Ish

Okay... So, um, does anyone have a copy of the rulebook?

Evening... 5:30~6:00? 

Anyone up for a game tomorrow night (4/26) at either Guardian Games or The Portland Game Store?

Absent any official FAQ, Zorcon's research settles the issue for me as to what the intended rule was meant to be. I vote we roll with it.

Personally, I think WH40k players as a subset of war gamers in general, spend way to much time worrying about this mythical, utopian "balance."

Sometimes your a rock and you'll smash scissors; sometimes you're a rock and will get covered by paper. Only instead of the threeway simplicity of R-P-S, it's a game with forty-thousand moving parts...

I'm not saying imbalance doesn't happen. We've all seen units that are clearly too good for their cost (e.g., early Heldrakes) or too poorly suited for their intended role (e.g., Pyrovores). But rather than treat these as odd hiccups in an otherwise reasonably functioning game, too many of us react like a crazed Flagelleant who has witnessed an act of HERESY!

1 hour ago, Zorcon said:

Magnetizing an arm(s), or pin fitting (no glue) a secondary weapon to the back is an easy way to swap out a model's load-out.

Or in the case of the very elite factions (Grey Knights, Harlequins, Tyranids) you could probably just swap out whole models. 

Specifically, it's Armageddon itself. The fourth world out from the local star, and the primary battleground of three Wars of Armageddon. Although heavy fighting also occurred on the fifth planet, the ice world of Chosin, and the sixth planet, an Imperial Navy's port world named St. Jowen's Dock. 

There was also a lot of fleet to fleet combat between the Imperial Navy and Space Marines against the Ork fleet. Not to mention the three massive "monitoring stations" (named Dante, Yarrick,  and Mannheim) orbiting past the outermost planets.

Armageddon itself basic had six major theaters of war: the Fire Wastes (hot wastelands in the north, lots of ore mines and oil platforms); the Deadlands (arctic southern pole, water processing plants and some major Ork airfields); Armageddon Prime and Armageddon Secundus (the east- and west-halves of the main continent and home to some 8-10 hive cities); the Equitorial Jungle (a massive perfect for all those homesick Catachans that divides Armageddon Primus from Secundus); and, finally, and Phoenix Island (very similar to the Gire Wastes, but smaller).

TL;DR: It's a great big war zone and you can justify any sort of scenery or scenario. 

It wouldn't be the first time GW's left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing...

Mysta Jai has volunteered to be the first to brave my painting skills... 

So many problems could be avoided if Kill Teams could store unused items and points in an "armory."

Well, you're looking at 200 Points to Recruit, if you spend a cache and you earn at least one in every mission... So it is possible for even Grey Knights and Tyranids to make new hires. My space-elf-ninja-clowns are in a similar position, a Mime costs 125 Points before you add any equipment. The "standard" Kiss and Shuriken Pistol loadout is 60 Points.

But what I find most bothersome is that unused equipment is just lost. If my Gunner starts with a basic gun, then I use my first cache to buy them a heavy weapon, why can't I just put his starting rifle in storage for later? 

As for the Chaos Marine to Cultists ratio, this is something that I would like to see addressed on a Legion by Legion basis.

Alpha Legion and Word Bearers are almost always depicted in the setting materials (and sometimes in the rules) as having loads of Cultists. Heck, oftentimes the Alpha Legion has been said to consist of a single Chaos Marine leading Cultist warbands the size of Imperial Guard regiments!

Thousand Sons, Death Guard, and  Black Legion work with Cultists, but not as much...

Emperor's Children, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, and World Eaters don't seem to work with Cultists very much. If at all.

So, basically, give Alpharius and Lorgar's kids access to more Cultists; Reduce the Cultists access of Emperor's Children, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, and World Eaters; and keep everyone else the same.

I do find it weird that SW:A doesn't allow for Kill Teams to have any sort of "storage." I mean, we're not playing underhive scum... We're all playing scouting elements of large established military forces. Even the Genestealer Cultists, fluff-wise, should have hidden headquarters and secret caches of gear! 

This is definitely an area that needs tweaking.

6 hours ago, WestRider said:

Yeah, pre-measuring is in. Pretty sure it's around to stay for GW stuff.

Good. 

Although I can appreciate, on an intellectual level, why many games don't allow pre-measuring, the practical reality is that allowing pre-measuring just cuts down on so many arguments, allowing for faster and smoother gameplay.

Been a crazy week and virtually no progress has been made. But everyone is assembled. I need to pick up the plastic boxed set of Harlequins to get a neuro blaster for Mista Jai... and some primer.

The invulnerable save is on a 1d6... You're probably right that I've made it too durable. But I think the basic concept is sound, it just needs refinement.

"Specialist" specifically specifies special soldiers who specialize in special weapons, whereas the special "Special Operator" only specifies optional operators who operate operationally in operational operations. 

It couldn't be more clear.

Plus it'd be equally awesome for Frostgrave, Bolt Action, and Age of Sigmar... 

I'm kinda wanting to set up a fully overgrown jungle table, like the one GW built for Games Day '01 to promote the old Codex: Catachan. 

Here's my (very rough) idea on how to treat a Rhino in SW:A.

Basically, give it a statline like any other model and it should be easier to integrate it into the game. High base movement, really strong armor, and a pile of wounds... But still vulnerable to most of the heavier weapons available to Kill-Teams. One good roll on a demo charge could one-shot it and an average roll will cripple it.

My basic scenario idea would be a escort/ambush... Set up the terrain in any mutually agreeable manner, but leave a 4-6" wide 'road' from one end to the other that is clear of any impassable terrain. The escorts and the Rhino start within 6" of one table edge on the "road," the ambushing team can set up anywhere else (subject to usual restrictions on distance from enemies and being hidden). The escorting team is joined by a VIP, who must start embarked in the Rhino. He has stats identical to an un-upgraded Leader of your faction, but is only armed with a knife and the cheapest pistol your faction can select. The escorting team wins when they get the Rhino's VIP passenger off the opposite table edge.

Space Marine Rhino

M: Special

WS: 2

BS: 4

S: 6

T: 6

W: 10

I: 3 

A: 1 

Ld: 9

Save: 3+; Unshakable, Armor saves taken on 2d6, 6+ Invulnerable Save

Equipment: A Rhino has a Storm Bolter with a 360° field of fire. The Rhino may be fitted with single use canister launchers with smoke grenades for +10 Points or smoke and frag grenades for +25 Points.

Combat Speed / Flanking Speed: A Rhino may move at combat speed of 8" and fire its Storm Bolter normally or it may move at flanking speed of 12" and fire its Storm Bolter at BS2.

Damaged Tracks: When a Rhino is reduced to less than eight wounds, it may no longer move at flanking speed and is reduced to I 1. When a Rhino is reduced to less than three wounds, it may no longer move. 

Transport: Works like in regular 40k.

Just about any terrain type will work; not every game needs to be set in an industrial hive... Armageddon is a big planet with a lot of variation in environments. There are hive-cities, sure, but there are also vast jungles, arid deserts, agricultural zones, and so forth. 

You could probably get workable stats for a lot of vehicles from the Second Edition codices and data faxes... 

My ninja-clowns have a mere four models to start... I was playing around with the Grey Knights list and settled on the following:

• Justicar w/ Staff, Frag Grenades 

• Two Troopers w/ Nemesis Swords

• One Gunner w/ paired Falchions

1,000 Pts exactly and you upgrade the gunner to a Psilencer after your first game.

Wednesday nights at Guardian are ideal for me; I've been going to D&D every other week with my daughter (she's in the youth game and loves it) but it's become increasingly hard to find a seat at an adult table that won't play long past the time when I have to get her home. 

But a SW:A game should easily play out in two hours or less.