Leman Russ sponson & hull weapons Thread - Men Of The Emperor:Burning Horizon mod for Men of War

As you all know, the Leman Russ tank is one of the most versatile vehicles in the W40K universe with a dozen configurations between the main guns, the defensive hull weapon and of course the sponsons, this is where you, the community, come in:

We ask your cooperation to decide what secondary armaments each Leman Russ variant will have in the mod, doesn't matter if you're a tabletop veteran or a DoW player, as long as you give a reason for the loadout you specify and it complements the main weapon nicely.

Edited by: Luthorian

Well the side sponson weapons can range from las cannon, heavy bolters, autoguns & autocannons both single and twin linked, plasma cannons, multi lasers like the ones seen on Chimera APCS exc.

The front hull mounter weapon is usually a heavy bolter, flamer, or las cannon. Alternativly Ive also seen single and twin linked heavy stubbers/autoguns as well as multi meltas.

I dont know about games but in tabel top 3rd and 4th edition ive seen custom lemen russ models with home made web guns, gauss/rail guns, and other such exotic weaponry.

ill make a list of possible weapons to better clarify.

main turret

battle cannon "standard"

vanquisher cannon "Forge World idea and usually has a co axle heavy stubber on the left or right side of the main gun"

las cannon "usually twin linked like on SM tanks"

twin linked heavy bolters "for anti infantry use"

twin linked multi lasers "quite rare for table top but I have seen it before"

plasma cannon "ive seen both single and twin linked"

plasma destroyer "Leman Russ Executioner only"

twin linked auto cannons

twin linked heavy stubbers

co axle multimelta or heavy flamer next to a vanquisher cannon

side sponson turrets

heavy bolter "single is standard twin linked is possible"

heavy flamer "single is standard again but twin linked is possible"

plasma cannon "never seen these twin linked before"

auto cannon "also haven't seen this twin linked either"

heavy stubber "ive seen single, twin, and even quad linked version of this"

multi melta "usually single but can also be twin linked"

assault cannon "single wield only and on the models usually came from bits from a SM dreadnaught"

hull mounted turret

heavy bolter "standard"

las cannon "also standard"

auto cannon

twin linked heavy stubbers

plasma cannon

heavy flamer

multi melta

battle cannon "rare but yea ive seen em. they are kind of like the old US M3 stuert tanks from WW2 with heavy stubbers or an auto cannon in the turret & battle cannon in the hull"

Also I know im forgetting the hell hound patter siege weapons that can also be mounted on the hull or turret of a lemen russ ... cant remember the name of the gun tho. tis a very shor barrel howitzer basically.

That's the problem with conversions and homebrew units, they add weapons that aren't canon and therefore won't be used in this mod.

That includes several of the weapons in your post.

The "normal" Leman Russ Battle Tank is should be equipped with a hull-mounted Las-Cannon and sponson Heavy Bolters. The classic set-up. Probably the same set-up for similar variants like the Leman Russ Vanquisher and Leman Russ Conqueror.

The Leman Russ Eradicator is a tank that wants to turn every piece of cover in its way until nothing can cower ahead of it. To pair with it, including its role as an urban tank, I think you need put on Heavy Flamer sponsons to roast people in buildings and a hull-mounted Heavy Bolter for anyone who doesn't die in front of the tank.

The Leman Russ Demolisher is pretty much similar in nature to the Eradicator, but functions more like a siege weapon than a battle tank. To help destroy buildings, equip it with sponson Multi-Meltas and a hull-mounted Las-Cannon.

The Leman Russ Executioner is the bane for heavy infantry on two treads, the plasma taking away all their advantages and melting them to goo. Press the advantage - Plasma Cannon sponsons and a hull-mounted Las-Cannon.

Like the Executioner, the Leman Russ Exterminator is a specialized infantry killer with its twin-linked autocannons. Autocannons are, however, not too good against armor, so give it a hull-mounted Las-Cannon and sponson Multi-Meltas to give it that penetration it needs for heavier opponents.

Also like the previous two, there's the Leman Russ Annihilator that is made to kill mechanized enemies. Heavy Bolters for hull-mounted and sponsons to give it both anti-infantry qualities and to eliminate certain enemies at a faster rate than the twin-linked Las-Cannons can.

The Punisher is also anti-infantry, but the gun is a Gatling Gun that is great for swarm enemies. Hull-mounted Heavy Flamer to help concentrate swarmers that get too close for comfort and Plasma-Cannon sponsons for a little more punch.

I think there are two approaches to this: I mean the Vanquisher, for example, has much poorer anti-infantry ability than a demolisher, so you could make it a more specialised tank killer with multi-meltas, or more all-rounded with plasma cannon sponsons. I'd say that the vanquisher should have plasma cannons and lascannon, demolisher should have heavy flamers and lascannon for example, but I'd be interested in hearing what other people think. Ultimately, the basic leman russ needs the basic setup of lascannon and two sponson heavy bolters, because canonically that's most common.

Youve gotta create commissar yarrick, if your gonna have the leman russ!

really liking your ideas Catachan, agree with all of them so far. only one thing though, the exterminator's autocannon and lascannons are both pretty long range weapons. if you give it multi-meltas then they won't be used most of the time i would think. and they wouldn't be all that much use at close range since they shoot in short bursts at a relatively slow rate. i think simple sponson Heavy bolters would be better.

but thats just a quick thought i had, hopefully you or someone else can prove me wrong as to why it should have multi-meltas(as i wouldn't mind it having it)

Commisar Yarrick would make no sense in this mod.

I was just making suggestions, you can change them if you want

and i'm very appreciative of your suggestions, and its not that i want to change them just trying to get a discussion going as to why so we can have the most effective setup for when we get them in-game.

Personally, I think your argument for the Heavy Bolters instead of Multi-Meltas makes sense

I agree with Catachans list of suggestions and the addition from Chompster.
But i would suggest to add a low budget version with a Battle cannon and an additional MG only. I am not sure about the current Codex but it think, this should be possible.

that low budget version could be the Conqueror, it isn't as strong as the Leman Russ' battle cannon but makes up for it in speed and rate of fire.
few questions thouhg, why a low budget version? and what exactly do you mean with an additional MG only?

Phenixtri wrote: battle cannon "rare but yea ive seen em. they are kind of like the old US M3 stuert tanks from WW2 with heavy stubbers or an auto cannon in the turret & battle cannon in the hull"

I think you mean the M3 Lee medium tank, with a 75mm hull mounted cannon and a 37mm anti tank gun in the turret. The stuart was a light tank with a single 37mm gun.

Commissar Yarrick would only server as a hero unit eg a officer

sadly that still wouldn't make much sence, Yarrick is a Commissar of the Steel legion on Armageddon. the IG we're using are the Cadian 113th rifle regiment.
there will be Commissars, just not Yarrick.

but lets keep that for another thread, this one is about the Leman russ

edit: for some reason the BOLD text wont go away.. sorry about that. it doesn't mean anything.

Edited by: Chompster

Chompster wrote: that low budget version could be the Conqueror, it isn't as strong as the Leman Russ' battle cannon but makes up for it in speed and rate of fire.
few questions thouhg, why a low budget version? and what exactly do you mean with an additional MG only?

Because... well... because the IG uses different doctrines and one of them is to overroll the enemy with dozens of tanks where mass is everything. With the option of a low budget heavy tank I have to choose between the option of one very good tank (with several guns) or - lets say - two or three less armed tanks, which are less effectiv but able to protect more positions than the more expensive version, which can only protect a single position on the map. Sorry, my english isn't good enough to explain this fourther/better. I hope, you get a idea from what I mean and you can follow my gibberish this far.

Edited by: Vegas

Essentially a base Leman Russ fresh from the box, no sponsons, no pintle, no hunter killer missiles.

ahh alright i get you now Vegas, and Luth Forgeworld.co.uk that basically?

Edited by: Chompster

Pretty much.

Thats what I am talking about.

Uum pretty simple and a lot of people have said it already.Exterminator:Plasma cannon sponsons and las cannon.
I think the conqueror should have hull mounted heavy flamer and sponson mounted muli meltas because its gonna be a storm tank Its fast so you gotta make use of its speed.
Punisher:uum either plasma sponsons and heavy flamer sponsons. Or 3 heavy bolters so that it will give the needed triple extra dakka. That means tabletop wise 9 shot's from the heavy bolters. And i don't really know the amount of shots from its main gun but i guess something like 8-10 shots.
Annihilator:Hull mounted las cannon and sponson mounted heavy bolters or heavy flamers because infantry will want to flank when they want to use their grenades or AT. And sponson mounted weapons are the best to counter that
Really just my 2 cents maybe i am wrong with allot of this stoff but maybe it ill help

In Tabletop rules the Punisher has 20 shoots per turn. (Source: Imperial Army Codex) Thats a hell of a steel rain. For comparison only the imperial assault cannon used by Terminator SM makes only 4 shoots per turn!

Edited by: Vegas

Ok that means tabletop wise 29 shots if you take 3 heavy bolters.Thats almost 10 extra shots i think that still is a decent amount of dakka extra. Put a stubber/bolter on the pintel and that will be over 30 shots with ease.

Yes. With bolters and an additional MG you get up to 32 shoots per turn.But thats tabletop. I think Chompster has to see how it works ingame.