Daemons - based on Egyptian gods - Ushabati models

[Damon]

I love the new Tomb Kings Ushabati with Great Weapons models. I don't collect Tomb Kings so I figured I'd try and work the models into Inquisitor as they are near perfect scale so I have an excuse to get them Here's a size comparison of one of them next to Lukas:



I thought they could be daemons based on the Egyptian Gods that they each look like (Ra, Sobek and Anubis). They each have different abilities and profiles and each of their weapons has a different special rule to represent the different Gods. Ra is the Sun God, Sobek the God of the Nile but also the Patron of the Eqyptian Army, and Anubis the God of mummification and the afterlife.

Here are the provisional rules for them, still WIP. Will greatly appreciate any C&C


Ra
WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
68   41   63   64   71   81   74   87   24

Abilities: Daemonic, Fearsome, Blinding Flash psychic power

Equipment: Blade of Ra – Reach 4, Damage 2D10, Parry Penalty 10%, Warpflame

Anubis
WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
71   42   62   63   72   79   74   86   24

Abilities: Daemonic, Fearsome, Invulnerable, Mummification psychic power

Mummification: A series of psychic bandages envelop and entangle the foe as he is slowly mummified alive.
Difficulty 5. Ranged. Hits D3+1 locations. Hit locations count as entangled (see web guns rules)

Blade of Anubis – Reach 4, Damage 2D10, Parry Penalty 10%, Life drain

Life Drain – at the end of the turn during which this blade does damage Anubis counts as having the regeneration special rule.

Sobek
WS   BS   S   T   I   Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
78   39   72   64   70   71   72   88   23

Abilities: Daemonic, Fearsome, Blood lust Psychic power

Blood lust: Sobek reaches into the mind of the target and whips them into a frenzied blood lust. It doesn't matter who they kill, they just need to kill. They lose all control as the intense aggression and desire to kill blocks out all other feelings.
Difficulty 10. Ranged. Target counts as having the Frenzy special rule except that he will attack the nearest character (friend or foe!) target takes a Willpower test at the end of every turn. If successful he breaks free of the power and may act as normal from then onwards.

Blade of Sobek – Reach 4, Damage 2D10, Parry Penalty 10% Bound and deflection

[Macabre]

Unless they've fiddled with the original scale of the Ushabti, they're two heads shorter than most INQ range models.

[MarcoSkoll]

Now that's a neat idea. I'd nick it if I hadn't sworn off buying from GW until they stop acting like prats.

But time for some C&C:

Daemonic... what? Daemonic on its own isn't a skill, it's just a category which includes things like Invulnerable and Impervious.

Not all of those blades really look like Reach 4 (I don't think there are any Reach 4 weapons which aren't polearms - staffs, halberds and spears). So I think I'd at least bring back your Anubis to a reach 3.

I'd say Mummification needs a higher difficulty (webbers are nasty).

Blood Lust - I wrote something similar a while back, but it was considerably harder to use:

~~~~~

Feral Rage - Difficulty 20, Ranged (Telepathy or Biomancy)
Forcing their target's emotions, a raw fury descends on the victim, overriding any rational thought or self-preservation.
The target must make a Wp test with an additional penalty equal to the amount the psyker passed their test by. If they fail, they are subject to Frenzy, Furious Assault and may not elect to fail Nv tests. If they roll over twice the required score, they will also consider friendly characters valid targets!
They will continue to be affected in subsequent turns until they pass a Wp test (no longer modified by the psyker's success) in the recovery phase.

~~~~~

Despite a higher difficulty, offering the target a chance to resist and a much lower chance of attacking their own side, it has still proven a pretty nasty ability. A particularly memorable use was against a well dug-in marksman, who didn't do so well after suddenly gaining the Frenzy trait and charging out of cover.

Unless they've fiddled with the original scale of the Ushabti, they're two heads shorter than most INQ range models.

Why ever not? They did re-release the Tomb Kings range recently.

Indeed, the scale comparison picture shows a pretty good match.

[Damon]

Unless they've fiddled with the original scale of the Ushabti, they're two heads shorter than most INQ range models.

They are shorter than the taller ones eg Ranger and Daemonhuntress but it doesn't matter too much. They are daemons after all and so wouldn't necessarily need to be the exact same size as regular humans. They still look good next to them.

Daemonic... what? Daemonic on its own isn't a skill, it's just a category which includes things like Invulnerable and Impervious.

Didn't need to put that! Shall get rid of it. I only put it to emphasise they are daemons and hence affected by pentagrammic wards and the like.

Not all of those blades really look like Reach 4 (I don't think there are any Reach 4 weapons which aren't polearms - staffs, halberds and spears). So I think I'd at least bring back your Anubis to a reach 3.

Yeah you're right. Figured they were roughly the length of a halberd but comparing them to the daemonhuntress model I realise they are shorter. Will change them to reach 3.

I'd say Mummification needs a higher difficulty (webbers are nasty).

Will increase it to Difficulty 20 then.

Blood Lust - I wrote something similar a while back, but it was considerably harder to use:

Hmmmm. i might give the target a chance to resist with a Wp test then. Make it a bit trickier to cast.

Thanks for all your help

[Inquisitor Octavian Lars]

Why not use different (but similar) names. This is M41, try to use some immajination rather than ripping off the ancient egyptians
**scuttles off and uses some other models and calls them the gods Zeus, Hera, Ares and, Artemis**

[SpanielBear]

I dunno, I kind of like the 'spot the reference' game that goes on with the naming. Sly Marbo, Sergeant Harper and Orkimedes, for example, or even the more'subtle' ones like Abbadon or Isha. Having said that, perhaps given their daemonic nature the models could be linked to one of the great four?

Ra- sun, flame, eternal rule over the changing earth- Tzeentch?
Anubis- stasis, decay, concern for those in his care- Nurgle?
Sobek- Rage, Hunger, an aspect of all warriors- Khorne?

Just something to consider. As for the rules, I'd consider upping the toughness and fear factor- any daemons, even lesser ones, should be the ultimate horror for any inquisitor to face. They are The Enemy Without, a walking abomination, their very presence a revelation as to the thin, fragile nature of our reality. They hint at the horrors beyond, unliving rejections of all hope and faith and right now they are walking here amongst us...
Something like that, anyway.

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

As we're talking about Inquisitor rather than a Stargate RPG I'd lose most of the direct Egyptian references - as suggested above there are parallels between the portfolios of those listed and some of the Chaos Gods and I would tie them into their egyptian look by their background rather than trying to truly tie them to Egyptian gods.

Perhaps there were four of them initially, old friends in life and raised in the same town on a backwater world (hence the similar styles) cut off from the rest of the Imperium for long enough that they (being abhuman) were beginning to see the growth of persecution of their kind, perhaps they turned to Chaos, none to a specific patron but each embodying some aspects of one. Perhaps the fourth was not Abhuman and being rather the hedonist betrayed them to the authorities. Perhaps they found out and hunted him down, ate his still-living flesh and used his life essence, infused through their bodies to open a conduit to the Warp Storm and, slaughtering all inhabitants of the city, drove their own assension. (I'd make a severed head on a flying base with plates nailed over ears and eyes and the jaw wired shut who would be the last living remains of their compatriot, cursed to accompany them for eternity but unable to indulge even the slightest of his hedonistic tendencies (if I went with this story)).

Given the way the blades are held I would make them Reach 2 personally - they're a brawling weapon designed to parry, to barge and to stab or club with quick movements from the ends outside the hands...

Finally...
I want to see a lot more background, I want to see motivations and schemes, I want to see some actual character to them.
Stat lines are pointless without character and the same goes double for daemonic entities. What are their demonic names? What are they seeking to accomplish during their time in the world, why would they have answered a summons at this point?

Besides that I would say that those statlines are exceptionally insipid - a single daemonic entity in full possesion of its powers should be a match for an Adeptus Astartes IMHO - I would expect toughnesses in excess of 150, strength sufficient that they be able to rip a man in half...etc. at least for those who might be termed "lesser".

[MarcoSkoll]

I don't dislike the Egyptian references. Perhaps the daemons have styled themselves after ancient human gods (but the warp being timeless, said gods are contemporaneous, ancient and a distant future all at once).

On the other hand, if the beliefs and emotions of the human race can form daemons, then I could believe that even with the lower psychic potential of the human race at that time (although, the Emperor's birth considerably predates Ancient Egypt, so psychic potential wasn't that trivial) that there might exist a modest few daemons, entities or fragments of ancient gods in the 41st millennium.

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

Wasn't He born a steppe tribesman of about the twelth century?
I seem to remember something from Mr Priestley which suggested (IIRC - it's only in the back of my mind I'm afraid) He was contemporaneous with Ghengis Khan...

But that would place Him some six millenia after the Ancient Egyptians (and the increase in psychic potential came much later - The Age of Strife - He took The Throne because He realised that Humanity needed to be guided through the transition*).



*To say nothing of the fact that - as Terra = Earth - noone has yet been shown to exhibit psychic ability 

[MarcoSkoll]

Wasn't He born a steppe tribesman of about the twelth century?

Eighth millennium BC, so about five thousand years before ancient Egypt - and he was the reincarnation of a great many shamans, so psychic potential had existed even before him.

To say nothing of the fact that - as Terra = Earth - noone has yet been shown to exhibit psychic ability

That assumes 40k is the future of our universe...

[Alyster Wick]

To say nothing of the fact that - as Terra = Earth - noone has yet been shown to exhibit psychic ability

That assumes 40k is the future of our universe...

And Marco really hits the nail on the head there, 40K may or may not be our universe. For that matter I've seen enough conflicting accounts of where/when the emperor was born that I don't know that there's a definitive answer.

Back to the point, I find blatant ports (whether other sci-fi universes or religion) to be a waste and lacking in imagination. If you wanted to do something quick and simple I'd say go with the previous suggestions and find a niche for each daemon with the chaos god that fits your fancy.

Conversely, if you'd like to get more in depth then create your own minor powers. I had a great deal of fun creating a mythology which tied into the subsector my (imaginary) games take place in (I call them imaginary because I've forever searching for players/time to get a game in). "The Seduced" in my universe are a collection of minor to major warp entities which realigned themselves with Slannesh after the fall and there is a complex political atmosphere surrounding them and ties to the physical universe in specific places which causes conflict with the human/alien character there. It was all incredibly fun to create and a nice break from hashing out the details of mere mortals.

In the end it's your own decision but even if you are taking inspiration from the Egyptian Pantheon it just seems a waste to use the names and call it a day.

Anyway, I love the models as well and at the very least I'm glad to see someone using them for Inquisitor, I eagerly await more details on the characters and completed models.

[MarcoSkoll]

In the end it's your own decision but even if you are taking inspiration from the Egyptian Pantheon it just seems a waste to use the names and call it a day.

Well, it depends on who's giving them the names. Daemons may have hundreds or thousands of monikers, which they may have used themselves, may have been used by someone else or neither (a whole "information from nothing" paradox).

Either way, it's probably worth keeping the names, even if only as easy labels for the players to identify each. (I'm sure it's easier to keep track of the Jackal headed one as Anubis than Ty'reit'lak).

[DapperAnarchist]

Try and find the original Egyptian names - Anubis, for one, is a Greek name, a "Helllenisation" of the original. But be careful! Apophis is greek, but sounds much better than the original, which is Apep, with sounds more like a liquid you take for a grumbly stomach.

[Damon]

Thanks for the feedback, I love the idea of tying them to each of the chaos gods. I've worked on some background now. They are going to be daemons but they aren't quite as powerful as they should be as their link to the immaterium has been shut off (The background explains it). Therefore I'm going to make their profiles more powerful than they are now but not necessarily as powerful as a normal daemon would be. Originally I wanted them to be in keeping with my other characters and be not too overpowered but I think it suits the background more if they are more powerful. Anyway here's their background:


 Rarely do the four Chaos Gods agree on anything especially when it involves the physical universe. However there is an individual who has greatly angered each one of them, Inquisitor Alexandra Veritas. She has slayed many daemons personally and led forces of Grey Knights to banish even more of the daemonic pawns of the Gods. Her years of daemonhunting have not gone unnoticed by them, the greatest insult was when Alexandra banished one of the 666 most powerful daemons. Although the life of a mere mortal is but a flickering light to the Chaos Gods, Alexandra has done much to insult the Gods in her brief mortal life in the physical universe. Normally the Gods would not waste their time on a mere mortal, however they all want to punish Alexandra for her work. Each God has sent a powerful daemon through into the physical universe to each inflict a terrible punishment on Alexandra. Khorne's punishent is for his daemon to consume the flesh from Alexandra's body whilst she is still alive. Nurgle's punishment is to inflict one of the vilest and most pestilent diseases upon her. Slaneesh will overload all of her senses causing excruciating pain and suffering, whilst Tzeentch will warp her half eaten body into a hideous spawn of chaos.

 The four daemons burst forth from the Warp and attacked Alexandra. She fought them for hours, whilst the warp rift remained open allowing the foul daemons to draw immense power from the warp. Alexandra was tiring, having to battle against four incredibly powerful foes. Whilst the daemons were busy fighting, Godric and her banisher managed to close the warp rift, shutting the daemons off from the immaterium. The daemons continued to fight but their powers grew weaker as their link to the warp and the chaos Gods they drew power from was severed. Alexandra took advantage of their lessening powers and managed to slay the daemon of Slaneesh. The three others realised that they now lacked the power to kill Alexandra and so scattered. Now they each travel around the physical universe wreaking havoc and slaughtering human lives to preserve their presence in the physical universe. They each believe if they sacrifice enough human lives to their respective God they can gain enough power to inflict their punishments on Alexandra and thus gain the favour of their God.

 When their physical forms were created they took on the guise of the Egyptian gods. They were symbols of immense power and were greatly feared by the humans and so seemed the perfect forms to take. However each deaemon still displays aspects of their God. Those humans ignorant to the ways of daemons know them by the names of the Gods they represent. Their true names are still unknown.

[InquisitorHeidfeld]

To say nothing of the fact that - as Terra = Earth - noone has yet been shown to exhibit psychic ability

That assumes 40k is the future of our universe...

While it may be an alternative reality it is most certainly our Galaxy - Terra, Lunar and Mars notwithstanding there are references to the Milky Way too.
So yes, I think I'm fairly safe in that assumption.

Either way, it's probably worth keeping the names, even if only as easy labels for the players to identify each. (I'm sure it's easier to keep track of the Jackal headed one as Anubis than Ty'reit'lak).

Referring to them as Anubis fair enough - but the Daemonic True name is not for referring to them.
I would want to see that a true name has been considered (and ideally I'd want to see where it might be discovered) primarily because it shows that they aren't just a human with a wierd head and uber-daemonic-abilities.

Too often Daemons are just monsters to hurl at the players like it's a computer game, like they're that first Gold Elite in Halo or whatever else. Whereas they should have every bit as much background and character as any Inquisitor or Rogue Trader.

*     *     *

I would avoid the Chaos gods working together - especially to eliminate something as insignificant as a single human - it's like calling the UN General Assembly to crush a Mayfly. The option of Undivided but with tendencies is far easier to fit within the norm of cannon.

The background there is less the background of the Daemons and more that of the Inquisitrix - let's hear about them, what events created sufficient currents within the Warp that they became self-sustaining, what made them so similar (taking the shape of Egyptian gods may be possible for them but it's far more likely that they were the shape of Egyptian gods, that that is a part of their make up).
What are their Persistent Motifs, if they are bound to a Daemonhost or possess a mortal what are the first effects of their daemonic Essence upon that fragile frame?
How might Inquisitors find out about them, how might they recognise their influence, where can their names be found?
Remember that you're dealing with immortals - beings for whom our universe is entirely alien and hostile. They set foot in our world only rartely, and if defeated here cannot return for a thousand years and a day, they aren't attack dogs, she's already defeated one of the most powerful Daemons and they're minor but they aren't stupid. If they were driven to attack immediately how do they make sure that one of the others is going to be the one who is banished while they get the glory of the kill?