[ssgtdanclay]

Thanks for the posts, and thanks to those of you who read it. To explain some of my reasoning:

First, I really love Abhumans, but I removed them in hopes that we could see an Abhumans codex sometime in the future; that would be fun. My idea behind the changed Ogryns was to compare them to Guardsmen as termies are compared to space marines…except termies use layers of Armor, and Ogryns would be using layers of…well, meat. Plus, Ogryns suck for their points, they needed a change, so I had some fun with it.

Secondly, I know it may seem like I dumbed down the Guard, but it is actually the opposite. I opened up extra options which were not there before. Commissars can now have 5WS and 5BS in my codex. That isn’t an option in the current one. They can also get more attacks than the current one; it all depends on how you equip them. Plus, advisors can be placed where ever they are needed, which seemed like an important change.

As for Thomo’s questions, I understand giving everyone a single wound goes against everything in every codex. However, it seems to fit with the Guard (and only the Guard). Space Marines, Orks and ‘Nids get stronger as they age…normal humans get weaker. A 90 year old Space Marine can thump quite a few skulls, a 90 year old human is lucky to be still breathing. It just seems to be more realistic and emphasizes squad level tactics (which should be the primary focus in the Guard)…but you know, it’s just a game…

As far as removing bolters, rarity had nothing to do with that decision. It was done for two reasons. The first was realism. If you were to take the 7.62mm minigun from the bed of any one of the attack helicopters currently used in the military, and then give it to a man to fire from the hip…well, he’d be wielding a weapon with 270lbs. of recoil; and after one burst, he’d have to go to the hospital to have all his broken bones set and then be put into a body-cast. But a bolter has 350lbs. of recoil…so…it would probably kill him… Secondly, as a Guard player, it just doesn’t seem right to win a game using Str 4 infantry weapons. Every Guard player’s favorite weapon ought to be the lasgun. Why would you even WANT bolters in the codex? And if you want some REAL firepower, we’ve got hellguns! What more could any good Guard player ask for?

As far as heavy bolters are concerned, they don’t have to deal with recoil, but they do have a weight problem: how do the troopers carry all that bolter ammo? The .50cal HMG (= heavy stubber) requires a 4 man team just to carry ammo. Certainly a heavy bolter’s ammo would be even heavier; therefore, it just doesn’t make much sense for the Guard to use a heavy bolter in the offense… but then again, this is just a game played by kids who’ve never shot a real gun, so I should probably just keep my trap shut.