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Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





So compared to their 7th edition incarnation, 8th edition Ynnari were relatively balanced and somewhat less clunky mechanically. In their pre-FAQ incarnation, there were some decent uses for Strength From Death, though many aeldari units basically only existed in Ynnari armies to die horribly. Post-FAQ, it has become so difficult to soul burst that you'll really only see things like Dark Reapers with Yvraine tossing powers at them or maybe deepstriking dragons/wraiths backed up by quicken ever really utilize the Strength From Death rules. Which is a shame because I love the Ynnari fluff and the general concept of eldar becoming supernaturally powerful as they absorb the souls of the dying. It has a lot of the same appeal as the old 5th edition Power From Pain rules or the 7th edition daemonkin rules.

So with all that in mind, I'm pitching some overhauled Strength From Death rules. Let me know what you think.

GOALS
* Avoid the clunkiness of soulbursting during your opponent's turn.
* Make Strength From Death more universally useful instead of just a way to shoot reapers/dragons/wraiths an extra time.
* Lower the rate at which ynnari can perform bonus actions.
* Make dying fun.

Strength From Death
Aeldari units in a ynnari detachment lose Battle Focus, Power From Pain, and Rising Crescendo. Aeldari infantry, bikes, and monsters taken in a ynnari detachment gain the Strength From Death rule. A unit with this rule may possess "Soulburst Tokens" and may carry up to 3 such tokens at a time. Units begin the game with 0 tokens and may gain tokens throughout the game by...

* Slaying the last model in an enemy unit as a casualty while within 7" of the last model to be removed. Models removed by failed Morale tests do not grant tokens. Note that only the unit that inflicted the final wound gains the token.
*When a friendly ynnari infantry or biker unit anywhere on the battlefield has its last model removed as a casualty (losses due to morale don't count), the nearest ynnari unit receives a new token as well as any tokens the slain ynnari unit was carrying.
NOTE: Per the 8th edition rules, the controlling player determines the order in which casualties are removed. Therefore, the controlling player for a given unit would determine where exactly the last model to be removed is positioned.

If a ynnari unit that already possesses 3 tokens would gain an additional token, the new token instead goes to the next closest friendly ynnari unit and so on. If there are no friendly ynnari on the table with less that 3 tokens, the new token is lost.

A unit with a soulburst token is filled with supernatural vigor and thus adds 3" to its Movement characteristic and 1 to its Attacks characteristic. Additionally, units may spend tokens in the following ways. Once a token is spent, it is removed from the game. A given unit may only spend tokens once per game round.

1 Token - Use this at the start of any phase during your own turn. Until the end of the turn, the ynnari unit adds 1 to its WS, BS, and to any Psychic Tests it makes.
1 Token - Use this during your movement phase when the ynnari unit moves. You may add 6" to its movement.
2 Tokens - Use this during your psychic phase. The ynnari unit may cast any power it knows even a unit already attempted to manifest that power previously in the turn and even if this would allow the psyker to exceed the total number of powers it is usually allowed to cast.
2 Tokens - Use this during your shooting phase. The ynnari unit may shoot even if it has already done so this phase.
2 Tokens - Use this during your fight phase. The ynnari unit may pile in, fight, and compile even if it has already done so this phase.

PSYCHIC POWERS
Modify Word of the Phoenix to be...
Word of the Phoenix:
WC 6. Target a friendly ynnari unit within 18" of the psyker. That unit gains a soulburst token. If the psychic test used to manifest this power results in an 11 or higher, the unit instead gains d3 tokens.


So yeah. That's what I've got. While it's wordier than the current version and technically requires more bookkeeping, I feel that it will actually play in a more straightforward fashion than previous incarnations. Basically, you'll have a stack of between 0 and 3 counters next to each ynnari unit, and you can opt to spend those counters to get a bonus that either dissipates at the end of the turn or else lets you perform an action that is resolved immediately.

Note that pricing the "extra action" options at 2 tokens means that you won't be able to unload into the enemy as part of a deepstriking sucker punch as easily, and the hypothetical squad of dark reapers next to Yvraine will only be building up enough tokens to shoot twice every other turn unless someone is killing a unit right next to them. (In which case, they should probably be targeting the reapers instead). You won't get the constant buffs of craftworld attributes, rising crescendo, and power from pain, but you'll be able to "spike" your offense here and there as you take and inflict casualties.

My hope is that these mechanics will cause Ynnari throughout an army to start feeling faster and more potent as the game goes on. So when you're halfway through a game and half your army has been wiped out, you'll have a decent number of tokens scattered around your army that you can use to even the odds.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/12/10 20:00:24



ATTENTION
. Psychic tests are unfluffy. Your longing for AV is understandable but misguided. Your chapter doesn't need a separate codex. Doctrines should go away. Being a "troop" means nothing. This has been a cranky service announcement. You may now resume your regularly scheduled arguing.
 
   
 
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