentioned or guessed upon some time before. I think its a nice addition, as it means you get crazy bonkers mutant hordes supported by spawn and beasts, as well as the disciplined serried ranks of warriors and champions.
Another addition that the boss seemed very keen on was a sort of "blessing of the gods" table for champions/lords - as they fight challenges with enemy characters, the gods bless them from on high, mid-battle. I don't know how its supposed to work or what exactly you get from it, but it seems that getting your chaos characters into serious bust-ups will be rewarded on the spot, increasing their power and ****-kicking abilities. This ties into the idea that the entire book will be geared towards very offensive armies, that require very agressive playing styles.
Not much word on marks, but I think they are (fluffwise at least) becoming a bit more generalised. The idea is that in the north of the old world, life is tough, so everyday the peoples there pray and submit to the four gods for mere survival - on the eve of battle, they pray to khorne for strength, in a season of plague or famine, they pray to nurgle for relief, at parties they pray to slaanesh, etc, with certain tribes having a certain favourite that they worship above others. I wasn't told how this was to work in game terms, but the fluff seems a bit more realistic. The one thing I did hear was that the Mark of Undivided is going, but its effects are staying - again, life is hard for all northmen, so they are hardy and brave beyond reason, so most units in the army get to reroll break tests as standard.
This is what I've heard from the black shirts above me from their preview of it at HQ, so don't kill me if I've misunderstood something or been told wrong.
Wieder von Warseer... von wo auch sonst 🙂
