Special Characters

[Son of Sanguinius]

I request your comments and criticisms of the house rule Special Characters I present in this thread. The first post will contain links to each character.



Abaddon, Warmaster of the Traitor Legions
WS-7 BS-5 S-5 T-5 W-4 I-6 A-5 Ld-10 Sv-2+/4+

Points
275

Unit Type
Infantry

Wargear
Drach'nyen: This follows all of the normal rules for a demon weapon. At the start of each Fight subphase, choose whether Abaddon will use Drach'nyen or the Talon of Horus for that subphase. When using Drach'nyen, Abaddon has the Smash special rule.

Talon of Horus: This is a close combat weapon that incorporates a twin-linked bolter. All attacks with this weapon have AP 2 and the Shred special rule.

Armor of the Warmaster: This is a suit of chaos terminator armor that confers a 4+ invulnerable save and makes Abaddon immune to psychic powers and demonic gifts without a given strength value.

Special Rules
Fearless; Independent Character

Mark of Chaos Ascendant: Abaddon counts as having the Mark of Khorne, the Mark of Tzeentch (which raises his invulnerable save to 3+), the Mark of Nurgle, and the Mark of Slaanesh. All profile bonuses have been included.

The Chosen Warmaster: Abaddon has the Intimidating Presence and Legendary Fighter warlord traits. He does not roll for further Warlord traits. In addition, Chosen squads and Chaos Terminator squads are Troops choices.

[HeOfTheRedPen]

Looking fairly solid here, but just take care to specify what Combi-Weapon the Bolter on the Talon of Horus actually is- at the moment, it could be a Meltagun, Plasma Gun or Flamer (I would suggest the Flamer, perhaps a Heavy Flamer, to reflect Abaddon's extremely aggressive nature, but the Plasma Gun would probably make him rather more competitive). Also, due to the focus on Psykers in 6th Ed, the fact his armour nullifies all but the aggressive Witchfires proves a little overpowered- perhaps instead allow him to 'Deny the Witch' on a roll of 3+ rather than 6+ to reflect the protective wards the Terminator Armour has ensconced within its shell?
Other than these minor quibbles, this seems to be a pretty damn good (and well-considered) set of house rules. My hat off to you, sir!
Yours,
HeOfTheRedPen

[Son of Sanguinius]

Combi-bolter changed to twin-linked bolter. I'm going to leave him immune because that mechanic still exists with Kharn and Gargantuan creatures, so there is precedent.

Next, I present someone who is more or less Abaddon's counterpart.

Kaldor Draigo, Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights
WS-7 BS-5 S-5 T-5 W-4 I-5 A-5 Ld-10 Sv-2+/3+

Points
245

Unit Type
Infantry

Wargear
Storm shield; terminator armor

The Titansword: This is a Nemesis Greatsword that confers the Smash special rule on Draigo.

Special Rules
Eternal Warrior; Fearless; Independent Character; Preferred Enemy (Demons); Psyker (Mastery Level 3); The Aegis

Chaosbane: Draigo always adds his Mastery Level to his Deny the Witch! rolls and is immune to wounds caused by Perils of the Warp.

From an Unexpected Quarter: Draigo always begins the mission in Reserves, regardless of the game rules. You may begin rolling for Draigo on Turn One, and he may assault and/or shoot on a turn in which he arrives.

The Cursed Knight: Draigo can never be your Warlord. At the end of the game, if he is still alive and on the table, he is removed as a casualty instead.

[Son of Sanguinius]

And now for something a little less...power armored.


Eldrad Ulthran, Chief Farseer of Ulthwe
WS-4 BS-5 S-3 T-3 W-3 I-5 A-2 Ld-10 Sv-3+

Points
230

Unit Type
Infantry

Wargear
Shuriken pistol, ghosthelm, runes of warding, runes of witnessing, spirit stones

Staff of Ulthamar: This is a witchblade that has the two-handed special rule. It extends the range of all of Eldrad’s powers by 6”, as long as those powers do not target Eldrad himself or use the flame template.

Isha’s Ward: This is a suit of runic armor that confers a 3+ invulnerable save and the Eternal Warrior special rule.

Special Rules
Fleet, Independent Character, Psyker (Mastery Level 3)

Guardian Through Time: Eldrad always counts as having the Princeps of Deceit warlord trait, even if he is not your Warlord. In addition, he knows all Divination psychic powers in addition to whatever other powers he takes.

[yabbadabba]

I haven't got the new rulebook yet, but isn't Eldrad T4 and isn't it worth having him at T4?

[Son of Sanguinius]

No. Eldrad was made T4 because the 4th edition perils caused a Strength 6 hit and they didn't want Eldrad getting pasted by a messed up psychic attempt.

Obviously T4 is a little more useful, but I think 3++ and EW more than compensate.

[yabbadabba]

I'd be tempted for background reasons to make him T4, I4; but as always its up to you mate

[Son of Sanguinius]

What background reasons?

[yabbadabba]

Eldrad is/was the oldest of all the Farseers and part of his background was that he was beginning to become a part of the crystaline matrix at the heart of every craftworld. As a consequence he had become slower than the avergae Eldar but the wraithbone he was turning into had given him some additional durability. I think we are talking early 2e here and its kind of hung around.

[Orthodox]

No. Eldrad was made T4 because the 4th edition perils caused a Strength 6 hit and they didn't want Eldrad getting pasted by a messed up psychic attempt.

Normal Farseers were made t3 to make eldar players sad. In third they all had t4 from diamond-gout.

They do not have it now because people did not really notice, obviously.

It's like telling an opponent Abaddon has five attacks. They do not immediately think it is because he is marked by Khorne. They just think he has five attacks.

[Son of Sanguinius]

I can sense the envy coming from a certain alien queen...

The Swarmlord
WS-8 BS-5 S-6 T-6 W-5 I-6 A-4 Ld-10 Sv-2+

Points
280

Unit Type
Monstrous Creature

Biomorphs
Armored shell, toxic miasma

Bonesabers: These count as a pair of boneswords that confer a +2 Attack bonus.

Special Rules
Hive Commander, Indescribable Horror, Old Adversary, Psyker (Mastery Level 3), Shadow in the Warp, Synapse Creature

Psychic Monstrosity: The range of The Swarmlord's synapse and psychic powers is extended by 6". Note that this does not apply to any powers that target The Swarmlord itself or which use the flame template.

Wall of Blades: The Swarmlord forces all successful to hit rolls against him in close combat to be re-rolled.

Psychic Powers
The Swarmlord knows all Hive Tyrant psychic powers and may replace any of them with powers generated from Biomancy, Telepathy, or Telekinesis.

[IrishDelinquent]

Why the giant debuff to the Swarmlord? Armoured shell and Toxic Miasma isn't bad, but he lost the only other invul save in the Tyranid book (aside from Zoanthropes) and his weapon skill isn't high enough for base marine infantry to need fives to hit. Wall of Blades is pretty much a replacement for the higher WS. Also, while the bonus attacks are nice, it's unfortunate that he lost his automatic instant death attacks.....especially now that Instant death is more important than ever for negating FNP.

[Son of Sanguinius]

Thanks for the reply. I understand and appreciate your concerns.

Wall of Blades is, I believe, a suitable replacement for the save. Take the example of a Chapter Master with a power fist attacking the Swarmlord in the fight sub-phase after charging. In both the official rules and my house rules, the Chapter Master causes 0.8333 (repeating) wounds. And Wall of Blades actually works better against the rare weapons that ignore invulnerable saves.

As for the bonesabers, I think the 3D6 Ld test for ID still presents enough of a threat. I found it difficult to stomach the additional attacks and getting auto ID without raising his points cost further.

[IrishDelinquent]

Thanks for not being a dick about constructive criticism (too many people can't handle people disagreeing with them)

I'm still not too sold on the Wall of Blades replacement. While a Space Marine Chapter Master might still cause wounds just as often, a Sergeant with a power fist causes 0.6525 wounds, compared to the official rules where they cause 0.48285 wounds comparatively. While it certainly is a minor difference, it points out an unfortunate consequence of this change.

On the bonesabres, I agree that +2 attacks and Instant Death is quite a bit.....which is why I'm curious why you gave it +2 attacks. Don't get me wrong, I like a Tyranid character who can actually dish out major damage, but why did you feel it necessary? I'd say give the Swarmlord 5 attacks base, keep instant death, and call it a day. Plus the other major factor that the Bonesabres had was forcing the re-roll of successful invulnerable saves. This was the major defense Tyranids had against things like Thunder Hammer termies...now we're forced to overwhelm opponents with lots of wounds.

Finally, while I like the Swarmlord gaining all three Hive Commander abilities, it is unfortunate that he lost his special-rule-giving ability and the ability to re-roll outflanks sides. However, I think your changes fit him well; he's an ultra Tyrant, who's capable of more than any other Tyrant. Plus, re-rolling Outflank isn't that big a deal now