VC 40K – Shielding Tech

[Disciple of Nagash]

It seems that a few of us are liking the idea of the shielding tech, so considering I thought up the idea I decided it was high time to start a thread on it.

Now this thread is mainly for the discussion of the fluff etc behind the concept. As said in the other threads, rules will come later.

So gathering the various ideas discussed so far, here is what I like:

Chiros / Nano-infected.
As stated in the background, during the war against the Cythors, the nanobots eventually adapted a defensive to counter the Cythor’s sonic weaponary. This involved an electromagnetic shield which was created by the nanobots. In this instance the shields were effective as they were tuned to a certain frequency which negated the sonic blast, however normally the shields have varying effectiveness.

This is due to the amount / quality of nanobots in the hosts body. The earlier generations still host the original nanobots which were the most effective, and they also have the most numerous amount of them. This means that as well as having the most “advanced” body, the progenitors also have the most potent shielding, able to withstand lascannon blasts etc.

The shielding is then less effective as it goes down the generations, to the point where the youngest Chiros have shielding that is only really effective against bolter fire etc. For those who are nano-infected such as the “zombies” or those who are allowed to retain their intelligence but still not turned, the shielding is barely non existent. The few nanobots in them are too busy supporting other things etc to generate much of a shield. I imagine this would be the similar to flak armour.

Now for those Chiro’s who are older, belong to certain houses etc, they have learned to adapt their shielding through many years of need or practice. In some cases the Chiros can effectively camouflage themselves, create even stronger shielding, or possibly reduce their defence to use the power as an offensive weapon. In game terms I would imagine these as either upgrades, either was wargear or of being part of a house.

Once piece of wargear that I like the idea of is:

Shield Syphon
This wargear can only be purchased if the model also has a sonic weapon.
This item taps into the shield generated by the host, creating a link between that power source and the weapon. The host can then use the energy of the shield to enhance the power of his sonic weapon, although at the detriment of his defence.
Game terms I would assume a negative modifier to the shield save for a turn, in return for increased strength / AP etc of the sonic weapon.


Tanks / Walkers / Skimmers etc

Like the above I think there should be a variety of shields that can be chosen for the warmachines of the Chiros. However to balance out and make sure there is not a shooting machine of death that is also indestructible I would suggest the following.

After the creation of their own person shielding, the Chiros then spent many years trying to replicate the effect outside of a host, to limited effect. Eventually they managed to create shield generators. These generators whilst quite large (say the size of a lascannon / missle launcher etc) could create a bubble type shielding , however its effectiveness varied depending on how large a field it was required to generate. Further along they managed to link two of the shield generators and increase the effectivenss of them and so forth. Different variants were also made again, which had different levels of success.

In game terms any vehicle etc of the Chiros has a number of mount points. Small things such as walkers may on have two (so one for a main weapon, one for secondary weapon or shield generator etc), whilst large things, like the heavy skimmer may have 4 or 5. The player can then choose to mount either weapons (which may be limited on the type), or shield generators or both. There would be different types of shielding, though certain machines would be limited, in which some types of shielding may require more than one generator, so it may take up two / three mount points etc

Overall I really like the above concept and think it could work really well, and allow for some fun customisation.

 

[Sweeney Todd]

Looks interesting. How will it work out rules-wise though? Will the shield grant an invulnerable or cover save? Or in the case of vehicles will it increase their AV?

 

[Marcus Von Drac]

I like the idea, and think it would work well. As for what would the shields effects be, I think we should have various shields granting various effects such as:
Basic Shield - plain and simple, a buble round the person/vehicle and protects them from incoming fire, the higher quality the 'bots, the better the shield (aka older Chiros have better shield). Game-wise: non-vehicle models: Invun save, vehicle models: increased AV against shooting attacks.
Camo Shield - A device to blur the outline and help the person/vehicle blend in to their surroundings. Kind of like the Tau stealthsuits; I imagine it would either act like a mirror and reflects the surroundings back to the viewer, or project what was on the one side of the field onto the other side of it, kind of like having cameras giving a false image. Both ensure the viewer does not see what is in the centre of the field. Game-wise: A wide variety of options, could grant a cover save or models shooting at the model with the field need to use the night-fighting rules/ reduce the distance they can fire. Or for vehicles - means that they suffer penetrating hits less often.
Electric shield - Projects a field of electricity round the person, electricuting those who come to close. Game-wise: If the model with the field is hit in close combat, the attacking model immidietly suffers a hit of some kind. Or perhaps it reduces the chances of the model with the field being hit.

Ok I may have gone overboard on the shield train there, but you see all the different types of shield they could have, and how they could be used.
As for DoNs suggestion of the Shield Syphon, it seems good.

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

Yeah Marcus has it pretty much right there.

As this is a fluff thread anymore suggestions how more shield variants etc?

 

[Meier Lenk]

well....i suppose we best have personal shield variants for leaders and the odd special character; as the chiro's were (once) imperial, and, given they are creating and adapting tech to their circumstance happily enough, are (i would think) pragmatic enough to keep part of imperial tech that are still of use, or improve on it/hybridise it as appropriate.

how about a chiropteric "warding of the endless night" (name suitable latinicised i guess?) which may have been developed using whatever profane energies blast the cythor home worlds which casts a pall across the area immediately around the wearer, leaving him unfindable within the stygian darkness he has gathered around him, at least to those outside the limits of the fields power.

im seeing this primarily being used as a protection against ranged attack, afterall if you cant line up a clear killshot, you have to just "spray and pray", increasing chances for the wearer. itd amount to some kind of (high) invul-save versus ranged weaponry; because once an enemy approaches within the limits of the field it loses effect. to counteract its relatively limited use (i.e. it isnt a blanket protection like an iron halo) rules wise itd have to be cheaper than other force fields, or perhaps be more effective for its niche than standard fields are.

 

[Vlad Von Carstien]

I really like the shield Idea. I think that the shields should grant you a differnt ability for each level.
level 1 5+ save
level 2 4+ save 6+ invol
level 3 3+ save 5+ invol
Level 4 2+ save 4+ invol

This could be cool if you could buy the upgraded shield for your elite units. I really liek the idea of having a lot of invulnerable saves but maybe the unit will coast a bit more.:mrgreen:

Hmm maybe the shields they generate depend on the host that they have infected. such as if you infect a space marine he will most likely take to the nano bots better due to his already adapted body from implants and genetic enhancements. Guardsman or orks will need to adapt there body's to the infection giving the nano bots weaker hold on their victims and less power.