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Bolt of Change is just more Tzeentch-y, so it seemed appropriate as the default.

You're right; Rage doesn't require them to Run, I was wrong on that.

The issue, really, is that they SHOULD be much, much less useful after the Sorcerer is killed. That's the goal. They have the Wall That Walks rule, which makes it impossible to kill the Sorcerer with shooting for all but a very small number of units; the Sorcerer makes Pile In moves AFTER the Rubric Marines (didn't notice til just now, but I only made that edit in the OP; my bad!) so as long as he's not in B2B after the initial charge, it's pretty easy even to keep him from being targeted in close-combat. My objective here was to set up the situation so that you only lose the Sorcerer if you're not paying attention, but if you do lose him, it really hurts.

I'll think about Rage. I don't really agree that the Chaos Dreadnought rule is a good comparison; it was active all the time, and (before the FAQ) had a chance of actually destroying other units of yours, whereas this one only comes into play if you lose the Sorcerer and will never hurt any other unit. That said, you may be right that it's too great a penalty.

Very nice, although I fear you have made the sorcerors too powerful. Change their auto-passing psychic tests to just re-rolling it, perhaps.

I would say that auto-passing is perfectly reasonable for a worshipper of Tzeentch.

Yet as far as I am aware Tzeentchian Sorcerors and DP don't autopass.

No, they don't anymore. They did in the 3.5 Codex, though: Any model given the Mark of Tzeentch (except basic Chaos Space Marines) became a Sorcerer, and automatically passed Psychic tests.

I gave the auto-pass for a couple of reasons. First, from a fluff perspective; I feel that Tzeentch, the God of Sorcery, should give his favored Traitor Legionnaires a buff to their Psychic powers. However, I didn't want to change the powers themselves, as that gets complicated very fast and I want to keep these guys (relatively) simple. It seemed simplest (and most fluffy, particularly given the precedent of the 3.5 codex) to give them a bonus to getting their powers off. The game precedent for things like that is typically a re-roll, ignoring negative modifiers, or simply an auto-pass. I could have given them a rule to ignore negative modifiers or enemy wargear. That's less powerful than the auto-pass, but it also doesn't actually do anything in a lot of games; and furthermore, it still leaves them vulnerable to Perils of the Warp, which seems silly for a Tzeentchian Chaos sorcerer. So, it's a re-roll or an auto-pass.

So what if I'd given them a re-roll instead of an auto-pass? Well, you have a 3/36 chance of failing a Ld. 10 check on 2d6; that's 8.33%. With a re-roll, that becomes an 0.69% chance to fail. It actually makes no practical difference whether they auto-pass or 'only' reroll; if you're casting two powers every single turn of every single game, you'd still only see them fail once in 12 games! Honestly, I don't even think that's a worthwhile debuff.

Secondly, from a gameplay perspective; a Thousand Sons Sorcerer costs the same as a Chaos Sorcerer (the HQ choice from Codex: CSM). He has fewer wounds and fewer attacks; he isn't an Independent Character, and he doesn't have the option to take any other equipment. His basic Psychic powers are cheaper, but his special Psychic powers are very expensive; and, finally, he's shackled to an EXTREMELY expensive bodyguard unit, which is very tough but does very little damage for their points cost, and if he dies they become nearly useless. That being so, his special rules should be quite powerful; without them, he isn't worth the cost.

I really want to play a game with or against these dudes, seems like a lot of fun.

These are some nice, fluffy stats that offer a lot of choice and are balanced. Bravo for creating something so awesome! I dislike the rarity of the rarity of the Legionnaires, but I suppose that's the price of having them be so uber. Afterall, otherwise it wouldn't be balanced. However, I would suggest one thing for the Dedicant Legions.

If yer army has a DP/Unique Character with the respective mark of the Legion (like Lucius the Eternal is to the Emperor's Children or a DP w the Mark of Nurgle would be to the Death Guard) you may have as many squads with the Dark Legends rule of that Legion as the FOC allows. So it'd be kinda like the Abaddon rule. That way an army led by Typhus could have more than 1 squad of Death Guard Legionnaires and that sorta thing.

Panopticon wrote:I really want to play a game with or against these dudes, seems like a lot of fun.

Do it! If you can get someone at your FLGS or on Vassal to let you use them, I'd be glad to see the results of some playtesting. Just post up how it goes!

LoneLictor wrote:These are some nice, fluffy stats that offer a lot of choice and are balanced. Bravo for creating something so awesome! I dislike the rarity of the rarity of the Legionnaires, but I suppose that's the price of having them be so uber. Afterall, otherwise it wouldn't be balanced. However, I would suggest one thing for the Dedicant Legions.

If yer army has a DP/Unique Character with the respective mark of the Legion (like Lucius the Eternal is to the Emperor's Children or a DP w the Mark of Nurgle would be to the Death Guard) you may have as many squads with the Dark Legends rule of that Legion as the FOC allows. So it'd be kinda like the Abaddon rule. That way an army led by Typhus could have more than 1 squad of Death Guard Legionnaires and that sorta thing.

First off, thanks!

To the suggestion; you're absolutely right, actually. I don't think I'll give it to just any DP with the appropriate Mark, but they should certainly be unlocked by the special character of their Legion.



Word Bearers will be finished next; after that I'll move on to the Faithless Legions, beginning with the Black Legion.

Just use Movie Marine rules. That's what you're going for anyway.

DarknessEternal wrote:Just use Movie Marine rules. That's what you're going for anyway.

See, now, if you'd READ the rules, you'd know that wasn't true. What I'm going for is high-powered, fairly costed, fluffy units that can be used as Elites choices in a regular Codex: CSM army. I'm not trying to make Movie Marines, I'm trying to interpret what I think is one of the most fascinating and powerful pieces of Warhammer 40k background into the tabletop game.

If you have any constructive criticism to give, I'd be glad to hear it.

DarknessEternal wrote:Just use Movie Marine rules. That's what you're going for anyway.

No, those guys ain't movie marines. They don't have plot protection or anything. They don't cost more than 60 points. Maybe you should read the stats he made before getting all uppity.

I really look forward to seeing your rules for the undivided legions.

Ask, and ye shall receive. The last of the Dedicant Legions and the only Legion devoted to Chaos as a whole; the Word Bearers!

Word Bearers


The Imperium calls Horus the Arch-Traitor, and claims that it was he and the Sons of Horus who sparked the conflagration that so nearly consumed the galaxy. The events that began the Long War even bear his name; he was the Warmaster, the Emperor's favored son, and to the lackeys of the Corpse-God that is enough to assign to him the guilt. Such only proves their foolishness. What was called the Horus Heresy would have happened even had Horus never lived. It was Lorgar, Lorgar and his devoted sons the Word Bearers, who first turned to the Dark Gods. It was Kor Phaeron who guided Lorgar through his spiritual journey, and led him carefully to the Ruinous Powers. It was Lorgar who learned the Primordial Truth, he who first preached the glories of the Dark Gods among the ranks of the Space Marines, and he who sent his servant Erebus to Horus Lupercal. It was Erebus who whispered of the glory of Chaos to the wounded Warmaster, and from that sprang all else that followed.

The Word Bearers remain an organized and driven force to this very day; though the numbers of veteran Legionnaires among them have steadily dropped over the aeons to be replaced by weaker and less-reliable recruits, those who remain possess not only superhuman skill at war but also a fiery, unshakable faith in the power of Chaos and the necessity that humanity be brought to accept its glories. This faith and sense of driving purpose has kept the Legion together, united by eternal loyalty to Lorgar and utter devotion to the Dark Gods. Loosely coordinated and directed from the brooding Basilica of the Word on Sicarus, dozens of the Hosts stream outwards every year, bearing their merciless gospel out into the galaxy to supplant the Imperial Lie with the Primordial Truth. They shall never rest until their great work is completed and all humanity bows before the Ruinous Powers; they will cast down every temple and slaughter every priest of the Corpse-God, or perish to a man in the attempt.

Unit Cost: 40 points

Unit Composition: 1 Word Bearer

Unit Type: Infantry

Word Bearer: WS4 BS4 S4 T4 W2 I4 A2 Ld10 Sv3+
Dark Apostle: WS5 BS5 S4 T4 W3 I4 A3 Ld10 Sv2+

Wargear
Word Bearers
-Power armor
-Bolter
-Bolt pistol
-Close-combat weapon
-Mark of Chaos Eternal: The Word Bearers worship all four aspects of Chaos, rather than devoting themselves to one and excluding the others; the faces of the Great Pantheon are each of equal importance, and the vile runes and sigils the Word Bearers carve into their skin reflect this truth by incorporating the signs of all four gods, intertwined with quotations from the scriptures of Lorgar. Different battles, however, require different blessings, and so any given Host may well promise a world, the soul of a hated enemy, or some other sacrifice to one of the Chaos Gods in exchange for gaining their favor before the conflict begins. Before the mission is chosen, the Word Bearers player must declare which god, if any, the Word Bearers are temporarily dedicating themselves to. The entire unit gains benefits as listed below.
-Khorne: Gain +1 Attack. For the purposes of the Dark Legends and Ancient Rivalry special rules, the unit counts as having the Mark of Khorne (Ancient Rivals: Slaanesh, Tzeentch).
-Slaanesh: Gain +1 Initiative and the Acute Senses USR. For the purposes of the Dark Legends and Ancient Rivalry special rules, the unit counts as having the Mark of Slaanesh (Ancient Rival: Khorne).
-Nurgle: Gain Toughness 4(5). For the purposes of the Dark Legends and Ancient Rivalry special rules, the unit counts as having the Mark of Nurgle (Ancient Rival: Tzeentch).
-Tzeentch: Word Bearers gain a 5+ Invulnerable save. If a Dark Apostle is present, he gains +1 to his Invulnerable save (making it 3+). For the purposes of the Dark Legends and Ancient Rivalry special rules, the unit counts as having the Mark of Tzeentch (Ancient Rivals: Nurgle, Khorne).
-Chaos Undivided/No dedication: Gain Preferred Enemy (Everyone). Ancient Rivalry has no effect, and no Special Characters besides Abbadon count for the purposes of Dark Legends.

Dark Apostle
-Daemon armor
-Bolt pistol
-Accursed Crozius: The Crozius Arcanum is the symbol of a Space Marine Chaplain, a tangible representation of his strength of will and devotion to the Emperor. The Chaplains of the Word Bearers ritually desecrated these artifacts when they turned to the worship of Chaos, re-baptizing them as terrible icons of the might of the Dark Gods. The very air shimmers with unholy power where it touches these hateful weapons; even those with no connection to the Warp can vaguely sense the corruptive aura that surrounds them. An Accursed Crozius is a master-crafted power weapon.
-Black Halo: The Word Bearers crown their most dire champions with blood-wrought sigils of Chaos, both to serve as a focus for powerful protective spells and as a vicious mockery of the high honors bestowed upon heroes of the Imperium. A Black Halo usually takes the shape of a barbed, eight-rayed star, secured in place by driving the lower three spines deep into the back of the bearer. Such disturbing decorations, along with the Accursed Crozius, form the panoply of the Dark Apostles; the possession of such an icon marks the bearer as one who is high in the favor of Lorgar and the Chaos Gods, while the eye-searing wards inscribed in the twisted metal can turn away even the most powerful blow. A Black Halo confers a 4+ Invulnerable save.
-Mark of Chaos Eternal

Special Rules
-Eternal Warrior
-Dark Legends
-Ancient Rivalry: Any or none (see Mark of Chaos Eternal)
-Daemonic Warhost: Daemons can only manifest when the Chaotic influence in an area grows strong enough to weaken the barriers between the material universe and the Warp. Normally only immense Warp storms or massive devastation at the hands of world-spanning cults can create such conditions; but the faith, or perhaps the madness, of the Word Bearers is so powerful that their mere presence sends cracks racing through the walls of reality. Daemons swarm after the Hosts as they travel, following the ships of these apocalyptic missionaries through the Warp and eagerly awaiting the moment when they can break out of the Immaterium to vent their unending rage upon the enemies of the Chaos Gods. If a unit of Word Bearers are present on the battlefield all Summoned Daemons subtract 1 from their reserve roll; furthermore, Summoned Lesser Daemons may be placed anywhere on the board where a Deep Strike may legally be performed (note that they will scatter as normal if they are not within range of an Icon). The Word Bearers count as having an Icon for the purpose of summoning Daemons.
-Black Divination (Dark Apostle only): The Word Bearers fight under the mystic guidance of their Dark Apostles. These fanatic warrior-priests read the omens and conduct gruesome sacrifices to the Ruinous Powers before any battle, seeking aid from those cruel deities for the disciples who kill in their names. A Dark Apostle's prophecies can inform the actions of his followers with terrifying foresight; they deploy to crush threats they have no way of knowing about, fire upon targets they cannot see with devastating accuracy, and ignore the most cunning of ruses to smash the weakest part of the enemy's forces. No enemy units may Infiltrate within 18" of a unit containing a model with this rule, even if they are not in LOS; furthermore, if your army contains a Dark Apostle, enemy units may not Outflank using the Scout USR.
-Blasphemous Oration (Dark Apostle only): The spiritual leaders of the Word Bearers were eloquent and persuasive speakers even before their fall, charged with guiding and directing the Legion through inspired oratory as much as example in battle. Aeons of life as servants of Chaos have only increased the power of their voices; every word in the inhuman tongue the Dark Apostles speak imprints another horrifying piece of the Primordial Truth upon the minds of those who hear it, whether they wish to understand such things or not. For the creatures and servants of Chaos to listen to such exposition is to be reaffirmed in their diabolic purpose, invigorated with the assurance of the Ruinous Powers' approval; for a normal man it is a mind-shattering agony, the poisonous words shredding his sanity even as they burn the catechisms of Chaos into his memory forever. The slightest weakness of will or the barest doubt will give the liturgy a foothold, and then even the most outwardly-righteous can be transformed by the sound of a Dark Apostle's murderous chanting into a raving madman, a mindless slave to the will of the Chaos Gods.

The Dark Apostle may use this ability in his Shooting phase if the unit does not shoot or Run. When Blasphemous Oration is used, all friendly units within 12" of the Dark Apostle become Fearless for the remainder of that player turn and the entirety of the next. All enemy units within 12" must take a Leadership test; any unit which fails takes d6 wounds (normal saves apply) as maddened comrades turn upon each other, and then the survivors must immediately Fall Back. They may test to regroup as normal at the beginning of their Movement phase, so long as they meet the requirements to do so.

Options

May add up to 7 Word Bearers at +40 points per model

The unit may be led by a Dark Apostle at +150 points.

Any Word Bearer may replace his power armor with daemon armor at +10 points per model.

Any Word Bearer may replace their close-combat weapon and/or bolt pistol with one of the following:
-Power weapon at +10 points per model
-Plasma pistol at +10 points per model
-Power fist at +20 points per model

Up to two Word Bearers may replace their bolter with one of the following:
-Combi-bolter at +5 points
-Flamer at +5 points
-Heavy bolter at +10 points
-Plasma gun at +15 points
-Meltagun at +15 points
-Missile launcher or multi-melta at +15 points
-Lascannon or plasma cannon at +20 points

The unit may take a Chaos Rhino or Chaos Land Raider as a dedicated transport.

Favored Sons: The Hosts do not all meet with equal success. Some find that their incursions meet rapid and powerful resistance, and are lost in battle or return to Sicarus in disgrace; some go out, secure a foothold in the Imperium, and bring some millions or billions to the truth before being driven away, allowing the warriors to return to face Lorgar's judgement with their heads held high. But others never return; only the fearful whispers that trickle back tell their tales. They, among all the Word Bearers, are the true visionaries, fiery-eyed priests of damnation who sacrifice whole sectors as their offerings to the Ruinous Powers. They are the prophets of ruin and apocalypse who haunt the nightmares of the Ecclesiarchy, who lead unholy crusades that light the galaxy with flame and drown the stars themselves in the blood of the Corpse-God's lackeys.

Any Word Bearers unit comprised of 8 models (counting Word Bearers and the Dark Apostle, if any, together) is Favored. Any Favored Word Bearers or Dark Apostles ignore all negative modifiers to Leadership; regardless of Psychic Powers, wargear or special rules, they take any required Leadership tests against a value of 10. Attached Independent Characters do not count for the purposes of determining Favored status, but they will still gain the benefit if attached to a Favored unit; when surrounded by the implacable faith of the Word Bearers, pride demands that the character match their fearlessness.

LoneLictor wrote:
No, those guys ain't movie marines.

They are.

LoneLictor wrote:They don't cost more than 60 points.

They should.

LoneLictor wrote:Maybe you should read the stats he made before getting all uppity.

I did.

It's petulant hero-hammerism.

DarknessEternal wrote:
It's petulant hero-hammerism.

Ah, I see.

For your information, I play Orks, not CSM; I'm not trying to give my own army super-units, I'm designing units because it's fun. I'm not quite sure how this is supposed to be 'petulant', but I will certainly admit to a fondness for having very powerful units on the tabletop. I like an epic feel, and very powerful, expensive units provide that just as well as a massive horde does; better, in some cases. I also enjoy having units around which represent the more well-done elements of the universe's background, and the Traitor Legions are one of my favorite bits of background material.

Now; if you have a constructive suggestion to make (besides "radically change the whole concept and redo everything"; that wouldn't be particularly constructive) then, as I said, I'd be glad to hear it. If you simply don't like the idea, sorry to hear that but, well, you can't please everyone.

The Dark Apostle is damned (heh) expensive, but I can't see anyone leaving it out if they take Word Bearers, Favored Sons is really good, maybe even too good even at its cost, perhaps limit it to once a game like Ghaz' Waagh?

The other issue I see is the Chaos Undivided mark seems like it would be the obvious choice in most circumstances, immune to leadership modifiers and preferred enemy everyone seems too good to pass up.


DarknessEternal: He clearly didn't want to make the Movie Marines, if he did this thread wouldn't exist. I get that you think these are overpowered, but can you give us some thinking behind your opinion? Just saying that they are doesn't really ad much to the discussion and he seems open to criticism, if you suggested stuff that you think is in need of balancing then progress might get made.

Panopticon wrote:The Dark Apostle is damned (heh) expensive, but I can't see anyone leaving it out if they take Word Bearers, Favored Sons is really good, maybe even too good even at its cost, perhaps limit it to once a game like Ghaz' Waagh?

The other issue I see is the Chaos Undivided mark seems like it would be the obvious choice in most circumstances, immune to leadership modifiers and preferred enemy everyone seems too good to pass up.

Yeah, you were right about Chaos Undivided. I've removed the Leadership portion; now it's just Preferred Enemy (Everyone). Much more in line with the scale of the other benefits.

I've also removed the Leadership penalty on Blasphemous Oration, since for a lot of units (IG squads, for instance) that would make it a bit too devastating. Now it should be merely painful.

And finally, I had once again forgotten about transports. D'oh. Standard options have been added.

Still thinking about Favored Sons and the Dark Apostle's points cost; I may end up kicking the cost up to 150 and changing the Favored Sons benefit to ignoring Ld. modifiers; so, effectively, a Favored unit which had chosen Chaos Undivided would get the benefit of the old version. That's just my initial thought, though; if anyone else has suggestions for a better edit, toss 'em out!

A few edits today.

-Plague Swords are now Poisoned [3+] rather than Poisoned [2+], which makes them only half as effective at slaughtering Monstrous Creatures and high-Toughness ICs while barely affecting their deadliness against models with T4 and below. This gives Power Fists a bit more of a place in the unit.

-Slaves to Darkness has been heavily edited; Night-Fighting tests are no longer required, and the rule now simply replaces Relentless with Slow and Purposeful and adds the Rage USR. While it doesn't (quite) fit my view of the fluff, this is certainly a more elegant way to handle it on the tabletop, and it is still a good representation of a loss of control.

-Edited some wording on the Death Guard and Thousand Sons; a little bit of minor fluff tweaking, and a little bit of tightening up rules language. No other actual changes.

-Dark Apostles now cost 150 points, bumped up from 130, and the Word Bearers' Favored Sons rule now makes them immune to Leadership modifiers rather than letting them take two Marks. Unlike the other Favored rules, this one IS conferred on ICs that join the unit.


The Black Legion is in progress; I should have it up tomorrow or Sunday.

DarknessEternal wrote:

LoneLictor wrote:
No, those guys ain't movie marines.

They are.

No, they aren't. The movie marines were intended as a single squad to fight an entire army. These are single squads within a larger force to represent the best of the best that Chaos has to offer. The movie marines have a rerollable 3+ save. These have a 3+ save with an option to upgrade to artificer or terminator armor. The movie marines have multiple shot, S5, rending bolters. These guys have bolters. The movie marines all come with four rending lightning claw attacks. These guys come with chainswords with optional weaponry and a base of three attacks. The movie marines have WS/BS 5, S/T 6, and I 5. These guys have WS/BS 4 (some with a five), S/T 4 (some with a five), and I4 (some with upgrades).

These are nothing like movie marines. Critique them, but don't make up delusional lies.

DarknessEternal wrote:

LoneLictor wrote:They don't cost more than 60 points.

They should.

Why? Most of these are too expensive to make competitive choices. The plague marines are hideously expensive and outperformed point-for-point by their generic brethren. The Thousand Sons are expensive beyond the point of usefullness.

DarknessEternal wrote:

LoneLictor wrote:Maybe you should read the stats he made before getting all uppity.

I did.

It's petulant hero-hammerism.

How is any of this petulant? I don't see how making rules for 10,000 year old chaos veterans is childish or sulky. This could be accused of hero-hammerism, but these are similar to paladins. These don't reduce the game into a contest of individual heros.
---
Daemonic Warhost lets summoned daemons assualt after deepstriking, yet they can already do that. What if Daemonic Warhost made it so that any daemons summoned into play by the squad get the effects of whatever mark the squad is using for the game (give them +1S for undivided?)?

RustyKnight wrote:
Daemonic Warhost lets summoned daemons assualt after deepstriking, yet they can already do that. What if Daemonic Warhost made it so that any daemons summoned into play by the squad get the effects of whatever mark the squad is using for the game (give them +1S for undivided?)?

D'oh, you're right. My original idea was to give an army including Word Bearers a discount on Summoned Daemons, but after consideration I decided that rules retroactively affecting points costs wasn't a good idea, so I ended up replacing it with the current rule without re-checking the codex. That'll teach me.

Fluff-wise, what I want from Daemonic Warhost is a rule that doesn't make Daemons stronger, but rather makes it easier to use them, or perhaps gives more daemon options. Summoned Daemons are never taken, not because they aren't decent in combat but because they're so difficult to use effectively. So there's a few things I can think of off the top of my head;

-Daemonic Warhost could allow Word Bearers to use Troops units from Codex: Chaos Daemons. That's a bit more complicated, but would be satisfyingly fluffy. It could require a points tweak of some kind, however, since some Daemon troops are quite powerful. It might be limited to Daemons aligned with the Word Bearers current Mark.

-It could allow the player to choose what turn to begin rolling for his Summoned Daemons (say, any turn up to turn 3), which would give them more control over when they come in.

-It could allow Summoned Daemons to Deep Strike outside normal Icon range (although they would scatter, if I used this option). That would let a Word Bearers player have the possibility of using Summoned Daemons as effective shock troops, with a little luck, or dropping them in to tie up a scary enemy unit. Alternatively, a weaker option would be to simply extend the range of the Word Bearers Icon, which would still give some of the same effect but limit it to be directly associated with the unit.

Thoughts? Other suggestions?

Letting the CSM take daemons from the daemon's codex would be nice, but rather complex. Giving the daemons the effect of whatever mark the Word Bearer's have (sort of) accomplishes something similar with an easier mechanic. I'm also not sure that letting Blood Letters deepstrike directly into combat is balanced with the way the current rules work.

Letting the Daemon Player choose when to role would be nifty. I hate when my Black Legion gets too excited and summons a pack of daemons in the middle of the board on turn two (or worse summons them while all my icons are in Rhinos).

Giving the Word Bearers an increased summoning range would work, but I doubt it's enough to really make daemons popular (I am aware that some individuals use SLD's to great effect).

You may want to allow any of the Word Bearer's be used as a champion for summoning GSD's.

Just want to throw in that I love the term "dedicant legions."

RustyKnight wrote:Letting the CSM take daemons from the daemon's codex would be nice, but rather complex. Giving the daemons the effect of whatever mark the Word Bearer's have (sort of) accomplishes something similar with an easier mechanic. I'm also not sure that letting Blood Letters deepstrike directly into combat is balanced with the way the current rules work.

Letting the Daemon Player choose when to role would be nifty. I hate when my Black Legion gets too excited and summons a pack of daemons in the middle of the board on turn two (or worse summons them while all my icons are in Rhinos).

Giving the Word Bearers an increased summoning range would work, but I doubt it's enough to really make daemons popular (I am aware that some individuals use SLD's to great effect).

You may want to allow any of the Word Bearer's be used as a champion for summoning GSD's.

What about letting Summoned Daemons DS anywhere on the board? They would scatter if outside Icon range, but it would still magnify their usefulness significantly (SLDs can only be placed within range of an Icon, right? I don't have my codex with me at the moment, as I'm on campus. . .).

RustyKnight wrote:
Just want to throw in that I love the term "dedicant legions."

I do enjoy thinking up evocative names for things. Thanks!

Right, two things.

-First, edited the Word Bearers; Daemonic Warhost now allows Summoned Lesser Daemons to Deep Strike anywhere on the board, though they only avoid scatter if they are placed within range of an Icon. The Word Bearers, of course, count as having an Icon.

And second, the Black Legion!

Black Legion
The Sons of Horus suffered the most cruelly of all the Traitors in the years that followed the Siege of Terra. They had fought at the forefront of every battle, for they were the personal guard of the Warmaster himself, and their performance reflected upon his honor; and so even before the rebels assaulted the Imperial Palace, the Sons of Horus had suffered grievous losses. When Horus died their morale was shattered and the survivors retreated at once, pausing only to recapture the body of their Primarch. Their sudden withdrawal spared them the most fierce rigors of the Scouring, but in the end it nearly sealed the Legion's fate; for almost as soon as the survivors of the other Legions were ensconced in the Eye of Terror they turned, with unheard-of accord, upon the Sons of Horus. The brutal losses that had been suffered by those the Sons of Horus abandoned were repaid a hundredfold in blood.

Ezekyle Abbadon's assumption of the rank of Warmaster and the renaming of his followers proved to be a turning point for the devastated Legion. The few survivors had been broken, their organization sundered and their faith in the Legion destroyed; Abbadon brought them together and gave them a goal, focused their hatred away from themselves and towards the true enemy. They were invigorated, united, filled once again with purpose by their terrible new master; they turned from the past and set themselves towards the future, bloodily welding a thousand warbands together into a weapon with which the Despoiler could tear at the guts of the hated Imperium. Now the Black Legion once again goes in the vanguard of their Warmaster's armies. Too few to make up a viable fighting force alone, the veterans of the Legion instead form a leadership cadre for the bloodthirsty coalitions of daemons, newly-corrupted Chaos Space Marines and insane cultists which follow Abbadon's command. They are the physical manifestation of the Despoiler's wounded pride and thirst for vengeance, dire harbingers of terror and woe. They failed the first Warmaster, long ago, and for that failure have paid in full measure; they will not allow themselves to fail again.

Unit Cost: 40 points

Unit Composition: 1 Black Legionnaire

Unit Type: Infantry

Black Legionnaire: WS4 BS4 S4 T4 W2 I4 A2 Ld10 Sv3+
Black Legion Terminator: WS5 BS5 S4 T4 W2 I4 A3 Ld10 Sv2+

Wargear
Black Legionnaire:
-Power armor
-Bolter
-Bolt pistol
-Close-combat weapon
-Assault grenades
-Krak grenades

Black Legion Terminator:
-Terminator armor
-Twin-linked bolter
-Power weapon
-Assault grenades
-Krak grenades

Special Rules
-Eternal Warrior
-Dark Legends
-Champions of the Long War: Veterans of the Black Legion commonly serve as leaders and taskmasters on the battlefield, dividing themselves among their weaker or less-reliable followers to ensure that they follow the Warmaster's will. As champions-at-arms they provide inspiration to their lesser fellows; as representatives of Abbadon they crush any attempted rebellion against his will, and ruthlessly enforce discipline upon the less-controlled warriors who serve him. Pre-deployment, any number of Black Legionnaires or Black Legion Terminators may be removed from the unit and attached to a different unit in the army. They will count as a member of that unit for the remainder of the game, including for the purposes of Kill Points.
-First Among the Legions: The Sons of Horus were held in great contempt by the other Legions in the immediate aftermath of the Heresy, derided as cowards and weaklings. Since being reborn as the Black Legion, that impression has been almost entirely annihilated; daemon-worlds by the score burned when the former Sons of Horus took their revenge for the humiliation their fellow-Traitors inflicted upon them, and Abbadon's inflexible policy of brutal retaliation for any slight has cemented every Black Legionnaires reputation as a warrior to respected, even by the chosen of the Dark Gods. The Legionnaires take great pride in living up to that reputation, and they will never allow themselves to be shamed by the failures of those they lead. Any unit joined by a Black Legionnaire or Black Legion Terminator immediately gains any USRs that model possesses, except the Eternal Warrior, Relentless and Fearless USRs. This means that, as an example, a unit joined by a Black Legionnaire with the Scout USR may Outflank or make a Scout move.
-A Tyrant Unacquainted With Dissent: When the Black Legion leads lesser creatures to battle, they expect from their minions the same level of obedience they offer to the Despoiler; absolute and unquestioning. When those expectations are not met a thwarted Legionnaire's rage can reach truly terrifying heights, and again and again they have proven that they are far more willing to slaughter their followers themselves than to watch them flee from battle. If a unit including a Black Legionnaire ever fails a Leadership check (except Psychic tests), or makes a Fall Back move, it will immediately suffer a wound with no armor saves allowed (this wound may not be allocated to the Black Legionnaire). The check may then be re-rolled, or the unit may roll to Regroup even if such is normally illegal; if the re-roll or Regroup test is failed, the unit is clearly too panicked to pay any heed even to the most violent attempts to restore discipline.



Options

May add up to 9 Black Legionnaires at +45 points per model

Any Black Legionnaire may replace their power armor with daemon armor at +10 points per model.

Any number of Black Legionnaires may be upgraded to Black Legion Terminators at +25 points per model.

Any Black Legion models which are attached to another unit may not select weapons from the following lists. Instead, they may select weapons exactly as if they were a model of the unit they have joined; for example, a Black Legionnaire attached to a unit of Death Guard may select a Conqueror Worm, just as if he was a Death Guard model. In order to select options available only to models in Terminator armor, the Black Legion model must be a Black Legion Terminator; so, for example, a Black Legion Terminator attached to a unit of Emperor's Children may select a Whispering Blade just as if he was a Phoenix Guard, but a Black Legionnaire attached to the same unit may not.

Black Legion models attached to other units do not replace their basic weapons with the basic weapons of the equivalent model in that unit; a Black Legion Terminator attached to a unit of Death Guard, for example, will still have a power weapon rather than a Plague Sword. Furthermore, a Black Legion model which selects a weapon from another unit's options is then permanently attached to that unit, and may not join any other: A model with a Plague Sword must always be attached to a unit of Death Guard.

For the purposes of those options which reference models "in the unit", any models attached to other units do not count.

Any Black Legionnaire may replace their close-combat weapon and/or bolt pistol with one of the following:
-Power weapon at +10 points
-Plasma pistol at +10 points
-Power fist at +20 points

Any Black Legionnaire may replace their bolter with a combi-weapon or twin-linked bolter at +5 points per model, or their weapons with a pair of lightning claws at +20 points per model.

For every two Black Legionnaires in the unit, one Black Legionnaire may replace their bolter with one of the following;
-Flamer at +5 points
-Plasma gun at +15 points
-Meltagun at +15 points

Up to two Black Legionnaires may replace their bolter with one of the following:
-Heavy bolter at +10 points
-Autocannon or missile launcher at +15 points
-Multi-melta or plasma cannon at +20 points
-Lascannon at +25 points

Any Black Legion Terminator may replace their power weapon with one of the following:
-Lightning claw at +5 points
-Power fist at +10 points
-Chainfist at +15 points

Any Black Legion Terminator may replace their twin-linked bolter with a combi-weapon at +5 points per model, or their weapons with a pair of lightning claws at +10 points per model.

For every two Black Legion Terminators in the unit, one Black Legion Terminator may replace his twin-linked bolter with one of the following:
-Heavy flamer at +5 points
-Reaper autocannon at +20 points

The whole unit may be given one of the following USRs. This cost must be paid for every model purchased with the unit, including those attached to other units, and they will all gain the listed USR.
-Acute Senses or Move Through Cover at no cost
-Furious Charge or Counter-attack at +5 points per model
-Infiltrate or Stealth at +10 points per model
-Preferred Enemy or Scouts at +15 points per model
-Stubborn or Tank Hunters at +20 points per model

If the unit contains no models in Terminator Armor, it may take a Chaos Rhino or Chaos Land Raider as a dedicated transport. If the unit contains models in Terminator armor, it may not take a Chaos Rhino. Models in Terminator armor count as two models, for the purpose of determining how much of the Land Raider's transport capacity they take up.

I love it. Though instead of making the unit they join Fearless, perhaps having them act similarly to a commissar might suit them better. They do execute a lot of followers in the fluff.

Possibly some room for brokenness in an army lead by Abbadon, I could see a unit of World Eaters with an attached Black Legion providing Infiltrate as being fairly traumatizing to the opponent, though the cost might make up for it.

I like them though, very flexible unit. I need to get my chaos playing friends to use them in a game and see how they work on the tabletop.

Panopticon wrote:Possibly some room for brokenness in an army lead by Abbadon, I could see a unit of World Eaters with an attached Black Legion providing Infiltrate as being fairly traumatizing to the opponent, though the cost might make up for it.

I like them though, very flexible unit. I need to get my chaos playing friends to use them in a game and see how they work on the tabletop.

I totally agree. I play chaos and should be able to test them pretty soon.

The goal with the Black Legion was, essentially, to provide two options; either a 'unit' of super-Aspiring Champions that can spread some nasty USRs across your army, or a reasonably-powerful unit of super-Chosen, with an assault focus. The Champion thing I think has been well taken care of; not sure about the Chosen functionality, though.

In any case, I'll continue to think about edits to them while I press on. Next up, my personal favorite; the Alpha Legion! I'll have them done tomorrow or Thursday.

@Durza: Hmm, that's certainly something to consider, and potentially more fluffy than just Fearless. . . however, if I changed the rule that way, I would cut their price by 5 points. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Commissars actually remove models when their rule kicks in rather than just inflicting a wound, right? There aren't any cheap models in Codex: CSM, and losing a 15-point+ model to a failed Morale check is kind of a kick in the groin. Do you think the change and price-cut would fit better?

@TheRobot, Panopticon: Please do! My 40k friends are all somewhat down on the idea of using homebrew units in games, unfortunately; if you do get a chance to play with or against them, by all means tell us how they work on the tabletop!

Hmm... I'd personally go with the unit just taking a wound rather than removal. Getting shot is enough to convince you that the scary man will kill you if you don't start fighting again. I'd say a price cut would certainly be justified, since it's not as good as fearless.

Makes good sense to me!

The Black Legion have been edited heavily. First off, they cost 5 fewer points per model, and have replaced granting Fearless to their unit with the new rule A Tyrant Unacquainted With Dissent, which lets them kill people to re-roll Leadership checks or regroup.

Secondly, their weapon options have been changed; special and heavy weapons have been added to make a squad of Black Legionnaires more flexible, and any Black Legionnaire who joins another unit now selects from the options of the unit he joins, rather than the Black Legion options.

The Alpha Legion is still in progress, and will be posted today or tomorrow.

Excellent, the Alpha Legion! such a legion does not exist!