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Is this thing on?

1K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  kaled 
#1 ·
Hey, I decided to post this here to see if there is anyone of any good knowledge here, since I need some rules help. My question is, How do you calculate the points for special ammunition? Right now, as the GM of my group, I've said that the gun has only that type of ammo, with a 6 point increase in points per weapon for ready reckoner purposes. I've been trying to keep the teams even, and right now it is going pretty good, with everyone's warbands being pretty much equal, though the stats may be a little to alot high compared to other groups. I'll post the current warbands later, if this forum is still alive.
 
#2 ·
Simply put, Inquisitor's points system is meant to be purely a guideline. I wouldn't worry too much about exact points values for things like special ammo. Just give characters whatever you think would be appropriate for them and use the reckoner to check that players are in roughly the same league. Generally, the point is to have a fun and interesting story rather than to work out who can build the better warband.

It'd be interesting to see your warbands. I'm very much a fan of the relatively low powered style of play (it's more interesting for one) but it's always good to see the kind of concepts people come up with.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks for the advice! Great help, especially since coming from 40k is a bit of shift, since 40k is all about the power! Right now, my group is just transitioning from 40k, and even though we will still play 40k, Most of us actually like Inquisitor better, since it allows you to get more into the story! Makes me wish GW still was updating it.

Anyways, right now we are starting off with two characters who will be the centers of our future, larger warbands. Basically, these two probably will be in every game, unless they die or something. Here is one of our more developed warbands, though we've already agreed these are going to change to be a little lower powered.
(All the stories behind these characters are still being written out, though I will give a basic overview of the current ideas we have for them)
Warband Solus

Inquisitor Zaroth Lanstar
A Catachan mutant who drains the life energy of those things that anger him, or when he or his friends are in danger. He was in the Imperial Guard until an Inquisitor befriended him during a war against Waaagh! Bigfeetz. The Inquisitor invited Zaroth to join his retinue after glimpsing Zaroth's potential through the Warp. This is the time during which his mutations began to manifest themselves, probably due mainly to the influence of his Inquisitor mentor. Zaroth has since become an Inquisitor of much reknown, and an expert in the history and lifestyles of Xenos, particularly the Tau.

WS79 BS76 S65 T69 I81 Wp83 Sg86 Nv91 Ld89

Vampirism, Acrobatic, First Strike, Deflect Shot
Power sword, Autopistol with one reload, 2 Hallucinogen gas grenades
Robes, with flak armour on Chest, Abdomen, and Groin


Shas'vre Lar Lynu
This is a Tau Firewarrior who is Lanstar's bodyguard/friend. Basically, we have him owing Lanstar a life-debt for saving his Fire Warrior team from a tyranid attack. Since then, he has greatly increased Lanstar's knowledge of the Tau, and has accompanied Lanstar everywhere he goes, though when traveling in areas where the Tau would not necessarily be welcome, he wears a Tau stealth field to avoid detection. He is basically Lanstar's shadow, a sort of guardian angel figure (in an odd sort of way).

WS50 BS108 S59 T61 I77 Wp81 Sg83 Nv92 Ld69 (we have him having a high BS because he is Tau, and the high(ish) nerve is because he is supposed to be the hard veteran who doesn't easily scare, especially when his friend's are on the line.)

Rock Steady Aim, Gunfighter, Quickload, Fast Draw
Long Rifle with one reload, two Pulse Pistols (found the rules for these here), Smoke grenade

Tau stealth armor (Carapace over ecerything except head, subtracts 25% from the BS of those shooting at him, and doubles the modifiers for spotting him(-10% becomes -20%, etc.) The rules, besides it being carapace armor, only work when he activates the stealth field (takes one action) and he cannot shoot while the field is activated.



What do you think? Our plan is to have each warband with a leader who is all around good, and one dude per band in full Carapace armour. These two will almost always be in every mission.
 
#4 ·
Interesting stuff..

The Inquisitor I really like. He's offensively very strong, but he's by no means invincible and actually seems reasonably balanced. I also like that you've gone to some lengths to justify the Vampirism. You might want to go into more detail as to why his mentor tollerated his mutation (it's one thing to keep a useful mutant around, but making one an Inquisitor seems quite a leap). Also, why the Tau? For such a sinister character they seem a very odd choice to focus on.

Also, Catachanians carry jungle knives. It's their signature weapon and knife fighting is very much a part of their culture, so I would include one just for backstory if nothing else.

The Tau.. hmm..

His stats are generally too high, in my opinion. Tau are not like the Eldar, they don't excel because they're superhuman but because they have tech and coordination. His initiative and weapon skill in particular should be lower than the comprable human soldier, and even as a veteran his ballistic skill should be merely average (Tau have poor depth perception, it's why they use those big helmets with optical sensors). I don't even think his nerve shouldn't be that high, although Shas'vre is really high ranked so he should have some leadership ability, speaking of which.. fire warrior teams are lead by Shas'ui, not Shas'vre.

His abilities and equipment are also too non-standard for Tau, I think. Tau don't have individualistic commando units who get to pick their own equipment, they get handed a pulse rifle and a couple of photon grenades. Pistols as I understand it are really just holdout weapons for dignitaries and battlesuit pilots, Tau warriors are not expected to ever be at a range where pistols would be necessary, hence why fire warriors don't have the option to take them. The pulse-carbine basically fills that role anyway.

Finally, a storytelling concern. By joining an Imperial Inquisitor this Tau is betraying the entire principle of the Tau'va and the Greater Good. Inquisitors exist to learn about aliens in order to kill them better. Some will use aliens as allies and mercenaries, even form friendships with individuals, but the purpose is clear and when the time comes an Inquisitor is expected and required to demonstrate that he is working to eliminate alien races. Only the most hopelessly naive Tau could possibly be aware that he is not betraying his people by working with such a figure.

You'd be better off, I think, making the character a mercenary from the Farsight enclaves. Such a character would be more dynamic, more violent, more individualistic and best of all would have no compunctions about being paid to kill other members of his species.
 
#5 ·
Also, I know it's probably close to standard fire warrior kit, but in my experience all-round carapace armour in Inquisitor tends to make things almost unkillable to anything but special (eg plasma, flamer etc) and heavy weapons. It's really hard to get through and do more damage with a basic weapon. I'd personally limit it to one full suit of carapace armour for the whole warband; you can stack it all on one character if you like, or split the various bits between the warband members.

I'd also go with Mantis' advice and work out exactly how and why Zaroth got to be an Inquisitor. Bear in mind that as a mutant he won't be liked by most who know about his abilities. Flesh out how he worked around that a bit more.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all the tips, I'll take them into account. I actually had meant to make the Tau a Farsight Enclaver, sorry I forgot that bit.
I'm not too knowledgeable on Inquisitors, so would it be better to make Zaroth a Rogue Trader or Desperado-like figure? Maybe an outcast who was picked up by a mercenary band or something?

Zaroth Lanstar WS79 BS76 S65 T69 I81 Wp83 Sg86 Nv91 Ld89

Vampirism, Acrobatic, First Strike, Deflect Shot
Power Sword, Knife, Autopistol with one reload, 2 Hallucinogen gas grenades
Robes, with flak armour on Chest, Abdomen, and Groin


Shas'ui Lar Lynu WS47 BS89 S59 T57 I78 Wp81 Sg79 Nv84 Ld81

Pulse Rifle w/ reload, Smoke Grenade
Rock Steady Aim, Quickload
Same Tau stealth armour, though make it Carapace on Chest, abdomen, and groin, flak on arms and legs, enclosed helmet with advanced bionic sensors and a respirator

Does that look better?
 
#7 ·
Does that look better?
It looks a lot better.

The Tau still seems alarmingly competent. Rather than having his BS at 89 as standard, why not drop it to about 60-70 or so (like a human veteran soldier) and if you find that's too weak maybe make up rules for some kind of tech upgrade. Perhaps some kind of drone-assisted scope which lets him add +30 per aiming action instead of +20. Coupled with his 'rock steady aim' I'm sure you could do nasty things with that and it feels more Tau rather than just making him an Eldar in Carapace Armour.
 
#8 ·
If you take a look at Firebase Issue 6 Specialist Games Supplement you'll find some rules I wrote for Tau Fire Caste operatives - they've been used in a few games and seem to work pretty well. I've put their stats much lower - as someone said earlier, Tau should have technology rather than natural ability. So a BS of about 65 seems right for a skilled Tau, but he should have a motion-predicator & range-finder at least.

Also, if you're new to Inquisitor I suggest you read this FAQ (there are 3-4 parts - the links to the other sections are at the bottom of that page) - I hope you find it useful.
 
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