Proposed HQ character - thoughts?

[TheCrazyCaptain]

Good evening brothers,

 

I'm taking my first foray into character creation. I've done some home grown rules for the likes of a moving objective, unique terrain, and damaged quad gun... Those rules have been generally well received by opponents.

 

I've called my character "The Black Wolf" - a highly creative and original name, I know.

 

He's a HQ unit - he can't join squads, or be classified as commander, but occupies an HQ slot as a bit of a penalty for taking him (he's powerful and expensive, so HQ slot fits).

 

The stat line is inspired by the Wolf Lord and Canis Wolf born. It does take into account stat modifications from his special rules.

 

So... on with it -

 

Background:- ill write a proper one once the rules are in place, and reasonable, but heres enough to give you an idea of where the fluff is heading.

Comparable to Canis Wolfborn, raised in the wild but unlike Canis taking a fenrisian name and "enslaving his wolf brothers" , The Black wolf prefers to walk along side his brother wolf, not on his back, and has not taken a name. This difference of opinions has lead to heated arguments between Wolf Lord Canis, and the Black Wolf (who refused the honour of being a Lord, or even the Rank of Battle leader). This disagreement has led to what can only be considered a feud between the two.

 

The Black Wolf proved his survival skills, his strength, and his ability to kill in close quarters in many tournaments and challenges, taking every opportunity to get back to his most base instincts. He was awarded the Black Spear as a high victor in one of numerous tournaments. Other similar prizes were snubbed and ignored. This spear, perfectly balanced, and master crafted from Fenrisian metals seemed a good fit for his skills, and became a regular feature of his tournament armour.

 

Having been noticed, and in essence enlisted for the wolves, he retains his tournament armour for combat use - black and stained with blood, with as little reference to the Russ Gray colours of the Space Wolf forces as possibly acceptable.

 

In war based combat, as in competition, the Black Wolf takes the Space Wolf philosophy of seeking bigger, better, tougher enemies to defeat to extremes, frequently seeking out entire squads to annihilate unaided, and refusing to fight as a part of a "lesser" unit.

 

Stat line: WS 6, BS 2, S 6, T 6, W 3, I 5, A 6, Ld 8, sv 2+ (4+ invulnerable)

 

War gear:

Spear of the Black - when charged, roll a D6. On a roll of 5 or 6, the bearer may attempt to strike (at full WS) any unit which ends in base contact one time, with the bearers base strength. After the initial charge, class this weapon as a standard Frost Blade.

Weighted Storm Bolter - reduced Range (18 inches). Counts as a second close combat weapon. This has been factored into the stat line. May not snap fire on being charged.

The Black Wolfs Tournament Armour - terminator armour , with modifications providing a 4+ invulnerable save. May not enter a vehicle.

Wolf tooth necklace - as per codex rules, won in tournament.

Brother wolf - a thunder wolf companion, which may not be mounted, but provides a +1 to strength, toughness and an additional attack, this has been factored into the stat line. Able to reroll a single to wound dice per round of combat - second result always counts. Wolf travels immediately next to The Black Wolf and is removed if The Black Wolf dies.

 

Special rules

Infantry (Character)

Acute Senses

Counter Attack (separate to the attack from Spear of the black)

Fearless

Pack of one

Beast Slayer

Eternal Warrior

Up close and personal (cannot snap fire when charged)

Death or glory - must accept challenges. Must either: kill a full squad without assistance, kill a toughness 5 model, or die in the game, failure to do so results in conceding 1 victory point.

Feud - Canis Wolfborn. Will not join an army led by Canis Wolfborn. If ever facing an army led by Canis Wolfborn, gains Hated toward Canis Wolfborn (extends to any unit Canis is part of)

Here to kill, not command - may not be nominated as commander of the army. May not be the only HQ unit in a force

 

Given that hes more Logan Grinmar than Battle Leader, I'm thinking he should be 200 to 250 points?

 

Any thoughts? Have I over powered him? I've tried to give him some restrictions and drawbacks as well as positives.

 

Edit:- the black spear rule, clarify 1 attempt to hit each unit in base contact on a roll of 5 or 6.

[TheCrazyCaptain]

I've spoken to a number of people, and play tested this character - made amendments and costed in line with advice from opponents... the finished result is below:

 

The Black Wolf -  225 Points

 

HQ choice for Space Wolves.

 

Background:-

 

Comparable to Canis Wolfborn, raised in the wild but unlike Canis taking a fenrisian name and "enslaving his brothers" , The Black wolf prefers to walk along side his brother wolf, not on his back, and has not taken a name. This difference of opinions has lead to heated arguments between the Wolf Lord Canis, and the Black Wolf (who refuses the honour of Lord, or even the Rank of Battle leader). This disagreement has led to what can only be considered a feud between the two.

 

The Black Wolf proved his survival skills, his strength, and his ability to kill in close quarters in many tournaments and challenges, taking every opportunity to get back to his most base instincts. He was awarded the Black Spear as a high victor in one of numerous tournaments. Other similar prizes were snubbed and ignored. This spear, perfectly balanced, and master crafted from Fenrisian metals seemed a good fit for his skills, and became a regular feature of his tournament armour.

 

Having been noticed, and in essence enlisted for the wolves, he retains his tournament armour for combat use - black and stained with blood, with as little reference to the Russ Gray colours of the Space Wolf forces as possibly acceptable.

 

In combat, as in competition, the Black Wolf takes the Space Wolf philosophy of seeking bigger, better, tougher enemies to defeat to extremes, frequently seeking out entire squads to annihilate unaided, and refusing to fight as a part of a "lesser" unit.

 

Stat line: WS 6, BS 2, S 6, T 6, W 3, I 5, A 6, Ld 8, sv 2+ (4+ invulnerable)

 

War gear:

 

Spear of the Black - when charged, roll a D6. On a roll of 5 or 6, the bearer may strike (at full WS) any unit which ends in base contact, with the bearers base strength. After the initial charge, class this weapon as a standard Frost Blade.

 

Weighted Storm Bolter - reduced Range (18 inches). Counts as a second close combat weapon. This has been factored into the stat line.

 

The Black Wolfs Tournament Armour - terminator armour , with modifications providing a 4+ invulnerable save. May not enter a vehicle.

 

Wolf tooth necklace - as per codex rules, won in tournament.

 

Brother wolf - a thunder wolf companion, which may not be mounted, but provides a +1 to strength, toughness and an additional attack, this has been factored into the stat line. Able to reroll a single to wound dice per round of combat - second result always counts. Wolf travels immediately next to The Black Wolf and is removed if The Black Wolf dies. When charging, The Black Wolf is pushed to move faster by his Thunderwolf Companion - Roll 3D6 and choose the highest 2 results.

 

Special rules

 

Infantry (Character)

 

Acute Senses

 

Counter Attack 

 

Fearless 

 

Pack of one 

 

Beast Slayer  

 

Up close and personal  Cannot snap fire when charged

 

Death or  Glory -  Must accept challenges. Must either: kill a full squad without assistance, kill a toughness 5 model, or die in the game, failure to do so results in conceding 1 victory point.

 

Feud - Canis Wolfborn  - If Canis Wolfborn is in the same army list (directly, or as an ally) before deployment, roll a D6. An a 1 - 2, the character will enter the game as normal.  On a 2  -3, the character will arrive for combat, but if at any point in the game he comes within 12 inches of Canis he will charge (and always be successful in reaching him!) Canis and engage in a single round of close combat (note: character cannot move through a distance of 12 inches of Canis, even if ending movement futher away than 12 inches. On a 5 - 6 - The Black Wolf refuses to enter the combat whilst Canis is alive and on the field.  If Canis starts in reserve, and enters the field - remove the black wolf immediately from the table no matter what. If Canis starts on the table, the Black Wolf must start in reserve, and may not enter the field until Canis dies.

 

Born to Kill, Not Command - May not be taken unless another HQ unit is chosen from the Space Wolf Codex.  May not be nominated as Commander. 

[Wulfebane]

Several things.

 

He's too cheap for his statline. Too high: Strength, Toughness, Attacks. He can't have all that AND tda WITH an improved invuln.

 

Having a specialized stormbolter is guilding the lily. He already has a special spear, special armor, and a giant special (read unique) thunderwolf "pet". He doesn't need a billy-club stormbolter to explain an extra +1A or his BS2. Just delegate any additional attack bonuses from having a giant wolf pet, the low BS with a desire to meet all victims in melee combat, and the lack of snapshots due to setting up his spear (see below paragraph).

 

Spear makes no sense. Honestly, I'm not sure what its trying to convey. I'd probably have it make a single I10 countercharge attack at the charging unit's strength. (Edit: I now see the clarified ruling, too OP imo). Explain away the snapfire by him preparing his spear to receive the charge.

 

TDA fluff invalid. If it were so manageable to improve TDA mechanically, everyone would (especially GKs), yet the only 4++ tda I'm aware of belongs to Njal, and that is from excessive runes. I would explain away his 4++ by claiming he beat a WP in the tourney and took his amulet as a trophy. Alternatively, his fluff could be that he briefly walked the path of a Wolf Priest, donning "black" runic armor and acquiring a wolf amulet, but the lone wolf spirit, Lokyar, called and he abandoned the responsibilities of command. This way, he acquires a 2+4++ more believably.

 

3d6 charge range in TDA (on foot) is borderline absurd. Instead, I'd permit the Hammer of Wrath usr as though the wolf lunges into the assault first, followed by his master. More plausible should you give him runic armor, though I'd just say he has Fleet at this point to make things simpler. I personally prefer the HoW idea/rule better.

 

Canis feud is unnecessary and complicated. Make them "desperate allies" and leave it at that.

 

I understand the twm is factored into his statline, but its still high without it. Here's what I'd be comfortable allowing, given the cost (stats in parentheses are bonus from twm and considered baseline) :

 

WS6 BS2 S4(5) T4(5) W2(3) I4 A3(4) Ld8 Sv2+(4++)

 

Ultimately, he'd have A6 on the charge, A5 otherwise. Still might be too high, given the additional proposed I10 HoW attack when charging/charged. Another option would be to drop his base attacks to 3 and give him Warrior-born to offset it later.

 

 

Take it or leave it. Either way, a compelling character once he's been polished.

[Blacksad]

since when do stormbolters counts as a ccw???

[Wulfebane]

since when do stormbolters counts as a ccw???

Nope, you're right. Just woke up when I wrote this. Confused "Assault" with "Pistol".

 

I'll edit my post.

[hendrik]

the 4++ could easely come from a belt of russ... now BS2, that makes no sense! he's an astartes right? it's practically impossible for an astartes to be BS2.... even your average guardsman shoots better...

now as for the spear. the description you gave actually already has a USR for it. it's called counterattack! ;)

personally i feel S6,T6 is way too much for a space marine. T5 is the most i can see a marine go to without going into HULK-heroes.

 

since you have him fight next to a thunderwolf, have you considered dropping the combined statline and going for the fenrisian wolf route?

you could buff his own strength by giving him a wolf claw+chainfist combo, ideal for challenges since he now can choose between AP2 I1 or AP3 on his actuall initiative.

he could have the option to take thunderwolves with him for like, 25 pts? these could be T5,S5,I5 rending, 5+ save due to bionics/augmentations etc? just some ideas

[TheCrazyCaptain]

Thanks for the input. It interesting that you don't feel the cost is right - I actually was going to charge considerably more, but opponents talked me down.

 

If I start with Canis stat line (the character was meant to be along the same lines, but infantry based rather than cavalry) and adapt from there:-

 

In terms of the rules i take on board the over complicating things comments - so will replace the Canis one with hatred., and will take out the bit about the spear, just treat if as a normal frost blade, and apply the counter attack rule. (The spear rule was effectively replacing over watch shots with a free close combat round - rather than an extra attack per turn)

 

Porting the stat line directly across from Canis, he would still have the same BS level - which is where I took the figure from originally. I've amended this slightly to reflect his Astrates standing.

 

A standard wolf lord has the same WS as I've given him, so I didn't think that was unreasonable, but have dropped it to 5 - which just removes his re-roll option.

 

Given that, his stat line was meant to have been based around canis, with some alterations in lieu of Canis' special rules, would the below be reasonable as a stat line:

 

WS5•BS3•S5•T5•W3•I5•A5•Ld8•Sv2+ (4++)

 

Ill rewrite the fluff, but essentially - Storm bolter becomes a standard bolter, the spear is treated as a frost blade (not taken into account in his stat line).

 

I'd like to keep the special rule I wrote about either dying, killing a monstrous creature or a full unit without assistance, or giving away a victory point. That's an adaptation of the lone wolf rule that I really like - it adds character.

 

Starting at the cost of Canis, add in the cost in Saga of the warrior born, wolf tooth necklace and belt of russ. Having taken away Canis' special rules I've not added the cost of the terminator armour and frost axe.

 

Suggested Points cost: 250

 

Edit:- Reworded a couple of bits and corrected some typos.

[Blacksad]

you could use a frost spear, , a power spear with S+1. wasn't powerspear +1S and ap3 on the charge, S - user and AP4 when not charging?

[TheCrazyCaptain]

A power lance - With the benefit of being a frost weapon?

[Blacksad]

lance, spear, same difference :p