Rubric Golems are essentially Thousand Sons marines piloting salvaged Centurion Warsuits; new-age machines of warfare used by loyalist astartes chapters. The suits are stripped of their weaponry and nonessential equipment, and receive reinforced adamantium plating. A leering daemonic helm replaces the standard battle helmet common to the Rubrics, and the armour is covered in icons of worship to the god Tzeentch (after all Imperial icons are removed or desecrated).
In place of the suits standard load out is a weapon often referred to as a Rift Projector. These weapons are rare, unpredictable and unstable warp-fueled creations of the Dark Mechanicus. With a selection of focusing crystals, hellfire lenses and matter accelerators they are very versatile weapons, capable of burning entrenched infantry with warp fire one moment, and lancing tanks with dense beams of rift-energy the next. Such a powerful weapon comes with risks. Sometimes the daemonic wards and containment plates fail, causing severe feedback damage to the suits, or even transporting a whole Golem to the depths of the warp. The gods are fickle when it comes to abusing the powers of the warp.
On top of the Rift Projector, Rubric Golems are equipped with standard issue solid projectile and energy weapons, and power fists for close quarters engagements.
A Rubric marine cannot pilot the suit on its own: without a guiding sorcerer these automatons would remain inactive. To combat this, the souls of Tzeentch daemons occupy the suit in place of a machine spirit. Not only do they imbue the suits with psy-shields and enhanced strength, they also coax the Rubric's spirit and guide them in battle to kill and destroy. Sometimes the daemons are a little too encouraging, often torturing the poor soul occupying the Rubric's armour with their encouragement. Many Rubric Golems are, as a result, quite mad when active, often screaming in undead tones or laughing madly. It is not uncommon for sorcerers to stick close and guide them, should the daemons get a little trigger happy and violent towards the wrong soldiers.
Seeing as I have now introduced you to the Rubric Golems, it is time to move into the planning of these count-as obliterators.
I really want to change the posing. The standard poses aren't terribly dynamic, and I have seen some amazing reposing done by people. At the same time I may make them taller to give more balanced proportions.
Next up is to make them more chaotic. Naturally a head-swap will table place, but there precious little else on the Centurion I can swap with chaotic components. So that means I’ll have to modify existing bits. Ill attempt to redo the chest designs as well as the leg armour.
For the Rift projectors I have two options. I can either save some money and kit bash some guns, using the graviton cannons as a basis. Or I can go all-out and get these suitably massive Volkite weapons from Forge World. Either way, I want to create some scary looking unknown-energy weapons for these guys.
As a little bonus I’ll have a ton of spare weapons, which are likely to find their way onto a tank or into a havoc unit.