enemies of the enslavers

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

I'm looking to build another army to be enemies for my Enslavers, I'd like them to be imperial but not space marines (otherwise id of done Grief Bringers). So im looking for a potentially fluffy army to fight them. So what kind of forces other than marines might be sent in to deal with an enslaver incursion ?

[Cryl]

Ordo Xenos springs to mind... use inquisitors, stormtroopers and a deathwatch marine squad or two... the DH cdex works for this (rule for power armour GKs as deathwatch) or if your opponents don't mind use a combination of the DH, IG and SM codexes to represent your inquisitor, storm troopers and deathwatch (sternguard make the most sense)

If marines are completely out you can always use the WH codex to represent your ordo xenos and take use the SoB statlines or more heavily armoured ISTs, not quite sure how you'll "counts as" the acts of faith though

Failing that there's always the good old fallback of the Imperial Guard, for some reason I'm thinking of catachans, not sure why.

[Melissia]

but not space marines
[...] and a deathwatch marine squad or two...
Brilliant, Cryl.


The most obvious choice would be Imperial Guard, because they fight all enemies of the Imperium of Man on a regular basis, whether they're equipped for it or not.

[Cryl]

Brilliant, Cryl.


The most obvious choice would be Imperial Guard, because they fight all enemies of the Imperium of Man on a regular basis, whether they're equipped for it or not.

Thankyou :p The OP said he didn't want a marine army but that he wanted something fluffy to fight Enslavers, since they're one of the really alien scary things out there (by that I mean that they're not humanoid and have psychic powers in abundance) the Ordo Xenos seems the be the ideal choice from the Imperium.

I did mention you can do Ordo Xenos without using deathwatch but for me a squad or two of them doesn't make it a marine army (for modeling or painting purposes, it'll certainly play very differently). It was a marine army that the OP didn't want rather than an army that predominantly would be guard based with some power armour in... if he doesn't want any power armour at all then I stand corrected :)

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

yeah, i wanted something more fluffy, specialised or themed. Ordo Xenos is a good idea, and i dont mind DeathWatch..but dont DeathWatch just fight in small squads...not whole armies of the buggers like chapters do ?

so yeah, thanks for that suggestion, ill give it some serious thought and how i could theme them and stuff. Dont really care about counts as or out-dated rules, my gaming group are only into friendly games anyway.


and Melissia, I secretly love you :p

[Cryl]

yeah, i wanted something more fluffy, specialised or themed. Ordo Xenos is a good idea, and i dont mind DeathWatch..but dont DeathWatch just fight in small squads...not whole armies of the buggers like chapters do ?

Typically yeah they'd operate in small kill teams. The Ordo Xenos force I planned to do is themed around an inquisitor lord, his (killy) retinue and Inqusition storm troopers but adds in a ten man or two five man squads of deathwatch marines to give it that Ordo Xenos killteam feel without overdoing the marines


and Melissia, I secretly love you :p

Don't we all :p

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Typically yeah they'd operate in small kill teams. The Ordo Xenos force I planned to do is themed around an inquisitor lord, his (killy) retinue and Inqusition storm troopers but adds in a ten man or two five man squads of deathwatch marines to give it that Ordo Xenos killteam feel without overdoing the marines


ah, thats fine for me then, i just didnt want to make a whole space marine army - I already have one that I never use (just doesnt personally appeal to me), but I dont mind a squad or two. I do like the storm troopers and can see myself converting them to have some cool tentacled "trophies" :p




Don't we all :p

I think so, especially those that argue with her. I think its just their way of showing affection and adoration. awww...

[Denzark]

What about a Rogue Trader? Fluff wise, an inquisitor in disguise. Consider Inquisition main, with a Attached Guard Platoon. But to mix it up I would have some random squads, maybe eldar or squats as counts as, poss allied Sisters if allowed.

Sort of he is out on the fringe doing something unsavoury and was all that could respond.

PS I like your obscure XENOS it would be an honour to either purge them with tanks (IG) or add their funny shaped skulls to the pile (CSM)

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

What about a Rogue Trader? Fluff wise, an inquisitor in disguise. Consider Inquisition main, with a Attached Guard Platoon. But to mix it up I would have some random squads, maybe eldar or squats as counts as, poss allied Sisters if allowed.

Sort of he is out on the fringe doing something unsavoury and was all that could respond.


a rogue trader could be cool, would a rogue trader and ordo xenos force possibly ally or fight together ? I have to admit I know very little on the inquisition/RT fluff-side so please pardon my ignorance on this area. It sounds like a very interesting and especially characterful aspect of the imperium though.



PS I like your obscure XENOS it would be an honour to either purge them with tanks (IG) or add their funny shaped skulls to the pile (CSM)

I'm in Hampshire and my nearest store is the Basingstoke one, if your ever in that area. but for the most part I am very reclusive, but i love playing people. As for "trophies", im actually trying to figure a way to make a load to give to people who beat my *** down :)

[Herald of Nurgle]

Dude... Eldar/Necrons. Read the fluff, dude.

[Cryl]

Dude... Eldar/Necrons. Read the fluff, dude.

You're right, they'd be good armies to fight the enslavers and do fit the fluff nicely but Asymmetrical Xeno did ask for them to be Imperial... granted he said no marines either but we'll skip over that bit for now :)

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Dude... Eldar/Necrons. Read the fluff, dude.

I'm well aware of the fluff, as you can see here :
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa207/embodiedscrew/War_In_Heaven.jpg

I submitted that War in heaven pic to BOLS pic of the day, but they never used it for whatever reason.

But that wasnt the question, the question was I wanted a specifically imperial faction to fight them as its part of a campaign im working on with a few friends...and a pure marine army wasnt my thing..

[Just_Me]

Inquisition is a good call, rooting out things like Enslaver plagues is just part of the job. Beyond that, they offer great opportunities for allies, especially for someone like you who is willing to make up house rules and the like, the Inquisition could be allied with nearly anyone (except Necrons and Tyranids, but nobody can ally with them :p).

[Old_Paladin]

I was actually thinking Tau might make an interesting opponent; but since you want imperial, how about a compromise.
A third sphere territory 'freed' Imperial colony.
Use Tau Empires, and lots of Gue'vesa units (lexicanum has a link to the old GW rules).
There's room for a lot of conversion work too. An ex-imperial Governor and elite guard in 'gifted' battle/stealth suits, Chimera's with upgraded anti-grav systems, etc.

[Herald of Nurgle]

Grey Knights or perhaps just go Relictors, I guess.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

i feel i should explain the campaign a bit for perspective and context as it seemed like I was pretty vague in my OP and for that I apollogise.

allthough the fluff is very rough - we are still working on it..but the basis of it is this ;

A rogue inquisitor believes she can harness the power of enslavers to be a new weapon against Chaos, she has managed to even capture a specimen (reasons how this is done will be explained in detail in the fluff). But like a classic horror film, the beast escapes and begins enslaving the crew - including the rogue inquisitor. Before you know it you have an Enslaver plague on the ship, and worse the Enslavers use the ship to go to a highly populated human system.

Of course the ship reaches a planet and unleashes its psychic killer squids upon the world, and thats where an imperial "hunting" group specialised in hunting threats like that appear (and thats why I want an imperial faction). They need to be allied with other imperial armies too as itll be a straight campaign between 4 of us.

One buddy is doing a Slave horde to ally with my enslavers, using spare models leftover from his LOTD and imperial guard projects, the other is a space marine player, and another will be the one that will be playing this new army im planning (she loves the game but doesnt have the time for her own army ect so its partly a present too!).


..and with that, im leave ya'll be as I try to think of new eldritch ways to enslave your minds to my cyclopean unspeakable brain! :p

[Melissia]

By the way, you could check the Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema supplement. It has some great info on enslavers.

[Just_Me]

...A rogue inquisitor believes she can harness the power of enslavers to be a new weapon against Chaos...

I think that deserves some explanation, I just don't really see how the enslavers could be used against chaos, I would be interested to know what your thinking here is.

[Lerra]

Xeno, what is that model on the left of the photo? It looks awesome.

[Old_Paladin]

I think that deserves some explanation, I just don't really see how the enslavers could be used against chaos, I would be interested to know what your thinking here is.

Well, the things burst into real-space through the minds of Psykers; and tend to eat/control the brains of non-pyskers.
If you could release some into a traiter coven or rebel encampment; it would wipe out their commanding caste and brutalize the bulk of the forces. You now have the side effect of having a force of Enslavers and their mind-slaves... but Chaos has to be harder to deal with then Alien Gasbag monsters and zombies, right?

[Melissia]

Not when they're mind-controlling the chaos forces. Now you have intelligently led chaos forces controlled by malicious xeno-daemons.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Not when they're mind-controlling the chaos forces. Now you have intelligently led chaos forces controlled by malicious xeno-daemons.

and if you can control the alien specimen then you can control the chaos forces, like make them kill your other enemies. Its crazy, but isnt that the kind of thing a rogue inquisitor would do ?


By the way, you could check the Dark Heresy: Creatures Anathema supplement. It has some great info on enslavers.

I did actually order that a week ago :) but thanks nonetheless!


but Chaos has to be harder to deal with then Alien Gasbag monsters and zombies, right?

you'd think ;)


I think that deserves some explanation, I just don't really see how the enslavers could be used against chaos, I would be interested to know what your thinking here is.

yeah, the other people explained it quite well :) (thanks to them!)


Xeno, what is that model on the left of the photo? It looks awesome.

thankyou, but not quite sure which one you mean - theres a few enslavers on the left, do you mean the one with a tentacled mouth and extra eyes ?
you can see my log for them here if you want to see more pictures of psychic space jellyfish ; http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?t=1521

[Melissia]

and if you can control the alien specimen then you can control the chaos forces, like make them kill your other enemies. Its crazy, but isnt that the kind of thing a rogue inquisitor would do ?Attempt? Maybe.

Succeed? Probably not. Enslavers have the highest willpower of any creature in the Dark Heresy rulebooks, as far as I remember.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Attempt? Maybe.

Succeed? Probably not. Enslavers have the highest willpower of any creature in the Dark Heresy rulebooks, as far as I remember.

Exactly. It's like Godzilla, you can -try- to control it, but you'll never suceed. And before you know it, cities are crumblin' :cool:

[Melissia]

They can also dominate and control an infinite number of people without penalty.

[Just_Me]

I guess the problem I am seeing with using the enslavers against chaos is that enslavers turn psykers into living warp portals, why does anything that actually makes warp gates seem like a good idea to mix with chaos? To my mind it's like bank security guards saying "Hey, you know what would be really helpful in guarding this vault? A couple of cutting torches! That's what we really need more of around here!"

[FirBholg]

a rogue trader could be cool, would a rogue trader and ordo xenos force possibly ally or fight together ? I have to admit I know very little on the inquisition/RT fluff-side so please pardon my ignorance on this area. It sounds like a very interesting and especially characterful aspect of the imperium though.


Well, for basic info, there's always the Inquisitor rulebook for download in the Specialist Games section of the Games Workshop site. Anything more than that, I'm guessing the most comprehensive resources currently are the Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader rpg rulebooks (got the former, not the latter yet...).

I see no reason why a Rogue Trader and an Inquisition force wouldn't ally, apart from the potential personality clash (an independently minded Rogue Trader might not appreciate his ship and men being ordered about by the Inquisition, though a more heroically minded Rogue Trader might feel duty-bound to help). Ordo Xenos seems like the most fun option, though Ordo Malleus could work equally well considering the nature of the foe. My only other thoughts for the force would be Imperial Navy (though it sounds like you'll be using them as the mind-dominated slaves ;) ), Adeptus Mechanicus (portions of which also have an interest in Xenos), or PDF (probably as Imperial Guard, as you mentioned a highly populated system). I still think that Inquisition in some form would seem to be the best fit for your campaign, with the bonus that you can easily throw in a female HQ choice for your friend :)

As for how the rogue Inquisitor planned to use the Enslavers to fight Chaos, my thoughts lean either to an Istvaanian philosophy (fermenting conflict so humankind can grow and become stronger - perhaps psychically stronger in this case) or something wacky like in Ian Watson's Inquisition War trilogy (and the Hydra warp entity...).

[Subject Keyword]

What you could do (and this is from a "wouldn't that be cool" not "this would be fluffy" standpoint), is use an idea that I've been toying with for some time:
Kit-bashing Necrons, IG and some other things to create a Steampunk race of half human/half machines. Gears sticking out of backs, half metal skulls, and whatnot. You could say they were early human worshipers of the Machine God, and use Necron rules.

Just an idea. Appealing mostly from a modeling standpoint.:D

[Inquisitor Gray]

[QUOTE= As for "trophies", im actually trying to figure a way to make a load to give to people who beat my *** down :)[/QUOTE]

Nice. I like what you are adding to the game.