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The Halo Device is this thing： https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Halo_Devices

The so-called Horror of the halo device is the monsters that humans who have implanted the Halo Device have mutated into. They are extremely powerful and difficult to kill. I have always regarded them as the WH40K version of the vampire counts——————the evil or tragic human nobles who used forbidden dark means to transform themselves into nearly immortal monsters.

(many people claim that in the WH40K universe, the equivalent of vampire counts are the blood angels or genestealer cults, but their vibes nothing alike, and I don't know why they think there is a similarity between the two.)

I use the 7E rule because it is the traditional format I am used to and I feel it is more explicit.


the horror of Halo Device(90pts)

WS 5, BS 4,S5,T5,W4,I5,A4,Ld8,Sv 6+

unit type:infantry(character)

the horror of Halo Device Can be used as HQ unit for Renegade armies in IA13.


wargear:

close combat weapon(claws or fists)

hardened skin(sv 6+)


Special rules:

-Fear

- fleet

-eternal warrior

-Incredibly tough

-unpredictable mutation


special rules:

Incredibly tough:the horror of Halo device is extremely hard to kill.It automatically regenerates 1 Wound at the start of each its turn, and if removed as a casualty, roll a D6, and if the result is 5 or 6, it will immediately revive to full wounds in the next turn.


unpredictable mutation:

It is unpredictable what kind of monster the halo device will turn its host into. Roll a D6 to determine its special mutation:

1-2：No special mutations, just a standard Halo Device-caused monstrosity.

3:abnormally strong: +1S and get hammer of wrath special rule.

4:bloated:+1T and +1W

5:slender:+1I and get move through cover special rule.

6:almost immortal:automatically regenerates 2W instead of 1 per turn. when killed, roll a D6, 4+ to revive with full wounds.


wargear options:

may take one of the following melee weapons:

-power weapon-10 pts

-lightning claw-20 pts

-power fist-20 pts


may take one of following ranged weapons:

-mastercrafted laspistol or bolt pistol-5 pts

-plasma pistol-15 pts

-combi-weapon-15 pts


may take one of follwing armors:

-carapace armor-5 pts

-power armor-20 pts


may take any of the following items:

-melta bomb-10 pts

-digital weapon-10 pts

-cyber familar-10 pts

-refractor field-15 pts

Five wounds is a LOT for 7E.
Daemon Princes had 4.

 JNAProductions wrote:
Five wounds is a LOT for 7E.
Daemon Princes had 4.

That's right, so it has been nerfed.

but considering the rarity of Halo devices, and the fact that their "consequences" are notoriously difficult to kill, perhaps 5w isn't unreasonable————but that would raise its base score to 110 pts.

For 135 points, you get four T5 EW wounds with a 4++ and four attacks with a S10 Power Fist.

That’s real strong.

WWW-STL wrote:

(many people claim that in the WH40K universe, the equivalent of vampire counts are the blood angels or genestealer cults, but their vibes nothing alike, and I don't know why they think there is a similarity between the two.)

Blood Angels have obvious vampire theming with the coffins, the blood drinking, the longevity, etc. Genestealer cults are very Marvel/Salem's Lot/generic 80s/90s vampires in that they discretely convert people to their cause by luring them into dark alleyways, sometimes with a "kiss" involved. There's also the whole hypnotic gaze thing.

Of course, the *real* vampire counts of 40k are drukhari. Draining sustenance from those they've captured. They get rejuvenated when they feed. They live for a silly long time but swiftly age/get depowered if they don't feed regularly. General goth aesthetic.

the horror of Halo Device(90pts)

So going off of the lexicanum link you provided, I'm not sure which phase these rules are supposed to represent. Stage 3 would be my first guess, but lexicanum says that once they're killed, they reanimate "in a matter of days." Which is way too long a time period to be represented on the tabletop. So that makes me think it's the secondary phase (super strength, fast healing, ambiguous amount of time to reanimate when killed.) However, it says that a secondary phase subject reanimating instantly causes them to progress to the third phase.

So if this is a phase 3 subject's statline (which S5 and claws listed as a close combat weapon suggest it is), then it shouldn't be resurrecting fast enough to need a rule to represent that. If it's a phase 2 subject, it should probably change stats (and models) when it ressurrects and only be capable of ressurrecting that one time.

The phase 2 description of the ressurrection also says,

If the user is killed during this period and their body is not destroyed (burned to ash, dismembered, etc.)

Which makes me think a phase 2 shouldn't have eternal warrior and shouldn't be able to rez if killed by instant death. If a krak missile or vindicator shell hit you, you're considered too torn up for things like Feel No Pain or multiple wounds to save you. So similarly, I'd expect such an attack to represent damage at least on par with being "dismembered".

And in general, I think you want to make sure this guy is something enjoyable to play both with and against. A 33% chance of just standing back up at full health means that you'll usually fail that roll and then be bummed that you spent so many points on a gimmick you didn't get to use, or else you risk going on a lucky streak and frustrating your opponent because they can't meaningfully do anything to counter the rule except hope that you eventually fail a rez roll.

With that in mind, some possible tweaks to the rez rule are:
* Making it more likely or even guaranteed to work, but only once per game.
* Making it happen as soon as the current batch of attacks are resolved. So if you get shot to death by the first tank, the second tank can still shoot at you to make sure it sticks. As-is, you basically get to "hide" from any damage that might come your way for the rest of the turn after you die initially.
* Making it more interactive. I.e. letting instant death shut it down.
* Making it a feel no pain instead, to represent the healing kicking in right away.

 Wyldhunt wrote:

WWW-STL wrote:

the horror of Halo Device(90pts)

So going off of the lexicanum link you provided, I'm not sure which phase these rules are supposed to represent. Stage 3 would be my first guess, but lexicanum says that once they're killed, they reanimate "in a matter of days." Which is way too long a time period to be represented on the tabletop. So that makes me think it's the secondary phase (super strength, fast healing, ambiguous amount of time to reanimate when killed.) However, it says that a secondary phase subject reanimating instantly causes them to progress to the third phase.

So if this is a phase 3 subject's statline (which S5 and claws listed as a close combat weapon suggest it is), then it shouldn't be resurrecting fast enough to need a rule to represent that. If it's a phase 2 subject, it should probably change stats (and models) when it ressurrects and only be capable of ressurrecting that one time.

The phase 2 description of the ressurrection also says,

If the user is killed during this period and their body is not destroyed (burned to ash, dismembered, etc.)

Which makes me think a phase 2 shouldn't have eternal warrior and shouldn't be able to rez if killed by instant death. If a krak missile or vindicator shell hit you, you're considered too torn up for things like Feel No Pain or multiple wounds to save you. So similarly, I'd expect such an attack to represent damage at least on par with being "dismembered".

And in general, I think you want to make sure this guy is something enjoyable to play both with and against. A 33% chance of just standing back up at full health means that you'll usually fail that roll and then be bummed that you spent so many points on a gimmick you didn't get to use, or else you risk going on a lucky streak and frustrating your opponent because they can't meaningfully do anything to counter the rule except hope that you eventually fail a rez roll.

With that in mind, some possible tweaks to the rez rule are:
* Making it more likely or even guaranteed to work, but only once per game.
* Making it happen as soon as the current batch of attacks are resolved. So if you get shot to death by the first tank, the second tank can still shoot at you to make sure it sticks. As-is, you basically get to "hide" from any damage that might come your way for the rest of the turn after you die initially.
* Making it more interactive. I.e. letting instant death shut it down.
* Making it a feel no pain instead, to represent the healing kicking in right away.

Listed here are the third stage Halo Device hosts, who have completely mutated into monsters.
As for the previous two stages, I don't think they need to be listed separately. The first stage hosts are no different from ordinary humans, and the second stage hosts will be just stronger human characters (can be counts as a Marine Scout with 2W) but have the It would no die special rule, and have a chance to immediately turn into the third stage after being killed (roll a D6, if the result is 6, it will happen).

and their resurrection ability can also be nerfed.

when they are killed, roll a D6, and if the result is 6, they will be resurrected immediately with full wounds.

also, remove their Eternal warrior special rule, which stipulate that they cannot be resurrected again when they are killed by Strength twice their T, because they have been completely shattered, burned, or vaporized by too much damage. however, for other sources of ID attacks such as force weapons, it is still allowed to resurrect, because the S of these weapons are usually not twice its T.

You could play a halo device-style character all of the way back in 3rd edition - almost a valid unit for 7e

One of the old adversaries rules allowed a character to be possessed for +100 points. This gave the character a strength of 6-8 but otherwise had no effect until they rolled to change or were killed...
Next turn they would rise again as a toughness 6, 3-5 wound daemonic monster which could be killed as normal.

(note that you won't find the rules in the free pdf that GW released, only the physical DH codex)

---

In terms of actual comparable 7e units. Tyranid primes could take regeneration and had a similar statline. The gathering storm celestine also kind of worked by regenerating her meatshields - but they were toughness 3.

Listed here are the third stage Halo Device hosts, who have completely mutated into monsters.
As for the previous two stages, I don't think they need to be listed separately. The first stage hosts are no different from ordinary humans, and the second stage hosts will be just stronger human characters (can be counts as a Marine Scout with 2W) but have the It would no die special rule, and have a chance to immediately turn into the third stage after being killed (roll a D6, if the result is 6, it will happen).

and their resurrection ability can also be nerfed.

when they are killed, roll a D6, and if the result is 6, they will be resurrected immediately with full wounds.

also, remove their Eternal warrior special rule, which stipulate that they cannot be resurrected again when they are killed by Strength twice their T, because they have been completely shattered, burned, or vaporized by too much damage. however, for other sources of ID attacks such as force weapons, it is still allowed to resurrect, because the S of these weapons are usually not twice its T.

I think I'd be hesitant to have their reanimation only kick in 1 out of 6 times. It's kind of their main gimmick. Without it, they're kind of a generic beatstick. I'm not sure if it's fluffy for them to be reanimating mid-battle based on the lexicanum fluff, but if it is, you probably want to ensure it's going off and charge points accordingly. Look at how 10th edition handles Fuegan as an example.

Not sure I like having instant death only be possible by S10+ weapons. It has been a while, but I feel like S10 weapons were kind of rare in 7th if you weren't fielding knights and such. So it seems like this lowkey makes the counterplay (instant death) kind of a non-option for a lot of lists. And from a fluff perspective, I feel like getting fully dessicated by a husk blade or having your soul wrecked by a dire sword or most of the other types of instant death weapons would probably be about as effective against one of these guys as they are against everything else.

I'm also going to nitpick this mechanic a little:

unpredictable mutation:

It is unpredictable what kind of monster the halo device will turn its host into. Roll a D6 to determine its special mutation:

1-2：No special mutations, just a standard Halo Device-caused monstrosity.

3:abnormally strong: +1S and get hammer of wrath special rule.

4:bloated:+1T and +1W

5:slender:+1I and get move through cover special rule.

6:almost immortal:automatically regenerates 2W instead of 1 per turn. when killed, roll a D6, 4+ to revive with full wounds.

So first of all, a personal nitpick. I don't love random powers like this for the same reasons I didn't like them on 7th(?) edition daemons. By having them change every game, you make it difficult to model cool powers on the minis. Plus, you're presumably using this datasheet to represent one persistent halo horror in your games (given how rare the devices are) rather than having a whole gang of the things on standbye to replace the dead guy each battle. So with that in mind, once someone hits stage 3, it sounds like their mutations are more or less static, right? These aren't constnatly mutating shoggoths that are bloated one game and skinny the next and constantly fluctuating their level of physical strength.

By changing this mechanic to selectable wargear rather than a random pregame ability, you make it easier for people to tell the story of their bloated abomination , coming back to life between fights and represented on the tabletop with a chubby converted up mini.

Second point on this mechanic, having a 1/3rd chance of getting nothing is both harder to charge points for (every 3rd game you're overpaying for the model, or else 2 out of 3 games you're underpaying), and it's just a feelsbad when it happens. Don't make it possible for the unfun thing to happen.

Third, I'd caution that Slender risks being a mostly pointless rule. Extra strength and a hammer of wrath attack will be at least a little useful in most matchups. Extra survivability is always good. Healing up faster or being more likely to rez is a little risky but still generally useful. But going from I5 to I6 is going to be more or less pointless in a lot of matchups. I don't think there's any ork, tau, necron, or sisters unit that is either I5 or I6. Against loyalist marines, I think it helps you against captains and a few named beatsticks and not much else? So if you keep this mechanic random, consider giving Slender something a little more universally useful so that it's not functionally another result that gives you nothing.

 Wyldhunt wrote:

Listed here are the third stage Halo Device hosts, who have completely mutated into monsters.
As for the previous two stages, I don't think they need to be listed separately. The first stage hosts are no different from ordinary humans, and the second stage hosts will be just stronger human characters (can be counts as a Marine Scout with 2W) but have the It would no die special rule, and have a chance to immediately turn into the third stage after being killed (roll a D6, if the result is 6, it will happen).

and their resurrection ability can also be nerfed.

when they are killed, roll a D6, and if the result is 6, they will be resurrected immediately with full wounds.

also, remove their Eternal warrior special rule, which stipulate that they cannot be resurrected again when they are killed by Strength twice their T, because they have been completely shattered, burned, or vaporized by too much damage. however, for other sources of ID attacks such as force weapons, it is still allowed to resurrect, because the S of these weapons are usually not twice its T.

I think I'd be hesitant to have their reanimation only kick in 1 out of 6 times. It's kind of their main gimmick. Without it, they're kind of a generic beatstick. I'm not sure if it's fluffy for them to be reanimating mid-battle based on the lexicanum fluff, but if it is, you probably want to ensure it's going off and charge points accordingly. Look at how 10th edition handles Fuegan as an example.

Not sure I like having instant death only be possible by S10+ weapons. It has been a while, but I feel like S10 weapons were kind of rare in 7th if you weren't fielding knights and such. So it seems like this lowkey makes the counterplay (instant death) kind of a non-option for a lot of lists. And from a fluff perspective, I feel like getting fully dessicated by a husk blade or having your soul wrecked by a dire sword or most of the other types of instant death weapons would probably be about as effective against one of these guys as they are against everything else.

I'm also going to nitpick this mechanic a little:

unpredictable mutation:

It is unpredictable what kind of monster the halo device will turn its host into. Roll a D6 to determine its special mutation:

1-2：No special mutations, just a standard Halo Device-caused monstrosity.

3:abnormally strong: +1S and get hammer of wrath special rule.

4:bloated:+1T and +1W

5:slender:+1I and get move through cover special rule.

6:almost immortal:automatically regenerates 2W instead of 1 per turn. when killed, roll a D6, 4+ to revive with full wounds.

So first of all, a personal nitpick. I don't love random powers like this for the same reasons I didn't like them on 7th(?) edition daemons. By having them change every game, you make it difficult to model cool powers on the minis. Plus, you're presumably using this datasheet to represent one persistent halo horror in your games (given how rare the devices are) rather than having a whole gang of the things on standbye to replace the dead guy each battle. So with that in mind, once someone hits stage 3, it sounds like their mutations are more or less static, right? These aren't constnatly mutating shoggoths that are bloated one game and skinny the next and constantly fluctuating their level of physical strength.

By changing this mechanic to selectable wargear rather than a random pregame ability, you make it easier for people to tell the story of their bloated abomination , coming back to life between fights and represented on the tabletop with a chubby converted up mini.

Second point on this mechanic, having a 1/3rd chance of getting nothing is both harder to charge points for (every 3rd game you're overpaying for the model, or else 2 out of 3 games you're underpaying), and it's just a feelsbad when it happens. Don't make it possible for the unfun thing to happen.

Third, I'd caution that Slender risks being a mostly pointless rule. Extra strength and a hammer of wrath attack will be at least a little useful in most matchups. Extra survivability is always good. Healing up faster or being more likely to rez is a little risky but still generally useful. But going from I5 to I6 is going to be more or less pointless in a lot of matchups. I don't think there's any ork, tau, necron, or sisters unit that is either I5 or I6. Against loyalist marines, I think it helps you against captains and a few named beatsticks and not much else? So if you keep this mechanic random, consider giving Slender something a little more universally useful so that it's not functionally another result that gives you nothing.

You make a point, so I made a new rules for them.


the horror of Halo Device(90pts)

WS 5, BS 4,S5,T5,W4,I5,A4,Ld8,Sv 6+

unit type:infantry(character)

the horror of Halo Device Can be used as HQ unit for Renegade armies in IA13.


wargear:

close combat weapon(claws or fists)

hardened skin(sv 6+)


Special rules:

-Fear

- fleet

-Incredibly tough



special rules:

Incredibly tough:the horror of Halo device is extremely hard to kill.It automatically regenerates 1 Wound at the start of each its turn, and if removed as a casualty, roll a D6, and if the result is 5 or 6, it will immediately revive to full wounds in the next turn.
If they die from Instant death, they may still be resurrected, but they will only be 1W when resurrected, and once they die again, they will no longer be resurrected.(They may still be able to revive, but for weapons that can burn souls, or too powerful, they can only barely regain their ability to move and even if they can be revived, they can never be revived during the battle anymore)



unpredictable mutation:

It is unpredictable what kind of monster the halo device will turn its host into,and each time it rises from the dead it is different than before.
Roll a D6 at the start of the game and each time it is resurrected from the dead, gaining additional features based on the result.
Roll a D6 at the start of the game and each time it is resurrected from death, and gain additional features based on the result. Note that each time it is resurrected from death, the features it gains will immediately replace the previous one——In order to make a rapidly revive during battle,such desperately acceleration of regeneration leads to uncontrollable random mutations.



1:Chameleon Skin: Gain the "Infiltrate" and "Stealth" special rule.

2:Extra Fierce：gain "Furious Charge" special rule.

3:Abnormally Strong: gain "hammer of wrath" special rule.

4:Bloated:gain +1W

5:Slender:get "Hit and Run" and "Move through cover" special rule.

6:Almost immortal:automatically regenerates 2W instead of 1 per turn. when killed, roll a D6, 4+ to revive with full wounds.



wargear options:

may take one of the following melee weapons:

-power weapon-10 pts

-lightning claw-20 pts

-power fist-20 pts


may take one of following ranged weapons:

-bolt pistol or mastercrafted laspistol-5 pts

-plasma pistol-15 pts

-combi-weapon-15 pts


may take one of follwing armors:

-carapace armor-5 pts

-power armor-20 pts


may take any of the following items:

-melta bomb-10 pts

-digital weapon-10 pts

-cyber familar-10 pts

-refractor field-15 pts

First, I want to acknowledge that I'm harping on my own personal nitpicks here. You're obviously not required to share my preferences.

That said, I still don't love where this has landed.

if removed as a casualty, roll a D6, and if the result is 5 or 6, it will immediately revive to full wounds in the next turn.

This rule on its own means that you won't get to use the resurrection ability at all in 2 out of 3 games. (Slightly more often than that thanks to the Almost Immortal rule, but my point stands.)

So if I were deciding whether or not to include this unit in my army, I wouldn't think of it as a super durable unit that comes back to life; I would think of it as a moderately beefy beatstick that *might* heal a couple of wounds when it's hurt but not killed outright and *maybe* gets to come back to life as an occasional bonus.

Maybe I'm incorrectly assuming that you want coming back to life to be a big part of what this unit does. If you *do* want that to be a big part of it, I think you probably ought to balance the mechanic around it either going off automatically, or at least going off on a 2+. And probably limit it by only letting it rez once per game.

I still don't love unpredictable mutation from a hobbying/narrative forging perspective. As a hobbyist trying to kitbash a model for this guy, I wouldn't know in advance if I should be modeling him as bloated or as skinny or as muscular, and I wouldn't know whether to paint him with camouflaging skin or not.

Narratively, if I want to have an ongoing story for my army and I want halo device guy to be a recurring character, then I probably want his appearance and abilities to be essentially consistent, right? My understanding is that these guys aren't constantly mutating into dramatically different forms. A guy who mutates to be slender is probably staying slender. So my halo device bearer that I've given a name and am framing the story around should probably keep that same mutation between games.

Is it your intention that this datasheet be used to represent a single, consistent halo device bearer, or is it your intention that people imagine a different bearer every game?