How would you want Legion of the Damned to return?

[Tiger9gamer]

Alright, been thinking about this a little bit recently, so I think it would be fun to mention. How would you guys like the Legion of the Damned to return to 40k? I don't believe you can get the models anymore, and they all but faded into the background when once they were probably one of the biggest mysteries of 40k.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeming them as the imperium demons faction. Basically ghosts from the imperium where the loyal followers have been taken after death into an afterlife run by big E. Have them be more than just space marines, maybe some imperial guard thralls and such... and maybe bring back a dead primarch to lead them to have a big model.

 

Of course my ideas could be crap but hey, it's not like it's going to happen anyways, right?

 

how would you guys want them to return?

[Noserenda]

I think we might see them pop up as part of the ongoing Psychic awakening stuff as essentially Imperial Daemons, id still rather not explicitly explore how and why they work tbh, one of the few things in 40k that actually work best as mysterious.

Kit wise id like a box of 5/10at primaris scale with elements of old marines/armour, they are kinda projections of how marines are seen so should be a bit of a mix but primarily sized to the current range and majority of marines in the galaxy at large. Give plenty of bits though so you could theme the unit one way or the other. Rules wise i would personally give them all something like "Hellforged bolters" that are the same regardless or what is exactly modelled and make them a bit threatening to everything ala the fluff rather than a fancy tactical squad. 

Let a vanguard detachment run with any Imperium army without breaking bloat stuff, maybe include rules (And spare bits) for a LoTD Captain/Leader and dreadnoughts? Though an updated Centarius/Generic Leader mini would be pretty damn cool too.

[BloodyB]

I think keeping them as Space Marines is more my thing... Bringing back just anyone as a mighty spirit warrior feels to AoS to me.

 

I am currently working on a small conversion idea right now, planning to buy some Reivers and some skeleton warriors and seeing what happens. I hope to see them return to tabletop, until then I am running them as BT.

 

I want to see them return as a small subfaction for SM of all stripes, with LotD characters like Captains and Lieutenants, but skipping Chappies and Libbies, I don't think they need them too much. Maybe a couple of different squads for assault and shooting, but I kind of want to see some wings rather tHan jump packs, just to play on the already dead bit. Maybe GW can bring back a certain Primarch that was hinted to lead these fellows? That would be cool.

 

Just my thoughts...

[WrathOfTheLion]

I think it'd be cool to bring them back into the SM codex (or somewhere else) and not break detachment rules, kind of like Harlequins. I'd like to see more of those mini factions get that treatment.

 

I'd prefer they ended up in a more permanent book than say a campaign book or WD.

Edited February 15, 2022 by WrathOfTheLion

[Tokugawa]

Go to 30k or some future 30k sub brand is the best results you can expect. Edited February 15, 2022 by Tokugawa

[Brother Tyler]

I'd like to see them pretty much as they were - spectral Adeptus Astartes that are really hard to kill, appearing without warning and disappearing suddenly. I just want them updated in terms of both models and stats to use the Primaris baseline.

As for how I'd like them to return, I want them to be separate from any codex. The Legion of the Damned are known for appearing alongside, but not part of, other forces of the IMPERIUM, so I want the rules mechanics to allow for that. Eventually, I'd like to see the Legion of the Damned incorporated into some codex of Imperial Agents, similar to that for 7th edition.

I won't bother going into details on who else I'd like to see in that book (but there are a lot of them). Unlike the previous version (shown above), I just want this book to cover other forces that aren't in other codices (e.g., no Talons of the Emperor, Imperial Knights, Grey Knights, etc.). If GW were to decide to include [some] units from other codices, I would want the Imperial Agents codex to just point to a unit or units from relevant codices that players could use, without giving rules and stat lines (the purpose here is to ensure consistency of information/version control). For example, if the Grey Knights were included in this codex, the entry would simply point to, say, a Grey Knights Terminator squad or a Grey Knights Strike squad, telling players to refer to their entries in Codex: Grey Knights. It might be okay to include special rules that are specific to this codex (e.g., how such allied units work with the main army).

Getting back to the Legion of the Damned, I want them to return to their 1st/2nd edition roots - just power armoured Legion of the Damned squads with the option to include Sergeant Centurius (and give him a new mini!). No transports, dreadnoughts, terminators, officers, etc. (different incarnations of the rules, mostly from 3rd edition, included such additions).

I hope that GW leaves the mystery alone, allowing people to believe what they want.

[Felix Antipodes]

Definitely leave the mystery alone.  Maybe add a couple more possible origin variants ala Alpha Legion to confuse the issue even more.

 

Updated models in Primaris scale but a mish-mash of armour marks on each model.  Squad size only led by an updated SGT Centurius so can be used for W40K or Kill Team.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Definitely leave the mystery alone. Maybe add a couple more possible origin variants ala Alpha Legion to confuse the issue even more.

 

Updated models in Primaris scale but a mish-mash of armour marks on each model. Squad size only led by an updated SGT Centurius so can be used for W40K or Kill Team.

The Legion of the Damned ecodex from I want to say 7th Edition (though the apocalypse formation rather than a decurion makes me think 6th) has at least five separate theories origin of the legion, counting the Fire Hawks lost chapter theory. So long as GW doesn’t confirm one way or another, I think there’s plenty of mystery to be had. It helps that the codex is written from the Imperial perspective, and not internal to the faction.

[NovemberIX]

I think giving them a mini-codex again could be a fun exploration of certain tactical extremes, but I'd hope they'd also just be a single squad you can add to your SM/Imperial force that basically pops in to be very heavy hitting resilient somewhat flamey guys.

 

While my preference for most models is modularity the LotD  deserve to be sculpted in their usual aggressive poses. Up scale 'em sure, but keep them skeletal and Mk.3-6 maybe 7 armor only, primaris'ing them takes away more than it adds. If they went mini-faction sized, spooky devs, jump packs, and Cap, Chap, and Lib feels like the natural expansion, but I'd prefer no vehicles, support, transport, or otherwise.

[Slave to Darkness]

 

Getting back to the Legion of the Damned, I want them to return to their 1st/2nd edition roots - just power armoured Legion of the Damned squads with the option to include Sergeant Centurius (and give him a new mini!). No transports, dreadnoughts, terminators, officers, etc. (different incarnations of the rules, mostly from 3rd edition, included such additions).

 

 

 They did print a full 2nd ed army list in WD that included Characters, Tact, Dev, Assault squads, Rhinos and Dreadnoughts etc (and became my main army until Chaos got their dex) that was after the LotD unit entry in Codex Ultramarines. 1st ed LotD were weird, you chose a single squad alongside your main army, I think is was minimum 5 marines with no cap on how many you can take (if memory serves me correct), and you can mix basic and heavy weapons if certain criteria are met (something like 1 heavy per X amount of basic marines taken) cant remember the issues off the top of my head but I do have it on my laptop somewhere if anyones interested in having a looksie at them. 

[redmapa]

I always really liked that the highest rank the legion had was the Sergeant character and if they do return I hope that sticks because its a small way to show how desperate the legion is and puts some question on the nature of the legion, are they undead? are they a dying chapter? what exactly are they? The mystery of these guys is something that, in my opinion, was a good step when they added a bunch of theories about the legion in their 6th/7th supplement. 

 

As for rules I think they should be similar to Scions in the Guard codex, a limited force thats able to be part of another Chapter (To show their nature as they suddenly pop up to help other marines/Imperium) and the possibility to be its own force even if they dont have many units. 

[Captain Idaho]

I'm up for Codex Imperial Agents or a Codex Legion of the Damned style Emperor's Daemons. They can even have a spectral, metal fisted being who leads them..