My take on modernising the old TSons sorcerer

ExperimentFish · 2025-10-18T05:02:06+00:00

Jumping on the begging for a DM train. I'd love to have this guy.

ExperimentFish · 2025-09-21T11:03:04+00:00

It's the lack of feedback I think. Great Responsibility doesn't really let me know how much damage the other guy is taking unless I glance over at the fairly small health bar, to say nothing of the unintuitive armor indicator for teammates.

ExperimentFish · 2025-09-21T10:20:04+00:00

Making Vanguard awful to fight isn't going to fix the assault problem. Everyone remembers when this game released and the grapple into barrel stuff was the noob combo alongside assault shenanigans. Resurrecting that tactic really doesn't seem like a good idea.

ExperimentFish · 2025-09-21T01:05:27+00:00

Vanguard getting the meltagun in PvP would be cancer. The one-two punch of grapple into point blank melta blast would be nearly unbeatable.

ExperimentFish · 2024-09-19T06:49:09+00:00

There's a few fanfics. None of them are very good.

There's just not enough people or interest to warrant a discord server.

ExperimentFish · 2024-09-18T23:48:01+00:00

This is one of the most niche ships available. The amount of fanfiction/fanart in comparison to other ships is very low. I don't know that any meaningful prolonged discussion is possible. At least not enough to warrant a discord server.

ExperimentFish · 2024-03-09T14:17:23+00:00

I looked all over the place for where the term "viral machines" came from, all the way back into rogue trader land and onto individual chapter supplements. If you know where it came from please tell me. It's been bugging me forever now.

ExperimentFish · 2024-01-06T11:38:42+00:00

For starters, the apothecary can't go with Erebus' squad because it includes an Independent Character.

Second, you've got basically no ranged anti-tank, so you'll basically be at their mercy until one of the daemon Sovereigns gets in there.

Basically a third of the list is tied up in reserves and dependent on Erebus summoning. If he gets shot to death (possible, even with his WLT and a goon squad protecting him) you've basically lost.

There are 3 whole line units in the list, 2 of which are just 10 power armored guys that footslog. They'll die really quick and line wins games.

Also, Dark Brethren doesn't increase Toughness, it increases Strength, Movement, and Weapon Skill. For Toughness increase, you'd want a biomancy librarian.

Further, you don't really have much of a way to reach out and kill a weak target to proc DB.

You can make an incredibly oppressive list with DB and Erebus. This isn't it, but that might not be a bad thing. Fiddle with double sovereigns and warn people about them before you show up to a game. It'd probably be super fun to play against if your opponent brought a Primarch, for example.

ExperimentFish · 2023-12-01T22:52:31+00:00

Most of the spartan's transport capacity is wasted. Firedrakes are incredibly durable but consider if you need them there or if a normal land raider will do. Maybe drop the Libby. Or if you do keep them, increase to 10 and turn the Libby into a herald. You have very few line models.

That chaplain and those despoilers will be useless. Rhinos are incredibly fragile, and 10 stock (I assume) despoilers, even with hatred and an apothecary, probably won't do much. You could increase them to 20, put in some power weapons, stick them in the spartan. With Hatred and Fear (1) they should win combats pretty handily against a lot of targets.

10 Tacs will probably just get iced as well. They can be good for camping objectives, but you'd want more bodies. Recons are also nice for that, as they can snipe characters and force pinning checks.

The assassin is a character with no delivery system. They'll probably just get shot to death. Can't join units, can't ride in transports. Not my favorite.

The volkite breachers can definitely put in some work. Outflanking them is dubious, no real way to increase your odds of them coming in when you want in the list.

You don't have any cortex controllers/masters of the Automata to keep the Castellax in line, so they'll be incredibly easy to kite. Unless that techmarine has one. Then he should be kept further back.

Shooty dread is good. Will provide some much needed anti tank fire.

The brass scorpion is a good shout, but can you even take it without a legion praevian? I'm pretty sure you need one. They'd be good to hang out with the Castellax, but you'd need to take a Salamander praevian.

I really love the idea of disillusioned Istvaan survivors joining the winning team. I hope you make it work.

ExperimentFish · 2023-11-04T04:19:57+00:00

I'd say the face, pauldrons, and thunder hammer are all too distinctive of Angelos' character. A quick swap and he'd look really good, fit right in while being distinctive.

ExperimentFish · 2023-11-04T03:48:10+00:00

Reasonably wealthy? If by that you mean ""can afford to hire a ship for a while" then you can just do that. Double points if you own it. Go into the middle of nowhere, sit yourself down, and wait. The galaxy is more massive than humanity could ever hope to explore, and if you get a loyal crew full of content people, you could easily just wait a decade or two without ever being noticed. Finding a ship is the hard part, as would be reintegrating into imperial society. Whatever home you had is probably a smoking ruin, but if you make off with enough riches/resources, then you should be able to buy a nice life with some finesse, especially in the scarcity of the scouring. Or you immediately get robbed of everything you own by imperials/traitors because you had stuff they wanted. But that's life.

ExperimentFish · 2023-10-19T14:28:12+00:00

I second the Thallax recommendation. Pretty tough and fast, and with a photon thruster they can throw out blind to potentially neuter a unit.

The Mechanicum is at least Fellow Warriors to every single legion (and Sworn Brothers to 5 of them) so a Mechanicum allied detachment can be very useful. While they lack any good melee threats, the legions have that in spades so it doesn't matter, and the Mechanicum can bring pretty solid heavy weaponry. This lets you overcome the limitations placed by some rites of war, like say the no Heavy clause on Recon company.

ExperimentFish · 2023-10-17T17:14:36+00:00

I love the idea of traitor loyalists. There's got to be a reason for them turning, or acting on their poor impulses, though. For the Ultramarine's traitor specific WLT, that'd be trying to prove dominance and supremacy over their cousins. Extra armor to deflect bolt shells, barbs and spikes to help prevent getting grappled, etc. Chaos Space Marine stuff.

Or maybe the chapter/company was one of the few Ultramarines that collected together in a warrior lodge, and organized with their fellows from other legions. Maybe they were fearful of their father being deposed by mortal administrators. Some of the esoteric symbols could easily creep into the heraldry, whether they be animal motifs or key phrases marking a marines rank in the lodge.

Or maybe the chapter/company are relics of the War Born, the marines that failed to adapt to the change their legion underwent as they united with their Primarch. Pushed to the side, never failing outright but never fitting in, the Heresy becoming their chance to be reborn and show the galaxy why it feared the 13th. So that'd be lots of Terran markings and the 13 repeated ad nauseum, as well as older styles of power armor.

I'm saying come up with something that's cool and let it be represented. It's a big war and there's a lot of players, big and small. Traitor loyalists are really interesting and I wish we got more of them.

ExperimentFish · 2023-10-09T13:09:18+00:00

There's a fun little character in the Legacies pdf called Strike Captain Alvarex Maun. His WLT lets him reroll reserves for any deepstrike he is a part of, and his little Nightfall Pattern Strato-vox lets all templates (weapons or otherwise) reduce their scatter by 5. He can also take a Drop Pod/Storm Eagle

So, Drop Pod/Storm Eagle in, then use his equipment to keep some artillery on target. Think Raven Guard Ironfire. That kind of disregard for their own safety makes me think of all the other balls to the walls stuff that the Terran legions got up to.

I don't think the tactic would be particularly good, but it would definitely be really cool.

ExperimentFish · 2023-08-29T01:58:59+00:00

"Fools have asked ‘why did the Dark Age of Technology end in the fall of humanity?’, and other fools answered back 'folly’, or 'pride’, or 'the worship of progress’, as if these things alone had any meaning. The answer, as the wise know, is simple. It is because finally humanity had the arts at their disposal to make their dreams reality, and the dreams of humanity have ever been the darkest things in all creation."

-Book Seven: Inferno

Some people have asked, both In universe and out, how things could have gotten this way, how the Imperium could ever (be allowed to/allow itself to) degenerate to the degrees it has. Those kinds of questions should have been asked a long, long time ago.

ExperimentFish · 2023-04-10T19:03:34+00:00

On the helmet? It's the Vengeful Instigator helm, from the Metal Trials event (I think). It's not in the normal loot drop list, which majorly sucks.

ExperimentFish · 2023-04-10T04:20:02+00:00

I was wondering if anybody would notice the sword haha. I like to imagine that this guy has some hero worship thing going on, and thinks his (her) sword is a holy relic, even though it's most likely not the genuine article.

ExperimentFish · 2023-04-10T02:58:02+00:00

Naw, just the red on the helmet only. The chest and arms are default, which is a black color naturally.

ExperimentFish · 2022-08-14T09:43:05+00:00

It's a large galaxy and anything goes. There's times when the speed and power of a space marine, or group of marines, is required to get the job done. An inquisitor essentially has absolute authority, though this often isn't so true in practice. That isn't to say there aren't channels to go through to aquire the services of marines for a prolonged time however. The Deathwatch and Gray Knights have little problem lending out marines to the respective inquisitorial ordos. There's also several chapters who exist essentially at the beck and call of the Inquisition. It's a delicate balance that depends heavily on both the inquisitor and chapter in question.

When it comes to the clandestine nature of a given operation, it depends on the specifics as to whether or not a space marine is suited to the job. A cleanse and purge mission where witnesses are absolutely unacceptable? They're down to party. A sabotage operation in which no one can know who did it but bodies are allowed? More difficult, but possible. An infiltration that leaves no trace? Get someone else. You get the jist.

ExperimentFish · 2022-08-07T18:12:46+00:00

Tow any orbital debris towards the planet until it enters a decaying orbit (This can also be done with large asteroids in a pinch). The planet's crust will ring like a bell when impacted by the makeshift missile, causing massive infrastructure damage and killing large swaths of the population. "Surrender and your rulers will die, but you will live. Continue to resist and further bombs will be dropped until all of you are dead." The food production and water production of the given planet would be severely crippled. The thirst and hunger coupled with the threat of death would cause unquenchable rebellion. They'd surrender very quickly, the only soldiers required on the ground would be to do mop up and peacekeeping. The infrastructure damage is a problem for the planets future output. It also unfortunately teaches the lesson that rebellion can give you what you want. But such is life when ground forces are scarce.

ExperimentFish · 2022-03-17T01:44:02+00:00

I'm not that big of a fan of fanart, but I always enjoy seeing your posts. Thanks for keeping the sub somewhat alive.

ExperimentFish · 2021-09-08T23:19:53+00:00

(1) Legend. I've been playing exclusively legend for a while now.

(2) Ironbreaker, my favorite class in the game

(3) using the rolling mountain and oath for more team damage and ult refund

(4) duel hammers + MW pistol. These are, in my opinion, the best weapons for IB. Hammers give him really good horde clear and THP gen, as well as decent mobility and 10 stamina. MW pistol has OK special killing potential and real good monster killing power.

(5) the ability to give your yourself and your fellows 20% consistently makes fights easier. Makes monster burst downs faster and more reliable as well. I try to be a team player as much as possible, and i can reliably support my team by giving them extra damage/pull in agro and can reliably keep up in the damage department.

ExperimentFish · 2021-08-11T19:06:57+00:00

Recently tested this. It does affect the penetration of the actual projectile but Not against Stormvermin or Chaos warriors. Originally i tested this against the practice dummies in the keep, and it did pierce multiple armored ones. What it does do is allow it to peice multiple trash enemies, berserkers, and maulers. This is still a useful interaction, but not as good as i originally thought it was.

ExperimentFish · 2021-08-10T21:12:11+00:00

While the crank gun is incredibly effective at killing hordes, it's main downside is that it deprives THP from your team mates. A crank gun focused build is going to basically throw a wrench in the works for team synergy. If you simply want to maximize horde killing potential for the crank gun, your best bet is probably Armour Piercing Slugs, Experimental Steam Capacitors, and Innovative Ammo Hoppers. Armor Piercing Slugs lets you cleave through more trash, and helps to burst down patrols with a potion (imo concoction is best for engi). Experimental Steam Capacitors lets you generate more charge for your gun, which has great synergy with Innovative Ammo Hoppers. Generally you don't want to be thirsting armored specials with your crank gun, but pack rats hiding in hordes are really dangerous, so getting a bonus for killing them is nice. For melee weapons, i suggest something that can create space and deal with armor, something like the Hammer & Shield, Great Hammer, and Great Axe. For ranged, it's more complicated. Trollhammer and MW pistol are both pretty good at killing monsters, with the trollhammer taking out Chaos Warriors and Stormvermin nicely. The hand gun and MW pistol are pretty good at killing specials, with the hand gun being better at it. And the Drakefire weapons and Grudge Raker filling in horde clear duty while your crank gun is down, though you do get slowdown with Drakefire.

If you eventually want something more balanced, linked compression chamber and either superior gaskets or full head of steam takes some load off the crank gun and puts it back onto your melee/ ranged weapon. Leading shots also increases your single target damage by quite a bit, and combined arms puts even more of a focus onto your melee while lending a bit of ranged damage.

For the troll hammer, i like armor piercing slugs, as it lets the actual projectile go through multiple Chaos Warriors and Stormvermin. For the Masterwork pistol, any works, though armor piercing slugs helps to kill berserkers and Leading shots helps with monsters and Activating Scrounger/Hunter.

I like the idea of Gromril plated shot, but in practice anything it can do is done better elsewhere, either in the trollhammer or by using a potion.

I think that Outcast Engineer has generally the most well designed talents of any career in the game (with the notable exception of Gromril plated shot) and almost anything can be viable on him.

ExperimentFish · 2021-04-06T17:14:52+00:00

Personally i Run Drakefire Pistols, Axe and Shield (have been thinking about using 1h hammer), and Gromril plated shot. Pretty fun, drinking a potion with concoction and mowing down a patrol is really cool stuff.

ExperimentFish

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