Codex: Order of the Faithful Blade

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

To represent their rebelliousness, perhaps they can only benefit from acts of faith activated by their own "Supremely Faithful", and can't be lead into an Act by Palatines or Cannonesses? Maybe still let them benefit from Wellspring of Faith, though, surely even a rebellious unit such as them would be invigorated by the master of the Order.

 

On the note of weapons, just checked out the new Needle Pistol in the Grey Knights update - it's S3, AP2, Poisoned 2+. That would probably fill the same niche as Inferno Bolt Pistols, and would be a bit more visually unique. (Got Inferno ammo mixed up with Hellfire ammo. Still think the Needles would be worth including, especially since they're closely tied to Inquisitors.) It is a very powerful weapon, but I guess it would be reasonable on one unique squad? After all, it has the same level of effectiveness against T6 and lower models as the Inferno Pistols, and is useless against vehicles.

 

The reasoning why these various toys are limited to the Sparrows could probably be explained through a combination of the other Sisters being fairly traditional about the Trinity (to be fair, it does cover every aspect of warfare beyond long-range attacks, something the Sparrows weapons wouldn't), and perhaps all of the unique pistols used by the unit are drawn from an "armoury" of questionable legality Mika's collected during her time working alongside the Inquisition - some official gifts, others cases of "Well, that heretical Noble won't be needing these Hellpistols anymore!"

 

Maybe Mika could have say, two preset and one selected choices of pistols, to emphasize that she might have a fair collection stashed away (such manic, yet military, hobbies would probably fit Mika's character.) Master-crafted Plasma Pistols might be a good default for her - plasma is often referred to as the fire of stars or somesuch, and flame of such magnitude is surely a symbol of the Emperor, yes? That such a pair of pistols would be loaned to the most effective Seraphim in the Order would be a fun lil' bit of fluff (Plus, her great variety of weapons is a significant part of her profile - having fluff on them would probably be fitting.)

 

Scoring Lancers wouldn't be too bad, since they're mincemeat if they make themselves vulnerable by staying still for too long. They could perform last-minute objective grabs, which would be pretty in-character for the unit; swooping in to snatch victory from the foe.

 

As for Repentia Mistress Jackhammer, that could work except for the fact that the Order doesn’t have Repentia.

The other Sisters try to tell her that, but it doesn't work. They're not even sure if Jackhammer knows what a Repentia Mistress is. She's kind of the dark side of receiving the unwanted recruits from the schola progenum.

[*Furyou Miko]

Not to mention this:

 

"Mika's getting out of control again. Now she wants plasma pistols. Two of them!"

 

"That's just ridiculous. We have to do something about this rebellious streak."

 

"I say we give her the pistols."

 

"What?"

 

"What?!"

 

"Give her the plasma pistols. Who knows? Maybe she'll finally blow herself up."

[Chengar Qordath]

So, here's a preliminary version of the unit.

 

Mika Allard and Sparrow Squad

Mika Allard	4	5	3	3	2	4	2	10	3+
Sparrow	4	4	3	3	1	4	1	8	3+

Mika Allard and Sparrow Squad {Fast Attack}..........160 points

Jump Infantry (Unique)

1 Mika Allard 4 Sparrows

Two Bolt Pistols Combat Shield Power Armor Frag Grenades Krak Grenades

Two Plasma Pistols Two Inferno Pistols Two Hand Flamers Combat Shield Power Armor Frag Grenades Krak Grenades

Adepta Sororitas Hit and Run Supremely Faithful Ace Pilots Gunslingers Rebellious

Adepta Sororitas Hit and Run Supremely Faithful Expert Gunslinger Ace Pilots

• May Add up to five Sparrows: 20 points per model
  
• Any Sparrow may replace her two bolt pistols with:
  
  • Two Hellpistols or Bolt Pistols with the Special Ammunition rule: 5 points
    
  • Two Hand Flamers or Needle Pistols: 10 points
    
  • Two Inferno Pistols or Plasma Pistols: 15 points
    

  [*] Mika Allard may replace her Inferno Pistols or Hand Flamers with Hellpistols, Needle Pistols, or Bolt Pistols with Special Ammunition: free.

   

  [*]The Unit may be equipped with a medical servo-skull (counts as a medi-pack): 30 points

Gunslingers: When equipped with two of the same pistol, Seraphim fire their pistols as a single assault 2 twin-linked weapon. In assault, the pistols are treated as a pair of ordinary close combat weapons.

 

Expert Gunslinger: Mika is highly skilled with her pistols, and carries an impressive number of weapons into battle. In addition to the normal benefits of the Gunslinger rule all Seraphim possess, Mika may make two ranged attacks in any shooting phase; these attacks must both be against the same unit, and a different set of pistols must be used for the second attack.

 

Ace Pilots: Mika and the Sparrows under her command are the most proficient users of the Seraphim Jump Packs in the entire Order. When entering play from reserves via Deep Strike, Mika and any unit she is attached may re-roll their scatter dice when deep-striking, and may re-roll any Dangerous Terrain tests.

 

Rebellious: Mika and her squad are notorious for their tendency to view following the chain of command and obeying orders as optional, much to the dismay of their superiors. The unit may not use Acts of Faith generated by the Inspiring or Lead From the Front rules, and if any independent character is attached to the squad it’s leadership is reduced by three points as the Sparrows chafe at outside influence.

 

Fluff: “Of course I love the God-Emperor more than anything else in the Universe … but flying is a close second.”

 

Mika rapidly became infamous at her Schola for a troublesome streak that was, in her tutors’ opinions, grossly inappropriate for a member of the Adepta Sororitas. If not for her indisputable skill at the art of war and devotion (as well as a talent for not getting caught when playing pranks or telling off-color jokes) Mika would never have survived her novitiate to become a full Sister. Even then, many of her fellow progena whispered that Mika’s instructors allowed her graduation from the schola simply because it was the simplest way to remove her.

 

Like many a schola troublemaker, Mika was immediately assigned to the Order of the Faithful Blade. Her early years of service in the Order continued her pattern of displaying enough battlefield skill to offset out-of-battle irreverence. However, Mika’s career underwent a radical shift when she gained her first opportunity to use a Seraphim jump pack, and she proved to be nothing less than a prodigy.

 

Mika’s newfound love of flight proved an unexpected boon to her superiors; in order to prove herself worthy of joining the elite Seraphim and earning the right to fly on a regular basis, Mika reigned in her youthful unruliness. Impressed by her newfound discipline, Mika’s superiors allowed her to join the Seraphim, only to be dismayed when Mika promptly demonstrated that she had not completely suppressed her wild nature as the young Seraphim celebrated her elevation with an unauthorized series of jump’s across the convent, accompanied by most inappropriate shouts of triumph.

 

While Mika’s personality still left something to be desired, her indisputable brilliance as a Seraphim drew the praise of her superiors. After her laudable service during an anti-heresy campaign in the Glazia system, and in particular her vital role in the Rudius incident, Mika gained command of her own squad; her superiors secretly hoped that the burden of command would finally settle the talented but undisciplined warrior. Mika proved to be a brilliant leader, and her squad rapidly became the most skilled Seraphim in the entire Order. Much to the Canoness’ dismay, Mika’s squad also rapidly become responsible for twice as many disciplinary incidents as any other squad in the Order. However, so long as her squad’s exemplary battlefield performance continues, Mika’s superior’s will reluctantly tolerate the occasional incident of high-spirited troublesomeness.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Lookin' good, kinda reminds me of the old Imp. Guard's Last Chancers in its "feel". Like your approach to Mika's potentially variable arsenal - defaults are effective and cover most/all situations, but she can be customized if the player is especially focused on something. Unique squad which doesn't completely outshine the vanilla version.

 

A couple of small thoughts - just noticed Gunslingers was both Twin-linked and Assault 2 - I would've thought it would be one or the other (preferably assault 2). Still, not a huge issue - I can see how the twin-linked would be used as a further representation of their skill, like a shooting Pref. Enemy. Personally, I'd stick to just being able to dual wield pistols effectively (Assault 2), since that's already a hugely unique trait in the 40kverse (anyone besides Cypher and Seraphim able to do that?).

 

This next one's more of a pricing thought, and thus not as important at this pre-playtesting stage, but I think you could safely move Plasma Pistols down to the Handflamer/Needle Pistol points-cost level - Plasma pistols are probably one of the most consistently overpriced pieces of wargear, and the return of Inferno pistols really highlights it. Consider; both the Needle and Plasma pistols are inferior to the Inferno Pistol in every way (well, Needle beats out Inferno for enemies T7 and up, but that's pretty negligible.) Plasma has inferior S and AP to Inferno, coupled with the chance to kill the wielder. On the other hand, Plasma pistols stack up on equal footing to Needle pistols - Plasma gains the advantage of being able to threaten light vehicles at the cost of Gets Hot.

 

Worth writing out profiles for the special-ammo bolt pistols, but it's far from pressing, I'm assuming 12" variants of the Gunners' ammo?

[Chengar Qordath]

Lookin' good, kinda reminds me of the old Imp. Guard's Last Chancers in its "feel". Like your approach to Mika's potentially variable arsenal - defaults are effective and cover most/all situations, but she can be customized if the player is especially focused on something. Unique squad which doesn't completely outshine the vanilla version.

 

Glad you like it.

 

A couple of small thoughts - just noticed Gunslingers was both Twin-linked and Assault 2 - I would've thought it would be one or the other (preferably assault 2). Still, not a huge issue - I can see how the twin-linked would be used as a further representation of their skill, like a shooting Pref. Enemy. Personally, I'd stick to just being able to dual wield pistols effectively (Assault 2), since that's already a hugely unique trait in the 40kverse (anyone besides Cypher and Seraphim able to do that?).

 

I have been wondering if I went a bit too strong there, but on the other hand a shooting unit that really needs to be right next to the enemy to be effective needs a bit of punch, or else it's shooting rapidly becomes irrelevant once it's bogged down in close combat. Probably needs playtesting to see whether or not twin-linked plus assault 2 is too much.

 

This next one's more of a pricing thought, and thus not as important at this pre-playtesting stage, but I think you could safely move Plasma Pistols down to the Handflamer/Needle Pistol points-cost level - Plasma pistols are probably one of the most consistently overpriced pieces of wargear, and the return of Inferno pistols really highlights it. Consider; both the Needle and Plasma pistols are inferior to the Inferno Pistol in every way (well, Needle beats out Inferno for enemies T7 and up, but that's pretty negligible.) Plasma has inferior S and AP to Inferno, coupled with the chance to kill the wielder. On the other hand, Plasma pistols stack up on equal footing to Needle pistols - Plasma gains the advantage of being able to threaten light vehicles at the cost of Gets Hot.

 

Might want to do that, since as you said the plasma pistol is a bit overpriced. If twin-linked gets tossed, then I'll definitely give it serious thought; Gets Hot is a bit less of a problem when you can re-roll those 1s. Also, while the inferno pistol is probably a better weapon overall, I would say that the plasma pistol's extra 6" of range could be useful in the right circumstances.

 

Worth writing out profiles for the special-ammo bolt pistols, but it's far from pressing, I'm assuming 12" variants of the Gunners' ammo?

Should write out proper profiles for the ammo to make sure everything's clear, but you've got the right of it; pistol versions of the storm bolter ammo. I would say that should be basic common sense, but I've gotten into enough rule discussions to know that "common" sense can be alarmingly rare when arguing over RAW,

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Whoops, I'd totally missed that Inferno Pistols didn't have the standard pistol range of 12", that's a significant balancer.

 

One clarification, are you going with the Inferno Pistol's original AP of 2, or the Blood Angels' Infernus' AP1?

[Chengar Qordath]

I would be inclined to go with AP 1, since that's more consistent with other melta weapons.

[*Furyou Miko]

AP 2 Inferno pistols date back to the days when all Melta weapons were AP 2 because... well, AP 1 was a nothing stat - it had absolutely no effect above AP 2.

[Chengar Qordath]

Well, had a chance to look through the final version of the GK Codex, so here's the things that stand out as likely/reasonable changes and additions

 

1. Inquisitor Wargear options are changing quite a bit; I won't carbon-copy the entry in the GK Codex, but the new entry will be closer to the GK one. Retinues will also be reworked.

 

2: Assassins will now use the entries in Codex: Grey Knights.

 

3: Incinerators and Psycannons might have their point costs tweaked since they have new profiles now.

 

4: One or two other bits of GK wargear are likely to show up here and there.

[Chengar Qordath]

Inquisitor {HQ}.......... 40 Points

Inquisitor Lord

5

5

3

3

3

4

3

10

4+

Details

Infantry

1 Inquisitor

Rosarius Frag Grenades Krak Grenades Close Combat Weapon Bolt Pistol Carapace Armor

Stubborn Ally of the Order

Ally of the Order:If attached to a squad with the Faithful or Supremely Faithful rule, the Inquisitor will benefit from any acts of faith they manifest.

Inquisitor Options:

• The Inquisitor may exchange their Bolt Pistol and/or Close Combat Weapon for:
  
  • A Boltgun: free
  • A Storm Bolter: 5 points
  • A Power Weapon, Combi-Weapon, Plasma Pistol: 10 points
  • A Storm Shield, Needle Pistol, Scythian Venom Talon, Hellrifle, Daemonblade, or Thunder Hammer: 15 points
  • An Incinerator: 20 points
  • A Null Rod: 25 points
  • A Psycannon: 30 points
    

  [*]The Inquisitor Lord may have:
  

  • Melta Bombs: 5 points
  • Power Armor: 10 points
  • Digital Weapons: 10 points
  • Rad Grenaes, Psychotroke Grenades: 15 points
  • An Orbital Strike Relay: 40 points
    

  [*]The Inquisitor may exchange their Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Carapace Armor, Frag Grenades, and Krak Grenads for Terminator Armor, a Storm Bolter, and Power Weapon: 30 points
  

  • May Exchange the Power Weapon for:
    • A Thunder Hammer or Daemonblade: 5 points
      

    [*]May Exchange the Storm Bolter for:

    • A Combi-Weapon or Incinerator: 5 points
    • A Storm Shield: 10 points
    • A Psycannon: 25 points
      

    
    

  [*]The Inquisitor may upgrade to a psyker with two powers chosen from the Psychic Power list, and exchange their close combat weapon for a Force Weapon: 30 points

  • The Inquisitor may replace their Force Weapon with a Daemon Blade: free
  • The Inquisitor may take a Psychic Hood: 10 points
    

  [*]The Inquisitor may make any of their weapons master-crafted: 5 points
  

Retinues work as per Codex: Grey Knights, with the following modifications:

Remove:

• Banisher
• Mystic
  

Add:

• The Inquisitor Lord and Retinue may be equipped the following:
  • Combat Drugs: 30 Points
  • Augmentic Enhancements: 40 points
    

  [*]The Retinue may add the following:

  • Sister Famulous: 30 points per model
  • Sister Hospitaler: 30 points per model
  • Sister Dialogus: 30 points per model
    

  [*]All Warrior Acolytes in the retinue may upgrade to veterans with Ballistic Skill 4: 2 points per model
  

Sister Famulous: This Inquisitor works closely with a Sister of the Orders Famulous, and is possibly from a family with long-established ties to the Adepta Sororitas. The Inquisitor and his retinue gain the Supremely Faithful rule.

Sister Dialogus: Sisters Dialogi specialize in collecting knowledge of all sorts, including forbidden lore about both the enemies of the Imperium and the Imperium itself, and putting all of this knowledge at the disposal of their Inquisitor. A Sister Dialogi allows her unit to re-roll any ranged attack which misses.

Sister Hospitaler: See the entry for Sister Hospitaler

New Wargear:

Augmentic Enhancements: It is not unknown for Radical Inquisitors to attempt to enhance the combat capability of both themselves and those in their employ by a variety of means. This enhancement can take a number of forms, from replacing weak flesh with hardened mechanical components to various dark sorceries and alchemies, or all manner of restricted xenotech.
All models in the unit gain +1 S and +1 T.

Combat Drugs: At the start of the game, roll a d6 and apply the appropriate result to the entire unit for the rest of the game
1) Gain the Fleet USR; in addtion, when making a Run move roll two dice and pick the highest result.
2) +1 Weapon Skill
3) +1 Strength
4) Re-roll failed to-wound rolls in close combat
5) +1 Attack
6) Gain the Furious Charge USR.

[*Furyou Miko]

Well, at least our dear Callidus friends will have somewhat more purpose in this army than the GK one... where Instant Death Sword is pointless when everyone else has a Force Weapon.

[Chengar Qordath]

Well, at least our dear Callidus friends will have somewhat more purpose in this army than the GK one... where Instant Death Sword is pointless when everyone else has a Force Weapon.

An Instant Death Weapon is a lot more useful in an OotFB army where you will probably not have more than one Force Weapon max (I can't see anyone taking two Psyker Inquisitors) Of course, the Callidus is still pretty awesome in her current incarnation in my opinion; wiping out a tac Squad and insta-killing Vulkan on the turn she entered play did a lot to make me feel better about her killing power.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

The profile looks good overall, from this can we assume that the majority of the Inquisitors associated with the OotFB are Malleus Inq.s who have radical Ordo Xenos leanings? Veteran upgrade is good, kinda a shame they lost access to BS4 in the latest 'dex (and a bit silly, seeing as Inquisitors are known to induct Imp. Guard veterans.) That the option of having BS4 and power armour on warrior acolytes allows for having OotFB Sisters as part of the Inq.'s retinue is good.

 

Couple of thoughts/suggestions: Do augmetic enhancements/combat drugs effect the Kolbes if selected? Any particular reason they use Thunder Hammers rather than Daemon Hammers? Perhaps allow the Xenos-type upgrades for Termie armour (or simply shift the wording of the upgrade to Termie armour to let the Inquisitor keep their Close Combat Weapon, and therefore any upgrades to it.)

 

Personally, when I try to stat out Combat drugs I lean towards having selectable drugs, but with potential to wound the user ('Slaught grants +D6 attacks on the charge rather than +1, but wounds user on a failed Toughness test' sort of thing), but that's mainly a personal rules design preference, what with me trying to avoid random effects. Still, the rule works out and has precedence in the Dark Eldar and all.

 

The Callidus Assassin's an odd case; while her update is still points effective, it's kinda a shame she lost the rules representing her complete infiltration of the enemy HQ.

[Chengar Qordath]

The profile looks good overall, from this can we assume that the majority of the Inquisitors associated with the OotFB are Malleus Inq.s who have radical Ordo Xenos leanings?

Yeah; Kolbe is fairly typical of the Inquisitors who work with OotFB; dabbling with xenotech to deal with the threat posed by Daemons is the norm for them. Of course, as evidenced by things like Daemonblades, Hellrifles, and the Fallon, not everyone limits themselves to dabbling with Xenos to defeat the forces of Chaos.

 

Veteran upgrade is good, kinda a shame they lost access to BS4 in the latest 'dex (and a bit silly, seeing as Inquisitors are known to induct Imp. Guard veterans.) That the option of having BS4 and power armour on warrior acolytes allows for having OotFB Sisters as part of the Inq.'s retinue is good.

Yeah, the Veteran upgrade is one of those things that makes so much sense that it's an obvious addition. If I were running things I would put the option in Codex: GK too (same with Combat Drugs and Augmentic Enhancements).

 

I'm also seriously considering changing Jokearo to a max of one per retinue, to prevent the silliness that is monkey-spam.

 

Couple of thoughts/suggestions: Do augmetic enhancements/combat drugs effect the Kolbes if selected?

RAW currently says yes, which might need to be changed. In fact, I might want to make a few tweaks to how Rianon's retinue works, to better represent her "Boss Inquisitor" status; suggestions welcomd

 

Any particular reason they use Thunder Hammers rather than Daemon Hammers?

Copy-pasing laziness on my part; using Daemonhammers makes far more sense, but for some reason that obvious change did not occur to me until you suggested it.

 

Perhaps allow the Xenos-type upgrades for Termie armour (or simply shift the wording of the upgrade to Termie armour to let the Inquisitor keep their Close Combat Weapon, and therefore any upgrades to it.)

No reason it shouldn't be done.

 

Personally, when I try to stat out Combat drugs I lean towards having selectable drugs, but with potential to wound the user ('Slaught grants +D6 attacks on the charge rather than +1, but wounds user on a failed Toughness test' sort of thing), but that's mainly a personal rules design preference, what with me trying to avoid random effects. Still, the rule works out and has precedence in the Dark Eldar and all.

I understand your reasoning and don't disagree with it, but when I've got a GW precedent I try to stick to it unless there's a very good reason not to. On the other hand, I am pondering reverting back to how combat drugs were handled in the 3rd edition DE Codex on HQ units, where they had stable benefits but also a risk of doing damage to the user.

 

The Callidus Assassin's an odd case; while her update is still points effective, it's kinda a shame she lost the rules representing her complete infiltration of the enemy HQ.

True, but I can somewhat understand the reasoning behind that particular change; I can't really see even the best Callidus in the Imperium managing to infiltrate the headquarters of and influence the command decisions of a Tyranid Swarm or a Necron force.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

I'm also seriously considering changing Jokearo to a max of one per retinue, to prevent the silliness that is monkey-spam.

I'm not sure if this would be particularly necessary; it's odd, but the wording of their customization rule results in them being less and less likely to give good effects whenever there are three or more in a squad (since the +1 modifier applies to the re-rolls as well.) It's kinda bizarre, but apparently playtesters have stated that Ward told 'em this was an intentional balance? Of course, it might be worth limiting since they're a critter which wouldn't be kept around in great numbers.

 

RAW currently says yes, which might need to be changed. In fact, I might want to make a few tweaks to how Rianon's retinue works, to better represent her "Boss Inquisitor" status; suggestions welcomd

My first thought on reading this was to allow her to take a Celestian retinue; but that would be awkward with her Henchman brother, and Sister bodyguards can be represented well enough by the normal Henchmen options. One thought; perhaps she might have one or two discreet Eldar in her retinue, since she has dealings with them? Probably not any Craftworlders/Dark, but having an Outcast would be helpful, considering how Stealth now works in groups, and perhaps a Corsair captain to call down a bombardment, and one or two standard corsairs (Guardians with BS/WS4 I guess)? A Harlequin or two might be appropriate, since they have a history of assisting humans against chaos, even sharing Eldar lore with them (perhaps Eldar seers have declared Kolbe is an important pawn in the fight against Chaos, and should be preserved at most costs?) Maybe even a Warlock (hmmm, maybe this one might be a unique upgrade - perhaps even the one who outfitted her armour with the Runes.) If there was something like this, it would probably be worth having a rule requiring there to be more humans than Eldar in the squad, tho.

 

What's Kolbe's stance on Malleus-radical stuff? If she's not all for it (not necessarily Malleus-puritan, but simply refuses to use the Chaos tools personally - perhaps she's fine with working alongside Malleus-radicals, but has ready plans to off 'em if they show signs of inevitable corruption), removing the Daemonblade/Hellrifle/Daemonhosts would be a reasonable balance to the additions.

 

The Callidus Assassin's an odd case; while her update is still points effective, it's kinda a shame she lost the rules representing her complete infiltration of the enemy HQ.

True, but I can somewhat understand the reasoning behind that particular change; I can't really see even the best Callidus in the Imperium managing to infiltrate the headquarters of and influence the command decisions of a Tyranid Swarm or a Necron force.

Personally, I'd always attributed such occurrences to Shenanigans.

[Chengar Qordath]

I'm not sure if this would be particularly necessary; it's odd, but the wording of their customization rule results in them being less and less likely to give good effects whenever there are three or more in a squad (since the +1 modifier applies to the re-rolls as well.) It's kinda bizarre, but apparently playtesters have stated that Ward told 'em this was an intentional balance? Of course, it might be worth limiting since they're a critter which wouldn't be kept around in great numbers.

I'd agree that it's not a serious in terms of game balance; it's mainly an issue from a fluff/background perspective. It's probably not important enough to change the rules over.

 

My first thought on reading this was to allow her to take a Celestian retinue; but that would be awkward with her Henchman brother, and Sister bodyguards can be represented well enough by the normal Henchmen options. One thought; perhaps she might have one or two discreet Eldar in her retinue, since she has dealings with them? Probably not any Craftworlders/Dark, but having an Outcast would be helpful, considering how Stealth now works in groups, and perhaps a Corsair captain to call down a bombardment, and one or two standard corsairs (Guardians with BS/WS4 I guess)? A Harlequin or two might be appropriate, since they have a history of assisting humans against chaos, even sharing Eldar lore with them (perhaps Eldar seers have declared Kolbe is an important pawn in the fight against Chaos, and should be preserved at most costs?) Maybe even a Warlock (hmmm, maybe this one might be a unique upgrade - perhaps even the one who outfitted her armour with the Runes.) If there was something like this, it would probably be worth having a rule requiring there to be more humans than Eldar in the squad, tho.

Sticking an Eldar in Rianon's retinue would make sense for her; in fact, when I used her as an NPC in my Dark Heresy Campaign she had well-established ties to the Harlequins, including a permanently-attached liaison to the Harlequins who effectively served as a member of her retinue. I don't want to engage in too much codex-theft from the Eldar though, so I would want to limit the actual Eldar presence in her actual retinue to another retinue-only Character. After all, if I tried to include an option for including more than a single SC, it would lead to me re-doing the Codex entry for Harlequins (since I hate the current one) and that would be outside the rules for B&C.

 

The only downside I can see is that right now I'm close to my upper limit on SCs; adding another one would put me at 12, which would be equal to the number of SCs in the Guard Codex, and one above the number of SCs in the Marine Dex. I don't want this turning into a hero-hammer Codex, so I'm already pondering trimming down the number SCs a bit by dropping the less-developed ones (namely, the SCs with no bg or fluff, who are just there to be SCs) and give nice rules.

 

What's Kolbe's stance on Malleus-radical stuff? If she's not all for it (not necessarily Malleus-puritan, but simply refuses to use the Chaos tools personally - perhaps she's fine with working alongside Malleus-radicals, but has ready plans to off 'em if they show signs of inevitable corruption), removing the Daemonblade/Hellrifle/Daemonhosts would be a reasonable balance to the additions.

You pretty much nailed Kolbe's position in your parenthetical statement; not inclined towards using Chaos tools personally, but willing to work with people who do as long as they're still sound. Naturally, she's quick to off anyone who crosses the line and falls to Chaos, since the last thing she and her group want is the rest of the Inquisition to take a closer look into their affairs.

[Chengar Qordath]

Cutting/Adding Special Characters:

 

Characters who might get the Ax:

Catriona Matic (Celestian Blade)

Sirona Haugen (Hospitaler)

Isolde Rydich (Lancer)

 

New SC Concepts:

Eldar member of Rianon's retinue

Morrigan Allard, Sister of Battle turned Inquisitor.

 

Out of the characters who are under review, I'm most inclined to drop Catriona, since she seems like the flattest of my current SCs. Sirona might also need to go, since she's almost as flat as the Catriona, although I'm a bit more attached to the idea of a Hospitaler SC then I am to Catriona. Isolde doesn't have a fluff piece, so I could cut her, but I think she's better developed than the others, so I'd be inclined to hold onto her. If I'm going to introduce the two new special characters that are bouncing around in my head, then I'll need to cut at least one of them; preferably two since a dozen SCs is at the very upper limit of what GW has put in a contemporary codex.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

On the note of special characters, it would probably be better to judge them by their impact/buffs on the army overall/any truly exceptional qualities they have. Say, the Oblivion Knight is relatively high impact since she has a quality seen nowhere else in the army, superheavy Pysker-defence, while Gabriel Kolbe simply carries an okay gun, and is thus pretty low impact (plus, he's more of a satellite upgrade to the elder Kolbe - same would probably go for the Harlequin.)

 

As for the Harlequin, feel free to rejigger the wargear/rules significantly from the standard Harley profile, presumably a Harlequin designated to assist/protect/fight alongside a human Inquisitor would be equipped differently from a standard one. Is the Harlequin's purpose to defend Kolbe/Eldar seers believe she will be important in the fight against Chaos etc.? That might be a good angle to design the character around, the bodyguard archetype is fairly diverged from the current Harlequin design.

[Chengar Qordath]

So, here's my current thought process:

Cut Catriona; she doesn't have much in the way of background/character, and her rules are pretty lackluster.

Since Gabriel and Ceilantha (Harlequin SC) are both sub-characters of Rianon, that diminishes their impact, so they're not as much of a hero-hammer problem.

Add in Morrigan, because she's fun and adds new things.

 

I'm currently musing on how to build Ceilantha; feel free to toss out any suggestions for rules/wargear/etc.

 

Inquisitor Morrigan Allard..........XX Points

Inquisitor Morrigan Allard

5

5

3

3

3

4

3(6)

10

2+/4++

Inquisitor Morrigan Allard {HQ}

Infantry (unique)

1 Inquisitor Morrigan Allard

Blade of Vy'tas Kai Gun Artificer Armor Rosarius Frag, Krak, and Blind Grenades. Psychotroke Grenades Empyrean Brain Mines

Former Sororitas Stubborn Profane Weaponry Sibling Bond Independent Character

Fluff: “The Imperium is fighting for its very survival against horrors beyond human comprehension. Against enemies like that, we can't afford to ignore any weapon that might allow us to gain some advantage.“

 

Morrigan entered the Adepta Sororitas alongside her twin sister Mika, and while she was not quite the perennial discipline problem that her twin sister was, Morrigan frequently either covered for her twin or got drawn into her schemes on a regular basis, so she found herself dispatched to the Order of the Faithful Blade alongside Mika. Had her tutors known that several of the pranks attributed to Mika were actually Morrigan's doing, they no doubt would have felt better about their decision.

 

Morrigan's career advanced at a faster pace than Mika's within the Order itself, as Morrigan was pragmatic enough to not openly cause trouble like her wilder twin. Morrigan's superiors saw her as the more responsible of the two twins, and decided to reward her with advancement in the hopes that Morrigan could serve as an example and encourage Mika to calm her wild ways. Sadly for their superiors while Morrigan proved to be an excellent squad commander, her example did nothing to change Mika's ways.

 

Morrigan's career underwent a radical departure in M41.926, during the suppression of a Chaos-fuelle uprising on Serash IV. In the midst of the battle Morrigan's squad found itself cut off from the main Sororitas force and surrounded by the enemy. After several minutes of desperate fighting, the squad attracted the attention of one of the Alpha Legion Marines responsible for fomenting the uprising. Mika attempted to fight the fallen Astartes, but much to the sister's horror her blade shattered against the thick armor of her foe. In desparation, Morrigan blindly grabbed the blade of one of the fallen cultists, and managed to cut down the traitor Marine, and carve a path through the enemy horde to lead her squad back to the main body of the Order.

 

It was only after the battle that Morrigan thought to look more closely at the weapon she had claimed, whereupon she discovered to her horror that she had taken up a Daemonblade wielded by one of the fallen cultists. Morrigan immediately cast the foul weapon aside and swore never to tell anyone what she had done, but the tools of Chaos are not so easily disposed of. Over several years, Morrigan frequently found herself in desperate positions, and every time it seemed all was lost, the Daemonblade somehow found its way into Morrigan's hands once more, and allowed her to turn the tide.

 

Eventually, Morrigan felt that she had no choice but to bring the matter to the attention of her superiors within the Order. While more conservative voices within the Order like Palatine Krik argued that the only course was to kill Morrigan immediately to preserve her soul from corruption, others like Palatine Durand argued for moderation. After all, Morrigan had a distinguished record within the Order, and severely punishing Morrigan would almost certainly cause problems with Mika and Sparrow Squad. With no clear consensus emerging in the debate, the Cannoness propsed consulting the Order's Inquisitorial allies to gain greater insight into Morrigan's status.

 

Inquisitor Ianto Quintos responded to the Order's request, and after a careful examination of the affair declared that Morrigan was not being controlled by the Daemonblade. He then proposed a solution that should leave both factions satisfied as to Morrigan's ultimate fate; instead of remaining with the Order, Morrigan would become a member of his retinue, where he could closely watch for any signs of corruption while allowing Morrigan to continue in the service fo the Emperor. After a brief discussion, the Order agreed to accept Quintos' compromise solution.

 

Morrigan did well within the less strictly ranks of the Inquisition, and within a few years she became one of Quintos' trusted subordinates. A decade after she joined his retinue he gave her command of an Acolyte cell, and from there promoted her to rank of Interrogator, and finally made her an Inquisitor in her own right. Quintos encouraged Morrigan to develop her control over the Daemonblade that she now wielded; since it was clear now that the blade was somehow bound to her, the only sensible solution was to master the weapon and use it in the Emperor's service.

 

Morrigan has continued to maintain close ties with the Order, particularly her twin sister, and frequently requests aid from Order forces. While many within the Order are understandably wary of Morrigan's radical tendencies, she is hardly the only open radical to align themselves with the Order, and her past as a member of the Order leaves some feeling assured that, regardless of her choice in weaponry, Morrigan remains a loyal servant of the Emperor and true friend to the Order of the Faithful Blade.

 

Special Rules:

Former Sororitas: Morrigan has all the benefits of the Adepta Sororitas and Faithful rules, and may opt to take a Celestian Retinue rather than an Inquistorial Retinue.

 

Profane Weaponry: Morrigan adds the following wargear options to the army list. In addition to the added options, any Celestian Martyr Squad where half or more of the models are equipped with Daemonblades may be taken as a Troops choice:

• Any member of a Celestian retinue may:
  • Replace their power weapon with Daemonblade: 5 points per model (If multiple models take Daemonblades, roll once for the entire unit when determining which traits the blades have)
    
  • Replace their bolters with Hellrifles: 15 points per model
    

  [*]Any member of a Celestian Martyr squad may:

  • Replace their Flaming Blade with Daemonblade: 5 points per model (If multiple models take Daemonblades, roll once for the entire unit when determining which traits the blades have)
    

  [*]Any member of a Celestian Gunner Squad may:

  • Replace their Storm Bolter with a Hellrifle: 10 points per model
    

Sibling Bond: If Mika Allard is also in this army and an enemy unit removes her from play, Morrigan may reroll to-hit and to-wound rolls against this unit for the remainder of the game to represnt Morrigan's determination to avenge the harm done to her Sister.

 

Wargear:

Blade of Vy'tas: The Blade of Vy'tas is a Daemonblade with the Unholy Speed and Vampyre traits. In addition, it's attacks have the Rending rule, and will rend on a roll of four or more. If Morrigan is under the effects of any Act of Faith, then the Blade of Vy'tas loses the benefits of the Unholy Speed and Vampyre traits.

 

Kai Gun: A large bolter of archaic design suffused with the power of the Warp, the Kai Guns were constructed by a group of tech-priests in a desperate and ultimately futile effort to appease the forces of Chaos and prevent their own destruction after a Warp Storm swallowed their world. While most of these guns remain in the hands of Chaos, Morrigan managed to claim one as a prize from a fallen foe and had it ritually cleansed by the Adeptus Mechanicus, allowing her wield this potent weapon.

Range: 24" Strength 6 AP 3 Assault 2

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Like Morrigan, good contrast with Rianon. Perhaps strike her from taking Xenos options in her retinue to further that contrast (maybe even have some tension between the characters, fluffwise - that Mika seems to be fairly close to Rianon would add another degree of tension)? Not many other suggestions, just a couple of random ideas. Celestian Blades feel cold and alone :(, maybe give them a particular upgrade too (Perhaps Daemonic-enhancement for their suppression shields [storm shield counts-as])?

 

Perhaps move the standard Inquisitor "Ally of the Order" special rule to the Famulous to keep Morrigan's status as an ex-sister a tad more unique.

 

Planning to give Sibling Bond to Mika as well?

 

Random fluff-thought; Vy'tas would always show up for Morrigan in her times of need - maybe note how this daemonblade is an actual "Faithful Blade".

 

As for the Harlequin, one thought: perhaps a special rule "It is Not Yet Your Time": If Rianon is reduced to 0 (or maybe 1) wounds while Ceilantha is in the unit, roll a D6. On a result of 3+, Ceilantha activates her webway failsafe, pulling herself and the wounded Rianon (perhaps Gabriel as well) from the battlefield to fight against Chaos another day. The two models are removed from play without granting the opponent a killpoint.

 

Otherwise, perhaps a grenade pack (similar to the Shadowseer's) which launches defensive grenades, or the ability to to forfeit her own attacks to get a chance to parry attacks directed at Rianon.

[Chengar Qordath]

Like Morrigan, good contrast with Rianon. Perhaps strike her from taking Xenos options in her retinue to further that contrast (maybe even have some tension between the characters, fluffwise - that Mika seems to be fairly close to Rianon would add another degree of tension)? Not many other suggestions, just a couple of random ideas.

That's definitely something that could be included in their character backgrounds; Mika does have the problem of being ideologically more in line with Kolbe, yet feeling compelled to support Morrigan.

 

Celestian Blades feel cold and alone ;), maybe give them a particular upgrade too (Perhaps Daemonic-enhancement for their suppression shields [storm shield counts-as])?

Blades do need a bit of love, and swapping suppression shields for storm shields wouldn't be a big issue; it would probably be a free swap, since losing an attack on a base 1A model is a decent trade-off for a boosted invulnerable save. It makes them more durable, but less killy.

 

On a related note, I might need to tweak the Daemonblades used by Celestians, since one or two of the options wouldn't quite work on Celestians (Getting Eternal Warrior wouldn't be any good to one-wound models, while getting the psyker result would lead to a game-breaker of a unit; having every single model in the squad able to fire off a psychic shooting attack like Scourging would be insane). I could jusstify a different statline easily enough by noting that these blades contain weaker entities then the Inquisitor-only Daemonblade. Maybe something like:

 

Lesser Daemonblade: A Daemonblade containing the essence of a relatively weak daemon, this is still a potent weapon, but not nearly as devastating as a weapon containing a more power prisoner. At the start of the game roll a single a pair of dice to determine what effect the blade has; if a double is rolled, the player takes the number rolled, and chooses the second ability. The Divine Guidance and Hand of the Emperor faith abilities have no effect on models wielding Lesser Daemonblades:

1: Unholy Flame: +2 Strength

2: Fell Speed: +2 Attacks

3: Warp-touched Venom: The sword has the poisoned (3+) rule

4: Heart Seeker: May re-roll all to-hit rolls

5: Sharp As Sin: May re-roll all to-wound rolls

6: Warpblade: (The Lesser Daemonblade counts-as a power weapon)

 

Perhaps move the standard Inquisitor "Ally of the Order" special rule to the Famulous to keep Morrigan's status as an ex-sister a tad more unique.

Ally of the Order as-written wouldn't quite work on the Famulous, since it's a rule that only comes into play if you're not attaching the Inquisitor into a retinue.

 

Planning to give Sibling Bond to Mika as well?

Of course. The only reason her current entry doesn't have it is that it wouldn't have made much sense before Morrigan was around.

 

As for the Harlequin, one thought: perhaps a special rule "It is Not Yet Your Time": If Rianon is reduced to 0 (or maybe 1) wounds while Ceilantha is in the unit, roll a D6. On a result of 3+, Ceilantha activates her webway failsafe, pulling herself and the wounded Rianon (perhaps Gabriel as well) from the battlefield to fight against Chaos another day. The two models are removed from play without granting the opponent a killpoint.

That rule is a bit too scenario specific for my tastes (for starters, KP vs. non-KP missions), but it does give me a bit of inspiration; having webway access via Ceilantha could certainly be part of her rules, beyond the whole bodyguard thing.

 

Otherwise, perhaps a grenade pack (similar to the Shadowseer's) which launches defensive grenades, or the ability to to forfeit her own attacks to get a chance to parry attacks directed at Rianon.

Was already planning to give her some nice grenades, and I can probably come up with something to represent her bodyguard rule.

[Chengar Qordath]

Harlequin Ceilantha 75 Points

Harlequin Ceilantha

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4

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3

2

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3(6)

10

5++

Harlequin Ceilantha {HQ}

Infantry (unique)

1 Harlequin Ceilantha

Killing Touch Needle Pistol Flip Belt Holo Suit Clone Field Frag and Blind Grenades. Psychotroke Grenades

Webway Access You Are Still Needed Dance of Death Wraithbone Arm

Fluff: “Your group is of interest to my people Inquisitor, and for the moment our goals are compatible. Until this changes, I will provide you with a measure of assistance.“

The life and duties of a Harlequin have taken Ceilantha across the galaxy and throughout the Webway, even to the City of the Dark Eldar, Commorragh. Like all Harlequins, Ceilantha's life is dedicated to fighting against Chaos in all its forms and protecting all Eldar from its taint, be they Craftworld Eldar, Exodites, or Dark Eldar, and occasionally even deigning to offer protection to the Mon-Keigh and other lesser races.

In M41.326, Ceilantha's troupe received word that a small warband of Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marines had infiltrated the Webway, and were attempting to discover the secret location of the Black Library. Ceilantha's troupe immediately engaged the servants of the Dark Gods in a pitched battle. While the battle was initially going in the Harlequins' favor, when several of the Thousand Sons' fell sorcerers unleashed their blasphemous powers, it weakened the strength of the Webway conduit where the battle was taking place. The Harlequins cut down the Marines, only to discover that now they faced daemonic horrors from the Warp itself as the essence of Chaos poured into the collapsing Webway tunnel.

Ceilantha still cannot recall all that occurred during the subsequent battle, as she and the rest of her troupe desperately fought their way through the collapsing Webway tunnel through the corrupting influence of the Warp and ravening hordes of daemons. Her escape might have only taken a few brief moments, or it might have involved months or even years of desperate battle to survive against overwhelming odds as Daemons picked off her allies one by one. The only thing that is certain is that Ceilantha was the only one to escape before the Webway conduit completely collapsed, and in the process her right arm became so horribly twisted and corrupted by the energies of the Warp that she was forced to cut it off before the corruption spread to the rest of her body.

Ceilantha emerged from the Webway on a backwater agri-world populated by a few isolated human colonists, who took the wounded, delirious Eldar into custody. Unsure of what to do with the lone Xeno, the colonists immediately sent out a message requesting instructions from the Imperial authorities. Fortunately for Ceilantha, the nearest Imperial authority was Inquisitor Rianon Kolbe, who asked the colonists to hold Ceilantha and treat her injuries until Rianon herself arrived.

Rianon, at this point still a young and newly-radicalized Inquisitor, was delighted by the opportunity to speak with an Eldar Harlequin on her own terms, and for several months Ceilantha remained a guest of the Inquisitor until she recovered from her wounds (though Ceilantha adamantly refused to accept a human-made prosthetic for her lost arm) and satisfied Rianon's curiosity. At that point, Rianon released Ceilantha and allowed her to return to her people. Ceilantha re-established contact with the rest of the Harlequins and resumed her duties, but when next the battle against Chaos required collaboration with the Imperium, Ceilantha made a point of seeking out Inquisitor Kolbe once more.

Over many years of collaboration, Kolbe and Rianon have come to trust each other as much as is possible for human and xeno; both are well aware that the other is loyal to their own species above all else, but as long as Chaos continues to threaten both Eldar and Human alike there is fertile ground for continued cooperation. Ceilantha's travels and broad association have left with an eclectic mix of technology in her personal armory, and she does not hesitate to use grenades from a Craftworld alongside a Dark Eldar sword and a human gun while wearing Harlequin-crafted armor. While using such a broad array of technology can occasionally be problematic, Ceilantha believe that the added effectiveness it allows her is worth the trouble. While Ceilantha mainly works alongside Kolbe when she feels the need to involve humans in her affairs, she has been known to collaborate with other Inquisitors approved by Kolbe when Rianon is otherwise occupied and the situation demands immediate action.

Special Rules:
Webway Access: The Harlequins are the most knowledgeable of all the Eldar when it comes to the workings of the Webway, and Ceilantha is no exception. To represent Ceilantha providing her associates with access to the Webway, any unit that includes Ceilantha may enter play via Deep Strike. Because of the inherent safety of webway travel, if the Deep Strike scatters onto Impassable Terrain or another model, the player reduces the scatter distance to the minimum required to avoid the obstacle. Ceilantha's unit may also choose to enter play on the first turn via Deep Strike, instead of being held in reserve.

You Are Still Needed: Ceilantha may choose to exchange places with the unit's Inquisitor at any given time. She may also use the protection generated by her clone field to protect the Inquisitor instead of herself.

Wraithbone Arm: Ceilantha lost her right arm in battle hundreds of years ago to a daemonic servant of Tzeentch, and had it replaced with a prosthetic constructed from wraithbone. To represent the chance of an attack striking her arm, Ceilantha has the Feel No Pain rule, but only succeds on a roll of 6+.

Wargear:
Killing Touch: The Killing Touch is a sword that secretes a deadly toxin, gifted to Harlequin Ceilantha as a reward after her intervention helped to contain a daemon-fueled coup by Archon Ysclyth against the Overlord of Commorragh, Asdrubael Vect. The Killing Touch is a power weapon with the Poisoned (4+) rule.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Oh, whoops, misremembered the Ally rule, thought it made 'em Faithful. As is, it's good, mirrors how psyker Inq.s work alongside the Grey Knights.

 

Like the use of Clone Field, the wargear seems a lot like a concept for a Harlequin 'dex added to the Dark Eldar (like how Deathwatch concepts were turned into Sternguard.) You Are Still Needed and Webway Access work out well.

 

I'm assuming Psychotroke Grenades is there to represent Hallucinogen grenades? I can't really see her degrading herself to using Imperial weaponry, but Psychotroke Grenades is such a better representation for a hallucinogenic gas than the current Eldar rules.

 

Dunno about the Wraithbone Arm rule though. It's not overpowered or anything, but bionics which aren't incredibly pervasive (on Cassius or Straken's level) tend to have no rules effect. I'd recommend dropping it; it wouldn't really weaken the character at all, and it would drop a bit of complexity from the unit which doesn't really add to her overall.

 

Maybe just make the Killing Touch an Agonizer? Near identical rules in all but a few obscure cases.

 

Lesser Daemonblade works; that the blades only contain a Lesser Daemon could also be why Morrigan's comfortable with handing Daemonblades out to those with comparatively little experience handling Chaos artifacts.

 

I'd be tempted to make all the daemon upgrades incompatible with Acts of Faith which would effect the wargear. Blade Daemonshields can't use Spirit of the Martyr, Hellrifles lose Divine Guidance and Lesser Daemonblades should probably also lose out on The Passion in addition to the other two they already can't use.

[Chengar Qordath]

Psychotroke grenades are there to sub in for hallucinogen grenades; it would probably be strictly accurate to say list hallucinogen grenades in the wargear section, then note that they count as psychotroke grenades, but that just seems like an extra level of complication that wasn't really needed.

 

As far as the Wraithbone arm rule, I don't think it's an issue fluff-wise since the effect is far tamer than what Cassius and Straken get, and I think it's an interesting bit of flavor for the character that's useful but, as you noted, not likely to have major game consequences.

 

Making the Killing Touch an agonizer could work, but I like the idea of a unique sword with a bit of background story behind it over a generic Dark Eldar weapon. Plus, a sword fits the Harlequin image much better than a whip. On the other hand, I wouldn't object to making it some other type of weapon with an appropriately Dark Eldar flair; I will admit I was a bit disappointed when they just cut-and-pasted Harlequins from the Eldar codex in the Dark Eldar codex.

 

No disagreements on the restrictions for daemonshields, lesser daemonblades, and hellrifles.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Psychotroke grenades are there to sub in for hallucinogen grenades; it would probably be strictly accurate to say list hallucinogen grenades in the wargear section, then note that they count as psychotroke grenades, but that just seems like an extra level of complication that wasn't really needed.

Eh, any player ridiculous enough to be bothered about that probably wouldn't be playing against a homebrew 'dex to begin with, I was just checking if they were being used that way mainly out of curiosity. Leaving 'em as Psychotroke grenades should be fine.

 

As far as the Wraithbone arm rule, I don't think it's an issue fluff-wise since the effect is far tamer than what Cassius and Straken get, and I think it's an interesting bit of flavor for the character that's useful but, as you noted, not likely to have major game consequences.

I was mainly thinking along the lines of precedent; artificial arms are handed out like candy in the 40kverse, it just seems a little incongruous. Of course, being fancy wraithbone etc. could account for that, I suppose.

 

Making the Killing Touch an agonizer could work, but I like the idea of a unique sword with a bit of background story behind it over a generic Dark Eldar weapon. Plus, a sword fits the Harlequin image much better than a whip. On the other hand, I wouldn't object to making it some other type of weapon with an appropriately Dark Eldar flair; I will admit I was a bit disappointed when they just cut-and-pasted Harlequins from the Eldar codex in the Dark Eldar codex.

Agonizers are known to come in all shapes and sizes, it staying as a sword (albeit likely a devilish-looking Dark Eldar blade) is a given. Only the latest 'dex decided they were primarily whips; I believe the older Dark Eldar Archon model featured a jagged claw Agonizer? The backstory's good and should def stay in the fluff, but simply having "Agonizer" in the statline would take out a little bit of minutiae; useful since this is a special character with unique interactions with another special character - if there's anyway to slightly simplify the characters without harming their design, it should prob be taken.

 

Yeah, the copy&paste worried me a bit as well, especially with the rumour-trail suggesting that they had originally expanded the entry to a 5th Ed. aesthetic, but were then instructed to reign it in to maintain inter-codex consistency (not long before older marine codexes were FAQed to be closer to 5ed; /sigh.) I'm just hoping this doesn't lock the Harlequin entry into its current phase in an attempt to maintain that consistency when the Eldar 'dex is updated.

 

---

 

Random thought; maybe grant Morrigan a satellite character as well? I'm pretty fond of the idea of having unique retinue bits for unique Inquisitors, the retinue is as much a part of the character as their own statline/wargear. Perhaps a darker spin on the mystic/banisher; her selection of daemonic artifacts has to come from somewhere, after all.