The Defence of Ryza

[Xin Ceithan]

Thanks Beren!

 

I agree that this one is great on Fluff, especially Knight wise.

 

And while I was trying to stay away from Nurgle themed models for a while, that Oroborn scheme is positively wicked.

[noigrim]

Got my hands on the book today, interested in what the oblitus allegiance may be, probably freeblades

[RedFurioso]

Somebody please explain what happened with

the city of Prosperity and how it's related to the Abominable Intleligence from the Ashkhelon?

[Marshal Loss]

I actually thought the story was pretty bad, frankly, running like a collection of the usual HH tropes (ah yes the bad guys are using tomb ships, are yes there are secret traitors, ah yes the bad guys are too evil to execute a competent military strategy). We all knew Ryza wasn't going to fall but it also never felt like the world was ever seriously close to the brink. As a fan of the baddies that's all I ask for, really, that the story doesn't feel predictable, and Ryza does not deliver. The bad guys are all really angry and the loyalists are occasionally angry but generally far more stoic and competent. Magna don't get a moment to shine in the entire book (Vulturum come out of it looking far better) and their whole unique shtick (the howling) is never elaborated on, with some lore being flat out contradicted by earlier publications. Some Legions bizarrely don't get as much art as others and the reprinted Crucius & Mortis lore sections come with reused art.

 

The book is definitely worth your money: lots of delicious lore nuggets, the rules are great, and the world-building re: Ryza is, as Sandlemad mentioned, absolutely superb and was by far the highlight of the book. But I desperately wish that

 

1. They'd put more lore in for Titan Legions than Knight Houses, something I've remarked on in the past when discussing previous supplements. It's Adeptus Titanicus. Even the story occasionally prioritises the Knights over the Titans.
2. They'd try harder to avoid turning the Loyalists & Traitors into simple stereotypes. Ah yes, the bad guys are angry, and the good guys are sometimes angry/sometimes stoic but invariably able to execute a coherent military strategy.

The first point is particularly important. I have been waiting for Magna to get some attention since the HH started. This was probably the only shot they'll get, and it wasn't great. Don't want to sound bitter because i am thrilled with the art and the rules but it still feels lazy. Again, the book is most certainly worth a purchase, and I don't expect black book levels of detail, but a little more effort would go a long way. Just a single page of lore per Titan Legion would fix most of my gripes.

 

Also, proofreading. Please proofread your books before publication.

 

TLDR: story lazy, Ryza background incredible

[Zhiv]

I have been waiting for Magna to get some attention since the HH started. This was probably the only shot they'll get, and it wasn't great. Don't want to sound bitter because i am thrilled with the art and the rules but it still feels lazy. Again, the book is most certainly worth a purchase, and I don't expect black book levels of detail, but a little more effort would go a long way. Just a single page of lore per Titan Legion would fix most of my gripes.

 

 

I feel this is true for most of the titan legions. Besides the ones described in Black Books or the ones explored in HH novels, we are not given much to work with.  This might be partially due to us having now rules to 24 (?) legios that came out in 4-5 books. Now, adding a page of fluff for each legio would have helped a lot. 

[Marshal Loss]

 

I have been waiting for Magna to get some attention since the HH started. This was probably the only shot they'll get, and it wasn't great. Don't want to sound bitter because i am thrilled with the art and the rules but it still feels lazy. Again, the book is most certainly worth a purchase, and I don't expect black book levels of detail, but a little more effort would go a long way. Just a single page of lore per Titan Legion would fix most of my gripes.

 

 

I feel this is true for most of the titan legions. Besides the ones described in Black Books or the ones explored in HH novels, we are not given much to work with.  This might be partially due to us having now rules to 24 (?) legios that came out in 4-5 books. Now, adding a page of fluff for each legio would have helped a lot. 

 

 

Look, you're not wrong, but you did miss the essential core of my gripe. I didn't expect Magna to get disproportionately more than other Legions. That would be silly. But I didn't expect them to come off so badly in their own supplement: they're in Vulturum's shadow the entire book and the battle section dedicated to Magna could have the name Magna removed and replaced with any other because it's painfully generic.

 

To elaborate:

 

Obviously most Titan Legions don't get that single page of lore they desperately need. Magna are a bit of a special case: there are references to them going back many decades, they're hyped as one of very few "Primus" grade Legions in Extermination and IA13 (& a few other scattered Alan Bligh references) mention them as being one of the Titan Legions whose name has passed into legend as one of the greats by 40k. They're one of the OG baddies, have been mentioned in the same breath as Mortis and seemed to be very close to the Fabricator General.

 

Generally FW/SG do their research diligently and I'd expected more from Magna in this book because of their pedigree. You could take Magna's "battle section" from the Ryza narrative, change the name Magna to any other Traitor Legio, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. There's no character there, they're just very angry baddies. Vulturum by contrast get a lot more attention and come off with a lot more character.

 

I'm obviously disappointed because they're my favourite and I'd hoped for more, and others likely won't care re: Magna in particular, but it speaks - as I have outlined here & elsewhere - to a larger issue with how much background each Legio receives (a point upon which we agree). At the end of the day though I'm still happy with my purchase, I love Magna's art, and I love Magna's rules; but I'd also be happy waiting longer for each supplement if it meant each Titan Legion got that little bit of extra lore and it's feedback I hope the writing team consider taking on board in the future.

[Gore Crow]

I actually thought the story was pretty bad, frankly, running like a collection of the usual HH tropes (ah yes the bad guys are using tomb ships, are yes there are secret traitors, ah yes the bad guys are too evil to execute a competent military strategy). We all knew Ryza wasn't going to fall but it also never felt like the world was ever seriously close to the brink. As a fan of the baddies that's all I ask for, really, that the story doesn't feel predictable, and Ryza does not deliver. The bad guys are all really angry and the loyalists are occasionally angry but generally far more stoic and competent. Magna don't get a moment to shine in the entire book (Vulturum come out of it looking far better) and their whole unique shtick (the howling) is never elaborated on, with some lore being flat out contradicted by earlier publications. Some Legions bizarrely don't get as much art as others and the reprinted Crucius & Mortis lore sections come with reused art.

 

The book is definitely worth your money: lots of delicious lore nuggets, the rules are great, and the world-building re: Ryza is, as Sandlemad mentioned, absolutely superb and was by far the highlight of the book. But I desperately wish that

 

1. They'd put more lore in for Titan Legions than Knight Houses, something I've remarked on in the past when discussing previous supplements. It's Adeptus Titanicus. Even the story occasionally prioritises the Knights over the Titans.
2. They'd try harder to avoid turning the Loyalists & Traitors into simple stereotypes. Ah yes, the bad guys are angry, and the good guys are sometimes angry/sometimes stoic but invariably able to execute a coherent military strategy.

The first point is particularly important. I have been waiting for Magna to get some attention since the HH started. This was probably the only shot they'll get, and it wasn't great. Don't want to sound bitter because i am thrilled with the art and the rules but it still feels lazy. Again, the book is most certainly worth a purchase, and I don't expect black book levels of detail, but a little more effort would go a long way. Just a single page of lore per Titan Legion would fix most of my gripes.

 

Also, proofreading. Please proofread your books before publication.

 

TLDR: story lazy, Ryza background incredible

 

I agree with every point here; the book was fine and I liked reading the lore but it was HH by the numbers.

 

Even as a Vulturum fan it definitely feels like their book.

Magna were 

evil goons

Mortis

got chumped

and the loyalists legios were

not distinct and could have been anyone

I'd love more flavour for the titan Legios - they don't need to be completely unique with bespoke bells and whistles like the legions but a bit of character would be real nice. I'm not as interested in knights. All that said I like these campaign books and hope that it all gets filled out eventually.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Gore Crow

[malika666]

Any mention of the Rapier or other non released Titan classes?

[Sandlemad]

Any mention of the Rapier or other non released Titan classes?

 

No, sadly. In the campaign narrative, when the vaults of Ryza are opened, there's a mention of some titans in Crucius livery that were even bigger than Warlords and of an unknown make but the text emphasises that it's all wrapped up in rumour/personal accounts. There's also note that after the war the Ryzan magi sought to dismiss a lot of this kind of thing as fantasy. I wouldn't read too much into it, it's even more vague than usual.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

I liked the cheeky reference to loyalist Audax

[Noserenda]

Thats weird that they are trying to paint bigger than Warlord titans as myths when SG has previously mentioned they have plans for a titan of that scale to be produced, which kind of implies they exist in universe already (just slightly off screen) given how research phobic even the Mechanicum is :D 

I definitely think just reprinting 2 legions was a huge waste when there are clearly ideas bursting at the seams out there, whether a bit more Legion fluff (something the AT books definitely need) or more rules like our precious daemon titans :) 

[Beren]

Its less the fact that they're bigger than warlord titans that make them "mythical", and more the fact that that Ryza would have had them stashed in secret vaults and armed with proscribed weaponry.

[Sandlemad]

Its less the fact that they're bigger than warlord titans that make them "mythical", and more the fact that that Ryza would have had them stashed in secret vaults and armed with proscribed weaponry.

 

Yeah, this is the impression I got. Mysterious unknown patterns with strange gear stashed away by Ryza was the thrust of it. That they were sizeable battle titans and not just quirky little skirmishers is cool but secondary, particularly when the Emperor was in widespread if not common use.

[noigrim]

Just finished the book, I really liked the charge of the light brigade moment in endeavour and the theological aspects of the ryza cult. About the rules the custom legion has been nerfed and the legio osedax seems like loyalist top dog. Also I finally have an official maniple to field my four warlords.

The art is great but the flags are way too similar, the maniples specially have copypasted banners, plus the trend of recycling art has gone on.

 

For Metalica I'm thinking of trying

-elite magos

-gunnery command/move backwards

-180° turn strat

-90° carapace guns

 

All in all the quality is as good as the pre-covid publications and it's worth a read.

 

I can see a narrative campaign in September with the two spaceport missions with an endeavour game in the middle.

 

Finally there is mention of a 11+ scale titan, Imperator confirmed?

Edited August 3, 2020 by noigrim

[Sword Brother Adelard]

What do people think of this combo for a Legio heavy on Reavers and Warhounds:

 

Towering Exemplar: I plan to put this on a princeps Reaver and use it to boost a second Reaver.

Vanguard Fighters: for ranging Warhounds capable of moving fast into position, then laying down withering fire.

Ablative Ceramite Plating and Reactor Fetters to improve the durability and survivability.

 

I'm more keen on the traits and upgrades than the strats, as I think you get more value from them.

[Fajita Fan]

I HAVE TOO MUCH HOBBY STUFF, I NEED A VACATION JUST TO CATCH UP ON MY GW STUFF.  I'm still walking through the rules and stats for 40k then I'm getting to this book.  

[Interrogator-Chaplain Ezra]

I HAVE TOO MUCH HOBBY STUFF, I NEED A VACATION JUST TO CATCH UP ON MY GW STUFF.  I'm still walking through the rules and stats for 40k then I'm getting to this book.  

So many games, so little time.

[Sandlemad]

Goonhammer review is up: https://www.goonhammer.com/adeptus-titanicus-defense-of-ryza-review/

[schoon]

The Goonhammer review is very well done. Well worth the read.

 

However, I can't imagine that many of us AREN'T going to get the book anyway...

[Black Knight]

Did anyone get the Strategem Cards, is it worth it?

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Nah, I just printed out the full strat guide from Goonhammer and take a folder with them to my games.

[Mandragola]

Did anyone get the Strategem Cards, is it worth it?

I got some. It was a bit of drama as I originally preordered them from Wayland, who I don't think ever received any. Then I managed to get some direct from GW.

 

I like them and I've got all the sets so far. They're not needed though, which is good because new players have no way to get the old ones. I saw some traitor strats on ebay today for £75!

[schoon]

I got them as well.

 

They're nicely made, and I think worth the money if you buy them when released.

 

But, as has been pointed out, they're certainly not required, and I would never purchase them on the inflated, secondary market.

[Black Knight]

Thanks for the replies all. Are they linked to Ryza in any way so that they will become obsolete when the next book comes around?

 

Also what cards have come out already? I know there were the Traitor/Loyalist titans, was there anything else?

Edited August 12, 2020 by Black_Knight

[Mandragola]

They aren’t linked to Ryza, though some are for particular legios in that book or for the home brew legios. As such there’s a lot of the set that won’t be of use to everyone.

 

They tend to release a set of cards with each book to cover the strats within it. I’m not sure they did it for shadow and iron though. None are time-limited but quite a lot are restricted one way or another. They might be Loyalist/traitor, legio-specific, knight-only, or whatever. But there are also new things like strafing run from Molech that everyone can do.