The Renegade Legion

[Black Cohort]

which is exactly why I suggested it Slipstream.  It also gives the unit something more unique than being cheaper psykers.

[Slips]

I ran out of likes because Forgeworld News, but yes, I like the idea. Maybe make it a 5+ instead? or give +1 to units that already have precision shot?

[Black Cohort]

Almost nothing has precise shot in 7th, but saying that if the unit already has precise shot, then it improves it by one (so a 6+ becomes a 5+, etc) wouldn't be a bad idea.

[simison]

Options

·         The Parisada Psyker may take exchange their bolter for:

o   Force Weapon…………………………………………………………………………………………....…..5 points

·         The Parisada Psyker may take one of the following:

o   Combat Shield……………………………………………………………………………..…………………..5 points

o   Boarding Shield………………………………………………………………..…………………………….10 points

o   Tower Shield………………………………………………………..…………………………………………10 points

·         The Parisada Psyker may take one of the following:

o   Jump Pack…………………………………………………………………………………………………...….20 points

o   Space Marine Bike with twin-linked bolters…………………………………………………….25 points

o   Legion Jetbike with Heavy Bolter…………………………………………………………………....45 points

·         The Parisada Psyker may exchange their artificer armor for Terminator armor at additional cost.

o   A Terminator may be one of the following:

§  Terminator armor with combi-bolter and force weapon………………….….25 points

§  Cataphractii Terminator armor with combi-bolter and force weapon….......25 points

 

Father’s Footsteps

While there is no true ban on learning the other disciplines, Warden psykers that devote themselves to the Divination and Telepathy disciplines find them achieving a quicker mastery than those who stray from their Father’s specialties. If a Parisada Psyker rolls for their powers to the Divination and/or Telepathy tables only, they may roll for one additional power above their psyker mastery level.

 

Vraben

The Parisada’s role in the legion is to provide necessary psyker support as the Halcyon Wardens execute their mission. While the form of support may take a variety of forms, like their Father, many Warden psykers find themselves drawn into the arts of divination and telepathy. Mixing the two allows a psyker to mentally communicate with his assigned squad with future insight as they pick priority targets in the enemy army.

 

Vraben is a Divination power that may be substituted for a rolled Divination power. It is Warp Charge 1, and confers the Precision Shot special rule to the entire unit. If any model already has the Precision Shot rule, the power improves the necessary roll by +1. 

 

 

Black Cohort, I do like the power, but I don't think it should require a Warp Charge 2 price. Both Foreboding and Perfect Timing grant a special rule to an entire unit and cost only 1 Warp charge each. So, I made it cheaper. 

 

And I'll post the next round later when I have more time.

[Black Cohort]

Makes sense with the psychic power.

 

For upgrading to terminator armour is that an additional 35 points or the base cost becomes 35 points?  The wording is unclear right now.

[simison]

Edited. How's that?

 

Also, Black Cohort, do you have a pick for the fourth opponent? 

 

 

It worked, was the thought repeating in Lorgar's mind. The gods had promised, of course. If they were to have any chance of spreading the Primordial Truth to the rest of the Imperium, Lorgar would have to make a sacrifice. The gods had foreseen it. In every future where this being existed, he opposed Chaos, and victory was threatened. He would have to die.

 

To accomplish this, Lorgar's mission was blessed. His fleet sailed through the Warp in peace, while a storm traveled ahead of them, veiling their movements. The being's foresight was clouded, misdirected, shown what he expected to see. It was a rare chance. The Word Bearers undertook their mission with zeal. Their fleet left the warp just above the planet. In the span of three seconds, their fleet was positioned, and the drop pods rained from them. Lorgar had one to himself, reciting newfound wisdom as he waited for the inevitable conflict.

 

His pod landed and he stepped out as hundreds of other Word Bearer pods landed in the surrounding area. His target wore a expression of pure surprise. In all of his life, Lorgar had never seen Alexandros surprised. Above them, the Word Bearer fleet opened fire on the Halcyon Warden fleet, inflicting massive damage. Here, he lifted Illuminarum. Before Alexandros could speak, Lorgar whispered, "Forgive me."

 

Alex's Usable Powers - Foreboding/Dominate/Shriek

Lorgar's Usable Powers - Invisibility/Crush/Shriek

Alex wins the first roll. Gets Foreboding, fails to get Duelist, and Shriek is Denied. Ultimatum makes up for it and burns off 2 wounds. Lorgar gets IWND.

 

Lorgar. Fails Crush & Shriek, but gets Invisibility, which renders Alex's Foreboding half-useful. Lorgar's pistol is useless as always. But Ultimatum joins it for a round in Overwatch to share fail stories. Lorgar makes the charge, uses Dark Fortune's one-time ability to reduce Alex's 3 hits down to 2. 2 hits become 1 to-wound, which Armor of the Word stops, barely. Lorgar's emotions cloud his judgement and he fails to hurt Alex. Does get IWND, putting him back to full health.

 

Alex feels the Chaos gods working against him as a reroll on Dark Fortune Denies Duelist again. It is missed as Xiphos is blocked again by Armor of the Word. Lorgar gets all hits and all to-wound rolls only for Alex to roll three 6's and a 5 for invul save. No IWND for obvious reasons.

 

Lorgar enjoys their blessings as he gets Invisibility off again. Xiphos is deflected, while Illuminarum is also blocked.

 

Alex is Denied a third time. Lorgar finally scores a wound and concussive hits Alex. No IWND.

 

Lorgar gets Invisibility and strikes first. Chaos gods can't help him to wound though. Alex outright misses against his invisible brother. No IWND.

 

Alex is Denied again. That doesn't stop him from cutting a wound off Lorgar. Lorgar promptly breaks bones as he inflicts 3 wounds off Alex. No IWND.

 

Lorgar is Denied Invisibility by a desperate Alex. That doesn't stop Lorgar from crushing Alex's skull with Illuminarum.

 

Enraged screams fill the air as the surviving Myrmidon watch their gene-father clatter to the ground, a bloody pulp all that remains of his head. Lorgar feels something within him die as he watched his beloved brother die. "I'm sorry, Alex. If only you would have joined us, you could have lived to see the glory coming."

[Black Cohort]

How about Corax for the 4th?

 

Also doesn't 60 points sound a little expensive for them in terminator armour? 50 points sounds better to me.

[simison]

Sounds good. 

 

We'll we have the first two special units and the first two legion unique wargear. Now, I did have a third legion unit planned. As mentioned before it was simply a 'Tank Commander' upgrade that gave a +1 BS. So, the stat line is already there, and it's supposed to be a Heavy Support unit. The only real question I had was what should I call it? I had the aspiration to name it something Japanese, but perhaps I should stick to the already established Greek and Indian cultures? 

 

For the third unique wargear, I was drawing a huge blank. My best idea was to tie it into the fluff, with whatever legion/primarch was closest to the Wardens. With 11 Battle Brothers, there's no instant answer to that one. Can safely rule out the Blood Angels and the Emperor's Children, because of already established close relationships between Sanguinius/Horus and Fulgrim/Ferrus Manus. 

 

Since the Rule of Three seems to be in effect, the one other thing I know we're lacking is a Legion Emblem. Half of it is obvious, a shield in the background. But what should be in the foreground? I thought an item of peace, but I'm not sure what fits that bill. Ideas?

[simison]

Before I head to bed, I'd figure I'd also make a list of what I need to fill out a Horus Heresy legion chapter (book chapter, that is) and appendix.

 

For the appendix

• 2 more Unique Characters in addition to Irvin Ruel
• Warden Rite of War

 

For the chapter

• Summary page with emblem
• Origins and brief history
• Unit and Formation Structure in the Legion
• Exemplary Battles (planning on 3, Unity Wars battle/Solo battle/battle with legion allies

 

Am I missing anything?

[simison]

Missed your edit there, Cohort, and agree. 

 

After some thinking, for the legion symbol, since I couldn't come up with a good symbol for peace, I decided to emphasize unity instead. The image I like the most is three interlocking rings. So, I have the basic image down, but that leaves colors. My first thought was to have the rings be the three primary colors, while the shield was purple to represent the Imperium and the Warden's mission to defend it.

 

In the end, I decided to veer away from the Japanese and highlight the Imperial side. My tentative title is Praefectus alae or just Prefect. In a follow-up post, I'll write out their rule. 

 

Back to the question of a third unique wargear, as I mentioned I might tie it into the legion closest to the Wardens. Now, there are two ways to go about this. 

One, the closest Primarch brotherhood. For this, I had 5 Primarchs in mind.

• The Lion: I love the irony that not only is Alexandros able to overcome the early rivalry between the two legions, but the most social Primarch is best friends with the most socially inept Primarch (ignoring the madmen, of course). Also, the Lion telling jokes amuses me to no end. For a wargear item, it would probably tie into knighthood somehow. 
• Perturabo: Again, this is definitely capitalizing on just how different the two appear to be. Methodical and introverted Perturabo with Happy-go-lucky and relaxed Alexandros. Despite that, they do share similarities, the ancient Greek vibe, the desire to win over conflicts with words alone, and their academic pursuits. Wargear items could be something emphasizing offense, something lacking in the Warden department.
• The Khan: The two very much share a relaxed view of war. While Alexandros tries hard to avoid it, once committed, he does so with a smile. And both of them have disagreements with the Emperor and act like they're on an adventure. Wargear item would enhance speed. 
• Leman Russ: The two get along well and it would add to the tragedy for when the Wolves are finally called down upon the Wardens. 
• Vulkan: While enjoying great trust, no one Primarch seems to be that close to Vulkan. And both him and Alexandros share so many similarities that they're the obvious choice for best friends. Wargear item would probably involve master-crafted somehow.

The other criteria is the legion that best compliments the Wardens.

• Iron Warriors: When it comes to land battles, the two are evenly divided between the broad types of warfare: siege and field battles. 
• White Scars: They add a very useful boost to mobility which could easily become an issue for the Wardens. 
• Space Wolves: The Wolves handle the aggressive power needed to break through the enemy when the Wardens are struggling to move from defense to offense.
• Blood Angels: I know, I know, I said that this wasn't an option. But dang it, they not only bring the attack, they also bring the air power, which compliments well with the grounded Wardens. 

 

And that's where I stand currently.

 

EDIT: Actually, there's one last option: no third wargear. With four unique rules, three unique units, and two pieces of wargear already, the Wardens are not lacking in depth as it stands. Perhaps I should just drop it.

[Black Cohort]

I think you are good without another piece of wargear, especially if nothing comes to mind.  That also leaves to ability to add in another piece of wargear if something fitting comes to mind.

[Slips]

Aye, I agree. I myself am having trouble coming up with ideas for wargear atm.

 

I have toyed around with the idea of an IC only power spear that they can throw and have TP back to them a la Arjac & his hammer...but yeah...

 

Honestly I've been trying to think of a Weapon more so than, say, a misc. piece of equipment.

 

...Maybe have Magno-Cloud Defensive Grenades? 

 

Smoke grenades that have Haywire + Deepstrike / other distruption due to the magnetic particles suspended in the smoke?

 

For Personal Rite of War, I'll try this on the fly. Will feel more inspired :p HERE WE GO:

 

Rite Of War : The Bastion of Humanity

 

Effects:

•All units with LA:HW gain +1 to combat resolution if the unit in question was not the one to commence combat. (ie they got charged. Promotes defensive play which is their thing)

•A Primary Detachment of the Halcyon Wardens gains access to +1 Fortifications slot.

•All  Infantry units with LA:HW gain the Fleet and Counter Attack Special Rules.

•Myrmidon Terminators can be taken as Fast Attack (heavy Support) choices in addition to Elites (and/or Troops if Alex is present. Decided to add this 4th one to facilitate my limitations :p Most RoW don't have 4 effects, IIRC)

 

Limitations:

•Must take one obligatory Fortification (aegis, bastion, etc.)

•Must take 2 squad of Myrmidon Terminators within the army composition.

•May never seize the initiative at the start of a game (look, this one was a stretch. I ran out of imagination juice RIGHT HERE.)

 

Hopefully its decent enough of a framework to give you some ideas to expand upon / change entirely.

[simison]

Alexandros' eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about, Lorgar?"

 

Aurelian grimaced. The pantheon had warned him that his brother would not see reason, but he had to try. The alternative was simply unacceptable. Lorgar had few brothers he trusted. Magnus, Horus, and Alexandros. Horus was already enlightened. Magnus would not be far behind. But Alexandros...

 

It had started well enough. It was a rare day when Alexandros did not heed the call of aid from any of his brothers, and the two of them had not seen each other in years. The last time they had fought together had been before Monarchia and Alexandros'....mistake. Lorgar suspected only the Emperor and Russ knew the truth of what had happened, but whatever had transpired caused the Emperor to send a squad of Custodes to watch over Alexandros, much like his own escort after Monarchia. 

 

For this private meeting, the Custodes had been sent away. What danger could a conversation between two brothers cause? The two had bonded over their past greviances as Lorgar tried to subtly veer the conversation to his true goal. 

 

In hindsight, the odds of hiding anything from the Seer were low. 

 

"Lorgar!" Alexandros shouted as he stood up and away from the table. "What have you done?"

 

Aurelian held his hands up in placation. "Relax, my brother. I've come bearing good news," he finished even as he quickly blocked mental access to his plans.

 

"The shade of the news I saw were terrible," Alexandros retorted. "If it's so good, then why do you hide it beneath pretty words? What are you hiding from me?" He focused.

 

The mental wall was reinforced as quickly as Lorgar could, but the psychic attack blasted through it. Save for the Emperor, Alexandros was the most powerful telepath in the galaxy. In seconds, all that Lorgar knew was plundered and now in Alexandros' hands. "No," Darshan whispered, his hand reaching for Ultimatum.

 

Control was slipping away from him as he grabbed his pistol and Illuminarum. "Brother, I can explain."

 

"You're corrupted."

 

Lorgar gritted his teeth as his emotions turned toward rage and frustration. "This is for the best, Alex."

 

"I fail to see how."

 

Lorgar lifted Illuminarum, "Then I'll beat enlightenment into you!"

 

Alex's Usable Powers - Foreboding/Shriek/Invisibility

Lorgar's Usable Powers - Shriek/Invisibility/Hallucination

 

Lorgar wins the first roll. Fails to manifest anything. (2's & 3's everywhere). Then rolls snake-eyes' for the pistol (To hit and the reroll). Something else must have Chaos' attention. 

 

Alex moves closer, but fails to manifest Invisibility and Lorgar Denies Duelist. Not a lot of action so far. Another pair of snake eyes' by Lorgar equal 2 wounds from Ultimatum. Then Alex rolls snake eyes' on the charge! So many snakes! Fleet rerolls a 7, so assault does happen. Xiphos cuts off 1 more wound. A pair of 2's on the to-wound roll leaves Lorgar with nothing. Lorgar does get IWND.

 

Lorgar gets 7 warp charges. Perils but isn't Denied. Power Drain puts Lorgar back on 2 wounds left. Alex can't hit his Invisible brother. Lorgar enjoys the advantage and scores a wound against Alex. Lorgar gets IWND, again.

 

Alex pours his 6 warp charges into Duelist. Lorgar unable to Deny. Aegis blocks Illuminarum, while another wound on Lorgar. Both get IWND.

 

Lorgar fails to manifest Invisibility even with 7 dice. He regrets that as Alex slices off 3 wounds in one round. That doesn't stop him from bashing another wound off Alex. No IWND.

 

Alex ignores Invisibility as he focuses on gaining Duelist with another success. Lorgar still goes first, rolling three 6's and a 5 to hit (which was probably needed more on the Deny roll). He does make good use of it as he crushes 2 more wounds off Alex. With 2 wounds left, Alex removes Lorgar's last wound.

 

A scream erupted from Lorgar's mouth as Xiphos sliced through the top half of his leg. With a clatter, Lorgar fell. The door opened and the Adeptus Custodes charged in, weapons trained on both Primarchs. "What is going on here!"

 

With Xiphos still aimed at Lorgar's neck, Alexandros said, "Contact my Father. I need to warn him, and Lorgar needs healing."

[simison]

Praefectus Alae/Cavalry Prefect

Any tank with the special rule Legiones Astartes (Halcyon Wardens) may take this upgrade for 10 points, which increases the unit's ballistic skill by 1. 

 

While the Myrmidon and the Parisada are the pride of the II Legion, neither unit can provide much offensive power and lack mobility as infantry units. To compensate this, the Wardens rely on skilled tank commanders to provide both long-range firepower and reliable transportation. In time, a veteran corps of legionnaires formed and was officially brought into being by Alexandros himself. 

 

 

For the Rite of War, I need to do a round of research before I can start detail work, but I do like the basis you've start us with, Slipstreams. My other idea for a Rite of War was to focus on the unity aspect, of space marines, the Imperial Army, and maybe the Mechanicum. I'm tempted to make two for now, let the better one win out, and hold the other in reserve. Just in case Forgeworld decides that all of the legions can use a second Rite of War.

[simison]

And the research begins. I've finished reading through all of them, and was most surprised by the Imperial Fists' Rite, whose three advantages all deal with shield units. In fact, reading over the Imperial Fists' entry led me to realize they only have 1 unique rule about fortifications. They also have the only rule affecting Blood Angels tied in with their unique assault cannon. Weird.

 

Anyway, after reading all of that, I'm now more inclined toward your RoW, Slipstreams. To me, having rules that pushed towards Fortifications didn't fit right with the Wardens, and I originally imagined that the Imperial Fists had that area covered. How wrong I was. 

 

But to get a sound structure for a RoW, I'm going to detail the broad ...details (sorry about that) of the existing RoW. 

 

RoW name - # of effects/# of Limitations

Orbital Assault - 3/2

Armored Spearhead - 2/3

Angel's Wrath - 2/3

Pride of the Legion - 2/2

Black Reaving (SoH) - 4/4

Berserker Assault (WE) - 2/4

Maru Skara (EC) - 2/4

Reaping (DG) - 3/3

Head of the Gorgon (IH) - 4/3

Terror Assault (NL) - 3/4

Covenant of Fire (Sal) - 3/4

Dark Brethen (WB) - 4/3

Hammer of Olympia (IW) - 3/4

Coils of the Hydra (AL) - 3/4

Stone Gauntlet (IF) - 3/4

Decapitation Strike (RG) - 3/3

 

 

So, we have some limits. Four is the magic number not to be broken. Ironically, I'm having an easier time of thinking of limitations. The two Rite of Wars we have are:

 

Bastion of Humanity suggested by Slipstreams. Emphasizing heavy infantry and fortifications.

 

Imperial Unity as thought of by myself. Emphasizing Allied Detachments and heavy infantry.

 

Now, I do have one limitation that fit well with both of them.

 

• Detachments using this Rite of War may not deploy models using the Deep Strike rule (and units which must deploy by this method therefore cannot be chosen as part of this detachment.

Wardens aren't supposed to come in later in the battle. They're supposed to be on the field right from the beginning.

 

I'll have to end it there. Have a 9-hour shift ahead of me, so I won't get a chance to update until this evening, later.

[Russ Brother 92]

I was thinking - perhaps having conditions for using either RoW (so you don't get to use both), so to use Rite a) you must have Alexandros in the army, whereas if you choose to run a 'regular' Praetor you can choose Rite b) - this allows for flexibility and shows how Alexandros being present would change the force composition and how they fight as a military force. Just a few ideas - as atm no Legions have the options to use multiple Rites.

[simison]

There is some merit in your idea, Russ brother. The Maru Skara, as far as I understand it, has two alternate modes of use. But I'm leaning away from that because most current RoW's specifically ban Allied Detachments. In addition, fortifications have never been a major theme in the Wardens.

 

Not much time left, so I'm going to go ahead and start the next duel.

 

 

The Battle of Lupercalia wasn't turning toward the Warmaster's favor as Mortarion and his Death Guard arrived at the edge of it. The Percepetor Line was behind them with the remains of Molech's defenders. That easy victory would not be repeated here. Over the vox, Mortarion had communicated with Horus. Both of the Warmaster's ploys had failed. Fulgrim had failed to corrupt House Devine and the Red Angel had been sent into retreat. 

 

Mortarion stared at the source of these failures. A familiar figure fought with the Blood Angels and purple-clad space marines as they advanced through the center of their attack. The figure had been lost and Mortarion had not been sad to hear of his demise. Though fate seems to have given me a rare chance. Mortarion and the Death Guard marched stoically forward. The rest of Horus' army was already on its way to reinforce the first third committed to the fight. 

 

Alexandros noticed him first and cut across the battlefield on an interception course. The two Primarchs met at the edge of the battle. "So, you trade one tyrant for another," the Master of the Wardens began. He tilted his head and his sardonic grin grew. "With aspirations of becoming a tyrant yourself. Brother, you are a shining example of hypocrisy."

 

A sneer crossed Mortarion's features as he teased himself with an image of Silence cutting off Alexandros' jaw. His opponent laughed. You and your dark humor, brother, the voice in his head said. He lifted Xiphos and beat it against Aegis, the sound producing a unique ring. Come, Master of Death, the funeral bell tolls.

 

Alex's Usable powers - Foreboding/Shriek/Hallucination

 

Mortarion wins the roll. The Lantern does nothing.

 

Alex goes, gets Duelist and gets the charge. Snake eye's reduce Ultimatum's usefulness to nothing. Makes a good impact by cutting off 2 wounds. Mortarion actually completely misses. Wow. No IWND, despite his reroll, either.

 

Mortarion loses another wound as his higher toughness makes it harder to kill him, while Aegis blocks his attacks. No IWND.

 

Alex suffers a wound from Perils (Power Drain), but scores enough successes to make it impossible to Deny. Despite all 5 to-wound rolls succeeding, the Barbaran plate blocks all but 1 wound. Silence cuts into Alex, 2 wounds gone. Both get IWND. 

 

Mortarion shrugs as he loses another wound but completely blanks out during his swiping. No IWND.

 

Alex maintains Duelist as he stabs 1 more wound off (Mortarion just can't make that many of his invul saves), but then Silence hurts him for 1 wound. Both get IWND (Mortarion's reroll making itself useful for the first time)

 

Mortarion is brought to Death's door with another wound, and Aegis blocks his wishes of doom. No IWND.

 

Alex gets Duelist but fails to get any 5's for the to-wound roll. But his defense is flawless. No IWND.

 

Mortarion fails his last invul save with a 5 and a 3. 

 

[in all honesty, luck was just simply with Alex, especially with the to-wound rolls and Morty's inability to get the IWND reroll. That and he never got an extra 3 or more warp charges which made it harder both for Morty to Deny and to Perils.]

 

A cry echoed throughout the Death Guard as their vaunted stoicism was destroyed by the death of Mortarion. The defenders released a huge cheer as they redoubled their efforts. 

 

"You will not live long to relish that."

 

Alexandros turned and Horus loomed above him, the rest of the Sons of Horus unleashed. Darshan smiled as he raised Ultimatum. "We'll see."

[simison]

Free time! How I've missed you! 

 

Halcyon Wardens' Unique Rite of War: Imperial Unity

 

Although every Warden is a capable warrior, every Warden knows that Humanity is at its strongest when working together as one glorious machine. The Wardens were one of the few legions to make an effort to fight in combination with other military elements, whether they be Astartes, Mechanicum, or the Imperial Army. With the detachments assembled, the Wardens take to the field with their unique strengths at the fore as shielded Wardens march ahead of their allies to absorb the worst, while battle psykers lend their foresight and mental abilities. With their allies mostly unscathed, the inevitable counter-attack strikes swift and hard, scattering their enemies. 

 

Effects

• Strength in Diversity: Detachments using this Rite of War must take an Allied Detachment. 
• Battlefield Solidarity: All units in both Primary and Allied Detachment gain the Stubborn special rule.
• To the Front!: All Infantry models with the Legiones Astartes (Halcyon Wardens) gain the Fleet and Counter-Attack special rules. 
• Watchful Guardians: All Parisada Psykers may reroll 1 Warp die per invoked power.

Limitations

• Any model with the Legiones Astartes (Halcyon Warden) special rule that may equip a shield, must do so.
• Detachments using this Rite of War may not deploy models using the Deep Strike rule (and units which must deploy by this method therefore cannot be chosen as part of this detachment).
• Detachments using this Rite of War must take either a Master of Signal or Librarian as its Compulsory HQ choice. (The idea is that it has to be someone used to coordinating unit movements)

 

 

Halcyon Wardens' Unique Rite of War: Bastion of Humanity

 

While the Great Crusade is a campaign of conquest, its ultimate goal is to protect Humanity from danger. The Wardens understand this and have trained to become masters of defensive warfare, including the use of emplacements. A popular tactic is to provoke or force the enemy to launch an attack against prepared positions. The Wardens weather the assault, draining the fight out of the enemy before unleashing the final blow. 

 

Effects:

•The Right Moment: All units with LA:HW gain +1 to combat resolution if the unit in question was not the one to commence combat. 

•Primed Bulwarks: A Primary Detachment of the Halcyon Wardens gains access to +1 Fortifications slot.

•Masters of Retribution: All Infantry units with LA:HW gain the Fleet and Counter Attack Special Rules.

•The Shield Masters: Myrmidon Terminators can be taken as Fast Attack (heavy Support) choices in addition to Elites (and/or Troops if Alex is present).

 

 Limitations:

•Must take one obligatory Fortification 

•Must take 2 squad of Myrmidon Terminators within the army composition.

•May never seize the initiative at the start of a game 

 

Slipstreams, the only addition I can really think to your base idea is perhaps the Deep Strike ban. Or some kind of Consul limitation.

[Slips]

Yeah, the easiest would be the Deep Strike Ban. Seems the most fair.

 

I don't think the consul limitation would do anything for them, really. If anything it would make the Primus Medicae or the Chaplain the go-to's because of their benefits, imo.

[simison]

With passionless eyes, Mortarion stared at his fallen brother. Leman and the Emperor had been too far lenient, and now it was too late. All around the two brothers, a war raged on as the Death Guard put down their brethren. After decades of hiding their gene-defect and Alexandros' weakness, it had overcome them all. An entire legion falling into insanity as their psykers had stretched their minds too thin. Alexandros' solution had backfired, breaking the psykers' minds who acted like mental black holes, sucking their brothers into the abyss with them. 

 

He hefted Silence as some shred of Darshan realized he was there. Darshan jerked up onto his feet, his hands wielding his favored weapons. "Know peace, brother," Mortarion whispered as he charged. 

 

Alex's Usable Powers - Foreboding/Shriek/Hallucination (apt rolls, ironically)

 

Alex wins the roll and fails to manifest anything but Duelist with a Perils (Psychic Backlash) before burning off 2 wounds with Ultimatum. With a reroll, Morty gets IWND.

 

The Lantern's shot bounces off Aegis before Morty charges. Xiphos causes 2 wounds, but Morty fails to harm Alex. No IWND.

 

Duelist maintained without Perils, but Alex can't get through the Barbaran Plate. Silence does cut off a wound though. No IWND.

 

Morty suffers another wound before cutting off 2 more on Alex. Morty gets IWND.

 

Alex on his last legs dodges a Perils as stabs another wound off, while Morty hits once then fails to wound with a 2. Alex gets IWND.

 

Morty is reduced to his last wound then returns the favor again on Alex. Morty gets IWND on the reroll.

 

Perils threatens to kill Alex before he rolls a 6 on the chart. Doesn't improve his aim as he hits only twice, but Fleshbane helps and a 2 and a 3 seal Morty's fate.

 

[Mortarion probably would've won were it not for Warp Charge. I was honestly expecting Alex to kill himself with his own power since he's done it so often before even with his +1 on the Perils chart.] 

 

With an uncharacteristic groan, Mortarion fell to his knees, his enhanced endurance overwhelmed for the first and last time. A cackle escapes his insane brother's lips before he pounces on Mortarion, Xiphos cutting with impunity long after Mortarion stops breathing. 

[simison]

Any more comments/suggestions/feedback about the rites of war? Anyone think one is better than the other?

 

For the remaining rules, all that's left after the rites would be the special characters. I already have the two main ideas thought of, and I might need to tweak Irvin Ruel as I've had a new idea for his legion role in a post-Alexandros II legion. 

 

The first special character would be the Master of the Myrmidons and Alexandros' equerry. Already, it's someone who's going to be using Cataphractii-terminator armor and Tower shield, which actually further encourages me to change Irvin to create more of a difference. 

 

Second special character would be the most powerful psyker beneath Alexandros. Now, I'm conflicted whether they also embody Alexandros' psyker ideal or perhaps he walks his own path and uses more or different disciplines to tie back into the diversity theme.

 

And a third idea struck me. Already have a ace tank pilot/commander upgrade. Why not have a special character/HQ choice that is an uber-tank commander? It would definitely be a unique character in the legions.

 

Any other thoughts/ideas/explosions of inspiration?

[Black Cohort]

The problem with uber-tank commanders is they can get broken really quickly or be very dull, the area in between those two is quite small.

 

Personally I think the idea of an important librarian who doesn't use divination and telepathy would make a very interesting character.

[simison]

[Also I realized that Silence gives a +1 Strength right at the beginning of the previous duel. So, I'm redoing the first one up until the third round where Mortarion fails to hit and just sum up the end result - Morty still dies and dies faster by a couple of rounds, ironically.]

 

Fair point, Cohort, though I do love tanks. Another option would be to make a unique sergeant or someone from the lower ranks who has managed to win some renown. Of course, I don't think there is a legion with 4 unique characters plus a primarch, so perhaps I should leave it be.

 

Now to add some more flesh to the other three unique characters.

 

Irvin Ruel is the Master of the Legion before Alexandros is found. He's currently a minor character in The Third Son on his way to gaining more prominence. Of course, he immediately steps down as head of the Legion upon the primarch's ascension. When Alexandros changes the II Legion to better reflect his purpose as a defender of the Imperium, Irvin expects to eventually leave the limelight, so to speak. He won't lose his Praetorship, but he doubts he'll be kept in the inner circle because he doesn't actually adapt to the new role. He's very much a representation of the Terran side of the II Legion and it's old, aggressive style. To his surprise, Alexandros makes him his Lieutenant, the literal second-in-command of the Legion. It is both to honor his service and Alexandros often asks him of his counsel to have a differing opinion that typically stands far from his. 

 

Then we have Alexandros' equerry. Tentative names are Drako or Parykles. 

Whereas Irvin is opposite in attitude to Alexandros, his equerry stands with the Primarch, almost a mirror in thought and deed. It is him who typically represents Alexandros when he can't be present. And he will be the best of the Myrmidon. He'll be a native of Delos.

 

Lastly, we have the master Psyker. Don't have a name yet, but I'm probably going to go Hindi, but I'm tempted to make him a native to a system liberated by the Wardens who chose to embrace that side of the legion. As such, he shares many of the same ideals of Alexandros, but differs in his execution, eschewing subtly for obvious displays for power. In that sense, he'd be a master of Biomancy, Pyromancy, and/or Telekinesis. 

[Black Cohort]

Would the equerry have been too old to undergo the process to become a space marine and only have been augmented in a way similar to Luthor or Kor Pheron?

 

Also Irvin sounds like he needs some rules that make him (and an army led by him) operate more aggressively than normal for the Wardens.

 

I would go with Pyromancy if you want obvious displays of power on the librarian.

[Slips]

You could make Irvin Ruel have a mini-Rite of War altering Rule (or facilitator) to push it more towards aggressive assault rather than counter-assault.

 

So, give him Artificer Armor, Iron Halo, a personalized Paragon Blade with its own rules (not required but some Preator level Characters have Special Weapons; see Sigismund), an Archeotech Pistol and grenades as usual.

 

Rules-wise, give him and any assault squads in a force where he is Warlord a Boost, since you probably won't be taking their specific RoW with him. So, say, Fleet, Hit & Run and something else? Assault Marine Squads are already pretty pricey so I don't have much of a problem with giving them some buffs to bring them back in line with say, tacticals.

 

Master of the Legion is a Given. How about letting him Seize the initiative on a, say, 4+. This contrasts the RoW I proposed (if you take it) since they wouldn't be able to seize. This opens up some more variety of play within the Legion since you can play Terran Aggressive or Delos (is that it?) Defensive.

 

Another would be that, once deployment of both sides is complete, let D3 Units in a Force with him as Warlord either, get a free movement or redeploy. Owing to his more aggressive nature.

 

For Warlord Trait, give him either the seize rule I mentioned above or something :p

 

Price him at ~150 points or somewhere therein.

 

Make the Equerry a Super Myrmidon. Don't truly know how I'd go about doing that but, since he's the best of them, it should be reflected.

 

For the Psyker, you could make him the Advisor of Irvin to explain why he has a slightly differing view on things.