We are making our own heresy, with blackjack, and loyalists losing!
What if the Warmaster was like Alpharius, a cunning spy? What if he actually won the war and killed the Emperor. What if a shadow emperor ruled Segmentum Solar as a 1984 fascist state, while his traitor brothers ruled border marches to hold the loyalist crusaders in the east at bay? That's what we're working on here in this thread.
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
If you're posting a new legion:
>What is the name of your primarch and legion? What is their number, and what are their heraldric symbols? What colors do your marines paint their armor?
>What are your legion's tactics? Do they fight with cunning or strength? What sort of equipment do they favor? What sort of enemy would you call them for?
>What does your Legion do during the Great Crusade? How early is the Primarch found, and where? What worlds to they conquer, and what xenos monstrosities to they face in the name of the Imperial Truth? Mark your conquests on the map.
>What does your legion do during the Warmaster's Heresy? Are they loyalists, traitors, or renegades? Which legions do they fight the most? What are their major battles and actions during the Warmaster's campaign? How do they fare at the end? If your Primarch is a traitor or renegade, does he become a Daemon Prince? Mark your battles on the map.
>>48084349
Old thread is here
>>48068744
Older thread is here
>>48036492
All of the following is subject to review and is not yet official. All is flux.
I Angels of Light: Loyalist Empire builders, Their primarch is a renaissance man who has written entire libraries on millions of topics.
II Crimson Warhawks: Loyalist air superiority experts with spaceplanes and jump packs. Needs work.
III Paladins of Kor: Noblebright renegades who side with neither the loyalists nor the Warmaster. They loathe civilian losses and are willing to trade with xenos, so the loyalists shun them.
IV Bloodhounds: Traitor huntsmen of Khorne. Experts at eradicating the enemy when they go to ground.
V: Fists of Mars: Mechanicum marines who become the Mechanicum-in-Exile when Mars falls to the heretics.
VI: Storm Hammers: Loyalist Radiation knights. One of the closest Crusader States to the Dark Imperium, holding the enemy at bay.
VII: Judgement Bringers: Traitor Shock and Awe tactics. To begin the heresy, the warmaster has their primarch call a Tournament for the Crimson Warhawks, the Sky Serpents, the Silver Spears, and the Second Sons. The latter two legions, as well as the Judgement Bringers, turn the false tournament into a charnel house.
>>48084366
VIII: Oathsworn: Renegade space doctors who serve chaos but swear no allegiance to the Warmaster.
IX: Void Lords: Loyalist Space Marines who take the "Space" part seriously. They eternally crusade through contested space on their space hulk flagship, the Void God.
X: Sky Serpents: Loyalist sorcerors and logistics experts with chinese and mayan style. Among the loyalists they are the greatest sorcerors, and their Primarch helped to start the Librarius project.
XI: Eyes of Luna: The Warmaster's Legion. They are small enough to pass as mortal men, and often act as spies, saboteurs, and propagandists, like evil Iterators mixed with the Alpha Legion.
XII: The Second Sons: Traitors who fuck shit up.
XIII: Silver Spears: Traitor warriors who turn to slaanesh to become perfection incarnate. They rule an empire of mirrors.
XIV: Vigilant Spectres: Loyalist Dreadnoughts who stand vigil against the Dark Imperium. They hold the border worlds, along with the Storm Hammers, so the Eastern Imperium can survive. Obsessed with death, death imagery, skulls, etc.
>>48084374
Aren't you getting XIV confused with the Scions?
Hekatonkires
>>48081724
>>48081895
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Galaxy has been riven by strife and beset by war. Ever since the Emperor, who had once dreamed of uniting the Galaxy was struck down by his traitor son Mankind has been left on the edge, bitterly fighting for another day of life, to stave off the extinction that has always been lurking over the horizon. Unity is a distant dream, the ideals of the Emperor long since lost. Man’s own inhumanity towards man has become the iron rule of these dark times.
To the west lies the Dark Imperium, the realm of Chaos. Stretching from the weeping sore that is the Eye of Terra to the great Firewall in the east, the Dark Imperium is not one single real undivided, but rather a screaming anarchy of hundreds of realms that come and go in the blink of an eye, where Daemons and Monsters cavort and play with the souls of countless billions. The mighty Legions of those Primarchs who joined in treachery scrap with one another for the favour of their chosen Gods, for power and for influence. Only the strong survive, and only the insane prosper there.
To the East across the ‘Firewall’ laid by the Emperor in his death throes lies the Eastern Imperium, the last hope of Man in these dark times. Yet even this mighty realm is weak and divided, separated into the ‘Crusader States’ each ruled by one of the Loyalist Primarchs still left after the breaking. Though they are united in opposing the Dark Imperium, they still squabble and fight and keep the Eastern Imperium from ever being truly united. Their only salvation is that their foes across the Firewall are even less united than they are.
To be a man in such times is to be living on the edge. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody time in Galactic History. These are the tales of those times. Forget the promise of unity, for it died with the Emperor. Now, there is only war.
>>48084437
Yes. I made the same mistake in the last thread, idk why.
XIV: Undying Scions
>>48084374
There's also the Warp Riders, chaos sorcerors and xenophiles who believed that the warp was the future of humanity. They took Nikea... personally.
>>48084474
This is good stuff.
>>48084374
And for those playing along at home:
Khorne: Bloodhounds
Slaanesh: Silver Spears
Tzneetch: Warp Raiders, to an extent
Nurgle: Nobody yet
Actually, last thread, I'd suggested some very angry Hereteks, who were sort of like Weird War Two meets Mad Max meets Cave Johnson. What do y'all think of technophile nurglites?
>>48084524
>Nurgle: Nobody yet
>>48084448
Maybe?
>>48084349
Adjusted from last thread:
The Crusader State know as the Kor Protectorate is run by Anders Kor, and his Legion the Paladins of Kor, is seen as radical and even marginally heretical by the other States. Frequently engaging with xenos, heretics, and other less-than-savory types has led most to come to the conclusion that Anders may not be unhappy with the Emperor's downfall. It was well know that before the Fall, the Paladins of Kor would more often than not refuse to acknowledge the Emperor's authority, and thus were at odds with the more loyal of the Emperor's Legions.
Yet, it seems that out of all the other States, Anders' is the most suited for this new era. Trade is booming, armies of well-equipped Stare Guardsmen are always ready to fight off invaders, and the Paladins themselves can be seen going on missions to secure the prosperity of the State.
While relations with the other States are tense at best, the Dark Imperium's with the State relationship is far more aggressive. While unconfirmed, there are reports of probing attacks by Chaos Space Marines all along the borders, and the friendlier heretics give warning that the Gods have marked Anders for death. Even the Eldar Farseers that speak with the State have seen that something may be coming to the Eastern Imperium, but will not specify what. Whatever it is, the State is prepared to fight.
Capital: New Hope
>>48084524
Technophile dark mechanicus nurglites who experiment with anything and make kickass warp posessed technobeasts can be VERY cool. Do it.
>>48084524
>technophile Nurglites
Do they spread computer viruses?
>Chaos Imperium to the west
>Tyranids invade from the east
Shit's gonna get real for the loyalists.
>>48084606
They don't HAVE to invade from the east. They could just as easily come from any other direction.
>>48084606
Given the Disunity of the Eastern Imperium, the Tyranids will fuck them over worse than canon. They'll be the Turks to the Eastern Empire.
>>48084606
No Astronomican means no mass invasion by the Tyranids. Admittedly, no Astronomican means that Navigators have no point of reference, so the cure may be worse than the disease.
>>48084673
There could still be smaller nid invasions. No reason to get rid of them wholesale.
>>48084673
Warp Beacons exist, but warp travel would be a lot slower and a lot more arduous. Forget fleets moving swiftly from place to place with any accuracy at all, Warp travel would be far, far more hazardous than canon.
>>48084673
Someone mentioned in the last thread smaller-scale astronomicans. I like that idea and I think it plays into the notion of fractured Crusader States. You can travel through the warp, but only for short distances and only when you're near Crusader space. Beyond that, things get...dangerous.
It makes for a much more isolated galaxy.
>>48084687
Sure. But you wouldn't be seeing hive fleet after hive fleet. It'd be more like probing fragments with more emphasis on the genestealers.
In other words, rather than scrapping the bugs or leaving them as-is, you should re-imagine them.
>>48084706
>>48084709
Are you assuming soul-binding still happens, or removing astropaths as well?
Regarding isolation, it's OK so far as it goes, but it does mean that your options for cross-pollination of the stories become more limited. GW painted themselves into this sort of corner by elevating a regional power (the Tau) into the main line of their continuity.
>What is the name of your primarch and legion? What is their number, and what are their heraldric symbols? What colors do your marines paint their armor?
Primarch Videric, leader of the Redeeming Legion, originally the Fire Templars. Crazed with lust for revenge against his former brothers, Videric made his legion adopt a new name to symbolize his quest for redemption against the traitors. An overly large legion, difficult to manage, and united in name only the Redeemers will often launch self sustained crusades against the Dark Imperium in the name of reconquest unless called to a higher purpose. Strict adherence to symbolism and dedication to the former Empire is mandated, anything else is night-on treason to the legion. The armor is painted in a
>What are your legion's tactics? Do they fight with cunning or strength? What sort of equipment do they favor? What sort of enemy would you call them for?
Being mainly a voidship-based legion save for a few planetary basions of strategic importance, there is a distinct preference for bombarding planets until they are sterile. Especially, if the planets are held by the enemy. Given the numbers of the legion, crushing the enemy under sheer numbers and determination is not uncommon either. However, given the size of the legion, and the lack of manufacturing capacity, any arms and armor are deemed acceptable. Anything that can be salvaged, will be salvaged. This also means the legion will help others in war, in exchange for equipment.
Is this an acceptable idea for a legion? If not, or there isn't room for more, that's fine.
Just to be sure: Jade Empire is under 'loyalist' control, correct?
>>48084566
Alright... let's see...
Gengrat Vannevar of the Behemoth Guard?
Raised in the Terrodyne Industrial Combine, working his way up through the works from the forge to Commandant of the entire Industrial Combine
His legion is clad in ivory plates with circuits and lightning devices, their emblem that of The Great Beast of Iron.
During the crusade, the legion made extensive use of auxiliary forces, often making use of penal battalions, prisoners of war, and servitors as cannon fodder, exhausting their enemies with an unending stream of worthless bodies before legionary boots crushed whatever remained beneath their relentless tread.
When time was short, the legion was noted for taking to the field in an array of customized heavy armor, most typically based on the Land Raider chassis, but often using less conventional vehicles, such as the Dracosan or even the Chimera.
They were among the foremost in integrating battle automata into the legion structure.
You call them in when the enemy is dug in, when a war of attrition is needed.
Their experimentation grew ever more unorthodox and unhinged, until the heresy, at which point contact with daemonic powers began.
Gengrat Vannevar sees Nurgle less as a master and more of a patron, who has chosen to bless his particular brand of experimentation.
Post heresy, the flensing pits and machine works of the legion produce strange machine-organism hybrids and foul daemon engines. malignant Silica Animus constructs and horrific biotic weaponry.
Where a legion like the Second Sons is practical, these guys are "creative" and by creative I mean they do things like feed insects daemon-blood and watch what happens when they're set free on an agro-world or a hive world.
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
The Lord of Thunders, the regent of Lostregia, command the Legion in the absence of Engerand. Of course, now his absence is bound to be a little more permanent now that he is deceased. At the side of the Primarch/Regent are the Taranisian, the honour guard and councilors who also vote to choose a new Lord of Thunders from their ranks. Below them are the respective Masters of the Great Companies as well as the Lord Librarians (and the Chief Librarian, their own master). Librarians are prime advisors and act as 'court mages' of sort.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
Their Crusader State is extremely varied from planet-to-planet, as the Storm Hammers not good at empire-building. These worlds pay heavy tithes to the Legion in order to support their masters' constant crusading. Large armies are raised in order to fortify the borders.
The Storm Kingdom is ruled as a 'court' of sort which is similar in concept to the canonical High Lords.The Lord of Thunders is rarely there as he is either fighting at the border or handling political matters in his Legion. As a result the various Lords hold some sizeable power within the Storm Kingdom and some impressive freedom of action.
>>48085148
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
Engerand survived the Heresy only to be felled millenia later. He led a charge against a mighty Dark Imperial stronghold. By the time his ragged, weakened forces had conqueror the super-structure, Engerand's body and and armors were a wreck only held together by willpower, superior craftsmanship and (some believe) psychic powers. There had been several times Engerand had survived near-fatal injuries, spending time recovering so it was hoped he would once again rise. His Legion was unfortunately disapointed as the Primarch suffered a shameful death from his injuries, away from the battlefield and in the hands of Apothecaries powerless to stop his demise.
>>48084882
Haha, yes, that's the Sky Serpents.
Speaking of which:
>>48084366
>Structure
The Sky Serpent legion as a whole has a flexible and interlocking command structure. Individual chapters and companies are designed to be more or less self sufficient, but are not wholly interchangeable. Instead, various specialized formations exist at all levels, from Jaguar Warrior companies in many chapters to specialized chapters, such as the infamous Jade Lion or Ereshkigal Guard.
Independent of such formations, various warrior orders and rites existed. The best known outside the legion is probably the Raven Path, the legion's primary techno-archaeologists, but many other such groups exist, such as the Vulpine Talon, specializing in research and design, or the Threefold Gate, the legion's Librarius.
>Ranking Officers
The highest ranking officers and experts of the legion are assembled in the Chaotai.
The legion's two highest commanders are the Ministers of the Left and the Right. Slightly lower in seniority are the Cihuacoatl, a flexible council with a membership made up of the Masters of the various orders. Parallel to this, are the Tlatoani, a council drawn from the chapters of the legion. Any praetor level commander has the right to a seat in the Chaotai, but in practice, only a small subset attend the primarch at any given time.
>The Jade Empire
The Jade Empire is one of the nicer places in the galaxy. Xun Tohilcoatl would claim the nicest, but Alexios would doubtlessly disagree. The Jade Empire is run on the principles of rationalism and order, with a hybrid administration that includes the mortal inhabitants in the bureaucracy.
I'm thinking Malcador crashed there for a while after Terra fell and Xun and Malcador got along great. There's a fair bit of manufacturing going on, drawing from the Tindalan Mechanicum's school of thought. (Maybe Koriel Zeth made it out there too?)
>>48085148
>>48085164
>>48085175
Considering the proximity, I imagine the Storm Kingdom and Jade Empire are close allies and would trade heavily. I suppose Xun Tohilcoatl finds the Storm Kingdom awfully ineffective by comparison, what with its feudal hierarchy of Lords:
Local>Planet(>System if a system has more than one inhabited planet)>Sub-Sector>Sector and then finally those high ranking lords which sit at the council. That combined with how wildly different each planet is and how much leeway feuding nobles are given.
>>48085175
The Jade Emperor may also deal with the training and dispersion of psykers for warp beacons and the like, running the Black Ship equivalent, as well as the astropaths. >>48084817
The Jade Empire vigorously supports their allies in the Storm Kingdoms. The Celestial Court tries to stay on good terms with the Fists of Mars, though their unorthodox variant on the machine creed may strain relations at times.
Similarly, though the Imperium Minoris and Jade Empire are both very much on the same side, what the Jade Empire calls pragmatism, the Alexios has a much less kind name for. Similarly, Xun finds that Alexios is overly judgemental, rigid, and overly idealistic.
The Jade Emperor tries to stay on the good side of Anders, which mostly means not bothering them. The Jade Empire also openly negotiates with the Craftworld Eldar, under the assumption that they have a far more important common enemy. As a result, some craftworlds are allies, distant allies, but on the same side, while others cannot be dealt with. Like Sam-Hain and their Eldar supremacist agenda.
Similarly, some very few minor xenos races are granted protectorate status.
They are, of course, eternally at war with the bloodhounds and have been known to even strike against the core of the Dark Imperium itself, though never with great effect.
>Xun Tohilcoatl
He's alive and rebuilding as best he can and fortifying what will become The Jade Empire.
Huh. So does this mean that every so often, the Eastern Imperium gets together for a crusade, driving towards Terra?
And you know what they say about the 13th Crusade...
>>48084861
Seems like an interesting idea.
>>48085175
>Haha, yes, that's the Sky Serpents.
I had to make up names for the states in order to label them. Jade Empire seemed like it fit, and it also feels like a bit of a homage to the Jade Pyres from thread I.
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
Alexios the White keeps close council with a selection of his Great Captains called the Pantheon. The number among the Pantheon is not fixed. Instead, any Great Captain Alexios finds worthy is promoted to the Pantheon. In times of greatness its ranks are numerous, but in hard times where few men achieve greatness, many seats in the Hall of Angels remain empty. At the end of the Heresy and the settling down of the Crusader States, the Pantheon sat three: Julianos of the First Company, Basil of the Third, and Tiberius of the Tenth. It was these three wise men who calmed Alexios' fury and convinced him to maintain what was left of the Emperor's legacy far from the Warmaster's reach.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The Great Captains meet in the Hall of Angels in a form of advisory senate. Each Great Captain rules over a system or subjector in Imperium Minorum, and it is their duty to represent those worlds. However, the decisions of the senate are non-binding, and Alexios maintains despotic control officially. Great Captains among the Angels of Light are referred to as Autokrators.
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
Alexios rules from New Constantine.
>>48085296
We need a Loyalist Abbadon
Anders Kor's Official Relationship Guide
>The Emperor
Kor strongly dislikes/disliked the Emperor. He saw the Great Crusade as good, but the amount of civilian death due to the tactics of the other legions disgusted him. When Anders attempted to discuss this with the Emperor, he was told to do his duty, no matter the cost. This did not sit well.
>Malcador the Sigilite
Mostly positive, but his attempts to implement Chaplains in the Paladins were met with hostility.
>Alexios
More positive than negative, Anders thinks that Alexios views the average man as something similar to a pet. This difference in opinions, small or not, bothers Anders greatly.
>Engerand
Too headstrong. His death was entirely preventable, and Anders thinks that if Engerand had been more patient he could have been a positive force in the Eastern Imperium. Died too soon.
>Xun
Neutral. They seem to keep away from the Protectorate, which suits Anders just fine. Xun is much more callous than Anders can stand.
I'll eventually do more, once people solidify themselves.
>>48084374
>They rule an empire of mirrors.
So is that in physical space or the Warp? I'd imagine we stay mostly in the Warp, if only out of a desire to not die of old age.
>>48085457
IDK I was just trying to be poetic. It's reminiscent of what Fulgrim talks about when he dreams of the future.
>>48084374
Oathsworn anon here, been kinda lurking, when was this decided?
>>48085492
Nothing is decided
>>48085463
>>48085482
I'd like my legion to not own any territory and just sort of mooch off Imperium worlds for recruits and materiel (or else raid it from those Protectorate wimps). It seems to fit the theme for them to spend most of their time innawarp, growing various sexual/combat organs.
Seconds Sons anon here, I'll hopefully be able to post a write up on my legion, their history, the primarch, and maybe even a special unit or two tomorrow. I've got work, but it'll be a slow day so I'll drop in with what I'll be able to write.
Have some mood music and art for them in the meantime.
https://youtu.be/40JmEj0_aVM
Are Phosphex flame throwers a thing that already exists btw?
>>48085557
The couchsurfing /k/ommandos of the Heresy...
>>48084374
I wouldn't say that the Scions are obsessed with death as much as they're Tankred: The Chapter. Though there might be some interesting dynamics with the necrons once they start showing up.
Prospective new Legion for your consideration.
>What is the name of your primarch and legion? What is their number, and what are their heraldric symbols? What colors do your marines paint their armor?
Gehennus Rodran, Lord High Marshall of the ever-watching XVI, the Sentinels Legion.
Their heraldry is largely informal and oftentimes personal to the individual, but is mainly composed of various kinds of eyes.
Their armor is primarily grey with black and red as secondary and tertiary colors.
>What are your legion's tactics? Do they fight with cunning or strength? What sort of equipment do they favor?
The Sentinels' tactics revolve around simultaneous, lightning-fast, comparatively small-scale raids and skirmishes against multiple high-value targets, most often during times of heightened vulnerability (Middle of the night, during severe weather patterns, etc.)
The Sentinels value cunning and teamwork over personal prowess, each squad views itself as a brotherhood within the larger brotherhood.
Because of their tactics and training, the shotgun and the sniper rifle enjoys a ubiquity that nearly rivals that of the bolter within the Sentinels Legion.
>>48085615
>chapter
Er, legion. Which reminds me, is there anything similar to the codex astartes in this incarnation?
>>48085415
>What is your legion's command structure?
The Legion still follows the original command structure put in place at it's founding, with a major addition: the Wanderer Units. Wanderer units are made up of Space Marines from other Legions who have left their original Legion for various reasons (most commonly dissatisfaction or refusal to turn to Chaos). Wanderers are not considered "true Paladins", and therefore have their own command structure, with each unit overseen by a True Captain.
Wanderers do exactly that: they wander into the Contested Territory, and attempt to aid the planets that have been abandoned by the Fallen Imperium. Wanderers have no support whatsoever from the Protectorate, and thus must rely on themselves to procure any resources they may need, from food to ammunition.
>The Protectorate Council
Each planet in the Protectorate is allowed to send 1 civilian, 1 military, and 1 corporate representative to the Chambers of Determination on the capital of New Hope to participate in the Council of the Protectorate. The Council, led by Anders Kor, decides all matters that concern the future of the Protectorate. It is not entirely democratic, as the Primarch and the Paladins always have the last say, but it puts the citizens at ease to know their voices are being heard by their leaders. Each world is run directly through the Council, so all representatives have equal value, from agriworlds to hiveworlds.
>What are your relationships with your neighbors?
Neutral, unless attacked. Trade is done with all manner of heretics, loyalists, xenos, and everything in between.
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
At the end of the heresy, Anders relocates as many citizens from the Fallen Imperium as he can to the Protectorate. In the current year of the setting, he can be found on New Hope trying to secure the future.
>>48085650
For what it's worth, I love it.
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
After the indefinite incapacitation of Sarco Funerus, the Undying Scions divided the governance of the legion among several groups of dreadnoughts, each ruling a different system in the primarch's name. As such, each group must be self sufficient enough to hold out against an enemy force until they can be relieved by their brothers. An Undying council's forces often includes ten companies of one hundred battle brothers as well as the vehicles and materiel required to support them. Once every ten years or in times of dire emergency the councils convene on Amaranth to discuss the future of the legion.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The Undying Scions do not concern themselves with the local governments of their worlds aside from militarily. Astartes were made for one purpose and one purpose only, after all.
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
Sarco Funerus, one of the few who lead the defense of Terra, was given a dire curse by chaos sorcerers on the eve of the final battle: he was fully perceptive of the passage of time and events around him, but unable to move or speak. Upon discovering their seemingly comatose primarch his gene-sons were sent into disarray and we're unable to fully participate in the battle for Terra. Disgraced, they fled with their primarch upon the Emperor's death to their homeworld of Amaranth and its surrounding systems.
>>48084709
I like the idea of smaller warp lighthouses, fueled by PYSKERS. So there is a reason to still have the black ships.
In fact I can see The Black Traders being a coalition power within the crusader states, a collection of former rogue traders, navigator houses, and the group that wouldbhave become the schola astratum and inquisition. Their black ships travel from fief to fief 'dealing' in trained PYSKERS as navigators, astropaths, or lighthouse fuel. Also potentially other forms of slaves. I imagine they would be less welcome in some crusader states than others.
>>48085650
Instead of wanderer units, may I suggest calling them Hedgeknights or Errants?
>>48085618
>What sort of enemy would you call them for?
The Sentinels despise the perfidious Eldar above and beyond any other xeno. Should even a single Eldar be involved in any incident on Imperial Space, you wouldn't even have to call them, they'll volunteer.
>What does your Legion do during the Great Crusade? How early is the Primarch found, and where? What worlds to they conquer, and what xenos monstrosities to they face in the name of the Imperial Truth? Mark your conquests on the map.
During the Great Crusade the Sentinels were largely divided, by choice, throughout the entirety of Imperial Space laying waste to all manner of pirate fleets, corsair squadrons, and raider strongholds. They were also continuously hunting down dissidents, rebels, separatists, anarchists, and the like on innumerable Imperial Worlds and were always the first to be called upon when a newly-conquered world needed to be garrisoned to ensure Compliance.
(Other information will come as this universe becomes more fleshed out)
>What does your legion do during the Warmaster's Heresy? Are they loyalists, traitors, or renegades? Which legions do they fight the most? What are their major battles and actions during the Warmaster's campaign? How do they fare at the end? If your Primarch is a traitor or renegade, does he become a Daemon Prince? Mark your battles on the map.
Just prior to the Heresy, Gehennus is made vaguely aware, surreptitiously, by the Warmaster, of his plans. Unfortunately, the Loyalists are framed for it, the Warmaster using the Sentinels' distrust of sorcery against them, and are ambushed and attacked en-masse by the Sentinels throughout the Heresy itself.
>>48084349
>>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
During the Crusade, the Bloodhounds were broken into Hunting Packs, each of which joined different expeditionary fleets as it saw fit, with the blessing of the Primarch, of course. Balthasar's Blood Pack, his cadre of closest allies and most skilled huntsmen, can be joined only by invitation, and only after bringing the Primarch the corpse of an enemy he has not seen before. First among his pack is Cerberon, the Houndmaster, who served balthasar well, for he was skilled in the management of recruits and the regulation of a legion. Cerberon was known to call new recruits "litters of pups," whom he intended to raise into bloodthirsty warhounds.
>>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The Hunting Grounds of the northern marches are a desolate place, but they are people. The Bloodhounds like to keep their game populations thriving, after all. Agriworlds, feudal worlds, and the occasional forgeworld all labor in terror, hoping that next time the Hounds come screaming from the sky, they will ask only for tithes. They pray that this time they will not be the prey. Balthasar's territory borders that of the Storm Hammers and the Sky Serpents, and his warbands frequently skirmish with them. Balthasar himself makes his throne of skulls on his homeworld of Atris, where the captured prey of a thousand worlds are fed to his daemonic menagerie.
+++ IMPERIAL MORALE TRANSMISSION EPSILON PI +++
THE EYES OF THE WARMASTER ARE UPON YOU!
He could be any officer of the watch. He could be your commander, or he could be the deckhand scrubbing the privy deck. He could be the enemy you face on the morrow. The Warmaster is among us, and he is well hidden. He watches over those who are faithful to him. If you deviate, if you falter in the face of the Warmaster's tasks, he will see it, you can be sure. His eyes are upon you at the dawn of every day, and the rise of every moon.
THE EYES OF THE WARMASTER ARE UPON YOU!
+++ MESSAGE REPEATS +++
>>48086016
Idea: Malcador escapes Terra and makes it to New Constantine. There he and Alexios develop the Imperial Truth: The belief that the Emperor has ascended to godhood. In the name of the now declared God-Emperor of Mankind, Malcador forms Astropathic chapels on strategic worlds in the crusader states. Some legions buy into the Cult, some don't. Maybe there's even fighting about it. But even worlds that disregard the imperial Truth allow Malcador's Black Ships to establish bases in their space, for the usefulness of Astropathic Beacons is invaluable.
The Imperial Cult and the Ecclesiarchy develop an Astartes U.N. They're the ones who call multi-legion crusades into the Dark Imperium. They temper the infighting among the legions as best they can, and try to keep them unified against the enemy, but that's a daunting task.
>>48085388
Maria Vespa, the Star of Morning.
>Concept
The background being established here is the death of the Imperium. Logically, the Loyalists hope for its rebirth, so their iconic figure should anticipate that with a story of death and resurrection. I have a decent origin below and will follow it up if other anons like this idea.
>Origin
Maria was born on Chacek, an obscure farming world shortly after the Great Crusade ended in treachery and bloodshed. Her home planet had little strategic significance and would not be formally assimilated into the Dark Imperium for some years.
During the conquest of Chacek, Maria fought as a member of a partisan band, but eventually faced the prospect of defeat. Unlike her fellows who chose to die or meekly submit, Maria Vespa boldly confronted a Dark Imperial officer and demanded that she be taken back to the throneworld so that she could perform a ritual of mourning after the conquest was announced. Though the cruel officer had little respect for such superstitions, he was taken by the young woman's spirit and decided to take the opportunity to degrade her. Just to win passage back to Terra, Maria had to give up her clothing. As the journey went on, her sponsor inflicted every humiliation and torture his depraved mind could come up with, always preceded by the choice to give up on the people of Chacek. Eventually, as the officer's ship broke warp in the Sol System itself, he made an ultimatum. Maria could give up her life and mourn her people as a corpse, or save herself.
A Dark Imperial officer bringing back a grisly trophy from a successful campaign was not unusual. None commented on the dead woman hanging from the banner of the conqueror of Chacek. Once the triumph had passed, Maria's body was dumped into the prison sinks to feed the light-starved masses beneath.
>>48086281
I am... Surprisingly okay with this.
>>48084524
I did suggest, in a half-joking way at the end of the first thread, that the judgement bringers could turn to nurgle in a 'fuck you emps, and least papa nurgle loves us' sort of way. Sort of silly but I could see the potential there.
>>48086281
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y
This whole thing is shaping out to be super cool.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The Silver Spears govern no worlds in the galaxy, for a warrior does not concern himself with such pettiness. He simply takes whatever he needs from those allowed to live under his protection. For the XIII Legion, this distinction extends to the Imperium’s entire non-astartes population, and they see no problem in descending upon an Imperial world to avail themselves of local materiel, potential recruits, or even sections of architecture. This disposition has put the Silver Spears at odds with other corrupted legions, most famously the Bloodhounds. To be fair, most of this rivalry can be attributed to the clashing personalities of both the primarchs and the gods they serve.
Such treatment is oftentimes also extended to nearby worlds in the crusader states, but at that point it is called raiding. It should come as no surprise that the legion at large sees this form of warfare as somewhat below them, and so tend to make use of large contingents of manic Slaaneshi cultists to compliment their own naval forces. Commanders within the legion have made it a point of competition to use smaller numbers of actual marines than their peers when conducting raiding operations, especially if the target worlds are guarded by loyalist astartes.
>>48086425
The Spears’ permanent residence is located in the deeper reaches of the Warp. It is a nameless, colossal, slightly impossible fortress granted them by the Prince of Excess himself. The gleaming walls seem to protect the legionnaires and their spoils from the worst mutative effects of the Aetherium, at least for now. It is a clearing house of bizarre pleasures and extreme excess, where sniping at marauding daemons from the battlements is considered a regular (and often necessary) pastime. However, the most infamous part in the palace is known as the Hall of Remembrance. In this grand corridor are arrayed hundreds, perhaps thousands of trophies, trinkets, and pieces of art, each commending the deeds of some great hero. The observer inevitably finds himself filled with a sense of swirling, non-specific pride in the glory which surrounds him, and as he makes his way down the hall, the feeling begins to crystalize into self-satisfaction. The faces on the portraits start to resemble that of the onlooker; memories of past heroics form in his mind. At the end of the room stands a formerly imperceptible collection of statues, each with a stupid grin etched into its face
Please tell me what you think, how it can be better worked into the universe, etc.
>>48086436
I like it. A bunch of Adonis-likes making themselves the perfect warrior.
>>48086425
>>48086436
This is great stuff. Perfectly Slaaneshi.
>>48086095
Gaze upon the glorious face of thine enemy, Khornate dog.It's not like I hate you or anything, b-baka!
>>48086476
ONE DAY, BROTHER, I WILL TEAR OUT YOUR IMPETUOUS SPINE AND WEAR IT AS A BELT!
BUT THAT DAY IS NOT TODAY. COME, LET US HUNT THESE...CRUSADERS. THEY ARE FINE SPORT, AND THE WARMASTER COMMANDS IT.
>>48086451
>>48086469
Thank you kindly.
>>48086508
Idea: Our legions are actually pretty okay with each other besides the occasional resource theft. Khorne and Slaanesh fucking hate it but can't do shit because we're their favored champions.
>>48086200
Does Alexios get along with Malcador?
I'd been thinking he crashed with Xun for a while.
>>48086540
>Does Alexios get along with Malcador?
They're relatively similar chracters, actually. They're pragmatic, but not to the detriment of a sense of drama. They have a great deal of respect for the symbols of old Terra. They want to keep the world united and let humanity flourish.
Also, if the Sigilite came to Alexios and offered him the belief that the Emperor yet lived, in some way, then he would jump at it. He loved the Emperor dearly and his death affects him greatly.
>>48086645
Oh, then Alexios and Xun may be on much better terms than I'd been thinking.
I'd been imagining Alexios as a lot more Dorn-ish, with Xun as to Alexios as Malcador is to Dorn.
Quick question:
How far into the future of the AU are you guys projecting? Are you just looking at the first century after the Warmaster takes over, or are you positing that a lot of the Primarchs are still hanging around a hundred centuries later?
>>48086759
I've been assuming it's around 100 years after the Fall of the Emperor.
>>48086744
Alexios is a mixture of Gulliman and Fulgrim. He wants to build a beautiful empire the likes of which the galaxy has never seen. Everything he does is done with deliberation, and he pays studious attention to everything. He lacks the frivolity of Fulgrim but has the same appreciation for beauty. He is an expert in all manner of things, including War, but also art, music, arthitecture, and philosophy. His technical ability can often be uninspired, however, and his legion's penchant for explicitly written combat doctrines ends up being a danger when the Bloodhounds attack.
>>48086759
I imagine most of the primarchs don't remain all the way to 40k do, but a few might. I think the focus of our narrative is a few centuries after the heresy dies down. The Legion's kingdoms are somewhat established, there have been a few holy crusades for terra called. For now let's not speculate on the world of 40k.
That said, we should also be talking about the Great Crusade and the old glory days.
>>48086804
Gotcha. In that case, the rivalry is probably pretty friendly, with Xun having a lot more of the Khan and Alpharius in him when it comes to strategy, but being equally committed to a good empire.
It probably comes down to Alexios having seniority, along with the prestiege that comes along with going by the book (and having a book to go by)-- somehow Xun's own Art of War never quite gets completed and circulates in dozens of partial editions.
Are there any loyalist primarchs specialized in single combat?
>>48086831
The Great Crusade is pretty cool. Spreading the Imperial Truth, committing Xenocide, and perpetrating bloody assaults on planets that don't quite buy into this whole "unified empire of mankind" business.
Nothing for Maria, admittedly, but I'm OK with that.
>>48086970
Right here.
>>48086995
Excellent. We must have a battle, probably in the early Heresy, where you and I duel in full sight of our armies.
If you don't really want that, then are there any others you know about?
>>48087015
Totally fine with it, as long as you're alright with a bunch of Whirlwinds targeting you. It relaxes Anders.
>>48087053
Thank you. It would hardly be fair otherwise.
>>48087101
Anders is just so used to the explosions, he doesn't know if he can perform without them.
>>48086281
OK, after a bit of thought I think I have the resurrection angle.
>Rebirth
While Maria Vespa's body was displayed on Unholy Terra, her spirit wandered the Warp among the lost trillions slain in the Betrayal. Though the daemons of Chaos gorged themselves on human soulstuff, the vast slaughter wrought by the Warmaster's minions had filled the Empyrium with enough spirits to sate the appetites of the unholy for a time. Maria Vespa shone like a beacon to those whose lives had been spent in defiance of the Dark Imperium, and these proud, angry spirits began to flow into her essence, swelling her with psychic might. In the timeless mystery of the Warp, Maria Vespa grew strong enough to draw the ire of the Chaos Gods themselves, forcing her to flee back to the Materium and her own body.
In the prison-sinks of Unholy Terra, Maria Vespa drew breath once more. The great powers she had acquired in her sojourn through death were more than sufficient to protect her in that savage realm. In the darkest depths of the Warmaster's realm, she recruited her apostles from among those who have been consigned to the depths. Over the years, many have escaped from Unholy Terra, bringing word to Mankind that in the nightmare of the Dark Imperium, hope has been born anew.
>>48084349
So do we have an internal history yet? This whole thread is a lot of fucking confusing and needs a tl;dr
>>48087226
Nice.
Did she come into contact with fragments of the Emperor?
>>48087313
This (>>48084474) is about the best plot summary we have so far.
The Warmaster springs his trap with two surprise attacks: He has the Justice Bringers (or maybe the Silver Spears) hold a friendly tournament between legions which turns out to be an Istvaan-esque charnel house. He also musters the Blood Hounds, the Sky Serpents, and the Angels of Light together against a false enemy, then trick the two loyalists into thinking each other have gone traitor. By the time they figure it out the Bloodhound forces have them on the rout.
Other Traitor and Loyalist legions make their way to Terra for battle. There is a great siege between their forces, and just at the moment of victory, when it seems the Loyalists have won the day, the Warmaster appears and kills the emperor with a stab in the back. Warp storms ravage Terra as the Emperor achieves Apotheosis, and the Loyalists flee eastward to lick their wounds.
>>48087374
I'd rather be agnostic about that, because some people might want the Emperor to be a god of Order.
>>48087578
While the Warp Emperor is cool, in-canon it should be ambiguous whether or not he truly ascended to godhood.
>>48084349
Ill continue the Warhawks.
Pic related, the inspiration for the chapter turned legion.
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
Command structure is loose, the legion favouring independence and initiative. In tn this way their are only really two command ranks and varying seniority within them. Strike Captains hold dominion over a self-sufficient force including naval assets and aerospace fighters. Force Commanders have authority over only a single asset, for example a ship, a wing of strike craft, a squad, or a company. This has led to some conflict however due to clashes of jurisdiction and technical authority. However the battle brothers are quick to acknowledge expert opinion and the value of experience in certain situations - less so however when working with other legions command structures.
The Primarch holds no special council, though does seek to surround himself with experts in various fields of war.
I haven't considered Equerrys yet - but I will and get back to it.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The legion attempts to leave its conquered worlds in a prosperous state however dedicates little additional effort than is required. Likewise they do not seek to use unnecessary force in conquering but will utilise whatever weapons are required to ensure compliance. They
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy?
He fell, records conflict as to if it was during or shortly after the heresy but that he has perished is without doubt.
>>48084366
>II Crimson Warhawks: Loyalist air superiority experts with spaceplanes and jump packs. Needs work.
woah woah woah. Jump packs are not a thing for the Warhawks, they are explicitly air mobile infantry. Ie: Regular infantry with air transports rather than jump infantry.
>>48087723
Assumptions were made. I figured the Crimson Warhawks are interested in rapid deployment, and jump packs are definitely a part of that. Thunderbirds/stormravens were designed to be disembarked from the sky by air-mobile infantry. IMO it fits pretty well with air superiority and highly mobile warfare.
>>48087715
>>48087715
The Hawks see themselves as hunters, in the sky and on land.
In battle they operate in purpose built well armed strike teams, often forgoing heavy weapons in favour of relying on close air support.
On Land their strike teams utilise stealth and focus on direct action tasks, short duration missions with a strong emphasis on seizing, destroying, capturing, exploiting situations.
They eschew decisive engagement unless they hold a position of dominance in terms of both fire and man power. This has led to accusations of cowardice and concerns that if forced into conventional battle they would be somehow inferior to legions who specialise in such domains.
>>48087802
I get that, Ill add more details about them to clarify especially why jump packs dont fit too well with their doctrine. Two major points is that they emphasise stealth and adaptability. They purpose arm their troops rather than have dedicated assault and devastator squads. If the task required fire support they will arm their brothers with weapons appropriate, likewise if they need to deploy via jump pack they will do that - but their order of battle includes only tactically versatile units.
>What is the name of your primarch and legion? What is their number, and what are their heraldric symbols? What colors do your marines paint their armor?
Brokha Zhahnamhe of the Extropian Collective. Their symbol is a circuit braided into the infinity lemniscate. Their armor is typically painted with mottled or streaked slate blue with copper highlights.
>What are your legion's tactics? Do they fight with cunning or strength? What sort of equipment do they favor? What sort of enemy would you call them for?
The Collective seeks to win the fight before it even begins through clever strategy, cunning deception, and exploitative use of any available force multipliers. They believe the body is just a machine, nothing more and as such they rely heavily upon cybernetic augmentation. It should be noted they favor improving the mental over the physical. The best example of this preference is the Immortal drone system which allows the marine to puppet multiple robotic drone bodies at once while still participating in combat themselves.
>What are your primarch's feelings about Sorcery and the Warp? What arguments or statements does he make at Nikaea?
You cannot effectively fight an enemy you do not understand. To deny it is to deliver a potent weapon into the hands of the enemy. Further more this would also cut Brokha and his legion off from their efforts to understand hopefully digitize the human soul to achieve immortality.
>>48087864
>What does your Legion do during the Great Crusade? How early is the Primarch found, and where? What worlds to they conquer, and what xenos monstrosities to they face in the name of the Imperial Truth?
Brokha hails from the Ahzhava System in the Segmentum Tempestus. Records would show the system consisting of pulsar with a handful of gas giants and an extensive asteroid field so there would have been little reason for a full Imperial fleet to arrive. When one did on accident they found the system was dotted with over a thousand titanic space colonies that were home to a technologically superior society of humans who had zero interest of joining the Imperium. It's possible the fleet may have been able to escape and limp back to friendly space but Brokha ensured that would never come to pass.
Brokha was a renegade in the inward facing society he grew up in and despite his extreme capabilities found his options stymied at every turn. When the Imperial fleet showed up though he finally had his chance to expand his horizons. Using his connections in the Colonies' underworld of criminals and malcontents he managed to hack into the centralized defense grid and usurp control of it giving the fleet the chance they needed to secure the Ahzhava System in the name of the Emperor.
His integration into the Imperial war machine was bumpy. One of the first things he did when he took control of his legion was to create a network to allow them to communicate mind-to-mind through neural interfaces where every marine's opinion was counted. This of course ran completely against the existing rigid hierarchy that dominated all military structures, leading to a number of embarrassing failures because his legion had not yet figured out how to effectively operate through such an ad hoc command structure where everyone was actively encouraged to analyze and question.
>>48087874
While they were highly effective against any world that Brokha and his legion would consider primitive they were seen as being uniquely merciful against advanced societies by command back on Terra. At Brokha's command the Collective was reluctant to do what they considered to be unnecessary damage to these societies and effort to take them whole. Too much destruction would reduce what they could contribute to the whole. Brokha always valued having new ideas brought forward, even if the conflicted with what he himself thought. Eventually though the orders would pit him more against xeno empires than wayward human states.
That had some issues too. Brokha himself was a consummate xenophile and loved nothing more than finding and understanding new things. As he saw the body, and thus the brain itself, as nothing more than a complex machine he did not see xenos that he was capable of understanding as fundamentally any different from human. Any biological differences could be corrected through cybernetics, any mental differences through discipline, and any social differences through proper integration policies. Simply put he saw resorting to physical force as something that should be beneath the majesty of something as grand and ambitious as the Imperium. While he was sure to keep this quiet to the rest of the Imperium it was no secret to his legion how he felt and many would come to share in his views as the crusade dragged on. In the end the best thing to do was throw the Extropian Collective at things they would never think the empathize with.
I'm wondering just how friendly the Protectorate should be with the various xenos species. Eldar have a history of stabbing the Paladins in the back, but at the same time the Paladins preach tolerance.
Also, because of location, unless the Tau take advantage of the collapsing Imperium, it would be rare to see one. Unless -and I'm just tossing out ideas- the Protectorate actively seeks out friendly xenos to settle in Protectorate space... What do you guys think?
>>48087885
>What does your legion do during the Warmaster's Heresy? Are they loyalists, traitors, or renegades? Which legions do they fight the most? What are their major battles and actions during the Warmaster's campaign? How do they fare at the end? If your Primarch is a traitor or renegade, does he become a Daemon Prince?
The Extropian Collective turns traitor, though only reluctantly. Brokha resents the Emperor's inflexibility regarding warp phenomenon and for not allowing him to tear down and expunge the atavistic cult that had a stranglehold on the Imperium's technological advancement. In his secretive studies of the warp Brokha believed he had finally managed to overcome the final hurdle in what he believed would be mankind's salvation, the full digitization of the mind and soul. After millions of simulations he concluded there was no way to simply convince the Emperor through dialogue alone and begrudging admitted that he would have to do it through force.
While the collective would take part in the fighting during the Heresy they did so primarily through robotic shells, only exposing anyone who hadn't been undergone the engram (the term he preferred to use for the collective sum of a person's mind and soul) uploading procedure. While the process did have some "issues" they were all things that he could work out later. While Extropian Collective fought the loyalists back some of their forces would be dispatched to intercept worlds targeted by their less inhibited brethren to upload their populations. This split focus lead ultimately to the Collective suffering greatly at the hands of the loyalists, though considering death was more an inconvenience than a true end at that point they didn't really care. So long as the marines were resolved enough to survive as digital consciousness in their network a body didn't matter.
>>48087892
In the end before the Fall of Terra the loyalists were able to reach Ahzhava Colonies and destroy the central astropathic matrix beacon, a massive computer system constructed in one of the space colonies to provide the required processing power to sustain the Collective's matrix. Getting it required fighting past several other space colonies converted into gargantuan laser cannons. When the fighting stopped much of the system was ruined and only a handful of colonies survived if barely. It would seem that Brokha and the Collective died with him... and that's exactly what he wanted everyone to think. In reality the Extropian Collective had used a third of its forces to establish a new matrix hub far away from the fighting where they could rebuild and bring billions of minds out of storage.
>>48085415
Good Idea.
> Raydon Falx - Primarch of the Crimson Warhawks
>Emperor
Chafes under his command, but believes in his vision - disagreed with the ban on psykers but obeyed the ruling.
>Malcador
The two have worked closely, He respects Malcadors wisdom, experience, and loyalty. Was asked by Malcador to act as eyes and ears throughout the campaign with his disjointed units fighting across the stars - and to report on their findings.
> I legion primarch.
Envious of his ability to build empires, but knows that his is the soul of a wanderer, and would hate being 'trapped' in a single place for too long.
> III primarch
untrusting of his loyalties until the Heresy, but otherwise they agree on most issues having similar outlooks.
> IV
Disapprove of methodology, and think they are shameful "hunters".
> V
Don't quite understand the fondness of machines but definitely a fan of the results.
> VI
Don't know how they would interact, but typically well if they were loyalist.
> VII
Most hated enemy, having fallen prey to the traitorus tournament. To this day hunting these traitors is always considered a top priority. A step or two below the devotion that DA hunt the fallen, the Warhawks definately hold the a grudge.
> VIII
Haven't read up about them yet.
> IX
Have close bonds, both legions being primer void combatants. Friendly rivalry most likely.
> X
Close bonds, most likely Falx's closest ally.
> XI
Up until the Heresy they worked closely together, and shared many battle honours. Was devastated by their betrayal.
> XII + VIII
Got nothing.
> XIV
The legion sees being trapped in dreadnoughts as a fate far worse than death, having a strong ancestor honouring culture. They would pity them, but also most likely hold them in high regard for the sacrifice they would have made to be incarcerated within the dreadnoughts armour
>>48087937
Interesting idea, how does their cybernetic network interact with chaos? Are they actually uploading into the warp?
Does scrap code infect it?
Or are they reinventing biotransferrence?
Or something totally different?
Intuitively, I feel as though something should be set up to go horribly, horribly wrong for the grimdark.
>>48085260
Suprisingly, he might actually like the organization, at least on the borders--with planets as self sufficient as possible, they're resistant to invasion and siege, ne?
Xun respects Engerand and I kind of imagine he has a sense of humor, which Xun would also appreciate.
Hmmm...>>48085175
Perhaps Xun is working on a great wall of star forts, the great wall of the Eastern Imperium.
>>48088055
Brokha and the Collective do not worship Chaos but they do recognize daemons and that there large scale entities that the others would call gods. They're seen as just fundamental forces of the immaterium that happen to be complex enough to be able to appear as if they have a will. They see it as higher tier forces of a holographic universe. They'd just as soon worship electromagnetism as they would Tzeentch or Nurgle.
At first the network is a purely digital construct and only works within a limited range like any other communication bounded by light speed. Once he Brokha starts poking into chaos though he manages to build a neural network out of neural tissue and electronics that can function like a bio-mechanical astropath. Hell, maybe Brokha invented the technology that's used to make the astropathic beacons the Crusader states use. Point he is takes a bit further and sees if he can in essence bind the soul to an electrical pattern to allow for psychic transference between bodies. Sort of like Eldar how eldar soul stones work though probably a lot more primitive.
So long as the disembodied engrams are kept in a virtual hub they're mostly safe from chaos, but when being transmitted across vast distances the white noise of the immaterium corrupts the signal, resulting in various degress of insanity or simply allowing a daemon to splice itself in or wholesale replace the encoded engram. Or sometimes the psyche remains untouched and it just causes minute warp mutations in the body upon being downloaded. A lot of daemonic glitching is responded to simply by modifying the engram, which can have unpredictable results, or overwriting it with a saved back up. Backups can go wrong.
>>48088182
Older and more feeble minds are less able to keep their engram error free, so they result in more daemonic glitching. To prevent whole sale corruption these engrams will perform merges with each other. Subsequent merges become increasingly less human in thought patterns and structure until they become formidable enough to merge with Brokha who is sort of the "center" of the network or establish their own virtual ego spaces capable of supporting lesser entities, essentially turning them into virtual-daemon in their own virtual mirror of the immaterium.
Yes there are lots of glitches, accidents, and horrible things that go down but it works just often enough for no one to really look at the big picture: that this is evolving their minds into something frighteningly similar to a daemon. They're not an big obvious horror like the Dark Imperium. It's stable enough that normal people would actually to live there if they could because they're really good at downplaying all the mad science experiments, accidents, and people turning into monstrosities when they're revived from a backup as isolated incidents that they're working on and how it's all just something we'll have to live with for the sake of progress.
It's a subtle transhumanist or posthumanist horror they have going on.
>>48084349
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
After the loss of mars in the heresy the Fists of Mars fully integrated into the admech structure. Now the Admech and the Fists are impossible to distinguish as two separate groups. At the highest rank sits the Master of Mars, warlord of the Fists who ultimately makes all decisions for the Forgespace however all his actions are watched and advised on by the high tech priests of Balur
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The resources of planets within the Forgespace have been fed to the war machine that is the fist of mars, They float as only dead rocks now. Most live on a number of forge worlds or within great fleets of ships and space stations.
>What does your legion do during the Warmaster's Heresy?
We fight heavily on the battlefields of Terra aiding our brothers against the heresy however in the fighting Primarch Marcus Sinistrum is heavily wounded. After the death of the emperor we retreat to mars in a failed attempt to save it from chaos. many die and the Admech is heavily weakened, mars is lost. Dieing Marcus orders his best men to save his mind.
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
The great forge world of Balur houses a great coffin that protects the brain of Marcus Sinistrum, Plugged into a thousand computers he still lives in a fashion and the highest ranking techpriests spend their days doing their best to interpret his wishes through binary chatter
>>48086095
What site lets you make the pictures everyones using, the only one I can find is the B&C one without weapons.
>>48088541
couldn't fit on the post, I'd love to have a traitor rival. Someone was making a nurgle tech group if i remember right in the last thread and it would be cool to have them to fight with. As part of that i need someone to take the honor of killing me
>>48087715
Given the Fall of the Imperium, the Legion now operates out of hidden bases spread throughout the Galaxy. Its star forts are either hidden in astral phenomina such as solar storms and asteroid belts, or remain in constant motion so as to reduce the likelihood of detection.
>>48088541
A bit more on the politics of FoM, the Master of Mars is head of the space marine side of things and the space marines are about equal to one rank above themselves for a non space marine. As for recruitment to the Fists its done entirely through the admech groups and 2nd or 3rd children from many families are taken to be tested for joining
>>48087888
You spot in space is quite interesting being right up against the dark imperium. As i sit between you and the tau i think we would have an interesting relationship, I propose a careful alliance, friendly but wary also. I need you to protect me from the frontline of chaos and you need me to help supply you as well as both of us having vested interest in free movement through the others territory
>>48088710
Those Crusader States bordering the Firewall would have the constant threat of assault from the other side. For although the Firewall would make major Chaos incursions very rare and scatter most fleets that dared to cross it, small warbands would constantly brave it in order to feast on the rich pickings on the other side, the renown and prestige that can be gained from assaulting the deluded followers of the Once-Emperor and bringing back fresh slaves and plunder.
Two questions.
1. Do we so far have an inquisition, if so what? if not, should we have one?
2. Whats happening with Ollanius Pius?
Skorban the Cripple, originally most unwanted of the Emperor's sons. His mere existence was ultimate proof of the Emperor's fallibility. He was recovered on a world just starting to rebuild after a nuclear winter and occasionally hindered in this by ork raiders.
He was found and adopted by locals who were more interested in the salvage value of his pod than he himself at the time. With no kin, no clan and no city to call him their own he was officially a slave of his adoptive island nation.
As all primarchs did he matured freakishly quickly but unlike all primarchs something deeply fundamental to his biological nature was very wrong; he became sickly and pale and weak. His body was a wreck and required a walking stick to move on good days and a wheel chair to mover on most others. But he was a primarch never the less and with it came the inate drive towards excellence. With his body ruined he took the path of the mind to achieve excellence.
He could devour whole pages of text with a single glance, his mind mastered new languages on a weekly basis and with only needing half an hour of sleep a month. He also found that he was an excellent organizer and administrator and as a slave rose in the service of his king.
Several succession crises later and he find himself on the throne of a prosperous nation. More than a few shrewd deals, 3 wars and 2 political marriages and he is ruler of almost all the planet.
The Emperor arrives, takes one look at his crippled son, now upgraded from wheelchair to servo-harness, and is remarkable unimpressed. Most of his sons had the respect or fear, if not the love, of their people and most of his sons were king of their wold or more and so all that made this son unique were a list of defects and the Emperor had no time for the weak.
To Skorban's further shame no Space Marines could be created from his twisted and malformed genes. His "Legion" was formed of men with limited gene-forging and moderate cybernetic enhancements.
>>48088854
I can see the Eastern Imperium having an Inquisition of its own, because of the constant threat of Chaos Cults seeded by the Dark Imperium. If anything, the Eastern Imperium would be even more paranoid, because they know what the ultimate fate of their failure would be, and if the Dark Imperium managed to get a foothold in Eastern Space on the other side of the Firewall it would spell the end of the Eastern Imperium.
Would there be Marines in chapter-esque divisions watching for incursions from the west? Maybe something akin to Deathwatch but more static.
>>48088884
But they were a Legion of his own creation and sponsor and needed not patronage from an indifferent and distant Emperor. They had no heraldry and their armour tended to be painted in the colours of who they were serving with.
They were never the equal of true marines, often being dubbed half-strates or crippled mules by their detractors, but they could be recruited from a much wider spectrum of age and gender and genetic compatibility. Their numbers were never low as a result of this.
They could never wear true astartes battle-plate but could wear power armour of the sort worn by lesser men scaled up slightly to meat their half-way frames. Although this was expensive and most of the war-machine operators had to make do with the much slower heavy carapace worn over servo-harness.
Their bolters tended to be of older and semi-obsolete designs that their wielders claimed were more durable and forgiving of damage and crude repairs.
For most of the Great Crusade they were stationed as garrison forces, bodyguards to more important people and occasionally trade convoy escorts. Places where they would be less noticed and wouldn't embarrass the fledgling Imperium quite as much.
they bore this lowly position well for their broken primarch impressed upon them that theirs was the lasting work of keeping an Empire rather than just getting one. Each contingent of Skorban's Elite, as they became known, was mostly self contained and self governing. More often than not they were not seen as true Space Marines and got seconded to Imperial Army officers. They bore this well as they saw a soldier without duly appointed authority as being mercenary at best.
During the Heresy they spent most of their time rallying lesser soldiers into order and trying to hold onto a little stability in whatever corner of the galaxy they were stationed in when things went to hell. A few were on Terra at the end but they were a historical footnote at best.
>>48088972
Guaranteed there'd be a Praeses force covering the Tempestus Gap, as it would be the only route Chaos Forces could take to strike against the Eastern Imperium. Though in practise given Tempestus is a disputed zone fought over by both sides, actual attempts to force the Tempestus Gap would be rare and only attempted by the most hardcore of Chaos Lords.
>>48088978
They remained loyal to the Imperium and the indifferent Emperor in the tumultuous years that followed and even by the dying of the Dark Millennium outposts of their old Legion can be found across half the imperium still protecting space ways and bolstering PDF and Guard Regiments.
Skorban died in the early part of M33, his frailties finally claiming their toll.
>>48088987
>>48088927
>>48084349
Where exactly is the firewall on the map?
>>48088036
>XIV
Has my number changed? I'm totally cool with it, I just want to make sure I know what's going on.
>>48089199
the numbers fluctuate a fair bit post to post to be honest
>>48086092
>hate the eldar
My battle brother!
>>48088565
>>48084912
Was hoping for input
>>48084912
>>48089524
You should go through and answer the green text questions, this thread and the ones of previous. That being said i it a lot except it seems to go from a mostly bio (penal colony throw people at the problem) pre heresy to a mechanical post heresy with demon engines, i don't know if that's a problem but something worth thinking about.
>>48088710
>>48088565
>>48088541
Id like some feedback for myself as well if you would
>>48089798
I think a fully mechanicus-integrated legion is pretty cool. The Scions have a dislike for the mechanicus and their primarch is suffering from the effects of a nurglic plague, is that good enough?
>>48089950
good enough for a rivalry? the fact that you dislike the mechanicus is enough for that, i like your style so id be quite happy to continue something. go ahead and do the green text stuff and say you're the one that heavily wounds and kills me in it if you want to go further (Im wounded on mars or terra whatever)
>>48090011
The Undying Scions aren't traitors for the record. They were however rendered unable to participate in the battle where Emps died by a nurgle sorcerer.
>>48090032
oh? i thought you were a traitor legion sorry. Want to explain what happened?
>>48090097
How so?
>>48090102
well if your not a traitor, are you loyal? you seem to evil for that and why were you not at terra?
>>48090132
Sarco was defending Terra, but he was stricken by a plague that is detailed here >>48085918
How do you mean they seem evil?
In the Eastern Empire, wouldn't there be a big backlash against anything to do with the warp because of the fall? Or at least stigmatized.
Also, with beings being so fractured I assume various Chaos warbands would emerge and perhaps even Eastern 'warbands' so to speak.
>>48084349
>What is the name of your primarch and legion? What is their number, and what are their heraldric symbols? What colors do your marines paint their armor?
Sejar Rost's sons are known as the Hungry Ghosts. His mark is the drawn bow and his colours are death white and regal gold.
>What are your legion's tactics? Do they fight with cunning or strength? What sort of equipment do they favor? What sort of enemy would you call them for?
The Hungry Ghosts are patient and crafty. They prize marksmanship over ferocity. As with all of the great Legions, they are fully capable against any foe. Their particular forte is fighting in broken terrain, whether in woodlands, hill country, or asteroid fields.
>What does your Legion do during the Great Crusade? How early is the Primarch found, and where? What worlds to they conquer, and what xenos monstrosities to they face in the name of the Imperial Truth? Mark your conquests on the map.
They are the last of the Legions to be activated and Rost's discovery is a surprise to many of his brothers. The Hungry Ghosts are particularly well-known for their campaigns in the reaches of the Ultima Segmentum, such as the Pyromachy of Xeros IV, the defeat of Waaagh! Madzok, and the Calistes Crusade.
>What does your legion do during the Warmaster's Heresy? Are they loyalists, traitors, or renegades? Which legions do they fight the most? What are their major battles and actions during the Warmaster's campaign? How do they fare at the end? If your Primarch is a traitor or renegade, does he become a Daemon Prince? Mark your battles on the map.
When the Emperor died and the light of the Astronomican was extinguished, the Hungry Ghosts simply vanished, but their legend lingers on. When ships of the Dark Imperium go missing, the Warmaster's men often mutter that the Hungry Ghosts have claimed more victims. Strangely, such disappearances grow more common in recent years.
>>48090146
>>48084912
you seem evil because of
>Their experimentation grew ever more unorthodox and unhinged, until the heresy, at which point contact with daemonic powers began.
>Gengrat Vannevar sees Nurgle less as a master and more of a patron, who has chosen to bless his particular brand of experimentation.
>Post heresy, the flensing pits and machine works of the legion produce strange machine-organism hybrids >and foul daemon engines. malignant Silica Animus constructs and horrific biotic weaponry.
>they do things like feed insects daemon-blood and watch what happens when they're set free on an agro-world or a hive world.
that is all crazy evil
>>48090210
That's not me. The Undying Scions are the purple dreadnought legion.
>>48088083
Planets are very self-sufficient which unfortunately act as a double-edged sword whenever it come to rivalries between the various lords. Since the succession system is entirely in the hands of the human-run administration it leave room open for a LOT of political backstabbing or rebellions if some really self-important douche bag ascend to power.
As for Engerand's personality: A bit 'aloof' toward his human subjects outside of his home planet. Out of sight out of mind, they say. Its not that he doesn't care about them its more that its hard to care about a hundred world filled to the brim with people. At least caring on a personal level. He knows the people and culture of his home world and has seen generations of them serve as marines and chapter serf (who I imagine have an even bigger role, given that the Storm Hammers technically rule a small empire). As for the rest: I'd say he's a well-meaning person. He's a quick thinker so his impulsivity can and does cause situations that when he DOES miscalculate it will fail in catastrophic manners which is what led to his reputation as being 'headstrong' or 'reckless'. Which is quite accurate, really. I imagine he can be quite a nice person as long as he's on common ground with them: such as a fellow primarch, a marine or human military. As long as he has something to relate to with that person, he can act in a fairly human way and less like some weird aloof genetically engineered demigod.
His sense of humor is probably a bit odd, even morbid at times. Lots of bleak humor with a slightly morbid twist only a warrior could appreciate. Still, when he's in his element he can be an easygoing guy. But then again 'in his element' seems to be a recurring theme with him.
>>48090196
>>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
Sejar Rost's most-trusted were the Hebdomad, a council of seven warriors hand-picked from the ranks of the Legion. These masked men each commanded a swift strike cruiser and would travel between the Crusade Fleets of the Hungry Ghosts, observing the operations of the commanding officer and scrutinizing his loyalty. It is rumoured that only one of the Hebdomad actually watched over his battle brothers at any one time, while the other six monitored the activities of the other Legiones Astartes.
>>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
The Hungry Ghosts are warriors, not statesmen.
>>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
Sejar Rost's whereabouts are unknown. Perhaps he is a captive of the Warmaster. Perhaps he is the Warmaster. Or perhaps he directs his Legion's secret fight against the Dark Imperium from within the borders of the evil empire itself.
>>48090217
oh damn man i thought you were
>>48089524
you should have linked to your guys
>>48084448
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
Even during the Great Crusade Samson was not heavily involved in his legion. The Hekatonkires is commanded largely by the two Heads in a dual ruler-ship. During the Great Crusade and the Heresy these were Briareos, the first legion master; and Arges, the legion's first dreadnought. Below them are the Bandfathers, and below them the company masters.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
Realm Gigantos is a collection of wretched hiveworlds and plague-infested planets, where humanity is held in the clutches of disease and despair and any hope of escape would only spread Nurgle's blight. Hiveworlds are politically decapitated, with gang lords ruling in place of princes and nobility. Agri-worlds are rotten and provide little sustenance. Forgeworlds roll out filthy machines that spew pus and gas.
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
Samson did follow the path of his legion. He fled with his most loyal servants to his homeworld of Avalon, where he raised his own order of Astartes rangers called the Avalon Guard. He and his Guard now track and hunt the enemy, as Samson used to in the days before the Crusade.
>>48090332
Oh good, someone's made Nurgle marines.
How would you all feel about a rumor that the Undying Scions were able to retrieve the Empror's corpse before they escaped from Terra?
>>48090587
They were originally gonna be loyalist, but you said you needed Nurglites so I adapted. I also had an idea for a loyalist who deliberately becomes a Daemon Prince of Khorne in order to sow discord in Chaos and deepen wounds but I scrapped that because come on, listen to it.
>>48090786
As long as it stays ambiguous, sure.
>>48090786
I don't know i feel like that's a bit much, i think what happened to the emperor should be a big thing people know about
>>48090889
see id prefer if it was certain what happened and what happened was terrible
>>48090903
>see id prefer if it was certain what happened and what happened was terrible
Not sure if that can be squared with the Warmaster being Mr. Redacted.
>>48091481
Wait so no one even saw the emperor die? how do we know he died?
>>48091584
It's not set in stone, but it was talked about last thread. See posts like:
>>48072267
>>48083092
>>48091777
fair enough i love it, although other than their being a new warp god. We don't actually know that emps dies
>>48087874
>>48087885
>>48087892
IMO this isn't quite nurgly/dark mechanicus enough, but it easily could be with some more descriptive language. Nurgle mechanicus are bioengineers, which fits in with your "the body is a machine" philosophy. They would create hulking monstrosities with overloaded tubes of unknown goo, twisted biological forms so overloaded with cybernetics they can barely walk, failed mutant experiments like Fabius Bile's, that sort of thing.
Their marines could be twisted monstrosities as well. Plague Marines with vile chem-spewers that dissolve organic matter into recyclable mush but leave metal untainted for reclamation. Their anatomy twisted both my the warp touch of Nurgle as well as the dark designs of their Heretech overlords.
Sidenote: IMO if a legion is "the X chaos god legion" they should, by definition, be pretty into chaos worship. If your legion is indifferent to chaos, they wouldn't be dedicated to a specific chaos god. There's a general tendency in threads like these, especially ones where the impetus of creativity is self-insertion, to create pragmatist marines who don't care for the crazy ideologies of the 40k setting, and IMO we should fight that tendency, because without the crazy, 40k is a pretty lame setting.
>>48091584
>>48091777
>>48091887
See Also >>48087394
I think the best way to handle it is to have only a few warriors and Primarchs actually see the event itself. The battle of Terra is a fierce assault, and the Traitors have already breached the palace when the loyalist Primarchs take the field. They push into the palace to try to save the Emperor, and fight him fighting hordes of daemons and traitors. They fight alongside him and win, thinking the day is theirs, and the Warmaster chooses their moment of hope as the time to strike, killing the Emperor before them.
The Primarchs are naturally taciturn about what they saw, and their honor guards are sworn to secrecy. Rumors far outnumber verifiable accounts, and what little truth makes it to the people is supplanted by the narrative of the Inquisition when it arises.
Is the Emperor dead? Is there a new Warp God among the stars? Only the Primarchs know for certain, and they do not speak of such things to lesser men.
Alexios and his legion aren't at the battle of Terra, and I'm thinking Xun and his Sky Serpents fight in the same long campaign against the Bloodhounds, so they're (possibly) not there either.
So Sarco Funerus and one or two other primarchs are the only ones to know the true fate of the Emperor.
Question: Which legions attend the Traitor's Tournament, and does it make more sense being hosted by the Judgement Bringers, or by the Silver Spears?
>>48093813
>and fight him fighting hordes of daemons and traitors
*find him
>>48093813
Only a few know the true fate of the Emperor, and Funerus isn't talking. His closest lieutenants may also know, but they have all taken vows of silence in mourning for their comatose gene-father.
>>48088710
>>48088811
There wouldn't be nearly as big a Chaos threat coming from the Protectorate's side of the Firewall as you guys seem to think. We're completely neutral towards them, so the only people attacking us from there would be pirates. The Kor Protectorate never has, and never will, be loyal to the Emperor. Only humanity.
>>48094279
Chaos doesn't attack people because they serve the Emperor. It attacks people because it likes raping, killing, and enslaving people.
>>48094429
This new Dark Imperium seems like they have more control over the people. I doubt they'd go after the people saying "I don't mind Chaos all that much" over the ones that are trying the launch crusades to Terra.
>>48094537
Does the Imperium just leave "I don't mind imperium that much" renegades in the Badab war alone? No. So why would the much MORE insane Dark Imperium leave them alone?
>>48094596
I think the idea is for the Dark Imperium to use Chaos, not be used by it. (See >>48083092)
>>48094596
Thing is, the Protectorate have never gone out of there way to fight Chaos. In fact, they have been friendlier to the heretics than they were to loyalists before the Heresy. They don't really have a reason to see us as anything other than a trading partner.
>>48094687
They're still an evil empire, dude.
>>48094715
Chaos doesn't have trading partners. It has raiding partners. Chaos isn't even at peace with ITSELF, let alone external states along its border. Even if the Protectorate doesn't crusade against the Dark Imperium, they're still going to be raided regularly by the Bloodhounds and Silver Spears.
>>48094687
Of course, you could argue that Chaos is exactly the kind of force that WANT YOU to believe you are in control and not the opposite, so there is something interesting in that if you ask me.
>>48094767
I'm not saying that the Protectorate won't be attack by Chaos, just that they won't be a major target for the Dark Imperium if they decide to get rid of the Eastern Imperium. They'd be more likely to give an ultimatum to join or die.
>>48094767
Aren't you arguing that they're a Chaos-loving Empire, the same way that the OU Imperium is a Chaos-hating Empire?
>>48094769
You could but the concept of the Warmaster seems to be that he's the greatest mastermind in the setting.
How do you do those faded circles in paint? I'm trying to add the Undying Scions' territory to the map.
>>48094810
That seems fairly reasonable, I just want to avoid the notion that the Dark Imperium is somehow a peachy place to live.
Seriously think of the canon Imperium for a second. Think of how goddamn grimdark it is. Inquisitors and Commisars will execute you for even the slightest expressed doubt, Hiveworld slaves toil and die in dark factories churning out even more munitions for the eternal war, and babies are stolen to be turned into post-human supersoldiers, never to be seen again.
Now imagine that same empire, but even eviler, with the propagandist machine turned up to 11 and groupthink so twisted and nonsensical but still publicly acceptable that the average citizen can't be considered anywhere close to sane. Imagine streets and alleys of Imperial worlds where any moment you could be snatched up by a shadow cultist to be used in some dark ritual in the musty sewers. Imagine the Imperium where sorcerors roam the streets disguised as civilians, reading the minds of everyone they pass, hunting for even the most minute of thoughtcrimes. Imagine the periodic arrival of the fleets of the other Chaos Lords, who rape your women, eat your men, and steal your children.
The Dark Imperium might not crusade against the protectorate. For short periods of time they may even establish non-aggression pacts of a sort, but they are still very much enemies from the perspective of Chaos. All who will not kneel to the Warmaster must die.
>>48094937
I used the brush tool in MS paint with various colors. IDK what you mean about faded.
>>48094918
>You could but the concept of the Warmaster seems to be that he's the greatest mastermind in the setting.
But what about his servants? Aren't those which use chaos at risks of going all chaos spawn-ey (or at the very least mutate) and insane?
>>48094970
Like the symbol for the Maelstrom.
>>48095000
Those are just a part of the pre-existing map image. I didn't make it.
>>48094997
Presumably the Warmaster is aware of such risks and turned the Emperor into a god of Order to mitigate them. His gimmick is absolute control, remember?
>>48094918
>>48094997
Even if the Warmaster sees the Chaos Gods as tools. Even if most of his higher-echelon agents are apathetic to chaos, the Dark Imperium as a whole should still worship the chaos Gods. The Warmaster sees great value in giving his people something to worship, and also great value in keeping the primordial annihilators satisfied and well fed.
>>48095011
Okay, I'll just go with a yellow dot.
http://www.strawpoll.me/10658393
>>48095063
>The Warmaster sees great value in giving his people something to worship
I thought the Warmaster was meant to be setting up a 1984 "for the love of Big Brother" kind of thing. The stuff about him always watching seems to suggest that the Warmaster himself is a figure of veneration, rather than the Chaos Gods.
>>48095075
While this map is great for showing planets and locations, it misses a little bit of context. It shows the Maelstrom as a little isolated dot when it's much bigger. The galactic core, called the Maelstrom, is an absolute mess of black holes, warp storms, and weird shit that no one can safely pass through, even traitors. By my reckoning, we don't really need a "firewall," to appear because we already have one. The Maelstrom could get even more tumultuous and difficult to traverse.
>>48095347
I'm not sure who made the firewall, I just established the Scions' territory in the galactic north.
>>48095318
Think of him like Horus. Does he personally worship the gods of the Warp? Hell no, he's too smart for that, and too arrogant to worship anything anyway. But he still rules an empire which worships them. Horus is a pragmatic and intelligent fellow, but he makes pacts with Chaos when they seem advantageous to him.
The Warmaster and his Dark Imperium should definitely still be chaos-aligned. I mean, what's 40k without chaos? The Warmaster is their emperor, their watcher, their guardian, and the terror in the night. From the perspective of a civilian, though, he does these things in the name of the gods. He is an advocate to the gods for those who serve him, and a terrible prosecutor to those who disobey. Chaos Cults are officially sanctioned, sort of like the Party and the Anti-Sex league in 1984: another tool of control.
>>48095421
>Think of him like Horus.
But he's not Horus. He's meant to be smarter than Horus. That's why he wins, right?
> The Warmaster is their emperor, their watcher, their guardian, and the terror in the night. From the perspective of a civilian, though, he does these things in the name of the gods. He is an advocate to the gods for those who serve him, and a terrible prosecutor to those who disobey. Chaos Cults are officially sanctioned, sort of like the Party and the Anti-Sex league in 1984: another tool of control.
That's some great doublethink, but look at this clearly for a moment.
In 1984, Big Brother is the ultimate authority (if he exists). The Party works to control the population on his behalf.
What you're proposing is to have the Chaos Gods as the ultimate authority (because the Warmaster does things in their name).
>>48095566
>>Think of him like Horus.
>But he's not Horus. He's meant to be smarter than Horus. That's why he wins, right?
What I meant is think of how Horus treats the chaos gods, as a way of illustrating that the canon Warmaster also doesn't worship Chaos, but his people still do.
>>48095566
>What you're proposing is to have the Chaos Gods as the ultimate authority (because the Warmaster does things in their name).
I don't think this distinction is important enough to argue about.
>>48095347
The Maelestrom and the Galactic Core are traversable in canon (Badab War anyone?), and there are huge areas to the north and south that can be traversed as well. The Eastern Imperium needs a bulwark or it would have been overrun in the immediate aftermath of the Heresy, not to mention at any point thereafter. The only thing that can unite chaos is another common foe on the other side. Without a Firewall, the Eastern Imperium would never have a chance to be.
>>48095617
OK, but it's clear that consigning the people to worship Chaos has definite drawbacks and means surrendering control. The Warmaster's concept is ABSOLUTE control. It's as much a blow to his concept as making Alexios just write a couple of poems rather than millions of books.
Ackhem.
https://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_/tg/_Heresy
It just tickles me pink that you sought fit to give Enoch his own little empire up in the north. I'm busy with work stuff but I'll be contributing more soon!
>>48095689
>The Maelestrom and the Galactic Core are traversable in canon (Badab War anyone?)
Maybe you should re-read those books? The Badab war takes place on worlds AROUND the maelstrom, a circuitous supply route which diverts many light years to get around the warp storms.
>>48095727
I'm sorry but you can't have a dark Warmaster-controlled Imperium in 40k that isn't chaos aligned, that's just ridiculous.
Oathhsworn anon here again, I've got time to dedicate if we're still talking now.
>>48095727
>it's clear that consigning the people to worship Chaos has definite drawbacks and means surrendering control
I don't think that's clear at all.
>consigning the people to worship Chaos
This sounds like you think the Warmaster CARES about the people in his empire. Like "oh no, he wouldn't do that to them!"
>Chaos has definite drawbacks and means surrendering control
IMO it gives him MORE control. That's the whole reason Horus joined with Chaos: they give him the power he needs to rule. The Warmaster's best tool is his ability to appear as anyone, and a power like that only comes from one place.
Imagine chaos cult gatherings like the 2 minutes of hate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvGmOZ5T6_Y
Eyes of the Emperor are planted among crowds to rile them up like Iterators. Sorcerors of Chaos preach propaganda pieces about the power of the warp and the foolishness of the Enemy in the East. The people rise up into a frenzy of hate, passion, and adoration for the gods.
Think if it like ANY evil empire which uses religion.
>>48095868
>Think if it like ANY evil empire which uses religion.
Or think of it like 1984 and its inspiration, the Soviet Union, which stamped out religion and replaced it with the cult of the leader.
But whatever, this is your vanity project so I guess I'll leave you to call the shots.
Do we have a legion order they were found yet, or anything important described? There's a lot of unorganized shit here.
>>48095907
>which stamped out religion and replaced it with the cult of the leader.
Dude, remember that you're still talking about 40k. Both sides are hyper-religious zealots. The chaos legions worship chaos. That's, like... an immutable fact of the setting. Religious fanatic warfare is literally what 40k is about.
>But whatever, this is your vanity project so I guess I'll leave you to call the shots.
Let's not go there.
>>48095862
Can you tell me about your legion? I don't think I was here when you made them.
>>48095971
You don't need to keep arguing. I've already conceded that you're in charge. You call the shots, just tell people what to do.
>>48095971
I think it is possible to have some form of 'ordered' chaos but...yes I'm aware this is an oxymoron. I'd say hierarchical is the proper term, rather than ordered. There would be a clear, near immutable hierarchy. I suppose the more backwater worlds would be more akin to the usual chaotic pissholes, no?
>>48096008
Medical professionals with a knack for biological warfare. They're the ones who establish the Apothecary corps across the legions, and I think they're going to use that as a secret backpassage between legions like the mechanicus are for tech priests. A weird mixture of no trust because they're not entirely loyal to the legion, yet utmost respect because they literally hold the life of you and the entire legion's future in their hands. Ultimate neutral I bet, like Spess Switzerland that not even chaos fucks with too much.
>>48096012
>You call the shots, just tell people what to do.
Dropped
>>48096070
Agreed. I'd like to see a more directed, cohesive antagonist than canon.
>>48096095
That said, given the cutthroat and fickle nature of Chaos, I imagine a competent and favored champion (mortal or marine) would be able to rise far above his expected station. But those are just my two cents on the matter as I've had zero input so far, the whole Dark Imperium thing springing to life while I was away.
>>48096095
>Agreed. I'd like to see a more directed, cohesive antagonist than canon.
Every alt-canon project is "40k if it made sense!" "40k if the primarchs were smart!" "40k if it was more realistic!" Can we please avoid that for once, and just make a setting as fun and insane as 40k but with plot differences?
>>48096012
>You don't need to keep arguing. I've already conceded that you're in charge. You call the shots, just tell people what to do.
This is hurtful not just to be but to the integrity of the thread. Don't make things personal just because I disagree with you.
>>48096216
>Don't make things personal just because I disagree with you.
OK, whatever you say boss.
>>48096162
Beyond the sections of space each claimed by one of the main Traitor Legions would be an endlessly shifting patchwork of enclaves carved out by Chaos Warbands, either exiles or outcasts from their Legion or those who willingly ditched their Legion to serve Chaos. They'd carve out an empire or realm out of a sector or sub-sector and hold it for as long as they can. These mini-realms would flare into life and die constantly. Some might last a few decades or centuries, but there would be no stability anywhere across the non-aligned areas of the Dark Imperium. The most favoured and powerful champions might hold their small empires for a millennia or more.
>>48096162
>>48096308
100% behind this.
>>48096238
>acting like a child because someone is contributing more than you
Classy.
>>48096361
Alexios just told us not to make things personal in his thread. Why are you stirring things up?
So when are we moving to 1d4chan so we can start properly compiling this information?
Here's a thought: are there any fallen Crusader States? One which was overrun and destroyed at some point and exists as a cautionary tale for the others to show what could happen if they ever let up even for a second? Because I find it hard to believe that outside of those Crusader States run by Primarchs (And that would be 9, 10 tops and likely even fewer if some Loyalist Primarchs eschewed creating a Crusader State) all the Crusader States would exist intact from M31 to M41.
>>48096569
Oathsworn might have lost most of theirs as they became a neutral state no one wanted to fuck with anymore.
>>48096499
There's already an Alternate Heresy there. How would you prevent this one from being confused for the other one and keep them apart? I'm pretty sure there's a fair few of them over here as well.
>>48096578
Neutrality basically means you're open for everyone to fuck with. Chaos does not care for neutrals and would fuck with anyone no matter how strong they might be.
>>48096470
What makes you think I care about that? The ONLY reason I'm taking this bait is because I'm already replying to someone else. So please stop making out like people are in charge on anyone but themselves.
>>48096499
Soon, hopefully. I'd like to be able to put down the stuff I haven't had an opportunity to yet, but are we missing anything?
>>48096581
Well, we need a name then. Any suggestions?
>>48096604
>Well, we need a name then. Any suggestions?
/tg/ heresy part 2: electric boogaloo?
>>48095224
The Warmaster rules from the Eye of Terra, it is known
Reporting in, a lot of progress has been made in my absence. Lets see if I can catch up here.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of other legions that interact with the Void Lords, other than what I've written. How do the other legions view the VL? What battles have they fought together?
>>48096604
Shattered Imperium, or Divided Imperium, or Fallen Imperium. Some name to appropriately cover that this is a Eastern/Western Roman Empire Fall scenario. Best read while listening to the Total War Attila OST.
>>48096773
Yo! So long as nothing's changed, Graha'nak and Anders still don't get along all that well.
>>48096790
I like Fallen Imperium, sounds pretty straightforward.
>>48096790
Why not just Dark Imperium?
>>48089199
Sorry if i got it wrong, I was working off a single post.
>>48096831
Because only half the former Imperium is the Dark Imperium.
>>48096790
Imperialis Perfidious?
>>48096773
Oh shit, now I remember, it was the Void Lords who fight the Bloodhounds together with the Angels at the start of the heresy, not the Sky Serpents. You brought it up last thread and I thought it was cool but I couldn't remember which damn person brought it up.
How about this:
>The Void Lords and the Angels of Light are brothers in bloodshed, and forever will be. When the Void Lords return to the East from their roaming of the disputed lands, they usually come to the Forgespace to resupply and refuel. However, with a certain regularity they make the journey further east to Imperium Minorum, to see their old friends once again, share tales of their crusade, and, for a time at least, rest.
What happened to the titan legions and the remnants of the imperial army after the heresy?
>>48096601
I don't think it's about strength so much that when Mars fell in the eye of Terra, the Oathsworn have the genebanks of EVERYONE's geneseed since they are the host of the apothecary corps. Don't shoot the hand that feeds you, not that it really stop Chaos. More like if one warband does, other stop them to curry favor. Of course, this is just an idea.
An update on some of the History of the Second Sons. I'll have more stuff typed up tonight, hopefully detailing parts of their history, relationships, and current status.
http://pastebin.com/DbDJuQpb
It's rough and unedited with some pretty out there ideas in the last paragraph. What do you like? What should I make clearer? What should I scrap?
Trying to get more of the It Ain't Me marines with nuclear bombs and super Willy Pete theme across.
>>48096869
Remembered Imperium?
>>48097033
Imperium Asunder?
>>48096994
You can't really say that they are so special that not even Chaos wants to mess with them. Chaos does not give a single fuck, and Chaos Sorcery can replicate Gene-Seed, if the Primarchs simply don't use their own Genetic Material to grow their own Gene-Seed themselves with Grabiya's Theroum. With the Primarchs still kicking, Gene-Seed procurment is far less an issue as it is in canon.
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
The legion command structure is very loose. All legionaries operate in kill-bands of three, there is no higher structure like grand companies or chapters. The way the legion makes war predominately goes along the lines of: the Void God parks in orbit, smashes defenses, disgorges Astartes, Astartes kill everything until Graha'nak tells them to stop, repeat. Highest ranking officers are the leaders of each kill-band, who gather in the inner sanctum of the Void God to discuss with their primarch matters that effect the Legion, next targets, etc. The only two legionaries that Graha'nak has any extended contact with outside the rest of his Astartes are the other two members of his own kill-band, two giant killers by the name of Claw and Maw.
>How is your Legion's Crusader State or Chaos March run? Is it a wasteland of dead worlds with weeping mothers, or a thriving metropolis of glowing worlds? What is your region of space called, and why? What are your relationships with your neighbors?
No real Crusader State, the Void God goes where it pleases, takes recruits when it can, and attacks those that it perceives a threat to humanity as a species. I'm sure the Void Lords clash with loyalist legions when it gets too close to their Crusader States, but for the most part the VL steer clear unless they feel they have to. I'm sure there are times when the Void God has shown up to assist the loyalist legions when threatened by xenos or Dark Imperium forces.
>Where is your Primarch at the end of the heresy? Does he rule a crusader state/chaos march? Is he dead? Is he lost somewhere in the Eye of Terror? Is he a Daemon Prince?
After the Heresy, Graha'nak came to the decision that he would not bleed his legion dry pursuing the traitor legions in an endless war. He called all the kill-bands together and informed them that he would depart the Void God with his kill-band, and would strike at the traitor primarchs in turn, when they least expected it. He departed and has not been seen since.
>>48096894
I like it!
>>48096994
As far as third-party independent states, this makes slightly more sense than the Kor Protectorate (though I still really like the Kor Protectorate conceptually)
An independant, third party Oathsworn station, which holds the banks of geneseed all Astartes depend on, could be neat if it's done right. A sort of neutral zone where traitors and loyalists alike come and maintain (VERY shaky) ceasefire by sheer necessity. There are plenty of incidents throughout history where fights break out in loyalist space, between the loyalists and chaos, between one of the two and the oathsworn, or between all three, but such events are punished harshly by both sides.
Of course, both sides would try to steal the genebanks periodically. The prize would be far too valuable to ignore.
Sidenote: Maybe the Kor don't make a lot of sense where they are? Would they make more sense in the far northeastern reaches where they're isolated (and close to lots of exodite worlds?)
Now this took me a while to make but here is a chart which show the organization of the Storm Hammers in the current age and a sample Company. Of course, some have different organization at least in term of what units they contain. Some noteworthy details include:
-Assault squads which do not use jetpacks, making them similar to the Legion-era Assault Squads. Jetpacks are for veterans in the Storm Hammers.
-Baal Predators are depicted under the name Predator Talon. We can assume these aren't the canonical Baal Predators but rather a variant which fill a similar combat purpose and has, likewise, similar specs. We can assume the Storm Hammers use various tank patterns.
-If we go by the amount of marines shown on this pic, not counting those inside the tank, then the Storm Hammers boast at least 18, 756 marines. That's 521 Marines (without counting tank crew) per company and assuming each Grand Company boast 3 companies, that's 1563 marines per Grand Company. There are twelve Grand Company for a total of 18, 756. However considering they are assumed to be at least at the strength of a canon Heresy-era we can assume that the Grand Company depicted in this image is one which is currently under-strength.
>>48097092
Fair enough, you make some good points. I'll rearrange them then, though I do wish for the Apothecary corps to be pretty damn important.
>>48097161
This is high quality stuff.
>>48097161
20,000 Marines is titchy for a Legion. The mean size of all legions is 100,000, with some going up to 200,000 or more.
>>48097175
>though I do wish for the Apothecary corps to be pretty damn important.
Maybe they could be like Knights Hospitaller? The Oathsworn companies could swear oaths of service to specific fleets, offering their service as apothecaries for a fixed period of time. They alone among the loyalists know the deep secrets of gene seed, and they alone posess the schema and techniques needed to create more from the Primarch's genetic material.
>>48097159
I'd be fine with moving closer to the Exodites, but that kind of takes away from the Wanderer/Errant Paladins.
I'm having trouble determining how the Undying Scions would interact with the other legions. Before the Heresy, Funerus liberated a number of worlds in the northern fringe while simultaneously pledging battlegroups to the defense of Terra. After his defeat and the Emperor's assassination, his legion fled back to their territory adjacent to the new hunting grounds of the bloodhounds. Over the centuries I'm sure they would slowly be ground down by chaos attacks.
>>48097266
Makes sense, and could tie into their theme of the Hippocratic oath. Apothecaries and attendant companies attach to other legions, maybe even heretical ones to monitor gene growth. Chaos agents do it on the down low and with heavy bartering to keep their gene pure because of lol mutations, while the other Crusader States can get them because of honor and sworn oaths of aid.
How about Faustus was found on Luna? In canon and likely in this Luna was home to famous gene-wrights that helped stabilize and establish a lot of the later tools used by the Adeptus Astartes. Not sure about Faustus being the first found though.
>>48097244
>>48097175
As far as I can tell a Legion's Great Company is roughly equivalent to a 40k chapter in strength, though especially the famous ones like first companies can be much larger. 40k wiki seems to disagree with me though and say Great Companies are 100 marines in size, which must mean they had quite a lot of great companies. In all the novels I've read, I've heard references to companies numbered as high as like twenty something but never much higher than that.
>>48097366
Great Companies were about 100 in size, and fell into Chapters/Battalions. Chapter is actually a pre-heresy term that was adapted into modern self-sufficient chapters. You can find a lot of this in books 1-3 of the Horus Heresy Forge World.
>>48097244
>20,000 Marines is titchy for a Legion. The mean size of all legions is 100,000, with some going up to 200,000 or more.
Which is why I pointed out that, once I completed the pic, that it doesn't really add up. Here is a fixed version with the Grand Company displayed being much larger. This should bring, according to my calculations to a minimum of around 125 000.
Maybe some Companies are even larger. This is just a 'sample size' pic, after all.
>>48097366
Ultramarines have 250 Companies, Blood Angels have 120 for just two examples.
>>48097297
Shit, I only just saw this >>48085785 reply. I can totally move to the eastern fringe if you need.
>>48097366
So whats happening so far with xenos races, how does the warp work with the Big E down and out? as well as what sizes are the forces both for and against the Imperium at this point.
>>48096826
I missed a lot (celebrating the 4th of July with family out of state), so my ability to stay up-to-date is limited. But what are the post Heresy relations between Anders and Alexios? Could Alexios be a peacemaker between the two, or is it more likely the VL consider Anders and his territory fair pickings in terms of raids?
>>48097326
>How about Faustus was found on Luna? In canon and likely in this Luna was home to famous gene-wrights that helped stabilize and establish a lot of the later tools used by the Adeptus Astartes. Not sure about Faustus being the first found though.
That would consequently mean he is the second primarch to be discovered excludingREDACTED, before even Balthasar. I'm cool with that. It also opens up narrative avenues for Faustus' relationship with the warmaster as either very close friends (as close as you can be to a nameless faceless person) or bitter rivals.
The Warmaster conquers Luna by sending Terran men to pose as new recruits, assassinate and impersonate officers, or otherwise infiltrate the Lunar military, then his agents begin issuing false orders and spreading rumors, causing the Lunans to tear their own army apart before Astartes even land. How would Faustus feel about such tactics, if he were from Luna?
>>48097457
I'd imagine the Void Lords are still exterminating xenos species left and right, with a particular focus on Hrud and Orks (and Tyranids when they enter the picture). The Legions that have ambivalent or even seek good relations with xenos may get mad at them over this.
>>48097457
>So whats happening so far with xenos races
No idea. Presumably the Eldar, seeing everything as far, far worse are more active against Chaos though they'd certainly not be friends to the Crusader States. Orks just fight everyone, given that there is far more War they'd be in paradise fighting wither the Crusader States or the Patchwork realms of the Dark Imperium.
>how does the warp work with the Big E down and out?
It doesn't. The Warp is far, far worse to navigate. There's a series of mini-Astronomicans maintained by each Crusader State to maintain movement within their boundaries, and Warp Beacons everywhere else. But if Warp travel in canon is hard, here it's many, many times worse.
>as well as what sizes are the forces both for and against the Imperium at this point.
No idea.
>>48097457
We haven't done a lot about xenos, but warp travel is enabled through a series of psychic lighthouses that are similar to the golden throne in that they require the sacrifice of psykers to function. Unfortunately this makes warp travel significantly slower than if the Emperor was operating the astronomican.
>>48097457
Big E is a warp deity of Order. The Warp is difficult to travel through without the Astronomican (though there are smaller warp bacons in the east) so warp travel is much more dangerous and you must make much shorter jumps. The Warp in terms of denizens is either lulled into a stupor by the vast amount of souls the Dark Imperium feeds them, or in total heavenly warfare with the newly ascended Emperor, I've seen references to both.
Which makes me think: If the Emperor achieved apotheosis and became a warp god, what are his "daemons" like?
>>48097482
Who is the first found? Sorry, there is a lot of thread to dig through and it's the forth of July weekend here so I've been busy. Overall I think he'd have risen fairly high by the time of the Lunar invasion, and would be the one to catch the infiltrators at a point that could help stall the coming attack, then give them room to parley with Terra. Sure enough at the negotiation table the brothers recognize each other as kin as well as the Emperor, causing a peaceful annexation of Luna.
>>48095075
Is there room in this for an inter-empire force keeping the trade and travel lanes guarded?
Something like this?
>>48088884
>>48088978
>>48089060
But polished up a bit maybe?
Or is the idea just a stupid one?
>>48097545
There would also be massive dark areas not covered by a Lighthouse between the Crusader States. The 'Dark Zones' in the Warp would be among the worst places to try and navigate.
>>48097563
>Who is the first found?
Currently, the Warmaster is found first on Terra itself, Balthasar second onNot-CthoniaAtris, and then things get muddy.
>>48097570
Sounds good to me, but I'm not the one who made that map, I just added the Undying Scions' territory to it. Though I might want to relocate them to the east, because mechs fighting tyranids is awesome.
>>48097545
And these beacons are run by both the Dark Imperium and the Crusader States?
Im just trying to figure out how the Warhawks would operate in the modern day.
>>48097560
I think the Emperor would act through 2 distinct means, the first a more modern day Legion of the Damned, as well as through "possession" of great heroes. Granting them incredible powers for a short period of time.
>>48097570
>Is there room in this for an inter-empire force keeping the trade and travel lanes guarded?
There definitely needs to be some kind of intermediary between the Crusader States. There was some discussion of the Malcador, the Ecclesiarchy, and the Black Ships fulfilling that role by setting up little astronomicans. You could develop that idea further, or present an alternative.
Nothing is canon yet. We should feel free to contradict each other and present alternative ideas.
>>48097617
>And these beacons are run by both the Dark Imperium and the Crusader States?
Chaos doesn't need the astronomican, they appeal to the warp gods for safe travel instead
>>48097647
>they appeal to the warp gods for safe travel instead
sounds safe indeed.
>>48097671
It isn't. But it's a bet you have to take. And when Chaos provides, you can travel further, faster and safer than anyone could ever dream of.
Of course, for every time that happens there's a dozen times when Daemons devour the whole fleet.
>>48097671
Oh its totally safe, honest! (Hehehe just as planned...)
>What is your legion's command structure? What are the highest ranking officers called? Does your primarch have some sort of war council like the Mournival or the Tetrarchs? Who are your Primarch's Equerry and what are their major deeds?
The Oathsworn are organized into Battalions a thousand strong, with the first company of each being the home of the Battatlions Apothecary corps. Each Tactical Squad is assigned a Apothecary to monitor their geneseed, as well as assume command as necessary. Chapters are loosely organized within the battalions, but are usually tasked to various Rogue Traders or expeditionary fleets with other Marines. Despite the legion's early find of their Primarch on Luna, and his exactly scientific mastery of genetics and other arcane sciences, the Oathsworn rarely lead spear front operations with their vast numbers. Instead the 8th legion were the most widespread of all legions before the heresy, and operated across the galaxy. This lead to the Oathsworn, along with other more glorious legions, to become the face of the Astartes to the common man. Their purpose of spreading the legion so thin was two fold; to secure the gene banks of all legions and share their knowledge, and to master the plagues and genetic sequences of Xenos across the galaxy. Through this vast categorization and inter-exchange of knowledge did their vast libraries grow.
The command structure of the Oathsword, once known as the Hospitaliers in the years before the Heresy, was one centered around knowledge, self sufficiency, and merit. No small amount of competition grew among the most competent and vain glorious of marine who sought their elusive and introverted primarchs favored. Despite claims that this promoted a tendency to reserve information to promote their own value, the primarch declared only those who shared their gifts would prosper.
>>48097696
>And when Chaos provides, you can travel further, faster and safer than anyone could ever dream of.
This is a big point. In the lead-up and follow-up to Istvaan, it takes loyalists MONTHS to get to/from the system where chaos ships and the Eisenstein make the journey in days. That difference was a major facet of Horus' strategy. Not only did he have the advantage of surprise, but even after the loyalists discovered the betrayal at Istvaan III, Horus had a great deal of time to maneuver his allies before the Loyalists could effectively react.
>>48097605
How did Balthasar get found on not-cthonia before Faustus on Luna? I can move Faustus back to another planet so he doesn't step on anyone's toes if that's preferred.
>>48084349
>>48097696
In that case, the Warhawks would operate as pirates, surviving mostly off the raids they launch against the traitor fleets that don't risk the passage through the warp.
Visiting the Crusader states when they need to refit and regroup, they still are quite a small group compared to other legions however their fleet is second-to-none in terms of both their experience and speed. Though they lack much of the firepower typical in Astarte fleets.
