Question about Dark Imperium novel re: Repulsors

[Sawtooth]

I haven't had a chance to read Dark Imperium yet, but someone mentioned something interesting that I wanted to verify. They thought that in the novel Repulsor tanks were dropped from orbit or high altitude and could basically float down on their own. Just curious if this is actually true. I run my army with an air cav theme, and have been resistant to fielding tanks. This might change my mind.

[Blindhamster]

That's exactly how they are deployed, yes.

 

Their grav field does crush anything beneath it, presumably only at close range though.

[Sawtooth]

Do they just open a launch tube on a ship and fire them out like a drop pod?

[Spyros]

Primaris Inceptors and Reivers with Grav-chutes read in their rules that are placed "in high orbit", contrary to assault squads who are placed "high in the skies".So primaris are durable enough to drop from orbit without a drop pod (like in "Starship Troopers", the book).

 

In the fluff for Inceptors "Leaping from the assault bays of low-orbiting attack craft, these daring warriors brave the fury of re-entry before locking their drop coordinates and jetting towards their objective like missiles. If the enemy detects their approach at all, they will often do so under the misapprehension that the Inceptors are stray warheads, or castoff debris from orbital combat."

 

The Reivers' fluff however is a bit different from what their rule implies, it doesn't include dropping from orbit, "some Reiver Squads are equipped with grav-chutes, allowing them to be air-dropped to the battlefield from fast-moving transport craft. Using directional fins, the Reiver Squad can glide to their destination from high altitudes and pull out of steep descents when deploying from high-velocity aircraft, hugging terrain contours while flying dangerously low. Without the fiery contrails of jump pack troops or the blinding energies of teleportation, Reiver Squads can descend unnoticed behind enemy lines before silently getting into position."

[Kastor Krieg]

First Reiver, Felix Baumgarnter.

[Lexington]

Was wondering about this myself. I feel like Repulsors must've had a Deep Strike-esque ability when the novel was being written, but it was eventually removed before the Codex was done with development.

[Spyros]

Repulsors are probably way too heavy to fly like the Eldar Falcon chassis grav-tanks . Unless of course they do an A-Team maneuver and drop the tank with its rear side facing the ground so that the thrust turbines manage to reduce its falling speed...

[Closet Skeleton]

Reiver gravchutes are just what Scions/Storm Troopers have had since 2nd edition.

[Frater Cornelius]

Where is my deep strike rule/Stratagem for the Repulsor. I need one :O

[Wulf Vengis]

It was happily left in 5th ed where it belongs as a terrible game mechanic.

[phoenix01]

Flying Land Raiders

[plastic_slug]

Haley probably had a brief about the new Marines and Vehicles so he could write the novel, and things changed by the time the game and novel got published. Not uncommon. The book has a major disagreement on Cato Sicarius' fate with the Marine codex, which has him MIA, while Haley apparently had free reign to use the character when he was writing the novel. So in Dark Imperium, Sicarius is serving with Guilliman. 

[Spyros]

Reiver gravchutes are just what Scions/Storm Troopers have had since 2nd edition.

Imperial Guard Storm Troopers of the 2nd edition didn't have grav-chutes nor could "deep strike". In fact I think only Terminator squads could teleport into battle by increasing their cost by 50%.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Spyros

[Stoic Raptor]

Repulsors are probably way too heavy to fly like the Eldar Falcon chassis grav-tanks . Unless of course they do an A-Team maneuver and drop the tank with its rear side facing the ground so that the thrust turbines manage to reduce its falling speed...

 

Something that can hover via anti-grav doesn't need thrust to reduce its falling speed - when your acceleration towards the ground can be decreased to zero, it doesn't matter how high you are descending from.  The thrust engines are only to move it forward.

[duz_]

/off topic

 

I dont recall that part of the novel

Although I dont forget the part where a heretic astartes tried to strap a melta bomb on one and was squashed to death by the grav wash. :D