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I always wanted to do an army of Lizardmanmarines, and have now decided to take the plunge. I've figured out how to model them (Sargeant etc with lizardman heads, lizardman shields as storm shields stuff like that) but, I'm still stuck on two things. Fluff background (by this I mean reasonable explanation of the defect/genetic alteration) and a colour scheme.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 JohnnoM wrote:
I always wanted to do an army of Lizardmanmarines, and have now decided to take the plunge. I've figured out how to model them (Sargeant etc with lizardman heads, lizardman shields as storm shields stuff like that) but, I'm still stuck on two things. Fluff background (by this I mean reasonable explanation of the defect/genetic alteration) and a colour scheme.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

While I would laugh until my eyes turned to blood, I can tell you now that fluff just doesn't support it. Inquisition would be on that like Orks on a squigroast. You could possibly go renegade with the fluff, but I think you'd end up with an army full of models screaming "Kill me now, heretic"

*edit*
But if you are heartset on it, go for it. I'm not really sure if the lizardmen models will properly match up with SM armor and bits, but worth looking into, I suppose. Just don't be surprised if some people have less than stellar reactions to it.

Im going to agree with nero here, the fluff rules out any truly extreme mutations like that, at least if you want a loyalist chapter.

Edit: I had a thought. If you want loyalist marines you can always claim they just have really fancy helmets/armour that look like lizards (like one of the Dragon Warriors in Salamander) but that depends on whether you want lizardmanmarines purely for aesthetics.

You would likely only get away with minor mutations without it being heresy, even then its possible they would be derived from a cursed founding and have serious defects in their geneseed. Pushing on with the Lizard theme the most likely Sire Chapter for their geneseed is Salamanders. The mainstay of the marines might manifest some degree of scales across their skin or split tongues etc, perhaps an overly potent belcher gland for spitting acid. Truly mutated marines would likely be hidden away from sight, and possible only dragged out in times of dire need (think death company esque). That said they'd be toeing a very fine line and if ever discovered to be truly in the throes of mutation the inquisition would likely purge them.

In the old necromunda game there were these guys of roughly Space Marine size called scaleys.....if you use the GK codex you could have a radical inquisitor taking these guys as warrior acolytes in power armour

I'd say your best bet is to go chaos.
Then you get normal marines (so you can model them as your lizardman marines), Possessed (for more mutated marines), Spawn (big lizard beasties, maybe Kroxigor?), Terminators (Temple Guard Marines?), Cultists (Skinks?) as well as raptors for pterodactyl marines, and the daemon engines already look like Dino-bots so you're on to a winner there.

Colour scheme wise, greens and blues would seem best?

 Da Boss wrote:
I'd say your best bet is to go chaos.
Then you get normal marines (so you can model them as your lizardman marines), Possessed (for more mutated marines), Spawn (big lizard beasties, maybe Kroxigor?), Terminators (Temple Guard Marines?), Cultists (Skinks?) as well as raptors for pterodactyl marines, and the daemon engines already look like Dino-bots so you're on to a winner there.

Colour scheme wise, greens and blues would seem best?

so basically your telling him to play Alpha Legion?

Modelling wise: Make sure you have green stuff when you mix and match the SM and Lizardmen parts because I don't think they'll go together smoothly (mainly the heads I think). Your idea sounds awesome though. I think it would look cool. And do not forget to use Lizardmen icons and such on tanks, shoulderpads, banners etc.

Fluffwise: Going chaos would be the easy way but the loyalist way is quite tricky. What Melcavuk said sounds like a working plan and pretty much going renegade would be the only other option and at that point you would propably have a dying chapter in your hands (which can be kind of awesome though) that is trying to destroy the enemies of the Imperium as long as they live even though the inquisition is after them.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Black_Dragons#.UM8W6zOWxvA

Take a look at the Black Dragons.

Its been done, and on this site, no less

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/347132.page

The manager at the lake shore Gwen in Maryland has a salamander army all with lizardmen heads. The terminators use the heads with the skull covering their face. They look cool it reminds me of the old TV sitcom dinosaurs.

Yeah, no way it happens, fluff wise. Even the Black Dragons aren't anywhere near what he describes.

The only way to do this is Chaos. Fluff wise. Or that the lizard heads are helmets over normal people.


Real world? They're your plastic toy soldiers. Do what you want with them.

Fluff wise it is easy. Just write a story explaining how your one chapter was able to hold off the might of the Imperium Navy, Sisters of Battle, and Inquisition when they tried to purge them.

I mean if it works for Spacewolves, it can work for your guys.

You do not literally need to go with fantasy lizardmen head, there is a GW knock off company who do lizard type helmets (salamanders) as well as FW Salamander terminators shoulder, dark elf corsair capes, use the lizardmen shields......and if you think outside the box how about a count as SW army?
Wolf packs - fantasy Salamanders or the razor ones
Giant wolves - how about carnisaurs?

There is also an ebay store that does Salamander headed thunder hammers!

or you could just do a Salamander army....

Lizardmanmarines is just reptile Space Wolves, right? If a First Founding legion can have essentially this exact same mutation I think it's overboard to say that this more or less original modeling and army idea is unsupportable by the fluff. Personally, I'd advocate using the SW Codex for this, but no matter what book you use, it can work just fine.

Space Marine chapter gets lost in the warp and/or warpstorm or partook in the Abyssal Crusade. Come out looking like Lizards and pledged to Tzeentch. There, done.

Don't forget FW lizardmen/ Salamander dreadnought Bray'arth Ashmantle!

If you want to stay imperium then there is no way the fluff can support it. However, if you are willing to take the plunge into chaos then things become much more accommodating as far as the fluff is concerned. There is at least one legion of chaos marines that has suffered horrific mutations as a result of their constant exposure to the warp.

 JohnnoM wrote:
I always wanted to do an army of Lizardmanmarines, and have now decided to take the plunge. I've figured out how to model them (Sargeant etc with lizardman heads, lizardman shields as storm shields stuff like that) but, I'm still stuck on two things. Fluff background (by this I mean reasonable explanation of the defect/genetic alteration) and a colour scheme.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Considering the bollacks that comes out of the nercon and GK codexes, you can have loyalist lizard marines. I would suggest making a good reason why they are lizards, maybe due to their preferred enemy? All space marine chapters are created with a purpose, and that purpose could be to combat a xeno threat.

As for color, it's whatever you want.

We have people who model female marines, pretty marines, angry marines, ect ect. Do whatever you feel like.

Your best option is Lizardmen that Count As space marines.

Considering some of the cursed foundings literally have the space marines walk around like dragon ball z characters with auras of fire surrounding them I am pretty sure a cursed founding chapter based on salamanders that has lizard skin isn't very hard to believe.

Now personally I think the lizard helmets+ scale cloaks is the better option. But If pulled off correctly lizardman marines would be pretty cool.

Also fluff wise, they don't have to be loyalist. Whose to say there. Isn't some system that until recently was hidden by warp storms, and the lizardmen natives got their hands on a Power Armor SCT.

In Legion it was the Alpha Legion and the Imperial Guard who fought the Nurthene who were described as a type of lizard reptilian humanoid as I recall. Perhaps a Chaos SM chapter who used their gene material to combine with their own.

Fabius bile did those experiments where he took the serpent like laer and fused xeno elements into space marine bodies. I bet you could do something similiar with lizard based marines as well.

Dragon Warrior CSM or there is a mutated subsect of the salamanders who have spikey lizard blades on their arms.

a legion of the warriors of some lost and forgotten Slann might work?

You could say that their faces are kept hidden from all outsiders and its only in battle that their helmets are removed/broken etc. I think there is a BA successor that keeps their faces hidden outside the chapter

That'd be the Angels Sanguine.

I always thought it'd be good to do a counts as army, using the space wolf dex - but substituting every use of the word wolf for lizard.

Ie - Thunderlizard cavalry - Marines on lizards - why not? 'they' ride wolves...

 juraigamer wrote:


Considering the bollacks that comes out of the nercon and GK codexes, you can have loyalist lizard marines. I would suggest making a good reason why they are lizards, maybe due to their preferred enemy? All space marine chapters are created with a purpose, and that purpose could be to combat a xeno threat.

This. GW's current stance on fluff is "Fack it! Everything goes!"

Necron gardeners. Just saying.

Fluff is not important IMO. You lizard marines then go for it. This is a hobby that you can do anything you want with