Homebrew Venenum Assassin Datasheet

[SlangWhanger]

Inspired by the recent WD article I decided to make a quick datasheet for the unrepresented Venenum Assassin. Still WiP, so am very much open to suggestions. Will be 85 points like other assassins.

 

Some background:

"The Venenum Temple trains exclusively in the use of exotic poisons and subtlety in carrying out their mission requirements. Venenum Temple's stock-in-trade is employing operatives who are the galaxy's finest tox-artisans. Their mastery of poisons is unparalleled outside the Dark City of Commorragh, and the temple's operatives sow within their targets time-delayed toxins that afford them ample time to escape suspicion." - WH40K Wiki: Officio Assassinorum

 

Whilst such assassins are often more subtle, I've tried to represent how they would fight on the battlefield. In my mind they're deployed against targets so augmented or heavily armoured that poison would prove a more efficient way of death than a blade or bullet.

 

The profile:

 

Edit: slight nerf to 'A Slow Death' so it's not a guaranteed kill

 

A Slow Death: If an enemy model has lost at least one wound to an attack from a Poisoned Blade, the controlling player must roll a D6 at the start of each turn. On a 5+ nothing happens; on any other result that model will suffer an additional Mortal Wound.

 

(Edit: now with Stratagems)

 

Exotic Toxins – 1CP

Venenum Assassins are known to lace their weapons with a range of hallucinogens and muscle relaxants to disorientate enemy commanders and render them completely useless.

Use this Stratagem when a Venenum Assassin wounds an enemy Character. That character must half their Move and Attack characteristics (rounding down). This effect lasts until the Morale Phase of the opposing player.

 

Virulent Blood – 1CP

Such is the potency of the various chemicals and toxins flowing in the veins of Venenum Assassins that those splashed by the ichor are often covered in horrific poisons.

Use this Stratagem when a Venenum Assassin suffers a wound. All units within 1” suffer a Mortal Wound.

 

Violent Death – 1CP

The poisons developed in the Venenum Temple can cause all manner of deaths. Some poisons cause such a horrendously slow and agonising death that enemy forces watching the agonising demise of their commanders can lose heart in an instant and flee the field of battle, lest they suffer a similar fate.

Use this stratagem when a Venenum Assassin kills an enemy Character. All enemy units within 9” suffer -2 to their Leadership in the subsequent Morale phase.

 

 

(Edit 3)

Slight issue in that there is no way to specifically differentiate between poisoned and non poisoned weapons for the 'Master of Poisons' special rule, so struggling to find a way to make the rule work.

[apologist]

Fun idea. I like the A Slow Death rule – thematic and characterful. The 'i.e.' in the Master of Poisons rule should be 'e.g.', as the Hellfire shells are an example, rather than the only instance.

 

If your intention is to make the Venenum seem more back-lines than the more familiar Assassins, I wonder if you might lose the pistol and grenade, and instead create some aura effects? That'd also give you the opportunity to try some more distinctive mechanics.

 

Off the top of my head, you might think about the assassin itself being poisonous; akin to the mechanics of the Death Guard Lord of Contagion (mortal wounds for units within Xin), or Tyranid Acid Blood (attackers suffer hits when they wound the assassin).

 

Playing up the paranoia angle would be fun, too. Laced with Death could apply to X number of terrain pieces marked at the start of the game – and the controlling player reveals which one(s) are actually affected.

[SlangWhanger]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

I like those ideas. The assassins pump themselves so full of chemicals and toxins it's probably likely they are themselves poisonous. I like the idea of causing a mortal wound when they lose a wound themselves as the blood splashes onto their attacker.

 

As for the back/frontline operative: Venenum assassins seem so varied and they definitely could be the type of operatives that slink about backstage. They are also trained in the same manner as the other assassins though so would be proficient in close range killing. The way i've chosen to represent the assassin here is one whose mission is to track a character down in the middle of a raging war and kill them at any cost, and are given full access to the temple's deadly range of equipment.

 

A different stance would be interesting actually, might look into that. The Vanus temple is a lot more subtle in their methods so might try something with that, making them a more backstage operative

[Phubar]

Quick feedback foa A Slow Death: instead of 5+ does nothing it is better (less conusing and more simple tobread and memorize) if on 3+ the target suffers a mortal wound.

[SlangWhanger]

Quick feedback foa A Slow Death: instead of 5+ does nothing it is better (less conusing and more simple tobread and memorize) if on 3+ the target suffers a mortal wound.

 

good point, will change that now 

[Phubar]

Rules content feedback and suggestions:
 

Master of poisons: all poisonous weapons (the one that have the word "poison", "toxic", "venom" and "-ous" variants) wound the assassin on a 6+ regardless of  any other rule.

 

Exotic toxins: rounding down with a minimum of 1.

[Revlid]

When do I choose the terrain piece for Laced With Death?

 

As written, Exotic Toxins doesn't work on my opponent's Fight phase – I can trigger it, and then the Fight phase ends, my opponent's Morale phase begins, and the effect ends.