Dredging the Grimdark: Ordo Chronos

This post was featured on House of Paincakes. It is a really awesome site, with a lot of great writers and a lot of really cool topics and ideas on gaming. Make sure to check it out, you'll be glad you did!

 This article is a part of a series called "Dredging the Grimdark" that reviews how you can use old, out of production (OOP) Citadel models or odd fluff armies in your games of 7th Edition Warhammer 40k. In this edition, we will be looking into how you can represent the Ordo Chronos on the table top. Have a favorite mini or fluff concept you'd like to play with on the table? Let me know and it could be the focus of a post down the line.

There are no Bad Wolves on Fenris

 By far, the best part of my hobby life (painting, playing, reading, and writing erotic fan ficiton) is that it all happens in the 40k universe. The Warhammer cannon is so revered and beloved that even one sentence can spark the imagination. That is a lot of responsibility for those select few who curate and create the future of our beloved game. And, how do you keep your ego in check with so much at stake?

 You get the feeling that there is this eternal battle at GW Headquarters between the fluff police and the trolls who want to throw stuff into new books to make us all lose our minds. In my head, it must look exactly like the fight scene between Gandalf and Balrog, except with British guys and not inside a mountain. I mean, imagine how it feels to control the destiny of an entire fictional universe. Then, imagine being in a room with ten other people who feel the exact same way. These dudes killed Sly Marbo. Nothing is safe.

The design meeting for the new Eldar codex were INTENSE

So, back in 2013 the Inquisition codex came out. And, in this book was a one page snippet about the Ordo Chronos. If you've never head of them, here is a quick review from Lexicanum:

The Ordo was established to study the anomalous passage of time during interstellar travel through the warp. This is because of the fact that time works differently within the empyrean; in rare circumstances, vessels can arrive at their destination much later than intended ... Tales of such dreadful fates are common knowledge amongst void travelers and accepted as one of the risks of warp travel. In extremely rare circumstances vessels may even arrive back into real space at a time before they actually set out.

Ok, so I'm reading this and I start to get all hot and bothered about my new army of Time Lords. Quickly flipping through the pages on my iPad, I come to the rules for three types of Inquisitors (Ordo Malleus, Hereticus, and Xenos). Wait, where are the rules for the Ordo Chronos? What... the... HELL! That was a tease. I ended up giving up on it, and the whole idea got thrown on the back-burner (right next to that Genestealer army I'm going to start one day).

Fast forward to a couple months ago. I ran across this excellent blog post written by Andy Hoare, who is credited with creating the Ordo Chronos in a Dark Heresy supplement. The whole thing is worth a read, but this snippet in particular piqued my interest:

To return to the discussions I was reading about the Ordo Chronos, some people did seem to view them as one-dimensional, 40k Time Lords. That's not the case at all, as after all, existing to combat the effects of the time distortion doesn't mean they bring it about. However, as Inquisitors they would be just as subject to factionalism as their peers. Perhaps Puritan Ordo Chronos Inquisitors ('Time Hunters'?) ruthlessly hunt down anyone who has fallen prey of a mistimed warp jump, just in case anything happens to alter the Imperium's fate. Equally, perhaps Radical Time Hunters seek to utilise heretical technologies, and consider changing the course of history a valid way of keeping the Imperium alive? Just imagine the wars that these two factions could be fighting without the rest of the Imperium ever even knowing about it!

I really love this concept. Puritan and Radical Ordo Chronos forces fighting these secret wars over the fate of time itself! Scenarios like this have to be played out on the table. I mean, what's the point of even rolling dice if you can't fight out shadow wars between rival Ordo Chronos inquisitors? How cool would it be to get six buddies together and have two playing in the "past", two in the "present" and then have the Ordo Chronos bouncing between the tables in order to dictate their own vision of the future. So cool! Now, all we need are rules. How can we represent the Ordo Chronos, while still keeping with the rules and current codexes of 7th Edition Warhammer 40,000? Here are some of my ideas.

Time Lord 2.0

 The Rules

Option One: The Inquisition Codex

Ok, so this one is by far the most obvious to me. I would use an Ordo Xenos inquisitor due to the cool alien weapons and build up a retinue however you see fit. The real fun in this would be the modeling (more on that later). The largest advantage of this rule set being that you don't really need to explain all that much to your opponent. Overall, a nice plug and play option if you care less about the rules and more about the narrative.

Option Two: The Craftworld Eldar Codex

Ok, a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. Battle Focus feels very Ordo Chronos to me. It is really literal (actually bouncing around in space-time), but would also give a lot of character to an Inquisitorial list. I would limit your unit choices to Farseers, Autarchs, Guardians, Dire Avengers, and Warp Spiders as all of these have rules that represent the ability to time-shift or replay scenarios. You could incorporate other parts of the codex, but I don't see the Ordo Chronos representing more than 500 to 750pts in a list.

Option Three: Militarum Tempestus Scions Codex

Deep-striking out of the Warp is not just for Daemons and Dark Eldar anymore! Take a bunch of Scions, throw in an Ordo Chronos in Terminator armor (actually Ordo Malleus, but who's checking), and viola! You have your time-shifting Time Lords! Honestly, I think this one is the best choice. It hits all the marks (enhanced stats but still human toughness, Imperial, and fairly easy to explain to almost any opponent). The real fun with this list will be the converting, and I do fear that the tactics would eventually become a bit stale. But, that's just my poor deep-strike rolling skills talking.

The Models

There should be a lot of freedom in a project like this. Following the fluff, you could imagine an Ordo Chronos Inquisitor collecting equipment and people from a wide variety of places and time periods. And, the more radical your warlord, the more radical his or her force should be! Due to my love of OOP models, I'd throw in some of the older Storm Trooper models (hey, you're making an Ordo Chronos army, that just screams OOP to me). But, don't let you imagination stop you there. Do your research and some eBay searches and you'll find a treasure trove of pewter in need of some serious TLC.


Until next time!

Warhammer + Metal = BOLT THROWER!!!

A buddy of mine shared this awesome Facebook post with me yesterday. The article, from Kerrang! Issue #270 - December 1989, talks about the connection between metal and Warhammer 40k. In particular, this one references the classic Bolt Thrower album Realm of Chaos. I'd highly suggest turning World Eater up to 11 during your garagehammer session this weekend. It'll make Khorne very happy. Check out the article below, and roll high!

Until next time!

Dredging the Grimdark: The Fallen Angels

Dredging the Grimdark is a series of articles that review how you can use old, out of production (OOP) Citadel models or odd fluff armies in your games of 7th Edition Warhammer 40k. Have a favorite model or story that you don't know how to use? Comment below and we can feature your suggestion in a later edition.

The Fallen Angels are an interesting concept for a 40k army. The most interesting part being that, due to their number, I don't know that you could classify them as an "army".  According to the fluff, the majority of the Fallen are loners. Traveling through backwater systems as mercenaries, trying to stay out of the watchful gaze of their old brothers, the Dark Angels. But, some have taken a different path. 

A select few of the Fallen forge out their own empires among the stars, or band together and join the forces of Chaos in their quest to overthrow the God-Emperor. And, don't forget to include the Fallen who have repented for their sins. These select few still side with the Emperor, some even joining the Deathwatch as Black Shields.

In a game system like 40k, finding the specific rules for your fluff based army can be difficult. The Fallen are veterans in the full sense of the word. Having lived and fought since the 30th millennium, you need make sure you represent their skills and abilities, while also making sure you are adhering to the narrative (unless you are the type of player that allies Tau with Chaos Daemons, then just go with whatever). Below are a couple rules options focusing on the three main types of Fallen Angels as I see them: Tainted by Chaos, Rogues and Mercenaries, and Exiles. 

Tainted by Chaos 

(I fell to Nurgle and I liked it. Taste of his rotten chapstick)

Fluff and Rules: I would start with the Dataslate: Cypher. Run the Fallen Champions formation with Cypher and one to three units of Chosen. Ally with a Chaos army full of cultists, representing their henchmen and lackeys. Throw in a daemon prince for some spice and psychic fun.

Modeling: You can model these Chosen as bog standard chaos models, or have some fun and use the Dark Angels Veterans bits. These warriors have been fighting for millennia, so paint and mock them up as you see fit!

Cypher: Ethereal Badass

Rogues and Mercenaries

(Power Hungry Super Humans)

Fluff and Rules: I would use Codex: Space Marines. I see them best represented by Sternguard, but that's just me. Limit yourself on fun toys, but don't hold back if your narrative dictates it. Make sure to throw Cypher into the mix, too. These guys HATE the Dark Angels, and will do anything to get one over on the Unforgiven. Rulers of small systems and sell swords, I could see them picking up the odd tank or two. A heavy terminator force would be odd, but use it if you can justify it!

Modeling: This could be fun. You could just use bog standard Dark Angels, painted in their pre-heresy colors. You could also use a mix of chaos and standard marine kits to give a slight edge. A lot of opportunity for creativity here!

Pre-Heresy Dark Angels

Exiles

(We're reeeeaaaalllyyy sorry!!!)

Fluff and Rules: This one is a little off the wall, but I think Codex: Legion of the Damned would be an interesting choice. You could run a small allied force of around ten to twelve marines (which makes sense narratively) and just attribute their abilities to centuries upon centuries of warfare and sneaking under the noses of the Dark Angels. Extra points if you play with Space Wolves against Dark Angels. What a twist!!!

Modeling: For this, I would use more standard Dark Angels marines, painted in pre-heresy colors. But, there is also some room for creativity here, too. Whatever you decide, they are your minis!

Until next time! 

Dredging the Grimdark: Zoats in 7th Edition

Dredging the Grimdark is a series of articles that review how you can use old, out of production (OOP) Citadel models or odd fluff concepts in your games of 7th Edition Warhammer 40k. Have a favorite model or story that you don't know how to use? Comment below and we can feature your suggestion in a later edition.

Like many of the races thoughtlessly murdered by Games Workshop, Zoats have a weird cult following. Most gamers are eclectic people, and most eclectic people love models with character. And, these models really have character. They look like an Orc and a Lizardman got really drunk and made a terrible, terrible mistake. I am a big fan of the fantasy aspect of these guys. Only the respirator and the bio-guns really prevent Zoats from being put on rectangle bases as Beastmen Centaurs or Wood Elf Wild Riders.

Zoats... in... Spaaaccceeeee!!!

Customizable metal models!

Finding the models isn't too difficult (eBay). But, they can be expensive depending on how you would use them. I have been mulling over some ideas, and I have really narrowed it down to two options. I have scored them based on three criteria (Cost, Fluff and Rules, and Modeling). Each category is worth a maximum of five points. The higher the score, the easier it would be to run the model as is.

Chaos Daemon Prince 

(Paint him purple and pretend he's Thanos)

Cost: Only one model, ~$30 3/5

Fluff and Rules: Evil Slaneeshi Zoats, yes please. Zoats are also well known for their speed, strength, and psychic abilities 4/5

Modeling: The models feel fairly chaotic, so I think it's a good fit. But, you might need to add on a daemonic weapon or do some filing to get the desired end result. 4/5

Total Score: 11/15

Tyranid Warriors

(Rogue Trader Throwback)

Cost: At least three, but I would use four and run one Prime and three Warriors, ~$120 2/5

Fluff and Rules: Zoats were originally "allied" with the 'Nids, so it is a logical fit. Rules and weapon load outs work, and it could make for some heavy hitters in a Genestealer Cult army. 5/5

Modeling: Fine as is, just make sure you get the right model to match your Warrior's weapon load out. 5/5

Total Score: 12/15

Tyranid Warriors win this one, but it seems like both would be a unique and and fun way to use a really interesting OOP model. And, you can pretend like you have been playing since before you were born!

Until next time!