'Light' Incubi? How far can you bend the fluff?

I was just looking at the stats of the Incubi and the Harlequins when it occured to me that they are quite similar, with only Initiative and Leadership being different. As I don't really like the idea of Clowns of Death and Damnation, I thought to myself, "Why not represent the Harlequins with lightly armoured Incubi"?
There was a topic about 'male Bloodbrides' in this forum and it could be a way to represent them.

What do you think? Too much heresy?

Well, I've always been a big spokesman for the creative aspect of this hobby. If you think up your very own unit based of the harlequins, complete with converted models and fluff, then I'll applaud your creativity. "Count As" is one of my favourite rules.

I've understood you correctly, when I interpret this as you wanting to field a unit of Harlequins, without using the fluff behind the models, yes?

Correct, that is what I intend to do.
It'll be a heavily converted unit, using the rules of the Harlequins, but with my own fluff and design for them.

And nice, I'm a big defender of counts-as, too! Gotta love creativity, huh?

Creativity is the foundation of wargaming.

I say, go for it, just be sure to clarify that they are Harlequins for mechanics purpouse, and to point out what represents the various weapon upgrades and whatnot.

Harlequins are a major frustration for me, personally, because the fluff doesn't sit right with me, really, neither does the mechanics of the unit, but those models are fantastic!

I too would like Harlies to 'fit' better, at least aesthetically. But you're gonna be hard-pressed to explain their lack of PfP from a fluff-wise perspective.

As long as you go out of your way to convert something similar to Incubi but more dynamic it sounds like a great idea!

*EDIT* : by that I mean I don't think using regular Incubi as Harlies is a good idea, the models should differ enough from Incubi to ensure people don't instantly assume they're Incubi. Also: telling your opponent what's what before the game should these issues.

Go for it.

This is a hobby. The GW IP, as extensive as it is, is a guideline. If your opponent is informed of what you are putting on the table and is fine with it, than you're good.

That said, I am very interested in the fluff you came up with. Care to share?

P.S.

Raneth wrote:

I too would like Harlies to 'fit' better, at least aesthetically. But you're gonna be hard-pressed to explain their lack of PfP from a fluff-wise perspective.

This is the best Dark Eldar Harlequin aesthetic I've seen yet:

I like it, maybe trim down the armour and I saw this guy on Dakka who had used scythes as Incubi basic weapon. As said, creativity is the main part of the hobby, so go for it. As above, I'd love some fluff.

"Light" incubi are called striking scorpions.

My two souls worth, right there.

Xelkireth wrote:

"Light" incubi are called striking scorpions.

My two souls worth, right there.

HAHA that was a good one.

I think making "light incubi" models and using the harlequin rules sounds awesome mate and I can't wait to see your work.

The beauty of the entire new DE range is that, just like the Orks, we can now do whatever we want and pretty much call it whatever we want. And it will still look good!

Go for it.

Whilst I absolutely love the Harlequins, your idea is interesting. The thing is, I don't understand why you'd want to play Harlequins if you didn't like the models, they aren't particularly good in-game ^^;

I'll say it here again as well: Thank you for the many replies and the motivation, guys!

As for the fluff, I'm currently still working on it, so stay tuned! Once I have assembled enough models to properly start a project log, I'll gladly show you what I have envisioned for the 'Harlequins'. I'll soon enough write an article for my Kabal as well, explaining the fluff behind these and many other of my troops.
Thanks for the interest.

Anggul wrote:

Whilst I absolutely love the Harlequins, your idea is interesting. The thing is, I don't understand why you'd want to play Harlequins if you didn't like the models, they aren't particularly good in-game ^^;

Because I want to build at least a squad of any unit in the codex.

Kinnay wrote:

I'll say it here again as well: Thank you for the many replies and the motivation, guys!

As for the fluff, I'm currently still working on it, so stay tuned! Once I have assembled enough models to properly start a project log, I'll gladly show you what I have envisioned for the 'Harlequins'. I'll soon enough write an article for my Kabal as well, explaining the fluff behind these and many other of my troops.
Thanks for the interest.

Anggul wrote:

Whilst I absolutely love the Harlequins, your idea is interesting. The thing is, I don't understand why you'd want to play Harlequins if you didn't like the models, they aren't particularly good in-game ^^;

Because I want to build at least a squad of any unit in the codex.

Haha, that doesn't count and you know it good sir ;D

Either way, ninja-incubi sound extremely cool

They could be a really nice contrast to the heavily armoured samurai look of the usual Incubi, perhaps with jitte, sai and various other ninja-looking weaponry with a hi-tech look for the rending harlequin's kisses. Just a thought.