Terror Tactics

[Daemon Prince Marbas]

Would a chapter specialising in terror tactics be allowed to operate in the Imperium of Man without being excommunicated?

[Dumah]

It's possible the Nemesis Chapter could or would use said tactics. They are most known for "salt the earth" style tactics having descended from the Ultramarine Legion's Destroyer contingents but their forebears also trained and fought alongside the Night Lords quite a bit prior to the Heresy.

 

Then there's Reivers; their role in any chapter is basically shock and terror tactics. I mean...they wear skull helms that amplify their screams to scare the enemy.

[TiguriusX]

There are plenty of viable targets for a terror force that dont require excommunication.

 

Terror can easily be used when hunting down and exterminating renegades and traitors...tau etc.

 

A wise commander would simply not use your terror troop when inappropriate.

 

Space wolves in 30k were used in limited mission roles because of their specialty as a terror/execution force

[Panzer]

Marines literally got a terror tactic unit with Reivers. There's nothing nice about war and especially not in the 40k universe. If terror tactics are a viable approach they'll get used.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Panzer

[MajorNese]

There are plenty of viable targets for a terror force that dont require excommunication.

 

Terror can easily be used when hunting down and exterminating renegades and traitors...tau etc.

This.

Terror is a weapon/tool used at different scale in the imperium already. Against enemies outside, it improves combat efficiency.

Against possible heresy/enemies inside, it is a tool that leaves the infrastructure intact. Like one Night Lords compliance action before the heresy - one atrocity meant 5 unconditional surrenders, a clear success in imperial calculus.

 

Many inquisitors in the fluff rebuild/redesign their body to instill fear, so the concept will be approved by them more than anyone else.

Skitarii in pre-Codex fluff often looked more brutal/animalistic than necessary.

And let's not forget commissars, which are intended to over-terrify soldiers terrified by whatever the universe throws at them.

 

The Iron Hands purged Contqual in a quite horrible fashion too, hunting down and exterminating any person, civilian or not, from the source of the heresy outwards until a third of the population was dead. Which did work in the end, since that region was damn pious in the aftermath and most certainly not keen to fall to Slaanesh again. Which is kinda the same principle as AdMech and the ban on AI - they remember litte (to nothing) about the Men of Iron and the war against them, but the lesson stuck eternally.

[tychobi]

I think you are operating under the impression that the Imperium are the "good guys". There are no good guys in 40k. Heresy is a loyalty crime not a violent one. Read the fluff with a critical eye and it is very clear that the Emperor holds no moral high ground enslaving and killing with wanton fervor his own species and actively hunting anything else. Welcome to the grimdark!

[redmapa]

Night Lords went renegade because they became unreliable and uncontrollable with their cruelty becoming an end in and of itself instead of means to an end, then Curze stabbed Dorn and nuked his own planet. As long as there is a purpose cruelty and terror in the Imperium are tolerated and perhaps even encouraged.

[Claws and Effect]

The Raven Guard use terror tactics on a pretty much continual basis. A big part of their stealthy assassination tactics is that most sentient beings have at least somee measure of fear of the unknown. If their compatriots are getting killed by an unknown force they can't see or fight back against, it's going to cause some fear. And an enemy that is afraid is an enemy half defeated already.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

There are some good guys and gals in 40k. I’m a fan of the Emperor too - he had a lot of hard decisions and he made them.

The Raven Guard use terror tactics on a pretty much continual basis. A big part of their stealthy assassination tactics is that most sentient beings have at least somee measure of fear of the unknown. If their compatriots are getting killed by an unknown force they can't see or fight back against, it's going to cause some fear. And an enemy that is afraid is an enemy half defeated already.

^ This. I love the return of Corax striking fear into the heart of Lorgar.

[Lord_Caerolion]

They aren't necessarily "good", just "least evil".

 

In regards to terror tactics, even the Salamanders make use of the strategy, taking full advantage of their glowing red eyes and black skin.

[Dracos]

Marines literally got a terror tactic unit with Reivers. There's nothing nice about war and especially not in the 40k universe. If terror tactics are a viable approach they'll get used.

 

Well I guess if Reivers is the best they can do, the Imperium needs to step up the fear game. In a Universe of swarms of giant insects, robots returning from the dead, and literally Hell coming to visit on Earth, Space Marines are pretty lame fair - as Reivers prove seeing how little they make a competitive playing table. Seriously morale and terrain rules might not well as exist for GW.

 

Arguing 40k narrative canon is like screaming into the desert wind. You make no head way and get chapped lips. Give me some good terror rules and I'll use them in a game. 

[Aothaine]

I think you are operating under the impression that the Imperium are the "good guys". There are no good guys in 40k. Heresy is a loyalty crime not a violent one. Read the fluff with a critical eye and it is very clear that the Emperor holds no moral high ground enslaving and killing with wanton fervor his own species and actively hunting anything else. Welcome to the grimdark!

 

Everyone could be perceived as the good guy from their own perspective. The Salamanders are most likely the closest to that "Cpt America" "good guy" feel imho.

[The Unseen]

Yeah, Vulkan and Sallies are the closest the universe gets to "good".

And they'll still happily set you on fire if your a heretic.

 

And I thought that the reivers masks were basically imperial versions of banshee masks/ noise marine Sonics, so it isn't that the dude itself is so scary, but the noise itself triggers the fear response alone, turning it into like, a sonic version of scarecrow gas from the norris batman films

[Panzer]

 

Marines literally got a terror tactic unit with Reivers. There's nothing nice about war and especially not in the 40k universe. If terror tactics are a viable approach they'll get used.

 

Well I guess if Reivers is the best they can do, the Imperium needs to step up the fear game. In a Universe of swarms of giant insects, robots returning from the dead, and literally Hell coming to visit on Earth, Space Marines are pretty lame fair - as Reivers prove seeing how little they make a competitive playing table. Seriously morale and terrain rules might not well as exist for GW.

 

Arguing 40k narrative canon is like screaming into the desert wind. You make no head way and get chapped lips. Give me some good terror rules and I'll use them in a game. 

 

 

Eh you say that because you aren't part of the universe and their performance on the table has absolutely nothing to do with their performance in-universe. Keep in mind that superhuman dread is a very real thing in the 40k universe and Reivers only amplify that. Plus it's a lot about how they operate and not how they look.

 

Arguing 40k narrative canon might be like screaming into the desert wind but arguing 40k narrative canon based on crunch is just stupid.

Edited February 5, 2020 by Panzer

[MasterDeath]

If I would design a Chapter that uses Terror Tactics, I would give the twist similar to lets say Blood Angel Destroyers (30K). They see themselves as a neccessary evil, they hide their faces, maybe their chapter symbol is the Black Shield (Pariah Marines?). They see their own souls tainted, so they turned to the worship of the Emperor Black Templar style. Most legions used atrocities as a means to an end, Night Lords used it after the end had been achieved and that made them heretics.

They could have been created in a similar way as the Minotaurs. A well provided chapter with the goal of securing High Council supremacy. But these guys hate it and look for a way to free themselves from the Council. And here comes the whisper of chaos... Ok, where was I?

[Dracos]

Arguing 40k narrative canon might be like screaming into the desert wind but arguing 40k narrative canon based on crunch is just stupid.

Fixed

[Panzer]

 

Arguing 40k narrative canon might be like screaming into the desert wind but arguing 40k narrative canon based on crunch is just stupid.

Fixed

 

 

What are you doing on a 40k forum then? Especially in a thread about fluff/narrative/canon? :rolleyes:​

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

One thing - anybody that says bad things about the Emperor is a heretic .

[Dracos]

Lighten up guys. Over close to 30 years almost nothing “canon” has been sacred, so I find it a tad silly (less insulting word than calling someone stupid) to argue a right or wrong narrative. It just is what it is at the moment.

 

Most of the narrative which is driven by the models GW wants to sell for the table top. When I saw a thread labeled “Tactics” I was hoping for something that would make Reivers more useful. Opinions non the narrative seem more a Liber thing. I wasn’t going to go on but being told I’m “just stupid” is click bait I was apparently in the mood to respond to. Thanks for improving my day.

[Claws and Effect]

You can make them useful for causing additional casualties in morale, but you have to invest quite a bit into it.

 

Reiver Lieutenant with Fear Made Manifest WL Trait, Phobos Libby with Hallucination, and at least 1 unit of Reivers will apply a -4 LD penalty. That's pretty significant, but it also depends on fighting things that don't just ignore morale tests.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

-4 LD can really hurt if you pull it off .

[Panzer]

Giving them something where LD matters aside of the regular morale check would go a long way too. My personal favourite is an LD check to fall back against them. That way they can be a thorn in the side of the enemy without being kill-y and still have the terror aspect.

Lighten up guys. Over close to 30 years almost nothing “canon” has been sacred, so I find it a tad silly (less insulting word than calling someone stupid) to argue a right or wrong narrative. It just is what it is at the moment.

Most of the narrative which is driven by the models GW wants to sell for the table top. When I saw a thread labeled “Tactics” I was hoping for something that would make Reivers more useful. Opinions non the narrative seem more a Liber thing. I wasn’t going to go on but being told I’m “just stupid” is click bait I was apparently in the mood to respond to. Thanks for improving my day.

 

To clarify, I didn't say you are stupid. I said arguing fluff based on crunch is stupid. That's an important difference.