Warhammer 40,000

That's what I'm betting on, and especially for Kara Swole provided she wasn't executed.

So, I have acquired the Blood Angels codex. I'm afraid that I may be turning to the dark side.

Also, my avatar change is completely unrelated to this turn of events.

The dark side is delicious. And cheesy.

I recently got a copy of Dark Heresy's Book of Judgement. What do you guys think of the lore and gameplay-stuff in it?

I'm not even sure what it is. Care to fill me in?

A supplement to Dark Heresy that focuses on the Adeptus Arbites.

Speaking of the Arbites - is that omnibus about the female agent worth picking up?

I've only read Crossfire, liked it. Shows that Sisters can do more than just charge at heresy with bolter and flamer blazing.

oh man, talk about awesome brain. I just dodged all around all those Ravenor spoilers. I'm currently in the middle of the first book :P

At the final book in the Gaunt's Ghosts third omnibus. Poor Feygor.

Thankfully there's no confirmation that Mkvenner's dead.

welll... about that...

It's decent, like most of the stuff in such books, and probably better than we'd get from actual Games Workshop material.

So I just read the Iron Warriors omnibus.

I will say that I find it slightly annoying that to get the full story I need to invest in the Ultramaroons as well.

On the bright side, Warsmith Honsou.

I like using the Blood Angels codex to represent Codex-adherent Marines. Just because I think the fast Rhino chassis fits Marines' MO better.

I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you over the sound of eighty ton tanks being airdropped onto the battlefield.

Though on the subject of transports, I always wondered why the Rhino has the "Repair" special rule but not any of its variants. So adding more armor and extra crew makes it harder to jury-rig on the battlefield?

Extra stress on the engine components and transmission to move extra weight makes it less reliable. It has plenty of precedent in real life designs.

Nothing some sanctified lubricant and a quick prayer to the Omnissiah shouldn't overcome.

Further reflection on disruptorfe 404's observation - there really is something off about the Space Marine motorpool. They're supposed to be an army of fast-moving, elite forces engaging critical targets to dismantle the enemy war machine with surgically-applied brute force. But the Rhino kinda sucks. It's not particularly well-armed or -armored, and it isn't demonstrably faster than the vehicles used by the foot-slogging Imperial Guard (it probably is lore-wise, but not enough to bridge the gap between the vehicle classifications on the tabletop. Unless you paint it red).

So with those Rhinos you'd have trouble believing that the Space Marines ever get anywhere without having their crappy transports blown out from under them. Luckily we're reminded that they're Space Marines with drop pods, which thanks to the miracle of deep striking lets them deploy at high speed exactly where they need to be. But the problem is that they're one-shot transports, so we get Space Marine yo-yos, deployed from orbit, picked up after the mission, and fired down again at their next target. It works, but it could be more efficient.

There is a way for Marines to move laterally at great speed, though. The problem is that this method involves a $640 lump of resin, so even though it's a very logical and sensible way for Space Marines to get where they need to go, and indeed a transport they use all the time in the background fluff, it's not likely to appear on the tabletop. The Thunderhawk's absence isn't crippling the army by any means, but it does mean that the Space Marine models just don't behave the way their codices would indicate.

But there is a solution - smaller Thunderhawk variants. We've already seen Stormravens, and Forge World just came out with the Storm Eagle (obligatory). My theory is that in coming years we're going to see more gunship-type aerial transports for the Space Marines, with Stormravens becoming Codex units and variants of it introduced. Because it feels really weird when the Imperial Guard is the more mobile and fast-moving army, what with their Valkyries.

Who knows, there may come a day when only the most crusty of Longbeards remember when Space Marines drove everywhere in metal boxes.

edited 19th Apr '12 8:18:18 PM by Tacitus

I'm given to understand that a Rhino being 35 points is meant to count for something, but I'm lost as to what. Is it to reflect such ready access to squad transports? I'm not sure.

It's because generally speaking the Rhino is only there to protect against massed small-arms fire since all buy the most hardy weapons in the world can go through Space Marine armor (count up how many AP 3- weapons exist compared to high-strength weaponry or massed small-arms.)

It's not liek anybody uses Rhinos anyway. Every Marine player has switched to Razorbacks ages ago, since they do the exactly same thing but actually have a useful weapon, for only a slightly increased cost (they have less transport capacity tho, but since you can just combat squad your troops that's hardly a problem).

A 10-man squad may still be better for holding an objective, though.

Rhinos are useful if you like Death Company since it negates their Rage, meaning that you suddenly have a squad full of Feel No Pain Space Marine sergeants.

Also, I've now made a Grey Knight Terminator list in Vassal. I feel like I've just committed an act worse than taking a litter of fluffy kittens, setting them on fire, then dropping them down from a ten-story building onto a live hand grenade.

edited 20th Apr '12 2:04:17 PM by math792d

How many models? Under twenty?

36 scoring bodies, potentially 37, 24 Strength 7 rending shots, 30 strength 5 shots, 4 twin-linked strength 8 shot, one Vindicare, and Stealth for all the Terminators.