Two replies in one:
E&C:
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Theoretical, or "track conditions" top speed is different to "operational" top speed.
Epic is all about the latter.
And I sincerely doubt that these engines are so good that on a semi-strategic level (like Epic) they can increase a Rhino to the same effective speed as a Land Speeder or Falcon. They can fly over obstacles, dammit!
Plus, 40K represents a single combat in Epic. Speed in 40K and Speed in Epic are different things.
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You don't think Hobbits with Sniper Rifles are also kinda cool, at the same time as they're undeniably silly?
Warhammer 40,000 (And Epic) are made of silly things.
What's a Titan, or a Gargant, if not supremely silly?
Internally consistent with the assumptions of the universe?
If you have Ratlings, them being snipers makes a fair bit of sense. If you have war-obsessed creatures who can make war engines work by believing hard enough and who think bigger is better, Gargants make sense. Titans make sense if you think of them as equal parts cathedral and morale booster to each part of war machine. They're silly, but they're consistent with themselves and 40K as a whole.
Lucifer Engines, as currently presented, rely on the BA being selfish Cads and no one holding them down and taking away their toy. A toy which would enhance the abilities of
all Adeptus Astartes Chapters, as well as the Inquisition etc. A toy that would make the defense of the realm of Man much easier.
That's stupid.
Overcharged engines were silly. But they weren't stupid.
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At Epic scale you look at the broad strokes.
Being Space Marines is a broader stroke than being Blood Angels.
Also, that does absolutely nothing to revoke the point you were responding to. If anything, it reinforces it. In broad strokes, Marine chapters are very, very similar. It is the details that distinguish them.
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So if you're describing Blood Angels to a new player in Warhammer 40,000, and you're given ten seconds to tell them about the army, you tell them:
- They are a dying chapter with a flaw in their character that drives them insane.
- They have notably faster Rhino type vehicles and a new type of tank.
- They really love their Assault Marines.
So those are the high points, the notable features of the Blood Angels Chapter.
The high point of the Blood Angels character is the Red Thirst. Their bloodlust. Everything you mention after that is an evolution from that.
Look at C:BA 3e. I've yet to get my hands on C:AoD.
I'll quote it: "
Why Collect a Blood Angels Army? ...The Blood Angels particularly excel at close quarter fighting and hand-to-hand combat, with highly specialized assault troops such as Veteran Assault squads and the dreaded Death Company. Blood Angels are superb at ripping the heart from an enemy army - quite literally sometimes!"
Hell, even the current Codex says "The Blood Angels...excel in the savage arena of close assault above all others. Every Battle-Brother feels the lure of hand-to-hand combat boiling in his blood - only eye-to-eye and blade-to-blade with the foe can the dark beast within the Chapter's collective soul be given full reign." (page 3)
The stuff you seem to think is the focus of the BA is derived from their bloodlust. Faster vehicles?: "Blood Angels hunger for close quarter fighting more than any Chapter. Often a Blood Angels leader will entreat the Tech-Marines to improve the engines of a Rhino or Razorback to get as (sic) maximum speed out of it as possible." (page 17 of C:BA 3e). Extra Assault Marines? All they have is the option to take Veteran Assault Marines. As
Elites (and the blurb emphasizes the BA's excellence at close combat - it mentions nothing about speed). Their troop choices consist of Tacticals and Scouts, same as every other Chapter.
The Blood Angels are bloodthirsty and want to get to grips with the enemy. Speed is the way they do that. It is
not the point of the army. It may be pronounced in recent incarnations, but that is a recent development.
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Warhammer 40,000 has been designed primarily for children since the start of second edition at the latest.
The diference is not in how you approach the background, but how you approach the rule system.
So you create a mature rulesystem by basing things off a childish background?
There is a difference between 'for children' and 'childish'. The Sword in the Stone and Narnia are for children. Matt Ward's Ultramarines are childish.
Things for children may be simple. It may do things that are cool but wouldn't work in the real world. But it will be a consistent, sensible world in its own right.
Lucifer Engines are not consistent or sensible with the rest of 40K. They rely on the BA, AM and other Space Marines all doing things they would be stupid to do.
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"Faster" has always been a part of the Blood Angels archetypical presentation.
Whether that be by Jumppack, or by vehicle, the Blood Angels are Faster.
That's their "thing", their archetype, their core.
Faster.
No.
The Blood Angels are defined by their bloodlust. That is what produces the obsession with jump packs (it's to get closer to the enemy), the overcharged engines (to get closer to the enemy), all of that stuff. It is
all a reaction to the Red Thirst.
The theme of the Blood Angels is
not speed. It is
blood.
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BlackLegion:
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I`m with E&C on this one. If not faster Rhino-chassis then at least a +1 on Double or March orders. Or a +5cm on the FIRST move durig these actions.
And I'm not opposed to something like that. I'm certainly bloody well opposed to a blanket +5cm speed increase, especially with flimsy justification from people who don't seem to understand what the Blood Angels are about. The BA have had
one Codex that gave them universally fast vehicles. They've had three that gave them fast Rhinos and Razorbacks. I'd say the latter interpretation is the safer one to stick with.
Epic can't run along trying to represent whatever 40K is this year. It should focus on representing the archetype of the various armies - not whatever their current incaranation is, but the ur-army, if you will.
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To my understanding the Red Thirst is only a threat in the direct vicinity of the foe = in assault range and during an assault. So i still propose my interpretation of the Red Thirst above.
Not at all. Blood Angels can succumb to the Red Thirst before battle is even joined - that's what the Black Rage is. Any large gathering of Blood Angels thinking about combat appears to run the risk of going crazy, whether completely or just a few individuals.
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Other solution: During an Assault Blood Angels are forced to move/countercharge in base contact (upholding formation coherency) even if their FF value should be more favourable.
It is up to debate if all Blood Angels units should have this rule or only unit which are exspecially stated as having the Red Thirst ability in Wh40k.
Seems like a more appropriate direction to take it.
)
Even the orks know "Red 'uns go fasta!"
