Codex: Order of the Faithful Blade

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Special Cavalry Character:

 

This character looks pretty good, fills an interesting/fitting role. As you noted earlier, cavalry didn't really need a heavy-hitter character due to the existence of tooled-up Palatines providing enough of a hammer, while this upgrade character gives the squad a different purpose.

 

Also, Isolde's special shield makes her a preferable choice to assign armour-piercing shots to, especially considering that her combat ability isn't that much higher than an average Lancer, so the situation of her dying first wouldn't be too uncommon in gameplay - would the squad still keep Skilled Riders etc. if she dies?

 

Seraphim:

 

One weirdish idea I had on the Seraphim FnP (sorry if I'm attempting to manhandle the creative reins a bit much), based on the servo skull idea, perhaps a device similar to the space marine narthecium, but with the entombed skull and brain of an ancient hospitaller installed in it (similar to a dreadnought - I think I remember reading that Imperial Robots functioned with a preserved brain, but I think that might have been retconned)? The idea would be that the Seraphim user would implant the needle into the injured soldier, while what remains of the hospitaller's brain proceeds to instinctively apply the ideal amount of painkillers/meds/etc., and perhaps gives a few instructions to the carrying Seraphim (Arm: Unrepairable. Remove. Apply: Sealant Foam). This kind of tech is usually ancient and barely understood in the Imperium, along the lines of the Witchhunters' Throne of Judgement, which would explain their rarity - there are only enough of these devices to give to the Sisters whom cannot support a Hospitaller; the Seraphim squads.

 

Edit: Congrats, your homegrown codex topic just hit two pages :D

[Chengar Qordath]

I think I might tweak how Isolde's shield works; right now, like you said it's an ability that makes her a bit too likely to die first, and I generally think special characters ought to last for a good while. Perhaps instead of it's current effect it could convey the old (well, current for some codices) benefit medics grant, where she ignores the first wound allocated to her (shooting only, since it matches the item's theme).

 

The Seraphim idea should work fine.

 

Also, after some testing, I've bumped Eviscerators for the Martyrs up to five points per model.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

I suppose, despite the holy theming, her early martyrdom doesn't quite gel with the action hero feel of many special characters, true. The "nullify one wound" approach would be a great replacement - it conveys the same image, allows her to protect her squad from the odd melta/plas, but removes the random chance, preventing the player from killing her in the 1st/2nd turn. Fits!

 

I guess the only thing left to do is figure out that flyer/skimmer option, right? The Thunderbolt/Lightning/Vulture have all had some tweaks in IA9 since their appearance in the IA1 update list. No price changes, but they've variously gained access to sets of Hellfury missiles, skystrike missiles and bombs. More importantly, the Vulture now gets a searchlight and Extra Armour standard (!).

[Chengar Qordath]

My current inclination is to just more-or-less allow the taking of Vulture as they are in IA9, since they're balanced to work in hover mode without using Flyer rules. Lightnings and Thunderbolts are nice vehicles, but they're completely balanced around using and interacting with Flyer rules, so they would be a lot more problematic to adapt than the Vulture.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Vulture sounds good, the Valkyrie chassis is more acceptable as a skimmer than the others anyways, and I don't think annotating the four or so differences to the freely available profile should be a big issue.

 

One question, is the non-inclusion of Inq. Stormtroopers intentional?

 

Small note; when playtesting, a lot of attention will need to be payed to the Inquisitor's retinue; the unit should have the potential to be very powerful, and it certainly does, but I'm slightly concerned that when, say, the bike-riding relentless Plasma Cannons with Storm shields take to the table, it might be a bit much so. A lot of the potential weirder combinations (an Inq. in Termie armor riding a bike, for instance) seem acceptable simply because they're goshdarned Inquisitors, they're second only to the Mechanicus in crazy equipment department, I'm just not sure if the possibilities become a too much.

[Chengar Qordath]

Vulture sounds good, the Valkyrie chassis is more acceptable as a skimmer than the others anyways, and I don't think annotating the four or so differences to the freely available profile should be a big issue.

Yeah, I should have something up semi-soonish (life's been getting busier than usual lately).

 

One question, is the non-inclusion of Inq. Stormtroopers intentional?

Yeah, the lack of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers is mostly down to the fact that Arbites pretty much fill the niche they had in old Codex (cheap, non-faithful Troops), and the new Imperial Stormtroopers out of the 5th edition Guard codex wouldn't fit in with the rest of the force too well. I could re-write IST's like 7eaL's project does, but that would give them too big of a role in what should be a Sororitas Codex. Arbites also have the advantage of not needing an Inquisitor around to authorize their actions, which means it is a lot easier to explain why a couple squads of them are tagging along with some Sisters of Battle.

 

Besides, you could always model your Arbites as ISTs (Ah, irony).

 

Small note; when playtesting, a lot of attention will need to be payed to the Inquisitor's retinue; the unit should have the potential to be very powerful, and it certainly does, but I'm slightly concerned that when, say, the bike-riding relentless Plasma Cannons with Storm shields take to the table, it might be a bit much so. A lot of the potential weirder combinations (an Inq. in Termie armor riding a bike, for instance) seem acceptable simply because they're goshdarned Inquisitors, they're second only to the Mechanicus in crazy equipment department, I'm just not sure if the possibilities become a too much.

Yes, something tells me I'm going to end up tweaking that to fix a couple of potential game-breaking combinations. They need to have a big variety of choice since an Inquisitor can take pretty much whatever he wants from any Imperial Armoury, and giving your Inquisitor a big pimped-out retinue ought to be an option, but I don't want to go crazy with it. I'm already almost certain that heavy weapons in bike squads will, at the least, require a significant price hike (around 15 points sounds good), if they're not axed out completely.

[Chengar Qordath]

Well, I got hit by a bit of inspiration, and here's what I came up with. The end result is something different enough from the IA profiles that I think it has a nicely unique flavor to it, and hopefully the fluff piece at the bottom is workable.

 

Ground-Attack Detachment

Vulture Gunship (120 pts)	4	12	12	10
Ground-Attack Thunderbolt (145 pts)	4	12	12	10

 

Ground-Attack Detachment {Heavy Support}

Vehicle (Fast Skimmer)

1-3 Vehicles

Heavy Bolter Twin-Linked Multilaser Two Hellstrike Missiles Searchlight Extra Armor

Two twin-linked autocannons Twin-linked lascannon Searchlight Extra Armor

Deep Strike

 

• The Vulture:
  • May replace its two Hellstrike missiles with:
    
    • Two Hellfury Missiles: 20 points
      
    • Two Multiple Rocket pods: 30 points
      

    [*]May replace its twin-linked multilaser and its two hellstrike missiles with a twin-linked punisher cannon: 50 points

  [*]The Thunderbolt may take:

  • Four Hellfury Missiles: 40 points
    
  • Four Hellstrike Missiles: 40 points
    

Fluff: In a display of the same logic that led to the creation of the Adepta Sororitas themselves, the Order of the Faithful Blade has found a way to justify its own usage of a limited number of aircraft. While the Decree Passive made it absolutely clear that the Ecclesiarchy could not own or operate space-capable combat craft, there were no restrictions against purely atmospheric attack craft. The Order's Inquisitorial backers arranged to have a small number of modified Vultures and Thunderbolts delivered to the order. The modified craft are only capable of operating in the lower atmosphere of a planet, and have been up-armored and refit for a ground-attack role to compensate for their reduced flight profile. While operating the vehicles has been a significant logistical complication for the Order, and a number of Imperial officials are less than amused by the Order's attempt to exploit yet another loophole in the Decree Passive, these ground-attack craft have proven extremely valuable on several occasions.

[Chengar Qordath]

Expect a few tweaks to the list, on account of some of the new fluff that got added in by Blood of Martyrs.

[*Furyou Miko]

Chen, for the extra Heavy Support choice, did you think about Tarantulas/Rapiers?

 

They're basically infantry-portable gun turrets. The Tarantula has to actually be carried, but the Rapier is a tracked remote-control vehicle... actually, the Thunderfire Cannon the Marines use is technically mounted on a Rapier. >>

 

Tarantulas are generally automated, while Rapiers have two crewmen like a Guard weapons team. A Tarantula normally fits a twin-linked heavy weapon, while the Rapier can have all kinds of insanity - the most dangerous being the Rapier Laser Destroyer, which hasn't had official stats since 2nd edition but was basically a super-lascannon - A Citadel Journal article in 2000 gave them Range 48, Str 10, AP 1, Twin-linked, Heavy 1. Lexicanum gives them Multi-lasers, Heavy Bolters and Multi-meltas though.

[Chengar Qordath]

Rapiers could certainly work, but I would need to make sure there's not too much overlap between them and the Dragon-class vehicles. If we keep the Dragons focused in their current role of close-in firepower while Rapiers equipped with longer-ranged weapons like Multi-lasers and Lascannons, that shouldn't be an issue.

[Chengar Qordath]

After doing a bit more looking into how the Rapier works (though I don't have access to the actual stats GW gave it), it sounds like it is a light, fast-moving cavalry tank. That would be a nice and useful addition the list; The Exorcist makes a reasonably solid multi-role tank, the Dragons are close-support infantry tanks, and the Rapier serves as mobile cavalry tanks for harassing and outflanking.

[Chengar Qordath]

Purifiers have been added to a few elite units, and the special Immolator.

 

Also, here's a preliminary profile for the Rapier:

 

Rapier

Rapier

4

12

10

10

 

Rapier {Heavy Support} 60 points

Vehicle (Tank)

1-3 Rapiers

Smoke Launchers Searchlight Twin-linked Multi-laser

Fast Scout

 

• May replace Twin-linked multi-laser with:
  
  • A twin-linked Multi-melta: 10 pts
    
  • A twin-linked Lascannon: 30 pts
    

  [*]May take any of the following:

  • A dozer blade: 5 points
    
  • A pintle-mounted storm bolter: 10 points
    
  • A hunter-killer missile: 10 points
    
  • Laud hailers: 10 points
    
  • Extra Armor: 15 points
    

 

Rapier Tank: A light two person vehicle with a venerable history, the Rapier has largely fallen out of favor with the wider Imperium due to its light armor and the fact that its design limits it to using a narrow selection of weaponry. While heavier, more versatile tanks have largely replaced the Rapier in most Imperial military forces, the Rapier continues to be useful as a light cavalry tank, using its superior speed to harass and outflank the enemy. While these outdated tanks were initially dispatched to the Order as a backhanded response to a request for additional armored support, the Order has since put them to good use against the enemies of the Emperor.

[*Furyou Miko]

That's pretty awesome. ^^

 

Quite thick armour for a light not-quite-tank though. Front Armour 12 is Medium Tank armour (I know, supposedly the Imperium HAS no 'Medium tanks', but that's because everything in that weight range is an IFV or APC!).

 

I'd say even the Rhino's 11/11/10 is a bit thick, though, so maybe I'm just out of perspective.

 

I'd probably drop it to 11/10/10, or even 10/10/10, and put them at 45 points (Tarantulas, at 35 points, are immobile, armour 10 all round, BS 2 and suffer automatic Destroyed results against Penetrating hits)

[Chengar Qordath]

12-10-10 did not strike me as particularly heavy armor; it is on par with the Chimera, so it is still pretty squishy by Imperial standards.

 

Could see dropping it to 11-10-10 along with a point discout, but 10-10-10 is probably a bit much; this isn't a land speeder. Armor on the sides should definitely stay 10; design-wise, what armor a cavalry tank has would be concentrated exclusively at the front, while the tank relies on the range of its weapons and its mobility to deny side/rear shots.

 

Checking point costs, it is a bit overpriced at the moment; Blood Angels pay fewer points to get a Razorback with equivalent weapons, Fast, and transport capacity.

[*Furyou Miko]

Actually, I would have thought it would have a more balanced armour - strong front armour is useful when you're keeping your glacis plate towards the enemy, but a fast vehicle is a lot more likely to be side-on (strafing), or even have the enemy behind them when they break through their lines.

[Chengar Qordath]

Good argument on side-armor, I originally envisioned it as more the type of vehicle that used mobility + terrain to deny non-glacis shots to the enemy, but terrain might not always be helpful, so giving it enough armor to make mobile strafing viable would make sense. However given the role of the Rapier as a light hit-and-run scout/harasser unit mostly equipped with long-ranged weapons I doubt it would be in a situation where it needs rear armor all that often unless it's doing multi-melta suicide charges.

 

How about shifting them to 11-11-10, along with the point change you suggested?

[*Furyou Miko]

That sounds fair, although it makes it sound like it should be based on a Rhino chassis, instead of being shorter. >> Have you seen these? The guns the company makes to go on them are scaled to a Rhino chassis, so look silly on them, but I reckon they'd make a good base chassis for these.

[Chengar Qordath]

Thanks for the link; looks like a good base to start building off of. Anyway, here's the updated Rapier; in addition to what's been discussed, I tweaked the cost of the upgrades to put it more in line with other codices and for balance:

 

Rapier

Rapier

4

11

11

10

 

Rapier {Heavy Support} 45 points

Vehicle (Tank)

1-3 Rapiers

Smoke Launchers Searchlight Twin-linked Multi-laser

Fast Scout

 

• May replace Twin-linked multi-laser with:
  
  • A twin-linked Multi-melta: 15 pts
    
  • A twin-linked Lascannon: 35 pts
    

  [*]May take any of the following:

  • A dozer blade: 5 points
    
  • A pintle-mounted storm bolter: 10 points
    
  • A hunter-killer missile: 10 points
    
  • Laud hailers: 10 points
    
  • Extra Armor: 15 points
    

 

Rapier Tank: A light two person vehicle with a venerable history, the Rapier has largely fallen out of favor with the wider Imperium due to its light armor and the fact that its design limits it to using a narrow selection of weaponry. While heavier, more versatile tanks have largely replaced the Rapier in most Imperial military forces, the Rapier continues to be useful as a light cavalry tank, using its superior speed to harass and outflank the enemy. While these outdated tanks were initially dispatched to the Order as a backhanded response to a request for additional armored support, the Order has since put them to good use against the enemies of the Emperor.

[Chengar Qordath]

The Elites section looked like it could use one more option and I got inspired. Not remotely sure if this is balanced; it's mostly at the "crazy idea" phase right now.

 

Fallon..........125 Points

Fallon

6

4

5

4

3

5

3

10

3+/5+

Fallon {Elites}

Infantry

1 Fallon

Power armour Bolt Pistol Chainsword Frag Grenades

Fearless Death Would be Merciful Forever Alone Unnaturally Gifted Holy Hatred Rage

 

Options:

• The Fallon may replace her Bolt Pistol and/or Close Combat Weapon with:
  • A Storm Bolter for +5 points
    
  • A Hand Flamer: +10 points
    
  • A Plasma Pistol or Inferno Pistol: +15 points
    
  • A Power Weapon or Burning Blade: +20 points
    
  • An Eviscerator: +30 points
    

  [*]She may purchase one of the following:

  [*]A Jump Pack: +20 points

  [*]She may also purchase:

  • Melta Bombs for +5 points
    

 

Fluff:

Battle against the forces of Chaos carries risks far beyond those of simple death on the battlefield, especially for groups like the Order of the Faithful Blade that find themselves constantly engaged against the Ruinous Powers. While it is all but unheard of for any Sister of Battle to go willingly into the service of Chaos, the risk of unwilling corruption is a very real threat. While contamination through warp shock or exposure to the blasphemous and profane has little effect on warriors who are truly devoted to the service of the God-Emperor, there are times when even the faithful cannot repulse Daemonic Possession. While most loyal servants of the Emperor either die along with their Daemonic controller or achieve salvation through the rites of exorcism and go on to lead relatively normal lives (aside from the inevitable trauma of the event itself), in a few cases where the possession was particularly severe the Inquisition observed that even after a successful exorcism the exorcised retained unusual abilities. Opinion within the Inquisition is sharply divided over whether those few who gain unusual abilities in the aftermath of possession and exorcism are valuable tools in the Emperor's service or ticking time bombs who will inevitably succumb to Daemonic control once more.

 

The Ordo Malleus sponsors of the Order of the Faithful Blade lean towards the former opinion. Since the Order of the Faithful Blade devotes a large proportion of of it's overall strength to it's sponsors, many of the Order's sisters are frontlines in the battle against the Daemonic, and naturally suffer a significant number of possessions. Some within the the Order of the Faithful Blade have noted that warriors seconded to their Ordo Malleus sponsors have an unusually high tendency to manifest such abilities in the aftermath of Daemonic possession and exorcism. The exact reasons behind this anomaly are currently unknown; some have posited that it is an effect of their devotion to the God-Emperor, while others have suggested far more ominous explanations.

 

These individuals are collectively known as the Fallon in reference to the first known occurrence (Sister Shea Fallon, Order of the Faithblade, M41.921; see files on the Rudius Incident for further details). While the Fallon are indisputably deadly in battle, and have an impressive ability to survive wounds that would fell any ordinary human, the ominous origins of their abilities ensure that their fellow sisters view them with, at best, wary distrust. Outside of the Order itself, the only individuals aware of the details of the Fallon's existence are the Order's Inquisitorial sponsors, and any whom they have chosen to inform. The Fallon hurl themselves into battle after battle, having no purpose in life beyond seeking the day that they finally die in the Emperor's service.

 

Death Would be Merciful:

Fallon have the Eternal Warrior, Feel No Pain, and Furious Charge USRs. In addition, in any mission that uses Kill Points the Fallon does not concede a Kill Point if it is killed, but instead surrenders a Kill Point if it is still alive at the end of the battle; the general consensus within the Order is that killing a Fallon in battle is doing her a favor.

 

Forever Alone:

Each Fallon is a one-model unit, and may never join or be joined by any other models, and may never benefit from any Acts of Faith.

 

Unnaturally Gifted:

The Fallon has a 5+ Invulnerable save.

 

In addition, at the start of the game (but before any models have been deployed) the player may roll 1d6 on the following chart:

1: Unnatural Speed: Gain the Fleet USR, and may charge up to 12" during the assault phase.

2: Ghost in the Wind: The model gains the Stealth and Infiltrate USRs.

3: Unnatural Resilence: The Fallon increases her toughness to 5 and gains an additional wound.

4: Berserk Charge: Gains the Furious Charge USR, and increases her number of base attacks by 1.

5: Unnatural Aura: The Fallon's Invulnerable save improves to 3+

6: Regeneration: At the start of every player turn, roll 1d6 for every wound the model has suffered; for every roll of 3+, remove one wound.

 

So, with our newest addition, that takes us up to:

 

That takes it up to:

4 HQ options (and two retinues)

5 Elite options

4 Troops options

4 Fast Attack

5 Heavy Support

 

Special Character-wise we have:

5 HQ ICs (and one Retinue character)

2 Elite Upgrade characters

2 Fast Attack Upgrade character

1 non-slot upgrade character

 

That looks like plenty to me. Anyone else see anywhere that really needs more added in, or do we have a solid set of choices? Also, the special characters entry got tweaked around a bit, so it might be worth re-reading them.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

There's been a lot of new stuff added since I last replied, so I'll comment on one thing at a time. First off, Rapier tank!

 

First off, one negative point - the Rapier was more of a mobile piece of artillery than a fast tank, I think (Lexicanum, Stuff of Legends). On the other hand, the stats you gave are basically a perfect match for the Imp. Guard Salamander Scout (check the IA 1 download), apart from it having an autocannon standard. The Eccliesarchy pulling strings to have the Order's request for armoured support be replied with a shipment of aged, weaponless Salamander Scout vehicles would fit the same existing fluff (the Order would presumably commandeer the multi-lasers/lascannons they would later attach to it from other sources - they seem to be fairly common weapons in the Imperium).

 

Otherwise, good profile, appreciate the divergence from typical Sisters' stuff. A las-toting, non-rhino chassis tank is a good indicator of them being divergent.

 

Secondly, ground-attack squad.

 

The mixing of thunderbolts and vultures just seems really ech to me, appearance-wise, and up-armouring a non vtol style plane like the Thunderbolt to the point where it's effectively a skimmer just strikes me as odd. Instead of boosting the Thunderbolt to Vulture armour-level, it might be a bit more palatable to create a Vulture variant with

Thunderbolt weaponry? In the light of the Vendetta's three twin-linked lascannons, a Vulture with a twin-linked lascannon and two twin-linked autocannons seems plausible (the Vulture in IA1 can already be decked out with a Heavy Bolter, twin-linked autocannon and 6 Hunter-killers).

 

Random thought: Perhaps not give the Devoted trainees combat shields? They could be "fighting to earn their shields", with them later gaining a blank shield (to be later decorated with squad info, battle honours, and possibly, someday, their personal heraldry - if they earn it). Balance-wise, the lack of the 6+ Inv. save on the cheapish assault unit isn't going to be a deciding factor.

[Chengar Qordath]

There's been a lot of new stuff added since I last replied, so I'll comment on one thing at a time. First off, Rapier tank!

 

First off, one negative point - the Rapier was more of a mobile piece of artillery than a fast tank, I think (Lexicanum, Stuff of Legends). On the other hand, the stats you gave are basically a perfect match for the Imp. Guard Salamander Scout (check the IA 1 download), apart from it having an autocannon standard. The Eccliesarchy pulling strings to have the Order's request for armoured support be replied with a shipment of aged, weaponless Salamander Scout vehicles would fit the same existing fluff (the Order would presumably commandeer the multi-lasers/lascannons they would later attach to it from other sources - they seem to be fairly common weapons in the Imperium).

 

Otherwise, good profile, appreciate the divergence from typical Sisters' stuff. A las-toting, non-rhino chassis tank is a good indicator of them being divergent.

Hmm, it looks you're right about the Rapier being closer to a self-propelled gun than a fast tank. No reason we can't replace them with Salamanders, though.

 

As a random thought, how about including both Salamanders and a reworked Rapier that fits the fluff better? Making the Order more divergent won't hurt in the slightest; they are supposed to be so far from the norm that most the other Sororitas Orders disapprove of their methods, after all.

 

Secondly, ground-attack squad.

 

The mixing of thunderbolts and vultures just seems really ech to me, appearance-wise, and up-armouring a non vtol style plane like the Thunderbolt to the point where it's effectively a skimmer just strikes me as odd. Instead of boosting the Thunderbolt to Vulture armour-level, it might be a bit more palatable to create a Vulture variant with

Thunderbolt weaponry? In the light of the Vendetta's three twin-linked lascannons, a Vulture with a twin-linked lascannon and two twin-linked autocannons seems plausible (the Vulture in IA1 can already be decked out with a Heavy Bolter, twin-linked autocannon and 6 Hunter-killers).

Reworking the Vulture's options would probably make the unit work better then combining the two units that don't quite fit together. I suppose said combination works a lot better in the IA books, where there are more rules to support that kind of thing.

 

Random thought: Perhaps not give the Devoted trainees combat shields? They could be "fighting to earn their shields", with them later gaining a blank shield (to be later decorated with squad info, battle honours, and possibly, someday, their personal heraldry - if they earn it). Balance-wise, the lack of the 6+ Inv. save on the cheapish assault unit isn't going to be a deciding factor.

Easily done, and it would give them a bit more of the "fanatical but amateurish" angle that the unit is supposed to have.

 

Any thoughts on the Fallon? The idea of sisters that have gone through possession-and-exorcism does make a lot of sense for an Order that specializes in fighting Chaos, after all.

[Chengar Qordath]

How's this?

 

Salamander

Rapier

4

12

10

10

 

Salamander {Fast Attack} 50 points

Vehicle (Tank)

1-3 Salamanders

Smoke Launchers Searchlight Autocannon Heavy Bolter

Fast Scout

 

• May replace the Heavy Bolter with a Heavy Flamer: Free
  
• May take any of the following:
  • A dozer blade: 5 points
    
  • A pintle-mounted storm bolter: 10 points
    
  • A hunter-killer missile: 10 points
    
  • Laud hailers: 10 points
    
  • Extra Armor: 15 points
    

 

Rapier

Rapier

4

12

10

10

 

Rapier {Heavy Support} 40 points

Vehicle (Tank)

1-3 Rapiers

Smoke Launchers Searchlight Twin-linked Multi-laser

 

• May replace Twin-linked multi-laser with:
  
  • A twin-linked Multi-melta: 10 pts
    
  • A twin-linked Lascannon: 35 pts
    

  [*]May take any of the following:

  • A dozer blade: 5 points
    
  • A pintle-mounted storm bolter: 10 points
    
  • A hunter-killer missile: 10 points
    
  • Laud hailers: 10 points
    
  • Extra Armor: 15 points
    

 

Rapier Tank: A light two person vehicle with a venerable history, the Rapier has largely fallen out of favor with the wider Imperium due to its light armor and the fact that its design limits it to using a narrow selection of weaponry. While heavier, more versatile tanks have largely replaced the Rapier in most Imperial military forces, the Rapier continues to be useful as a light self-propelled gun, capable of delivering considerable firepower from long range on light, easy-to-manufacture chassis. While these outdated tanks were initially dispatched to the Order as a backhanded response to a request for additional armored support, the Order has since put them to good use against the enemies of the Emperor.

 

Ground-Attack Detachment

Vulture Gunship (110 pts)

4

12

12

10

 

Ground-Attack Detachment {Heavy Support}

Vehicle (Skimmer)

1-3 Vehicles

Heavy Bolter Twin-Linked Multilaser Two Hellstrike Missiles Searchlight Extra Armor

Deep Strike Fast

 

• The Vulture:
  • May replace its twin-linked multi-laser with:
    • A Twin-linked Autocannon: Free
      
    • A Twin-linked Missile Launcher: Free
      
    • A Twin-linked Lascannon: 10 points
      
    • Two Multiple Rocket Pods: 20 points
      

    [*]May replace its two Hellstrike missiles with:

    • Two Hellfury Missiles: 20 points
      
    • Two Twin-linked Autocannons: 20 points
      
    • Two Multiple Rocket pods: 30 points
      
    • Two Twin-linked Lascannons: 30 points
      

    [*]May replace its twin-linked multilaser and its two hellstrike missiles with a twin-linked punisher cannon: 50 points

Fluff: In a display of the same logic that led to the creation of the Adepta Sororitas themselves, the Order of the Faithful Blade has found a way to justify its own usage of a limited number of aircraft. While the Decree Passive made it absolutely clear that the Ecclesiarchy could not own or operate space-capable combat craft, there were no restrictions against purely atmospheric attack craft. The Order's Inquisitorial backers arranged the delivery of a small number of modified Vultures delivered to the Order. The modified craft are only capable of operating in the lower atmosphere of a planet, and have been up-armored and refitted for a ground-attack role to compensate for their reduced flight profile. While operating the vehicles has been a significant logistical complication for the Order, and a number of Imperial officials are less than amused by the Order's attempt to exploit yet another loophole in the Decree Passive, these ground-attack craft have proven extremely valuable on several occasions.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Fallon

The Fallon's a fun concept, divergence is good, and a lone wolf/possessed hybrid in a sisters-esque army drives the point home. One random suggestion, perhaps have the fluff mention the Inquisitors involved state that researching the Fallon is crucial to "The Exorcist Project", as a small way of tying them into the 40k universe as a whole (I doubt the Inquisition attempted to make the Exorcist chapter without going through any prototypes/research). Although, I would recommend dropping wounds down to 2 (a la the Lone Wolf), 3 seems a bit much for the fluff.

 

Then again, since they pretty much have to walk to the enemy if they don't roll infiltrate, and are tugged around by Rage, this would be a very tricky unit to use, and has a pretty high likelihood of being shot up quickly, 3 wounds or not. Having infiltrate standard would help with that, but does start to encroach on the Lone Wolf - maybe she naturally has deep strike? (Perhaps the Fallon are intense enough to just jump from a low-flying drop ship - alternatively, grav-chutes.) Alternatively, the loss of rage and having fleet/12" charge standard could also solve the issue.

 

Personally, I've never been a fan of random-ability assignment. It just strikes me as pretty arbitrary - in "reality", would the abilities of a possessed/fallon really be so unpredictable? Sure, the commander would have little control over what abilities they have upon their creation, but they would know their skills prior to the battle, and potentially have the opportunity to request one meeting certain requirements. In the game of 40k, there's no representation of the random nature of supplies during in a war - the fluff can go on and on about rare, hard to maintain archeotech, but that doesn't stop the Imp. Guard from having three plasma guns in every squad, or triple exorcists among sisters etc. I'm just not sure why the random nature of supply is ignored, but the random nature of past magical influence isn't. As long as all options are equal in value, allowing the player to select (think Imp. Guard Stormtrooper missions) shouldn't be an issue.

 

Back to the deployment/rage issues of the Fallon, it reminded me of a few thoughts I'd had on the Eversor a while back. Fluffwise, those assassins are deployed via 1-man drop-pod in which they're kept in stasis until shortly before landing. I'd mocked up a simple concept of how those might work in battle - deploy like a standard drop pod, containing only the Eversor, but when landed, the unit isn't immediately ejected (still being wakened from stasis), but rather disembarks the following turn, at which point they may assault. This would serve the balance purposes of giving the opponent some chance to react, but not leaving a squishy assault unit out in the open, vulnerable to the opponent's fire. This concept could potentially work out nicely for the Fallon, and would support their image of doomed-to-die warriors - being fired in a drop pod into an area heavy with the enemy.

 

I'm very much into the concept of the unit as a whole, it makes sense for the army and provides a form of support that standard Sisters don't have in a way they would never attempt to provide such support. Good divergence.

 

Vulture&Salamander

The changes to the Vulture load-out work out pretty well, since they've lost the ability to achieve atmospheric flight, presumably they don't need to be as lightweight, hence the ability to carry more weapon systems. One note, this would probably be a bit more normal in the IA books than having them squadron with Thunderbolts - it's an oddly written entry, but Imperial Navy support entry in IA1 doesn't allow the selection of squadrons, it just lists all the profiles/options in one entry while only allowing one lone vehicle to be purchased (no idea why, really).

 

Salamander looks pretty good, I can understand the price drop, the version in IA1 seems overpriced (it's funny how forgeworld units seem to carry a stigma for being "broken" - on the whole, they seem to be overpriced compared to standard codex).

 

Rapier

Unsure on the Rapier though, I think it's worth to play up its role as a piece of artillery, and use the Artillery rules, with it being assigned crew (judging from the images/a short quip in the Apocalypse book noting that it could be counted as an Imp. Guard heavy weapons team, it seems that the sole purpose of it being self-propelled is simply because the weapons mounted on it are just too heavy for the crew to carry). I've been working on a bit of Space Marine codex rewrite, and have worked them in to the Techmarine artillery entry - it just seems like a nice way to use an underused ruleset (are there any artillery models in the game besides those in the Ork, Eldar and standard Space marine armies?). Having them as an addition to a Retributor squad might be a nice way of adding them to the army.

 

Additionally, the lexicanum mentions it had something in the way of a Machine Spirit targeting capability. I can't really decide between two ways of representing this - either allow it to target a different unit than its squad, or allow it to be an anti-aircraft weapon (ignores flat-out movement saves/turbo-boost saves). I am leaning towards the latter, as that's an angle many armies are weak in.

 

Edit: Whoops, forgot a few points.

 

Fluff

Small, incidental question, what kind of markings would the Sisters display on their shields? Would veterans have heraldry etc.? (One thought; perhaps the Oblivion Knight has a plain, no heraldry, black shield to emphasize her non-identity).

 

Wargear divergence

One thought on divergent wargear, this one would be pretty invasive throughout the armylist, but how about switching the signature Eccliesarchy Eviscerator for a signature Malleus Thunder Hammer? It would be a slight downgrade vs. vehicles, but making such concessions to the "normal" sisters is a good thing for a divergent codex. It would make some sense (especially if the uncomplicated Eviscerators are produced "in-house" by the Eccliesarchy, not the Mechanicus - not a confirmed peice of fiction, but plausible), and could potentially look pretty cool.

[Chengar Qordath]

Fallon

The Fallon's a fun concept, divergence is good, and a lone wolf/possessed hybrid in a sisters-esque army drives the point home. One random suggestion, perhaps have the fluff mention the Inquisitors involved state that researching the Fallon is crucial to "The Exorcist Project", as a small way of tying them into the 40k universe as a whole (I doubt the Inquisition attempted to make the Exorcist chapter without going through any prototypes/research). Although, I would recommend dropping wounds down to 2 (a la the Lone Wolf), 3 seems a bit much for the fluff.

 

Then again, since they pretty much have to walk to the enemy if they don't roll infiltrate, and are tugged around by Rage, this would be a very tricky unit to use, and has a pretty high likelihood of being shot up quickly, 3 wounds or not. Having infiltrate standard would help with that, but does start to encroach on the Lone Wolf - maybe she naturally has deep strike? (Perhaps the Fallon are intense enough to just jump from a low-flying drop ship - alternatively, grav-chutes.) Alternatively, the loss of rage and having fleet/12" charge standard could also solve the issue.

 

Personally, I've never been a fan of random-ability assignment. It just strikes me as pretty arbitrary - in "reality", would the abilities of a possessed/fallon really be so unpredictable? Sure, the commander would have little control over what abilities they have upon their creation, but they would know their skills prior to the battle, and potentially have the opportunity to request one meeting certain requirements. In the game of 40k, there's no representation of the random nature of supplies during in a war - the fluff can go on and on about rare, hard to maintain archeotech, but that doesn't stop the Imp. Guard from having three plasma guns in every squad, or triple exorcists among sisters etc. I'm just not sure why the random nature of supply is ignored, but the random nature of past magical influence isn't. As long as all options are equal in value, allowing the player to select (think Imp. Guard Stormtrooper missions) shouldn't be an issue.

 

Back to the deployment/rage issues of the Fallon, it reminded me of a few thoughts I'd had on the Eversor a while back. Fluffwise, those assassins are deployed via 1-man drop-pod in which they're kept in stasis until shortly before landing. I'd mocked up a simple concept of how those might work in battle - deploy like a standard drop pod, containing only the Eversor, but when landed, the unit isn't immediately ejected (still being wakened from stasis), but rather disembarks the following turn, at which point they may assault. This would serve the balance purposes of giving the opponent some chance to react, but not leaving a squishy assault unit out in the open, vulnerable to the opponent's fire. This concept could potentially work out nicely for the Fallon, and would support their image of doomed-to-die warriors - being fired in a drop pod into an area heavy with the enemy.

 

I'm very much into the concept of the unit as a whole, it makes sense for the army and provides a form of support that standard Sisters don't have in a way they would never attempt to provide such support. Good divergence.

Mentioning the common ground between the Fallon and the Exorcists makes plenty of sense, given that they have a fairly similar broad concept. However, the line of linkage would probably need to be reversed; the Exorcists predate the existence of the Order of the Faithful Blade by several millennia (the Exorcists were created during the 13th Founding in M36, while OotFB wasn't founded until M39, not to mention that the first Fallon only appeared in M41). There's still certainly a line of inspiration though; not that hard to imagine a Radical deciding that what worked with Marines might work with Sororitas too...

 

I think I'll re-work the "roll for a random ability" chart into a series of upgrade options; while rolling randomly for abilities is a fairly iconic feature for possessed units, it's also one that a lot of players do not like. I'll make that change and toy around with the options/rules a bit to see what I can come up with.

 

Vulture&Salamander

The changes to the Vulture load-out work out pretty well, since they've lost the ability to achieve atmospheric flight, presumably they don't need to be as lightweight, hence the ability to carry more weapon systems. One note, this would probably be a bit more normal in the IA books than having them squadron with Thunderbolts - it's an oddly written entry, but Imperial Navy support entry in IA1 doesn't allow the selection of squadrons, it just lists all the profiles/options in one entry while only allowing one lone vehicle to be purchased (no idea why, really).

 

Salamander looks pretty good, I can understand the price drop, the version in IA1 seems overpriced (it's funny how forgeworld units seem to carry a stigma for being "broken" - on the whole, they seem to be overpriced compared to standard codex).

Just as a quick note, IA 1 is eight years old now, so a fair amount of what's in it has been superseded, and the point costs are pretty badly out of balance compared to current stuff. After all, when IA 1 was made Rhinos a lot more and didn't come with any of the free goodies they have now.

 

Rapier

Unsure on the Rapier though, I think it's worth to play up its role as a piece of artillery, and use the Artillery rules, with it being assigned crew (judging from the images/a short quip in the Apocalypse book noting that it could be counted as an Imp. Guard heavy weapons team, it seems that the sole purpose of it being self-propelled is simply because the weapons mounted on it are just too heavy for the crew to carry). I've been working on a bit of Space Marine codex rewrite, and have worked them in to the Techmarine artillery entry - it just seems like a nice way to use an underused ruleset (are there any artillery models in the game besides those in the Ork, Eldar and standard Space marine armies?). Having them as an addition to a Retributor squad might be a nice way of adding them to the army.

 

Additionally, the lexicanum mentions it had something in the way of a Machine Spirit targeting capability. I can't really decide between two ways of representing this - either allow it to target a different unit than its squad, or allow it to be an anti-aircraft weapon (ignores flat-out movement saves/turbo-boost saves). I am leaning towards the latter, as that's an angle many armies are weak in.

That could work; it's a pity I don't have the 1st Edition Guard Codex on hand; as far as I can tell, it's the only place where there's much official info on the Rapier. Then again, translating something from 1st edition to 5th is almost as much work as just making it all from scratch.

 

Judging from the model, it does look like the Rapiers are supposed to be artillery on tracks, not a proper self-propelled gun like the Basillisk. Looks like the unit needs to be redone again. Your suggestion for the Machine Spirit rule sounds good; it's useful, has precedent, and fills a niche the codex doesn't currently have taken care of.

 

Fluff

Small, incidental question, what kind of markings would the Sisters display on their shields? Would veterans have heraldry etc.? (One thought; perhaps the Oblivion Knight has a plain, no heraldry, black shield to emphasize her non-identity).

Presumably most shields would have markings unique to their unit, including things like campaign honors and such. Sisters with particularly notable accomplishments would also be able to make a note of it on their shields, such as indicating what decorations they've received for heroism on the battlefield.

 

As for the Oblivion Knight's shield, sure, why not? A blank black shield really fits with the whole non-entity theme she has going.

 

Wargear divergence

One thought on divergent wargear, this one would be pretty invasive throughout the armylist, but how about switching the signature Eccliesarchy Eviscerator for a signature Malleus Thunder Hammer? It would be a slight downgrade vs. vehicles, but making such concessions to the "normal" sisters is a good thing for a divergent codex. It would make some sense (especially if the uncomplicated Eviscerators are produced "in-house" by the Eccliesarchy, not the Mechanicus - not a confirmed peice of fiction, but plausible), and could potentially look pretty cool.

I can see your point as far as fluff goes, but I'm worried about it from a game balance perspective; the Eviscerator fills a really useful niche in the codex that a thunder hammer would not do so well in. Considering how nasty walkers and dreadnoughts are in 5th edition (such as Front Armor 13 becoming somewhat common) the Sisters really need one option for killing walkers in cc. If the Eviscerator goes, something else has to replace it.

[*Furyou Miko]

Rocket Hammers. <_< With antimatter orbs held in the drill tips!

 

The striking end of the hammer is a drill, the back end of the hammer has a rocked on it, and when penetration has been achieved, the drill bit opens up like a flower to annihilate everything inside the vehicle with the antimatter charge!

 

_{Don't believe in yourself, believe in me who believes in you!}