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Author Topic: The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult  (Read 4276 times)

Offline vonHenneberg

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The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult
« on: December 09, 2014, 08:45:51 PM »
The Flagaepult – a 120 point upgrade for a unit of flagellants.

This war machine / chariot hybrid is only used in close combat; its range at flinging ‘ammunition’ is too short for true missile fire.  However, its one ‘shot’ per turn is counted as an impact hit so is worked out before any other attacks.
Roll three scatter dice. All direct hits result in a strength 5 hit.  If there aren’t any direct hits (all arrows) the Flagaepult has had a misfire – roll on the table below.   Should any damage be caused to the target unit it must take a fear test; nothing scares an enemy like a deranged flail equipped lunatic dropping from the sky!  However, the usual psychology rules apply. The Flagaepult has a crew of 10. Any losses are always taken from the unit it is with as ordinary flagellants flock to crew this device… and supply it with ammunition!
For a 5 point upgrade the sacrifice carries a Molotov cocktail so is treated as a flaming attack.  All wounds will then ignore regeneration.
The Flagaepult can only be taken by a horde of flagellants.  It takes up the space of 16 flagellants (4x4) so a minimum of 24 ordinary flagellants are required to accompany it (making a 10x4 horde). As the ammunition used is a flagellant, each time it is fired take one from the horde, but this “sacrifice” always counts towards their “The End is Nigh” special rule.
It is also treated as a chariot so causes D3 impact hits on the charge. Its statistics are M4, S5, T5 and W3.  Note that missile fire against the Flagaepult only uses its toughness for damage directly targeted to it.  The flagellant crew is much too unconcerned to hide under it for cover so ordinary missile fire will be wounding against the toughness 3 of the flagellant crew (assumes the archers will not target the Flagaepult).  Template weapons will only kill off as much of the crew as gets hit, those outside the blast are unaffected, even if the Flagaepult is totally destroyed – they will join in with the remaining horde instead.  Crew members killed whilst the Flagaepult still survives will be replaced from the horde.  Should the unit be reduced to less than 10 they will then give it up as a lost cause and pile in to attack normally – remove the Flagaepult even if it is undamaged. So a unit with exactly 10 will fling a last sacrifice, take that as a casualty and then pile in to attack.  Always roll for the flagellant “The End is Nigh” special rule after firing the Flagaepult as its losses are cumulative (or, in the case of a spectacular misfire, not rolled for at all).
Though it has a crew of 10 only 6 can ever fight whilst it is in operation.  The other four are too concerned with re-winding the device or preparing themselves for use as ammunition.  It should be noted that without this device a horde of flagellants would have an extra 6 attacks…  That kind of makes it more points for less damage, but then 16 flagellants would be 192 points so it’s cheaper for fewer attacks but does a bit more for “The End is Nigh”.  The maths, I think, put it at about 1 wound less with than without but I’m quite prepared to pay for fluff…

Misfire chart:
1 – Really the End of the World!  The Flagaepult throwing arm rotates horizontally causing a swathe of destruction; it and the crew (of 10) are destroyed. Any flagellants remaining pause aghast at all the damage inflicted on their colleagues before totally losing it.  Don’t roll for any more casualties via “The End is Nigh”; instead those remaining get rerolls to hit, to wound and +1 toughness.
2 or 3 - The Earth Sucks!  The Flagaepult sacrifice gets flung directly upwards before gravity does its thing. Remove 1 casualty as normal which is added to “The End is Nigh” result. The Flagaepult also takes 1 wound.
4 to 6 - Oooops!  The Flagaepult sacrifice gets flung directly backwards. A unit within 6 inches directly behind the flagellants takes a strength 5 hit. If there is more than one possible target, roll to decide randomly which is hit. Any damage will cause a fear test as usual. The flagellant sacrifice is still added to “The End is Nigh” result.

Any comments welcome...

Offline vonHenneberg

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Re: The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2014, 08:48:48 PM »
The Flagaepult was designed by, and can come with, ‘Master Engineer’ Apperturous Cranios.
All Master Engineers leave a little to be desired, as if they leave something of their sense behind with every experiment – failed or otherwise.  But none are so crackpot, or hole in the head-like, as Apperturous Cranios.  His last experiment, or the last within the Empire Engineers Workshops, involved using steam power to automatically wind up and load a mortar bomb throwing catapult.  Fuse lengths and reliability were always dodgy, to say the least, and apprentices are hard to find – their scattered remains to send to bereaved relatives even more so…  But Apperturous thought he had it fixed.  With a good head of steam it could send off 6 mortars in a minute; really ramping up the engine could even get all of them in the air at once!  But what goes up must come down, and the range of fire was quite variable, not all of the mortars landed within the grounds…  One reached the Imperial Zoo, turning a brown bear quite albino (though the polar bear gained a new mate…), one came down in the First Imperial Concubine’s bed chamber (making her think the Thunder Deity really had arrived…) and another made splinters of the Imperial Children’s Dolls House (quite a large target to be sure; makes the Imperial Palace seem like a dog house, or it used to…).  However, the last really did it.  Messing with Wizards isn’t sensible, for they are quick to hot anger and slow to cool afterwards.  They do get bored, thankfully for Apperturous, so when the Shadow Wizard had quite finished scaring him witless with apparitions of ghosts, demons and the world’s end, becoming a flagellant was about the only option left.
Obviously the Imperial Engineering Workshops are now unavailable to him, as is access to steam power and black powder; but where artifice wills not, nature will find a way.  Apperturous restarted his work on catapults, finding old cart wheels and turned wood from ruined water mills most useful; but what to use as projectiles?  His new friends were quick to volunteer; anything to speed up their entry into the next world…

Apperturous can only be used as a character attached to a Flagaepult, replacing one of the crew in fact.  He allows one of the scatter dice to be re-rolled, possibly averting a misfire or making an extra hit.  Though he was a master engineer his statistics are now that of a warrior priest – he has beefed up some – and he comes equipped with a remarkable flail of his own devising; perpetual motion is almost achieved so it always strikes at +2 strength.  Should the Flagaepult be destroyed by a misfire (roll 1 on the table above) he takes a wound but, if still alive, is thereafter treated as having permanent frenzy –  this attribute being passed on to the flagellant unit he is with… Or what’s left of them.  Otherwise he only fights when there aren’t enough other crew to man the machine.  The “Look out sir” rule applies as normal.  His cost is 100 points.  He can’t take magic items but is affected by the flagellant “The End is Nigh” special rule.  Whilst the Flagaepult is in operation he can ignore all challenges without penalty – he’s got better things to do, thank you…

Offline wilsonthenarc

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Re: The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2014, 08:57:15 PM »
this sounds mad coool. Pix?

Offline vonHenneberg

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Re: The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2014, 09:09:44 PM »
Alas, I'm not that skilled. But... I do have spare bits from a scrap launcher...

Offline Sodinfives

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Re: The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2017, 09:42:11 AM »
It would be most true that it was.

Offline Falconut

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Re: The Flagaepult - a flagellant catapult
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2018, 03:23:12 AM »
How is it Can you tell me? I really want to know.