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With the recent on demand release of Lord Solar Macharius and me having just finished the Macharian Crusade Trilogy from BL, I was a bit inspired to make rules for him to use in 7th ed.

Points: 150

FOC slot - HQ

WS5 BS4 S3 T3 W3 I4 A3 Ld10 Sv 4+

Wargear:
Bolt Pistol
Carapace Armour
Frag Grenades

Heirloom of Conquest:

Helm of Macharius (4+ invulnerable save)

The Lion Blade
Range: -- S: +1 AP: 2, Melee, Master-Crafted

Special Rules:
Senior Officer
Voice of Command
Independent Character
Fearless
Adamantium Will

Air of Authority: Macharius' range for orders is 24" rather than 12". Furthermore, Lord Solar Macharius' mere presence infects nearby troops with his own zeal and belief in the Crusade. All friendly Astra Militarum units within 12" of Macharius become Stubborn and may use his leadership for morale and pinning tests.

Jealous Command: If Lord Solar Macharius is in your army, he must be the Warlord.

Master Strategist: Macharius can choose what Warlord Trait he has at the beginning of the game from either the Astra Militarum, Strategic, Command, Personal or Tactical Warlord Trait tables, prior to deployment. Macharius also gains +1 to Seize the Initiative rolls.

What do you guys think? I think it captures the unique capabilities of Macharius as a leader and how he was also fierce fighter with a keen mind for tactics. I was debating giving him Eternal Warrior but I chose not to since it detracts from his main draw as a force multiplier in the army. Adamatium Will is a fluffy addition from the book trilogy given how he resisted the temptations of a Lord of Change on Kasrk. Similarly, Jealous Command reflects his need to direct the Crusade personally and the later problems of the Crusade when his own Generals begin plotting against him.

4 Attacks seems a little high for a regular human. (Right? He is just human, right?) But I see no major issues.

He's good, the rules fit his fluff well. However I agree 4 attacks is a little high, he is only human, he shouldn't throw out 6 attacks on the charge.

Due to how ornate his armour is you could probably get away with giving him a 3+ save if you desire, otherwise there are very few circumstances you'll ever use his armour save at all.

My only issue I have is I hate it when any character can choose their Warlord trait. Otherwise I think if you bump the cost up by 10-15 points you can get away with EW in his rules.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
My only issue I have is I hate it when any character can choose their Warlord trait. Otherwise I think if you bump the cost up by 10-15 points you can get away with EW in his rules.

He's a regular human. Why would he have Eternal Warrior?

(I know, Yarrick has it. Yarrick also has a bunch of Orks who think he's immortal, giving him a boost from WAAAAGH! energy.)

Edit: And if he deserves Eternal Warrior, then Typhus DAMN WELL deserves Eternal Warrior.

I like it so far but it's a bit...meh...There's not really anything that puts him apart from a buffed commander. A couple more unique rules would be good rather than a generic "everyone within x" uses his Leadership".

 JNAProductions wrote:

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:
My only issue I have is I hate it when any character can choose their Warlord trait. Otherwise I think if you bump the cost up by 10-15 points you can get away with EW in his rules.

He's a regular human. Why would he have Eternal Warrior?

(I know, Yarrick has it. Yarrick also has a bunch of Orks who think he's immortal, giving him a boost from WAAAAGH! energy.)

Edit: And if he deserves Eternal Warrior, then Typhus DAMN WELL deserves Eternal Warrior.

Nobody is arguing Typhus shouldn't have it. I'd much prefer he have Poison 2+ on his weapons but meh.

I have changed his attacks to 3 since I may have exaggerated his melee capabilities a little too much, especially since he already has AP2 and +1S on his attacks.

Due to how ornate his armour is you could probably get away with giving him a 3+ save if you desire, otherwise there are very few circumstances you'll ever use his armour save at all.

I was contemplating that but ultimately decided against it since I do not exactly want to make him any closer to a space marine. His original rules had his helm give a 3+ invuln. instead which I could implement though that would be another 10-15 points to jack up his cost.

My only issue I have is I hate it when any character can choose their Warlord trait.

May I ask you why? Zandrekh pulls it off for the Necrons and I find it dynamic and fluffy. Similarly, Macharius' just allows the player to adapt towards an enemy army like Macharius would with his meticulous planning and ability to read a battlefield.

I like it so far but it's a bit...meh...There's not really anything that puts him apart from a buffed commander. A couple more unique rules would be good rather than a generic "everyone within x" uses his Leadership".

Fair enough, and it's a slight personal choice for me to have him not rely on any super-unique special rules mainly because I find that it makes it come off too much as a special snowflake, For all the charisma and amazing achievements of Macharius, he was still a man and I still want to reflect that in the rules.

Taking your advice, I could change Air of Authority by removing the part where Astra Militarum units within 12" are Stubborn/use his Leadership and instead add a part where orders issued by him never suffer an "Incompetent Command" result even when rolling double 6's for the leadership test taken for an order, which is instead treated as a "Could you Repeat That Sir" result. I could go even further and make it so any orders issued by Macharius trigger "Inspired Tactics" on any result that end in doubles (double 6's excepted). Or does this seem overkill compared to what I had before?

Needs more RANDOM!

I say that only half jokingly, as we all know how much GW loves tossing unneeded dice rolls around. But I just dragged out my old 3rd ed IG codex to look up his rules, and he has random stats!

“Old War Wounds” is one of his special rules, representing his injuries at the siege of Jakart. His WS is 1d3+2, and his attacks are 1d3+1

Other fun special rules are furious charge (d3 attacks, rather then +1 for charging), 12” bubble where guard units can use his LD10 for morale and pinning, a 3++ save from the helm, and the ability to always go first in missions where it is determined randomly.

Gear is a MC BP, MC power weapon, carapace armor, helm, and a trademark item (cloak)

 Nevelon wrote:
Needs more RANDOM!

I say that only half jokingly, as we all know how much GW loves tossing unneeded dice rolls around. But I just dragged out my old 3rd ed IG codex to look up his rules, and he has random stats!

“Old War Wounds” is one of his special rules, representing his injuries at the siege of Jakart. His WS is 1d3+2, and his attacks are 1d3+1

Other fun special rules are furious charge (d3 attacks, rather then +1 for charging), 12” bubble where guard units can use his LD10 for morale and pinning, a 3++ save from the helm, and the ability to always go first in missions where it is determined randomly.

Gear is a MC BP, MC power weapon, carapace armor, helm, and a trademark item (cloak)

Yeah, I've seen his previous rules before. My portrayal of Macharius is him at his prime, hence why he doesn't have any Old War Wounds. The Ferocious Charge seems redundant when people in this thread have already pointed out he's already pretty strong in CC for a human character, which I think the Lion Blade compensates for. I effectively kept the 12" bubble of Ld10 (unless I go for the order thing instead) and +1 to Seize the Initiative replaces always going first in missions.