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The Imperial Guard is made up of crack units from across the Imperium transported to war zones as ruinous expense to fight the Emperor's foes.

But sometimes they are not enough. It seems with each passing century there are more and more crisis that must be dealt with by whatever forces are at hand.

So hive gangs, Scholastica Progum cadets, cooks, mechanics, clerks, prisoners, and even civilians are handed rifles and sent to the front.

Because quantity has a quality all its own.



NOTE-I love the idea of Conscripts but I'm not too happy with how they work now. for one thing you need to have a platoon in order to take them, and then you're limited to 'just' 50. And if you're a real guard player you know there's a technical term for 50 guardsmen.

A good start.

So here's my proposed take on them.

Changes:
Conscripts are an independent troop choice (not part of platoons)
6+ save to further indicate that they suck.
Option to give them 2 CC weapons or CC weapon and shield (yes a blatant use your fantasy models type rule)
Option for Without Number, without having to take a special character who was cut from the codex anyway
Option for explosive collars


Questions:
3 points per model? 4?
6+ save? Should it be 5+ just for ease of book keeping?
More options? Should they have the option for human bombs? Frenzon? Low quality special weapons?
Without number? Too cheap? Too powerful for taking objectives?


CONSCRIPTS
60 points for 1 overseer and 19 Conscripts
3 points for up to 30 additional conscripts



Troop Choice

CONSCRIPT
WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld6 Sv6+
Wargear - Lasgun/autogun/tension-powered projectile launcher/black powder weapon (all count as lasguns)

Overseer
WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld8 Sv6+
Wargear - Laspistol, CC weapon

Special Rules
Untrained - Conscripts have not had the years of training IG regulars had. They may not receive orders.

Options (you may choose one)
Explosive Collars - For 10 points you may fit the entire squad with Explosive Collars. Whenever the squad is called upon to take a leadership check, before you roll, the Overseer may detonate some explosive collars as a warning. Remove 3d models and the squad is fearless until the start of your next turn. This rule cannot be used if the Overseer is dead.
Savages - For 10 points the entire unit may replace their lasguns with 2 close combat weapon or a CC weapon and a primitive shield (increases save to 5+).
Without Number - For 1 point per model you may give the entire unit Without Number

I'm all for this. Currently the AM codex is very restrictive when trying to not make Cadians. I want my feral world conscripts with a priest attached

Personally I would leave them as-is with the exception of taking them as a troop choice on their own and the ability to swap out las rifle for two CC weapons or CC plus shield.

I can then add priests or commissars for nice buffs.

Even if they stayed as having to be purchased with a Platoon I would be happy.

Now compare them to cultists who cost 5 pt a pop. Almost 2 times more for what? 1 ws,bs and no cheap comissars or priests. If you want a mishmash, just use cultists entry.

So for about 170 points, I have 90 fearless wounds if I just stick a priest in with them? Yeah, that's an issue.

 curran12 wrote:
So for about 170 points, I have 90 fearless wounds if I just stick a priest in with them? Yeah, that's an issue.

150 points for 50 wounds, not sure of your math.

And that's what you get now.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 koooaei wrote:
Now compare them to cultists who cost 5 pt a pop. Almost 2 times more for what? 1 ws,bs and no cheap comissars or priests. If you want a mishmash, just use cultists entry.

Compare existing conscripts to IG Platoons, 2 more points per model and you get a special and a heavy weapon and a sarge.

But 2 points per model is also a 66% increase!

Oops, I'll eat it on that one as a misreading.

Still 50 fearless wounds is a very substantial thing. I don't have my AM codex on hand but how big can an infantry platoon get?

 curran12 wrote:
Oops, I'll eat it on that one as a misreading.

Still 50 fearless wounds is a very substantial thing. I don't have my AM codex on hand but how big can an infantry platoon get?

They can have 0-1 conscript squad 150 points
And can blob 5 10 man squads for 250 points + weapons
Then they can have 3 special weapon squads (18 more men), 5 heave weapons squads (30 more) plus the Lieutenant and his squad of 5.

153 in one troop choice.

In one choice, but in one squad. The value I see in this is cheap, wound absorbent airbags. Airbags full of viscera but you get what I mean.

The question I have is the overall tactic. It is clear, at least to me, that the value of your conscript rules is to make ablative wounds and speedbumps. The question I have is do the slightly improved statline and access to gun upgrades equal to the ~100 points that Guardsmen cost more?

I really like these ideas. I would feel so good about throwings hundreds of the guys at my enemy while my overseers pop their collars for morale bonuses. Would be super fun!

I feel like its way powerful to sit there with lots of fearless dudes.
it should be no IC allowed. and overseers upgraded to commissars. since its kinda fearless but people keep dying like the good conscripts they are.

exploding collars would be funny too.

 Desubot wrote:
I feel like its way powerful to sit there with lots of fearless dudes.
it should be no IC allowed. and overseers upgraded to commissars. since its kinda fearless but people keep dying like the good conscripts they are.

exploding collars would be funny too.

Again that's something allowed now (unless I missed something).

If anything I've nerfed them with 6+ saves (currently 5+) and no orders.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

Compare existing conscripts to IG Platoons, 2 more points per model and you get a special and a heavy weapon and a sarge.

But 2 points per model is also a 66% increase!

And existing conscripts are amazingly good for what you pay for them. What you are doing is giving them a free ld upgrade - from 5 to 8 and +1 mellee attack which is much more meaningful for conscripts rather than a lazgun.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
I feel like its way powerful to sit there with lots of fearless dudes.
it should be no IC allowed. and overseers upgraded to commissars. since its kinda fearless but people keep dying like the good conscripts they are.

exploding collars would be funny too.

Again that's something allowed now (unless I missed something).

If anything I've nerfed them with 6+ saves (currently 5+) and no orders.

Im fine with that.

I'm generally OK with it, except the save and the points cost:

Conscripts (30 pts)
1 Overseer WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld8 Sv5+
9 Conscripts WS3 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld6 Sv-
Add up to 30 Conscripts at +3 pts per model
- All models armed with LP&CCW and Krak Grenades.
- Any Conscript may be exchange LP for LG for no additional points.
- For every 5 models, one Conscript may exchange LP for a Flamer (+5 pts) or Demoliton Charge (+15 pts).
- Explosive Collars -- gain +1 Ld bonus for each Conscript removed.

In my version Conscripts get NO saves, and the LP&CCW is their base equipment. There is no need to charge extra for it. A 3x WS3 S3 attacks per model at I3 is not even close to gamebreaking, especially when the models are T3 Sv-.

Why be afraid to let Conscripts actually fight?

I dont feel like i would trust convicts with flamers or demo charges.

imho.

i like the explosive collars mechanic.


we all know conscripts will probably have there 4++ psychic invul saves

 JohnHwangDD wrote:

In my version Conscripts get NO saves, and the LP&CCW is their base equipment. There is no need to charge extra for it. A 3x WS3 S3 attacks per model at I3 is not even close to gamebreaking, especially when the models are T3 Sv-.

Why be afraid to let Conscripts actually fight?

My thinking is that giving them more melee abilities is much more of a buff than shooting. They're losing lasguns that hit on 5+ and only work on your turn for CC weapons that hit on 4+ most of the time and work on both turns.

A bit too much no?

Guardsmen kinda suck, already. Making Conscripts cheaper and worse with the same gun is uninteresting. Letting them fight in HtH as dedicated meat sheilds is interesting, and should be a fair trade. If it's a small buff, eh, so what? Would it really be a problem for Conscripts not to totally suck in HtH? By which, I mean that they fight slightly less poorly than Guardsmen, but shoot far worse.

Now if these Conscripts were somehow WS4 A3+1 S4 AP3 in HtH, I could see it being too much. But WS3 A1+1 S3 AP-? Not really.
___

Or, if you look at things from a costing perspective:

Imperial Guardsman
1 pt = base model (WS3 BS2 S3 T3 W1 A1 Ld6)
+1 pt for Sv5+, Ld7+
+2 pt for BS3 & Lasgun & Heavy/Special options
= 4 pts value

Conscript
1 pt = base model (WS3 BS2 S3 T3 W1 A1 Ld6)
+0 pt for Sv-
+2 pts for LP&CCW, limited Special options
= 3 pts value