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I have just finished reading, Defender of the Imperium and it was very good. I am wondering why there aren't any rules for him his fluff is amazing and he would make a powerful character in games. Thanks

He's solely a creation of Black Library, and not a real GW character. Much like how the Blood Ravens are not an "official" chapter.

Because, GW hates money

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Because, GW hates money

Not really.


I'm certain there's a bunch of legal stuff in the way of them doing that. If they could release "Codex: Blood Ravens" and milk the DoW fans of all their teef, they probably would.

They did apparently adopt Gaunt's Ghosts from Dan Abnett, so it's not unheard of. But you rarely hear of them anyway.

You can make your own rules.
Like that everyone has to scream 'HERO OF THE IMPERIUM' whenever he does something.

Pssst, Amberley said to use the Lord Commissar rules.

I think a Lord Commissar with Carapace Armor would fit him fine, unless you felt like adding some house rules.

Example:

If in any Close Combat, Cain's unit fails to inflict wounds on the enemy, he may choose to automatically fail his Morale check. No Guardsmen are executed, and the unit may not be caught in sweeping advances.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Because, GW hates money

Not really.


I'm certain there's a bunch of legal stuff in the way of them doing that. If they could release "Codex: Blood Ravens" and milk the DoW fans of all their teef, they probably would.

They did apparently adopt Gaunt's Ghosts from Dan Abnett, so it's not unheard of. But you rarely hear of them anyway.

I kind of doubt it, usually GW owns all the rights to things created by other parties, look at how they use all the Sabertooth art for Horus Heresy stuff and I think we've seen some FFG and video game art sneaking into codexes.

I go with GW hates their fans almost as much as they hate making money.

If I ran GW WD would include one or more BL characters a month. We'd have 3 versions of Einhorn, Ravenor, the Blood Ravens, the Iron Snakes, everyone!

But I don't run GW.

KYOTO FOR CEO!

Don't they need permission from the creator, in this case Sandy Mitchell? That's how it usually works doesn't it?

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Don't they need permission from the creator, in this case Sandy Mitchell? That's how it usually works doesn't it?

Depends on the contract.

All BL stuff is Work for Hire so the company owns all rights, hold on a sec I'll be right back.







OK I'm back. My copy of Ciaphas Cain says copyright GW, no mention of Mitchell at all in the copyrights.

BL contracts might include some payments if their characters are used elsewhere though, since the 1980s most comic book creators get a cut of the action figures and movies even though the company owns the character.

Of course I'm basing all of this on my knowledge of US law, maybe the UK is different. maybe writers do maintain some moral rights even in work for hire situations.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I go with GW hates their fans almost as much as they hate making money.

Or perhaps they just don't think he fits into their grimdark and serious vision of the 41st millennium.

"If the developers and other creative folks believe a contribution by an author fits the bill and has an appeal to the audience, why not fold it back into the ‘game’ world – such as Gaunt’s Ghosts or characters from the Gotrek and Felix series. On the other hand, if an author has a bit of a wobbly moment, there’s no pressure to feel that it has to be accepted into the worldview promulgated by the codexes and army books. And beside, there simply isn’t enough room in those gaming books to include everything from the hundreds of novels – good, bad or indifferent as we each see them – so the decision must ultimately rest with the taste of individual readers and gamers."
- Gav Thorpe

That being said, apparently Black Library had commissioned a mini for him - so anyone who wants to field this character as their Commissar could try to hunt one of these down on ebay or so?



There was a time when several novel characters were available. I distinctively remember Ephrael Stern, too. And she even had her own rules - but they later backpedaled and said that she's supposed to be fielded as a normal Seraphim Superior now.

Cain can just be a Lord Comissar with a couple of special rules and a bumped up points cost, I'm more interested in seeing rules for Jurgen.

BS very high human with a melta, -1 initiative for everyone in CC because of his stench and can feth up psykers.

 Lynata wrote:

Kid_Kyoto wrote:I go with GW hates their fans almost as much as they hate making money.

Or perhaps they just don't think he fits into their grimdark and serious vision of the 41st millennium.

"If the developers and other creative folks believe a contribution by an author fits the bill and has an appeal to the audience, why not fold it back into the ‘game’ world – such as Gaunt’s Ghosts or characters from the Gotrek and Felix series. On the other hand, if an author has a bit of a wobbly moment, there’s no pressure to feel that it has to be accepted into the worldview promulgated by the codexes and army books. And beside, there simply isn’t enough room in those gaming books to include everything from the hundreds of novels – good, bad or indifferent as we each see them – so the decision must ultimately rest with the taste of individual readers and gamers."
- Gav Thorpe

That being said, apparently Black Library had commissioned a mini for him - so anyone who wants to field this character as their Commissar could try to hunt one of these down on ebay or so?



There was a time when several novel characters were available. I distinctively remember Ephrael Stern, too. And she even had her own rules - but they later backpedaled and said that she's supposed to be fielded as a normal Seraphim Superior now.

Like you said, I don't think any BL, video game or other characters have 40k rules at the moment. Gaunt is the only one I can think of and they took him out 2 editions ago.

GW apparently does not believe in synergy. If they did they'd have rules for Death Watch (now a best selling RPG!), Blood Ravens, special characters based on their books etc.

Orkwarboss456 wrote:
I have just finished reading, Defender of the Imperium and it was very good. I am wondering why there aren't any rules for him his fluff is amazing and he would make a powerful character in games. Thanks

Because some moron would buy into the legend and run him straight into a challenge against Kharn, or a daemon prince or something, and then we'd have to endure endless threads about how GW screwed up the rules because Cain died in the first round of combat.