Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Across the 40k Galaxy, there is a need which lies unfulfilled by the few paltry Kroot currently showing their faces: Mercenary fighters.

The universe is chaotic and gigantic, with large part unexplored or poorly controlled.  We have confirmed 40k fluff for Ork Freebotaz, Eldar Corsairs, human pirates and rogue traders, and even wandering Demiurg.  This codex aims to bring the fringes of the 40k universe together into a single list.

Codex: Star Dogs.

HQ Options:

Ork Kaptain – Many bands of mercenaries and pirates are composed entirely of Ork Freeboterz – as the most numerous and constantly embattled race in the Galaxy, splinters of Waaghs and isolated bands of Orks are more numerous than fleas on a grox.  These bands are led by a Kaptain or Big Boss – Orks of significant stature, but unable to gather true Waaghs or tribes.

Mercenary General – Rogue Traders, Imperial Guard defectors, and exiled Inquisitors alike are the kind of scum sloughed off the hide of the massive Imperium as it roils in the endless wars of the 41st millennium.  These individuals use charisma, money, bribery, and promises of loot to gather remarkably diverse companies of men and aliens to their side.

First Mate / Lieutenant – Ork Kaptains and Generals alike are rarely without a right-hand-man to aid them on ship or on the field.  Often, the First Mate is a key ally, as well, bringing their own resources and crew to the fight.  First Mates may be Human, Ork, Eldar, or Demiurg.

Elite Options:

Boarda Boyz – Within Ork pirate crews, the most vicious and skilled Boyz are specially chosen to spearhead boarding actions or, on the surface, take the fight to the enemy.  Armed with a vicious assortment of close-range weapons and brutal in hand-to-hand fighting, Boarda Boyz are a deadly bunch.

Eldar Warriors – The life of the Craftworld creates many outcasts, not all of whom succeed in treading the Path of the Ranger – not to mention the many Dark Eldar who flee the webway to seek their fortune, and the scattered survivors of the many Craftworlds destroyed since the Fall.  Eldar Warriors are skilled, fast, stealthy, and exceptionally well-armed, following their psyker leaders and pirate princes with great loyalty.

Renegade Marines  -- Not all Space Marines outside the good graces of the Imperium worship the Chaos powers – indeed, their superhuman prowess and the decay of the Imperium they are meant to serve makes desertion and self-interest powerful temptations.  Many small groups of Marines – survivors of campaigns, splinters of extant Chapters, or members of lost Legions – are not above selling their abilities to the highest bidder.

Demiurg Holdguard – The Demiurg are a reclusive and clannish race, but the tragedies of their recent history have reduced them from a proud, closed Empire to a group of wandering Clans in only a generation.  The best way they have found to survive in this new world is selling their considerable expertise in engineering and warfare to the highest bidder – and the Holdguard are the best salesmen imaginable.  Holdguard are well-armed and well-armored with the most advanced Archaeotech the Demiurg can muster, but are also skilled individual warriors with all the grit and stubbornness for which their race is famed.

Troop Options:

Human Mercenaries – The desperate scum of a thousand small port worlds, deserters from planetary defense forces, and professional soldiers-for-hire from the rim worlds form the great majority of a mercenary force.  Rarely well motivated or particularly well equipped, their main strength is adaptability and cunning.

Ork Freebootaz – Like human empires, the green tides of Orkdom have their cast-offs and runaways, even its share of deliberate renegades.  These groups are known collectively as “Freebootaz,” Orks who sell their services or turn to priacy for fun and profit.  Brutally cunning and cunningly brutal as befits their Orkiness, Freebootaz prefer close quarters boarding action and swift raids, showing little of the mercenary adaptability of humans.

Fast Attack Options:

Hrud Warp Raiders – The Hrud are a mysterious, fringe force on the southeastern edge of the Imperium, but over the past centuries have been found further and further into the Imperium itself.  Travelling through what they call “warp tunnels,” the Hrud have a mysterious adeptness with cloak and warp technologies that baffles Imperial scientists.  Those Hrud who leave their clan-based society to sell their services in the war-torn galaxy use this technology to infiltraite and move rapidly across a battlefield unseen, unleashing vicious assaults and barrages of fire at close range before fading again.

Eldar Scouts – Eldar Rangers and Pathfinders often go for long periods without summons or word from their home craftworlds, while many exodites find themselves away from their worlds for hundreds of years with little chance to return.  The natural stealth, sharp senses, and speed of their race serve them well in these times, and most find more than ample employment as scouts, snipers, and special agents in mercenary groups.

Mechanized Squad – Heavy equipment is relatively rare in most mercenary companies, and those lucky bands who both possess and can maintain transport or attack vehicles are a rare asset to their commanders.  Though corsairs and ship-based captains find little use for them, the mobility provided by mounts like a Rhino or Trukk and the firepower of Battlewagon, Chimera, and Razorback mounts are hard to deny.

Tellyporta Squad – While Ork mercenaries on the ground prefer the tried and true red Trukk, ever since Piscina IV, Ork raiders and Kaptains have begun to use the unstable but powerful Tellyporta developed in that campaign.  With a small risk of splattering into green paste, Tellyporta boyz and their Mek-In-Kommand are capable of taking any position by surprise or reinforcing far-distant points in the line.

Heavy Support Options:

Demiurg Warmech – The Demiurg mastery of Dark Age technology extends particularly far into the field of robotics, where their Guildmasters have pioneered ‘warmechs,’ which act like pint-sized dreadnaughts without endangering any Demiurg lives.  These lumbering creations bring to bear a wide array of heavy weapons with the flexibility of a huge, incredibly tough inftantryman and the combat abilities of several Ogryn.  Usually deployed in small groups or singly, Warmechs are a terror to behold either up close or at range.

Demiurg Grudge Squad – Demiurg are quite famous for, among other things, their inability to forget a grievous wrong done them.  They have traditionally recorded all such wrongs in a book or database, but so many of these were lost in the assault on their homeworlds that many advocate one big, general grudge.  Grudge squads carry out this harsh judgement with a wide array of extremely heavy weaponry and high-tech targeting devices, ranging from precision plasma cannons to rotary lasers.

Leman Russ Tank – The sheer number of worlds producing the Leman Russ ensures its ubiquity in both Guard regiments and in the hands of defectors and mercenaries – and the ease of its upkeep makes it even more appealing for them.  Whether stolen, bought, borrowed, or homebrewed, the Russ is a mainstay for mercenaries who can afford one.

Light Tank Squadron – Though the Leman Russ is easily available, it is also sometimes overkill or overpriced for normal mercenary groups.  Thus, some independent companies specialize in providing lighter armored support and transport with converted Razorbacks, Chimera, and Salamanders operating in groups to substitute for heavier tanks.






Stats and costs are on their way -- I want to get you all's opinion of the fluff factor and choices first, though.  Thanks ahead of time for wading through all that!

-Adso

I really really really really like it

add some snazzy archeotech and some more options. I really like the patchwork rogue-trader feel