30k Vehicle/Automata Concepts - The Manufactorum

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

LOL, pretty much, yeah. If I previously held any lingering doubts that you really are an Iron Warrior, they're all but gone now.

[Hyaenidae]

Devouted Iron Hand + Hardcore Iron Warrior + working together to build vehicles = run for the hills....

[Slips]

 

???

 

True the verse's don't relate at all to this (mostly?) but the chorus does!

[Russ Brother 92]

What has amused me most about this is that the newest heavy transport vehicles in use of the British Army are called Mastiffs haha - however reading your fluff creation heathens - I would rather have 2 of those than 6 of the real ones xD

 

Rather excited to see this and the various stats... Then to convince Epistolary Alan Bligh that it's a great idea and to add it to the Conquest book.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Russ Brother 92

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Dude dude dude.

 

tri-linked long barrel fragmentation cannons, loaded with Dragonfire scattershot.

 

Your cover save in invalid.

 

 

Also, single shot mortar tubes located on the sides of the hull (like the Gorgon transport), loaded with Phosphex mortars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a sick individual....

 

I see your fragmentation cannon, and I raise you this:

http://www.pa-sy.com/hhccg/images/zeta-pi7.jpg

The Eviscerator Autocannon.

 

Idea is: made by the mechanicum for mounting on Conqueror-class automata, it's recoil is too violent for infantry use. A single weapon is the Eviscerator Autocannon (2 barrels), & two linked form an Eviscerator Engine (4 barrels). When mounted on the Mastiff, the high speed auto-loader, and cooling problems mean that only Legionaries can use it, as the danger of serious injury from the searing-hot spent casings is too high for anyone without Power Armour to use it.

 

In terms of rules, it'll have Pinning (The 'Engine' version gets Shell Shock too), Rending & a negative modifier to Cover Saves due to the maelstrom of razor shrapnel it creates

 

As for how the wargear works, I'm thinking like so:

*Standard loadout is Battle-cannon with co-axial Reaper Autocannon

*Battle-cannon can be exchanged for Demolisher Cannon

*Reaper can be exchanged for Kheres, Flamestorm or Eviscerator Autocannon

*Both can be exchanged for Eviscerator Engine [but only if you buy Legion crew, for the reason above]

 

I'm not 100% on the phopshex mortars - 1 I like the clean sides aesthetic, 2 launching Phosphex into an are you're about to assault seems counter-intuitive - after all, it can't be put out & spreads unpredictably.

 

Okay, stay with me here while I try to get the image in my head out into text:

 

A section of the wall goes down.

 

Four of these Mastiffs, starting in hull-down positions, rush forward from well concealed and well protected tank scrapes.

 

Atomic reactors go into overdrive as the Mastiffs line up side-by-side, and drop their siege plows into the earth, rushing for the newly made gap.

 

The plows create passable terrain for follow on forces, literally a highway straight into the heart of the enemy, smashing aside rubble and corpses.

 

After passing through the gap, the vehicles split into a herringbone pattern, still with their plows down, and open fire on anything moving.

 

The incinerary scattershot sets fires and ruins line-of-sight for direct fire weaponry lined up on the gap, and pins down counter-attacking forces. The Phospex mortars do the same to middle range targets, and split defensive lines with impassible alchemical fires.

 

The lowered plows, the mastiffs having come to a stop, have created raised earthworks from the remains of the enemies' own defensive walls, giving incoming friendly infantry cover and defensive positions for crew served weaponry.

 

The Mastiffs hold in place as friendly Breachers and Spartans enter the gap and pour deeper into the enemy fortification.

 

All your base are belong to us.

 

Plows? Also, it has rules - but they might have to be updated due to rule changes altering its effectiveness

 

Any thoughts?

Edited August 24, 2014 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Hyaenidae]

The Mortars: The mortars are creating corridors. Just as much as the Mastiffs plow a corridor for friendly vehicles to traverse, the Phosphex creates corridors the foe is forced to travel...straight into a hellstorm of fire.

 

The potential friendly loss ratios are worth the swift fallout from a citadel collapsing faster than the foe could counter attack effectively. 

 

C'mon, Iron Hand... when did you start caring about a loss of friendly lives? ;) *sigh* if it makes you feel better, Rad-Mortars?

 

Plow: Forgot about that thing, not bad. Just need to be taller, to create earthworks high enough to give cover to a Legionnaire...

 

Eviserator Autocannon: Perhaps paired designs? The Eviserator creates a storm of adamantium darts designed to punch Transhumans off their feet, while the twin frag cannons set fire to everything not wrapped in warplate?

[Hyaenidae]

By the way, the reason I want rapid firing fragmentation cannons?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgn1nhUEgo8

 

Now, imagine this mixed with incinerary pellets (about 1:20 into the video...), and firing at a rapid speed....

[Kriegsmacht]

It would be an interesting day if Forgeworld hired you two on as part of the creation team. You two in a room full of resin parts and sheets to fill in rules. The Heresy would never be the same.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

The Mortars: The mortars are creating corridors. Just as much as the Mastiffs plow a corridor for friendly vehicles to traverse, the Phosphex creates corridors the foe is forced to travel...straight into a hellstorm of fire.

 

The potential friendly loss ratios are worth the swift fallout from a citadel collapsing faster than the foe could counter attack effectively. 

 

C'mon, Iron Hand... when did you start caring about a loss of friendly lives? *sigh* if it makes you feel better, Rad-Mortars?

 

Plow: Forgot about that thing, not bad. Just need to be taller, to create earthworks high enough to give cover to a Legionnaire...

 

Eviserator Autocannon: Perhaps paired designs? The Eviserator creates a storm of adamantium darts designed to punch Transhumans off their feet, while the twin frag cannons set fire to everything not wrapped in warplate?

 

Pah, you know well enough that any X^th Legionary would wade through the blood of a thousand innocent civilians just to put one of you traitorous mongrels down

 

Optional sponson mortars, and you can give them phosphex shells if you have a Siege Breaker, like with Medusas - HAPPY?!

 

Well, that's kinda what I imagined the Eviscerator doing - except rather than the fragmentation being from the initial firing, the explosive core of each autocannon shell would be encased in purposefully impure metal - when it detonates on impact, it creates a cloud of randomly sized, searing hot shrapnel, with an inconsistent spray pattern - hence the rending, pinning & reduced cover save.

 

Adamantuim darts? If this was developed early in the Great Crusade, it wouldn't be designed with killing transhumans in mind - even your seditious psychopaths weren't chomping at the bit to betray their sworn brothers that early  

 

To be honest, I'm just wary of giving it loads of unique wargear - there's a whole arsenal of crazy weapons that already have rules, and sticking as much to existing content helps with balance, and keeping with the fluff.

 

Remember, there will be other tanks Heathens :P [with massive ray guns that turn your organic components to dust ]

[Hyaenidae]

Yay for Phosphex. :D  Instead of putting the mortar tubes on the sides, they could be mounted elsewhere; perhaps towards the rear, or top? 

 

I was thinking about the Frag Cannons primarily for two reasons. First, the tech exists right now (a la the video), and is relatively easy to maintain and repair. Second, the Eviserator is rare tech, and a mechanicus product. You Iron Hands might be all buddy buddy with those red-robed oil can worshipers, but we Iron Warriors are not exactly liked by them due to our disrespect of machines. Losing two easy-to-make canister-firing cannons mounted on a mass-produced chassis= no big deal. Losing a uber rare rapid firing cannon (no matter how lethal) that is very hard to replicate or replace = big deal.

 

You might not have to worry about ticking your Dad off anymore, but mine has a habit of killing his sons at the drop of a hat. Wasting resources falls into that category.  :P

[Hyaenidae]

Also, we need to talk about the Khorne Lord of Skulls tracked chassis, and how to turn it into the Siege Tank from Hell... 

[Slips]

Having the Mortars behind the main turret (thus out of direct line of sight unless looked down upon) would give anyone its heading towards a nasty surprise when SUDDENLY PHOSPEX.

 

you could also have multiple mortar launchers  A la exorcist, though less Church Organ-y and less Ostentatious. Because we're Astartes Damnit not some blinged out Ultramarine!

Also, we need to talk about the Khorne Lord of Skulls tracked chassis, and how to turn it into the Siege Tank from Hell... 

Just chop off the Humanoid Torso above the abdomen cannon and replace the Blood Vats with big guns. Voila? Might need so reworking since the cannon at that point would look out of place....But hey its an idea.

[Hyaenidae]

Having the Mortars behind the main turret (thus out of direct line of sight unless looked down upon) would give anyone its heading towards a nasty surprise when SUDDENLY PHOSPEX.

 

you could also have multiple mortar launchers  A la exorcist, though less Church Organ-y and less Ostentatious. Because we're Astartes Damnit not some blinged out Ultramarine!

 

Also, we need to talk about the Khorne Lord of Skulls tracked chassis, and how to turn it into the Siege Tank from Hell... 

Just chop off the Humanoid Torso above the abdomen cannon and replace the Blood Vats with big guns. Voila? Might need so reworking since the cannon at that point would look out of place....But hey its an idea.

 

These would be small mortars, maybe 120mm, similar to the Soltam K6 mortar system. Don't need to be big, just do it's job.

 

As for the KLoS, yeah, that is the basic idea. Not sure if a quad earthshaker would be effective there, or maybe a giant missile system like the Praetor Assault Launcher.

[Slips]

2+ Manticore Missle Racks for a fire support / bombardment Variant?

 

 

Edit : I think the Praetor Assault Launcher would look much better.

 

Edit 2 : http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Guard/Imperial_Guard_Tanks/IMPERIAL-BOMBARD.html think this might look good somewhere?

 

Edit 3 : *sigh*... looking at tanks.. and I'm starting to dig how the Machariu's chassis and turret section are set up...might have to think something up.

Edited August 24, 2014 by Slipstreams

[BassWave]

The mastiff needs an option to swap the cannons for a rad cleanser type weapon that uses the hell storm template. Fills a similar role except its more focused at anti infantry. Because its essentially a hose, it should be easy to maintain. Since it already houses an over clocked nuclear reactor, rad waste is easy to come by. Coupled with the phosphex mortars, this monstrosity would leave cesspools in its wake. Barring daemonic weapons, this would have to be the most horrifying vehicle to come screaming at you.

 

Of course, awesome fluff would have to explain who the hell were the Astartes fighting to warrant such a beast?

 

It's a good thing breachers have environmentally sealed armor considering they charge into that hell... However, I imagine the tank crew would need special suits in order to survive being in such a hazardous environment for long periods of time.

Edited August 25, 2014 by BassWave

[Nakuth]

The mastiff needs an option to swap the cannons for a rad cleanser type weapon that uses the hell storm template. Fills a similar role except its more focused at anti infantry. Because its essentially a hose, it should be easy to maintain. Since it already houses an over clocked nuclear reactor, rad waste is easy to come by. Coupled with the phosphex mortars, this monstrosity would leave cesspools in its wake. Barring daemonic weapons, this would have to be the most horrifying vehicle to come screaming at you.

 

Of course, awesome fluff would have to explain who the hell were the Astartes fighting to warrant such a beast?

 

It's a good thing breachers have environmentally sealed armor considering they charge into that hell... However, I imagine the tank crew would need special suits in order to survive being in such a hazardous environment for long periods of time.

 

It could be explained as a varient designed by members of that IV Legion fraternity that experiments with the really destructive tech (sorry, the name escapes me)?

 

Maybe they encountered a Hrud exodus?

[spu00sed]

I taught I would chopping in some ideas from the III, I love how you other legions come up with great ideas, but need the perfect legion to sort em out and make them viable :D

 

I think the mastiff is getting too complicated for a vehicle that will likely be destroyed in its mission. You don't want to load to up with rare and hard to replace weapons. You want to be able to quickly make lots of them without having to scavenge the hulks of the previous tanks.

 

As such here is my take on a forlorn hope vehicle

Squadron 1-3

Fast

Front armour 14 side 13 rear 12

Siege shield ignore difficult and dangerous terrain 4++ in front arc

 

Three turrets

Middle turret one of the following

Quad mortar, dual Kheres assault cannon twin linked predator cannon

Side turrets take one of the following (can be different to each other)

Quad heavy bolter, quad reaper auto cannons

 

Each turret may take one of the following pointless mounts

Heavy bolter, heavy flamer, auto cannon

 

May take upto two phosphex mortars (Barrage D3+1)

 

Siege wall: the mastiff is designed to prove cover to the following waves of legionnaires, as such they utilise fold away defensive lines that they can deploy

 

At the start of your turn declare that you will use the siege wall. Place 2" of defensive lines on either side of the front of the mastiff, the mastiff can no longer move.

 

option to upgrade ammunition to shatter shot, ignore cover

 

 

This tank rushes forwards into the breach and fills it with lead fire and phosphex. When the second wave infantry approach they deploy the siege walls to provide them with cover and form a bunker line inside the enemies walls.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Yay for Phosphex.  Instead of putting the mortar tubes on the sides, they could be mounted elsewhere; perhaps towards the rear, or top? 

 

I was thinking about the Frag Cannons primarily for two reasons. First, the tech exists right now (a la the video), and is relatively easy to maintain and repair. Second, the Eviserator is rare tech, and a mechanicus product. You Iron Hands might be all buddy buddy with those red-robed oil can worshipers, but we Iron Warriors are not exactly liked by them due to our disrespect of machines. Losing two easy-to-make canister-firing cannons mounted on a mass-produced chassis= no big deal. Losing a uber rare rapid firing cannon (no matter how lethal) that is very hard to replicate or replace = big deal.

 

You might not have to worry about ticking your Dad off anymore, but mine has a habit of killing his sons at the drop of a hat. Wasting resources falls into that category.  

 

Thing is, the Eviscerators aren't very advanced tech - you could even call them primitive. They're purposefully inefficient, clunky designs - by the end of the Great Crusade, virtually no Mechanicum force would utilize them - they're a caste that values efficiency & complexity. If the Iron Warriors can develop their own battle-automata, they can churn these things out like nobody's business.

 

That said, the Frag Cannon is already a weapon used by the Blood Angels, so I'll make exchanging the Battle Cannon for one an option on the list - allowing you to have the turret equipped with an this giant tank shotgun & a co-axial Eviscerator Autocannon. In terms of fluff, I'll state that once the IX^th had been unified with their Primarch, their reserves of Mastiff tanks were re-fitted with Frag Cannons [by this stage the tank would be relatively uncommon in most Legions - fallen out of favour] - however reports of antagonism between the IV^th & IX^th Legions during the ****** conflict made mentions of Iron Warriors Warsmiths 'salvaging' a number of wrecked Blood Angels Mastiffs - allegedly with the intent of reverse-engineering such weapons.

 

[it's profile is Range: Template  Strength: 6  AP: -  Type: Assault 2, Rending ]

 

In terms of the Mortars, one of the designs I'm waiting to post is a recon transport version of the Grendel for which one option will be the 'Falx Rocket Mortar' - basically a bolt-on multiple rocket launcher really similar in design to this. It'll be a Heavy 4, Large Blast, One-shot weapon. This could be a useful option for the Mastiff - obviously the One-shot limits its use, but once its moved forward, you'll be using all its attacks for its other weapons, so that doesn't really matter. Plus you can replace its normal profile with one for Phosphex Cluster Rockets / Rad Scourge Warheads if you have a Siege breaker. It also means the vehicle has only 1 unique weapon (the Eviscerator), as the Falx will also feature on the as-yet unnamed recon transport, which I'd prefer (the less special snowflake stuff the better). Plus bolting rocket artillery onto an existing vehicle is so Iron Warriors.

 

The mastiff needs an option to swap the cannons for a rad cleanser type weapon that uses the hell storm template. Fills a similar role except its more focused at anti infantry. Because its essentially a hose, it should be easy to maintain. Since it already houses an over clocked nuclear reactor, rad waste is easy to come by. Coupled with the phosphex mortars, this monstrosity would leave cesspools in its wake. Barring daemonic weapons, this would have to be the most horrifying vehicle to come screaming at you.

 

Of course, awesome fluff would have to explain who the hell were the Astartes fighting to warrant such a beast?

 

It's a good thing breachers have environmentally sealed armor considering they charge into that hell... However, I imagine the tank crew would need special suits in order to survive being in such a hazardous environment for long periods of time.

 

Irad-weapons are curently Mechanicum exclusive, and I'm want to fly in the face of pre-existing boundaries set up by FW. But I'll happily add rad-munitions to the mortar.

 

I taught I would chopping in some ideas from the III, I love how you other legions come up with great ideas, but need the perfect legion to sort em out and make them viable

 

I think the mastiff is getting too complicated for a vehicle that will likely be destroyed in its mission. You don't want to load to up with rare and hard to replace weapons. You want to be able to quickly make lots of them without having to scavenge the hulks of the previous tanks.

 

As such here is my take on a forlorn hope vehicle

Squadron 1-3

Fast

Front armour 14 side 13 rear 12

Siege shield ignore difficult and dangerous terrain 4++ in front arc

 

Three turrets

Middle turret one of the following

Quad mortar, dual Kheres assault cannon twin linked predator cannon

Side turrets take one of the following (can be different to each other)

Quad heavy bolter, quad reaper auto cannons

 

Each turret may take one of the following pointless mounts

Heavy bolter, heavy flamer, auto cannon

 

May take upto two phosphex mortars (Barrage D3+1)

 

Siege wall: the mastiff is designed to prove cover to the following waves of legionnaires, as such they utilise fold away defensive lines that they can deploy

 

At the start of your turn declare that you will use the siege wall. Place 2" of defensive lines on either side of the front of the mastiff, the mastiff can no longer move.

 

option to upgrade ammunition to shatter shot, ignore cover

 

 

This tank rushes forwards into the breach and fills it with lead fire and phosphex. When the second wave infantry approach they deploy the siege walls to provide them with cover and form a bunker line inside the enemies walls.

 

I have to admit, I think your idea of having a less complicated unit contradicts the amount of stuff in that profile. No offense, but I'm really happy with the chassis design as is, and I think the palisades thing might be a bit much - what I'll probably do is just alter the mine plough so that allied units ignore any difficult terrain the tank passes through. Thanks for the input though - glad you find this stuff interesting.

 

One thing I need to make clear is that I won't be making any Legion-specific stuff - the leeway that exists to create vehicles is because we know during the Great Crusade there were thousands of vehicle designs we're unaware of. Obviously some vehicles will be preferred by particular legions, but there won't be any exclusivity.

[spu00sed]

Thanks for looking mr fanatic.

 

By less complicated I meant that it doesn't utilise the more complex weapons, plasma, volkite etc.

 

I agree that the siege wall is a bit complicated, but it is just a couple of meters of adamantium reinforced steel in hydraulic pistons strapped to the side of the tank.

 

The three turrets just pack simple hard round munitions, just in large amount.

 

Anyway, thanks again for looking.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

So - any preference in terms of Falx Rocket Mortar or a traditonal mortar system?

 

Edit: I'm also adding an additional rule to represent the retrofitted engines of the Mastiff that allows its to move D6+6" if it moves Flat out, and that it can still perform a Tank Shock / Ram if it does so - however, its rear armour value is 11 instead of 12 due to necessary removal of some plating because of increased difficulties in engine heat regulation.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Nehekhare]

PHLEGETON CLASS MAKRO-DRILL

 

http://img15.nnm.me/0/5/a/d/8/8d692d34b8e6f98fdc74c170086_prev.jpg

 

Developed as a construction vehicle to quickly expand subterranean tunnel networks, this precursor to the much smaller Hades breaching drill was employed by the IVth Legion Siege Masters during the war against the Black Judges to undermine and collapse entire wall sections, opening up the heart of enemy fortifications for Troops to herald their downfall.

 

super-heavy walker

AV 13/13/13

WS2 BF2 S8 I1 A1

HP 9

400-ish pts?

 

4 Magma-Exausts (Heavy Flamers)

Magna-Melter (turret)

Ceramite Plating

 

Subterranean Assault (like Hades, exept 5" template and survivors are moved to make place for the drill)

Melta-Cutter Drill (Stomp Attacks are S8 AP1 melta large blast)

Follow-up attack (Template works as entry point for infantry units kept in reserve; may enter the turn after the drill)

Edited August 26, 2014 by Nehekhare

[Russ Brother 92]

So - any preference in terms of Falx Rocket Mortar or a traditional mortar system?

 

I'd go for the Falx Rocket Launcher due to the similarities between this and the rocket-mortar munitions used on the Brumbar and Sturmtiger - these heavy-weight tanks (especially the Sturmtiger which had the same chassis as the Tiger I & II (Konigstiger)) used rocket propelled mortar shells (in the case of the Sturmtiger it was a 380mm monster) to flatten enemy buildings and heavy concentrations of tanks/infantry.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Hmm - thats a pretty cool idea Nehekhare - although I personally get a more Dark Mechanicum vibe from it - maybe launched from specialized torpedo bays as an anti-ship weapon, literally tearing them apart.

 

Yeah I get what you're saying Russ Brother - plus with it being an effectively recoil-less weapon, it suits the whole bolt-on vibe - you wouldn't need to adapt some form of firing platform.

 

Anyway, new stuff in the next post

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

See HERE

Edited September 15, 2014 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Hyaenidae]

Best one yet, dude. That needs to be a miniature.  :)