My Chaos Space Marine codex WIP

[Zeruel13]

Some may remember a while ago I wrote my own 5th edition Chaos Space Marine codex. Lately I've been in the mood to revisit it and now after seeing the direction all the 5th edition books have taken I'm approaching it in a new way. This thread is to show my progress and get some feedback as well as allow everyone to play test it if they like. So to start if off I'm going to list some of the special rules for the book and the entries for the non-special character HQs and any rules that pertain to them.
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MARKS OF CHAOS

Mark of Khorne
Models with the Mark of Khorne add +1 to their weapon skills and attacks characteristics.

Mark of Slaanesh
Models with the Mark of Slaanesh add +1 to their initiative characteristic and gain the Fearless universal special rule.

Mark of Tzeentch
Models with the Mark of Tzeentch gain a 5+ invulnerable save. If the model already has an invulnerable save then it is improved by 1 (a 5+ invulnerable save becoming a 4+ and so on).

Mark of Nurgle
Models with the Mark of Nurgle add +1 to their toughness characteristic. This bonus is ignored when calculating Instant Death. In addition the model has the Feel No Pain universal special rule. As they do not have a toughness characteristic Dreadnoughts given the Mark of Nurgle do not gain the feel no pain special rule and instead add +1 to their armour value on each facing.
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ICONS OF CHAOS

A unit arriving from reserves by teleportation will not scatter if it arrives within 6" of a Chaos Icon. Chaos Icons are also used in the summoning of Daemons. If a unit is given a Mark of Chaos they may only take the corresponding god's Icon. A unit with no Mark of Chaos may select any icon they wish.

Personal Icon
A Personal Icon simply acts as a beacon for teleporting units and summoning of Daemons. It has no further special effect. If a model with a personal icon has a Mark of Chaos than the personal icon is counted as an icon of the same god for the purpose of summoning daemons only.

Icon of Chaos Glory
A unit including a model with an Icon of Chaos Glory may re-roll failed morale and pinning tests so long as the icon bearer remains in play.

Icon of Khorne
A unit including a model with an Icon of Khorne counts as having the Counter-attack universal special rule so long as the bearer remains in play.

Icon of Slaanesh
A unit including a model with an Icon of Slaanesh counts as having the Fleet universal special rule so long as the bearer remains in play.

Icon of Tzeentch
A unit including a model with an Icon of Tzeentch targeted by an enemy psychic power will cancel that psychic power on a D6 roll of 4+ so long as the bearer remains in play.

Icon of Nurgle
Each turn a model carrying an Icon of Nurgle may cast the Nurgle's Rot psychic power without the need for a psychic test. This power cannot be cancelled in any way such as enemy psychic hoods or other similar wargear or special rules. Units immune to the effects of psychic powers are still unaffected.
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SPECIAL RULES

The Legions of Chaos
Most of Chaos Warbands can trace their heritage back to the original nine Legions to side with Horus 10,000 years before. While they may not longer function as a full Legion as in those days of legend they do maintain the doctrines of War unique to their Legion and Primarch. A Chaos Space Marine army may choose to hail from one of these Legions choosing from the list Legions below applying any special rules and restrictions to the army list.

The Black Legion: Having embraced Chaos in its every form the Black Legion are the most varied Legion. They use the Army list as normal and receive no additional special rules.

The World Eaters: Any model with the Exalted One special rule must have the Mark of Khorne. Any unit in the army with the Mark of Khorne gains the Scout universal special rule though they may not make use of the Outflank special rule.

The Emperor's Children: Any model with the Exalted One special rule must have the Mark of Slaanesh. All Chaos Lords, Sorcerer Lords, Aspiring Champions and Exalted Champions gain the Warp Scream special rule (see Noise Marines).

The Thousand Sons: Any model with the Exalted One special rule must have the Mark of Tzeentch. When rolling to see who chooses deployment zones a Thousand Sons army adds +1 to the die roll. In addition they may re-roll the die when attempting to sieze the initiative.

The Death Guard: Any model with the Exalted One special rule must have the Mark of Nurgle. Each Rhino dedicated transport taken in the army takes up a Fast Attack choice. All models with the Mark of Nurgle have the Creeping Death special rule (see Plague Marines).

The Night Lords: No model with the Exalted One special rule may take a Mark of Chaos. All models without a Mark of Chaos gain the Night Vision universal special rule and Terrifying Visage daemonic gift free of charge, not counting against the normal maximum number of daemonic gifts they are normally able to take.

The Alpha Legion: No model with the Exalted One special rule may take a Mark of Chaos. All elite and troop units without a Mark of Chaos gain the Infiltrate universal special rule so long as they have not taken a dedicated transport and are not equipped with Terminator Armour or riding a Chaos Bike.

Word Bearers: No model with the Exalted One special rule may take a Mark of Chaos. All Chaos Lords, Exalted Champions and Aspiring Champions in the army gain the Demagogue special rule and are equipped with a personal icon free of charge.

Iron Warriors: No model with the Exalted One special rule may take a Mark of Chaos. All units in the army without a Mark of Chaos gain the Siege Specialist special rule.

Exalted One
No two models in the same army with the Exalted One special rule may be equipped with the same combination of weapons, psychic powers or daemonic gifts. In addition if a unit with the Exalted One special rule is given a Mark of Chaos the cult unit of that god becomes a Troops Choice so long as they are not equipped with Terminator Armour. The cult units are as follows

Mark of Khorne: Khorne Berserkers
Mark of Slaanesh: Noise Marines
Mark of Tzeentch: Thousand Sons
Mark of Nurgle: Plague Marines

Infernal Pacts
Chaos Sorcerers draw much power from making pacts with the denizens of the Warp. Though such arrangements yield great power it is always at a cost as the Daemon will eventually collect on its share of the bargain. A model with the Infernal Pacts special rule my always re-roll a single D6 when taking a psychic test. Keep track of the amount of times the models makes such re-rolls. If the re-rolled result is equal to or exceeds the amount of times the model has made use of the re-roll than the psyker pays the price and suffers a number of perils of the warp attacks equal to the amount of times it has utilized this re-roll. If the model survives these attacks they may no longer make use of this rule for the remainder of the game.

Siege Specialist
A model with the Siege specialist special rule may choose one piece of ruins in their deployment zone at the start of the game. The cover saved conferred by the chosen ruin is improved by 1 for the remainder of the game. No ruin may be improved in this way more than once no matter how many units with the Siege Specialist rule are included in the army. In addition the model with this special rule or any unit they have joined add +1 to their rolls on the damage chart when targeting buildings and may re-roll difficult and dangerous terrain rolls for moving through ruins and minefields.

Demagogue
A model with the Demagogue special rule is a fierce orator of Chaos spurring those followers of the dark gods to heightened levels of bloodshed and steeling their resolve and dark faith. Any friendly Chaos units without the Daemon special rule within 6" of a model with the Demagogue rule are Stubborn.

Unholy Fury
A Dark Apostle and any unit he joins gain the Furious Charge universal special rule.

Daemon
A model with the Daemon special rule has the Eternal Warrior and Fearless universal special rules and is effected by any attack or wargear that specifically effects daemons.
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GIFTS OF CHAOS

Terrifying Visage
All enemy units within 6" of a model with Terrifying Visage suffer -1 to their leadership.

Unholy Might
The model adds +1 to their strength characteristic.

Empyreal Aura
The model has a 4+ invulnerable save.

Daemon Armour
The model has a 2+ armour save.

Daemonic Flight
The model may choose to move as jump infantry and gains the ability to arrive by deep strike.

Infernal Rune
The model has the Eternal Warrior universal special rule.
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Okay so that's it for rules for now. I'll post all the special wargear rules later but for now here's the HQ entries.

[khani]

epic zeruel, whenever you come out with a codex its is awesome, i will have a read through and i will have a playtest for you tommorow at my friends house. i hope this goes well!
edit: i think something nice would be if you are taking a word bearers army you may equip a unit with a apostle, pretty much a sergeant that grants stubborn and replaces the normal aspiring champion. and that the normal HQ dark apostle turns into a lord apostle and gains +1 WS and +1I or something along those lines. you have a lot of solid HQ's so why don't you make it that some of the armies that really are affected by a certain hQ (eg. warsmiths and iron hands) they can upgrade them in some way for taking them. that way if you are running a list with a specific theme you can improve them and give you an actual bonus for running a theme. also i think that a night lord army may take any HQ with a jump pack that grants his attached unit stealth or scout for free
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[Zeruel13]

One last one for tonight too, the Chosen and Possessed.
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CHOSEN SPECIAL RULES

The Lord's Chosen
Chosen are those warriors hand picked by the Lord of their warband and in his presence they will go to great lengths to stay in his favour and secure their position within his inner circle. If joined by a unit with the Exalted One rule this unit gains the Stubborn universal special rule and can never become pinned including voluntarily going to ground.

Favoured of the Gods
Chosen see themselves as the Chosen of the gods and destined for greatness. Their complete faith in their own superiority leaves little doubt in their heart that they will triumph over all opposition. Chosen may always re-roll failed morale and pinning tests they are required to take.
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POSSESSED SPECIAL RULES

Daemonkin
The daemons inhabiting a possessed marine commonly reshape their shared form to better suit their needs. At the start of each game each unit of Possessed must choose two of the following special rules.

- Fleet
- Feel No Pain
- Rending (close combat attacks only)
- Furious Charge
- Hit and Run
- Stealth

Because of the nature of Chaos few possessed will display the same mutations and so no unit of Possessed may choose the same combination of special rules as another unit in the army.

Hellfire
Some Possessed develop the ability to hurl flaming bolts of pure chaos energy. A model with Hellfire has a shooting attack with the following profile

Range 12" / Strength 4 / AP 6 / Assault 2

Iridescent Corona
The Possessed is wreathed in warp flames, though as often this will manifest as toxic fumes or clouds of spectral gas that attack the core nervous system. Whatever form it takes at the start of each assault phase before any blows are struck all enemy models in base contact with a model with an Iridescent Corona take an automatic strength 4 hit with armour saves allowed as normal.

Void Blade
The limbs of some Possessed effortlessly slip between the material and immaterial and as such armour is little proof against their attack. Attacks from a model with void blades ignore armour saves.
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[Zeruel13]

i think something nice would be if you are taking a word bearers army you may equip a unit with a apostle, pretty much a sergeant that grants stubborn and replaces the normal aspiring champion. and that the normal HQ dark apostle turns into a lord apostle and gains +1 WS and +1I or something along those lines. you have a lot of solid HQ's so why don't you make it that some of the armies that really are affected by a certain hQ (eg. warsmiths and iron hands) they can upgrade them in some way for taking them. that way if you are running a list with a specific theme you can improve them and give you an actual bonus for running a theme. also i think that a night lord army may take any HQ with a jump pack that grants his attached unit stealth or scout for free
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Check again, Aspiring Champions and Exalted Champions (squad leaders for Chosen and Terminators) in a Word Bearers army DO get the Demagogue ability so do give their unit (and any other unit within 6") the Stubborn rule.

Also keep in mind every Legion will have at least 1 Special Character, many of the abilities you listed will be available there (such as a Night Lord Raptor Lord, more powerful Word Bearers' Dark Apostle and more powerful Iron Warrior Warsmith). I have a lot of cool stuff coming you'll just have to wait and see.

[khani]

hey zeruel, i know you have already worked on this a lot but if the legion specific troop choices are elite how many troop choices will their be? will be just cultists and a normal squad or are you intending to do something to mix it up a little bit. also the armory seems quite huge, is the post describing all the rules for them coming soon or might i have to wait a while longer?
edit: thanks, i just love my wordbearers. and the codex is looking very good so far, is the dark mechanicum going to make a appearance?
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[Zeruel13]

Troops will just be Chaos Space Marines and a unit of Cultists. The idea is Marked Lord all unlock other elite units as troops. Also yes the list of wargear items and what they do is coming. Right now they're all just locked away up top, in the process of typing them out.

Oh and no, no Dark Mechanicus exactly. There may yet be a few new Daemon Engines but that's about the extent of it.

[khani]

daemon engines would make me happy, i am quite fed up of GW sticking chaos on the start of all their space marine tanks and then making that their heavy support, of course we do have defilers and obliterators but i hate feeling like evil marines, not chaos marines, just the ultra marines slightly tantrum prone brothers

looking forward to the troop choices and wargear. if you can get it up by tommorow or the day after i can write up a list and play a quick game this sunday

edit
also with the icon of chaos you said if a unit arrives into play by teleportation, being a bit nit picky but normally your codex's are very proffesional and i thought you might want that fixed
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[Zeruel13]

Okay here we go with wargear and weapons
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KHORNE WARGEAR

Skull Rune
A model with a Skull rune has a 2+ invulnerable save against wounds caused by force weapons and psychic powers.

Talisman of Burning Blood
A Model with a Talisman of Burning Blood has +D3 attacks on the charge instead of the normal +1 and the Furious Charge universal special rule.

Juggernaut of Khorne
Daemonic Steed. A model mounted on a Juggernaut of Khorne gains +1 strength, +1 toughness, +1 wound and +1 attack. In addition he may assault 12" instead of the normal 6" but he may never embark in a transport.

SLAANESH WARGEAR

Doom Siren
A Doom Siren is a weapon with the following profile

Range Template* / Strength 5 / AP D6 / Assault 1

*Place the template so that the wider end is touching the firing model and not the narrow end as normal.

Combat Drugs
At the start of each game roll a D6 and consult the chart below. All units in the army equipped with Combat Drugs gain the result.

1 - Fleet
2 - +1 Weapon Skill
3 - +1 Strength
4 - Re-roll to wound in close combat
5 - +1 Attack
6 - Feel No Pain

Steed of Slaanesh
Daemonic Mount. A model riding a Steed of Slaanesh changes its unit type to Cavalry and gains +1 attack. In addition the model is unaffected by difficult and dangerous terrain.

TZEENTCH WARGEAR

Inferno Bolts
Any Boltgun, Bolt Pistol, Twin-linked Bolter and Bolter portion of a Combi-weapon gains +1 strength and the rending special rule.

Third Eye of Tzeentch
A model with a Third Eye of Tzeentch may re-roll one single D6 each turn.

Talisman of Tzeentch
Enemy Psykers within 24" of a model equipped with a Talisman of Tzeentch must roll an additional D6 when taking a psychic test and discard the lowest result.

Disc of Tzeentch
Daemonic Steed. A model with a Disc of Tzeentch may choose to move as jump infantry and gains +1 attack and the Hit and Run special rule. He counts as two models for transport purposes.

NURGLE WARGEAR

Blight Grenades
The model and any unit he joins count as being equipped with defensive grenades.

Nurgling Infestation
A model with a Nurgling Infestation gains an additional D6 attacks resolved at strength 3 and initiative 3 and gaining no benefit from any of the special rules from any weapons the model is equipped with.

Palanquin of Nurgle
Daemonic Steed. A model riding a Palanquin of Nurgle gains +2 wounds and counts as having a Nurgling Infestation. If he already has a Nurgling Infestation roll 2D6 for the number of attacks. He counts as two models for transport purposes.
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DAEMON WEAPONS

The daemon within a daemon weapon and the weapon's wielder are constantly at a battle of wills for control. In the heat of combat when the wielder is most distracted and the weapon is vitalized on the vital fluids of slain enemies it may attempt to take control from its master. In each assault phase in which a model inflicts at least one unsaved wound with a daemon weapon he must pass a leadership test or suffer a perils of the warp.

Warp Glaive
Constantly hungering for the life essence of mortals the daemon imbued in a Warp Glaive strikes down to the very soul where it feeds greedily. A Warp Glaive is a two handed power weapon. Models suffering a wound from a Warp Glaive must re-roll successful Invulnerable Saves.

Dark Blade
Imbued with a powerful daemon of chaos the Dark Blade typically takes the form of a great sword, axe or scythe the colour of the blackest void that yields no reflection. It radiates raw chaos energy and imbues its wielder with malevolent power. The Dark Blade is treated as a power weapon grants the user +2 strength.

Berserker Glaive
Mark of Khorne only. Imbued with the angered essence of a raging Bloodthirster a Berserker Glaive has an insatiable thirst for blood and carnage driving its wielder to new heights of bloodshed and violence with each taste of the enemy's vital fluids. A Berserker Glaive is a two handed power weapon that confers +1 strength to its wielder. In addition if the wielder causes any unsaved wounds he immediately makes additional attacks equal to the number of unsaved wounds inflicted. Any further unsaved wounds do not generate additional attacks.

Rapier of Ecstasy
Mark of Slaanesh only. A slender, elongated blade, the Rapier of Ecstasy strikes against the central nervous system of its victim, sending them in a ecstatic convulsion of both pain and agony raising the target's consciousness from their body while the daemon within feeds on their tormented soul. A Rapier of Ecstasy is a power weapon. Models suffering an unsaved wound from the Rapier must pass a toughness test or suffer instant death.

Death Screamer
Mark of Tzeentch only. Usually taking the form of a flaming sword whose embers flicker in multi-coloured spectral light a Death Screamer can cast gouts of magical blue flames into the midst of the enemy before its mutating effects reduce its foes to mewling spawn things in the swirling melee to follow. The Death Screamer is treated as a power weapon that may re-roll failed rolls to wound in close combat. In addition it may be used in the shooting phase with the following profile;

Range Template / Strength 4 / AP4 / Assault 1

Man Reaper
Mark of Nurgle only. A Man Reaper usually takes the form of a rusted and corrupted scythe who's blade has been dipped in the filth seeping from the very throne of Nurgle, absorbing the essence of one of the daemons that cavorts there. The large and somewhat cumbersome blade can be swung in large arcs catching all its path where even the smallest cut from instantly becomes infected. The Man Reaper is a two handed power weapon. A model wielding a Man Reaper gains an additional D6 attacks in each assault phase but strikes at -1 initiative. All hits from the Man Reaper are poisoned (4+).

[khani]

Very nice , I can see that a talisman of burning blood, juggernought and berzerkers glaive would be a fearsome combo indeed
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[Chief]

Hey Z, how's progress on this codex coming?
Of course you can't rush genius, but I can't wait to see the finished product So far it's looking fantastic, and I'd love to be able to try it out.

[Zeruel13]

I've been working on it a bit more. I was preparing for the April 14th MWG tournament the last couple weeks with my Dark Eldar so my time was a little tied up into that. Anything anyone see that they would change or do different thus far?

[BewareOfTom]

just a think I'd do for the mark of nurgle, I'd just have it say "instead, for vehicles they add +1 to each armour facing (ie: rhino would have FA 12, SA 12, BA 11)"

just a little editing thing, I might do through when you do more and add in things like that

[Zeruel13]

just a think I'd do for the mark of nurgle, I'd just have it say "instead, for vehicles they add +1 to each armour facing (ie: rhino would have FA 12, SA 12, BA 11)"

The Dreadnought is the only vehicle profile model in the army that can take a Mark of Chaos. The other vehicles can be dedicated to each god but those bonuses will all be different from the normal Marks.

[Chief]

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Infernal Pacts
Chaos Sorcerers draw much power from making pacts with the denizens of the Warp. Though such arrangements yield great power it is always at a cost as the Daemon will eventually collect on its share of the bargain. A model with the Infernal Pacts special rule my always re-roll a single D6 when taking a psychic test. Keep track of the amount of times the models makes such re-rolls. If the re-rolled result is equal to or exceeds the amount of times the model has made use of the re-roll than the psyker pays the price and suffers a number of perils of the warp attacks equal to the amount of times it has utilized this re-roll. If the model survives these attacks they may no longer make use of this rule for the remainder of the game.

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Perhaps I am over-thinking this, but wouldn't the highlighted sentence mean the first use of the abilitiy triggers the effect automatically? So basically, what this ability boils down to is that once per game you can take a perils of the warp to re-roll one of the dice for the psykic test.

I think what you might have been going for was if the re-rolled die achieved a result less than or equal to the number of uses, then you would suffer the perils, etc.

[Zeruel13]

I think what you might have been going for was if the re-rolled die achieved a result less than or equal to the number of uses, then you would suffer the perils, etc.

Facepalm , you are correct sir. I blame this on the fact that half of this is typed out between the hours of midnight and 4:00 AM.