Couldn't find a sub forum with a section/option for custom rules so I thought I'd put this here. Partly based off of the fact that I have the Monstrous Arcanum and more based off the fact it looks like I'll be sculpting my own Stegadon (add tot he list of all the other Lizardmen pieces I have to sculpt for my army). Crested Stegadon Monstrous Arcanum rules. Points not yet determined (400 seems close) Rarely seen and even more rarely used in battle, the great crested stegadons are living battering rams or scales, immense bulk, testosterone and horrendous breath. Unlike their smaller cousins the Crested Stegadons are primarily found in the deserts and dusty plains of Lustria, traveling in large herds and occasionally migrating through the mountainous ranges to new pastures. Crested Stegadons are so named for their immense and very impressive head crests and very larger horns (of which they have many), their size and crest aside, the most noticeable difference between a crested Stegadon and their jungle cousins is their aggression. Although normal Stegadons are fierce, the crested Stegadons are far more dangerous and will attack anything that gets close, their combined weight and ferocity means receiving a charge from one is devastating for troops and even large monsters. Controlling one is near impossible without a scroll of binding and mounting a howdah or engine of the god's often fatal for any foolish enough to try it. Their aggression could well be due to their nature, the plains and deserts of Lustria are very exposed for a young Stegadon and so any that reach adulthood have quickly adopted an appropriate attitude to deal with any threats. No two Crested stegadons are alike, save for their great crest which acts as a natural shield against attack, some are faster, some larger, or armed with much long horns. M WS BS S T W I A LD 6 4 0 6 7 6 2 5 6 3+ scaly skin save Causes terror, cold blooded, immune to Psychology, large target, colossal beast, stubborn, terror, tail attack, impact hits, tail attack, Natural shield. Natural Shield: The crest of Crested Stegadon is larger than those of the more common variety and much thicker too, capable of dampening terrible blows and impacts that could well injure or cripple the more commonly used Stegadon. Your opponent must roll a die for each successful hit (both in combat and shooting), any rolls of a 1 and the hit is discounted as it bounces off the crest, multi-wound weapons have their wounding result reduced by 1 (so a canon shot that inflicts 5 wounds would have it's total reduced to 4). Impaling horns: The Crested Stegadon's horns are especially long and sharp, capable of terrible damage when combined with the speed, strength and force of an angry bull. The Crested Stegadon agains +1 strength on the charge +30pts Rampage: The Crested Stegadon has a great deal of experience in using its charge to full effect, crushing as many foes and causing as much damage as possible to anything foolish and not fast enough to get out of the way. Crested Stegadon may re-roll the total number of impact hits it causes, the second result stands +25pts. Devastating assault: The Crested Stegadon cares little for melee combat and instead relies on it's bulk and the momentum of the charge to force it's opponent back or crushes as many foes as possible through sheer might. Crested Stegadon may forgo all of its close combat attacks on the turn it charges in favour of doubling the number of impact hits it causes (declare before rolling to calculate the initial number of impact hits). +35pts Highly territorial: The Crested Stegadon is especially territorial and deems anything it's not already been introduced to, as encroaching on it's territory, no warnings are given, no mock charges, the beast simply lowers its head and charges with exceptional speed. Crested Stegadon has a movement value of 7 for the purposes of calculating charges and pursuits/overrun. +15pts
I'm surprised I didn't see this sooner! I love it! I'd very much like to see the model that goes with it too. Comments on his rules: I think a Colossal Beast has the super Thunderstomp, right? The one that does 2D6 hits instead of D6 like normal. That's a pretty beefy rule in itself. Coupling that with the Rampage special rule... My my. Also for Impact Hits, how many do you think it should have? A normal Steg does D6+1, so perhaps this guy can do 3D3? It would be a minimum of 3 each time, so that's already better, plus the possibility of getting 9! Pretty mean. Or would that be too overpowered with the combo from the Rampage rule? 6-18 automatic hits is pretty rough. Maybe Rampage could change to "Adds an additional D6 Impact Hits, but forgoes all normal attacks for the first turn of combat." I think that sounds pretty good. The remaining rules seem pretty good. I do notice that you have a couple repeats in the general special rules area, like Tail Attack and Terror. Also on the Natural Shield rule, do you think reducing a multi-wound weapon by 1 should have a minimum of 1? Like if you roll a one with a cannon shot, would that discount the shot or still allow the 1 wound to go through? Love the idea! Bet I'll love the model too!
Colossal beast does have the super thunderstomp, I think there's also a bonus for shooting at it. For Impact hits I had another idea which was (due to it's size and mass) it scores D6+1 impact hits as normal, plus an additional hit for reach complete rank the charged unit has, or would that be overpowered? (you do have to bear in mind some of the MA creatures are nothing short of filthy in CC and magic). Rampage, like your idea, though the thing I put about impact hits above might be a better choice (gains +1 impact hit for each complete rank) Tail attack in MA means a model has an additional attack at base strength with a +1 hit bonus if it gets charged in the rear. Natural shield I agree (minimum of 1) on multi wounding weapons, it gets an AS too, unless weapon rule forbids AS (like a canon shot for example). I do have artwork set aside, would love to sculpt one....
I'd replace natural shield with just a ward save. It pretty much does the same thing, but is a bit cleaner. I'd keep the -1 to multiple wound weapons (to a minimum of 1). Other than that, I'd drop the weapon skill. It just shouldn't be more skilled than a Saurus or Carnisaur. Finally, I'd give it ASL, or drop the initiative to 1. Huge monsters just aren't quick. The progression of initiatives in the game always has the bigger version with a lower initiative. The Phoenix do it, the dragons do it, even the current steggadons do it. What does it pack for weapons and crew? How about 10 skinks with the flaming bolas? God knows I've got the bits. -Matt
I gave it WS 4 as the Dread Saurian has the same WS, the same again applies with initiative. Natural shield would indeed work better as a ward, perhaps a 6+? I didn't include weapons or crew as I like the idea fluff wise of it being hyper aggressive (the reasons you use things like scrolls of binding) so you couldn't mount it.
When you talk about the crested Stegadon, do you mean the little known design that warmaster has put out? The one that resembles a stegosaurus? I never found the rules of the game for this figure. Crested Stegadon. I would call it Crestadon.