Distinguishing Company and Sternguard Veterans

[Kua]

So... is there an obvious way?

 

Sure, they have partly different equipment options.

The CV can get storm shields, the SG their special ammo bolters with recognizable bins.

Also, in previous editions, the CV were the Command Squad and included the Ancient and Champion (who have no reason following the squad in 8th).

 

Concerning tactical markings, the CV can be of any company while the Sternguard are 1st company members with Power instead of Terminator Armour.

Accordingly they won't have squad numbers but only their skull, while the SG will have a quad number and a symbolic Crux, I suppose.

The rank (=helmet colour) would be Veteran in both cases.

 

So is this the difference, given similar weaponry? Skull vs. numeral?

Am I forgetting or confusing anything?

[Marshal Reinhard]

Honestly, all veteran units are pretty much all the same thing: space marine veterans of the chapter that have terminator honours and can wear terminator armors. But since not all do, these veterans can be organized in all manner of squads with different armanents. But they don't have their own iconography like tacticals assault, devestator or the like.

 

There's no direct marking or other visual beyond possible armaments that marks them as "Sternguard, Vanguard, Company veterans etc", "just space marine veterans"

 

EDIT: oh yeah. thought "1st company veterans" when I heard the phrase "company veterans".  So I guess we have non 1st company veterans now? Aren't they just a replacement for command squads that are gone. Meh. Good thing i play Templar. everything is just swordbrethren.

[HighMarshalAmp]

Sternguard: always 1st Company, so white trim

Company Vets: still part of another Company, so no white trim

 

Company Vets as Vets of the 1st Company: don't have SIBs but white trim. Your opponent has to look closely even when you go full wysiwyg, but you're 100% in the clear ;)

 

And that's it. Any numerals or icons are self-explanatory just like you thought.

[Race Bannon]

^

 

Officially this ^_^

[BitsHammer]

For Templars I would just give them Sword Brethren markings, or go with the white cross on black field I've seen some do for Veterans.

 

Other chapters, mark them for 1st company.

[HighMarshalAmp]

Well, BT don't have a lot of different Veterans in the first place. There's Initiates with a standard C:SM profile and then there's Sword Brethren with +1A and +1Ld. And any Vanguard/ Sternguard/ Company Vets are just Sword Brethren with different loadouts represented by the datasheet you choose to use.

 

Of course, once you arm a Codex compliant Squad of Sternguard Vets with anything but SIBs, Boltguns or Heavy Weapons and thus kit them out like Company Vets, it's darn hard to tell what they are.

But c'mon, the only thing differentiating Sternguard Vets from Company Vets is the ability to take Heavy Weapons or SIBs. And their specific Stratagem only has an effect on SIBs.

So once you have a Squad that's only Sternguard by name and could just as well be fielded as 1st Company Company Vets... it doesn't even matter if you can tell them apart anymore. You can just field 60 instead of 30 Veterans that way and they'll all handle the same, even for your opponent.

 

...am I overthinking this now?

[Captain_Krash]

Every chapter is different how they represent there own veterans. It depends on the chapter.

 

Krash

[Kua]

Ah, yes, the shoulder trim, ofc.

 

Concerning 1st Co Command Squads (to avoid doubling “Company”):

 

Company Vets as Vets of the 1st Company: don't have SIBs but white trim. Your opponent has to look closely even when you go full wysiwyg, but you're 100% in the clear

 

I had the same thought as Amp, namely that since 1st Co Vets have their Sternguard equipment anyway, you could even give them SIBs (making them Sternguard rules-wise) but paint them as a Command Squad, i.e. skull instead of numeral, and it.

Btw, do the Co Vets of the other Companies also have the Crux Terminatus honour?

 

And speaking of such:

Is there an explanation, why the 1st Co Command is never wearing its Terminator armour?

Maybe you could say that rules-wise they would just behave like any other terminator squad (with a lower squad size), but then we are still missing a Terminator Ancient and Champion.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Ah, yes, the shoulder trim, ofc.

 

Concerning 1st Co Command Squads (to avoid doubling “Company”):

 

Company Vets as Vets of the 1st Company: don't have SIBs but white trim. Your opponent has to look closely even when you go full wysiwyg, but you're 100% in the clear

 

And speaking of such:

Is there an explanation, why the 1st Co Command is never wearing its Terminator armour?

Maybe you could say that rules-wise they would just behave like any other terminator squad (with a lower squad size), but then we are still missing a Terminator Ancient and Champion.

 

Purely down to Terminators being the Grey Knights/Dark Angels "thing", so they're the only ones who get Terminator Apothecaries, etc.