+ inload: The Eightfold Path – Emperor's Children and Imperial Fists +

+ Stratagems, the Emperor's Finest and the Men of Stone +

+ A few tweaks to the basic Line Company gives them  some solid Stratagems to spend their CPs on. If you have any suggestions for Stratagems – whether Legion-specific or more generic – please send 'em in. +

+ A general note on the Legion Stratagems – I'm aware that they're not obviously powerful, often being useful only in special circumstance. It's worth explaining that's because (unlike normal Stratagems) there's no limit on the number of times they can be used in a turn. In addition, because they're replacing the special rules, I wanted to keep them cheap so that they can be used easily. +

+ The 'negative' Stratagems – those that you grant your opponent – are a good opportunity to help create decisions in-game: do you save your points for your turn, or spend them to stymie the enemy? Some may even backfire – dragging that Emperor's Children apothecary forwards might drag him into danger... but it might end up with him tipping the combat! +

+ I also like the fact that your options sometimes depend as much on your opponent as your army, broadening the potential interactions, and thus the interest. +

+ I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on CP costs for them. +

+ The Emperor's Children +

+ For some odd reason, the image keeps turning out very thin, so apologies for legibility. +

+ The Emperor's Children are marked by their perfectionism and speed. Their Initiative-modifying behaviour doesn't really translate to 8th, so I've saved the Counter-offensive Stratagem for them, which simulates the spirit. Hopefully this demonstrates why I'm taking stuff away from other Legions – in order to save 'design space'. +

+ The Legion Stratagems proved a bit tricky here owing to the differences between 7th and 8th; and I was aware that too much speed would tread on the White Scars' (eventual) toes. For this reason, I wanted to give a combination of Legion Stratagems that encouraged the Emperor's Children to position and then work in concert, unlike the Scars, who want to move and circle as much as strike and fade. Exemplars of War thus helps the Emperor's Children position themselves with more reliability than other Legions, while Flawless Execution reflects their ability to pick the best thing to do in any circumstance – stay locked, or pull back at an opportune moment and shoot. +

+ The Imperial Fists +

+  The Fists were a lot of fun to convert; I've both played as and fought against them a lot, and have always enjoyed the background of these staunch warriors. +

+ In Age of Darkness, the Fists share To the Bitter End with the Iron Warriors, extending the game. While I like the symmetry, it reduced the options in classic Iron Warriors versus Imperial Fists grudge-games. For that reason, I've replaced it with No Retreat, No Surrender. This is an expensive Stratagem that allows the enemy to keep the Fists locked in combat, with the intention of evoking the background that the Fists sometimes stay engaged when withdrawing would be more tactically sound. +

+ This stubbornness has an up-side, however. After all, the Legion birthed the Black Templars, and I wanted to move away from all of their rules being purely defensive. Unshakeable Defence is thus a potentially game-winning Stratagem that reflects both the Fists' defensive skills – you'll have to be serious about taking objectives in their half – but also gives the Fists some ability to work more aggressively. Its expense encourages a conservative use of Command Points throughout the game, which I felt reflected the brooding nature of the Legion and its Primarch without tying them into a one-dimensional style. +

+ Disciplined Fire is a cheap, good stratagem that was simple translation from 7th. +

+ Blood and Honour is a fun one. While relatively expensive, it's a good way of making sure that your Champions can get stuck in. I like the mechanic a lot, but wonder if it's too much for the Legion Stratagems – would it be better as a Stratagem granted by the Templar Brethren special unit? +

+ The Stone Gauntlet Detachment was a bit of a struggle. Resolve of Stone is a fairly simple translation, but Shield Charge (which grants Hammer of Wrath) in 7th, doesn't work well at all. I've ended up making it a cheap Strength upgrade, but am not particularly enamoured of it. +

+ I toyed with it forcing a successfully charged enemy to make an immediate Fall Back before the Consolidation part of the charge, as I think that'd be a great in-game visual, but was concerned that was a bit over-complex. Thoughts? +