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As if we didn't have enough rules for Space Marines, but anyway...  Here's my rudimentary ideas for...

<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">SOUL DRINKERS</H1>

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<H2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Special Rules</H2>

And They Shall Know No Fear ? The Soul Drinkers may have turned their back on the Imperium, but their faith in the Emperor and Rogal Dorn is unshaken.

 

Drop Pod Assault

 

Thunderhawk Assault ? The Brokenback, the Soul Drinkers? new space-hulk-based Chapter home, has an impressive amount of launch bays and assault craft. Any Soul Drinker Assault squads and/or characters with jump packs may always start the game in Reserve and arrive using the Deep Strike special rule, even if it is not part of the mission being played.

 

The Stain of Dishonor ? The remaining Chapters that trace their line to Rogal Dorn have sworn a vow of annihilation against their rogue brethren.  While not the most common geneseed (the Ultramarines have that distinction), the ?Sons of Dorn? comprise a large portion of the Chapters in existence.  Any ?Sons of Dorn? Chapter force (Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists, Black Templars, and any other that specify this descent) automatically have the Preferred Enemy special rule when facing Soul Drinkers, and will never ally with them.

 

Chapter Civil War ? The civil war that marked the turning of the Soul Drinkers as a whole from the Imperium cost the Chapter many warriors, both among the heroes and novices.  The process of recruitment to replenish the Chapter?s forces has been slow.  As a result:

-         Scouts are limited to 0-1 per 1000pts. or fraction thereof.  This includes Scouts and Scout Bikers.

-         Space Marine Heroes (Commander, Chaplain, Librarian) are 0-1 each.

-         There can be only 1 Command Squad per FOC, and additional heroes may not be attached to it.

 

Strictures of Daenyathos ? The founder of the Soul Drinkers left his mark on his Chapter, in the form of the Catechisms Martial.  This text details the philosophy of the Soul Drinkers and their style of combat.  The Soul Drinkers use the traits Cleanse and Purify and No Mercy, No Respite, and have the major disadvantage Aspire to Glory.  Further, the Chapter does not use Devastator squads, so they are not available as a Heavy Support choice.

 

<H2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Special Characters</H2>

 

<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Chapter Master Sarpedon</H3>

Points: 210

WS: 5 BS: 5 S: 5 T: 4(5) W: 3 I: 5 A: 3 Ld: 10 Sv: 3+

 

Special Character: Sarpedon is a special character.  He may be used in Soul Drinker armies of at least 1,500pts. as an HQ choice.  You may not select any additional items from the Armoury.  Sarpedon counts as the one Librarian allowed per FOC.

Equipment: Sarpedon carries a force staff and a bolter.  He also carries frag and krak grenades.

 

Special Rules

Independent Character

 

?The Hell? ? Sarpedon possesses a singular power, a telepathic transmission tailored to each target?s deepest fears.  The Hell performs like Fear of the Darkness, but with a 24? radius.  Any units to which Sarpedon cannot draw line-of-sight are unaffected.  Additionally, units within 12? suffer a ?3 to their leadership, rather than ?2.

 

Spider Legs ? Sarpedon?s mutation at the hands of the Lord of Change Abraxes has given him superior speed and mobility.  The spider legs allow Sarpedon to move up to 12? in the movement phase, ignore difficult terrain, and add +D3 attacks on the charge.  However, his unique physique prevents him from leading a command squad or joining a squad.

 

Brother Tellos (while still with the Chapter)

Points: 120

WS: 6 BS: 3 S: 4 T: 4 W: 2 I: 5 A: 3(4) Ld: 10 Sv: 3+

Special Character: Tellos is a special character.  He may be used in Soul Drinker armies of at least 1,000pts. as an Elite choice.  You may not select any additional items from the Armoury.

Equipment: Tellos wields a pair of blades attached to the stumps of his wrists.  These give him an additional Attack (included in profile).

 

Special Rules

Character ? Tellos often fights as a lone wolf, devastating any enemy within reach; his larger-than-life presence can make him a target.  Tellos can attach himself to a squad, but can be targeted when alone like any other unit.

 

Feel No Pain ? Tellos? mutated flesh does not bleed, and reknits itself quickly after any wound.  Tellos ignores wounds on a 4+; Instant-Death weapons or close-combat attacks that ignore armor saves negate this.

 

Blade Master ? Tellos? mastery of the twin-blade techniques turns him into a whirling dervish, all whirling limbs and flashing blades.  His attacks count as power weapon attacks, and he reduces the attacks of his enemies in base-to-base contact by 1, to a minimum of 1.

 

Inspirational ? Tellos? intensity and fervor in battle is infectious, inspiring his brethren to feats of impossible bravery.  When attached to a squad, Tellos and the squad he is with are Fearless.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm also coming up with rules for Tellos after he leaves the Chapter and his warband.

And if you don't know what I'm talking about, read Soul Drinker, The Bleeding Chalice, and Crimson Tears, by Ben Counter.  It'll clear up lots.

Ben Counter needs to have his eye put out with a red-hot rectal thermometer.

Nothing against you though Lord Sutekh, seems pretty balanced.

Chapter Master Sarpedon
Points: 210

WS: 5 BS: 5 S: 5 T: 4(5) W: 3 I: 5 A: 3 Ld: 10 Sv: 3+



Special Character: Sarpedon is a special character. He may be used in Soul Drinker armies of at least 1,500pts. as an HQ choice. You may not select any additional items from the Armoury. Sarpedon counts as the one Librarian allowed per FOC.

Equipment: Sarpedon carries a force staff and a bolter. He also carries frag and krak grenades.



Special Rules

Independent Character



?The Hell? ? Sarpedon possesses a singular power, a telepathic transmission tailored to each target?s deepest fears. The Hell performs like Fear of the Darkness, but with a 24? radius. Any units to which Sarpedon cannot draw line-of-sight are unaffected. Additionally, units within 12? suffer a ?3 to their leadership, rather than ?2.



Spider Legs ? Sarpedon?s mutation at the hands of the Lord of Change Abraxes has given him superior speed and mobility. The spider legs allow Sarpedon to move up to 12? in the movement phase, ignore difficult terrain, and add +D3 attacks on the charge. However, his unique physique prevents him from leading a command squad or joining a squad.



Why don't you just give this guy the "SUPER MAN" Special rule... Invulnerable to all bullets, but must duck any gun thrown at him. Seriously. You made him a close combat monster, fast as all get out, and then gave him the most useful power in the game in broken form, 24 inch FOTD. With an added bonus of being even nastier in 12 inch range.

He's very effective against certain armies, yes, but Ld 10 armies and Fearless still can resist or ignore the Hell. Also, he cannot join a squad, so he can't Drop Pod, and can get shot if screening squads are removed. Also, the price tag is the lowest I could ever see him being; it'll probably go up. He should also probably get some negative rule versus Imperial armies, being such a powerful, obvious mutant.

Since editing the original is somewhat problematic, I'll add these here.

Chapter Special Rule
Hunted by the Inquisition - The Inquisition is eager to bring to heel a rogue Space Marine Chapter, and the only way they will treat with them is from the barrel of a gun. Soul Drinker armies may not ally with Witch Hunter or Daemon Hunter forces (this includes the Ordo Xenos as well, when/if the codex for them is released).

Sarpedon Special Rule
Hereticus Executo Primus - Sarpedon's actions against Imperial interests have been spread widely, and many Imperial authorities have shoot-on-sight orders against him. Even those who do not know of the Soul Drinkers would consider a huge mutant Space Marine on spider's legs a priority target. When facing an Imperial opponent, Sarpedon loses his Independent Character status and can be targeted as any other unit. Inquisition units may automaticly target him; no roll needed.

Don't forget, one of Sarpedon's spiders legs is bionic so he should have bionics too.

I think he has enough going for him as it is...

Holy Crap! There is a third book! When did this happen? Where was I? Nobody told me! My communications officer will have to pay for this... *goes to "visit" communications officer*

Hmm. Mind if I add my own version of Sarpedon?

Chapter Master Sarpedon

Points: 250
WS: 5 BS: 5 S: 4 T: 4(5) W: 3 I: 5 A: 3+1 Ld: 10 Sv: 3+

Special Character: Sarpedon is a special character. He may be used in Soul Drinker armies of at least 2,000 points as an HQ choice. You may not select any additional items from the Armoury. Sarpedon counts as the one Librarian allowed per FOC.

Equipment: Sarpedon carries a force staff and a bolt pistol (bonus included in profile). In addition, he has a psychic hood and frag grenades.

Special Rules

Independent Character: Sarpedon is an Independent Character. Due to his size and bulk, he may never join a squad, or lead a command squad.

The Hell: Sarpedon's psychic abilities are somewhat limited, and posseses only this one powerful psyker attack. The Hell performs like Fear of the Darkness, but with a -3 modifier. Alternatively, The Hell can be used to target a single enemy unit in LOS that is currently falling back. The targeted unit will automatically fail its next rally attempt regardless of special rules, and will make another fallback move.

Mutated Body: Mutated by the powers of Tzeentch, Sarpedon's body became reminisant of a spider, sprouting a number of segmented legs. These legs grant him incredible speed and strength. Sarpedon is a Beast and as such follows the rules for Beasts on page 57 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. One of Sarpedon's legs has been destroyed, and replaced with a bionic version. This counts as a servo-arm, as per the space marine armoury, and so gets one power-fist attack at I1.

Know Thy Enemy: Once a battle commences, the Soul Drinkers will often eat a portion of the enemy to gain their knowledge. To represent this, if Sarpedon kills an enemy, all Soul Drinker models on the table automatically gain Preferred Enemy against that type of unit for the rest of the battle. For example, if Sarpedon kills a Genestealer, all Soul Drinkers will gain preferred enemy against all Genestealers on the board.

Rites of Battle: As Space Marine Commander. As the acting chapter master, Sarpedon carries a heavy burden, and will often inspire his men to fight with endless courage. However, in recent times, certain members of the chapter have begun to doubt some of Sarpedon's choices in battle. before the game begins, roll a D6. On a 4 - 6 Rites of Battle is in effect. On a 1 - 3, Rites of Battle is not in effect, and all Soul Drinker units within 6" of Sarpedon suffer a -1 to all leadership based tests. Sarpedon will not suffer the -1, as he will never doubt himself. Units not within 6" of Sarpedon test on their normal leadership.

Hunted!: Sarpedon, and all Soul Drinkers are hated by the Imperium, and have been exomunicated. Any Imperial army will always have Preferred Enemy when fighting Sarpedon, and any other Soul Drinker unit on the board. In addition, any chapter of legend from the line of Dorn (Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists, Black Templars) will receive a +1 to their leadership and Initiative values (up to a maximum of 10) when fighting against a Soul Drinkers army. If for any reason two Soul Drinker armies meet on the field of battle to fight eachother, as has been the case in the past, these special rules do not apply.

So, more expensive than a really tooled up daemon prince, but he comes with some decent buffs, but also some risks. Thoughts?

(edit) after some thought, I've decided S4 is more realistic, and lowers the potency of the servo arm (which would have S10 before).

Nice take. I don't really see Sarpedon having Rites of Battle, though; he doesn't show that kind of leadership in the books. As a Librarian, he wouldn't have had the kind of leadership training or potential. Also, his officers seem to be the ones who inspire the loyalty, rather than himself. The "servo-leg" bit is cool, but (having recently reread the books) he's portrayed as moving swiftly, outpacing his fellow Marines, and able to scale walls and run upside down on the ceiling. I'd say that means he moves fast in the Movement phase and ignores terrain. Also, he carries a bolter, not a bolt pistol; in close combat, he only uses the force staff, so that further reinforces it. I think he should at least keep the extra attack for a 2nd weapon, though, to represent using the legs in combat. Nice catch on the hood; I'd forgotten.

I like the Hunted! rule (simpler than my mess). I think the 2000pt. requirement is slightly much; the Soul Drinkers are a small Chapter at their strongest, and he's accompanied smaller forces. Maybe cut off the Rites, and keep the "potential for doubt" part of his rule... Overall, pretty cool, and the price is probably closer to "right" than mine.

Hey lord sutekh. thanks for inspiring me to make this version of Sarpedon.

Here is my version of Sarpedon.

WS:5 BS:5 S:4 T:5 W:4 I:5 A:6 Ld:10 Sv:2+

Equipment: Artificer Armour, Frag Grenades, Melta Bombs, Nalwood Staff, Mutation, Bolter, Terminator Honours(bonus included in profile).

Special Rules
Independent Character: Sarpedon is an Independent Character

Eight Legged Freak: Due to Sarpedon's mutation, he is not able to function well in a unit. Therefore he may not lead or be attached to any unit in an army.

Nalwood Staff: Sarpedon's prized possession; it is a master crafted force weapon

Mutation: Sarpedon's mutation at the hands of Abraxes, the Lord of Change, has gifted him, or cursed him, with mutated legs and Increased Toughness of +1.

Mutated Legs:
-Allows Sarpedon to ignore terrain rules, even impassable terrain.
-Grants +2 attacks
-Grants Fleet
-Grants 4+ Invulnerable Save
-May sacrifice 2 legs to ignore 2 wounds, but loses 2 attacks. If both legs are lost, then both Fleet and 4+ Invulnerable Save are lost. If one leg remains, he still retains them.

Psychic Power
The Hell:
-Sarpedon casts F.O.T.D at every enemy on the table within L.O.S, regardless of range.
-Sarpedon can also concentrate power onto one model within 6', with -4 to Leadership.
-If units are Fearless, then units are subject to Pinning Test instead and are given 10 Leadership for Test.
-Sarpedon cannot move or shoots once The Hell is cast and it will continue to be in effect until either Sarpedon moves or shoots or is hit. Sarpedon needs to wait for one turn to end to recast The Hell.
-If an enemy within 12' has F.OT.D, Sarpedon must instantly lock in combat with that enemy unit.

Soul Drinker: If any Soul Drinker Space Marine unit successfully wounds any enemy model successfully in close combat, then the entire army gains the Preferred Enemy special rule on the enemy army of the wounded model.

Rites of Battle: As Space Marine Commander. As the acting chapter master, Sarpedon carries a heavy burden, and will often inspire his men to fight with endless courage. However, in recent times, certain members of the chapter have begun to doubt some of Sarpedon's choices in battle. Before the game begins, roll a D6. On a 4 - 6 Rites of Battle is in effect. On a 1 - 3, Rites of Battle is not in effect, and all Soul Drinker units within 6" of Sarpedon suffer a -1 to all leadership based tests. Sarpedon will not suffer the -1, as he will never doubt himself. Units not within 6" of Sarpedon test on their normal leadership.

Hunted!: Sarpedon, and all Soul Drinkers are hated by the Imperium, and have been excommunicated. Any Imperial army will always have Preferred Enemy when fighting Sarpedon, and any other Soul Drinker unit on the board. In addition, any chapter of legend from the line of Dorn (Imperial Fists, Crimson Fists, Black Templars) will receive a +1 to their leadership and Initiative values (up to a maximum of 10) when fighting against a Soul Drinkers army. If for any reason two Soul Drinker armies meet on the field of battle to fight each other, as has been the case in the past, these special rules do not apply.

Hope you like this version. Gonna try it out in the weekend with some friends.