Pure Fluff (Power Level) Acolyte Squad

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

So ... my favourite (and pretty much only) 40k "tournament", Astronomi-con, looks like it may be going all-in on the narrative vs WAAC tournament angle. They've always been the "tournament for those who hate tournaments" with lots of funky scenarios and each table being different, plus some pretty strict comp rules. They're now looking at moving to a PL army building format along with narrative-based matchups rather than the swiss sytem used in most tournaments.

 

This has me pretty pumped. I've always been more of a fluff player, and Astronomi-con has always been a ton of fun for me (although more serious tournaments types hate it because of the "unbalanced" scenarios and lack of prizes). So I really hope this format catches on.

 

I sat down last night and realized that my 1500 point inquisition army fits very nicely into 75PL which is what they used for their first trial run of the concept in the fall. Either way, using PL totally liberates me for the first time ever to build my acolytes how they should be according to fluff without recourse to their daftly overpriced wargear (20 pts for a power fist on a WS 4+, 1 W, 5+ save model????).

 

I know that the stock answer is that the acolytes can be anything I want, BUT, I'm wondering what folks here think that a purely fluff-based group of acolytes should look like. I'm thinking that they should be true "Specialists", culled from the cream of my inquisitor's Scion Storm Trooper legions and inducted IG. I'd like to bounce some ideas off my fellow inquisitors and invite ideas of your own.

 

I don't want to make any "ideal" build, as that would violate the spirit of the event and to me would feel like an abuse of PL. Although one does want to get SOME mileage out of PL which really transforms what you can do with Acolytes. Suddenly who cares if that acolyte with a power fist and plasma pistol catches a bullet for the inquisitor? He's only 1PL (same as a stock Scion, actually, since they're PL5 for a squad of 5).

 

First off, a bit of context for those not well-versed with Lord Inquisitor Soulis who forms the foundation of my Inquisition Force. He is a puritan Ordo Hereticus inquisitor with a very pragmatic streak, so while he's devout he's not a complete fanatic and has a personal conviction that massacreing Imperial citizens willy-nilly is stupid and wrong. He'll do it if he needs to, but he will generally try to limit the death toll of Imperial citizens as much as possible. He has a running feud with the Grey Knights who deem him a heretic because he stopped them from doing Exterminatus on the homeworld of my IG regiment. He is a bit like Coteaz in that he goes for the bling (gold armour) and leading massive armies from the front rather than sneaking around in the shadows (although he has lower ranking inquisitors in his employ who do this). He now rides around in a Karamazov-style throne of judgement after taking a demo charge to the face (while wearing terminator armour) from Catachans who had gone insane from Chaos corruption. He's pretty by the book so his acolytes should not be too rag-tag ... I'm thinking they will look pretty much like Scions but with personal flourishes like head swaps, special weaponry, and some extra gear. He does have a unit of 6 Crusaders who regularly accompany him already.

 

So armed with that info, what do my fellow inquisitors would be some fluffy load-outs for the best Scions, Imperial Guardsmen, and clergy who have been elevated to Lord Inquisitor Soulis' retinue?

[librisrouge]

I think acolytes, from a fluff perspective, kinda get lumped into two lots: Grunts and Elites.

 

Grunts are those lower class heroes that have worked their way up the inquisitor's retinue into positions of trust and importance. They can be elite without being Elites. However, their background means they tend to favor the more "working man's" weapons. CCW/Laspistol, bolters and stormbolters (if you can make them look crude), flamers, and powerfists favor this kind of image if don't right.

 

Elites are those recruited from other sources. Professional bodyguards, arbites, and scions make their way into the service of the Inquisition all the time, for good reason (they kick loads of butt and are known for loyalty.) These guys have a ton of experience with more esoteric gear that justifies their use of things like hot-shot lasguns, power weapons, thunder hammers, meltas and plasmas (and their combi-weapon equivalents), and things like the super pistols (needle/plasma), which are considered especially rare in the Imperium and thus can be seen as symbols of wealth or status. 

 

On the topic of Elites and scions, I actually prefer the idea of keeping scions recruited into the inquisition as scions on the table top. I think particular agents taken from this background should almost be inquisitors or tempestor primes, since acolyte seems like a step down for them. Plus, the scion background emphasizes a teamwork background and professional military setting that a tempestus regiment better represents.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[BitsHammer]

One of the things I realised (and made me have a chuckle) is you can run a poor-man's Hellblaster squad with 5 PL of Alcolytes (which of course is 5 models, you can go 6 if you want to fill a Chimera or Valkryie with two full units). Basically if they meet their <Quarry> target they'll have a good chance of purging it in a single round of shooting, even without the Overcharge. Though that has the potential of being nerfed in the future so while interesting, it definitely isn't going to be the most balanced thing you can use them for.

 

On Alcolytes Storm Bolters trump Hotshot Lasguns (or at least break even) against everything but tanks and T5 Terminators, so quanity is definitely quality there. Plus if you convert back into points the Storm Bolter is a LOT cheaper.

 

You may want to consider some Monkeys (or perhaps some converted models to count as them) in your lists as well for those times you need to shoot stuff you don't have <Quarry> against. Rerolls of any kind only help the army after all.

[Ranulf]

My acolytes back in the day were rule of cool and nothing else. 

 

I'd take a look at the holy grail for Inquisition Acolytes (other than the Inquisitor Rulebook) namely the 3rd Ed Daemonhunter Codex. If you want the acolytes to just be cherry picked from the ranks of =I= Stormtroopers and inducted IG, i'd just look at The Acolyte and The Warrior entries.

 

The Acolyte - your Inquisitor Lord obviously needs proteges and Inquisitors in training, an Interrogator and an Explicator to be precise. I'd imagine these guys get the best gear - a quality side arm like a plasma pistol, needle pistol (for non-lethal take-down of suspects) or even a Bolt Pistol and for Melee - Power Swords and Mauls - things that can be discreetly carried. 

 

The Warrior - the guys your Inquisitor leaves on the ship unless he's expecting combat or needs intimidating physical presences - I see them as ex-ST and IG-Vet using weapons that they were trained with during their service (mostly longarms) along with customisation - Ex-Stormies with Hot-shot Lasguns and combat knives (held in reverse for the cool-factor) and IG-Vets with specialist weapons such as Plasma, Melta, Flamer.

 

You could always mix it up with stereotypes - big guy with hammer becomes ex-Catachan vet with a Thunder Hammer, John Woo gunslinger becomes ex-Steel Legion Guardsman dual wielding a Bolter and Bolt Pistol, exotic Warrior of the East becomes Attilan Rough Rider on foot with a Power Lance. (Power Sword) 

 

-Ran

[Inquisitor Fox]

Necromunda models have neat bits and character and are perfect for Acolytes

[BitsHammer]

Necromunda models have neat bits and character and are perfect for Acolytes

I am finding that GW has developed this habit of putting both hands on any gun that isn't a pistol making some kit bashing a bit harder since the shoulder and wrist joints need to be taken into consideration unlike when you only had to worry about making sure it was cradled in the left hand.

 

I'm finiding ways of making it work regardless, but it doesn't make this less annoying.

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Ranulf thanks that’s exactly the inspiration I was looking for.

 

Fox — The old redemptionist warband is something I covet greatly for acolytes. Hard to find though.