+ inload: Orks in Legions Imperialis +

+ Xenos in Legions Imperialis +

Waaagh! Where's me Epic-scale roolz, Games Workshop?

+ The latest iteration of Epic goes back to the classics, with Space Marine 2nd Edition (SM2) being an obvious reference point, and the action taking part in the Age of Darkness – that is, the Horus Heresy (HH). +

+ That's lovely, but what if you find a different army appealing? This project is my attempt to create playable and fun rules for various factions in Epic. I'll be starting with Orks and Eldar to go with the Bloodsong expansion rules for Adeptus Titanicus, but the project is intended to be open-ended. +

+ Creating new armies for a game – particularly a relatively undeveloped one like Legions Imperialis (LI) – takes a bit of time and effort, so please bear with me. If you're got any input or suggestions (particularly if backed up with playtesting experience) please share it on the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook Group. +

+ This project will be a slightly different take on things, but if you are after a set of rules ready to play right now, I suggest you try out Johan Piledset's Legions Xenos. +

+++

+ Top level stuff +

+ The aims of the project are:

• To create a fun experience for all players
• To bring in the character of the relevant faction
• To allow both existing and new players something to try.
• To make minimal additions and changes to the core rules.

+ A mob of Ork boyz – the sculpts are from Wake's Emporium +

+ The project will be set in the 41st Millennium, because of availability of background and models. You can, of course, use these rules against the existing HH-era armies. +

+ Mechanically, I'll be taking my cues from SM2, as GW seems to have done for LI. +

+++

+ Get to the good bits +

+ Enough waffling, here are the basic rules. A downloadable pack will be available from the Files section of the +Death of a Rubricist+ Facebook group. +

+ For the moment, here's the Army rules, HQ Detachments, Core Detachments and Transport Detachments. These are sized to A4 paper, so feel free to print 'em out and share. +

Needless to say:

For use with Games Workshop PLC's 

Legions Imperialis game.

No challenge is made to Games Workshop's IP. 

Not for commercial distribution.

+++

+ Mustering an army +

+ Army Selection Steps +

• 1. Declare Allegiance
• Requires new Allegiance (Orks)
• 2. Choose Primary Army List
• Requires new Army List (Waa-Ghazghkull)
• 3. Assemble Compulsory Formations
• Need new Formations
• 4. Complete the Army

+ The creation of a New Allegiance and new Army List provides a mechanism to play. Taking my cue from Epic: Armageddon, the rules are themed around a particular conflict in order to (slightly) rein in the scope. In the case of the orks, this will be the Second War for Armageddon, and the Army List is intended to reflect the sort of armies seen fighting there. +

+++

+ Further reading +

+ This inload cover notes on formations [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] +

 

+ Next up will be tanks, kans and – depending on time – Gargants. +

+ inload: Anatomy of the enemy VI: Fomn +

+ Anatomy of the enemy VI: Fomn +

Of all the miserable xenos I've had the misfortune to encounter, Fomn were the most frustrating. Like fighting fog, the filthy things simply refused to engage. When at last they were forced to coalesce, they came striding down the approach to the bridge, the auto-defences hexed by that horrorwitch. The brutes knocked the armsmen aside in bludgeoning strokes, grabbed Navigatrix Sulo – and, with her still screaming, disappeared into thin air. 

Blinded, it took us nearly three years to limp to the nearest port; by which time the Fomn were long gone.

Extract from Campaign in the Braccian Reach – Lord Marshal Endun of Battlefleet Solar

+++

+ Abstract +

Brutal, ancient and aggressive, the Fomn's hidden empire has been fading for aeons; but stubbornly refuses to die out. Suffused by the immaterium through ritual and sortilege, their worlds and holdfasts are shunned by most sapient species – but their connection to the warp and mysterious relationship to homo navigus makes them a fell and avowed opponent of humanity.

+ First contact +

Scratchy and unreliable record fragments, found in datalooms and archaeotech hoards believed to date back to the Dark Age of Technology, offer tantalising hints of species bearing hallmarks of the Fomn. Of course, many thousands of species have been encountered by humans over the millennia, so why should such vague and indistinct records suggest a particular species? 

In this case, it is partially the Fomn's distinctiveness – simultaneously familiar enough to the human form to admit ready description, while distinctive enough to be marked out – that makes them recognisable, even from oral history. Their curious cycloptic nature, imposing physique and methods of contact make for easy and vivid description, even in fragmentary or partially corrupted data. 

More striking than their physical form, however, is their curious nature; and it is this that dominates all records of the creatures. Their suildluith – variously recounted as 'the evil eye', 'gimlet gaze' or 'warp eye' amongst a thousand other similar descriptors – is the main contributing factor to their long, if intermittent, interaction with humanity; and with their continuing belligerence. 

In any case, contact with the Fomn long predates Imperial history – and it may be that contact predates the Dark Age of Technology itself.

+++ 

+ Fomn biology +

Adult warrior Fomn standing between nine and twelve feet from toes to the top of their head, Fomn are rangy, spindly creatures with thick rubbery skin. Skintones usually range from pale orange to pale green on their dorsal sides, while ventral skin is near universally a corpse-pale white-purple. Occasional specimens appear with different colorations, but this is rare. Clusters of darker spots are common on dorsal skin, and on the face and forearms.

Along with their pale, hairless bodies, their hands and feet are large and webbed, indicative of a semi-aquatic ancestry; and they favour swampy terrain and worlds with plenty of free water. Fomn are particularly vulnerable to dehydration and heat-based weaponry; and standard doctrine recommends the deployment of melta and promethium-projecting weaponry where possible. 

Fomn bear long, sinuous tails. Dependent on caste, some of these end in tufts of a hair-analogue; others in thick skin, rendering it able to use as an improvised weapon. All Fomn emerge from their sacs as small, pale and genderless creatures. Left in isolation, they will mostly grow to infertile forms roughly five to seven foot high, with a lifespan measured in centuries. In communities, however, they develop through a form of enforced puberty – known as atharrachadh – that drives them towards a particular caste. There appear to be dozens of these; but the most commonly-encountered by humanity are warriors, psykers known as (cailleach) and the 'daemon-speakers' (or dirach).

Lacking external ears – indeed, with few distinguishable facial features of any type save their conical snout, bristling with grubby, short, sharp teeth – the Fomn possess a honeycomb-like internal ear that grants them excellent navigational abilities undewater, or in poor visibility. This partially explains their prediliction for, and expertise in, fighting at dusk or in mist and fog.

Emitting an unpleasant scent of corruption somewhere between swamp water and musk, their most distinctive physical characteristic of all Fomn is their baleful single eye. Lacking binocular vision, their depth perception is poor, a weakness partly, though no completely offset by their ability to peer beyond the physical and into the immaterium. 

How this is achieved is unknown. It is a feature that has long intrigued the Imperium at large, discussed in everything from learned debate to folk tales of 'beasts with the evil eye' across the galaxy. The few specimens that have been captured demonstrate no obvious physical attribute of their optical or other sensory organ that would allow the ability; and while many of the Fomn castes demonstrate prodigious psychic ability, that is not a quality that extends across the warrior caste. 

Glossy and black, the fimir's suildluith has obvious similarities to the Warp-eye of homo navigo – the Navigators – and the Fomn are similarly rumoured to be able to strike down those who meet their gaze. A few patchy reports seems to corroborate this, but more common is a general sense of malaise and unease on those who find themselves in close contact with Fomn. Their common low gothic names often reflect this. They are variously known as witcheyes, bascilix, soulhunters and hundreds more variants across the Imperium at large.

Most Fomn are male, with meargh females appearing vanishingly rarely. Larger, stronger and more intelligent than the males, meargh usually rise to positions of power through physical and psychic dominance of their kin. The apparent paucity of females has led to many human cultures telling tales of Fomn raiders spiriting women away to produce more Fomn through magical or sorcerous means – but this is without any basis in empirical fact; and more likely shines a mirror to the raiding practises and prejudices of human cultures in which such tales arise. 

Like spiders or toads, Mearghs produce vast sacks of offspring that are intermittently fertilised by dominant males. There is no doubt that Fomn take captives, but such fanciful notions as magical impregnation are founded only in myth: Fomn invariably eat their prey.

+++

+ Fomn technology +

Fomn technology appears crude and ritualistic; but this belies its puissance. As with all aspects of their foul culture, the Fomn's wargear is closely bound to the warp. The symbols and markings frequently serve a warding role, guiding and channelling direct transference of conventional energy in a manner equivalent to Imperial or orkoid field technology; simply using the warp itself in place of technomantic solutions such as electromagnetism. In bare terms of function, Fomn weaponry is unsophisticated and ineffective; but this is overcome through their successful yoking of sorcerous warp-binding.

 

Fomn warrior armour is distinctive, frequently made from crude metals and stone, giving it a primeval appearance. Outwardly cumbersome and awkward, it is rarely form-fitting; instead restricted to protecting the head and bellies – which are culturally important; symbolising prosperity and dominance. The surface of the armour is invariably covered in eye-watering symbols picked out through inscription and highlighted with precious stones. These frequently evoke the suildluith of the Fomn, being picked out to look like open, staring eyes. It is yet another reason why many Imperial worlds dread the Fomn – even comparatively sophisticated Imperial societies associate the single staring eye with the arch-Traitor Horus and the traitor legions, and the appearance of such large monsters provokes a particular dread amongst the faithful.

Fomn blast pistols – or bataborradh – are heavy, brutal weapons that discharge high intensity laser energy. Swift-firing but short-ranged, these weapons rely on saturation of fire rather than accuracy.

Fomn favour close-in fighting, utilising brutally effective chain-weapon analogues to spread fear and terror. As with their armour, their weapons are often ritually decorated in order to enhance their already formidable physical abilities. 

Gaudy and primal it may appear, but Fomn armour is nevertheless highly effective. It resonates a low charge that not only protects them from psychic attack, but also wards off small arms and offers some protection against heavier weaponry.

Fomn armour does incorporate some concessions to atmospheric adaptation; the pict-capture above shows both the rebreather device built into the backplate and the incorporated communications array in the helm. Such technology is believed to be considered another element in the overall composition of the ritualistic decoration, and thus functional elements will follow the same alien aesthetic as the rest of the Fomn's technology. The crest on the helm here is an example; the shape concealing a shortband comms-mitter/ceiver.

+++

+ Visitation fleets +

As far as can be ascertained, the Fomn maintain no connected empire; rather being a disparate species that temporarily occupies small, isolated worlds in wilderness space. The majority of such planets are deep in warpstorm-touched areas, hidden and protected from other species. Such worlds as they do colonise are swiftly polluted by their presence, invariably becoming mire-covered swampworlds, fizzing with corruption, as the Fomn raise fell monoliths and steles to their vast pantheon of gods.

Contact with humanity is rare and intermittent, with centuries or even Millennia passing without sightings of their Visitation fleets. These powerful armadas, made up of many dozens of vast dish-shaped craft, ply the hidden depths of wilderness space. While their motives are largely mysterious, it is suspected that their movements are driven by warp tides; populations abandoning worlds as the warp ebbs, and moving to invade and capture new holdings where the veil between the material and immaterial thins.

Fomn are superlative navigators, their biology well-suited and technology geared towards swift and silent movement across the galaxy.

+ Primary visitation fleet tracking M34–M36 +

Visitation fleets will descend upon planets with little warning; the warriors inside boiling out to swiftly overwhelm the inhabitants. Fomn use their method of arrival to disrupt planetary defences, translating from warp within the heliosphere of a star, then 'skipping' the warp to within a planet's outer atmosphere. The dish-shape of the craft thus becomes a form of weapon, with disruption caused both to planetary weather patterns and the warp signature of the planet. 

The physical result is to send scouring rains, boiling weatherfronts of mist, duststorms and other sensor-fogging atmospheric effects roiling across their points of landing; while the spiritual consequence of the warp disturbance is to fill the defenders with deep uncertainty and fear. The disruption that goes in front of the Fomn is thus both wide-ranging and profound, making them a considerably greater threat than their comparatively low tech-level would suggest. That they also make use of daemons and warp-magick further increases their capabilities.

This method of invasion, along with their swift deployment, is utterly reliant on their incomparably precise navigation through the immaterium. No other species comes close to their precision in galactic movement, which is part of what makes them so infuriatingly difficult to bring to battle – they are simply able to avoid or withdraw contact.

Despite these strengths, Fomn seemingly shy from conflict with advanced groups wherever possible, preferring to prey on backward or lightly-defended worlds. Since their objectives seem to be harvesting provisions – that it, livestock – or colonisation near worlds that are falling into heavier warpstorms, the Imperium finds countering such attacks difficult. 

Where the Fomn can be brought to battle, they are a strong but not insurmountable foe. A typical guard outpost or properly-manned Imperial bastion will have sufficient firepower to drive off feinting attacks, and Fomn will usually withdraw before daylight-equivalent cycles, where their protective mists dissipate and poor day-vision renders them still worse at ranged combat.

+++

+ The Nova Terra Interregnum +

The disruption caused by the Nova Terra Interregnum meant that reports of Fomn activity – always patchy and unreliable owing to their unfamiliarity – lost all cohesion. It is believed that Fomn vessels took advantage of the galactic disruption to increase their attacks on Imperial shipping; a behaviour that had been hitherto unknown or unreported.

The Fomn showed no differentiation between attacks on Nova Terran or Old Imperial shipping, indicating their motives were purely selfish.

+ The Fomn during the Alien Wars +

The precise connection or relationship between the Fomn and Navigators – if there is one – is utterly mysterious. Even the Inquisition tread lightly around the wickedly powerful Navigator houses, and the few investigators that have dared to broach the subject have been immediately stonewalled. Imperial history records that they, along with a number of other human subspecies and abhumans, appear to have been artificially created in some way during the Dark Age of Technology; but the Navigators themselves admit nothing about their origins.

The Alien Wars, however, did throw some light on the relationship. In late M35, the Navigator House of Ghi – a so-called 'shrouded' or 'beggar' house, had been making a number of seemingly ruinous betrothals outside of the House to many different Navigator Houses; a practise that would have seen them die out entirely in two or three generations. A low-ranking unidentified Navigator, perhaps an ally or scion of Ghi, began to make a series of cryptic reports to the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Moad Ben Djagal. 

He was killed by unknown assailants before these could be transmitted in full, but the decrypted results bore an unmistakable trace to a little known-world deep in the minor warpstorm Phlegethon. It was discovered that the world had contained a substantial proportion of the House of Ghi's holdings in a subterranean complex; and that they had been in regular contact with the Fomn. Upon further investigation, an entire manufactorum bearing hallmarks of the Fomn was discovered producing a fatal nerve-toxin effective only against homo navigo; keyed to activate only in two generations time. Realising the implications, Inquisitor Ben Djagal was able to bring the plot to the attention of the Paternoval Envoy, and a silent massacre was successfully avoided.

That the Fomn were heavily involved in a plot to destabilise or entirely wipe out numerous Navigatorial houses is an unavoidable conclusion. The question of why this might be, however, remains elusive.

+++

+ Post Script +

What conclusion can we draw from the Fomn? Such nebulous lessons as xenos can grant are valuable only through negation: learning the shape of our foe through the space it should occupy. Here, it hints at conspiracy at the highest level. What do the Patriarchs and Matriarchs seek to shield from the wider Imperium?

I remain, at your service; Inquisitrix Barbari Kills.

+ inload: Lamb's World recruitment +

+ It's all been a bit quiet while I grind away at the next entry in the Creating your own army series [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], so I thought I'd post up some miscellaneous bits and bobs to feast your occulo-visors on; and look at some more of my Imperial Guard from Lamb's World – because who doesn't love the poor bloody infantry struggling through the grim darkness of the far future? +

+ New Recruits +

+ I've used the models of this latest Lamb's World army to represent different regiments – a new commander and some thematic auxiliaries/additions is enough to give an army a fresh feel for a different time period. This works particularly well for monolithic or unchanging organisations like the Imperial Guard or Necrons; letting you try a different approach with your force without painting a whole new army. +

+ Adapting an army for a different setting – and it doesn't need to be a completely different time period; it may simply be a different region of your campaign – changing the personalities at the top goes a long way to giving a sense of realism and verisimilitude. After all, your colonel/warboss isn't going to deal with everything personally, and can't be everywhere at once: it's good to let trusted underlings take charge. This also adds to a sense of scale; preventing your campaigns turning into the same old characters fighting each other, with all the tension of a saturday-morning cartoon. +

+ Introducing new characters – and allowing them to be captured, injured or even die – can be very immersive and enjoyable. The figures above show some reinforcements for Lamb's World, who will represent the army during the M35 time period. To fit with the Nova Terra Interregnum's 'retrohammer' concept (that is, to evoke the Rogue Trader background using modern miniatures), I've drafted in some classic Mark Copplestone sculpts kindly given to me by Stuntwedge. They're front and centre of the image above, and will be Caef Whittaker (named after the Commander of my very first guard army back in the 90s) and his trusted banner bearer. Note I've used Elysian arms, shoulder guards and weaponry to update them a bit, without compromising what I like about the originals. The other figures are a motley mix of bits and bobs, mostly Victoria Miniatures' awesome Arcadian Guard (and a characterful dog from Anvil Industries), and will swell the ranks of the infantry. +

+ To make sure that the Victoria Miniatures figures blend in with the existing guardsmen of the army – mostly based on Forge World's Elysian – I'm also building some figures that overlap and combine bits from both Forge World and Victoria Miniatures. +

+ Sicarian Infiltrator: Bezoa Forge [Pict-capture: Lucifer216] +

+ Why the renewed interest in Lamb's World? Well, fellow PCRC member Lucifer216 has recently completed a rather gorgeous Adeptus Mechanicus army from his Forgeworld of Bezoa [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – you can see an example of his beautiful work to the right – and we thought we'd get a big game in. +

+ We're aiming for 150 power level, which is certainly the biggest game I've played for a long while – and possibly the largest I've ever played one-on-one. My aim is to get some shots for a battle report that I can post up here; so watch this space. +

+ My existing army just about reaches that level, but if I can get some extra stuff painted before the game (it's nice to field something new for a big game like this), that'd be the aromatic unguents on the tech-altar . +

+++

+ For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die alone, unsung, and unremembered. +

+ I've been posting up shots of individual Guardsmen – and how they mey their inevitable ends – on the Death_of_a_Rubricist Instagram account recently, so I wanted to make sure the main blog readers didn't miss out. +

+ XI: Morus Llew. Bezoa. KIA confirmed – background rads. +

+ XII and XIII:  Osto Eo and Broker Wyn. Bezoa. KIA unconfirmed – artillery strike. +

+ XIV: Harris Cain. Battle of Blosto Plains. KIA – confirmed.

+ XV: Zor Pirkens. Luther MacIntyre IX. KIA confirmed – local fauna. +

+ XVI: Asc Oakentop. Luther MacIntyre IX. KIA confirmed. +

+++

+ Also in the forges +

+ Some other projects that are bubbling under: +

+ Mordheim XIX +

+ The basic shapes of the warband are in place – some greenstuff work and then onto paint. +

+ Allies and enemies +

+ How's a Space Marine to show off how tough he is without guardsmen to provide contrast? These two are from Victoria Miniatures' [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] Arcadian line – a thoroughly awesome homage to the Cadian miniatures of late 2nd edition: perfect for the Nova Terra Interregnum period of my setting. +

+ A scale shot helps drive home the physical size of the underlying Plague Marine model. +

+ But being big isn't necessarily enough when you're fighting the worst the rim can throw at you. This space-fimir is from Knightmare Miniatures [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], who also made the Saharduin figures in this inload. He (and his species) will get an 'Anatomy' inload of his own sometime. +

+ A very cool figure with a great mix of pulp sci-fi and prehistoric Celtic detailing, I'm going to try out some green-grey glazing on the skin. I've therefore created a much lighter underlayer than I normally would. +

+++

+ inload: Creating an army of your own I +

+ Creating an army of your own – an invitation +

+ This inload is intended as the first in a mini-series that looks at my approach to world-building, with an eye to creating compelling narratives for your artwork, modelling and gaming. If all goes well, by the end you'll have your very own unique background for a force of orks, guard, eldar (or whatever else you fancy) – along with a couple of painted models; all achieved through a series of bitesize steps; and with examples and exercises to help guide you along the way. +

+ I've chosen Space Marines from Warhammer 40,000 as the main example, owing to their popularity, but the broader principles can be applied to anything – from Age of Sigmar forces to Titan Legions, to your own minor xenos for the Alien Wars. If you've ever been even slightly tempted to come up with a faction of your own, then I invite you to join me and follow along with the series. +

+ Before we begin, it goes without saying that all that follows is just, like, my opinion, man; so feel free to take as much on board as you like, ignore everything that you don't, and argue vociferously in the comments! The aim is simple: to make something that feels like it's yours. +

+ Noosphericinloadlinks +

I – Invitation and overview
II – Paint schemes and heraldic schemes 
III – Muted schemes
IV – High impact schemes [This inload]
V – Analogous schemes [Spooling]
VI – Enemies and allies [Spooling]

+++

+ Why create your own force? +

Those scribators who've been inloading for a while will know I talk a good talk about being creative; but many of the armies I've built have been based on ones made up by other people. My Ultramarines and Iron Warriors, for example, may have my spin on them (being, as they were, exercises in fleshing out factions that have a reputation for being dull or generic) but they are, at heart, someone else's creation.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with making your own interpretation of an existing faction. Besides the ease of making decisions on colours, rules, army composition etc., it's also a good way of connecting with other hobbyists quickly. This is particularly apposite if you play with strangers in pick-up games or events, as it aids with gaming clarity. You can expect 40k players to knows what the Evil Sunz are; but not so much with the Howling Spiderz tribe. It's also fun to try and get things 'correct', or accurate – it's got a trainspottery vibe and appeal, and meeting like-minded players who recognise the depth you've gone into can be rewarding.

From the narrative hobbying perspective, there's also great pleasure in digging through old or obscure material to find an existing 'canonical' faction that you can bring to life. Having people recognise your Griefbringers Company or squat league is a rewarding and fun way to find like-minded people – and this is a social hobby at root, after all. This is a nice half-way house, and one I've followed quite a bit.

...and then we come to 'homebrew' factions. Even the name sounds a little down-at-heel; a little suspect. While the freedom such an approach offers is exciting, it can also be intimidating – and that can put a lot of people off; fearing sneers from other hobbyists doing 'proper' armies – and I think that's a terrible shame. In my experience, bespoke armies – however they're executed – invite far more interest and praise than jeers. Besides, It's a big universe, and it's only enriched by seeing unique colour schemes and histories.

At heart, the main reasons for creating your own force are threefold:

• Telling your stories, with your men (or women, or post-human freaks, or bug-eyed monsters) is fun.
• Challenging yourself to create is fantastically rewarding and liberating.
• Creating your own force lets you explore a little (or big!) corner of a shared universe, and in so doing, gives depth to other hobbyists. 

I have created some factions of my own – notably my various Imperial Guard regiments, and my Eldar – but aside from a few one-offs, I've never really dug into making a Space Marine Chapter.

So I thought I would.

+ Founding a Chapter: the Gatebreakers +

+ Gatebreaker marine alongside two Imperial Armsmen +

At heart, I'm a contrary soul. For my Chapter, I want to make sure that they've got a distinct identity – no 'Blood Angels, but blue'; and not a caricature of an historical group. Jes Goodwin, being interviewed on Games Workshop's Voxcast podcast, made an excellent point that the best bits in 40k have their own distinct spin on existing concepts. 

It's not just a case of taking something and looking at it through a Warhammer lens; but combining complementary or even conflicting elements. Thus the Blood Angels, for example, are a distinctly 40k construct of pop-culture vampires, renaissance-era artwork, and Aliens-style future soldiers. It's a weird mix, but works because it offers lots of ways in. It can appeal equally to those who want a serious, pseudo-historical force and those who want an over-the-top fantasy vibe. The name has similar features: at once slightly ridiculous and compellingly iconic.

+ Theoretical: Picking a name +

Speaking of names... There are many ways to start, but I think coming up with a good catchy name is amongst the easiest. A good name also leads on nicely to helping decide on your force's culture and way of war later on. When picking a name, I recommend considering the following:

• Ease of use  Shorter names are punchier, and easier for both you and other hobbyists to remember. I suggest you look first and foremost to names familiar to you, if only for ease of pronounciation: don't make things harder than they need to be for other people.
• Exoticism  That first point needs to be balanced against originality. There 40k universe is a huge place, and there's space to bring a mirror to any real-world culture, modern or historical. 
• Make it about you  Since this is a personal army, only you can decide what you want it to say about you, but exploring your own family history will likely throw up some cool ideas; as will the place you live. Look into local history and see if that brings something up.
• Say it out loud  If you can't even bring yourself to say it, you'll struggle to convince anyone else to – I'd suggest it's a duff idea. Equally, if it's sounds awesome when you say it, you're onto a winner.
• Avoid nominative determinism  That is to say, your army's name doesn't need to describe its behaviour, as that'll limit your choices later. 

Taking the irreverent spirit I mentioned earlier forward, I want to make sure that there are contradictions and surprises within the Chapter. First and foremost, in the name. My Chapter will be the Gatebreakers – a name I settled on because it fits the existing schema of being simple, martial and short. A typically bombastic and aggressive name for a Space Marine Chapter, it has associations of siegework – but that's the obvious path to take. All Space Marine Chapters – from White Scars to White Consuls – can do sieges; so naming themselves after their speciality seems a bit self-referential and limiting.

In short, the name you pick doesn't need to determine the force's behaviour. For my example, it's precisely because Gatebreakers suggests 'sieges' that I want to avoid any suggestion of siege specialism – it's reductive.

+ Practical + 

Now it's your turn to pick a name. Look beyond existing 40k tropes, at what inspired them in the first place. I've listed some starting points below:

• Craftworld Eldar: Look at the Gaelic/Celtic festivals which inspired some of the Craftworld names – it's not a big jump between bealtaine, samhain and lughnasadh to Biel Tan, Saim-Hann and Lugganath. You might explore other Gaelic terms – perhaps relating to war or geographical regions. Flowery allusions are another route – try looking at Romantic-era poetry to select some choice verbiage.
• Orks: The easy route is to go with 'Waaa-[insert warboss name here]', but if you want to try something else; orks tend to pick wonderfully blunt and earthy names based around physical objects – often animals, of weapons – and simple adjectives, such as 'fast' or 'yellow'. Given a quick 'orkification', we end up with 'Boar Runnaz', 'Skarlet Stikkas' and the like.
• Imperial Guard: Guard naming is simple and fun – pick a planet, pick a number, and pick a nickname. The latter is perhaps the most creative part – and thus the part that offers your the most creativity. Look at existing real-world regimental nicknames, such as the 'Brickdusts'; 'Screaming Eagles'; or 'Immortals'.

What I'd like you to do is get your dataslate (or a piece of paper) and scribble down the first name that comes to mind – don't worry if it's crap, or derivative – keep going. Write down three of four more than are variations on the name; swapping out a word, or changing it slightly. If you want help trimming down, here are some ideas to avoid common pitfalls and clichés:

• Avoid 'The' anything  It can work; but often comes across as needlessly portentous. It's also awkward when you come to situation when you need lists. A good name works without a determiner or prefix.
• Less is sometimes more  Try to keep the name as short as possible – if you've used an adjective ('red', 'blood' etc.) try the name without.
• Say the name out loud  40k can have a campy aspect, but if you feel silly just saying the name, it's probably a non-starter.

Next, write down four or five more that spring to mind: having a back-up choice is very useful! You don't need to share these with anyone; and we're not going to make a final choice yet. Nothing stifles creativity like feeling restricted, so we're going to keep our options open. In any case, it may be that the other options get put to use elsewhere – perhaps as names for units, relic wargear, or as honorifics. Put a star or something next to your current favourite before moving on to the next part – we'll use this as a placeholder.


Remember, the name doesn't determine the behaviour; so try to pick something that, first and foremost, sounds good to you.

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+ Theoretical: Seeds of a culture +

With a name, we now do a small amount of world-building. We'll build on this later, so for the moment, a tight focus will help. Conflict is at the heart of these forces, so one way in is to look at how they fight – and how it differs from other groups of the same faction/species. You then follow the thread to see where it leads.

Having decided that the Gatebreakers are not a one-trick siege force, I need to decide what my Chapter is going to be. The main pitfall to avoid is making them too different – remember that your force must fit into the broader universe. Exceptionalism is a siren song, but it's the 'standard' stuff against which such talents sit which will ground your army. Think of the special stuff as your final highlights – they need the base coats to work properly.

• Where does the army's faction stand in the game universe? 
• Is it usually fast and fragile, slow and tough? 
• Is it a horde or smaller?
• Is my army a typical example of the faction, or does it differ?
• If it differs, how?
• Do these exceptions provide an advantage?
• If so, why does the faction as a whole not use them?

Applying these to my Gatebreakers, I step back a bit and look at what Space Marines in general are – and that's effectively special forces. Astartes are brought in to solve problems that other Imperial institutions can't deal with. That's good enough for me; and I decide to keep their general approach Codex standard. In essence, then, the name 'Gatebreakers' can simply be an allusion to their role as solving problems – presumably with maximum violence – rather than a sign they do things hugely differently.

In short, whatever faction you're building, they're already distinctive and special – eldar are deadly fast; orks are tough and ramshackle. Our challenge is to find a niche that makes our faction different rather than better – and character does not rely on exceptionalism – in fact, it's often the weaknesses and ways of overcoming them that suggest interesting ideas.

With a couple of variables in place, we now pick somewhere for them to inhabit. We'll look at this later, so for the moment I suggest you simply pick from the following list:

• Their own planet.
• Roving from place to place.
• Something more exotic.

I decided to have the Gatebreakers as a nomadic force, and place their holdings near the galactic rim. This is a favourite location of mine, as it's isolated, desolate and far from the centre of things – a perfect combination as far as I'm concerned, giving me a blank page to fill with strange new aliens, weird human cultures and all the implications of an unexplored frontier.

What effect does that choice of location have on the Gatebreakers? Well, their location on the rim suggested a fleet-based Chapter to me; constantly battling with resupply issues and scarcity owing to their isolation – and that lean, ruthless feel is something gives me a core to build upon.

+ Practical +

Over to you. Look for something that shares the core aspects of the existing background, and find a twist:

• Craftworld Eldar: A core aspect of Craftworld Eldar culture is the sense of decline; of an inevitable terrible doom. How does your Craftworld deal with this? Defiance? Despair? Resignation? Duty? Last stands, declining empires and defiance are rich sources of inspiration.
• Orks: The six clans offer a shortcut – but potentially a cul-de-sac that quickly becomes exaggerated to caricature. Evil Sunz do more than race; and not all Death Skulls are lootas. If you go for a mono-clan approach, be careful to give your warband some cultural quirk – perhaps a fondness for warpaint or some decorative element; perhaps a necessary reliance on some technology or cultural taboo to survive the planet they're on? If you go for a mixed-clan tribal approach; what clan is the warboss? Why?
• Imperial Guard: As orks have the clans, so Guard have the real world to fall back on – but be careful not to make your Guard '[culture] in space'. As with the Blood Angels example above, try combining seemingly incongruous history with mythology or pop culture – Zhou dynasty China with werewolves, for example; or Classical Athenian naval troops with a world dominated by godzilla-like monsters.

Some tips for thinking out the framework of a culture:

• What do they call themselves? This can give a good lens on a culture. Does the force refer to itself by its formal title, or by an affectionate nickname/honorific? Why?
• Where do they come from? It's a cliché in sci-fi, but the place something comes from affects it. This can be a world (or craftworld); but could equally be a fleet. More abstractly, consider where your force comes from in time. Are they veterans, newly-formed, or something else?
• What do they want? What are the short-term and long-term goals or aims of your force?
• What do they fear? Weakness and frailty pose questions and create the potential for conflict – fantastic for creating character. It's also a good way to ensure you avoid that dreaded 'Mary Sue'
• Are they a caricature of an existing culture? If so; think again. Chuck something new into the mix – something incongrous. If you've gone for a realistic feel, throw in something silly, and vice versa. (To reassure you here; consider Eldar Harlequins. On paper they're ridiculous: deadly space clown ninjas? Nevertheless, because the culture is sufficiently deep and compelling, it works.)

Jot down the answers to the questions above; then look again at your list of names. Does your initial favourite (marked with a star) still fit the bill? If not, do the others fit? For any you reject, can you use them elsewhere? Don't worry about things becoming incongruous at this stage – an Ethiopian-inspired culture having a Russian-sounding rank title, for example. These incongruities can add depth and interest. As always, you don't have to share these ideas with anyone – in fact, I'd encourage you not to. If you've come up with something awesome, the need to share it will push you forward to making a model...

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+ Theoretical: Making models +

While I have already fleshed out the Gatebreaker's background a bit further – details in a future inload – I encourage you not to build the background too far too soon, as it inevitably puts restrictions on what you can eventually build. That in turn leads to lost opportunities. Leave yourself wanting to write more, as this creative urge will feed into and inform your modelling. Thus, with the broad strokes in place, I got started: 

+ Eo Duar, Gatebreaker +

 + Based on one of the new Plague Marine sculpts, I removed the obvious mutations and filled in the larger pockmarks. I did leave a few bullet holes and popped rivets, complementing them with some score marks of my own to suggest some relatively minor damage. This mix helps to visually blend the plastic areas with the greenstuff. +

+ I wanted a sense that the Gatebreakers' equipment is much-repaired (to go with the cultural markers we talked about earlier) rather than out-and-out scavenged or damaged to the point of uselessness. To suggest this, I chose a specific armour mark (in this case Mark 3) with a few replacement parts such as the mark V helm and mark VII arm. This hopefully suggests that there was a full suit once upon a time; rather than it being a completely scavenged patchwork (as you might expect with a renegade Chapter). +

+ Note the crude forearm system – presumably replacing a damaged in-suit system, or a jury-rigged repair. Visually, this serves to create some asymmetry and interest; moving the piece as a whole away from the Plague Marine origin. Sometimes it's about removing detail as much as adding it – and that applies to the background as much as the model. +

+ I left the tubules from the Plague Marine sculpt in place, but filled the holes and gaps to make them into cables. Again, the idea is to walk a line between 'old and much-repaired' and 'ancient to the point of decrepititude'. Taking opportunities offered by the base model can help generate challenges. The way you deal with them – whether paisntakingly removing and resculpting them; or building them in – will depend on your ambition as much as your ability. +

+ When you build, pause every so often, and check that you're not only showing the viewer what makes your force special; but what makes him fit into the existing world. Here, the mark III power pack and shoulder pads re-establish that this is an Imperial Marine. An equivalent for (say) a Guardsman would be to include the iconic lasgun – even a caveman miniature with a lasgun will 'read' as a Guardsman. +

+ I wavered on the boltgun. The figure already has lots of 'historical' elements that mean he wouldn't be out of place in the Horus Heresy setting; and the boltgun I used is often associated with that period too. However, in-universe it's just another boltgun – and for me it has associations with the real-world period of the 90s that I'm evoking with the Alien Wars project, so I left it on. +

+ In the context of the rest of the squad the associations will (hopefully) not be so marked – but even if they are, who cares? This process should, first and foremost, please you. +

+ Practical +

Last exercise for this inload, but easily the most rewarding: Making the first model for your force. The task is to build a single line trooper that exemplifies the culture you've created. I've listed starting points below for Craftworld eldar, orks and guard, but don't feel restricted to that – the advice applies equally to other xenos species.

The model you make will be informed by the answers you gave to the practical exercises above. Try to apply the same magpie approach to your modelling – look beyond the obvious sources to other ranges. Remember: it's just one model. Importantly, it's a line soldier. Not a leader, not a character – a basic warrior. The reason for this is simple: if you can exemplify the name and convey the culture on a relatively anonymous figure, you'll know you've come up with something good and distinctive.

The following are some starting points to help you exercise your creativity:

• Craftworld Eldar: Even with GW, the Eldar are spoiled for kitbashing with the new Age of Sigmar elves. Historical figures often have a slighter stature than GW heroics – that can be put to good use here.
• Orks: Orks have a wealth of third-party options open to them, and most ork players are dab hands at conversion, so my suggestion here is simple: don't underestimate the impact simple parts choice can have in suggesting culture. Challenge yourself with restriction: pick two ork sprues from different kits, and have at it. Cut, repose and have fun – just don't use anything beyond those two. It'll force you to adapt.
• Imperial Guard: The opposite applies to the ork advice here. Too often, cool kitbash ideas are put on the backburner because the thought of repeating them a hundred times is demoralising. Focus on building one model, using all those parts you (deep down) really want to.

Look again at the example Gatebreaker marine I made. If I've done it right, the pose and pieces should give the impression of the embattled but ruthless culture I want to evoke – but that's for you to decide. If I've failed, then I'll do my best to fix it in the next inload! If you're struggling for a starting point, try one of these:

• Pick a single part from a kit you've used before and know you like. Build a non-standard model around it.
• Pick a single part from a kit you've always had your eye on, but never had a good reason to use.
• Pick a kit that's lurked at the back of the cupboard for too long. If it's numbered, roll an appropriately-sided die to get the bit you have to incorporate.
• Combine elements of two kits from different model lines.

The aim of this exercise is not to splurge money on getting exotic bits – indeed, another reason to do a basic trooper is that you may have some spares lying about that you can use to do this. If you do want to try something new, but are on a budget, Warlord Games currently have a sprue sale on [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] – their Gates of Antares plastics can be picked up for a couple of quid, and are great sources of cool models.

Of couse, if you want to really go for it and make something truly outré with loads of random bits; then all the better – godspeed you!

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+ Summary +

I hope this article's been interesting; and I really do encourage you to have a go at following the exercises. Follow through to build just one unique model, and you'll have a great sense of accomplishment. Better than that; you'll have unlocked your inherent creativity.

In the meantime, please do share your results (both models and cultures):

• Below in the comments
• On your own blogs (give me a link and I'll post it with the next article)
• On the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group
• On the Alien Wars thread on Bolter & Chainsword
• On Instagram, with the #thealienwars or #alienwars hashtag

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