When I started working in Super Space Knights, one of the first things I wanted to fix was the lack of variety between companies. The obvious solution was to create specific moves for each (same thing as in other PbtA games) and add some extra companies to play with. In the end I have come with twelve!
The different types of company are:
Assault: specialized in close combat. A classic. They are the best in what they do and what they do is being mean with the enemy. One of their possible moves is getting extra glory by harvesting gory trophies from the battlefield (a lot like the World Eaters) and getting Damnationby doing so.
Combat: versatile and reliable formations. In this one, I have kept the better attributes profile in exchange of having just one move.
Armoured: they use large numbers of vehicles. These have gone through a lot of changes to make them both, different and interesting to play. Now they have a nice selection of moves to choose from for that.
Destroyers: equipped with heavy weapons and artillery. Most of their moves are about massive discharges of artillery and fire support (with the risk of blowing up their allies!).
Elite: the most veteran members of the Order. There were some complaints regarding them being too tough for not suffering casualties on partial success That has been changed in the updated rules and in SSK even further as an optional move that can get them Damnation.
Squires: the novices, recruits and servants who aspire to become Space Knights. These work in a less direct as opposed to W40K where novices do the infiltration. I have changed the fact that they lose Troops if they give them to other companies for a move to produce them easier.
And now, the brand new ones:
Scouts: specialized in covert operations and infiltration. They can divide the company in small commandos that act independently without being penalised.
Irregular: emergency formation created with the remains of other companies. They are far worse in both, profile and moves, but they can be created even if there are no companies left. For some reasons, they were quite popular during testing.
Magical: groups the knights with magical powers. The nature of these powers(psychic powers, use of Darknessor somethingelse) must be establishedat the beginningof the game. They have a number of fairly powerful moves but they corrupt quickly.
Command: responsible for strategic planning. They go one step further than the Mission Move and are experts in countermeasures and contingency plans. They are not heavy fighters but they don´t need it.
Naval: Fleet veterans who excel in space warfare. They are a bit like armoured companies but their biggest asset is the Flag Ship, a massive spaceship with more Dogmas and some exclusive ones plus a lot of advantages when the company stays inside.
Redemption: where the sinners of the Order are sent to pay for their crimes. This is the "easy" way of getting rid of the Damnation points. They can take them from other companies and lose them when they lose troops. Be careful, though, because accumulating corrupt knights in one place can lead to, well, a corrupt company.
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These are so cool! What about a type of company (or just a special move for Scouts) that gives an advantage in operating in extremely difficult terrain, such as mountains, swamps or irradiated/toxic terrain?
That is actually a very good idea.
Something like:
Hostile Terrain Specialists:
When creating your Company, choose one of the following terrains: Jungle, Desert, Ice, Swamps, Mountains, Subterranean, Submarine, Void, Toxic/Irradiated.
When fighting or maneuvering in the chosen terrain, tell how you use it in your advantage and your Company rolls with Advantage. Your officers can always give you an idea of the potential threats in an area of that type.
Wow! You did a good job compilating special types of companies. I see there the Deathwing, the Ravenwing, the Death Company, the Librarium...
Is there anything for like techmarines or apothecaries?
I thought about tech-knights and med-knights companies (even together in a kind of fixer company) but, given that their role would be a lot of people just fixing and healing, didn't seem particularly appealing. They work better as capacities.
I don't want to be "that guy" but isn't "fixing things" more or less what the squires do?
As they are, they fulfil the "healer" role from traditional games covering the casualties from other Companies (hit points, more or less) with their own.
The short answer is "yes but".
Yes, the main purpose of the Squires is to produce Troops for other companies but to make that possible they have to enter in combat to harden their recruits, they must serve veterans to learn their ways and take care of a number of rites to keep the Order working. They can do stuff that other companies do but they can still work as regular troopers. In other words, they have a lot of different things to do.
A company made entirely of technicians doesn't feel that way. It's more like some guys in the rearguard waiting for something to break and someone bringing it to fix it.