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Hi there fellow 40kers,

I have been building a Skitarii army and I have been struggling with a couple questions. I was hoping I could get some fluff information from some of you guys to help round out my knowledge. To explain, I put a limit on myself when building a list with allies. If I am going to borrow anything from an allied army it has to make sense in some form or another fluff wise. This is relevant because I would love to take some Rhinos, Chimeras or Valkyries or something from an ally. I have found a few examples of Skitarii doing just that. This is mainly in the Horus Heresy era. However it does mention that they would keep any patterns they deemed useful around.

So this brings me to my questions: Out of the following armies which would make the most sense for the Skitarii from Mars to borrow transports from: Space Wolves, Blood Angels or Grey Knights. Of course borrowing transports from IG would be great, but alas Chimeras are dedicated transport only. I guess it works just fine for the Valkyrie.

My next question is: If you were to borrow these transports from one of these factions would you want it to be painted Mars colour to represent them having it / using it or would you want it to be the colours of the original chapter.

Any input would be great appreciated!

Grey Knights are too secretive to let others borrow their vehicles. Space wolves would do it begrudgingly, and Mechanicus don't like the Blood Angels for not sharing the Baal Predator STC.

It would most likely be Blood Angels though, because they have many rhinos (well, so do most chapters) and appreciate allies.

It would depend on the fluff you have created for your force. it could be grey knights if they are the Skitarii of Deimos. if it were foreword close to Baal, it could be blood angels. Just because Mars is pissed at someone doesn't mean that all forge worlds are. SO the fluff answer is Yes, all of the above.

TheManWithNoPlan wrote:
Grey Knights are too secretive to let others borrow their vehicles. Space wolves would do it begrudgingly, and Mechanicus don't like the Blood Angels for not sharing the Baal Predator STC.

It would most likely be Blood Angels though, because they have many rhinos (well, so do most chapters) and appreciate allies.

It would not be the Blood Angels by a long stretch.
They've got a long standing enmity with the Adeptus Mechanicus because of their refusal to share their overcharged engines, they would never willingly give those engines wrapped up in a rhino to warriors of the AdMech. Space Marines in general probably wouldn't like giving out their stuff for a bunch of lowly Skitarii to use, but the likes of the Iron Hands or some of the more diplomatic chapters might go for it.

Personally I'd use whatever marine rules you like, but paint them up in the appropriate Forge World colours and say they belong to the Skitarii. The Rhino may no longer be used by the Imperial Guard but it is still used by many Imperial institutions, notably the Sororitas and Arbites. The AdMech is going to be cranking more than enough out to keep a few for themselves if they want to.

Most of the Imperium has no idea the Grey Knights exist, including entire Chapters of Space Marines. The AdMech is, largely, no different in this regard.

Getting Rhinos is no problem for the AdMech, they're one of the most-common armored vehicles produced. You could "borrow" them from any allied force available and paint them in the colors of your AdMech force and be fine.

I wish Inquisitorial rhinos were also FA, that would make things alot easier.

If you wanted to run GK with them, the fluff has established that an entire moon of Deimos was gifted to them. It would stand to reason that that moon has a skitarii garrison. but you could say that any IOM faction is allied with your particular band because the forge worlds are largely independent and pay fealty to mars in the forms of tithes. Mars doesn't have direct control of every aspect of each individual forge world. SO the real question is in this fluff you are creating, does your local magos get along with the local space maerine/iom faction/chapter?

The Skitarii has no need to borrow anything from anyone. They would have their own. And Space Marines are not around to ferry other forces around. AdMech-forces are amongst the best the IOM have to offer and they have their own freaking fleets so they have their own transportation. But I guess y ou want to paint something else than AdMech.

Aren't we forgetting the Iron Hands?

 RaptorusRex wrote:
Aren't we forgetting the Iron Hands?

They are also around, but I think they have better time on their hands than to ferry around Skitarii.

I mean if any force is autonomous in the IOM its the Skitarii. They don't need SM help to ferry themselves around.

Definitely not BA as posted above, the Ad Mech want to get their oily hands on our over charged engines, the mechanical perverts!

However it isn't really enmity between BA and Ad Mech more of a long term squabble. Plus I believe Dante Recovered parts of an old imperator Titan which he sent to Mars in an effort to ease their relationship.

I'm glad I'm not the only one a teensy bit pissed the Admech don't have their own transport.

 Quickjager wrote:
I'm glad I'm not the only one a teensy bit pissed the Admech don't have their own transport.

Well, the only unit that I feel would be worth losing for some kind of transport model would be the electro priests for reasons you could guess. I would prefer to keep pretty much every other unit rather than see a transport have been released in their place. Soo... that's one reason. Another being the fact that with such a small number of units in both books, the canticles/whatever the skitarii version of canticles are called would be significantly less practical if used on a transport vehicle. I know it'd be the players' decision, but how much of a decision is it really if, after the transport, you're left with basically 3 units to choose from?

I'm actually okay with Skitarii having no transports.

From a fluff perspective, it works. The original Skitarii of Mars operated in what amounted to nomadic caravans, that strode the wastes of Mars for so long they ground their legs to stubs upon the rocks.

Fluffwise the Skitarii can have any vehicle they want. After all, the Mechanicus are the ones who make all those vehicles in the first place, so they have more access to them than any other faction.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
Fluffwise the Skitarii can have any vehicle they want. After all, the Mechanicus are the ones who make all those vehicles in the first place, so they have more access to them than any other faction.

Any except land riders.
But yes fluff wise Skitari forces have access to anything that AD-mech manufactures. So bolters, power armors and many other things.

Sure they would have access to it...if we weren't talking about an organization that is as ruled by dogma and tradition as logic. We're talking about an organization where innovation is conflated with heresy.

No transports makes perfect sense in that Skitarii and the Mechanicus as a whole are deeply devoted to their traditions.