=][= APOCALYPSE: EYE OF TERROR =][=

[Brother Tyler]

APOCALYPSE: EYE OF TERROR

Known Participants

THE FORCES OF ABADDON THE DESPOILER

TRAITOR LEGIONES ASTARTES

Alpha Legion (20+ unconfirmed sightings - all sectors)
Black Legion (Major presence - all sectors)
Emperor’s Children (Unconfirmed actions against Eldar)
Death Guard (Major presence - Subiaco Diablo)
Iron Warriors (Suspected presence - Cadian system)
Night Lords (Unconfirmed reports - all sectors)
Sons of Malice (Active - Scelus sector)
Thousand Sons (Active - Caliban and Prospero sectors)
The Traitor 9th (Significant presence - Kantrael system)
Violators (Three confirmed actions - Cadian sector)
Warp Ghosts (Unconfirmed sightings - Agripinaa system)
Word Bearers (Active - rear echelon sectors)
World Eaters (Significant involvement - all sectors)

TRAITOR LEGIO TITANICUS

Death Stalkers (Unconfirmed involvement - Cadia)
Death’s Heads (Major presence confirmed - Cadia)
Fire Masters (Limited presence - Cadian sector)
Iron Skulls (Major force sighted - Vorga Torq)
Legio Vulcanum I (Four unconfirmed assaults - Belisar and Kromat)
Legio Vulcanum II (Suspected presence - Subiaco Diablo)

THE BLESSED FORCES OF THE GOD-EMPEROR OF MANKIND

LEGIONES ASTARTES

Angels of Absolution (10 Companies)

Angels of Vigilance (5 Companies)
Angels Sanguine (7 Companies)
Brazen Claws (10 Companies)
Dark Angels (10 Companies)
Death Spectres (6 Companies)
Doom Eagles (5 Companies)
Exorcists (10 Companies)
Excoriators* (8 Companies)
Harbingers (8 Companies)
Howling Griffons (8 Companies)
Iron Hands (10 Clans)
Iron Knights (1 Company)
Iron Snakes (5 Companies)
Marines Exemplar* (9 Companies)
Night Watch* (11 Companies)
Novamarines (6 Companies)
Relictors* (10 Companies)
Space Wolves (12 Great Companies)
Storm Warriors (10 Companies)
Subjugators* (3 Companies)
Ultramarines (1 Honour Company)
White Consuls* (10 Companies)

*The Mythos Angelica Mortis makes reference to a group of 20 Chapters known as the Astartes Praeses. The tome claims that these Chapters were founded with the express purpose of guarding the regions surrounding the Eye of Terror, although the identity and status of each individual Chapter are not currently known.

ADEPTA SORORITAS ORDERS

Order of Our Martyred Lady (5 Preceptories)
Order of the Bloody Rose (6 Preceptories)
Order of the Ebon Chalice (4 Preceptories)
Order of the Ermine Mantle (3 Missions)
Order of the Wounded Heart (1 Commandery)

ORDO MALLEUS

Grey Knights (Classified)

ADEPTUS MECHANICUS

House Arokon (4 Households)
House Krast (2 Households)
Legio Astorum (Legio)
Legio Gryphonicus (Legio)
Legio Ignatum (Legio)
Legio Metalica (Demi-Legio)

Due to the sheer scope of the theater of operations in which the forces listed above operated in the 13th Black Crusade, the figures cited here should be considered little more than conjecture. The status of the forces of the Imperium changed rapidly during the initial stages of the conflict, and no true record of their disposition could be made.

In 995999.M41, Warmaster Abaddon of the Black Legion launched his 13th Black Crusade. The armies of Chaos invaded Cadia and many surrounding worlds. Imperial forces counterattacked, but there appeared to be no end to the forces of the Dark Gods. While the forces of the Imperium were able to hold the fortress world of Cadia, the forces of the Warmaster achieved success in many locations throughout the region, including forcing the destruction of St. Josmane’s Hope. It was a victory for Chaos, but only barely.

The Imperium and those that fought alongside it lost millions upon millions of lives fighting against the slaves to darkness. Twenty-three Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, five Orders of the Adepta Sororitas, five Titan legions, Imperial Guard units from over fourteen worlds, three full battle fleets of the Imperial Navy, and numerous others fought against over twelve traitor Legions/Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, six Titan legions, over eight major traitor Imperial Guard units, countless mutant hordes, an estimated thirty-eight traitor battlefleets, an estimated nineteen “Wolf Pack” squadrons, two Blackstone Fortresses, and the dreaded “Planet Killer”, flagship of the Arch Warmaster. Heroes and villains were made and died throughout the campaign as the Imperium fought for its life against one who had formerly fought in the name of the Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind.

Welcome to the Bolter & Chainsword’s first ever Apocalypse Datasheet Competition!

Members may submit their own homegrown datasheets, images to represent the formations that members create on those datasheets, or both. Note that members are not required to participate in both aspects of the contest - those that aren't inclined to create datasheets may participate in the modeling and painting portion if they want; those that aren't inclined to model and paint may participate in the creation of datasheets if they want; and those that are inclined to do both may participate in both aspects of the contest.

Members are invited to submit up to one entry in each of the categories below:

• Strike Force
• Large Formation
• Legendary Unit
  

The datasheets must represent formations that were used during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler the (Eye of Terror campaign).

The distinguishing factor between the three categories is in the number/size of models that are included. For our purposes, a “unit” (as listed below) is counted as either a vehicle (e.g., a Land Speeder or a Defiler) or a squad/unit of three models or more (e.g., a Command Squad or a Seraphim Squad). Units that come as a single model in their codex army list (e.g., independent characters, Assassins, Daemon Princes) won’t count as a “unit” for our purposes. Only those units that are required will count towards the formation size.

Example 1: The Thousand Sons Warcoven, which consists of 1 Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marine Sorcerer or Ahriman, 1 Thousand Sons Chosen Chaos Space Marine Squad, and 0-3 Thousand Sons Chaos Terminator Squads, would only count as having 1 “unit” for our purposes (the Thousand Sons Chosen Chaos Space Marine Squad) – the sorcerer/Ahriman doesn’t count because he’s an independent character and the Terminator Squads don’t count because they’re optional.

Example 2: The Lucifer Armoured Task Force, which consists of 1 Blood Angels Captain, 1-6 full-strength Blood Angels Tactical Squads with Land Raider dedicated transports, 0-3 Baal Predators, and 0-3 (regular) Predators, would only count as having 2 “units” for our purposes (1 Tactical Squad and 1 Land Raider dedicated transport) – the Captain doesn’t count because he’s an independent character, and the additional Tactical Squads w/ Land Raiders and Predator variants don’t count because they’re optional.

A Strike Force is a formation of 2 to 6 mandatory units. Examples include the Lucifer Armoured Task Force, Predator Assassin Squadron, Host of the Daemon Forge, and the Hounds of Huron.

A Large Formation is a formation of 7 or more mandatory units. Examples include the Grey Knights Redeemer Force, Skulltaker’s Cohort of Blood, Space Marine 1st Company, and the Battle Company.

A Legendary Unit is a special/new unit, vehicle, or other construct, or a formation of 1 or fewer mandatory units. Examples include the Terminus Ultra Land Raider, Masters of the Chapter, Officio Assassinorum Execution Force, and the Nurgle Tower.

Submissions must be appropriate to armies covered by the Bolter & Chainsword. We’re going to be a bit more restrictive here, so datasheet submissions for the Inquisition codices must pertain to the power armoured elements (Adepta Sororitas or Grey Knights or the transports for their units) or Inquisitors (i.e., nothing for the Imperial Guard or Storm Troopers). Any Chaos Daemon units will be allowed due to the nature of that codex. The full extent of what will be allowed will be judged on a case-by-case basis. If you have an idea and think that it might be questionable, contact Brother Tyler for verification.

Datasheets must be the creation of the member submitting them. This is important in that many ideas have been presented within the Homegrown Rules forum. Members may submit ideas that have already appeared in that forum as long as they are suitably their own. For example, commander alexander has created a Reclusium formation. Any other member may only submit a Reclusium formation if it is different from what commander alexander has created. Based on the nature of the Homegrown Rules forum discussions, there is a little bit of grey area here. So if you’re not sure, contact Brother Tyler for verification.

The contest will run in two stages:

1. Rules & Background
2. Modeling & Painting
   

RULES & BACKGROUND

The first stage will be the Background & Rules portion and will run for two weeks. Members will develop the rules and background for their datasheets. Submissions will be text-only and will be PMed to Brother Tyler. The deadline to submit entries is 11:59 PM Eastern Time 3 October (about two weeks). Submissions will be in the following format:

[b]Category:[/b] (enter either Strike Force, Large Formation, or Legendary Unit here)

[b]Datasheet Name:[/b] (enter the name here)

[b]Points:[/b] (enter the cost of the formation here)

[b]Background:[/b] (provide the background information on the formation here)

[b]Formation:[/b] (give the composition of the formation here)

[b]Special Rules:[/b] (list and explain any special rules here)

Note that Brother Tyler may communicate with members concerning their entries at any point up to the deadline for submissions, allowing members to correct any errors or clear up anything that is unclear.

After the deadline for submissions, Brother Tyler will post all of the entries, keeping the names of the entrants anonymous.

JUDGING
Judging will be conducted by a combination of a panel of judges and popular vote, conducted during the week following the posting of the entries.

The panel of judges will evaluate submissions based on balance, usability, and adherence to the background material. The panel of judges will consist of five members of the board. Their identities will remain a secret until after the judging is completed.

BALANCE
This will be an assessment of the datasheet’s balance within the game rules, measuring both effectiveness of the rules (normal and special) and the overall points cost of the datasheet.

USABILITY
This will be a judgment of how much potential there is for the datasheet to be used by other players, in terms of the unit represented, conversion work required, and cost to collect the models required for the datasheet.

ADHERENCE TO THE BACKGROUND MATERIAL
This will be an evaluation of how well the datasheet’s background material, rules, and composition mesh with the official background material developed by Games Workshop.

Each judge will assign a 0-10 value to each submission. Anything rated at 7 or higher will be considered as “finished” (i.e., the entry needs little or no adjustment in order to be worthy of publication). The average of the judges’ scores being the final “Panel” score.

Members may use whatever criteria they desire in voting, assigning each entry a value from 0 to 10 and sending their votes via PM to Brother Tyler. Note, however, that members may not vote for their own submissions (any self-votes will simply be ignored). The average of all of the members’ votes will be the “Popular” score. Note that members do not need to submit entries in order to vote – any member of the Bolter & Chainsword may vote.

The average of the “Panel” and “Popular” scores will be the final score for each entry.

The entry with the highest score in each category (Strike Force, Large Formation, and Legendary Unit) will be the winner in that category.

All entries that receive both “Panel” and “Popular” scores of at least 7 will be used for the next stage of the contest. Note that both the “Panel” and “Popular” scores must be at least 7 – the average of these two scores won’t cut it. The qualified entries will be announced once all of the votes are received and calculated.

All entries will then be posted in separate discussions, allowing members to provide critical feedback to the entrants. The panel of judges will provide their feedback and assessment of each submission in the various criteria, and all other members are welcome to provide their own feedback. The intent with this open discussion is to give feedback to the creator of each datasheet, making recommendations for improvement where there is room.

MODELING & PAINTING

The guidelines for this portion of the contest will be posted once the Rules & Background portion is complete.

PRIZES

All qualified entries will be rendered into downloadable/printable datasheets, with the creator and miniature painter credited on the sheet. In addition, all qualified datasheet entries will be utilized in a forthcoming Eye of Terror campaign pack (which will be created at Brother Tyler’s Liber Bellum website). In addition, These sheets will be made available for download here at the Bolter & Chainsword.

All participants will also be able to include banner images in their signatures. These banners will come in either full-size 350x100 images (the maximum dimensions allowed here at the B&C), 350x15 images (the “banner strips” such as those you can see in my signature below), or 20x30 images (the “medals” such as those you can see in Vash113’s signature). Banners will come in the following variants:

• Participant – the member participated in the competition, either entering datasheets, images, or both.
• Honourable Mention – one or more of the member’s datasheet submissions received both Judges and Popular votes of 7 or higher in the Rules & Background stage.
• Winner/Creator – one or more of the member’s datasheet submissions was the highest ranked in a category in the Rules & Background stage.
• Winner/Painter – one or more of the member’s image submissions was chosen to represent one of the finished datasheets (not just the three winning datasheets – any of the datasheets that received both Judges and Popular votes of 7 or higher in the Rules & Background stage).
  

By submitting datasheets and/or images to this competition, you grant permission for these works to be used both at the Bolter & Chainsword and at Liber Bellum. You retain full creative rights to your works and may use them elsewhere as you desire.

Please ask any questions by replying in this discussion.

[The emperors chosen]

For this, are we assuming that the Relictors were actually excommunicated by the Inquisition, or are just being watched by them?

[Brother Tyler]

For our purposes the Relictors are still in the good graces of the Imperium, albeit under scrutiny.

[The emperors chosen]

thanks, this seems interesting, and I will do it, if we do a legendary unit ,do we put the stats where "Special Rules" is?

[minigun762]

So creating a new IC class or upgrades to a current IC would not count under the Legendary Unit category because those units are not considered units?

 

Just want to clarify that point.

[Brother Tyler]

thanks, this seems interesting, and I will do it, if we do a legendary unit ,do we put the stats where "Special Rules" is?

Yes

 

So creating a new IC class or upgrades to a current IC would not count under the Legendary Unit category because those units are not considered units?

 

Just want to clarify that point.

Those would fall in the Legendary Unit because they don't qualify as either a Small or Large Formation.

[minigun762]

So creating a new IC class or upgrades to a current IC would not count under the Legendary Unit category because those units are not considered units?

 

Just want to clarify that point.

Those would fall in the Legendary Unit because they don't qualify as either a Small or Large Formation.

 

Ok so this portion:

Units that come as a single model in their codex army list (e.g., independent characters, Assassins, Daemon Princes) won’t count as a “unit” for our purposes. Only those units that are required will count towards the formation size.

Only refers to the formations, not the Legendary Unit? The use of the term "unit" in both is what confused me (I bolded it)

[theredcorsair]

Someone didn't use half of my suggestions :cuss .

JK.

May my Night Lords datasheets begin!

[Brother Tyler]

Ok so this portion:

Units that come as a single model in their codex army list (e.g., independent characters, Assassins, Daemon Princes) won’t count as a “unit” for our purposes. Only those units that are required will count towards the formation size.

Only refers to the formations, not the Legendary Unit? The use of the term "unit" in both is what confused me (I bolded it)

Yes. I know what you mean, and I tried to avoid that, but I couldn't find a way that wasn't more confusing to me.

[Firenze]

So PM you with it? Ok. Also, how much background is needed? Does your image have to be an normal Hall of Honour style image or have a white background.

[Brother Tyler]

PM your entries to me.

 

Include as much background as is necessary to set the stage for your piece. Use the official datasheets as an example of how much is reasonable.

 

No images. Those will be the second part of the contest.

[Firenze]

Thanks

[Brother Tyler]

7 days to go before the deadline for datasheet submissions!

[Brother Tyler]

3 days to go before the deadline for datasheet submissions!

[Brother Tyler]

Last day to submit your entries!

[Brother Tyler]

For those that are still working on their datasheets, please include any designer's notes with your submission. Here's the excerpt from the PM I've sent to all of the participants that have already submitted datasheets:

 

... if you have any designer's notes on your datasheet, please submit it to me via PM ASAP. Deadline for this will be Tuesday, 6 October.

 

...

 

Once the deadline for datasheet submissions has passed, each entry will be posted separately and anonymously for discussion and judging. As the contest announcement described, judging will be a combination of the judge’s panel and the rest of the board membership. While the judges on the panel are seeing the entries as I get them, the rest of the board membership will see all of the entries at one time.

 

Each entry will be posted in a separate discussion, starting with the entry as you submitted it to me (with basic formatting changes and typo corrections made). The purpose of this discussion is to provide critical analysis of each datasheet, identifying both good and bad points. The goal of allowing this critical analysis is two-fold. First, for those datasheets that need to be improved, members will be able to identify areas where there is room for improvement. You'll be able to apply the suggestions in order to improve your datasheet later (which is critical for those datasheets that don't hit that magic "7" rating). Second, we'll be exposed to aspects of each datasheet that we might have missed. The fact is that we all see things in different ways. Some things don't stand out to us, though others might be aware of them. Through the open discussion, we'll get a better view of the datasheet (both the good and the bad).

 

One of the key things to remember about this stage is the fact that all entries are supposed to be anonymous. I don't want anyone changing their rankings based on the identity of the member that submitted the datasheet (either for or against). So in any discussion on the datasheet(s) you submitted, you must be careful to avoid identifying yourself as the creator.

 

However, it's only fair that you be allowed to defend your creation. So you will be afforded two opportunities to participate in discussions on your datasheet(s).

 

First, you are encouraged to provide me with any designer's notes, explanation, etc. of your datasheet(s). These will be posted with the datasheet in the initial post and should provide the other members with an initial perspective on what you were attempting to do, why you did things the way you did, etc. If you desire to provide those designer's notes, you must do so now. While the deadline for submissions will end tomorrow, I'll allow a few days for everyone to submit their designer's notes to me (Tuesday).

 

Second, once the discussions are closed (and I'll get to that in a minute), you'll be allowed to post a rebuttal to/acknowledgement of the various criticisms leveled at your datasheet(s) during the discussions. Any rebuttal/acknowledgement you provide will be via PM to me. I'll then add your final comments to the closing post.

 

The judges and I will stay out of the discussions so as not to unduly influence anyone. However, the judges will be paying attention to the discussions and may even take comments in consideration when developing their own ratings of your datasheet(s). The judges will provide their ratings and feedback to me via PM.

 

Once I have calculated the public and judges scores for each datasheet, I will post the results. The public score for each datasheet will be added to the individual datasheet discussions. In addition, each of the judges' comments and rating, along with the overall judge’s score, will be added to the discussion. I'll also include my own feedback on each datasheet at this time. My own scores will be calculated in with the public score, so I won't post any scores for individual datasheets.

 

There will also be a consolidated discussion in which the final scores are listed (without critique). The identity of each contributor will also be revealed at this time.

 

After that, the instructions for the modeling and painting phase of the competition will be posted.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Good luck!

Brother Tyler

The parts that were deleted were addressed to the individuals, identifying them and their datasheets by name, so nothing substantive is lost in the excerpt.

 

14 hours until the deadline. We've had a decent turnout, but it would be great to have even more.

[theredcorsair]

Cough...Expect +1 to the turnout.

[Brother Tyler]

About 1 1/2 hours remain until the deadline.

 

So far I've received 12 entries, which is ... meh ... acceptable. Not as great as I would have liked, but decent enough. I'm still hoping that a few of you have the same time management skills as me and will be submitting your datasheets in the next 90 minutes.

 

Remember, you are also encouraged to submit your Designer's Notes. Now if you have them. Up until Tuesday if you don't. I'll be posting all of the entries some time Tuesday/Wednesday (those that are received by midnight tonight my time).

[Brother Tyler]

The deadline for datasheet submissions has now passed. As expected, there were a few last minute submissions.

 

Those members that submitted datasheets now have until Tuesday to get me any designer's notes they want posted.

 

Keep in mind that the identity of the individuals that submitted each datasheet is to remain a secret until after judging is completed. The next step will be to provide critical feedback and discussion on each of the submissions, and anyone is allowed to participate, including the member that entered the datasheet. However, at no time should anyone let slip that they are the creator, or that they think someone else is the creator. I'd like member identity to not be a factor in anyone's judging.

 

Also, the panel of judges will remain anonymous until after the judging is complete. I don't want anyone pestering the judges. Judges are free to participate in the discussions, though they won't let you know that they're judges. Rest assured that I am not a judge.

 

So expect to see all of the datasheets posted on Tuesday or Wednesday (as soon as I have time). I'll provide further instructions at that time.

[theredcorsair]

About 1 1/2 hours remain until the deadline.

 

So far I've received 12 entries, which is ... meh ... acceptable. Not as great as I would have liked, but decent enough. I'm still hoping that a few of you have the same time management skills as me and will be submitting your datasheets in the next 90 minutes.

 

Remember, you are also encouraged to submit your Designer's Notes. Now if you have them. Up until Tuesday if you don't. I'll be posting all of the entries some time Tuesday/Wednesday (those that are received by midnight tonight my time).

To think the B&C calls got over 40 people!

[Grey Mage]

So theres been some 40 entrants?

[Brother Tyler]

Ummm...no. I'm not sure where he got the number 40 from. There were 15 total datasheet submissions from 11 different members.

[Grey Mage]

To think the B&C calls got over 40 people!

 

Quite confused me Im afraid. Nevermind then.

[theredcorsair]

Ooh, sorry bout dat'.

I meant the call of chaos and the call of the imperium both got about 40 entrants.

 

EDIT: Lol, clarity is key. Also, when should we be seeing the results.