Gametype: Converting Horus Heresy rules for Stormcast AoS

[Melcavuk]

After having a debate with a friend who loves the Stormcast lore but struggles to engage with the lack of customisation options in the current AoS we've been playing around with the Horus Heresy rules system, currently just accomodating Stormcast vs Stormcast battles and early in its inception but with the intent of allowing hero and unit customisation on a level currently not accomodated for in AoS to better allow unit conversions. Its in its early stages, and obviously wont be to everyones tastes but hopefully some will appreciate the intent behind it.

 

Feedback and C&C always welcome, current PDF design is here:

https://artisansofsigmarhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/gladiatorum.pdf

Photos for reference (lower quality due to upload but full quality on PDF for ease of reading:

 

[Melcavuk]

For concept models in order to represent the broader approach to unit composition, wargear and character design I have been converting units to match the game, mostly to playtest with a friend.

Knight Azyros on Dracoline with Tempest Blade

Knight Zephyros with Prosecutor wings and a pair of Zephyros Axes

Lord Aquillor with Celestial Hammer, Zephyros Axe and Dracoline

Vanguard Hunter Prime with Sigmarite Shield:

Edited December 23, 2019 by Melcavuk

[RuneBrush]

Have been following your posts on FB with this and really interesting to see it come together.  I do have a couple of suggestions!

First off have you considered using WHFB terminology for your force organisation - so Troops would become Core Units etc?  My thinking is that I've always associated Elites with 40k, so to see it used for fantasy is messing with my head a little 😵

Secondly, have you seen that some people are currently modifying the Age of Darkness ruleset to work with 8th edition 40k?  This could be a nice way adding additional granularity into AoS, but without too much deviation from the current ruleset.  I believe the ruleset is being developed over on the 30k forum (though you do need to register)

[Melcavuk]

30 minutes ago, RuneBrush said:

Have been following your posts on FB with this and really interesting to see it come together.  I do have a couple of suggestions!

First off have you considered using WHFB terminology for your force organisation - so Troops would become Core Units etc?  My thinking is that I've always associated Elites with 40k, so to see it used for fantasy is messing with my head a little 😵

Secondly, have you seen that some people are currently modifying the Age of Darkness ruleset to work with 8th edition 40k?  This could be a nice way adding additional granularity into AoS, but without too much deviation from the current ruleset.  I believe the ruleset is being developed over on the 30k forum (though you do need to register)

Cheers, I hadn’t considered using the old fantasy unit qualifiers but that’s mostly due to my lack of exposure to them, fantasy as it was is not a game I had picked up so would involve learning that gametogo backwards. Initially the plan was for this to be used as an overlay for those with the HH or 40k 7th book does changing terminology as little as possible would make rules references easier.

using 8th edition rules sounds interesting, I’m less a fan of 40k 8th than AoS as it strippped away things like vehicle damage and firing arcs and instead put a load of wounds on everything, again that’s likely just my exposure to it and there’s a good chance if I grab the books I’ll find elements that can do wonders for the project 

[RuneBrush]

2 minutes ago, Melcavuk said:

Cheers, I hadn’t considered using the old fantasy unit qualifiers but that’s mostly due to my lack of exposure to them, fantasy as it was is not a game I had picked up so would involve learning that gametogo backwards. Initially the plan was for this to be used as an overlay for those with the HH or 40k 7th book does changing terminology as little as possible would make rules references easier.

using 8th edition rules sounds interesting, I’m less a fan of 40k 8th than AoS as it strippped away things like vehicle damage and firing arcs and instead put a load of wounds on everything, again that’s likely just my exposure to it and there’s a good chance if I grab the books I’ll find elements that can do wonders for the project 

No worries!  Oddly I never played WHFB, but spent years looking at the various army books and White Dwarf!  I think (and I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong) you had Core Units, Special Units, Rare Units and then Heroes with number limits on each and percentage limits.  The force organisation charts however are a vast improvement on that system.

Can completely understand writing with the thought of using your Stormcast bits as an expansion to Age of Darkness rather than writing your own ruleset (which could be a nightmare)

Know what you mean about firing arcs - I miss that and things like blast templates!

[XReN]

The idea of hero customisation is just gold, other units - not so much. 

Stormcast are a combined arms force and shoving bolt pistols left right and centre is not really that. If compared to Space Marines - they are not normal Astartes, they are Primaris, where a unit is above individual. 

To me it doesn't seem like your friend loves the lore, otherwise he would have appreciated it for what it is as there is a reason for everything in Stormcast's arms and armor and mounts. 

The rant is over, I had to take it out of my system. You've got a typo in "Knight Venator" on "heroes of legend" page

 

[Melcavuk]

1 hour ago, RuneBrush said:

No worries!  Oddly I never played WHFB, but spent years looking at the various army books and White Dwarf!  I think (and I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong) you had Core Units, Special Units, Rare Units and then Heroes with number limits on each and percentage limits.  The force organisation charts however are a vast improvement on that system.

Can completely understand writing with the thought of using your Stormcast bits as an expansion to Age of Darkness rather than writing your own ruleset (which could be a nightmare)

Know what you mean about firing arcs - I miss that and things like blast templates!

Cheers, it’s those “moments for greatness” I want to capture, the old duelling mechanic for characters, the vehicle damage table instead translated for heroic deeds etc. There is a beauty to the design of AoS but there is also a depth to those old mechanics I enjoy 

[Melcavuk]

1 hour ago, XReN said:

The idea of hero customisation is just gold, other units - not so much. 

Stormcast are a combined arms force and shoving bolt pistols left right and centre is not really that. If compared to Space Marines - they are not normal Astartes, they are Primaris, where a unit is above individual. 

To me it doesn't seem like your friend loves the lore, otherwise he would have appreciated it for what it is as there is a reason for everything in Stormcast's arms and armor and mounts. 

The rant is over, I had to take it out of my system. You've got a typo in "Knight Venator" on "heroes of legend" page

 

The “slap a bolt storm” mechanic as you succinctly put it is me, so atleast your rant found it’s target audience which means it served atleast some purpose. AoS incarnation Stormcast are “factory fresh” they all have the exact armour and weapon and new car smell they left azyr with. However we know whilst they are deployed by the storm they have to make their own way back. Weapons break, men die, armour takes a beating. The ability to customise a unit away from factory fresh, to encapsulate individuality and fighting styles beyond the norm is the point. Stormcast are no robots, they don’t all perform or approach a situation the same way.

that said if you do not like what I wrote then you simply don’t have to, I know I can’t please everyone but I will atleast take on board the feedback. I apologise for having clearly not loved the lore enough to form the same opinion. 

[XReN]

12 minutes ago, Melcavuk said:

The “slap a bolt storm” mechanic as you succinctly put it is me, so atleast your rant found it’s target audience which means it served atleast some purpose. AoS incarnation Stormcast are “factory fresh” they all have the exact armour and weapon and new car smell they left azyr with. However we know whilst they are deployed by the storm they have to make their own way back. Weapons break, men die, armour takes a beating. The ability to customise a unit away from factory fresh, to encapsulate individuality and fighting styles beyond the norm is the point. Stormcast are no robots, they don’t all perform or approach a situation the same way.

that said if you do not like what I wrote then you simply don’t have to, I know I can’t please everyone but I will atleast take on board the feedback. I apologise for having clearly not loved the lore enough to form the same opinion. 

To explain myself a little - I'm really sensitive when it comes to Stormcast conversions and Lore, can't do anything about that. However I appreciate those things for amount of work and skill put into it - and yours are top notch, keep doing what you are doing.

Now considering war's wear and tear on stormcasts: there are a few things we have established about SCE "logistics" - lords Castellant's Lanterns are capable of healing wounds and repairing armor, knights Venator have self-refiling  quivers, Prosecutor's weapons come down from Azyr into their hands as thunderbolts.  And sigmarite is very sturdy, smithed into it's forms by demigod blacksmiths and sometimes exposed to Azyr's tempests - not the type of material you imagine would brake easily.

[NinjaBadger7]

On 12/23/2019 at 9:35 PM, Melcavuk said:

After having a debate with a friend who loves the Stormcast lore but struggles to engage with the lack of customisation options in the current AoS we've been playing around with the Horus Heresy rules system, currently just accomodating Stormcast vs Stormcast battles and early in its inception but with the intent of allowing hero and unit customisation on a level currently not accomodated for in AoS to better allow unit conversions. Its in its early stages, and obviously wont be to everyones tastes but hopefully some will appreciate the intent behind it.

 

Feedback and C&C always welcome, current PDF design is here:

https://artisansofsigmarhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/gladiatorum.pdf

Photos for reference (lower quality due to upload but full quality on PDF for ease of reading:

 

This looks really intriguing! I'm a massive fan of people making their own bespoke game modes (as a kid a friend and I designed a soccer game using Space Marines using the original Blood Bowl rules haha)

I'm going to have  a good peruse of it over the xmas break and offer any c&c if I can

On  a different note - what did you use to create the pdf design? (software wise I mean)

[Melcavuk]

@NinjaBadger7 Cheers, mostly I use Microsoft Publisher, some of it is drafted over as jpg or png files from GIMP but thats mostly just the head from warscrolls and some of the art.

[JPjr]

@Melcavuk this is all 💯 % brilliant. Been following on Twitter but great to see it all laid out, when I’m out of this ridiculous carb coma I’m looking forward to digging into it properly. And personally I think the ‘lore’ or whatever is just clay to play with and turn into whatever interesting stuff It inspires and this is obviously inspiring some wonderful stuff.