Legends of the Imperium

Legends of the Chapter is a Team-Based FPS Survival game I've been thinking up. It's not entirely fleshed out, but I think there's enough to post here for feedback. I originally had this tread over on Tabletop Games because of that forum's greater connection to the source material, but having it here might mean more input. Enjoy.

Several squads of Server controlled Space Marines have to fight their way through massive waves of Orks, and six elite members of the Chapter, controlled by the players, have to ensure they get the job done.

Sternguard Veteran: The closest thing to a sniper class, the Sternguard is capable of mowing large numbers of Orks down with his Boltgun, but his main job is to use the scope and special ammo his Bolter comes with to take out single, high-value targets, like, say, the Ork Nob with the Power Klaw about to reduce a Battle Brother to extra chunky salsa. While possessing the greatest firepower of the playable characters, the Sternguard has the downside of being the weakest Marine in close combat. While all the other classes are armed with something that lets them rapidly tear apart anything that gets too close to them, the Sternguard is stuck with a combat knife, which is only good for fighting one opponent at a time, so even with his Power Armor he's quickly overwhelmed in melee.

Vanguard Veteran: The opposite of the Sternguard Veteran, the Vanguard Veteran engages his enemies up close with his Chainsword and Bolt Pistol. Armed with Frag Grenades and Melta Bombs, he can also blast apart groups of enemies and blow holes in armored vehicles at mid-range. Thanks to his Jump Pack, he can quickly reach the spots on the battlefield where he is needed most. On the downside, having only a Bolt Pistol means that even with his grenades he has difficulty dealing with enemies he can't get close to, and even with his Power Armor and Chainsword he's rather fragile. The name "Vanguard" does an excellent job of telling you what his job is. Specifically, to flank enemies giving other Marines trouble and rip them apart before they realize he's there.

Apothecary: Armed like the Vanguard Veteran but lacking his Jump Pack or his Grenades, the Apothecary provides support to his Battle Brothers by healing them as well as preventing death. If an AI or Player Marine bites it, his corpse will stay where it is until the timer runs out and he respawns. Until then however, if he can get to it in time, the Apothecary can revive him instantly, getting him back into the battle much more quickly. Naturally, if the Marine's death was more explosive, there won't be much he can do.

Techmarine: A slightly more offensive supporter compared to the Apothecary, the Techmarine can drop Dual-Heavy Bolter Turrets to provide extra firepower, and can place Teleportarium Beacons to make reloading and reenforcing easier. On the map where the Marines start the round there's a Rhino Transport, and you have to fall back there to get more ammo, and when someone respawns or a replacement Marine is brought in to bring an AI squad up to full strength they spawn back here and have to make their way back to the frontline. With the Beacon though, ammo crates and respawned Marines will be much closer to where they need to be. For himself, the Techmarine carries a Power Axe and a Flamer into battle, thus limiting his direct combat to close range.

Chaplain: The Tank of the group. His Artificer Armor and Rosarius enable him to take way more punishment than the other Marines in the game, and his Crozius Arcanum allows him to beat seven kinds of shit out of anything that isn't heavily armored or a vehicle of some sort. Sadly, his ability to deal ranged damage is very poor, with a mere Bolt Pistol his only way of killing anything out of reach. However, his primary purpose on the battlefield is support, with his special ability to boost morale and keep the Marines from breaking under fire. He can also increase the charge rate for the "Valor" Meter, which acts like the "Fury" Meter in Warhammer 40000 Space Marine in that when activated it supercharges the player character's strength and speed, as well as allowing Sternguard Veterans and anyone taking the time to closely aim their guns to slow time down and make precision shots.

Librarian: He can use his Psyker Powers to partially shield Marines from fire, and can speed up movement to get places faster. He can also produce a Psychic Blast to damage a single enemy, or a Psychic Storm to affect multiple targets at once. He carries a Force Staff and a Bolt Pistol, so while he can engage the enemy directly in combat, he probably shouldn't too often.

Players would gain the ability to use special upgrades for their character, with the catch being that only one upgrade can be active at a time. I haven't thought out all of them yet, but this is what I've got so far:

Sternguard Veteran:

• Replace Combat Knife with Chain Knife. Improves your ability to fight in melee, but since that isn't your job the only reason to take this one is if everyone else isn't doing their job.
• Replace Bolter with Combi-Melta. One downside is the Sternguard's inability to deal with heavily armored enemies or vehicles. Having a Melta attachment helps. On the other hand, it acts like the Meltagun in Warhammer 40000 Space Marine, in that it's only a short-range blast, you can only carry five or so charges for it, and even after replacing the charge it still has to cycle up before you can fire it. Still, it's good to have if you suddenly find yourself faced with a horde of Orks or end up close to a vehicle.
• Replace Bolter with Lascannon. It can punch through multiple Orks and keep going until it hits a terrain feature or a sufficiently armored target, and it can punch holes in vehicles no matter how well armored they are. Naturally the downsides are rather large, with a slow rate of fire. No rate actually, you have to swap out the power pack and let it cycle up between shots just like the Combi-Melta. And unlike either the Bolter or the Combi-Melta it is COMPLETELY useless at short range.

Vanguard Veteran:

• Replace Chainsword with Power Sword. While the Chainsword rips through unarmored targets just fine, having to chew through thick slabs of metal to get to the meaty Ork inside slows it down a bit. The disruptive field surrounding the blade of the Power Sword speeds the process up quite nicely.
• Replace Bolt Pistol with Inferno Pistol. A miniature Meltagun, it damages armored targets and vehicles better than the Bolt Pistol. On the other hand, it has a much shorter range than the Bolt Pistol, so you're even less capable of ranged combat than before.
• Replace Chainsword AND Bolt Pistol with Lightning Claws. The second strongest melee weapon available, Lightning Claws will rip through everyone and everything no problem. However, you can't take a Pistol of any sort, so you're stuck with the grenades for anything you can't get to.

Apothecary:

• Replace Chainsword with Power Axe. It's not as big as the Power Sword, but it does almost as much damage. If you expect to be melee'd a lot, you could do worse.
• Replace Bolt Pistol with Plasma Pistol. Plasma shots can take out individual Orks in one hit and do more damage to armor and vehicles than the Bolt rounds do. On the other hand, the rate of fire is slower, and it IS still a pistol, so while the shots aren't completely worthless there are other weapons that do more damage to those targets Bolt Pistols have trouble with and work at longer range.
• Replace Chainsword AND Bolt Pistol with Bolter and Combat Knife. Allows you to provide fire support at medium-to-long range, but you have to give up your advantage in melee to do it. Also, it's a standard-issue Bolter, so you don't get the scope OR the Specialized Ammunition the Sternguard does. Bummer.

Techmarine:

• Replace Power Axe with Thunder Hammer. The strongest melee weapon, any Ork hit by it will turn into a fine red mist, and any armored vehicle hit by it is going to notice. Because it is so heavy, however, you can only swing it really, really slowly.
• Replace Flamer with Meltagun. Unlike the Combi-Melta, the full Meltagun behaves more like the Meltagun in the Twin-Stick Kill-Team game for the X Box, in that it projects a tight beam of hot melting death that you can play across your field of vision. Any Ork caught in the beam, no matter how briefly, is going to eat it. Another good reference for how it works is the Flamethrower from Monday Night Combat.
• Replace Heavy Bolter Turret with Lascannon Turret. Like the portable Lascannon available to the Sternguard Veteran, the Lascannon Turret can eliminate multiple Orks caught in the beams and tear through vehicles much more quickly than the Heavy Bolters can. However, the significantly lower rate of fire means it lacks the Heavy Bolter Turret's ability to quickly mow down large amounts of Orks attempting to swarm it's position.

Chaplain:

• Replace Bolt Pistol with Plasma Pistol. More damage, slower rate of fire, poor at long range, blah blah blah...
• Gain a Jump Pack. You suck at ranged combat anyway, this lets you reach the Marines who need your inspiring presence, not sure how to make a tradeoff for this besides the fact you can't take it with better weapons...
• Swap out the Artificer Armor and Bolt Pistol for a set of Terminator Armor and a Storm Bolter. Terminator Armor is some of the strongest personal armor in the 40k universe, making the Chaplain even more of a tank than he was before, and since said armor is usually millennia old and considered to be a holy relic in and of itself, it also improves the Chaplain's ability to inspire his fellow Marines and increases the rate at which their Valor charge refills. On the offensive side of things, the Storm Bolter is, essentially, two regular Boltguns glued together and hooked up to the same trigger. Remember, a Boltgun is a giant-sized Sub Machine Gun that fires Rocket Propelled Grenades the size of a D battery, and this thing is a double-barreled version of that. Oh yeah, and thanks to the Terminator Armor you can wield it one-handed. Have fun. For downsides, you're still stuck with the vanilla Crozius for hand-to-hand combat, but the real kicker here is the fact that Terminator Armor is so damn heavy that not only can't you run in it, just walking takes considerable time and effort. The only two speeds on a Terminator are "glacial" and "stationary", so actually getting to where your needed in time to actually help is next to impossible unless your team has a Techmarine who knows how to do his job and drop Teleportarium Beacons at strategic points, since Terminators can use them to teleport around the map. If you can't rely on having a good team when playing, you're better off with a different upgrade.

Librarian:

• Bolt Pistol for Plasma Pistol, etc.
• Swap out Force Staff for Force Sword, more melee, etc.
• Psychic power booster or Terminator Armor, I dunno.

I've thought of three map types so far.

• OFFENSIVE: Eliminate an Ork position. As the AI squads move forwards, Ork spawn points are closed.

• DEFENSIVE: Hold an area of strategic importance against waves of Orks attempting to get through. Think Mann vs. Machine type gameplay here.

• SURVIVAL: En route to the mission, your convoy of Rhinos is ambushed, necessitating the need to hold out until the offense falters. Kind of like Arena mode in TF 2, in that respawn is deactivated for this map.

edited 1st Nov '13 9:36:46 AM by Gralien

RHINO:

The RH 1 N 0 APC is an integral part of Space Marine forces on the tabletop, and this is reflected in Legends of the Chapter:

• Every map round starts at a Rhino, and under normal circumstances player characters and AI squadmates will respawn at one.
• Returning to a Rhino during gameplay will replenish your ammo and health, and this is the only way to do either without a Techmarine or an Apothecary running around.
• Mounted on every Rhino is an automated Storm Bolter that acts like a free turret, providing fire support at the spawn point.

Enemy forces:

• GROT SQUADS and SQUIG BOMBS: Scattered about the maps are small paths and passages too small for Space Marines or Orks to get through. Depending on the style of the map, they could be rock fissures, crevasses, pipes or tunnels. While the map may be balanced in terms of how Space Marines and Orks get around, these smaller paths allow certain units to get past defensive measures. These certain units are Grot Squads and Squig Bombs.
  • Grots are a smaller subspecies of Ork. They are as clever as their Ork brethren are stupid and as cowardly as the Orks are brave. They fulfill all the jobs in Ork Society the Orks themselves can't be bothered with. In battle, they're usually formed up into large mobs and herded into battle by an Ork called a Runtherder, where they're generally used as mine field clearers or as ablative armor for the Orks. In Legends of the Chapter, Grot Squads have the ability to sneak behind your lines and use their knowledge of building and maintaining Ork structures and vehicles to sabotage Teleportarium Beacons, Techmarine Turrets, and even your Rhinos! You could be winning the map when suddenly the turrets keeping your left flank secure suddenly start losing health, or the beacon allowing rapid redeployment and resupplying goes offline. And while an individual Grot is incredibly weak, a huge mob of them can and will overwhelm a lone Space Marine, especially if he isn't paying attention. Fortunately, they are incredibly easy to kill, and they're so cowardly that once you start fighting them they'll cut and run pretty damn fast.

  • Squigs are a type of animal always found living with Orks. There are many different breeds of Squig, each with a specific purpose. They are the primary source of food and clothing for Orks, and several breeds are used in combat in different ways. In the case of a Squig Bomb, they took a normal Squig, strapped it with all the explosives they couldn't make it eat first, and let it loose to hop toward the enemy and blow up. Squig Bombs will use the same paths as the Grot Squads to get as close to you and yours as it can before detonating, and will do considerable damage to both Marines and deployed structures, though fortunately the Rhinos can weather the blast more ably. On the flip side, Squigs are much louder than Grots, and any sort of attack will detonate them, so as long as you see them coming they should pose no actual threat.

• ORK INFANTRY: The majority of any Ork force will be comprised of individual Orks, referred to as 'Boyz', who are "organized" into huge mobs based around their equipment and function in combat.
  • Slugga Boys: The most common type of Ork, their strategy consists of running directly toward the enemy while screaming as loudly as possible, then switching tactics to hitting the enemy while screaming as loudly as possible. Their name comes from their trademark weapon, the 'Slugga', a crude solid-slug pistol they enjoy firing in the general direction of the enemy they're running towards. Once they get in close they switch to their 'Choppa', a crude weapon best compared to a cleaver or a hatchet. The primary threat presented by Orks is their numbers. While a single Slugga or Choppa will do very little damage to a Space Marine in Power Armor, the average Ork mob usually contains over twenty individual Orks, and even the smallest Ork force will have dozens of mobs comprising it, you will be outnumbered, and if you don't know what you're doing you will lose. Fortunately, the average Ork is outfitted with only his Squig leather clothing for protection, permitting him no protection whatsoever against Bolter rounds. This means you can usually leave them to the AI squads while you focus on bigger issues.

  • Shoota Boys: Exactly like the Slugga Boy, except with the key difference that they carry 'Shootas' into battle instead of Sluggas and Choppas. The Shoota is the primary ranged weapon for the Orks, and fires a larger caliber round than the Slugga, as well as a faster rate of fire. However, Orks are incredibly poor shots. They value loudness and rate of fire over efficiency in their firearms, so the average Shoota Boy doesn't really 'aim' so much as 'fire wildly in the enemy's general direction'. Like the Slugga Boy mob, however, the standard Shoota Boy mob will contain several dozen Orks, so even if you're hit by only one out of three shots, you're still going to get hit a lot. They are as unarmored as the Slugga Boys, and don't carry the same Close Combat weapons that they do, so they even out to around the same threat level.

  • 'Ard Boys: These Orks are armed identically to Slugga Boys, but have managed to acquire sets of 'Eavy Armor', Ork body armor made of scrap metal bolted together over a squig leather harness. The result is Orks that are harder to kill, but don't kill you any faster. Annoying, but not super dangerous.

  • Storm Boys: Outfitted exactly like Slugga Boys, these Orks have strapped large rockets to themselves in order to get into close combat more quickly. If they surprise you they can do a lot of damage in a short time, but if you see them coming you can deal with them before they become a threat. An unarmored Ork with a rocket strapped to him makes a very good Bolter target.

  • NOB: Leading the aforementioned Orks are 'Nobs', larger Orks that use their increased size and strength to boss around smaller Orks. Because of their higher position in Ork society, Nobs are both better armed and armored than their subordinates. Regardless of the mob's loadout, the Nob will be carrying a 'Big Choppa' and a Shoota into battle, and will be wearing 'Eavy Armor. On higher difficulty maps, Nobs will start to swap out their equipment for stronger stuff. They'll upgrade their Shoota to a 'Big Shoota', and will replace their Big Choppa with a 'Power Klaw', which can one-shot kill Space Marines and can rip through Rhino armor like paper. The large number of Orks they lead do double duty as a screen, making it difficult to attack the Nob directly, especially for the AI squads.

• ORK SPECIALISTS: These Orks operate in smaller groups than the Orks already mentioned, and they don't have Nobs leading them. They make up for this by being much, much more dangerous on their own.
  • Flash Gits: Orks that love shooting so much they've upgraded their arsenal with 'Snazzguns', tricked-out shootas that deal significantly greater damage than before. On the other hand, they're still pretty bad shots, and they don't have the 'Ard Boys 'Eavy Armor, so they can be passed over for more pressing targets. Just don't forget that they're there.

  • Burna Boys: Ork pyromaniacs that use crude flamethrowers called 'Burnas' to set fire to the enemy. Or other Orks, they aren't picky. They aren't armored and can't attack at the same distances you can, but if they manage to get in close they can do a lot of damage. Their burnas can roast a Space Marine very quickly, and well-formed firing lines will break as the individual Marines try to avoid being barbecued. About the only saving grace is that Rhinos and turrets, being machines, don't take damage from them as quickly as Marines do, and won't stop shooting in an attempt to get away.

  • Tankbustas: These Orks specialize in destroying armored vehicles, so you don't want them near your Rhinos. Armed with 'Rokkit Launchas' and 'Tankbusta Bombs', they can make short work of any stationary target. The good news is, of their two main weapons the Rokkit Launcha is the weaker, meaning they have to get in close to use the Tankbusta Bomb, and they're so specialized that they actually can't fight non-vehicle targets all that well.

  • Lootas: Unlike the Tankbusters, Lootas can and will stay at long range from their targets. Their massive 'Deffguns' are incredibly damaging, have a rapid rate of fire, and can punch holes in your Rhinos very easily. Being Orks, however, they still aren't very accurate, and having to stand in one place in order to fire makes them even more of a target themselves.

• ORK VEHICLES: Constructed from scavenged parts and crudely fabricated machinery, Ork vehicles are ramshackle and slapdash affairs. Nevertheless, they are dangerous and effective weapons in the hands of their creators. No two Ork creations are ever the same, but they can be generally classified into different types based on certain characteristics.
  • Wartrakks: Best described as the front half of a motorbike welded to a small track unit, Wartrakks are used to rapidly get in close to the enemy. Crewed by a pair of Orks, the Driver races towards the target, the Gunner fires the Big Shoota mounted on the back. While possessing potent anti-personnel firepower, the open and unarmored Wartrakk is very easy to deal with.

  • Wartrukks: Large Ork vehicles primarily used for transportation, they can bring Ork Specialists to where they're needed quickly. They're also armed with a forward-mounted Big Shoota, as well as a reenforced front for running over Marines. Unlike the open Wartrakk, the cabin of the Wartrukk is secured inside a scrap metal hull, preventing sharp shooting Space Marines from killing the Ork behind the wheel. Because they're designed for rapid transportation, however, the Trukk's hull isn't reenforced with protective armor.

  • Deffkoptas: Armed with Big Shootas and Rokkit Launchas, the aerial nature of the Deffkopta allows it to bypass most defensive formations and hit you where you're vulnerable. These crude helicopters can best be described as motorbikes with the wheels swapped out for a propeller, and are about as fragile.

  • Grot Tanks: Tiny tanks built and manned by Grots, they'd be kind of cute if they weren't busy trying to shoot you. The most armored of the vehicles, Grot Tanks take a lot more punishment than you'd think based on their size. They're either armed with a Rokkit Launcha or a 'Grotzooka', a sort of scrap metal cannon that really, really hurts.

• HEAVY SUPPORT: These Ork contraptions lack the speed of the regular vehicles, but make up for it with massive firepower and extremely resilient armor plating. Resilient by Ork standards, anyway.
  • Looted Tanks: Formerly owned and operated by the Imperium of Man, they have since been destroyed in combat, salvaged by Orks (often the same Orks who wrecked it in the first place), and rebuilt for their own use. Armed with a 'Boomgun' and a combination of 'Skorchas'(a really big Burna), Big Shootas and Rokkit Launchas, Ork tanks are extremely dangerous and must be a high-priority target if you want to survive.

  • Killa Kans: Kans are robotic walkers piloted by Grots that have been directly wired into the control systems. Operating in three-Kan squads, each Kan is armed with one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. While they can be outfitted with Big Shootas or Grotzookas, they can also take Skorchas, Rokkit Launchas, or the 'Kustom Mega-Blasta', an Ork energy weapon capable of insta-killing any Marine. They're a bit fragile, as Heavy Supports go, and the fact that the operators are Grots means that occasionally they'll try to run away instead of killing whatever's attacking them.

  • Deff Dreads: Robotic walkers piloted by Orks. Bigger, better armed and armored, and more steadfast than Kans, a Deff Dread gets two melee weapons AND two ranged weapons, mounted directly on the robot's main hull. The good news is, they're slow, lumbering, and only appear one at a time. Usually.

  • Battlewagon: Any Looted Tank that survives long enough becomes one of these as it's "repaired" and "improved" by the Orks. Outfitted with the best armor of any Ork vehicle, they can take as much punishment as your Rhinos, if not more. A 'Deff Rolla' affixed to the front lets it run over Marines with impunity, and it's armament of Big Shootas and Rokkit Launchas provide ample covering fire for it's primary weapon, the massive 'Killkannon" artillery piece. Battlewagons can also transport units into combat, and provide better protection than Trukks do. Unlike the more ubiquitous Trukks, however, Battlewagons only appear during the End Game or on High Difficulty Maps.

• ORK ELITES: The baddest of the bad, and the 'ardest of the 'ard. These Orks are second only to the leaders of their kind in how much damage they can cause. While they don't appear on every map, you should always keep an eye out for 'em, unless you want to lose hard.
  • Kommandos: The chosen children of 'Mork, the Ork God of Low Kunnin', these Orks don't enjoy running at their enemies and screaming. Instead, the prefer to quietly sneak up on you and slit your throat, usually while your focusing on the Orks who do enjoy running at their enemies and screaming. Capable of camouflage and stealthy infiltrations behind enemy lines, in Legends of the Chapter this translates into being able to turn invisible and simply walk past your defenses. Armed with Choppas, Shootas and Burnas, Kommandos can ambush and overwhelm lone Players like a Grot Squad, but don't cut and run like them when you start shooting back. They also carry Ork grenades called 'Stikkbombs', which are dangerous to Marines and structures, but fortunately they aren't as powerful as Tankbusta Bombs, so you have more time to react. Unfortunately, Kommandos are led by a Nob just like regular Orks, and just like those Nobs he wields a Power Klaw. The only other good news about them is that in order to be stealthy, they operate in small groups and don't wear 'Eavy Armor, trading defense for offense.

  • Nob Squad: Most Nobs are content to lead/boss around/bully/opress/inspire the rest of the Orks, but some aspire to greater things. These Nobs group together into their own special mobs, ones capable of tremendous destruction. Each and every one of them is outfitted with 'Eavy Armor, at at least half of them will be carrying Power Klaws, the other half will have Big Choppas, and they'll all have Stikkbombs for throwing at you. Rather than appear directly on the field of battle, Nob Squads get around between targets via Trukk transportation, so taking out Ork vehicles is a great way to slow them down. They're also only equipped with Sluggas for shooting, but one without a Klaw might have a Big Kombi-Shoota, with one of the two gun-barrels replaced with a Burna or a Rokkit Launcha. Needless to say, Nob Squads are HELL for regular Marine squads.

  • Mega-Armored Nobs: The only thing worse than a mob of Nobs is a mob of Nobs in Ork Power Armor. Ork Mega-Armor is even stronger than regular Space Marine Power Armor, and unlike the regular Nob Squad every Nob here has a Power Klaw and a Big Shoota wired into their armor, and half of them will have swapped out the second barrel for a Burna or Rokkit Launcha. Their armor is so durable that it can even sustain several direct hits from the Lascannon. The Melta weapons do better, but they all suffer the drawback of being close range weapons, putting you well within range of return fire. Plasma weapons are the best, but the small Plasma Pistol is the only Plasma weapon available in this game, so it kinda all evens out to equally average at best. The single shining light in all this is that Mega-Armor is so heavy and cumbersome that the Nobs wearing it can't move very quickly. More of an aggressive saunter, really. To get anywhere fast they have to use transportation, and in their case the only Ork vehicle capable of carrying their heavy asses anywhere is the Battlewagon, so taking that out reduces their threat level nicely. Actually killing them is still a huge pain in the ass though.

• ORK COMMANDERS: These Orks sit at the top of the Ork hierarchy. They got there by being bigger, stronger, and louder than the rest, so they are every bit as dangerous as their position suggests. Never more than one at a time, they can be thought of as the Ork counterparts to the Players.
  • Big Mek: The leader of the Orks who build and maintain vehicles and weapons; like the Techmarine he carries a Burna into battle, can repair Ork tech on the battlefield, and can drop Grot-operated turrets for fire support. He can't drop Ork 'Tellyportas' like the Player can, but to compensate he carries a backpack-mounted 'Kustom Force Field Generator' that protects him, and any Orks near him, from incoming fire, making it difficult to remove him.

  • Weird Boy: An Ork with Psyker powers, he taps into the WAAAGH! for the power he needs to do his job. What is the WAAAGH!, you ask? Well, the WAAAGH! is what gives the Orks their power. It's an energy field created by all living Orks. It surrounds them, penetrates them; it binds all things 'Ork' together. The more Orks around, the more WAAAGH! there is. The more WAAAGH! there is to soak up, the more the Weird Boy can do. Too much WAAAGH! energy, and his head explodes. He can use WAAAGH! power to teleport himself and other Orks around the map, he can vomit a glowing stream of it at his enemies, or he can channel it into a powerful downward concussive blast known as 'The Foot of Gork'. He can't always count on his powers working correctly, however.

  • Mad Dok: The practitioners of Orky medicine, Doks love nothing more than experimenting on unwilling patients. Fortunately for Orks, their extremely robust physiology allows them to walk off most injuries without needing any treatment, so most of the time they don't have to worry about having their organs replaced with experimental new ones. In combat, Mad Doks can heal and revive fallen Orks like the Apothecary, and their 'Fightin' Juice' can give their patients a boost.

  • The Warboss: The biggest Ork, no question about it. His perfect blend of sheer brutality and low cunning have made him the perfect leader of Orks, and his massive warband, of tens of thousands of Orks, will wage a combination mass migration/holy war/barroom brawl, also known as the WAAAGH!, across the stars. Bigger than the other Orks by a wide margin, the Warboss is outfitted with heavily customized weapons and armor, and is usually accompanied everywhere by a special retinue of heavily armed and armored Nobs. His custom-tailored armor affords ample protection without the speed loss suffered by Mega-Armored Nobs, his massive Kombi-Shoota will have a Skorcha or Rokkit Launcha attachment, and his over-sized Power Klaw will let him bat Space Marines away like flies, assuming he doesn't just grab and squeeze them into a bloody pulp. He is, without a doubt, the End-Game Boss.

I just realized I mislabeled the topic.

Oops.

HOLY CRAP... you really did think this sucker out!

The whole concept sounds awesome, not to mention doable in most game engines or systems. Only problem I see though is that WH 40 K: Space Marine and that new TPS MMO have already beaten you to the punch. Not your exact ideas, nor your emphasis on vehicles and inter-class teamwork per se, but they're probably gonna be the closest execution to your concept that will come to fruition.

Now, if you were both skilled in programming and were willing to make this into a mod for say, the Unreal Engine 3 or Cry Engine 3, then that would be a different story...

OK, so I've covered the FPS side of things, but I've yet to cover the other half of the game. You see, this isn't meant to be a straight-up FPS, oh no. It's an FPS/MOBA hybrid! I've mentioned before that trying to win on your own would just get you killed, and this is why. Like the Hero units in DOTA 2 or Monday Night Combat, the player characters don't have what it takes to win the game on their own. That power rests solely in the hands of the computer controlled mooks that make up the bulk of your team. Where MNC has bots, and DOTA 2 has Creeps, Legends Of The Chapter has Space Marines. The big difference between this game and those already mentioned is that, rather than constantly spawning waves of completely disposable Cannon Fodder that you mostly use as a screen for your own efforts, this game spawns all the AI Marine Squads you get for that map at the beginning of the game, and in order to win you have to keep them alive. While it IS possible to reenforce AI squads that have lost members during the game, trying to play without placing any value on the lives of your computer-controlled teammates will net you a loss very very quickly. You don't win the game by winning the game, you win the game by having your AI friends win the game.

Another big difference between this game and others is that the "Three Lane" map system isn't used here. The map design is much more flexible. At least in theory. Which is all this is. Sadly.

edited 1st Nov '13 1:47:11 PM by Gralien

In a continuation of my previous post, here are the computer controlled forces you'd need to keep alive in order to win the game:

• REGULAR UNITS: At the beginning of every map, several squads made up of these types of units will spawn at the "base". Exactly how many squads of each type I don't know at the moment, it might vary with the map size and difficulty.
  • SPACE MARINE SCOUTS: Rookie level members of the Chapter, they haven't had all the surgical, cybernetic, and psychological modifications necessary to be an actual Space Marine done to them yet. In the meantime, they learn all their is to know about being a Space Marine while providing recon and flanking for their more experienced brothers. First of all, Scouts can turn invisible, though not when they're busy killing something. Secondly, they can identify enemy units present on the map and radio that info back to the Players, which means their HUD will display a handy list of all known enemy units that have been deployed, as well as a list of enemy units that have been killed. This means the players can know exactly what forces are present on the field, and will be able to plan their strategy from there. Secondly, during the game, if things are going well, the players will be able to upgrade the Scout squad with some Sniper Rifles, giving them the ability to take out high-profile targets. If this is all sounding way too good to be true, that's because it is. Since they aren't full Space Marines yet, none of them can wear Space Marine Powered Armor, which basically means they're all made of really thin glass when it comes to them taking damage. They're outfitted with Bolters, which work at close and long range, and Shotguns, which only work at close range but work there really well. And remember, while they can turn invisible, they can't do so while shooting something, so you'd better hope that whatever it is they shoot won't be able to shoot back afterwards.

  • DEVASTATOR SQUADS: If a Scout manages to survive several decades of learning, modification and warfare, they get to finally become full members of their Chapter and wear the big boy armor. In order to get used to it, they get sent to serve in Devastator Squads, where they get to lug around really big and really heavy weapons that do a lot of damage at range, but not so much up close. While a couple of the newest members of the squad get to use regular Bolters in support of the more senior squad members, the rest get access to Heavy Bolters, which are fully automatic guns the size of engine blocks that are fed a large-caliber round from a backpack-mounted magazine, so it's basically a minigun that fires RP Gs. The other big weapon found with these guys is the previously covered Lascannon, which if you recall can burn through multiple unarmored targets at a time, can punch holes in most armored targets with only a few hits, and has the slowest firing rate you can have while still having a firing rate at all. Like the Scout squad, the Devastator squad can be upgraded during the game with an additional weapon. In this case it's the Plasma Cannon, which works at longer ranges than the Plasma Pistol, fires at a good clip, and is monstrously damaging regardless of whether or not the target is armored. The downside, however, is pretty horrendous. The state of scientific and technological advancement in the Imperium of Man can best be described as "dead, bordering on going in reverse", and by this point no one actually knows how Plasma Weapon technology even works anymore, let alone how the technology needed to make them works. Because of this, the few organizations still capable of building these things don't actually know what they're doing, which means every single plasma weapon in the Imperium is poorly made and just this side of breaking entirely, and in the case of a massive weapon designed to generate and launch searing blasts of the super-heated stuff stars are made of, "breaking" could just as accurately be described as "violently exploding". In order to avert having your gun blow up and take you with it, you have to fire the stupid thing at a rate that is far lower than what it's capable of so it doesn't overheat. In the tabletop version, this translates to having to roll every time you use it to see if it malfunctions, while in this game it means that if the Devastator Squad is firing at a distant target while not under any fire themselves, it works just fine. However, if the squad finds itself under attack from the enemy and has to defend itself, the guy using the Plasma Cannon is going to fire at a faster rate than is considered safe, so as long as the squad is in trouble there's a growing risk of the gun and it's user blowing up and giving everyone around them a really bad sunburn.

  • ASSAULT SQUAD: After learning all there is to know about carrying a really big, really heavy, really unwieldy weapon across the battlefield (which, apparently, takes longer than you'd think), the eager young Space Marine is transferred to the Assault Squad, he gets to learn all there is to know about strapping a set of Jet Engines to your back and hopping your way across the battlefield so you can hit the enemy with your sword. Essentially a less experienced version of the Vanguard Veteran, Assault Squads use their jet packs to speed across the battlefield to spots where the enemy is vulnerable and go to town on them. Unlike the Vanguard, however, Assault Marines aren't outfitted with any anti-vehicle weaponry, and can't be upgraded beyond the default Chainsword. They can, however, have a couple of squad members swap out their Bolt Pistols for some Plasma Pistols, giving them slightly better odds against armored and vehicular targets.

  • TACTICAL SQUADS: The ideal and the epitome of Space Marine strategy, the Tactical Marine is versed in all forms of combat and is capable of performing all of them. He is a flexible and versatile combatant, able to fight the enemy in any form of warfare. Unlike the more specialized Devastator and Assault Squads, the Tactical Squad is armed entirely with the standard Boltgun and Combat Knives. However, two members of the ten-man squad can have their Boltgun swapped out for a different weapon. One Marine can take a Meltagun into combat, providing potent anti armor and vehicle firepower at close range, while the other can carry a Rocket Launcher, which does the same but at long range instead. The majority of the Chapter's forces deployed in the game will consist of Tactical Squads.

  • SQUAD SERGEANT: Regardless of the squad's payload or function, the Brother-Sergeant leading it will be outfitted with a Bolt Pistol and a Chainsword. He'll also be wearing Power Armor except for the Scout Sergeant, who'll usually be a senior Scout almost ready to finally sit at the Grown-Up Table at Thanksgiving, and so will be wearing Scout Armor as well. It's possible for a Sergeant to have his Bolt Pistol replaced with a Combi-Flamer or his chainsword replaced with a Power Sword, but not both.

Remember, for every single Marine, Player or Computer, there will be dozens of Orks. They may have inferior armor, they may have inferior weapons, and they may have inferior marksmanship, but there is more of them than there are of you and that is all they need to win. If you wish to taste the sweet fruit of Success you must turn your every effort towards the single solitary goal of ensuring the continued survival of the AI Squads. Without them, you have no hope of victory. No, not even if you do that. Or that. Trust me, that one really won't work.

• SPECIAL UNITS: During the course of battle there will be opportunities to upgrade and reinforce the Computer-controlled Squads. Depending on the size and difficulty of the map, there will also be opportunities to call in some additional forces, forces not normally found during gameplay. These units will be expensive and difficult-if-not-impossible-I-haven't-really-decided-one-way-or-the-other-yet to replace, requiring even greater efforts on the players' parts to keep them alive. Doing so could be the crucial key to ensuring victory over defeat, though.
  • TERMINATOR SQUAD: The first Special Squad on the list the the Terminator Squad. These elder members of the Chapter have fought in hundreds of campaigns and on thousands of worlds, and have earned the right to wear the ancient and sacred Terminator Armor owned by the chapter. While technically members of the Chapter's illustrious First Company, the constituent squads are farmed out to the more active companies on an "as needed" basis. Also technically, the Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans are members of the First Company and could wear Terminator Armor if they wanted to, a combination of tactical preferences on their part, combined with the fact that there usually isn't enough Terminator Armor for everyone, means that most Veterans usually operate as Terminators or don't, and don't switch. Terminator Armor is the Space Marine equivalent to the Ork Mega Armor, except it's produced by professionals and has to meet Quality Assurance Standards, so it's a hell of a lot better. It's been said that Terminator Armor can withstand being stepped on by a Titan. If you don't know what a Titan is, it's basically a Humongous Mecha roughly the size of a large skyscraper and armed with enough weaponry to level the entire Eastern Seaboard by itself. The Standard armament for a squad of Terminators is Storm Bolters and Power Fists. We've already established that a Storm Bolter is a double-barreled Sub Machine Gun that Semi-Automatically fires Rocket-Propelled Grenades nearly the size of soda cans, so that just leaves the Power Fist. The Power Fist is a massive armored glove that has to be built into the armor and wired into a power supply. This is because in addition to being really heavy it generates an energy field around itself that is capable of causing molecular disintegration in anything it comes into contact with. This is a fancy way of saying it's a glove that lets you punch holes into tanks. A tank, you might remember, is really big and really well armored. Now boys and girls, can you imagine what would happen if something designed to punch holes in things that are big and armored was to be used on something that wasn't big or armored? I knew you could. On the other hand (sorry), the Power Fist can only be swung really slowly, so it can only be used on one target at a time, and not very rapidly. One member of the squad will have an Assault Cannon instead of a Storm Bolter, which is basically a minigun wielded one-handed because the wielder is so freaking huge. It rips through unarmored enemies like they were made of paper, and it's rate of fire is so high that even though a single round from it possesses little in the anti-armor department, it fires so many in such a short amount of time it starts to add up. Unfortunately, the rate of fire is so high that even being made of advanced science fiction stuff does little to prevent it from heating up very, very quickly. To prevent the barrels from warping, causing the gun to jam or explode, it has to be periodically left alone to cool, meaning it can't be used continuously in combat. To make up for this, he gets to carry the Cyclone Missile Launcher as well. If your wondering how a guy with only two hands can carry two huge guns and have one of his hands encased in a glove surrounded by metal-melting energy, the answer is simple. The Cyclone Missile Launcher is a pair of missile launchers linked by a targeting system strapped to the Terminator's back. Great for dealing with armored vehicles or closely packed mobs of enemy infantry just outside of bolter range! Oh yeah, and another guy gets to take a Heavy Flamer instead of a Storm Bolter. That's almost as cool, I guess.

  • TERMINATOR ASSAULT SQUAD: Eschewing any form of ranged combat, these veteran Marines lumber into battle wielding Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields. Thunder hammers are like Power Fists in that they generate a matter-annihilating energy field around themselves, but in form they're more like sledge hammers with heads the size of cinder blocks. Storm Shields are physical shields that also generate energy fields, in this case ones capable of deflecting incoming fire even though it isn't headed directly for the shield. Several squad members will have opted for a pair of Lightning Claws instead, preferring the faster pace they can be used at over the Hammer as an acceptable trade-off for slightly less damage per hit and an utter lack of defense from incoming fire.

  • TERMINATOR SERGEANT: Regardless of the type of squad it is, it will be led by a Veteran Brother-Sergeant wielding a Storm Bolter and a Power Sword.

It is important to remember that Terminators are incapable of moving with any great speed. In order to get around the field of battle at a pace conductive to achieving their objectives, Terminator Squads and Terminator Chaplains must have a network of Teleportarium Beacons on the map to make use of. Since at least one Beacon is necessary to bring the Terminator Squads into battle in the first place, this should not be a very big problem. If it is, someone on your team isn't doing a very good job.

• DREADNOUGHT: A fatally injured Space Marine is sometimes prevented from dying, and is instead encased for the rest of his life inside a special life-support device known as a "Sarcophagus". This Sarcophagus is then installed inside a robot walker roughly the size of a small two-story building known as a Dreadnought. Incredibly armed and armored, a Dreadnought is capable of wreaking massive amounts of destruction on the battlefield. One arm ends in a massive Power Fist, beneath which is fixed a Heavy Flamer. The other arm is replaced with a Duel Heavy Bolter. This standard armament can be replaced with one more suited to the current situation, though it cannot be swapped out during combat, so think carefully before doing so. If the Heavy Bolters are replaced with a Multi-Melta the Heavy Flamer will be replaced with a Storm Bolter, and if they're replaced with a Duel Las Cannon the other arm will be replaced entirely with a missile launcher, relegating the Dreadnought solely to long ranged anti-armor work. Since nothing in life is perfect, the downsides to a Dreadnought are pretty bad. Even though it's huge, it's still just one guy, and if surrounded will have a difficult time dealing with every one of it's assailants. Being so big, it's also a big fat target for it's enemies, and especially needs protection from Tankbustaz and Lootaz. And finally, even though a Teleportarium Beacon is needed to acquire it, it can't actually use them to get around the map. Unlike the Terminator Squads, it actually has to walk everywhere, and it isn't very fast.

edited 1st Nov '13 6:30:15 PM by Gralien

I've posted everything I've though of for the game's regular Co Op mode. Like Team Fortress 2's Mann vs Machine and Super Monday Night Combat, a small number of players work to ensure their group of Server-side Space Marine squads succeed in their objectives. OK, that's really more Super Monday Night Combat's contribution to the table, TF 2's Mv M brings how the enemy would work. To an extent.

Anyway, the reason I've brought you all here tonight is to reveal the identity of the murderer! Wait, no, it's to talk about the possibility of a Player Versus Player mode for the game. I'm not sure where that other one came from...

So yeah, Player Versus Player! The newest addition to Legends of the Chapter, Pv P mode would see one group of players and their AI squads pitted against an equal and opposite group of players and their AI squads. Well, not exactly equal... To tell the truth, I'm such a socially-maladjusted pedantic loser I am incapable of simply applying Cosmetically Different Sides and calling it a day, I am instead driven to ensure both sides are as close to the original material as possible. As such, the Pv P-only Chaos Space Marine team is developing far more slowly than the Imperial or Ork teams. A good chunk of this is the simple fact that until recently I never payed strong attention to the Chaos Space Marine army list, on the grounds that I didn't ever plan on playing them anyway. I've thought of a few things, but there's still a long way to go on this one...

• CHAOS IN GENERAL: Reflecting certain attributes found in the actual Chaos Space Marine codices and army lists, the second player team would play somewhat differently than the first. While, for the most part, identical in form, the AI squads would have a slight advantage in numbers, but a slight disadvantage in sustainability. The biggest point of divergence between the two teams is in the Playable Characters. The Chaos team would be capable of a greater offensive game than the Imperial team, with Player Characters capable of doing more to the enemy themselves, but the Imperial team would have them beat when it comes to Support and Long-Term Survivability, as the Chaos players are pretty much incapable of doing anything to help their own team. This is how the selfish and destructive nature of Chaos manifests in the game. Imperial Space Marines are team players who look out for each other, Chaos Space Marines are blood-thirsty psychopaths out for themselves. While the Chaos players have a straight-up advantage in damage straight out the gate, they burn out faster than the Imperials, who can use their support advantages to gain the upper hand in the late-game. Anyhoo, time for the actual units:
  • CHAOS CULTISTS: Replacing the stealthy and well armed Scout squads, Cultists have the advantage in numbers, as each "squad" will generally have more numbers than even a mob of Orks. On the other hand, Cultists are neither well armed or armored. Mostly dissatisfied Imperial Citizens, they're lucky to have any armor at all, and most are armed with the sort of handguns you'd see nowadays, so you can guess how effective they are against a Space Marine's Powered Armor. They also don't have any of the Scout Squad's stealth ability, which limits their battlefield role to "ablative meat shield" for the other AI squads and the Players. Unlike the Scouts though, it's far easier to replace Cultists.

• PLAGUE MARINE: The only Player Character I've managed to think up so far, the Plague Marine serves as the Chaos team's Tank, though unlike the Imperial Chaplain he lacks the skill set to double as a team Buffer, instead supplementing his ability to sponge up damage with the power to De-Buff his enemies.
  • ARMAMENTS: Since he's a Tank, not a DP Ser, his load-out is sufficient, but not amazing. He's got a Bolter, a Plague Knife, and some Blight Grenades. The Bolter works like normal, as in no super scope and no special ammo, but the Plague Knife infects those it cuts with a cocktail of virulent diseases cooked up by the God of Pestilence himself, lowering the target's health and making them slower and weaker.. The Blight Grenades are a variant of the Frag Grenades used by the Imperium, sacrificing a portion of the damage they inflict for the bonus of poisoning their targets and leaving them briefly confused and disoriented, not to mention slowly losing health every second from the poison. The grenade's poison and the knife's disease can be cured by a Space Marine Apothecary, or by the infected Marine making his way back to the Rhinos before keeling over.
  • UPGRADES: I've thought up a few.
    • PLAGUE SWORD: Replaces the Plague Knife. The sword version does more damage and infects the target with Nurgle's Rot, a super disease even more damaging and weakening then the one on the knife. I still haven't decided if the Apothecary can cure this one, if legging it back to the Rhino is the only way, or if there isn't ''any;; cure whatsoever.
    • PLAGUE BANNER: A tattered, stained, and soaked in something unwholesome flag hanging from a pole attached to the Plague Marine's backpack, the Banner has the ability to sap the life from nearby enemies and pass it on to the Player, giving the Tank a passive heal ability.
    • THE THIRD ONE: Haven't a clue. Maybe the ability to leave a trail of contagions wherever he walks that infects anyone who walks over it, maybe a cloud of demonic flies that deal damage to anyone who gets too near, feel free to leave suggestions.

Let's see here, there's:

Scout Squad/Cultists

Devastator Squad/Havoc Squad

Assault Squad/Raptor Squad

Tactical Squad/Chaos Space Marine Squad(Seriously, there isn't a more specific term for this?)

Terminator Squad/Chaos Terminator Squad (Or should it be Chaos Obliterators?)

Terminator Assault Squad/Umm, Mutilators?

Dreadnought/Chaos Dreadnought

Now it gets tricky...

Librarian(Nuker and Supporter) / Sorcerer(Nuker and Mezzer)

Apothecary(Healer and DPS) / I have no idea, Chaos doesn't have Healers.

Techmarine(DPS and Supporter) / Warpsmith (DPS and Nuker)

Chaplain(Tank and Buffer) / Plague Marine (Tank and Debuffer)

Sternguard Veteran (Ranged DPS) / Umm...

Vanguard Veteran (Melee DPS) / Err...