Kickass models and making up your own rules

 Tonight's post is mostly about making up rules, but I'll break it up a bit with some pics of my latest assembly progress.
I'm a big fan of unpredicatability, so custom rules for games naturally appeal to me. The main section of the WH rulebook has objective-based battles which do add something extra, but I'm more into the "extra random element of danger" than the "capture and hold objectives" brand of variation. So here are a few rules I brainstormed on the bus this week:

Environmental factors
I envisioned these as a sort of situation where you roll to determine the conditions of your game (after agreeing with the other player that there will be weird conditions in the first place). My boundaries were simple: it had to be unbiased, non-overpowered (I save that for the magic phase) and each variety had to be unique. First though: Look! A Bloodcrusher!

Fog of war: Terrain is determined as per the rulebook, but due to the thick fog on the battlefield, nobody knows what it is yet. D6+4 markers are placed on the field, alternating players in the normal way. When a model comes within 6" of it, you roll to discover what the terrain is and place it centred on the marker. The triggering model doesn't necessarily have to be inside it if it is a forest or river (discretion of the person who triggers it), but it can't be placed so that another unit is also inside it (looking at you, river).
Additionally, all long range ballistic shots take a soft cover modifier, unless a friendly unit is within their close range of the target as a spotter.

Meteor shower: Divide the board into 2'x2' sections (we usually play with 6 so that works out nicely). At the start of each turn randomly choose a section via dice and place a marker in the middle of that section. Once both player turns are complete the marker scatters D6", but if you roll a 1, the meteor is delayed until the next turn (yes, 2 can hit on the next turn). Use a small template to work out who is hit, and a large template if it was delayed (it also scatters 2D6" before hitting on the next turn). Models under the template take a S5 hit, while models under the centre take a S10 hit.

Look! A Bloodthirster! That's liquid green stuff in the joints, and I'm halfway through pinning him right now. My Great Unclean One is minus his flail until I get around to it and I'm not planning on getting a Lord of Change, but maybe I should see about a Keeper of Secrets.

 Tornado: The tornado starts in the centre of the board. Roll 2 dice separately. 5+ on one means it uses the large template, while 4+ on the other makes it a magic tornado. Any model that passes through it takes a S3 hit for a small and S4 for a large. Flyers always take S4. At the start of each turn scatter the tornado, and on a misfire reroll for size and magic.
For magic tornadoes: any caster within 6" of the centre of the template (9" for large) gains magical swiftstride, rolling 3D6 for winds of magic and discarding the lowest, and a +1 channeling modifier. A wizard in the eye of the tornado gets +2 to channeling and +6 to casting and dispelling. Due to the Goddamn magical hurricane around him, he takes D6 S10 hits if he does an irresistable (both casting and dispelling) as well as the usual miscast if it's casting. For running into a tornado, he's also subject to stupidity for the rest of the game.

Earthquake: Roll a D6 at the start of each turn. On a 6, divide the board into equal sections and roll to pick 2 of them, which then switch places. If the rolls to choose get the same section, it rotates 180degrees.

Sinking island: At the end of every turn the battlefield gets smaller; 3" off each short end and 6" off each long end. First turn a section is underwater it acts as a mysterious river, then becomes fatal on the next turn. Probably not one to use if people have artillery, but I made it (just) dwarf-friendly.

Check out Kairos Fateweaverwith the unexplained fish of knowledge on his book. What a boss.

While the other 5 options have been weather/natural disaster based, my last variation comes from a different direction.
Creeps: Sick of people having battles in their peaceful forest/field/desert/tundra, the native creatures have decided to fight back. After placing terrain, you place D3+1 disgruntled creatures in the battlefield, continuing placement order from terrain. Roll to decide what you place: a Shaman/Truthsayer/Dark Emissary, a Giant, 2 Fanatics, 3 wild Squigs, a Bat or a Halfling Hot Pot. They can be placed anywhere outside the deployment zones and face a random (scattered) direction.
After both players have had their turns, the creeps will charge if possible and scatter D6" if not. Hot Pots don't move, but fire at the closest unit. Mages have a randomly determined magic missile, hex or direct damage spell, and generate power dice as normal. Players get the normal amount of dispel dice, but they cannot be used to dispel other effects. The mage uses all of his power dice in each attempt because he hates you that much.
Fanatics are placed in forests if one is available and jump out like normal.
You get 1.5x points for killing creeps, and they have the Strider rule because they know their land so well.

So, thoughts? Tornado could lose the magic variety or at least the eye of the storm part, just to make it simpler. These are just first drafts, so we'll probably refine them a bit if we ever plan to use them.

Want to be upside down, 
maybe thrown from side to side?
Want to fall from the clouds, 
sailing like a ship at sea?
       -The Fake Headlines, The New Pornographers