For those who play loyal chapters of traitor legions...

[Guest]

How do you play your army? I was sitting there wondering how people would play them. Do you use the traitors rules and simply change them to suit the loyalist side? Or do you play as codex compliant and that is it?

 

Was just curious how this was done, as I saw some posts of loyalists Iron Warriors and other traitor legions.

[Frater Cornelius]

Well, there are two ways. Using fitting loyalist rules or using loyalist conversions with Chaos-y rules. What I always disliked about it is that it breaks immersion, whether I am fielding a not-Tigurius or the noble and loyal servant mankind carrying a Sigil of Corruption.

 

I think the best way is to draw a line between fluff and rules in this situation and go purely by the numbers in terms of what fits the army, unless you have a bombin' fluff explanation (e.g. Emperor's Children trying to achieve mastery of all, thus using any rules you fancy; using Chaos against Chaos).

 

Well, these are just my thoughts when I was dabbling with this idea.

[White Wolf]

I push them around the table making "pew pew" noises as I simulate boltgun fire....

 

List wise - standard crusade army list for my Luna Wolves.

 

ATB WW

[Heliomanes]

The Horus Heresy rules have rulesets for playing the legions in the 30k setting - and you can choose for your force to be traitor or loyalist. Most of the armies you see could very well be HH/30k armies, and not use 40k/codex rules.

[Claws and Effect]

I'd use whatever rules seemed most appropriate for the army in question.

 

For example, the Carcharadons rules would probably work for loyalist World Eaters.

 

And the Alpha Legion and Raven Guard already have basically the same rules anyway.....

[Ishagu]

Black Legion would use Ultras - that's an easy one.

 

Building an Army like this would be pretty darn fun actually. I'd throw in lots of HH units as ot fits the theme.

[General Strike]

My thoughts would be:

 

Alpha Legion- Raven Guard

World Eaters- Blood Angels or BT

Black Legion- Ultramarines

Iron Warriors- Imperial Fists

Emperor's Children- White Scars or Iron Hands(disengage and charge of FNP 6+?)

Night Lords- Not Sure, no leadership modifiers on the loyalists, maybe RG for the jump relics and -1 to hit could be being too afraid to look directly at them?

Death Guard- Iron Hands

Thousand Sons- Grey Knights?

Word Bearers- Ultras for leadership maybe?

[Claws and Effect]

Raven Guard is probably the closest you'll get to loyal Night Lords.

 

Keep in mind some of the fear of them stems from the atrocities they commit. Pretty sure loyal NL would tone that down a bit.

[totgeboren]

My thoughts would be:

 

Word Bearers- Ultras for leadership maybe?

 

WB = ZEAL?

[N1SB]

I'm doing the flip side of this same coin, playing remnants of 30k Iron Hands (a.k.a. the Shattered 10th) awakened after the Gathering Storm.  To represent how they never evolved their tactics beyond that era, I use the Chaos Space Marines index/now codex, taking mostly non-Daemonic options with 1 notable exception.

 

Long story short - after the betrayal at Istvaan, these still-loyal so distrusted the reports & propaganda of their Primarch's death they decided to hibernate and wait it out until they receive clear orders from the only 2 people they can trust: Ferrus Manus and the Emperor himself.  They waited for 10,000 years until someTHING woke them.

 

Here's what I took.  There are some self-imposed restrictions:

 

Tactical Squads - I take the common loadout in 30k of a Power Fist on the Sergeant and no special weapons.  That was because in 30k special weapons usually went with their own special squad.

 

Cortus Contemptors - these were flawed Dreadnoughts with slightly lower armour and Weapon/Ballistic Skills compared to normal Contemptors.  I run them as Hellbrutes.  I actually converted one (shown right in the below pic) it was jury-rigged, originally for 30k.  It now counts as a Power Scourge:

 

http://oi63.tinypic.com/2ls8s2w.jpg

 

Legion Tactic - I took the Renegades one, which is not associated with any of the actual Traitor Legions, to represent these are "Blackshields" in the 30k sense.

 

Death to the False Emperor - Chaos Space Marines have a very slight close combat advantage against Loyalist Marines.  Here, my interpretation was these 30k Marines recognise the close quarter combat style as that of the Ultramarines, as a result of how the Codex Astartes affected all Loyalist Chapters in 40k.  They're a little confused, like "so how come all these oddly coloured and obviously treacherous Legionnaires all fight like XIII?"

 

The Spectre of "Ferrus Manus" - is represented by a Daemon Prince...because he's really not Ferrus, but clearly a Daemon manipulating these Marines who still believe themselves loyal.  It's both hilarious and tragic.  Pic related:

 

http://oi67.tinypic.com/2jewd28.jpg

 

+++++

 

There are more options that I didn't take advantage of but I thought would've been really great:

 

30k Terminators - Chaos Terminators have so many options in 8th that we can probably simulate their counterparts form 30k, like Iron Hands' Gorgons with Power Axes.

 

Forgeworld's Heretic Astartes index - most if not all of Forgeworld's vehicles are represented in 8th now, thanks to the quick release of their indices.

 

Not having access to new/replacement technology - obviously, with this theme, I don't use Primaris or Centurions or units not available to a 30k army.

 

+++++

 

I know this is the flip side, the mirror image, of the question, but sometimes looking at an issue from the opposite side is helpful, thus I share this.  It's also an homage to when I 1st got into 30k, I noticed how Legions were organised almost exactly like 40k Chaos Space Marines, which made so much sense to me I really liked it.  Now, I'm bringing that same feel back to 8th ed.

[DerekLee688]

Raven Guard is probably the closest you'll get to loyal Night Lords.

 

Keep in mind some of the fear of them stems from the atrocities they commit. Pretty sure loyal NL would tone that down a bit.

Tell that to the Iron Hands, Minotaurs, and Red Scorpions. All three would grind normal humans into the meat grinder for victory, and the latter two would slaughter loyal/renegade Astartes for the chance to pick up their equipment. 

Edited September 7, 2017 by DerekLee688

[jeffersonian000]

I have been playing a loyalist Chapter from a Traitor Legion since 3rd, but I've always had a codex to work from:

 

Chapter 666, the Grey Knights.

 

; )

 

SJ

[Claws and Effect]

 

 

Raven Guard is probably the closest you'll get to loyal Night Lords.

 

Keep in mind some of the fear of them stems from the atrocities they commit. Pretty sure loyal NL would tone that down a bit.

Tell that to the Iron Hands, Minotaurs, and Red Scorpions. All three would grind normal humans into the meat grinder for victory, and the latter two would slaughter loyal/renegade Astartes for the chance to pick up their equipment.

Missed the point.

 

Night Lords routinely wear human skin as a cloak. They also have been known to nail entire garrisons to the walls of what they were defending to cause fear.

 

There is a big difference between just slaughtering someone and slaughtering them and wearing their skin afterward.

 

The Iron Hands are callous and cold. The Night Lords behave more like serial killers.

[Frater Cornelius]

 

 

Raven Guard is probably the closest you'll get to loyal Night Lords.

 

Keep in mind some of the fear of them stems from the atrocities they commit. Pretty sure loyal NL would tone that down a bit.

Tell that to the Iron Hands, Minotaurs, and Red Scorpions. All three would grind normal humans into the meat grinder for victory, and the latter two would slaughter loyal/renegade Astartes for the chance to pick up their equipment.

Missed the point.

 

Night Lords routinely wear human skin as a cloak. They also have been known to nail entire garrisons to the walls of what they were defending to cause fear.

 

There is a big difference between just slaughtering someone and slaughtering them and wearing their skin afterward.

 

The Iron Hands are callous and cold. The Night Lords behave more like serial killers.

 

 

I call it pragmatism. You already killed the fella, so you are already a damnable creature. Might as well make use of his remains and get something done :D