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How do?

So in this thread, I want to discuss those aspects and forces in the 41st Milennium that don't really have any representation in the game.

There's a few which spring immediately to mind, but this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Ready?

Chaos Cult, Cult Imperialis, Rogue Trader forces (they've got private armies...), Dark Mechanicus, Eldar Exodites.

Now they're all there in the background. And each of them are clearly quite important, or we wouldn't have heard of them.

But, none have the same Galaxy spanning threat as the existing forces. However, I see that as no reason we can't have a Codex all their own. After all, we've got Genestealer Cults, and they're arguably the least well supported military force in the setting. Not only do they have to operate under the radar until that glorious day, but they're by no means inventive - and for the most part limited to a single planet or system.

So there's a definite 'on the board' precedent there. Simply put, one doesn't have to be a big player on the galactic political scene to make your presence felt, and be a credible and insidious threat to your foes.

Of the above, I feel the Dark Mechanicum are the proverbial 'red headed stepchild' of 40k. Even their name is distinctly lacklustre, and that speaks volumes of their under developed nature. Yet when you look to the background, their threat cannot be underestimated. They're the one even the fallen Lgeions need to bargain with to keep their own personal war machine rumbling along. Sure, you've got your Warpsmith to do the grunt work...but just as with loyalist side of the Toast, without the Big Boys, you can whistle for mass replenishment.

Plus, as a player I want to see what Heretek looks like. I want an in-game demonstration of why it's so incredibly bloody dangerous. Pretty much any fool can summon a Daemon, but to bind one? To bind one into a blade is no trifling afternoon's work. It's incredibly bloody dangerous. Get one thing wrong, and it'll little have your guts for garters (unless that what you wanted all along. I mean, CHAOS. You're pretty mental as it is). But the Dark Mechanicum bind Daemons into Titans. And not only can they do the basics (get in and stay in, you sod), but can still exert just enough control to keep them pointed, vaguely, most of the time, well, when it really counts, at your foe. And of course have some method of switching them off when you're done. That's nothing to be sniffed at. You think a Grot gets delusions of adequacy when nailed into a Kan? Try taking even the merest shard of God and locking it in an iron box forever...

As a fan of body horror in movies, I want to see those hellish and utterly insane constructs on the field of battle. I want a riot of flesh, metal and suffering to unleash upon my foe. I need to see what happens when you take the already pretty esoteric and horrifying practices considered acceptable and perfectly normal (Servitors.....seriously. Think what a Servitor actually is, and imagine that as your fate....) is corrupted and pushed beyond 'common' decency.

Likewise, Chaos Cults are far more than just meatbags to soak up the fire so your precious Traitor Astartes don't get shot up. They're the main threat of Chaos. Unlike Traitor Astartes, Chaos Cults can spring up anywhere. And their spread is broadly similar to their Genestealer equivalent. Done right, even if you lost, the Imperium has to wipe out an entire planet of life. Get that done on the right planet, and you can disrupt Imperial efficiency in a subsector.

Now, Chaos Cults had a frankly excellent list from Forgeworld in IA:13. So good, I've always considered it to be something of a Home Brew tool box. The only sane way to approach it's ridiculous flexibility was to decide what sort of cult you wanted first. It could do citizen uprising, Traitor Guard, Mutant Horde or Abhuman madness equally well. But if you hadn't considered what your force was to be first, the sheer breadth of options was overwhelming.

Of course, IA:13 is now a relic of 6th/7th Ed, and I don't think FW have issued an interim list? So for now, they go unloved and unusable (unless you use Astra Militarum, and who would blame you?).

Perhaps their flaw for 'mainstream' 40k is their very diversity. But even so, we need them in the game. Because as I touched on above, it's not the Traitor Legions or fallen Chapters the Imperium needs to worry about. It's the cults growing under their very noses. They're the one that do the damage. The ones that provide the initial wound for the Traitor Astartes to properly infect. If it wasn't for the (successful) Cults, most planetary systems can at least put up enough of a fight for all the better organised and equipped Raiding forces to.

So we need them, not just as a cheap troops choice for Traitor Astartes of all stripes, but as a force unto themselves.

Right, I've spouted off enough for now. Let's hear from you.

And remember, this isn't a thread all about the two forces I've waxed lyrical about, but all the unrepresentatied aspects of 40k. What do you want on the table top, and how do you envisage them working?

A rogue trader force captures my imagination straight off the bat. I imagine the meat of it would not fall far from IG elites but the HQ secrion could be very interestingly divergent. Given that Rogue Traders obviously have a lot of xenotech dealings, there could be some good variety of hardware, drawing inspiration from whatever codex takes your fancy.
The main thing that draws me is creating a distict look and feel on the modelling/painting front.
Basically, a kooky but cohesive mash up of Inquisition/IG/Xenos of choice with a smattering of Mechanicum.

I really want to see Exodites. Not so much for the dino riders aspect but to see some cool primitive Eldar warriors.

Barghesi, Rak'Gol, Hrud, K'nib, The Umbra, Tarrelians.

Those are just a few xenos off of the top of my head that can be fleshed out. most like to see the Rak'Gol, who come from the Rogue Trader RPG from FFG and are fleshed out there.

 Imateria wrote:
I really want to see Exodites. Not so much for the dino riders aspect but to see some cool primitive Eldar warriors.

For me, it's all about the dino riders ("harness the power!"), but also the notion that the entire world is alive and backing up the Eldar.

The assorted non-Chaos human factions would be interesting to see properly fleshed out. The Logicians in particular would be an excellent faction to serve as a foil to the Imperium and the AdMech, due to their radical usage of cyborgs, true AI, assassins, etc.

To a lesser extent, the Temple Tendency (or just rules for Ministorium armies/Frateris Templar during the Reign of Blood) would be excellent, and the "mafia fanboy" part of me would enjoy the Kasballica being a full faction, capiche?

Minor Xenos empires, secessionist worlds/systems, which could also be undiscovered/reclaimed human worlds, and mercenaries of all stripes from orks to Kroot to humans to unknown.

Kroot Mercenaries, Feral Orks, Exodites. All are appealing.

 MagicJuggler wrote:
The assorted non-Chaos human factions would be interesting to see properly fleshed out. The Logicians in particular would be an excellent faction to serve as a foil to the Imperium and the AdMech, due to their radical usage of cyborgs, true AI, assassins, etc.

Never heard of the Logicians up until this point and you've inspired me to do a little Wiki reading on them. Now I want to do a counts-as army made from the Syntha range from Urban War.

A new alien (or an existing one like the Kroot fleshed out into a full army) or non-Imperial Human civilisation would be very interesting to see.

Squats!

I suspect we will see at least one of the armies listed above to get a faction release somewhere during 8th edition. Look at how Admech suddenly got a full army release during 7th.

GW like full army releases because it means a lot of people will drop quite a lot of cash to try out a completely new faction, especially if it does something different.

Feral Orks - good call. They'd definitely fit with the 'local, but still big trouble' as Chaos, Imperial and Genestealer Cults?

After all, leave them long enough, and they ain't gonna be Feral for very long....

Halo Stars, Ghoul Stars and the Veiled Region, even the Eastern Fringe. All underdeveloped regions.

Allied Tau races, there's quite a few that have been mentioned and I'm sure someone somewhere would be interested in running an all Alien Auxiliary list if they just fleshed this out more.

Tristanleo wrote:
Allied Tau races, there's quite a few that have been mentioned and I'm sure someone somewhere would be interested in running an all Alien Auxiliary list if they just fleshed this out more.

I think there's a lot of scope to do this, and it would be much easier for GW to throw in an extra unit and make one or two new sprues for the tau codex release for 8th than create a whole new line. So we could see this soon, whereas the rest is most likely just going to stay wishful thinking.

 Karhedron wrote:
Squats!

SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTSSSSSSS

oh wait, they couldn't come up with any more faction development so they squatted them.

I'd like more non imperium humans.

My kingdom for some Exodites.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
My kingdom for some Exodites.

I honestly think what 40k needs is more non-space marine chaos forces. Despite being billed as the big, all encompassing super threat most likely to topple the Imperium the entirety of Chaos has as many playable factions as the ELDAR, the low pop constantly going extinct Xenos. And despite being the all-encompassing corrupter, 3/4 factions are Soace Marines. They need more variety and adding the Dark Mechanicus as OP said would help immensely.

Furthermore the fact that something as core and simple as chaos aligned normal, basic humans is not part of core GW but instead a part of Forgeworld (which, despite not bring different from GW in a legal sense, greatly decreases representation in the player base due to decreased exposure [Forgeworld site only, not in stores or GW website] and decreased access [again, not in stores and only available straight from the UK, not to mention Forgeworld prices]) is ridiculous, not to mention anything of how much the faction got screwed following 8th, and how unlikely it is to get updated ANY time soon.

 Cuz05 wrote:
A rogue trader force captures my imagination straight off the bat. I imagine the meat of it would not fall far from IG elites but the HQ secrion could be very interestingly divergent. Given that Rogue Traders obviously have a lot of xenotech dealings, there could be some good variety of hardware, drawing inspiration from whatever codex takes your fancy.
The main thing that draws me is creating a distict look and feel on the modelling/painting front.
Basically, a kooky but cohesive mash up of Inquisition/IG/Xenos of choice with a smattering of Mechanicum.

THIS!

I'd love to play as a rogue trader crew.

Pirate legions. This has the potential to be multi-race, with humans, orks, eldar corsairs and possibly rebellious tau working together as a motley strike force intent on raiding shipping lanes and/or planets almost like Viking raiders of old.

Chaos Guard. I think FW touched on this, but I'd like to see GW proper run with this - with a few unique war machines utilized by Chaos alone.