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Just curious what house rules your club/home games use - and most importantly, the why behind them.

I play at home, these are the house rules we use

your son has a chaos knight but your local rules forbid super heavies?

My FLGS has a rule about not being able to pass through ruins, if the wall is over 1" and has no windows or doors.

We have a house-rule turning all bases models into cylinders that that can be measured to, with the top edge being the highest part of the vehicle hull.

I tend to houserule that any ruins that have windows or slits or gaps are fully solid i.e. they become a BLOS terrain piece.
Makes it a bit more interesting with firing lanes, deployment tactics etc and attempts to tone down the lethality of shooting.

BrianDavion wrote:
your son has a chaos knight but your local rules forbid super heavies?

Not “forbid”, but “by invitation only”, as in we both have to agree we want to include them.

On my side, I have 3 Knights (+ Helverins), a Stormsurge, Wraithknight, Baneblade, Shadowsword, a scratchbuilt Thunderhawk, a pseudo Reaver, various mecha usable as Knights and dozens of WW2 models I could bring in as superheavies if I desired. I could swamp him if I really wanted too.

And his Knight is currently In pieces, awaiting a final paint job - if he fielded it, it would be a pair of legs currently.

I mostly play my sons these days, so we don't play "by-the-book" all the time but I try to balance the Matched Play-tourney suggested rules while trying not to complicate our games, which can be difficult.

The main thing we do most of the time is play 1v2 games. Both my sons have Marines and want to play on the same side, naturally. They each have a Battalion and I let them each have a WL Trait and Relic.
In addition to their 5CPs for their Battalions, I also give them 2CPs each (instead of the Battle Forged 3 for their side)
That allows them to each get 7CPs or 14 total, while I'll only have about 9 from BF, Battalion and 1 other detachment (usually an Outrider)

Other than that, we just play and make decisions about situations as we go.

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Biggest one we have is...

You only get cover if you're within 1inch of an object that obscures you somewhat from the perspective of the shooter.
Sometimes we agree on it and other times not depending on the terrain and type of game.
It stops the arguments about armour saves, terrain etc.

One other one we have played occasionally when we've been playing multiple level terrain games is...
Entire units can attack entire units in close combat... none of this 1inch from 1inch rule.
Sometimes as well we do it that if there are troops up on a secure position, but there is no way a melee attacker can actually get within 1inch as there are enemy models in the way, aslong as they roll enough to make a charge we fight the battle, but only if there are kills we allow the units to move. Otherwise they are out of combat next turn (and so get shot).

Ah, cover - forgot about that one. We play that drawing a line through any obstruction gives cover, as does standing in it. We also use a lot of terrain, trying to ensure there’s no clear lines of sight from side of the board to the other side.

My groups most common house rule is AREA TERRAIN.
We have gone back to the older editions "A model with its base within or touching the outside edge of a terrain piece is in cover and receives a cover bonus. In addition, a piece of terrain like a woods, forest, ruin, etc that has more than 1" of height, blocks line of sight if that line of sight is drawn through 5" or more of that terrain".

Our reasons are we find it simpler (and are all SUPER versed in it), and many of the GW terrain rules are just completely asinine (particularly the CC and 1" of base stuff). We also feel that using true Line Of Sight with terrain rarely works because the models may all be to the same scale (this is massively debatable with GW scale creep and issues) but terrain almost never is. The redwoods I live in would need to be tree trunks 5" wide on the table and 10 feet tall to be "In scale". That is just one example. Scale a rhino vs the ten models it is supposed to carry, it needs to be twice as big to be to scale. A wrecked truck on your board to be close to 28mm scale would need to be a shoe box cut in half longways. For my group it get's too cumbersome and cluttered to try to do true scale terrain. It can be done and I have seen awesome boards with it, my local group isn't there yet, but we try.

The second most common thing is really the agreement beforehand on Named characters and super heavies.

Players usually give a warning or simply agree to not bring them or play with them ahead of time, before game night.

Friendly Models can deploy/move on top of a Skyshield Landing Pad, despite the rules only giving permission for ENEMY models to do so.

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Alternating activations, modified Cities of Death terrain rules for everything, common sense on bigger units attacking infantry that's not on the ground floor (yes, a dreadnought can punch up a 2" barricade...), Death Guard lords getting +1 T and DR for 10 points more... Stuff like that.

We occasionally play Tokenhammer (a unit activation system) here.

We have mostly removed the "re-roll" stratagem (which has made games far more interesting)

We actually make and use terrain rules instead of bitching about terrain. (using bridges, forests, acid rivers and lakes, bunkers with remote weapon stations, moving blast doors, etc.)

We also ignore the "you can't <FLY> in the assault phase" mess they created, even though they tried to fix it.

We often allow deepstriking in your own deployment zone in Turn 1 still.

We ignore GW's own incorrect ruling on <FLY> units ignoring vertical distance (something that's not actually int he rules of the game), and you measure from the base at all times.

About the only one here is that the old CoD ruins that are mostly L shapes have 'virtual bases" shaped like triangles. and if you put two near each other they enclose a rectangular 'base'

this is mostly down to a mix of laziness (none of us can be bothered to base them) and the lack of storage space for such if they actually were based.

otherwise we don't really bother as many play elsewhere and it gets messy.

just about everyone though is open to whatever rules pack someone wants to try for an event or something

I generally state that aerial antennae, hedgerow blades, tank commanders, and pieces that don't occupy a consistent volume [guns barrels] aren't "part of the tank" for measurement purposes. It simplifies the matter of determining line of sight, and does away with finagling with details like the turret's orientation to get or deny line of sight [not to mention the potential for abuse to be gained from rotating tank turrets during the game].

Otherwise, we use the ITC missions and rules.

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:
I generally state that aerial antennae, hedgerow blades, tank commanders, and pieces that don't occupy a consistent volume [guns barrels] aren't "part of the tank" for measurement purposes. It simplifies the matter of determining line of sight, and does away with finagling with details like the turret's orientation to get or deny line of sight [not to mention the potential for abuse to be gained from rotating tank turrets during the game].

Otherwise, we use the ITC missions and rules.

"Sir I see their Commander rising above the barrels from inside the tank! Should I shoot him?" "No, we can't see him" Sorry, but if you allow crap like that whats to say that you cannot shoot at a knight because you can only see their arm? I agree with the other pieces but tank commanders sticking out are a distinctive and important body you can shoot at.

A house rule I am going to start implementing soon is that Tactical Reserves/Reinforcements cannot arrive in the first PLAYER turn, not the first Battle Round

It makes sense to not allow the player who actually gets to go first from dropping in units and getting a potentially devastating Alpha Strike, but the player who goes second not being able to bring in Reinforcements until after the first player has had TWO turns creates too much of a disadvantage for player 2.

CA2018 deployment method helps as player 2 can deploy defensively, but usually they have to peak out of "hiding" on turn 1 to be able to shoot what player 1 has on the table.
In my experience, this leads to player 1 getting two "ideal" turns in which player 2 is on the back-foot responding to player 1.

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But in ITC, responding is strong. CA2018 still hasn't gotten the memo on how to do that yet.

Martel732 wrote:
But in ITC, responding is strong. CA2018 still hasn't gotten the memo on how to do that yet.

That's why it'd be a house rule ...at my house. Because for some reason, I have a very high "going first" rate compared to my boys and they like using Reserves. Especially for their Salamander Plasma Inceptors and Jump Captain.
It'd basically be a house rule to help my sons have a better playing experience against me, which should always be the point of a house rule.

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I only play online due to being in the middle of nowhere, but when I do, I do not use house rules of any kind.

Our main house rules are that we play a lot of ITC missions, and so we tend to use the ITC terrain rules as well as practice. Some folks complain about ITC terrain rules being overly helpful or harmful for armies, but I find that they encourage more movement and more interaction with the terrain pieces, so we've taken to them whole-heartedly.

Caprican wrote:

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:
I generally state that aerial antennae, hedgerow blades, tank commanders, and pieces that don't occupy a consistent volume [guns barrels] aren't "part of the tank" for measurement purposes. It simplifies the matter of determining line of sight, and does away with finagling with details like the turret's orientation to get or deny line of sight [not to mention the potential for abuse to be gained from rotating tank turrets during the game].

Otherwise, we use the ITC missions and rules.

"Sir I see their Commander rising above the barrels from inside the tank! Should I shoot him?" "No, we can't see him" Sorry, but if you allow crap like that whats to say that you cannot shoot at a knight because you can only see their arm? I agree with the other pieces but tank commanders sticking out are a distinctive and important body you can shoot at.

Because otherwise we could have modeled it closed; and still be hidden. That's why.

The tank commander is a decorative element, and decorative elements and modification to models shouldn't be punished.

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:

Caprican wrote:

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:
I generally state that aerial antennae, hedgerow blades, tank commanders, and pieces that don't occupy a consistent volume [guns barrels] aren't "part of the tank" for measurement purposes. It simplifies the matter of determining line of sight, and does away with finagling with details like the turret's orientation to get or deny line of sight [not to mention the potential for abuse to be gained from rotating tank turrets during the game].

Otherwise, we use the ITC missions and rules.

"Sir I see their Commander rising above the barrels from inside the tank! Should I shoot him?" "No, we can't see him" Sorry, but if you allow crap like that whats to say that you cannot shoot at a knight because you can only see their arm? I agree with the other pieces but tank commanders sticking out are a distinctive and important body you can shoot at.

Because otherwise we could have modeled it closed; and still be hidden. That's why.

The tank commander is a decorative element, and decorative elements and modification to models shouldn't be punished.

I totally agree. Decorative elements should not count either for you or your opponent.
If someone wants to put a tank commander on their tank, they should not be punished for it, nor should they be able to use it to draw LOS. These are modeling choices, not game choices

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Caprican wrote:

 Inquisitor Lord Katherine wrote:
I generally state that aerial antennae, hedgerow blades, tank commanders, and pieces that don't occupy a consistent volume [guns barrels] aren't "part of the tank" for measurement purposes. It simplifies the matter of determining line of sight, and does away with finagling with details like the turret's orientation to get or deny line of sight [not to mention the potential for abuse to be gained from rotating tank turrets during the game].

Otherwise, we use the ITC missions and rules.

"Sir I see their Commander rising above the barrels from inside the tank! Should I shoot him?" "No, we can't see him" Sorry, but if you allow crap like that whats to say that you cannot shoot at a knight because you can only see their arm? I agree with the other pieces but tank commanders sticking out are a distinctive and important body you can shoot at.

Nope. People going the extra mile to build their tank shouldn´t be penalized for doing so. You are the same type of person who would argue that a SM without a helmet should have a worse saving throw than the bog standard version.

 Galef wrote:
A house rule I am going to start implementing soon is that Tactical Reserves/Reinforcements cannot arrive in the first PLAYER turn, not the first Battle Round

It makes sense to not allow the player who actually gets to go first from dropping in units and getting a potentially devastating Alpha Strike, but the player who goes second not being able to bring in Reinforcements until after the first player has had TWO turns creates too much of a disadvantage for player 2.

CA2018 deployment method helps as player 2 can deploy defensively, but usually they have to peak out of "hiding" on turn 1 to be able to shoot what player 1 has on the table.
In my experience, this leads to player 1 getting two "ideal" turns in which player 2 is on the back-foot responding to player 1.

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I think I suggested exactly that change in the feedback survey. Wonder what became of that.

We use Cities of Death exclusively so we generally house rule anything with a specific target as being a Natural X, otherwise Plasma is suicidal to overcharge and a lot of "AP 4 / inflicts a Mortal on a 6" rules can never trigger.

 Galef wrote:

Martel732 wrote:
But in ITC, responding is strong. CA2018 still hasn't gotten the memo on how to do that yet.

That's why it'd be a house rule ...at my house. Because for some reason, I have a very high "going first" rate compared to my boys and they like using Reserves. Especially for their Salamander Plasma Inceptors and Jump Captain.
It'd basically be a house rule to help my sons have a better playing experience against me, which should always be the point of a house rule.

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sounds like you're a good opponent for your sons Galef, hats off to you. Wish I had a dad who got me started into the hobby.

I like most of the Cities of Death stuff.

I use these so often for so many other games, I don't even know if they are house rules or part of the game anymore.

If you are touching the terrain (such as a wall or hedge) that terrain doesn't count as obscuring the enemy target. It is rare, but sometimes a bit of rumble sticks up so the enemy target is partly hidden which would normally grant cover. We usually just say that since the shooting unit is touching that terrain it does count.

Dropping vertically down 5" costs no movement nor requires any kind of fall check. The 5" being the height of most of the GW terrain being used. This doesn't usually count for walls or anything a model can't readily stand on. Sector Imperialis (which we use a lot) walls are usually considered impassible to non-flying units.

Our main one is that base/model touching terrain counts as in, to avoid the Faff Phase whereby one player tries to carefully balance all their metal Eldar. It speeds up play without much other effect on the game.

Be nice. Be kind. Give the benefit of the doubt.

stroller wrote:
Be nice. Be kind. Give the benefit of the doubt.

those aren't house rules. those are rule 0 of gaming.