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1. ok, formatting can be cleaned up a bit, i suppose.

2. i see your point with the icons, i will put them in a separate section.

3. actually, considering i am making a covenant codex, i need to name the weapons what they are actually called, regardless of duplications. i am trying to be true to halo and make a codex based on it, without the names, this is just another random alien alliance.

4. i had not considered that... i shall fix it next update. i also see your point on the gravity hammer.

On number 3, you are trying to make a 40k codex INSPIRED by the covenant. At the end of the day, the goal is to play the codex versus other 40k armies, right? So since your codex is the foreign object, you must work around the established rules of 40k... plasma pistols have well defined rules in numerous armies in 40k.

If you have a plasma pistol that is different, then on top of asking your opponent to play with completely house made rules, now you are confusing names on top of it. YOU know its called a plasma pistol, why do you care if your opponent calls it a plasma pistol, when the game your opponent plays uses a DIFFERENT plasma pistol.

If you are insisting that the plasma pistol be called a plasma pistol, then it needs to be s7 ap2 gets hot.

First off your the man! I've always thought how awesome would it be for the Covenant to be in the 40k universe and how well would they stack up the rest of the armies!

Heres some ideas:

Wraiths should wound if they tank-shock because of the overdrive ability they have.

Ghosts should be able to get a scout move because they are recon vehicles. They should also be able to flat out farther then Eldar vehicles as well.

Grunt squads leadership should plain old stink unless they have a leader with either a Brute or an Elite

All units should have the option to be Spec-Ops. That upgrade should be vastly expensive and it should increase both WS and BS.

Elites should be Stubborn as with Brutes

Brutes should have an ability similar to blood rage where they can go berserk / gain more attacks if half of the squad is killed

Powerswords are essentially the Swords of Elites with Thunderhammers being Brute Chieftan Hammers. Powerweapons are solved there.

Psyker units could easily be prophets

Dropships should be both types. One should be more heavily armored with less weapons. (the one that appeared in Halo Wars, Halo 1, Halo Reach) The one appearing in Halo 2, 3 should have better weaponry against vehicles. Both should count as transports in force organization.

Jackals should be a troop choice, and should have the upgrades to be taken as snipers or could be given an invulnerble or feel no pain due the shields

Drones should be fast attack and should have the infiltrate and flanking abilities. They should be cheap pointwise and should be allowed to be in swarms up to 30

Hunters should be Elites. Should have a blood frenzy rule if squad of 2 gets under 50%. All statistics of that hunter should be increased and it should be forced to charge closest enemy unit.

Brute and Elite squads shoud have a host of options from Fuel Rod cannons, Brute Shots, Twin Linked Plasma Rifles, Carbines, Snipers Jump Packs, Swords and Hammers. They should be Elite options and have the ability to outfit a single one as a commander or HQ.

Prophets should be an HQ choice and should be massively "inspiring" to the rest of the force. Kind of like a Tau Etheral.

Engineers can be elite choices as well with similar abilites to techmarines.

All vehicles are skimmers

Ghosts should be fast attack

Spectres are a troop transport that can move flat out

Banshees, Wraiths should be Heavy Attacks. Banshees should be able to be outfitted in different ways and be able to Deep Strike.

Special Characters can include the various prophets, the Arbiter, Tarturus and characters from the books such as Yappa the grunt.

Should be able to run the Covenant in different ways with different rulesets. Such as being able to run an all Elite army similar to Deathwing. This can only be allowed if the arbiter is taken. Or you could have a more Brute force if Tarturus is taken. Of course you can have the more popular option of running the covenant straight up by taking the prophets.

Just some ideas. I hope you enjoy those. As you can tell by my username I love the Halo universe. Great games, great universe, great system.

DevianID wrote:On number 3, you are trying to make a 40k codex INSPIRED by the covenant. At the end of the day, the goal is to play the codex versus other 40k armies, right? So since your codex is the foreign object, you must work around the established rules of 40k... plasma pistols have well defined rules in numerous armies in 40k.

If you have a plasma pistol that is different, then on top of asking your opponent to play with completely house made rules, now you are confusing names on top of it. YOU know its called a plasma pistol, why do you care if your opponent calls it a plasma pistol, when the game your opponent plays uses a DIFFERENT plasma pistol.

If you are insisting that the plasma pistol be called a plasma pistol, then it needs to be s7 ap2 gets hot.

what else shall i call it? the games have names the weapons that the covenant have, and it is my duty to represent that accurately. this is a fandex, so opponents have to be prepared for any inconsistencies or imbalances (which there will be, no matter how much i fine-tune it). if you do not wish to play a 'dex that has conflicting weapon names, do not play agaisnt the covenant codex.

Spartan 117 wrote:First off your the man! I've always thought how awesome would it be for the Covenant to be in the 40k universe and how well would they stack up the rest of the armies!
thank you. one does ones best.
Heres some ideas:

Wraiths should wound if they tank-shock because of the overdrive ability they have.
wraiths aent really that fast when they overdrive, no faster than any other vehicle tank shocking.
Ghosts should be able to get a scout move because they are recon vehicles. They should also be able to flat out farther then Eldar vehicles as well.
good point. eldar jetbikes are better than ghosts- can ghosts fly?
Grunt squads leadership should plain old stink unless they have a leader with either a Brute or an Elite
it does
All units should have the option to be Spec-Ops. That upgrade should be vastly expensive and it should increase both WS and BS.
meh, i like the separate entry better
Elites should be Stubborn as with Brutes
pretty sure they are, but i might of accidently erased it or something. will fix
Brutes should have an ability similar to blood rage where they can go berserk / gain more attacks if half of the squad is killed
its called brute battle rage and they charge after the unit that killed their first model.
Powerswords are essentially the Swords of Elites with Thunderhammers being Brute Chieftan Hammers. Powerweapons are solved there.
yep, energy swords count as power weapons and gravity hammers count as thunder hammers
Psyker units could easily be prophets
very true, but i dont want to be untrue to the halo universe. besides, prophets dont like to fight directly. they would be good navigators to guide covenant ships through the warp, though.
Dropships should be both types. One should be more heavily armored with less weapons. (the one that appeared in Halo Wars, Halo 1, Halo Reach) The one appearing in Halo 2, 3 should have better weaponry against vehicles. Both should count as transports in force organization.
have that too- the weaker, but more transport-capable Spirit and the heavily-armoured, heavily-armed Phantom.
Jackals should be a troop choice, and should have the upgrades to be taken as snipers or could be given an invulnerble or feel no pain due the shields
well, they are a part of the Infantry Lance, and you can get Jackal Marksmen. their shields give them invulnerable saves, but feel no pain is SO MUCH BETTER! cannot believe i didnt think of that, definitely will fix.
Drones should be fast attack and should have the infiltrate and flanking abilities. They should be cheap pointwise and should be allowed to be in swarms up to 30
they are. they can deep strike, and can have up to 30 troops (i think, must check)
Hunters should be Elites. Should have a blood frenzy rule if squad of 2 gets under 50%. All statistics of that hunter should be increased and it should be forced to charge closest enemy unit.
hunters are too powerful to be elites,they are similar to Obliterators, and they are HS, so hunters should be too.
Brute and Elite squads shoud have a host of options from Fuel Rod cannons, Brute Shots, Twin Linked Plasma Rifles, Carbines, Snipers Jump Packs, Swords and Hammers. They should be Elite options and have the ability to outfit a single one as a commander or HQ.
well, they do have a fair amount of options as it is.
Prophets should be an HQ choice and should be massively "inspiring" to the rest of the force. Kind of like a Tau Etheral.
prophets dont really go to the field of battle, though, they are the priests and politicians, not the leaders.
Engineers can be elite choices as well with similar abilites to techmarines.
the elites section is too crowded, so i moved them to HQ
All vehicles are skimmers
most are.
Ghosts should be fast attack
they are
Spectres are a troop transport that can move flat out
well, they can transport troops. breing able to move flat out makes sense.
Banshees, Wraiths should be Heavy Attacks. Banshees should be able to be outfitted in different ways and be able to Deep Strike.
they are
Special Characters can include the various prophets, the Arbiter, Tarturus and characters from the books such as Yappa the grunt.
true, i will add special characters later, right now i want to concentrate on balancing
Should be able to run the Covenant in different ways with different rulesets. Such as being able to run an all Elite army similar to Deathwing. This can only be allowed if the arbiter is taken. Or you could have a more Brute force if Tarturus is taken. Of course you can have the more popular option of running the covenant straight up by taking the prophets.
i dont want to restrict people in any way. if people want an all-elite army, they can only use elite units, same if they want an all-brute army. it is possible to do that, although i should add more brute units, i suppose.
Just some ideas. I hope you enjoy those. As you can tell by my username I love the Halo universe. Great games, great universe, great system.
all ideas are welcome, stay tuned for further updates.

O_O

AWSOME!!!!!!


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I really cannot wait to see how this project unfolds. I hope you liked my ideas.

what else shall i call it? the games have names the weapons that the covenant have, and it is my duty to represent that accurately. this is a fandex, so opponents have to be prepared for any inconsistencies or imbalances (which there will be, no matter how much i fine-tune it). if you do not wish to play a 'dex that has conflicting weapon names, do not play agaisnt the covenant codex.

You could easily call them Energy Pistols, and Hunter Cannons. Its still true to the covenant, I mean after all 'Plasma Pistols' are what the UNSC calls them. The covenant would have their own names for everything anyway. Then in the fluff describe them as small energy weapons firing stable plasma in much smaller quantities than the unstable Imperial Plasma pistols.

As to just telling people not to play it... why would you develop something to play other people and knowingly confuse 40k terms with it? Your solution is 'Be confused or dont play me.' The attitude instead could be 'How can I make this easier to play against for you?'

ok, i suppose your right. i will fix the conflicting names in the next update.

Posting update within the next 24hrs

UPDATED
-formatting changes
-added a Contents page
-changed some weapon names so to avoid conflicting with existing 40k weaponry. if you spot a conflicting name now please tell me.
-allowed Brute Chieftains to take Brute Honour Guard
-major changes to the fleet list

With the Brute Rage, would they also auto-regroup? Make them Fearless, or something? Or does Rage already include that?

With the Combat Hatches rule, does that count as Open Topped only for purposes of firing out, or for purposes of damage suffered, as well?

Still think Gravity Hammers should be Two-Handed weapons (the rest of the rules are fine)

Reading through the rest, looks good.

Anvildude wrote:With the Brute Rage, would they also auto-regroup? Make them Fearless, or something? Or does Rage already include that?
i think so, but i cant be certain.
With the Combat Hatches rule, does that count as Open Topped only for purposes of firing out, or for purposes of damage suffered, as well?
i suppose it would count as Open-Topped full-stop- the opened hatches would be vulnerable to damage.
Still think Gravity Hammers should be Two-Handed weapons (the rest of the rules are fine)
will fix
Reading through the rest, looks good.

so, anyone got any other suggestions for me to put in the next update?

i plan to add special characters and Apocalypse formations.

add THE HALO

Sounds like a Strategic Asset to me. "The Halo rings: Revealed right before the end of the game. All units with organic components are removed from the board. All of them. If there are any Necrons playing, they win."

seems like a pretty bad asset. more of a "if i am going to lose i want you to lose with me" so everyone dies and it is a draw.


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i mean like different combinations of covenant units and special rules that they get if in a formation.

UPDATED version .5 to .6
-added several Apocalypse Formations
-added special characters
-changed some weapon names
-tweaked a few things
-updated contents page

Hunters are ALWAYS in twos. You never see a Hunter by itself because they are always bonded with another Hunter. Unit entry should be changed from 1-2 to 2.

Other than that, great Codex. *Fonz two thumps up*

dont let ANYONE say this is rubbish.
its not.
its AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!

Marik Law wrote:Hunters are ALWAYS in twos. You never see a Hunter by itself because they are always bonded with another Hunter. Unit entry should be changed from 1-2 to 2.
Other than that, great Codex. *Fonz two thumps up*

i want to give people in smaller games the ability to take single hunters. besides, hunters are only in bonded pairs when the colony is too big to fit one body, so they squize into two. most hunters are singles. i for one have encountered single hunters (i think).

master of ordinance wrote:dont let ANYONE say this is rubbish.
its not.
its AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!

thank you

While Hunters are generally in pairs it is possible for them to have not reached the critical mass or their partner has died.

There should just be a squad bonus if they are fielded in pairs, that they don't get if they are on their own.

well, the bonus is that if one dies the other becomes stronger out of grief (if grief is the right word).

so......

is the consensus that the codex is pretty good? is it balanced enough for play? ive playtested a bit but i cant really tell.

I was actually talking about Covenant in 40k with my brother last night, and now this!

I really like what you've done, but a few of the unit statlines seem a bit off, at least, to my eye. For example:



BRUTES

- Toughness 4 and two Wounds is a little bit too resilient, especially when you consider the fact that they'd be twice as hard to kill as Astartes and Orks. Personally, I'd go with T3, W1 and FNP.

- Maybe reduce their default Armour Save to 6+?

- Also, why is the Chieftain T5?



DRONES

- Maybe raise their BS to 4, and lower their S to 2?



ELITES

- Elites I think should also be T3. I mean, without their shields and armour, Elites are barely tougher than humans.



GRUNTS

- Should be T2 I think.

- As for Suicide Grunts... how about every time a unit containing Grunts fails a Morale Test in melee, the enemy squad suffers D3 Blast attacks? Or any squad that successfully performs a Sweeping Advance upon a squad containing Grunts could take D3 Blast attacks?



HUNTERS

- I see Hunters has having these stats:

WS: 3
BS: 3
S: 5
T: 5
W: 2
I: 2
A: 2
Ld: 10
Sv: 3+/6+

- You should also remove the Vulnerable to Blasts and Templates special rule. And rather than them being Monstrous Creatures (a Hunter definitely wouldn't be any bigger than something like a Tyranid Warrior), maybe give them Slow & Purposeful and Fearless?



JACKALS

- I don't think Marksmen should be BS5. The only difference between different Jackal troop types should be their wargear.

- On that note, are you going to include Skirmishers?




BANSHEE

- This might sound weird, but how about making the Banshee AV9? Or giving it the Jetbike unit type?




As for weapons:




BEAM RIFLE

- Shouldn't it be Range 36", like all other Sniper weapons? Maybe make it Heavy 2 to compensate for the Overheat?




BRUTE SHOT

- Why only Range 12"?

- Maybe make it S4, AP6, Assault 2, Blast?




ENERGY PISTOL

- Just call it the "Covenant Plasma Pistol", like the "Astartes Grenade Launcher". After all, it IS a Plasma Pistol.

- Instead of the "Short Circuit" special rule, allow it fire using two different fire modes. Fire mode two = twin-linked, automatically stuns (not shakes) vehicles, and automatically overheats.




MAULER

- It's the automatic Brute shotgun from Halo 3, right? If so, why is it so powerful (S5, AP4 and Rending)? It's not an anti-tank or anti-armour weapon.

- Maybe make it S3, AP6 and remove Rending, but also make it an additional CCW?




NEEDLER

- How about the Needler counts as Rending, but on a to-hit (not to-wound) roll of six? Or maybe, on a to-hit roll of six, the Covenant player could place a Blast marker over the target squad? To offset this, it could be S2 by default.







Good work though, I love it. Are you planning to do the UNSC or Flood? If you are, I'd love to help out. Check my sig for examples of my existing work.

I like the ideas for the Mauler and Plasma Pistol. Don't know what he's thingkin' about for the other stuff..

I_am_a_Spoon wrote:I was actually talking about Covenant in 40k with my brother last night, and now this!

I really like what you've done, but a few of the unit statlines seem a bit off, at least, to my eye. For example:



BRUTES

- Toughness 4 and two Wounds is a little bit too resilient, especially when you consider the fact that they'd be twice as hard to kill as Astartes and Orks. Personally, I'd go with T3, W1 and FNP.

- Maybe reduce their default Armour Save to 6+?

- Also, why is the Chieftain T5?

the thing with brutes is that their primary role in Halo 2 (before they replaced the Elites) was to be a damage sponge. Making them T5 made them tougher but it was pointed out that giving them an extra wound worked better. giving them FNP would encroach on the Jackal's territory in my opinion, who have their defence gauntlets. brutes also have a fair amount of armour, if not as much as an elite, but that is balanced by them being simply harder to kill.

the chieftain in T5 because he is the oldest and strongest member of his pack, and im sure you know how much of a pain they are to kill.

DRONES

- Maybe raise their BS to 4, and lower their S to 2?

why? they arent actually that good at shooting, that is why they swarm, and in one mission a drone lifts up a marine and flies away with him, which is at least S3.

ELITES

- Elites I think should also be T3. I mean, without their shields and armour, Elites are barely tougher than humans.

what makes you think so? we never see them in normal clothes or anything, and their size indicates toughness.

GRUNTS

- Should be T2 I think.

- As for Suicide Grunts... how about every time a unit containing Grunts fails a Morale Test in melee, the enemy squad suffers D3 Blast attacks? Or any squad that successfully performs a Sweeping Advance upon a squad containing Grunts could take D3 Blast attacks?

i dont want to make them too weak, besides, they arent that weak, at least not weak enough to warrant T2. hte second idea is good though, i like the idea that grunts will suicide themselves when they are sweeping advanced.

HUNTERS

- I see Hunters has having these stats:

WS: 3
BS: 3
S: 5
T: 5
W: 2
I: 2
A: 2
Ld: 10
Sv: 3+/6+

- You should also remove the Vulnerable to Blasts and Templates special rule. And rather than them being Monstrous Creatures (a Hunter definitely wouldn't be any bigger than something like a Tyranid Warrior), maybe give them Slow & Purposeful and Fearless?

true, they probably are a bit powerful. i will lower their stats.



JACKALS

- I don't think Marksmen should be BS5. The only difference between different Jackal troop types should be their wargear.

- On that note, are you going to include Skirmishers?

marksmen are the best of the jackals, so i think that warrants BS5. and no, i shall not be including Skirmishers, i have too many unit types as it is.


BANSHEE

- This might sound weird, but how about making the Banshee AV9? Or giving it the Jetbike unit type?

i think that they warrant being vehicles, but i will make them AV9 all round.


As for weapons:




BEAM RIFLE

- Shouldn't it be Range 36", like all other Sniper weapons? Maybe make it Heavy 2 to compensate for the Overheat?

good point, shall do.


BRUTE SHOT

- Why only Range 12"?

- Maybe make it S4, AP6, Assault 2, Blast?




ENERGY PISTOL

- Just call it the "Covenant Plasma Pistol", like the "Astartes Grenade Launcher". After all, it IS a Plasma Pistol.

- Instead of the "Short Circuit" special rule, allow it fire using two different fire modes. Fire mode two = twin-linked, automatically stuns (not shakes) vehicles, and automatically overheats.




MAULER

- It's the automatic Brute shotgun from Halo 3, right? If so, why is it so powerful (S5, AP4 and Rending)? It's not an anti-tank or anti-armour weapon.

- Maybe make it S3, AP6 and remove Rending, but also make it an additional CCW?




NEEDLER

- How about the Needler counts as Rending, but on a to-hit (not to-wound) roll of six? Or maybe, on a to-hit roll of six, the Covenant player could place a Blast marker over the target squad? To offset this, it could be S2 by default.







Good work though, I love it. Are you planning to do the UNSC or Flood? If you are, I'd love to help out. Check my sig for examples of my existing work.

i will get to the rest when i have time, got to go.

I agree about the brute shot and the mauler, but not the needler. AI enemies never put enough needles into you to cause explosions, anyway.

Yes, I shall do an unsc one when this has been completed

ok.
Needler assault 2 and special rule: spines-counts as a CC weapon.
reasoning. the bolt pistol has a high recoil so you can only really snap single shots of with it while the auto pistol fires lots of small calibre rounds so you really need to hose the target to be effective but the needler has an insane ROF and an its razor shard crystals are explosive. its got the advantages of both guns.

scarab laser SD AP1
reasoning. its desighned to carve through a planet. i think its going to wipe out some puny infantry.

Revnant
BS 3 F11 S10 R10

type fast skimmer

wargear
light plasma mortar

reasoning. its an awsome close support veihcle and i feel it should be available to the covenant as either a seperate unit or as an upgrade for a ghost unit or possibley both.

keep brutes as toughness 5 and brute shot as it is-it is an assault grenade launcher after all.

and add rules for a post schism army with brutes replacing elites and leaning more towards kigyar than unggoy

i like needlers as they are, to be honest. sure they are rapid fire, but so are autoguns and they only fire a max 2 shots.

that is too powerful. scarab lasers drag, hitting everything in their path, and S: D would wipe out anything it touches instantly.

covenant technically have revenants in the form of spectres upgraded with light plasma mortars.

i like brutes as-is. still undecided about the brute shot though,

special characters already do that, and if you dont want special characters, just dont take brutes/elites if you want a specific loyalist/separatist army.

I must say, Troops seem a little underpowered,and the army has a generly low BS skill, i studied it very quickly though.