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:
A huge amount of the project’s foundation also comes from existing canonical material:
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:
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:
The army was intentionally designed around the following 4e - 5e principles:
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:
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:
datasheets
We are especially interested in hearing from people experienced with older editions. A few things we are already watching closely internally:
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 :)
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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.