ALSO ONLINE
Please note that as well as this errata there is an update to army list information for the forces detailed in Armies of Antiquity. Also, we have an introduction to the new edition from Rob Broom explaining some of the changes made.

GENERAL RULES & CLARIFICATIONS - PAGE ONE
On the following pages you will find clarifications and additions to the game rules found in Warhammer Ancient Battles and these supersede duplicated rules in the following publications: Armies of Antiquity, Chariot Wars, Fall of the West, Shieldwall, El Cid, Alexander the Great, Armies of Chivalry, Spartacus, Byzantium – Beyond the Golden Gate and Hannibal and the Punic Wars.

ARMY BREAK POINT
Instead of fighting a battle for a specified number of turns, fight the battle until one side or the other has been broken. An army is broken when it has a quarter or less of its starting number of models left alive at the end of any player’s turn. For example, if your army started with 100 models it would be broken if there were 25 or less models left in play at the end of a player’s turn. Round any fractions down.

Models with more than one wound, chariots or elephants and their crew, and characters riding horses or other mounts all count as a single model for this purpose. Models that are fleeing are counted as being ‘alive’ until they have left the table. It is possible for two armies to break if both sides suffer casualties in the same player’s turn. In this case both sides break on the same turn.

The game ends once one or both sides has broken. Work out who would have won the battle using the victory conditions for the scenario being played. If you broke your opponent and won the scenario being played, you have won a decisive and clear-cut victory that will be studied by military historians throughout the ages. Any other result means that revisionist historians will attempt to prove that either you or your opponent was the real winner of the battle (and you’ll argue with your opponent who the real winner was too!)

(This was originally printed in Armies of Antiquity, and is reprinted here for the convenience of gamers who do not have that publication.)

USING THE ARMY LISTS
The army lists in Warhammer Ancient Battles supplements are used in the same way as the Roman and Barbarian lists in Warhammer Ancient Battles itself. In addition, the following instructions apply.
(Using the army lists: p 113)


UNIT SIZE & COMPOSITION
The minimum size for a regiment or unit is five infantry or cavalry models, or three chariot models unless otherwise stated. There is no upper limit. One model, or one crewman for chariots, in each unit may be upgraded to a Leader (+5 pts), one to a Standard Bearer (+5 pts), and another to a Musician (+5 pts) unless otherwise stated. Note that Elephants and War Engines may not have Leaders, Standard Bearers or Musicians.

What You See Is What You Get
Unless your opponent agrees otherwise, the miniatures you use must show the options you take from the army list; for example, if you want your Greek army to have Skirmishers armed with slings and bucklers, then models of Greek Skirmishers armed with slings and bucklers must represent them.

If it’s hard to tell what a model is meant to be equipped with (eg, is it heavy or light armour?) then a certain amount of leeway should be allowed. If in doubt just let history be your guide and you won’t go wrong.

Multiple Troop Types
Some of the entries in the army lists include more than one troop type. When you pick a unit from an entry, all the models chosen for the unit must be of the same type and armed the same way, unless the army list specifically allows you to field combined or mixed units of troops and weaponry.

15mm Armies and Base Sizes
The Warhammer Ancient Battle rules don’t specify what scale of miniature to use, and as long as both sides use the same scale you can use any size of figure you like. Figures can be based up using any method you want, again as long as both players use the same system. If you’ve got figures based in multiple-figure elements then all you will need to do is come up with some system of recording individual casualties on a multiple base, but this really isn’t difficult and won’t stop you playing.

Figure & Ground Scale
Figure and ground scales are not specified by the Warhammer Ancient Battles rules, so you can count each model as one man, ten men, whatever you like! For example, you could field a 1:1 scale Roman army based on a Cohors Equites, or organise a Roman legion on a 1:20 scale, so that a cohort is represented by 20-24 models. Each army is ‘legal’ as far as the lists are concerned, and can happily fight each other.

UNITS & CHARACTERS
UNITS & PSYCHOLOGY
Units of less than five models, and unattached characters, that lose a round of close combat are broken automatically and cannot use any Psychology rules (eg, Stubborn) to stand. This also applies to units that are normally immune to Break tests and represents a depleted unit being overwhelmed.
(Units reduced to less than 5: p 34)

For a unit to be affected by a Psychology rule (eg, Hatred) from a character, that character must be in the front rank of the unit, or engaged in close combat as part of that unit if they are moved to fight in response to a flank or rear attack. Characters with psychology effects located elsewhere in the unit do not inspire the unit and the psychology has no effect.

Units subject to frenzy cannot flee or fire & flee as a charge reaction.
(Hatred and frenzy: p 52)

CHARACTERS
Characters in Chariots and on Elephants
In some army lists, characters have the option to ride in a chariot or on an elephant. If the option is taken, then the character and his mount move together throughout the battle.

They may be freely shot at because the shots are being directed at the model itself.

Rather than counting the character as one of the crew, the character and his mount are treated separately. Roll to hit normally for missile fire, but then roll again for each hit to see if it hit the character or the mount; on a roll of 1-4 the mount is hit, on a roll of 5-6 the crew is hit. Any characters amongst the crew will be hit if any 6s occur on the random roll. If there are no additional crew, then the character is hit on a 5 or 6 as normal.
In hand-to-hand combat an enemy model in base contact with a chariot mounted character can choose to either attack it or the character.

Characters on elephants are randomised in the same way as missile hits.

Characters mounted in a chariot with a shield bearer, or riding elephants with a howdah may add +2 to their basic armour save. In any other circumstances they add +1 to their armour save.

The character may only dismount and fight on foot if his mount is killed or destroyed, and only then if a suitable model on foot is available to represent him. If no model is available and the mount is slain then the character is removed also. If the character is slain, the mount may continue to fight where appropriate.
(Chariots: p 57 & Elephants: p 61)

Characters and close combat
Should they lose a round of close combat, unattached characters will automatically break and flee but may attempt to rally as normal. If a character is attached to a unit reduced to less than five models in total, and the unit flees as the result of losing in close combat or a failed Panic test, the unit cannot rally. The character flees with the unit and cannot rally in this instance as he is swept away in the retreat.

A character may not join a unit that is engaged in close combat. The character may charge into the combat though if a valid charge can be performed.

A character may not charge an enemy in the rear if he starts his move in the front of it. (This is a clarification to a statement on page 41 of the WAB rules).

Characters fighting in challenges retain the armour save benefits from any mount and any special formation benefits such as phalanx or shieldwall.
(Characters: p 41 & p 42)

WARBANDS LEADERSHIP & WARBAND PSYCHOLOGY
If a unit with Warband Psychology is joined by a character who does not have Warband Psychology, the unit must use either its own Ld or the character’s. It cannot use the character’s Ld and add on the Warband rank bonus.

WARBAND LEADERSHIP VALUES
Characters, infantry and cavalry subject to Warband Rule 1 may count a rank bonus of up to 3, which may be used to achieve a maximum Leadership of 10 (Light troops count up to two ranks). If they have no rank bonus for whatever reason, then this Leadership benefit is lost. Exception: Elephant combat results P154
(Warbands: p 53)

MOVEMENT & MANOEUVRE MOVEMENT RATES
In all cases for both mounted and dismounted troops, unless stated otherwise, the Movement value is listed giving the unencumbered rate. Players must deduct the applicable movement penalties for armour and barding.
(Movement rate: p 14)

Movement
All troops able to turn or make a formation change for free (such as drilled), count as having moved for the purpose of firing missiles, forming shieldwall, etc.

REFORMING
Movement of models
A unit of troops can reform during its Movement phase so long as it is not in close combat, and is otherwise free to move as it wishes. The player declares the unit is reforming and regroups it into a new formation. Keeping the centre point of the unit the same, arrange the unit into a new formation of as many ranks as you please, facing whichever direction you wish, so long as none of the models in the unit move more than twice their Move rate (ie, a Barbarian warrior with Move 5 can move up to 10"). Should this occur, the desired formation cannot be completed, and the unit must assume a formation to conform with the movement distances available.

Character models, Standard Bearers and Musicians must still be placed in the front rank of the unit as normal.
(Reforming: p 16)

Reforming during or after a move
Some troops (such as Andulusian horsemen from El Cid and open order troops in Armies of Chivalry) have special abilities that allow them to reform during or after making a move.

The reform move must be included in their normal move allowance. They have more flexibility in creating a new formation and should reform around any Leader, Standard or Musician. If none is available, select a suitably heroic looking model before moving any models.

REFORMING IN COMBAT
This rule was originally found in Armies of Antiquity and has since been removed from the game.

DISENGAGING
When a unit disengages, it moves away from the enemy unit it is in contact with in a straight line, and ends up with its rear facing the enemy unit. Units fighting to more than one facing (eg, front & flank) may not disengage.
(Disengaging from hand-to-hand combat: p 37)

LIGHT CHARIOTS
Light chariots are not skirmishers, even though they move in a similar way and unengaged models can move into an ongoing combat the same as skirmishers. They are treated as a formed unit otherwise and all chariots are affected by psychology in the same way as cavalry.
(Moving chariots: p 58)

TERRAIN
Every wargamer’s terrain is different and it is impossible to write rules to cater for every terrain feature.
We recommend that before deploying your army when using a pre-set terrain table, or before placing terrain when not using a pre-set terrain table, that you agree with your opponent the effects of terrain on the game. Consider specifically the effects that missile fire and difficult ground have on skirmishers and light troop types.
Please note that event organisers may have already adopted specific rules for consistency during their event, so ensure you are aware of them.
(Terrain: p 17)

DIFFICULT TERRAIN
Difficult terrain slows skirmishing mounted troops’ movement in the same way as it affects most formed units.
(Light troops: p 54)

COPSES OF TREES OR ORCHARDS
Copses and orchards are classified as difficult terrain for movement of formed units of troops, chariots, etc. All skirmishing troop types are unaffected.

Copses and orchards do not block line of sight, but all shooting through or at targets within the copse or orchard suffer a -1 to hit. In order to define copses and orchards, we suggest trees are spaced well apart, and pathways or well-trodden routes between the trees are shown along with other features.

This terrain type is also very useful for representing ruined Greek style temples and other partially damaged buildings or ruins. Formed units can use a ‘snaking column’ through this terrain by following any paths with no reduction in movement (see page 20 of the WAB rules).

A similar terrain feature for groups of rocks, areas covered with brush or shrubs, etc, to represent ‘open’ difficult ground could also be used at the discretion of players. Typically, we would recommend this terrain type for games involving 25mm or greater scales.