It’s been a long long damn time. Hello my fellows. It really is me Geist once again. I left at end times and even tried to make a go of Kings of War. But old world has warmed my heart with its simplified rules and I like the newer format. As part of my return I have a question.
Steam hauler and steam carriage rule. I watched a battle report where a magma cannon by itself with no iron demon drove around 8 inches and fired. The rule in the books is well confusing is being generous. What exactly is the rule and how does it work. Did the battle report get it wrong or right?
Also glad to be back lads. Let’s make the old world BURN!!!
Cheers Geist and welcome back, great to have you with us once again!
So, the carriage hauler rule has been quite confusing right from the start, and with Chaos Dwarfs being a legacy faction, GW never saw fit to clear it up. We have talked a lot about it here in the forum and our Discord server (are you already familiar?) over the years. This thread, for example.
The way it was apparently played in that battle report is completely out of the question, though.
The Renegades project (fan-made updates for all the legacy factions that gained world-wide attention and are used fairly broadly both in casual as well as competitive play) have slightly reworded the carriage hauler rule to make it more clear:
During the Movement phase, up to two friendly war machines with the ‘Steam Carriage’ upgrade that are completely within this model’s rear arc and within 8" of its base at the beginning of the phase can be moved when this model moves may replace their Movement characteristic with this model’s. These war machines must finish their movement completely within this model’s rear arc and within 8" of its base. Unless this model moves using the Lumbering Destruction special rule or makes a charge move, these war machines are not considered to have moved this turn.
No wonder there’s confusion about the rule… the language to clear that up is as mirky as an Ogre’s buttocks after a goblin raid… I say draw pictures! LOL
I am not too proud to say that I have no clue what the correct way to play it is. Becuase if you go by the raw as best as one can, as the entry in the text on the entry inside the army builder for old world, it is basically saying. Yes you must haul your warmachines around the rear and there is a good chance one wont get to shoot because each one is on a honking huge chariot base and some like magma cannons are fixed direction. Which makes no sense. Why pay to move around but risk having to be set to not shoot? Also also that means you have to pay 35pts per warmachine to get the hauler option AND take an iron demon. Dawi Zharr are coslty but dear god thats a lot of tax for a possible cant shoot.
Welcome back Deamonsmith, I see that you have taken up one of the favourite past time of the forum which is debating how steam carriage works hahaha. (I plead guilty)
I must say it is rather confusing, so I can understand how this has become a past time. Not like our rules were ever soild to start with, from the WFB days of slapped together set of ideas to the Forge World overly simple to what we have now.
