Since there’s been some discussion about it here and other places, I thought I’d share what we came up with re: the Bonebreaker Rat Ogre and Look Out Sir!

I guess the notion that the BRO removed LOS! stems from absence of a note about it in the unit description, while the War Litter has such a note.  This, coupled with its 4 wounds implying that it gets up to Unit Strength 5 (+1 from the rider), would lead one to think LOS! doesn’t apply.

The trick is, however: the BRO isn’t US 5.  Here are the relevant bits from the Unit Strength chart on pg 71 of the BRB:

Now, there’s some debate over the correct base size for the BRO; whether or not it should be 40x40mm or 50x50mm.  I’ve based mine 40×40, since it’ll rank up (and that’s why I think they put the Pox Rat on a 40×40), but I don’t think it’s crazy talk to think it goes on a 50×50.

But I hope we can all agree that, although the BRO is “a prodigiously proportioned Rat Ogre,” it’s not going to be larger than a Dragon Ogre and it’s not going to live in the same size category as a Stegadon or a Giant.  That, by definition, an Ogre is going to be “Ogre-sized.”  (Because if it were larger than Ogre-sized, it’d probably be called a “Bonebreaker Rat Giant,” right?)

That means it belongs in the first quoted category rather than the second quoted category.  This means the BRO is US 3, +1 for the rider, giving us US 4.  (As opposed to the second category, which would make the BRO US 4, +1 for the rider for US 5.)

As the model is merely US 4, it still gets to benefit from Look Out Sir!

3/8 UPDATE – From the new Skaven FAQ (dated 3/8/10):

Q. What are the Unit Strengths and base size of a War-litter? And what about a Bonebreaker?

A. For both models, we suggest using a Unit Strength of 3 (plus 1 for the Warlord), and a base size of 40mm square. However, do keep in mind that, as for all conversions, there are no strict rules about base size (other than: ‘Be reasonable!’), and that any forthcoming Citadel miniature might be different from this suggested size.

So, that settles it! (Until they change it.)  I’m glad; it was an unworkably terrible choice at US 5.