Previously, there were a number of issues with the Exorcists Chapter due to inconsistencies between various sources, but these issues are largely reconciled in Imperial Armour Volume Ten: The Badab War – Part Two. This article considers the Badab War information on the Exorcists canon. Players desiring to learn more about the Chapter should read that book. I was largely satisfied with the background given for the Chapter in the Badab War book, and I’m a fan of the Exorcists special character, Silas Alberec and his rules. There was, however, one area in which I was dissatisfied, and that was the rules for the Exorcists Chapter, or rather, the lack thereof. The known background information provides an ability that no other Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes has, and that is excellence at fighting the daemons of Chaos. We’re not just talking about the Exorcists being marginally better than other Chapters – they are remarkable in comparison to other Space Marines when it comes to killing Daemons (though not as good as Grey Knights). Alberec confers a special rule to the army, but that rule is based on him and is not necessarily an “Exorcists” rule in the way that Chapter Tactics would be considered to be rules for the Chapter. More importantly, that rule isn’t about daemons. The rules and characters presented herein are intended to fill the gap between what the background material supports and representation of that background material on the table top.
Acton Idomenes WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv +30/+67 5 4 4 4 1 4 3 10 2+ Unit Composition: • 1 (Unique) Unit Type: • Infantry Wargear: • Artificer armour • Combat shield • Blade of Enoch • Boltgun • Frag and krak
grenades
Special Rules:
• And They Shall Know No Fear
• Combat Tactics • Chapter Tactics • Honour or Death • Exemplar
Going back to the Third War for Armageddon fluff we have several important elements. First is the Chapter's training in the tools of the exorcist; second is the heightened levels of aggression Exorcists Space Marines exhibited; and third is the Chapter's alignment with the Ordo Malleus and the Grey Knights.
With regard to the training in/with the tools of the exorcist, I've basically combined that with the aggression described above in the selection of Chapter Tactics that utilize universal special rules representative of the effects described for the Exorcists in combat with daemons. In addition, the Exorcists characters presented in this article have weapons and abilities drawn from Codex: Daemonhunters (which is now obsolete due to the release of Codex: Grey Knights).
The previous version of this article included rules for Chapter Master Leopoldus Kane (who I made up without any source material). However, the imagery of Kane was too close to that of Silas Alberec, the official Exorcists character that is presented in Imperial Armour Volume Ten: The Badab War – Part Two. So I’ve removed Kane from these rules and recommend that fans of the Exorcists buy the Badab War book.
Leonhart represents a typical Epistolary within the Exorcists Chapter, focused more on combating the daemonic threat than his counterparts in other Chapters. The Destroy Daemon librarian psyker power is from Codex: Daemonhunters. It replaces one of the other psyker powers normally available to librarians. Other than that, he is a standard Epistolary in Terminator armour. For players desiring to represent any other Exorcists librarian with the Destroy Daemon psyker power, I recommend discussing the matter with your opponent. Simply replacing one of the normal librarian psyker powers with Destroy Daemon doesn’t have much of an impact unless you’re
facing a Chaos Daemons army, so most players will agree. If you’re facing a Chaos Daemons army, you might offer to compensate through +5 or +10 points.
Idomenes represents one of the premier Veteran Sergeants within the Chapter. He also fulfils a dual role as the Chapter Champion, somewhat similar to the Emperor’s Champion of the Black Templars. The Blade of Enoch combines a relic blade with an anointed weapon from Codex: Daemonhunters. I looked at the Daemonbane ability of Nemesis force weapons as well as the Daemonic Feud result for daemonblades (both found in Codex: Grey Knights), but decided that both of those were too potent. Also, I didn’t want to infringe too much on the Grey Knights and Ordo Malleus, despite the relationships that the Exorcists have with both of those organizations. Idomenes provides a low-cost upgrade character that will enable players to use the Exorcists’ Chapter Tactics.
The rules in this article follow the Codex: Space Marines convention of tying the Chapter Tactics to characters, but you might get permission to use the special rules for the Exorcists without taking any of the special characters (if you’re lucky). Discuss the matter with your opponents to see what they will allow.
Brother Tyler is an Administrator, an Exorcists player, and a DIY rules creator. He also has been known to talk to females and occasionally get outside and see the sun, despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary regarding the administrative staff of the B&C.
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History
Following the Massacre at Istvaan V, the Iron Hands vowed never again to fail in their duty due to any physical or mental shortcoming. This has developed into a hatred (and some might whisper fear) of weakness of any kind. Whether this is due to a flaw in their gene seed or by some other cause is unknown. It is controlled in part by frequent bionic enhancement. As an Iron Hands Space Marine ages, he continually undergoes procedures to replace the weak, hated flesh with the pure strength of metal. This process begins early, as the initiate has his left hand removed and replaced with a bionic one upon induction into the Chapter. The ultimate goal of any Iron Hands Space Marine is to become a Dreadnought – combining the resolute mind of the Iron Hands Space Marine with the ultimate mechanical body. This hatred has further developed into a near fanatical worship of the mechanical that rivals that of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Indeed, the close relationship between the Iron Hands and the Cult Mechanicus is frowned upon by more Codex Chapters and is alarming to the Ministorum – who see these beliefs as a direct threat to their own authority. This has led to a number of conflicts between the Ecclesiarchy and the Iron Hands that have resulted in bloodshed on more than one occasion. Consequently, the Chapter is frequently the subject of Inquisitorial investigation. The Iron Hands endure the situation with barely controlled disdain.
Despite these flaws, the Inquisition has
never acted against the Iron Hands. It is speculated that they do not see this flaw as a threat to the Imperium, but as a useful tool. The Iron Hands’ quelling of the Contqual Subsector has demonstrated the brutal effectiveness of this Chapter’s tactics and Contqual remains one of the most loyal and vigilant systems in the Imperium today. During this campaign, the Iron Hands were subjected to the unimaginable influences of Chaos, yet not a single Iron Hands Space Marine failed in his duty due to mental weakness – a testament to their skill and resolve.