Thanks! Does the Conym have no armour and weapons?

Alex

Nope- just its Grapple/Energy Drain attack.

Pulse-Pods: What do they roll for Init? 1d10+2? Is that correct? Also, they can hardly take advantage of ROF? Have you considered modeling them as a per m^2 horde?

Alex

Pulse-Pods: What do they roll for Init? 1d10+2? Is that correct? Also, they can hardly take advantage of ROF? Have you considered modeling them as a per m^2 horde?

With no Agility bonus, their Initiative would be a straight d10 with no modifiers- I guess I should have made that clear in the description.

Their RoF is always be Semi-Automatic (multiple pods bursting at once), with the number of shots determined randomly.

I wanted to avoid the Horde mechanic for vermin; it can slow combat down a bit- which is fine for major opponents, but not for minor random encounters like these, in my opinion.

Yeah but rolling a 5 for ROF is kinda underwhelming. You can't hit 5 times anyway, no?

Alex

Yeah but rolling a 5 for ROF is kinda underwhelming. You can't hit 5 times anyway, no?

With enough stacking bonuses (+10 Semi, +30 Point Black, +30 Unaware Target, +10 Hulking [black Carapace only applies to Power Armour, and not Terminator Armour, right?]), it's remotely possible. More importantly, a Pulse pod's shots have the Blast quality, so even 'misses' still have a chance to hit the target or (the effect I was really going after) other members of the Kill-Team.

-And here are my last (at least for the near future) homemade vermin:

-NECROSLIME-

A colony of millions of warp-mutated microorganisms, organized into a single coordinated form. It is a huge mass of black slime, which oozes slowly along in search of prey. The necroslime’s preferred tactic is to cling to a ceiling and drop onto anything that it senses passing beneath (naturally this attack only works in areas with functional gravity). When prey is engulfed, the ‘slime secretes acidic chemicals to reduce its meal to a digestible form.

When lying in wait upon a ceiling, a necroslime can be quite hard to detect- at least in the conditions typically found on a space hulk, where dim-to-non-existent light and extensive structural damage are the rule rather than the exception. Even if noticed by potential prey, the danger will not usually be obvious, since a motionless necroslime colony is easily mistaken for a mere oily stain.

Not smart enough to employ any tactics more complex than ‘lie in wait, pounce on anything’, a necroslime will launch itself at any movement it senses. It is recommended that the GM keep track of the Kill-Team’s ‘marching order’, making an Awareness Test for the ‘slime for each character that passes underneath. When triggered, treat the drop onto prey as a blast attack with a radius of 4 meters; assume the detected character was 1 meter under the leading edge of the ‘slime, with anyone preceding or following this character spaced appropriately.

NECROSLIME

WS: 25 BS: - S: 25 T: (10)50 Ag: 55 Int: 05 Per: 25 WP: 25 Fel: -

MOVEMENT: 1d5/2d5/3d5/-

WOUNDS: 50

SKILLS: Awareness (Per), Concealment (Ag), Contortionist (Ag), Silent Move (Ag) +20.

TALENTS: Fearless.

TRAITS: Amorphous, Blind, Crawler, From Beyond, Regeneration (3), Size (Enormous), Strange Physiology, Toxic, Undying, Unnatural Senses (15).

ARMOUR: None.

WEAPONS: Drop Attack (Blast 4, Snare; see above); Pseudopods (1d10 I, Pen 1d5; Acidic Secretions*, Engulf**, Hydra***, Toxic)

*If the Armour Penetration roll is a ‘5’, reduce the armour value of the effected area by 1 until it can be repaired by a skilled armourer with access to adequate facilities. This attack also deals an additional 2d10 E Damage to the hit location on the subsequent Round.

**For every Degree of Success of the attack, an additional hit location is effected (use the Multiple Hits chart on p.239 of the Deathwatch Rulebook to determine subsequent locations, skipping the Second Hit location, and treating any subsequent duplicates as new locations if possible.

***As a Full Action, this creature may attack every adjacent target.

-THERMOZOID-

The material universe and the warp are completely antithetical to each other, yet they are occasionally forced into contact. Empyrian energy spills into our reality in the form of warp storms, and conventional matter is dragged by those storms into the nightmare realm of the warp. These cross-universe ‘contaminations’ can give rise to unnatural ‘ecosystems’ that spawn their own distinct denizens.

One of these Materium/Immaterium hybrid creatures has been dubbed a ‘thermozoid’ by the Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus. A thermozoid resembles a two-and-a-half meter-long slug covered with segmented armour, which forms a drill-like point at the ‘head’ end. Thermozoids generate enormous heat which, combined with the drilling action of its carapace, can tunnel through solid metal. A tunneling thermozoid consumes liquefied metal (preferably iron or alloys thereof) through orifices along its shell-segments, which its bizarre digestive system metabolizes for sustenance.

Unlike most physical creatures, thermozoids can survive unharmed in the Immaterium. Their metallic egg-nodules drift on the currents of the warp until they come into contact with physical matter- usually in the form of space hulk wreckage. When it encounters a suitable ‘feeding ground’, the egg hatches and the rapidly growing thermozoid quickly burrows in. They take little notice if a space hulk transitions from one universe to another, as this has minimal effect on their lifecycle.

Although not a conventionally predatory species, theromozoids will aggressively defend their territories. They can sense the vibrations of movement reverberating through solid matter, and will unhesitatingly attack anything they encounter.

THERMOZOID

WS: 55 BS: 30 S: 70 T: 60 Ag: 25 Int: 12 Per: 25 WP: 50 Fel: -

MOVEMENT: 1/2/3/6

WOUNDS: 40

SKILLS: Awareness (Per), Contortionist (Ag) +20.

TALENTS: Berserk Charge, Counter Attack.

TRAITS: Blind, Burrower (3)*, Crawler, Fear (1), From Beyond, Natural Armour (8), Red-Hot**, Strange Physiology, Undying, Unnatural Senses (15).

*Since a thermozoid’s tunnels are melted through solid metal, they do not have a chance of collapsing as per the normal Burrower rules.

**In its natural state, a thermozoid radiates intense heat. It inflicts 1d10 E Damage to anyone in physical contact (such as when Grappling), and it is treated as having Unnatural Toughness versus all attacks that deal Energy-type Damage.

ARMOUR: Segmented Shell (8 All).

WEAPONS: Heat-Drill (1d10+7 E, Pen: 6; Power Field, Tearing); Molten Spray (10m, S/-/-, 2d10 E, Pen: 2; Harden*, Molten**, Recharge, Volatile).

*The molten metal released by this attack quickly solidifies. The area hit by the attack becomes immobilized and useless 1d5 rounds after being hit (Head hits are instead treated as causing blindness rather than immobility); the target can attempt to remove the solidified metal with a Strength or Contortionist Test.

**In addition to the initial damage caused by the attack, the metal continues to radiate heat, dealing 1d10 E Damage to the effected location on the next two rounds, unless the target can cool the area (such as by jumping into cold water)- which immediately triggers the effects of Harden (above).

-SCUTTLEHORROR-

Few creatures are uneffected by exposure to warp energy, from the most complex organisms to the simplest. Unlike the commonplace mutations that periodically occur naturally within most species, warp-based mutations almost invariably create or accentuate predatory traits: even normally harmless creatures can be twisted into ravening monstrosities.

‘Scuttlehorror’ is the name applied to swarms of tiny warp-twisted arthropods. They surge through space hulks, functioning like a single entity in their bloodthirsty pursuit of flesh to devour. They form into a great undulating mass of hundreds of hideously mutated bugs, warp-hardened mandibles clicking in greedy anticipation of stripping flesh from bone. Upon encountering another creature, the scuttlehorror will swarm over it, probing for weaknesses and burrowing into vulnerable areas. When prey is felled, a scuttlehorror swarm will de-flesh the carcass in a matter of minutes.

SCUTTLEHORROR SWARM

WS: 40 BS: - S: 20 T: 20 Ag: 55 Int: 10 Per: 30 WP: 20 Fel: -

MOVEMENT: 6/12/18/36

WOUNDS: 30

SKILLS: Awareness, Dodge.

TALENTS: Combat Master, Hard Target, Lightning Attack, Paranoia.

TRAITS: Crawler, Dark Sight, Fear (1), From Beyond, Natural Armour (1), Size (Hulking), Swarm Creature*, Unnatural Speed.

*Any attack that does not have the Blast, Flame, or Scatter quality only inflicts have damage on the creature. In most cases, a swarm creature cannot be Grappled, Knocked down, or Pinned, and the swarm may “pour” through suitable small openings such as ducts, vents, and the like, but it may not jump. The swarm is counted as being destroyed once all its Wounds are lost. The swarm’s attacks have a variable Penetration value (roll each time an attack lands), representing its ability to engulf its victim and attack vulnerable areas.

ARMOUR: Mutated Exoskeleton (1 All).

WEAPONS: Countless Mandibles (1d10+2 R, Pen: 1d10; Dig In*, Tearing)

*If the Armour Penetration roll is a ‘10’, the attack gains the Felling (1) quality.

So, that makes an even dozen. Anyone else want to try their hand at 'monster design'?

My next DW project will be some minor xeno races- starting with (non-Tyranidal) Zoats...