Back in the day, The tech priest armies (almost) happened!

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**jabbakahut**

I was reading through the Dakka history (interesting read if you don't know the past of Dakka). Then I started going through the old links page on the original Dakka. Then I started going through all the sites from the late 90's (entertaining since I wasn't active in the hobby at the time).

In the end I came upon these rumors from April of 98'.

I just think this is good to keep in perspective when hearing any rumor.

This one came from a very good source who, as usual, I will not be revealing. Sorry Games Workshop!

- The Emperor dies! The last hope for humanity finally gives up and returns to the other dimension of the warp.

- After and due to the death of the Emperor the Imperium is torn into a state of anarchy and massive civil war breaks out between the marines!

- New models are being created for the marines. The new models will represent the now near guerilla style tactics. The marines now carry all of their equipment around with them and have a lot more of a rough and ready look.

- The box set will have five separate leg styles,five different chest pieces, five different heads, and the usual assortment of arms, but with two new style backpacks. Also there is a big accessories sprue that is apparently got loads of stuff on it. Extra ammo clips slung round the shoulders, loads of stuff to be hanging of their belts and backpacks, medi packs and such like, and also big searchlights that'll make em look like they're from aliens!

- The game itself may adopt an almost Necromundic feel, perhaps adopting a similar campaign system. Still in early stages though.

- Box set will include some of the new space marines, a plastic land speeder model and Dark Eldar.

- Info on the Dark Eldar is still pretty scarce although my source claimed he'd heard that they wear skin tight body suits with holes in them (?) and use a new weapon called a splinter gun.

- The feel of the game is going to be very post apocalyptic.

- The tech priest armies are happening, as the Imperium crumbles the tech priest mobilise their own forces to protect the might machine god, and there may even be another race (??????).

- It should be out in November, after games day.

- All the studio armies are being repainted to suit the darker and more sinister atmosphere of the game including some very dark and broody Tyranids that are all blacks, greys and dark oilly blues (ALIENS!!)

You could make a game of digging up old rumors and seeing what did and did not come true.

**Fafnir**

You know... I'm kind of thinking it's a shame that that never happened...

**Sidstyler**

I would love for the Emperor to die. Then again that's because I assume it would mean no more Imperial crap getting released, but if anything it would lead to even more.

Honestly though I'd like to see him ascend to godhood or something and become a Warp entity with his own daemons.

**Agamemnon2**

It's funny how some items are correct, others complete fabrication. The 3rd edition box contents leaked out exactly as they turned out, and they were right about the studio repainting all their armies, but every single backstory-related rumor was completely false.

**His Master's Voice**

I believe Andy chambers had some crazy ideas for 40K and not only for the rules (which you could see in Starship Troopers). The "Endgame" scenarios for 40K keeps on spinning in some heads at GW. Those won't happen of course, but hey, they're cool.

**TBD**

It is all fine, but could this thread not be just a tad misleading

People will think this is about an upcoming tech priest army only to (hopefully) find out it is a rumor from 1998... ?

**Mr. Burning**

TBD wrote:It is all fine, but could this thread not be just a tad misleading

People will think this is about an upcoming tech priest army only to (hopefully) find out it is a rumor from 1998... ?

Even worse, people could actually think its 1998!. Squat players around the world are on IRC channels discussing what goodies they will be getting in the new edition of 40k.

**SagesStone**

Were Necrons out then? The Tech army rumour might have just been a mistake after seeing some of the early stuff for the Necrons.

**H.B.M.C.**

3rd Ed Necrons were a long way off.

**Ketara**

Way to go for a misleading title. *sighs*

**Flashman**

The new race bit was true anyway, Tau came along a year or so after 3rd.

**gorgon**

As the designers said after the fact, they were amused that all the rumors about 3rd focused on new fluff and not a new ruleset.

Which is true. Everyone assumed 3rd would be an evolution from 2nd.

The big one that post left out was that the BA were going to Chaos. That one was "confirmed," LOL.

**Kingsley**

His Master's Voice wrote:I believe Andy chambers had some crazy ideas for 40K and not only for the rules (which you could see in Starship Troopers). The "Endgame" scenarios for 40K keeps on spinning in some heads at GW. Those won't happen of course, but hey, they're cool.

I remember an old (less than a year after the Eye of Terror campaign) interview with Andy where he mentioned all kinds of crazy stuff that he had in the works, including the possibility of Chaos Tau! Fortunately, though, that never came to pass. It's a shame that SST didn't catch on more, as that was a cool system and I thought some of the models were quite impressive as well.

**Alpharius**

Title edited to clear up some stuff.

And really, I do wish the storyline WAS advanced like that.

It would have made for some cool stories, armies, opportunities...

**Reecius**

Yakface had a great idea, for period books in 40K.

Like a period book for the Heresy, which would be good fun. Release some new kits for it, keep the core rules and you have a whole new way to play.

Spinning of that you could have alternate future books where the Emperor dies, or Chaos takes over, etc. to have some neat new ways to play and release some cool kits.

**twistinthunder**

Sidstyler wrote:I would love for the Emperor to die. Then again that's because I assume it would mean no more Imperial crap getting released, but if anything it would lead to even more.

Honestly though I'd like to see him ascend to godhood or something and become a Warp entity with his own daemons.

lol codex:daemons of peace and love and stuff

**gorgon**

Reecius wrote:Yakface had a great idea, for period books in 40K.

Like a period book for the Heresy, which would be good fun. Release some new kits for it, keep the core rules and you have a whole new way to play.

Spinning of that you could have alternate future books where the Emperor dies, or Chaos takes over, etc. to have some neat new ways to play and release some cool kits.

I've ranted 1000 times here about GW missing the boat on a Heresy expansion. It'd be simple, it'd be a gold mine, it'd leverage Black Library better than they ever have, and it'd energize the player base, unlike narrow-focus expansions like Planetstrike.

But they're set against it, no matter how many Mournival boxed sets it'd push, no matter how many Heresy-era SM armies it'd kickstart and no matter how much GW loves to sell us more SM. Based on comments I've read, I think they view it as something that'd complicate and detract from their IP. Yes, even though BL is pumping out Heresy-era books like Tervigons pump out Termagants. They're too close to it and overthinking it, IMO. Mark my words...the BL Heresy books are eventually going to peter out, and when they do GW's going to look back and wonder why they didn't do a game tie-in to create some really good intracompany synergies and sell a lot of stuff.

The nice thing about the Heresy is that you're not *advancing* the timeline, something GW is loathe to do (and actually something I agree with).

**Dal'yth Dude**

Flashman wrote:The new race bit was true anyway, Tau came along a year or so after 3rd.

Untrue.

3rd edition release date: 1998
Codex: Tau release date: October 2001

**Demogerg**

n0t_u wrote:Were Necrons out then? The Tech army rumour might have just been a mistake after seeing some of the early stuff for the Necrons.

Necrons had been out for a while before 3rd edition. They just never had an official 2nd edition codex, and the Codex Imperialis (which was a sampler-type of codex with the starter set) had no mention of them. I believe the rules for them were stuffed in a White Dwarf.

**Lord of battles**

GW would make millions if they did a heresy expansion, they get to unload more Spess Marinez and everybody would enjoy it,
I dont care if its more imperial crap, this the F**king Horus Hersey!!!

**Grot 6**

Have you not seen that FF game?

They are going to make that fortune. It's one sweet game and I have to say it is probibly one of thier best games yet.

As to the Tech army- It already came and went. It was out when people used to have that option of putting together thier own armys without being restrained to unit choices.

I've seen about five of them since those days. Seen some sweet conversions, and some excellent Counts as, too.

The "Emperor died..." thing was in the Inquisitor game. They have taken more liberties with the fluff then they should have for a game like this, and a few of the guys that came and went are some of the originators of those roumers.

Necrons were a small drop in the bucket. They were in the old school Space Crusade game, along with alot of the older scuplts from the MB days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Crusade

They were called the "Chaos robots" at the time If I recall.

**Balance**

twistinthunder wrote:
Sidstyler wrote:I would love for the Emperor to die. Then again that's because I assume it would mean no more Imperial crap getting released, but if anything it would lead to even more.

Honestly though I'd like to see him ascend to godhood or something and become a Warp entity with his own daemons.

lol codex:daemons of peace and love and stuff

More 'Daemons of Law' I'd guess. Imagine harsh-edged alien angels. Very somber and unnerving.

It would be a neat idea, but it's kind of a no-win for GW. A 'static' setting of constant war means they get complaints about not advancing the storyline, but if they do they risk potentially making armies feel less playable to many. (Not a lot of people want to play "That chapter of Space Marines that got wiped out")

**djones520**

n0t_u wrote:Were Necrons out then? The Tech army rumour might have just been a mistake after seeing some of the early stuff for the Necrons.

Necrons had a very limited release in late 2nd edition. There were very few models, and ugly as sin (though most 2nd edition models were ugly as sin). I think they may have come out about a year to 6 months before 3rd edition.

**Grot 6**

Here's your Necron.

**Grot 6**

And I dug this picture of the Space Crusade ones out, as well. These later were brought back as the stale Necron raiders.

They had a lord, a flyer, and the standard two or three pose ones that are being discussed from the second edition and Gorkamorka.

Basicly they showed up and everything died. IIRC, they appeared in the Rogue Trader book back when the game first started out, and the same picture showed up later on in the third edition rulebook. At the time, the Necron looked like the stale pose shown below.

Is it ok to dig that old picture out of the Rogue trader book, or will GW send me a C and D letter with a happy face on it?

**jabbakahut**

Wow, I've never seen those before, good find.

**Quintinus**

Yep, definitely Necrons in the making.

**aka_mythos**

Well back in '98 GW had been working on Adeptus Mechanicus as an army. They did a number of figures but abandoned further developement. I believe it was in favor of pursuing Necrons. The result of GW's Adeptus Mechanicus effort was the limited edition set that was released as a Skullz promotional and two unreleased gun platforms. The gun platforms were like the Rapier and Thunderfire, but used the IG wheel and track sprues from the IG tanks.

**Alpharius**

Grot 6 wrote:And I dug this picture of the Space Crusade ones out, as well. These later were brought back as the stale Necron raiders.

They had a lord, a flyer, and the standard two or three pose ones that are being discussed from the second edition and Gorkamorka.

Basicly they showed up and everything died. IIRC, they appeared in the Rogue Trader book back when the game first started out, and the same picture showed up later on in the third edition rulebook. At the time, the Necron looked like the stale pose shown below.

Is it ok to dig that old picture out of the Rogue trader book, or will GW send me a C and D letter with a happy face on it?

These were the "Chaos Android", right?

I think they also made it into the first few editions of SPACE MARINE/TITAN LEGIONS too...

**Balance**

djones520 wrote:
n0t_u wrote:Were Necrons out then? The Tech army rumour might have just been a mistake after seeing some of the early stuff for the Necrons.

Necrons had a very limited release in late 2nd edition. There were very few models, and ugly as sin (though most 2nd edition models were ugly as sin). I think they may have come out about a year to 6 months before 3rd edition.

They also had an article in Chapter Approved that gave them a rudimentary, but playable, army list. As I remember Scarabs were individual models that could run up to tanks, bite on, and explode.