+HOMEGROWN RULES FORUM+

[Brother Tyler]

Welcome to the Homegrown Rules forum.

 

The purpose of this forum is to give players a place to develop homegrown rules for use in Warhammer 40,000 (and any other game set in that universe). As always, the power-armour only requirement of the Bolter & Chainsword applies.

 

Games Workshop has always encouraged players to modify the rules as they see fit in order to enhance their enjoyment of the game. While standardized rules give a baseline for official venues and games against strangers, homegrown rules can be used with you gaming buddies, assuming they approve.

 

Homegrown rules can include anything from a new psyker power to a new special character to complete rules for a Chapter. Additionally, some larger scale projects might be conducted here. An example is the Traits/Chapters of Legend Project. Some homegrown rules might be intended solely for use in friendly games, while others might be developed with the intent of submitting them to Games Workshop.

 

Some things to keep in mind:

• Be Constructive - It's easy to say that a rule idea you don't like "sucks" or that it will never be allowed. If you don't like an idea, though, think of ways it might be modified to make it more acceptable and provide those recommendations.
• Have Thick Skin - Nobody posts an idea here thinking that it's bad. No matter what, though, there's someone who doesn't like it. It might be because some people aren't receptive to homegrown rules. Alternately, it might actually be a bad idea. We've all had bad ideas (I've had more than my fair share). Don't expect everyone on the B&C to like your idea and, despite the guidance to "be constructive", someone is going to tee off on your idea. Take criticism in stride. If you think the recommendation has merit, try it out. If you don't agree, post a constructive counterargument or politely explain why you don't like the idea.

[Brother Tyler]

Change to Homegrown Rules forum rules.

 

In the past, we've allowed homegrown codex rules and similar ideas to include entries largely derived from existing codices, giving profile, cost, and other information found in an existing codex. However, this will no longer be allowed. The reason for this is the B&C policy of respecting Games Workshop's intellectual property. In the future, when proposing your own homegrown rules, codices, units, etc., when information is based on an existing unit entry, simply refer to that unit entry in your rules. Then, if there are any differences between your proposal and the entry in the official rules, simply cite the differences.

 

For example, if I were to develop a full-blown codex for the Exorcists Chapter, the Tactical Squad entry would simply indicate that the player should refer to the Tactical Squad entry and rules on pages 59 and 134 of Codex: Space Marines.

 

For those discussions that already have more in-depth information, no disciplinary action will be taken on those entries that already exist, though we ask that you please make appropriate changes. If members aren't able to change their entries, we'll change them as we find them.

[Brother Tyler]

Okay, periodically I review the various discussions going on in this forum. When I see that a discussion on homegrown rules has concluded or it has died off (i.e., nothing new has come up in over 2 years), I move it to the + Completed + sub-forum. The expectation is that someone will either turn the rules idea into an article for the Librarium or I will delete the discussion. I generally give these discussions about a year before I delete them, though I've kept a number of the most promising for longer than that. If you see a set of homegrown rules in the + Completed + forum that you'd like to turn into an article for the Librarium, please let me know via PM. Alternately, if you'd like to discuss one of them further, please let me know (I've disabled replies in that forum so I'll have to move topics back to this forum if someone wants to discuss them further).

[Brother Tyler]

Note that I've done some housecleaning and reorganizing here in the Homegrown Rules forum. I previously set up a number of sub-forums to cover armies that are brought up on a recurring basis. My vision was that someone would run with each "project" and develop some rules for each. This didn't pan out, so I've removed those sub-forums. All of the discussions were moved to either the Completed sub-forum (if it's been over 2 years since anyone replied in them) or into the main Homegrown Rules forum (if they're more recent).

 

What I might do in the future is create a single "directory" discussion that covers recurring ideas (such as the Deathwatch, the Adeptus Custodes, etc.). This directory will be pinned and will have a link to each of the discussions. That way, if someone is looking to see what kind of ideas have come up for the Deathwatch, all they'll have to do is open the directory and then look at the discussions listed for the Deathwatch. They won't have to go searching through the forum pages - they'll just have to look in one spot. That's a "maybe", though, and will depend upon when I have the time and inclination.

[Brother Casman]

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I'll be the active moderator in this forum - if you need something, let me know! :)

[Brother Casman]

A little update: I've retired as a moderator, so if you need help with something, please get into contact with an Active Moderator.