+ inload: Legio Validus rules +

 + Legio Validus +

+ Had an 1,250pt game of Adeptus Titanicus last night, which was a blast. No pict-captures, I'm afraid, as I was busy juggling rules, terminals and all sorts. I had a Warlord, Warbringer and Reaver, and was facing a Warlord, two Reaves and a Warhound. A very enjoyable game, which ended in my defeat – but close 'til the end, and full of cinematic moments. +

+ I was lending out some of my Titans, so it was mostly a Legio Sumer-Nikator civil war, but – as the Sons of the Temple currently lack any Warhounds – I did a quick get-you-by paintjob on the next Warhound for Validus. +

+ Basic colours in place; tabletop ready +

+ Some more work and the Warhound will be a little more refined, like this Reaver. +

+ I also took the opportunity to update the lore and rules for Legio Validus on the PCRC website [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and so here's how they work:

Legio Validus are a loyalist Crusade Legio force for Adeptus Titanicus, and use the following rules:

• Legio Trait: Masters of Defence
• After being charged and attacks have been resolved, the Titan can make a move of up to 3in within rear arc at full speed, then take one point of heat.
• Legio Trait: Elite Magos
• Reroll a single repair dice in the damage control phase.
• Legio Strategem: Locomotive Override (1)
• A Titan of scale 9 or 10 can use this in the combat phase to turn up to 180 degrees and then suffer 1 point of Critical Damage to its legs. Note it’s Critical Damage, not a Hit, so you don’t advance the track.
• Legio Wargear: Plasma Rifling
• A global upgrade on a Titan, applying to all Laser or Plasma weaponry for 15 points. It allows you to push to give +6” to the short and long range of those weapons.

+ You'll spot a rather glaring Eye of Horus on this Loyalist Engine's shoulder pad – a relic of when the Engine was earmarked for Sumer-Nikator, before I realised I'd probably get more value if I had two smaller Legios than one big one. While the pad could be explained in background terms, I think I'll probably just replace it at some point. +

+ inload: Playtesting the Eldar and Legio Nikator walk +

+ Legio Sumer-Nikator fight Alaitoc +

Not want you want to see marching towards your lines...

+ I brought the Sons of the Temple out to Walk. In my defence, they are on my list of priorities this year, as they've lurked in a state of just-complete-enough-to-be-put-to-one-side-but-not-quite-finished for more than a year now. +

+ Coropedion +

+ Initial playtesting +

+ With 2023 being Alaitoc's time to shine, I thought I'd run a very quick playtest of the Eldar Titan rules [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]that I've been working up. This test was simply 'does it work mechanically?', so I set up the Phantom 8in away from a Warlord – Coropedion doing the honours – and set them blazing away at each other. +

+ The first problem I found was identifying which weapons were which! After some consultation with the PCRC, we decided that the weapons were, from top down: Wraith Glaive (a simple one, this), Heat Lance (based on the similarity to Eldar fusion weaponry), Pulsar (as it shares design features of the Eldar laser weapons), and D-Bombard  (based on the vanes). +

+ That means the Titan I'm working on [+pictcapture below+], is armed with a D-Bombard and Wraith Glaive. +

+ I fought for three rounds with this set up, and while both were heavily mauled, they were still standing at the end. Mechanically, the Phantom works. The lessons I took away from this very limited test were: 

• It was quite fun using the holofields – the mechanics worked quite smoothly, involved the location dice early one, and seemed to give roughly similar overall protection against attacks as I'd expect from void shields.
• The Phantom doesn't have much to do with its plasmaweave (though note there was little movement here), and generally felt a bit 'Imperial'.
• A 'Special' result disrupts the vanes, but it's not clear where the damage itself should be applied. 
• The D-Bombard is awesome. The first shot scattered, but only enough that the hole on the template missed – and that caused a Devastating Hit to the Warlord's body. The second shot hit and caused a Critical to the legs – but then a lucky shot from the Macro-Gatling Blaster hit the vanes and disrupted the holofields. This let the Warlord target the D-Bombard and knock it out with its Laser Blasters.

+ I then repeated the process with Pulsars, and then decided to try out melee against Ipsus Granicus, the Manifest Law [+pictcapture below+]. Here, the Phantom strode in happily avoiding the Manifest Law's attacks for two rounds, but was unable to do very much at all before the Manifest Law finally laid it out with an uppercut! +

+ Overall then, a quiet success. In concert with some feedback I've had from comments here, on the Bolter and Chainsword and Facebook, I'll be making some tweaks. These will be functional and aesthetic changes at this stage (i.e. to make sure things work mechanically and don't break the game), rather than 'big picture' changes (i.e. a different design philosophy). That's largely to ensure that the rules get a proper test; I know from experience that it's very easy for things to get derailed by making too many changes too early on. +

+++

+ Change log v003 +

• When a Special result is rolled on the location dice, the damage should be applied to the Body. This is consistent with the mechanics for Imperial Titans, and so immediately familiar.
• The 'Plasmaweave' – a term I've never been too happy with – will be replaced with a Spirit Stone/Infinity Circuit-themed panel. Rather than a literal Plasma Reactor heating up, pressure on the Titan and crew will be reflected by stress on the Infinity Circuit.
• While it will operate in much the same way as a Plasma Reactor and use the same mechanics, it also opens up future options for things like the Titan's Conclave (that is the Maniple equivalent) potentially sharing 'stress'; and/or partially replacing/complementing the repair mechanic*.
• Visually, It'll be nice to have gem-shaped icon on the Terminal, rather than a circular light.
• Add backs to the weapon cards.
• Move the Quake (Draining) special rule on the Sonic Lance to the front, for clarity.

+ On the 'sharing stress' across a Conclave, this was an idea that came from various sources – thank you all for the feedback. My gut instinct is to be slightly leery of the idea – in the original background, the Titan's infinity circuit is limited to the Titan itself, so it seems odd to extend it beyond the Titan. On the other hand, the lore is fairly vague, and the idea of a sort of Conclave-wide 'communion' is fitting with the psychic nature of the Eldar. Perhaps most importantly, it helps to differentiate the Eldar from the Imperials while keeping the fundamental core mechanics intact. +

+ *On the repair mechanic, a lot of comments have included suggestions for improved repair for Eldar, on the basis that the Bonesingers can sing the damage away. I've decided not to pursue this because I don't feel like this is a 'battlefield repair' sort of thing, lore-wise – and unlike Imperial Titans, where the techpriest and servitor clades are on board, there's no suggestion that a Bonesinger (or equivalent) is part of the crew. More importantly, it closes off the design space for other races. To me, Eldar war machines should feel tough but brittle – or well-armoured but squishy, to put it another way. I hope that explains the design approach. +

+ And a final note, I've also had comments that state a Phantom is better equated to a Reaver than a Warlord. I don't necessarily disagree with that, though I've deliberately using Codex Titanicus as the core inspiration, which explicitly states the Phantom is the Warlord equivalent. I certainly don't want to exclude anyone – I think there are at least as many very good arguments for a Reaver-equivalent as a Warlord-equivalent. Happily, I think this is a problem that has two good solutions – why not both? +

+ In much the same way as Warlords used to be divided into Eclipse, Nightgaunt, Nemesis etc. types – the distinction being forced on for commercial reasons (GW couldn't afford multiple plastic Titans, so the studio had to make do with tweaks on the one model they had), so the Phantom originally had two types: The slightly slower, heavier Spectre and the slightly faster, lighter Shade. +

+ While my preference is for the Warlord-equivalent (the Spectre), it seems good to be able to add a little variety to the force by giving the option for a Shade. As they're so closely related, my intention is to keep both called 'Phantom', simplifying the interactions of mechanics, weapon cards etc., using the same naming convention as the 'Warbringer Nemesis', for example. We'll thus see the Phantom Spectre and Phantom Shade in v003. +

+++

+ Arty stuff +

+ Painting the model is ticking along, too. Last night I polished off the upper legs and knees, the shoulder pods and started work on the arms. While I'm very pleased with how it's coming along – a lesson, if ever I needed one, that sometimes there's no replacing simply spending more time and effort on a model  for the best results – I am annoyed with myself for not cleaning it up more carefully. +

+ Lesson learned, and so for the second Phantom (being sung into existence as I write), I've cleaned up the components much more carefully. The vanes [+pictcaptureref above+] were nerve-wracking to clean as they are so fragile. +

+ I'll likely build some more weapon options soon – I'm waiting for an additional set of mirrored arms so I have access to ranged weapons on the left arm. +

+++

+ On the Catwalk +

+ A few glamour shots of the Titans as they stand. +

+ Gaugamela (with alternative head) +

+ Senex Codomannus – 'Old Spiteful' +

+ One of the Amber Kings – Legio Validus +

+++

+ inload: Warmaster Titan basing and varnish woes +

+ Basing the Warmaster +

+ Well, no surprises about what today's inload's about. With an unanticipated spare couple of hours, I managed to quickly get the base metallics down. I used a dark gunmetal made from a combination (not a complete mix, but a pool of separate slightly intermingled colours) of Valljeo dark stone (a sort of browny grey), Citadel Abaddon black and a little scorched brown. +

+ I used a much of the same palette for the base: dark stone for the road, and scorched brown for the dunes/rocks. Both were then successively highlighted with greys and browns/sandy colours respectively, before a final drybrush of Army Painter's mummy robes. +

+ Why use the same colours in the base and the Titan? Well, this little trick helps to integrate the different elements, so the base and Titan read as a single thing. +

+++

+ Critical damage +

+ Alas, after this successful painting session, things went a bit [+SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT+]. I sprayed the Titan with enamel varnish. This had a muting effect on the metallics, as you can see above – there's no 'sparkle'. This I had anticipated – it won't be a problem, as I'm intending to work over the top with more metallics. +

+ The problem was when I came to use oils on the yellow – while it applied nicely, and could be removed with a bit of thinner, after about fifteen minutes – just long enough for me to be satisfied that the test panel was working – the varnish began to crackle and flake off, taking the oils with it. Fortunately, the underlying yellow seems intact. +

+ I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I abandoned things overnight to allow everything to settle, and allow me to assess in the cold light of day. This was an experimental process, so I'm not too disheartened – better to stop and re-assess before going to far. Potential issues:

• Use of automotive spray on the yellow – perhaps this was not allowing the varnish to penetrate/settle properly.
• Not enough time for the varnish to dry. I left it for just four hours; perhaps overnight would have been more sensible.
• Use of enamel varnish, rather than the acrylic varnish I've previously used.
• Use of Sansodor thinner, rather than white spirit.

+ Whatever the cause, some further thinking means that I'll see whether the remaining oils can be removed with thinner without affecting the yellow. If so, then that implied to me that I won't necessarily need to use a varnish – in short, the thinners aren't strong enough to penetrate the yellow paint. +

+ From there, I'll begin to reapply the oils to the yellow on a test area, and start again. +

+++

+ inload: Warmaster Battle Titan +

 + Legio Validus: Warmaster +

+ A recent game of Adeptus Titanicus, and the promise of another in a few weeks, has got the old Titan interest flowing once more. While I'll likely be taking Legio Sumer-Nikator [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] out to play, I was more in the mood for modelling than painting, so dug out a problem: my hobbled Warmaster Titan. +

+ The Warmaster Titan is a huge and complex kit – and a perfect example of how even experienced modellers can get tripped up by over-confidence. As noted in my earlier inload on building this kit [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], I'd ended up with the pistons of the foot canted in such a way that I couldn't get the armour plates on. +

+ Cue some 'minor adjustments' – which involved a bit of brute force and ignorance. After a little pulling, twisting and trimming, I've managed to get the foot back into a place where the small – uh – toe armour(?) plates will fit. +

+ The revised version. It's funny how something so minor can really niggle, but I'm very glad I finally decided to quite prevaricating and fix things. In all, it took about half an hour, and now I've got a Titan that I'm really pleased with. +

+++

+ Variance +

+ Unusually, this Titan isn't magnetised. I think it fairly unlikely it'll see much table-time, so decided I'd make my life easier and fix it in position. Since I've used some Battle Bling [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] bits – most obviously the head, but also the Devotional Bell, groin armour plate and their giant Super-Gatling Blaster. +

+ In all likelihood, this'll just count as the same as the plasma weapon (Suzerain-class Plasma Destructors). Perhaps I'll see if there are any fan-made rules to playtest anywhere, but I'm not too fussed. +

+ It's a big imposing model, and while I'm quietly glad I decided to experiment with spraying for the armour plates, it's still an intimidating project to begin. Still, every journey, and all that, so perhaps I'll make a start and get the quick and messy metals in. +

+ Pictured here alongside its stablemate, the Reaver Martialis, the Warmaster is strikingly bright and glossy. That's intentional, as I'm planning on using oils to knock that back, as described here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. I need to start very bright, so it doesn't end up too muted. +

+ I'll also need to be careful about incorporating enough blue. Martialis is almost completely yellow – not a problem per se, but I don't want the Amber Kings get muddled up with Tiger Eyes. +

+++

+ inload: Monumentalis – Warmaster Titan +

+ Warhorns +

+ What does every Titan Legion need? That's right, a Custodian Titan to bear the devotional bell and generally be awesome. I treated myself to a second-hand unbuilt Warmaster (a temptingly cheap bargain, as it had no Terminal), and wit hsome additional bits and bobs from Battle Bling [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], got started. +

+ I think basing is incredibly important in Adeptus Titanicus for two key reasons. Firstly, the Titan bases are enormous, and it looks really strange if they're just a flat, uniform texture and colour. Secondly, it's the easiest place to establish a visual scale – that is, you make the Titan look appropriately large by putting small things on the base. +

+ Here, I started by gluing a square of cardboard on one side to act as the pediment of a building. Big skyscrapers rarely rest directly on the surrounding ground, but on their own base. A little border or mount goes a long way to integrating a ruin like this (taken from my dwindling supply of Epic: 40,000 terrain). Once the glue had dried, I used a pair of scissors to trim the excess flush with the top of the base, then repeated the process to make a tiered step. When doing this, I find it helpful to think about the practicalities of scale. Steps that are taller than a human aren't going to be very practical for the inhabitants of the city. +

+ You'll also note the stone formation. I wanted to add some elevation to the base, as this helps with dynamics. I particularly wanted this Titan to be stepping down. The stone formation is simply two small pieces of foraged slate glued together. To help sell the scale, I've integrated them together with textural gel and sand, but left some areas bare. +

+ One key thing that often gets left off Epic-scale ruins is flooring. A little bit of cardboard – like this business card – goes a long way to fixing that.  This is simply glued in place, and a couple of extra bits added on top. Rubble is suggested by some sprue offcuts. +

+ Next I needed to put the Titan on! I started from the feet and worked upwards, dry-fitting repeatedly to ensure I got the pose I wanted. Few things in the hobby are more disheartening than realising you've glued an expensive model together in an awkward-looking pose. +

+ Monumentalis +

+ And talking of awkward poses... while I'm very happy with the overall look, the extreme positioning I'd done with the pistons meant that the smaller armour plates don't fit. [SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT] +

+ With my other Titans, I'd dry-fitted the armour to avoid exactly this. Here, I'd decided to try some experimentation on painting and assembling. One part of this was the decision to spray the armour separately, to save myself some time later. Unfortunately, as I was under some time pressure, that meant the paint was drying while I was building. +

+ The result isn't disastrous, but I am going to have to go back and make some minor adjustments – frustrating, particularly as we're talking fractions of millimetres here! +

+ On the positive side, the Warmaster Custodiwn already looks the business in bright yellow, and the time I lose on the feet should be made up by the time saved on painting. +

+ In closing, what a glorious kit! As with the others in the range, the Warmaster is a stunningly well-engineered model. +

+ Pictured alongside a Reaver, the Warmaster's physical size is really something +

+++

 

+ Reaver Titan +

+ Engine kill! +

 

+ This Legio Validus Reaver is the first new Amber King off the supply lines in a long time; but a surprising lesson in just what you can do in a couple of hours when you put your mind to it. +

+ Start of the evening +

+ Above, the basic colours are in place, and I'd just started painting the panel lines black. +

+ A little while later, the panel lines are done, I've highlighted the yellow, and the base has received a basecoat. +

+ Same stage, from another angle +

+ End of the evening +

+ All polished off bar any final tweaks I decide to make. The great joy of acrylics is that you're able to work back over things very easily. +

+ There was a lot of exploratory painting work here, some very enjoyable 'flow' stuff. The downside is that I didn't really take much notice of what colours I was using, so it might be a bit of a struggle to replicate things for future Engines. Fortunately, I don't think consistency is critical with Titans. They're hundreds or thousands of years old, and as long as the base notes are clear, I think there's leeway for variety. +

+ I was tempted to use oils again here (they were a lot of fun, and I haven't had a chance to use them much recently), but in the end decided to see how well I could replicate them using acrylics. I used spattering and glazing to build up texture, warmth and shading – compare the clean flat shot from the midpoint:

... with the finished piece. You'll see browns and purples apparent in the yellow shadow – the blending executed partially with a big flat brush, and partially with a clean thumb(!). + 

+ I feel there's a story around the figures on the base; perhaps they'll inspire someone to write about an Inquisitor or similar sent to oversee the Legio – after all, that ancient sigil on this Engine's shoulder is perhaps not the best thing to wave around the Inquisition... +

+ Legio Validus always rather suffered from being my 'ideal' legion – that is, I wanted to develop it and build lots of complex lore... and as a rather inevitable result never started. Sometimes it's best just to go for it and see where things lead you, rather than overplanning and undersupplying. +

+ This poor Engine doesn't even have a name yet... + 

+++

+ Illuminations +

+ Few little detail shots. Not convinced about the Eye of Horus shoulder; might swap it out... might build it into the lore... Who can say? +

+ Rear view  +

+ Front view – there's a distinct lack of a Legio symbol here... unless the blue arrow is it? +

+ inload: Epic assistance +

+ Forgotten Kings + 

+ One of the things I wanted to do with the War of the False Primarch was to use it to give depth to some of my existing forces. +

+ As things transpired, I've barely had a chance to keep up with the writing!  As a result, some planned 'scenes' have been glossed over – I had hoped to illustrate the first Siege of Ishim and the Machinedeath with Titans and Epic forces, for example – but simply ran out of time to do so. +

+ I hope to go back and fill in these gaps – particularly for the Machinedeath, which is a pretty key moment in the War. The key notes for the battle are:

• It's where the Silver Stars are first revealed as being Legion strength
• It knocks both sides flat, and leads to the Sorrowful Years, where everyone is forced to entrench and rebuild
• During the battle, we finally see the 'Primarch' himself leading his forces against two Titan Legions – and therefore get an image of what he's capable of...
• Crucially, the Silver Stars lose virtually all of their superheavy tanks – along with huge amounts of armour – in taking on the two Titan Legions and their allies.
• The Titan Legions – Legio Punica and Legio Validus – are rendered combat ineffective, and driven back into Heliopolis for repairs.

+++

+ Call for aid! The Machinedeath on Null +

+ If you've got a Titan – or some Space Marine Superheavies, tanks or aircraft – that you need a scheme for, perhaps you'd like to help out by painting some up using a scheme that would fit in? +

+ Primarily I'm after Legio Validus, Legio Punica and Epic scale Silver Stars tanks/aircraft, but if you've got any armour/aircraft of the Pentarchy Chapters (Flesh Eaters, Charnel Guard, Red Talons, Death Eagles I/II, Carcharadons) at Epic scale, that'd also be lovely. Finally, the following Partisan Chapters were also there: Argent Heralds, Inheritors, Riven Lords, Void Barons and smaller complements of Red Fish, Jade Talons and Firebreak. +

+ Any and all models – whether Epic or 40k scale(!) would be very much appreciated. If you want to go for bonus points, the world of Null, site of the Machinedeath, is an airless (though not uninhabited) desert. Blasted sand/dust wastes are the order of the day for basing – but as you can see from my own Silver Stars, far from essential. For painting guidance, the Silver Stars are covered in this inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]; and here's a quick pic. +

+++

+ The 'Twice-Bound': Legio Punica inspiration +

'Formed in the dark madness of the Horus Heresy, the origins of Legio Punica are lost, save for in the dwindling number of Titan’s machine spirits that have remained in service since the Legion's creation. Only the Princeps and Moderatii who pilot these ancient machines gain access to secrets as they bond with the Titans and are forbidden from sharing them with anyone but their crews. The nature of the inception is not one that reflects well on the Legio – and it is one they prefer to keep hidden.'

[//My Time Amongst the Machine-priests, a Memoir – Howtopher Buxcraft+]

+ Punica are the brainchild of Toby Harris, and very cool indeed! You can see  more of the Legio Punica's colours and read their background in this article [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], but if you fancy a pop at them, here's how awesome they can look! +

+ Legio Punica Reaver by Toby H +

Legio Punica Warlord

+ Amber Kings: Legio Validus inspiration +

+ Despite existing in shared PCRC background since at least 2005, and having had a number of differently-scaled starting points, I've only ever finished one of my Titan Legion – who may be vaguely familiar to long-time readers. +

+ Mercator Stipent +

+ I can hardly ask others to supply me with pictures of my own damn Legio without giving it a go myself, so here's our first WIP entrant. If you fancy giving the Legio a go yourself, the scheme is simple: yellow with silver trim and green lenses. Chequers and the flaming circle (seen above) are common motifs. +

+ As noted at the start, I wanted to use the broader project to help develop my own armies – I write a lot of advice on this noospheric node about creating your own army and lore, but the best thing I can recommend is listening to other people and considering how their forces and stories would impact your own. +

+ Legio Validus, for example, has a fairly dry existing history – supposedly, they were split off from Legio Victorum and settled in Sector Antona Australis. While I don't want to contradict that, I do want to add depth – and thus they've appeared, apparently asynchronously, embroiled in the War for the False Primarch... +

+ I love the secrets and lies of 40k, and felt that perhaps the reason Punica and Validus were the only two Legios sent to the region was that they aren't squeaky-clean in terms of reputation. Punica's background certainly bears that out, and Validus likewise has some secrets. Having those fall into Imperial hands has perhaps altered the political landscape for the Legio. +

+ In short, Validus was one of those Legios whose support for the Emperor in the Horus Heresy was not quite as enthusiastic as one might have hoped. As a result, their parent Forgeworld was censured and has found itself repeatedly deploying Validus in an attempt to demonstrate their (modern-day) loyalty. +

+ The Inquisition finds this 'volunteering' rather useful, and – sure of Validus' discretion – use them for operations that are perhaps best left forgotten... +

+ Orthodox troops follow in the footsteps of the Amber Kings +