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Revamped the Chapter Traits section. There will only be "bungled traits" now instead of allowing people to pick and chose from minor traits. This was done as a method to more readily balance the changes made to the Codex by the Chapter Traits.

Currently, the Chapter Traits for White Scars (Bikers), Imperial Fists (Siege), Iron Hands (Mech), Salamanders (Wargear), and Raven Guard (Assault) are done, however I feel the book should include at least three more Chapter Trait deviations in the form of Crimson Fists, Blood Ravens, and one more popular or long-standing chapter (I'm open to suggestions).

The problem is that I'm having problems adapting Crimson Fists and Blood Ravens to use this system. For far, the First Founding chapters used for traits in the codex all have strong themes and hefty drawbacks to accompany them, but so far for Crimson Fists I just have them as being Sternguard Veteran heavy, having access to more Deathwatch Kill Teams, and just generally having a bulk of overall special rules (typically involving anti-alien abilities or guerrilla warfare), which is all fine and good, but when I come to the Drawbacks I hit a snag: what do the Crimson Fists really sacrifice? I know their numbers are reduced, but how do you represent that? So far the only thing I have for them is that they can only take 0-1 Terminator Tactical squad OR Terminator Assault squad.

Should they have serious Drawbacks like the Big Five do or should they be considered "Minor Traits" and just have a few over-arching special rules while not being too heavily limited by abundant Drawbacks? For example...
* Combat Tactics replaced with Preferred Enemy (Orks) and Stealth.
* Unlike a few of the Big Five, which mess about with the Force Organization, the Crimson Fists can only take a single Sternguard Veteran squad as a Troops choice, but all Sternguard Veteran squads count as scoring.
* Can take an Emperor's Champion. Additionally, Deathwatch Kill Teams are no longer unique.

I don't know, what do you guys think?

What if to represent their reduced numbers they get less force organization slots....which can be a pretty major drawback

If you could include Drop Assault from your Chapter Creator as a company tactic, I would be very happy.
EDIT: Just realised that they're Captain exclusive. Hrrrrgh.

Rethinking how the Chapter Traits work. I don't exactly like GW's focus on forcing named special characters down peoples throats just to get chapter-wide abilities, but I don't think just handing them out for free or attempting to balance them by removing certain units is the best course of action now either.

One idea I've had is to allow people to purchase Chapter Tactics instead. Such an option wouldn't use up any spots on the Force Organization chart, but the points cost would help balance the abilities (better abilities cost more, etc). Players could take more than one and, to prevent abuse, certain types of Chapter Traits would be categorized. This brings the Chapter Traits system in line with GW's current ideology about army-wise special rules without forcing them onto Independent Characters or, worse, named characters. This also helps clear up the potential mess of including even more points entries for different units.

Chapter Masters would still have the benefit of some unique wargear as well as having either one additional Relic or Virtue. Captains would still have some kind of purchasable special rule which gives them an army-wide ability or making certain units scoring. Librarians would have their psychic powers still. Chaplains would still do what they do as well. Techmarine Artificers/Masters of the Forge I'm still having trouble with, but I'm already planning on making their Bolster Defenses and Blessings of the Omnissiah (repair) special rules a bit better.

What do you lot think?

Work has begun on the PDF!

I've made quite a few changes since my last update, such as doing something different with the Chapter Traits. Relics are also gone, but more wargear options have been made available.

I've also made an effort to further differentiate the Chapter Master and Captain units, so they will both feel unique from one another.

The special characters have also been buffed up a little here and there, not too much but enough that they compare with the more recent Codex books.

Thoughts on the Chapter Master:
* You made a pretty big deal of the Chapter Tactics, Venerable Virtues and Relics. Where are they?
* Heavy flamers, woo! Hand flamers, woo! Inferno Pistols, woo! Meltaguns... I wasn't expecting, but woo!
* You've left the Relic Blade in as a default item. Intentional?
* I'm intrigued by the Holy Fire and Phase Shift upgrades. If PS nullifies Invulns, then I will be happy. VERY happy.
* Heroic Feats: the equivelants to Sagas?
* What happens to range and type when you put SA Ammo in a bolt pistol or storm bolter?
* Speaking of which, RAW is a little unclear on whether you can take multiple SA Ammo types or only one.
* This is just personal, but I'd love to see some Terminator-exclusive equipment, such as Teleport Homers.
* You've removed Orbital Bombardment, but haven't added God of War like you did in the Chapter Creator. Why?

Oh, and that Cassius art is incredible. Who's it by?

Vampirate of Sartosa wrote:Thoughts on the Chapter Master:
* You made a pretty big deal of the Chapter Tactics, Venerable Virtues and Relics. Where are they?
* Heavy flamers, woo! Hand flamers, woo! Inferno Pistols, woo! Meltaguns... I wasn't expecting, but woo!
* You've left the Relic Blade in as a default item. Intentional?
* I'm intrigued by the Holy Fire and Phase Shift upgrades. If PS nullifies Invulns, then I will be happy. VERY happy.
* Heroic Feats: the equivelants to Sagas?
* What happens to range and type when you put SA Ammo in a bolt pistol or storm bolter?
* Speaking of which, RAW is a little unclear on whether you can take multiple SA Ammo types or only one.
* This is just personal, but I'd love to see some Terminator-exclusive equipment, such as Teleport Homers.
* You've removed Orbital Bombardment, but haven't added God of War like you did in the Chapter Creator. Why?

Oh, and that Cassius art is incredible. Who's it by?

1) Chapter Traits are there, I've just done something different with them. They have their own section, cost 50 points per Trait (you're allowed two from one category) and aren't anchored to any unit.

2) I figured the more customization, the better, and if a standard Tactical squad could get their hands on a meltagun then why shouldn't an IC be able to?

3) Yes. Relics have sadly been ditched, I just couldn't come up with something that wasn't convoluted or that made me happy, so instead I added in the ability to modify established items instead through things like Holy Flre and Phase Drift. Speaking of which...

4) Cutting Teeth gives the weapon +D6 for armour penetration. Holy Fire gives makes the weapon Rending. Phase Drift doesn't negate invulnerable saves, but instead forces the target to re-roll any successful ones. Psyker Bane causes the weapon's hits to instantly wound against models with psychic powers. I may add more upgrades, but those seemed like the more obvious ones for starters.

5) Pretty much, except they won't provide the same benefits that the Sagas Space Wolves get so that Space Wolves will still feel unique.

6) Special Issue Ammunition has changed slightly. Instead of simply giving you new weapon profiles it modifies the profiles already there. Kraken Bolts, for example, increase the weapon's range by 6" (so a Bolt Pistol would be 18", Storm Bolter would be 30") and its AP value by 1 (so AP 5 becomes AP 4). Again, wanted to give characters a bit more of a free birth for customization, as I believe said customization is sorely missing from a lot of modern GW armies.

7) Yes, you can take as many special issue ammunition as you want, but you need to pay for each one and their effects don't stack (so you have to choose which type you want to fire whenever you fire the weapon).

8) Consider it done.

9) If you've noticed, Chapter Masters got a boost to their stats (4 Wounds, Initiative 6, 4 Attacks) and can also take two Heroic Feats instead of just one like normal units. The stat boost and two Heroic Feats, in my opinion, make up for the loss of Orbital Bombardment (which you can still pay for, just forgot to put it in there). I left God of War unique to Calgar this time, but you can take some pretty mean Heroic Feats which will make your Chapter Master feel just as special.

10) As far as I'm aware it's a Games-Workshop piece. The Wiki I pulled it from did not credit anyone, but I'd be more than happy to credit the artist for their work if I can find out who actually did it.

Just checking, but do sternguard still get all SA standard? And when can we expect a PDF to be up? I would very much like to play with this as it sounds very cool.

Deadshot wrote:Just checking, but do sternguard still get all SA standard? And when can we expect a PDF to be up? I would very much like to play with this as it sounds very cool.

Yes, Sternguards get SA standard still. I want to have the PDF done by weeks end, but that may be wishful thinking on my part, but I really hope to have it up by the end of the month as I want it to be done and ready to play (as even I want to play with it).

Hmm. Well, all this looks excellent! Any chance of a description of some of the Feats?

Vampirate of Sartosa wrote:Hmm. Well, all this looks excellent! Any chance of a description of some of the Feats?

Feats so far include...

Combat Mastery: Basically gives a unit Weapon Skill 7 at the cost of 5 points and a lowering of their Ballistic Skill to 4. Only available on Chapter Masters and Captains.

Destined for Greatness: Eternal Warrior.

Inspiring Presence: No changes from the version Pedro Kantor has.

Master Psyker: Psykers only. Gives the psyker access to all psychic powers available in the SM Codex.

Revered Leadership: All friendly units in the army have Ld 10 so long as the model is on the table.

Surgical Precision: Only useful if character is equipped with a Jump Pack. The model and any unit with jump packs he joins that deep strikes do not scatter at all when doing so. Additionally, he and his squad gain Hit & Run.

Unmatched Ferocity: Model and any squad he joins gets +2 Attacks when charging instead of just +1 Attack.


I'm planning on others, but those are just the ones I'm set on right now.

Hmm. Not bad, but I'm afraid that none of them really inspire me.

Vampirate of Sartosa wrote:Hmm. Not bad, but I'm afraid that none of them really inspire me.

I will be adding more, but those are the ones that I believed were most straight-forward.

Do my eyes betray me? Is that a power armoured Space Marine carrying an Assault Cannon? Oh it's going to happen.

Seems I can never make up my mind about things.

HQ section of the Codex is COMPLETED! Moving on to Troops next. I have to say, JustDave releasing his Codex ahead of mine has sparked a fire under my butt to get mine out ASAP.

As always, some things have been tweaked and changes as I've continued completion of the Codex, mostly for the better I hope.

Marik Law wrote:Do my eyes betray me? Is that a power armoured Space Marine carrying an Assault Cannon? Oh it's going to happen.

Maybe... the assault cannon should carry the marine?

Just a thought.

Looking forward to this, just don't be scared of putting Forge World units in.

VI th legion wrote:Looking forward to this, just don't be scared of putting Forge World units in.

Were you looking for any in particular?

The Storm Eagle and Predator Executioner mostly, but maybe also some of the characters.

VI th legion wrote:The Storm Eagle and Predator Executioner mostly, but maybe also some of the characters.

No characters from the Forge World books sadly (though my Iron Hands Codex will have Vaylund Cal in it), the Predator has a new set of main weapons of which one is the Executioner Plasma Cannon, and no Storm Eagle but the new Stormtalon Gunship will be present.


EDIT: Though this recent post on BoLS has me wanting to add a new walker to the Fast Attack choices.

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2012/06/hobby-stormtalon-assault-walker.html

I'm reaching out to the Dakka community again. While the Codex is nearing completion there are some issues I would like to discuss with the Dakka community and eventually tackle in the Codex.

First and foremost are Dreadnoughts. While Dreadnoughts really didn't take that much of a hit in terms of being a ranged support unit, their close combat capabilities were severely handicapped with 6th Edition primarily due to the onset of Hull Points, glancing hits, and grenades being attached via Weapon Skill instead of on a 6 To Hit.

The first method I've gone to making the more melee-driven Ironclad Dreadnoughts (and an upgrade to Venerable Dreadnoughts) is Siege Modifications. This upgrades the unit's side and front AV to 13 and giving Move Through Cover. However, it also protects the Dreadnought from ranged glancing hits, stating that "Glancing hits caused by ranged attacks do not cause a Dreadnought with siege modifications to lose any Hull Points." This, in my hopes, should make Ironclads more appealing as a hard melee dreadnought and make them more survivable on their way up to actually being in close combat.

The frailty in close combat against grenades, however, is something that is giving me problems. Part of me wants to create a special rule that says that enemy units attempting to plant grenades on a Dreadnought in close combat will only ever hit on a To-Hit toll of 5+ (as the Dreadnought is not going to sit idly by and just let them plant one of those on him), but I'm not sure if that's the proper solution to their frailty in assaults. Any thoughts or input?

Also I'm debating removing Legion of the Damned and Deathwatch Kill Teams from my Codex and, instead, doing an "Ally Mini Codex" later on, one for LotD and one for Deathwatch. The downside is that they won't directly be in the Codex, the upside is I can spend more time on cooler ally units, giving more diversity to these units rather than trying to shove them into the Codex as they are now.

Anyways, what do you guys think on the subject?

Losing no hull points to shooting is a massive advantage, how many points is this going to cost??

Hmmm, I kinda like the "mini-codex" idea, but if its 6th ed style allies, then who would be a suitable LotD HQ??

redkommando wrote:Losing no hull points to shooting is a massive advantage, how many points is this going to cost??

Hmmm, I kinda like the "mini-codex" idea, but if its 6th ed style allies, then who would be a suitable LotD HQ??

I've reconsidered the "no losing hull points" in favour of an invulnerable save against Glancing Hits against the Front and Side Armour value of a Dreadnought with siege modifications. I've also increased the number of Hull Points certain units have (Dreadnoughts and Predators now have 4 Hull Points, Land Raiders and Land Raider Crusaders now have 5 Hull Points, everything else remains unchanged).

As for the Mini Codex for Legion of the Damned it would probably just be some sort of semi-warped uber Captain. Captain attributes but with some really quirky and cool special rules that make him a bit of a terror on the battlefield.

I don't think you can really change HP as that has a knockon effect. Chaos Raiders will now need 5, whereas Spartan Assault Tanks would.need a.massive 6.

Dreadnoughts of every flavour would.need 4 and.all rhino based vehicles would need 4.

Deadshot wrote:I don't think you can really change HP as that has a knockon effect. Chaos Raiders will now need 5, whereas Spartan Assault Tanks would.need a.massive 6.

Dreadnoughts of every flavour would.need 4 and.all rhino based vehicles would need 4.

The problem is I believe the amount of Hull Points that GW gave out was not where they needed to be. A lot of tanks, especially those like Land Raiders and Predators (among others, such as Leman Russ') feel much too fragile now. Rhinos and Razorbacks are staying at HP 3, there's little to no reason to increase them as they feel fine with their current HP values.

Yes, it's going to suck that some Codex books get outdated, but we have to remember that A) that happens anyways (quite frequently) from GW themselves,and B) these are unofficial rules, people are more than welcome to say that all other army Land Raiders have HP 5, same with the changes for Predators, Dreadnoughts, etc.

Perhaps if You make it an upgrade (Thickened plates or something?) or just give it to Dreads with Siege Mantles.

I do have to agree with Marik, the HPs that GW gave Land Raiders and Preadators isnt really enough

EDIT - ON HULL POINTS
On the topic of Hull Points, I may simply leave their Hull Points alone and simply make the units cheaper. Not sure yet though, would like input.

CHAPTER PERKS
One thing I am looking for, however, is more Chapter Perks. Right now the Space Marine Codex has two standard Special Rules which most units get: Combat Tactics (has been improved quite a bit) and Never Despair (just gives models with it the Stubborn special rule). If you decide to take Chapter Perks you lose both Combat Tactics and Never Despair.

Players will be allowed to take up to one and only one Perk from each category (for a total of three potential Perks). The categories are there to prevent abuse and to prevent people from just stacking certain types of Perks on top of one another. I may end up switching around what the categories are called and which Perks are where, but for now they are as is shown below. I'm also looking for suggestions for additional Perks, so fire away if you have any suggestions/ideas. I may add other catagories later or may restrict the categories more (two Perks instead of one from each, could also use people's input on that as well), but for now it is what it is.

BELIEF PERKS
These Perks represent the chapter's training, spiritual beliefs, combat state of mind/style of war, or command structure.
* Honour the Codex: The chapter's command structure and tactical beliefs remain close to the Codex Astartes. A chapter with this perk regains the Combat Tactics special rule.
* Knowledge is Power: Allows you to take up to three Lexicanums (new Elites choice, essentially a mini-Librarian) as a single Elites choice without a Chief Librarian present in your army. Chief Librarians are no longer Unique (you can take more than one, in other words). Chief Librarians can take Honour Guard and Librarians can take Command Squads.
* Purity Above All: Allows you to take up to three Apothecaries (now an Elites choice unit) as a single Elites choice without a Master of the Apothecarion (new HQ unit) present in your army. Master of the Apothecarion units are no longer Unique. Master of the Apothecarion units can take Honour Guard and High Apothecaries can take Command Squads.
* Scions of Mars: Allows you to take up to three Techmarines as a single Elites choice without a Master of the Forge present in your army. Master of the Forge units are no longer Unique. Master of the Force units can take Honour Guard and Techmarine Artificers can take Command Squads.
* Uphold the Honour of the Emperor: Allows you to take up to three Confessors (new Elites choice, essentially a mini-Chaplains) as a single Elites choice without a Master of Sanctity in your army. Master of Sanctity units are no longer Unique. Master of Sanctity units can take Honour Guard and Chaplains can take Command Squads.
* Zeal is it's Own Reward: Models belonging to the chapter no longer benefit from ATSKNF but instead benefit from Crusader and Zealot special rules. (( Added this in there to represent the Codex-adherent Crusader chapters. ))

TACTICAL PERKS
These Perks represent the chapter's behavior on the battlefield and which tactics they tend to favour or lean towards over others.
* Death From Above: Drop Pods and units equipped with Jump Packs arriving from Deep Strike only scatter D6" instead of the normal 2D6" when deep striking.
* Ride Like the Wind: Units equipped with bikes and all vehicles have the Skilled Riders special rule. Additionally, any unit that takes a dedicated transport gains the Outflank special rule.
* See, But Remain Unseen: All units gain the Night Vision special rule, all non-vehicle units gain the Stealth special rule (units which already have Stealth are unaffected).
* Suffer Not the Work of Heretics: All units belonging to the chapter has the Tank Hunters special rule.
* Suffer Not Your Enemy to Live: All units belonging to the chapter gain the Preferred Enemy special rule against one of the following: Daemons, Chaos Space Marines, Eldar (includes Dark Eldar), Necrons, Orks, Space Marines (includes Black Templars, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and Space Wolves), Tau Empire, or Tyranids.

WARGEAR PERKS
These Perks represent if the chapter has a preference for certain types of wargear.
* Armoured Assault: Any unit which has access to both a Rhino and a Razorback as a dedicated transport may take a Land Raider Crusader as a dedicated transport (Land Raider Crusaders are now a Dedicated Transport option instead of Heavy Support, but normally only units like Terminators can take them). Your Rhinos and Razorbacks have the Extra Armour wargear at no additional points cost.
* Cleanse and Purify: Your hand flamers, flamers, heavy flamers, and flamestorm cannons gain the Soul Blaze special rule. Your inferno pistols and meltaguns have their range increased by 3" and your multi-meltas have their range increased by 6" (original range values are used for the Melta special rule still).
* Light in the Darkness: Your plasma pistols, plasma guns, and plasma cannons no longer have the Gets Hot! special rule. Your lascannons, godhammer lascannons, annihilator lascannons, and laser destroyers have their range increased by 12".
* Take the Fight to Them: Tactical Squads are equipped with a bolt pistol and combat knife (can be upgraded to an astartes chainsword for a points increase, which is a chainsword with Rending) instead of a boltgun and bolt pistol. They also get new weapon options instead of their current weapon options (primarily they can take special melee weapons instead of heavy weapons).
* True Grit: At the beginning of an assault phase, before charges are made, you may choose whether to Overwatch with both hands OR use the boltgun in close combat. If you choose to Overwatch with both hands, your boltguns will hit on a To Hit roll of 5+ instead of the normal 6+ for snap fire. If you use the boltgun in close combat it will count as a standard close combat weapon and count as Unwieldy. (( Basically you get to choose between a 5+ Overwatch snap fire OR counting your boltgun as an extra CCW at the expense of being reduced to Initiative 1. ))

And the Codex is finished!

itsbeautiful.jpg
I am definitely taking a good look at this.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
marik you do realise that you've spent 28 pages on HQ choices