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Hi everyone,

when 40k 8th Edition came out, I was pretty excited for it. Much more streamlined rules and similiar to AoS. This quickly faded, when it became clear, that the edition still needed a lot of work to function properly and they released FAQ, Errata and Chapter Approved to fix a lot of issues and continue to do so.
But at some point, I just gave up, because playing 40k has become a chore again.
Rules that are no longer valid on release date, changed later by errata and FAQs that change rules instead of clarifiying are very much a reality and make printed rules pretty much unviable.

When I wanted to start again with CA2018, I tried to find my way through the rules and realized that the best way, for me, was to go at it like I wanted to make a 40k 8.5 rulebook for GW.
So for my personal use, I changed all the rules according to Erratas and FAQs, added stuff from CA2017 and 2018 and printed them out so I have something in my hands that is always up to date instead of lugging around the BRB that is pretty much useless without another 20 pages of changes printed out.

I like to share part of this work with you guys in the form of an updated Battle Primer, that is freely available from GW. It incorporates all the changes from the Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook and Designer's Commentary, also freely available from GW.
All changes are preceded by a superscript abbreviation (E = Rulebook Errata; RF = Rulebook FAQ; DC = Designer's Commentary).
Please note that I added the FAQ stuff as an instruction, not the actual format of Question-Answer. So if that bother's you, you should still have a printout of the actual FAQ, to reference the original format. In fact, I advice you to carry around the BRB and any FAQ/Errata in the format of your choosing, as this is not a full replacement of any official gaming material, but should serve as a quick reference guide that allows you to give you a good overview of the changes and where to find them.

Please also note, that this is entirely UNOFFICAL and I am in no way affiliated with Games Workshop PLC.
Art and rules phrasing has been sourced from Games Workshop PLC and Copyright remains with Games Workshop PLC.

As everything I uploaded here is free to download directly from Games Workshop, I hope it's okay to post this.
If not, please get in touch if I have used anything you would like to be removed.


So here it is: 40k Revised Battle Primer

Example page:

Good job.

I am kinda hoping GW gets off their collective butt and see that this is needed.

Got it. Thanks for it.

It will helps a lot for our new players in the area.

Excellent idea and great work on making it look so good.

I've spotted a couple of things that I think may be wrong that you might want to check.

These maybe due to me assuming some matched play rules are part of the standard rules set.

Fly: I believe this has changed so can't be used at all in the charge phase so the part about ignoring vertical distances is not true anymore.

Character Targeting: When targeting characters you can ignore other characters that are closer.

Thanks everyone, glad you like it.

 WisdomLS wrote:
Excellent idea and great work on making it look so good.

I've spotted a couple of things that I think may be wrong that you might want to check.

These maybe due to me assuming some matched play rules are part of the standard rules set.

Fly: I believe this has changed so can't be used at all in the charge phase so the part about ignoring vertical distances is not true anymore.

Character Targeting: When targeting characters you can ignore other characters that are closer.

Fixed the Fly thing, thank you.

The Character Targeting is indeed a Matched Play rule (found in the Big FAQ as a Finalised Matched Play Rule or in Chapter Approved 2018 as a Matched Play rule) and you can't shoot at a CHARACTER if another CHARACTER is closer in the Core Rules.

This is awesome!

Question: when something has been modified by errata I assume you have changed it to be correct. However, when something has been clarified by an FAQ (but the text of the rule hasn't changed) have you utilized the same language as the FAQ, or paraphrased?

 Jimsolo wrote:
This is awesome!

Question: when something has been modified by errata I assume you have changed it to be correct. However, when something has been clarified by an FAQ (but the text of the rule hasn't changed) have you utilized the same language as the FAQ, or paraphrased?

I used the same language, but changed the wording of the question to reflect the answer.
Example:

Rulebook FAQ wrote:Q: If a unit starts its Movement phase within 1" of an enemy
unit but elects to remain stationary, but subsequently uses a rule
that removes them from the battlefield and then sets them up
again, such as the Teleport Homer ability or the Gate of Infinity
psychic power, is it considered to have Fallen Back this turn?
A: No

is changed to

40k Revised wrote:If a unit starts its Movement phase
within 1" of an enemy, it can still use a rule
that removes them from the battlefield and
then sets them up again, without being
considered to have Fallen Back.

Excellent work!

More so that you've done for free, something that GW really should be paying someone to do.

Fantastic job! When they put up the Downloads page, and I saw the Battle Primer there listed with a new date, I was hoping that it had been updated as well. Sadly, was not the case. I hope GW takes inspiration from this and updates the bloody thing.

Few notes;

#1 - Replacing Toughness with Strength.
I'd recommend putting this note under Toughness, rather than Strength. I wasn't sure what it was referencing right away. Perhaps state under Toughness with this type of box. "Toughness is sometimes replaced with a different characteristic. When this happens, treat that characteristic as the model's Toughness value."

#2 - Modifying Damage.
There's a few units/abilities in the game that double or otherwise increase the damage value of their attacks, and these same units have attacks that can deal Mortal Wounds. I forget which FAQ it's in, but it'd be nice to note that the Mortal Wounds inflicted in addition the regular damage are not also modified in this case.

#3 - Failing a Charge.
State that a unit that has failed a charge does not count as having charged, but is not eligible to be chosen again to charge.

#4 - Ignoring Vertical Distances.
I personally hate how Fly isn't well described in the movement rules. They say "ignore intervening terrain", which is fine, but somehow this means ignoring the vertical distance moved too. The main rulebook should state that models which ignore intervening terrain also ignore vertical distances when moving, so that you only measure the horizontal distance of their move when moving such models.

 Yarium wrote:
Fantastic job! When they put up the Downloads page, and I saw the Battle Primer there listed with a new date, I was hoping that it had been updated as well. Sadly, was not the case. I hope GW takes inspiration from this and updates the bloody thing.

Glad you like it I was also pretty bummed when they just reuploaded the old thing.

Few notes;

#1 - Replacing Toughness with Strength.
I'd recommend putting this note under Toughness, rather than Strength. I wasn't sure what it was referencing right away. Perhaps state under Toughness with this type of box. "Toughness is sometimes replaced with a different characteristic. When this happens, treat that characteristic as the model's Toughness value."

As far as I'm aware, this is the only blanket exception you get for substituting a stat value for another one, even when it's not listed in the weapon description. That's why I put it there, because you're only allowed to use Strength instead of Toughness if the rule requires a Toughness value, otherwise the rule itself has to give you permission.

#2 - Modifying Damage.
There's a few units/abilities in the game that double or otherwise increase the damage value of their attacks, and these same units have attacks that can deal Mortal Wounds. I forget which FAQ it's in, but it'd be nice to note that the Mortal Wounds inflicted in addition the regular damage are not also modified in this case.

#3 - Failing a Charge.
State that a unit that has failed a charge does not count as having charged, but is not eligible to be chosen again to charge.

#4 - Ignoring Vertical Distances.
I personally hate how Fly isn't well described in the movement rules. They say "ignore intervening terrain", which is fine, but somehow this means ignoring the vertical distance moved too. The main rulebook should state that models which ignore intervening terrain also ignore vertical distances when moving, so that you only measure the horizontal distance of their move when moving such models.

I'll look into these tonight, but I'm not gonna change rules myself based on my understanding of RAI. I know how butthurt 40k players get^^


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Quick update for you:

 Yarium wrote:

#2 - Modifying Damage.

I can't find anything on that, but I'm also not sure, if there even is one needed, as you yourself write that the Damage value is modified and only weapons have a Damage value. Mortal Wounds have a set value of 1 damage and are allocated after normal wounds.

#3 - Failing a Charge.

Already in the rules, no FAQ needed. (Last sentence under "4. Make a Charge Move:" No unit can be selected to charge more than once in each Charge phase.)

#4 - Ignoring Vertical Distances.

Already fixed with the new wording from the errata: If the datasheet for a model says it can Fly, then during the Movement phase it can move across models and terrain as if they were not there.

Amazing job!!

Thanks. Will help newer players in my area immensely.

This here is exactly what I hoped GW would start doing when they made their core rules free.

Nice work, here's hoping someone at GW takes note (and doesn't decide to notify the lawyers...).

Very nice. Thanks for putting this together.

Keep at it. Looks good, who knows. GW may take inspiration from this.

Superb work, thanks for sharing

Thanks everyone.
Have fun with it!

Just a minor point, Hanskrampf, but when posting a massive image like that, could you pop it in spoiler tags, please? This thread is impossible to read on mobile due to how distorted the screen is by the image.

 Dysartes wrote:
Just a minor point, Hanskrampf, but when posting a massive image like that, could you pop it in spoiler tags, please? This thread is impossible to read on mobile due to how distorted the screen is by the image.

Sorry, I'll try to remember that next time.

That is really helpful. Thanks for posting it up.

This looks good. One change: give a superscript key somewhere at the beginning of the document in a little text box (on the copyright page?).

That way, I don't have to remember in 3 months what "RF" stands for, I can just read it.

 Elric Greywolf wrote:
This looks good. One change: give a superscript key somewhere at the beginning of the document in a little text box (on the copyright page?).

That way, I don't have to remember in 3 months what "RF" stands for, I can just read it.

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually have a key in my personal full version.
I'll copy it into the next version of the Battle Primer.

Thank you very much, I recently made a thread asking if this exact thing existed <3!

Was just thinking this morning maybe I should get around to compiling all the rules in one place, only to find you've already done it in style! Very impressive - thank you so much!

I'm currently incorporating the changes from the last big update.
The pages are really packed now and I'm not sure how I can fit it in the original page formatting.

How opposed are you people to change up the pages, e.g. Charge and Fight Phase no longer on the same page but giving the whole Reinforcement/Disrupting/Setting up again a proper page in exchange?

 Hanskrampf wrote:
I'm currently incorporating the changes from the last big update.
The pages are really packed now and I'm not sure how I can fit it in the original page formatting.

How opposed are you people to change up the pages, e.g. Charge and Fight Phase no longer on the same page but giving the whole Reinforcement/Disrupting/Setting up again a proper page in exchange?

I trust in you - whichever way makes sense to you, I'm sure it will be perfectly functional.

Update for the Big FAQ 2019-1
40k Revised Battle Primer

I added 2 pages, one after "1. Movement Phase" to deal with the extensive clarification for Reinforcements and setting up again and one after "4. Charge Phase" to push "5. Fight Phase" entirely on its own page, and give the "Transports" rule enough room.
Page references are changed to reflect this internal numbering, external references still point to the correct page in the BRB.

Thank you very much! You, Sir, are a Gentleman and a Scholar!

Thanks for this, you are awesome! Hope you are able to keep it up as the rules become ever more confused and scattered!!

 Hanskrampf wrote:
Update for the Big FAQ 2019-1
40k Revised Battle Primer

I added 2 pages, one after "1. Movement Phase" to deal with the extensive clarification for Reinforcements and setting up again and one after "4. Charge Phase" to push "5. Fight Phase" entirely on its own page, and give the "Transports" rule enough room.
Page references are changed to reflect this internal numbering, external references still point to the correct page in the BRB.

Sterling work. GW really should be doing something like this themselves, and major props to you for taking it on.

Thank you. This is a good material for fast checking.