I like the idea of a massive expendable meatshield charging towards the enemy, though that might just be because I read 'Storm of Iron' by Graham McNeill 6 times a year ;-)
Editors Note : Modified several times based on feedback.
'New' Troop Choice.
Chaos Cultists - 3 points each
Cultist - WS 2, BS 2, S 3, T3, W 1, I 3, A 1, Ld 7, Save 6+
Herald - WS 3, BS 3, S 3, T3, W 1, I 3, A 2, Ld 8, Save 6+
Unit Type - Infantry, Number/Squad 10-50
Units of Cultists do not use up any force organisation chart selection slots, but are otherwise treated as a Troops unit. There may not be more Cultist units in the army than other Troops choices.
Wargear
Close Combat Weapon, Scavenged Rifle*
* Scavenged Rifle - Cultist arm themselves with a variety of stolen, 'acquired' or improvised weapons from a variety of sources - Regardless of what weapon is represented on the model all Cultists weapons use the following profile.
Scavenged Rifle - Range 18", S 3, AP -, Assault 2
Scavenged Pistol - Range 12", S 3, AP -, Pistol
Character
One model may be upgraded to a Herald for 10 points.
He may swap his Rifle for a Pistol for free
He may replace his Close Combat Weapon with an Eviscerator for 15 points
He may have Meltabombs for 5 points
Icon
One model may be given a Personal Icon for 5 points
Options
The whole unit may replace their Rifles for Pistols for Free
For every ten Cultists in the unit one model may exchange his Rifle or Pistol for the following.
- Flamer - 5 Points
The entire unit can take any of the following upgrades.
- Frenzon Dispenser** - 1 point per model
- Improvised Explosives*** - 1 point per model
** Frenzon Dispenser - This primitive injector floods the Cultists bloodstream with a mix of stimulants and narcotics that heighten both their strength and reflexes. Such a boost to the system is not without It's consequences however...
The controlling player may declare that he is going to use the dispenser at the beginning of the Assault Phase. The unit then gains the Furious Charge special rule for that Assault Phase only. At the end of the Assault Phase the unit must remove D6 models as casualties. These casualties are taken at the end of the Assault Phase after all normal required tests have been made and therefore do not count towards combat resolution.
*** Improvised Explosives - Pipe bombs, petrol bombs and primitive grenades can all be made simply but are still crudely effective.
The unit counts as being armed with Frag Grenades.
I just think Cultists are a cool idea and at least it makes themed Alpha Legion armies possible. I'm not sure whether more options are need or if that will do. Must resist the urge to make up dozens of new special rules...
Opinions are (as always) welcome.
I like the idea of them but i would drop the choices for anything complicated like melta or plasma weapons because lets face it these guys probley worship in a dark dank hell hole not the armouery. Like the injectors though, does that count towards combat res? also i would make them like lesser deamons they don't take up a troop slot as they don't compete with the cult troops but can score and also it means that you will have to have at a minimum of 11 guys(or 10 and 1 big deamon) in power armour before they leave the planet/ship/deamon mind/where ever there from
ReplyDeleteI've only given the 'Herald' decent weapon options as the 'Leader' he could probably scrounge something decent.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll drop the Plasma Pistols from the unit options though. Flamers can stay as they're not exactly complicated.
The 'not taking up a Troop slot' idea is pretty good but I'll have to have a think about it from a balance point of view.
Yeah i was thinking from a fluff kinda thing
ReplyDeleteGrenade launchers and flamers yeah let them have let them go nuts with them
it should work from balance in the same breath as lesser deamons there cheap and scoring but can be used to really hurt in the right hands
I've made a few modifications based on your comments.
ReplyDeleteI'm resisting giving them effective ranged weapons as I'm trying to encourage their use as a 'meat-shield' rather than anything else.
I'm even considering dropping the Lasguns and replacing them with something a bit crappier and shorter ranged.
Only thing is seems like a bargain no brainer choice if they were in there, 50 guys for 150 points id take at least 200 cultists, only 600 points, gonna take a while to kill them all!
ReplyDeletelove the idea but as normal gotta make some points,
ReplyDeletewith assault 2 rifles or pistols and furious charge these guys become actually fairly decent in assault, possibly drop them to ws/bs2 (similar to conscripts(i see them more as untrained rabble than imperial guard level troopers)) keep the herald(who should adopt the old school "rabble rouser" name as its cool)at a slightly higher stat, though not be allowed the flamer option (its a two flamer wielding unit for 50pts). perhaps a power weapon/krak grenade or bolt weapon for him)
grenade launcher and heavy stubber wouldn't be too bad for extra special weps either.
consider a third special rule option of:
"Populace Rebels - 3pts per model; the local population is up in arms, the unit is placed in reserves and when available enters via an unoccupied terrain object" (like the lictor, but more the population springing ambushes and such
I've lowered the stats, reduced the options slightly and added a stipulation limiting how many units of them you can take compared to your other troop choices.
ReplyDeleteThat should do it I think.
sounds like a cool idea but to me they represent the word bearer cults more than the alpha legion. The WB think nothing of shoving millions of humans at the enemy as a meatshield, where the alpha legion actually train theirs and use them to achieve specific objectives.
ReplyDelete@ Phoenix83 - You make a good point.
ReplyDeleteI wrote these articles a long time ago so they could probably do with updating based on the trends from more recently released codices.
I think the only changes needed would be to add grenade launchers and maybe heavy stubbers as weapon options (perhaps only 1 per unit for the stubbers to reflect their rarity).
ReplyDeleteAlso add a rule such as 'Lowly rabble' or similar, which would basically prevent chaos marine characters joining cultist units to give them higher leadership.
As for the alpha legion cultists, I would give them guard stats and points costs, but give them infiltrate and move through cover, plus options such as furious charge or tank hunters in order to reflect the mission the alpha legion has tasked them to. They would also have limited access to more advanced weaponry such as melta and plasma guns plus las weapons as standard instead of improvised weaponry. This represents the fact that the alpha legion do not view them as cattle to be herded in front of enemy guns but as valued operatives who are armed appropriately.