This is a pet project I am drafting out, and I am looking for suggestions, feedback, etc. Whether the core idea is interesting, statting out units appropriately, unit ideas, etc.
I never was a straight-up fan of "Allied armies", both from a fluff perspective, as well as a gameplay one, but mostly in terms of it being an "army focus" issue. If you run Chaoscrons, is it a Chaos army with Necrons, or a Necron army with Chaos?
In most the scenarios where different factions work with one another as a single army, one group is mostly subordinate to the other. From penal conscripts to chapter serfs to cultists sent to catch bullets for their masters, auxiliaries fight grim battles for their betters. Even the Tau, for all their ideals about egalitarianism and unity in a Greater Good, are quite content to act as the first among equals.
Some auxiliaries instead serve as hired guns. The Kroot, Loxat'l, Tarellians, and Demiurg are all notoriously mercenary in their dealings, while even Orks known as Freebootas are known to hire themselves out. Strangest still are the Harlequins.
Special Rules:
A mercenary army is a normal army, that uses
FoC rules as normal. Alternately, units from a mercenary army may be included directly in another army, subject to the special rules of the primary codex:
Chaos: Any mercenaries included in a Chaos army may take Marks, at designated point costs.
Dark Eldar: Any non-vehicle mercenary included in a
DE army may take the Experimented On! trait for X points/model. An Experimented On! unit benefits from Power From Pain and rolls on a
d6 chart to determine their pregame bonus (reference Haemonculi Covens). I personally recommend you try this with Tau units.
Necrons: Any unit may be Mindshackled at no cost. Such units become Fearless and Slow and Purposeful.
Sisters of Battle: May only take human/abhuman non-psyker mercenaries. Unit may include a Order Dialogous sister for x points. May once per game be affected by an act of faith of a nearby friendly Sororitas unit within 6"
Space Marines (all stripes): may only take human mercenaries (no abhumans). Any Desperado units taken count as Chapter Serfs and may use the Chapter Tactics (or equivalent) of their parent codex.
Tau: Squad leaders in a Tau army may take a markerlight at 10 pts, and 2 drones. Any model may replace its basic weapon with a Pulse Rifle/Carbine for 2 points per difference in strength.
Tyranids: All units *must* take the Genestealer Hybrid trait, gaining +1
WS, -2
BS, +1 I, and +1 A at no cost.
Mercenary Subgroups:
Desperadoes may work for any army with no restrictions.
Harlequins may not use any special bonuses from a parent codex, nor may they join any army requiring such special rules (so no joining Necron/Tyranid armies). They can use a transport of their parent codex at no cost, but treat it as using BS4 (for those old-school
RT players).
Kroot Mercenary Shapers have access to the armory of their parent codex, and may take a single Special Weapon of choice.
Ork Freebootaz can use a bonus of some sort.
Desperado Units:
HQ: Rogue Leader. Aka a Rogue Trader Type
Elite: Feral Ogryns. They probably haven't seen the Emperor's light yet.
Elite: Renegade Marines
Elite: Warpwitch Coven
Troop: Desperadoes (cultist stats by default)
Dedicated Transport: Technical (be it a truck, a cult limo, etc)
Fast Attack: Ground Buggy/Tauros-type vehicle.
Fast Attack: Arvus Lighter-type.
Heavy Support: Scraptank: (Think like an Urdeshi AT70, or similar knockoff wannabe Russ).
Kroot:
HQ: Master Shaper
Elite: Shaper Council
Elite: Stalker Kindred
Elite: Assault Knarloc
Troops: Kroot Kindred
Fast Attack: Vulture Kindred
Fast Attack: Tracker Kindred
Heavy Support: Siege Knarloc
Heavy Support: Krootox Battery
Freebootas:
HQ: Kaptin
Elite: Storm Boyz
Troops: Freebootas
Fast Attack: ?
Heavy Support: Pirate Eavy Kannon
Misc units.
