Codex: Imperial Guard Houserules

[Formerly Wu]

Hello all,

Unabashedly inspired by Gen.Steiner's excellent thread on the topic, I found myself putting together a set of houserule codex additions for the Imperial Guard. While similar in some ways, I tried to take a different tack by drawing inspiration from Forge World army lists, the 3.5 codex, and a few common sense additions or nerfs. I tried not to change the overall workings of the codex too much. Most of these additions are (intentionally) over-pointed changes for those who really want a way to represent their army's organization on the tabletop.

I'm currently putting together a full PDF of changes, mostly for my gaming group but for anyone who is interested as well. For this thread, I'll skip the mundane stuff (heavy stubbers; lasguns and shotguns on sergeants), as well as things I modified from Gen.Steiner (cavalry command squads and recon snipers) so as not to repeat or step on anyone's toes. The focus is on the big new units and upgrades. Any comments and input at all would be much appreciated, especially as to whether I missed any hidden overpowered combos or underpointed anything. I'm always willing to nerf for the sake of accuracy.

New Veteran Doctrines
These upgrades may be taken for any unit that includes Veterans, including Company Command Squads.

Hardened Fighters ... 10 points
Some veteran Guardsmen have, through long experience, constant drill, or a violent background, become particularly adept at hand-to-hand combat.
Squads with the Hardened Fighters upgrade increase their WS to 4.
Die Hards ... 20 points
Whether through faith, combat drugs, or sheer bloody-mindedness, these veteran Guardsmen will stand against any odds.
Units with the Die Hards upgrade do not count negative modifiers when testing Morale after an assault. They always use their standard Leadership value.

New Regimental Advisor

Sanctioned Psyker ... 30 points
Some psykers are strong-willed enough to stand apart from a battle choir, but not yet skilled enough to achieve the rank of Primaris. These somber and solitary individuals are able to use their psychic powers to advise and protect the senior officers of their regiment.
WS 2 BS 3 S 2 T 3 W 1 I 3 A 1 Ld 9 Sv 5+
Wargear: Flak armour, Laspistol, Close-combat weapon, Frag grenades
Special Rules: Psyker, It’s For Your Own Good
Psychic Powers: A Sanctioned Psyker has one of the following powers: Psychic Ward, Psychic Lash.

• Psychic Ward
  Sanctioned psykers are particularly useful in countering the heretical abilities of aliens and traitor scum.
  This power may be used in the enemy’s Shooting phase, after an enemy model within 24” of the Sanctioned Psyker passes a Psychic test. If there are several Sanctioned Psykers in range, you must choose only one to attempt to nullify the psychic power. If successful, the enemy’s psychic power is nullified on a 4+.
• Psychic Lash
  The psyker focuses his powers on nearby enemies, mentally ripping open arteries and puncturing organs.
  This power is a psychic shooting attack with the following profile:
  Range 12” S 4 AP 4 Assault D6

New Units

Heavy Weapons Platoon
A regiment’s heavy weapons company usually splits its platoons up to other companies as support units. On occasions when these platoons fight as a coherent unit, its fire will be directed by the ranking heavy weapons officer.

A Heavy Weapons Platoon is a Heavy Support choice for Codex: Imperial Guard.

Composition: 1 Heavy Weapon Platoon Command Squad, 1-4 Heavy Weapon Squads. Each Heavy Weapons Platoon counts as a single Heavy Support choice on the force organization chart when deploying, and is rolled for collectively when rolling for reserves. Unit prices and options are identical to those listed in the Infantry Platoon entry, with the following exception.

A Heavy Weapon Platoon Commander replaces the Junior Officer special rule with the following special rule:
Heavy Weapons Officer
The Heavy Weapons Platoon Commander can issue one order each turn. He has a command radius of 6”. Heavy Weapons Platoon Commanders can use the Fire on my Target!, Incoming!, and Move! Move! Move! orders.


Remove Conscript Squad and Penal Legionnaires. Replace with the following unit:

Conscript Platoon … 60 points
It is a grim fact that life in the Imperium is cheap. Whether untrained Whiteshield recruits, reluctant civil militia levies, savage but poorly equipped feral world warriors, or condemned penal legionnaires, these unfortunates are often organized into large squads and ordered forward into the crucible of battle. Those few that survive may one day be lucky enough to call themselves “Guardsmen.”

A Conscript Platoon is a Troops choice for Codex: Imperial Guard.

Conscript WS 2 BS 2 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 3 A 1 LD 5 Sv 5+
Overseer WS 3 BS 3 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 3 A 2 LD 7 Sv 5+
Feral Warrior WS 4 BS 2 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 3 A 1 LD 7 Sv 6+
Penal Legionnaire WS 3 BS 3 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 3 A 1 LD 8 Sv 5+

Unit Composition: 19 Conscripts, 1 Overseer
Unit Type: Infantry
Wargear: Flak armour, Lasgun (Overseer has a laspistol instead), Close-combat weapon
Special Rules: Harsh Discipline, Furious Charge (Feral Warriors only), Stubborn (Penal Legionnaires only)
May include up to 30 additional Conscripts … 3 points per model
The Overseer may exchange his laspistol and/or close-combat weapon for:

• Lasgun or shotgun … free
• Bolt pistol … 3 points
• Power weapon … 10 points

For every ten models in the squad, one model may replace his lasgun with:

• Flamer or grenade launcher … 5 points
• Heavy stubber … 10 points

The entire squad may become Feral Warriors, trading their flak armour for flak vests … 1 point per model
Any Feral Warrior may exchange his lasgun for:

• Laspistol or an additional close-combat weapon … free
• Shield … 1 point per model

If not upgraded to Feral Warriors, the entire squad may instead become Penal Legionnaires … 2 points per model

• One Penal Legionnaire may carry a demolition charge … 20 points

The entire squad may be equipped with frag grenades … 10 points
If your army includes Commander Chenkov, any unit of Conscripts (but not Feral Warriors or Penal Legionnaires) may be given the Send in the Next Wave special rule … 75 points

Flak Vest
Sometimes called sub-flak armour, these stripped-down sets of flak armour provide only rudimentary protection from enemy fire.
A model with a flak vest has an armour save of 6+.
Shield
These cumbersome shields, typically constructed of hide or metal, provide little safety from the powerful firearms of the 41st millennium. However, in the chaos of melee combat, they can provide a crucial few seconds of protection.
A model with a shield has a 5+ Invulnerable save in close combat only.
Harsh Discipline
In lieu of proper training, conscripted units are at least taught to follow their superiors’ orders without question.
As long as the Overseer is alive, the squad may attempt to rally even if below half strength.



Condemned Commando Squad … 55 points
The Imperial military does not suffer deviance lightly. Sometimes, the harsh but necessary discipline of the Guard results in talented- but maverick- individuals being condemned to the Penal Legions when their skills may still be of use to the Emperor. Occasionally, these criminals are saved from an inglorious death and collected into special suicide teams. They are provided one last chance at redemption: use their unique talents to serve the Emperor, or die trying.

A Condemned Commando squad is an Elites choice for a Codex: Imperial Guard army.

Commando WS 4 BS 4 S 3 T 3 W 1 A 2 Ld 7 Sv 5+
Commando Sergeant WS 4 BS 4 S 3 T 3 W 1 A 2 Ld 7 Sv 5+
Commando Heavy Weapon Team WS 4 BS 4 S 3 T 3 W 1 A 2 Ld 7 Sv 5+

Unit Composition: 1 Commando Sergeant, 4 Commandos
Unit Type: Infantry
Wargear: Flak armour, Lasgun, Close-combat weapon, Frag grenades
Special Rules: Scouts, Specialists, Stubborn
Dedicated Transport: The squad may take a Chimera or a Valkyrie as a dedicated transport.

The squad may include an additional five Commandos … 10 points per model
Any model may exchange their lasgun and/or close-combat weapon for:

• Laspistol, shotgun, or additional close-combat weapon … free

The Commando Sergeant may exchange his lasgun and/or close-combat weapon for:

• Bolt pistol … 3 points
• Boltgun … 5 points
• Plasma pistol … 15 points
• Power weapon … 10 points
• Power fist … 15 points

The Commando Sergeant may also take:

• Melta bombs … 5 points
• Refractor field … 10 points
• Demolition charge … 20 points

Replace two Commandos with one Commando Heavy Weapon Team armed with one of the following:

• Mortar … 5 points
• Heavy bolter or autocannon … 10 points
• Missile launcher … 15 points
• Twin-linked heavy stubber … 15 points
• Lascannon … 20 points

One Commando may be a psyker, gaining the Psyker and It’s For Your Own Good special rules, and selecting either the Psychic Ward or Psychic Lash abilities from the Sanctioned Psyker regimental advisor unit entry … 30 points
Up to two Commandos may exchange their laspistol and/or close-combat weapon for:

• Bolt pistol … 3 points
• Power weapon … 10 points

Up to two Commandos who have not been upgraded with one of the options above may exchange their lasgun and/or close-combat weapon for:

• Flamer, grenade launcher, or sniper rifle … 5 points
• Meltagun … 10 points
• Heavy stubber … 10 points

Specialists
The same unique skills that condemned the commandos serve them well on their suicide missions.
Choose one of the following abilities for the Condemned Commando Squad:
Hereteks: The squad’s armour save is increased to 4+, and the entire squad is counted as being equipped with krak grenades.
Knife Fighters: The squad is counted as having an extra close combat weapon in addition to their normal wargear. In addition, their close combat attacks have the Rending special rule.
Psychopaths: The squad gains the Counter-Attack, Fleet, and Furious Charge special rules.
Stalkers: The squad gains the Acute Senses, Stealth, and Move Through Cover universal special rules.

I also threw together a quick port of Colonel Schaeffer to lead the Condemned Commandos, but haven't finalized his rules yet.

Thoughts?

[Exitas-Acta-Probat]

the hwp and the veteran doctrines remind me of the dkok army list. instead of using house rules try proxying a dkok list, it seems pretty close to what your trying to create.

[Formerly Wu]

the hwp and the veteran doctrines remind me of the dkok army list. instead of using house rules try proxying a dkok list, it seems pretty close to what your trying to create.

The Krieg HWP is actually a relic from the 3.5 IG codex, an option which GW removed from the current edition. Despite thier similarities the Krieg and Codex lists play very differently, and I wanted to return the option of a properly organized HWP to vanilla Codex players.

Feral warriors with shields appear a little undercosted.
A bulk of them with their WS of 4 and 5+ inv saves could be a very annoying tarpit, especially for small power weapon weilding elites! No Commissar means they would be prone to breaking and being swept if they roll poorly though.

Hm, good point. I'm considering upping shields to 5 points per model- too expensive to outfit the whole unit, but good to sprinkle throughout.

You forgot to increase your Commando HWS to 2 W and no Commandos have I!

Any reason they can't have a plasma gun?

Good catch! Commandos are all I 3, and should have the option of plasma guns for 15 points. Thanks.

[omegoku]

Feral warriors with shields appear a little undercosted.
A bulk of them with their WS of 4 and 5+ inv saves could be a very annoying tarpit, especially for small power weapon weilding elites! No Commissar means they would be prone to breaking and being swept if they roll poorly though.

You forgot to increase your Commando HWS to 2 W and no Commandos have I!

Any reason they can't have a plasma gun?

[LawL LawL]

I'm a fan of your take on Conscripts. Conscripts in the Codex are point-sinks, even with their low cost, W2 BS2 cannot achieve anything, and Ld5 cannot back up the lack of staying-power. 1 point more gives you basic Guardsmen instead of Conscripts, there is literally no point to them, barring the tactical utilization of 'Send in the Next Wave'.

Minor changes I would suggest would be upping the points-cost of the base Conscript unit to 65, to compensate slightly for the Harsh Discipline. Or you could do away with the Discipline rule altogether and give them the option of taking a special Commissar which, in addition to its normal special rules found in the IG Codex, also gives the unit Harsh Discipline.

Another suggestion would be reducing the shield to 6+ Invul. For 1 point, a 5+ is by far too good, as not only is it on par with the Invuls Terminators have, its also better than the Combat Shield wielded by SMs which is itself only a 6+. My inclination is to say that a shield would increase their save in close-combat only, to keep to the idea that these flimsy wicker, plank, or otherwise shoddy shields wouldn't stand to gunfire, but still conveys protection in close combat. I feel to give them an invul from the shield is far too akin to the stupid rule in Fantasy where HW + Shield confers a 6+ Ward, as if somehow waving a 3-4 foot piece of iron and a couple nailed planks can ward off (pun intended) a Ogre or such monster capable of inflicting the same amount of damage to such a small opponent, with or without said shield. For Feral Warriors, you could even give them the "Rage" special rule of sorts, where they are only kept in check if they pass a Ld test to see if they heed the orders of their Overseer.

With various suggestions out, I was also thinking of having Chieftains and Shamans being unit upgrades, and giving them archaic weaponry and armour as an option, to make them feel more unique and less like savages pressed into Imperial service with ill-maintained Imperial war-gear. (Also makes for easy "conversions" with Warhammer Fantasy Beastmen models) With this in mind my final take on Feral Warriors would be:

Feral Warrior Squad - 100pts

	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
Feral Warrior	4	2	3	3	1	3	1	7	*
Chieftain	4	2	4	3	2	3	3	8	**
Overseer	3	3	3	3	1	3	2	7	5+
Shaman	2	2	2	3	1	2	1	8	-

Composition: 19 Feral Warriors, 1 Overseer
Type: Infantry (Chieftain counts as an Independent Character, though is unable to leave the unit, nor join other units, even if he is the sole-survivor of his unit)

Wargear:
Feral Warrior: Archaic Armour, Archaic Close Combat Weapon, Lasgun
Chieftain: Chieftain's Armour, Archaic Close Combat Weapon, Lasgun or Laspistol
Overseer: Flak Armour, Close Combat Weapon, Laspistol
Shaman: Warpaint

Special Rules:
Feral Warrior: Warrior Pride
Chieftain: Warrior Pride
Overseer: Harsh Discipline
Shaman: Psyker

The unit may include: a Chieftain - 25pts, a Shaman - 20pts, and up to 30 additional Feral Warriors may be included for 5pts per model.

All the Feral Warriors in the unit may exchange their Lasguns for Archaic Projectile Weapons and Archaic Shields
A Chieftain may exchange his Lasgun/Laspistol for an Archaic Great Weapon (replaces all his other weapons) for 5pts, a Bolt Pistol for 1pts, or Archaic Projectile Weapons and an Archaic Shield for free
A Shaman may take Shaman's Trinkets for 5pts, a Shaman's Staff for 5pts, he may also give the entire unit Warpaint for 1pt/model
An Overseer may exchange his Laspistol and/or Close Combat Weapon for a Bolt Pistol for 2pts, a Plasma Pistol and/or Power Weapon for 10pts, an Overseer may also take Krak Grenades for 2pts

Archaic Close Combat Weapon: Though coming in all shapes and sizes, and swung with varying techniques, all archaic close combat weapons are designed with offense in mind. On the turn in which the user assaults, he strikes at +1 Initiative, and may choose to re-roll "To-Hit" and "To-Wound" rolls of a 1, but to do so the user forgoes all armour-saves for that Assault Phase. In subsequent Assault Phases, armour-saves can still be exchanged for re-rolling "To-Hit" and "To-Wound" rolls of 1.

Archaic Projectile Weapons: Varying from shaped stones and specialized throwing sticks and clubs, to primitive bows, slings, and atl-atls of sorts, these primitive weapons are not designed to defeat armour besides the most primitive of sorts. Archaic Projectile Weapons are fired with this profile:

	Range	Strength	AP	Special Rules
Archaic Projectile Weapon	12"	2	-	Assault 2

Archaic Great Weapon: Borne only by the mightiest of wild-folk, these large weapons range from unwieldy clubs great axes, all larger than what most men can wield. Archaic Great Weapons confer a +1 Strength bonus, which is further increased to +2 on the turn in which the model has assaulted an enemy unit.

*Archaic Armour: Equally variable in form, archaic armour is primarily designed for close-combat, and is frequently paired with a primitive shield to increase the protection afforded by mere scraps of leather and bark. Archaic Armour affords the user a 6+ Armour save.

*Archaic Shield: Though visually akin to the Storm Shields and Combat shields used by other forces of the Imperium, these primitive ensembles of wood, hide, bark, bone, and sometimes other, stranger materials, afford a level of protection woefully short of the devices other servants of the Imperium sport for protection. When used in conjunction with Archaic Armour, an Archaic shield affords the user a 5+ Armour-save in Close-Combat. Against Shooting attacks, the Archaic Shield will increase the user's Armour-save to 5+ against weapons normally incapable of piercing the existing Archaic Armour (weapons with no AP value or otherwise incapable of ignoring any form of armour).

**Chieftain's Armour confers a 6+ Invul, in addition to the protection afforded by the Archaic Armour on which it is based upon.

Shaman's Staff: Shamanistic cultures have always managed to revere a Shaman's staff as his source of power. Regardless of whether the Shaman agrees, there's little point in arguing when you're old and your mark of office happens to function quite nicely as a walking stick. A Shaman's Staff, as a close-combat weapon, functions as a Force Weapon, in all respects, except that it does not ignore armour. The Shaman may make psychic test in order to perform a shooting attack with his Staff, with the following profile:

	Range	Strength	AP	Special Rules
Shaman's Staff	18"	D3 (For every 10 models in the unit add +1 to the Strength value of the attack)	D6+1 (Roll of 6 counts as AP '-')	Assault 2D6 (For every 5 models in the unit (except the Shaman himself) with Warpaint, add +1 to the Assault value of the attack)

Warpaint: Across countless millennia, on countless worlds inhabited by varieties of the human species, tribal cultures have almost all evolved to utilize warpaint as a source of strength, status, and pride. Models with Warpaint benefit from a 6+ Invul. If the model already has an Invul, increase it by one.

Shaman's Trinkets: Made from the bones of varying sources, these trinkets, though they may appear inert and worthless, are imbued with other-worldly energies capable of shielding their bearer. Shaman's Trinkets confer a 5+ Invulnerable save to the bearer.

Warrior Pride: Tribal warriors are driven by example, as such, leaders of primitive fighting groups lead from the front, hoping to prove themselves in the thick of combat, thereby ensuring the loyalty and ferocity of their warriors. Models with Warrior Pride are not affected by the leadership value or leadership modifiers or effects of models without this rule. In addition, models with Warrior Pride count as being Stubborn. They are Fearless so long as a Character model with the same rule remains in their unit. When rolling to consolidate, Character models with this rule may add the number of wounds they inflicted to the total rolled for the unit, to represent his martial prowess instilling frenzy into his warriors, however when consolidating, models with Warrior Pride must move toward enemy models. Models with Warrior Pride never benefit from being positioned in cover in a purposely cowardly and protective fashion, though may benefit from cover afforded by friendly intervening models, and intervening terrain. Models with Warrior Pride may not 'Go to Ground' under any circumstances.



I'm coming up with more ideas regarding this, and I'll likely run this by my friends for use in our gaming circle. I assume this may be simply too much for something that is supposed to be a sub-unit option for Conscripts, but I've always been fond of the idea of human sub-species being drafted into the ranks of the Guard, but still retaining much of their primitive feel as the bureaucracy of the Imperium has either yet to have been notified of such a unit's existence, or has deemed it unnecessary to equip them, as they are of dubious worth in the field.

[hazmiter]

I quite like the warrior pride rule, very thematic.
Could extend it to rough riders too.
Rough rider command, 50 point upgrade, includes attached advisors.
No other changes apart from gaining lances w explody bits.

Mmmmm barbarian hoard.....

[LawL LawL]

Thanks, I also felt that without a rule like Warrior Pride, you'd really lose the feel of the army, they'd just be WS4 BS2 Guardsmen with Sub-Flak Armour. That and it'd make little sense to have half-naked tribesmen of sorts cowering behind barricades...

I'm sure the points values given in my entry is not as balanced as it could be, but I just wanted to get something down, fine tuning will come in due course.

Once I get some funds, I think I might start an army of these guys, after I run the idea by my friends and get balance issues sorted out with some play-testing. I was thinking of using Ungors.

[hazmiter]

Use chaos marauders.
I'm using marauder horsemen to represent my barbaric rough riders w mogul kamir, thinking bretonnian lancers for my next unit.

[LawL LawL]

I did consider Marauders, but they don't quite fit the feel of "tribal" and "feral" in my opinion. Far too close to humans to warrant such significant difference in fighting capabilities. To really justify primitive weaponry, and melee-oriented combat with weapons possessing no technological or supernatural abilities, you really need, imo, something akin to Beastmen. That and it would make for a great modelling project, to have Ungors with some scraps of crude armour on them, a few may even be adorned in scavenged scraps of Flak or Carapace armour acquired from Traitors and dead 'comrades'.

But yes, Marauders would fit the job reasonably well, but to be honest they seem to be rather well equipped for savages. Working so efficiently with steel or iron makes for a less-than savage nature to the army, I think. That and I've always loved the Beastmen models, Centigors would do wonders as a unit of Rough Riders too. And the weapons could be painted as flint and obsidian, rather than metal of sorts.

[Formerly Wu]

I did consider Marauders, but they don't quite fit the feel of "tribal" and "feral" in my opinion. Far too close to humans to warrant such significant difference in fighting capabilities. To really justify primitive weaponry, and melee-oriented combat with weapons possessing no technological or supernatural abilities, you really need, imo, something akin to Beastmen. That and it would make for a great modelling project, to have Ungors with some scraps of crude armour on them, a few may even be adorned in scavenged scraps of Flak or Carapace armour acquired from Traitors and dead 'comrades'.

But yes, Marauders would fit the job reasonably well, but to be honest they seem to be rather well equipped for savages. Working so efficiently with steel or iron makes for a less-than savage nature to the army, I think. That and I've always loved the Beastmen models, Centigors would do wonders as a unit of Rough Riders too. And the weapons could be painted as flint and obsidian, rather than metal of sorts.

My first take on feral warriors were intended to represent beastmen or mutants. On reflection, I decided that a) while Imperial beastmen do have an RT-era legacy, the idea of the Imperium utilizing mutants doesn't fit the modern themes of 40k (despite, as you say, the great possibilites of converted Beastmen); and b) by contrast, Guard units with human, medieval-level technology certainly exist and don't have a decent unit representing them in the fluff.

I don't think Marauders, or any Fantasy unit generally, are too technologically advanced. Remember their technology is feral compared to Imperial standard. Whether a sword is made of fine steel or a crude stone club isn't a material difference on the tabletop; they'll still be a S3 ccw. That's definitely a personal taste issue, though.

Also remember that Feral Warriors have Furious Charge, so they're not simply Guardsmen with WS4 BS2. Good point about the shields though! I'll drop that down, although I'm not sure they'd be worth the extra point per model in that case.

[hazmiter]

Hmm, maybe something akin to orks, but normal skin, not green. Lesser ogryns......