Space Hulk, but for 40mm Terminator bases

[Brother Tyler]

Wall of text glassy-eyed prevention: This is about the possibility of Space Hulk using larger tiles (squares) to accommodate the bases of the current range of Terminator models. If that interests you, read on.  Also, I get a bit wish-listy at the bottom. I've also hidden that in spoilers for those who want to focus solely on the discussion about larger squares.

 

If you've been on the site for any length of time, you know that I can get a bit long-winded. I've hidden portions of pontification and background.

Spoiler

Some of you may already know that I'm a fan of the Space Hulk game. You can see this in my discussion about the future of Space Hulk (that topic is from 2019 and it's a bit outdated now, so this current topic is a sort of update to it ) as well as my perpetually ongoing Indomitus Project. My more recent effort has been to revisit adapting Space Hulk into the current version of Kill Team, as seen here. However, I saw something on Kickstarter yesterday that got me thinking about the future of Space Hulk (again).

 

To summarize the discussion about Space Hulk that I linked above, my concern at the time was the possible obsolescence of Terminator armour, possibly to be replaced by Gravis armour. With the recent updates to Terminator armour, however, it appears that my concerns were misplaced. This means that GW can republish the Space Hulk game in the future without having to replace the TDA-wearing protagonists of the first four editions of the game.

 

In addition, I saw an advertisement for some magnetic hexagonal map tiles (linky). These are labeled as being for D&D and other tabletop RPGs, but I immediately thought about my Wrath of Angels project, which was an adaptation of Space Hulk featuring power armoured Space Marines versus Orks within an Ork rok during the Third War for Armageddon. The idea there was to use hexagonal tiles, much like the Kickstarter campaign that I linked. My mind then went to the possibility of Space Hulk map tiles being similarly magnetic, and then I thought about the ability for hobbyists to use their WH40K Terminators on proper 40mm bases.

 

For those of you who don't know, the Space Hulk tiles are sized for the 25mm bases of the original Terminator models. Over the years, the bases of Terminator models have grown to 40mm. This makes positioning the Terminators a bit challenging as models on adjacent spaces can push into each other. The Terminator models in the most recent two editions of the game were also much larger and more dynamic than their predecessors, and they didn't have full bases. For example, here's Brother Deino, a "basic" Terminator equipped with a power fist and storm bolter:

 

 

And that's a bit weedy compared to the new Terminators. If you would like to see what the original Terminators looked like on their 25mm bases, check out this Warhammer Community post from 2023.

 

When the Terminator models in the last two editions of the game (the same models in both editions) were positioned adjacent to each other, which was typical during initial setup, things could get a bit complicated, especially with the fixed positioning of their arms and weapons, which often extended beyond the legs/bases. Many players, too, put those Space Hulk Terminators on round bases. This made them a bit more stable and allowed them to be used in games of Warhammer 40,000.

 

So after seeing those magnetic tiles, I considered the possibility of similar tiles for Space Hulk, but up-sized to either 40mm or 50mm squares instead of the current 25mm squares. And then my thoughts moved from magnetic tiles to simply up-sized tiles, whether using thick card as in the game box or some other material (players have used plaster of Paris, 3D printing, printed paper, etc. for their personal efforts). That is a considerable increase in size, and while it would make it much easier to keep the Terminators from falling over and/or pushing into each other, it would increase the cost of the game and likely the size of the box.

 

Another possible effect would be on the Genestealers. The hypothesized 40mm/50mm tiles would still limit the Terminators to one model per square, but with larger squares, it would be possible to fit multiple Genestealers on the same square. It would be easy to preserve the one model per square limit on the Genestealers, but it would also be possible to modify the rules to allow two Genestealer models on the same square. This would have an impact on both the rules (which wouldn't need to be changed on account of the Terminators) and tactics (which could be significant).

 

At this point, I'm not suggesting that Games Workshop will do this. This is more of an academic discussion for homegrown application. I considered putting this in the Homegrown Rules forum, but there's a bit of wish listy thought going on, too. So the focus at this point is discussing how the rules/tactics might change if two Genestealer models were allowed on the same (larger) square.

 

A given (in my mind) is that nothing would change for the Terminators. All current (3rd/4th edition) rules would remain in effect without modification. The only impact on them would be the physicality of the models - much less interference between adjacent models.

 

With the possibility of two Genestealers on the same square, however, there are some potential consequences. I could see the following:

• A blip and the Broodlord both count as a "Genestealer model" below.
• Genestealer models can move into/through a square if there is only one other Genestealer model on that square. At the end of any Genestealer model's movement, there may be no more than two Genestealer models on a square.
• When blips are turned over and Genestealer models are placed, the first Genestealer model must be placed on the square in which the blip was located. If the revealed blip shows 2 or more Genestealers and there is only one Genestealer model on the square, the second Genestealer must also be placed on that square. Additional Genestealer models must be placed on adjacent squares per the current rules.

Those are the main rules effects that I've come up with. Can you think of anything else?

 

The tactical considerations become more interesting. More worrisome, things become much more dangerous for the Terminators. Under the current rules, no model may move through another model. If Genestealers are allowed to move through spaces occupied by other Genestealers, however, things get rough, especially since, under the current rules, Terminators on Overwatch can only shoot at the Genestealer that triggered the Overwatch (e.g., it moved) and the Genestealer in front (i.e., the one nearest the Terminator) would effectively block the overwatch Terminator's LOS to the moving Genestealer. This would effectively allow a Genestealer to screen the movement of other Genstealers, possibly enabling those other Genestealers to reach the Terminator and perform their own close assault action with the Terminator only able to perform an overwatch shooting action on the turn(s) the acting Genestealer moves into/through the front Genestealer (and subsequent moves in the front Genestealer wasn't adjacent to the overwatch Terminator). Anyone who has played Space Hulk knows that overwatch is one of the invaluable tactics available to the Terminators. And given the default difficulty of the game, any degradation of overwatch can make things even more difficult (and less fun) for the Space Marine player.  Canny placement and movement of Genestealers, on the other hand, is a key component of the Genestealer tactics. In this, being able to have a Genestealer block the Terminator's LOS to other Genestealers is a great screening technique, allowing the Genestealer player to move hordes of gribblies closer to the Terminators. Any attempt to adjust rules to offset balance for one must consider the other, trying to achieve a change that preserves the current balance of power. Or perhaps no change is needed...?

 

So what could be done?

 

My initial idea is that the overwatch shooting attack of a Terminator might target both Genestealers on the turn(s) that the acting Genestealer moves into and from the same space as another Genestealer model. If the Terminator's shooting attack rolls result in only one success, the acting Genestealer would be shot, with the other Genestealer only being shot if two successes are rolled (with doubles having the normal jam result). In practice, this will enable the Genestealer player to move Genestealers without them getting shot up when they move per the current rules, but it will give the Space Marine player chances to shoot the Genestealers when they take advantage of the multiple Genestealer models per square rule.

 

Consider the situation shown in the diagram at left. The Terminator is in the square marked with the red crux and is facing down the corridor towards the Genestealer models (the circles with crosshair reticles) while on overwatch.  Genestealer 1 (G₁) is in the square marked with the green circle with crosshair reticles while Genestealer 2 (G₂) is in the square marked with the purple crosshair reticles. In this situation, G₁ has somehow moved into that position without getting shot and now the Genestealer player is activating G₂.

 

Under the current rules, with Genestealers unable to move into/through squares occupied by other models, G₂ would be able to move up to the space marked "B" without any problem because G₁ is blocking LOS for the Terminator.

 

Under my hypothesized rule, if G₁ is the only Genestealer model in that square, G₂ could move into that square, and could continue moving forward into the space marked "C." In addition, the Terminator would be able to make overwatch shooting attacks against both G₁ and G₂ when G₂ moves into the square with G₁ as well as if (when) G₂ moves into the square marked "C." If the Terminator fails to kill the Genestealer with his overwatch shooting attacks, the Genestealer would be able to use its remaining action points to perform close assault actions.

 

If the Terminator were in the space marked "C," things would be much worse for him as he would have only one overwatch shooting action against G₂ before the Genestealer performs its close assault actions.

 

In both cases, while there is a clear benefit for the Genestealer player, the chance that the Space Marine player has the potential to destroy both Genestealers might even the odds a bit.

 

Now for some wish-listy stuff that isn't quite related to this hypothesized up-sizing of the tiles. I'll hide this stuff in spoilers so that those players who aren't interested in wish-listing can just skip it.

Spoiler

The core of wish-listing is that Games Workshop might one day re-release Space Hulk. At the most basic level, this might simply be the 2014 version ("4th edition") all over again, without any changes. A slight variation on this might be to incorporate the mission packs in a more accessible format. My ideal there is that each would be published as a small expansion featuring the mission book and bespoke Terminator models suitable to the Chapter (Dark Angels for Bringer of Sorrow, Ultramarines for Duty and Honour, and Space Wolves for Return to Kalidus). While each of those campaigns used different map tiles in their original 1st/2nd edition iterations, Games Workshop modified the maps to use the map tiles found in the 3rd/4th edition Space Hulk box. Many fans of these Chapters would purchase these expansions for the models alone, even if they don't play Space Hulk.

 

A bit more wish-listy: I wouldn't mind GW reverting the 4th edition mission pack maps to the original maps if they included the tiles in the expansion boxes.

 

Even more wish-listy: Similarly, I'd love to see some mini-campaigns featuring other Chapters, too (see the link to my Indomitus Project for more on that). Each of these might feature 3 or so unique missions/maps, incorporating those into restructured missions from the core box. Any unique tiles would be included in those expansions, though they wouldn't necessarily be able to mix and match (i.e., each mini-campaign's maps would use only the tiles found in that mini-campaign's expansion and the tiles found in the core box). Each expansion would also include the appropriate Terminator models. I'd love to see bespoke black Black Templars Sword Brethren Terminators in a campaign, yellow Imperial Fists Terminators in another campaign, green Salamanders Terminators in yet another campaign, etc. Where Blood Angels players love the Space Hulk Terminators in their Warhammer 40,000 armies, fans of other Chapters would similarly love bespoke characterful Terminators for their favorite Chapters, too.

 

And the pipe dream: I'd love to see GW provide continued support for Space Hulk by separating things a bit. The tiles would be great either as printed card (the current version) or plastic/resin. GW could then use these for Boarding Actions and Kill Team as an augmentation to the Gallowdark terrain. And if there is any place where GW can dip their toes into 3D printing and selling .stl files, it's in Space Hulk tiles. They could then sell the rules, missions, and accessories (timer, blips, command point markers, mission status board, etc.) as a package. Players could then purchase the Genestealer and Terminator models that they need based on the requirements of the campaign. GW might still sell the whole shebang as a full/deluxe package, but selling in three distinct groups (terrain, rules and accessories, Terminator/Genestealer models) opens things up for players. I don't see GW ever doing this (FOMO is a core element of their sales/marketing strategy, after all), but I can dream.