Codex: Mercenary

[Fueldrop]

Here's an idea I've been kicking around for a bit. A codex of unaligned factions that can be taken in any standard force, representing anything from payed mercenary work to mind control (because how else would we have them work for the 'nids without brain parasites?)

There'd be rules for stuff like Kroot warbands, Ork Freebootaz, maybe even a few units of Tarellian mercs or other exotic races who aren't worth a whole codex but are still mentioned in the fluff.
Maybe there could even be rules for stiffing them on the pay, letting you get the units at a discount but giving them a chance to turn on you.

What do the people think? Genius, or Madness (or Sparta?)

[angkor what?]

This was always a good idea back in 6th or before. Now with all these mini dexes and multiple detachments is less relevant. It's still better like you said to have one book rather than the five or so mini boojs.

[Haighus]

Could also cover Rogue Trader forces too. I think it would be a great idea, but I doubt GW would release such a format now. Most likely they would release each individual thing you mentioned by itself, maybe with a small model release.

[angkor what?]

That is one thing we can all agree on is that we want to see these on the table. I'm still hoping for a kroot codex even though a couple of us are working on one. Personal favourites of mine as well would be freebooterz or blood axes, genestealer cult and eldar outcasts.

I did want a lost and the damned and that's been achieved with the incredible IA13 list and adeptus mechanicus which they've also done. I do believe once everyone has a 7 th codex and inquisition and sisters have had major overhauls were gonna be swamped with mini dexes and dataslates for small factions and mercenaries.

[Cactus]

I'd like a Rogue Trader book myself. Put in a unit or two in power armor, a few human regiments, maybe some ork mercs, and an Imperial Knight. Maybe a rogue psyker, but I'd leave out a few of the other Imperial units like Dreads.

Ab humans like Squats, Beastmen, or maybe some other races that were developed in the Black Library novels that haven't been translated to models.

[Alaric]

You could use the Inquisition book as a guideline for points and whatnot. Neat idea, Id like to see what you come up with.

[Ravingbantha]

I'd like a Rogue Trader book myself. Put in a unit or two in power armor, a few human regiments, maybe some ork mercs, and an Imperial Knight. Maybe a rogue psyker, but I'd leave out a few of the other Imperial units like Dreads.

Ab humans like Squats, Beastmen, or maybe some other races that were developed in the Black Library novels that haven't been translated to models.

Actually this thread got me thinking about building a rogue Trader army, It could be done with the rules as they currently are. With the background of rogue traders you could easily incorperate just about any Imperial army into it and give it a piraty theme.

[Fueldrop]

I'd kinda like rules that allow me to stiff the mercs of their paycheck. You get them cheap, but there's a chance that they'll realize what you've done half-way through the battle and turn on you.

I also kinda like the idea of, say, my Eldar farseer going "I could spend years of carefully calculated manipulations to bring these pawns over to my side... or I could simply talk to their boss and hire them to attack my enemies. No-one will see it coming."

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Would be up for something like this if it meant finally seeing some good looking, alien looking aliens in the game. In the grim dark future, everything is suited to terran style environments it seems.

[Fueldrop]

Would be up for something like this if it meant finally seeing some good looking, alien looking aliens in the game. In the grim dark future, everything is suited to terran style environments it seems.

To be fair, the Imperium's standard first contact procedure is orbital bombardment until everything stops moving. I'm willing to bet that a lot of lifeforms are merely extinct.

Also, if a creature can't exist in a human environment then they've got a lot of additional challenges for waging war in such an environment.

Still, agree that some more 'alien' looking aliens would be nice. The 'nids are a good step in that direction but it's still only one race of non-humanoids.


On an unrelated note, I was down at my local gaming store today and checked out the Tau codex with an eye towards picking up a small Kroot force to act as mercenaries. Unfortunately the lack of a Kroot HQ option means that there's no way to do this in a battle-forged list without having at least one Tau tagging along, which didn't go with the feel I was after :(

[completeHook]

This is something I've found myself thinking about as well.

I can't remember which one of ADB's Night Lords books it was in but they stop at an orbital (?, I'm at work an a while since I read the books) and it gives a really interesting slice of civilian life outside of the Imperium's jurisdiction. Lots of aliens and abhumans, same goes for space station where Ravenor's team first encounter Lucius Worna. Then there is Commorragh which is chock full of weird and wonderful life forms.

A few thoughts on what makes good aliens...

The late Iain M Banks was brilliant at dreaming up alien life forms that went beyond a knobally forehead and a desire to learn about "this human thing called kissing". Look To Windward is probably one of my favorite Culture novels and for the most part it is a group of erudite middle aged "men", two outsiders, an avatar of the orbital's Mind and a pompous AI, whiling away their time in discussion and debate about the nature of the Culture. Sort of like The Trip with Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan but with an enormous three armed tripedal ambassador and a three legged tiger like composer. This is the cool thing about Bank's alien lifeforms, Kabe Ischloear the Homomdan has almost full trilateral symmetry, whereas Ziller is a Chelgrian which have evolved from creatures a bit like a six legged tiger with the middle set of legs fused into a middle super leg. This attention to how the lifeforms he created came to be the way they are is a mark of Banks' work, but something that all too often feels a little tacked on in The GrimDark.

So, the book...

If I was going to do the mercenaries book they would be Battle Brothers with Dark Eldar and Tau, and Allies of Convenience with Chaos Space Marines, Craftworld Eldar and Orks. The imperium, Come the Apocalypse; because well, you know, zenocidal totalitarian theocracy.

With something like this it would be a good way to give some of the oddball options that the Inquisition and Assassins books give the Imperium. It would probably be wide open to abuse by those who main interest in the game is gaming it, but it would be a chance for interesting models and make the galaxy feel a bit bigger.

Others have mentioned a piratey theme and that could be a way to go, like a band of Inquisitional henchmen, but space pirates. Couples of Orks, some renegade humans, a few god knows what all led by a rogue self repairing AI. That sort of thing.

Kroot mercenaries and maybe vespids (after a ground up redesign, as a wise robot once said, "try not to embarrass yourselves this time") would make sense, and maybe something new that would both make sense and fill some gaps primarily for Tau and DE. I could see some tripedal high tech armoured faction that if done right wouldn't look weird next to either force.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, in summary more weird aliens, who are also space pirates, would be a good thing.