Warhammer 40,000 > General 40k and Expansions

Best Way to Introduce a New Unit

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Rarity Declis:
Okay. We've all had this discussion, and been on one side or another.

GW has created this new unit. It's a swanky new unit, with a new look and new rules. Problem is... It isn't mentioned anywhere in the fluff beforehand. Just some design studio chap has created this cool model, and some other chap wrote some cool rules, and now they're releasing it.

However, rather than everyone celebrating that GW has bothered to give support to an army which rarely gets support outside of an update every 7 years, everyone is angry.

One common complaint I hear is that "It isn't in the fluff!" or "It isn't needed!" or "Another STC? How many are there?" or "Did we just lose the keys after 10,000 years and find them now? ARGH!"

So, I ask; How exactly would you prefer for new units to be introduced?

Here are some of the current ways: (And their complaints in brackets)

STC Discovered! ("Argh, just how many are there in the universe?" "Why are they needed for everything?")
Reverse Engineered! ("No, no, NO! The Mechanicum doesn't allow people to tinker with tech, no progress at all is allowed!")
Always had it, in small quantities ("How come it is never mentioned?" "Why is it NOW allowed into Imperial Tech?")
Invention ("It didn't need to be built at all! There's no need for it in the fluff!")
Gifted by another race ("No, no one trusts it, and using it is heresy/betrayal/un-orky or something")

The Man They Call Jayne:
What the fluff says and what actually happens are quite different. OFFICIALLY people arent allowed to tinker with tech, but we know the Black Templars jury rigged a Landraider into the first Crusader, and after everyone was using it the Mechanicus just went along with it because there was bugger all they could do by that that point.

We know that new STC are rare, but they must crop up from time to time, or even one that is just a slight twist on an existing design.

It seems that unofficially, the Imperium is quie an innovative place.

Now on a personal level, I really dont like it.

The necrons and DE got swathes of new stuff, with is fine because the 'Crons were totally reinvented, so no worries, and when the old DE dex came out it was read by candlelight. But the amount of stuff they are just shovelling into the Imperium is mad.

Alpha_Wolf:
Being a 'nid player, new evolution gained from lots of cool alien DNA is cool by me.

I don't care about new units and stuff when GW re-invents an army, that only makes sense, but what I do have a problem with is something overpowered suddenly coming into existence with only a little poorly thought out explanation. with this in mind, STC is fine, but used too often for my tastes. I personally have no problem with the sudden mass production of something cool either, but again it's a little overplayed. What I find to be best is when it's something that was used by a more elite force (like inquisitors, GK, other important people) and becomes more commonplace. that makes it an exotic weapon that never necessarily saw widespread use, due to the horrible filing system of the imperium (Where'd that scroll go? is it in this massive pile of paper, or this one?) only recently became known to most people, and has become a cool new toy for all the rich kids on the block. that excuse also takes a long time to wear out if enough backstory is given each time.

salamut2202:
STC's scarce but even scarce for a galactic empire may be a lot.

Actually I could see many tech marines and priests tinkering and inventing, and this also goes for the gifted from xenos thing too. It's just not allowed is all, but I bet the Inquisition has it's hand full with, once again, a galactic empire: An entire planet is has a new religion, not allowed but still done; trade with the Tau'va, not allowed but still done; hiring Eldar corsairs as mercinaries, not allowed but still done; negotiate with the local Phareon because planet wide genocide isn't your thing, not allowed but probably still done.

The 'it's rare and loosing one is tragic' card is alright if the unit is really expensive or unique or if forgeworld do it so they're actually are rare and it's actually tragic to loose it. Alternatively there's the way the Storm eagle was introduced, 'it's a back line/second wave unit, space marine's are usually shock troops/first into the battle so not many get to see it.'
There's also a similar thing that goes on with the craftworld eldar I've noticed in IA 11, "We found an aspect shrine and old vehicles on a once lost craftworld", "his Phoenix Armour was on a was just found", "It's Eldar tech that craftworlds don't use anymore but Corsiars do" and lastly, my favourite, "Wraith seers aren't seen in battle because they don't go to battle because they're too infinity precious but this one is because of global, flobal wobbly bits".

Wargamer:
One of the reasons the Storm Raven and Storm Talon should be, aside from the fact that they are stupidly ugly and clearly just a way to get more money out of us, is that they are not based on existing STC designs.

Everything in the Space Marine range is built on three vehicles; the Rhino, the Land Raider and the Land Speeder. As stupid as the Land Speeder Storm is, it is at least a Land Speeder.

If GW wants to give everyone fliers (they shouldn't - flyers belong in Epic) then why make the Storm Talon at all? Why not put the Tempest into the codex with some modern tweaks? It's got a comparable armament to the Storm Talon (tl missile launcher and a nose-mounted assault cannon) and the thing already looks like a fighter craft...

So yeah, I don't object much to 'new' units that are just variations on existing themes. I don't like them picking new stuff out of thin air. You may recall that of all my complaints about the Redeemer, none of them were about how we'd never seen it before - it was all (and still is) focused on its armament.

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