Shard of Heaven, New Blood Angels Relic [Input Requested]

[At Last Forgot 1]

Hey there folks, I'm playing a Blood Angels Assault Marine with the Sanguinary Guard Distinction. He's working his way towards Deathwatch Champion (probably), and I wanted to make a relic representing one of the Glaives Encarmine that Sanguinary Guards typically carry in the TT. Let me know what you think about the weapon or the backstory. I admit I just pulled the name of the planet out of my ass.

Shard of Heaven (Blood Angels)

 

This weapon was initially wielded by the Blood Angel Mikellus, seconded to the Deathwatch prior to the Ork invasion of Baal. An unparalleled swordsman, Mikellus was also a member of the elite Sanguinary Guard, and was permitted to bring his signature Glaive Encarmine along with him to his new assignment.

During the course of his service, Mikellus and his Kill Team were deployed to defend Laravon II, a high-gravity Forge World currently under Tyranid invasion. The Battle Brothers had just completed their objective and were proceeding to an extraction point at the planet’s Imperial Guard headquarters when an unbelievably large monstrosity tunneled straight into the base. Neither the weapons of the Battle Brothers, nor even the Guard’s heavy weaponry, could penetrate the unknown bio-form’s impossibly dense armor. In its wake, a full wave of smaller creatures swarmed out of the tunnel, threatening to destroy the planet’s entire command structure in one fell swoop and doom the defense of the planet.

Mikellus, thinking quickly and selflessly, soared into the sky on his jump pack, cresting over a kilometer up. He then entered a screaming dive, jet engines propelling him far past terminal velocity. Armor glowing red-hot from his descent, he struck the monster with the fury of a falling star, instantly killing them both and routing the horde.

A thousand guardsman, awed into reverence by this sacrifice, slowly filed out from their garrison. Each shard of Mikellus’ broken armor, scoured of black by his fall and gleaming its original gold, was picked from the wreckage by trembling hands and eventually returned to the Chapter. But his sword remained miraculously intact, buried in the fused rock of the crater. The weapon was gifted to the Deathwatch in honor of Mikellus’ sacrifice for his Kill Team and the planet.

Shard of Heaven is a Relic Blade with an enhanced stat line. Only the most skilled swordsmen are entrusted with this weapon, with members of the Sanguinary Guard as the preferred recipient. The wielder of this weapon embodies the Space Marine’s dual nature as protectors and warriors, giving him a +10 to Command and Charm tests with members of the Blood Angels and the Imperial Guard. In addition, the wielder is burdened with the weight of the weapon’s history of sacrifice, and will strive to live up to this standard. The character will feel duty-bound to assist in the defense of allied forces: for to leave such warriors to their deaths would besmirch the honor of this weapon’s history.

Shard of Heaven
Dam: 2d10+7 E       Pen 9             Req: 60           Renown: Hero*        Qualities: Power Field, Felling (1), Special

*Renown requirement is lowered by 1 step, to Famed, for a member of the Sanguinary Guard
 

[Siranui 2]

You neglect to mention that it's two handed in the description. That needs clarifying.

 +10 Requisition over a relic blade for a circumstantial Command/Charm bonus and Felling (1). Sign me up: I'll take two!

Seriously and honestly; this is a bit too cheap for what it is. You've taken one of the finest two blades in the game, made it better (for Blood Angels only, which smacks a little of 'Blood Angels deserve to be best!!!!!') and charged an almost inconsiquential amount more for what is essentially at least a +4 damage bonus against anything 'worthy' (ie anything with unnatural toughness). As-is, this is a complete no-brainer relic choice, that you'd be crazy *not* to take. It's that good. And that's a problem, really. Any option that is far stronger than existing options without any real increase in cost is flawed from a game-balance perspective.

I'm always very wary when designing things to try to avoid building anything that is better than everything else available. It's always best to pitch low, otherwise whatever is written tends to have this faintly cheesy fragrance. I'd either jack up the cost by a fairly hefty margin (because improving on the best should be a case of massively diminishing returns), or go back to the drawing board and create something based off a more normal powersword, with a decreased stat-line.

 

[At Last Forgot 1]

 You're right, really. I made it 60 initially because I wanted to get it in under the shelf for Signature Wargear (Hero), but now I see that's actually 70 Req so that can change obviously.

The bonus to Fellowship tests isn't really "necessary", I was just trying to keep it in line with similar Relics that also awe those around them. Maybe if it was restricted to only Blood Angels and not BA and IG it would seem more flavorful, less power-gaming. Or even removed entirely I suppose, no reason that RP mechanics ALWAYS need a nuts and bolts game bonus.

I left off the two-handed descriptor, just like I left off the description of the Special quality, because I said it was a Relic Blade and thusly is two handed by definition. If it's unclear or ambiguous, know that it being two-handed was of course my intention.

Finally, in regards to "Blood Angels r teh best!", I've always been a fan of Sanguinary Guard just as an aesthetic choice in the TT, and it seemed like an easy jump to then represent one of their Glaives as a Relic. I wasn't trying to be exclusionary, I just doubt that such an implicitly "Chapter" weapon would be allowed in other hands, and it would be overwhelmingly rare for one to even be handed to DW service.

I generally try to be somewhat conservative when I make things, so your points are all goods ones, and I am shamed. However I may have been compensating for the fact that I actually think Relic Blades are a little less powerful than I'd imagine, seeing as how an Executioner Axe ends up doing more damage at half the price. Admittedly, that overlooks the obvious benefit of a weapon which can Parry, but a Combat Shield fixes that and adds a Field while still at a 5 Req discount. Maybe just because I imagine Horus swinging one around and can't help but think they'd be tougher. This, coupled with the overall weakness of melee compared to ranged in DW, might have skewed my power sensors. Thanks for helping me tune them.