Masters of the Shadow War

[Race Bannon]

There are several threads growing in various forums concerning the latest release, Shadow Wars: Armageddon.  The current skill trees available include specific Chapters such as the Salamanders and Dark Angels and a group known as "Sons of Guilliman" ... but no Raven Guard skill tree.

 

So, ideas for discussion:

1)  What current skill tree do you think fits the Raven Guard (and/or the Successors)?

2)  If you could wishlist a skill set, what would they be?

3)  What plans do you have for your Scout unit to play SW:A?

 

I've scattered some thoughts in other threads, yet may compile them here.  I'll add more details in "my thread" when I get around to building the models ^_^

[Brother Tyler]

My initial stab at a Raven Guard skill tree (for my Adeptus Astartes in Shadow War Armageddon project) is:

Trooper: Guerilla, Agility, Stealth
Specialist: Guerilla, Muscle, Shooting, Stealth
Leader: Combat, Ferocity, Guerilla, Agility, Shooting, Stealth

My current plans for a Space Marine kill team are to proxy the Legio B&C with Grey Knights. As my homegrown rules project shows, I'd eventually like to field a true official power armoured Legio B&C kill team using official [Power Armoured] Space Marine faction rules. If.

If I ever do a Space Marine Scout kill team, the Raven Guard are on the table as an option. But that will be further down the road (after unspeakable xenos dalliances ).

Come to think of it, I'm really surprised that there weren't Raven Guard rules (i.e., skill tree) via the Raptors Chapter, who were present in the Third War for Armageddon campaign. What's up with that omission, GW?

[deathspectersgt7]

Brother Tylers list looks about right .

[Brother Tyler]

I've been working on rules for a [power armoured] Space Marines faction in Shadow War: Armageddon and have taken an initial stab at things. These rules include rules for the Raven Guard.

 

You can see Playtest V1.0 here.

 

I'd appreciate any feedback that you can provide to make this a better (and balanced) product. Note that I am concerned that the Raven Guard rules are underwhelming at this point, so I'm definitely looking for help on that front.

[Damo1701]

Could Raven Guard use a token deployment method?

 

Example:

 

The Ravenguard player deploys a series of tokens (if deploying in cover), these tokens are marked with a zero or the roster number of the model being deployed.

 

What this means is that the Raven Guard are in hiding, but have laid false trails.  The opponent would have to move a model to each counter in an attempt to find out if there is a Raven Guard there.  If not, then they must take a stat-based test to perform any other actions that turn.  If they find a Ravenguard... Not sure.  Kinda want to give the Raven a free combat attack, but think that would be OP.  Perhaps they have to make an immediate fall-back move to account for being surprised.

 

Only tokens representing Raven Guard may move in cover, or, the Raven Guard player can reveal tokens voluntarily.  Revealed models may act as normal, but tokens can only move.

 

Models not being deployed in cover obviously don't have a representative token that game.

[Brother Tyler]

While I like the idea, it doesn't seem appropriate for the game because it's too complicated. Also, Tau Stealth Team Shas'Uis should be able to do the same thing better due to their suits.

 

And on that note, perhaps the trick is to modify the Infiltration rule of the Stealth Team Shas'Ui special operative for the Tau Pathfinder faction. Instead of 2 free run moves, the Raven Guard might get 1 for every model that deploys in hiding (or something like that), and they may not move within 8" of an enemy.

[Brother Tyler]

Another option I've been considering is making jump packs available to Raven Guard fighters (except Scouts and anyone carrying a heavy weapon).

 

It's all a matter of what best represents the lore. In this case, the lore I'm drawing upon is the 3rd edition Index Astartes article lore (whereas the stealthy thing is a later development).

 

Oh, and I suppose balance is also an issue. ;)

 

Still thinking...

 

...and listening to ideas...

[Brother Tyler]

Here is the final version of the Raven Guard rules in my project:

RAVEN GUARD

The Primarch Corax was known for his exceptional stealth, striking unseen from the shadows. The Raven Guard and their successors still follow this example, specializing in sudden, devastating assaults.

A Raven Guard Veteran Sergeant has access to lightning claws as a melee weapon option.

Strike from the Shadows: Models in a Raven Guard kill team can begin any mission in hiding, providing that they have been deployed in a position where they would normally be able to do so (i.e., so that they are in cover and not within an enemy model’s Initiative range, etc.).

Raven Guard troopers may take Guerilla, Agility, and Stealth skills.

Raven Guard Specialists may take Guerilla, Muscle, Shooting, and Stealth skills.

Raven Guard Leaders may take Combat, Ferocity, Guerilla, Agility, Shooting, and Stealth skills.

There are also some larger changes, though these affect all Chapters. These include some additional weapons and wargear (power mauls, power axes, power fists, grav weapons).

[Brother Tyler]

With the main Space Marine Kill Teams rules nearly finished (just getting some pictures in so that I can make them available for download), I've moved forward with the Chapters that participated in the Badab War.

 

For fans of the Raven Guard and their successors, the Raptors participated in the Badab War on the side of the Loyalists.

 

You can see my initial stab at rules for the Raptors here. There are some minor differences from the Raven Guard rules, but I'm open to suggestions for improvement.

 

P.S. The Carcharadons Astra are in there, too.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Brother Tyler

[varchilde]

P.S. The Carcharadons Astra are in there, too.

 

You hero. Gonna check those out!

[Brother Tyler]

I made a minor adjustment to the Carcharadons Astra rule (follow the link above).

[WAR]

Hopefully my gaming group will start running through these soon