Rules nostalgia

[apologist]

Adeptus Titanicus and Warhammer: The Old World got me thinking. Both are games that are essentially a pick-and-mix of the best bits of previous editions of the game, blended with some new elements.

 

I wondered what your take on something similar for Warhammer 40,000 would be. After all, however much we love a particular edition, there's often something that another one does better.

 

Assuming any necessary gaps are neatly blended over to make things work functionally, which edition had the best rules for:

• Army building
• Missions
• Vehicles
• Close combat
• Line of sight
• Terrain
• Characters
• Large games
• Small games
• [Insert facet of the game here]?

 

And on a related note, do you prefer rules per individual unit, or universal special rules? 

 

Entirely subjective of course, so feel free to be as discursive as possible.

Edited August 5, 2024 by apologist

[Harrowmaster]

Here's my take on this: 

• The Heresy Force Org Chart allows for more scope than the old 40k one (1-3 HQ and 0-4 Elites, everything else is the same). 
• There have been a good spread of missions from 4th-7th, I don't have a particular favourite. 
• 4th/5th ed vehicle rules (HPs make them too fragile compared to monsters). 
• 6th ed combat (no musical wounds, overwatch is a thing, no backdoor assaults). 
• I've always been a fan of the 5th ed true line of sight rules, as long as you have a reasonable gaming group and no WAAC players modelling for advantage. 
• 4th/5th ed terrain rules for the various types. 
• 6th/7th ed for characters (challenges are really cool). 
• 6th edition onwards for large games. 
• 4th edition/5th edition for small games (everything costs more, missions are designed for smaller armies). 
• I miss blast templates, I get not everyone likes them as they were really awkward at times but I enjoyed them and they made the game feel so much better than the current blast rule.

I much prefer universal special rules because it's easier to reference and having multiple bespoke versions of stubborn or rage seems unnecessary.