Horus Heresy Exemplary Battles of the Age of Darkness - Volume I

[Astartes Consul]

6 hours ago, SkimaskMohawk said:

I remember a lot of the disappointment of the 2nd edition exemplary battle rules when the pdf finally came in a few weeks after launch. Almost every unit went from being "compellingly/extremely good" to "we can argue that it's a side grade of we really try", and the confusion was they claimed that the units were originally written for 2nd and then back-ported to 1st.

 

Obviously this book was in the cards the entire time, same as siege of Cthonia; it feels like the anemic pdf exemplary battle units were there purely to have the paid ones be an upgrade in comparison.

look, at least that’s means these ones will be better! Right?! 

[Xenith]

8 hours ago, Trixie said:

a compilation of what seems to be pdf content that's just padding out a single HQ profile isn't convincing me to part with my money.

 

Yea, these kinds of compilations made sense when there was only limited run print versions of rules. like in serialised things like twon cryer, Fanactic, etc. An expensive hardcopy redundant when all this is available as PDF's for free, however there will be those that want the fulgrim rules, or everything in one place. 

[Astartes Consul]

Although by the sound of it, the rules on print will be different from those we’ve already seen in the PDFs? 

[Matcap86]

I just want new art and lore... curious to see if there's actually any in there or it's just rehashing old stuff. 

[sarabando]

i think this release really will hinge on the price of the book. If its a £20 book it may be worth it depending on the hobby/art sections but i cant see this being worth it at 30+ 

[Taliesin]

20 hours ago, derLumpi said:

Well, if the price is reasonable I buy it.

 

Exactly. This should not be costing what they asked for Siege of Cthonia, which I personally quite liked, but that was all new material and art , plus bigger than this will be. They could be bigger than doing just 5 of them at once.

 

 

20 hours ago, Noserenda said:

Its alright, reprinting/updating free content is the epitome of filler though, this had better be in addition to the campaign books rather than instead of, especially as at this rate theres more than a handful of these before we hit clear water. 
 

 

I do think this will be in addition to the campaign books, since this is clearly just PDF's being reprinted and more importantly, they already announced that there will be a series of campaign books like Siege of Chtonia on warcom, when SoC was released.

 

9 hours ago, Trixie said:

 

Being a veteran of the Black Book era means that the Heresy V2 books are all falling short, really short when compared to what used to be put out for 30k.

 

If other folks are hyped then crack on, buy it up and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Yup. I am happy they are doing this hardback reprint though, much prefer it to the pdf's and I am likely to buy this, even though what I most want are new campaign books.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Taliesin

[Petitioner's City]

55 minutes ago, Taliesin said:

 

 since this is clearly just PDF's being reprinted and more importantly, 

 

These aren't "just" the pdfs being reprinted

 

Quote

Four old favourites have been revamped for the latest edition of the game,

 

Assets must be updated, rules changed, etc - and I imagine given the thickness of the book, it is more than just five five page articles, a small five to ten page addition to the 3rd legion and some hobbying pages. 

[Redcomet]

1 hour ago, sarabando said:

i think this release really will hinge on the price of the book. If its a £20 book it may be worth it depending on the hobby/art sections but i cant see this being worth it at 30+ 

It is a HH book. It will be 50£

[LameBeard]

9 hours ago, SkimaskMohawk said:

 

Obviously this book was in the cards the entire time, same as siege of Cthonia; it feels like the anemic pdf exemplary battle units were there purely to have the paid ones be an upgrade in comparison.

So just as I’d written off Mortus Poisoners as my Rewards of Treason unit, I gotta wait for this book, buy it, and check out if they got an upgrade?

 

I’m not against any of this in principle, it’s just that like many in the thread, I fear the price …

[SkimaskMohawk]

3 hours ago, Petitioner's City said:

 

These aren't "just" the pdfs being reprinted

 

 

Assets must be updated, rules changed, etc - and I imagine given the thickness of the book, it is more than just five five page articles, a small five to ten page addition to the 3rd legion and some hobbying pages. 

 

I mean, the quote they used doesn't actually mean anything, as those units were already revamped for 2nd over a year ago; we can go find their current rules right now if we wanted to. 

 

Also it's worth pointing out that the old EB PDFs that are being transcribed over came up to 50 pages (not counting the blank last page). The book ain't that thick either; if the size of the half inch logo on the spine is any metric to go by, it's actually pretty small. 

[Petitioner's City]

3 minutes ago, SkimaskMohawk said:

articles

3 minutes ago, SkimaskMohawk said:

 

I mean, the quote they used doesn't actually mean anything, as those units were already revamped for 2nd over a year ago; we can go find their current rules right now if we wanted to. 

 

Also it's worth pointing out that the old EB PDFs that are being transcribed over came up to 50 pages (not counting the blank last page). The book ain't that thick either; if the size of the half inch logo on the spine is any metric to go by, it's actually pretty small. 

 

 

A fair point on page numbers, but I think it's not just the rules, they will be being updated to format with the 2022 edition 's formatting - that's why I said its not "just" the pdfs :)

 

Anyway, I get it - for some this isn't great, but I'm really excited by the book and I'm curious to see if revamping is just assets or if they add more to the fluff and/or art - be it bas de page or plate art.

[Armchair Warlord]

Hmmm.... I'm on the fence with this one. So here's my inconclusive ramble!....

 

One. The price thing. We've had approx. 14 - 15 exemplary battles if I recall? So following that format, 15 already written and five new ones works out 4 books.  At roughly 12 - 15 pages per article, we're looking at a 70 - 75 page book.  And that's about half the page count of Liber mechanicum which is £30 GBP.

 

Two. As much as I'm up for it being book formant and not PDF ( love a book over a screen). I'd hope the content isn't just a straight reprint and includes a bit more - which It sounds like it may be if the 'particularly corrupted' EC content has got enough meat on the bones to make at least a couple of fully more abstract emperors children lists.

 

If however that EC list is just a few alterations/additions and Fulgrim's new profile. I'll be pretty disappointed, and the proof of this just being a filler / money grab for little effort, with the prospect of another three to come doesn't fill me with enthusiasm. I personally would like to see HH expand, not just be HH1.0 reprinted.

 

Like many here, I'm a fan of the HH 1.0 black books..... So far I thought 'Siege of Cathonia' was pretty good considering if you compare it to the black books, which of course most of us will.

 

 

 

 

[Brother Kraskor]

Mwuhaha corrupted EC. I want to see a Rite which is impractical, tactically unsound, and entirely mad! 

[Taliesin]

22 hours ago, Petitioner's City said:

 

These aren't "just" the pdfs being reprinted

 

 

Assets must be updated, rules changed, etc - and I imagine given the thickness of the book, it is more than just five five page articles, a small five to ten page addition to the 3rd legion and some hobbying pages. 

 

I read the full article myself ;)

 

To me it will just be the pdf's reprinted if they decide not to add any more pages of lore, and if they dont add any art ( the pdf's dont have any). So if its not more in the style of the campaign books, it will be a straight reprint with a rule update that I wont read anyway. Like you I am hoping for it to be more expanded and contain artwork, and thereby prove worthy of a sales price. When I first saw the book I was also excited and I still am, but not if this is going to be a very slim volume. The Table of contents will tell me if this is something to must have.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Taliesin

[Urauloth]

When they've added Warcry pdfs to printed books before they haven't fleshed them out at all. Hopefully that's different here.

[Petitioner's City]

 

18 hours ago, Urauloth said:

When they've added Warcry pdfs to printed books before they haven't fleshed them out at all. Hopefully that's different here.

 

I think to explain my aspirations for the book, I'm hoping it's like the jump from Necromunda's white dwarf/downloadable rules for cults to the added content in the book of ruin, for example, by the same team. Similarly, the much more dramatic change from legends gang profiles to full gangs in the original Gang War series - and ditto with Blood Bowl? That feels like the behaviour of Specialist Games/Forge World. Of course that may not happen, but I really hope so!

[Noserenda]

I just look at the quality of the recent Titanicus books reprinting previous contents for what this team considers good enough to release and fail to get excited :/ 

[SkimaskMohawk]

11 minutes ago, Noserenda said:

I just look at the quality of the recent Titanicus books reprinting previous contents for what this team considers good enough to release and fail to get excited :/ 

 

Ya the titanicus books basically fall into "here's a 'convenient compilation' of the rules that probably has no value unless you're a brand new player, also here's a paid FAQ for anyone else" category. 

[01RTB01]

Does anyone have any idea when this or the mkIII and extras box is likely to land? Trying to budget...

[Marshal Loss]

19 hours ago, 01RTB01 said:

Does anyone have any idea when this or the mkIII and extras box is likely to land? Trying to budget...

 

I'm expecting it soon, maybe even pre-order on 23 Sept - the box was announced as coming "sooner than you think" and the book/Fulgrim "shortly", so I don't think we have long to wait.

[ChargingSoll]

20 hours ago, 01RTB01 said:

Does anyone have any idea when this or the mkIII and extras box is likely to land? Trying to budget...

Im in the same boat, was expecting to see it on the Sunday preview yesterday. I would say either next week or week after. Least we get more time to grow the budget. 

[01RTB01]

The earliest for pre order would be the 23rd at the moment. 

 

Depends where they slot the 40k marines I guess?

 

Soon hopefully 

 

[Astartes Consul]

23rd September would also align with the fairly persistent rumour that this release has been brought forward to cover the LI delay.

[Petitioner's City]

Well this is exactly what the doctor asked for :)

 

 

 

Quote

Inside this 112-page book you'll find:

– The Defence of Sotha – In a storm-wracked system, ragged Night Lords prey on an Ultramarines garrison. Includes background lore and an Age of Darkness mission inspired by the final assault. Plus, rules and a conversion guide for Night Lords Atramentar Squads – murderous Terminators sworn to Sevatar.

– The Siege of Hydra Cordatus – Battle-hungry Iron Warriors assault an Imperial Fists citadel. Includes background lore, an Age of Darkness mission and a Zone Mortalis mission themed around the siege, and Exemplary Campaign rules for tying both missions together. Plus, rules and a conversion guide for the Iron Warriors Dominator Cohort – Perturabo's forsaken Terminator bodyguard.

– The Battle of Armatura – A war-world of Ultramar comes under attack by a World Eaters armada. Includes background lore, three Age of Darkness missions based on the invasion, and Exemplary Campaign rules for tying all three missions together. Plus, rules and a conversion guide for World Eaters Red Hand Destroyer Assault Squads – planet-scouring berserk warriors.

– The Battle of Calth – Entrenched Ultramarines wage underground war against Word Bearers and their daemonic allies. Includes background lore, three Zone Mortalis missions, and Exemplary Campaign rules for tying all three missions together, with a unique Daemon unit exclusive to the campaign. Plus, rules and a conversion guide for Ultramarines Nemesis Destroyer Squads – marksmen armed with specialist bolters.

– The Purging of the Invocastus Sector – Vengeful Salamanders strike at a world conquered by the Emperor's Children Includes background lore and an Age of Darkness mission themed around bloody ambushes. Plus, rules and a conversion guide for Salamanders Sanctifier Squads – elite close-range weapons teams.

– Daemon Primarchs – Rules for using Fulgrim Transfigured, the Primarch of the III Legion in his daemonic form. Plus, Legiones Hereticus rules to represent his Legion, the Emperor's Children, in an even deeper state of corruption.

 

[Marshal Loss]

While stocks last - so for those who want hard copies, buy sooner rather than later.

 

This is one of those occasions where I really hope GW sent review copies out because otherwise I'm going to have to wait two weeks to get a sense of what these corrupted EC rules are.