[LIP] Chapter Specific LI (Lite)

[SCC]

As discussed here the idea of small, easily digestible Chapter/Legion specific introductory LIs is one that appeals to me, and, I suspect, will appeal to many others.

 

In an ideal world I'd like to establish a fairly standard format for these LI-Ls so we get a coherent and recognisable sub-brand of the LI. In my head each LI-L would mimic the features, if not the specific format, of the Ultramarines section of the current C : SM supplemented by similar hobby materials also present in the 'dex.

 

In many ways it might also make sense to have a similar series for each overall army type (SM, CSM, SoB, AM etc.) as well as specific Chapters/Legions now I think about it.

 

Outline of how SM/UM are covered in Codex: Space Marines

• Origins of the [X]
  
• History of the [X]
  
• Organisation
  
• Equipment/Honours/Heraldry info
  
• Battles of the [X]
  
• Forces of the [X] - Rules
  
• Characters of the [X] - Rules + fluff in C : SM
  
• Hobby Info
  
  • Army Showcase
    
  • Heroes of the [X]
    
  • Units of the [X]
    
  • Vehicles of the [X]
    

  [*]Army List

 

Proposed LI-L format - 32pp:

• Front Cover - 1pp
  
• Intro - 1pp
  
• Origins of the [X] - 2pp
  
• History of the [X] - 2pp
  
• Organisation/Current Status - 1pp
  
• Equipment/Honours/Heraldry info - SMP painter images? - 2pp
  
• Battles of the [X] - inc. timeline if possible - 1pp
  
• Forces of the [X] - Tactica - 4pp
  
• Characters of the [X] - Well known characters and/or 'Community Character' - 2pp
  
• Hobby Info
  
  • Army Showcase - B&C User armies for [X] - showcase both comp and tabletop level stuff to encourage all levels of hobbyist - 4pp
    
  • Painting/hobby tips - step by step for basic Marine/unit, if possible an 'advanced' technique or tutorial suitable for the army could also be showcased (i.e. how to freehand flames for the Sallies edition etc.) - 3pp
    
  • Heroes of the [X] - Character showcase - both comp and tabletop level stuff to encourage all levels of hobbyist - Fluff sidebars for official characters/well known heroes? - 2pp
    
  • Units of the [X] - Unit showcase - both comp and tabletop level stuff to encourage all levels of hobbyist - Tactica sidebars? - 2pp
    
  • Vehicles of the [X] - Vehicle showcase - both comp and tabletop level stuff to encourage all levels of hobbyist - 'Tech/Specs' sidebars (a la FW IA info?) - 2pp
    

  [*]Army Owner - interview with army owner - why did they choose the army, reasoning behind list, tabletop stories, fave model etc. - 2pp

  [*]Back Cover - 1pp

Note the page counts are indicative and flexible not 'law' but being able to give first time project leaders a framework would make this type of project more accessible to the wider community. It's a lot easier to organise this kind of thing for the first time with some guidelines and it should help build a variety of experienced, confident project leads to tackle more taxing challenges into the future.

 

I'll also note that I wouldn't see more/faster releases for LI-L projects like this as detrimental to the brand, as 'basic' or 'introductory' guides or tools they occupy a different place in many ways than the full LI editions.

[Brother Tyler]

I see a lot of potential here. There are a number of extant articles that might be culled to make these, and we might see this type of product being utilized for DIYs. Our focus with these will be the official Chapters/Warbands/Legions/what-not, but individuals might decide to their DIYs in this way (and we'd have no reason to stop or discourage them from doing this).

 

Dovetailing off of this, we might adopt this as another format members can use to present their DIYs - a very work-intensive format.

 

And dovetailing off of that, we might consider how the concept can accommodate existing article formats (e.g., Index Astartes, et al).

 

To be fair, we might have a standard format for these while also allowing for variants.

 

Correction on the pages, though - covers account for 4 pages - outside front, inside front, inside back, outside back. To be fair, the inside covers can easily incorporate material you cited. ;)

[SCC]

Correction on the pages, though - covers account for 4 pages - outside front, inside front, inside back, outside back. To be fair, the inside covers can easily incorporate material you cited. ;)

 

:P

[Marshal Rohr]

Is this what Kurgan had in mind for the BT article test?

[Kurgan the Lurker]

Is this what Kurgan had in mind for the BT article test?

 

No. Anything marked [LI] is for the Legio Imprint.

[Ferrus Manus]

Would it not be a good idea to include (for the original legions at least) a page on their known successor chapters? or at least for the ones that have no chance of a full LI lite being published about them, which I suspect would be the vast majority of them.

[Brother Tyler]

The long term intent is to have an article for every Chapter. In most cases, that will be a simple datafile with what little we know about the Chapter (which in some cases is just a name) Linkage and identification with predecessors/successors will be part of those articles, but is also contained in the Tabula Astartes.

 

The Legio Imprints, whether "lite" or not, can be done for any Chapter, including DIYs. Which Chapters (and Sisters of Battle Orders and traitor warbands/Legions, etc.) we cover will really depend upon member/contributor interest. Our initial targets would be those for which there is a codex, but there is a strong potential for the range of "lites" to expand. Some of what we're doing with the Black Templars might very easily be morphed into a "lite" and there is a decent chance that the Legio will be the subject of a "lite" issue.

 

Shifting ( a little)...

 

I was looking at the "lite" concept and some earlier concepts that had been discussed and think there might be a strong overlap. The "lite" title is descriptive, but shouldn't really be part of the actual product titles. These will essentially be living documents, at the very least requiring updates when new codices are published, but likely requiring updates as we see Black Library churning out books and the occasional Forge World and White Dwarf tidbits. Our taxonomy should really reflect how they will be used by our members. In this, they are handy guides.

 

So a tentative working title will be "The Bolter & Chainsword Guide to the <insert organization name here>." Using the breakdown SCC provided above, we can break the guides down into four main sections (perhaps more):

• Background
  
• Visual
  
• Rules
  
• Tactica
  

Additional sections might be army lists, and I'd really love to showcase high quality armies in each of the guides. Each of these sections might be titled the X Guide (e.g., Background Guide, Visual Guide, etc.). There's even room for fiction, discussion of background inconsistencies/retcons, etc., though none of these would be absolutely necessary.

 

This essentially re-packages the original construct SCC provided into something that provides the same content that the official codices provide, but in a format distinct to the guides. All of the elements SCC listed above fall under one of the guides.

 

The Background Guide would include things like what we normally find in the Chapter articles, organization, timeline, etc.

 

The Visual Guide would include basic heraldry as well as honours, distinctive elements (such as the wolf-based iconography of the Space Wolves, the hammer-/fire-based iconography of the Salamanders, etc.), as well as modeling, converting, and painting articles.

 

The Rules Guide would cover the normal units, special rules, and (special) characters.

 

The Tactica Guide would cover how to use everything on the tabletop.

 

As the "lite" descriptor implies, these would be smaller books that players could refer to based on their needs. Some might be larger - those for which GW has developed substantial background (as well as DIYs for which players have invested considerable time). Some of these might be very small, though the living document nature of them will allow for subsequent expansion (even if that expansion is nothing more than the addition of an army showcase).

 

I'm working on a basic template, with the subject dependent upon some decisions being discussed/made elsewhere.

 

We might even see the Tabula Astartes adjusted/expanded to link to the guides either in addition to or in place of the Librarium articles.