Adeptus Titanicus - Defence of Ryza - Titans, Maniples, and Knights

Welcome back to our coverage of the Adeptus Titanicus supplement Defence of Ryza.  This book treats us to the usual expansion of Titan Legion rules and also give us some new Knight House rules, included House Morbidia who is doggedly loyal only to Kelbor Hal and House Sidus, the secret children of Ryza that proved Mars had every reason to be jealous of the Forge World after all.

THE TITAN LEGIONS

The supplement provides rules for:

·         The Death Bolts, the Legio Honorum

·         The Cockatrices, the Legio Osedax

·         The Warmongers, the Legio Crucius

·         The Flaming Skulls, the Legio Magna

·         The Gore Crows, the Legio Vulturum

·         The Death’s Heads, the Legio Mortis

As usual, each is given a quick blurb about what makes them special along with a full page of rules, stratagems, and traits.  The rules for the Legios Crucius and Mortis are the same as their previous publications but are included in Defence of Ryza since both forces had roles to play in the conflict, especially Crucius since it is their home Forge World.  We’ve included brief descriptions of each Legio to give you a taste of what is coming, but full breakdowns of each Legio are in their own article.

HONORUM

·         The crusaders of the Titan Legions, they are inexhaustible and staunchly loyal

·         This Legio excels at punishing salvos, heavy hitters, and good command checks.

 

OSEDAX

·         Ryza wasn’t the only Forge World that Mars had beef with and Osedax paid the price for it.

·         A Legio reforged in the fires of war, Osedax focuses on unshakeable Command Checks and a vengeful style.

 

CRUCIUS

·         The masters of plasma and sons of Ryza itself.

·         Durability is a by-word for Crucius and their ability to keep plasma going all day and remaining cool is their hallmark.

 

MAGNA

·         We sense a fire theme among the Traitor Legios though these guys are a minor Legio that just happened to campaign alongside Horus and Lorgar a lot.

·         These are the spearhead specialist of the Traitors.

 

VULTURUM

·         The Legio Pallidus Mor would love to have a word with these guys who jack their paint scheme, though where Vulturum stands apart is its shrouded history and use of esoteric and experimental weaponry.

·         Specialized wargear define this Legio while it hunts the weak.

 

MORTIS

·         The Legio Mortis reflects crews that are methodical killers.

·         They have traits that reward engine kills and allow for pain to be temporarily bypassed

 

THE MANIPLES

The book gives us four new maniples, including:

• Perpetua Maniples consisting of 1 Warlord and 2-4 Reavers, built to withstand punishing fire and repair protocols that reflect it.
• Extergimus Maniples of 3-4 Warlords and up to 1 Warbringer, this maniple is all about the scorched earth policy and beefed up weapons at the cost of hotter running reactors.
• Firmus Maniples of 1-3 Reavers and 2 Warhounds, allowing the use of distraction tactics provided by the Warhound.
• Dominus Maniples of 1 Warlord, 2 Reavers, 1 Questoris or Cerastus Banner, and up to 2 Warhounds and 1 more Banner; this maniple throws off targeting and provides “meat shields” for the Titans in the form of Knights that intercept shots from quite some distance.

 This time around the new maniples are actually very strong and are probably among the best in the game.  Perpetua Maniples will be great for the average gun line player while Extergimus Maniples are for the things you just want dead.  The Dominus Maniple is a reprint of the White Dwarf rules and still provides some amazing opportunities, acting as a modified “expanded” Axiom Maniple with different rules and completely different benefits.

KNIGHT HOUSES

Knights take on a larger role in the Defence of Ryza story and it’s great to see them nab the spotlight outside of a book like Doom of Molech.  One moment in particular stands out in the lore and it’s the stuff of legend.  This book gives us new household roles, along with the usual 1/3 sheet of lore and Seneschal Traits.  We’re treated to:

• House Sidus – The secret of Ryza that gave proof to Mars’ suspicions after the Heresy.
• House Taranis – A powerful brotherhood and first among equals in the Knightly Houses.
• House Zavora – Deeply engrained with the Mechanicum
• House Morbidia – Fanatically loyal to Kelbor Hal and jealous of the favor given to Houses Taranis and Zavora.
• House Ioden – Perfidious betrayers who followed the style of House Devine’s betrayal.
• House Oroborn – A House that fell to some unknown malaise and and eventual corruption of the soul itself.