Shas'o Saki
10-09-2011, 11:52 AM
Hey check this out, Gun Drones that actually aren't useless on the battlefield and actually feel like a Fast Attack Option. We've also made some slight modifications for the rules to these buggers regarding vehicles and when they are attached to units. The big change their is that now Gun Drones deployed from Devilfish or Piranhas can join another ground unit equipped with a Drone Controller. This makes them a coll reinforcement option for Fire Warrior squads assuming their Shas'ui has some Drones of his own.
Gun Drone Squad................120 Points
Manufactured by the millions in Earth Caste Factories, Gun Drone are but one in a series of autonomous combat units the Tau employ. Gun drones are the most common of these artificial servants and accompany every conceivable Tau unit into battle from Devilfish transports, to Ethereals. Drones are also capable of being sent out on their own in squads where they range ahead of the main force, using their speed and Pulse Carbines to whittle away at their targets.
Special Rules:
Gravitic Thrusters- All Tau Drones are equipped with sophisticated ant-grav generators allowing them to hover above the battlefield and easily keep pace with whatever unit they’re attached too. When freed from having to accompany slow-moving organics Drones can push their thrusters to the limit achieving impressive speeds for such small machines. Gun Drones not attached to another Tau unit via a Drone Control Unit count and move as Jetbikes.
Artificial Intelligence- Although they possess a rudimentary intelligence for problem solving and path finding on a battlefield, all drones are still mindless machines incapable of fear or panic. Their artificial nature also renders them immune too certain psychic abilities employed by the Tau’s enemies. Gun Drone Squads have the Fearless Universal Special Rule, they also cannot be harmed by Psychic powers that require a leadership test to do damage such as Mind War and Psychic Scream.
Long-Range Design- As their name implies Gun Drones are designed to engage targets at range, they are neither programmed nor capable of defending themselves in close combat. If an enemy force does manage to get close Gun Drones are programmed to make a suicide run, flying into an opponent and detonating their power cells in an attempt to take them with them. If a Gun Drone Squad is engaged in close combat instead of making a normal attack, each drone will cause a single Strength 6 AP-, hit on one model in its first round of combat. After this remove the entire squad from play. The enemy unit is assumed to have won combat regardless of wounds taken.
STAT LINE
...............WS...BS...S...T...W...I...A...LD... SV
Gun Drone: 1......2....2...4....1...2...1*..7....4+
Unit Comp.
10 Gun Drones
Special Rules.
* Fearless
* Deep Strike
* Artificial Intelligence
* Long-Range Design
Unit Type.
Jet Bikes
Wargear.
* Twin linked Pulse Carbines
Options.
* Add up to 5 Additional Gun Drones....12 points per model
Wargear:
Range...Strength AP Type
.....18...........5.......5....Assault 2, Pinning
Pulse Carbines feature underslung Photon Grenade Launchers meant to suppress enemy forces as the Tau line steadily moves forward.
Drones Attached to Units:
Many Units in the Tau Army can be equipped with a Drone control unit allowing them to be accompanied by one or more Drones of varying types. The Drones lack the networked intelligence of a dedicated Gun Drone squad and are little more than remote-controlled robots in this state. The following rules governs Drone behavior in this state.
Drones and Vehicles:
Many Tau Vehicles come equipped with a pair of Gun Drones in specially designed alcoves on their hull. These Drones add their own firepower to the vehicles when they can and can be detached from the hull to operate independently with a flick of a button. Gun Drones attached to a vehicle do not count as passengers but as a defensive weapon system that can always fire so long as the vehicle has not moved faster than Flat Out. The Drones also link their targeting computers with their parent vehicles and use its BS when firing. If the vehicle is Wrecked or Explodes the Gun Drones are destroyed along with it. Gun Drones may detach from their parent vehicle just like a unit disembarking from a transport in the movement phase. Due to their alcoves design Gun Drones count their parent vehicle as Open-Topped for the purpose of disembarking. Once deployed Gun Drones may not rejoin their parent vehicle and count as an independent drone unit. If the unit numbers less than 5 Drones it may however choose to join any Tau unit equipped with a Drone-Control Unit. To do this the drones must end their movement phase within 1 inch of the friendly unit just like an Independent Character. Once joined to a new unit the Drones may not leave it again however.
Drones and Squads:
Drones taken as a piece of wargear along with a Drone-Drone Control unit count and operate as part of their parent unit. They move and operate just like any other member of the squad which means they are no longer Fearless, unless the unit they join is, and cannot blow themselves up in close combat.
Gun Drone Squad................120 Points
Manufactured by the millions in Earth Caste Factories, Gun Drone are but one in a series of autonomous combat units the Tau employ. Gun drones are the most common of these artificial servants and accompany every conceivable Tau unit into battle from Devilfish transports, to Ethereals. Drones are also capable of being sent out on their own in squads where they range ahead of the main force, using their speed and Pulse Carbines to whittle away at their targets.
Special Rules:
Gravitic Thrusters- All Tau Drones are equipped with sophisticated ant-grav generators allowing them to hover above the battlefield and easily keep pace with whatever unit they’re attached too. When freed from having to accompany slow-moving organics Drones can push their thrusters to the limit achieving impressive speeds for such small machines. Gun Drones not attached to another Tau unit via a Drone Control Unit count and move as Jetbikes.
Artificial Intelligence- Although they possess a rudimentary intelligence for problem solving and path finding on a battlefield, all drones are still mindless machines incapable of fear or panic. Their artificial nature also renders them immune too certain psychic abilities employed by the Tau’s enemies. Gun Drone Squads have the Fearless Universal Special Rule, they also cannot be harmed by Psychic powers that require a leadership test to do damage such as Mind War and Psychic Scream.
Long-Range Design- As their name implies Gun Drones are designed to engage targets at range, they are neither programmed nor capable of defending themselves in close combat. If an enemy force does manage to get close Gun Drones are programmed to make a suicide run, flying into an opponent and detonating their power cells in an attempt to take them with them. If a Gun Drone Squad is engaged in close combat instead of making a normal attack, each drone will cause a single Strength 6 AP-, hit on one model in its first round of combat. After this remove the entire squad from play. The enemy unit is assumed to have won combat regardless of wounds taken.
STAT LINE
...............WS...BS...S...T...W...I...A...LD... SV
Gun Drone: 1......2....2...4....1...2...1*..7....4+
Unit Comp.
10 Gun Drones
Special Rules.
* Fearless
* Deep Strike
* Artificial Intelligence
* Long-Range Design
Unit Type.
Jet Bikes
Wargear.
* Twin linked Pulse Carbines
Options.
* Add up to 5 Additional Gun Drones....12 points per model
Wargear:
Range...Strength AP Type
.....18...........5.......5....Assault 2, Pinning
Pulse Carbines feature underslung Photon Grenade Launchers meant to suppress enemy forces as the Tau line steadily moves forward.
Drones Attached to Units:
Many Units in the Tau Army can be equipped with a Drone control unit allowing them to be accompanied by one or more Drones of varying types. The Drones lack the networked intelligence of a dedicated Gun Drone squad and are little more than remote-controlled robots in this state. The following rules governs Drone behavior in this state.
Drones and Vehicles:
Many Tau Vehicles come equipped with a pair of Gun Drones in specially designed alcoves on their hull. These Drones add their own firepower to the vehicles when they can and can be detached from the hull to operate independently with a flick of a button. Gun Drones attached to a vehicle do not count as passengers but as a defensive weapon system that can always fire so long as the vehicle has not moved faster than Flat Out. The Drones also link their targeting computers with their parent vehicles and use its BS when firing. If the vehicle is Wrecked or Explodes the Gun Drones are destroyed along with it. Gun Drones may detach from their parent vehicle just like a unit disembarking from a transport in the movement phase. Due to their alcoves design Gun Drones count their parent vehicle as Open-Topped for the purpose of disembarking. Once deployed Gun Drones may not rejoin their parent vehicle and count as an independent drone unit. If the unit numbers less than 5 Drones it may however choose to join any Tau unit equipped with a Drone-Control Unit. To do this the drones must end their movement phase within 1 inch of the friendly unit just like an Independent Character. Once joined to a new unit the Drones may not leave it again however.
Drones and Squads:
Drones taken as a piece of wargear along with a Drone-Drone Control unit count and operate as part of their parent unit. They move and operate just like any other member of the squad which means they are no longer Fearless, unless the unit they join is, and cannot blow themselves up in close combat.