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Now we just need the models. This is amazing.

Elites must be weapon skill 4 , they are trained from birth and would be able to battle Brutes. Phantoms should be able to carry 24 troops depending on size and light vehicles . A single Wrath can be carried by Phantoms. The Covenant Unggoy and Kig-Yar units should be renamed Lances.

Everyone else has given pretty good criticism so far. Brute Chieftain needs a S5 or 6 though.
Hunters should get counter-attack. Not that they are particularly spry, but this would help an adversary treat them on the table top the same way you would treat them in game (get close and it will smasha-you-face).
Cool stuff tho, bro.

gardeth wrote:interesting read, I would recommend dropping the # of special rules by 1/3 to 1/2. Just to many to keep up with. Also, alot of squads just have to many options. Brutes are also underpriced (I can't think of any unit with T5 thats under 23 points.)

i like the special rules, they give character and uniqueness to the army. i also like the amount of options. the only unit that has excessive options is the Infantry Squad, but that is 4 unit types in one, so it is understandable. you have a point about the brutes though, will amend.

Your Friend Doctor Robert wrote:Hunters should have a 3+ Armor save, Turtle granting 4+ cover save, Vulnerable To Blast/Templates, and Relentless, agreed.

hmmm... what if i make the invulnerable save unalterable (so GK would not slaughter it) and i like the vulnerable to blasts and double-damamge by flamers idea, but they already have relentless snce they are monstrous creatures.

tantan628 wrote:Now we just need the models. This is amazing.

well, i figured out some conversion/proxy possibilities
elites=lizardman saurus
brutes=lizardman saurus
jackals=lizardman skinks
grunts= goblins
hunters=carnifexes
drones=dont know

blood reaper wrote:Elites must be weapon skill 4 , they are trained from birth and would be able to battle Brutes. Phantoms should be able to carry 24 troops depending on size and light vehicles . A single Wrath can be carried by Phantoms. The Covenant Unggoy and Kig-Yar units should be renamed Lances.

few elites get to wield close combat weapons- those are reserved for the nobility. and they cannot really beat a brute in cc- but they are smarter and better shots. i already explained the phantom thing, and i dont know what you mean about the last line.

Sharkvictim wrote:Everyone else has given pretty good criticism so far. Brute Chieftain needs a S5 or 6 though.
Hunters should get counter-attack. Not that they are particularly spry, but this would help an adversary treat them on the table top the same way you would treat them in game (get close and it will smasha-you-face).
Cool stuff tho, bro.

i think they have enough strength and attacks to warrant their use in close combat, especially if one dies and the other HAS to charge his killers in a rage.

Grunts are too expensive. I wouldn't charge more than 2 pts for them. They're strictly worse than guardsmen in almost every respect and cost just about as much.

Blackhoof wrote:

tantan628 wrote:Now we just need the models. This is amazing.

well, i figured out some conversion/proxy possibilities
elites=lizardman saurus
brutes=lizardman saurus
jackals=lizardman skinks
grunts= goblins
hunters=carnifexes
drones=dont know

elites=saurus+tau
brutes=saurus+40k orks
jackals=kroot+skinks?
grunts=GOBLINS
hunters=tyrant guard?+carnifex??
drones=vespid

veihcles
wraiths=tau hammerhead
phantoms=tau orcas
other=tau based conversions.

also i notice you havnt got any rules for that heavy jet bike with a light plasma mortar or that weird wheel bike used by brutes.

heavy ghost
BS F S R LD
4 10 10 10 8

fast skimmer
open topped

light plasma mortar
plasma rifle

options
upgrade plasma rifle to carbine

not sure on points cost.
will think up rules for brutes bike.

Covenant Squads are called Lances.

could you not just use the Halo clix minatures they are the same size as 40k minatures.

necrotes wrote:could you not just use the Halo clix minatures they are the same size as 40k minatures.

Their quite difficult to find now as singles , you can get boasters but you'd have to get allot to make up squads.

blood reaper wrote:Covenant Squads are called Lances.

oh, i didnt know that. i shall add that terminology into the next update.

master of ordinance wrote:

Blackhoof wrote:

tantan628 wrote:Now we just need the models. This is amazing.

well, i figured out some conversion/proxy possibilities
elites=lizardman saurus
brutes=lizardman saurus
jackals=lizardman skinks
grunts= goblins
hunters=carnifexes
drones=dont know

elites=saurus+tau
brutes=saurus+40k orks
jackals=kroot+skinks?
grunts=GOBLINS
hunters=tyrant guard?+carnifex??
drones=vespid

veihcles
wraiths=tau hammerhead
phantoms=tau orcas
other=tau based conversions.

also i notice you havnt got any rules for that heavy jet bike with a light plasma mortar or that weird wheel bike used by brutes.

heavy ghost
BS F S R LD
4 10 10 10 8

fast skimmer
open topped

light plasma mortar
plasma rifle

options
upgrade plasma rifle to carbine

not sure on points cost.
will think up rules for brutes bike.

those models work, i suppose. perhaps conversions for the infantry and Haloclix for the vehicles? as for the Revenant and Prowler rules, i plan to have Revenants in, but Prowlersare the exact same thing, so you could have a Prowler model and count it as a Revenant or even a Chopper model and count it as a Ghost.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
UPDATED

-added Reveant/Prowler
-Added Choppers
-Changed some unit names
-Adjusted a few points costs
-Upped the BFG fleet's points costs
-Adjusted Hunter statline and special rules
-Changed how Brute Battle Rage works

I agree with a lot of the others about reducing special rules. Also, while I understand that the weapons all have in-game names, the names for a 40k version need to be changed so as to not interfere with existing weapons.

For example, dont call the Halo Plasma Pistol a plasma pistol, as those have a 40k analog. Call them Energy Pistols if you like, or covenant pistol or something.

For profiles, maybe try and tighten them up a bit? Currently your units are all spread out, and IMHO hard to follow. Take a cue from GW and have each Race have a fluff page, with the profile for every rank of that race on it. Use page breaks.

For regular elites, I would go with MEQ, as it fits so well despite my feelings on MEQ saturation.
WS4 BS4 S4 T4 W1 I4 A1 Save 3+
Reason is because they are similar to spartans, who are similar to a Space Marine. Where a space marine has more biological improvements over both elites and spartans, elites and spartans are still both an order of magnitude over the fairly elite human soldiers, which act as IG stat wise.

As for the Elites save, which I rate as 3+, it seems that their armor, while not fully enclosed like a space marine for the most part, has a very advanced shield system that greatly improves the armor capabilities. So since in 40k you dont get both armor and invuln saves, the shield needs to improve the armor stat as well. In Halo, its not like an elite would ever survive a missile to the face, so a 40K style invuln save that DOES stop a missile to the face wont work. For the elites with cloak fields instead of energy shields, I would downgrade the armor to 5+ to give infiltrate and a 5+ cover save, or +1 to their existing cover save if that would be better than 5+.

For weapons, I suggest borrowing the profile from tau and eldar weapons for the most part, as 40k xenos do a really close job of mimicing the Halo army anyway. Using the Tau/eldar as a template also will serve as a points comparison as well, so points dont go out of control.

For some examples. Current Plasma Pistol can be well represented by a shurikan Pistol. The range doesnt make sense at 18 inches. Plasma Rifle also works well as a shurikan catapult. Your AP is too low, as I feel the energy weapons in Halo dont really seem to penetrate, more like they do more damage then the human bullet based counterparts. I would treat your plasma cannon instead as a burst cannon analog. After all, the spread on the plasma cannon is quite large, making long range shots more about volume than accuracy, which is what the burst cannon is all about.

The carbine can be an Avenger shurikan catapult, but make it two handed so you cant dual wield like you can the halo plasma pistol and rifle.

Thats about all for now, let me know what you think and if you would be interested in more ideas from me. I have a human Halo imperial guard army conversion about half done, so I have a stake in the covenant army list you are putting together as an opponent to fight my Halo Guard with.

I'd actually have to say that the Covenant Plasma weaponry would have lower AP, lower Strength. If you remember Halo before the shield was your health, (and in fluff, too), the Plasma just eats through armour but is slightly less effective against the flesh and blood than the solid-slug rounds.

I'd also actually treat the energy shields as a sort of, what's the DE wargear, flickerfields? The ones that give an invlun save until you fail one? That'd represent the energy shields pretty well, I think- just have it be a 5++ or even 6++, but if you fail it, it's gone. And regarding that, I'd say worse armour (4+, 5+?) but 2 wounds on all Elites. They can definitely take more punishment than Grunts and Jackals, though less than Brutes.

I dont know, plasma doesnt seem to penetrate anything in halo.

After all, if plasma penetrated the armor of the troopers easily then the troopers would either wear heavier armor or less armor. Seeing that the marines could take a few plasma burns, I really think the alien plasma is not that amazing--lots of surface heat damage before cooling off real quick, leaving wicked burns on flesh but not doing much to the advanced ceramics and alloys around.

I think AP5 is pretty generous for halo in fact, but AP5 can also represent that bit of splash/spread the plasma hits have, as unless your fully enclosed in protective armor like carapace a hit on your armor is also gonna get flesh splash contact.

As for strength, I say 4 because in the same time a marine can empty a clip into the enemy compared to plasma shooting until overheat, the plasma seems to have more total damage. We know autoguns are s3, so humie weapons would be s3 for the most part but with better range bands thanks to less spread, as the plasma bolts are a bit wild.

For halo shields, while your idea for them to be like shadow fields is interesting, keep in mind the halo shields would never save you from a direct missile hit. 40K invuln saves DO save you from that. In fact, a 40K invuln save is so amazing that it can stop an orbital lance strike. Also note that you dont get both armor and invuln in 40k, so if elites had armor and your shadowfields, really they only would have armor and the shield would be of no benefit.

Thus I arrived at halo energy shields give +1 to your armor save, while halo cloaks instead give 5+ cover OR +1 to existing cover.

As for 2 wounds on elites, again I disagree. They are tougher than grunts and jackals, which is why they are toughness 4. That is a very sizable difference--the same difference as IG to superhuman space marines. The upgraded veteran eiltes may have multiple wounds, but regular elites are ok at t4 w1.

Brutes I would give t4 and 2 wounds instead of t5 w1. Both are valid but Brutes versus elites seem more like nobs compared to orks in the toughness department. After all they take more damage than elites, but the same weapons hurt brutes and elites--its just the elites have shields (40k armor) you have to get through while the brutes need more damage in general. And a missile to the face of a brute still kills them, so instant death still applies.

That's the thing, I guess. I'm roughly equating the Jackhammer to the Marine Missile Launcher (just with a single type of round that combines both Frag and Krak), and having an Energy Shield can, indeed, save you from a rokket round, as can be seen in multiplayer of Halo:CE, where the shield would take the damage, leaving the Health intact.

Though that brings up a new idea: Overshields. Make it a 5 or 10 point piece of wargear that allows the owner to ignore one instant-death wound (that is, instead of IDing the target, the wound would only deal, well, one wound). That'd be an interesting piece of wargear for multi-wound models, wouldn't it?

Its a great piece of wargear I think. The sisters have the exact same thing for 15 points, so I would use their cost.

And when does a spartan survive a direct missile hit in halo? Perhaps only with overshields?

DevianID wrote:
For example, dont call the Halo Plasma Pistol a plasma pistol, as those have a 40k analog. Call them Energy Pistols if you like, or covenant pistol or something.
sorry, but i am making a covenant army list, not an adapted fusion of eldar and tau that seem similar but are different than the covenant.
For profiles, maybe try and tighten them up a bit? Currently your units are all spread out, and IMHO hard to follow. Take a cue from GW and have each Race have a fluff page, with the profile for every rank of that race on it. Use page breaks.
hmmm... this is a good idea. does anyone else think that the reference page isnt good enough for sorting confusion?
For regular elites, I would go with MEQ, as it fits so well despite my feelings on MEQ saturation.
WS4 BS4 S4 T4 W1 I4 A1 Save 3+
Reason is because they are similar to spartans, who are similar to a Space Marine. Where a space marine has more biological improvements over both elites and spartans, elites and spartans are still both an order of magnitude over the fairly elite human soldiers, which act as IG stat wise.
i am trying to make the army as unique as possible, so while i used the space marine stats as a base for the Elites, i changed some things i thought didnt reflect the ELites well

As for the Elites save, which I rate as 3+, it seems that their armor, while not fully enclosed like a space marine for the most part, has a very advanced shield system that greatly improves the armor capabilities. So since in 40k you dont get both armor and invuln saves, the shield needs to improve the armor stat as well. In Halo, its not like an elite would ever survive a missile to the face, so a 40K style invuln save that DOES stop a missile to the face wont work. For the elites with cloak fields instead of energy shields, I would downgrade the armor to 5+ to give infiltrate and a 5+ cover save, or +1 to their existing cover save if that would be better than 5+.

actually, you do have a really good point about this. this would also be a good way to distinguish between Jackal Defence Gauntlets and Elite Personal Energy Shields.

For some examples. Current Plasma Pistol can be well represented by a shurikan Pistol. The range doesnt make sense at 18 inches. Plasma Rifle also works well as a shurikan catapult. Your AP is too low, as I feel the energy weapons in Halo dont really seem to penetrate, more like they do more damage then the human bullet based counterparts. I would treat your plasma cannon instead as a burst cannon analog. After all, the spread on the plasma cannon is quite large, making long range shots more about volume than accuracy, which is what the burst cannon is all about.
from what i understand, plasma weapons melt through steel and armour like butter, but only burn flesh. the burning is bad, of course, but it does not go into you and explode like a bolt round does at S4. You have a point about the Plasma Cannon though, i will look into it.

Thats about all for now, let me know what you think and if you would be interested in more ideas from me. I have a human Halo imperial guard army conversion about half done, so I have a stake in the covenant army list you are putting together as an opponent to fight my Halo Guard with.

cool, can you please post pictures? i would love to see it. maybe afterwards i can make a UNSC codex, if i can make up enough unit types, that is....

Anvildude wrote:
Though that brings up a new idea: Overshields. Make it a 5 or 10 point piece of wargear that allows the owner to ignore one instant-death wound (that is, instead of IDing the target, the wound would only deal, well, one wound). That'd be an interesting piece of wargear for multi-wound models, wouldn't it?

thats a cool idea. i shall allow higher-ranked Elites to buy them.


i dropped some of the less necessary rules in the last update, but if you want me to continue dropping rules, can i please have some suggestions?

so.....

anyone gonna download the latest update?

I thought the upgrade for Packleaders/Majors was a bit expensive for 1 extra attack. I would suggest either adding options only the Packleader/Major can take, giving the Major/Packleader an extra wound or just reducing the point cost to 5 and giving them an additional 1 point leadership bump would be good.

but arent all squad leader upgrades 10 points?

Space Marine squad leaders are 10 points i believe. I also think they get some unique items or abilities to make them worth their points. I'm no Space Marine player though so i dont know for sure without double-checking with some of my SM friends. Tau, I know for sure get a Squad Leader for their Fire Warrior squads for five points. The squad leader gets a leadership bump and access to wargear that the rest of the squad doesn't.

oh, ok. i assumed that they were, by default, 10 points. i will take them down to 5 points.

Neat idea. There's a bit that I would have done differently, but this isn't my Codex, so I'll keep that bit to myself.

There are a couple of things that caught my eye, though. The Hunter's Turtle ability seems a bit messed up. Currently it says that, if they Go to Ground, they get a 4+ Cover Save instead of a Cover Save. Did you mean to say that they get a 4+ Invulnerable Save? Honestly, when going to ground, I might go so far as to give them a 3+ Invulnerable Save, especially with them being Vulnerable to Blasts (which doesn't fit them, honestly. In Halo, Hunters aren't particularly vulnerable to grenades or explosive weapons). Elites should definitely be Weapon Skill 4. If you want to make them different from Brutes, give Elites WS 4, BS 4, S 4 and T 4, and give Brutes WS 3, BS 3, S 5 and T 5. Beyond that, I would give the Mauler Rending just to reflect how nasty that it can be with a well placed shot, and Suicide Grunts should be Strength 4 when they detonate (because they do considerable damage in the game).

Oh, and if memory serves, Super Elite...er...Elites are called Zealots (per Halo: Reach), not SpecOps. SpecOps sound very inappropriate for a Covenant unit.

nope, Zealot is a catch-all term for high-ranking Elites. shipmasters, fleetmaster, etc, are all called Zealots. Special Operations elites exist according to Halo Nation.

ok, i suppose you are right that elites should have WS4, i will amend that. Brutes i think are different enough with boosted S and W, so i will leave it at that. Hunters are actually really vulnerable to grenades, as they are simply a mass of worms. i will make also make thwe Mauler rending, because that does make it more distinct from the other weapons.

posting an update soon.

Are there any 25mm Halo minis out there? This has been an themed army I have been thinking about for a while and would love to not have to convert models for it. Great work on the codex so far, I'm glad someones taking this up. Would love to see a UNSC one in the future and perhaps some Gears of War and Helghast ones.

samrtk wrote:Are there any 25mm Halo minis out there? This has been an themed army I have been thinking about for a while and would love to not have to convert models for it. Great work on the codex so far, I'm glad someones taking this up. Would love to see a UNSC one in the future and perhaps some Gears of War and Helghast ones.

There's a Halo clix game that's in the 25-28mm range.

Blackhoof wrote:Hunters are actually really vulnerable to grenades, as they are simply a mass of worms.

I've never noticed that in any of the Halo games, but I do agree with your logic that they should have that vulnerability based on the fact that they're a swarm packed into a metal shell, so that's fair. Otherwise, cheers and good luck with the codex!

true, its a bit hard to tell how vulnerable something is when most things die instantly after being stickied by a plas grenade.

UPDATED
-Changed Revenant name to Spectre (got them confused)
-Turned the personal energy shields from invulnerable savves to armour save bonuses.
-minor stat changes
-added a new superheavy: the SUPER SCARAB from Halo Wars! i had to improvise a bit since it was never finished in-game, but i assume it is merely a pimped-out scarab.
-changed shimaster to fieldmaster once i realised that field masters are the army commanders, not shipmasters lol
-few other minor changes

*bump*

First, again formatting.

One unit entry gets 1 page. Nothing else on the page. So the Fieldmaster's stats and rules are all on one page, and the next HQ entry is on the next page. Relist unit specific rules on this page as well instead of paging back and fourth.

Second, while its a lot better, your names. There are half a dozen icons for example, and only heavenly wrath is intuitive in what it does. They are all sandwiched in the middle of a block of rules with no spacing or headers.

Also, again consider you are trying to make a 40k codex. Having weapons with names like "assault cannon" does not work. Same with plasma pistols. There is no need to duplicate names with existing 40k items in order to be true to Halo--you are trying to be true to 40k with Halo refrences.

As for rules, some of them are broken. For example, if you park a unit with stealth fields on an objective, they can not be shot or assaulted, but the models still interdict an enemy squad from getting the objective. Also, the gravity hammer reflects solid projectiles... but only in the most loosely defined way. Does it really need to do that? Cant the model instead just have a 6++ invuln save if you really want that feature in the game?

Points costs are not even an issue at this stage until the rules are cleared up, though I do feel several point values need work.