Thoughts inspired by KT: Salvation

[ThePenitentOne]

I picked up Kill Team Salvation, knowing I was going to want ten Scorpions, and they'll be released in boxes of 5 for 40k so getting the whole box for just $10 more was a deal I couldn't turn down.

 

I'm glad I did, because the Narrative rules for the factions always really inspire me and help me see the army in different ways. And for the Aspects, this is over the top, because the idea of a mixed Aspect team is super cool.  A KT is 8 models including 1 Exarch, chosen from Avengers, Banshees and Scorpions.  A roster is 20 models tops, and that's exactly what I have.

 

There's a really cool "Base of Operations" system- you can use your Requisition points to buy upgrades to the base of operations to make it easier to support your team in the field. These are meant to be "Offstage" items, but the cool thing is, they don't have to be; wave serpents is one of the typical bases. The Vampire Raider is another (the book says Hunter, but my research suggest that the Raider is the Transport variant. The bespoke upgrades include a Ranger, who would fit in the wave serpent with the KT, or the Vampire with the entire roster. There's also a meditation chamber which helps with healing and XP gain, and Aspect Statuary... which needs a bit of explanation.

 

The same Background section that has the suggestions for the base of operations also has Unit Quirks, Backgrounds and a Name Generator. So the quirk I like is Competitive, which means the Aspects that make up the roster are always trying to outshine each other.

 

There is a requisition that allows team members to either be promoted to Exarch or change paths... So there's this cool internal narrative- you start with 7 and an Exarch, and you grow your roster with Requisition points. There's already a power dynamic when the team starts- you have to have uneven numbers between the Aspects if you intend to field a force of all 3, and only one gets to have an exarch. But as the experience starts to differentiate, and new team members are added, the dynamic can shift over the lifetime of  the Team.

 

Which takes us back to Aspect Statuary. You can only have statues to one shrine at a time- which means the statuary is part of that internal drama too.

 

I think the story that I'm running with is that a Farseer back home on the craftworld has a vision about a Corsair who is about to steal an experimental voidcraft from Asdrubael Vect. If you're familiar with Blackstone Fortress, you'll know these as Veth Rayden and the Eye of Vect. The Farseer wants to investigate this vision, and he believes that the Striking Scorpions of a small shrine located somewhere in the Pacificus Sector. He decides to send a small Aspect Force- one unit of  Banshees and another of Dire Avengers- through the webway in a Wave Serpent. 

 

I'm going to build me KT as a 4/4 Banshee/ Avenger Split, with Banshees having the Exarch. This is because I own Jain Zar but not Asurmen. The Banshees need to distinguish themselves in order to attract Jain Zar to the 40k game. Since the story says two 40k units, but the KT restrict me to 8, I'll just say that the Avenger Exarch and a Banshee bodyguard had to pursue a different lead- they're on the planet, but they only reunite with the KT once I can buy new team members with RP. After that, we begin finding individual scorpions- tying those to mission objectives, or paying for them with RP or some combination of both.

 

There is an entire Scorpion Shrine on the planet- albeit a small one. It would still have some of its own resources- things outside the scope of KT that will instead benefit the Crusade Army whose story will merge with the KT.

 

That Ranger ship upgrade will also tie in nicely with my story- there are 10 Anrathe on the planet as well. Buying the ship upgrade will unlock a special "first contact" side-quest that can be inserted into any regular mission.  That will lead to the addition of the Anrathe to the Crusade roster. I think when all the elements come together, it's going to be some spicy table-top fiction.

 

So Eldar are my Kill Team for the a local League that starts July 28. Getting regular play should be a painting incentive.

[Dread]

Good catch on the models. I have the set just for the scorpions,  my buddy got the scouts. We're getting back into KT after a year or so of not playing tomorrow night. It'll be a rules refresher for sure. Being able to take scorpions and banshees in a team has me interested. Major bonus is the great sculpts I've waited forever for.