Forbidden lore warhammer fantasy battle 8th edition vampire counts vampiric power

Forbidden lore is another vampiric power that has undergone significant change from 7th edition into 8th edition. The addition of extra lore's that both hero level vampires and vampire lordscan take also affects this vampiric power. All vampire can now choose to take spells from the lore of shadows and the lore of death, and even necromancers can select spells from the lore of death alongside the lore of the vampires. This makes this vampiric power redundant if you are planning to take those lore's.

In 7th edition forbidden lore granted you lore master of any of the lore's of magic from the warhammer rulebook with the exception of the lore of life (it must be difficult for vampires being dead to utilise this lore). Now in 8th edition it allows the same selection of lore's but no longer grants you the lore master special rule meaning you must select spells as normal.

Also the general of the vampire counts army is compelled to use the lore of the vampires meaning that at least one of your high leadership wizards most likely a vampire lord must select spells from the lore of the vampires. This precludes having a high level wizard with forbidden lore except in games with a very large points allowance.

Pros are that it is an excellent vampiric power for a hero level vampire where you are after the default or signature spell of one of the following five lore's fire, metal, beasts, heavens and light. Remember you can take shadow and death anyway now. The signature spells are

• Fireball, basic magic missile with more powerful but higher casting value versions
• Searing doom, useful against opponents who take heavily armoured troops
• Shem's burning gaze, useful against other undead and daemon armies
• Iceshard blizzard, one of the less useful spells
• Wissan's wildform, augments one of your units with +1 strength and toughness

Cons are that if you are after a specific spell you must invest considerable points in vampire heroes with this vampiric power or trust to luck to get the spell you require. Also the lore of vampire spell invocation of nehek is vital to the survivability of vampire counts armies and any vampire with forbidden lore cannot select this spell. The lore of the vampires, death and shadow are all good lore's and can be taken for free.