Fandex Supplements for Red Hunters and Exorcists

[MECHFACE]

Hi, I thought that the unconventional and shadowy origins of the Red Hunters and Exorcists Chapters deserved some 9th edition Homegrown Supplements. Tried to tie these into the lore and the types of rules presented for them in the past Vraks and Badab books, updated for the 9th Ed.

 

I've added them to B&C Downloads page which can be accessed directly from Fandex Supplements for Exorcists and Red Hunters Chapters

 

I've also tried to re-work some mechanics on inclusion of Inquisitors into these Chapter detachments and armies. I think the Deathwatch and Grey Knights really needed something similar for stronger Inquisition souping opportunities, seeing as these two were meant to be the Ordos Chambers Militant.

 

Anyway, your thoughts and ideas are really appreciated! These are the first Fandexes I've done so please bear this in mind.

 

Cheers,

Mechface

Edited February 17, 2021 by Brother Tyler
Fixed tags

[Brother Tyler]

Exorcists?!!!

 

You have my attention. Unfortunately, the links don't work. Try putting the complete URL inside the URL BBCode:

[url=enter URL here]put anything you want here, whether the URL or just plain text[/url]

Example:

[url=http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/user/245158-mechface/]Your B&C User Profile[/url]

Your B&C User Profile

 

Alternately/additionally, since many people don't want to follow links, you might get more feedback if you post the actual content here.

[MECHFACE]

 

I've also added them to B&C for download here as well for those not wanting to use the previous links 

Fandex Supplements for Exorcists and Red Hunters Chapters

Edited February 12, 2021 by MECHFACE

[Ryltar Thamior]

Out of interest, how much of each of these is your own fluff development. There's a fair amount of stuff that I don't quite recognize (although seems to extend things that I have previously encountered), and I'm unsure whether it's because I've missed some publications over the past few years. 

Definitely keeping an eye on this one for ideas; I'd done a truescale Exorcist awhile back, and I'm pretty sure we also have a truescale Red Hunter around. Had long meant to do more with both concepts. 

[Brother Tyler]

One quick note from a skimming I performed - I thought that Silas Alberec was the Captain of the 3rd Company of the Exorcists during the Badab War. Also, I don't recall official lore that he has ascended to the role of Chapter Master.

[MECHFACE]

Many thanks guys for coming back to this!

 

So these are a mix of existing lore (which is very-lite) and additional fluffy bits that I've come up with. You are correct, my error, Silas was Captain of the 3rd Company. However, the fluff on his ascension to Chapter Master is my own invention. The Three Orisons are canon, but I've interpreted rules for them on the assumption of these being ad hoc formations reacting to situations rather than standing squads of specialists.

 

All of the fluff on the world of Banish (except it's position in the Quarantined Narasima Straits) is my own invention, including the framing of the 11th and 12th Banish Companies of the Chapter (first mentioned only in War for Armageddon codex). Also the fluff for the Red Hunters and the fluff on Montsegnur are also my invention (inspired by the super-lite Badab War rules and the Emperor's Gift novel). All of the wargear, tactics, super-docs, strats, and psychic powers are my creation. Also the three special characters excluding Silas (besides Daemar's name) are also my own invention.   

 

If you want I can make another version which highlights my creation over the base lore I've built on? Is this all ok? I've not accidently broken any rules have I? 

Edited February 12, 2021 by MECHFACE

[Brother Tyler]

No, no rules have been broken. It just comes down to giving other players an understanding of your approach. Some players prefer a strict application of the previous rules/lore, while others are more accepting of taking creative license. It's easier for players to give feedback on stuff that is closer to the official lore and rules because there is common ground to draw upon and discussion comes down to differences of interpretation and emphasis. With homegrown rules that have personal development, things become a lot more subjective. The closer you are to the official material, the less latitude there is for "I would have done it this way" whereas the more creative license you take, the more room there is for debate. For example, I posted rules for the Exorcists back in 4th edition, based solely on the one piece of lore that we had - the Third War for Armageddon website. The Chapter Tactics I chose were firmly based on that lore, but the special characters I created were my own invention. All I did was explain how I came up with the special characters while including a synopsis of all the known lore for the Chapter (at that time they were known for their participation in the Badab War, the Gothic War, and the Third War for Armageddon campaign). There was some discussion about what I had developed, but most of that was centered on the special characters since those were wholly my invention. Since your work involves a lot more personal interpretation and creativity, there's a lot more room for discussion and debate.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Brother Tyler
I forgot to mention the Gothic War.

[MECHFACE]

For example, I posted rules for the Exorcists back in 4th edition, based solely on the one piece of lore that we had - the Third War for Armageddon website. The Chapter Tactics I chose were firmly based on that lore, but the special characters I created were my own invention. All I did was explain how I came up with the special characters while including a synopsis of all the known lore for the Chapter (at that time they were known for their participation in the Badab War, the Gothic War, and the Third War for Armageddon campaign). There was some discussion about what I had developed, but most of that was centered on the special characters since those were wholly my invention. Since your work involves a lot more personal interpretation and creativity, there's a lot more room for discussion and debate.

 

Many thanks Brother Tyler. I didn't know about your 4th edition fandex supplement. Managed to find it on google. I really liked it and your details on development in the side notes are pretty cool. I should develop a similar such box for my development ideas and origin of materials for my v2 Supplements. I like your characters as well !

Edited February 13, 2021 by MECHFACE

[Ryltar Thamior]

Hey, I thought the fluff that I looked over was pretty cool. I was partially just wondering who it was that I should be crediting with having that kind of imagination and insight :D 

[i was particularly interested in the Narasimha reference, because there's an understanding in some parts of our religion that if you've got a demon problem ... a Narasimha icon is something to have around; but it's not the sort of understanding that's frequently encountered outside of that - so I was pretty impressed somebody'd worked it in for, well, the Exorcists as a regional toponym] 

[Brother Tyler]

Many thanks Brother Tyler. I didn't know about your 4th edition fandex supplement. Managed to find it on google. I really liked it and your details on development in the side notes are pretty cool. I should develop a similar such box for my development ideas and origin of materials for my v2 Supplements. I like your characters as well !

The versions I've found out in the wilds of the Internet have been older versions, prior to the revision I made after the Forge World Badab War books. Once the Badab War books came out, I removed the Chapter Master I'd created and replaced him with Silas Alberec, pointing players to the Badab War books for his rules. If you didn't see that revision, you can find it here.

 

I'm actually in the process of updating those rules again for 9th edition (along with the Fire Claws/Relictors) - you beat me to the punch. In fact, after my brief skimming of your rules, I'm not going to read them further until after I've completed my own update so that I don't poach anything you've done.

[MECHFACE]

Hey, I thought the fluff that I looked over was pretty cool. I was partially just wondering who it was that I should be crediting with having that kind of imagination and insight  

 

[i was particularly interested in the Narasimha reference, because there's an understanding in some parts of our religion that if you've got a demon problem ... a Narasimha icon is something to have around; but it's not the sort of understanding that's frequently encountered outside of that - so I was pretty impressed somebody'd worked it in for, well, the Exorcists as a regional toponym] 

 

Many thanks! In fact I went to see the Lakshmi-Narasimha Temple in Hampi back in 2014 when I went travelling in India. Great to know you've liked my expansion of the lore for the Exorcists.  

[MECHFACE]

Many thanks for the link. Awww, I really wished I'd seen this before as it's really great stuff! Particularly Dietrich Leonhart, the Outer Guardian of the Librarium (sounds so cool). I'll admit I also drew upon the short story Within These Walls by CZ Dunn for the overall character of the chapter a well. One of intelligent scholars, with great focus and strength of mind. The end scenes really do highlight the whole 'daemons can't see them' angle. I think I drew upon that for their tactics rather than the hyper-aggression aspect which I blended into a stratagem. I idea that the Librarians of the Chapter undergo a lesser degree of daemonic therapy sessions might explain some of the observations made by novels protagonist.

 

Anyway, thanks so much for your help on B&C and I'm really looking forward to your own 9th edition update!  

 

 

Many thanks Brother Tyler. I didn't know about your 4th edition fandex supplement. Managed to find it on google. I really liked it and your details on development in the side notes are pretty cool. I should develop a similar such box for my development ideas and origin of materials for my v2 Supplements. I like your characters as well !

The versions I've found out in the wilds of the Internet have been older versions, prior to the revision I made after the Forge World Badab War books. Once the Badab War books came out, I removed the Chapter Master I'd created and replaced him with Silas Alberec, pointing players to the Badab War books for his rules. If you didn't see that revision, you can find it here.

I'm actually in the process of updating those rules again for 9th edition (along with the Fire Claws/Relictors) - you beat me to the punch. In fact, after my brief skimming of your rules, I'm not going to read them further until after I've completed my own update so that I don't poach anything you've done.

 

[MECHFACE]

In case anyone has not connected to it Brother Tyler has released his draft of the 9e Exorcists Index Astartes, and it certainly looks more professional than my attempt. Go check it out as well before the likely Exorcists Index Astartes article in White Dwarf 462 <waits with baited breath>.

 

Codex Supplement: Exorcists (9e) (homegrown) by Brother Tyler

Edited February 16, 2021 by MECHFACE

[Brother Tyler]

I'm working on turning it into a template that people can download and use for their own efforts (as I've done for other article formats). It will be added to this Downloads file when it's done.

 

I'm reviewing your fandexes now. Do you want pedantic grammar stuff, or just rules feedback? I'm probably not going to comment on the lore you've created since the upcoming article makes both of our efforts moot.

[MECHFACE]

I'm working on turning it into a template that people can download and use for their own efforts (as I've done for other article formats). It will be added to this Downloads file when it's done.

 

I'm reviewing your fandexes now. Do you want pedantic grammar stuff, or just rules feedback? I'm probably not going to comment on the lore you've created since the upcoming article makes both of our efforts moot.

 

I know there are plenty of grammatical errors all over so don't worry about those (I've already changed many since re-reading). I was too excited to get it out there! However, any rules and lore feedback would be awesome!

[Brother Tyler]

When it comes to DIY rules, I come from the more conservative camp, preferring a few special rules to spice things up, but focusing on theme and personality to really set organizations apart from their counterparts. My stance on the Adeptus Astartes is that each Chapter should be a variation on a theme. There are a few that should be vastly different, but I think that most should largely follow the basic pattern. The shortcoming in this type of thinking (okay, maybe

[MECHFACE]

Thank you sooo much Brother Tyler. I really appreciate all your comments and suggestions. I agree with many as the culling of complexity (especially red hunters) really helps focus down on essentials. I also really like the IA template resources you've uploaded as well. I'll fold in your thoughts into my V2 supplements.

[MECHFACE]

One point on the special issue wargear. In all the supplements for the chapters in 8th (updated to 9e in the faq downloads) each chapter has a list of relics (specific to the progenitor chapter) and then a list of special issue wargear which is available to all chapters of that progenitors lineage. For all chapters their special issue wargear lists contain certain specific items linked to that chapter lineage (i.e. headhunters trophies for white scars or and their successors, or fist if terra for Imperial fists and their successors). However, always common to all lists are the items Adamantine Mantle, Artificer Armour, Master crafted Weapon, and Digital weapon. Therefore I repeated them for completeness and so that they could access those items even though they are not in the main space marine codex. So I'll think of another to reference them and list the other items in another fashion.

 

Again many thanks for the very constructive review!

[Brother Tyler]

Then I rescind my comments about the special-issue wargear. 

 

Also, I'm going to need to add a section for special-issue wargear to my templates. I plan on buying the Dark Angels codex supplement today, so that might provide me with more additions for the templates.

[Brother Sidonius]

I love the effort you've put into your fandex MECHFACE! Looks way cooler than anything I've written and has way more rules and lore too. Can't wait to see version 2 :) 

[MECHFACE]

File Name: Index Astartes - Supplementum Exorcists

File Submitter: MECHFACE

File Submitted: 28 Feb 2021

File Category: Warhammer 40,000

 

Many thanks to the many helpful feedback and comments on the version 1 files I posted earlier this month. Linked below are the the Version 2 files of my fan-made Exorcists Chapter Index Astartes Supplement. I'd particularly like to thank al those who've shown their great support, especially those who play-tested the rules and of course to Brother Tyler, the true Chapter Master of the Exorcists. I guess we wait with baited breath for the upcoming White Dwarf Index: Exorcists release to see what Games-Workshop come up with as being official content for this awesome chapter.

 

Click here to download this file

 

Please share any feedback or comments you have, each edit really helps with brining the Chapter alive - and I realise that the small caps edits I've done haven't displayed on the PDFs so sorry about that! 

 

I'm going to start working on my 9e Inquisition Fandex and Supplementum Red Hunters next so thoughts on those would be appreciated as well.  

Edited February 28, 2021 by MECHFACE

[Brother Lunkhead]

Very fine work I'm looking forward to reading it in detail.

[MECHFACE]

Thank you Brother Lunkhead! All thoughts and feedback are most welcome and appreciated.

 

Very fine work I'm looking forward to reading it in detail.

[MECHFACE]

SUPPLEMENTUM EXORCISTS
DESIGNERS NOTES

The Exorcists Chapter, like many of those Astartes Chapters which have close ties to the Imperial Inquisition, are a fascinating focus for the imagination of WH40K players. My interest in developing an Index Astartes began after reading the short story ‘Within These Walls’ by C.Z. Dunn. A marvellous look into the character of the mysterious Exorcists and a highly recommended read. Due to the mystery over the Chapter founding and the highly unorthodox daemonic possession therapy they undertake, I wanted to further explore these darker themes with this Fanmade Supplementum to the current 9th Edition of the Codex: Space Marines.

 

Unlike the Grey Knights, who may or may not be the parent to the Exorcists Chapter, the Astartes of the Basilica Malefex are the reverse side of the coin. The Grey Knights are the shining heroes of the Imperium who were created at a time of strife to utilize their combined psychic might and greater purity in the face of the darkness of Chaos. On the reverse we have the Exorcists who have sacrificed a part of their souls’ purity through the deliberate tainting of their bodies by daemonic possession, thus becoming inexplicitly closer to the foul spawn of the warp they hunt. I thought this was a great start on which to build upon, drawing a lot from what has already been excellently produced by Games-Workshop in its excellent War for Armageddon and Badab War Campaign Supplements.

 

I was further inspired by the great work of Brother Tyler, a long-time Veteran of the Bolter & Chainsword Community, whose work throughout all the various editions of WH40K has attempted to consolidate and keep the flavour of the Exorcists Chapter alive in his numerous Exorcists Index Astartes articles. I very much thank him for his help on managing the forum posts on the Exorcists on B&C. In particular his very constructive comments on the past draft version of my Exorcists and Red Hunters Fandex Supplements, as well as his amazing templates to help other produce much more professionally looking documents. I’d also like to thank all the other comments, feedback, and advice received from the overall Warhammer Community, especially those who’ve quickly play-tested some of the initial rules which led to the much more usable fan-made rules presented here. It appears that Games-Workshop will update the lore and rules for the Exorcists Chapter in the coming month in the 462 White Dwarf Index: Exorcists, which I’m very excited about, so I wanted to complete this Fandex Supplementum on the eve of their arrival so that I can move onto the other Fandexes and Supplements I want to work on.            

 

A key part of why I’ve enjoyed making this Supplementum was partly to work upon the lore surrounding the Chapters homeworld of Banish. I imagined this quarantined world to be a scarred place, once majestic in its promise, now twisted by dark energies into a barren world of survivors holding on in the face of nightmares made flesh. I saw a world and the peoples it contains as though they were wanderers in a dream, drawing upon the myths and legends from the Bronze and Iron Ages of Northwest Europe colliding with the cultures of the Indus Valley Civilization and the first nation peoples of Australia. A hard world with hardy nomadic people clinging to complex system of meaning to interpret the dream or nightmare like quality of Banish’s warp-scarred environment. There is also a little sprinkling of the occult, Victorian mysticism, and of course the undercurrent of Lovecraftian Cthuloid horror.

 

Finally, I was inspired by the artistic works of the dark surrealists when looking for a way to express the mood of the Exorcists Chapter and the world of Banish. In this work I decided to highlight the works of the excellent Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, a true master of the dark surrealists whose mind very much rests forever in the tides and currents of the unknowable great ocean of the immaterial. If you’ve never heard of him, I highly recommend that you go look for his amazing body of work.

Edited February 28, 2021 by MECHFACE

[MECHFACE]

So there we have it - Imperial Fists!!!

 

Lore wise I'm actually not totally disappointed. I think with further examination of references from Brother Tyler I was leaning away from the thought of the Exorcists as being a straight Grey Knight Gene-Successor but more that the GK's were more of a mentor in the Chapters Founding. So in fact actually fluff wise I think the Exorcists Chapter can really work with this!

 

However, crunch-wise, I think the Chapter Tactic of Stalwart + Warded is rubbish. It's like they a mash-up of Blood Ravens and Black Templars, with the worst bits to mash together. If they are going down the route of 'Heretical Templars' then it would make way more sense to have either one of the defensive ones and then and the Prefered Enemy (CHAOS DAEMONS) or the half of the IF chapter tactic for 'Each time a model with this tactic makes attack with a bolt weapon, an unmodified hit roll of 6 scores 1 additional hit'.

 

But I reserve judgment until I see the rest of the article. However, if they get rid of the 'ritual possession therapy' of the Ordo Malleus links for Banish then that's too far a retcon for my tastes!