Codex Adeptus Arbites

[Ambience 327]

I have finally gotten my Arbites codex to a state where I am ready to share it with the masses. I have been working on this thing off and on for over two years. This is the culmination of all my thoughts and hopes and desires for the Adeptus Arbites, and it has been shaped greatly by many fantastic ideas from various members of the online 40K community, especially those over at the Adeptus Arbites Garrison on Yahoo Groups.

One thing I want to make clear - this has been in progress for a very long time, and nothing in the list was tossed in lightly. I have spreadsheets with data on weapon effectiveness, and I have done some playtesting with certain units to make sure they work well. Please keep that in mind when you are making comments. That said, constructive criticism is not only allowed, but greatly encouraged, as I want this thing to be the best that it can be. (I plan to update it to fit with 6th Edition once it is released - hopefully that will be less work than putting this together in the first place!!!)

My vision for the Arbites army is for one that has to either get into medium to close range with the enemy, or else allow the enemy to come into such range, and then unload a ridiculous amount of short-ranged firepower, potentially pinning or otherwise slowing/hampering many of the enemy units before choosing a few key targets to charge into assault with - and hopefully either crush them utterly or send them packing. They are not as shooty as armies such as the Imperial Guard or the Tau, nor as nasty in close combat as Tyranids or Orks. They are more of a well-rounded force, though a bit short-ranged in shooting and reliant on careful planning for close combat. (Their rules make them most effective against enemies that have already been softened up and pinned down.) They even have one unit - the Suppression Team, which actually excels at receiving a charge as they have Counter-Attack, defensive grenades, an invulnerable save and the ability to cause enemy units to strike at Initiative 1. Of course, that requires you to actually coax your enemies into charging them in the first place...

So please have a look, have a think, then come back and tell me what you like, what you don't and what could be better.

Unfortunately, the file is rather large and I can't upload it directly, but I have set up two different hosting options. You can get it at either Scribd.com or box.com.

(Codex Version 1.2 - updated 4/16/2012)

[Formerly Wu]

This is perfect. I'm working my way through the Shira Calpurnia series as we speak, so the Arbites and their tabletop role have been on my mind of late. Here's my first thoughts- obviously this will take more time and effort to digest.

First, you deserve some major kudos for the work you put into this. Talk about comprehensive. You put most feeble homebrews to shame with this, sir.

You're going to hate me for this, but army-wide BS4 is kind of a deal breaker for me. As much as it sucks to have on the tabletop, BS3 is pretty firmly established as "trained, professional warrior" skill level. BS4 is the result of either years of field experience (commanders, IG veterans), arcane wargear (dark eldar warriors), obsessive training (Sororitas) or some combination thereof (Astartes). I don't see any precedent for allowing rank-and-file Arbites (and especially their vehicles!) access to BS4.

I like the army special rules and their intended "combo" a lot. They're cool and full of flavor without being overpowered. I also really, really like the "choose deployment zone, opponent decides turn order" setup.

At first the number of different types of squads confused me, but I think I've got a handle on the majority of it. The main problem I foresee is distinguishing units on the tabletop, especially given the relatively small differences in available special rules, the close-quarters firefight focus of the army and the inevitable muddled scrum that results in, and the rather limited range of available models.

Some comments on wargear:

• The stub gun is an interesting idea, but generally solid slug weapons like autoguns share a statline with their las equivalents (S3 AP-). Whatever this ends up being, I find a bolt-equivalent weapon to be a bit much, even with the very limited range.
• The patrol and dispatch vox. Again, interesting, but too complex. How would you distinguish these on the tabletop? I'd say collapse them to one item that can modify reserves, and limit it to command units.
• Choke grenades, breaching charges, the handling of shock/power mauls, shields and grapplehawks/cyber-mastiffs, all get an A+ in my book. Spot on for classic Arbites weaponry.
• For the webber, have you considered a check against the enemy's Strength characteristic, followed by no armour save, instead of wounding like a normal weapon?
• As a formatting issue, I think you could collapse several of the wargear options together on a unit's army list entry. For example, on the entry for Arbites Judge, you could consolidate boltgun and combat shotgun; hotshot laspistol, stubgun and stormbolter; etc.

I'm conflicted on the Auxiliaries. On one hand, I'm totally in favor of seeing irregular units and mixed-theme stuff like this available to lists. On the other, well, it really does add a lot of complexity and muddles the theme up. I think all told I'd rather see auxiliaries and irregulars as a general supplement to established armies and not inherent to a particular list.

[JaqTaar]

You're going to hate me for this, but army-wide BS4 is kind of a deal breaker for me. As much as it sucks to have on the tabletop, BS3 is pretty firmly established as "trained, professional warrior" skill level. BS4 is the result of either years of field experience (commanders, IG veterans), arcane wargear (dark eldar warriors), obsessive training (Sororitas) or some combination thereof (Astartes). I don't see any precedent for allowing rank-and-file Arbites (and especially their vehicles!) access to BS4.

I think Arbites qualify for "obsessive training" at least, if not for "years of field experience" as well. They are supposed to be better trained and equipped than the average guardsmen and many come from the Schola Progenium, same as many Sisters, Commissars and Stormtroopers.

Also, the Arbites were BS4 in the Witchhunters Codex.

[Formerly Wu]

I think Arbites qualify for "obsessive training" at least, if not for "years of field experience" as well.

More so than Guardsmen, though? Who spend their lives fighting and training to fight intergalactic threats that most Arbites never have to see or think about? It doesn't compute for me.

Also, the Arbites were BS4 in the Witchhunters Codex.

I guess there's precedent, then. Still kind of rubs me wrong, but precedent is precedent.

[Ambience 327]

This is perfect. I'm working my way through the Shira Calpurnia series as we speak, so the Arbites and their tabletop role have been on my mind of late. Here's my first thoughts- obviously this will take more time and effort to digest.

First, you deserve some major kudos for the work you put into this. Talk about comprehensive. You put most feeble homebrews to shame with this, sir.

Thank you. Flattery will get you everywhere.

You're going to hate me for this, but army-wide BS4 is kind of a deal breaker for me. As much as it sucks to have on the tabletop, BS3 is pretty firmly established as "trained, professional warrior" skill level. BS4 is the result of either years of field experience (commanders, IG veterans), arcane wargear (dark eldar warriors), obsessive training (Sororitas) or some combination thereof (Astartes). I don't see any precedent for allowing rank-and-file Arbites (and especially their vehicles!) access to BS4.

As evidenced by the BS4 in the Army List, I am with JaqTaar on this one. By my understanding, many Imperial Guard regiments get little more training that what can be squeezed in during their transit from their raising planet to their warzone. This may be as little as a few weeks to as much as a few years, but the quality of that training varies greatly. Some of them, I am sure, are no better than green recruits fresh out of basic training conducted by people to hurried to do more than a cursory explanation of how to point and shoot a lasgun and how to follow orders.

The Arbites, on the other hand, are raised in the Schola Progenium, cut from the same cloth as Commissars, Stormtroopers and the Adeptus Sororitas and trained by the hard-nosed drill abbots. After than, they receive extensive training as Arbites cadets before continuing to train and practice firing drills all through their careers. In my estimation, they definitely deserve better stats than Imperial Guardsmen. Remember, they are often mentioned as being intentionally better trained and better equipped than planetary PDF and Imperial Guard so as to be able to discharge their duties no matter who it may be that is breaking Imperial Law.

Also, I don't want their Shotguns to be any more powerful than they are, but in order for them to have decently effective shooting, they need to be BS4. Without that, they are easily out-shot by basic Imperial Guard squads which are significantly cheaper points-wise.

I like the army special rules and their intended "combo" a lot. They're cool and full of flavor without being overpowered. I also really, really like the "choose deployment zone, opponent decides turn order" setup.

Thanks. The special rules were definitely one of the ways I tried to really differentiate the Arbites, since without them they are basically IG veterans with slightly different equipment. I am particularly fond of the "Call For Backup" rule, as it allows the Arbites to play an interesting Reserves game where they choose what units will arrive when without completely removing the element of randomness from Reserves. The current version of Suppression Tactics is also really fun, and works well with Suppressive and Pinning weapons to give them just a bit more punch in close combat and keeps the enemy just a bit less effective in retaliation.

At first the number of different types of squads confused me, but I think I've got a handle on the majority of it. The main problem I foresee is distinguishing units on the tabletop, especially given the relatively small differences in available special rules, the close-quarters firefight focus of the army and the inevitable muddled scrum that results in, and the rather limited range of available models.

Yeah, I can see where it might get a little confusing, but I think squad markings or helmet, shoulder pad and/or trim colors could really help to distinguish things there. Any further thoughts on making it a bit more clear on the tabletop?

Some comments on wargear:[*]The stub gun is an interesting idea, but generally solid slug weapons like autoguns share a statline with their las equivalents (S3 AP-). Whatever this ends up being, I find a bolt-equivalent weapon to be a bit much, even with the very limited range.

I was basing my stub gun quite a bit on the description given to the large-bore stub pistol that Shira carries in Crossfire. It was designed to be loud and do a lot of damage up-close, more as a terror weapon than a true ranged threat. I figured making it brutal up-close, but less effective at medium ranges was the way to go. If I dropped it down to S3, I think it would simply be so out-shined by other options as to make it very undesirable.

[*]The patrol and dispatch vox. Again, interesting, but too complex. How would you distinguish these on the tabletop? I'd say collapse them to one item that can modify reserves, and limit it to command units.

You may be right here. I have had feelings of overcomplexity toward them, and I think I might go this route. My Arbites already seem to be pretty hardy in the Morale department as they stand, what with so much half-decent Ld and Stubborn going around. Perhaps simply allowing the Dispatch Vox to be carried by characters and/or the Personal Staff would be enough, and leave out the Leadership rules. I will give this serious thought before committing, but right now I am leaning toward making the change.

[*]Choke grenades, breaching charges, the handling of shock/power mauls, shields and grapplehawks/cyber-mastiffs, all get an A+ in my book. Spot on for classic Arbites weaponry.

Thank you. I was really hoping my shock/power mauls and riot/suppression shields would go over well. I think they work well, and allow for varying degrees of gear, so that they Arbites can be playable at low point levels (500 or less) but still able to compete at higher point levels (2500+). The Suppression Team is a good example here. They come standard with Shock Mauls, Riot Shields and Carapace Armour for 13 points per model, so even a full-sized squad is only 130 points with no further upgrades. However, in larger games, they can upgrade to Power Mauls, Suppression Shields and Riot Armour, boosting them to 20 points per model, but greatly increasing both their offensive and defensive capabilities.

[*]For the webber, have you considered a check against the enemy's Strength characteristic, followed by no armour save, instead of wounding like a normal weapon?

Yes, and indeed they were working that way for quite a while, but it just seemed too clunky and required too much explanation to get it to work right. (For example, you had to take into account strength bonuses from various sources and whether they helped or not.) Making them normal weapons, but giving them the Suppressive trait just keeps them that much simpler while still allowing them to distinguish themselves from flamers just a tad.

[*]As a formatting issue, I think you could collapse several of the wargear options together on a unit's army list entry. For example, on the entry for Arbites Judge, you could consolidate boltgun and combat shotgun; hotshot laspistol, stubgun and stormbolter; etc.

I will look into that. Formatting is definitely important to me, and if I can get it to look tighter and cleaner, I will.

I'm conflicted on the Auxiliaries. On one hand, I'm totally in favor of seeing irregular units and mixed-theme stuff like this available to lists. On the other, well, it really does add a lot of complexity and muddles the theme up. I think all told I'd rather see auxiliaries and irregulars as a general supplement to established armies and not inherent to a particular list.

There is a lot of stuff in this codex that adds complexity, and the Auxiliaries list is at the top of that heap.* They also add quite a bit of redundancy and potential confusion. However, they exist for one key reason: nobody quite agrees exactly what the Adeptus Arbites should really have access to. There were countless debates in years gone by on the Arbites Garrison Yahoo Group as to whether Arbites Precincts would have access to Landspeeders and Leman Russ Tanks, over whether they would use Abhumans and Mutants as cannon fodder or special agents, and whether they might take to the field alongside Penal Legions to further the cause of The Law. I decided rather than pick and choose and alienate people in these multitudinous camps, why not give them the ultimate comprimise? I just let them choose, through the Precinct Auxiliaries rules, what additional equipment and troop types their local Precinct has access to and will make use of. As the note on the Precinct Auxiliaries List header page says "Feel free to use or ignore the Precinct Auxiliaries List as you see fit."


* "That heap" of course also includes just about everything rules-wise after the main army list - i.e. the Precinct Auxiliaries, the Cities of Death, Planetstrike, Apocalypse and Spearhead rules, the Battle Missions and the Adversaries lists. They are there because I find all of these ideas intriguing, and because I think the Arbites deserve to have their part in each and every facet of the Warhammer 40,000 game.


One thing I would really like some feedback on is the special characters. Specifically:

1) Can you spot the references in them? Most of them are pop-culture and/or historical references. I'm just curious how obvious/blatant/sneaky I was with each of them. Oh, and at least one of them is a mixed reference to two characters portrayed in films by the same actor, so extra brownie points to those who can spot that one...

2) What do you think of what the characters bring to the table? Are they "special" enough? Do they allow enough of a difference in playstyle to justify their existence, or are they just "Normal Character +bigger gun"?

3) What do you think of my rendition of Shira Calpurnia. Since the good Mr. Farrer's novels are the biggest source of impetus for me getting this finished, I really wanted to do here justice. Does she feel right?

[JaqTaar]

I thought some of the special characters were a bit overdone, but this may simply be due to the pictures making it so obvious.
I remember a picture from the Thorian sourcebook (dunno if the PDF is still on the GW site) of an almost entirely augmented/mechanized Inquisitor, that could might be of use for "Alec Murphaeus" for example.

Shira was well done. I'd have found it interesting though if you had developed her background after the events of the novels. But I understand if you didn't want to because the character is someone else's creation.

I missed Marshal Byzantane from the list. He appeared in the novel Execution Hour as well as two comics in Warhammer Monthly (which btw can provide some additional pictures for the codex). Then again I wouldn't know what rules to give him, as he is quite a "regular" officer.

[Ambience 327]

I might look into getting different pics for the special characters. Some of them really started out as humorous homages, but the whole tone of the codex got very serious, so going a little less-obvious at least in the imagery might not be a bad idea. I will see if I can find the Thorian book and see what I think of that image.

You are right on with Shira - I don't want to advance her beyond where we left her at the end of Blind, as that job belongs either to Matthew Farrer, or to the reader/player alone.

Not familiar with Byzantane myself, as I have not yet read Execution Hour, and haven't read any of the WM comics either. Stick with what you know and all that...

[magath]

Thank you for putting Judge Judy into 40k. I can now die a happy man

In all seriousness, cracking effort, superbly put together.

I do question the inclusion of a leman russ, but beyond that, absolutely fantastic. This is the bar by which all fandexes will be judged in the future.

[Ambience 327]

I am glad people are liking the good Judge Schindler...

As for the Leman Russ, it exists in the Auxiliaries list precisely beause "I do question the inclusion" - that is one I don't think really belongs, but I see the other side as well. The Leman Russ was hotly debated at the Arbites Garrison, with some pointing out its inclusion in at least one precinct in the fiction (I think it was in Execution Hour? I have not read that one yet, so I don't recall for certain.) Anyway, as I said, the Auxiliaries are there so everyone can have what they want in their own precinct without forcing others to concede the point. The fact that something I don't really want in my own precinct made it into the list should be proof enough of my compromising nature.

[Inquisitor Kallus]

Hello Ambience, cool thread. I just thought i'd let you know about Fantasy Flight Games : Book of Judgement. If you haven't already heard of it. Fantastic book and well worth having a look over for more in-depth Arbites background/gear etc

[Ambience 327]

Yep - I've had a good read-through of it, and it inspired a bit of what made it into the Codex (including the "power ram" and the Techpriest Handler for Cyber-mastiff teams).

[JaqTaar]

From the Dark Heresy books, there's also the Mortiurge character from the Radical's Handbook:

... both the Adeptus Arbites and many local enforcer cadres have need of hardened men and women whose talent lays in dealing death and summary execution rather than upholding the law or maintaining order. (...) form the feared Arbites Castigation Detachments tasked to deliver the Emperor’s wrath on the recidivist and those who would contravene high Imperial Law without fear or favour.
Even among these cold-blooded killers, however, there are those whose particular skill and callous dedication to their lethal duty makes them stand out from the ranks. Singled out and specially trained to operate independently both as snipers and close-quarter gunfighters, the Adeptus Arbites refer to these specialists as Mortiurges. (...) In truth little more than judicially recognised assassins, they are often also employed to keep other law-enforcers in check when needs require.

Perhaps the concept could be used for a special character?!

[Formerly Wu]

The Arbites, on the other hand, are raised in the Schola Progenium, cut from the same cloth as Commissars, Stormtroopers and the Adeptus Sororitas and trained by the hard-nosed drill abbots. After than, they receive extensive training as Arbites cadets before continuing to train and practice firing drills all through their careers. In my estimation, they definitely deserve better stats than Imperial Guardsmen. Remember, they are often mentioned as being intentionally better trained and better equipped than planetary PDF and Imperial Guard so as to be able to discharge their duties no matter who it may be that is breaking Imperial Law.

Also, I don't want their Shotguns to be any more powerful than they are, but in order for them to have decently effective shooting, they need to be BS4. Without that, they are easily out-shot by basic Imperial Guard squads which are significantly cheaper points-wise.

All fair points.

Yeah, I can see where it might get a little confusing, but I think squad markings or helmet, shoulder pad and/or trim colors could really help to distinguish things there. Any further thoughts on making it a bit more clear on the tabletop?

Short of "a bigger, more distinctive model line," I'm really not sure. Maybe by differences in basic armament?

I was basing my stub gun quite a bit on the description given to the large-bore stub pistol that Shira carries in Crossfire. It was designed to be loud and do a lot of damage up-close, more as a terror weapon than a true ranged threat. I figured making it brutal up-close, but less effective at medium ranges was the way to go. If I dropped it down to S3, I think it would simply be so out-shined by other options as to make it very undesirable.

I see. In Dark Heresy that's described as a "hand cannon," as opposed to the somewhat less powerful stub automatics or autopistols. They still don't really compete with bolter stats, however. Have you considered S4 AP6, with a slightly longer range?

Yes, and indeed they were working that way for quite a while, but it just seemed too clunky and required too much explanation to get it to work right. (For example, you had to take into account strength bonuses from various sources and whether they helped or not.) Making them normal weapons, but giving them the Suppressive trait just keeps them that much simpler while still allowing them to distinguish themselves from flamers just a tad.

My understanding is that characteristic checks are always based on the unit's base statistics. But if it's too clunky, it's too clunky. The current implementation works fine too.

There is a lot of stuff in this codex that adds complexity, and the Auxiliaries list is at the top of that heap.* They also add quite a bit of redundancy and potential confusion. However, they exist for one key reason: nobody quite agrees exactly what the Adeptus Arbites should really have access to. There were countless debates in years gone by on the Arbites Garrison Yahoo Group as to whether Arbites Precincts would have access to Landspeeders and Leman Russ Tanks, over whether they would use Abhumans and Mutants as cannon fodder or special agents, and whether they might take to the field alongside Penal Legions to further the cause of The Law. I decided rather than pick and choose and alienate people in these multitudinous camps, why not give them the ultimate comprimise? I just let them choose, through the Precinct Auxiliaries rules, what additional equipment and troop types their local Precinct has access to and will make use of. As the note on the Precinct Auxiliaries List header page says "Feel free to use or ignore the Precinct Auxiliaries List as you see fit."

All fair points. I'm personally of a more reductive school of thought on the matter: a core army list should represent the most representative aspects of a force, with exceptions and additions as part of a supplement or scenario.

* "That heap" of course also includes just about everything rules-wise after the main army list - i.e. the Precinct Auxiliaries, the Cities of Death, Planetstrike, Apocalypse and Spearhead rules, the Battle Missions and the Adversaries lists. They are there because I find all of these ideas intriguing, and because I think the Arbites deserve to have their part in each and every facet of the Warhammer 40,000 game.

And they're good additions.

[Ambience 327]

All fair points.

Short of "a bigger, more distinctive model line," I'm really not sure. Maybe by differences in basic armament?

LOL - nice. I think with some of the changes coming in the pipeline, this is not going to be an issue. It is quite likely we will see far fewer unit types, with equipment making more of a distinction. I should be ready to publish the next version in a few days.

I see. In Dark Heresy that's described as a "hand cannon," as opposed to the somewhat less powerful stub automatics or autopistols. They still don't really compete with bolter stats, however. Have you considered S4 AP6, with a slightly longer range?

I might consider it that, but I don't know if I want to increase the range at all. Perhaps just the drop to AP6 will be enough...? (It's true purpose, that of being a Rending weapon in CC, would still be intact.)

My understanding is that characteristic checks are always based on the unit's base statistics. But if it's too clunky, it's too clunky. The current implementation works fine too.

I know this is an abstract rules set, but logic kind of dictates to me that a Power Fist would be helpful in tearing your way out of a sticky, tangling web. It is things like this that make it either too abstract (basic Strength only) or too convoluted (what counts?). In the next iteration, I am doing away with the "Suppressive Weapons" rule and just making these things Pinning (at S3/S5 respectively) which should help represent the web a bit better.

All fair points. I'm personally of a more reductive school of thought on the matter: a core army list should represent the most representative aspects of a force, with exceptions and additions as part of a supplement or scenario.

Then you will like the upcoming revision I think. Basically I am reducing the total number of Task Teams, and moving the Detective & Operatives to the Auxiliaries list so that the basic army list will be fairly simplified (thanks to the constructive feedback I am receiving here and at DakkaDakka). I think I am really liking where this is all headed.

And they're good additions.

Now you're just sucking up. (Don't stop...)

In all seriousness, if you have the time to read up and comment on the rest of the rules (anything and everything after the main army list) I would LOVE to hear it. Nobody has really commented on all that lovely supplemental material (other than to just say "wow, you really went all out"). I'd like to know what people think of how I handled the Apoc formations, Planetstrike Strategems, Battle Missions, etc. - and especially what you think of the "Uprisings" rules.

[xavos]

Seems good. I think there is always this problem of comparing the Arbites to Space Marines, particularly when a rule looks too good. The 'Thin Blue Line' and 'Suppression Tactics' come to mind.

[Ambience 327]

I find this interesting - you are saying Thin Blue Line looks too good, where someone else pointed out that they think it would be too much of a disadvantage.

Help me out here - I've already heard their side - why do you think it seems too good?

[xavos]

The 'Thin Blue Line' rule is greatly affected by what rules you use to place terrain. If like me you are liberal with terrain, then with this rule there is a natural bias towards setting them up in your favour, hiding your units behind them and then expecting to take the second turn. But if you just place terrain randomly or uniformly then you will come off worse.

[Ambience 327]

There is truth in that, but terrain setup and side choosing have always been a bit of a sticking point if you aren't gentlemanly about it. The other side of the coin is that your opponent can count on almost always going first, and plan accordingly.

[Ambience 327]

I have just uploaded the first revision! Version 1.1 is now available from the links in the first post.

Here is a summary of the changes made:

Change Log:

Updated Shira Calpurnia's "Legacy of the Calpurnii" rule to allow her to take a Leadership Test to avoid being required to Assault. This means she still may be forced to Assault when she doesn't want to, but not without "thinking it over" first via the Leadership test.

Replaced non-40K imagesSpartacus) with more appropriate images.

Added options for various kit for the Judge to represent the various specialisations he could have risen up from. Also added Combi-Weapon options.

Removed Aedile and Master Chastener entries to reduce redundancy in HQ choices.

Removed the badge of office as mandatory gear for an Arbitor General and added it as an option instead, thus allowing for a cheaper HQ choice to replace the Aedile/Master Chastener.

Tightened up the options on many entries to combine lines with the same cost.

Renamed the Personal Staff "Deputy" to "Aedile" since the name was now freed up and more fitting. Also added the "Precinct Auxiliaries" note to the Personal Staff so as to still give the Aedile a chance to unlock an Auxiliary.

Changed the Book of the Law to only affect a single unit within 12", but able to choose which effect it will confer.

Removed Chastener Teams as an option, and included a slightly modified version of the "Seize Them!" rule to the Chasteners found in a Personal Staff.

Rolled Shock and Response Teams together into the Response Team entry.

Rolled Sharpshooter and Fire Support Teams together into the Fire Support Team entry, changing up their weapons options and updating the Spotting Scope wargear. (Executioners were instead rolled into Response Teams option wise, and lost their "Shoot To Kill" rule.)

Moved the Arbites Detective and Operative Assembly entries to the Precinct Auxiliaries list. They were just a bit more complex than what the standard army list could contain.

Incraesed the base cost of Patrol, Combat and Response Teams by +1 point per model, and Suppression Teams by +2 points per model.

Patrol Teams were given the option to take power rams.

Combat Teams now have bolters as standard kit, with no option for Combat Shotguns.

Updated Senior Proctor Martaugh to lead the new Response Team. He now replaces Disciplined Fire with his special Lethal Weapons rule.

Removed Disciplined Fire from Suppression Teams. I figure they are too busy making their shield wall to adopt good firing formations with other Arbites units.

Re-worked Shock Mauls, Shock Lances, Power Mauls and Power Rams. As it stood, the Power Maul was far too complex to use with a full unit of Suppressors, and I think the new version makes a bit more sense as to their primary functions.

Reduced the Stub Gun's AP to 6 to match the Heavy Stubber and further distance it from the Bolt Pistol stat-wise.

Removed the Riot Gun.

Updated Webbers/Web Cannons to have the Pinning rule, but lowered their Strength by 1 point each to keep them from being too powerful or too expensive.

Added an option for Rhinos to be open-topped. (Reference in Execution Hour, and precedent in older 40K fluff and rules.)

Added Hurrican Bolters as an option for the Castigator.

Removed the "Suppressive Weapons" rule.

Tentatively added a Gryo-mount to give us a bit more mobility when shooting. (Based on something from Dark Heresy.) I gave it to Response and Fire Support Teams, but not Patrol or Combat Teams, to keep it a bit more rare and specialised. I also tossed it in as an option for Local Gangs (changing the name to "bulging biceps" as a further nod to Necromunda). I am not really sure if we need this, but it was suggested and I thought it sounded interesting, so I tossed it in to see what people thought.

Added a no-movement requirement to Disciplined Fire, to make it a bit more situational and slightly less useful and non-sensical.




Additional Notes:

It has been noted that the Halligan may be just a bit too weak, what with a combination of rhino-scale armour and a short-ranged, single-shot missile launcher. Should I improve the Strength/AP of the missile, increase its range, add to the armour on the front (and sides?) of the vehicle, or what?

What I don't want to do is give it Tank Hunters as it really isn't meant to hunt tanks but dug-in hidey holes. I am also leary about increasing the range for that same reason - it typically wouldn't need long ranges for its "fluff-intended" role. I think maybe increased armour and/or improved Strength/AP may be the way to go. Thoughts?


It has also been suggested to allow the Leman Russ to be upgraded to one or more of the variants - most notably the Punisher. I don't know if this is really necessary, but I wanted to toss that idea out to the masses as well and see what the consensus was.


I really want a better name for the "power ram". I don't want it to be something like "power mace" or "power hammer", but "power ram" just seems a bit lacking somehow.

[JaqTaar]

From the desciption I had imagined the Halligan a bit like a Vindicator with a missile launcher in place of the cannon (or maybe it was cause that's how I had planned to model an Arbites counts-as Exorcist ). It'd certainly need good armour to get close to its target in an urban environment. Accordingly I'd go with a higher front armour at least. Not sure about the launcher. Since it's supposed to be used against fortified positions and buildings, perhaps multiple shots would be more appropriate than improved penetration.