Re: [Epic] Detailed Daemon Engines.

From: tzeench <tzeench_at_...>
Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 17:52:04 -0700

> >> Tzeench wrote:
> > Shouldn't that be Tzeentch?

It is tzeench. Don't ask why

> Not according to his e-mail address (tzeench_at_...) to which I
> was replying. Somewhat of a trivial point in any case.
> >> Nurgle:
> >> Plague Tower - "Boarding Actions" - does anyone use one, does anyone
care?
> >> [I could post the SM rules for this if anyone would like to see them.]
> > I thought about this but eventually decided that it wasn't
> >worth it. Towers move a whopping 20cm a turn, generally need to
> >advance into enemy territory in order to use the boarding maneuver,
> >and will get torn apart by AT and DR shots. Or even by straight FP.
> >It is no longer survivable enough to function in this capacity, IMO.
>
> So, the Plague Tower really went through a major downgrade in the
> conversion process from what I gather here. I was thinking something
along
> the lines that units entering into CC from a PT would receive a +1 bonus
> (for the entire detachment, that is) on the die roll. Not a lot, but I
> think that a +2 bonus would be too much.

That is true for all greater daemons, primachs (now daemon princes, where
are Magnus, I need that death ray), and the plague tower and lord of
battles. Give them save and a huge point value. My estimate would be ~330
for plage tower (I think it would be equal to a leviathon (8DC, 4 void
shields and 6+ armour vs 8DC, save, and 5+ armour) the weapons are close
to equal. The lord of battle would cost a hell of a lot. Probably the
best comparison would be with the dominatrix. (Same move and armour. 10DC
vs 8DC, the dominatrix is a psyker, khorne hates psykers. The lord of
battle is more shooty (not by much, you could even argue that they are the
same), and it has choice. The major difference is the psyker, it is also
the supreme commander (better than normal also) and it has the tyranid
special rules of being a syapse creature. Dominatrix cost 490. I would
say the lord of battle would cost ~400 to 450. I say 425. This looks to
be close to doubling the price.

What do you guys think?

> > One idea I was toying with was giving a 4+ 'daemonic aura'
> >save to the LoB and Plague Tower, to represent the chaos-card-
> >sacrifice thing from SM/TL - this would likely result in a large
> >point-cost increase though, and would take some playtesting to get
> >right.
> >> Daemon Engines of Slaanesh

> A variety of weapon ranges definately creates an atmosphere which should
> (hopefully) foster more variety in terms of tactics employed, being able
to
> cater to different playing styles, and so on, making the game much more
> interesting and enjoyable.

I agree. Chaos is a close assult army. It couldn't shoot in SM, why
should it now.
>
> > The old Knight 'directional power field' was the shield that,
> >if an attack passed through it, the save mod of the attack was ignored.
> >The old Galmour just made attacks on the target at -1 to hit, and it
> >was not effective against template weapons (kinda eldar-ish, actually,
> >which is fairly appropriate for Slaanesh). A bit of a difference
> >there - harder to hit as opposed to more durable. Still, I suppose
> >that Save could cover either case.
>
> I suppose that this is more of flavour issue for me here then anything
> else. These are after all Daemon engines under the sway of Slaanesh who
> bestows (or at least used to) special gifts and powers upon his minions.
> It looked like I hit the Hell-______, but did I really? With an AR of 5
I
> don't expect them to hold up for very long anyway, unless you're getting
> really lucky with the die rolls, but then again such are the forces of
> Chaos at work on the battlefield. For me anyway, the WH40K universe
> wouldn't be nearly as interesting if hadn't been built upon this blend of
> swords & sorcery with hi-tech sci-fi. The more I go through these
proposed
> upgrades/conversions, the more I'm coming to realize how much of this
> element was removed from the new rule system :(

This agrees with the way I would see the aura working in the new rules. I
think save suits them fine. What about the point values I gave them?

Do not ask which creature screams in the night,
Do not question who waits for you in the shadow.
It is my cry that wakes you in the night,
And my body that crouches in the shadow.
I am Tzeench and you are the puppet
That dances to my tune

tzeench_at_...
Received on Sat May 16 1998 - 00:52:04 UTC