Black Book - Insurrection (PUBLISHED)

[simison]

As for the recruit marine idea, Grifft has some serious reservations on it, while I would like to hold off on it until later in the Insurrection. Most Legions are going to be throwing their recruits into the fire at the start of the war.

 

Since the Sabre is nothing more than a Vindicator with an alternate weapon profile, I have no issues.

 

Fancy tank: Grifft has already mentioned his support for a grav-cannon tank, but just come up with something and we can hammer it out.

 

Sarkatodon: Same as above.

 

Jocasta: Okay. 

 

So, to edge toward finality, our generic unit list would include:

• Nemesis
• Vilicus
• Accipitrine Dread
• Lucifer Dread
• Furibundus Dread
• Frag Bombard Vindicator
• Sabre
• [Fancy Tank]
• Sarkastodon
• Jocasto

It's been a full day since I dropped the list and no other suggestions have been forthcoming so I'm considering this our initial list. Other units can be added, but we do want to publish by March 1st. 

[Chief Captain Redd]

Just seeing this, may I suggest a classic GC/HH vehicle and something we've talked about in the past that hasn't gotten rules: the Grav Rhino.

[simison]

Just seeing this, may I suggest a classic GC/HH vehicle and something we've talked about in the past that hasn't gotten rules: the Grav Rhino.

 

As in grav cannon or grav propulsion?

[simison]

Accipitrine Dreadnought

 

Comparison Base: Contemptor Dreadnought (175 points)

 

Attributes

 

• -4 Side Armour: (-20) points
  
• -1 Front Armour: (-5) points
  
• -1 BS/WS/S/: (-15) points
  
• +6 inch movement: 5 points
  

 

Total: (-35) points

 

Wargear

 

• TL HB replaced by Dreadnought CC Weapon: No difference
  
• -1 Invul Save: (-15) points
  

 

Total: (-15) points

 

Special Rules

• Fleet: 15 points
  
• Deep Strike: 10 Points
  
• Hammer of Wrath: 10 points
  

 

Total: 35 points

 

Total cost: (-15) points

 

Recommend overall cost: 160 points

 

Notes: 

 

• It flies, beware.
  

[simison]

Jocasta Pattern Grav Tank

 

Comparison Base: Predator (75 points)

 

Attributes

 

• No Change

 

Total: 0 points

 

Wargear

 

• Lascannon: (-5) points
• Havoc Launcher: 15 points

 

Total: 10 points

 

Special Rules

• Fast: 10 points
• Skimmer: 15 points
• Unreliable: (-5) points

 

Total: 20 points

 

Total cost: 30 points

 

Recommend overall cost: 105 points

 

Notes: 

 

 

• Still not sure if the Unreliable should be something else, but it's workable.

[Chief Captain Redd]

 

 

Just seeing this, may I suggest a classic GC/HH vehicle and something we've talked about in the past that hasn't gotten rules: the Grav Rhino.

As in grav cannon or grav propulsion?

Grav propulsion

[Beren]

An attempt at fluff for the Accipitrine.

 

The Accipitrine class Dreadnaught was originally a modification enacted by the Void Eagles upon some of their more enthusiastic Contemptor Dreadnoughts. Reactor modifications to provide additional power were combined with a thruster array in order to boost the the Dreadnoughts speed to unpredictable levels. The first large scale deployment of these succeeded in utterly breaking the enemy. The cost was any semblance of cohesion amongst the mortal auxillaries pras they tried to avoid the wildly careening and occasionally exploding battle frames.

 

Later, the Accipitrine would draw the attention of the XIIth. Finding potential in a unit that suited their rapid assault doctrines, the Wardens of Light subjected the design to significant revisions and testing before deploying it in larger numbers themselves. From here the newly dubbed Accipitrine was adopted across the Legions. Though it was lighter in armour than a typical Contemptor, it provided valuable hitting power and resilience to jump formations. The Void Eagles remained one of its most supportive proponents, though they retained a significant number of the original Accipitrine ‘Cortus’ model.

 

Astartes sealed within the Sarcophagi of Accipitrine Contemptors tend either towards atypical aggression, using their speed to close with the enemy in as short a period as possible,or what can only be described as skittishness. Talons of the former were a terrifying sight, hurling themselves at their targets at unerving speeds to crush and mangle their way through those stood in their path. Individuals of the latter proved near impossible to pin down, striking hard and fast before disengaging and suddenly burning their thrusters to pull away from the site if their attack.

[MikhalLeNoir]

When was the dread introduced? it would fit already the assaults of the apostles of war before gwal was found.

 

i like the text though.

[Beren]

Yucahu was discovered after Gwal though, and I'm not sure if the Morning Stars were as enthusiastic/divergent as the later Void Eagles.

[Beren]

Attempt for the Vicilus Consul

 

While some Legions shunned mortal allies, or whose reputations were enough to determine that few sought to fight alongside them, others went out of their way to integrate Auxilia within their lines of battle. Forsuch purposes a distinct cadre of Astartes officers arose whose duties entailed facilitating coordination and communication between baseline humans and their modified cousins. Amongst some, such as the early Tenth or the Drowned Men, the idea was scorned, the post only ever being maintained to remind their lessers of who held command. Others, such as the Iron Bears took such assignments willingly in order to better fight alongside their allies. After the Primarch Alexandros was discovered and adopted the unit for his once belligerent Vth Legion he formally codified such units as Vilicus Consuls. Upon his appointment as Warmaster the term was soon echoed across the Legions in either praise or derision.

 

Often, a Vilicus would either be gifted with or demand for himself a mortal honour guard to stand beside him in battle. Ranging from ragged penal squads thrown into battle by the disdainful Beserkers of Uran to the elite void capable Solar Auxilia that accompanied the IVth, such units could either a life expectancy of days or years dependant on the tactics employed. In some cases the combat capability was not even a factor. Indstead units with a penchant for honesty, openess and insights into the character of their parent formation were selected to further the understanding between the Vilicus and their charges.

 

During the Insurrection, where trust became an early casualty of rebellion, the Vilicus Consuls became exceedingly more important to maintaining the bond between a Legion and its auxilaries. Those Legions who had scorned such attention upon their allies found them ever more prone to disobedience or cowardice. In turn, the more callous of these warriors responded to Vilicus Consuls by slaughtering the mortals in front if them. Yet every time the Vilicus succeeded in preserving the lives of his, the trust between the two allied factions grew stronger rather than weaker.

[bluntblade]

"between a Legion's auxiliaries", or perhaps between a Legion and its auxiliaries.

[Beren]

Done.

[Beren]

Nemesis Consuls.

 

This one is way longer than the others. Should I cut out the first paragraph? Remove the Legion specific ones and add more generic text? Leave as is?

 

Also, its been established that my Pariah lore is pretty shakey, so point ount any discrepancies I have to edit away.

 

 

While many of the Legiones Astartes contained psykers, embedded within the Librarius or more esoteric groupings, three of the Legions lacked psykers entirely. Instead they contained the bane of all creatures touched from the warp; Pariahs. The Warriors of Peace, Wardens of Light and the dreaded Grave Stalkers all contained officer cadres drawn solely from these individuals. It has been theorised by some that the appearance of the Pariah Gene in the ‘Souless Triad was, along with the Ghost Crusade’s of the Ist Legion and warp suppressants of the VIIIth, part of measures taken by the Emperor to guard against both the creatures of the beyond and those who invited the calamity of the warp within His domain.

 

The Warriors of Peace numbered the fewest of these 'Nemesis Consuls' amongst their ranks, but what they lacked in presence upon the battlefield was irrelevant to their cultural within their Legion. The XVIIIth Legion strived for clarity of the mind and to purge themselves of emotional attachments. In this the 'blanks' were seen as a standard to strive for. This attitude was heated by their Primarch’s distrust in psykers and his fascination with the Pariah Gene. The Jade General was determined to find a way to control and replicate the trait among his Legion and as such only allowed the most promising of aspirants , in terms of compatibility, to be implanted with progenoid glands that bore an active null ability.

 

The Wardens of Light had a somewhat different perspective of their nature. Since their earliest days the ability had lain dormant within their geneseed, only brought forth by great loss or trauma. Before the discovery of Gwalchavad their Pariah cadres were formed only from survivors of the Legion’s most mournful battles. This made them few in number, often scarred in mind, yet were formidable combatants. Access to the gene seed cultured directly from their Primarch was something of a catalyst for the XIIth. From then on all recruits to the Legion had the choice of the implantation with the progenoids brought from Mars with the Pariah Gene still dormant, or the fully woken one from Caerrbannog. Though the 'traditional' Nemisis Consuls would prove greater in power, the new inductions gave them the numbers to prove a force to be reckoned with in the wars to follow.

 

Unlike their two cousins, the Grave Stalkers were composed entirely of the soulless. Every Legionare was a null to some degree. For them the Nemesis Consuls were not appointed for merely possessing the trait, but for being a bridgeway between the common brothers of their Legion and the yet more potent Blacksoul Kindreds. Often granted oversight of these shunned individuals, the Consuls were stronger in their nature than most, but still not as hateful to stand before as those whose mere presence could cripple the mortal mind and slay the warp spawned one.

[simison]

 

 

Just seeing this, may I suggest a classic GC/HH vehicle and something we've talked about in the past that hasn't gotten rules: the Grav Rhino.

As in grav cannon or grav propulsion?

Grav propulsion

 

 

Sure. Get it written up, and I'll inspect. I'm sure Grifft will be willing to help.

 

Also, did this exist in canon?

[Beren]

On a side note in response to Sim's query, I'm fairly sure that there's artwork of a grav-rhino somewhere.

 

Jocasta

 

The Jocasta grav-vehicle is a relic of the Unification Wars. In those early days before the Great Crusade had even made it of Terra, the speeder proved an invaluable rapid response or fast attack craft. Its mobility and weapons ensured that it was an ever present threat to the Emperor’s enemies. However once His wars had begun in earnest, issues regarding reliability and maintenance saw it relegated solely to the few Mechanicum enclaves willing to provide it with the requisite care to ensure its use.

 

The pattern would see a temporary resurgence after the XVth’s seizure of the Lasaris Forgeworld saw it enter use throught that Legion. Thanks to the Grave Stalker’s combat doctrine, the Jocasta’s capabilities were once again clearly displayed. However, other Legions who attempted to adopt the vehicle soon found that its old issues still remained. Any attempt at using them for prolonged periods or on detached missions without ready support typicaly met with failiurr. It had been some facet of Lasaris’ techno-archana which allowed the Grave Stalkers ready use of the craft without such malfunctions. The vast quantities that had been produced before this realisation were moth-balled and placed within Legion reserves.

 

The outbreak of the Icarion Insurrection would see many of these light tanks recommitted to service. Traitors saw their stocks as a comparatively expendable resource well served by its speed and armament. The Loyalists simply scrambled to use whatever was at hand to hold their attackers at bay. In either case, such was the nature of the great battles fought that extended maintenance was seldom a concern, the vehicles rarely surviving their first battle.

[Chief Captain Redd]

 

 

 

 

Just seeing this, may I suggest a classic GC/HH vehicle and something we've talked about in the past that hasn't gotten rules: the Grav Rhino.

As in grav cannon or grav propulsion?

Grav propulsion

Sure. Get it written up, and I'll inspect. I'm sure Grifft will be willing to help.

 

Also, did this exist in canon?

Awesome, I'll get the first draft up tonight hopefully.

 

And yeah, originally they were supposed to be the province of the Custodes and Sisters. But had mentions of the Legions using them in the early crusade. Forge World has sort smushed them to the side currently.

[Beren]

Hailstorm is a place holder name for the frag cannon vindicator. I also suspect that it's sentence could be worded better.

 

 

As the Great Crusade wore on, a combination of strained supply lines and hastily required battlefield repairs saw numerous unsanctioned vehicle variants arise from standard patterns. In some cases such variants in became widespread to the degree that they were officially recognised, as was the case with the Imperial Army’s Stormsword superheavy tank. Amongst the Legiones Astartes there were two well known cases of Vindicator variants. One, the Sabre, used the vanquisher cannon as a low tech and readily available alternative to its typical armament. The other, the Scythe, was an experiment with novel techniques to creat a platform effective against massed but lightly armoured infantry at close range. The reasons for their existence would only be reinforced by the chaos that prevailed with the division of the Imperium.

[Doctor Perils]

I like it :tu: how about Scythe ? It would stick with the weapon-style naming convention.

[Beren]

Done, provided nobody has any objections.

[Beren]

Provided we don't change this unit anymore.

 

Lucifer Pattern Dreadnought

 

Among the items often found in short supply when civil war swept across the Imperium were the typically manufactured Dreadnought shells. Each one turned a near-dead Astartes into a killing machine, but in doing so required complex components that were not necessarily accessible. The most common solution to this was the resurgence in use of the Contemptor-Cortus variant. Yet where either Astartes lacked the time necessary to construct these, or did not wish to entrust the mind of skilled advisors or tacticians to the mental instabilities a Cortus incurred, far older solutions were looked to.

 

The Lucifer pattern Dreadnought was one of the earliest, perhaps even the earliest, model of dreadnought uses by His Legions. Though they served effectively for centuries they would be superseded by the Contemptor pattern. Those that were not lost in battle, never to be replaced, had their occupants transferred to newer variants. In time they became the equivalent to museum pieces or were buried in logistical paperwork at the back of supply depots.

 

When desperately recalled, Quartermasters found that those with weapons still bore their weapons from the early years of the Great Crusade, such as power mauls and volkite devices. Beyond this though, the nature of its primitive reactor prevented any other energy weapons than those specifically tuned to its vagaries to be equipped. Fortunately there was a plethora of less power reliant weapons available. In addition the Lucifer's small size enabled it to be equipped with refractor fields usually bornn by infantry rather than the atomatic dhielding standardaised for many of their larger cousins; one if the few advantages it can be said to have over them.

 

When deployed, Lucifer Dreadnoughts usually consisted a single Talon, if even that, forced to group together by their inadequacies. Despite this, the fact that several could be assigned to a single Drop Pod lead to these remnants being an unwelcome surprise for many. Against infantry who expected to focus fire upon a single target, their coardinated tactics were capable of tearing the opposition to shreds.

[simison]

Lucifer Dreadnought

 

Comparison Base: Legion Dreadnought (125 points)

 

Attributes

 

• -1 Front Armour: (-5) points
  
• - 1 Side Armour: (-10) points
  
• +1 Rear Armour: 5 points
  
• -1 Hull point: (-10) points
  

 

Total: (-20) points

 

Wargear

 

• Power Maul vs. Dread CCW w/bolter: (-15) points
  
• Rotor Cannon vs TL HB: (-10) points
  
• Refractor Field: 30 points
  

 

Total: (-5) points

 

Special Rules

• Dreadnought Talon: (-10) points
  

 

Total: (-10) points

 

Total cost: (-35) points

 

Recommend overall cost: 90 points

 

Notes: 

 

 

• N/A
  

[Grifftofer]

After some discussion sim and I have agreed to a slight reduction in the cost of the Lucifer (to 80 points). This is mostly due to my belief that 30pts for a 5++ save on a 2HP vehicle is a bit overkill given it probably won't even save a hit on a single Lucifer. So we've agreed to a drop to 80 points for the base chassis.

[Beren]

Just noting that since Harbringers/Halycon Wardens will be our first fully revealed Legions, the story 'Koloss' could be a good pick to go along with the release.

[Beren]

Edit: In hindsight, I may have tried to write around a problem that wasn't really there. Meaning that I may have to rewrite this significantly at a later date.

 

Arigus Tank Commander

 

The Arigus tank commanders were one of the earliest fruits of the proto-Vilici programs enacted by several of the Legions. These officers observed that the mortal forces of the Solar Auxilia, far more dependant on their combat vehicles than the Astartes, attributed greater accolades and responsibilities to their tank commanders than was common amongst His Legions. The exploits and successes of these leaders was noted and even replicated by those Legions who favoured armoured assaults themselves.

 

Soon, members of the Legiones Astartes were being specifically trained or else selected by dint of experience as what would later be termed ‘Arigus’ tank commanders. Though less knowledgeable of infantry leadership than most, they were capable of commanding and redirecting armoured columns with the same ease that a Sergeant might command his squad. This ability often extended to their individual craft themselves which displayed above par accuracy and speed. The Arigus were also prone to personally overseeing Techmarines to make specific modifications and alterations to their chosen steed.

 

Even more so than their Auxilia equivalents, such commanders faced the scorn from martially inclined kin, facing accusations of cowardice for ‘hiding’ within their steel boxes. Such scorn was either forgotten or quickly masked when the Arbigus carried what would otherwise be a costly battle, or outmaneuvered the tank equivalents or war beasts of mankind’s foes. Though such events themselves were quick to fade with time, their capabilities would be far more effectively ingrained when it was Astartes infantry being mown down and Astartes tanks being torn apart by these skilled individuals.

[simison]

Furibundus Dreadnought

 

Comparison Base: Contemptor Dreadnought (175 points)

 

Attributes

 

• -1 WS & BS: (-10) points
  
• - 1 Side Armour: (-10) points
  

 

Total: (-20) points

 

Wargear

 

• Geigorian Talon vs. Dread CCW w/Combi-Bolter: 10 points
  
• Geigorian Talon vs TL HB: 35 points
  
• Irad-Cleanser: 20 points
  
• Rad Furnace: 25 points
  

 

Total: 90 points

 

Special Rules

• Move Through Cover: 20 points
  
• Deadly Radiation: (-10) points
  

 

Total: 10 points

 

Total cost: 80 points

 

Recommend overall cost: 255 points

 

Notes: 

 

 

• I'm having trouble comparing the Talon with the Heavy Bolter. Basically, do I count the Talon as a Strength 8 (the result) or just +1 (the effect) when comparing it? In the former, I get the above number. In the latter, I get just 5 point difference (calculating every 6 inch range as 5 points for the Heavy Bolter).
  
• Why does Rad Furnace only do half of what the canon rule does?