IL XVII - The Warriors of Peace (thread 1)

[Nomus Sardauk]

Okie-doki, I've been reading through the discussion on the Air Masters and I've got some thoughts and suggestions for them:

 

1. Air Masters seems a bit of a bland name to me, how about something more poetic or graceful sounding, like... Cloud Walkers? Gale Riders? Sky Striders? ...Kite Warriors? http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/ermm.gif

2. If the Air Masters having Shrouded is too close to stepping on the Grave Stalkers' toes, why not try giving them the Jink USR? Something that represents their grace and agility in-flight. Hmm... That makes me think...

3. Continuing on the whole "grace & agility" theme, perhaps the AM's Jump Packs are a unique model of the General's devising that allows them to move like Tau Battlesuits, able to dart out of cover, shoot the hell out of stuff, then jump back into cover again, Han-Pattern Jetpacks.

 

Miscellaneous suggestions (I may add more of these as I think of them):

 

1. Carrying on with the Chinese Martials Arts theme, I'd like to suggest a unique power weapon for the WoP based on Chinese Hookswords, I saw these things demonstrated on Deadliest Warrior's Shaolin Monk VS Maori Warrior episode and were astounded by how versatile and deadly they were. I'm thinking they could act like a more thematic alternative to Lightning Claws, which I imagine might seem a bit uncivilised to the cultured sons of Han.

You take them in pairs and have the same stats as LC but they allow you can choose between getting a free melee hit before normal CC begins (via the technique of linking the two hooks together, then swinging one sword to double the reach and surprise the enemy) or you can use them like Tyranid Lash-Whips to inflict -1 attack on the foe (using the "Hooks" of the weapon to trip, unbalance and generally yank around the foe).

[Doctor Perils]

Okie-doki, I've been reading through the discussion on the Air Masters and I've got some thoughts and suggestions for them:

 

1. Air Masters seems a bit of a bland name to me, how about something more poetic or graceful sounding, like... Cloud Walkers? Gale Riders? Sky Striders? ...Kite Warriors? http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/ermm.gif

2. If the Air Masters having Shrouded is too close to stepping on the Grave Stalkers' toes, why not try giving them the Jink USR? Something that represents their grace and agility in-flight. Hmm... That makes me think...

3. Continuing on the whole "grace & agility" theme, perhaps the AM's Jump Packs are a unique model of the General's devising that allows them to move like Tau Battlesuits, able to dart out of cover, shoot the hell out of stuff, then jump back into cover again, Han-Pattern Jetpacks.

 

Miscellaneous suggestions (I may add more of these as I think of them):

 

1. Carrying on with the Chinese Martials Arts theme, I'd like to suggest a unique power weapon for the WoP based on Chinese Hookswords, I saw these things demonstrated on Deadliest Warrior's Shaolin Monk VS Maori Warrior episode and were astounded by how versatile and deadly they were. I'm thinking they could act like a more thematic alternative to Lightning Claws, which I imagine might seem a bit uncivilised to the cultured sons of Han.

You take them in pairs and have the same stats as LC but they allow you can choose between getting a free melee hit before normal CC begins (via the technique of linking the two hooks together, then swinging one sword to double the reach and surprise the enemy) or you can use them like Tyranid Lash-Whips to inflict -1 attack on the foe (using the "Hooks" of the weapon to trip, unbalance and generally yank around the foe).

While I think that hookswords can be a good idea (they look cool and they are thematic), I'd be extremely wary of anything you see in Deadliest Warrior. Youtubers like Matt Easton (scholagladiatoria), Skallagrim, Lindybeige, the Metatron and Thegn Thrand are much more trustworthy of anything when it comes to using weapons in historical martial arts. Obviously they generally have a strong european bias, but they'll still have some things to say about chinese, indian and arabic weapons and martial techniques if you look in the right places.

[simison]

Dealing with the devious topic before the Air Masters, I never thought of grav-chariots as a viable weapon of war. To be blunt, I thought they looked silly.

[Nomus Sardauk]

@Lord Thorn: To be fair to them they do have actual experts regarding the respective warriors and their weapons come in to demonstrate and test their capabilities, plus they have a former ER Doctor to analyse the weapons effectiveness and lethality so I'm fairly confident they know what they're talking about, but I understand your concern.

[Sigismund229]

Madames et monsieurs! Je vous presentes, Jade General fluff!

 

The world upon which the Jade General's pod landed was the planet of Jin. A world of plentiful resources, Jin was home to many flourishing kingdoms and to many grand temples. However, these were not temples to any primitive deity who required blood sacrifice but to something far more precious: knowledge. Where these temples may once have been dedicated to gods, they were now entirely given over to study and each contained thousands upon thousands of scrolls containing knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years, from ways to treat common illnesses that afflicted Jin's populace to chemical compounds one could use to make weaponry. It was into one of these temples that the Jade General was taken following his discovery by a monk, who found the child seemingly abandoned and wondering the wilds alone. While at first, they intended to pass the child on to a farming family, they soom discovered that he had an insatiable appetite for knowledge and an extraordinary intellect. So it was that he became a monk at one of the temples, a Keeper of Knowledge.

 

While for his first years as a monk the young Jade General was content to simply read and discover. However, within a few years he had read all that the temples had to offer and his thirst for knowledge remained unsated. It was then that his goal, the goal towards which he would strive for his entire life, was to discover the greatest mysteries of the universe. The first to which he turned his formidable intellect was less a matter of discovery so much as rediscovery. The ancient texts spoke of various substances, harder even than iron, which had been possessed by the ancients and techniques by which a single man could create a thousand spear heads in a day where a blacksmith could create only a few dozen.

 

Tinkering amidst the simple wooden walls of his personal chamber, the Jade General worked for days without rest, testing hundreds of different ways in which he could create such a metal and such a mechanism. Eventually, he found a way to create this metal, which he named steel after that named in the ancient texts, and wrote an entire treatise upon various methods one could use to create steel of varying hardnesses and flexibilities. As he set his mind to how to create a machine capable of mass producing objects, his first discovery spread like wildfire across Jin, with Kings paying the temples entire rooms full of gold for the privilege of receiving a copy of the Jade General's treatise. However, the Jade General was far from finished.

Within a matter of months, he had discovered a way of making a crude iron machine capable of producing hundreds of spear heads in a single day. Once again, kings paid huge sums for a copy of his treatise on the matter in a desperate bid not to be out done by their rivals.

 

Where once, the world of Jin had been united under the rule of the Celestial Lords, said to he descended from the god Heaven, the embodiment of all things, the world was now divided into three warring states, Zhu, Ju and Fei. It was the Kings of these three states who were most desperate to gain access to the Jade General's new inventions, each wishing to out do his rivals and seeing the new technologies as a way of accomplishing it. However, as the Jade General continued to create new technologies, with each these rulers were obliged to empty their treasuries in order to gain access to it. Eventually, they decided enough was enough and began to offer this talented young monk a steady wage and access to everything he would need to continue inventing if he would only give them access to his inventions. Where any other would likely have agreed, the Jade General refused, no matter what the kings promised. So, deciding that if they couldn't have sole access to his inventions then they must stop him from creating inventions, the kings began to send assassins to kill the Jade General. However, they had made a grave underestimation of the young primarch.

 

Despite his principal interests lying in science, the Jade General still possessed the formidable physical abilities of a primarch and easily disposed of the assassins sent to kill him. However, as the assassins kept coming, the Jade General began to see the art of killing as a science, which could be perfected and then applied to any situation. It was to this matter the Jade General turned his mind, and he continued to churn out both new technology and new treatises upon techniques he had developped to kill.

 

However, within a few years the Jade General's need of resources to create new inventions outstripped those he could acquire and so, he sent out a message to all three kingdoms demanding that they give him the resources he needed or he would destroy them. Angered by his repeated refusal to serve them, only one kingdom, Zhu, agreed while another, Fei, actively declared war upon him. Only Ju remained neutral, trying to stall and delay the Jade General for as long as possible.

 

Using the army of the Kingdom of Zhu and equipping them with the latest of his inventions, the Jade General crushed first Fei and then Ju creating a huge kindgom. Over the next years, his kingdom would expand to cover all of Jin as his demands on resources and manpower grew, and he conquered other kingdoms to sate these needs. So it was that the Jade General became the succesor to the Celestial Emperor without ever desiring to. While he largely left rule of the world to sub ordinates, the Jade General used the planet's vast resources to fuel his research and to create new inventions. For decades, he invented more and more with the new resources available to him until finally, the Imperium arrived on Jin.

[Skalpynock]

Two belated questions:

-So now the homeworld is called Jin, or is it a Nuceria/Bodt, [Redacted]/Kabiyeb situation?

-Would the primarch reject his name when taking command of the Zhu armies, of his Legion, or earlier than that when he was just a wonder-maker? If the later, wouldn't he be called the "Jade Scholar" or something for the first decades of his life?

[simison]

Two belated questions:

-So now the homeworld is called Jin, or is it a Nuceria/Bodt, [Redacted]/Kabiyeb situation?

-Would the primarch reject his name when taking command of the Zhu armies, of his Legion, or earlier than that when he was just a wonder-maker? If the later, wouldn't he be called the "Jade Scholar" or something for the first decades of his life?

 

1. It's not redacted. Given its security during the Great Crusade, Jade made no attempt to hide it. Once he decides to go Traitor, he wishes he could attempt something like that, but it'd be too obvious.

2. Earlier, fairly certain the 'Jade scholar' came up during my talks with Sig.

[Skalpynock]

By "redacted" I meant K'awil's original homeworld. A situation where the primarch's birth planet, and the legion's headquarters are two different planets.

[simison]

He saw no point in the move, so he didn't. It would be against the grain since the Chinese still revere their history and their connections to it. 

[Sigismund229]

You did mention the Jade General having another name when he was a scholar but I thought a remembrancer wouldn't know a detail like that most likely. Perhaps a boxed secrion on it?

[simison]

You did mention the Jade General having another name when he was a scholar but I thought a remembrancer wouldn't know a detail like that most likely. Perhaps a boxed secrion on it?

 

Even if Jade doesn't care for his fame, his people do. People would remember that he wasn't always the Jade General, but he does toss his name away before he becomes renowned leaving them with the knowledge that he did have a name, but not what it was. 

[Nomus Sardauk]

Hey Simison, are there any named characters for the Warriors of Peace yet? I ask as I was pondering earlier about armour adornments the Warriors might wear, specifically those hair bun-like things tied with silk cloths, which reminded me of Lu Bu and his extravagant headwear.

 

TL;DR I thought maybe a Lu Bu or Guan Yu-based character would be an excellent Legion Champion, perhaps as some kind of favoured retainer to the Jade General? I imagine him still wielding a halberd or Guan Dao-type weapon with Gabriel Seth-esque sweeping attacks capable of scything down anyone within six feet of him. :D

[simison]

Sounds good. Go with the Lu Bu archetype. I'll save Guan Yu for 40k. Have at it.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Sounds good. Go with the Lu Bu archetype. I'll save Guan Yu for 40k. Have at it.

My thanks brother, I'll prepare a dossier for the General at once! *bows, then exits*

[Nomus Sardauk]

Okie-dokie, here's my profile for our Lu Bu-based hero, please bare in mind I do not own any of the HH rulebooks so my knowledge of what wargear they may contain that I could have given him or certain rules he should have is extremely limited. That said, I welcome any and all comments & criticism, enjoy!

 

P.S. I'm debating whether or not to make a foot-mounted version of the good Captain or not, your thoughts?

 

 

 

Captain Wang Ju-Long: 

Duizhu (Captain) of the Eighth Company, the Flying Captain, Master of the Cavalry.
 

WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  LD  Sv
6      4    5   5  4   6  4  10   2+

Unit Type: Jetbike (Character)

Wargear: Sky Piercer, the Nian Crown, Artificer Armour, Red Hare, Bolt Pistol, Frag & Krak Grenades, Melta Bombs.

Warlord Trait:

Special Rules: Legiones Astartes (Warriors of Peace), Independent Character, Hit and Run, Skilled Rider, Prideful, Whirlwind Of Steel.

 

Prideful: Wang must always issue a challenge in close combat if possible.

 

Whirlwind Of Steel: Instead of making his normal attacks, Wang can instead choose to whirl Sky Piercer in an arc . If he does so, he inflicts a single automatic hit on all enemy models in base contact. Declare whether Wang will perform a Whirlwind Of Steel of before any blows are struck.

 

Sky Piercer: Wang's favoured tool of destruction and forged to his exacting specifications, Sky Piercer is a unique Power Halberd based on a Jin weapon known as a Ji. Custom-built to suit Wang's fighting style, Sky Piercer boasts a pair of elegant crescent Power Blades on either side of the shaft suited for slashing while also mounting a high-powered Shock Lance on the end for use in Cavalry charges. As such, Sky Piercer uses two weapon profiles:

 

Weapon                         Range     S       AP    Type                                  

Sky Piercer (Shock Lance)   -            +2     2       Melee, Charge Turn Only, Concussive,

                                                                            Master-Crafted.

Sky Piercer (Halberd)  -                     +1     2       Melee, Unwieldy, Master-Crafted.

 

The Nian Crown: A beautifully crafted MK.IV helmet fashioned for Wang upon his ascension to the rank of Duizhu, the Nian Crown is fashioned in the likeness of the Leonine beasts of Jin's mountainous regions and boasts a pair of magnificent Giant Rainbird feathers that trail behind Wang's head like wind-blown antennae. The Crown's true worth however comes in the form of it's hidden Digital Weapons, allowing Wang to re-roll one failed To Wound roll per turn, and it's inspiring visage, granting all friendly units within 12" inches the Stubborn USR.

 

Red Hare: Wang's faithful steed, the Red Hare is modified Scimitar Jetbike armed with a nose-mounted Heavy Bolter and a Refractor Field, conferring Wang a 4+ Invulnerable Save. As a Jetbike Red Hare also bestows Wang with the Hammer of Wrath, Jink & Relentless USR.

 

Both a legend & oddity amongst the taciturn sons of the XVIIth Legion, Captain, or Duizhu, to use the original Jin title, Wang Ju-Long is a warrior renowned throughout the Legion Astartes for his skill-at-arms and prodigious roll of honour, while not tactically astute, his prowess in combat is such as to be the only man to have ever bested the great Yoxer Bellows of the VIth in mounted combat. Unlike his brother-legionnaires Wang is known to be exceptionally battle-hungry, relishing in the brutal thrill of war and delights in leading Squadrons of Jetbikes in devastating strikes from the heavens, driving the enemy before them like the storied horsemen of yore. But it is the challenge of single combat that truly sets his blood afire, Wang's warrior pride burns fiercely, and he will never pass up a challenge, regardless of how inadvisable it might be.

 

However Captain Ju-Long's reputation is not all honours and accolades, as those who have had the dubious pleasure of being in his presence can often attest. Amongst a Legion known for the serenity and logical mindset of it's soldiers Wang is possessed of a fiery, almost arrogant demeanour, openly boastful and often expressing contempt for those he deems lacking in some form or another. While those who do meet his lofty expectations he treats with all respect befitting an equal, it is often only grudgingly so, and such individuals are often few and far between.

Wang's caustic demeanour is such that even the Jade General cannot stand his presence long, and were it not for his unrivalled tally of victories and mystifying habit of prevailing against impossible odds through sheer audacity Wang would surely have been stripped of his command, banished or both. Fortunately for the young Captain his skill and luck has held thus far and he continues to accumulate success and glory in equal measure, but time will tell if his prosperity will last or if the coming Insurrection will see his rising star snuffed out...

 

EDIT: Changed up some stuff, mostly wargear and lore.

Edited May 31, 2016 by SanguiniusReborn

[simison]

I saw the rules for Sky Piercer and thought, for a moment, that you replaced Ju's personality with one more compliant to the Jade General's view. Glad to see we still have the same arrogant hot-head that history has given us.

 

That said, I think it'd be far more interesting if the Jade General openly dis-favoured him. Because, despite whatever emotional reaction Jade has toward Ju-Long, so long as he meets the requirements and continues to excel in war, duty demands that Jade promote Ju-Long. If Ju-Long survives the Insurrection, I see him starting our version of the White Scars. 

 

I think Hit and Run & Skilled Rider are very apt, along with Prideful and Whirlwind of Steel. 

 

The backstory for Sky Piercer should be tweaked, along with the rules. Why Rending? 

 

Nian Crown, why the deep strike bonus? I'm trying to picture how that'd fit the original Lu Bu, and I'm not seeing it. Could you explain it to me? 

 

Red Hare was renowned for its speed and endurance. I don't think the grenade launcher system accurately represents this. Maybe a bonus to movement or Jink? Maybe allow Ju-Long to run and charge or would that be too overpowered?

 

 

Regarding the legion as a whole, while maintaining the ancient Chinese aesthetic, I thought it'd be fitting to have their actual rank & legion organization system be based on the modern Chinese army. 

[Nomus Sardauk]

I saw the rules for Sky Piercer and thought, for a moment, that you replaced Ju's personality with one more compliant to the Jade General's view. Glad to see we still have the same arrogant hot-head that history has given us.

 

That said, I think it'd be far more interesting if the Jade General openly dis-favoured him. Because, despite whatever emotional reaction Jade has toward Ju-Long, so long as he meets the requirements and continues to excel in war, duty demands that Jade promote Ju-Long. If Ju-Long survives the Insurrection, I see him starting our version of the White Scars. 

 

Thanks, I felt the arrogance & brash nature was integral to keeping him faithful to Lu Bu's character. :)

 

Looking back I agree, I'll re-write his relationship with Jade later on as one of grudging respect, Jade admires Wang's skills but despises his reckless, emotional nature, he's a potentially excellent weapon if only Jade could learn how to control him properly. As to whether Wang survives the Insurrection, well I leave that up to you.

 

 

I think Hit and Run & Skilled Rider are very apt, along with Prideful and Whirlwind of Steel.

 

Thank you, I liked the idea of him as this almost-force of nature esque fighter, leaving devastation wherever he goes. I will admit I pretty much lifted Whirlwind of Steel from Gabriel Seth, with just a name change to differenciate them, but hey, if the shoe fits...

 

 

The backstory for Sky Piercer should be tweaked, along with the rules. Why Rending? 

 

Aye, that'll be changed once I re-do his relationship with Jade. As for Rending, I kinda forgot I'd already given him AP2 when I slapped that on there so that'll go too.

 

 

Nian Crown, why the deep strike bonus? I'm trying to picture how that'd fit the original Lu Bu, and I'm not seeing it. Could you explain it to me? 

 

I wanted to make his helmet special in some way to justify including Lu Bu's fancy head-dress but was struggling to think of something, then I had this idea of accompanying Jetbike Squadrons (and maybe Air Masters) dropping in from on high to assist Wang as he leads the charge, but to be honest I don't know if Jetbikes can actually deepstrike, so that was perhaps a foolish decision on my part.

 

 

Red Hare was renowned for its speed and endurance. I don't think the grenade launcher system accurately represents this. Maybe a bonus to movement or Jink? Maybe allow Ju-Long to run and charge or would that be too overpowered?

 

Again, that was me trying justify making Red Hare a unique Jetbike, my thought was that Wang would leave enemies scattered in his wake like Lu did on Red Hare, but because Jetbikes are kinda fragile you can't just ram & trample through people like with a horse, so I figured leaving grenades in his wake ala Swooping Hawks would be a good alternative.

Skilled Rider already grants a bonus +1 to Jink saves, so maybe Turbo Boost instead? (assuming Jetbikes don't have that already)

 

 

Regarding the legion as a whole, while maintaining the ancient Chinese aesthetic, I thought it'd be fitting to have their actual rank & legion organization system be based on the modern Chinese army. 

 

Ah, similiar thinking to me, only I went with ancient Chinese ranks rather than modern ones. Duizhu is an ancient Chinese word for the rank of Captain.

[Hesh Kadesh]

What about Hit and Run, and then a 'snare' grapple, when resolving a hit and run, a single infantry, Jump infantry or jet pack infantry model in base contact with Ju Long is taken along with them, and then placed within 2" of Ju Long after resolving the hit and run move. This allows you to either pull independent characters out of unit safety, or pull a unit out of cohesionband force a reshuffle.

[Raktra]

Hey, someone that can go against Innorvak, very nice.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Hey, someone that can go against Innorvak, very nice.

Oooo, now there's a match-up I'd like to see... ;)

Edited June 17, 2016 by SanguiniusReborn

[simison]

Hey, someone that can go against Innorvak, very nice.

 Who?

[Nomus Sardauk]

 

 

Hey, someone that can go against Innorvak, very nice.

Who?

Dominator Riktus Innorvak, Cthonian by birth, former member of the Shepards of Eden and now the brutal commander of the Berzerker's fearsome Destroyer contingent, the Blood Boilers.

[MikhalLeNoir]

He does not simply slaughter his enemies...he cooks them and brings their blood to a boiling state....

[Nomus Sardauk]

He does not simply slaughter his enemies...he cooks them and brings their blood to a boiling state....

...He makes them into Black Pudding? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding

[MikhalLeNoir]

Damn...and now I know why british cuisine has such a bad reputation....

 

 

And yes.....I guess so