Flying Polyps in 40k..

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Ok, I REALLY want to do a small army of Flying Polyps for warhammer 40,000. There's a few problems with this however. 1) I have NO idea what rules they could use and 2) They would really only have the one unit.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, Flying Polyps are my all-time favourite alien race - and they are from HP Lovecraft's story "Shadow Out Of Time". Basicly, I think 40k absolutely -needs- some flying polyps in it.


http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa207/embodiedscrew/Lovecraftian/FlyingPolyp.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa207/embodiedscrew/Lovecraftian/polyp.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa207/embodiedscrew/Lovecraftian/flyingpolyp-1.jpg

Luckily, for me you RAFM sell Flying Polyps in their CoC range : http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=50082

Heres a few some people have done that caught my eye :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwindels/3455353844/
http://tentakel.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/flying-polyp-as-a-daemon-prince/

I guess my idea would be to buy a dozen of them. They are rather large and would dwarf a space marine terminator, easily. Powerwise, they can control the winds around them and use it as a weapon. They can also phase in and out. They are portrayed as very powerful. So, as you can see I have NO idea what rules I could use for them. I guess im open to unofficial rules, I just want them to be fluffy and playable really. I dont want them to be over-powered or cheesey. I only play friendly games with my mates and have no interest in tournies or playing in clubs or shops.

I will also likely convert them all with GW chaos and tyranid parts to individualise them. This is mainly for a campain my gaming group are planning where imperial forces land on an ancient world and discover the polyps that still live in the cave-systems below the surface.

[Sister Rosette Soulknyt]

Okaaaay, dont mean to stomp on your thought out idea, but its not even legal to Warhammer 40k.
If you want to play a flying army then id just got Tyranids with gargoyle and winged everything else in that army OR build an army around Eldar with lots of Swooping hawks.

As right now i doubt anyone would allow you to write rules for them and play against them. We play 40k for what it is, not so we can just invent new armies though i wish sometimes we could, as some GW really needs an overhall.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Well, not my gaming group. We have people who use homebrewn codices to play their Squats, lost and the damned ,genestealer cults and all kinds of stuff, it's more about playing a narrative war story than a competitive sport. We believe 40k is what we want it to be, not what a corporation tells us it has to be, and since we paid alot of money and put alot of time into collecting, modelling, painting ect I dont see what right anyone has to tell us how to play with our toy-soldiers in our dank gloomy basement. :/

[eldargal]

Actually, thats exactly what the corporation says its should be, thats why all the competitive gamers are always having hissy fits about GW not doing enough to make 40k better for tournament play. Why not make your own race, there must be plenty more xenos out there. You aren't altering the fluff/character of an existing army* so I say go for it.
The one unit thing is a problem. Perhaps Tau poly allies or Tyranid polyps or something?



*Which is a no-no in my book.


Well, not my gaming group. We have people who use homebrewn codices to play their Squats, lost and the damned ,genestealer cults and all kinds of stuff, it's more about playing a narrative war story than a competitive sport. We believe 40k is what we want it to be, not what a corporation tells us it has to be, and since we paid alot of money and put alot of time into collecting, modelling, painting ect I dont see what right anyone has to tell us how to play with our toy-soldiers in our dank gloomy basement. :/

[chromedog]

Yep, some people use the rules and add their own background.

Others see the rules+background as some kind of sacrosanct word-of-grud type of thing.

Ne'er the twain shall meet.

I just play 40kays as a beer and pretzels game (and throw peanut shells at the fantasy players).

[DrLove42]

Maybe play them as some kind of chaos spawn? Or yeah write your own for them.

[Gir]

Maybe the rules for a blight drone will work?

[Old_Paladin]

The first thing that jumped into my mind ruleswise, was Necron Wraiths.
The whole background of wraiths is them floating around the battlefield, phasing in and out of reality.

You could start there, and change things as needed/wanted.

[Spiv]

Okaaaay, dont mean to stomp on your thought out idea, but its not even legal to Warhammer 40k.
If you want to play a flying army then id just got Tyranids with gargoyle and winged everything else in that army OR build an army around Eldar with lots of Swooping hawks.

As right now i doubt anyone would allow you to write rules for them and play against them. We play 40k for what it is, not so we can just invent new armies though i wish sometimes we could, as some GW really needs an overhall.

Eldargal has it right. GW has, in many public comments, stated that they encourage the development of new units/armies/races. If they didn't, they never would have released the datesheets with Apoc. and openly encouraged you within the book to use them to build new weapons.

Things are only "not legal" in a tournament sense. I love when people bring new races into the game. I think it's a great idea, and it sounds like your buddies do too.

[Drew da Destroya]

I'd play against some Polyps... the army'd look awesome!

Maybe some form of Daemon army? With controlling the wind/popping out of underground tunnels, I could see deep strike making sense. Phasing in and out makes the invulnerable work.

I'm thinking mostly tzeentchian stuff... Horrors would make sense (controlling the Wind as a weapon sounds like a shooting attack), maybe throw in some flamers for variety. HQ Herald, just a slightly different polyp, same shooting attacks.

[Absolutionis]

Play them as Tyranids. Tyranids have a tremendous variety of 40mm based units that could suit your fancy.

The Great Polyp could be a Tyranid Prime.
The Master Polyp could be the Doom of Malantai.
Common Polyps could be slow-floating Tyranid Warriors.
Polyps could turn invisible and cause terror, that fits in with the Death Leaper and/or some Lictors.
Fast Polyps could be deep-striking Shrikes.
For larger/scarier concepts, Tyrants and Mawlocs work well.

All the aforementioned have close-combat weapons and/or very short range weapons (especially Lictors) so you have your 'wind-based' weapon. Plus, many Tyranid weapons on the larger creatures fire multiple shots and/or are blast weapons. Focus on those and you have the equivalent of wind-based shredding.

Bonus awesomeness (and flavor clash) if you have all the "small" 25mm-based Tyranid units be from the Great Race of Yith.

[Lane]

Well, not my gaming group. We have people who use homebrewn codices to play their Squats, lost and the damned ,genestealer cults and all kinds of stuff, it's more about playing a narrative war story than a competitive sport. :/

I agree that you should be able to create new stuff as well, however I have seen "house rules" taken too far.

I met a group of 40k players who complained the game was getting dull, playing the same armies and people all the time. But they were unwilling to bring new people into their group or play at the local store. You see they had developed a set of house rules that made the game what they wanted and felt it was too much trouble teaching others and they no longer knew standard rules. One change was to make Marines like the fluff, 5 5 5 5 multi wound 2+ etc. Then, since the marine player still sucked they lowered the points.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

yeah, that's one of the reasons I dont particularly want to make up rules for them myself, id worry they are too overpowered or such. To be fair I have nothing against tournie players or power-gamers, but it's not what me and my buddies are personally interested in. We are a reclusive bunch though, as we all tend to have various anxiety issues LOL :rolleyes:

[BuFFo]

Okaaaay, dont mean to stomp on your thought out idea, but its not even legal to Warhammer 40k.

Define legal please.

Xeno, I think it is brilliant you are doing this.

Hobbyists with true imaginations are a dying breed in teh 40k gaming community. I don't think most of the 'customers' even know what an imagination is unless GS packaged it and sold an expansion for it.

This is how BoLs used to be years ago, before it got all power gaming-like. Homebrewed rules all over the place.

I wish you were a part of my gaming group. You sound like a blast to have around man!

As for the Polyps...

- They would need to have the Skimmer rule.

- They seem like multi wound creatures. Do you want them to be able to be vaporized by large scale / magical weaponry? If not, make them at least Toughness 6, and/or have the Eternal Warrior rule.

- They could have the ability to attack multiple units in a turn, a la the Necron Monolith? This could represent their 'Wind' powers at work.

I don't know anything else about them to give anymore advice.

Of course, I must say this... Why isn't this in the Homebrew Forum? I know you put it here for more traffic, but if you want people who actually CARE about homebrew rules, and not people who just want to +1 their posts, you should move this over there.

[Porty1119]

I love homebrew rules...and these things sound like Zoanthropes except with Jump Infantry.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

As for the Polyps...

- They would need to have the Skimmer rule.

- They seem like multi wound creatures. Do you want them to be able to be vaporized by large scale / magical weaponry? If not, make them at least Toughness 6, and/or have the Eternal Warrior rule.

- They could have the ability to attack multiple units in a turn, a la the Necron Monolith? This could represent their 'Wind' powers at work.

I don't know anything else about them to give anymore advice.



Yeah, wasnt sure if there was a suitable counts-as, existing rules (i know im not the only lovecraftphile into 40k :P) or making rules up.

If more info is needed ;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Polyps

the campaign involves inquisition forces discovering an ancient planet that pre-dates the existence of the universe - the world in question would be a last-refuge or "Prison" world of the Polyps. Very much like the Megarachnids in the Great Crusade. Also involved is a contingent of marines (hey gotta see power armoured guys get torn apart by polyps right ?), a chaos lord intent on stealing the polyp technology deep in the cyclopean caverns and a contingent of Eldar that seek to make sure none of the other parties involved unleash the horrors that lurk beneath the surface. I am not sure if the polyps should be a kind of "dangerous terrain" kinda thing like more of a random danger that pops up to stop the other parties, or an army in their own right. I'm unsure what would be the most "fluffy".



Hobbyists with true imaginations are a dying breed in teh 40k gaming community. I don't think most of the 'customers' even know what an imagination is unless GS packaged it and sold an expansion for it.

I definitly agree here, it's getting a bit boring IMO and...uniform. Creativity along with the backround is really what drew me in when i picked up an early 90s WD and was blown away by the conversions and imagination I saw in that years Golden Demon. Instantly hooked me.


Of course, I must say this... Why isn't this in the Homebrew Forum? I know you put it here for more traffic, but if you want people who actually CARE about homebrew rules, and not people who just want to +1 their posts, you should move this over there.


tbh, I simply wasnt sure where to put it ! as I was wondering about all kinds of aspects of it, and kinda hoped for input/suggestions on all sides (backround, rules or even modeling ideas) but if a mod feels it's better in the homebrew forums then that is cool :)

thanks kindly for your reply (and to everyone else too!)

[Ordo Dakka]

Jesus when I saw this topic I nearly spat out my coffee. I already use Polyps for my daemonhosts :P

[Leez]

Here's a possible link to the incubation nests (http://www.cascadecchd.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/picture-inside-colon.jpg) where new polyps are formed. Human female not included, shown only for scale.

Chaos, the cancer within.
Xenos, the cancer without.
Polyps, the cancer within the without.

I dare say the Imperium won't be able to merely wag a finger at this threat.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Jesus when I saw this topic I nearly spat out my coffee. I already use Polyps for my daemonhosts :P

Oh, please share! :D are they the RAFM ones or something else ?

[Duke]

... but if a mod feels it's better in the homebrew forums then that is cool :)

For the time being I think it is just fine here... If you get more into hombrew rules then I can move it for you... Also, if you would rather have it moved let me know.


Duke

[Denzark]

AX - you are definitely out there Sir. Every time I read one of your posts I find my hands subconsciously reaching for my flamer.

My compliments Sir.

[snikrot]

those things look really creepy.

[KaptinScuzgob]

Im planning a Cthulhu Mythos daemon army for 40k. I'm using 2 Heralds of Tzeentch on Chariots as my Flying Polyps. Cthulhu takes the other HQ as a tooled up Lord of Change, with Dagon, Nyralathotep & The King in Yellow as Daemon Princes. The rest is Deep Spawn as Plaguebearers & Black Goats as Fiends

[HsojVvad]

You know you can make your own creatures right? So why not use the Creature Feature rules? There you can make your own plants and animals and I believe anythign else.

Yes this was made for 4th edtion. (or was it 3rd edtion?) so most likely they will be over priced, but who cares, they are your own creation.

Also if you can find a copy of Chapter Approved 2004, there is rules in there to make vehicles and Tyranid Monsterous creatures.

Hopefully this could be what you are looking for. I do not have any links, maybe others know them.