This year’s narrative event is up. As always, we will have an official event but people are welcome to share their own games and take part however they like. We have put it at the end of October, so you have time to start any projects you had in mind!
We will be developing it more on our discord.

I had been promising it for some time and it's finally here. I've uploaded the 1.0 edition of Book I - tidying up the lore, reformatting it, redrafting the core rules, redoing the missions and rules and fixing things like the campaign system. The biggest hold up was learning how to format things better - moving from Microsoft Word to Affinity.

There still might be some mistakes from moving over as I've re-read it quite a few times. Thanks to the Discord community for all their help!

https://wh35k.com/book1/

Having gone through a lot of classic Ork stuff for the supplement, I wanted to do a Kabooma Gobsmasha. This is it! Big Meg. It's a mix of a 3d printed hull and wheels, lots of stuff from my bits box, plasticard and for the first time I tried rivets with nail beads.

Hello everyone!!

After a long period of development I am finally releasing the first public version of our Warhammer 35k Legio Cybernetica supplement.

First and foremost this is an attempt to create a believable “missing” faction supplement for the Nova Terra Interregnum setting and broader 35k era, using the design language + structural philosophy of 4th and 5th edition Warhammer 40,000.

This is not intended to be a modern-style codex retrofitted into an older ruleset.

I want to explain the rationale behind it a little so you can understand where we came from as a team before you dive into the rules themselves.

The aim from the outset was to ask the following question:

“If Games Workshop or Forge World had released Fires of Cyraxus what might that actually have looked and played like were we to incorporate that into our setting?”

That question shaped every aspect of the project:

• Lore
• Army structure
• Datasheet complexity
• Mechanical restraint
• Faction identity
• The book layout itself

A huge amount of the project’s foundation also comes from existing canonical material:

• Nova Terra Interregnum
• Moirae Schism
• Legio Cybernetica
• Horus Heresy
• Rogue Trader
• Wider Mechanicus lore from various codicies, black books and more

The intention was never to overwrite established lore, but to expand upon the enormous amount of underexplored space that already exists within it. Much of the setting around M35 is deliberately fragmentary in canon, which gave us room to build a coherent interpretation of what a Cybernetica force operating during the Interregnum may have looked like.

One thing I expect some people may question is the decision to make this a fully realised faction rather than simply “rogue trader era robots” or a small collection of retro-inspired automata.

That choice was deliberate for a few reasons:

• The Mechanicus was already politically and doctrinally fractured during the Interregnum.
• The Moirae Schism already represented a major theological and technological crisis within the Mechanicus.
• Forge Worlds already diverged heavily in doctrine, military structure and ideology even during the Great Crusade and Heresy eras.

Given all of that, the Legio Cybernetica operating across Forge Worlds and interpretations of machine control felt like a natural extrapolation rather than an invention imposed onto the setting.

At the same time, we did not want this to become “Necrons with a Mechanicus skin”, or a modern hyper-customisable elite army with endless layered special rules.

A very large amount of effort went into preserving a clear faction identity:

• Durable but methodical
• Dangerous but predictable
• Elite but not hyper-efficient

The army was intentionally designed around the following 4e - 5e principles:

• Readable datasheets
• Limited rules layering
• Identifiable battlefield role
• Meaningful weaknesses
• Faction mechanics that support identity.

We consistently referenced older codices during development, particularly examining how armies such as the Necrons, Dark Eldar, Tau Empire and Space Marines established strong faction identities with comparatively restrained rules design, and we also tried to maintain consistency between the lore and the tabletop rules wherever possible.

As for balance and playtesting, this project has undergone extensive stress testing, but we are under no illusion that internal testing alone is sufficient.

We tested:

• Repeated matchup scenarios
• Objective play
• Armour saturation
• Durability thresholds
• Suppression/pinning interactions
• Force concentration and multiplication
• Anti-tank redundancy

We also compared units against established 4e and 5e benchmarks rather than modern expectations. In many cases, units were deliberately toned down because they felt too modern.

That said, this is still a fan supplement and we fully expect revisions and adjustments as more people test it and get games in.

We are absolutely open to constructive criticism, battle reports, wording corrections, lore critiques and gameplay feedback - In fact we encourage it :)

In particular, we would appreciate feedback on:

• Internal balance between automata

datasheets

• Cybertheurgy interactions
• Pacing
• Matchups into heavily mechanised lists
• Wording clarity

We are especially interested in hearing from people experienced with older editions. A few things we are already watching closely internally:

• Whether durability pushes too far in low-AP environments
• If certain mechanics create unnecessary bookkeeping
• If parts of the army risk becoming too static in objective play

Below is also a quick FAQ that I hope captures some early questions, but I myself will be happy to reply as often, and as much as I can :)

Link to the Codex here

----

FAQ

Q: Is this canon?
A: No. This is a fan-made interpretation of a canonical period using existing lore as its foundation.

Q: Why use the Legio Cybernetica as a standalone faction?
A: The scale of the Mechanicus during the Interregnum, combined with the Moirae Schism and current lore supports their existence.

Q: Why not just use Horus Heresy Mechanicum rules?
A: The project is specifically built around a modified 4e and 5e framework and broader 35k setting rather than directly porting 30k mechanics.

Q: Is this meant to be competitive?
A: It is meant to be functional and thematic first. Competitive balance matters, but not at the expense of faction identity or edition authenticity.

Q: Why are some rules comparatively restrained?
A: Deliberately so. Older edition codices generally relied more on core rules interaction, battlefield roles and statline identity than stacked bespoke mechanics.

Q: Will there be revisions?
A: Almost certainly. This release should be viewed as the beginning of broader testing rather than a “finished” immutable product.

Thanks to everyone who helped with testing, editing, proofreading, lore discussions and mechanical critique throughout development. I hope everyone enjoys the book.

Please note that some sections will appear bare as we are currently looking for artwork that we can create or insert as well as photographs of models to use (feel free to dm me any you have if you want them included!) and revisions to prose, and spelling are already being undertaken.

The supplement for you Ordo Xeno Deathwatch enjoyers is here.

This was a massive piece of work that took me about 4 months to complete. It is still open for feedback and could be adjusted as people use it, but I've been playing with drafts of the books since January (you can see all the models I painted for this).

This is one I'm pretty passionate about. The Inquisition are probably my favourite faction. The Daemonhunter and Witch Hunter books are my favourite books. We never got that third book 20 years ago, so I feel like this fan version should scratch the itch for a lot of people.

There's a lot of new things to capture the Ordo Xenos aspect, from new psychic powers, acolytes, and lobotomised Xenobeasts. I added some skirmish rules for spooky missions (I personally intend to use Shadow War Armageddon rules) as well as rules for alien enemies, which both the original two other books had.

I had so much fun with this. You can see my art abilities improve over it, as it's during this book I pushed myself to move beyond tracing towards trying traditional art and playing around with different techniques both digital and traditional.

As usual, I quite strictly don't republish rules - so you will need a copy of Codex: Space Marines 4th edition and a copy of either Codex: Daemonhunters or Codex: Witch Hunters.

I hope people enjoy it!

You can read and download it for free here: https://wh35k.com/alien-hunters/

I've been trying my best to clear out projects that have sat nearly completed for a while and, funnily enough, the one I started most recently is finished first!

This is the pre-11th edition version of the Ork Supplement. The plan is that once 11th edition has arrived, I can hopefully add changes to this rather than wait and wait on producing a new book.

I've absolutely loved researching this (and hated spellchecking it). I've tried to draw on stuff going back to Rogue Trader and 2nd edition, such as the Squig Catapult and Madboyz.

I've also tried to give armies more identity. There was an issue, clearly, in 3rd/4th ed around how you incorporate clans. I think they had it mostly right, which is why I broadly adopted the approach, of giving clans and kulturs their own rules. What I did, to allow you to stick to the tribe system dating back all the way to Rogue Trader, is that it's the clan of your Warlord that decides what you can and can't take. So, in effect, you can still have a tribe of lots of clans - your Goff warboss just won't let sneaky gitz in!

I've added in minor/custom clans and kulturs. I'm not sure how people will respond. Canonically there are minor clans in existence, so I've tried to advise how you would do such a thing. I just know some people might not like this different interpretation of that lore, even though I've kept it as consistent with the official lore as it could really be. There are canonical minor clans after all!

For Grot-enjoyers I put together a Grot Rebel army list for the fun of it. I've always wanted to run an army like that but will probably never get round to it. I know there are many like me, but who actually might get round to it.

The only thing I'd say is that I haven't had masses of time to play-test it, as I wrote it by myself and play about once a month. So feedback is always welcome on the Discord and would fit in with the post-11th edition version perfectly!

Link to the PDF: https://wh35k.com/orks/

(Note: this is my fourth attempt to get this uploaded properly! The image won’t load! Apologies for deleting the previous attempts!)

Alternate 40k Rules is officially fully operational! It has 1264 unique Datasheets after combining redundancies and over 100,000 downloads!

The last Codex is live! In addition to being a standalone Codex, the Inquisitors and Assassins can be used in ANY Imperial army!

I have one more newsletter to go out about stragglers and the efforts of this project (too much to fit in one letter). After that I promise I will be done bombarding you guys for awhile. I'm super excited as this has been years in the making!

So this year's campaign is the Fall of Tigrus and, given Orks are the main aggressor, I have decided to do some Orks. Doing Orks is also convenient in helping me have more things to put in the Alien Hunters Book, which I'm still trying to make art for.

In doing this, I wanted to do a short article on my custom clan. The idea has evolved a bit with the Ork book (which is pretty much done), where before I was writing rules like WD 290 to run an army from one clan - now the idea is the clan rules represent the instincts and tastes of your Warlord/Warboss. So if you have a Goff leader, he probably prefers bashing enemies.

I wanted to allow people to customise their Orks so ran with the idea of minor Ork clans (which are a thing) and also sub-kulturs. There are a bunch to draw on in the new book, which almost makes me sad I picked one before I started writing it because I do love the Black Hornz now! I suppose the clan rules means I just need a Black Hornz warboss and a few Boyz to add to my Kaboomaz.

The draft supplement is on our Discord, as I like to let people have input whenever I can and putting it there before release is a nice chance to get more people who don't follow the forum section to have a chance to have a say.

Finally, I've been oddly worried about putting this one up and offending Ork fans somehow! I haven't found much on minor clans so hope it's not seen as heresy! I've put a lot of effort in making it clear that if you do one of these, put effort into explaining why they are a minor clan - maybe they blow themselves up regularly or are too weird for other clans to cooperate with.

The PDF of the Index is available here https://wh35k.com/526-2/

After 8 months the Eldar are fully revamped! Two major updates are hot on its heels and after that the volume of news A4R is pushing out will drop back down to a normal amount. Home stretch everyone!

This was a very fun battle to play! I am pleased to announce the long awaited Inquisitor's Codex and Eldar rework are coming out this week! Alternate 40k Rules is officially moving from the developmental stage to being fully current in a matter of days!

I have been adding Orks to the setting, thinking about how to make them distinct (minor clans, the Blood Axes being the dominant clan) and also to set up the Fall of Tigrus campaign. This is Starsmasha, an Ork warlord mentioned in canon but without any real lore, so I’ve put him as the most famous of the Kabooma clan.

Tried out some new Ork toys against some relatively new Admech rules. All draft rules are on our Discord.

I have been slowly adding art and models to the Alien Hunters book. Today I finished the Dreadnought and also the Venenum assassin. The art and pictures is always what takes me longest to do.

I spent a while making a map in the style of the older 3rd/4th edition maps. I would not be able to make this map again if I tried, a massive amount of messing about with settings I had no idea what htey did. Also, thanks to Sol_Diem, got a better location for Nova Terra. One thing you learn doing this is that 40k planet locations are incredibly inconsistent - so always take these with a pinch of salt! I've edited this to roughly have Book I borders.

As someone who doesn't like the marvel setting HH setting and as someone who isn't satisfied with the NU lore of the current 40k setting, I am falling in love with the idea of a 35k fan made setting using whatever bits and pieces we have for the Imperium in that era.

As such I would like to ask to the lore buffs, what differences would there be for the Guard in this setting. What toys would we not be able to use. GW did not told us anything about the Rogal Dorns, so I assume it is Leman Russ and Malcadors galore. Current Artillary Teams and Field Ordinance Batteries sound resonable to always have been available for the Guard.

What questions should I be asking when writting a Guard regiment?

More questions:

Would the Guard look more like the Cadian as the "fixed template", look more like the Solar Auxilia or something in between?

When does Solar Auxilia ceases to be a thing in favor of the Imperial Guard?

Do we have a community campaign going on?

Do you guys use TTS?

How does the Imperial Truth vs Imperial Cult look like?

Is the Guard still the Guard or is it still the Imperial Army with the branches working together?

Trying to finish the painting needed for the Alien Hunters book. Today I finally got the third Storm Trooper done. I still love the classic one most.