Erm, sorry for the off topicness.

Well I have a few Ideas for the gamemode, and I'll detail them.

Idea One:

Two Teams a Genestealer Patriarch (only him on the team) vs. A squad of about nine marines (for larger servers perhaps add another genestealer player for every 8 or so marines).  The Patriarch is fairly powerful physicaly, armed with a bolt pistol or lasrifle (or anything really, a patriarch could have been anybody before, a big beefy fellow, but that doesn't fit the crazy infected cult leader sterotype) with an assorment of psychic powers.  He can move fast and is nearly silent, he needs to sneak up on individual marines and infect them turining them to their side. No one respawns until a round is over.

-The Patriarch should have about 150 health, no armor
-The Marines 100 health, 100 armor
-Marines get the standard marine weaponry; flamers, bolters, heavy bolters, etc
-The patriarch has claws, a bolt pistol, a Lasrifle, and some psychic powers
-When a Marine is infected they should lose 20 or so armor, and gain 50 health from their current health (IE if the marine has 73 health he ends up with 123)
-Last team standing wins

Idea Two:

A simple team based death match, no respaws (think counter strike without bombsites, or DoD without respawns) where one team (marines) has an emphasis on weaponry, equipment, and teamwork. Where the other (genestealers) has an emphasis on speed, melee, and ramboing (groups of two stealers swooping down killing a marine and whoosing off).

Idea Three:

My original post with the NPC Infecting


Of all my ideas two would be easiest I think, and would hold more replay value for limited map numbers, Ideas two and three are more original, but may not have replay value if its played on the same map over and over

Meh I always get my Ordos mixed up. Maybe I'm not giving the Inquisitors their due, but it simply seems to me that being an elite group (and hence a relatively small number of them, a good deal of them at desk jobs too) that not every planet would have its very own inquisitorial force. They can't just go planet hopping, knocking on door, looking for cults and whatnot (even in our world, police have to be called).  I'd say at max, Ordo Xenos discovers 4 in 10 infections, PDF 3 in 10, 2 in 10 becoming obvious, an maybe 1 in 20 becoming big wars.

Would post more but ive gtg

MigB you mean the "Eisenhorn" novels  

The reason I never mention the Ordo Xenos is that I don't see them usually getting mixed up in genestealer wars, even thought it falls directly udnder their jusrisdiction. This isn't for lack of want. Unless an Inquisitor was just sauntering around a planet with a new cult the Ordo Xenos wouldnt know until it was too late for them to do it, and heres my reasoning.

Usually the PDF would find out about the cult first, and would call for help, and begin fighting.  Taking into account the lenngth of time it takes for space travel, (even warp travel takes a god while, unless the reinforcement are stationed in the next solar system) it may be months or even years before ANYONE comes to aid them.  By that time the PDF either have it under control, are in a stalemate, or are being overrun. In any event, an Inquisitor and his personal retuine (as mighty as they may be) wont be what is needed. Either nothing would be needed, or an army is needed. What is an Inquisitor gonna do against a flood of genestealers? Pop a few and say "Damn! I'm not prepared for this.... Exterminatus."

I always saw Ordo Xenos dealing with more longterm alien threats, Tau incursions into Imperial space, roumors of an Ork fleet, Chaosy cults, etc.

As to why I dont join the IRC.... Thats a good question, I'll get on that withing the week.

The one thing i was confused about when races get mentioned, by Imperium do you mean just Ultramarines (or whatever chapeter yall end up with). or do you mean various imperium groups, Smurfs, Guard, PDF, Inquisitors, Adeptus Mechanicus? Just like you're thinking of including Tyranids, and Genestealers (who are almost a race in their own right).

Actually, usually the PDF would be on their own, the cult would most likely spring up quickly and remain undetected for some time, usually masquerading as a sort of nondenominational group of Emporer worshipers, (IE they to the Imperium look like a legitimate cult, instead of a Xenos cult I can drag up a bit of fluff that supports this if you want). By the time the local PDF got wind, the cult could be of fairly substantial size, the planet could be overrun by the time the Guard or Inquisitors got there. Oftentimes the Guard would arrive to find that the Planet had been almost wholly infected (warranting Externinatus), or that the PDF had for the most part beaten back the cult. That or the cult and PDF are in an all out war (with of course a hivefleet on the way).

So definitely a job for the PDF, the Patriarch definitely wouldn't usually openly fight, but instead flee to preserve the cult (even though he has substantial fighting abilities). So when the PDF (or Guard if they've gotten there, interstellar travel can take quite some time) encounter him, it would be him on the run with his elite guard. If the PDF is well equipped (unlikely, depending on the importance of the planet, or its manufacturing capabilities) or has superior numbers, they should be able to take oout the patriarch (albeit with a good deal of "acceptable losses").

So the possible settings for "Genestealer Cult War" are:

1) Marines arrive to a heavily infested planet, backed up only by the few remaining PDF

2) Marines arrive with the planet in all out civil war

3) PDF fighting in all out civil war, no marine support (possibly en route)

4) PDF catch wind early, have support of Imperial Guard, due to their relative close positioning

5) PDF catch wind early, no Imperial support (possibly en route)

6) PDF/support (or only PDF) chasing down an on the run patriarch


Now that I mention it option 6 seems like another good gameplay idea, Marines chasing down the patriarch and his hevily mutated, heavily armed elite guards. A sort of reverse VIP escort where the Patriarch must reach the map edge.

Anyway, sorta geeked out there and typed more than I meant to, why do i know this much about genestealers. Meh. If my ideas flop I can at least quote fluff for yall.

Edited for spelling, I'm a third generation firstborn son of an engineer, engineers are notoriously bad spellers

I think youre right about the whole "wtf are Ultramarines doing fighting a cult" it really isnt even a job for imperial guard, PDF would do it. So my idea wouldnt be feasable for the RS2 team unless they're already modeling a Imp. Guard for some reason (which could be easily reskinned to look like PDF troops, PDF are almost the same as guard anyway, just with worse equipment).

Of course i dont think it would make sense for genestealers to be fighting all out with ultramarines in any situation, except of course space hulk, perhaps space hulk is the best idea, since you could use models already being created, perhaps a space hulk type synapse could be in the first release with the culty synapse being added in later (assuming that the team has enough time, and that the mod is popular enough).

Yo, I'm new, none of yall know, me and shouldn't recognize me from anywhere. Meerly played Rival Species.

I quite like 'Exterminatus' always been one of my favorite 40k related words. Don't change it.

If your concerned about it not being Nidish enough, make gameplay for the different teams different, for the marines perhaps it feels like kill teams, they need to go in and blow up a hive building, get a holy artifact from an infested holy site, or whatever.

But for the tyranids have it different, they have only one objective; Amass biomatter for the hive. Have the tyranid team do somthing weird to keep it interesting, for example, maybe the biggest source of meat is the other team, the tyranids need not only kill the imperials, but also need to drag their corpes elsewhere for processing, or somthing equally nidish.

Well... it looks like all i came up with is a TDM with funny objectives, meh.

I think it would be interesting if instead of an all out fight it was more sneaky.

2 teams divided 2/3rds imperial 1/3rd cultists.

the map is an urban town with AI citiizens walking around. The genestealers objective is to infect civilians while remaining undetected. When an AI civilian is infected, the infector has the option of having it follow and defend him, sending it away (off the map, presumably to the cult hideout) and having it count towards the cults score, or havind go about its buisness to be called on later. If an Imperial player is infected, he defects to the cults side, infecting a player should require much sneakiness.

The Imperials would be tasked with rooting out the cultists, they would most likely be PDF (just guardsmen essentially) with one or two higher ups leading the group (a space marine or two, maybe an inquisitor, or maybe a particularly tough PDF agent(an ogryn for example)). They could inspect the AI citizens for infection (who upon discovery would turn hostile), and hunt down the PC cultists. Alternatively all the Imperial PCs could be Heroic types with a bunch of wimpy PDF in tow.

The gameplay would sort of be like "The Hidden" and "The Ship" combined.

The PDF and Infected should be weak, the Cultists should be stronger than the PDF (not much) and much faster, show visible signs of genestealer mutations, but have limited access to weapons, and perhaps have a little telepathic power (convince a citizen to walk towards him from a distance, into a dark alley or some such)

The heroic imperials would be the strongest thing on the map, and have access to all weapons.

Hmmm it appears i just described the FPS ive always wanted.... oh well im sure someone will like it.

PS dont forget to include the genestealer limo