Just figured I'd finally get some of my characters/concepts up here to get people's opinions/advice.
The warband is based around malleus inquisitor Erserias Calex and his retinue. He's a firm believer that the end justifies the means and as such his followers aren't remotely standard imperial citizens. More on that with the characters though.
I won't be putting them up in logical order, just as I get them done. Sorry if the backstories resemble walls of text.
First up then, there's the technician.
Profile:
Engineer Guthrak, son of Ardun
Ws 46. Bs 53. S 62. T 75. I 52. Wp 65. Nv 60. Sg 84. Ld 46 Right-Handed
Armour:
Head 3. Chest, Abdomen, Groin 4 (ceramite). Arms 2 (ceramite). Legs 1.
Equipment: Ceramite Mesh armour (long gloves, shirt), engineer's helm, Toolbelt (including a vibra-knife, a siege hammer, a portable neo-plasma core and various paraphernalia)
Engineer's Helm: Each engineer creates their own helm as part of their training in the guild. The helm contains a plethora of protective and sensory equipment to assist them in their work. It counts as an open helm with 3 points of armour and grants a 15% bonus to resistance tests against gases, a 50% additional resistance to photon-flash grenades (and other sensory overloads). It also contains a bright lamp and normal vision can be exchanged for an infrascope (permanent use as opposed to when aiming) or back with an action.
Vibra-Knife: The high energy vibrations along the edge of the vibra-knife are intended to allow it to cut tough materials like stone and plasteel with relative ease. As such, it has few problems with personal armour.
Reach Damage Parry Penalty
Vibra-Knife 1 2D6+1 -30%
A vibra-knife, similar to a power weapon, has a 50% chance of destroying weapons on successful parries (with the usual exceptions; the vibra-knife is not immune to destruction). In addition, half all armour values when calculating damage done by the knife.
Siege Hammer: Named after its purpose rather than its appearance, the siege hammer looks very unlike any conventional hammer. It functions by rapidly activating a potentia coil and accelerating the 'head' (essentially a lump of adamantium) into the target. The siege hammer is equally useful for flattening a rivet or a door, but is of limited use without a power supply. In combat, the siege hammer is more comparable to a directed charge than a melee weapon.
Reach Damage Parry Penalty
Siege Hammer 1 3D10 -70%
The siege hammer cannot be used more than once without being connected to a power supply (if powered, it cannot be used for a turn after each use). An action can be spent grav-clipping the siege hammer to a stable surface, this guarantees a hit and increases the damage output to D10x4
Neo-plasma core: Squat plasma technology shares more in common with that of the tau and eldar than the Imperium. The neo-plasma core is a portable power generator used to power an engineer's tools when no full generator is available. It can also be rigged by a squat to work as an impromptu grenade. This follows all the rules for a plasma grenade except that priming is not combined with drawing and requires a sagacity test (if failed, consult the risky action table for grenades).
Special rules:
Nerves of Steel (only applies when Guthrak is working on technology)
Squat: The Squat are a hardy but short subspecies of humanity. Their size sometimes advantages or disadvantages them compared to normal humans.
Attacks aimed at a squat are at a -10% penalty to hit due to size. This is offset in close combat as, unless the squat is stood on something large, an opponent will always count as having the higher ground against them. Additionally, rolls on the location chart for close combat attacks by a squat have a -15% penalty and those against a squat have a +15% bonus.
A squat walks and runs one yard less than usual and can never sprint.
Engineer: The Age of Strife (known to them as the Age of Isolation) did not destroy squat technology as it did that of the rest of humanity. This means that the squat Engineers Guild is independent from, and hence not hampered by, the arcane rituals of the Mechanicum, understanding the technology that they work with.
Squat engineers gain +20% to all sagacity tests when interacting with technology. This does not apply to hacking as the procedures used by the Imperium are generally obtuse and this tends to confuse squat.
Background for Guthrak:
Guthrak is a member of the abhuman species homo sapiens rotundus; in other words, a Squat. From a young age, he displayed remarkable technical aptitude.
At the age of twelve, Guthrak created a small automaton with the ability and purpose to replicate itself. As a prank he then released it into one of Grindel Stronghold's scrap metal facilities. The chaos that ensued when the small army of robots was discovered went down very well with the occupants of the clan brewhouses. Upon his coming of age, Guthrak was granted a place within the Engineers Guild.
Whilst travelling to meet up with a regiment on mercenary duty within segmentum obscuris, technical difficulties and other circumstances led to the destruction of his craft and his stranding on the Adeptus Mechanicus forgeworld Orphus Prime, some few weeks before the arrival on the planet of one Inquisitor Erserias Calex.
Lacking the funds to pay for interstellar travel, Guthrak decided to make his own way off the planet and to his destination. Unaware of the plaque zombie threat, he snuck into a seemingly disused hangar (actually a storage facility for failed experiments). Initially, Guthrak's plan was to modify an abandoned aircraft he found with low orbit and stealth capabilities in order to reach the planets spaceport and sneak onto a vessel.
Unfortunately, as he was midway through his work, he was disturbed by the hasty retreat of the inquisitor and his retinue. Discovering the trespassing squat, Erserias managed to quickly negotiate an escape in the modified craft in return for a pardon for Guthrak's crime and the facilitation of his transport off the planet.
Recognising how useful Guthrak's services could be, Erserias used an astropath to negotiate with the squat Engineers Guild for a permanent secondment of Guthrak into his service. The Engineers Guild was more than happy to accept his money.
Both Guthrak and the modified aircraft (now called Amphetrite) remain in the service of Erserias to this day (though Erserias found a different pilot as Guthrak proved quite horrendous at the task). Despite their less than amiable introduction, the pair has built quite a strong camaraderie over the many years since. Guthrak considers Erserias as clan blood and Erserias suspects that he would still have the other's help if he were to cease paying the Engineers Guild.
Guthrak carries little equipment aside from his tools and prefers to stay away from actual combat. He is happiest when tinkering and has a tendency to get completely absorbed in his work, ignoring everything around him. This has caused several problematic situations for him, and he still bears the shrapnel scars from a frag grenade that he ignored. Erserias, having little love for the prattle of the mechanicum, is happy to let Guthrak tinker with the majority of his possessions and a lot of his close followers' equipment has been altered or manufactured outright by the industrious squat.
As he is not a citizen of the imperium, Guthrak does not follow the beliefs of the imperial cult. Instead, he has adopted the stance of many squats who have had long term exposure to the imperium in that he sees the emperor as a guardian of the revered ancestors.
I really like the part about him getting absorbed in his work when tinkering. I can relate to that...
The part about the self-replicating robot is really interesting. Might get a fair bit of mileage in scenarios from that one. For example, what would happen if it came into contact with and AdMech character?
I like his backstory, but was wondering about whether he could connect the siege hammer to the neo-plasma core to recharge it. If so, maybe give it a limited number of recharges.
Also, squats are supposed to be hardy, but T75? Maybe reduce this, but give him the "just a flesh wound" ability; which can be found on Carthax.
Just to clarify, you say that you can grav-clip the siege hammer to a surface for a guaranteed hit. Does this include enemy characters? And finally, do you mean D10x4 or 4D10 for the increased damage?
Looking good so far, and I hope to see the model for this one day.
I like the rules for the squat, the toughness seems right to me, squats are known to be very hardy after all. The reference to hacking imperial technology is nice and fitting, there is no logic in them at all.
Quote from: Dolnikan on January 14, 2012, 01:17:09 PM
The reference to hacking imperial technology is nice and fitting, there is no logic in them at all.
Only to those uninitiated into the cult of the mechanicus. This was specifically implemented to prevent heretics (and everyone and anyone else) tampering with sacred processes. These processes are the embodiment of the Omnissiah, and any attempt to modify them is to go against divinely ordained protocols.
Sorry, took out my righteous data-chip and put in the logical one. I see your point, and acknowledge that it would be inscrutable. I also think that he might have built a small robot to do that sort of thing by now, but maybe he hasn't had the time.
Good points. My views have altered.
Quote from: Draco Ferox on January 14, 2012, 09:35:46 AM
I like his backstory, but was wondering about whether he could connect the siege hammer to the neo-plasma core to recharge it. If so, maybe give it a limited number of recharges.
...
Just to clarify, you say that you can grav-clip the siege hammer to a surface for a guaranteed hit. Does this include enemy characters? And finally, do you mean D10x4 or 4D10 for the increased damage?
I limited the recharges in a different way, since I couldn't really see a miniature generator running out of power in the timeframe of a game.
Quote from: seiterarch on January 10, 2012, 03:28:13 AM
(if powered, it cannot be used for a turn after each use).
This way it can only be used once every second turn. It makes it useful for getting rid of stationary objects (editing that into the description to clarify about the grav-clipping) but is really only likely to be used once in a combat.
I intended D10x4, because the damage done to an object was more likely down to the placement and structure of the object since the hammer should hit as hard every time.
I'll have a look at the toughness and get some of the other characters up relatively soon, but exam period just hit me like a brick wall so I've not got too much time at the moment.
Quote from: seiterarch on January 16, 2012, 08:59:47 AM
I'll have a look at the toughness and get some of the other characters up relatively soon, but exam period just hit me like a brick wall so I've not got too much time at the moment.
I feel your pain. My exams don't start until May, but the pressure is building.
I like having D10x4 damage for the siege hammer better than 4D10, as while they have the same maximum and minimum damage, I think the multiplier better represents the damage it does. However, I suggested 4D10 because inquisitor doesn't really have any multipliers in the main game (I cannot speak for Inq2.0, however), and 4D10 seems to be a way to not introduce any. But I still say stick with the multiplier.
A melta bomb is D3x20, so there is precedent for that form of damage roll.
Quote from: Kaled on January 16, 2012, 05:26:56 PM
A melta bomb is D3x20, so there is precedent for that form of damage roll.
Hadn't noticed that one. I stand corrected, and actually prefer the idea of a multiples for demolitions-type weapons and gear. Thanks for pointing that out, Kaled.