An Idea... Night Lords: The Sahaalist Legion

[Mutt]

After re-reading the 40k novel, Lord of the Night, I just had a wicked idea. A splinter group of Night Lords, lead by Zho Sahaal, who inherited a powerful artifact known as the Corona Nox from Konrad Curze before he was killed by M'Shen. In the years that Sahaal slept (he went into stasis when his ship crashed), the Night Lords, under the command of his rival Acerbus (who is now a Daemon Prince), became tainted by Chaos, when before, they used Chaos like a tool without letting it corrupt them originally when Konrad was in charge.

 

Anyways, my idea was that when Sahaal saw how tainted his former brothers were, he decided to revive the original way of the Night Lord; sow fear and confusion in your enemies. Use the Ruinous Powers to your advantage, but do not be of them. And, in this manner, after finally re-attaining the Corona Nox, fight against both the Imperium and Chaos (particularily his fallen brothers).

 

Aesthetically-wise, I was thinking of using mostly regular marine armor, but use GS to sculpt bat-wings over the eagle wings that are normally on a Marine chestplate, but also use a couple Chaos bits here and there. I was also thinking of making helmets in the shape of snarling bat heads (human heads underneath, of course. This isn't like my furry Space Wolves). And for the Raptors, I was thinking of using the old-school bat-wing jump packs that can still be bought on GW's website.

 

Rules, wise, I'm kinda stumped. I want to this to be like a mix of a standard SM army, but at the same time, use some of the rules for the Night Lords and I'm having trouble finding a happy medium here without A) having totally unbalanced cheese power or 2) having my army to be too weak. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

I do know, though I want Sahaal to be the army's main HQ with special rules concerning the Corona Nox (can't find any stats on him or said artifact, so I guess I'll have to come up with them). And I was thinking of making his psycher companion, Mita Ashyn, the army's Librarian (Yeah yeah. Female marines = blasphemy, but this isn't your standard SM army).

 

So whatcha guys think?

[-][-Danek-][-]

Sounds like you've joined the "Puritan" camp of Night Lords players.

 

The aesthetics sound appealing.I'd keep the standard rules found in C:CSM though.Just don't use deamons,MoCU,mutations or anything overtly "tainted".

[Mutt]

[-Danek-][-' date=Apr 8 2006, 01:29 AM' post='978180]

Sounds like you've joined the "Puritan" camp of Night Lords players.

 

The aesthetics sound appealing.I'd keep the standard rules found in C:CSM though.Just don't use deamons,MoCU,mutations or anything overtly "tainted".

 

That's just it, though. The tainted stuff in the CSM 'dex is all the good stuff. ;_;

 

BTW, I'm not the first to have this idea?

[Librarian- Melechor]

Count the woman as a sorceror then, I'd guess. :blink:

[Mutt]

Count the woman as a sorceror then, I'd guess. :blink:

 

Oh yeah. Forgot that in Chaos terms, a libby is a sorceror. But yeah, I'm gonna give her power armor and a bionic arm, so I'm gonna rile up a lotta rules lawyers when I put her on the table.

[Mutt]

And I just had a thought... Sahaal's relic, the Corona Nox... the power it should give him is focus. Maybe help him pass leadership tests. Any ideas on that?

[Bramble]

And I just had a thought... Sahaal's relic, the Corona Nox... the power it should give him is focus. Maybe help him pass leadership tests. Any ideas on that?

Perhaps use its as an invunerable save (counts as Iron Halo) and a leadership bonus for neraby trrops ( not sure what other stuff does this) Just pay the points for two normal bits of wargera and have these as the powers of the Corona Nox.

[Brother Gothard]

I like the idea of using the new SM Codex for this army. Except that if they're fighting "against chaos and the imperium" then they surely don't benefit from And They Shall Know No Fear, do they?

 

Hmm .. either way, I like the idea of using the traits system to make "loyalist" traitor lists. The "leadership bonus" and the special effects of the Coronis Nox can easiler be represented using the Captain leadership buff and wargear.

 

You can use traits to have an all assault army, or an all infiltrate army, or what have you. The only thing you need to do to stamp them as evil is paint them that way ^_^

[Mutt]

Mnnn. There is one conundrum. He also has specially made talons, given to him by Konrad himself, as well as a mastercrafted bolter known as the Mordax Tenebrae. I certainly doubt he can have two close combat weapons AND said bolter.

[Commissar Molotov]

Throughout history Kings and knights have had multiple sets of weapons. They don't have to use them all at once. Or perhaps you could model him with his Claws, and with the Bolter slung away?

[Brother Gothard]

Throughout history Kings and knights have had multiple sets of weapons

Amen, Commissar. Heck, you try weilding a lance, kite shield, dagger, mace, 1 1/2 hand sword and a buckler all at once. I dare you.

[Commissar Molotov]

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[*Translation: Easy, but you try typing with it all... :) ]

 

 

 

 

Edit:

 

Something I forgot to mention:

 

Oh yeah. Forgot that in Chaos terms, a libby is a sorceror. But yeah, I'm gonna give her power armor and a bionic arm, so I'm gonna rile up a lotta rules lawyers when I put her on the table.

 

Explain it away. 3+ Save? Oh, that's... 'magical protection'. Power Fist? 'Magical Strength'. :P

[Khargoth]

Zho Sahaal: 185pts, WS 6, BS 5, S 4, T 4, W 3, I 6, A 4(5), Ld 10, Sv 3+/5+

Wargear: The Raptor's Talons, The Corona Nox, Jump Pack, Piercing Scream, Mordax Tenebrae.

Independant Character:

Zho Sahaal is an independant character, and follows all relevant rules for this.

The Raptor's Talons:

The Raptor's Talons are Sahaal's personal pair of Lightning Claws, dating back to the Great Crusade. So finely crafted are these weapons that they are literally extensions of Sahaal's own fingers. They are a pair of Master-Crafted Lightning Claws (+1 Attack included in profile), but so experienced and dextrous is Sahaal with these weapons, they re-roll any failed To Hit rolls, instead of just one. Note that as per normal, any dice can only be rerolled once.

The Corona Nox:

This potent artefact was the crown of the Night Haunter himself. Such is it's power, it can calm any extreme or unwanted emotion, and focus the wearer to incredible levels. Zho Sahaal will pass ANY Leadership test he is required to take, even if failure is automatic, and will never suffer Leadership modifiers. For the purposes of comparing scores of leadership tests, Sahaaal counts as passing with a 4. Sahaal also gains the 'Feel No Pain' ability (see the Book of Khorne for details).

Jump Pack:

Zho Sahaal has a Jump Pack, and moves as if equipped with one.

Piercing Scream:

The Vox-casters in Sahaal's armour can amplify his screams to volumes loud enough to rupture brain cells, and cause severe neural trauma. All models engaged in close combat with Zho Sahaal and any unit he has joined suffer a -2 modifier to their Initiative, to a minimum of 1.

Mordax Tenebrae:

The Mordax Tenebrae is Sahaal's bolter, he has trained with it for so many millenia that he is capable of firing it while wearing the Raptor's Talons. Zho Sahaal counts as being equipped with a Bolter for shooting purposes. However, if he fires with it in the Shooting Phase, he will not gain the +1 Attack for wearing twin Lightning Claws. If he Rapid Fires his bolter, he may not assault, as per normal for Rapid Fire weapons.

Lord of the Spiders:

Zho Sahaal has the uncanny ability to climb walls and ceilings like a spider, with the aid of the Raptor's Talons and his jump pack. When defending cover, Sahaal always strikes first in combat, regardless of any kind of grenade being used (this includes units that 'count as' being armed with grenades), as he is able to pounce from the most unexpected places, catching his attackers off-guard. Any unit he may have joined are effected by grenades as normal. If Zho Sahaal engages another model with a similar ability, resolve attacks simultaneously.

 

Any Night Lords force led by Zho Sahaal must follow the following rules and restrictions, in addition to the normal Night Lord rules and restrictions featured in Index Astartes and Codex: Chaos Space Marines:

 

"I worship nothing...": These 'purist' Night Lords do not seek to make pacts with the forces of Chaos, and are distrustful of the Warp. They may not take Daemons or Marks of any kind. This includes Posessed and Daemon Princes. Also, all Daemonic Weapons and Gifts are not allowed (including Gifts of the Gods), unless they can be appropriately represented with non-daemonic alternatives (for example, bionic claws to represent Daemonic Strength, Jump Packs for Daemonic Flight. NOTE: Models with Daemonic Gifts already included in their profile may still be used, as these can also be represented with non-daemonic alternatives [E.G. Obliterators wear Terminator Armour and are incredibly tough as a result of the Techno-Virus; Daemon Armour, Daemon Aura, Daemon Essence]).

Note that this exception does not apply to vehicles, and thus Defilers or any other vehicle with Daemonic Gifts may not be taken (This encompasses any vehicle upgrades that involve posession or daemons). Special rules such as the Land Raider's Machine Spirit (daemonic or otherwise) are exceptions that prove the rule.

The Art of Terror: This particular force of Night Lords still practise the old ways of Night Lord warfare, where terror was the weapon, not the goal. As such, they are in fact much more effective at inflicting it upon their opponents. At the beggining of each opponent's turn, make a Leadership test on the opponent's HQ unit with the highest Leadership value. If it fails, the leader has broken under the strain of the Night Lords' terror tactics, and confusion will temporarily reign. To represent this, all models in the opponents army will suffer a -2 Leadership modifier, and will not be able to test on the HQ units' Leadership value, if such an option is available. This will continue to be in effect during the Night Lords' turn, and until the beginning of the next opponent's turn, wherin they will have to make another Leadership test. If passed, the modifier will no longer be in effect, and models will be able to test on the HQ's Leadership value, if such abilities are available. Note that if the testing HQ unit is Fearless, this ablity is nullified, as the commanding unit sets a shining example to their forces with unshakeable bravado.

Models such as Daemons, Necrons and Tyranids (who would be considered immune to such trivial things as fear) are still effected by this ability, as the Night Lords are also adept at disrupting the chain of command and sewing confusion among the ranks of the enemy.

 

 

These were the test rules I came up with and posted on the Iron Warrior's 4th Grand Company forums, the general concensus was that Zho Sahaal was an absolute badass in the book and deserved such rules to reflect them. However, note that he is still only St4 T4, with a 3+ save. His point value was calculated using costs for similar abilites (e.g. Skilled Riders for 'Lord of the Spiders', the cost of a Doom Siren for his Piercing Scream [slannesh players will know the Doom Siren is in fact even nastier than what Sahaal has]).

 

Comments?

[Commissar Molotov]

Well, homegrown rules really belong in the Homegrown Rules forum, especially as this topic doesn't really deal with a DIY chapter.

 

Having said that, are you registered at Danek's Night Lords Forum? They might be able to give you better feedback, steeped in the lore of the Night Haunter as they are. :ph34r:

[Severus6]

"Well, homegrown rules really belong in the Homegrown Rules forum, especially as this topic doesn't really deal with a DIY chapter."

 

Well I wouldnt say that,...granted its a designated Chapter but technically speaking our boy falls between the cracks. That and its a wonderfully evil idea,...a traitor legion created with loyalist traits. Now the really nasty idea is this, what happens when our last true, non-warped twisted Night Lord is able to grow new geneseed from his own. All it would take is a scrape or two and the proper equipment of course,...but I am certain that he is resourceful enough for such an endeavor,...yes,...nasty indeed. Just a thought,...

 

Severus6

[Hexx]

First off I think old Zho was so great in the book, because well he was the hero, and mostly fighting non marines :wub:

 

Khargoth:

 

The rules seem cool, but why not just set up a legal character and play the legion as is?

As it is, after adding up Zho's stuff you've paid the staggering sum of 15 points for

+1WS

-The ability to reroll any failed to hit rolls with the LC's

-The ability to automatically pass any leadership test etc. etc.

-A better version of warp scream

-The ability to have a bolter as well as 2xCC weapons

 

Keep in mind that spikey bits alone (adding *one* reroll) would have cost you 2/3's of those points.

So basically you got the rest for like 5...

 

Background idea is cool, kudos, would be nice to see such an army set up

The rules for "I worship nothing" are unfortunately a bit lax, you can't take anything like daemonic strength... unless you call it daemonic claws, then it's OK?

 

The rules for "The Art of Terror" are massively overpowered, -2 ldr and you give up nothing?

 

All in all if you're intending to use it against your friends in friendly one off games might be entertaining if they're willing to face it.

[The_Chaplain]

cool, I loved the book and must admit you did a nice job of making a "pure" NL army. Now, what are the stats for Mita Ashyn? Surely she would have joined Zso after LotN's events-- she said that she "lost faith" so naturally the eight pointed path is a logical leap for her.....