I'm curious, at this point(especially given some weapons' balance discussions among my own group). What are y'all rockin'? Bolter? Chainsword? Rocket launcher? Surprise me!
What's your loadout?
If I may, can you elaborate on your question? Looking to identify outliers in game balance? Seeking inspiration for NPCs based on what other people have done? Asking out of simple curiosity? I have plenty of theoretical concepts that span across books, but nothing I have actually thrust into a game.
Mostly curiousity, really. If I see a neat concept, I might snag it for an NPC sometime, though. I'm also curious if groups actually sync their weaponry in BC to work together, or if it's every heretic for themselves.
Personally, I have learned to hate consumables, defenestrating most firearms with limited ammo. Most of my effort goes into creating unique (often weaponless) melee styles, though I dabble in gun-fu occasionally. Let me run through what some of my NPCs are wielding:
-
Volg IV "Story NG" Cannon
as Volg VI "Crank Cannon" Heavy Stubber (Dark Heresy - The Inquisitor's Handbook)
The character who uses this gun believes that results are only achieved through hard work and guts. A Solid Projectile specialist, this hand-operated cannon embodies that philosophy. I employ a House Rule that the Volg VI's Rate of Fire scales with SB x 1 rather than a flat 5, such that stronger characters (i.e., the ones who would have an easier time cranking the thing) shoot more bullets. The weapon's nickname is a bilingual pun. -
Triplex-Pattern Long-Las "Reprise"
as Triplex Pattern + Bullpup + 'Retribution' Long-Las ([OW - Core]; [RT - Hostile Acquisitions])
Combines the versatility of the Triplex Pattern and the compact qualities of the Bullpup and Retribution into a Homebrewed variant. The Bullpup converts Weight to Range (or vice-versa), so I just pushed the same math onto the Retribution's profile, then applied the Triplex' modifiers. The character stores the disassembled Reprise in a retrofitted cybernetic leg rather than a case. -
Sollex-Aegis "Longinus
"
as Mezoa-Pattern Long-Distance Extendable Retraction Rod + Sollex-Aegis Energy Blade ([RT - Stars of Inequity]; [DH - The Inquisitor's Handbook])
I always felt that the Sollex-Aegis Energy Blade had an awesome concept, but poor execution. Seeing as the Energy Blade has a very similar profile to a Plasma Pistol, I simply appended the Maximal and Overheat qualities to blade as a House Rule. Maximal increases the Energy Blade's Range to just 3m rather than 11m, though, for balance purposes. This extendable beam sword has obvious synergy with the Retraction Rod, as neither the staff nor the blade change the shapeshifting weapon's total Weight. Thus, the Longinus can have a 4m long haft with a 3m long blade for shiggles. In the rod's compact 30cm form, it can be used as the Energy Blade's grip and the Longinus wielded like a sword.
Other than these examples of specific weapons, I have entertained (but not fully pursued) the following character concepts/weapons:
- Shotcannon Sniper (shotguns are just widebore sniper rifles in disguise, don'cha know) - Shotcannon/shotgun with various modifications to increase Range and negate the Scatter quality. I really just want to have a Webber with 200m Range.
- Chinese Electric Spiderman (possibly related to Chinese Electric Batman) - Some manner of Electro-priest that makes ample use of Luminen Talents and Twin-Linked Grapnels, because electrified cables are cool.
- Polymorphic "Boulder" (for science) - Playing once again with size-changing weapons, [RT - Into the Storm]'s Soft Sword inspires so many uses. An innocuous bag can turn into a giant metal sphere, akin to inflating and hardening a hot air balloon. If the balloon was "filled" with vacuum, the boulder would weigh the same as its deflated state. Telekinetics could have a field day with such a massive but relatively light object.
Well, my current BC team, alphabetically ordered, looks like this:
-
Aura Vashaan
, Exiled Astromancer (psyker)
Weapons: Stub Revolver, Neural Whip, Sacrificial Dagger
Psychic powers: Chains of Torment, Personal Augury, Precognition, Unnatural Healing
Minions: Otrok (mute, blind and deaf slave-servant)
-
Iesef van Verscher
, Heretek Tech-Priest
Weapons: Las Carbine, Power Axe
Minions: Horatio (servo skull)
-
Phyraha Aharo
, Renegade Assassin
Weapons: Chainswords (x2)
If there is any interest, I could of course go into some more detail regarding the rest of Aura's equipment, but I fear the others did not quite go as "all out" as I did when it came to stuff like coming up with a creepy backstory for a simple dataslate.
I have a world eaters chosen, and an exhalted hunter - good survival skills, plenty of lores reguarding galaxy's most notorious beasts and quick wits earned him a lot of trophies, which he claims with twin-linked, long-barreled astartes hunting shotgun, hunting monoknife, and a trusty flesh hound, a warp-spawned hunting dog.
He hunts things with only two arms, only two legs and only one head when he's out of more interesting prey, though.
^classy. I like. Good to see I'm not the only one who has a fleshhound for hunting/tracking
Lynata: The data slate has me curious, ayup! Creepy backstory's the kind of word that makes me perk my ears and want to hear more.
Also, Plague Marine with
-Poor Craftsmanship Legion Heavy Bolter.
-9-70 Entrenching Tool.
-Signalling device, 3 green flares.
Trench warfare at its finest.
Well, granted, it's less of a backstory and more of an "extended description". I like to personalise stuff (within limitations), and when an item has very little in the ways of text, my mind starts thinking about how to make it a little more interesting. Usually this serves only to "doll up" the character description and make people enjoy reading it, but occasionally it can provide hooks for the GM to tie the story into.
Dataslate
Despite its heavy look, this book-sized electronical device is surprisingly light. Its surface appears to be a single piece of rough granite, with a crooked plate of deep green glass as its sole feature. There are no buttons, levers or even ports to connect to other devices or a power source, but the screen reacts to a person's touch, and for some enigmatic reason the device never seems to require recharging - though longer sessions with the slate tend to leave the fingers of the reader strangely numb and pale for a short while. Currently, it is set to display a series of stellar configurations, most of whom feature various arcane rune markings.
Beguiling Gem
A seemingly constant companion of the girl, this unnaturally large gem is of a deep blue colour, which occasionally seems to change into light azure regardless of actual lighting. A closer look beneath the gleaming shimmer that appears to inhabit the stone, and that almost seems to twist and warp with a life of its own, would unveil a delicate web of countless tiny, nigh-unnoticeable veins stretching across the entire core of the gem in complicated geometric patterns - yet few souls are strong enough to manage this kind of scrutiny, for the stone's surreal sheen has the distinct effect of enthralling most admirers that venture too close.
(yes, the slate is vampiric - I got that idea from
an old Soviet horror movie
I watched when I was very little. For some reason, I couldn't forget that part! watch
this
and tell me it doesn't feel like the hand of CHAOS)
Edited
by Lynata
Ramihrdus Channard ('The Doctor') - Magos Biologis Idolitrex
Ramihrdus is basically a living machine (Machine trait) dedicated to finding the secret of immortaility. He is willing to sacrifice anything, to corrupt any machine, and experiment on any genetic code to achieve this.
Weapons of choice (in order of preference):
1. Psychic scream (he's not yet very good at this, and loves experiment with the new abilities and effects)
2. Fallen Magos axe
3. Blade tines (toxic, used for torture and random stealth killings in crowds)
4. Liminen shock (used for torture mainly)
5. Plasma pistol
6. Mechadendrite blade (used mainly for defence)
7. Las carbine (never used)
His main 'weapon' though are methods of mass killing. His base tech use is 87, so he'll take control of air processors and shut off the air, or pipe in toxins to kill people in large numbers. He'll shut down machines, or cause plasma generators to explode. 'Why waste time killing one when you can kill them all...' Our group has a void ship and his quarters are flooded with chlorine gas rather than oxygen (he doesn't need to breathe so is immune).
He also has various defensive measures:
Refractor field
Machine trait
Dimensional instability (become incorporeal)
So he can usually get out of most harmful situations.
Edited by LudditeBecause I'm a munchkin piece of trash, my general go-to in BC is to make a Heretek, take an M34 autocannon with suspensor and weapon downgrade at char-gen and buff it into insanity with various talents.
With weapon-tech, it's doing something silly like 3d10+13 per shot at 300 meters with a pen of like 11. Takes 20 wounds off a TB8 Marine per shot, with average damage rolls.
Weapon:
Chain Fist
+ Storm Field
Talents:
Flesh Render
Furious Assault
Hammer Blow
+ obligatory Melee Talents
This with a humongous Strength to back up makes things happen.
It might not reach as much dpt as lightning attacks but it makes things happen.
For a Frost Father:
Weapons: Hellblade and Hand Flamer/Reaper Autocannon
Armor: Magma Suit with Power Supply Tampering.
I should probably also note that the Hellblade is a demon weapon with the soul of the owning Bloodletter shoved inside of it.
Edited by TerraneauxBoris the Xurunt Frost Father wielded his trusty axe, Trusty. Trusty was a greataxe, so worn and notched by countless battles, its ragged edges could be used to saw wood. But it could still rend and cut and tear foes better than any chainsword when wielded by the mighty Boris, atop his winged Xurunsh, by the name of Chomper.
Slathissin the Night Lord abhorred the use of weapons, claiming that since Astartes were weapons in their own right, that he was all the weapon he needed. He used stealth, acid-spitting, and his big, meaty fists to batter his enemies to death. He once took down four Word Bearers with hit-and-run tactics and a smoke grenade.
Because I'm a munchkin piece of trash, my general go-to in BC is to make a Heretek, take an M34 autocannon with suspensor and weapon downgrade at char-gen and buff it into insanity with various talents.
With weapon-tech, it's doing something silly like 3d10+13 per shot at 300 meters with a pen of like 11. Takes 20 wounds off a TB8 Marine per shot, with average damage rolls.
Can you even use Weapon Tech with an Autocannon? I thought it only applied to Flame, Plasma and Exotic weaponry...
Favorite weapon ever used was a razor web with a deamon of slannesh inside. Would all but cut marines in half, and they would love every second of it!
Plasma guns, inferno pistols, flamers, storm bolters, needle pistols, frag grenades, power and chain swords and axes. Never all at once of course. Generally they have 2 to 4 guns(including pistols and hidden weapons) with somewhat different damage profiles, 1-2 melee weapons(plus many knives cause of course) depending on whether or not they dual wield, and 3-4 nades cause boom. Usually best craftsmenship or with a laser sight or both. In addition to more situational weaponry like missile launchers, sniper rifles, sword canes, melta bombs and the like.
My players like bouncing around between weapons, besides a mainstay important to the character. They usually shy away from heavy and exotic weapons in their typical loadouts.
As my heretek had **** WS, I decided to even out things in melee by creative usage of toys and talents - I attached 4 lesser minions with shock whips and double team to myself.
I let them act first to shock opponent/let him use up his reactions, but he even then he almost always ended up shocked, sa suddenly I had +60WS (+20 ganging up, +20 double team. + 20 shocked).
Also always trusty plasma pistol with weapon MIU next to doom siren (makes wonders with weapon-tech) on one shoulder and servo-arm on the other (as can opener for space marines).
In my playing group the Warpsmiths mainly use his navigate Surface skill to coordinate Earthshaker bombardment from the warbands 4 Basilisks, and a Beast of Nurgle based Defiler.
.... I feel really really bad for saying this but honestly my standard loadout is simply two Legion Chainaxes on my Khorne Beserker named Flayk.... Sadly it seems that I am very much underwhelming compared to everyone else.
.... I feel really really bad for saying this but honestly my standard loadout is simply two Legion Chainaxes on my Khorne Beserker named Flayk.... Sadly it seems that I am very much underwhelming compared to everyone else.
+1for being classy
Been a while since I played in a BC campaign, but my last character...
Harbin Vherrock, Warden/Fallen Chaplain of the Iron Warriors
-Crozius Arcanum (Using Deathwatch rules/stats)
-Legion Bolter (Scavenged Parts)
-Some odds and ends
I tend to keep it simple and enjoy not being a walking armoury of super-special-snowflake equipment/wargear with extra sinister sounding names.
We had a bit of both in my last party.
My own char had daggered vembraces and a sniper rifle, with a bolt pistol (endgame upgraded to plasma...which is actually worse statwise, but screw it) for backup. Oh, and grenades. And detpacks. Lots of em.
The techpriest, though. Holy mother of god, he was a walking arsenal. But that's techpriests for you. Lascannon, 2 meltas, heavy bolter, clarion cannon most of it attached to servo arms and harnesses.The nesher mostly his behind his tanky and psyker minions.