Vampire Counts Rumours

[Nobody]

Could this be the summer campaign? A Vampire War?

What is A Vampire War? Is it some new Vampire campaign you've heard of or are you just speculating

 

[Mortis]

And one last thing to think about it: if we have painted models, some precious and (they seem) very accurate rumours... Why don´t we have the army for Christmas instead of Easter????

Err.. Does High Elves ring a bell with you? They are being released for christmas, although somewhat earlier than the usual christmas armies. This release will carry into the new year and will be followed by some 40k release (orks is it?). Then it's VC.

What is A Vampire War? Is it some new Vampire campaign you've heard of or are you just speculating

That's just speculating I'm afraid.

~Mortis

 

[Master Vampire]

There were rumours about a WHOLE VC ARMY PAINTED, weren´t they??? Were are the photos???

Don't despair. VC are due for March/April. We're even lucky to actually see a picture before the army before us, High Elves, are released. I do hope we'll get a full new army, of course.

 

[Count Von Sapponatime]

Could this be the summer campaign? A Vampire War?

What is A Vampire War? Is it some new Vampire campaign you've heard of or are you just speculating

The rumour is that the new background describes a Vampire War.
A war which the Von Carstiens win. (or at least come out on top).

A Vampire Count based summer campaign is only speculation. It is unlikely as this years campaign was for Warhammer Fantasy.

 

[Thanmar Thrask]

Would that mean we'd maybe get a group of Vampire's that will go more stealthy and sneaky ? ( Like the very first did ( Or just that gu who didnt like it.. ) ) Since that would seem quite a good thing to do with the Von Carnsteins after you.. Hmm, more Bow using Vampires?

Thrask

 

[N.I.B]

From Haquim at Warseer:

Some rumors from the italian GT&GD (from A.Cavatore & A.Merret)
-No more Archnecromancers and Vampire lords. They think VC should be lead by a Vampire Counts not another critter. The new Counts will be as the old ones but cost slightly less. Besides (stop crying chees already, please...) THEY WILL GET 100pts of magical items AND 100pts of blood powers!!!
-The new knights of blood Keep will have WS6, S5, Th4, 2A AND frenzy. They will ride greater nightmares (inspired to the knight of sleeping hollow mount) with S4. And yes, they will use lances. Cost ABOVE 50pts for one
-Wargulf do not fly they "just" move fast. And by fast I mean 9''. They are powerful monsters with high strenght and lots of attacks (he wasn't really clear on their stats...)
-Normal nightmares (those used by BN) have ethereal movement)
-Necromancers are now better than vamps at rising and mending undeads but vamps can use more powerful magics.
-Banshees really are champions for the skirmishing units of wraiths. Their screams now work on anyone (just like the casket of souls from khemry)
-The new black coach works as described on the first post of this thread.
-Ghouls R&F (funny story behind that... but I want to tell you Cav & Gav both wanted them to skirmish...)
-Death wind REALLY creates ghosts!!! Cav didn't want to say it all so I'm not sure you have to do a certain number of wounds before creating one (I hope so...). BTW he said "You'll have to worry about OTHER spells, not death wind..."
-Necromancy will work a bit more like Khemy's magic. Now you'll be able to recast the same spell many times until it gets trough...

About archnecromancers: I told Alessio I favored Necros over vamps and he said "I'm sorry to hear that but the archnecro will go. We want vamps to lead vamp armies, necromancers will be support not generals, they'll be better at healing undeads and rising them but Vamps will have more harmful magics".
I'm sorry about that but I cannot really fault GW's reasoning although, by BG a necromancer is better at magic than a Vamp, and a sufficiently powerful Necro can control vamps... Only there are really few necromancers with that level of power. It's much more likely a necro ends working for a vamp rather than the vamp for the necro...
BTW here's a snippet I forgot to mention: there are NO MORE living units. Even ghouls follow the rules of undead (he said some of them flee combat while their fellows still fight if they think they are losing...)

 

[N.I.B]

Harry at Warseer answered a few questions:

They still have necromancers I thought, and from what I heard they are much more powerfull spell casters now and even over cast the vampire.

Better at what they do but not more powerfull than vamps.

-Necromancers are now better than vamps at rising and mending undeads but vamps can use more powerful magics.

Yes.

Whilst it works well in the game it doesn't really work background-wise.

A vampire will never be subordinate to a human.

Yes.
Especially if the book is based around Sylvania.
The Von Carstiens would not suffer a powerful necro within their own borders.

Unless Cavatore lied to me (and some dozen other people) they are. About archnecromancers: I told him I favored Necros over vamps and he said "I'm sorry to hear that but the archnecro will go. We want vamps to lead vamp armies, necromancers will be support not generals, they'll be better at healing undeads and rising them but Vamps will have more harmful magics".

He didn't.

They will have very different roles and use very different magic.
The necro's will be very low level with very limited spells to raise and heal. Thats it.
But they can do these much better than before.

Any hints on how this will work? Will they use separate spell lists to vampires? Will necromancer magic be similar to liche priest magic i.e. bound spells?

No.
Yes.
A bit.

 

[The Dead of Night]

Oh man, I am dying for the release of this book, these rumours sound fantastic. Bring it on!!

I'm surprised Cav and Gav both wanted skirmish for ghouls, yet they are now RnF, I would really like to hear this funny story.

 

[N.I.B]

Yeah, perhaps they were overruled by their boss, what's-his-name, Rick?

Here's Gav's answer to what the process behind a new edition is, I guess parts of it can be applied to the way new army books are created:

Rick tells us what to do. Okay. That’s a simplistic answer, but it really would take me a long time (and many pages) to explain the ins and outs of a project as broad and deep as a new edition. Games Development proposes changes based on feedback and experience with the existing book/ rules. These are discussed with senior persons like Rick and Alan Merrett and a brief is agreed. These form questions or issues to be resolved, rather than specific fixes. For the rules of 7th edition, the real decisions lay with Rick and Alessio, with input from other games developers (including me), Jervis Johnson and feedback from playtesters, Over a period of about 6 months different solutions (rules) are tried out to address the issues raised, as well as work on the specific wording, diagrams and so on. Eventually the deadline is reached and you have to stop!

 

[darknesseternal]

I'm starting to feel like maybe some of these changes won't be as bad as I have feared in the past... I still feel a combination of both and about losing the bloodlines in game terms (I do love my Lahmia Ladies after all), but I think I will be able to adapt and keep the spirit of them alive, while giving them the strength that they were lacking under their 6th ed versions (by strength, I mean trying to take away what were their weaknesses). I'll just have to make sure that I have a few games before the release of the new army book to farewell their current versions..

It's interesting to hear how they go about making decisions in GW.. working for a large corporation myself, I do have some trepidation. Just from my own past experience with how higher up management and marketing always have these great ideas of how things should be done, and how excited and positive and optimistic about it all they get, when in reality they are completely out of touch with what the customer wants and basically don't have a clue. Making Ghouls RnF, when two developers wanted them to remain skirmishers, just seems to smack of it.

One thing I've been thinking about lately though. The pictures of the new Mannfred and the name plates that accompanied them, were said to point to a march, 2008 release for the new army book. Talking to a friend last night, he said that the High Elves were now not going to be released until December. Would GW release another new army book barely three months later??

 

[Count Von Sapponatime]

Yeah, perhaps they were overruled by their boss, what's-his-name, Rick?

LOL By "whats-his-name, Rick?" I presume you are refering to our lord, Rick Priestly. Father of Warhammer, One of the original writers of the first editions of both Warhammer Fantasy and 40,000 and worked extensively on every edition up to and including the current ones.

Is that the Rick 'whats-his-name' of whom you speak?

 

[The Dead of Night]

It's interesting to hear how they go about making decisions in GW.. working for a large corporation myself, I do have some trepidation. Just from my own past experience with how higher up management and marketing always have these great ideas of how things should be done, and how excited and positive and optimistic about it all they get, when in reality they are completely out of touch with what the customer wants and basically don't have a clue. Making Ghouls RnF, when two developers wanted them to remain skirmishers, just seems to smack of it.

I agree, I would really like to understand the reasoning behind it. I suspect "Cav and Gav" wanted to keep the skirmish rule for fluff reasons, and maybe it was somehow unbalanced so Rick "What's 'is name" over ruled it?

Regardless it is certainly a concern, though it a small negitive in what is looking like being an overall brilliant update (I don't share the trepedation about the bloodline change).

One thing I've been thinking about lately though. The pictures of the new Mannfred and the name plates that accompanied them, were said to point to a march, 2008 release for the new army book. Talking to a friend last night, he said that the High Elves were now not going to be released until December. Would GW release another new army book barely three months later??

I think so. If the VC have a set deadline and release date in mind, then the fact that HE are behind schedule shouldn't affect this imo.

 

[N.I.B]

Yeah, perhaps they were overruled by their boss, what's-his-name, Rick?

LOL By "whats-his-name, Rick?" I presume you are refering to our lord, Rick Priestly. Father of Warhammer, One of the original writers of the first editions of both Warhammer Fantasy and 40,000 and worked extensively on every edition up to and including the current ones.

Is that the Rick 'whats-his-name' of whom you speak?

I'm glad I can entertain Btw, it's Gav speaking about him (see the whole interview in my specific thread) not me. And among new-ish hobbyists like me, Gav is more recognized.

darknesseternal, I'm guessing Lahmia powers will go down the same way as the Banshee Howl, affecting ITP's as well. Like Morathi's 'Enchanting Beauty'.

 

[Master Vampire]

I think so. If the VC have a set deadline and release date in mind, then the fact that HE are behind schedule shouldn't affect this imo.

I hope this could ever be true, but sadly it can't be. If High Elves are delayed, so will Vamps be.

 

[TheAdmiral]

Unless diferrent people work on the books.

 

[darknesseternal]

darknesseternal, I'm guessing Lahmia powers will go down the same way as the Banshee Howl, affecting ITP's as well. Like Morathi's 'Enchanting Beauty'.

I'd be happy to see that happen.... though if we can actually choose from a general pool of bloodline powers.. I'd still perhaps sneak in a 'Master Strike' (my Lady was up all night practicing her sword play, over and over, alright??! ), or maybe a 'Heart Piercing' (come on, what poor fool wouldn't feel their heart pierced by the beauty of my Lady?? ), along with the 'don't leave home without it' innocence lost (who me??! that is a lie, I never ripped his throat out and bathed in his blood!) or beguile/tranfix (so you like what you see sailor? follow me this way..).

I can't see coming up with an explaination for massive monstrousity though :|

 

[ArchMagosAlchemys]

A bad Nip & Tuck job??

She was using metric, the surgeon was using imperial units

 

[Redna Xela]

I can't see coming up with an explaination for massive monstrousity though :|

Maybe she got bigger boobs and buttocks?

 

[Mortis]

Okay, I must admit that I actually like the necromancer development. I like that vampires and necros a specialised in how they use magic. What I don't like, is the removal of the master necromancer. That gives us one lord choice only. It's a versatile one, but still, I'd like to have my armies led by a necromancer if I should fancy so.

I do like the removal of the vampire lord though. I never really understood why there had to be to kinds of vampire lord choices.

~ Mortis

 

[N.I.B]

Im not happy about the removal of vampire lords, as I usually take them when playing Lahmia, Necrarchs and Strigoi. I guess in the future we have to spend a lot of the 200 point allowance to reach those stats.

 

[Lord Fear]

yes, I will be sorry to lose my Lords, as almost every army has their own Lords that can beat up a Vampire Count- however this will be mitigated by the ability to take armour, giving a bit more protection. Hopefully Counts will get a bit of a boost in stats too, 4 Wounds would be great. They are meant to be better, stronger than any mortal could ever be, after all.

 

[TheAdmiral]

Don't forget the 200pts of goodies allowance, that will hurt other races' lords.

 

[Maxim Von Carstein]

We get a 200 points of magic items :S ??!

 

[N.I.B]

Not really, if you read the round-up you'll see that we can buy 100 points of vampiric powers and 100 points of magic items. So 200 all in all. Vampires should be the baddest of the bad characters, for the simple fact that if we lose our general - we (most likely) lose the game. No other army have that handicap.

 

[Sid]

exept for the Tomb Kings
(dosent the same happen if they lose there hyrophiant)