+ inload: Bloodsong quick Q&A and notes +

+ New frontiers +

+ Titanicus wargaming with xenos +

+ Getting the gang back together – from left to right, Ork Great Gargant; Imperial Warlord Titan, Eldar Phantom Titan. + 

+ I've held off a bit on posting pics of the various Titans, mainly because I haven't got any painting done for weeks and weeks; hobby time being taken up elsewhere. Nevertheless, with Bloodsong out in the wild [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and some feedback coming in already, I though the pic above gave a good indication of my take on things. +

+ This inload will look at the plan for Bloodsong, and address some early playtesting feedback. +

+++

+ The plan, early feedback and FAQs +

First off, thanks for everyone who's downloaded, read and given Bloodsong a go so far – please do let me know how you're getting on with it, and any feedback – positive or negative – is very welcome!

'Wombo combos' are exactly what I'd like to see you playtest to pressure test the rules; the playtesting so far has explicitly been Open Play and aimed at making sure the rules work mechanically, so seeing the live playtest results of more competitive players will be very helpful indeed. 

However, please do try 'em out 'in the round', as it were – there's lots that I was concerned was overtuned, but seems to work fine in our (admittedly rather soft!) games. Feel free to pop your findings in a message to me (I'm not thin-skinned, so don't worry about hurting my feelings!), or better yet, in a comment on the PDF, so they're all collected together.

The plan is for three months of playtest feedback to pin down the Terminals, Maniple equivalents and Weapons. (And gather artwork and model pics). Those are the core that anyone using the rules will have to engage with. After that, adding in the Legio equivalents, new weapons and new units (the Mekboy Gargant/Supa-Stompa) will be relatively easy.

… and August is therefore the plan for release of an updated version, which I hope will be a 64 or 80pp one, containing the lore and missions for a mini-campaign alongside the rest.

+ Playtesting +

Bloodsong is all, of course, unofficial, and I'd emphasise that your game is yours, whoever's rules you're using as a kicking-off point. If you're lucky enough to have someone willing to play unofficial rules, I imagine both you and they are already open-minded and creative enough to make some tweaks to better fit your take on things.

With that said, a common set of rules is necessary to make meaningful tweaks and adjustments, so when playtesting and providing feedback, I'd please ask you to give things a try as they're presented – or please let me know what changes you've made, so I can take into account.

When providing feedback, the 'big questions' I want to answer are:

• ‘Did they feel like Eldar/Orks?’
• ‘Were they fun to play with?’

and most importantly,

• ‘Were they fun to play against?’

After that, please feel free to get as granular and detailed as you like. Think a particular weapon stinks? Think the pricing's off? Want to know why X Y or Z was done? Let us know. 

There's a thread on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group for discussion, or you can send me a message through the comments and contact details here, if you prefer.

+ Early feedback and FAQs +

Some quick response answers to unclear areas:

Orks

I read it as all sizes of Gargant need to have a belly gun and two arm guns but the Mega-Gargant's towers and kustom job are optional, is that correct?

Yes, that’s right.

Gargants can use weapon cards from their size or smaller, so a Great or Mega Gargant could use either the Great Gargant sized Gut Buster or the Gargant sized (half the points for the same weapon but less armoured), correct?

Typo here! Great Gargant version should be S10 and Blast (5in); hence the heftier price. This is flagged on the PDF for change. 

If you have 2 dice of krew in the weirdboy tower, is the strength determined by adding the 2 values together?

Yes, add the values together… although this is one of those bits that I’m very keen to hear feedback on. If you’re finding it oppressive, please let me know.

Are there any plans on the works for Stompas?

Knights and equivalent are beyond the scope of this project for the moment at least, but the Mekboy Gargant is definitely on the drawing board – currently occupying a specialist supporting role somewhat like the Imperial Dire Wolf or Warbringer Nemesis. Their weapon cards will be akin to (and  possibly interchangeable with) the Mega Gargants' Kustom Job cards. This unit will be included in the updated version, with a more 'normal' weapon option allowing you to field it as a Supa-Stompa.

[As an aside on terminology, the Mekboy Gargant, present in Epic: Space Marine 2nd edition and Titan Legions as the Mekboy Gargant, disappeared after Epic: 40,000, and was replaced by the Supa-stompa in Epic: Armageddon. Confusingly, the current 40k-scale Stompa is (in-universe) about this size – so you can see why I've got a bit tied in knots about whether Stompas are in or not!]

This unit will be great to proxy with your old Epic Gargant or Steam Gargant models.

What's the reasoning behind Gargants being on round bases?

We tried them on both, and found round bases gives more of a solid, unwieldy ‘feel’ in-game that helps to distinguish the orks from the other factions, and makes the model appear chunkier.

Round bases also opened up some interesting little tactical considerations – since the gun decks can fire in the side arcs, it allows Gargants to protect themselves from flanking knights or help an ally strip shields without turning. They can also fire slightly behind themselves, which gives a nice ‘navy battle cruiser’ feel. 

With that said, there’s not a huge amount in it, so feel free to adapt and use oval bases if you wish, or they better frame your models – these are, after all, homemade rules, so adapt them as you like.

Eldar

Can Revenants use their jump jets jump over titans?

No; cinematic as the visual is, I think that causes mechanical and gameplay problems. Feel free to playtest, but my instinct is that Revenants are already had enough to draw a bead on! 

Imageine a Warhound squadron attacks a Revenant.  The first shot from the first weapon hits the shield vanes, so the attacking Warhound finishes the rest of its attacks with no holofield active. When the second Warhound attacks, are the holofields active, or do they stay down until all squadron attacks are completed?

I’d suggest the shields are back in place for the second and subsequent Warhounds, as it’s a different unit. The mechanic is intended to encourage focussed fire from individual Titans, and since the holofields are the only defence the Revenant has, it seems harsh to allow an entire squadron to benefit (particularly once various Legio/Maniple bonuses are factored in). 

Some of the critical damage effects have names that are not defined in the booklet.  Do we assume they are analogous to what's in the main rulebook? e.g. Spiritmesh disturbed does not have a reference in the rulebook I can see; Steersman wounded, and Soulstone compromised are not defined in the rulebook, but I think its a safe assumption that they are analogous to MIU feedback, etc? 

Yes, the critical damage results started as ‘fluffy’ equivalents, with no mechanical difference – while some are now different, assume the others are as you’ve outlined. I’ll clarify this in the next update.

+++

+ How big's a [+INSERT TITAN HERE+]? +

Scale and size (particularly base size) have an impact on the game; from interactions with terrain to line of sight issues and arcs of fire, so the supplement contains a few notes that allude to it. However, I didn't want to bog down what's meant to be a practical gaming supplement with endless screeds of conversion suggestions – that's what this noospheric node is for!

On model size, you'll see that the fluid lines between Gargants and Great Gargants is mentioned a few times in Bloodsong, and that's to help when converting. With no official figures, you'll be forced to convert, find third-party sculpts, or scratch build – and that's complicated by the fact that there are lots of different interpretations of the various units; both officially and in fan-made material. 

+ This looks 'right' to me, weaned as I was on the original Adeptus Titanicus – but there's a decent argument that the modern Phantom, for example, should be nearer Reaver in size. +

I've tried to provide some structure in Bloodsong but leave lots of wiggle room – the last thing I want to do is tell someone they can't use their cool model because it doesn't match the letter of these rules. As long as it's clear to both you and the other player(s) what's what, than I think you can go a long way by being generous with line of sight etc. If you're converting or scaling things, I'd aim for the following height from base to top of head:

• Gargant between 9–12cm (3½–5in)
• Great Gargant between 12.5 and 15cm (5–6in)
• Phantom Spectre 15cm (6in) and larger
• Phantom Shade 12.5cm (5in) and smaller
• Revenant 9–10cm (3½–4in)

These are the assumed sizes used in Bloodsong, based partially on the background; on comparisons of the old Epic models to the new Titanicus models; on comparisons of the 28mm Eldar Forgeworld Titans to the 28mm Imperial Forgeworld Titans, and a hefty dollop of practicality – which models I found myself able to source. 

I really want Bloodsong to be accessible, so you'll note that the sizes suggested mean that you can essentially 'demote' the old Epic Phantom and Great Gargant to stand in as Revenants and (standard) Gargants respectively. These are relatively easy to find second-hand, and all the various generations of the official sculpts will be in the right ballpark.

+ Taller and more gracile, and shorter but stockier – you could use the Phantom Shade rules for one and the Phantom Spectre for the other; but equally you might just treat them as different styles of the same type. +

Part of the reason for the Shade/Spectre versions of the Phantom is to allow different interpretations to better match people’s models and conversions – but again, if you dislike the idea of having different types of Phantom, then by all means just pick one and stick with it. If you're converting your own, I’d suggest the Wraithlord is small but in the right ballpark for the Phantom. 

+++

+ inload: Bloodsong goes public +

+ Bloodsong complete + 

+ Free Adeptus Titanicus expansion with rules for Eldar Titans and Ork Gargants +

+ No time to waste? Just need the Google Drive link? +
+ Manifold access, my Princeps: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+ Command new forces; engage new enemies! +

+++

+ Changes and updates +

... and now that everyone who just wants the free Bloodsong expansion has blithely closed this noospheric node, those that remain suckling on the datafeed can enjoy the inner secrets of the project.

Way back in 2018, shortly after the release of the new Adeptus Titanicus, I (rather fatefully) wrote:

I'll preface this by saying that these rules are only intended to tide players over until we get some official rules.

Well, seven years have passed, and not so much as a squeak from Games Workshop on any official rules for Eldar and Orks, so since 2023 I've been tinkering away on creating a full print-ready expansion for the game so xenos enthusiasts and those looking for a new Open Play challenge can get involved. 

The result is Bloodsong, which has gone through nine 'alpha' iterations, being playtested and tweaked in a small pool in various back rooms and on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group (thanks for all feedback thus far!). It's now complete to the point that it's ready for more broad distribution, with everything from custom Command Terminals and Weapon Cards to instructions for how to print the 50pp booklet to the right size. Perhaps most importantly, it explains how to use the supplement with the official rules to create all-Eldar or all-Ork forces.

For anyone who's already been using the supplement, this new public version includes the following improvements:

• Practical additions: 8 Maniple equivalents – 4 each for Eldar and Orks.
• Extensive improvement and refinement of the Ork section, polishing it to match the Eldar. Clarification of suggested base sizes and conversion ideas for Gargants.
• Mega Gargant rules clarifications.
• Useability improvements: a table of contents, 'How to use this book' and development notes throughout.
• Single page formatting (view it on Acrobat in two-page view with cover page)
• Terminology tweaks – the Wraithtension table had started to annoy me, so it's now the Wraith Matrix table, which feels a bit more 'Eldar' to me.

+++

+ Find new enemies and allies for your Imperial and Traitor Titans for Open Play Titanicus! +

+ What's next? +

Next, I hope, is for the supplement to get more feedback from other gaming groups, which will help to tweak and adjust the points values to make for more fun and exciting games, and highlight any glaring clangers I've made.

Besides the nuts and bolts of the mechanics, my next priority is improving the look of the layout by adding some artwork and more background material: example Titan/Gargant pictures for the maniple equivalents, nicely styled in-action battle pictures, and some design flourishes to make it as professional as possible – I've been aiming to make it as user-friendly, polished and attractive as I can.

If you can help – either by supplying pictures of your own models, or suggesting artists I can ask, please do let me know in the comments, either here on the blog, or on the Facebook group – or through the Google Drive link:

[+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]

+++

+ Tell me more! +

Glutton for punishment, eh? Want to know more about the process and past development? By using the [+insphere contentsieve+] at the top right of the page, you can search for Titanicus and read through all the various changes and designer's notes – here's a good start, if you fancy looking at the philosophy and process behind the project [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+].

+++

+ inload: Eldar Titans and Ork Gargants in Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Bloodsong designer's notes +

+ An inload to put some thoughts in order on the next stages of the Bloodsong supplement, which introduces Eldar and Orks to Adeptus Titanicus and Legions Imperialis – and a request for any playtesting feedback to be popped up on the Facebook group [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. +

Eldar/Ork rules for Epic-scale games are the thing most likely to make datascribes join the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group, so I wanted to give a bit of an update, outline the process for the supplement – and hopefully garner some feedback and (best of all) playtesting notes.

Why's this? Well, with the best will in the world, it's never the best idea for the writer to be the one testing things – I might know what I mean by phrasing things a certain way, but that's useless if it's not clear to anyone else. Likewise testing in isolation can result in swingy and non-representative results – so more reports from the wider community are essential to helping this progress and becoming more refined.

If you're able to contribute constructive criticism, please do! There's a 'Xenos AT rules' chat up on the Facebook group [viz-ref link above], which has already been very useful in helping tweak things – thanks to Sean, Rowan, Chris, Thomas and Paul, who've provided some invaluable feedback.

+++

+ State of play +

The Bloodsong supplement has been ticking over since 2023 – you can follow the development from this initial inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. It contains rules for Eldar Titan Clans (Aeldari warhost) and Ork Gargant Bigmobs in Adeptus Titanicus., as well as a workable but incomplete Ork list for Legions Imperialis.

The current version is available from the Facebook group here:

Bloodsong v9.pdf

If you're inloading this from the future, then please check the version number to make sure you've got the latest revision. If you've come across a hard copy, the version number is printed on page 1 for clarity – and you'll also spot the version number on the weapon cards and terminals, too, to make sure you're playing with the most up-to-date material.

+++

+ Where are we? +

I'm going to focus more on the Titanicus side of things for the moment – while I enjoy Legions Imperialis, there's less interest in that side of the supplement. I therefore plan to hive off the LI ork list (and any future Eldar one) into a separate document, so Bloodsong v1.0 will be an AT-only supplement – and one, I hope, that's fully ready to use.

+ Shade and Spectre-type Phantoms – I've tried to cleave closely to established background, and the use of the very old terms here is to make things more hobbyist-friendly. +

The fundamentals of the two lists, Aeldari Warhost and Ork Gargant Bigmob, are in place. There are rules for creating your Battlegroup equivalents, and terminals and weapons for the following:

• Eldar Phantom Spectre Titan
• Eldar Phantom Shade Titan
• Eldar Warlock Titan
• Eldar Revenant Titan

... and for the orks:

• Ork Gargant
• Ork Great Gargant
• Ork Mega Gargant

For the moment, I'm sticking to developing these basics. Mekboy Gargants, Stompas, Eldar Knights etc. are potential future additions, but I want to get the core forces pinned down for each before expanding further. 

We've now got a fairly decent playtesting pool complete for the Eldar, and I'm happier with how they're working – but every battle throws up new ideas, so always open to further tweaking. 

My gut feeling at the moment is that the ork weapons need a bit of reining in, but I'd like some playtesting results before tweaking them. I want to avoid the old trope of ork weapons, where in addition to being unreliable, they're also just straight worse than the Imperial equivalents – they should instead be more subject to variance (i.e. a bit more swingy than the Imperial guns – better when you have good luck, but worse when you don't!)

+++

+ What's next? +

The immediate next stage is to looking at creating a handful of Maniple and Legio equivalents, and a dozen or so Strategems for both Orks and Eldar, so you should end up with a modest amount of variety that allows you to lean into particular thematic gaming styles, and expand things beyond Open Play to Matched Play and Narrative Play styles.

+ The basis for a potential Conclave (Maniple) – a Phantom and two Revenants. +

+++

+ How can I help? +

You generous soul! As noted above, the most valuable contribution is feedback based on playtesting – while I'm happy to listen to theory and discuss things, nothing comes close to just trying things out and sharing them. 

Secondly, if you've got (or know of) any cool painted models of Gargants or Eldar Titans, please do show 'em off; I'd love to include some nice pictures to give the supplement a bit of polish. All images will, of course, be fully credited in the style of your choice.

+ inload: Eldar Titans in Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Rules for Eldar War-Clans in Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Bloodsong v0.8 – Designer's notes +

+ I've just uploaded version 0.8 of the Bloodsong pack to the Death of a Rubricist Facebook group. A direct link is here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. The files can be downloaded freely and shared as you like – as always, playtesting notes and feedback are welcome. +

+ Much like the models, the rules are getting gradually more polished. +

+ What's new? +

+ Quite a big update, this one:

• Rules, weapon cards and terminal for the Warlock Titan
• Updated Phantom rules based on player feedback
• Expanded and overhauled the Battlegroup building/general rules to bring them more into line with the Matched Play Guide.

+ Sample of the insides. It's set up to print to A4 +

+ This supplement is now getting to the polishing stage. What's left to do are write up the Maniples (Conclaves), Titan Legion (War-clan) rules and Stratagems, one final beta playtest stage, and then illustrating it. +

+ If you're new to the project, please do take some time to search the blog for previous articles for Designer's notes; and as always, I welcome any feedback. +

+ Enjoy! +

+++

+ inload: Bloodsong – Eldar and Orks in Adeptus Titanicus +

 + Bloodsong version 0.5 +

+ A quick riffle through the [+ Insphere contentsieve +] (the search function for this noospheric node, to the right of the body of the post) will reveal that I've been working on rules for introducing xenos to Adeptus Titanicus – specifically Eldar Titans and Ork Gargants. +

+ I've just uploaded version 0.5 of the Bloodsong pack to the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group. The files can be downloaded freely and shared as you like – and as always, I welcome playtesting notes and feedback on the group.

A direct link to the files can be found here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. You will need to be a member of the Death of a Rubricist Facebook group – and if you're new to it, please answer the three questions when prompted: it's the only way I can screen for bots! +

+ Of course, there's nothing stopping you from joining, downloading and leaving immediately (not even hard feelings!), but I do encourage you to stick around and get involved. +

 + A new fan sculpt I picked up second-hand +

+ Ch-ch-ch-changes +

+ v0.5 brings some big updated: Eldar get access to the Revenant Scout Titan and its weapon cards, and – perhaps of more interest to some readers – brings the orks out to play. You get Gargants, Great Gargants and their weapon cards.+

+ Long-time inloaders might recall the first draft of the ork rules a while back – [+noosphericexloadlink emebdded+] well, they're updated and available now, including terminals and cards. +

+ I'm very pleased with how these rules work – I think they really capture the feel of directing Gargants, and would love to hear your battlefield experiences when using them: both good and bad! +

+ Based on feedback received I've also tweaked the Eldar stats a little – nothing major, but it is worth your time replacing the old cards and terminals with these. I've also squashed some gremlins). 

+++

+ A glimpse into the future +

+ The Warlock is on the horizon, and I'm also planning to revise the Phantom into two sub-classes: the Phantom Shade and Phantom Spectre. +

+ This is because there are two broad schools of thought for the Phantom: one that sees it as the equivalent to the Warlord Titan, and one that sees it as something more akin to a Reaver. +

+ In keeping with my 'nothing new without good reason' philosophy, the most elegant way I could think of to square this circle is to allow both to co-exist. The Shade and Spectre classes are a throwback to the classifications for the Phantom, from the original Codex Titanicus supplement – in essence, equivalent to the Deathbringer, Eclipse, Nemesis variants for the Imperial Warlord. +

+ The Phantom Shade and Phantom Spectre will not differ greatly. They will share the same weapon cards, for example. The nearest equivalent I can think of is that between the Reaver and Nemesis Warbringer – fundamentally the same chassis, but with slight variation in Infinity Circuit, armour etc. +

+ Ultimately, the splitting of the two is for three major reasons:

• To allow a broad church of players to get a Phantom that matches their vision for the Titan, whether that's slightly heavier or slightly lighter.
• To give some slight variation and increase the tactical choices available to Eldar players.
• There are a number of quite different fan-sculpts of the Phantom Titan around, and I've always preferred the 'model-led' approach to writing rules. 

+ My hope is that this approach will let people differentiate their models if they wish – or just opt for a single type without impacting their chances in-game. +

+++

inload: Eldar Titans and Ork Gargants

+ Eldar and Orks for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Rules, playtesting and a plea +

+ With v0.4 of the document up and ready on the files section [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], it's now out there for you to playtest. If you have any feedback, ideas, questions or critique of the Eldar Phantom and/or  Ork Gargant rules, please post them up on the Facebook group [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], or as a comment below. It's particularly helpful if you've had a chance to playtest them live, as it were, to experience them in the round. +

+ Likewise, if you've built or painted any Eldar Titans or Ork Gargants, I'd love to see them – it'd be great to feature them on the blog, or use them in this Eldar and Ork expansion. +

+++

+ Models +

+ Rules are all very well, but models are what this is really about. With all these xenos popping up, it's looking like it's time for a Great Crusade, right? +

+ What little painting time I've had recently has been concentrating on the Catachan guntruck thingie, but I have been able to build and undercoat the Revenant Titans above (and below). +

+ They are 3D prints, and a very kind gift from PCRC stablemate Lucifer216. The kits went together very smoothly, and I've based them on 60mm rounds – I toyed with 80mm bases (like Warhounds), but the lithe alien war engines just looked utterly lost. +

+++

+ While we're talking about building, my brother sent over the WIP pictures of the Gargants he and his boys made – thought I'd share them here so you can see the materials and ideas that went into them. +

+ The rear shot shows some neat little details – I particularly like the use of the Genestealer cult Goliath drill-shield thing as the rear balcony. +

+++

+ inload: Adeptus Titanicus Eldar summary – and lore +

 + 'Alaitoc is Ready' +

+ Eldar Titan summary for playtesting +

+ The past few inloads have focussed on the rules for fielding Eldar Titans (thus far, just the Phantom) in the modern version of Adeptus Titanicus. If you're interested, here are noosphericinload links for the following:

• + Overview of the concept +
• + Initial rules and Phantom Terminal +
• + Weapon cards + 

+ These have had minor tweaks since the articles above, so here's a summary, including an updated Terminal and set of Weapons Cards, plus the bare-bones rules you need to try them out. I'd love to hear your experiences with them. +

+ Full size versions of the fan-made files are available for free download from the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group. +

+++

+ Playtesting Eldar Titans +

+ In addition to these, you'll need the following get-you-by playtesting rules. These are additional clarifications on how the game runs, and how certain weapons interact with or effect Holofields. These are additional clarifications on how the game runs, and how certain weapons interact with or effect Holofields. +

• List building – Replace all references to 'Maniple' for 'Conclave'. Eldar do not yet have Strategems. For the moment I suggest you playtest without them for either side.
• Game prep – Replace all references to 'Princeps Senioris' with 'High Steersman [name TBC]'. Determine Missions, Deployment and Battle Field Control as normal. Deploy as normal.
• Strategy Phase – Treat all references to 'Princeps wounded' as 'Infinity Circuit Disturbed'; treat all references to 'MIU Feedback' as 'Spiritweave Disturbed'.
• Movement Phase – Treat all references to 'Reactor' as 'Infinity Circuit'
• Damage Control Phase – apply the following adjustments:
• 1. Activate Unit.
• 2. If Infinity Circuit Level is orange roll D6; if red, roll D10 on Wraithtension Table.
• 3. Repair Roll with number of dice equal to 'Shaping' 
• 4. Distribute results as follows: 
• X+ Repair weapon (see weapon card) 
• 4+ Reduce reactor level by 1 
• 6 Repair 1 critical damage 
• 6 Repair Holofield Burnout  [Holofield Burnout: Holofields are inactive]
• Combat Phase 
• To Hit Modifiers – treat references to 'Steersman Wounded' as 'Moderati Wounded'.
• Ignore all reference to Void Shields.
• Note that weapons on the 'Shoulders' location are not affected by 'Carapace' restrictions with regard to targetting enemy Units within Scale.
• End Phase – Treat all references to 'Infinity Circuit Disturbed' as 'Reactor Leak'.
• Orders tables changes
• Emergency Repairs: Treat all references to 'Servitor Clades' as 'Shaping'
• Shutdown: Replace text with 'Holofields are no longer Active, can only be activated in Damage Control Phase, make normal repair rolls, reduce Infinity Circuit stress level by 2.

Calling on the Infinity Circuit

• 1. Roll Reactor Dice 
• 2. Advance Infinity Circuit level by number of Reactor Symbols 
• 3. If result is Awakened Machine Spirit perform an immediate Command Check
• 4. If Command check is failed, roll D6 on Wraithtension Table 

Wraithtension table – D10 Effect 

• 1–2 suffer S9 hit to body, bypass Holofield.
• 3–5 Holofield Burnout; if Holofield already burned out, resolve as result 6-8.
• 6–8 Suffer D3 S9 hits to body, bypass Holofield.
• 9–10 Titan is destroyed; all Titans within 15" (except Corrupted Titans) lose all orders. Titan then falls in a random direction.

Holofields

Instead of the energy-absorbing warp-based void fields of the Imperium, or the brute power fields of the Orks, Eldar Titans rely on misdirection, deception and sensor-baffling for defence. 
 
The wing-like harmonic vanes that form a distinctive crest on the backs of Eldar Titans weave a web of photonic projections about the War Engine. The projections create a field of visual distortion, baffling perception across all electromagnetic spectra, and thus making it more difficult for attackers to target the Titan.
 
While holofields operate dynamically, their effectiveness is enhanced by movement. The faster the Titan moves, the more effective the defence.

• A Unit attacking a Target equipped with Holofields suffers a -2 modifier to the To Hit roll, which is cumulative with other modifiers. 
• This is reduced to a -1 modifier if the Target is on First Fire orders or Shutdown orders, or if the Target is Immobilised.
• If the Target has Full Stride or Charge orders, successful to Hit rolls of 6 must also be re-rolled.
• A Unit attacking a Target Unit equipped with Active Holofields may not declare a Targeted Attack.
• Weapons with the Blast trait that Hit a Target Unit with Holofields scatter D6in before the attack is resolved (use the small arrow on the Hit symbol to determine direction), unless the To Hit result is a 6. If the attack misses, it scatters D10 as normal.
• Weapons with the Beam trait must make a check against BS with no modifiers when attacking a Target with Active Holofields. If the result is a miss, the Beam continues its path; resolve the attack against subsequent models as though the intervening model was not there.

Holofields and weapon traits clarifications

• Holofield Burnout indicates the holofields are not Active. The holofields become Active only when repaired.
• Attacks with the Bypass, Melee, Psi trait(s) are affected by Holofields as described above. Note that this means Melee attacks cannot make Targeted attacks until the Holofields are not Active.
• Units equipped with Holofields are affected by Concussive weapons as normal if hit.
• Attacks with the Firestorm trait are resolved as normal against Units with Holofields.
• Attacks with the Shieldbane or Voidbreaker trait(s) have no additional effect against a Unit with Holofields.

+++

+ Eldar Titan Clans and Craftworlds +

+ But enough of rules – what about the lore? I've been unpicking and following the few extant threads from GW about Eldar Titans, and it's actually pretty cohesive. +

+ Eldar Titan crew +

+ Eldar Titans all contain a spirit stone. The pilots, called Steersmen, are granted a small portion of the spirit stone, which they wear as a bandana on their head. The stone bonds physically with the Steersman, and is used to form a bond with the Titan. It cannot be removed until death, after which the Steersman's personal spirit stone (worn on the breast, and often shaped to reflect the Clan's symbol) is interred within the Titan, forming part of the War Engine's Infinity Circuit. The forerunner is then being able to lend their wisdom and advice to the living Steersman/men that follow.  +

+ The Titan's Infinity Circuit is thus a microcosm of the larger circuits used by the Craftworld at large. It's unclear whether the Titan Clan's Infinity circuits interact with each other, or with the Craftworlds' broader circuit, or remains isolated. Perhaps it varies from Clan to Clan. +

+ Small Titans, such as Revenants, will have one living Steersman, while larger Titans such as Phantoms vary between those with a single crewman to those with three or four. Almost all Steersmen are close blood relatives, and families often serve together in Conclaves – groups of Titans – within the larger Clan. Twins and triplets, being vanishingly rare occurrences in Eldar society, are particularly well-suited to piloting Titans, owing to their shared heritage. +

+ In battle, the steersmen use their Soul-stone fragments to form a linked mind with the Titan and each other, allowing them all to move with a singular purpose, and with the heightened focus and clarity of thought of the most single-minded Exarchs. +

+++

+ The Titan Clans, Craftworlds and the Eldar Path + 

+ Eldar Titan Clans (at least the few we know of) form part of the Craftworlds, but live apart in separate enclaves, as they're a bit unusual. Other Eldar find them a bit disturbing owing to the way they finish each others' sentences and generally act in concert – a result of the shared mindstate they have in battle. The relationship of a Clan to a Craftworld can perhaps be viewed a little like that of the Adeptus Mechanicus to the broader Imperium – mutually reliant and supportive, but with a clear distinction. +

+ In this, I think of the Eldar of the Clans are a little like Eldar Rangers, in that they distance themselves from the other members of the Craftworld (though in the case of the Titan clans culturally, rather than physically as they Rangers do). Aspect Warrior Exarchs are probably treated with a more extreme version of this, with other Craftworlders paying them wary respect, but mostly avoiding them. +

+ The Eldar of the Titan Clans aren't lost on the Path as Exarchs are, and it's unclear whether becoming a steersman is a Path in itself, or restricted in some way. Again, I think this is rich soil for writing the lore of one's own Craftworld or Clan. Perhaps some more militaristic Craftworlds, like Biel-Tan, have a lot of back-and-forth of individuals between the Clan and the broader Craftworlds, with their Steersmen benefitting from experience gained while walking other Paths of the Warrior. Others, like Saim-Hann for example, with its culturally atavistic approach, might have quite closed-off and culturally isolated Clans, with virtually no interchange between the Clan and the other inhabitants. +

+++

+ What are the Clans like? +

+ Craftworlds appear to be able to support multiple Clans. The following Clans are attested in Codex Titanicus as examples. Some of the lore is interesting to read in light of modern Eldar background – little seems to have changed, but where it is different, it's quite marked!

Protectors of the Fallen (Fir Dinillainn)

Since Imperial records began, the Eldar Phantoms of the Saim-Hann Craft World have been known as the Fir Dinillainn – the Protectors of the Fallen. Yet on their own time scale, this name is but a recent acquisition, earned by an act of outstanding courage and selfless sacrifice to another clan many thousands of years ago. Lord Amthillian, leader at the time, sacrificed a third of his force to protect the dying warriors of the Fir Linithion clan – his companion in the field – so that their spirit-stones could be retrieved. By that single act of self-sacrifice, the Fir Lirillyon – the Knights of Purpose – were renamed the Fir Dinillainn.

Since that day the Phantoms of the Saim-Hann Craft World have astonished even Imperial forces with their selfless heroism.

+ A nice, dare I say 'generic', first Titan Clan to read about? The events described – or self-sacrifice to protect spirit-stones – are iconic of the Eldar in general, and could be applied to pretty much any Eldar force. +

Watchers over Ancient Wrongs (Fir Farillecassion)

It is widely-rumoured among the few Eldar unaware of the truth that the true location of the Black Library – said to hold the Eldar codices that concern themselves with the worship of Chaos and tell of the Eldar's downfall – must be the Biel-Tann [sic.] craftworld. Although this is certainly untrue, the Phantoms of Biel-Tann do display an unparalleled hatred of Chaos. The driving force behind this hatred is a fervent wish that no other race should suffer the terrible downfall that befell the Eldar.

Inquisitor Trant tells of his journey to Truan IX to destroy a Khornate coven. However, Trant arrived too late – upon reaching the surface he found that virtually the entire populace had been wiped out. In the rubble of the western continent's capital city he found a half-burnt banner bearing the symbols of the Fir Farillecassion – the Phantoms of Biel-Tann. They had arrived before him.

+ Besides the change in spelling, it's interesting to see that Biel Tan, far from being the xenophobes of modern 40k, were crusading in order to save other races at this point. +

Eagles Born of Fire (Fir Iolarion)

The Fir Iolarion – Eagles Born of Fire – were almost completely destroyed four centuries ago when they lost control of the warp gates aboard their craft world, Lugannath, allowing the Daemons of the warp to enter and attack them. For many years the clan drifted helplessly in space while they laboured to make the necessary repairs: stranded, and with their numbers severely depleted by the creatures in their midst, they were reduced to being one of the weakest Eldar clans.

Over time, however, thanks only to their own unrelenting and steadfast efforts, they have not only regained the power they once had, but have exceeded it tenfold. Their almost total obliteration is now regarded by their leaders as a baptism of fire.

+ ...and the last Clan comes from Lugannath, one of the few Craftworlds that had any lore at all in this period, and then disappeared for a few editions. Their Titan Clan sheds little light on the broader Craftworld. +

+ What can we take from this, and why's it relevant? Well, first off, I think it's fair to say that while there's not a clean slate to work from, equally there are some nice starting points. +

+ At this point in time, the Eldar colour schemes hadn't yet been 'locked-in' so firmly, and so I think you could happily defend Titans painted in unique clan colours, those of its parent Craftworld, or perhaps a combination of the two. +

+++

+ ... and speaking of painting +

+ I hope you're not too bored with this Phantom, but I'm delighted with how he's coming out. The model is now ready for the table, with the final details still to be decided upon. +

+ This front view shows that the body itself is all complete: the additions now will be some details – though I'm slightly nervous about [+SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT+]ing the existing work up! These will include:

• Clan logo
• Personal details
• Banner.

+ The old lore had the Titan's banner hanging from the weapon, which is an option, but I'm leaning towards it going between the legs, which has a big ol' area of negative space crying out for some interest. It'll also help draw the eye, balancing the figure a bit. +

+ Secondly, because the weapons are magnetised, they move – and hanging a banner from one seems a problem waiting to happen. +

+ Both weapons need further attention, but the Wraith Glaive in particular needs its blade painted. I'm umming and ahhing about whether to try a colourful blade (a device I personally dislike for Imperial weapons, but seem fitting for the Eldar), perhaps in pink or green; a pale ghostly hue; or metallics – perhaps with a hint of colour near the hilt to suggest a glow. +

+ The D-bombard likewise needs polishing off, though it's not clear from this over-exposed image! It's nice to have some sunlight back in the mornings, but today was not great for picking up detail. +

+ And to prove the back detail exists, here's a rear shot. +

+ To close, here's a scale shot, showing the Phantom next to its Imperial counterpart... and what's that odd glyph behind? Could it be that work is restarting on the Gargants, too? +

+++

+ 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 +

+++