Lore Review
Bretonnia is a feudal kingdom in the west of the Old World known for its chivalric knights, mystical enchantresses, and… well… and peasants. Its knights live by a code of honour known as, “The Code Chivalric” that defines its society, promising to protect the weak from the wicked and to defend the lands of Bretonnia.
Once these lands were occupied by the High Elves of Ulthuan, who built many harbours and cities along the western coast and thrived on trade with the Dwarfs, however when this relationship broke down (impressively…) the land became a wilderness which orcs and humans fought to control until the Bretonni tribe emerged triumphant.
There are three distinct flavours of Bretonnian army playable with the release of the new Arcane Journal, with options for you whether you want to run a traditional Bretonnian army of the sort that is constantly fighting to protect its borders and forests, or a more focused force representing knights participating in an Errantry Crusade, or the forces of an outcast lord establishing his place in the Border Princes.
The lore section of the Arcane Journal focuses initially on the codes of chivalry that the knights are beholden to, before expanding into exploring the various areas of Bretonnia, from mountain frontiers to the great forests and walled towns that dot its landscape.
The main focus of the lore in there is on the Border Princes and the description of a crusade force riding to battle the undead legions, for which there is also a narrative battle plan to allow you to recreate the battle. The section on Outcast Nobility is somewhat shorter (2 pages vs 8) but gives some great ideas as to how and why a Lord may become an outcast and leaves plenty of narrative hooks for you to establish your own Lord’s background.
The Book
As with our Tomb Kings review, the core rules for an army from the Kingdoms of Bretonnia exist within the appropriate tome, with this one being the “Forces of Fantasy” book that also includes rules for Dwarfs, Empire, Wood Elves, and High Elves.
As a supplement to that, and the focus of this article, the Arcane Journal for the Kingdom of Bretonnia includes two alternative ways to represent the Bretonnians, either as part of an Errantry Crusade or as Outcast Exiles.
Besides containing two new “Armies of Infamy” as these alternative compositions are known, there is a selection of named characters, and a slew of extra magic items that can be used both for these armies of infamy, many of which can also be selected as choices for your standard Bretonnian army lists.
Armies of Infamy
The Armies of Infamy offers novel and thematic approaches to constructing your faction’s army lists. Introducing unique army-wide special rules and granting access to upgraded units that enhance specific playstyles. However, opting for an army of infamy imposes greater restrictions on your army composition compared to the base books by excluding certain units.
It’s important to mention that these Arcane Journals differ from traditional army books from previous editions. They act as supplements to the unit lists and army rules found in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy books. Playing a game in the Old World only using the Arcane Journals is not possible, as they rely on references to the special rules from Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy. These journals provide new ways to play your faction, including special characters, but they don’t provide details on specific rules.
Bretonnian Exiles
The immediate standout for this army is the ability to bring outcast wizards and artillery. An army of Exiles will likely be looking to leverage the powerful Border Princes Bombard alongside some of the other unique units in this book.
Special Rules
Banished Lords – Barons and Paladins lose access to the Grail Vow, and instead, they and several other units get access to the Exiles Vow, granting them the Stubborn and Veteran rules, as well as not having to take panic tests from units with Levies or Peasantry rules.
Reclaimed Glory – Exiles cannot pray for the Blessings of the Lady at the beginning of a game. Instead, if a unit with the Blessings of the Lady special rule runs down an opponent’s unit, they get the benefits of this rule as if they had prayed at the start of the game. Alternatively, a character killing an enemy character in a challenge will do the same for them (and any unit they have joined)
List Composition
As a result of the army representing outcast nobility, there are restrictions in place on Grail Knights, Dukes and Prophetesses (Not present) and Damsels (1 per army).
There are enough changes to the general composition that it would make it a dull read to list them all here, but some highlights are that Yeoman Guard replace Men-at-Arms as a mandatory core choice, mounted yeomen become an optional core choice, battle pilgrims are more limited (0-1 per 1k), and Questing Knights move from Special to Rare.
Free Company Milita and Empire Archers can also be included as Mercenaries.
Unique Units
Outcast Wizards give the option to include a level 1-3 wizard in your Exiles army, with access to a wide variety of lores. These roll an extra dice when rolling on the Miscast table and discard the highest, but at 105pts for a level 3 come in very cheap.
Yeoman Guards seem to be more professional versions of Men-at-Arms… they lose Polearms as default and instead take a spear or halberd, but can buy them back for a point. BS and LD increases aren’t hugely important by the time you add a Yeoman to a unit of men at arms, so if we take that into account then, they gain an extra WS and Veteran for 2 points as well as having access to a 25pt magic banner. The extra WS may not seem huge but can offer significant defensive benefit vs other WS3 units (now hit on a 4+), or WS5 units (hit you on a 3+ instead of a 2+)
Border Princes Brigands are a rare choice in an Exiles army and have a huge amount of variety when choosing weaponry and special rules. They come default with Open Order but can change that to Close Order or Skirmishers, can Ambush, Scout, and have Motley Crew so can take a mix of weaponry within the unit. That weaponry can consist of anything from the default hand weapon to additional hand weapons, shields, pistols, blunderbuss, and crossbows, giving you many ways to run these. I’m interested to see what people come up with!
The Border Princes Bombard is perhaps the highlight here and the one that I think most people taking an Exiles army may be attracted to. Effectively this is something between a Cannon and a Great Cannon, with the strength and range of a cannon, but with the armour piercing and damage of the Great Cannon.
Errantry Crusade
A little less dramatic a change than with the Exiles, the main distinctive feature of Errantry Crusades are that Knights Errant are likely to be in much greater prevalence, and you can run a higher than normal points value of rare choices such as Grail Knights.
Special Rules
Crusading Knights – The majority of units, anything from Mounted Yeomen to Grail Knights, gain the “Crusader’s Zeal” special rule and can swap their knight’s vow with the crusader’s vow.
Crusader’s Zeal increases a unit’s charge range but gives them impetuous meaning they have to charge, a nice bonus to have, but with a significant drawback.
The Crusader’s Vow gives a unit the Veteran ability and makes them immune to panicking peasantry or levies.
Earn Your Spurs is the final special rule and is very useful, boosting Knights Errant by giving them re-rolls of 1 to hit when within 6” of a Lord of Bretonnia or a friendly model with the Grail Vow. Additionally, should they capture an enemy standard, it’s worth 100 points rather than the normal 50 points at the end of the game.
List Composition
Characters remain unchanged in the main although Paladins become 1+, you were likely taking one anyway though given they retain the ability to upgrade one Paladin to a Battle Standard Bearer for no cost.
Core and Rare immediately jump out as the percentages for these have changed, with you requiring 33% minimum in core, and up to 33% in Rare, rather than the usual 25% for each of these. That shouldn’t be a huge problem however as your mandatory unit is Knights Errant (1+ per 1000) and you will likely be building around an all-mounted force, with no requirement for Men-at-Arms or Peasant Bowmen in an Errantry Crusade. Notably, you could take a unit of Battle Pilgrims as core, but I feel most players will be spending their core on a mixture of Knights Errant and Knights of the Realm.
You retain the ability to run Pegasus Knights in Special, which I’m sure will continue to be very popular.
Empire Knights and Inner Circle Knights are available as Mercenaries should you wish to bring some knights along to support your knights…
Unique Units
N/A – No change here
Special Characters
The main army composition lists found in Ravening Hordes and Forces of Fantasy notably lacked the array of special characters that enthusiasts have grown fond of within their cherished factions. While it’s understandable considering the shift in time period, with many of these iconic figures potentially not yet existing, it leaves a void in the hearts of fans longing for something extraordinary to connect with. The Arcane Journals address this gap by introducing a selection of special characters, both familiar and new, to their respective armies
The Green Knight
One of the most recognisable characters and models available for Bretonnia, the Green Knight comes in at 275 points and is available to any Bretonnian army. Interestingly you don’t deploy him at the start of the battle but begin to roll from the first turn. On a 3+ he appears completely within a “natural” terrain feature (on most tables I imagine this will be a forest or water feature). He can’t (Edit: We stand corrected! 16/07/24) He can charge that turn. Being able to appear from nowhere, or even just the threat of him doing so, will keep an opponent thinking.
When removed from play, the Green Knight is not slain and may continue to appear, but becomes weaker each time, with -1 to the roll and -1 wound when he appears.
With ethereal, a 5+ ward, and terror, he can potentially hold up whole units by himself, and with the Dolorous Blade giving him a choice of D6 extra attacks (potentially 10 at ap-1) or +2 strength and multiple wounds, he can put out some hurt as well.
Sir Cecil Gastonne, The Worm Slayer
A named baron and the leader of the army of Bretonnian Exiles that stood in the path of Settra’s legions, Sir Cecil has a profile typical of a Bretonnian Baron, except for an extra weapon skill (WS7)
Notably, he is unmounted and comes with the Exiles Vow (Stubborn and Veteran) and a Dragonhide Cloak (a 3+ ward save vs flaming attacks as well as reducing AP of attacks against him by 2 and making him immune to Killing Blow and Multiple Wounds)
Sir Cecil wields an axe known as “Sorrow’s End” which means he’ll be striking at strength 5, with -1AP, Monster Slayer, and multiple wounds (2)
Overall though at 165 points and without an option for a mount I’m not sure how much we’ll see of the Wyrm Slayer.
Lady Élisse Duchaard, Prophetess of Brionne
Lady Élisse is a little different in that as a Prophetess she is not available to an army of Exiles, although will find a place in generic Bretonnian lists and Errantry Crusades. She was tutored by the Fae Enchantress and as a result, is exceptionally gifted at dispelling an enemy’s magic.
225 points is expensive for a level 3 wizard but with 5 wounds, the ability to switch two of her randomly generated spells rather than one, and the “Arcane Backlash” special rule that allows her to dominate an opponent’s wizards, it feels like she is great value.
Likely, the reason that you’re bringing Lady Élisse (other than that awesome model!) is her ability to dispel. She dispels at +4 due to an additional +1 to the roll, but more importantly, any natural double on that roll (not including a double 1) means the spell is immediately unbound and additionally the caster immediately loses a wound.
Magic Items
Within this section are 18 new magical items usable for Bretonnian armies. Of these four are usable only in an Errantry crusade army, six are reserved for Exiles, and the remaining eight are freely available to any Bretonnian army. I’ve picked a few that jumped out at first read below:
The Frontier Axe, reserved for Exiles and acting similarly to a great weapon with an extra point of AP, Multiple Wounds (2) and without Always Strikes Last (S+2, AP -3, MW(2), Requires two hands) which at 30pts seems pretty solid.
Ironspike Shield, another that’s locked to Exiles, is a shield that causes a strength 3 hit at AP-1 whenever an opponent rolls a natural 1 to hit or wound.
Crusaders Clarion, an enchanted item reserved for Erranty Crusade armies and giving mounts in the unit +1 strength when they charge
Of the items not locked to an Army of Infamy, I don’t feel many are particularly competitive, perhaps the choice is the Banner of Honourable Warfare which for 25pts gives re-rolls to hit in the first round of combat if the enemy is equipped with any missile weapons.
Wrap Up
Overall I think the book delivers well, two Special Characters are likely to see play, both Armies of Infamy bring something new to the table, and we’re seeing some good results competitively from them. (As I write this there’s an Errantry Crusade army undefeated from the first four games in a 100-player online tournament)
I do think I would have preferred if the armies of infamy locked down the Pegasus Knights in the same way that the Orc and Goblin book restricts access to Night Goblin Fanatics, as I feel they seem so much better than other units in the book it’s a shame to see competitive lists rush straight to take as many as they can so perhaps a missed opportunity there.
Given the relatively low cost of the Arcane Journals and the amount of lore and new play options, it feels worth picking up regardless of the army you collect.
