Giving Champions Daemon Weapons?

[Master Bryss]

Currently working on an alternate Chaos Marines 'Sandbox' army for RM. I've got some nice ideas in there, and this time I'm being more adventurous then I was with Space Marines.

Today's quick questions: I've been considering creating an option that gives all Aspiring and Cult Troop Champions access to Daemon Weapons, for the same cost as giving one to a Chaos Lord. Way I see it is this; you get a shedload of attacks but:


More than doubles the cost of your Champion
Roll a 1 and most Champions will die


So, would this be considered way OTT? And if the answer is no, should a Daemon Weapon cost more for the Cult Troops and by how much?

[DarkLink]

Maybe a modified version of the Daemon weapon. Say, just a power weapon that grants +1 Str (or god specific equivalent ability), or something similar, with some less severe penalty, such as allowing armor saves against the wound.

How about this:

30pt upgrade

Roll a D6 each time the Champion attacks with the Daemon weapon in CC. On a D6 roll of a 1, the Champion take a wound, armor saves allowed.

Chaos undivided: Power Weapon with +1 Str

Khorne: Power weapon, grants +D6 attacks each turn

Nurgle: Power Weapon, poisoned

Tzeentch: Power weapon, grants shooting attack

Slaneesh: Power weapon, inflicts Instant death

[jumai]

First off, there's a reason that only one model in the entire book can take a daemon weapon; in previous versions of the rules, you were explicitely barred from having more than 1 in your army. You don't go get a daemon weapon from the shelf next to the heavy bolters, each one is supposed to be an artifact of legend, and any champion weilding one is supposed to be demonstrating his supremacy simply by doing so without getting his soul devoured on the spot.

Ahem. Anyway.

Mechanics wise, undivided daemon weapons in CSM squads would probably be ok for 40 points. CSM aspiring champs lack the Lord's high WS and I, so he'll never leverage the spammy D6 rolls the way a character does, and when he manages to gib himself he neuters an entire squad by doing so. Not that it wouldn't be scary, but it's also costly, and to me the two seem proportionate.

The Aspiring Sorcerer doesn't gain much from his daemon weapon, he can do the same for 10 points with Doom Bolt. So you're fine there.

Since Plague Champions are I3, the Powerfist still makes more sense for him.

A Blissgiver on a Noise Champ is starting to look a bit dodgey. Spammy instant death attacks at high initiative doesn't seem like a troops choice to me, especially considering they will invariably roll with a doom siren as well. Noise Marines are a bit too costly as is, so maybe it would pan out to be expensive enough for balance, but it seems questionable.

...However, handing Bloodfeeders to Skull Champions seems fantastically shortsighted. With WS5, A3, and Furious Charge, an assaulting Skull Champ is actually *more* dangerous with it than the Lord! The 30% chance of him killing himself each round will seem an awfully hypothetical concillation to your opponent when the most likely scenario is still you going first with 11 power weapon attacks that hit and wound on 3's (and if anything's left, you still have the usual chainaxe avalanche to roll). Ya, no. Don't start with that.




As an alternative, I'd suggest giving squad leaders access to a selection of simple but fluffy Mutation upgrades in addition to their normal wargear. Options for taking +1 to a certain statc, Acute Senses, a bonus to sweeping advance rolls, those sorts of things.

[Master Bryss]

After much thought I decided to give up on the idea. I've made them accesible to Princes, but not Champions. The article will go up on Rules Manufac. at... some point.