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 liquidjoshi wrote:
I think this came up in the first thread, the whole "Give them stealth, make them good in CC, glass hammer kind of army" idea, and he just flat out rejected it. A shame, because it's a good idea IMO.

Demetri: Doing fluff for other people's race like a boss.

It works, I suggest this replacing the whole psychic thing.

 blood reaper wrote:

 liquidjoshi wrote:
I think this came up in the first thread, the whole "Give them stealth, make them good in CC, glass hammer kind of army" idea, and he just flat out rejected it. A shame, because it's a good idea IMO.

Demetri: Doing fluff for other people's race like a boss.

It works, I suggest this replacing the whole psychic thing.

This.

Obviously thirded from my POV. Alie, you would be foolish not to take this idea and run with it.

Wish people would give me ideas like that. Hot damn...

It would be far better than the whole psychic Thunder Cats thing, and make a concept of these savage beasts that have evolved into a sentient race, but still posses a level of bestial nature. Psychers as leaders would work, but more as savage Druids, that are half sane and Alpha Leaders who rule by brute force. Low armour saves and toughness would be negated by sheer speed and brute force, with Furious charge and fleet a common army rule.

I'd play up the stealth side, good cover saves, dodge saves a'la Wyches, fleet and so on all around, but with low Toughness and few armour saves, if any. Yes, I am serious. Infiltrate and scouts would be common. Some psychic stuff, but more as support than actual leaders, same as most races in 40K.

Thank you liquidjoshi.

Think you've found common ground with Dakka Alie, the floor is yours to command.

Also, (everyone & anyone) if you want me to write a synopsis of fluff for you, I'd be happy to. I'm serious when I said that I've been trying to write for the BL for the past 3 years - send me a PM.

 DemetriDominov wrote:


I still imagine them to look and feel like this:

Spoiler:

I imagined them like this:

Yeah the crystals need a serious overhall, or just remove them. I think your main problem at the minute is you are trying to force your race to be something it doesn't want to be. I find there is a strange thing when writing fiction is that if you let it, a lot of things will write themselves. At the minute you seem determined to have your race as a superior form of humanity, with cat faces. But I think they will write a lot more naturally as a more beast like race.

In all society there is a pyramid of hierarchy and I think you need to sort out the structure of the lynx society, in order to get more of a feel of how they are as a race, and in turn how they work on the table top. At the minute everyone in your race is super psychic and has the same sort of powers except your leader. This doesn't offer much in the way of structure, one of the best examples of this in 40k is the Tau Caste structure, its a very rigid scheme but makes writing sense, and works well on the table top as well. Have a look at the Tau caste system, it may help a lot.

 Tadashi wrote:


I imagined them like this:

[Good Picture- lacking all catlike features]

But the brute isn't very catlike, or do you mean it's personality?

 DemetriDominov wrote:

 Tadashi wrote:


I imagined them like this:

[Good Picture- lacking all catlike features]

But the brute isn't very catlike, or do you mean it's personality?

The general physical traits of a Brute are close enough, and its personality is...yeah, what I would expect.

Scrap what I said before, had a much better idea that allows you guys to get your bestial Lynx that you've all been craving, plus allows me to keep the psyker aspect of the army. So, this is what I'm going to do:
1. Give the psychic Lynx a slight buff, but cost 'em a bit higher.
2. Introduce non-psychic Lynx, with the aforementioned rules kindly supplied by Liquid. Thanks mate!
3. Army play style will change. If you are on a low-budget, smaller-scale battle, then the non-psyker Lynx would be best, as they would cost less and you could have more of them than normal, plain all-round psychic Lynx (now that I think about it, rolling all those tests would be incredibly time consuming, so best to add them anyway). This would allow for a more flexible army well-suited to numerous situations.
4. Fluff is having a nice re-make. Now, this is what'll happen:
Only some Lynx have been given the innate psyker talents. This happens as an entire world, so a planet with Lynx on it is either going to be colonised by psyker/anti-psykers, or just plain stealthy warriors. Now, as the psychic Lynx consider themselves to be "illuminated" to Cleovara (the deity, which I am still thinking about) wish to bring this revelation to the remainder of the feral population. This gives almost a "Great Crusade" kind of niche that I think would be nice to see in 40k. Now some of the feral population isn't going to want this change forced upon them, so this would make feral/civil Lynx battles perfectly reasonable. This also actually gives me more to work with, culturally and socially, than the plain version does.
And I think thenoobomb actually asked for a unit of half-possessed Lynx? I have done the basics of the unit, but this change is going to fundamentally alter them. So it'll take a while, but I'll make sure to post them.
Anyway, so here are the two different base unit choices. One's feral, one's civil.
WS 5 BS 2/3 S 4 T 3 W 1 I 5 A 2 Ld 7 Sv 6+
Wargear: Let's say... Teeth and Claws, maybe a primitive sword or club? Tribal Garments (6+ save, not much else)
Special Rules: Of course, there's Fleet, Stealth, Move Through Cover etc. All the requirements you would expect.

WS 4 BS 4 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 5 A 1 Ld 9 Sv 5+/5++
Wargear: Silversword (basic AP 3 weapons, these guys cost, remember?), Lance Rifle, Amour (no name for it yet, let's just go with armour)
Special Rules: Deepsyker... And... that's about it. Maybe MTC, I don't know.

Does this sound better? I think it makes the army more versatile, the fluff easier to write, and pretty much a good play style that would be friendly to beginners. But, it's up to you for the critique. So, let the questions commence!

I may like the divide between civilized and feral Lynx, but I also think that the Tau and Kroot embody what you're trying to say. Also, I can see that the Lynx are split almost exactly how the Imperium was during the Great Heresy - One believes themselves righteous in light of their Emperor, and the other believes Him to be the false Emperor. (and has existed for almost 10,000 years.)

Questions to consider:

With such a stark contrast already existing in the lore, there needs to be a very defined explanation as to why the Lynx allow corruption into their ranks and the two very different cultures even fight as one under any circumstance.

Do they follow chaos? Why then would they allow themselves to be possessed? Do the human Illuminati know them/influence them? What is their relationship with other races - to each other? Why?

Also, how did entire planets uniformly develop psychic powers while others did not?

What happened to the soulstones? The crystals?

How is society built? Is there a leader? Is there more than one leader? What do their weapons do? How do they work? With so much psychic attention why doesn't Chaos devour them? Why is Cleovara important? Do they have traditions?

I'm still not sold on how they fight - how exactly do they fight? What are their tactics? Are their squads called Prides -do they even have squads? Do they use stealth? Are they legion, or are they few in number? Why are their base units so good at both close combat and ranged combat and have a strong leadership value? Do they have ordinance, vehicles, equipment? What's the technological base of their weaponry? What threatens them? What drives them, aka what is their goal? Do they mutate - they must if they have adapted to other worlds - how extensive is that mutation? What are their psychic powers? How did they come about?

I think that will keep you busy for now. That's about half of my list, and it grows by two questions with every one answered - but it will help you develop your army a hundredfold.

Alie, the best, and really the only thing you can do at this point is take what Dimitri has said and work on those questions. Flesh them out, work with them, make sure you get it all sorted out and consistent, check against existing fluff too. The reason every other thread went off topic was because you expected everyone else to answer these questions for you. Only you can answer them.

 liquidjoshi wrote:
Alie, the best, and really the only thing you can do at this point is take what Dimitri has said and work on those questions. Flesh them out, work with them, make sure you get it all sorted out and consistent, check against existing fluff too. The reason every other thread went off topic was because you expected everyone else to answer these questions for you. Only you can answer them.

Well said, but why are you the 12th person to refer to me as Dimitri rather than Demetri? I don't get it, why does everyone spell it that way?

 DemetriDominov wrote:

 liquidjoshi wrote:
Alie, the best, and really the only thing you can do at this point is take what Dimitri has said and work on those questions. Flesh them out, work with them, make sure you get it all sorted out and consistent, check against existing fluff too. The reason every other thread went off topic was because you expected everyone else to answer these questions for you. Only you can answer them.

Well said, but why are you the 12th person to refer to me as Dimitri rather than Demetri? I don't get it, why does everyone spell it that way?

I think Dimitri is a more common spelling in some areas (everyone I know by that name is Dimitri rather than Demetri for example) so they may just be writing the way they know the name rather than the way you have spelt it? You know, you see a name and its spelt the way you are used to in your mind, even though it isn't the same on paper. Anyone can do it.

Fair enough. I wasn't trying to abrasive, I find it amusing - I actually laughed when I saw it because so many people refer to me as that and I've always wondered.

 DemetriDominov wrote:
Fair enough. I wasn't trying to abrasive, I find it amusing - I actually laughed when I saw it because so many people refer to me as that and I've always wondered.

Name spelling is always funny. So many people try and spell my last name with an added letter at the end, when its so much simpler just the way it is. Its Kay, not Kaye. Why do they try to add the 'E'? No one knows...

 DemetriDominov wrote:
I may like the divide between civilized and feral Lynx, but I also think that the Tau and Kroot embody what you're trying to say. Also, I can see that the Lynx are split almost exactly how the Imperium was during the Great Heresy - One believes themselves righteous in light of their Emperor, and the other believes Him to be the false Emperor. (and has existed for almost 10,000 years.)

Questions to consider:

With such a stark contrast already existing in the lore, there needs to be a very defined explanation as to why the Lynx allow corruption into their ranks and the two very different cultures even fight as one under any circumstance.

Do they follow chaos? Why then would they allow themselves to be possessed? Do the human Illuminati know them/influence them? What is their relationship with other races - to each other? Why?

Also, how did entire planets uniformly develop psychic powers while others did not?

What happened to the soulstones? The crystals?

How is society built? Is there a leader? Is there more than one leader? What do their weapons do? How do they work? With so much psychic attention why doesn't Chaos devour them? Why is Cleovara important? Do they have traditions?

I'm still not sold on how they fight - how exactly do they fight? What are their tactics? Are their squads called Prides -do they even have squads? Do they use stealth? Are they legion, or are they few in number? Why are their base units so good at both close combat and ranged combat and have a strong leadership value? Do they have ordinance, vehicles, equipment? What's the technological base of their weaponry? What threatens them? What drives them, aka what is their goal? Do they mutate - they must if they have adapted to other worlds - how extensive is that mutation? What are their psychic powers? How did they come about?

I think that will keep you busy for now. That's about half of my list, and it grows by two questions with every one answered - but it will help you develop your army a hundredfold.

That will keep me busy. And it gives me a lot more to think about for their cultural aspects

You are very persistant. Admirable. I do suggest working towards a more consice background, using all the questions that Demetri gave you as bases for sections. If you require any help, sling me a PM.

Thank you Ninja. The actual drive that made me begin this race was that feeling of no race fitting me as a person. Having a hand at bringing characters and whole civilisations to life gives you a nice feeling of worthiness.

You could always have collected Eldar...

 purplefood wrote:
You could always have collected Eldar...

I've always liked the Biel-Tan...not as much as Space Marines/Imperium though.

Nope. Don't like 'em. No idea why. Just don't.

Funny...
I mean the similarities between your race and the Eldar would kinda hint that you do like them to some degree but apparently not...
Go figure...

 Mynameisalie wrote:
Nope. Don't like 'em. No idea why. Just don't.

Well...Eldar are a bunch of trolls...and Dark Eldar are even worse...

 DemetriDominov wrote:

 liquidjoshi wrote:
Alie, the best, and really the only thing you can do at this point is take what Dimitri has said and work on those questions. Flesh them out, work with them, make sure you get it all sorted out and consistent, check against existing fluff too. The reason every other thread went off topic was because you expected everyone else to answer these questions for you. Only you can answer them.

Well said, but why are you the 12th person to refer to me as Dimitri rather than Demetri? I don't get it, why does everyone spell it that way?

Lol, sorry, just assumed it was Dimitri rather than Demetri. My bad.

 Tadashi wrote:

 Mynameisalie wrote:
Nope. Don't like 'em. No idea why. Just don't.

Well...Eldar are a bunch of trolls...and Dark Eldar are even worse...

My point exactly.

Demetri, I'm going to try and answer some of those questions, and just clarify a point (it's just a small one).
I'll clarify the point first. Where you said it was like humanity, half believes the Emperor is false an the other believe he is a god etc, it's similar, but not quite there. The feral Lynx aren't against the Goddess/Deity concept, they just don't know of it. Whilst this does sound like the Tau I just want to mention that I planned the Lynx to be allies to them in the first place. The Tau really do need some love.
The explanation for the corruption thing. I don't understand what you meant by that. Really, I don't. What did you mean exactly? I'm going to try to answer that though. The Lynx, as a species, have a racial bond much stronger than any other's. It's kind of a litter instinct. As a race, they'll fight as one, because it's a pre-historic survival instinct that dates back to the ancient times, when Lynx were little more than Alex predators with only a small amount of intelligence. It made them fight as a unit, even if they hated each other, when they were backed into a corner or were working as a team to tackle prey. I still. An't answer it fully though.

No. They don't follow chaos. You think the IoM has a hatred for daemons? You're not even close to how the Lynx feel about them. I think when we were messing about with the messages thing, I wrote a paragraph about the Lynx crushing the daemonic hordes etc etc. They go bat sh*t crazy when they see one (well, the psyker ones do anyway. The ordinary ones don't have clue what a daemon is, except that it's evil and irritating).

 Mynameisalie wrote:
even if they hated each other, when they were backed into a corner or were working as a team to tackle prey.

*CoughEldar/DarkEldarcough*

liquidjoshi wrote:
Lol, sorry, just assumed it was Dimitri rather than Demetri. My bad.

Not your bad, I was just curious.

Mynameisalie wrote:Demetri, I'm going to try and answer some of those questions, and just clarify a point (it's just a small one).
I'll clarify the point first. Where you said it was like humanity, half believes the Emperor is false an the other believe he is a god etc, it's similar, but not quite there. The feral Lynx aren't against the Goddess/Deity concept, they just don't know of it. Whilst this does sound like the Tau I just want to mention that I planned the Lynx to be allies to them in the first place. The Tau really do need some love.
The explanation for the corruption thing. I don't understand what you meant by that. Really, I don't. What did you mean exactly? I'm going to try to answer that though. The Lynx, as a species, have a racial bond much stronger than any other's. It's kind of a litter instinct. As a race, they'll fight as one, because it's a pre-historic survival instinct that dates back to the ancient times, when Lynx were little more than Alex predators with only a small amount of intelligence. It made them fight as a unit, even if they hated each other, when they were backed into a corner or were working as a team to tackle prey. I still. An't answer it fully though.

No. They don't follow chaos. You think the IoM has a hatred for daemons? You're not even close to how the Lynx feel about them. I think when we were messing about with the messages thing, I wrote a paragraph about the Lynx crushing the daemonic hordes etc etc. They go bat sh*t crazy when they see one (well, the psyker ones do anyway. The ordinary ones don't have clue what a daemon is, except that it's evil and irritating).

1. Ignorance of deity - Ok, but why is she important to your race? Why should the feral cats even care? Why do the "enlightened" cats press their religion upon their neighbours? Do they? Why or why not?

2. Allies to tau - This makes sense for two reasons, the lynx are clearly a "Good" archetype and those who align themselves to like them would probably like the tau as well - and those who don't, probably don't think highly of the Tau, which is basically everyone. ./sarcasm (sorry, but even you know that's somewhat true)

3.As a race, they fight as one, but are divided between non pyskers and pyskers, followers of a Goddess, feral and civilized on an almost planetary scale of division. So clearly this is a generalization of what happens when we are, dare I say it, herding cats?

4. The Lynx hate chaos more than the fanatical, genocidal Imperium, but are ok with demonic possession? How? And why do they hate demons so much, yet are at least half a psyker race that is so far stuck in limbo of a description between awesome psykers and incredibly vulnerable individuals without warding protection?

My best advice I can give you is to sit back and do some organization to refine the Lynx. As any good writer will tell you, you will go through multiple drafts until you reach a final product that can stand against criticism - and you have done well in being persistent. I find that when I'm stuck or shifting gears in my own writing however, taking a break -whether it be hours, days, or weeks - and coming back to it with ideas developed in the back of your mind will enable you to write exactly what you had intended all along and see flaws that were not originally apparent.