Fluffhammer 40k

This page is in need of cleanup. Srsly. It's a fucking mess.

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This page is an ongoing project designed for the tweaking of existing Warhammer 40,000 rules to better represent fluff sources. To make it work with current rules, equipment and points costs of most units will also need to be updated-this will follow the rules.

Save System

The various saves in 40k are one of the areas that most need an overhaul in order to fit the fluff.

Armour Saves

Warhammer 40,000's current armour system seperates armour into 6 levels that are extremely broad, which can cause silliness like power swords doing as much damage to power armour as they do to mighty crisis suits, or riptides and Artificer Armour providing the same level of protection. The proposed changes (see below) are better suited to representing elite armour (such as space marines, grey knights, battlesuit-heavy tau etc.) and avoids silliness such as terminator armour having an invulnerable save without having any kind of forcefield.

• Armour will have a rating 0-10, with the number for the save functioning the same as ballistic skill (i.e. 4=3+, 6=2+/6+)
• Armour Pen will have a rating 0-10, with each point of Pen ignoring one point of armour
• Most 40k weapons can calculate their Pen rating in the new version by flipping their AP (i.e. AP6 becomes Pen 1, AP2 becomes Pen 5)

Most armour would need some changing of it's value, because the point is to better represent the fluff! Terminator armour would make sense at Armour 8 (meaning if they got hit by a melta gun (Pen 6), they would have a 5+ [almost like it makes sense!], whereas weaker weapons would grant them better saves (such as plasma granting a 5+, or a lasgun granting 2+/4+). Power armour at AV5 would allow for marines much closer to their fluff depiction, shrugging off lasguns but still not immune to them, while being inferior to terminator armour in a significant way. Most current 2+ saves would end up at around 6-7, with especially heavy suits (Calgar's named armour, Cataphractii Armour, Dreadknights/riptides etc.) could reach the upper limits, getting a 9 or a 10.

Cover Saves

A tree WILL NOT stop a lascannon blast under any circumstances. This is an inherent problem with the current 40k ruleset that bears addressing. Cover does absolutely benefit those using it however, and the following rules are possible solutions to this issue:

• Cover will not be a distinct save to take instead of armour. There will be two types of cover: Visual Cover, and Protective Cover
  • Visual Cover will have a numerical value (a low one). This number is subtracted from any firer's BS when targeting the unit in cover (to a minimum of one, doesn't apply to blast weapons or enemies within 12") when the unit in cover goes to ground. Otherwise, half the value is used (rounding up). Examples include forests, Night Fighting, area terrain etc.
  • Protective Cover will have an armour value. When going to ground, the full value can be added to the users armour. Otherwise, half the value is used (rounding up).

Examples: Guardsman in Area terrain (standard): Visual Terrain 1 Stealthsuit in Forest: Visual Terrain 2+1 (for shrouded/stealth) Aegis Line: Protective terrain 3 etc.

Invulnerable Saves

Invulnerable saves are (usually) meant to represent forcefields and the like, and using either forcefields OR armour to deflect attacks makes little enough sense.

• Invulnerable saves will grant an Invulnerable Value (IV) between one and four.
• IV will be added to Armour Value
• IV will be resistant to Pen

Example: An Imperial Guard officer with Flak Armour (AV 2) and a Refractor Field (IV 2) would have an effective AV of 4. However, regardless of the Pen of the weapon targeting him, his effective AV will never drop below 2 because of his refractor field.

Evasion Saves

Any model with an initiative score greater than it's AV can substitute it's initiative for it's armour against the first shot directed against each game turn, counting the value as an IV that does NOT stack with armour. This save is unaffected by cover.

Close Combat

Combat in 40k right now heavily favours hordes, which is not at all what the fluff suggests. A number of changes that better allow players to represent elites versus mobs:

• Attacks may only be made against models in base contact
• All models pile in at the same time
• New weapon skill system:
  • Equal weapon skill, both parties hit on 4+
  • Higher weapon skill hits on 3+, Lower one on 5+
  • A model with more than double the weapon skill on the target hits on a 2+
• If a unit kills all models in base contact before the enemy is able to strike any blows, then they count as having charged in the next round of combat as well (as they use the space they've opened up to charge against)
• A unit performing a sweeping advance uses it's majority initiative; a unit receiving a sweep advance uses it's lowest initiative
• Any model may add half it's strength (not including any bonuses conferred by any CCW) rounding down in AP to it's close combat attacks (i.e. a standard attack from a marine would be AP2, a standard attack from a guardsman would be AP1, AP3 rifleman dreads etc.)
• Each CCW adds an attack, pairs add two (still can't claim a third attack though-only so many hands!)
• Specialist weapons calculate extra attacks the same way they currently do
• Hammer of Wrath has a Pen value equal to half the toughness, rounding up, of the unit making the attack (a dreadknight crashing into you hurts more than any assault marine could!).

Shooting

The guns of 40k are very much black-and-white affairs, as it stands right now. Barring salvo weapons, they lack any form of fire mode. They also have retardedly short ranges and hitting a target 48" away is the same difficulty as hitting a target 1" away. These are stark issues if you are expecting your Eldar warriors' superior marksmanship and weaponry to match a horde of conscripts with flashlights as they would in the fluff, for example.

• Running allows you to make a second move (exactly the same as in the movement phase), where one cannot turn mid move (i.e. no cornering) and which makes difficult terrain count as dangerous.

• Four fire modes would be present for ranged weapons: Single shot, Burst Fire, Braced and Spray
  • Every gun has at least one firing mode, any guns with multiple need to declare which they are using before any dice are rolled
  • Single Shot: Extends the range of the weapon by 6", resolved at +1 BS, and (obviously) fires a single shot. Any model firing a single shot may not charge in the subsequent assault phase.
  • Burst Fire: The weapon in use will have a burst rating if it can use this firing mode. It fires a number of shots equal to the rating.
  • Braced: Has a numerical rating. The firing model must spend their movement phase bracing the weapon. If they have, they may fire a number of times equal to the rating. A braced model may not charge.
  • Spray: Used for templates and full auto weapons. For weapons that can spray and have use no template, they can fire a number of shots equal to twice their burst rating, at -1 BS for every full 6" beyond the first they fire, to a minimum of BS1. Templates fire once, in the same way they do currently.

• Shooting at any target wholly within 6" of the firing model grants +1 to BS, except in the Spray firing mode.
• Any weapon may be fired at up to 6" past it's listed range, at a -2 BS penalty, to a minimum of BS 0
• Firing at a unit with more than twenty models, or containing a monstrous creature/vehicle which did not move in it's previous movement phase grants a +1 BS bonus
• If a blast template hits a target and is entirely over it (i.e. 100% of the blast covers a single model) add +1 to it's strength when resolving the hit, up to S 10

This allows for range to be a larger factor in shoot-outs, without the guns magically doubling their firing rate when the enemy gets closer, and for massive size to have drawbacks. It also allows you to represent distant targets in visual cover being easier to hit by hosing down their cover than by trying to be precise. Best of all, it allows guns to be versatile and reflective of fluff.

Examples:

Boltgun: Range 30", Strength 4, Pen 2, Single Shot/Burst 2 Heavy Bolter: Range 42", Strength 5, Pen 2, Braced 4 Storm Bolter: Range 30", Strength 4, Pen 2, Burst 2/ Spray Lasgun: Range 24", Strength 3, Pen -, Single Shot/Burst 2

Movement

In current 40k, space marines move as quickly as grots which move as quickly as genestealers. Adding "fleet" to certain units can't quite do away with this massive fluff disparity.

• Movement speed is equal to 2x Initiative (in inches) for Infantry, 3x Initiative for jet pack/jump infantry, units with fleet (many units will need to lose the rules compared to current 40k; it'll be rarer) and monstrous creatures and 4x Initiative for bikes, cavalry and jump monstrous creatures.
• NEW SPECIAL RULE: Momentum: Fleet (movement phase only) and Furious Charge.
• Difficult terrain: Move down one move rate while crossing difficult terrain (i.e. a model moving at 3xI moves at 2xI, a model moving at 2xI moves at 1xI etc.)
• Dangerous Terrain: As now, except it will have a rating: if you fail your dangerous check, you take a hit with a strength value equal to the Dangerous Terrain Rating, at Pen -
• Models may always move at least 3" in the movement phase (i.e. an initiative 2 model in difficult terrain will still be able to move up or down a level in ruins)