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I've recently been giving a lot of thought to Imperial Guard Penal Legions, and I'm intrigued by the possibilities. It seems like the biggest problem most folks have with the unit is the unpredictable nature of the Desperadoes Special rule. While all useful, there are certainly situations where one may be more desired than another. The most recognizable Penal Legion commander is Colonel Schaeffer. I've never read the books, though I still think the concept is nifty.

I'll dispense with the fluff intro. There are a few books for that. Italics indicate design notes.

HQ

Colonel Schaeffer...120 Points

120 Is a nice round points number, and it gives you a nice round something-hundred whether you've got 1 Penal squad or 6.

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

In line with the IG HQs he's supposed to preform like.

Composition:

1 Colonel Schaeffer

Unit Type:

Infantry (Unique)

Wargear:

Flak Armor

Plasma Pistol

Power Weapon

Frag and Krak Grenades

Refreactor Field

Again, Wargear is close to other special characters of his stature. Plasma Pistol and Power Sword are shown on his model.

Special Rules:

Independent Character

Scout

Stubborn

Fleet

Summary Execution

Aura of Discipline

The Last Chancers

Redemption

The Last Chancers
The exploits of Colonel Schaeffers 13th Penal Legion are well known, especially in the theaters in which they have served, such as on Armageddon. Indeed, the condemned legionaries he leads are some of the most crazed warriors in the galaxy.

If Colonel Schaeffer is included in your army, each Penal Legion Squad in your army may choose which effect of the Desperadoes special rule applies to it. This choice is made when the unit first enters the board.

I had a long inner debate concerning whether or not to give him some way of controlling where the squads come in, be it an outflank re-roll or something akin to Wolf Scouts' Behind Enemy Lines special rule. I decided that that might be over powered. Schaeffer's special rule should give the squad a better chance of dealing with what it comes up against, not to focus a huge amount of dedicated firepower on one flank. Plus, the Astropath now has more value.

Redemtion
Colonel Schaeffer believes, above all else, that every man deserves a final chance of redemption. Those poor souls brave enough to fight under his command battle all the harder to earn that redemption.

If Colonel Schaeffer joins a Penal Legion Squad, the squad gains the Fleet special rule.

Colonel
Colonel Schaeffer may issue one order per turn, to any squad. He has a command radius of 12". He can use the "Move! Move! Move!" "Fire On My Target!" and "Get Back in the Fight" orders.

Well, there you have it. Another heroic fluff character updated to 5th ed. Apologies if someone else already has.

There used to be rules for him and the 13th along the lines of each model get 15pts of officer wargear since they steal it.
I agree with the points value and the first special rule but i don't know about the second one sorry, maybe Redemption lets them re-roll CC hits or something.

You actually address one of the notes I forgot to include.

I chose Fleet for a very specific reason. I did not want to further boost their CC abilities. Desperadoes already does that. Rather, Fleet gives them a considerable boost to the most prevalent reason to take them; late game contesting of objectives. The additional speed offered by fleet helps them get to the objective before they are blasted to bits, or before the game ends.

Actually fair enough i get that also backgroundwise they are always rushing around having to do things on the wing even when they have a plan so yeah good idea maybe do rules for Lt.Kage as well?

Honestly I'm not the right man for the job. I've never read the books, so I don;t know much about the character.This was more of a case of me having an idea for a cool special rule and finding a character to tack it on to.

Hmmm, I've never read the Last Chancers novels either but let's see what I know from the IG penal legion fluff that good ol' Lexicanum gives me.

So, let's see, given rules first. Like like like overall, but maybe allow him to use Summary Execution on any one squad that fails a morale test in that turn? It could represent him detonating the explosive collar that the Penal Legionaires wear. Stubborn, and Aura of Discipline both make a lot of sense fluff wise and on the field.

Last Chancers: I really like this rule, and for me it makes the Penal Legionnaire MUCH more useful. It also doesn't seem that over powered for the price your paying for it, but play testing it out should clarify that out perfectly.

Redemption: Also like this rule, and its back ground make sense too. But maybe he should just have Fleet as basic and instead of losing it when he joins, he just grants it. I don't think it'd work with any squad he joins from a fluff perspective, as a regular IG squad wouldn't be seeking redemption, and thus it doesn't make sense that they'd fight harder for him. But in a gaming perspective, sure? Why not? Granting fleet to an IG squad doesn't do as much as it would for another army, since your average Guardsmen tends to die horribly against most anything in close combat.

One additional idea you might want to consider is granting him is Colonel Straken's "Man of Adamantium" special rule (pg 60 Codex: IG) or Yarrick's "Iron Will" (pg 63 Codex: IG) special rule, as I think that would make him a bit nicer. Of course, that might be pushing it too far, and start turning into cheese. For Schaeffer Man of Adamantium would just grant him an extra attack and another d6 for armor pen. Iron Will would actually be quite fun with him, and makes sense considering his background. Basically, if he loses his last wound, roll a d6 and on a 3+ he gets a wound back. Could be quite amusing!

Oh, and you forgot orders. Unless that was intentional? For him maybe a command radius of 18", 3 orders, and all Company Command orders?

Overall, I like the basics, and besides a few minor tweaks and suggestions, I'd happily play against these rules.

ChrisWWII wrote:So, let's see, given rules first. Like like like overall, but maybe allow him to use Summary Execution on any one squad that fails a morale test in that turn? It could represent him detonating the explosive collar that the Penal Legionaires wear. Stubborn, and Aura of Discipline both make a lot of sense fluff wise and on the field.

I suppose that makes sense, though mightn't be too much when coupled with Aura of Discipline?

Last Chancers: I really like this rule, and for me it makes the Penal Legionnaire MUCH more useful. It also doesn't seem that over powered for the price your paying for it, but play testing it out should clarify that out perfectly.

Glad you think so. This is really the key part of the IC, and his reason to exist in the first place.

Redemption: Also like this rule, and its back ground make sense too. But maybe he should just have Fleet as basic and instead of losing it when he joins, he just grants it. I don't think it'd work with any squad he joins from a fluff perspective, as a regular IG squad wouldn't be seeking redemption, and thus it doesn't make sense that they'd fight harder for him. But in a gaming perspective, sure? Why not? Granting fleet to an IG squad doesn't do as much as it would for another army, since your average Guardsmen tends to die horribly against most anything in close combat.

True enough. I went about giving him fleet in a complicated manner, I suppose. I was concerned about the implications of him having fleet by himself. Though now that I think about it, it's not like he'd slow down if he was the last guy left on the mission. He'd probably double time it until he won or died. So that's one change I'll definitely make.

As for him giving it to other squads, I think I'll keep it for Penal Legion Squads only. A fleeting 50 man blob with Staken, Schaeffer, and some priests would be nasty.

One additional idea you might want to consider is granting him is Colonel Straken's "Man of Adamantium" special rule (pg 60 Codex: IG) or Yarrick's "Iron Will" (pg 63 Codex: IG) special rule, as I think that would make him a bit nicer. Of course, that might be pushing it too far, and start turning into cheese. For Schaeffer Man of Adamantium would just grant him an extra attack and another d6 for armor pen. Iron Will would actually be quite fun with him, and makes sense considering his background. Basically, if he loses his last wound, roll a d6 and on a 3+ he gets a wound back. Could be quite amusing!

I suppose they might make sense, but I can't feel that they'd cheapen the Special Characters that already have these rules. Perhaps a slightly upgraded toughness in lieu of Iron Will might be appropriate.

Oh, and you forgot orders. Unless that was intentional? For him maybe a command radius of 18", 3 orders, and all Company Command orders?

Ahh. Good Point. I wasn't even thinking about orders. My design concept for him was to by like a Lord-Commissar with some special rules. Do Lord-Commissars have orders?

Thanks for the input Chris.

1) Hmmm, potentially, but considering he's an upgrade on the Lord Commissar, I think it'd be fair, especially if it's only once a turn.

2) No prob, that rule is really quite awesome.

3) Yep, exactly. He's like the Energizer bunny and would just keep going and going and going....But yeah. Having fleet by himself would really take advantage of his high weapon skill, and granting it to any squad would finally give the IG a good close combat squad. And since you're paying 120 points for just one squad like this, I would consider that OP at all. I mean, to do that you'd pay 200 points right there. That's a Leman Russ executioner right there. Not cheesy at all given the price you're paying.

4) Yeah...agreed. Just a suggestion though.

5) Hmmm...if he was meant to be a Lord Commissar with special rules than no he wouldn't get orders. So in that case he wouldn't get them, but from a fluff perspective he IS the commanding officer, not just the political/morale one, and should have some kind of order ability.

1) I feel like the collars are already responsible for the fact that Penal Legion Squads are stubborn at a considerable LD8. I'll chalk this one up to Col. Schaeffer being to busy with his own squad/out of range for the collars to function.

4) In the spirit of reflecting his 300 year lifespan and near invulnerability, I've given him T:4.

5)I don;t really know enough about orders to know what to do here, so I'd like some help from someone with Guard experience. I suppose there are three ways to go about this.

-Allow him to give orders to everybody. He is, after all, a Colonel. Ciphas Cain, another Commissar of high rank, is also depicted as being the commander of an Imperial Guard formation, so suppose such things are possible. On the flip side, it appears that the most powerful Commissar in the book, Yarrick, can not.

-Allow him to issue orders to Penal Legion Squads.

-Allow him to issue an order only to the squad he is part of.

My interpreted role for PLSs are as mobile, semi-decent close combatants, so no orders should be at odds with that concept. To that end, I think Move! Move! Move! would be perfect, either giving more mobility to an outflanking PLS going for that late game contest, or his own squad, getting that maximum fleet move. I'd also like to avoid any character specific orders. He's already got his fair share of special rules.

1) True, hadn't considered that.

4) Hmmm...Yep. That makes sense, better than tacking on more special rules.

5) Hmmm.....he is a colonel, so maybe just let him give all the orders a company commander can give (Bring it down (Makes all weapons twin linked), Fire on my target (Reroll cover), Get back in the fight (auto regroup), FRFSRF, Move move move and Incoming (+1 to going to ground).) And just give him 3 orders instead of the usual 2 to represent his higher rank. That I think should round him out pretty well.

please make Lieutenant Kage, Lorii, and Inquisitor Oriel

Hmm...

5) I'm not sure "Incoming!" makes sense. It flies in the face of the design concept I'm going for, which is an emphasis on mobility. I can't see Schaeffer giving his Last Chancers the opportunity to take cover. If one of them earns his redemption by eating a mortar round, so be it. Excluding it also builds in some weakness to the unit.

How would FRFSRF work if the squad had Gunslingers? I thought it only worked with rapid fire weapons?

Bring It Down is... okay. while not a mobility of assault order, I suppose it could be a useful bonus for a squad with Gunslingers.

Move! Move! Move! and Get back in fight for sure.

I'm thinking I'm going to allow him to give 1 of his 3 orders to any unit on the board per turn. I do this for balance, (all these other bonus plus a bunch of orders is too much, in my conservative opinion) and because I believe the books usually center around him leading a small force on a suicide mission, not leading large attacks. He already has a few potentially army wide effects, I can't help but feel he doesn't need any more.

Thanks again for all the input Chris. Any chance of playtesting him with me one of these days?

TyraelVladinhurst wrote:please make Lieutenant Kage, Lorii, and Inquisitor Oriel

Like I said, I haven't read the books, and I basically had a rule first and then found a character that just happened to be suitable. Then again, you did say please, and this is the second request I've gotten for Lt. Kage. I suppose I can do some research.

Will happily play test...sounds like a fun game. Looking forward to NOT getting slaughtered by Ragnar this time.
I'll be in the store on Saturday after a build cram on Friday. That or most any time next week will be good. I've got a new list worked up that I'm looking forward to trying out too.

Agreed, for a Penal Legion build, Incoming doesn't make sense. I was thinking more of Schaeffer leading a group of Penal Legionairres alongside an IG Battlegroup.

For FRFSRF the rules say that any model armed with a lasgun gets an extra shot....I assume that would make a unit with Gunslingers Assault 3? ...That sounds nasty.

Yep. Always good to have the option of making shots better.

Hmmm.....Yes, one order a turn to any other unit on the table? Maybe make that any Penal Legion squad on the table? Cause being able to order a Heavy Weapons Squad on the otherside of the map to twin link? A little OP in my opinion.

ChrisWWII wrote:Will happily play test...sounds like a fun game. Looking forward to NOT getting slaughtered by Ragnar this time.
I'll be in the store on Saturday after a build cram on Friday. That or most any time next week will be good. I've got a new list worked up that I'm looking forward to trying out too.

Awesome. Looking forward to the game.

Hmmm.....Yes, one order a turn to any other unit on the table? Maybe make that any Penal Legion squad on the table? Cause being able to order a Heavy Weapons Squad on the otherside of the map to twin link? A little OP in my opinion.

Yeah. I had a good deal of internal debate on this subject, and for a while, considered going with PLSs only. But then I figured, were this to be a widely-used unit, I wouldn't want to penalize the player too harshly for not sinking a ton of points into HQ choices. He's already pretty costly, and while giving ton's of benefits to Penal Legion squads, he shouldn't be useless to everything else, especially since he's taking up an HQ slot. For that reason I feel he should be able to issue orders to any unit that can accept them normally. He's got a somewhat limited command radius, meaning he can't have much effect on far away units, especially if he's with an outflanking PLS. In addition, only having one order will hopefully prevent him from having too powerful an effect on the game.

Commander Endova wrote:
Yeah. I had a good deal of internal debate on this subject, and for a while, considered going with PLSs only. But then I figured, were this to be a widely-used unit, I wouldn't want to penalize the player too harshly for not sinking a ton of points into HQ choices. He's already pretty costly, and while giving ton's of benefits to Penal Legion squads, he shouldn't be useless to everything else, especially since he's taking up an HQ slot. For that reason I feel he should be able to issue orders to any unit that can accept them normally. He's got a somewhat limited command radius, meaning he can't have much effect on far away units, especially if he's with an outflanking PLS. In addition, only having one order will hopefully prevent him from having too powerful an effect on the game.

Hmm, you make a good case there, and I agree with you. Does make a lot of sense that everyone would listen to the big colonel waving around a giant sword too...Yeah, now that you mention it, 1 order isn't making it too much. If it fails it fails, and does nothing. Makes more sense now.

Same here. Let's see how this goes!

Lt.Kage is good witha knife so however you make him give him rending in CC also maybe WS4 because he really is good witha knife also maybe a 4+ or 5+ inv save because he is apparently a latent psyker and gets little inklings of trouble.
Oriel is an inq so maybe not.
Lorii is a clone made by the mechanicus so... i don't know but since her brother died she is nuts so maybe fearless and fell no pain.

I like the rules for Schaeffer. Awesome character and not overpowered. I like the notion though also if you include him in an army all penal legion squads can also have a custodian join them ( maybe same points as a commissar with the relevant upgrades available for a squad level one? ) Showing Schaeffers increased organization and iron rule in a penal army he runs. And say every time a penal squad fails a leadership test you can elect the custodian to execute the number of troops in the squad the dice roll failed by up to 3 models. Gives players a interesting tactical edge if they feel the trade-off of a few less bodies means a guaranteed leadership pass. And is a good way I feel of reflecting the colonels unflinching resolve to get the job done and instill loyalty in his men.