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Evening all

So I picked up the new Harlequin Solitare mini because I love the pose and got it for cheap NIB, I was originally going to use it as ninja type killer in an =I= warband but then I had another idea. I've got about 15 marines to paint for my First Company and then I'm moving onto Tau, one of the things that I really find appealing about Tau is the Auxilaries and I'm working on fitting some of them into the force either as "counts as" units or simply adding in some units from other armies, I barely ever play but it's nice to know what various units could be if I ever did take to the field. In terms of the former I intend to do a similar conversion to the "The Shea'Shi" by Shas'El Tael (beastman based fire warriors) instead of your standard fire warriors just because I can. In terms of the latter I was thinking of using the Solitare. For him I was thinking of using the idea of the Morralian Deathsworn. Now there is very little known about the Deathsworn lore wise so awhile ago I came up with my own:

The Morralian Deathsworn are a small and secretive race whose high society is based on political maneuverings and dealings. Despite this, as a fully integrated part of the Tau Empire, they contribute many things to the Greater Good from production facilities to raw goods. The Deathsworn are a Morralian Group raised from birth to act as bodyguards for politicians and other high profile individuals. It is their job to protect their ward with their life and as such swear an oath to protect them unto death, literally becoming “Deathsworn”. The Tau as a general rule do not have much use for them as they prefer to be guarded by their own however some of the younger Etherals have been known to take them on especially if they hail from less "developed" areas of Tau space or planets that have large Auxiliary populations.

Now obviously if I take the field it'll probably be using unbound rules for this guy as there isn't really a suitable "body guard" infantry type unit in Tau dex. Just modeling wise I was thinking of removing the Kiss, Holodeck, Jewels and possibly the mask. I'd give him a power spear/glaive just because it would look awesome with that pose, I'm planning on doing something about his feet, certainly changing those very Eldar boots at the least, facewise I'm not sure yet, may just remove the horns and give him a breast plate as well.

Home made rules wise I was thinking something like this:

You may include up as many Morralian Deathsworn as you have HQ choices. Morralian Deathsworn do not use up any Force Organisation chart selections, but are otherwise treated as separate HQ units. As such they cannot be used as the Armies Warlord.

Points WS BS S T W I A LD SV
25 5 3 4 3 2 4 2 9 4+

Composition: 1 Morralian Deathsworn

Unit Type: Infantry

Equipment: Carapace Armor, Power Lance, Photon Grenades

Options:

- May replace his Power Lance for two power weapons: + 15pts

Special Rules: Fleet, Rending, Fearless, Deathsworn Protector (see below)

Deathsworn Protector: A Morralian Deathsworn must be assigned to a Character and can never leave this character. If the Character is challenged then the Morralian Deathsworn must fight in his stead. As long as the Deathsworn is still alive if the Character is wounded one of those wounds can be allocated to the Deathsworn. Should the Character that the Deathsworn is protecting be killed and the Death Sworn survives then he is subject to the Hatred Special Rule towards the unit that killed the Character till the end of the game. He must, at every opportunity, move towards that unit and should he be in charge range, he must charge that unit. Should the Deathsworn survive the game but not the Character he is protecting then the enemy is allocated an extra Victory Point.


Do they sound fair? The other major question I have is does anybody have any ideas for what a good set of existing rules for a CC bodyguard type character based on that mini and background? Something from the Eldar dex maybe?

Never mind my comment

The old Death-cult assassin profile from the old Daemonhunters Codex is quite similar with one more BS and Initiative and one less LD. Their save was invulnerable due to fast reflexes. Their cost was 40pts and had a power weapon and additional ccw. It would be a similar background/upbringing as well. For bodyguard rules I think what you have there is fine. The old Nork Deaddog rules from the old Codex Imperial Guard might be helpful to you. I'm not much help for the current codexes though, I severed ties at the end of 5th edition.