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There have been many threads about this but these is my ideas

Predator (Youngblood)

Ws-4 Bs-4 S-4 T-4 W-2 I-4 A-2 Ld-10 Sv-5+

Elite

Ws-5 Bs-5 S-4 T-4 W-3 I-5 A-3 Ld-10 Sv-5+

Ancient

Ws-7 Bs-5 S-4 T-4 W-3 I-6 A-4 Ld-10 Sv-5+

Equipment:
Youngblood:
Wrist Blades (2 CCW's, Rending)
Shuriken: Range-12 S-4 AP-6 Type Assault 1
Hunt Armour
Cloaking Device (If the Hunter has remained stationary, he recieves a 5+ cover. If It has moved the save is reduced to a 6+)
Plasma Grenades
Medi pack (Feel No Pain)

Elite:
As above
Plasma Caster: Range-24 S-6 AP-4 Type Assault 1
Combi-Stick (S+2,Rending) Range -12 S-5 AP-5 Type Assault 1

Ancient
As Above
Second Plasma Caster (+1 shot/ TL)

All Predators have a Wrist Bracer that can be programmed to detonate upon its users death. When a Predator is killed, place a Large-Blast template. all models under this template take 1 S-8 AP-2 hit from the miniscule Thermonuclear explosion

Special Rules: Furious charge, Acute senses, Move through Cover

Options:
Any Predator may take:
Insertion pods (DS) for +25 pts
Enhanced Armour (4+, 6++) for +15 pts
Vanguard Armour (3+, 5++, May not Sweeping Advance) for +35 pts

So whadda y'all think? or

I think that the cover save for the cloaking system should be either 4 and 5 or made so that anyone attempting to fire at them would be doing so under nightfighting rules, or even just if anyone attempts to fire at a model with a cloaking system beyond 12", they must do so at -2 BS or something like that.

Other than that, I like it.

First off; I don't know much at all about the AvP universe, so I'm looking at these mostly from a gameplay standpoint, and comparing them to how the fluff about Space Marines translates onto the tabletop.

Given that. . . why does a Youngblood (who I assume, from the name, is a novice Predator) have WS5 and I5, when a genetically-engineered superhuman with literally centuries of combat experience only has WS and I 4? Unless Predators are consistently being depicted as so fast and skilled that a normal human has practically no chance to fight one, I don't think that's justified.

Two wounds and Feel No Pain? Those two, combined, are basically a representation of a person who simply cannot be killed by anything short of an absolute torrent of fire, or heavy anti-tank munitions. Aren't Predators commonly incapacitated or at least badly wounded by a single round from a normal human firearm?

Basically, I think that at least for the Youngbloods, you should be looking at something much closer to a GEQ statline with special rules to represent their stealth and targeted hunting practices. A young Predator should not be able to kill a Space Marine in face-to-face combat in the open. The older Predators can have better skills to represent their longer experience (though I don't know how long Predators live, and if it's any less than three or four centuries I don't think they should be any better than a Space Marine Captain, for instance) but the basic footsoldiers are not, I think, quite as tough as you're portraying them here.

In addition, the Wrist Bracer rule is hilariously self-destructive if they come in a unit and hilariously OP if they don't. Are they in a unit? If so, sacrifice a throw-away unit to kill one and watch the whole unit vaporize. Are they alone? Then if they reach close-combat, they win NO MATTER WHAT; either they don't die and win combat, or they lose and take the whole unit with them. That needs to be either removed entirely, toned waaaaay down (like, S5 hit against any model in base contact, something like that), or made an expensive optional upgrade.

I can't really comment on the weapons, since I don't know the universe, but your optional upgrades look fairly costed or even a little overpriced. For example,Terminator Armor doesn't usually cost 35 points, and it's identical to Vanguard Armor but better.

Also, what's the basic points cost? The only costs I see are the ones for the optional upgrades. As you have them, they're nearly as tough as Plague Marines but both faster and more deadly + with suicide-bomb potential, so I think you'd have to cost Youngbloods at around 40-50 points each, at least. With the changes I've recommended (WS 3-4, I 3-4, no Wrist Bracer) about 15-20 points or so would probably be fair. Elites would be +30 to whatever the price of a Youngblood is, and Ancients +50 or thereabouts.

So far I see only a Troop, Elite and HQ option. What about a fast attack and heavy supprot to round it off.

BeRzErKeR. In Predator, he is blown up, shot repeatedly and mortally wounded by a deadfall trap. Predator 2 he falls at least 5 stories, catches a drainpipe and gets shot in the chest at close range with a 12 bore (gauge) shotgun. But thats before he gets his arm sliced off at the middle of the bicep. In AVP Requiem, Wolf gets lobbed about by the predalien and impaled in a building site. Hence the 2 wounds. Also Predators are supposed to survive 1,000's of years which gives them endless scope to train. unlike marines who are slung out as Neophytes/scouts at 30 odd years old I believe.

The Youngblood initiation ceremony involves said predator being sent to an Alien hive and claiming a worthy trophy (I.E. a Praetorian/Queen or maybe something smaller. Scar from AVP also has a wrist bracer

The Crusader wrote:BeRzErKeR. In Predator, he is blown up, shot repeatedly and mortally wounded by a deadfall trap. Predator 2 he falls at least 5 stories, catches a drainpipe and gets shot in the chest at close range with a 12 bore (gauge) shotgun. But thats before he gets his arm sliced off at the middle of the bicep. In AVP Requiem, Wolf gets lobbed about by the predalien and impaled in a building site. Hence the 2 wounds. Also Predators are supposed to survive 1,000's of years which gives them endless scope to train. unlike marines who are slung out as Neophytes/scouts at 30 odd years old I believe.

The Youngblood initiation ceremony involves said predator being sent to an Alien hive and claiming a worthy trophy (I.E. a Praetorian/Queen or maybe something smaller. Scar from AVP also has a wrist bracer

Is that all the same Predator? If so, then I suppose you do have a case for FNP; just keep in mind that it's going to kick the points cost way up.

I'm not sure where you get that about Marines being sent out at age 30. I don't think there IS any information about how long the Marine training process lasts, but at the very least any full-fledged Battle Brother will have decades of live combat experience; the older ones (Terminators and Veterans) will have been seeing active combat on a regular basis for literally centuries, and they're still WS and I 4.

Since the youngblood's initiation requires him to fight the settings equivalent of Gene stealers to get his good ranged weaponry I'd say those stats are pretty close.

Also the shuriken should be at least AP 5. Eldar shoot shuriken that are normal sized. Those things are much bigger.

I'd say the wrist bracer is accurate in power, but since the people have some time to get away maybe it doesn't trigger until after consolidation moves.

I could see the youngbloods working in small squads, but the Elites and higher should be like Lone Wolves.

I've always wanted to do an AvP style kill team with genestealers, guard, and striking scorpions.

For the profile, I like s4 t4 w2 for a standard Predator. I think feel no pain should be an upgrade bit of wargear not standard issue as it seems.

I think entry level stats should be ws4 init4 however. Lower level predators are more skilled than a skilled commando in close combat, which is ws3 guardsmen in 40k terms, and skilled commandos are in turn more skilled than ws2 'regular' human soldier conscripts. Predators did not seem that much faster than a skilled human either--init 4 is faster than a human but able to be matched by very exceptional humans.

Im not sure about plasma grenades, I dont remember them tossing grenades around. Is this so they can assault into cover? If so, you can give them something like "Predator sight" instead, though to be honest predators were absolutely able to be ambushed in the movies--maybe no assault grenade option.

As for plasma shots, why not use s7 ap2 rapid fire? I dont remember the predators shooting plasma into close combat really, and standing still for ranged shots was pretty common right? And for the shuriken, perhaps make it a shurikan pistol? S4 ap5? Finally, why are wrist blades rending? We have seen the powerweapon equivlent with that circular 'powered' disc, and the wrist blades dont seem to have any such properties.

According to the comics as well as on Xenopedia they have grenade-like equipment. the "powered disc" thing was Predator 2's shuriken before it evolved into the ones from AVP 1 & 2. The Rending Wrist blades was to represent a Trophy kill i.e cutting off the head, ripping out the spinal column so on and so forth. In reference to the WS4 should I lower the others WS by 1

They seem to represent the Hunters well. I think that, to represent the different paths a Predator can take (Brawler, Spear Master etc) the Predators should have no weapons as standard, and weapons selected from the armoury for given points cost.

Remember, the Brawler and Spear Master are ranks above elite and choose to forgo the use of the Plasma Caster in favor of honour.

On the subject of honour, IMO, Elites and above should have the option to forgo normal attacks in CC and go for a trophy kill (only one attack, double strength and count as power weapons). Then the player keeps a tally of trophies collected and they add to the power of his force in a similar manner to Dark Eldar Pain Markers.

My 2 cents.

Ediited original post (WS) in accordance with popular demand