Codex: Kae'Moda Republic

[Oberst Viktor Morte]

Sorry, I've been taking care of sick girlfriend. She was taking a nap earlier, but I've been spending some time with her and making sure she's alright.

Oberst, would you mind placing the pdfs on scribd too?

Don't see why not. Done.


Now on to the Regulars. Thank you both for your input. Hopefully this will turn them into a unit I actually like and like to use. =P As per the wording on some of the rules, this codex started before 5th edition came out, and so some of the rules are phrased to how they would have been back then. Also, many of the ideas I came up with here even before they were used in the new Imperial Guard codex, such as command skills.

Anyway, on down to it. I'll rewrite the Platoon rule as to be more coherent. Also, the idea is that they can be deployed as one unit or all separately. Furthermore, I'll make it so that they all have the same stats and equipment. For simplicity, I think that I'll just be doing away with the Veteran skills though. So except the Lieutenant, they'll all be 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7(8) 4+. The Ld 8 belonging to the Sergeants.

Structurally, all Regulars are aged ~17-20 when they complete their service they have the option of staying in the military. Many end up going to certain specialties, but some stay in the Regulars and make up its core of NCOs. Officers are commissioned much the same as in our military (ROTC cadet, by the way) and so they often don't have any experience behind them either. However, they do have four years of training and education behind them. Their stats are derived more from a heroic game standpoint than reality, as I don't expect to be twice as hard to kill as the man next to me when I'm commissioned.

Overall, they're about to get a major overhaul, and I'll see what I can do about them. Thanks once more for the help on the unit. Oh, and I do plan on making a 'fluff' section where it just details different aspects of society, culture, technology, and military principle.

Also, this goes back to my earlier point about sociology, but what is your actual justification for giving your officers very high Ballistic Skills? Space marine captains lead and command from the front lines, and there's only one career path in a space marine chapter, which means that all captains have (i) personally participated in a lot of actual infantry combat and (ii) put in a really over-the-top amount of training. Similarly, Tau commanders fight on the line, and career advancement is explicitly predicated on demonstrated personally lethality.

So if I can pose a question to you: how is the Republic's military structured? It sounds like very few officers work their way up from private (as is the case with both space marines and tau)? Is every major or colonel expected to fight on the front line? For that matter, are company commanders expected to be at the forefront of every attack, literally using their personal weapon? Is advancement to the rank of major or colonel (or indeed, even captain) explicitly predicated, even in part, on an officer's ability to personally kill things?

Now this is something that I'd not really thought of before, and made the connection over the course of the evolution of the codex, that they literally are these heroic figures such as Space Marine Chapter Masters but are unlikely to behave in the same manner. Again, this is why I enjoy letting new people have a hack at the codex and making me rethink all of it. Officers to a high level are expected to lead 'from the front', but this does not mean that they literally have to be discharging their firearms at the enemy. I think this is a good idea, and I'll work to adjust the stats accordingly.

The Regular FireTeam has a good place in the army in my opinion, just need a little work yet. However I did notice that several of the Special Characters allow certain Elites to be taken as Troop Choices. Perhaps of having this as special character only rules, instead have an overall special rule that allows you to pick Black Berets, Special Intelligence, OR Force Reconnaissance units as Troop choices. This gives other options for Troop choices are still allows the same options that the special characters would be given you in the first place. Maybe even have this as an upgrade the Command Squad if points are worth considering. An other idea would be for every Rifleman Fire Team you take, you can take a Black Berets or Force Reconnaissance unit as a troop choice.

While I don't like having the Special Characters that allow certain models as Troops, it's the current trend in GW codices, and that's something I'm trying to keep on top of, to keep it very 'official'. The other ideas are very good though, and I'll do some thinking on them.

- Black Berets Shaped Charges: I think it would be easier to just have these work as standard melta bombs instead of the manual charge. I also think their Covert Op rule might be an issue especially if area terrain isn't available. I think Infiltrate and/or Deep Striking would be better suited here (especially if they can be taken as troops).

As per the Shaped Charges, that's a good idea. In testing they seem to work... not at all. And as per the Covert Ops, it's modeled after they Lictor infiltration. And if there's no area terrain then you don't get to use them as such. At least they have Infiltrate and thus can still Outflank.

- Tyranid Hunters: Personally I think units designed to only counter one specific race are a bad idea. Just make their Conflagance Missile accessible for most units. Outside of Tyranids, they are a costly unit with counter attack and WS4 which doesn't really fit the rest of the army too well.

Like the SIB, they are very fluff oriented units, neither of which I wish to change or get rid of. One thing to note about them though is that if you ignore the anti-Tyranid capabilities, they're the only infantry unit that's not worthless in close combat, and one of two units in the whole army. In my opinion, they're very fluff-y, and if for nothing but that I'd like to keep them as is.

- Revenants and Intrepid Battle Walker are listed as Walkers but have no WS, S, I, or A listed in their stats.

See, there-in lies a problem for me. Both of those are technically walkers, but neither one has any close combat capabilities. The easy way to deal with them would be to just tie them up with a single Guardsmen, as neither would really be able to hurt one another. Is there some good way of getting around this?

- Zero Troopers can be reworded from "For every 2 models, you may take 1 special weapon" to "Up to 4 models may take special weapons", since squad size can not be changed in this unit. Also these guys are listed to have Power Armor, they should be listed with their Zero Gravity Suit. Speaking of which, a slow and purposeful unit armed with multiple heavy weapons and can move like jump infantry once per game is a really sick deal.

A couple edits have been made to that since I made this PDF apparently. They're supposed to have a total of 9 models, a 4+ save, no power armour, and three special/heavy weapons. I'll make sure that things are up to date.

- Marauder Suits: Keep Strength 3 base and have their close combat weapon use the rules for Power fists. Easier to explain and keeps the same set of stats. Also, these guys are BEASTS for costing the same a standard Terminator. Relentless jump infantry with S6 weapons, toughness 5, 2 wounds and 2+ armor and that can fire all weapons on the move. Plus they can really spread out with 4" coherency so blast templates aren't effective either. And that is without any additional upgrades which could give Feel No Pain, 4+ invun save, split firing, etc . These guys need a point increase plus some toning down with some rules.

Ha, these are the guys who look horribly powerful on paper but end up being pretty easy to kill and very expensive every time I've seen them in game. Any sort of weapons that you'd use against a Terminator are just as effective against them, even seemingly moreso. Keep in mind also that they cost as much as Terminators before you give them any weapons, and still are worthless in close combat. Until playtesting proves otherwise, these guys are keeping their cost.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone very much for their input, as every little thing makes me go back and look to make sure that everything is how it should be, and many suggestions make their way into the codex at large. I'm excited to have gotten this much feedback this soon, and I'll be working to put this in the PDF as soon as able.

[sirrouga]

Like the SIB, they are very fluff oriented units, neither of which I wish to change or get rid of. One thing to note about them though is that if you ignore the anti-Tyranid capabilities, they're the only infantry unit that's not worthless in close combat, and one of two units in the whole army. In my opinion, they're very fluff-y, and if for nothing but that I'd like to keep them as is.

Maybe expanding them into more general anti-xeno or even just more close combat focused units. But without any special close combat weapon I don't see these guys really doing too well in their area. Getting access to maybe Power Weapons or Poison Weapons.

See, there-in lies a problem for me. Both of those are technically walkers, but neither one has any close combat capabilities. The easy way to deal with them would be to just tie them up with a single Guardsmen, as neither would really be able to hurt one another. Is there some good way of getting around this?

Just make their stat line like a basic soldier for the most part. Maybe even lower initiative. Something like WS2, S3, I2, A1 if you intend to keep them limited in close combat.

As for the Intrepid Battle Walker, when I'm reading it the fluff and pictures available I'm thinking of something that slowly marches across the battlefield blasting whatever available. While it might not have great close combat abilities, I don't see it really getting locked into combat so should have the ability to move out of an assault (be it just walking away or via "Hit or Run" special rules.

Alternately, you can just have them set as Tanks instead of walkers but give them special rules to let them move or shoot like walkers. Which may be a better idea depending on your view on them.

Ha, these are the guys who look horribly powerful on paper but end up being pretty easy to kill and very expensive every time I've seen them in game. Any sort of weapons that you'd use against a Terminator are just as effective against them, even seemingly moreso. Keep in mind also that they cost as much as Terminators before you give them any weapons, and still are worthless in close combat. Until playtesting proves otherwise, these guys are keeping their cost.

Perhaps, S6 power weapons are nothing to laugh at but being one attack each I can see your point. I still think the 4 inch coherency thing would cause some confusion especially when involving multiple units of marauders. But I guess some play testing would be required to fine tune them.


Continuing on with my readings.

- Special Intelligence Bureau is an interesting concept. I think they are actually a bit lacking through, while great against pskers, they don't really bring anything else to the table. Maybe some sort of weapon that weakens invulnerable saves or maybe even powers of their own. Its differcult to imagine an army requesting help from a government agency unless they are really powerful in what they do.

- The Spectre scares me. A walker that will be assaulting practically anything on the board on turn two (even possible for a turn 1 assault if the planets align just right) is a scary thought for anything that doesn't have a weapon at least at strength 7 which is a lot of different armies. Plus with a power weapon I don't see much stopping these guys in said armies. Granted a Space Marine with a power fist isn't going to have any problems with these.

- Long Range Bombardment may need to changed up a bit as the rules you have require Vanguard. Maybe allow Laser Designators to work with these as well.

[sirrouga]

On an other quick note. I find the models from AT-43 game specially the U.N.A. faction seem to work well with this codex. Big problem in that all AT-43 models come pre-painted so not sure how that sits with everyone.

[Oberst Viktor Morte]

Maybe expanding them into more general anti-xeno or even just more close combat focused units. But without any special close combat weapon I don't see these guys really doing too well in their area. Getting access to maybe Power Weapons or Poison Weapons.

I thought about giving the option for changing Preferred Enemy (Tyranids) to (Orks) for no additional cost. However, there is no other species that the Kae'Moda fight against as much to warrant that. They're supposed to be able to hold their own against general troops of another army, but still not do too well against dedicated close combat troops.

Just make their stat line like a basic soldier for the most part. Maybe even lower initiative. Something like WS2, S3, I2, A1 if you intend to keep them limited in close combat.

As for the Intrepid Battle Walker, when I'm reading it the fluff and pictures available I'm thinking of something that slowly marches across the battlefield blasting whatever available. While it might not have great close combat abilities, I don't see it really getting locked into combat so should have the ability to move out of an assault (be it just walking away or via "Hit or Run" special rules.

Alternately, you can just have them set as Tanks instead of walkers but give them special rules to let them move or shoot like walkers. Which may be a better idea depending on your view on them.

I might give the Revenant weak close combat abilities, but there's no way the Intrepid could fight in close combat, so I'm probably going to make a special rule where it counts as a Tank but uses Walker movement and shooting.

Perhaps, S6 power weapons are nothing to laugh at but being one attack each I can see your point. I still think the 4 inch coherency thing would cause some confusion especially when involving multiple units of marauders. But I guess some play testing would be required to fine tune them.

Taken into consideration. However, I don't think that the whole power fist thing really fits them, as they're really just oversized exoskeletons. If you put one of these things in a Space Hulk you're asking for a casualty.

- Special Intelligence Bureau is an interesting concept. I think they are actually a bit lacking through, while great against psykers, they don't really bring anything else to the table. Maybe some sort of weapon that weakens invulnerable saves or maybe even powers of their own. Its differcult to imagine an army requesting help from a government agency unless they are really powerful in what they do.

This is something I've heard multiple times, that they don't really seem to be worth taking. Might you have some suggestions?

- The Spectre scares me. A walker that will be assaulting practically anything on the board on turn two (even possible for a turn 1 assault if the planets align just right) is a scary thought for anything that doesn't have a weapon at least at strength 7 which is a lot of different armies. Plus with a power weapon I don't see much stopping these guys in said armies. Granted a Space Marine with a power fist isn't going to have any problems with these.

I might reduce the front armour to 11 then, that makes it a bit more vulnerable in close combat, but Space Marines still can't tear it apart with their bear hands. However, they're not as scary as they may seem. They're typically just good for a charge with the hopes of causing enough casualties to force the enemy to flee. Which actually gives me a good idea; should they be given +D3 attacks on the charge for just this purpose entirely? In regular combat they'll only be able to kill one or two guys a turn and end up just getting locked there forever. However, if they can successfully rout enemies on the charge, it gives them a Cataphract-esque role.

- Long Range Bombardment may need to changed up a bit as the rules you have require Vanguard. Maybe allow Laser Designators to work with these as well.

That's the intent of the rules. You have two spotters who call in the artillery (or an officer who bought the skill). I need to fix this on the Army list.


Oh! My friend gave me a very good idea yesterday. I'll be replacing an ill-conceived character (HK-74) with a new one who is an Imperial sympathizer. This character allows you to use both Imperial and Kae'Moda troops in the same army in a similar manner to the Inquisition codices. Viola! Instant Kae'Moda starter army which can be fielded with a pre-existing army.

[Oberst Viktor Morte]

As per what models I'm using, I'll supply a few examples here:

Models for Black Berets/Tyranid Hunters:
[url]http://www.thewarstore.com/media/ss_size2/ABG2010.jpg[/url]
[url]http://www.rackham-store.com/en/product/1033[/url]
[url]http://www.coolminiornot.com/store/shopimages/products/normal/cor280402.jpg[/url]

Regulars:
[url]http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=45[/url]
[url]http://www.urbanmammoth.co.uk/acatalog/info_34101.html[/url]

Revenant:
[url]http://www.coolminiornot.com/store/shopimages/products/normal/cor280529.jpg[/url]
[url]http://www.coolminiornot.com/store/shopimages/products/normal/COR280534.jpg[/url]
[url]http://www.coolminiornot.com/store/shopimages/products/normal/cor280303.jpg[/url]

Intrepid:
[url]http://www.rackham-store.com/en/product/865[/url]

Valravn:
[url]http://www.rackham.fr/images/stories/AT-43/TH/THEL04__03.jpg[/url]

Other good minis:
[url]http://www.mercsminis.com/Store.php[/url]

I used to have some more, but I can't find them any more. For the most part now I just use Imperial Guardsmen and Space Marines to represent things as needed. The only actual models I own are six o the ones from Resolution games (the first link), so it's not as though I'm anywhere close to fielding an army of them!

[Nabterayl]

Now this is something that I'd not really thought of before, and made the connection over the course of the evolution of the codex, that they literally are these heroic figures such as Space Marine Chapter Masters but are unlikely to behave in the same manner. Again, this is why I enjoy letting new people have a hack at the codex and making me rethink all of it. Officers to a high level are expected to lead 'from the front', but this does not mean that they literally have to be discharging their firearms at the enemy. I think this is a good idea, and I'll work to adjust the stats accordingly.

Yeah, I think "heroism" is a concept that GW frequently conflates that you might not want to. If you asked every soldier in a real-life company, "Who is the baddest mofo in this unit?" they might tell you it's the captain, because he's a mentally tough customer, has successfully led the company through hell, and does it all while fighting from the front. But if you asked instead, "Who is the most likely to rack up the highest kill count?" that'd be another matter - probably that person would be some private or specialist in one of the platoons.

In space marine companies and hunter cadres, the answer to each of those questions should be the same. Even in Imperial Guard armies there's a tendency for the most dangerous man to be the commander. That's pretty weird when you think about it, though. If you want to have a badass soldier figure in the codex (and I'm not saying you should, but if you do) why couldn't that be some random dude in the army, either as an upgrade, or as a separate HQ choice?

See, there-in lies a problem for me. Both of those are technically walkers, but neither one has any close combat capabilities. The easy way to deal with them would be to just tie them up with a single Guardsmen, as neither would really be able to hurt one another. Is there some good way of getting around this?

Just out of curiosity ... are they really less capable in CC than a Sentinel? I mean ... as far as I can tell, the only way a Sentinel can attack in hand to hand combat is by stepping on people (it doesn't even really look like it would be very good at kicking). Are they less CC-capable than that?

Remember that close combat is not just hand to hand combat. Close combat is CQB as well.

[Madness]

To be honest I was kind of scared away by what I saw, the whole thing features too much stuff from too different sources and lacks any sort of global harmony, being a fluff buff I got pretty scared by that, plus there seems to be no coherence with the unit naming system.

[sirrouga]

Missed a day or two but back to annoy.

Tyranid Hunters and Special Intelligence Bureau
These guys are both filling the same role, close combat units. Just one is armed specially against Tyranids and the other against psykers. I think you will need to change how one squad works all together or give them reasons to have people decide which one is better.

Tyranid Hunters
These guys are armed for close combat but are the only ones able to carry the Conflagration Missile which is a heavy weapon so kinda goes against what they are supposed to be doing. I still think the preferred enemy (Tyranids) should be dropped and the unit renamed into something more general; Head Hunters, Reaper Squad, etc.

Also the more I think about it the more Poisoned Weapons seem to be a good fit. I mean the UltraMarines also had a war against the Tyranids an developed Hellfire rounds. A 4+ poison weapon will work great against all the monstrous creatures and against gaunts you get a re-roll to wound (same strength to toughness). However if you would do poisoned weapons then preferred enemy really has to go since re-rolling all hits and wounds is a bit much, even if it is only against gaunts.

Special Intelligence Bureau
These guys need to be reworked completely in my opinion. They aren't really performing anything really special or providing any real unique ability. Also, make sure you note that the two Avenger Pistols they carry count as twin linked else it doesn't mean a thing since infantry can only fire one gun at a time. Here are a few other ideas I thought up for them...

> Jump Infantry. None of your infantry has the ability to move fast without a transport. And while jump packs won't sit right with the army theme, they could have access to short range teleporters and move the same way the Eldar Warp Spiders do (just make sure they aren't as good in that respect). Your special named character has similar equipment as well so it isn't too far off.

> Snipers. I noticed there is only one unit that can take sniper rifles and those are skimmers. A stealthy sniper unit could be interesting and being the shadowy assassins they are I can see the SIB doing well there.

> Invulnerable Saves. While it doesn't really make them stand out as much, having a decent invulnerable save does boost what they do.

> Psykers themselves. Give access to one or two powers and they are automatically unique.

> Covert Ops. Drop this ability from the Black Berets and give it to these guys then change it to the way Lictors currently work (appear anywhere but can not move or assault that turn). Black Berets already have Infiltrate and lots of other goodies.

Spectres
Yeah I'm beating a dead horse here but I can see these things (even with their high cost) take out entire armies of Necrons, Tau, and maybe even Imperial Guard. A turn 1 or 2 furious charged Walker is something really dangerous that many armies have to spend tons of points just to have a chance against. I mean any IG squad that doesn't have a power fist or at least grenades (krak or melta) have no hope against these guys if it touches them (and grenades only hit walkers on a 6). Against Necrons these are even deadly since we would have one turn to try for pen hits and then only hope for enough glances (if we took those upgrades). Tau have no close combat defense so whatever gets charged it is practically gone.

Regulars Fire Team
No Transport options?

Currently reading over the special characters so next time I'll touch on them a bit.

[Oberst Viktor Morte]

[url]http://www.mediafire.com/?nzw35motmct[/url]

[url]http://www.scribd.com/doc/27571787/Codex-Kae-Moda-Republic-IV[/url]

Updated the PDF again, a lot this time. I took a lot of suggestions and made a lot of changes here, though haven't gotten around to fixing everything yet. Regulars have been greatly redone and simplified, and consequently I like them now and think that they're a good, solid Troops choice. I didn't get a chance to respond to the newer posts but I did take your suggestions home with me and looked through them while I was working on the codex. Here's a brief list of the corrections made:

- History erased. For sneak peak on new history, look up at the second post in the thread for my summary.

- Summary page created. I'll tell you what, I didn't realize how necessary it was, but I love it now. Makes it really easy to look up stats for units and weapons now (so it serves it's purpose, good!)

- Consistency improved. Now units should have the same stats and rules everywhere in the codex.

- Stats tinkered with. Officers and vehicles took the hits here, with reduced statistics. Points to be adjusted later.

- Reguars redone, with clear and simplified rules and stats. Now with the ability to take Stalkers as transports. Humvee convoy anyone?

- Characters adjusted slightly, not finished here. White Masque and Simo Spitz removed entirely.

- Many weapons adjusted, mostly lowered in Strength or reduced in range. Not entirely done tinkering here.

- Intrepid given specially Lumbering Walker rule, and Gauss cannon given new, unique rule.

- Shaped Charges now act as Melta Bombs.

- Conflagration missile (going to need a new name now, I suppose) now S3, Poison (4+), Large blast

- All Marauder special rules redone.

There are still yet a bunch of little other things, and a bunch of little things still yet to do. After having redone the Regulars, I'm going to take a look over other units and try to make them more simplified, in rules and in options.

I'll get to responding to all new posts as soon as I get a chance. Thanks again for the responses and help you guys are giving me.


Also, I made a post with links to models that I'd use for different units in the army, but for some reason it said that it'd have to be approved before the post could be made. I have no idea why. At any rate, it's in limbo right now until the moderators let it be posted.

[Oberst Viktor Morte]

Yeah, I think "heroism" is a concept that GW frequently conflates that you might not want to. If you asked every soldier in a real-life company, "Who is the baddest mofo in this unit?" they might tell you it's the captain, because he's a mentally tough customer, has successfully led the company through hell, and does it all while fighting from the front. But if you asked instead, "Who is the most likely to rack up the highest kill count?" that'd be another matter - probably that person would be some private or specialist in one of the platoons.

In space marine companies and hunter cadres, the answer to each of those questions should be the same. Even in Imperial Guard armies there's a tendency for the most dangerous man to be the commander. That's pretty weird when you think about it, though. If you want to have a badass soldier figure in the codex (and I'm not saying you should, but if you do) why couldn't that be some random dude in the army, either as an upgrade, or as a separate HQ choice?

The Colonel, the most powerful officer, is now:

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD	SV
3	4	3	3	3	3	2	10	3+

And he is the only officer that does not have two wounds. Also, all Commanders get two attacks which doesn't seem that unreasonable in the grander scope of 40K. Your thoughts on overall stats for officers?

Just out of curiosity ... are they really less capable in CC than a Sentinel? I mean ... as far as I can tell, the only way a Sentinel can attack in hand to hand combat is by stepping on people (it doesn't even really look like it would be very good at kicking). Are they less CC-capable than that?

Remember that close combat is not just hand to hand combat. Close combat is CQB as well.

They'll probably look something like this:
[url]http://www.infinitythegame.com/infinity_ENG/images/stories/BluePics/TsyklonSputniksweb.jpg[/url]
And therefore their best way to combat something is to either tackle it (which would damage the Revenant as well) or try and turn fast enough to shoot an enemy at point blank range. That enemy would probably also realize that they'd do well to not stand directly in front of its gun. Right now they're about as close combat-able as a Sentinel, minus one Strength.

To be honest I was kind of scared away by what I saw, the whole thing features too much stuff from too different sources and lacks any sort of global harmony, being a fluff buff I got pretty scared by that, plus there seems to be no coherence with the unit naming system.

That's... nice. Thank you?

What do you mean by that it "features too much stuff from too different sources" and by that it lacks any "global harmony"? I really can't improve upon anything if you don't provide any feedback. In what ways are things wrong and in what ways can I improve them? Also, no coherence with the unit naming system? Sorta like how Predator, Land Raider, Rhino, Scout squad, and Terminators all follow this great coherent naming system?

Tyranid Hunters and Special Intelligence Bureau
These guys are both filling the same role, close combat units. Just one is armed specially against Tyranids and the other against psykers. I think you will need to change how one squad works all together or give them reasons to have people decide which one is better.

Tyranid Hunters
These guys are armed for close combat but are the only ones able to carry the Conflagration Missile which is a heavy weapon so kinda goes against what they are supposed to be doing. I still think the preferred enemy (Tyranids) should be dropped and the unit renamed into something more general; Head Hunters, Reaper Squad, etc.

Also the more I think about it the more Poisoned Weapons seem to be a good fit. I mean the UltraMarines also had a war against the Tyranids an developed Hellfire rounds. A 4+ poison weapon will work great against all the monstrous creatures and against gaunts you get a re-roll to wound (same strength to toughness). However if you would do poisoned weapons then preferred enemy really has to go since re-rolling all hits and wounds is a bit much, even if it is only against gaunts.

I'd like to keep them as Tyranid Hunters. Tyranids are a big deal to the Kae'Moda, and they wouldn't have such a close-combat oriented unit if it weren't for them. I might opt to use the poisoned weapons, as that's a pretty good idea. However, I might also remake them so that they can be used for close combat or ranged fighting, depending on how you gear them.

Special Intelligence Bureau
These guys need to be reworked completely in my opinion. They aren't really performing anything really special or providing any real unique ability. Also, make sure you note that the two Avenger Pistols they carry count as twin linked else it doesn't mean a thing since infantry can only fire one gun at a time. Here are a few other ideas I thought up for them...

> Jump Infantry. None of your infantry has the ability to move fast without a transport. And while jump packs won't sit right with the army theme, they could have access to short range teleporters and move the same way the Eldar Warp Spiders do (just make sure they aren't as good in that respect). Your special named character has similar equipment as well so it isn't too far off.

> Snipers. I noticed there is only one unit that can take sniper rifles and those are skimmers. A stealthy sniper unit could be interesting and being the shadowy assassins they are I can see the SIB doing well there.

> Invulnerable Saves. While it doesn't really make them stand out as much, having a decent invulnerable save does boost what they do.

> Psykers themselves. Give access to one or two powers and they are automatically unique.

> Covert Ops. Drop this ability from the Black Berets and give it to these guys then change it to the way Lictors currently work (appear anywhere but can not move or assault that turn). Black Berets already have Infiltrate and lots of other goodies.

Teleporters I'm against. It's supposed to be his special thing and I don't want to take it away. Snipers is a good idea. I also need to put more Sniper rifles out there anyway. As they are now, they have a 5+ normal save, 6+ invul, and FNP. So in the end they're sorta survivable, but not entirely. Psykers in the army I'm against as that the Kae'Moda themselves are pretty hardcore against Psykers. However, allowing for the option to have a bound psyker wouldn't be too bad of an idea (much the same as a bound daemon-host).

Spectres
Yeah I'm beating a dead horse here but I can see these things (even with their high cost) take out entire armies of Necrons, Tau, and maybe even Imperial Guard. A turn 1 or 2 furious charged Walker is something really dangerous that many armies have to spend tons of points just to have a chance against. I mean any IG squad that doesn't have a power fist or at least grenades (krak or melta) have no hope against these guys if it touches them (and grenades only hit walkers on a 6). Against Necrons these are even deadly since we would have one turn to try for pen hits and then only hope for enough glances (if we took those upgrades). Tau have no close combat defense so whatever gets charged it is practically gone.

I see what you mean about that. Make them 11-11-11 or 11-11-10 then? I'm definitely against them having FA of 10 though. I can see how these would be so deadly against other armies, even if all they do is tie up enemy squads, which can be equally bad against armies like Necrons or Tau anyway. I'll soften them up a little bit, but not too much.

Regulars Fire Team
No Transport options?

They do now, and I like how it turned out. It makes them able to be mechanized convoy, much the same as a modern Platoon in Humvees would be. I like the effect very much.