Brother Tyler

Both of the options presented above are valid. Another option is to create a blog (in the Blogs feature using the Imperium > Astra Militarum and Imperial Army category). You can then create outreach/update topics in both the + ASTRA MILITARUM + and + THE LIBER + forums for entries. These outreach/update topics would notify other members of progress/information about your homebrew, pulling them into the blog so they can see your content and provide comments (i.e., engage in discussion with you). If your homebrew includes assembled/painted models, you could also create outreach/update topics in the + WORKS IN PROGRESS + and + HALL OF HONOUR + forums.

Some further thoughts (because you have successfully distracted me from a very important Real World project )... Some other boardgames you might consider looking at include Dune: War for Arrakis, Risk 2210 A.D., StarCraft: The Board Game, Dust, Rex: Final Days of an Empire, and others (some of these might be difficult to acquire, but most of free rules online). There are tons of games that are similar to Axis & Allies in terms of the game play, so you might find something that works better for what you're trying to represent. Naturally, a lot will come down to your preferences, so Axis & Allies might be in your comfort zone. And another thing... I suspect that you've hit upon the Horus Heresy because the similarity in force types is similar to Axis & Allies (and many of the other games I've listed). The Horus Heresy works great when you're using the Legions Imperialis minis (which is a great idea). Another Astartes vs. Astartes event that you might consider (though you would need "modern" minis - 3D printing to the rescue) would be the Badab War. Anyhoo, I'll be watching this project with great interest (and I dont' want to hijack it, so please don't take my suggestions as anything other than sparking ideas for you to consider and decide upon).

What a coincidence. I was just researching Axis & Allies earlier this morning. Interestingly enough, I have long had a conceptual project for what I called "Risk 40K," which is along the same lines as what you've described, @Deus_Ex_Machina. My thinking/planning for this project began back in 2000 or so, but has had very little progress because of Hobby Butterfly Syndrome. More recently, as in over the last week or so, I've been thinking about how my idea might work as a reskin or adaptation of Shōgun/Samurai Swords/Ikusa/Ikusa: Samurai Swords, which I love (especially since a 40th edition version of that game is currently on Kickstarter). The original Axis & Allies and Shōgun were both released as part of Milton Bradley's Gamemaster series in the '80s (okay, an edition of Axis & Allies was actually released earlier in that decade by another publisher, but it was the Milton Bradley version that really became popular), along with Fortress America (for which Fantasy Flight Games released an update in 2012). I bought the Samurai Swords version in 1996 and I still have the original/second printing of Fortress America - both are carefully preserved in my garage. The reason I've brought those other games up is because they, too, might serve as the basis for your hypothesized reskin. In addition, it might be worthwhile to look at the various games in the Axis & Allies family to see if those might provide a good basis for your hypothesized reskin. The original Axis & Allies game looked at World War II as a whole whereas the successor games in the series looked at individual parts, giving a little more granularity and better representing individual battles. In addition, these might obviate the need to adapt the naval aspects of Axis & Allies (or the naval aspects might be adapted into spaceborne combat/movement). Another option, and probably a bit more obvious, is to look at the 2010 edition of the Horus Heresy boardgame, which focused on the Siege of Terra. Admittedly, there were some problems with that game in that extreme luck (good or bad) might end the game before things really start off (see some of the discussions at the linked site). More importantly, this game is out of production, though you can still find used copies through various sources. If I'm not mistaken, the rules for all of these games are freely available online. If you decide to move forward with this, I recommend either a blog (if you plan for it to be a largely individual effort) or club (if you plan for it to be a group effort). I think there is a lot of potential with this kind of project.

The Illuminati want to have a word with you.

Part of the most recent batch of images in this project... Wait, he's in regular Salamanders Chapter colors and not the (normal?) Legio colors! And why isn't he in Mk X Tacticus armour? What gives? All in due time. Suffice to say that we're trying to give you a little more flexibility. If all goes well, I'll be finished with this by the end of the week. I may delay kicking things off for ... reasons ... however.

Welcome to the Bolter & Chainsword community! What motivated you to finally join the site? Was it simply to engage with other hobby enthusiasts? Your take on the Emperor is sure to stir up discussion, especially from those who subscribe to the "official" interpretation that you describe. That might be an interesting topic to take up in the forum for the lore (either that of the Age of Darkness or the Age of the Imperium, depending upon where you prefer).

Note that I split these posts from the discussion in NRBA about the Space Marine Heads kit. It was off-topic there, but relevant and worthy of further discussion in the appropriate place.

Primarily for @apologist, but also for anyone else with input on the issue... ...are there any thoughts about the questions I posed at the end of my previous post? See the last four "paragraphs" for the ideas and questions. While I personally lean towards retaining the current Respectfully Disagree icon, my mind is not closed on the issue. I've taken the suggestion and worked up some alternatives, and there may be other alternatives that might be considered. So this issue isn't closed (as far as I'm concerned) and input from members will help us explore the idea and make a determination.

And just in case your question was about the Canoptek Circle from the Tomb World expansion for Kill Team, you can see those here (and all of the team rules can be seen/downloaded here). Since the Faction Packs are for the Warhammer 40,000 game, I've moved this discussion into the forum for that game.

I've merged the two topics. The more relevant issue is that members who use Imgur for their image hosting should consider alternatives if they want their images to be seen at the B&C, and we (naturally) recommend taking advantage of the free Gallery feature here. See the link in the first post for a series of tutorials on using our Gallery if you are interested.

Are you specifically looking for Tyranid "mounts" or enemies?

A bunch of posts have been hidden, most because they were off-topic (i.e., not about the Voidscarred novel). Some of those posts included valid material, but it will take time to review them and edit out the OT content. Some of the posts contained valid B&C subject matter, but not content about the Voidscarred novel, and it will take time to split those off from this discussion into their own discussion(s) in the appropriate location(s). Some of those posts contained off-topic content that is not relevant to the site's mission statement. Where those posts contained other valid material, that content will be removed. Where those posts contained only the off-topic content, they will remain hidden. In some cases, disciplinary action may be invoked. In the meantime, we'll take a time out so that everyone can refresh themselves on what this discussion topic is really about. Hint: the Voidscarred novel

Several units I recommend looking at are: Adeptus Arbites Exaction Squad (Imperial Agents/Kill Team) Aeldari Rangers (Aeldari) Attilan Rough Riders (Astra Militarum) Catachan Jungle Fighters (Astra Militarum) Death Korps of Krieg (Astra Militarum) Serberys Sulphurhounds/Raiders (Adeptus Mechanicus) Skitarii Rangers (Adeptus Mechanicus) It looks like you're combining concepts derived from these units (and others). I think you may find the Exaction Squad to provide you with a solid basis for what you're trying to do. You'll find the Warhammer 40,000 rules for them in Codex: Imperial Agents and you can download the Kill Team rules for them for free from the Warhammer Community website. If you don't have loads of disposable cash and don't want to purchase codices just to reference rules, I recommend just downloading the Kill Team rules to get a feel for how they play. To be honest, if you're still learning the game, you should probably hold off on creating custom units. Developing rules is a lot more complex than it seems, especially in a game that as complex as Warhammer 40,000. There are a number of factors that need to be balanced and it's difficult to do this unless you have a strong understanding for how the game is played and how the special rules you build into a unit impact game play. Once you've developed strong proficiency in the game, then you can turn to creating custom units. In the meantime, you might consider proxying things.

Ah, the old "free speech" argument. Too often, people use that argument when they don't understand what the protections for free speech actually are and how they are applied. Occasionally, the people who use that argument do understand those protections and applications, but they still make the argument because either (a) they just want to talk about what they want to talk about whether or not it is allowed/appropriate and without consideration for the consequences, or (b) they specifically desire to create disruption, whether out of simple nihilistic enjoyment or for more nefarious purposes. Regardless, those who understand the limitations on free speech and who still throw the argument out are using it to deceive those who are ignorant that their activity is righteousness and/or they are attempting to cow others into submission through a deceptive, but false, appeal to principle. I'm going to give those who wish to invoke the free speech argument the benefit of the doubt and assume ignorance. A simple Internet search on the meaning of free speech will yield a wealth of information from people and organizations with far more credibility than me; and a brief review of the information they provide will be enlightening, clearly demonstrating how the free speech argument is patently incorrect in this setting. It's important to note, of course, that I'm referring to free speech protection under the Constitution of the United States of America, where I and a significant percentage of B&C community members live. Other nations have their own laws about free speech. Some of those nations are comparable to the U.S.A. in their protection of free speech, some might even offer more protection (I'm not an expert in this, so I don't know for certain), and many are more restrictive. The Bolter and Chainsword is a private community that exists for the purposes stated in our mission statement, which appears in the community rules and also as one of our rotating site banners. Just in case it isn't the banner that is currently appearing at the top of the site for you, here it is: That statement provides the basic scope of content that is shared here. It is descriptive rather than prescriptive, and the exclusions identified in the community rules are similarly descriptive. In general, we try to allow as much as possible, especially when subjects can be plausibly argued as relating to the hobby (i.e., supported by our mission statement). Some issues, while potentially problematic, also have the potential to be discussed constructively, and we usually try to let these go as long as possible. Diverse viewpoints are allowed and encouraged (and inevitable). All too often, however, while some members might be able to remain within the realm of constructive discussion on such issues, too many other members pull the discussion into the realm of disruption. Once things become too disruptive, we (the staff) intervene to steer the community back into the realm of constructive discussion as much as possible. Often, this involves removing disruptive content and notifying members that further disruptive content will similarly be removed and/or result in topic closure/disciplinary action. Off-topic content isn't allowed here, plain and simple. This is neither censorship nor an attack on free speech. It is moderating the community and adhering to our mission statement. Politics have been explicitly prohibited here since at least as early as early 2000 when I became a moderator, and I'm fairly sure (though not absolutely certain) that politics were explicitly prohibited when I joined the site in late 1999. Since the site was founded in April 1999, there may have been a period of time when politics weren't explicitly prohibited, but the people who might remember that time are few and far between (the most likely are @BLOODSAINT, the site's founder, and @Kurgan the Lurker). Politics has been one example of prohibited off-topic subject matter in our community rules for over two decades. What happened a little over a year ago was that we clarified what we meant by "politics" by rephrasing it as "social/sociopolitical issues." I could say a lot more on the issue, but I already provided a pretty lengthy explanation here. Yes, our enforcement of this rule has evolved over the years. It might be more accurate to say that we've had to make adjustments based on the evolution of the Bolter and Chainsword community as well as broader society. The culture of the hobby community and this subset, the Bolter and Chainsword community, has evolved over the years (and this is a good thing). Or perhaps "matured" is a better word. There were things that were tolerated a couple of decades ago because they weren't [perceived] as disruptive, but as society has changed and as the community has grown, there is less tolerance for some of those things. There is also the human factor of the staff - different staff members have different viewpoints on things and one might be more tolerant of some issues than others. We endeavor to get as much consensus as possible, but it is inevitable that aspects of personality will creep in. This is especially true in cases where an issue doesn't appear to create disruption, in which case it may be allowed to continue (until it crosses the line). And we make errors, too, so there may have been things that were allowed in the past but which we should have dealt with (and things which we dealt with but which we may have allowed to continue). Having cleared up those two inaccuracies, it's time to discuss this topic. This topic will not be reopened, nor will there be a similar replacement. This isn't to say that we don't want to see reviews of GW fiction. We most emphatically do want to see that kind of content as they are extremely helpful to the members of the community. Having all reviews for all fiction in a single topic, however, is a terrible use of the site's capabilities, turning a discussion topic into something resembling a Reddit channel or a Discord channel, severely hampering findability of information. The only real benefit of a single all-encompassing topic is that members don't have to go to the effort of creating new topics when they want to post reviews (i.e., supporting laziness). A book might be reviewed on one page with a short discussion about the review/book, and then another review on the same book (with resulting discussion) might take place many pages later, with various other pieces of fiction and mini-discussions taking place in between. In order to find any review, members have to either perform a search or manually read through the entire discussion, and they won't even know if there are any reviews for a specific piece of fiction beforehand, potentially wasting considerable time in the effort. This whole forum is intended for the purpose of providing a place for members to review the fiction. We just need to create some structure that takes advantage of the software's capabilities. What I see replacing this discussion is an index of all WH40K fiction and videos. That index might have a variety of listings, allowing all works by the same author to be found in one post, all works on the same Chapter in another post, all works about an event (e.g., the Horus Heresy) in another post, etc. The index would probably start with an alphabetized listing (e.g., all books/stories/videos starting with "A" in one post, all books/stories/videos starting with "B" in another, etc.). The same information would then be presented in different forms in subsequent posts, allowing for listings of works by authors, events, organizations, etc. For example, the story Headhunted by Steve Parker is about a Deathwatch kill team. The story was published in multiple anthologies, including: Heroes of the Space Marines Deathwatch: Xenos Hunters Deathwatch: The Omnibus Nexus + Other Stories The Deathwatch kill team in the story, Kill Team Talon, includes Space Marines from the Death Spectres, Exorcists, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, and Raven Guard Chapters. Orks are also featured in the story (because the Deathwatch have to kill someone). So Headhunted would be included in the alphabetical list, along with each of the anthologies. Headhunted would also be listed in the listing of works by Steve Parker, as well as in the listings for the Deathwatch and the Orks. We might even consider including Headhunted in the listings for each of the Chapters from which the kill team's members hail. Each instance of a Headhunted entry would have a link to any topic(s) in which the work is reviewed. When Black Library publishes a new work or when Warhammer+ publishes a new video, the work will be added to the index. It is likely that updates would be necessary as more information becomes available, especially in cases where a work is teased but full details aren't given on the front end. When a member creates a review of a work, they can either create a new topic (the topic title should be the title of the work, with "Review" appended) or they can add the review to an existing topic in which the work is reviewed (this may be a matter that we discuss/decide upon as a community - I imagine there will be varying preferences). Regardless, the creation of any review topic will also require that the member post a reply in the index so that the link to the review can be added. The Tabula Astartes provides an example of this type of index, though this index would have to be structured somewhat differently. This type of index takes a lot of work, but it's far more useful than having a single all-encompassing topic for reviews. The index would provide a comprehensive listing of works and authors, and we might even link them to the Black Library site to facilitate purchase. The presence or absence of links would be immediately recognized rather than having to search through a single all-encompassing topic. It really takes administrator/moderator permissions to build and maintain this kind of thing, but it depends upon member participation. I'll begin building the index in my workroom. I'll create a topic in which the members can help me by providing suggestions for the organization of the index. The online wikis provide considerable information on the various works, so I'll lean on those for the build; and we'll probably include links to them, too, so that members can see information on each work (especially useful for those cases where the Black Library website no longer includes information). What we may do in the future is go through this topic and split all of the reviews into separate topics, possibly merging all reviews about the same work into the same topic if that's the community's preferred structure. That won't occur until after we get this index built, however, if at all. After all, there are 72 pages of reviews and discussion in this topic, and this forum has 56 pages of topics. So if we end up doing that, I'll probably create a temporary forum that each of these new review topics will be moved into so we don't have to search through 56 pages of topics to find them, then we'll move them back into this forum after we add the links to the index.

Note that I split the posts that weren't about the icon out to a separate discussion. Just keep in mind that at 28x28 pixels, you're not going to get a lot of detail in the image. If you include any dice, the more sides on the die/dice, the more difficult it will be to make out what they are.