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Haemotrope Reactors, a new Mechanicus terrain piece!


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Is there any background on these things? Because depending on how the blood got in there it sounds pretty Dark-Mechanicumy. 

 

It's either A) they just harvest/kill some dudes to fuel the machine, making those donors martyrs because they died for the motion force etc. or B) they extract the blood post-mortem (maybe not even directly from the corpse. I could imagine that the Tech-Priests collect blood before each surgery - for example before they replace the legs with metal). 

 

The reactors look really epic, I think I'll get a set. 

I think it's easy to forget that the Imperium/Mechanicus are not good guys, probably because GW has been turning the grim dark dial back a bit. The mechanicus rounds up people to lobotomise them and turn them into drooling biomechanical horrors. There are staunchly loyal marines that hold cannabilistic rituals. Billions of psyker men, women and children are rounded up and killed to feed a corpse.

Mixing blood into fuel isn't that bad by comparison.

 

 

 The mechanicus rounds up people to lobotomise them and turn them into drooling biomechanical horrors.

 

I thought they only do that to criminals? And of course the Imperium/Mechanicus aren't good guys. There are no good guys in 40K, just varying degrees of psychopaths.

The mechanicus rounds up people to lobotomise them and turn them into drooling biomechanical horrors.

I thought they only do that to criminals? And of course the Imperium/Mechanicus aren't good guys. There are no good guys in 40K, just varying degrees of psychopaths.

Anyone can be a cog in the Emperors war machine.

ph34r.png

I think it's easy to forget that the Imperium/Mechanicus are not good guys, probably because GW has been turning the grim dark dial back a bit. The mechanicus rounds up people to lobotomise them and turn them into drooling biomechanical horrors. There are staunchly loyal marines that hold cannabilistic rituals. Billions of psyker men, women and children are rounded up and killed to feed a corpse.

Mixing blood into fuel isn't that bad by comparison.

 

I get that 95% of 40K is hand-waving, but this is one example that I can't quite wrap my head around.  My old CUCV drank quite a bit of my blood over the years, but never ran any better.  Then again, it didn't run any worse - maybe they're onto something...

 

Again, it would be right at home for Dark Mechanicum or to fuel a Kytan, but for the so-called good guys... it just feels a bit off.  I can see a Matrix-style battery bank of servitors.  Hell, the Thallax are about as grimdark as you can get.  Cutting fuel with human blood, though, returns a solid DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Well, it's described as "fuelled by the blood of martyrs, mixed with volatile promethium" so you're right about that one. msn-wink.gif I don't know, I'm putting far too much thought into it. It's just one of those times that I can't quite suspend my disbelief due to the sharp dissonance with my job.

Well, it is not unusual for the Imperium to use the blood of martyrs to sanctify its own resources - it is a relic, after all. Just think to the description of the Wall of Martyrs Defence Line (from Stronghold Assault - emphasis mine):

 

 

The bleached bones of long-dead warriors of the Imperium are literally built into the foundations of Wall of Martyrs Defence Lines, and the thrice-blessed blood of saintly heroes is often used by members of the Ecclesiarchy to sanctify their armoured shields.

Commodus the rider is very superstitious, so once a year I have my motorcycle blessed with holy water.  Commodus the chemical engineer thinks that mixing human blood with fuel is a great way to turn an engine into a boat anchor.  The name "Haemotrope Reactor" seems to convey that it's not just a few drops, either.

 

Demons from alternate dimensions, psychic choirs, sun-devouring gods - I can handle all of that.  This is one tiny instance when real life and fantasy bounce off each other.  I can't explain it any better than I already have, and it's not going away.  So I'm just going to ignore it.

I think it's fair to criticize the fluff here. "blood of martyrs" absolutely feels like more of an ecclesiarchy thing than a mechanics thing. Just because the entire Imperium is "dark" doesn't mean it's all the exact same flavor of "dark."

Remember the fluff talks about titan crews and techpriests having 'floodstreams' not 'bloodstreams'?
The blood being used may not be the same as ordinary people blood.

We also don't know what exactly these things do. They may not be standard combustion generators.

Well the preorder page gives a little more of a clue.

 

 

Designed and deployed to provide additional power on the battlefield, the Haemotrope Reactor is an indispensable tool for armies wishing to unleash ever-more destructive waves of plasma upon their enemies. An imposing structure, understood fully by few, it is used to bolster the defensive capabilities of the Void Shield Generator – or amplify the already intimidating destructive capacity of the Plasma Obliterator. In a pinch, the Haemotrope Reactor can be used as cover; this can be a terrible decision however, as the cowering warrior opens himself up to the potential of horrific injuries resulting from power leaks…

This multi-part plastic kit contains the components necessary to assemble 2 Haemotrope Reactors. Compatible with the Promethium Relay pipes, they make the perfect centrepiece of a larger network of Warhammer 40,000 scenery, and the included rules mean your already-existing plasma scenery will be hugely bolstered!

Are there any alternatives to the VSG? I love the model but the fact that it has four column thingys instead of a big on in the middle just doesn't resonate with me. Or is it possible to assemble the thing in such a way that the columns are separate (thus also spreading its are of effect)?

Are there any alternatives to the VSG? I love the model but the fact that it has four column thingys instead of a big on in the middle just doesn't resonate with me. Or is it possible to assemble the thing in such a way that the columns are separate (thus also spreading its are of effect)?

There is only 1 way to asemble it, but there are many DIY VSG on the internet if that is of any help...

I personally love the one with the Plasma Ball inside cool.png

Are there any alternatives to the VSG? I love the model but the fact that it has four column thingys instead of a big on in the middle just doesn't resonate with me. Or is it possible to assemble the thing in such a way that the columns are separate (thus also spreading its are of effect)?

 

Other than kitbashing your own unique generator, here are some ready-made alternatives:

 

Games & Gears

The Dark Works

We have the rules, guys!

 

http://pro.bols.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/haemothroope-768x560.jpg

 

TL;DR:

Plasma weapons will Get Hot on a 1 or 2 but will be 3" blasts (or 5" blasts, if the weapon was already shooting 3" blasts). It also let's you re-roll the 5+ needed to restore a Voidshield from the VSG and it boosts the strength of the Plasma Obliterator to 8. Nice! 

TL;DR:

Plasma weapons will Get Hot on a 1 or 2 but will be 3" blasts (or 5" blasts, if the weapon was already shooting 3" blasts). It also let's you re-roll the 5+ needed to restore a Voidshield from the VSG and it boosts the strength of the Plasma Obliterator to 8. Nice!

Ach mein Glub that can be devastating if you have some plasma servitors next to it. devastating for both you and your opponent! msn-wink.gif seriously though, a squad of 3 can make a no man's land of 6(!) large plasma blasts!! put cotez in the squad and you have the potential to turn opponents into glass.

Ok this is cool.
I already ordered mine through my local store just to have more Mechanicus terrain but the way it works with the void shield generator is quite cool.

All this terrain is making me want to play as the defender in a planetstrike game!

Makes me regret not having bought the Plasma Obliterator, hopefully it may get a re-release. A question for those who own one though, the pics i've seen haven't shown an attachment to match up with a promethium relay pipe, how does it hook up model-wise? And if it doesn't could that be a sign of a recut re-elease?

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