Maybe the Kill team doesn't go against a horde of lesser fighters, sometimes they come across an enemy just as tacticly advanced as themselves. This is an example of a squad mode for a group of Eldar Dire Avenger Exarchs

Phoenix Pattern

The Eldar spread out and cover a large area with shuriken fire and slowly advance. Enemy squads are considered pinned the first round and must make a Very Hard -30 pinning test or be pinned the next round. Enemy squads must continue rolling every round. While in Phoenix Pattern no aimed or called shots may be made.

Just an Idea, based this one off the DOW game when you use guardians they say Pheonix Pattern Initiated.

I don't believe that would be very popular for the following reason...

Making the first Pin automatic? Maybe against IG or other lesser units but against Space Marines? Hardly. Maybe if they got a surprise round but even then I would just have a good negative to the Awareness/Perception roll, with decreasing increments as the fighting continues.

The reason behind this is that most Space Marines, and definately the vast majority of Deathwatch has seen countless xenos tactics used to defeat them and they have all failed. It would take something extraordinary for them to get pinned down that badly....like maybe a horde of Fire Prisms.

muzzyman1981 said:

Space Marines can get pinned(why rules are in there) And these are Exarch Dire Avengers-they have been around a while too, this ability is no more potent then the ones for Deathwatch. Remeber this game started as a table top where all armies had a good chance against each other(which is most of my experiance with 40k).

A squad of Exarchs ? A squad of Exarchs?

Maybe when the Deathwtach starts deploying squads of Chaplains! An Exarch is the trainer, teacher, and instructor for the Eldar Aspect Warriors of his temple, we're talking someone roughly equal in status and expereince to a Space Marine of the First Company. A squad of "plain" Aspect Warriors should be enough to make a Deathwtach Kill-Team sit up and take notice... Defeating a single Exarch in combat should be a major coup....

A squad of Exarchs ! A squad of Exarchs!

Michigan said:

Ya I your right about that, but I could not find an Elite Eldar squad so I used those stats to represent them, they were honor guard for the Farseer accompaning them.

Nimon said:

Lexicanum lists as Elites "Fire Dragon Squad • Howling Banshee Squad • Striking Scorpion Squad • Wraithguard Squad • Harlequins".

Alex

ak-73 said:

The dreaded Seer council?

But back onto topic, of course those seer council are all psykers which makes this a bit more difficult. You can imagine psychic storms etc when they all put their powers together.

But for Aspect warriors, there's plenty of options, some of them you can rip almost directly from the codex. In those Exarch powers are often squad abilities that you could easily say become available from the this expert leader.

Dire Avengers

Bladestorm - The entire unit unleashs a devastating barrage of shuriken at their foes. For one turn all members of the squad can fire two fully automatic bursts from shuriken weapons, but next turn they cannot fire those weapons at all.

Defend - The warriors move as one in complex pattern of parries, dodges and distractions. Each warrior gains an additional attack and may use these to dodge or parry attacks mean't for other squad members (but if they fail they are hit themselves) for other squad members as they swap positions seemlessly.

Howling Banshees

Acrobatic assault - With a series of leaps and bounds they smash into attackers. If charged they may immediately make a free charge move into the chargers meeting intercepting them and when they meet only the one with the highest agility bonus counts as charging for the bonus to hit ( and any additional bonus damage, hit or otherwise, but attacks are made by both sides but if the banshees have already acted then they have only one attack even if they could normally have more that one on a charge).

Fire Dragons

Tank Hunters - The Dragons lay down withering fire on the enemies armour. The Dragons gain weapons gain the accurate trait (and associated damage bonus) when attacking vehicles.

Anyway that was off the top of my head and I'm tired now.

Ya I get a lot of information off of lexicanium, I have used a masque of haliquens and death jesters in a 3 way battle between them, the characters and some dark eldar worked out pretty well, I would really like to see a fantasy flight offical work up on harliquens and death jesters though.

Nimon said:

Unlikely for DW but they'd make a good enemie in RT for example, being travellers and potentially being in the pay of both the Eldar, Dark Eldar and Exodites might make up for their rarity to make them worth including and hopefully they would do so that they would at least be compatible with DW.

Quite like 'Phoenix pattern' by the way, I don't think at this level automatic pinning for one turn (so long as it's likely to happen once an encounter) is too unbalancing and it's nice feature as PCs could be unpinnable and it'll keep them on their toes.

Also, if you consider the Horde special abilities (Fire Drill, Fighting Withdrawals and the like) then enemy "squads" can and do have tactics of a sort. In Deathwatch once something becomes a squad it is likely to be a Horde. As far as like elites getting them such as a few Chaos Marines just use your imagination; for example their all shooting at the same guy, give them a +10 bonus. There’s no need to make an announcement since they’d be controlled by the GM; just do it in your brain.

It seems like the thing you made for the Eldar would work for a Horde more then a handfull of elite enemies.