Eldar Harlequins - first pass

[axiom]

In the absence (unless I missed it) of any other rules, I've drawn up a character archetype for Eldar Harlequins so I can use some planned figures. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions would be gratefully received!

Equipment: Harlequin characters are usually equipped for close combat fighting. Typically a Harlequin will venture from a local webway portal to perform a specific mission or task, and would not expect to be laden with uncessessary wargear. They invariably carry a close combat weapon such as a sword, chainsword, power sword or Harlequin's Kiss and a shuriken pistol or perhaps a fusion pistol. It is highly likely that a Harlequin would carry rare or exotic equipment, and likely that they would carry a piece of legendary equipment. Harlequin Death Jesters invariably carry a shuriken cannon with shrieker ammunition in place of close combat weapons.

In addition to their weapons, a Harlequin is always equipped with a holo-field, harlequin mask and flip belt. Likely pieces of wargear for Harlequins are limited to tanglefoot, haywire, plasma and hallucinogen grenades.

Abilities: Harlequins, as with all Eldar, have the abilities:
Catfall. Lightening Reflexes and Night Vision. Other likely abilities include Ambidextrous, First Strike, Deflect Shot, Dodge, Feint, Furious Assault or Nerves of Steel.

A Harlequin character who is also a Shadowseer may also have psychic powers which are likely to be limited to Telepathic psychic abilities.


                WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
Harlequin   110   75   50   50   120   75   85   90   85


Holo-Field (Exotic)
A holo-field disrupts the outline of the wearer, making it difficult to target. A holo-field gives a –30% modifier against any shooting attacks.

Harlequin Mask (Legendary)
Harlequins only
A harlequin mask projects psychic visions of the deepest fears of the Harlequin's opponents. The wearer gains the Fearsome ability. The mask also incorporates a rebreather.

Flip Belt (Exotic)
A flip belt incorporates small anti-grav units and allows the wearer to leap over terrain. The wearer gains the Scale Terrain and Acrobatic abilities.

Shuriken Shrieker Ammunition (Exotic)
Shuriken shrieker ammunition can be used with any shuriken weapon, but is usually associated with the shuriken cannons used by Harlequin Death Jesters. The shuriken incorporates tiny holes which emit terrifying shrieks as the shuriken spins towards the target. A pinning test is at –30% for any character targeted by the shooting.

Harlequin's Kiss (Legendary)
Harlequins only
A Harlequin's Kiss is a mono-filament weapon; the tube housing is punched into the victim, allowing the mono-filament to uncoil and cause hideous internal damage.

Weapon   Reach   Damage   Parry Penalty
Harlequin's Kiss   1   2D10   -25%

Any hit by a Harlequin's Kiss causes an additional D3 hits for every hit that lands as the mono-filament whips inside the victim (re-roll location for each hit).

Eldar Weapons   Type   Range   Mode   Acc   Dam   Shots   Rld   Wt
Fusion Pistol   Pistol   A   Single   -   3D10+5   4   2   20
Fusion Gun   Basic   E   Single   -   4D10+5   8   4   40
Shuriken Cannon   Heavy   C   Semi (4/8)-               2D10       40            3              60
                                                                Full (12)



Fusion Weapons                     Exotic
Fusion weapons work on a similar principle to Imperial melta weapons, generating an intense blast of heat through controlled nuclear fusion. Fusion guns are less destructive and more short-ranged than melta weapons, but are more accurate, lighter and have more shots. Fusion weapons lose 1D10 of damage for every full 10 yards to the target.

Shuriken Cannon                     Exotic
Like the smaller shuriken catapult and pistol, the shuriken cannon fires bursts of razor sharp discs from solid core ammunition. The shuriken cannon can lay down a hail of fire and is devastating in the right hands.

[Elva]

Alright, I think the Conclave needs a "like" button, because this is just amazing. I've often wondered about the stats for a shuriken cannon, and this will prove good reference should I end up playing that Dark Eldar character(both in inspiration and mechanics). All I can really say that is negative is that this WILL break stuff. A spacemarine would have a hard time dealing with one, though on the flip side of that coin you definitely reflected the harlequin flavour in game terms. Thumbs up for an accurate depiction, I just hope that the (other) players don't get wrecked too miserably.

[Swarbie]

This is pretty cool. Did you have a look at that article for Eldar? I know it's around somewhere . . .

Just one thing: for the Harlequin's Kiss, maybe you should only have it do the additional hits if it penetrates a character's armor. On the flipside, that would mean those additional hits should ignore armor . . . Makes sense as the filaments are unraveling inside the target, but that's a pretty nasty weapon given the Harlequin's Weapon Skill.

[MarcoSkoll]

Alright, I think the Conclave needs a "like" button, because this is just amazing.

Such things have been discussed on Warseer. The problem is, it discourages discussion. If a member likes something and there's a "Like" button, then they'll just hit "Like" and be done with it - no discussion, and probably to be forgotten.

Anywho, with that said...

Holo-Field (Exotic)
A holo-field disrupts the outline of the wearer, making it difficult to target. A holo-field gives a –30% modifier against any shooting attacks.

Kaled and I discussed something like this while ago on Warseer. We had three alternatives:

• -20% to hit to both shooting and Hand-to-hand (a blurry opponent is a problem at close quarters too)
• Half WS/BS when attacking a blurry character.
• Double target movement modifiers versus shooting, then slap another -10% on top.

The last suggestion was Kaled's, and I think probably the best - as Holo fields are supposed to fragment the character's outline into a kaleidoscope of colour as they move.
Not very effective when they're standing still, but as they dodge and evade, they become impossible to pinpoint.

Shuriken Shrieker Ammunition: A pinning test is at –30% for any character targeted by the shooting.

Kaled again was talking about some 'Nid weapon that fired screaming bugs (I forget which one it is). The suggestion for "Pinning" weapons was that characters did not get the +20% bonus to their Nv for not being hit.

Harlequin's Kiss (Legendary)

One word: Ouch. One 2D10 hit, then another D3 hits? That would put characters out of the game in one (if not kill them outright), so it's way more powerful than it should be. The Harlequin's Kiss is nasty, yes, but it shouldn't do more damage than a power fist.

Personally, I represent weapons that are (or should be*) rending in 40k  by modifying the base injury value of the target. This gives the weapons the punch to inflict serious injury but without immediately putting a character's injury level into the red.
Myself, I'd make the Harlequin's Kiss one hit at 4D6 damage, but with injury resolved at -2 to the character's base injury value. Still very nasty, but not game breakingly so.

*Hence, when Shuriken weapons finally get into the Revised Armoury, they'll probably have the rule.

Fusion Weapons

There is a problem here. I discovered this while writing the Revised Armoury - melta weapons shouldn't use 3D10+5, or anything that isn't a whole number of D10, because then it becomes much more of a mess when you're taking damage dice off for range.

(Also, I disagree - Fusion weapons are, if anything, longer ranged than melta weapons. See the Firepike.)

[Kaled]

Harlequin's Kiss (Legendary)
Harlequins only
A Harlequin's Kiss is a mono-filament weapon; the tube housing is punched into the victim, allowing the mono-filament to uncoil and cause hideous internal damage.

Weapon   Reach   Damage   Parry Penalty
Harlequin's Kiss   1   2D10   -25%

Any hit by a Harlequin's Kiss causes an additional D3 hits for every hit that lands as the mono-filament whips inside the victim (re-roll location for each hit).

To slightly adapt something I wrote on Warseer a few months ago...

If we ignore the monofilament wire for a moment, the Harlequin's Kiss is described in the fluff as being basically a sharpened tube attached to the forearm. Having it do as much damage as a chainsword (with D3 hits) therefore seems wrong to me. A short sword seems more appropriate (with a +1 so it at least has a chance of penetrating power armour).  Then if it does penetrates the target's armour, it should do a massive amount of damage as the monofilament whips around inside the target - I had suggested something like 4D10.

Against an Astartes the Harlequin will likely have to land a few blows before he manages to hit a weak point - but when he does the monofilament wire is going to do serious damage - that seems to me that it fits with the fluff. And (in my games at least) most characters in Inquisitor wear at most flak armour with the odd carapace breastplate or suchlike, the Harlequin will cut these foes down with ease - and again, that seems to fit with the fluff.

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

Kaled's reasoning is sound there - though I would perhaps say that 4D10 is too low... Someone hit by a Kiss is described in the original fluff as being turned into a fleshy bag of soup.

Also don't forget grenades - Harlequins used to be remarkable on the number of hideously nasty grenades they could deploy - and from huge distances in the case of warlocks and shadowseers...


Overall though I would say that the archetype might be reasonable for a trooper - but a trooper isn't going to be alone, it's not nearly sufficient for a Solitaire (the updated list in Journal #44 gives a good example... 12 Attacks, wounding on 2+, wounding hits kill, no armour saves - more than enough to take on whole squads of Marines on his own).


I would therefore suggest that Harlequins are perhaps best represented as flavour rather than models on the table - like most Daemons they're pitched somewhat high for most characters.

[GAZKUL]

awfully nasty but i still think i could take him.

[axiom]

Thanks for all the useful comments. As I said in my modelling post, I'm new to Inquisitor and this was my first attempt at drawing up a character archetype, so all and any feedback from those of you with years of experience is extremely welcome

This is pretty cool. Did you have a look at that article for Eldar? I know it's around somewhere . . .

I did indeed - that's where the justification for the statline and 'racial' skills came from.

Don't forget grenades - Harlequins used to be remarkable on the number of hideously nasty grenades they could deploy - and from huge distances in the case of warlocks and shadowseers...

Overall though I would say that the archetype might be reasonable for a trooper - but a trooper isn't going to be alone, it's not nearly sufficient for a Solitaire (the updated list in Journal #44 gives a good example... 12 Attacks, wounding on 2+, wounding hits kill, no armour saves - more than enough to take on whole squads of Marines on his own).

I would therefore suggest that Harlequins are perhaps best represented as flavour rather than models on the table - like most Daemons they're pitched somewhat high for most characters.

Grenades are an option for future wargear, but hallucinogen greandes will do for the moment I'm not sure I agree that Harlequins always have to travel in full Troupes - there's a pieces of fiction in the early WDsort of understand the idea about a single Harlequin emissary preceding a Troupe visit to a Craftworld, and I'm sure as protectors of the webway/Black Library, Harlequins would be more than happy to help or hinder a probing Xenos Inquisitor as fit into their plans!

[axiom]

for the Harlequin's Kiss, maybe you should only have it do the additional hits if it penetrates a character's armor. On the flipside, that would mean those additional hits should ignore armor . . . Makes sense as the filaments are unraveling inside the target, but that's a pretty nasty weapon given the Harlequin's Weapon Skill

If we ignore the monofilament wire for a moment, the Harlequin's Kiss is described in the fluff as being basically a sharpened tube attached to the forearm. Having it do as much damage as a chainsword (with D3 hits) therefore seems wrong to me. A short sword seems more appropriate (with a +1 so it at least has a chance of penetrating power armour).  Then if it does penetrates the target's armour, it should do a massive amount of damage as the monofilament whips around inside the target - I had suggested something like 4D10.

Against an Astartes the Harlequin will likely have to land a few blows before he manages to hit a weak point - but when he does the monofilament wire is going to do serious damage - that seems to me that it fits with the fluff. And (in my games at least) most characters in Inquisitor wear at most flak armour with the odd carapace breastplate or suchlike, the Harlequin will cut these foes down with ease - and again, that seems to fit with the fluff.

I've revisited the various incarnations of the kiss; RT states that if an opponent is wounded and fails the armour, they're instantly killed. Codex 2nd ed states that the mono-filament wire piereces the armour, and the Citadel Journal 3rd ed list and current Codex state that the tube pierces the armour allowing the mono-filament to unravel. Given that the current reading of the rules and the original RT rules indicate that the mechanic is that the mono-filament causes damage after the hit is caused and armour pierced, that works for me.

So a revised profile baed on combined suggestions might be:

Reach: 1
Damage: D10+1
Parry Penalty: -25%

If the Harlequin's Kiss penetrates the opponent's armour, an additional D3 hits are caused at damage 2D10 ignoring armour (re-roll location for each hit).

This revises the launch mechanism, but keeps the feel of the mono-filament whipping around inside the body. Is that still too nasty - should it go with the suggestion of uprating the damage to 4D10?

Thoughts?

[axiom]

Holo-fields
Kaled and I discussed something like this while ago on Warseer. We had three alternatives:

• -20% to hit to both shooting and Hand-to-hand (a blurry opponent is a problem at close quarters too)
• Half WS/BS when attacking a blurry character.
• Double target movement modifiers versus shooting, then slap another -10% on top.

The last suggestion was Kaled's, and I think probably the best - as Holo fields are supposed to fragment the character's outline into a kaleidoscope of colour as they move.
Not very effective when they're standing still, but as they dodge and evade, they become impossible to pinpoint.

I'm keen on the last option too - it's very neat and almost exactly replicates how they're supposed to work. Perfect!

Shuriken Shrieker Ammunition
Kaled again was talking about some 'Nid weapon that fired screaming bugs (I forget which one it is). The suggestion for "Pinning" weapons was that characters did not get the +20% bonus to their Nv for not being hit.

I blame that on my unfamiliarity with the rules; again neater and works fine.

Fusion Weapons
There is a problem here. I discovered this while writing the Revised Armoury - melta weapons shouldn't use 3D10+5, or anything that isn't a whole number of D10, because then it becomes much more of a mess when you're taking damage dice off for range.

(Also, I disagree - Fusion weapons are, if anything, longer ranged than melta weapons. See the Firepike.)

Again, that's where my inexperience in the rules mechanics lets me down - any alternatives (3D10? 4D10?). By and large though, Eldar melta weapons in 40k are identikit copies of the Imperial version with only the Firepike (an ancient individual weapon) having a longer range (which incidentally is shorter than the multi-melta ). I selected shorter on the basis that by and large Eldar weapons are shorter range than an Imperial equivalent (shuriken catapults v bolters/lasguns, bright lances v lascannons).

[MarcoSkoll]

Kaled's reasoning is sound there - though I would perhaps say that 4D10 is too low... Someone hit by a Kiss is described in the original fluff as being turned into a fleshy bag of soup.

Yes, but at the same time, the fluff describes people hit by a bolter as being blown into bloody chunks, and people's arms being seared off by a single shot from a laspistol.
Clearly, weapons in Inquisitor are not at their full fluff power - it would make games pitifully short.

For that reason, even if a weapon like the Kiss reduce a player character to a "fleshy bag of soup" with one hit in the fluff, it shouldn't in game. A weapon like that does not have a place in Inquisitor.(Also, just about any character out there who would be a horrible mess after taking 4D10 after armour - we're talking probably 4 injury levels for most characters.)

So, I engineer weapons to be at typical fluff power when they've rolled high, not average.
For example, in my fluff, Silva Birgen can quite easily use the "claw blades" in her bionic arm to decapitate people in one - there's even one case where she takes three people's heads off with the same strike!
But at 2D6+4 at -1 Base Injury, an average hit to the head will only do 2 or 3 injury levels in game. Enough to put someone out of the game, but she needs a critical hit or a pretty high roll before you get a head rolling around the floor and Quentin Tarantino blood all over the walls.

with only the Firepike having a longer range, which incidentally is shorter than the multi-melta

Yeah, but the firepike isn't a heavy weapon.

Personally, given that fusion weapons were only upgraded to S8 in the last codex, my writings for the Revised Armour have them as less powerful, but longer ranged than the Imperial version.
I've got them down as 5D6 for the fusion pistol, 6D6 for the fusion gun, and in the event that any GM is so off their rocker as to write a Fire Dragon Exarch, 8D6 for the Fire pike. They lose D6 damage per 10 yards.

This, I feel, helps differentiate them from the Imperial version.