Space Hulk Enthusiast

Cleaning up my large Deathwing and Genestealer board pieces because they don't quite fit

October 11, 2022 Hobby,

Space Hulk Deathwing and Genestealer large corridor pieces

A while back, I found a bunch of files for the larger board pieces that came in the original Deathwing and Genestealer expansions. You know the ones, the cool looking 3-wide corridors and huge rooms.

The best part is these are made to match the current edition graphics.

Making the board pieces

They were a huge pain to make, but completely worth it. I scaled each one to the correct size as best I could and printed them out. I used spray adhesive (so they didn't wrinkle) and attached them to thick cardstock.

They're not as thick as the current board pieces, but they're close enough. I carefully cut each one out and set them aside for the glorious day they'd see game play.

Space Hulk Wolf Lair campaign mission 1 Under Attack

Fast forward to today

After years of sitting in my closet, I finally dug them out and actually built a mission. Turns out my work was close, but not close enough. If I were using one or two pieces, it wouldn't be a big deal, but when you use all of them in a single mission, minor inconsistencies add up fast.

Space Hulk Deathwing and Genestealer large corridor pieces trimmed edges

This meant I spent the better part of an afternoon going through and trimming down every single piece so they all fit together properly.

It's not a big deal, but trying to trim off the tiniest bit from each edge is a real pain to do. I have nobody to blame, I should've test fit them years ago when I made them. Lesson learned.

Converting my Power fist Hybrid and what barricades taught me about rules

September 22, 2022 Game design, Hobby,

Space Hulk Hybrid with power fist conversion final

I said I'd do it and here he is. The first Hybrid of mine to ever beat a Terminator in close assault. He's sporting the Power fist from the Marine he killed.

It has no in-game value, but it looks cool and it's a great reminder of the story. I used a power armoured fist for this conversion and not a Terminator one. It's still probably a little too big for the model, but it's close enough for what I'm trying to do.

Space Hulk close assault conversion with Terminator power fist arm

He's a simple conversion

All I did was replace the arms on a Hybrid I wasn't using with the new ones. He started with a web gun thingy I think. We don't have rules for special weapons, so I gave him an Autogun this time around. Thankfully the Cultist sprue had a one-handed version.

I might go back and add some battle damage to his left shoulder pad. Maybe make it look more like he stole it and it wasn't exactly issued to him.

What Barricades quickly taught me about rules

These things are a ton of fun to build, but a headache when it comes to rules. Thinking I had them figured out, I sat down to do some playtesting.

The rules I started with weren't bad. They just didn't fit with how my friend and I play. We play quicker games that resolve fast. There's not a ton of extra details in every single action. The problem was I'd written something that was far too complex and slowed everything down.

The lesson is to write rules that fit with how other elements are handled. For example, when we destroy a door, it's gone. It doesn't convert to something else with new rules. I call it, "one and done." One successful action against an object or model (shooting or assault) and it's removed.

It's deliberately simple to keep the game moving. This is not a game about destroying elements on the board. Having them on there shouldn't bog the game down or become the focus.

I've tried a handful of games using barricades and crates with the simplified rules and I really like how they play. There's definitely a tactical aspect to dealing with them, but they don't derail the game.

The upcoming Wolf Lair campaign is going to have all these elements, so I need to get them sorted out as best I can before we get started.

When your Hybrid defies all odds and kills a Terminator in close assault for the first time ever

September 14, 2022 Mission,

Space Hulk Hybrid kills Terminator in close assault

After a year and a half of gaming and the entire Sin of Damnation campaign, it finally happened. We knew it would happen eventually. Here's how it went down.

The fateful moment

We were play testing Suicide Mission with the Advanced Psychic rules. I was the bug player and my friend was advancing his Marines with no problem. He had a Librarian, how tough could it be?

Expecting my Hybrid to fail miserably, I opted to wait a turn to build reinforcements before attacking. His sole purpose was to assault the Terminator and pull him off overwatch. I figured I could finish him off with the Genestealers I had in waiting after that.

I throw my Hybrids into close assault all the time. I think of them as expendable in every sense of the word. My friend is much more tactical with how he uses his.

My Hybrid jumps out, survives a round of overwatch fire, gets into close assault and promptly kills the Terminator. I have to be honest, I didn't see it going like that. I wasn't quite sure what to do after that. Him living was not part of the plan.

It ended up being a pivotal turn and I managed to keep the Marines from winning. My victory would be short lived as my friend would return the favor four short turns later.

Space Hulk Hybrid shoots two Terminators back to back to win mission

Killing two Terminators back to back

Hybrids get lucky all the time and shoot a Terminator. Sometimes, you can get more than one over the course of a game depending on how big the mission is and how many Hybrids you field. The current record is two in one game.

But until the other day, no Hybrid had ever shot two Terminators back to back.

It was my turn to play the Marines and I made all the right moves. I was marching my Heavy flamer Terminator up the board under the protection of my Chain fist Terminator. That's when a lone Hybrid jumped out into the intersection.

He fired once and killed the Chain fist Marine. His second shot killed the Heavy flamer. Just like that, turn four and the mission was over. I don't think I've ever lost that mission that fast in almost ten years of playing. Just like before, I didn't see it going like that.

I know my friend is going to decorate his Hybrid so I've already started to modify one of mine. I said I'd do it if it ever happened and now it's time to make good on that promise.

The Terminator he killed had a red Power fist. I dug up a few spare arms I had and I'm going to give my Hybrid the Power fist from the Terminator he killed. It has absolutely no in game value other than to break my friend's morale.

Here's a look at my converted Hybrid.

I may not finish my pile of shame for this year, but I'm going to have a cool new Hybrid.

Beta testing the new Psychic rules we'll be using for the Wolf Lair campaign and beyond

September 07, 2022 Game design,

Space Hulk psychic rules based off Genestealer psychic rules

I wanted to put these out to everyone in order to get some feedback. We'll be using the Advanced Psychic Rules for our upcoming Wolf Lair campaign.

~~The beta rules can be downloaded in PDF from the Downloads page.~~

I've decided to remove all downloads from the site to avoid any potential problems.

The idea behind these changes

It's not like we absolutely needed new psychic rules. I like what we have, but they don't work with some of the older missions without tearing them apart to make them fit fourth edition rules and the modifications we use.

I thought if I could redesign our psychic rules to fit missions from all editions AND allow us to use the Librarian in any mission we wanted, it'd be a huge win for us. So that's what I hope the Advanced Psychic Rules do.

What the new Advanced Psychic Rules include

There's a lot in the new rules. It's a whole new psychic system that's pulled inspiration from all over the place. In a nutshell, it's a really simple version of the older Genestealer psychic rules without all the extra junk that can bog the game down.

It allows for multiple psykers and powers to be cast on both sides.

Initial play testing is really promising as it seems to add another level of tactical decision making without overpowering or changing the original feel of the game.

Getting a few things ready for the upcoming Wolf Lair campaign and testing new psychic rules

September 05, 2022 Hobby,

Space Hulk Librarian psychic power attack

After a month off, my friend and I sat down to get in a few games and test some new psychic rules. We chose Suicide Mission since we both know the mission inside out and can focus on other things as the Marine player.

In addition to trying the psychic rules and getting a few things ready for our upcoming campaign, we actually played on a simple 3D printed board for the very first time.

Space Hulk 3D board pieces playing one them and how they look

Playing on 3D printed board pieces

If the board looks different in the picture above, it's because my friend has been working for the past few months to design and print out enough 3D board sections for us to play on. They're super simple and he still has a bunch of things he needs to do, but they look pretty cool.

They're close to the same size as the actual board pieces, but not interchangeable. The board is designed and painted up to match the bulkier 3D printed doors we use as well. Since the new pieces are plastic, they're definitely going to hold up better to regular game play than cardstock.

Space Hulk box DIY box inserts from foamcore divider example

Rearranging my box to hold more stuff

I spent a few minutes reorganizing my Space Hulk box to add space for all my wooden blips. I made these along time ago to include the larger 4, 5, and 6 blips along with the lettered Hybrid blips and Ambush blips.

These larger number blips and such come from the Deathwing and Genestealer expansions. The Wolf Lair campaign uses all of those since it was originally published back in 1992 following those expansions.

We won't need the lettered ones since we have different rules for converting blips into Hybrids, but the larger number blips and Ambush ones will see a good bit of use.

Space Hulk Space Wolf Terminator superglued arm broke off

Fixing my Space Wolves

Since the upcoming campaign uses two squads in all the missions, I thought it'd be cool to use my Space Wolves. They don't see a lot of use. These guys are not magnetized like my Deathwing are so I end up breaking arms off all the time.

You can see I try and score the connection point to add a little texture to help the arm stay superglued in place, but it never works as well as I'd like. I stick with superglue and I don't pin them because I'd rather the entire arm break off at the shoulder joint rather than some other smaller piece break off that I can't easily fix.

Testing a whole new set of psychic rules

We used these games to test out some new psychic rules that will hopefully allow us to play older missions (without having to change them drastically) and possibly work towards being able to spec out squads however we want to include using the Librarian in any mission.

We're still testing them, but they look promising. It's an additional tactical layer for both sides since all Hybrids are psykers now.

Ultimately, the new system is a super simplified version of the old Genestealer expansion. I was determined to make something that didn't slow down game play or add unnecessary complexity. I still need to fine tune a few things like scaling the system up for more than one psyker in play and casting the same power more than once.

I'll be posting lots more on this as I get the rules sorted out.

~~The new Advanced Psychic Rules are now on the Downloads page.~~

I've decided to remove all downloads from the site to avoid any potential problems.

Artwork from the Death Angel: Deathwing expansion pack by artist ARTOFJUSTAMAN.

Trying to play older Space Hulk missions with 4th edition rules doesn't always work

August 23, 2022 Game design,

Space Hulk playing older missions with 4th edition rules

It was a different time back then. I just figured the rules from 4th edition would work perfectly fine with all the older missions. Turns out that's not how it works.

There are a few problems that can come up

My goal here is just to bring this to light so you don't think you're going to pick up an older mission and sit down and play it without any problems. From rules to specific board pieces and the models you might need, there's a lot that can make it hard to play if you've only got the current edition.

It's not impossible to overcome these issues with a little creativity and a willingness to make changes though. Substituting board pieces and modifying the board layout is easy. GW did this with all the missions they remade for third and fourth edition.

Swapping out models is not a game breaker either. My friend and I do it all the time. Hybrids made the Lightning claw Terminator utterly worthless for us so we replaced him. Spoiler alert: it didn't break the game.

You can make whatever markers you might need like crates, rubble and even extra blips, but it's the rules that will probably trip most people up.

Space Hulk playing older missions with your own house rules

Changing rules can be hard for some people

The older missions (I'm going to stick with first edition here) were written using first edition rules along with all the extras from the Deathwing and Genestealer expansions. I know that seems painfully obvious when you read it, but those rules are completely different from the current ruleset.

Especially psychic powers.

There are some first edition missions that the Space Marine player will be able to "auto-win" if you use the current ruleset. Since that's not much of a game, you're going to have to figure out what you want to change in order to make the mission playable and maybe more importantly, fun for both players.

Space Hulk playing older missions Wolf Lair Campaign

Figuring out what to change

Right now I'm trying to figure out how to play the Wolf Lair campaign without gutting every mission in order to make it work. I see now the campaign was designed to showcase Hybrids and psychic powers.

GW does give an option for playing the whole thing without psychic powers, but I feel like I'd be missing out on a big part of the campaign and a ton of fun by removing them. I don't want to strip all that out, but the current rules we use aren't going to work either.

I think if I can figure this one out, it'll open the door to being able to figure out other missions.

Maybe you're playing the Thunder hammer and Storm shield Sergeant wrong just like me

August 18, 2022 Game design,

Space Hulk Thunder hammer and Storm Shield Terminator against Genestealer in assault

The Thunder hammer and Storm shield Sergeant is all but invincible in close assault. I could never kill him unless I threw a hundred bugs at him in hopes of getting a lucky roll. Now I know why.

UPDATE: Despite doing all the work to figure out the actual numbers for how well a Marine and a Genestealer are in assault, my friend and I still play the old way. It all comes down to playing how you want. We've been playing this way since 2014 and we're just going to leave things as they are.

Mathhammer sucks, but it's your friend

It wasn't until I was working on something else that I came up with the percentage a regular Genestealer will roll at least one "6" in close assault.

Space Hulk Thunder hammer and Storm Shield Terminator against Genestealer base rolls

Turns out there's a 42 percent chance he'll get at least one "6" when rolling 3D6.

That got me wondering... just how good is the Thunder hammer and Storm shield Terminator since he seems to have no problem dispatching bugs with ease.

He comes in at a whopping 50 percent chance he'll get at least a "6" when rolling 1D6 + 2.

That's a fairly close match up, but doesn't explain why combat is so lopsided. I wondered what happened when you factored in the block for the Storm shield.

Just like the parry mechanism used by the Power sword Sergeant, we would wait until the Genestealer player rolled and if the Space Marine player wanted to "block" one of the Genestealer's assault dice, he would say so and that one was removed.

Doing it like this changes the percentages considerably to say the least.

Space Hulk Thunder hammer and Storm Shield Terminator against Genestealer blocked assault

When you allow the Space Marine player to "block" one of the bug player's assault dice AFTER rolling and seeing the results, the difference is insane.

This means the Genestealer player must roll at least two "6s" in order to keep one of them when the other is "blocked" by the Marine player. The odds of rolling at least two "6s" on 3D6 is a slim 7 percent.

The solution or better way to play it

Like most things, GW isn't particularly clear with the "block" game mechanic and how it should probably be played.

Instead of the Genestealer player rolling 3D6 and the Marine player to choosing to "block" one of those rolls after seeing the results, the bug player simply rolls 2D6 when facing the Thunder hammer and Storm shield Terminator. This factors in the "block" from the beginning.

GW sort of alludes to this in the rules, but it's not nearly as clear as it really should be given the difference between the results when you do the math.

Space Hulk Thunder hammer and Storm Shield Terminator against Genestealer when to roll for assault

When the Genestealer rolls 2D6 (automatically factoring in the "block") instead of 3D6 and allowing the Marine player to "block" after seeing the results, the odds change substantially.

The Genestealer goes from a 7 percent chance all the way back up to a 33 percent chance of getting at least one "6." That's a huge difference!

So there you have it.

When fighting the Thunder hammer and Storm shield Terminator as the Genestealer player, roll 2D6 instead of 3D6. Your odds are substantially better.