I've been working on a homebrew ruleset for
40k for almost two years now. Now this is missing a lot of context since I've been rewriting the factions quite a bit, but I want to know how you generally feel about the main changes. The ruleset is based on 9th edition, but has a few key changes and design philosophies that make it quite a bit different from 9th:
-Reintroduction of the Weapon Skill characteristic alongside a reworked and (imo) improved comparison chart:
The point here is that it's easier to hit "up" so to speak, so a combatant is not instantly punished if the enemy has 1
WS more -> thus still hitting on a 4+. But a combatant is also instantly rewarded for having 1 better
WS -> thus hitting on 3+ and so forth.
This change has been one of the most solid so far. Just as a reference the Standard Space Marine is the baseline with
WS 5, everything else branches out from there.
-Reintroduction of the Initiative characteristic:
this one is still a balancing act, but I think it has merit: the Fight Phase is obviously massively influenced by this because models with higher initiative fight first. Though it needs to be said that some weapons modify your own initiative (Thunder hammers giving a -1) and making a successful charge gives the entire unit +D3 Initiative. So it is not an inflexible stat where eldar always fight first like in previous editions.
-Removal of Stratagems:
I've renamed them reactions like in Heresy and there are a set of standard reactions each faction has access to (for example giving a charging unit +3 Initiative instead of D3). Also each faction has 5 unique Reactions. Each Reaction can only be used once per game! (with Overwatch being the exception which can be used once per turn).
-Fewer re-rolls:
Most faction
HQs don't have a bubble giving out re-rolls anymore, instead most select a friendly unit in the command phase to get some sort of re-rolls until your next turn.
-Wound and Hit Modifiers:
There is no cap on how much you can modify to hit or to wound modifiers: but an unmodified 6 to hit and to wound always hits/wounds. Especially to hit modifiers in melee are quite rare and seen as powerful/expensive abilities because they often provide a big jump on the
WS comparison chart.
-Positive Armor Save modifiers cap at 0+
-Obscuring Terrain Changes
Obscuring Terrain no longer blocks line of sight: instead if a unit draws line of sight through an obscuring terrain feature towards an enemy unit, the shooting unit suffers a -2 to hit penalty (if the target unit is receiving the benefits of light cover from that very obscuring terrain feature, so if they are in the ruin or what have you, the shooting unit does NOT suffer the -2 to hit. It's only when you shoot trough)
-Cover:
Units gain Light Cover if half or more of that units models is within the terrain feature or has contact with the terrain feature or it's base if it has a base.
Charges:
work the same, but the charging unit MAY move half the distance of their charge roll if they fail the charge. They have to move closer to the target unit. Charging unit gets +D3 Initiative for the following Fight Phase.
-Titanic units and Titanic Walkers
If a non-titanic model makes a melee attack against a unit with the titanic keyword, that unit always hits at least on a 4+ irrespective of the
WS. If a unit with the Titanic-Walker keyword (so, knights primarily) makes a melee attack against an enemy unit without the Titanic-Walker keyword, it always hits at least on a 3+ irrespective of the enemy
WS.
-Warlord Traits/Relics
Warlord Traits/Relics cost points again and all characters have a
Wl-traits/relics points limit. Characters can take as much relics as they can afford, but can only have one
Wl-trait (factions with historically powerful characters like chaos lords or greater demons can have two warlord traits on those units, but these are the exception)
That's the gist of it. Of course I can't post every detail of every faction, since the re-writes are extensive on some so there is some context missing, but I'd like to know how you feel about these general changes.
Edit:
Here's a small overview on how the various faction (that are finished) have changed in this system compared to 9th:
Admech:
Work similar to 9th, but without the weird and half baked seperation between skitarii and cult mechanicus, thus skitarii benefit from canticles for example. Canticles have some rewritten effects to make more of them useful. Also admech can build a techpriest to be a myrmidon secutor (those existed in heresy) via a
Wl-trait, which gives massive stats buffs, but the techpriest cant buff/heal anymore.
CSM:
Biggest change is that veteran abilities are back: so you can buy different upgrades for units depending on what you want (better shooting, melee etc.). When a
CSM unit destroys an enemy unit you roll for them to get a chaos boon depending on their chaos mark.
Dark Eldar:
Biggest change here is that you earn Torture Points if an enemy unit is destroyed, fails a leadership test, or if a Dark Eldar unit inflics a set number of unsaved wounds in melee. You can spend these points on permanent power from pain buffs, these buffs cost a various amount of Torture Points depending on the effect.
Guard:
You can buy regiment upgrades similar to
CSM veteran abilities for your infantry squad -> x points to make the squad Catachan for example. Also they gain Massed Firepower: they select an enemy unit and all Guard units shooting that unit autowound on unmodified 6s to hit and these autowounds gain +1AP, you may only select a new target for Massed Firepower though if your current target has been destroyed.
Necrons:
Reanimation is in your command phase and on a roll of 5+ a dead model from the unit comes back. You can also roll for models that previously failed to reanimate. If an attack with double the strength of the necron models toughness destroyed that model, it is too damaged to reanimate. Some characters like overlords get the Eternal Life rule: when they die you place a marker on their position and in your command phase on a 5+ that character stands back up with D3 wounds....that sounds super busted on paper, but we've tested this a lot, and it was more of a flavor rule in most cases.
Orks:
Can still call a Waaagh!. Also gained the Strength through Carnage rule: Ork infantry, biker and cavalry unit gain a Carnage Counter if they have inflicted a set number of unsaved wounds in the fight phase. Each Carnage Counter they earn gives them stacking buffs, so they get stronger the longer they fight (1 counter is +1 Initiative for example since orks have a comparatively low Initiative, at 5 counters the unit gains a 5+ feelnopain)
Sororitas:
Stayed mostly the same with some minor adjustments
Votann:
stayed mostly the same, with some minor adjustments
Custodes:
Incredible statlines -> high
WS, 4 Wounds (5 on Terminators), good Initiative...but very expensive per model even compared to official editions: a terminator costs 80p for example (also you can play Terminators as one model units if you want). They also all have the Talons of the Emperor rule which buffs Custodes and Sisters of Silence if they fight alongside each other: Sisters give Custodes a better feelnopain against mortals if they are near and Sisters are -1 to hit in melee if the enemy unit trying to hit the Sisters is also within Engagement Range of a Custodes unit (remember in this system -1 to hit in melee is a very powerful effect, though that effect only applies if an enemy unit tries to hit the sisters unit, because it would be busted on custodes.)
Space Marines:
got a more flexible Doctrine System and some consolidated Datasheets because screw all the 17 different Lieutenants. Re-written many of the chapters to make them more appealing (raven guard, imperial fists).
Chaos Knights:
Get a better (
imo) Dread Aura system: you get stacking buffs each battleround and you have a branching tree to select from them. So battleround 1 you have a fixed ability, battleround 2-3 you can select from 2 different abilities, battleround 4-5 you select from 3 different abilities. Effects get more powerful the further you are down the tree and again, they are cumulative. You can select each ability each battleround independent of what ability you have selected last battleround, so it's not a tree in the sense that you have to follow a set path depending on what ability you have selected before.
Chaos Demons:
Each battleround the influence of the warp expands on the battlefield: so battleround 1 its your deployment zone, then no-mans land and then the whole battlefield. Demon units can deepstrike outside 6" of enemy units if that demon unit is wholly set up in an area that is influenced by the warp. Also enemy unit get -1 Leadership in areas that are influenced by the warp. If you play a mono-god list, your characters get abilities that further buff your units (+1 to advance and charge on khorne for example).
Greater Demons are massively powerful.
Harlequins:
Similar to 9th, but lost most of the combinations that made them busted in 9th.
Still have to do Imperial Knights, Eldar, Tau and Tyranids