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Inspired by Blackhoof's fantastic Covenant Codex (found here), I've decided to start brainstorming a UNSC Codex.

I really want to hear your ideas though!






What I've done so far:

Several key points I've noticed

-ODSTs are considered to be the "SAS" to the Marines, in the same way that you have Veterans and Guardsmen, so why are they outmatched by regular Guardsmen by having WS2 and BS3. So you're saying that the garden-variety Guardsman is better in H2H than an ODST.

- Marine armour save should be 5+

- LAAG should be S5 Ap5, with the "ignoring cover saves to Turbo Boosters" rule similar to the Hydra.

- Your weapons in general are a tad underpowered. The Rocket Launcher, one of the most powerful weapons in the game, is only S7 Ap4? Really? You should redo all the weapons to balance them between higher and lower stats.

- SMG should be Rapid Fire, and weapons such as SMG and Magnum should be Dual-Wieldable, allowing a model with two of these weapons to fire both together, as either two weapons or one TL one.

most units are far too under powerd. WS2 ?? ld 6 for a marine i think not, a unsc marine is equal if not superior to a guardsman.

a spartan should bt at least
ws 4 bc 4/5 str 4 t 4 w 1/2 i 5 (they have reflexes i think 21x the normal man) A 2 ld 10 (with combat tactics and ATSKNF sv 3/4+ 4++

guass str 10 ap 1 it is effectavly a rail gun

all armour saves are lower than should be.

a massive genral underpowerness

scorpion 14 13 11

Spartans, IMHO, should be superior to Marines.

WS/BS 5, ST/T 4, I 5 (6 with AI), W 1 or 2, A 2, LD 10 - Fearless

2+/4++ save

Also, ODSTs should be at least equal to vets/storm troopers. They're the Navy Seals meet SAS of the UNSC

Something like

WS/BS 4 S 3 T 3 I 3/4 W 1 LD 8 4+sv - ATSKNF or something, they're used to always being out manned, outgunned, out of ammo, and scattered all over

I should point out that Halo Wars IS canon. And unless you are setting this in the Halo trilogy time frame (in which Spartans would be better suited as HQs), that gives you access to:

Troops: Cyclops'
Fast Attack: Gremlins, Hawks
Heavy Support: Wolverines, Cobras, Grizzlys
Apoc/or Heavy Support: Vultures

Named-HQs: Master Chief, Sgt. Johnston, Captain Cutter (infantry specialist), Sergeant Forge (tank specialist), Professor Anders (air specialist).

samrtk wrote:I should point out that Halo Wars IS canon. And unless you are setting this in the Halo trilogy time frame (in which Spartans would be better suited as HQs), that gives you access to:

Troops: Cyclops'
Fast Attack: Gremlins, Hawks
Heavy Support: Wolverines, Cobras, Grizzlys
Apoc/or Heavy Support: Vultures

Named-HQs: Master Chief, Sgt. Johnston, Captain Cutter (infantry specialist), Sergeant Forge (tank specialist), Professor Anders (air specialist).

I'd like to point out the "Halo Wars is NOT cannon" they meet the flood before the Events of Halo: Combat evolved.
however i take you point that the units and stuff are good to add in.

JamesMclaren123 wrote:

samrtk wrote:I should point out that Halo Wars IS canon. And unless you are setting this in the Halo trilogy time frame (in which Spartans would be better suited as HQs), that gives you access to:

Troops: Cyclops'
Fast Attack: Gremlins, Hawks
Heavy Support: Wolverines, Cobras, Grizzlys
Apoc/or Heavy Support: Vultures

Named-HQs: Master Chief, Sgt. Johnston, Captain Cutter (infantry specialist), Sergeant Forge (tank specialist), Professor Anders (air specialist).

I'd like to point out the "Halo Wars is NOT cannon" they meet the flood before the Events of Halo: Combat evolved.
however i take you point that the units and stuff are good to add in.

Actually, it is canon, as by the end they have no means of communicating with any other human forces, meaning that any warnings about the Flood will go unheard of.

It is canon. The contact with the Flood in Wars was never reported to UNSC intelligence because the Spirit of Fire was lost in space at the end of game, never to be found. The Flood was still a surprise to other UNSC forces in the main trilogy because of that fact. It is canon, the Flood reason is invalid because the story explains it.

Just my two cents, as a very frequent Halo Wars player.

EDIT: Got Ninja'd

samrtk wrote:It is canon. The contact with the Flood in Wars was never reported to UNSC intelligence because the Spirit of Fire was lost in space at the end of game, never to be found. The Flood was still a surprise to other UNSC forces in the main trilogy because of that fact. It is canon, the Flood reason is invalid because the story explains it.

Just my two cents, as a very frequent Halo Wars player.

EDIT: Got Ninja'd

Ok then the "Spartans" used were explaind to be progect "Orion" (i think thats its name) which was a complete failure and all the test subjects died. (this comes from the Halo timeling bit in the game)

JamesMclaren123 wrote:

samrtk wrote:It is canon. The contact with the Flood in Wars was never reported to UNSC intelligence because the Spirit of Fire was lost in space at the end of game, never to be found. The Flood was still a surprise to other UNSC forces in the main trilogy because of that fact. It is canon, the Flood reason is invalid because the story explains it.

Just my two cents, as a very frequent Halo Wars player.

EDIT: Got Ninja'd

Ok then the "Spartans" used were explaind to be progect "Orion" (i think thats its name) which was a complete failure and all the test subjects died. (this comes from the Halo timeling bit in the game)

Not all "Orion" subjects died, Johnson and about five to ten others survived until the covenant invaded earth (Johnson is mentioned to be a Spartan I in Halo: Contact Harvest, the rest comes from a Halo: 3 promotional thing, check halopedia). The Spartan IIs where around at the time Halo Wars took place, the armor and shields might be a bit off but they were around. As for the OP, every thing seemed a tad bit under powered for what it's supposed to do.

VI th legion wrote:

JamesMclaren123 wrote:

samrtk wrote:It is canon. The contact with the Flood in Wars was never reported to UNSC intelligence because the Spirit of Fire was lost in space at the end of game, never to be found. The Flood was still a surprise to other UNSC forces in the main trilogy because of that fact. It is canon, the Flood reason is invalid because the story explains it.

Just my two cents, as a very frequent Halo Wars player.

EDIT: Got Ninja'd

Ok then the "Spartans" used were explaind to be progect "Orion" (i think thats its name) which was a complete failure and all the test subjects died. (this comes from the Halo timeling bit in the game)

Not all "Orion" subjects died, Johnson and about five to ten others survived until the covenant invaded earth (Johnson is mentioned to be a Spartan I in Halo: Contact Harvest, the rest comes from a Halo: 3 promotional thing, check halopedia). The Spartan IIs where around at the time Halo Wars took place, the armor and shields might be a bit off but they were around. As for the OP, every thing seemed a tad bit under powered for what it's supposed to do.

Ahh good point, i havn't read contact havest yet

Assault Rifle and Battle Rifle/DMR should both have AP 6. Also consider making Battle Rifle and DMR two separate weapons. DMR having 30" range S 3 and perhaps AP 5?

Updated OP with some new stuff. I have answers to all your comments and have taken quite a few into consideration, but don't have time to go into details at the moment.

oooh, i inspired something!

some points:
-i love the ODST preliminary assault rule
-i think that medkit should simply grant Feel No Pain as per Imp Guard medkit rules. try to keep things as streamlined as possible, so unless there is a good reason, use existing rules whenever possible to keep confusion to a minimum.
-i dont think a Longsword is appropriate for 40k (Apoc certainly though.) my borhter has a lego one that is only slightly bigger than 40k scale and it is 16" long by 12" wide, definitely too big. move it to Apoc, i think.
-your Elites section is a bit barren. Move in either some Halo Wars stuff or use an idea i had- a Counter Strike Team. They are basically Guard Veterans, or ODST's without Deep Strike. Not EVERY grizzled veteran becomes an ODST, after all.
-I recommend having a Spartan-2 (or a small squad of them) as a HQ choice, and a squad of Spartan-3's as an Elites choice. (read Ghosts of Onyx or simply google them if you dont know the details about them. Halo Reach isnt terribly accurate in that regard....)
-Gauss Cannon definitely must be S10 AP1, on par with a Tau Rail Gun (which is essentially the same thing) and a Spartan Laser should be a Lascannon.
-For other HQ choices- look to the Imperial Guard command squads for inspiration, perhaps organise your Troops choices into Platoons like they do. UNSC commanders would be more army-wide buff generators or weak guys with cool special rules, since the high-ranking guys are not fighters, they are leaders. sure Miranda was a badass but she was a bit of an exception lol.... and she had surprise and a shotgun on her side.

Spartan-IIs(My take)

Elites

25 Points per model

Unit Composition: 1-3 Models

WS: 4 BS: 4 S: 4 T: 4 W: 2 I: 4 A: 2 Ld: 9 Sv: 4+/5++

Wargear: Mjoulnir V, Assault Rifle, Frag Grenades, Magnum, Motion Tracker

Mjoulnir V: Grants a 4+ Armor save and 5+ Invul Save

Motion Tracker: Units with this piece of wargear ignore the Stealth rule. In addition, units with this rule have Acute Senses.

Options: Each Spartan may swap the Assault Rifle for a Battle Rifle, DMR, SMG, Shotgun, or Magnum: Free

A Flamethrower or Sniper Rifle: +5 Points
A Grenade Launcher: +10 Points
A Rocket Launcher or Spartan Laser: +20 Points

Each model may have one of the following

Fleet: Free
Jet Packs: Free
A Holo Field(See Codex: Dark Eldar): +15 Points
Infiltrate: +15 Points
An Armor Lock*: +20 Points

*Armor Lock: Models with an Armor Lock may choose to Go To Ground at any time. When they do so, they gain a 2+ Invulnerable save until the end of the next player turn. In addition, any Vehicle which Tank Shocks a model with an Armor Lock immediately stops, and it takes a Strength 9 hit on Front Armor.

Special Rules: The Augmentation Mission, Independent Character*

The Augmentation Mission: The most grueling and deadly of all their preparations, Spartan-IIs underwent significant alterations to their body almost on the scale of a Space Marine. Spartans may move and then fire any weapon; they may charge afterwards if they fired an Assault or Rapid Fire weapon, but not Heavy.

Independent Character: You may deploy a squad of Spartans as one unit, or on their own, or they may attach to any USMC squad.

Spartan-IIIs:

18 Points Per Model

5-10 Models Per Unit

WS: 3 BS: 4 S: 4 T: 4 A: 1 I: 3 W: 1 Ld: 8 Sv: 4+

Wargear: Assault Rifle, SPI Armor, Frag Grenades, Magnum, Motion Tracker

SPI Armor: Grants a 4+ Armor Save, as well as the Stealth and Infiltrate USRs.

Options: Each Spartan may swap the Assault Rifle for a Battle Rifle, DMR, SMG, Shotgun, or Magnum: Free

A Flamethrower or Sniper Rifle: +5 Points
A Grenade Launcher: +10 Points
A Rocket Launcher or Spartan Laser: +20 Points

Special Rules: The Augmentation Mission

I think the improvements you've made are very good, and you're well on your way to creating a good UNSC Codex. However, some minor changes I would make are.

- Bubble Shield creates a 4+ Invulnerable save from ranged attacks: That better represents the BS in game.

- Target Locator: I think it would be neat if you could either fire an Artillery Strike, or allowed a friendly unit to fire with an increased BS value, similar to a Markerlight.

Really, the Bubble Shield should provide an outright immunity to ranged attacks, like it does in the game.

Your Friend Doctor Robert wrote:Really, the Bubble Shield should provide an outright immunity to ranged attacks, like it does in the game.

Would be over powered for the table though; so would following fluff for how powerful Space Marines and Necrons would be on the table.

Dracheous wrote:

Your Friend Doctor Robert wrote:Really, the Bubble Shield should provide an outright immunity to ranged attacks, like it does in the game.

Would be over powered for the table though; so would following fluff for how powerful Space Marines and Necrons would be on the table.

not necessarily, it could for instantace provide invulnerability as long as the enemy doesn't roll a 6. if the enemy does roll a six count the bubble shield as destroyed

If Spartans are going to be elites then you should create rules using Master Chief to make them troops.

Blood Angel 17 wrote:If Spartans are going to be elites then you should create rules using Master Chief to make them troops.

No. Definitely not. The Spartan-IIs were the absolute best of the UNSC Navy. They will never be troops, ever. Spartan-IIIs, on the other hand...

Anyway, speaking of the Master Chief;

John-117, Master Chief Petty Officer

WS: 5 BS: 5 S: 4 T: 4 W: 2 I: 5 A: 3 Ld: 10 Sv: 3+/4++

Wargear: Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Battle Rifle, DMR, or Sniper Rifle; Magnum, Frag Grenades, Mjoulnir VI, Motion Tracker

Special Rules: Independent Character, Spoils Of War, The Augmentation Mission, Lucky, The Cavalry Has Arrived

Spoils Of War: John begins the game with the wargear listed in his profile. However, whenever a Model(not vehicles) with another piece of Wargear dies within 12", roll a d6: On a 5+, the weapon survives whatever destroyed it, and John may exchange either his primary weapon or his Magnum for it.

Lucky: Dr. Halsey, the originator of the Spartan Program, noted that John seemed to be especially lucky, along with many other members of the UNSC. And, truth be told, he could certainly survive many situations that would leave other Spartans "MIA". John may, once per game, change a failed dice roll to a success, or a successful dice roll to a failure. This can only be dice John specifically was involved in, wounds he took or caused. Always roll John's hits and wounds separately.

The Cavalry Has Arrived: John's presence has a profound effect on the morale of nearby forces; John, and any UNSC Squad that he joins, counts as having the "And They Shall Know No Fear" rule(See Codex: Space Marines)

Options: John may take one of the following: Fleet, Jet Pack, Holo Field, Infiltrate, or an Armor Lock(see the Spartan-II entry for details and Points Costs)

The magnum's range seems off, all it is is a single shot assualt rifle at the moment.

thats what laspistols are- single-shot lasguns.

same with autopistols.

No, they aren't. Laspistols and autoguns are shorter ranged weapons, and in tabletop add an extra attack in close combat.

Single-shot lasguns would be something like... a laslock, or a long las, or a really old design.

oh yeah

For the missile launcher, I like the s7 ap4 2 shot blast idea. Instead of twin linked versus vehicles, how about this:
Vehicle targeting--when shooting at infantry, do not reduce the scatter by the firer's balistic skill.

After all, its not like missile launchers in 40k dont home in already, but the UNSC missile launcher only homes in on vehicles.

For energy shields, I like FnP, but I prefer simply a boosted armor save to the unit using it. I dont think an invuln really makes sense, as the energy shields dont really have a chance to stop a s10 ap1 shot, but an invuln does.

In terms of leadership, I think 7 for UNSC troopers and 8 for sarges. 6 is really low as it stands... they didnt seem that skittish. Spartans should probably have ATSKNF.

As an aside, the UNSC can be done pretty well with the current IG book. Straken makes a near perfect Master Chief, leman russ tanks for scorpions, multilaser scout sentinals for warhogs, platoons for the marines, conscripts for the citizens, stormtroopers for ODST, valkyries for pelicans. Autocannons are fine stand ins for the suggested s7ap4 2 shot missile launchers.

I imagine that a proper UNSC fandex should be over 75% regular guard units.

A while back i started a UNSC codex to use against my friend, but never quite got round to finnishing it but i have done so now check it out here http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/391811.page / Here

I hope ive doe that right :\

I was referring to the range, the pistol rule and number of shots are the only differences really.

Massive update to the OP.

Sorry it isn't more polished, but I wanted to upload whatever I'd done before I left for the weekend. Lots of missing points values, characters, etc.

Once again, I don't have time to reply to the comments above, but I've taken plenty of your suggestions and implemented them. Thanks for all the advice, it's really helpful.

It's also worth noting that it's definitely not finished. Lots of stuff to add, plenty of possible special rules to consider, blah blah blah.

John 117 should be
WS7 BS8 S5 T5 W4 I5 A4 LD10

Kelly
WS7 BS8 S5 T5 W3 I6 A3 LD10 fleet

Linda
WS6 BS10 S5 T5 W3 I5 A3 LD10 and carry a sniple Rifle(as they call em at my local GW)

other spartan 2s
WS6 BS6 S5 T5 W2 I5 A3 LD10