Tactical Command
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[Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
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Author:  jimmyzimms [ Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:26 pm ]
Post subject:  [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Hey folks here's a taste of a way out there list for representing an Imperial Penal Legion force in epic. Pulled out of the Epic:Battle Tactics book we're working on as a bit of a preview for you folks. This is an army where destroying your own units is par course to getting them even into assault range. Where waves of untrained, ill equipped scum and proscribed mutants are herded in front of your tanks as meat shields. Where the hopeless strap explosives on themselves to rush the enemy hoping to gain salvation from the God Emperor for their transgressions. Where cruel harsh taskmasters and commissars will detonate explosive collars on any of the rabble that hesitate to run towards the guns of the enemy (using a pistol would be a waste of the Emperors bolt-shells).

Don't worry about losing, the Imperium is vast and you'll certainly not be missed...



notes: updated 2016-1-19
-Corrected Taskmaster notes to remove reference to Heavy flamer
-Corrected Dirty Tricks to work in FF and CC
-Included note for Suicide Martyrs to indicate they are removed when the MW attack is used
-Suicide Martyrs have MW5+ Suicide Vests
-Punisher have Heavy Flamers on Sponsons now
-Removed Abhuman reference to Renzied
-Removed Vultures
-Replaced Manticores with Bombards
-Due to Apoc, added rolling prison cellblock monster thing
-Swapped demonisher for thunderer. Made a straight 2 unit addition not replacement

notes: updated 2017-2-13
-Corrected hotshot lasgun on Last Chancers
-Corrected erroneous double commissar entry (they're +25 points in this list)
-Correct Mass Conveyor was at wrong transport size

notes: up[dated 2021-10-19
-Added cyborgs
-Swapped SHTs for Stormhammer and Stormsword because crappy refit tanks fit the theme better

Attachments:
Penal Legion Army List-v.03.pdf [652.14 KiB]
Downloaded 450 times
Author:  Xenocidal Maniac [ Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Love it love it love it. As you and I discussed, it's high time the Imperium had a "nid" list like this. What's more 40k than throwing wave after wave of cheap human life at the enemy? I just love the grimdark feel of this list. So cool.

Love it!
Author:  Nitpick [ Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Penal squads, human bombs and commissars were the coolest RT 40K minis concepts ever. Horde armies are what makes marines look good B-)
Author:  Dwarf Supreme [ Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
I like it a lot. Do the Suicide Martyrs use the Penal Troopers' CC value?
Author:  jimmyzimms [ Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Yupper!

Pretty excited to have some feedback on this. I was on the fence about adding combat stimulants to this but couldn't come up with a suitable effect for them
Author:  Borka [ Wed Jul 02, 2014 7:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
A very inapproptiate list and not politically correct at all! I think you've nailed the background fluff feeling :D

Could definetly see my self playing it.

A Few notes.

[1] Sucide martyrs units aren't "used" as in removed when doing their attack, right? perhaps give them a 5+ cc value. They seems a bit underwhelming to me with just 6+. Or perhaps retain 6+ but make them a free upgrade.

[2] Task masters have a text in their notes about heavy flamers but lack such a weapon. It could perhaps replace the heavy stubber? Or were they suppost to have both attacks?

[3] Abhumans have frenzid in their notes but I could not find any reference to the rule.

[4] the "dirty tricks" weapon of the last chancers lacks a firepower assault or small arms?

Cheers
Author:  Legion 4 [ Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
I remember the old days with 40K Penal troops. Even an SM2 or E40k lists was posted in Citadel Journal ... And unfortunately with what is going on today, in a very broad sense, life imitates art or vice versa ... A Very interesting list there ! Image And I can't past it up ... my Last Chnacers ... Image ;D
Author:  jimmyzimms [ Wed Jul 02, 2014 4:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Good catches, Borka!

I've updated the OP to contain fixes (specifics outlined there)
Author:  jimmyzimms [ Wed Jul 16, 2014 4:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Nice last chancers you've got there L4. I expect some batreps from you!

So was thinking some more on combat stims. Perhaps a +1 to combat resolution but you take an automatic hit?
Author:  Scutarii [ Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
With Combat Stimms like that you'd need to be careful which units have them. Anyone with no armour just makes the situation worse - you die so give the kill to the enemy AND you get closer to being outnumbered etc. Similarly for any units with poor armour you may have a 5/6 or 2/3 chance of just making the situation worse.
Author:  jimmyzimms [ Mon Jan 18, 2016 3:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
An update coming this way this week. If anyone has any input before the next version, now'd be the time!
Author:  Apocolocyntosis [ Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Here's a scattering of ideas mostly relating to 'flavour', see what sticks:

* Swap the manticores for bombards on artillery. Manticores are swanky'n'tech, bombards are crude, brutual, and easier to maintain/crew … could maybe have field guns as well

* add leman russ thunderers in somewhere (default for russ formation then punisher/demo as upgrade?). They are the cheapest not-good-for-anything-else hulls

* Vultures too advanced, you'd give those to proper regiments not waste on penal legion

* could add in a scout inf formation other than 0–1 last chancers, plenty of room for sneaky convicts/gangers to be scouts … forlorn hopes

* What about a war engine size land transporter? Really truck the masses about, give them no independence, lock them up in mega-transports then let the ramps down at the front, leaves the poor wretches no choice but to serve their emperor.
4+ armour no RA, couple of heavy stubber for point defence/to turn on the penal troops if they go awry.

* more stubbers in general. Swap penal troops to generic small arms not lasguns, to represent mix of autoguns etc

* abrites support formation in addition to command force?

Love the commissar rule. Forward unto death! worries me 'cos counting to 4 is hard, could it just be: any infantry formation that breaks takes D3 extra hits from collar detonations, BUT increase their initiative to 2+ default? (think this give similar feel with less checking)

What about some sort of priest fanatic char? (prison chaplain 40k style trying to impress cult of emperor and chance of salvation)
Author:  Apocolocyntosis [ Mon Jan 18, 2016 8:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Oh and 6 strong hellhound formations. All the cool lists are running them.
Author:  jimmyzimms [ Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Cool!

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* Swap the manticores for bombards on artillery. Manticores are swanky'n'tech, bombards are crude, brutual, and easier to maintain/crew … could maybe have field guns as well

I can do that. How do the field guns differ from the Support Squad with Mortars?

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* add leman russ thunderers in somewhere (default for russ formation then punisher/demo as upgrade?). They are the cheapest not-good-for-anything-else hulls

They've also got TRA so they synergize better with Punishers. I'd probably just do a list swap because
1. that keeps it simple
2. easier to proxy (lots of demolishers out there-not so much the thunderers)
3. it's cheaper and I want cheap but plentiful

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* Vultures too advanced, you'd give those to proper regiments not waste on penal legion
Yeah but there's little AT in this list so I figured they've have to have something. Everyone?

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* could add in a scout inf formation other than 0–1 last chancers, plenty of room for sneaky convicts/gangers to be scouts … forlorn hopes
Last Chancers are now 1 per 1500 (so it scales in games) already (just not posted) so perhaps that works better now? Another idea I've considered was some type of prison gang leader character. It counts against the ratio of prisnors to guards but brings something else to the formation.

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* What about a war engine size land transporter? Really truck the masses about, give them no independence, lock them up in mega-transports then let the ramps down at the front, leaves the poor wretches no choice but to serve their emperor.
4+ armour no RA, couple of heavy stubber for point defence/to turn on the penal troops if they go awry.

What speed, what DC, and what capacity? Part of the thing about WE with lots of troops in them is that it is actually a penalty in the game by
1. Opens them up to be independently targeted
2. Reduces the DC of the formation (often) below what a bunch of cheap transports give
3. Makes them more temping for TK weapons (which is a large part of the theme of the list: Hide behind meat-shields. "yeah you go ahead and shoot that Shadowsword at that Land Transporter now..." :D)

I'll point out this is the discussion happening right now over at the Heavy Mech list. WE transports kinda suck n EA unless they're really tough and then things go wonky in large formations (see DKoK)

Perhaps this can work as a stupid cheap Arbites WE transport prison barge with the option that you can not take it and get a crap ton of trucks (but pay more) instead. Basically it's the prison block itself on tracks. Just crash through the walls and open the jail cells.

"The one with the rifle shoots! The one without, follows him! When the one with the rifle gets killed, the one who is following picks up the rifle and shoots!"

Certainly THAT'S thematic ha! :)

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* more stubbers in general. Swap penal troops to generic small arms not lasguns, to represent mix of autoguns etc
yeah done. Small arms anyways..

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
* abrites support formation in addition to command force?

Kinda what the Taskmaster unit is. I'm good to add a formation though I don't know what it brings on it's own.

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
Love the commissar rule. Forward unto death! worries me 'cos counting to 4 is hard, could it just be: any infantry formation that breaks takes D3 extra hits from collar detonations, BUT increase their initiative to 2+ default? (think this give similar feel with less checking)

The big weakness of this list is that it's character driven so that means sniping those guards is actually a really good way to crap them out. Also they should pretty much be shite at doing anything but double/assault and be crap at say sustaining, overwatch, and marching (too undisciplined)

Apocolocyntosis wrote:
What about some sort of priest fanatic char? (prison chaplain 40k style trying to impress cult of emperor and chance of salvation)

Interesting. How would that be different in effect than commissars? Perhaps leader?
Author:  jimmyzimms [ Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: [Fanlist] Imperial Penal Legion
Apocolocyntosis wrote:
Oh and 6 strong hellhound formations. All the cool lists are running them.

6 strong HH formations are the new black! ;D

100% done and done!
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