Trying your hand at a custom codex would it work or would it be broken?

[Xaric]

Has anyone try'ed there hand at making a custom codex just for fun that is but able to make it fair and not broken? if so how would you make it fair?

[Nurglitch]

Has anyone try'ed there hand at making a custom codex just for fun that is but able to make it fair and not broken? if so how would you make it fair?

First, you should probably have a background including game design, game theory, and quantitative analysis. Some stats and probability theory will also help, but it's presumed in the knowledge of mathematical game theory.

Second, you should probably be able to work through the prior codices to establish what makes them fair, or unfair, according to the rules of the game, and hence the mathematics governing optimal play under those rules.

Third, you should probably understand that the rules exist as marketing documents, providing an activity by which you can essentially build dioramas with other Hobbyists rather than play a game with other players. Hence the codex should exist to enable you to use really cool scratch-builds or some models for which GW does not supply an equivalent (like Daleks!), rather than re-inventing the wheel to Mary-sue your own personal chapter of Awesome-Marines.

After having understood both the specifications for a Warhammer gaming product, and hence the variety of motivations that the end-users might have for using such a problem, you can make it 'fair' for whatever context you plan to use it in.

[Xaric]

That might be hard because i am chaos daemons and CSM and well depending on the roll of the dice can mess people over badly what i was thinking was to make a codex based on pure tzeentch but i lack the skill of the mathematical side guess ill stick with what i got thanks for the help anyway it is mostly to change the spell charts they seem very weak compared to the others like nurgle and slaanesh with there you take a test if you fail 1 dies take another test and so on.

It is also because i would love to play 1000 sons with daemons as a primary but you cant do that due to the rule for making 1000 sons troops they need to be the main army i could how ever do that and just have 1 herald with horrors

i would also like to add the Tzeentch chart boon of mutation can it effect say a iridecent horror? if so there is a chance i could make it stronger even if it turned into a warp spawn :P

[Dalleron]

i don't think you'd need all that stuff to make a custom codex. If you have been playing a system for long enough, I'm sure that you could do a decent job of righting a codex. Lets say you've played 40k since the inception, and are currently playing, you would have a good idea of what is broken and what is fair.

Most certainly you would need other people to bounce ideas off so that things don't get out of hand.

[SON OF ROMULOUS]

Just ask your opponent. unless your in a tournament most friendly games won't really care if your troops are thousand sons as long as you take a sorcrer as an hq then fill out the rest with daemons as you please. i've already done it with my world eaters as well as death guard and honestly it doesn't overpower the list it makes for a fluffy force.

[Katharon]

A basic and clear understanding of the English language might be good start. Also, a better grasp of grammar. >.>

There are several custom codicies that are in existence out there. One that I know of right now, having recently read it, is a Adeptus Mechanicus codex. I'm hopeful, however, that with the advent of so many Mechanicus units from the Horus Heresy line of models from ForgeWorld, we might eventually get a supplement to field them in regular 40K.

Easy way to make anything fair is to compare a custom unit to its closest cousin in an actual codex. Continuing with the Mechanicus example, if I want to have a unit of Tech Guard (the basic infantry that are soldiers in the armies of the Mechanicus) I would give them rules that are better than your basic Imperial Guardsman and make them proportionately more expensive point-wise as a result.

Tech Guard Infantryman
WS3, BS4, S3, T3, W1, I3, A1 Ldr8
Wargear: Overcharged Lasgun (RapidFire 24", AP5), close combat weapon, carapace armor (4+)
Special Rules: Stubborn, Aid of the Omnissiah (Fire Overwatch at BS2 instead of BS1)
Point Cost: 10 Pts per model. (Twice as expensive as a regular Guardsman and 3 points more expensive than an IG Veteran)

So, I gave him his stats, gear, and rules based on comparison to existing cannon unit and the background fluff; and gave him points cost accordingly.

[Kaptain Badrukk]

As someone who's been dabbling in this for some time there are some things to think of.
1) Be thick skinned.
Our hobby has a knee-jerk reaction factor to it, we're all guilty of it, very much me included.
So when you've made a decision about something, be prepared to play test the be-jesus out of it.
Then when it's knee-jerk time you can back it up with the reasoned argument the internet is not know for.
2) PLAY TEST.
Doesn't have to be in real games, you can simulate them over and over too.
The road to balance is to run your list over and over, until everything is WORTH fielding and every opponent has a fair chance.
Generally speaking this means when you PT the list you will get beats from the "broken" simulated lists you take up against.
3) Rule of Cool.
People WILL use things which are expensive, difficult to use or utterly random if they're cool enough.
Ok maybe not the tournament cheese-weasels but the rest of them will.
4) Play Test
I've covered this I think. But you don't want to end up a Matt Ward.

[Xaric]

thank you guys for your help i think i will just stick with my current codex's.

[Katharon]

I'm curious Xaric. Are you posting on here from an iPhone or a tablet?