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OFFICIAL WARHAMMER RULESET FAQ COMPILATION
	This is a compilation of the frequently asked questions pertaining to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle basic rules. The great people at Direwolf Group have compiled all of the questions and answers specific to Orcs and Goblins. It may be found here. LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 2003
MOVEMENT
Q : Fleeing units move in disorganised mass ignoring obstacles/terrain, they seem to follow all the rules of skirmishers. Does this mean that like skirmishers, shooting at them is at -1 to hit ? A : No. They don’t really follow any of the rules of skirmishers, they merely ignore terrain while they are running frantically (and randomly)!
SHOOTING
Q : Can a non-deviating template such as dragon breath target an enemy unit engaged in close combat, if the template can be positioned to not hit the friendly unit ? A : No, you can’t target an enemy unit engaged in hand-to-hand combat (except for special rules like Skaven). Q : There are shooting limitations at characters near units. Can they be freely charged, or do the same limitations apply ? A : They can be freely charged. Q : Do flame template weapons such as breath weapons, blunderbusses, and the steam cannon require Line Of Sight? A : Yes.
WAR MACHINES
Note the following replaces an earlier answer given for this question. Q : Do war machine crews have to test to restrain pursuit? More importantly, what happens to a Liche Priest with the Casket of Souls if he fails to restrain pursuit? A : A war machine crew will defend their machine to the last, but won’t go haring off after the enemy. Therefore, they may always choose not to pursue with no test required. If a Liche Priest pursues an enemy, he will have left the casket and it would be destroyed (so best not do that…).
CHARIOTS
Q: Do troops that are charged by a Chariot get +1 armour save against its impact hits if they are using hand weapon and shield? A: Yes. Q : A chariot (or unit) unit pursues a fleeing unit, and rolls higher than the fleeing roll. However, the fleeing unit has a smaller frontage that allows it to avoid a nearby wood (or difficult terrain), while the chariot unit, moving straight forward, will have some of its models coming across the woods. What happens ? A : The pursued unit is destroyed as normal, and the chariots will move into the woods and suffer hits.. Q : Strictly speaking and according to the rules of chariot, the impact hits are "resolved before combat". So, Can you add the +1 bonus to armour save by using a hand weapon and shield against the impact hits from a chariot ? A : Yes. It’s still in the Combat phase, just before anything else happens. Q :Is it alright to charge a chariot in such a way that the chariot is only touching a single model in an enemy unit? Basically, is there a rule against clipping with chariots? A :Strictly, there is no rule to stop such behaviour, and in some cases it is unavoidable or appropriate. However, deliberately turning a chariot so when it charges it clips the enemy’s unit is bad form, and to be frowned upon. See P.266 of the Warhammer rulebook for a fuller discussion on the horrid creature that is ‘clipping’.
MAGIC
Q: On the miscast result of 4, the spell may be ‘dispelled with dice as usual’. Can a Dispel Scoll be used in this situation? A: Yes. It should read ‘dispelled as usual’ rather than ‘dispelled with dice as usual’. Q : When do you measure range for spells? A : Once spell is cast. If you're out of range, you wasted the power and/or dispel dice. Q : Father of the thorn is not listed as a magic missile, its only requirements for targeting are 24" range and LOS. Can it be cast upon characters who are within 5" of a unit of 5+ similar sized models? What about skaven weapons teams? A :Yes. As it is not a Magic Missile, it does not need to conform to normal targeting rules (and it does not count as shooting for things such as special saves against shooting, etc). Q : Some items can dispel and destroy spells. We can use the dispel effect to dispel a bound spell. Can we destroy it as well? If yes, is the magic bound spell item completely destroyed or can it still be used (if it’s a weapon with a bound spell for example) ? A : Bound spells can only be destroyed if the item specifically states in its description that it can do so. In other circumstances, no, bound spells cannot be destroyed. If the bound spell in destroyed and the item is a magic weapon, it is only the spell that is lost- the item is still magical weapon. Q : Can Uranon's Thunderbolt target characters in Buildings? A :Yes (the thunderbolts smash through the roof, obviously!) Q : Are enemy units engaged in hand-to-hand affected by the Casket of Souls ? More generally, do spells which affect all enemy units in sight/on the battlefield/etc. affect units in close combat as well (if part of the unit has LOS)? An about templates spells, since you only place the template once the spell is cast, can it be placed over units engaged in close combat? A : The Casket does not affect units that are engaged in combat at all. It is assumed that they are engrossed in the combat, and so will never be affected. Q : Can a fleeing Wizard use Dispel Scrolls? A : No. It states that ‘fleeing Wizards are not allowed to cast or dispel spells’. I’d say using a Dispel Scroll counts as dispelling a spell Q : Can a fleeing Wizard continue to maintain a Remains in Play spell, or is the spell removed from play once he flees? A : The spells continue to take effect until either the Wizard chooses to end it, the Wizard is slain, the Wizard casts another spell, or until the Wizard leaves the battlefield (counting as slain). Q : If a character has joined a unit and the unit gets affected by a spell with a lasting effect, will it continue to affect the character if he leaves the unit? A : No. The spell affects the unit, and characters can choose to leave the unit and so be unaffected. Of course, if the unit was destroyed around him, leaving him the only one in the unit, the spell would keep affecting him – there is no unit to leave anymore!
MAGIC ITEMS
Q : If a battle standard bearer in a unit refuses a challenge and goes into the back, does the unit still benefits from the magic banner he holds ? A : No, unless specifically stated otherwise (for example, Skaven) a unit is only affected by a magic banner if it is in the front or fighting rank. Q :The High Elf Blade of Darting Steel states that if an enemy also has the ability to strike first, then a dice is rolled to determine who attacks first. However, other items with the same ability state that in such a situation, who strikes first is determined by who has the higher Initiative. Which is correct? A :Each description is correct for its item. If a situation arises where there are two conflicting ways of resolving the issue, roll a dice to see which description is used for that round of combat. Q : Some armies have items/runes that can destroy a spell on a 4+. Can you use them to destroy the Casket of Soul’s incantation (since it’s said to be an incantation of power level 2D6)? What about the Anvil of Doom? A : These items have no effect on the Casket of Souls or the Anvil of Doom, even if they can affect bound items.
CLOSE COMBAT
Q : If a unit that charges into the rear/flank of an enemy, but in the ensuing combat phase is reduced down to a unit strength less than 5, does it still cancel ranks? And can it still gain the flank/rear bonus ? A : Rank bonus is claimed and calculated at the beginning of the combat phase, so the rank bonus is nullified this turn. The flank/rear bonus is calculated at the end of the combat phase, so the attacking unit can’t claim it since it has been reduced to unit strength less than 5. Q : I have two units attacking one enemy unit, one from the front and the other on the flank. Due to casualties being removed, the enemy unit now only has models in contact with the “front” unit. Has this legally brought my flanking unit out of combat and thus allow it to make an overrun move ? A : No, there are still models remaining in the unit it is engaged in combat with. In this case, the easiest thing to do is ‘fudge it’ slightly – just slide the flanking unit across a little so that it is in contact with at least one enemy. Q : Is there any special order (attacker first ?) in which players declare what weapon the unit uses ? Example : Charger says great weapons and then the defender can decide to use spear or HW+shield... A : Not really, it doesn’t really come up that much. If there is any dispute, I’d say the charger’s must declare first. Q : If you didn’t direct any attack in close combat at an enemy champion but cause enough wounds to kill the front rank, do you remove the champion? A :No. Q : If you break two enemy units, you can only pursue one of them. What if your move brings you on the fleeing unit that you didn’t pursue ? A : The pursueing unit will go around that unit if at all possible. This may involve an amount of ‘fudging’ of both units (perhaps to make this happen, you could push the fleeing unit slightly to the side so that the pursuers can get past them, for example). If utterly impossible, as a last resort, halt the pursuers 1” away from the fleeing unit (remembering that they still catch and kill the other unit if they rolled higher than its flee roll, regardless of how far they actually move). Q: Can enemy magic items and abilities that negate one or more attacks of a model in base to base contact (e.g. Blademaster, Hand of Khaine, Vambraces of the Sun, Cautious Shield, etc.), be used to negate the single S10, D6 wound attack of the Treeman, or a Giant’s attack? A: No. These items reduce the model’s Attack characteristic by –1, so if the model attacks in a different way, like giants do, then it has no effect.
WEAPONS
Q : If a character or a unit armed with Great Weapons has a magical item, or spell cast on them, that allows them to strike first (e.g. Helm of Many Eyes, Bash Em Ladz), does the spell overrule the normal rules for Great Weapons striking last? A : Yes. Q : Strictly speaking, there is no reference as to striking order for two Great Weapon-armed non-charging units. The answer seems obvious (Initiative order) but could be argued (some people say it depends on who won the previous combat round). A : It follows normal combat rules: they will strike in Initiative order. If they both have the same Initiative, then the winner of the previous rounds combat strikes first. As a last resort, roll a dice, as there are never simultaneous Attacks in Warhammer.
PSYCHOLOGY
Q : Does a Frenzied unit have to charge through a Goblin fanatic, or is it allowed to stop like other units? A : The frenzied unit must complete its charge, even if this takes it through a Fanatic.
GENERALS AND BATTLE STANDARDS
Q : Can units use the Battle Standard’s re-roll if the Battle Standard itself is fleeing, but within 12”? A : No. Errata: Generals and Battle Standards. p.102 of the main rulebook Addition to the text- to put in at the end of the third paragraph of ‘Re-roll Break Tests”. “This rule ceases to apply if the Battle Standard is fleeing.”
RIDDEN MONSTERS
Q: How does psychology work with monster mounts and their character riders? Does the rider’s psychology take precedence? A: The rider’s psychology takes precedence. So, if the rider is Immune to Psychology, the entire model is Immune to Psychology. Also, if a rider is frenzied, then it must always charge (using the movement of the monster).However, there are some exceptions to this. These exceptions are : Fear, Terror, Stupidity and Frenzy. A Fear or Terror causing monster passes on immunity to fear/terror to its rider. If the monster suffers from Stupidity, or is subject to Frenzy, then these are out of the control of the rider, and the entire model may suffer from it. In all other cases, the entire model uses the rider’s psychology.
CHALLENGES
Q : Can a unit champion involved in a challenge use a different equipment option than his unit ? Like a Greatbeard uses Handweapon and Shield while the rest of the Longbeards in combat use their Greatweapons. A : Only if the champion is armed with different weapons than the rest of the unit. If he is armed exactly the same as the rest of the unit, then both the champion and the unit must use the same weapon combinations.
FAST CAVALRY
Q : Can Fast Cavalry shoot on the turn that they rally from a flee reaction? A : No. It is stated that they can move normally, but not that they can shoot. (Even being allowed to move and shoot normally when they use their ‘free’ reform, the act of rallying disallows them from shooting).

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