One of the things I enjoy the most about Killzone is the amount of customization available when it comes to putting together your Special Ops team. There are so many options that it is really easy to personalize your team and make each member feel like a unique individual. Add to this the strong narrative element found in games of Killzone and your team naturally becomes a characterful cast of either protagonists or antagonists. For today's 10.10.10 blitz I wanted to assemble a new team with as much emphasis on this as I could muster. After much procrastination and dithering I finally settled on making a Rogue Trader accompanied by his closest associates.I came up short in my push to get everything painted and did not finish in time for today's festivities. It was a fun few days trying to make it and I'm still happy with how much I was able to get done. What follows therefore is a review of my progress and some notes about each team member with details on likely wargear, abilities and such. I made it as WYSIWYG as I could without resorting to any conversion work, though there are a few cases where I deviated from this standard and these are pointed out as well. To represent my Rogue Trader crew I am using the Witch Hunters Codex rules for the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor and Henchmen.
Rogue Trader Scorpio
Rogue Trader Henri Marcellus Scorpio (Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor): laspistol, power weapon, digital weapons, frag grenades, melta bombs, Psychic Power - Scourging, Refractor Field. 81 points. I wanted my team leader to be armed with something stronger than a laspistol upgraded with either the Twin-Linked or Extra Shot specialist skill as I had initially considered. That's why I gave him the psychic attack Scourging with the WIP fluff explanation that it represents his fancy dueling pistols, perhaps psychically attuned to him or coming from some other exotic alien technology. Of course he sports the mandatory Jokaero digital weaponry as well. : )
Dietrich (left) and Prugg (right)
Arch-Militant Xiomara Dietrich (Acolyte Henchman): bolt pistol, power weapon, frag grenades, General Skill: 6+ invulnerable save. 25 points. Scorpio's dodgy bodyguard, armed with a big pistol and a nasty power spike.
Void Master Gustav Prugg (Acolyte Henchman): plasma pistol, close combat weapon, frag grenades, +1 Toughness. 39 points.
Lovejoy (left) and Sphek (right)
Father Bastian Lovejoy, Imperial Missionary (Warrior Henchman): hell pistol, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Specialist Skill: Twin-Linked. 20 points. In this case I couldn't figure out how to switch out the single hell pistol for something more appropriate based on the model I'm using. I'm therefore going with the fluff explanation that they are a pair of autopistols loaded up with armor piercing rounds.
Senior Armsman Vigo Sphek (Warrior Henchman): shotgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, +1 Strength. 25 points. I think his bionic arm is a cool little detail and gave him the stat upgrade to go along with it.
Lamont (left) and Sprungfeld (right)
Gun-Servitor Lamont (Warrior Henchman): heavy bolter. 25 points.
Chief Steward Hans Sprungfeld (Acolyte Henchman): laspistol, power weapon, frag and krak grenades. 21 points. Scorpio's personal valet and wielder of a huge sword.
Dauterive (left) and Niku (right)
"Doc" Rolando Dauterive (Chirurgeon Henchman): laspistol, close combat weapon, medipack. 20 points.
Trade Seneschal Serpi Niku (Sage Henchman): laspistol and close combat weapon. 10 points.
Lord Winthrop
Lord Winthrop, Cyber-Mastiff (Death-Cult Assassin): power weapon and additional close combat weapon. 40 points.
Alright, that's what I've got so far for my Rogue Trader crew. If you tally up the points for each model you will see that the total is well above the recommended Killzone ceiling of 250. There are also eight total henchmen but an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor is limited to a maximum of six. My plan is to select the actual team members from this group with consideration for the point size, story, or type of game I want to play. It should usually then just be a matter of adding or subtracting a piece of wargear or a specialist skill for the final points balancing, thus giving me what I hope will be a very versatile team.
Here are some sample lists based off of the above descriptions. Modifications are noted but otherwise assume everything else is as described for each model.
200 Points: Scorpio, Dietrich, Prugg, Lovejoy, Sphek, Niku.
225 Points: Scorpio w/ +1 Leadership, Dietrich, Prugg, Lovejoy, Sphek, Dauterive.
250 Points: Scorpio, Dietrich, Prugg, Lovejoy, Sphek, Dauterive, Lord Winthrop.
I will post updates as I finish painting these models. I also have plans for a rival team to match up against these guys and will begin working on it after finishing this group. So expect more Killzone to come. Blitz on!
