Eaters of Worlds

Butcher's Nails Artwork

2011-09-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine commented a while ago about how much he was enjoying the Dawn of War series, specifically the second game. He had no experience at all of the 40k universe (aside from half heard conversations between myself and other 40k playing friends which left him feeling isolated and afraid) and so the imagery and experience of that game was his sole source of information regarding that game universe.

And his comment about the main character, made as he charged him into combat amongst a horde of orks? "Yeah, he is a hard ass, but why does he look like someone from a Hair Conditioner advert? He's called Gabriel Angelos so I guess he's some kind of future Italian?"

It made me laugh, but also roll me eyes at the folly of Relic's character design regarding a Space Marine. My friend was correct in a way - without any other knowledge of a Space Marine, of their background, their physiology or their lifestyle, I could quite imagine Angelos cracking a cheeky smile and winking, "Because I'm worth it" as he pirouettes into a group of orks and starts imitating Kenneth Williams with a fly-swatter and running like Russell Brand.

I will have to show my friend this picture:

Relic, this is how a Space Marine should look. No neat brush-across, blended into a number 3 across the back and side and chiselled good looks. You take a Rugby forward (or a linebacker for our American friends), you add a hundred pounds of slabbed muscle. You then give him plastic surgery, carried out by Dr. Nick from the Simpsons, and you subject him to a hundred years of physical training and hardship that makes the Iron Man contest look like a Sunday gala event for toddlers. Add a few weapon impacts, and scars, fighting the worst the galaxy can throw at them in the most inhospitable environments, then finally apply the flat of a spade to the face for good measure. After that, you might be approaching something of what a Space Marine looks like.

So thanks to Neil Roberts for this wonderful piece of artwork of Angron. Not only is it frightening in its intensity and aggression but I think it perfectly captures the Primarch of the 12th Legion.

Finally, here is a quote from a friend of mine on Facebook regarding the picture:

‎"Do we do him leading a charge in battle?"
"How about gazing out of a starship window into space?"
"Why not try giving him a new look?"
"F*** ALL THAT. DO HIM NAKED, WITH TWO AXES."

Black Library World Eaters Audio Book

2011-08-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

The Black Library have just announced an exciting addition to their Pre-Heresy line up - A new short story, written by none other than Aaron Dembski-Bowden!

The posting is up on the Black Library website, here, and has been confirmed as an Audio book by the writer himself on the B&C forum (backing up the price point of £10). The date is currently set at June next year.

Mr. ADB is regarded by many as the hot-property of the Black Library at the moment, and I'm sure anyone who has read his books will agree that he is one of the best writers with the publishers in terms of bestowing depth and personality to his characters. Certainly, he transformed the Word Bearers from their previous position as comic book-esque evil guys to victims of tragic circumstance in The First Heretic, and I'm sure many fans of the World Eaters will hope he treats the 12th Legion with the same attention to detail!

When Aaron revealed on his blog some time ago that he wanted to write about the World Eaters I sincerely hoped the legion would get their own full length novel. However, beggar's can't be choosers as they say, and hopefully this Audio book will be a prelude to more background information on a traitor Legion that has been largely overlooked in the Heresy series so far.

More information as it comes!

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 8

2011-07-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hi again, this time the final instalment in the short story series. This one features the War Hounds fighting alongside the Blood Angels, in another 'co-op' based story. It's interesting that the World Eaters predecessors, the War Hounds, seem to have quite a lot of interest from the fan community. I wonder if anyone has any ideas in terms of colour scheme or iconography? Or else even has an army that they have been working on? If you do, please leave a comment and I'll write a feature on them in some point in the future. Until then..

Of Hounds and Angels

By Matthew Roy

THE BLOOD ANGEL drank deeply as his fangs tore into the rebel’s throat. He hefted the ruined corpse and flung it down the slope, pressing onward with his warriors. They had holstered their bolters, preferring to advance against the dying enemy with their blades drawn…

HALF A KILOMETRE away at the base of the escarpment, Captain Sorik raced ahead of his World Eaters company brethren. The last of the rebels were dying upon his battle-brothers’ chainblades, and Sorik wanted to make sure that his sword drank deep of their heathen blood before the battle was done.
A clumsy and desperate man charged at him, blade drawn, and Sorik turned the awkward lunge aside with his chainsword. He brought his weapon around, aiming not at his enemy’s weapon, but at his gauntleted hands. His weapon shrieked as it tore through the ornamental hand guard and chewed the rebel’s fingers to shreds. The warrior let out a muffled cry, dropping his weapon. Another slash, and Sorik took the man’s head from his shoulders.
He felt his berserk rage cooling. He could smell rich blood through his helmet’s open respirator grille. He paused; no, it wasn’t through his respirator. He brought his hand to his face, realising that his helmet was missing. He frowned. He couldn’t remember taking it off. He turned around, backtracking through the scene of slaughter behind him as his warriors busied themselves with sawing heads from bodies and tying them to their belts. Sorik found his helmet some fifty metres back, half buried in a tangle of bloody limbs that had once been a man. Apparently he had used the helmet to beat the rebel to death.
He couldn’t remember doing it. He frowned again. He was losing time more and more often during battles.
On the slope above, he watched a company of red-armoured Astartes as they tore through the last of the defenders, dismembering the enemy soldiers at close quarters in a stunning display of violence.
‘Brother-Captain Cretac, of our cousins in the IX Legion,’ said Fanin, the company’s standard-bearer. Sorik turned to his subordinate. Fanin had also removed his helmet, and thick blood covered his face. It took Sorik a moment to realize the warrior had smeared most of it on himself. Fanin nodded back up toward the warriors on the slope. ‘They call his company the “Flesh Tearers”, sir.’
Sorik nodded in grim amusement at what the Blood Angels were capable of when they allowed the facades of culture and civilisation to fall away from them.
The vox-link in his helmet chirped as he put it back on. ‘All company commanders, this is the Eighth Captain. We will bring our fury against the heretic stronghold. The Tenth and Thirty-third companies will have the honour of leading the jump-assault, supported by the Blood Angels.’ This order came from Kharn, the primarch’s equerry. Sorik’s warriors bowed their heads reverently as the Eighth Captain spoke.
Of course they all wanted to be like Kharn.
One of the company’s Rhinos trundled up from the rear lines, and the Techmarines unloaded jump packs from the cargo frames inside. Sorik studied them as they worked. Early in his training with the legion, he had been earmarked to join the ranks of the armourium for his intelligence and aptitude. His leadership and combat prowess had been recognised however, and over time he had risen to command the 33rd Assault Company instead.
He glanced back up the slope. He had been forced to work with the Blood Angels during this mission. Their haughtiness grated on him, and he found their hypocrisy troubling; they fought with just as much savagery as the World Eaters, and yet the Blood Angels were beloved – even romanticized? – by the Imperium, while his own legion were reviled as barbarians.
Iterator Igram Severn had said the rebels on this planet would face the unbridled fury of the IX and XII Legions, and that both were known for their savagery in close combat. Sorik and the other World Eaters liked Severn; while he wasn’t Astartes, he was a veteran of the Imperial Army, his body more augmetic than true-flesh. Few iterators and remembrancers were assigned to the XII Legion’s fleets. They had a bad habit of disappearing, and the legion’s senior leadership had always remained quiet on the matter.
Up ahead, a war party came into view – a Blood Angels honour guard and a pack of World Eaters shadowed two massive figures. Sorik had seen six primarchs in his life, but was still awed by their presence. He had heard it said that each of the primarchs echoed an aspect of their father’s greatness. If that was the case, then Sanguinius and Angron were most likely the opposing aspects of His combat prowess. The former was a gilded poet in warrior’s garb; the latter was a true manifestation of fury, terrible and absolute.
Word was that Angron would be entering the city behind the advance guard. Oh, what grand violence he would doubtlessly unleash upon these rebels.

JUMP PACKS ROARED as his company launched into the air. Las-bolts and solid slugs flew past the warriors and pattered off their armour plate. Sorik crunched down onto the city wall, his sword ending the lives of two of its guardians in a flash.
What makes the Angels better than the Hounds? What makes them so beloved, and us so hated? Exalted in their hypocrisy, their sense of the aesthetic, their role as warrior poets. He dodged a point-blank lasgun blast and smashed a man’s skull with a quick backhand.
Cretac and the Flesh Tearers had landed a hundred meters to Sorik’s right. He watched the Blood Angel assault troopers revel in their slaughter of the wall guardians. Here at least, were men who embraced what they truly were. Instruments of death. Killers of men.
They say this is a godless galaxy. That is the truth our iterators speak to the populations we conquer and assimilate. But what if there are gods watching us, as these heathens believe? Could there even be a god that smiles upon what we do?
Some mythical god of war, perhaps?
Some sort of brazen blood-god?

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 7

2011-07-09T01:18:00.000-07:00

This will be most likely the last in the short story series, unless a few other people I have written to get back in touch and give me permission to post on this site (for anyone reading this that's a big hint, it's a bit weird why anyone would say no! ^^). A little bit different to the other, predominantly Heresy-era shorts, this story focuses on the Legion in their guise as the 'War Hounds' during the earlier days of the Crusade, fighting alongside the White Scars (giving me an excuse to post this cool piece of bike-related art from the CCG game).

White Hot

By Michael Vincent (aka Vinnie)

THROUGH THE WHIRLING dust cloud that had filled the heavy atmosphere of the city, he watched the assault squad of the War Hounds legion descend on roaring columns of flame. Dropped from a Stormbird, the Astartes reinforcements came not before time. However confident of victory he happened to be, ten snarling chainaxes were always an appealing addition to one’s efforts.
Suddenly, a heavy armoured vehicle bearing the heraldry of the dissenting nation lumbered around the buttressed corner of the city wall. It had the snub nosed muzzle of its formidable looking main turret raised, and the crew clearly intended to eliminate the War Hounds before they made planetfall.
He smiled at the sight of this new target. It had been nearly forty seconds since he had teleported into the warzone and he had not yet engaged, mainly due to the lack of enemy units in the vicinity. He wasn’t sure whether to chastise his teleport operators for dropping him into a dead sector, or congratulate his Astartes warriors for making one.
But now it was time to get his hands dirty. Time to make his presence known.
Jaghatai, Great Khan and Primarch of the Vth Legion, cricked the tendons in his neck, flexed his immense gauntleted hands, and loped into a thundering charge. Even if what passed for auspex technology on the enemy vehicle detected his approach, there was no way any turret could traverse quickly enough to do anything about it.
‘For the Scars, and for the Emperor!’ the Khan bellowed in the flowing, affricative tongue of Chogoris. He drew his glittering qhatan blade, forged from the hardy ores of his homeworld, and threw himself shoulder first into the side of the vehicle.
It was not large by the standards of many battle tanks he had seen in his time at the Emperor’s side: perhaps thirty-five tons. It shifted with the impact. Not far, but far enough.
A blistering stream of tracer fire erupted from the barrel of its main weapon, hissing past the War Hounds squad at a distance of no more than a few inches. Yes, thought Khan, far enough.
A periscopic device appeared almost comically from the top hull of the tank. Jaghatai brought the palm of his hand down hard on top of it, and was rewarded with a muffled scream of agony from within. Grabbing the edges of the periscope cavity, the Primarch hauled himself on top of the vehicle and sprang towards what he knew was the commander’s hatch.
The vehicle began to move, jerking in and out of gear, attempting to dislodge their assailant. A mortal man might have been pitched from the hull, but not the Khan – a lifetime spent hunting game on the uneven peaks of the Khum Karta mountains; and riding first the powerful tahki warhorse and then later the Astartes assault bikes; all had given the Primarch reflexes that defied comprehension. Sometimes, to a mortal, they might even appear prescient.

Riding the juddering vehicle like he would a bolting horse, Jaghatai Khan grasped his blade with both hands and drove it hilt-deep down into the armour of the command hatch. Swinging his massive form, he wrenched the blade sideways into what he hoped would be the driver’s compartment.
Tortured metal screamed as it peeled into ribbons, booming as welds in the superstructure gave way. The vehicle stalled and trundled to a halt.
With a squeal and a clang, a trooper bearing a heavy energy pistol emerged from a hatchway behind Khan. The Primarch turned and was ready to dive from the path of the inevitable shot, but the trooper was cut down by bolter fire before he could level his weapon.
Khan peered around, and saw the War Hounds assault squad sprinting toward the tank, smoke rising from their pistols. He leapt down from the top of the tank.
‘My gratitude to you, War Hounds.’ He spoke in their common High Gothic, ‘I was very nearly injured.’
The squad’s sergeant stepped forward. ‘My Lord, it was our duty and our pleasure.’ Khan regretted that he did not know the warrior’s name.
There was another noise from the disabled tank. A terrified crewman pushed open a side hatch and was scrambling out on his hands and knees. One of the Astartes hopped forwards and slammed his power boot into the hatch, effectively crushing the man’s midsection in the jamb. With a twitch, the crewman vomited bloody tissue onto the ground and died.
Khan punched the locking mechanism of the hatch, the inhuman strength of his blow buckling the metal and effectively sealing the port. Cries and hammering erupted from within as at least two more crewmen panicked and scrabbled for escape.
The War Hounds sergeant cocked his helmeted head, as if listening. He was, but not to the doomed men.
‘My lord,’ he looked to Khan, ‘We have orders to assist in contesting a vital strongpoint to the west.’
‘Indeed,’ replied the Primarch. He nodded to the enemy tank. ‘Torch that before you go, would you?’
‘If you intend to head westwards, we will be honoured to accompany you,’ the sergeant said.
The Khan felt slightly uneasy. He still struggled to comprehend the reverence with which he was treated by Astartes of his brothers’ legions – to his own Scars he was a beloved commander and respected leader, not an object of veneration.
A clanking rumble from behind them drew his attention. It was another enemy tank approaching.
‘No,’ he said with a dark smile, ‘I think I shall be fine here.’
‘Yes, my Lord!’ With a nod of the head, the sergeant unclipped a melta bomb from his belt and clapped it to the side of the vehicle before leading his Astartes into the scorched sky with a roar of turbofans.
Jaghatai Khan stepped back, and with a bright flash the tank crumpled outwards, everything inside immolated. The sound was almost desultory, but the effect was inarguable.
He turned to face the thunder of the oncoming tank, and cricked his neck again.
For the Emperor, he thought, and grinned.

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 6

2011-06-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

The latest short story in the series. This one focuses on one of the most famous (or should I say infamous?) characters of the World Eaters. There hasn't been anything so far on the recruitment practices of the Legion, the worlds they used or their native culture, and it is definitely food for thought! So, take it away..

The Gift of the God

By Jamie Morris (AKA Lord_Caldera)

HE CAME SUDDENLY one night: an avatar of my god, though he knew it not. He came at the height of the Festival in a great iron bird which flew on streamers of fire with the noise of a thousand great beasts roaring as one. Huge clouds of smoke billowed from its stubby wings as it lit upon the ground just outside of the contest ring where my brother fought.
My clansmen gathered around its immense body with more curiosity than fear, many loosening weapons in their slings. My brother, drenched in gore and sweat, dispatched his last opponent quickly and clambered out of the ring to stand beside me.
I was proud of my brother. He was the finest warrior of my village, and I longed for the day when he would be proud of me too – the day that I would enter the ring against him, the day that I would take the head from his shoulders in the name of our god, the day that I would claim my rightful place as His Voice.

But that day was not this day. This day I was young and though I was stronger and faster than most of our clan’s finest warriors, I was not yet a man.
The iron bird opened its mouth without warning and breathed a haze of strange-smelling steam over the assembled men and boys. A dull yellowish light seeped out and glinted off the weapons my clansmen were now fingering nervously. When the fog cleared a solitary figure stood bathed in the light. It was impossibly huge for a man, and encased in some strange armour made of a pearly white material I had never seen before. All but the head; the head was that of a man, and was a mass of scars more twisted than those of the village elders. The deep-set eyes which surveyed the crowd were not those of a senile old man, however. They were cold and piercing – predator’s eyes – and I sensed that they unsettled even the hardiest of the men around me.
Except for my brother.
He pushed his way to the front of the silent crowd and took a welcoming stance, with his feet braced apart and his gleaming axe held before him in a challenge. ‘Identify yourself, stranger, in the name of the Lord of Blood!’ he cried out.

The giant’s steely eyes locked onto him and a smile ghosted around his lips. A low voice grated out his words. ‘Who is this “lord”? I am in haste and would speak with your highest ranking citizen.’
‘He is the God of Battle, and on this day I am His Voi-’ my brother began before his head exploded with a sharp bang. A full grin pushed its way onto the giant’s face as he watched my brother’s body slump to the ground. He replaced a smoking contraption of metal into a holder on his belt and stared at the blood pooling around my brother’s neck as he spoke to us forcefully.
‘No. Your god is nothing. I am here to give you the Truth. You are now servants of the Emperor of Mankind and will act as such. You will not worship. You will obey. And if any man wishes to challenge this, he will speak now.’
Rage built inside of me at my brother’s death and at the insolence of this man. No one spoke and I realized that my friends and family were weak. I wanted the power that was rightfully mine. I had been my brother’s better and I was this monster’s better. I would claim his armour and his weapons for myself.
‘You still have not identified yourself!’ I shouted. The crowd parted slowly to let me through to the front. I saw many frightened faces and my rage grew at their feebleness.

The giant considered me for a moment before stepping down from the open beak of his mount and meeting me over my brother’s body. This close I could see how truly massive his white and blue-clad form was, towering nearly twice my own height. There was amusement in the face as he replied, ‘I am Astartes of the 12th Legion. I am Captain Goran Perro of the 8th Assault Company of the World Eaters.’ He glanced up to address the rest of the assembled men and boys of my village. ‘I have travelled many leagues to find those worthy of joining me and my battle-brothers, but it seems I have come to this place for naught. I see nothing but dotards and women before me. I am disappointed to find no warriors.’
He turned and began to stride back towards the bird. I seethed at this final slight. Did he not see my potential? I swore to the God that I would see this giant dead, and my pitiful village with him. I bent and hefted my brother’s iron axe. It was the most finely crafted weapon I had ever seen, and had been passed down within my family for generations. I swiftly closed the distance to the giant and roared a battle cry – as he turned I swung the huge axe with all of my might.
The blade struck his breastplate and shattered upon the terrible armour. I had but a moment for surprise before he reacted, smacking my head almost casually with his fist and sending me sprawling to the ground.
A gravelly laughter filled my ears as I dragged myself to my feet.
I felt blood running down my face. It felt good.
The giant was still laughing as he slung me over his shoulder and walked back to his bird. I spat broken teeth at my former clan as blood dripped into my eyes and a red haze drifted over the world. ‘You are just the thing I was looking for,’ chuckled the giant. ‘What is your name, boy?’ As the enormous beak shut off the last sight of my family, I choked out the answer to his question:

‘Kharn.’

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 5

2011-06-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

The short story series will be drawing to a close shortly, as the number of short stories which I have yet to feature dry up. Here is one that was hidden away on a user's blog on The Great Crusade forum. For anyone who has read (or rather listened to) 'Garro: Legion of One' they will be familiar with the concept behind it. It's certainly well written, and worth taking the time to read.

Last of the Loyal

By Leon Carter

The grille of his helmet rasped heavily, each breath a knife thrust into his lungs. Blood dribbled in his mouth. He tried to move, but his broken body denied him. The bone shield protecting his chest cavity had been punctured, shards of it deeply rupturing his primary heart. His left knee was broken to splinters, while his shoulder dislocated.

Alarm signs flickering on the display of his left helmet visor, the one that remained intact, interrupted sporadically by surges of static, showed him that his power armour was in no better condition either. Life support was failing, leaving many of his wounds unclotted. Painful warmth washed over the many gashes and fissures torn into his ravaged and battered plate as his blood escaped through them unrestrained. His right pauldron had exploded to shreds, along with most of his upper arm, hit by a bolter round.

Garthe grunted in annoyance at his own momentary inability, another bolt of pain striking his lungs.

The stench of death around him was suffocating. He sank into the middle of a pile of cut down bodies, about two dozens, all clad in full plate of power armour, Astartes just like him, glued together by drying puddles of blood. Heads savagely cleaved in two, mutilated limbs scattered about, torsos mangled and disembowelled, flesh and ceramite ripped open by chainsword teeth. The battle had been fierce, leaving only a gory mess.

The contrast between Garthe's own cracked, dented, crudely maintained battlegear of white and dark blue and the elegant regale of the slain warriors, shimmering in violets and gold outlines couldn't be more evident.

A blood-soaked chainsword lay a few centimetres away from Garthe's crippled hand. His retribution given form, it was that very weapon that had cut a way through the ranks of the now fallen, slaughtering and butchering them.

His right eye exposed behind the shattered visor, Garthe cast his glance high up to the sky. The azure field spread through his vision sparkled with the clarity of refined crystal. Peaceful and tranquil, remembrancers called such sights, but he felt differently. Inside him, the static view only ignited rage. He refused to lie down, motionlessly and die here. He had a vengeance to deliver.

Dull thumps of footsteps found their way to his ears. All too familiar. The unmistakable, whining noise of power armour servos.

Garthe gritted his teeth as he made another attempt at forcing his arms to move and reach for his chainsword, but again, his body defied his will. The steps drew closer. If his enemies wanted to visit death upon him, there was no stopping them.

A face appeared above him. A face of an old man, an Astartes, whose presence had not been diminished by the long centuries he had undoubtedly witnessed. His scarred, stiffened features carried with them a streak of nobility, hard-learned wisdom glimmered in his eyes. For a moment, even Garthe paused in his breath at the sight of him.

'It took a while to find you, lad,' the old warrior said. There was no hostility to his voice. 'Garthe The Bloody Vengeance.'

'Who... are you...?' Garthe forced a question through the blood and drool gurgling in his throat. As much as he could move his eyes, he tried to get a measure of the older Astartes and identify him by the pattern and insignia of his armour. He was unable to decide for sure.

'A faithful soldier who was betrayed by his legion. Him and all he swore an oath to uphold. Just like you.'

Betrayed.

The word lingered in Garthe's mind, arousing waves of boiling rage. Rage formed from hurt, helplessness and refusal.

'You are one remarkable and stubborn lad, you know that?' the old man nodded appreciatively. 'Completely alone, without a legion, without a primarch, you wander from planet to planet, leaving only heaps of dismembered traitors in your wake.'

Garthe grunted. He would have smiled, had his lungs not been in constant pain. He took pride in the havoc he had wrought among the ranks of his chosen enemies.

'You remember the ways of past ages. The valor of those times. That is why this shameful treason hurts you so,' the other Astartes continued, and looked the wounded, crippled warrior in the eye. Within that gaze, everything was told that ever could pass between two warriors of honour and that no words could possibly convey. Garthe nodded, even the small gesture painful and difficult to perform.

'The Emperor needs his loyal sons, Garthe Erklan. Will you answer his call?' the old man asked and dipped a finger of his gauntlet into the blood seeping from Garthe's chest wound.

'I... will,' Garthe sighed heavily.

'Will you swear to me, Iacton Qruze, last of the Luna Wolves, to serve Him, beloved by all, to protect the Imperium of Man from the threats it faces, and bring down His wrath at the traitor and the betrayer?' he intoned as he wrote the words on Garthe's marred plate with blood.

'I... Garthe Erklan... last of the World Eaters... swear it.'

'Then it is done,' said Iacton and waved with his hand. An Astartes, his power armour distinctively white, arrived after another series of thumping steps, only visible from the corner of Garthe's eye. 'Apothecary Callon, do what you can for the lad here and prepare him for transfer.'

'Yes, sir,' Callon said firmly and crouching down, immediately set to his work.

Garthe felt faint stinges through the layers of pain already enveloping his body as the Apothecary injected him with sedatives, and slowly drifted into unconsciousness. But he would not die. His rightful vengeance would be carried out and his honour purged of the blemish it had suffered by the betrayal.

A blemish he intended to pay back in thick blood.

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 4

2011-06-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

A new story in this series, this is called 'The Red Angel' and it is written by Owen Chow (aka ORKY ARD BOYZ from the TGC forum). This one deals right with the progenitor himself, and the separation of the Legion from the Emperor. I think you will agree it makes exciting reading! So, without further ado...

The Red Angel

By Owen Chow (aka Orky Ard Boyz)

ARIGGATA. ITS SKIES were dusty red, streaked black by aircraft contrails and smudged with smoke. Surrounding the basalt citadel had once been a calm and featureless plain, a sea of dirt. Now it boiled, soil erupting as munitions pounded around the fortress walls. Grit showered the warriors waiting in their trenches, pattering like rain from blue and white armour.
Hronde’s helmet autosenses couldn’t entirely filter out the thunder of bombardment. He focused on his battle brothers instead. They were tensed, unreadable behind their war helms. The vox buzzed with static and Horkal’s growl broke the silence.
‘How much longer?’
Hronde replied: ‘As long as their defences stand.’ He noticed Horkal was pacing. ‘You are of the Legiones Astartes. Control yourself,” he snapped.
The bigger man grunted. ‘Nnngh. The primarch doesn’t order us to control ourselves.’
The primarch. Hronde ‘s heart had leapt like all of his brothers’ when the Emperor, beloved by all, announced their lord returned. The legion was whole. Complete.
The doubts began when the killings started. Their... commander was a beast. He was not like the charismatic Horus or the stoic Guilliman, each a living embodiment of the Imperium; gene-crafted to be vivid and majestic leaders, scholars and warriors. Angron was different. Angron had returned damaged, broken somehow. Howling and screaming, lashing out at all who came close. Livid yellow eyes glaring in the darkness, lips peeled over his teeth, cursing the Emperor.
Horkal’s voice broke his reverie. ‘I can’t stand this bastard silence,’ he snarled before wrenching his helmet clear, revelling in the devastation. Hronde did the same and volume assaulted his ears, drowning out thought with the continuous boom of detonations. The ground shook. Blurred by the heat haze, the fortress shimmered like a mirage. Everywhere there was the bitter tang of melted rock and smoke.
Then his squad dropped to their knees, dipping their heads, still as statues. Hronde turned and came face to face with a demigod.
Angron wore a breastplate of brazen scales upon which the chained Imperial Aquila clanked as he moved. Dragging at his shoulders, a chainmail cape rippled in the firelight. Hronde could bear no more than a glimpse. Mind emptied, he felt light, almost giddy. The strength drained from his limbs. His knees tried to bend as if of their own volition. The scene seemed so right, to be the natural order of things: the king standing majestically and his devoted subjects bent at the knee in adoration.
There was only one problem: he could not kneel. He had forgotten how.
A voice like the rumbling of an earthquake spoke its first words but Hronde could not decipher them. Then he realised that the primarch was laughing.
‘You do not bow, little brother.’
It was true. He wondered why. Hronde suddenly noticed the massive chainaxe gripped in the primarch’s fists. Shark-like eyes rooted him to the spot, and knew the brutal intellect behind them knew only one reaction to uncertainty. To weakness.
Even knowing this he could not move.
‘Why?’ Angron demanded. The chainaxe gunned into life, and Hronde was so close that he could feel whip of each jagged tooth slicing the air. The shark eyes narrowed. Lips drew back over teeth.
Hronde stood very still, raising his head to look his liege-lord in the eyes, fists clenched. He measured the tone of his voice. ‘Sire, would you have your warriors grovel at your feet? Saluting their own deaths, begging for their lives?’
The demigod stared back with his predatory glare. ‘Salute in the hot dust... hnnn... standing proud, ready to die.’ Angron’s features twisted into what could have been a smile. His barked with his harsh De’shean accent, savaging the Imperium’s Low Gothic with deliberate pleasure. ‘Like my brothers and sisters, brave Cragore facing down the beasts, never smiling. Grim Cragore.’ His eyes began to wander, and his voice lost its edge, his words trailing to nothing. Then his attention snapped back to Hronde. ‘So what are you, weakling?’
‘Your warri-‘
‘Another warrior! Another grave-grubber with scholar oaths, playing at valour.’
Horkal began to speak from where he knelt nearby, to defend Hronde. Angron ignored him, eyes fixed upon the still-standing legionnaire in front of him.
Hronde’s hearts were pounding, the stink of hyper-adrenaline filling his nostrils. ‘I serve my liege and by extension, the Emperor, belov-‘
‘The Emperor and his weakling crusade,’ Angron blurted. ‘No valour, no! Butchering paperskins with his fire-from-above.’ A particularly loud explosion punctuated his words.
Hronde’s mind raced. His will fought against his instinct. Years of training yearned to correct these heretical words, but the very thought of Angron locked the snarl behind his teeth and loosened his fists. He could never raise a hand against his primarch any more than he could against himself. It was said the Legiones Astartes were gene-coded with loyalty to their blood sires; he wondered if the primarchs were ingrained with the same level of loyalty to the Emperor. Could they be fallible?
Abruptly the bombardment ceased, leaving an empty silence. The primarch whirled.
‘World Eaters!’ Angron roared the name like a curse. ‘Another world, another twist of the triumph rope. For glory, little brothers!’ He was answered by a cacophony of voices as his warriors surged from the trenches. One war cry was notable by its absence, or maybe it didn’t matter anymore. For the Emperor...
Hronde drew his blade and was lost among the legion’s charge. Uneasy thoughts nagged at the edges of his mind as Angron threw himself into the battle without any thought of danger. It was all he lived for. There was a screaming reactor in place of his heart that boiled white hot rage into his fists and gritted his teeth in a mockery of courage. But what was death when there was nothing left to live for? Brooding alone, the primarch knew no true equal. Even his brother demigods judged him, as he shut himself away between wars. He was damaged. Broken. Fallible.
Everything depended upon Angron. The Legion, their loyalty, everything. Charging forward, roaring his nonsensical invective, every inch a warrior and defining the very values of selfless sacrifice and defiance, Angron was the most majestic sight he had ever seen. The monster and the hero. The future was filled with boundless possibilities while he stood at their head.
As the legion charged, the ruddy dust upon their armour plate caught the light. Hronde wondered, was it an omen of things to come? The Legion was coloured red.
World Eater red.

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 3

2011-06-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Time for a new story in the series. Written by Chris Bowers (aka Cobra6 from TGC forum), this story deals with an issue given only a passing mention in the World Eater background - their own 'night of the long knives' where in a sequence of bloodlettings, the Legion put their psykers to the sword (or chainaxe). I shall say no more . . .

The Last Librarian

By Chris Bowers (aka Cobra6)

AS BARKHE HEARD them approaching down the corridor, it occurred to him to flee. He might even be able to do it. With his powers and his inherent skill-at-arms as an Adeptus Astartes, he could surprise a small group, overcome them quickly and make his way to an escape pod. Surely, the warp powers revealed to him by Erebus and Chief Librarian Arkoethe would help him now, when he needed them most. His mind made a panicked cast about the ether, seeking aid from any being that would hear him. None answered.
He could still flee. He should flee.
No. He was the last of the Librarians of the World Eaters, and he would face death as befit a son of Angron.

HE HAD BEEN there, not half an hour earlier, when the Librarius was destroyed, each hacked down by their brothers in the arena of the warrior lodge. It was known as ‘the Quiet Order’ among more decorous legions, but for the World Eaters the lodge was neither of those things, and was known as ‘the Ludus.’ It was to have been a glorious affair: sixty-four gladiatorial matches beneath the gaze of mighty Angron, as well as the visiting dignitaries – Maloghurst of the Sons of Horus and Erebus of the Word Bearers. Blood had soaked the sand in honour of the triumph at Istvaan III.
Alongside the notorious gladiator Scyrak the Slaughterer, Chief Librarian Arkoethe had faced eight psycho-lobotomized ogryns at the peak of the violence. Arkoethe had planned for it to be a validation of the oft-slandered Librarius, to remind the Red Angel of their effectiveness in battle, and to silence his rival Scyrak.
The Slaughterer had a brutal reputation even among the XII Legion. Years before the great uprising of Horus, Scyrak was rumored to have murdered three Blood Angels on Luther Macintyre. Of late he had become a leading adherent of the growing cult of Karnath within the auspices of the Ludus, and had led the aggressive slander of the legion’s few Librarians. At the opening of the games, Erebus had presented him with a heavy ceremonial black-iron collar, embossed with an angry red skull rune. The Chaplain had placed it around his neck where it had soldered closed of its own accord.
Clad only in loincloths, Scyrak and Arkoethe had made short work of the roaring ogryns. Ropes of gore flew as Skyrak cleaved through muscle, fat, organs, and bone with furious, violent strokes. Arkoethe boiled the creatures from within, and roasted them with crackling bolts of warp energy and fire. As the last ogryn burst into flames and died beneath the power of Arkoethe’s mind, the Slaughterer had turned on the Chief Librarian, his chest heaving and his eyes flecked with hatred.
‘COWARD!’ Scyrak had roared in his voice like grating stone, leveling his chainsword at Arkoethe. ‘See the sorcerer, he has not a drop of blood on him! His cowardice disgraces this Ludus, and our legion!’
‘Face me then, “Slaughterer”,’ had been Akoethe’s smirking reply.
A look laden with import had passed between Scyrak and Angron before he strode toward Arkoethe. The Chief Librarian’s sizzling warp energies were sucked into the glowing black collar around the Slaughterer’s neck like water into a drain. Had it been merely surprise or resigned acceptance that led Arkoethe to stand defenseless as Scyrak had gripped the chainsword in two hands, and driven it clean through his arm and into his ribcage? The Chief Librarian had collapsed in a welter of blood, and Scyrak had looked again to mighty Angron, who held out his arm before the audience, a heaving scrum of baying World Eaters.
Had it all been pre-arranged? At the downward jerk of Angron’s thumb, Scyrak rammed his shrieking chainblade into Arkoethe’s chest cavity, while the other Librarians in the crowd of World Eaters were set upon by their brothers, submerged in a tide of elbows, fists, and feet. They were dragged, safely unconscious, into the sandy ring and murdered.
All except Barkhe.
He was able to summon a gate through the ether and escape to his quarters on the other end of the kilometres-long ship. One frenzied attacker had been dragged through the portal with him; Barkhe had made short work of this would-be assailant, who was left a smoking husk on the deck. Then Barkhe had sat alone. Shocked, dismayed and adrift, he had only been shaken from his fugue state by the inevitable cacophony of his legion-brothers drawing near.

He recognised them as they burst through the bulkhead and began to encircle him: Kosolax and Astyanax; Hans Ko’ren of the Sixteenth ‘Skulltakers’ Company; Captain Hauul; and his old friend, Sergeant Sirhk of the Twenty-fourth. Barkhe looked into his friend’s eyes, looking for some sign of familiarity or sorrow. All he saw in Sirhk’s dilated, bloodshot orbs was merciless bloodlust.
They paused for just a moment – breath ragged, chainblades revving, holding out their Ludus medallions as wards against Barkhe’s psychic might. Then they attacked.
Barkhe blasted a psychic lance through Astyanax, and then ducked a wild swing by Ko’ren, flipping him over his shoulder and into his vacant arming post. He followed his momentum and took a glancing blow from Sirhk, before bringing his elbow up under Sirhk’s chin and snapping his head back. Teeth cracked in a spray of spittle and blood. He wreathed one of his fists in psychic flame and prepared to finish off his former friend, when the arc of a chainsword cleaved through his left leg at the knee. As he collapsed, another blade bit into his shoulder, nearly severing his arm. Falling hard, Barkhe lay twitching and pumping hot blood onto the deck. Kosolax stood over him, lowering his whirring blade to Barkhe’s neck for the coup de grace.
‘Brothers,’ Barkhe implored, spluttering through a mouthful of blood. ‘I have only ever served Angron and Horus! Why are you doing this?’
The wet howl of Kosolax’s chainblade nearly drowned out his answer as it chewed its way through Barkhe’s spine.
‘Blood for the Blood God.’

World Eaters Short Story Series Pt. 2

2011-05-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

The next shory story in this series. This one, entitled Red Night, takes a look at what happens when one of the Astartes has deactivated his neural implants and the battle is done. It's a wonderfully evocative story, and an interesting slant on what happens after the World Eater has pressed the 'on' button. Is conciousness, or more precisely the 'human element' left at the door, in order to make them a more violent and bloodthirsty killer?

Red Night

By William Hooke (aka Marshall Wilhelm)

‘WHERE... AM I? What was I... doing?’
Recollection seeps through his hazy post-combat comedown. He stops stumbling around. His mind aches. His muscles ache. His bones ache. He aches.
Steadying himself, he is dazed and overwhelmed. His visor is shattered, with a fractured image confronting his bloodshot eyes. His breath is ragged and stinks of the spent stimms that permeate his entire body. He wishes he could collapse and avoid this. But he is too tired even to lie down.
Pulling off his cracked helm with a grimace, freshly scabbed wounds are pulled open and a wash of rich red covers his face. He feels faint for a moment and doubles over to retch, bright yellow bile spattering the oxide tinted dirt.

‘I... remember...’ he rasps. He looks at his helmet, now severely dented and torn in a mirror of the bloody wound on his tortured face. His direct vox-hail attempts fail, but the Stormbird’s location is hinted at by the ruined display as he peers into the helmet with all the wonder of a juve gazing into the depths of a sinkhole. He moves to head for the Stormbird, but a half-remembered task halts him. He turns back.
Strewn across a twenty metre-wide area are the disembowelled remains of a half-dozen ork elites, their hulking forms still apparent though none are still even vaguely whole. Then he sees his prize: six heavy ork heads piled together, with mortified expressions of pain – or hatred? – upon their grim faces. His chainaxe lies in the dirt, its teeth invisible beneath the viscera that cakes them.
‘Well done, Garrett,’ he muses out loud, and busies himself fashioning a bandolier from discarded cable before threading through the xenos’ gaping jawbones. Garrett slings his prize across his body like a sash, then hoists his clogged chainaxe over his shoulder. His desire met, he turns once more for the Stormbird.
Though his armour is breached in many places and unable to boost his musculature’s efforts with any notion of efficiency, he makes his way, staggering and stumbling just as when he first regained consciousness. Garrett realises that not all of his bones are intact as stabbing pains jolt his enhanced frame, and he recalls the days of slaughter and the great battles between the World Eaters and the orks in times past. The rush and fury of charge against the vile xenos. Images flickering through his mind, in a haphazard collection of still frames and short sequences. Glorious.
Even though he is beaten and broken, the remembrances of victory – nay, slaughter – bring a smile and a softening of those harsh and scarred features. Though often melancholy after the heady rush of combat, the chance to end those who threatened the Emperor’s dream of a galaxy filled with a united humanity in honest combat was too delicious, too addictive to give up. Garrett murmurs a rote-conditioned ‘For the Emperor,’ as he trudges from the field of battle.

THE SUN WAS setting by the time the wounded Astartes reached the Stormbird. His captain, Kharn of the Eighth, had been aware of his approach on the auspex, and vox-hailed the apothecaries. They came quickly and laid the weary warrior onto the rusty soil, cradling his head on a quickly heaped pile. Sergeant Garrett’s once gleaming battle plate, in splendid arctic white and royal blue, was much-marred with clods of dusty soil and blood, both xenos and Astartes. The only vaguely bright or clean patches were where the enemy had gouged the ceramite with projectiles and melee weapons.
‘Garrett,’ whispered Kharn. ‘We thought you had left us, brother. Yet here you are.’
‘Yes lord... though all that I am... now burns... with fire.’
Kharn dismissed his ramblings. ‘You look as good as dead, brother. But do not worry – the sawbones have you now. Sleep well.’
As the apothecaries released the seals of his armour, deliriously Garrett spoke. ‘Sleep... I’d rather... fight... that hell...’
Kharn’s brow furrowed. ‘Brother?’
‘The dreams... the red knight... still...’
Garrett’s weary eyes closed – his lifeblood was draining away, and he was becoming incoherent though the apothecaries tended him as best they could. At the captain’s command they administered a dose of adrenalite, and the wounded sergeant snapped his eyes open with a pained gasp.
‘Pray brother, speak more.’
Garrett choked, his words coming suddenly in a torrent. ‘Many nights I dream of death and fire and blood, most unnatural even for the likes of us! Most galling is I do not dream of those who defy us... but of us, of me. That red knight offers me his clawed hand and when I slap that xenos talon away his red hound leaps upon me and ravages me like a rag-doll. I am no xenos lover, my lord!’
With a tenderness that surprised those around them, Captain Kharn removed his gauntlet and stroked Garrett’s face with his calloused hand as the broken warrior began to quake as though palsied. Tears came to his eyes at the sight.
‘This beast is so strong! It eats me though it is not my flesh that it craves...’
The Stormbird’s pilot fired the engines, signaling to those at the drop point that departure was imminent. The apothecaries raised Garrett onto a makeshift gurney and bore him away to the embarkation ramp.
Kharn sat in the dust a moment, looking up at the ripple of stars in the heat haze. He wondered what it all meant.

World Eaters, a short story series

2011-05-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Last year, the wonderful Great Crusade forum ran a short story competition. Anyone who entered had to compose a short, 1000 word story about an event taking place either during the Great Crusade or Horus Heresy era. Furthermore, the contest was to be judged by Black Library author Aaron Dembski Bowden himself! Unsurprisingly, the contest received a huge number of entries, the entirety of which are accessible through the link below (if you are a fan of Pre-Heresy, and are not already a member of the website, I urge you to go and sign up straight away!)

A number of the stories featured the World Eaters. As I am attempting to make this blog a resource for Pre-Heresy World Eater hobbyists and collectors, and because few things are as inspiring as a well-written piece of fiction, over the coming weeks with the permission of their authors I will be posting those stories again here.

So without further ado, here is the first story. It is called 'Rage Unknown' and is written by Joshua Bullock (aka Ahriman from the TGC forum). It focuses on a slice of the action during the infamous final battles upon the surface of Istvaan III, the sequence written about in the early salvo of Horus Heresy books, whereby the Traitor legions were attempting to exercise their loyalist elements.

Rage Unknown

By Joshua Bullock

ANGER FILLED HIS body. Anger whose source was unknown to him, anger the likes of which he had never quite felt before, even with the psycho-stimulative implants in the base of his skull. The air smelled of blood and his armour was caked in it. He smiled to himself as he stared down at the dull redness that covered his body, breathing in its coppery tang and focusing on the rage that filled his head.
The ruins of Istvaan III’s Precentor Palace lay all around him, reminiscent of dying men’s fingers clawing at the sky. The air was thick with dust and anyone but an Adeptus Astartes would have been hard pressed to see more than a few metres.
But there were none but Astartes within the ruined walls of the dead city. Brother fought brother from behind hastily constructed barricades amid the shattered but still hauntingly beautiful architecture, with the frescos of primitive gods still somehow intact following the orbital bombardments and the ongoing ravages of battle.
Warriors from several legions made war upon the planet’s surface: the perfect ranks of the pristine Emperor’s Children stood beside the sea green of the Warmaster’s own sons, while the stoic forces of the Death Guard fought one another within the grimy trench systems outside the ruined city. Kruer stood with his own warriors, the white of their battered armour catching the fading light of the dying world’s sun. The World Eaters were on edge, ready to rip apart anything within their reach. None more so than the primarch Angron, who stood with his favoured warriors, fixated upon the blood congealed upon the teeth of his huge chainaxe. The blood of those whom had fallen from his graces.
Kruer took in none of this. Not the ruins nor the art, not the purple and gold-clad warriors cleaning their weapons, nor the Sons of Horus who seemed content to let the other legions do the work for them. Not even the awe inspiring presence of Angron could disturb him from the all-consuming rage that filled his body. From where this anger had come, the hatred for warriors that just mere hours earlier had been his brethren, he did not know. All he did know was that he liked it.
Oh yes, he was quite certain about that.
A hash on his vox-channel penetrated the haze, and a single command rose through the roaring in his head:

+++KILL+++

Kruer needed no more encouragement. He barely registered the Emperor’s Children advancing to his right, moving steadily through the devastated buildings covering one another as each squad carried out its function in the great scheme of battle.
The World Eaters followed no such tactics, each squad running loosely together, vaulting fallen masonry and smashing down walls in their haste to close with the enemy. Kruer could now see them, crouched like cowards behind the remains of the broken city: it served only to fuel his burning rage, seeing warriors with whom he had once been proud to serve, stooping to such gutless cowardice.
He sprinted through the rain of bolter shells, paying them no heed. He could see the entrenched warriors clearly, their white and blue armour standing out from the destruction around them. He knew some of them by name, and he knew all of them by blood. And it would fill him with great sense of satisfaction to remove this taint from his legion.

IRATUS KNELT DOWN to reload his boltgun, yanking out the drained sickle magazine before ramming home a fresh clip and raking the slide. He rose again swiftly as others around him knelt to reload their own weapons. The sight was strange to him – this was not how the World Eaters usually fought, taking cover behind barricades and exercising tight bolter drills.
The back of his head throbbed as his psycho-stimulative implants urged him to violence, and it took almost all of his willpower to stay in line with his brothers and not to engage the implants’ feedback loop and launch himself at the traitors heading their way. One thought above all others kept him grounded in the moment: they were World Eaters no more. They were War Hounds once again.
He resumed firing, adding his bolts to the fusillade. A depraved figure emerged from the midst of the rabble, caked in blood and charging with such reckless abandon that he cared not what struck him – masonry, bolt rounds, shrapnel. Even his own comrades, whom he smashed aside in his need to close with Iratus‘s line.
He emptied his rest of his magazine at the bloody figure and those around him, before diving down once more to reload. The warrior to his right fell to the ground clutching his throat, blood running thick and fast before his enhanced physiology could clot the wound. The War Hound to the other side of Iratus fell also, his headless body crashing into the rubble and the armoured helm following an instant later. Desperately Iratus leapt back to his feet, ready to fire, only to be confronted by the viscera streaked face plate of the berserk World Eater on the other side of the barricade.
The roar of his chainaxe seemed to merge with the war cry from the warrior’s helmet vox-emitters, and Iratus fired two rounds into the berserker’s armoured torso before the boltgun was torn from his grip by a downward strike. The World Eater leapt over the barricade, and Iratus drew his combat blade and held it out across his chest. The tempered plasteel was no match for the foe’s axe, but if he was lucky...

RAGE WAS ALL Kruer knew, all that he could see. He didn’t even feel the foe’s blade as it pierced his throat, nor the impact of his chainaxe upon the loyalist dog’s helmet. Darkness overcame him and he smiled behind his visor.
It mattered not from where the blood flowed.

Apothecary in MK5 armour

2011-05-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

I think it's time to try and forget last week's unpleasantries and move on. I have finally finished painting my Apothecary. I've tried something new with this one in the form of weathering the armour, a new methods I tried when painting some WFB orcs. Overall I'm quite pleased with how it is has come out, although I may have used a little too much of it on this guy! The Legion badge will be added to his right shoulder pad as soon as I have access to my transfers.

Apothecary Csobán

Pictured following the first 72 hours of the compliance of Konos III. As a trainee of the Medicae facilities of Bodt, Csobán was attached to the 2nd company along with two other medical personnel under the command of the (then) Captain Sevruk.

The 2nd company, along with the 5th and 17th, was involved in the spearhead assault of the Etat Union's primary industrial facility. It was heavily defended, and Csobán had his hands full during the early hours of the operation. At one of the industrial facilities, a breached cooling towers resulted in the cataclysmic destruction of it's reactor, killing both defender and attacker alike within a several kilometer radius, and severely damaging a large contingent of the 17th company that were involved in the operation. Following direct correspondence from Commander of the Fleet Borya (who was overseeing the entire operation from orbit) Csobán and other medicae officers were ordered to the area to recover what they could of the fallen Astartes.

Pictured here, the Apothecary is carrying a personal medi-pack, designed for battlefield triage but also more importantly carrying a freezer unit to carry the gene seeds of the fallen. His high-powered chainblade (attached to a bionic arm, testament to a previous campaign) designed to cut through Astartes battle-plate - either to administer treatment, or to reach the highly valuable geneseed held within. A collection of frag grenades, while primarily designed as an offensive weapon, were also used to destroy the waylaid remains of Astartes when the extraction of their bodies and wargear was not possible, so that it might not fall into enemy hands. The heat-spectrascope, an ancillary addition to his backpack, enables the Apothecary to instantly ascertain the location of Astartes physiology. It was especially useful in this circumstance, as many Marines were buried beneath sizeable amounts of rubble and sand. An enhanced auspex unit in his helmet allows his to receive full physiological information from a wounded Astartes, and will recommend various courses of action to administer aid.

Rules

WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	LD
5	4	4	4	1	4	2	9

Wargear: Power Armour, chainsword, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades, narthicium

Notes on Special Rules

Obviously a Blood Angel Sanguinary Priest has no place in a World Eaters force. However the presence of one 'counting as' such a unit not only presents a cool modelling opportunity, but also helps to sneak in an added bit of assault capability in the form of the 6" 'Furious Charge" bubble that exists around the Apothecary. As such, I may well try and get 2 or 3 of these guys in the finished army, just to increase power in assaults across the board for those units who don't succeed in obtaining 'red thirst' before the game.

The presence of the Apothecary himself in the unit also provides the 'feel no pain' special rule. I like the idea of medics being attached to various units, it fits in nicely with how Marines used to be presented in the original incarnation of the game, and the more pragmatic approach to how the Legions were organised before the 'great upset' happened, and the marines had 10,000 years or so of ritual and dogma added to their routine.

I'm also hoping to get hold of the wonderful MK4 FW librarian at some point in the future. Next up, the 'meat and veg' element of my army has been solely lacking recently, in favour of more exotic elements, so depending on what comes first in the post expect to see either some more assault marines, or another tactical squad (these guys dressed entirely in mk3 armour - think the cover of False Gods :) )

Oh, Games Workshop...

2011-05-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

This post will be a first for this blog. Since it's inception, I have tried to keep focus entirely on the World Eaters and the discussion surrounding them. I have reasoned that the people who do visit my blog do so to read about the mighty twelfth Legion and worlds being eaten, and not petty, real life stuff.

So it is some indication of the importance that I ascribe to the 'hot topic' that leads me to make this post now. Been away for a few days and not sure what it is yet? I recommend that you head over to Dakka, Warseer, Bell of Lost Souls (even Games Workshop's own FB page) and take in the first half dozen or so, 20 page discussions. Or look at any number of the blogs on my blog roll. Put simply, Games Workshop HQ has been taken over by Gremlins. Someone fed them after dark, and now in their evil and tricksy ways they have set about with great gusto in attempting to upset their fans as much as possible.

I won't go into specifics here, suffice to say that most criticism revolves around a not insignificant price increase across the board (on the back of a switch to a supposedly cheaper material), and a big middle finger to the Southern hemisphere, or at least anywhere like Australia, where customers from those countries were previously using UK based internet retailers. The reason being, it was possible to buy GW product at something approaching RRP, rather than the ridiculous prices determined by the the exchange rate that GW follows. Now those customers will be forced to swallow their pride (and presumably packets of instant noodles, the only thing the average middle class citizen will be able to afford after a trip into an Aus GW) if they want to continue to buy new GW product. Unsurprisingly, the comments from the former colonies have not been overwhelmingly pleased. On a personal level, it means I cannot continue to order from the likes of Wayland and Maelstrom. While this won't really effect my World Eaters project (what project you may ask, after looking at the number of posts recently? :) ) which subsists on bits orders that get put into parcels from my family back home, it has given my other projects - a WFB orc force and Eldar army - a questionable future. I have more than a 5 hour journey to Seoul if I want to buy any GW, and I will have to pay more than RRP for it if I want to do so.

So, where does that leave us? The internet has a history of kicking up storms that don't really go anywhere, and of people raging at their keyboards (see: every other GW price increase), but I have a feeling this one is going to be different. There is a hell of a lot more passion behind it, and it's as if the dam has become unplugged, letting forth all manner of unpleasantries which had previously been welling up.

For this reason, I have decided to write a letter (on a computer, not hand written, we have to roll a little bit with the times here!), print it out and as of today mailed it off to GW HQ back in the motherland. Internet fan communities do have weight, if they pull together (just look at Rage Against the Machine making it to Christmas Number 1 in the UK, or Greenpeace naming that whale Mr. Splashy Pants!).

So, if you feel as strongly as I do about this topic, I advise you to follow suit and make up one of your own. Make it polite and concise; let GW know exactly how you feel about this recent spate of changes. Here is the address of GW HQ:

Games Workshop
Direct Sales
Willow Road
Lenton
Nottingham
NG7 2WS

If enough of us do it, someone might just take notice. It could well be that nothing whatsoever will happen, and that exec types will sit at their desks with their fingers in their ears yelling 'lalalala' even as the office junior gets a big overtime payment that month shovelling letters into landfill. But if in the years to come GW does nose dive, at least we will have the knowledge that we tried to make a difference. Games Workshop has been a big part of my life, and that is what has prompted the emotional reaction on my part. I genuinely feel for the company, and the feeling of 'betrayal' that I am currently experiencing is as much concerning my fear for the companies future as it is the personal inconvenience the prices rises, trade embargoes and other nonsense are causing me.

This will be the last such comment from me on this blog, and all future postings will indeed go back to discussing pre-Heresy matters, chiefly the boys in white and blue. That is, unless something happens again in the future where by I feel the hobby that I know and love is threatened..

WIP Mk5 Apothecary

2011-04-11T18:30:00.001-07:00

This is a WIP of a new Apothecary, kitted out in Mk5 armour. Even though he is going to be a counts-as Sanguinary priest in game, I don't want him to be too grandiose. He's just a combat medic, attached to other squads of World Eaters as and where he is needed.

I have made the mk5 armour from a standard mk7 set, using the tutorial found here.

The head is from the marine bike sprue, and the bionic arm from the FW veteran squad (got a few bionic left arms lying around from those packs!) The chain weapon, used to cut open marines armour (and to treat them, or maybe get to the progenoid glands?!) I think is from the old 2nd edition ork CC weapon sprue.

Sadly I don't have a substantial bits-box while I am away from home. I'm hoping not too many people will identify his medical kit as a Tau accessory (did marines get tried for Heresy back in the Great Crusade? Have some Tau travelled back in time so the marine could get hold of this piece of kit? There are all sorts of Terminator-esque time-travel paradoxes involved here :) )

Hopefully when painted, it will look a bit less obvious, and I may well modify it slightly.

The scanning array on the backpack is from the vehicle accessory sprue. I didn't have any access to cabling for the torso, so I resorted to using greenstuff. I actually think it has come out a bit better than the cable I have used previously, and will have to see how it looks when it is painted.

As you can see he still needs basing, and some mold lines cleaning, I only seem to notice them when I look at the photo :)

As for colour scheme, the guys on the Great Crusade website have pointed me in the right direction, and there is evidence of Apothecaries in both the '40k' colour scheme (white armour) and also in standard Legion colours. I think I might go with the latter route, as it ties in more with how the Librarians and Techmarines are represented, and also paints the marine as a specialist who is still part of the Legion. He hasn't gone off to train in some ancient special apothecaries sanctum, it's been handled in-house as part of the Legions operations. Although I realise that his armour will be white in any case, so it makes very little difference! :)

'A small part of a larger plan' A short story about the World Eaters

2011-04-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a short story, based during the events of the compliance of Konos III (the setting I have created as a background to this blog). I hope you enjoy it.

----------------------------------------------------------------

A Small Part of a Larger Plan

Gesard didn’t smell good at the best of times. Now, within the tight confines of the tunnel and with Gesard’s rump directly in front of his face, Teso sorely wished that he was somewhere else. He could feel the others pushing up against his feet from behind, and with the way ahead blocked he felt distinctly uncomfortable. A few of them had gone a little crazy down here in the tunnels, got the shakes and started seeing things in the dark. Teso counted himself fortunate that he wasn’t one of them, although that didn’t mean he had to like it. Fact was that most of them couldn’t come down here, couldn’t squeeze down the tiny access tubes that made up the tunnel network, couldn’t do the important work. Boss had told them what had to be done, how he and the other boys were the only ones that could do it, how they had to keep fighting even though they were afraid.

A muffled squelch sounded from Gesard’s camouflaged fatigues once more, and Teso cursed him even as he heard the others behind him illicit nervous laughter. “Shut it you animal…” he paused for a moment as they shuffled forward. Struggling to breath within an environment which would have been stifling at the best of times he nudged the rump in front of him. “Have you reached the hatch?” Gesard replied in his high-pitched, slightly petulant tone, “yeah Teso, it’s right here.”

“right here, what?” Teso snapped at him.

“Uh yeah, right here.. sir” the camouflaged pants conceded somewhat reluctantly. Boss has told them about how important it was to respect ranks, how they had to follow the plan to the letter. Teso was determined that his lads would look good in their leaders eyes. That one day they would get to join the unit that Yama and some of the other older boys had gone to join, taking part in the really important and heroic jobs. The ones that would help drive the invading bastard scum from their world.

Gesard grunted again as the pushed the hatch forward, accompanied by a rumbling and scraping sound. For a moment Teso feared the sound which meant that the tunnel was about to collapse as dust and debris came spinning out, but it soon stopped. Someone behind him coughed, and Teso blinked as the hard light of the morning sun came spilling into the tunnel. One by one they filed out, and stood around the entrance hatch, gingerly stretching limbs which had been cramped in one position for several hours. After a few moments, and after checking the half dozen of them were present, Teso nodded and spoke to them all; “Ok, let’s do this. Boss told us the plan, we know what we have to do.” He hoped that his own concern at what they were about to wasn’t revealed by a trembling voice or hand, or by dropping eyes. He hoped that the fear that he saw in his friends was not mirrored by himself. There was a murmur of assent from the group as they followed him from behind the refuse pile and narrow alley into which they had emerged. Plucking up a courage that he didn’t know he possessed, Teso turned to them and grinned, “come on this will be fun… just like a game of chase and bag.” Gesard’s squeaky voice replied even as the others looked on, “yeah, but we haven’t ever been chased by a monster before.”

……

“Ok.. this is it..” Teso lay flat up against the wall, his actions followed by the others further along the alley. He unwrapped the small package he held in his hand, taking out a small autobike mirror contained within, and held it by its bracket. Holding his breath, and with the delicacy of a man putting his hand into a nest of vipers, Teso held out the mirror so that it emerged from around the corner of the building. Blinking the sweat from his eyes, he forced himself to calm although his heart thundered in his chest and the narrow stem of metal in his hand shook and threatened to slip from his sweaty grasp.

Gradually the shaking lessened, and the scene revealed by the mirror came into focus; As expected, the street was largely empty, windows shuttered and doors barred despite the summer heat. A few market stalls stood untended, although an old man sat by the side of the road, a collection of nuts and herbs placed somewhat optimistically in bowls before his hunched form. A stray dog with only 3 legs made its way haphazardly across the road, pausing to sniff at some small animal which had died there. A miniature dust devil whipped up, pushing refuse into the air. But the rest of the street was empty. Teso experienced a moments doubt, where was it? Why wasn’t it here? Maybe the boss or his information had been wrong?

Teso was about to turn to Gesard and tell him, when something caught the corner of his eye. His stomach wretched and heaved all at once, and threatened to come rolling up his throat. His mouth hung agape and he swallowed, a mixture of dust and sand making it a sensation like sanding wood. But he didn’t notice the sensation nor the discomfort, for his attention had been drawn inexorably to what he now saw stood in the corner of street.......

Continued in part 2!!

World Eaters 2nd Company Captain Sevruk (update)

2011-03-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

These are updated rules for Captain Sevruk, utilising the 5th edition Blood Angels Codex.

For gaming purposes, Sevruk counts as Astorath the Grim from the Blood Angel codex.

Background

Sevruk was one of the first Captains of the 12th legion from the Recruitment world of Bodt to have reached the rank, as opposed to the existing Terran ethnicity of many in the legion. Over the years he carved a name for himself as being utterly ruthless, often at the forefront of any attack and, even amongst the others of his legion, was regarded as being a shining example of ferocity and mercilessness.

It was on the barren and unforgiving landscapes of Talmasci IX that he would cement his rise to captain amidst a welter of blood and offal. Surrounded by the corpses of his slain cohort he faced the brutal orcish overlord of that world, a behemoth even by greenskin standards, atop a crude but towering orcish fort. With bestial cunning the orc declined Sevruk's challenge of combat, and instead raised his primitive flamethrower and doused the exposed chest and face of the marine in promethium. Sevruk's cried in agony as his skin boiled and eyes burst in their sockets, and the orc warlord, snickering all the while, turned to his horde to howl in triumph. But his victory cry proved premature as Sevruk, somehow still alive and guided by some innate sense, flung himself at the orc, and in a single motion raised the orc above his head and cast him from the battlements to shatter on the ground far below. The body of Sevruk was recovered by the legion apothecaries, and despite all predictions he lived, a complex bioneural interface from the mechanicum of Mars ensuring that he would see and fight again.

Sevruk showed no misgivings at all about the changes Angron brought to the Legion, and he was among the first to encourage the use of neural implants within the legion. This is shown by his personally selected guard who always have the modifications made. Although his accompanying marines usually suffer massive casualties in being the first into the breech, such a posting is seen as a great honour. The sight of Sevruk and his beserker guard howling in rage with chainaxes spinning as they charge is a fearsome sight indeed.

During the assault on the Gedren system, towards the end of the Crusade, Sevruk was instrumental in bringing about the demise of the Fief-Overlords. Personally spearheading the assault on Gedren Prime, arriving amongst the drop pods of slain Legion-troopers, his body guard were all but massacred by the criss-cross of devastating laser weapons. Undeterred, he tore into the giant abhumans sent to finish him, and reduced their psychic handler to giblets of quivering flesh with his chainaxe. As the laser beams continued to fly, he ignited his jump-pack, smashing through the ballistrade of the fortress walls and casting the horrified defenders from the parapet. He then, aided by a Captain of the Space Wolves legion, used a wall-mounted defence weapon to blast the turret from an approaching transport bearing reinforcements. It was said that after the battle, not a sliver of white or blue was still visible on his armour, so intense had been the bloodshed.

After commendation for his role in the compliance of Gedren Prime, Sevruk and his 11th company were placed under the command of Borya, Commandar of the fleet of the 591st Expedition. Their objective, the Konos System.

Special Rules

WS BS S T W I A LD SV

6 5 4 4 3 5 3 10 2+

Honour of the Legion: Withdrawing from the fight is simply unthinkable for any marines fighting alongside Sevruk. Any World Eater squad he is part of is fearless.
Horrifying Violence: Sevruk exemplifies the ethos of the world eaters. The impact of a cohort of marines charging into the foe is akin to an express train, as the marines hack and slash with unremittant fury. Any World Eater squad he has joined may re-roll to hit on the turn that they charge. If Sevruk is leading his berserker squad, they may also re-roll to wound.
Blessed: Despite spearheading countless assaults, and suffering wounds which would have killed even other Astartes, Sevruk has somehow managed to stay alive, something which unfortunately can not often be said for his guard. Some call it the blessings of the gods of battle, others just blind luck, but whatever the cause Sevruk has survived far longer than he has had any right to. Confers 4+ inv. save (equivalent of Rosarius).
Shadow of the Primarch: Units which are part of Sevruk's assault plans are hand-picked for their fearsome melee abilities and aggression, and even tactical and heavy support cohorts have been known to get stuck in and assault the enemy at close range. If Sevruk is in the force, all units will use the 'Red Thirst' rule on a 3 or less, rather than the usual 1 on a D6.

Wargear

Artificer Armour, Bolt Pistol, Jump Pack, Frag & Krak Grenades, Chainaxe
Chainaxe: Sevruk has extraordinary strength even for a marine. Although he has weilded the same weapon since becoming an astartes, his phenomenol strength means that it cleaves through the thickest of armour, literally hacking apart anything that stands in his way as he swings the weapon 2-handed in a giant figure of eight. Counts as a 2 handed power weapon that strikes at Str 6, successful invulnerable saves against the weapon must be re-rolled.

Final Notes

I wanted Sevruk to be a proper attempt at the 'counts as' rule, and for people to look at the miniature and understand why he confers the bonuses of the 'Astorath the Grim' character, offers no armour save, and is hard to kill!
With the new Blood Angels Codex, Lemartes (the previous ruleset utilised for Sevruk) has seen a slight change in rules, but most importantly he no longer counted as an HQ unit. As a Captain and therefore in charge of his own contingent of marines, I felt that the rules for Astorath would be more fitting. His force of troops would act as the 'Spearhead' of a World Eaters assault, featuring the most aggressive and fearsome assault troops and smashing into the enemy without pause, as is the World Eater way :)
For his unit itself, combined with a squad of Berserkers (Blood Angel Death Company) they inspire great fear on the tabletop for anyone who has ever faced a charge from them in a game, potentially one of the most powerful close combat unit in the game! I think this ties in nicely from what we know about Berserkers in the background information of the World Eaters.

Using Blood Angels 5th Edition to represent Pre-Heresy World Eaters

2011-02-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

Previously, I considered the White Dwarf Blood Angel codex to be pretty useful for representing Pre-Heresy World Eaters. There were other options (see the article here), but for the type of force I was representing, that codex had far more positives than negatives. Please note that this article follows on from the now defunct article featuring the previous White Dwarf codex, linked above.

Fast forward a few years (and then a delay of over 6 months until I actually got hold of a copy!) and now we have, what in my mind, is perhaps the ideal codex to represent the 13th Legion on the tabletop. This article will go into depth as to why I think this is the case, and how the versatility of the codex can be used to represent a variety of different PH WE forces, from both the beginning of the Crusade to the Heresy itself.

I will note when I am writing my own opinions on background, everything else is referenced from the Index Astartes: World Eaters article, the Horus Heresy: Collected Visions book and the Horus Heresy book series itself. I will also welcome any comments on the article, and will amend any of the inevitable errors or omissions!

It should also be noted that when talking about Pre-Heresy, much of it comes down to personal interpretation. The fact that, despite the HH book series, so much of it remains a mystery means that this kind of article can only ever be advisory in the loosest possible sense. It is purely my own opinion, built upon reading the books and my own background in war gaming. It's quite possible that some people reading this will have an entirely differing viewpoint on any given situation. If that is the case, then I think it's something which should be celebrated; Pre-Heresy modelling gives us an opportunity to create something truly different, away from the increasingly defined and catalogued game universe of Warhammer 40,000. If you want to use Codex: Orcs to represent your Pre-Heresy World Eaters, while I might find it questionable, far be it from me to stop you!

A note on the character of the World Eaters

For anyone planning on creating a Pre-Heresy World Eater force, I think it's really important to establish early on exactly what type of force you want to represent. Is it the 'War Hounds', the fresh faced legion of Terrans who are just embarking on the Great Crusade, or is it the crazed and frenzied berserkers of Angron pounding on the gates of Terra? Is it something in between, where the first vestiges of madness are beginning to grip the Legion after the discovery of their gene-sire?

As I wrote in the previous article on this subject, it's important to note that the character of the Legion varied a great deal from it's initial creation to it's fall to chaos. We have now had it confirmed that the 'War Hounds' (as they would have been before the discovery of Angron) were already an assault-orientated Legion, and they engaged in brotherly rivalry with the Blood Angels who were of a similar nature. After Angron was reunited with his Legion, the introduction of 'bio-implants' (the medical procedure which turned gladiators into raging psychopaths on his home world) steadily transformed the Astartes into the blood-spilling monsters they would later become. Therefore, it is possible to characterise your WE force, using the BA codex, by how far along this 'path' the Legion is. However, it should be noted that by no means is this exclusive; remember that the Legions were massive. I imagine it would have been quite possible for distant elements of the Legion which were part of different expeditions to have had less changes made to the character of their force, while other force commanders might have embraced Angron's doctrines whole-heartedly. So, in any case, this observation of the armies 'character' should only be viewed as advisory.

Why the Blood Angel Codex?

In time I will write special character and rule profiles for the various part of the codex, but for now here are some general components of how the BA codex is especially applicable to the World Eaters:

The Red Thirst

This special rule will potentially give squads the fearless and furious charge special rules. It's a wonderful way of representing the assault-orientated nature of the Legion, and their impact when they take part in melee combat. The likely hood of a squad getting this perk can be made more likely depending on choice of special character (more on this later).

Assault Troops as a troops choice

Again, this rule represents the assault-bias of the World Eaters. You can imagine dozens of rhinos racing forward as part of a spearhead, while assault-equipped marines jump out to secure objectives! Now the '2 special weapon' rule allows you to make a similar unit to the 'flamer team' seen in the HH:CCG.

Death Company

This unit is practically crying out to be labelled as 'Berserkers'. Quite possibly one of the most dangerous close combat units in the game. If you have ever used the Death Company in a game, the look of consternation on your opponent's face as move the models into base contact with their unit is absolutely as it should be, as the Berserkers were the most barbaric and frenzied assault unit of any Legion! The new rules allow you to use a variety of wargear options, and have created some great conversion opportunities.

The Special Characters

In many ways this is the most useful facet of the Blood Angels book, using 'counts as' they can be used to represent a variety of roles within the Pre-Heresy Legion. It's even possible to make a pretty good facsimile of Angron himself, or at least as close as is possible within the standard rules of the game.

Although this will be explored in greater depth in future articles, for now:

Lemartes: Has rules which transfer well to an assault orientated captain.

Astorath the Grim: Perhaps the most vital for late-crusade or Heresy era forces. Removes the 0-1 Death Company restriction (allowing an army of Berserkers!) and also increases the likelyhood of squads getting the 'red thirst' rule to 50%, which again can perfectly represent the assault-orientated bias of the force. A combat monster in his own right, attach to the front of a unit of Death Company to create an assault unit worthy of the 13th Legion!

Mephiston: This marine has some skeletons (possibly demonic ones) hiding in his closet, and his quite crazy stat line makes him perhaps the closest contender for anyone wanting an 'Angron' in your force. Many of his psychic powers can quite easily be represented as the almost preternatural abilities of a Primarch (I shall be expanding upon this in a future article).

Sanguinary Priests: One idea is to just have them as combat medics in the force (without the cup of blood of course). Medics were a lot more prevalent back in 1st edition days, and this ties into the juxtaposition of that era's representation with 'modern' Horus Heresy background quite nicely. The added bonus of furious charge and FNP special rules can represent the characteristics of a World Eater unit.

Gabriel Seth: This chap is practically a champion of Khorne anyway, but with black pauldrons.

Furioso and Death-Company dreadnoughts

You can imagine a dreadnought taking part in 13th Legion operations would share a similar tactical acumen to his battle brothers, and would equip himself (itself?) with close combat weaponry accordingly. Similarly, what would happen if a marine previously fitted with neural implants were placed within a dreadnought? It's only a thought on my part, but I think the rules for a Death Company dreadnought might be a close approximation of this.* Of course for most of the Crusade the Legion would have utilised combined tactics, and so a standard-type dreadnought (such as those seen in the HH:CCG) could be equally applicable.

* I used a dreadnought within my own force to represent this idea (click here), referenced from the Tempus Fugitives campaign special rules.

Rhinos with Lucifer-pattern engines

This one is a little harder to justify, not least because it is noted in the BA codex that they are a recent addition to the chapter's forces. However, I think it is important to note that there are important differences in terms of relative technology between the Warhammer 30,000 and 40,000 universes. Specifically, we are often reminded of how the latter is a universe where old technology is gradually failing, it's secrets lost or forgotten. It might be logical to suppose that the higher efficiency of both the Mechanicum and Legions themselves produced rhinos during the crusade that had a performance equivalent to that of a Lucifer pattern engine. Certainly, when viewed in the wider context I don't think that it is beyond the realms of possibility!

Land Raiders

Continuing with the above line of reasoning, we know that Land Raiders were more common during the crusade. Especially if you adhere to the retconning which attempts to connect Rogue Trader and 1st edition Epic to current Horus Heresy background, this codex lets you use practically as many Land Raiders as you can afford.

The Stormraven

Although the vehicle itself was supposedly not made until the 41st millenium, the template for a small scale aerial assault vehicle gives the opportunity for scratch-builders and converters to create some form of bespoke vehicle which might have seen service during the Crusade (we know from the HH book series that several of the aircraft designations have yet to be defined beyond a title, so why not use the 'stormraven' as the basis for it's rules?)

Wargear/weaponry

Hand Flamers were a staple part of Rogue Trader and 2nd edition-era armaments. As those used by the Blood Angels are prized relics, it makes sense that they would have been used Pre-Heresy. An Infernus pistol could also represent other technology since lost, or perhaps a weapon taken from a slain alien commander or offshoot of humanity.

A note on self-restriction:

Although I am advocating the use of the BA codex in this article, at the same time I think if a true representation of the Legion is your objective, then some self-discipline in terms of unit selection is in order. Although I understand that many people will give priority to the aesthetics or rules instead of having something 100% accurate to the source material, nevertheless here are some of the areas which are important to note if you want to create an accurate army.

Jump pack-equipped assault troops

It has been acknowledged by several sources that, while they exist, these were less than plentiful for most of the Great Crusade. Subsequently an early crusade force consisting entirely jump pack equipped assault troops would not be entirely accurate. I have opted to only include a jump pack equipped unit for every standard unit mounted in a vehicle, although this is entirely up to you.

Chaplains

There is some debate as to whether some or all of the Legions featured chaplains in their forces, although the World Eaters might well have done towards the end of the Crusade and following the council of Niceaa. I have found it more characterful to use a captain model 'counts as' a chaplain (see the rules and explanation for Captain Sevruk), simply because in many ways Chaplains are a representation of the changes in the ethos and thinking of the marine chapters found in 40k.

Librarians

As above. Although Khorne is inimical to psykers, this would only have been an issue towards the end of the crusade. It's also been documented that Angron ordered the murder of all the Legion's Librarians, so they must have existed. (As a side note, it also gives you the opportunity to use this quite wonderful Forgeworld model!)

Baal Predator/Land Raider/Razorback/Land Speeder options

It has been noted that the Baal is a Blood Angel only option in the background. Similarly, the above vehicles have been explicitly labelled as post-heresy. So, does that mean they shouldn't be used? My personal opinion would be to follow the advice of the Tempus Fugitives design team and limit them to 0-1 use. This represents the ability of Crusade-era commanders and Mechanicum to make ad-hoc modifications to wargear and weaponry in regards to the situation, and the differing viewpoint of technology.

Lucifer Pattern Rhinos:

If you didn't agree with my above comments regarding the rhino, you may wish to choose to disregard the 'Lucifer engines' special rule

Use of Other Codecies

As I mentioned in my previous article on this topic, the Blood Angels codex is by no means the be-all and end-all of codex choice when it comes to representing the World Eaters. I have written above why I think it is the most prudent choice, when it comes down my own conception of the Legion in the time frame I want to represent them, but that by no means excludes other codecies.

The standard Space Marines codex would be ideal for an early crusade force, perhaps representing the War Hounds. Both the Space Wolves and Black Templar codecies are similarly assault-orientated, and arguments can be made for both of them (although you may have to exercise more self-discipline and opt not to use some of their more radical options). Similarly, a Khorne-themed force from the latest Chaos codex would be excellent for a late Crusade or even Heresy era force. To conclude, I have written this article to give people ideas for their own force, not to dictate what they should or should not do, and the standard caveat which I feel should run through the entirety of the gaming and modelling community is that no one should ever say, "actually, that's not right".

End of Part 1..

So, that's the 'core' of adapting the Codex: Blood Angels to represent your Pre-Heresy World Eater force. If anyone has any suggestions, queries or comments about what I have written here I will be happy to answer them.

The next article will switch the focus to adaptation of Special characters. Using 'counts as' troops within an army seems to be something which is attracting a great deal of negative press recently, but I want to show how this can be mitigated by making an effort as part of the design process.

If you have got this far, thanks for reading! :)

New Pre-Heresy Link Hub: Before the Heresy

2011-01-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ross (aka Whitehorn) from the Great Crusade forum has just started work on a new Pre-Heresy focused blog. What makes this one special is that he intends to use it to feature any Pre-Heresy posts from around the Blogsphere* (think 'From the Warp' but with a 30k focus).

There is a great deal of Pre-Heresy modelling and gaming going on, and I think one thing the blogging community has lacked is a central hub to bring it all together. It will also serve as a great aid for anyone who wants to get into PH, but feels a little daunted by all of the material out there. So, if you have a PH blog and want to let him know of your existence, or just want to follow the blog, click on the link below.

* (sorry for using that word, I will say 100 'hail Marys' immediately after making this post!)

On a personal note, I have just agreed to stay in Korea for another 14 months. I was back in the UK for a short while, but in amongst the drive to consume as many calories as possible in the form of mince pies and Stone's Ginger Wine (if you haven't tried it, do so!) there was precious little time for the Sons of Angron. But, I did get a little bit done, and also got my hands on the new Blood Angel Codex. So sadly it looks like additions to the modelling and painting side of things will be limited, but for the coming months this blog will most likely focus on discussion of rules and adaptations for using that Codex for the World Eaters, as well as comments on any other bits and pieces which may get released. In the meantime, I hope everyone reading had a merry Christmas (and a happy new year), and good luck for 2011!

Techmarine Kovács

2010-12-19T00:52:00.000-08:00

During the early days of the compliance of Konos III, Techmarine Kovács (as chief artificer in this role) directly oversaw the vast logistical operation of ensuring the entire Astartes operation was fully resourced, along with the support of both other Legion Techmarines and a sizeable human administrative staff.

During the initial stages of the invasion, his input was responsible for pinpointing the administrative centres of several of the more prominent states of Konos and thereby directing the 13th Legion spearheads. Despite the camouflaging of these command and control hubs in bunkers hidden in remote places deep underground, through observing data flow and information traffic using auspexes from orbit, Kovács was able to advise Commander Leonid so that within hours the entire worlds chain of command was paralysed.

Kovács was also responsible for the addition of heavy promethium units to the Land Raider chassis in an effort to compromise the unique forms

of guerilla warfare employed by Konos III's insurgents.

Responding to the increasingly damaging effects of these attacks on supply lines and storage depots, the Techmarine advised the introduction of Bastions and other defensive installations. Built to a standard STC pattern, these served in a role both as 'firebases' where materials critical to the continued success of the compliance could be stored, and also where small units of Astartes could be stationed, ready to respond quickly to guerilla attacks.

Techmarine Kovács is pictured here equipped as he was during the initial compliance of Konos III. He carries a full servo-harness and a chain-glaive, modified from the standard power weapon to his own specifications, as well as a modified boltgun. It was rumoured that he laboured for 3 full weeks without stopping during the early stages of the invasion, earning him the moniker 'the servitor' by the human administrative staff who accompanied him (and who lacked his super-human constitution).

At last, an actual update with some content! I have had this model for some time, and I have to say he was a joy to paint (for the second time, he has now moved on from his previous incarnation as an Iron Father!) I added what looks to be a World Eater hand/gauntlet on his base. Rather than using the remains of enemies on this force, I thought it would be an interesting twist to add remains of fallen allies, representing the significant casualty rate of the marines involved in the initial conflict and in keeping with the original concepts of how I imagine the Astartes to operate.

Rules

Techmarine Kovács uses the standard rules for a Blood Angels techmarine, his chain-glaive counting as a power weapon.

New Berserker unit concept

2010-10-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

On with the first hobby-related post in some time! :)

Sadly I still haven't been able to get hold of the new BA codex. There is just the one hobby store in Korea, it's possibly the only shop in the entire country that doesn't do mail order, and it's a 5 hour drive from where I live.

Anyway, now I've got the excuse out of the way as to why I still haven't read a codex that everyone else has since moved on from, the real reason for this post. One of the interesting facts I've picked up on while reading about changes to the BA with the latest codex, is the greater versatility when choosing Death Company weapon loadouts, beyond the 'one size fits all' of the previous book. As I use the Death Company rules to represent Berserkers, this is obviously great news!

One of the more interesting changes is the ability for DC to carry a boltgun along with the 'relentless' rule which allows them to fire and still charge. Following on from this, I stumbled across this piece of art from the HH card game, called a 'rampager squad'. I love the styling and the level of aggression that the artist has managed to put into the marine. Although they were a Sons of Horus unit, I could easily imagine a similar style existing within the World Eaters; perhaps long term veterans, used when a breach was needed in the enemy line, massively aggressive but experienced fighters.

I love the idea of these guys jumping out of their transport, weapons blazing into a crowd of enemies, and then charging in to crumple them in close combat!

Couple this with the new mk3 armour that FW has released (again, I love the aggressive posing of these models, and the helmet is somewhat similar):

Although I think these are great models in their own right, I think they could benefit from some customisation (to try and fit the theme of the card art), and to make them appear more like veterans (although I am concious of overdoing it in a force that is rather minimalistic in style for the most part).

A chap called Dave (Wolf Lord Mjol from the Great Crusade forum) has put together a quite excellent pre-heresy Space Wolves force. See here.

One of the standout aspects of his army (which I was fortunate enough to play against, see the 'battle reports' section) was his use of cloaks on the marines. They are made from the rear part of a chaos warrior body, adapted to fit a marine torso.

My idea is to use something similar to this (although a generic animal fur rather than specifically a wolf one), and add some chainmail interlaced through it - something similar to the card art, and also to tie it to the other units in my force.

I also want to use different shoulder pads to the FW ones, to make them look a little beefier.

I'm not to sure about a involving a character, although perhaps a 'unit veteran' (some grizzled old sergeant, who has refused promotion in order to stay with his unit, but nevertheless has the power of a captain rank soldier). If anyone has read the book and has comments on what character (special or otherwise) might be appropriate I would love to hear it! :)

When will these guys get started? I have absolutely no idea, but I'm keen to give them a try as soon as I get the opportunity!

.. Still on tour..

2010-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

So now 6 months since my last post, I thought it would be wise to write something here to let people interested in the blog know that I am still alive!

I'm just over halfway through my contract working abroad. Sadly, my work schedule has meant that I have had less than no time to add anything, other than making the odd passing comment on other peoples blogs that I have been following!

Still, even without access to any modelling, there will hopefully be a couple of new additions to aid or at least interest followers of the Emperor's mighty twelfth Legion in the near future. This will include:

- Using the new Codex: Blood Angels to represent World Eaters (after a preliminary read, I'm convinced this codex was made with Pre-Heresy World Eater players in mind!)

- A new short fiction featuring the 12th Legion.

So all the best to those of you who read my blog. In the meantime, I would like to direct your attention (for those who are not yet aware) to the finest Crusade-era focused forum on the Internet, and a place where myself and many other heresy enthusiasts regularly post!

Click on the picture below to be taken to thegreatcrusade.co.uk

World Eaters of the 591st Expedition, the first 2000 Pts!

2010-02-19T04:29:00.000-08:00

This is a shot of my army as it stands, closer to 2500pts at the moment, but I'm hoping with the release of the new Blood Angels codex nearer to the 2000 mark! (Please click the photos for the full view)

There are also a few odds and ends thrown in, of individuals not yet formed into squads.

Here are another assault squad I've been working on, they're built to look like some of the squads from Collected Visions. They are marked as being recent recruits to the legion with their mark 4 armour, with the Power Sword wielded by the Sergeant being another indication.

Once again I intend to wait for the new Blood Angel codex before finishing off the squad and no doubt include a couple of special weapons and a Rhino.

Honour Guard WIP

2010-02-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

This marine is going to serve as part of an Honour Guard for a forthcoming Captain model, specifically Commander of the Fleet Borya (part of the background I have been writing for my World Eaters as I build up the army.) As such I wanted him to be in a ceremonial form of armour, rather than something which will necessarily be used in front-line combat.. The marine would most likely be a veteran to be given the honour of acting as an Honour Guard, and would take this role in meetings with other Legions, components of the Great Crusade, or maybe even when meeting lost offshoots of humanity as part of 'diplomatic meetings'! The purity-seal esque scrolls stuck to his chest are a reference to one of the Horus Heresy book series, which mentioned scrolled 'oaths of the moment' fluttering from the chest plate of a World Eater captain.

The model itself is a mix of different conversion ideas. The biggest contribution was the blog My Wargame, which has excellent tutorials for all the various earlier marks of armour, and one I can't recommend highly enough for anyone wanting to make their Pre-Heresy armour as accurate as possible!

I did toy with the idea of using a complete Mk1 armour, but this as this is not completely enclosed and so opted instead for one which mixes mk1 and mk2. The polearm/chainaxe is a mix of Bretonnian Halberd and Forgeworld Chainaxe, the bolter and backpack were made using just standard components using the tutorials from My Wargame. The shoulder pads are an excellent new release from Chapterhouse Studios, and the helmet is part of the 'Steam Knights' range from Maxmini. The chest piece is a filed down mk4 torso from the Forgeworld Red Scorpion upgrade pack. Finally, I added chainmail with greenstuff to tie the model in with the rest of my forces and to give it more of a 'World Eater' feel!

Eventually I hope to have a squad of 5 marines, armed and armoured in a similar manner, and most likely using this model to represent Commander of the Fleet Borya (with a few bells and whistles added, and the sword changed to a chainaxe of course!).

Product Review: Raven's Flight

2010-02-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

Last week I was fortunate enough to get hold of the latest Horus Heresy series audio-book offering, Raven's Flight. I have to be honest and say an audio-book isn't the kind of thing I'd normally go for, but I had a GW gift voucher left over from Christmas and thought 'what the hell'. Now I'm glad I did!

First things first, this audio book is an essential purchase for anyone who is a fan of the series. The story itself focuses on the plight of the Raven Guard after the Dropsite Massacre at Istvaan, but more importantly for the purposes of this blog also gives some details about the World Eaters Legion (more on that in a moment). As far as the 'audio book' format itself is concerned, I'm pleased to say that my fears of cheesy background music and dodgy accents were entirely misplaced: the story is narrated with poignancy and gravitas by Toby Longworth (a veteran BBC radio narrator), who paces the story perfectly and allows the listener to lose themselves in the story. Gav Thorpe's script was obviously written with the audio format in mind as it stays away from overly descriptive hyperbole which might otherwise have bogged the story down. Its also interesting to hear the voices of the Astartes as something other than their usual well-educated form, with the Raven Guard marines having more in common with Ray Winstone or Bob Hoskins than the noble and clearly-enunciated marines of Dawn of War. I thought this was a great little touch, a call back to the original conception of Marines as highly trained murderers, and for whom any kind of education would be restricted to ways to inflict violence. Perhaps not all of them were fortunate enough to have been raised on Ultramar?

Regarding the contents of the story itself, I have no wish to spoil the story for any potential listeners, suffice to say that it adds a great deal to our knowledge of the Heresy. For one, it illuminates us on the thinking of a Primarch, something which has been done only sparingly in the series so far. There is also a great deal of information on the Iron Warriors (the main adversaries of the Raven Guard within the story) and also a few comments about the World Eaters. Interestingly, there were rumours at one point that the latter were set to be the main 'bad guys' of the story (indeed, they are the sole mention of a traitor legion within the provided blurb), so its hard not to be a little disappointed that they don't feature more. But, on reflection I think certain points of the story work much better with the Iron Warriors as the protagonists. There is also an extremely relevant comment about why the World Eaters decided to throw their loyalty to the Emperor into the dustbin..

The story is not without its faults, but in my opinion there is nothing which acts to obstruct the enjoyment of a very fine story and worthy component of the Horus Heresy series. If you haven't done so already, go out and buy it!

Collecting Heads in 6mm

2010-02-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

Just a small update! I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bulk load of Epic scale plastic vehicles at a very reasonable price from Ebay; Over 30 tanks (a combination of Rhinos and Land Raiders) for less than the price of a blister pack from Games Workshop! For anyone thinking of branching out into Epic, I can't recommend Ebay highly enough, as there seems to be lots of the stock from the old boxsets still out there.

So, here are the first few I have painted up, as well as some Land Speeders which are still pretty much a WIP. The Legion icon on the Rhinos and Landraiders is just a very small transfer!

Missing in Action

2010-02-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

First of all I feel that an apology is in order, simply because of the amount of time involved since my last post! Here is the situation: I am planning on moving abroad within the next couple of weeks, and will be gone for most likely a year or more. Sadly, the place I am travelling to work (South Korea) has not been overly blessed by the presence of Games Workshop, and so it looks like my ability to add to this forum is going to be severely restricted. This will especially be the case during the first few months while I settle in.

However, over the past few months I have been not been entirely idle, and I will make an effort to post some of the work I have completed on the blog over the next few weeks. In the meantime, during my time away I shall endeavour to keep updating the blog with anything I feel might be of use to World Eater collectors; So, product reviews and comments on new Black Library material will become the focus of the blog.

In the meantime of course I will try my best to answer any World Eater related queries or ideas which people might have, and will look forward to the opportunity to swell the ranks of the 12th Legion once more!

I would like to take this change to thank everyone who has taken time to contribute to the blog, and of course some of the guys from The Great Crusade forum and the B&C who have helped to increase my enjoyment of the hobby ten-fold over the last few years.

Itkovian's Pre-Heresy Modelling Guide

2009-12-03T04:17:00.001-08:00

At first glance collecting a Pre-Heresy force can seem like a daunting task. Not only is there an abundance of wargear and weaponry not normally found within the 40k universe (or if it is, it looks different!), but it can be quite difficult to ascertain where to obtain materials for conversions and how to attempt them.

Fortunately, for anyone attempting a Pre-Heresy force yet with questions about this aspect of the hobby, Iktovian over at Not Yet Done has created an excellent Pre-Heresy Guide. Not only are their descriptions of the various armour types, but there are also details on how to obtain conversion materials and a comprehensive set of links to various methods of creating them.

I really can't recommend this highly enough, and while at some point I might well add a World Eaters specific addendum to his guide, I strongly suggest a trip over to his Blog for a look see!

Land Raider Transport & Conversion

2009-11-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

Though much of the surface of Konos III was characterised by wide and open expanses of featureless desert, the military strongpoints of the defenders often featured bunker networks and tunnel systems which rebel forces used to facilitate their covert assaults. These attacks proved to be effective against the invading forces, with supply lines being damaged or destroyed before a response could be brought to bare.

The Land Raider was in common use during the compliance actions of the 12th Legion, its thick armour all but impervious to the conventional weapons of the resistance forces. This particular vehicle has been modified by the fleet tech-adepts, with its lascannons (whose attributes were poorly suited to combating the light-infantry and skirmishing attacks of the defenders) replaced with heavy flame units which were ideal for flushing out areas thought to conceal tunnel networks or rebels. It is also features a marine utilising a pintle-mounted twin-linked bolter, a common defense against ambushes while the vehicle is travelling through built up areas.

I originally bought this Land Raider for use in the AoTE II campaign, although I was severely rushed in painting the miniature - I think it was done in something like 3 hours! However, due to its exemplary performance in that campaign, as well as it being a centre-point for my forces, I thought it might be due some more attention.

I made a small number of changes to the standard 'Redeemer' kit: The assault cannons were removed and replaced with dual-autocannons (counting as a Quad Cannon as part of the AoTE rules pack), I removed the majority of Imperial iconography, and made some small alterations to the pintle-mounted bolter, so it looked less like a stormbolter (which were not generally available during this period).

Even though technically the Redeemer is a post-heresy invention, there is much evidence in the background material that vehicles and weaponry technology was being constantly updated and developed during the Great Crusade - if there were the need for a particular form of weapon, or jury-rigged vehicle for a particular situation, then the techmarines and adepts would have far less hesistation about performing such alterations. In fact, I can imagine that such initiative would be almost encouraged (otherwise, how would 7 different marks of armour, and numerous exotic weapons have been created throughout a 200 year period?). This draws attention to one of the main differences between the 30k and 40k universes: The difference in terms of the culture surrounding technology and its development.

There is also a small addition to the rear of the tank - I figured that it would be impractical for the Marines to carry around the heads they had collected during assaults and advances, and they probably wouldn't want to leave them behind, so a net on the rear of the tank would be ideal...

The 'head pile' is comprised of a variety of spare heads from my bits box, from WFB zombies and empire soldiers, to an RT-era Imperial guardsman helmet I found. The net itself is just a hair net, superglued in place.

Rather than just paint the tank in blue as my other tanks are (which has no justification, other than my cowardice concerning the painting of large areas of white!) I thought a tank this size would benefit from having a bit more of a colour scheme.

As far as gaming is concerned, at the moment this vehicle has difficulty fitting in. The BA codex was released prior to the LR Redeemer being released, and so doesn't have this weapon option for the vehicle. Still, I have found most opponents I have played have had little problem with it being used as such, and if I do play someone unwilling it stands ready to be a 'counts as' standard Raider.

Veteran Unit 'Linebreakers'

2009-11-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

Back before I began work on this army there was a section of the original Rogue Trader rulebook, concerning the Astartes, which really caught my eye, and made me want to create a unit which represented the idea. Here is the extract:

"Space marine assault squads are equipped with hand-to-hand combat weapons such as chainswords, power swords and bolt pistols. Entry into buildings, or through the reinforced hulls of space craft, is gained using a las-cutter or phase-field generator. As the first wave of attackers goes through, casualites are always very high. The first troopers into the breach are almost inevitably shot dead instantly. Inclusion in an assault squad is a great honour. There is never any shortage of volunteers for suicide missions such as this."

To me, the idea of rushing through a breach in a wall, despite the risk of almost certainly being blown to bits, seems to fit the character of the World Eaters perfectly! I've given this squad the equivalent of 30k riot-shields, and armed one of them with a las-cutter proxy in the form of a kind of acetyline melta-cutter.

You can imagine the guy with the torch melting a hole in the wall, while the rest of the squad with shields wait bunched up behind him, ready to rush through.

As with my other units, I have helped designate a Veteran unit by using a mix of armour types (seen here are mk3 and mk4, although there are also mk5 and mk6 in the squad). I've also tried to model a fair amount of battle damage onto their armour.

The shields are WFB ogre gut-plates - as much as I would love to lay claim to this idea, it was actually that of 'Lonewolf', who frequents some forums such as Greatcrusade and B&C.

A close-up of the marine with the Acetyline torch. Its essentially a broken up Imperial Guard flamer, with a little tubing attached.

In game, the unit counts as Veterans, with the torch acting as a melta-gun equivalent.

Gedren Battle Report: The Final Battle

2009-11-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Somehow he still lived. Somehow, despite the death of thousands of his progeny, utterly annihilated by the forces of atmospheric re-entry and impact, Malibron clung to life. What forces had his father dabbled with, what lost secrets and knowledge had been re-learned, to create beings of such majesty? Though one of the twenty sons of the Emporer himself, Corax marvalled at his brothers tenacity, the divine nature of his being.

But now, another stark realisation of the conflict they pursued: The Heart of Balethimor had not merely been laid low by just any Gedrenite ship. No, the vessel belonged to a long lost offshoot of the Martian Mechanicum, brothers of those whom the Emporer had allied the Great Crusade alongside. Brothers who through confusion and misunderstanding had fought in favour of the Fief Lords of Gedren and their long standing allies.

Malibron could not be consoled. He wept tears of rage, anger at his lost progeny, the grievous wound to his Legion that they might never recover from. Ignoring the sympathy and messages of support of his brothers, he immediately made his way to one of his ships and the remains of his fleet; Their destination, the Mechanicum world of Gedren VI. As the ships entered orbit the Imperial Fleet looked on in disbelief, unable to act as the 11th Legion unleashed its wrath upon the surrendered and unsuspecting populace. Its payload, the most dreaded of the Imperiums weaponry; The Exterminatus.

Just as this was occurring, and the biological matter of Gedren VI was utterly annihilated by the virus sweeping accross its surface, Corax was made aware of yet another dismaying discovery: The cloning technology of Gedren, captured by the now deceased Captain Eli of the Blood Angels, was missing - its guards slain, the gruesome effects of bolter and chainsword marking their corpses.

It was obvious what his brother Malibron planned. Though spurned on by Leman Russ to take more aggressive action, Corax considered his next orders carefully - Malibron and his legion were to be apprehended, cast in chains, and returned to Terra to face the judgement of his father. But, as he made ready to call the remaining Astartes back to the fleet from their final operations within the system, yet another disaster struck. Suddenly and without warning all of the communications systems and channels flooded with static - tactical displays revealed them surrounded by hostile vessels, only for them to dissapear. Collision warning klaxons and enemy troop boardings sounded, only to be silenced before beginning once more. Corax immediately ordered systems shut down, and the bridge of his Capital ship was plunged into half-light. Outside his view port, the other ships of the fleet made emergency manouvers and counter-measures to combat a threat which did not exist. After a moment Lance weapons flaired as they opened fire, and explosions blossomed in silence as the atmosphere of ships within the fleet was exposed to the void....

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Sevruk looked to Sergeant Warule, a look of disbelief adorned his face, as much as such a thing was possible with his his horribly scarred and pitted features. The enemy firebase in the sector had finally been destroyed, the few remaining defenders having little stomach for a fight, and many defenders had simply lain down their arms. But now the neighbouring region, one which had been placed under the auspices of the Space Wolves and previously marked as secure, showed multiple enemy units moving to engage. Surely the enemy lacked the resources to form such an aggressive counter attack?

The War Hound Captain grinned to himself and thumbed the safety of his chainaxe, its motor choking slightly on the blood and detritus which covered its surface. Barking a quick order into his comm system, he turned to his brother marines and ordered them to make ready: If his brother Legion had failed, then his own would succeed in their stead...

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Wolf Lord Mjolnir muttered to himself as he surveyed the surface from his assault vessel. Though the attack on the system had been successful, many of his brothers had perished, their efforts in preventing heavy armour units from reaching Gedren Prime paid for in blood. And now, the final operations upon Gedren Prime had been utterly uneventful - pockets of resistance with no stomach for the fight, and little opportunity for his Legion to regain some of its lost honour.

Such thoughts were immediately pushed from his head as the comm systems filled with static and proximity alarms blared. Wincing as his heightened senses absorbed the full effect of the screeching and hissing blaring through his communications node, Mjolnir threw the device onto the floor. The display grid revealed the ajacent sector compromised, the previous location of the War Hound task force now clogged with enemy combatants. The grizzled Space Wolf grinned to himself despite what such an occurance represented. Perhaps the humans here had some teeth after all?

Shouting to his comrades to order the assault, and convey the order to the units on the surface, he immediately headed for the vessels drop ships. As Mjolnir stormed from the room, the dial on the discarded communications node blinked red: its priority message from fleet command going unheeded....

Setup
What was meant to be a final assault on the beleagued defenders of Gedren was suddenly turned on its head! Originally intended to be a 3000pt doubles game, with myself partnering Dave (Wolf Lord Mjolnir from thegreatcrusade) was now a fight of World Eaters (well, War Hounds) against Space Wolves - and notably, the first Marine vs. Marine action of the Great Crusade!

The game was played using the Night Fighting rules for the first turn, and with 3 objectives to be contested. Essentially the troops of both sides have been ordered in to attack - as far as their scanners and readouts are concerned, the enemy ahead are Gedrenites, and by the time they charge out of the darkness, and the drop pods come down, its too late! The conflict has joined!

The Game
Dave had some pretty fiercesome firepower in his army which would make a mockery of power armour, including two Vindicators and a Land Raider. Despite the darkness of the first turn, most of my army set up in cover (not very World Eater-ey but needs must!)

The first turn was marked by a dreaded Lucius Drop Pod arriving right behind my Razorback. The armoured walker stomped out, its power fist making short work of the vehicles rear armour.

However this victory was short lived, A War Hound Dreadnought coming on from reserve behind it and smashing it to bits. Meanwhile on the right flank, two other drop pods arrived, Grey Hunter marines spilling out onto the objective.

The firepower as they arrived was impressive, almost completely wiping out the Veteran squad, only the marine with the melta gun surviving.

He then leapt into the squad transports rhino, and raced forward - firing out the side of the vehicle he hit the landraider and destroyed it! The Terminator-armoured Wolf Guard squad climbed out of the wreckage, Wolf Lord Mjolnir wounded by the attack. The Space Wolf Vindicators opened fire, hammering the marines hidden amongst the foliage, although the cover protected them (I made some extremely lucky cover saves at this point!)

The Commander with his honour guard jetted forward and grabbed one of the objectives, a broken down and abandoned Space Wolf Fellblade.

Turns 3 & 4
With a howl of chainaxes and roar of turbo-fans Sevruk and his 'assault unit'* attacked the Grey Hunters on the nearest objective. Although the Space Wolves rallied and counter-charged into combat, the fighting was short and bloody and the War Hounds butchered their opponents to a man.
*(Berserkers in the rules, although they should not exist at this point in time so they are just a particularly hard assault unit!)

Meanwhile their was a loud pop as the air around the Vindicators displaced, and the War Hound terminators teleported onto the field. There was a slight error in the process however, and they appeared in a circular formation directly infront of the Space Wolf tanks.. I was punished at this point for forgetting to run them and try and spread the unit out - once both Vindicator cannons had fired, only a single terminator still stood. However, this was short lived as the bolter on top of the vehicle managed to kill him!

The lone War Hound with the melta gun in the rhino continued his 'drive by' and raced up to the Vindicators, wanting to avenge the terminators - his shot managed to temporarily stun the vehicle.

Turns 5 & 6
Sevruk and his assault unit jetted forwards and took on the other Grey Hunter unit, although this time their number was reduced by the previous turns fire by the Wolf Guard. Still, the War Hound unit slew the Space Wolves, but no sooner had they done so then the bulky forms of the Wolf Guard charged into combat with them! The fight was bloody indeed, by the end of the game only Wolf Lord Mjolnir still lived, locked in a bloody struggle with Sevruk and a single War Hound marine (both of the characters on a single wound!)

The Space Wolf assault was by this time spent - the War Hound units who had spent the game sheltering from demolisher shells finally raced forward to seize the objectives, the Commander and his honour guard flying out from some trees (one of them died!) to destroy a Vindicator. The game was over, with victory falling to the War Hounds!

Thoughts on the Game
First of all I have to say how great it was to play against Dave's army, the amount of effort he has put into even the standard troops choices is astounding, and I'm not suprised at all that it won the 'Best Army' award at AoTE 2, as well as being chosen to sit in the display case at Warhammer World!

The game was really a lot closer than it looked, and came down to several very fortunate dice rolls on my part - the cover saves of my units protecting them from Demolisher shells from the Vindicators, my 'drive by' marine melting the Land Raider, and then my 'Berserkers' surviving for far longer than they had any right to and hacking their way through half of Dave's army while the rest of my force poked their heads out from the woods. Overall though, a thoroughly enjoyable game and a great way to finish the weekend!

Epilogue

Warule slumped to the ground, clutching the loop of his innards in one hand, his armour shattered and slicked red with blood. That last Space Wolf had cut horizontally with his blade even as he had fallen, his chainblade ripping through his already weakened armour. Power had failed in his suit and he ripped his helm from his head, throwing it to the floor and surveying the remains of battle around him. How had it come to this?

Grimmacing he looked up to see Sevruk, embroiled in ferocious melee with what must surely have been the Commander of the Space Wolf force. Both of their weapons lay on the floor, and their armour was red with spilled blood, but that seemed to matter little as they swung puches and attempted to grapple each other to the floor..

As Warule watched on, the communications node in his ear finally burst into life, the sceeching static replaced by the anxious voice of fleet command.. "... to cease all hostilities immediately.. I repeat, all combatants in sectors twelve and fourteen to cease hostilities.. " Wincing with pain, he reached for a discarded boltgun which lay on the floor in front of him.

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Mjolnir swung a ferocious uppercut into the face of the reeling War Hound, and grunted as his fist connected, sending the War Hound officer opposite him flying backwards with a sickening crunch. Satisfied that his blow had been sufficient to lay his opponent low, he searched around for his power blade, and upon locating the weapon strode over to the prone form of his fallen foe.

Why had the 12th Legion attacked them? It mattered little.. this one would die along with his fellows for the deaths of his comrades and the slight on his Legions honour. He raised his blade, just as the War Hound beneath him began to regain conciousness.

"Stop!" A vox-enhanced voice boomed from alongside him, and Mjolnir turned to see a heavily wounded War Hound pointing a bolter in his direction. His blade hovered above the prone form of the officer and was ready to commit the killing blow. "We are... we are to cease hostilities.. by order of Corax and your Primarch.." The War Hound gasped, and the bolter in his hand wavered.. "but I swear, move another inch and I will end your life.."

Mjolnir paused for a moment.. was this some form of trickery? He snarled, lips drawn back to reveal sizeable fangs beneath, ready to swing his weapon. But then, why had the trooper not simply shot him? The Wolf Lord looked down at the wounded body of the Marine beneath him, who now lay staring at Mjolnir through his single, artificial eye. His horrifically scarred visage betrayed no emotion.

After a pause the Space Wolf reached down and offered his hand to the Marine, just as other white and blue-clad Astartes began to approach them, their bolt guns raised. The War Hound ignored the proferred hand, gingerly pulling himself to his feet.

A Stormbird of the Raven Guard approached above as the two marines faced each other at eye-level, the roar of its engines drowning out any comment either could make. For a moment they both simply stood, staring at one another, calm despite the turbulence caused by the nearby aircraft. Mjolnir saw his own reflection in the gemmed eyepiece of the marine, tinted red yet still revealing the extent of his own wounds.

The Wolf Lord looked about him.. the slain forms of his Wolf Guard, his Land Raider surely damaged beyond repair, and all about him the remains of the War Hound assault squad which he had slain. Mjolnir's shoulders slumped visibly, and he looked to the floor as the reality of what they had wrought here began to dawn upon him..

EPILOGUE:

Sadly, no conclusion was ever written for this campaign, although the following was read out by Laurie as a narrative:

Malibron, the Primarch of the 11th Legion, was sent to the Emperor in chains. There, he would face his father who would dispense his judgement as he saw fit, for his son had committed an atrocity of the highest degree.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Legions stationed at Gedren Prime received orders to transit to another system where a gathering of Legions, more vast than had ever been known before, were to come together at the Ullanor system.

The cloning facilities of the Gedrenites were brought aboard the Flagship of Corax's fleet, who would oversee the destruction of such a dangerous technology personally....

Battle Report: Assault on Gedren Prime

2009-11-05T02:47:00.000-08:00

For several weeks now the compliance of the Gedren System had been underway. A logistical nightmare of hundreds of thousands of Imperial soldiers, their munitions, not to mention the actions of the Legions themselves, had been taken in his stride by Corax. The forces of the Blood Angels, under Captain Eli, had successfully neutralised the cloning facilities of Gedren II. Space Wolves under the command of Wolf Lord Mjolnir had intercepted an armoured convoy travelling to reinforce the capital, and the War Hounds of Captain Sevruk had captured the fearsome artillery on Gedren IV.

However, not all the battles fought had been resolved in favour of the Imperium. Members of the 11th legion under Malibron had failed to capture the communications centres of Gedren V, and the Primarch now resolved to regain the honour by directing his forces towards Gedren Prime from his capital ship.

Now the Imperium's invasion entered its final and most vital phase; The compliance of the capital, Gedren Prime. Although the defenders had been subjected to massive assault over the previous weeks, the stronghold there remained heavily defended. Corax, with advice from his Brother Primarchs, ordered the assault to begin. A spearhead of veterans from each legion would launch from orbit and attempt to hold key points of the Gedren defense line in the capital. Once that was achieved, it would allow the massed units of Imperial Army and other Legion reserves to deploy on the planet. If they could succeed, victory would be assured.

The Game
This was a massive, apocalypse, planetstike game! The forces of the defenders, controlled by Laurie, Steve and Will (Shroudfilm, H-Gate and Titus Pullo of TGC forum) would face a multitude of Imperial invaders, who each had a 500pt force. This included the War Hounds, White Scars, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Ultramarines and of course the 11th Legion! All in all there was something around 4000pts of Gedrenite units on the board, with more coming in as reserve.

The results of the previous games would have an impact on this one: We would have increased artillery support from my own previous game, The Gedrenites would not have clone reinforcement thanks to Lucius's Blood Angels, and a Shadowsword would not be present on the table thank to WL Mjolnir's Space Wolves. However, the defenders still had their communications node intact, allowing orders to be directed to any unit on the board, and outside of their usual range.

Before any of the attacking units and planetstrike began, the tabletop looked something like this - Please click for a larger picture (but ignore the White Scars!)

Victory in the game would be decided by the capture of four key points, denoted by the Bastions on each end of the board, and two parts of the fortress wall which had quad cannon fixtures on them.

Before the game began, there was a firestorm although this was largely ineffectual, destroying a couple of basilisks and no doubt making the defenders pull their helmets down over their heads! The basilisks had been identified as a key target in the initial assault, as their massive 240" range and indirect fire could prove troublesome!

As the game began, a set of extremely poor reserve rolls by all commanders present meant that the Imperial units landed piecemeal. This was down in part to the presence of a commander of the fleet on the table and the continued action of the Gedrenite fleet against the Imperial invaders.

On the Eastern flank the Wolf Guard landed enitrely unsupported, and the entirety of the Gedrenite force there under the command of Steve turned their guns on the attackers.....

White Scar jetbikes raced into the city, deftly avoiding anti-aircraft fire, although once again they were left rather exposed and in the sights of many of the defenders manning the ramparts..

The situation on the Western flank was looking far better for the Imperials - drop pods of both the White Scars and the Blood Angels arrived, the marines inside racing out of the pods firing while once again the defenders manning the fortress walls unleashed everything they had at them. One of the Fief Lords, Nils Macon, directed his forces from within his chimera (seen at the bottom of the photo)

The defenders turn saw an absolute torrent of firepower fall onto the smattering of Astartes scattering throughout the battlefield. The Wolf Guard on the Eastern flank were killed to a man, battlecannon shells, lascannon shots and finally ranked lasgun fire mowing them down. The White Scars and Blood Angels lead by Eli on the Western flank fared little better - barely a handful survived. Only a War Hound assault squad, which had landed off target and right in the corner of the board (seemingly forgotten about by the defenders!) survived and carefully scouted around a building, keen to keep themselves out of sight of the enemy.

The unit then jumped forward and landed behind a Gedrenite artillery piece, the Sergeant's power fist punching through the thin rear armour of the tank. Unfortunately they must have hit an ammo store, and the vehicle exploded taking several of the squad with it!

The second and third turns saw a lot more Imperial units arrive. The War Hound terminators and Blood Angel assault unit arrived on the left flank in support of the handful of Blood Angels and Captain Eli who somehow still survived, although he was grievously wounded. Many of the White Scar bike and attack bike units also arrived, their anti-tank weaponry and melta-bombs proving to be the bane of many of the Gedrenite reinforcements.

The attack on Gedren Prime was supported by none other than the Khan himself! Jag'hati was teleported down onto the field of battle, and set to destroying some of the defending armour.

The War Hound terminators were taking torrential fire from the defenders in the Western-most bastion, as well as several heavy weapons teams and a basilisk. Nevertheless they began the grim task of knocking down the fortification, although it took some time to get through its armour. The Blood Angel assault marines (who had lost several of their number to a basilisk shell) jumped in to assault the heavy weapons teams. They had killed around half of them when Captain Eli noticed Fief Lord Nils Macon had left his Chimera and was directing nearby troops. Despite being completely unsupported, and badly wounded, he charged into the commander and his unit! Managing to hack his way through the commanders bodyguard he reached Macon himself, but it was all in vain and the scheming tyrant killed him, skewering him through both his hearts! (Somewhat amusingly Titus Pollo wrote this in the battle report, and power-emoted the captains death!)

In the photo below, eventually the Terminators would get to the infantry squad within, and supported by the remains of Blood Angel and War Hound units there would extol a bloody revenge on the infantry platoon within..

The battle hung on a knife edge, but up above in orbit an event occurred which would swing things in favour of the assault. The titanic ship battles which were taking place above the battle for Gedren Prime had resulted in the destruction of a Capital ship. A massive component of the ships hull landed miles away from the warzone, the megaton explosion which resulted knocking many of the battlefield combatants to their feet. Furthermore, bits of wreckage landed amongst the battlefield, destroying portions of the wall and entire units! The battlefield was beginning to look somewhat less pristine than it had done previously...

The Eastern flank was still looking very tenuous for the Imperials. Although further Imperial Fist and 11th Legions drop pods had arrived, Sevruk and his blood crazed assault unit jetted down from orbit to assist this flank. They charged straight into combat amongst the ogryns lead by a Psyker, and massacred them all, the Psyker's refractor field no defense against the frenzied swinging of chain axes (it was the case of a fistful of dice all needing to land 5+!) But as the blood-letting finished, the disciplined fire of the defenders ripped into the War Hounds, slaying all but one of them and Captain Sevruk (looking at the photo below, the one survivor obviously tripped over the remains of a Wofl Guard which saved him!) You can also see members of the 11th Legion who have successfully destroyed a Leman Russ.

Realising that their deaths would be certain amongst the large number of defenders on that flank, the surviving assault trooper and Sevruk gunned their jetpacks and leapt up onto the barricades. There they made short work of the lascannon teams who had killed several of their number last turn.

By this point in the battle, the number of troops on the table had been drastically reduced. Here, the remaining units of Gedrenites muster behind the walls in an attempt to push the War Hounds and lone Space Wolf from the objectives.

The two surviving War Hounds then jetted over to the quad cannon and used it to destroy the weapon of a nearby Chimera. This was one of the most cinematic moments in the game - you can imagine how the fight against the Ogryns must have looked, the survivers emerging dazed from the melee and then getting mown down by the defenders guns. Undaunted they rocketed off with their jetpacks (no doubt smashing through the walls!) and flung some defenders from the battlements, then sprinted onto the next tower and used the quad gun to blow the turret from a nearby Chimera! These marines definately deserved a commendation :)

Gradually the battlefield became silent.. on the Western flank, only a single terminator and assault trooper remained, although they had finally managed to take their objective.

There were still some defenders holding the fort in the centre, but all but one of the strongpoints was now in the hands of the invading Imperials..

So, the battle was over! I have to say this was the most fun (and longest) I have ever had with a game of planetstrike. Laurie and Will acted as great GMs, giving the Imperials a bit of extra support at the beginning when it looked like they would be thrashed, and the game was very close and hard fought! All in all it was a real battle of attrition, by the end of the game there were just a few isolated pockets of fighters still slugging it out, and the battlefield was a mess :)

Although Gedren Prime had fallen, the conflict was far from over and events would conspire which would ensure yet more blood would be spilt on these worlds...

Epilogue

Corax looked on in shocked disbelief as the Heart of Balethimor split in two. The titanic battle had raged in space above Gedren Prime even as the Imperial troops fought for control of the capital, blasted wreckage of ships on both sides left slowly tumbling as they vented their atmospheres to the void. But even as the Imperial Fleet had prevailed, the tactical prowess of Corax proving too much for the defending vessels, the last Gedrenite ship had used it last vestiges of power to ram the capital ship of the 11th Legion.

Now the bridge of the Raven Guard's battle barge looked on in stunned silence as the ship burnt up in the atmosphere, secondary explosions wripping it to pieces as gravity finished what the final suicidal act of the Gedrenites had begun. Several thousand Astartes of the 11th Legion had been stationed on that ship. Not only those marines, but the progenitor of that Legion - Malibron.

Even as Jag'hait Khan contacted his brother Primarch to let him know that the capital had been successfully captured, Corax was ordering rescue crews into position. But the inscrutable, raven-haired Primarch spoke in grim and measured tones as he gave this order, his stony visage revealing nothing of the storm which raged within. Surely, nothing, not even a Primarch, could have survived that scale of destruction?

Continue to the Final Battle...

Battle Report: Gedren Campaign

2009-11-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

This is a battle report from the Gedren Prime Pre-Heresy event from last weekend. Information concerning the event itself can be found here, and a full background and event blog on the Great Crusade forum.

Amongst the armies of the Fief Lords of Gedren IV, most feared was the artillery compliment of the tyrant Nils Macon. Primarch of the Raven Guard Corax understood that for any foothold to be successful upon the planet the defensive gun emplacements would need to be destroyed. Although a bombardment from orbit would annihilate the entire area and any leave no trace of the guns, ever the pragmatist Corax knew that the potent military might of Gedren IV's artillery compliment might be of more use in the coming weeks of the campaign. Alpha Legion operatives under the command of the enigmatically named Commander 'H' located the guns. Knowing that the strike would need to be decisive, Corax requested Captain Sevruk of the War Hounds to lead a small contingent of troops at nightfall to capture the artillery. The young marine nodded without emotion as Corax informed him to expect casualties of 80% or more even if the mission were successful, and saluted before going to select volunteers for the assault mission...

The Game
As part of the Gedren Prime Campaign, this opening battle featured the following special rules:
- Night Assault: The entire game would be played using the nightfighting special rules. Furthermore, we had almost complete darkness in the room, with only a few red-coloured spot bulbs! I felt my white and blue miniatures were at a distinct disadvantage ;)
- Dangerous Environment: The surface of Gedren IV featured a high percentage of the extremely volatile substance Pyrox. Any terrain feature hit by fire would result in a potentially lethal explosion!
- Clone Defenders: The artillery was based in the heart of a vast military complex, and some of Nils Macon's most experienced clone units defended it. Any defending unit destroyed would instantly come back on as a reserve the next turn, with no need for a reserve roll!
-The Objective: The artillery crews had withdrawn behind their lines as defensive units moved forward. Victory in the game would be determined by whoever controlled the emplacement.

Thoughts on the game
This was a game where both of our armies would have a massive advantage; My opponent, Will (Titus Pollo from TheGreatCrusade) had the ability to bring destroyed units back every time. I was able to advance under cover of darkness and would no doubt arrive at nearly full strength, something that invariably doesn't happen in normal games. I didn't have a specific plan, other than to keep an eye on the objective. Alot of my losses have come down to the World Eater (or here, War Hound!) ethos going to my head and me just trying to 'kill stuff' and I have been left in a poor position to contest the game. I deployed second - Will seemed to have put an even mix of units on each flank. My plan was to use the veterans in the Razorback and Dreadnought to try and hold up his mechanised unit and giant block of infantry, this would then free up the assault units and tactical units to destroy the units on and around the left flank and then hopefully move onto the objective towards the end of the game.

Turn 1 & 2
I won the roll for the first turn and chose to go second. Will kept most of his units on the left flank stationary, while the mechanised moved forward cautiously. The War Hound units sped forward, confident that the darkness would hide their movements.

On the left flank the defenders mortar platoon took a pot shot towards the sound of approaching turbo-fans, but their shot hit the embankment directly in front of them, which promptly exploded and killed several of the Gedrenites defending it! The unstable landscape of Gedren IV had claimed its first victims! Other troops fired wildly into the darkness, although a keen-eyed lascannon gunner (Will rolled a triple 6!) drew a bead on the approaching rhino and immobilised it. The tactical combat squad within lept out and took cover behind it.

At this point it looked like the defenders would overwhelm my right flank, with 3 chimera variants, a large infantry platoon and some veterans all encircling my attack. The dreadnought and razorback sped off to face them, the veterans within grimly acknowledging that their attack was to act as a diversion from the main assault.

Turn 3 & 4
With the howl of chainweapons and turbo-fans the assault squads on the left flank arrived at their targets. Charging into combat with the command squad, heavy weapon units and a veteran squad the fighting was short and bloody, with all the defending units ripped to shreds in a matter of moments.

The combat on the right flank was far less decisive. Although a chimera had been destroyed, killing several of the defending veterans within it, and the dreadnought had stunned another, the Gedrenites fire was punishing and the War Hound veteran squad was killed to a man! The dreadnought went some way to avenging their deaths by flipping the chimera over, and the banewolf, not wishing to share the fate of its fellow vehicle, sped off in the other direction.

The razorback and dreadnought desperately tried to stem the attack on the right flank, after the Veterans were wiped out.

Turns 4 & 5
It was now that the 'Clones' special rules came into their own. All of the units destroyed on the previous turn returned to the field, many choosing to come back to combat the assault units embroiled with the banewolf on the left flank. Out of cover and at short range they faired badly, and all of the assault marines were destroyed to a man although they did manage to take some of the reserves down with them! On the right flank the dreadnought destroyed another 2 veteran squads before finally succumbing to them as they returned for a 3rd time!

A tactical squad advances while the last remaining assault marines attempt to destroy the banewolf. Their sacrifice would be notable, pinning the dreaded marine-killer in place would be decisive to the game.

The tactical combat squad desperately attempted to charge the returning units massing on the left flank, but they too were mobbed by the new influx of clones. Now only a single combat squad (the one which had dismounted from the immobilised rhino) and the razorback remained active for the War Hounds. It was turn five, and realising the only chance for victory was with a last minute objective snatch (and then the game to end!) they ran forward and onto the guns. The razorback on the right flank desperately reversed, the driver trying to give the marines some cover. Fortunately the sacrifice by the assault units and tactical squad had just given their brother marines enough breathing space.

It was the end of turn 5, Will rolled a dice for the game end which it duly did! The marines had earned a victory by the skin of their teeth...

Game Summary
All in all this was a really enjoyable game, with the special rules making it a unique experience! The massive advantge of my troops advancing under cover of darkness (meaning they attacked in full strength) matched by the endless supplies of clone troopers who ultimately proved their undoing. It was awesome to be playing such a well made and painted army (Will had even painted up a 'Fief Lord' especially for this campaign), and the extra narrative added a real gravitas to the proceedings.

Had the game lasted another turn, the game would have certainly been a draw at the very least, with the banewolf and big guard unit making a defender victory quite probable.

As it was, the War Hounds had captured the guns despite appaling casualties. Captain Sevruk's battered and broken body was recovered from atop a pile of dead Gedrenites, somehow still clinging to life although his unit had been slain to a man, and the Big Guns of Nils Macon would add their weight of fire to the assault on the the capital city of Gedren Prime, which even now was being planned by Corax and his brother Primarchs....

Continue to Battle Report 2: Assault on Gedren Prime.

Great Crusade Short Fiction contest

2009-10-30T01:16:00.000-07:00

The Great Crusade forum is running another one of its Pre-Heresy themed competitions, this time for short fiction.

The story can be about anything providing that its vaguely pre-heresy or great crusade-era in nature. Here is a story I have written for it, concerning an issue which I think is central to the World Eaters as a legion:

---------------------------------------------------------

That other Place

‘Drip..... Drip...... Drip.....’

Warule sat entranced by the steady stream of condensation as it fell from the roof and rolled down one wall, pooling near the feet of the crouching form of Sergeant Buseyt. Though the liquid was stained and clouded it reminded him of something else; of blood, of the way which the crimson fluid stuck to a surface until sufficient weight forced it through gravity to descend, forming in rivulets and pooling like mercury. Its faint reflective aspect represented in a myriad of colours and shades, the mirror image of another world. But the water which crept morosely down the wall was very much of this reality, a sorry contrast to the dominant white and blue of the Astartes crouched throughout the room. Poor comparison to faded red, the remains of stained blood not entirely removed.

“Make yourselves ready, cohort!” The harsh digital representation of Buseyt’s voice chimed in Warule’s earpiece, breaking him from his reverie. Instinctively he gripped the haft of his chainaxe, running his gauntleted thumb over the well worn activation rune. Lime-green diagnostics winked positive in his visor; compartmentalised diagrams of his turbofans at once became opaque and then disappeared as the systems in the device were checked by the control centre of his armour. Warule had seen each and every step on a hundred occasions and anticipation built in him as it moved through its sequence: Auto-senses, environmental integrity, power levels, each confirmed in turn until only a single system remained. The diagnostic interface, as if sensing the weight of occasion, paused for a moment before an image of opened fangs enveloped the cross section of his mk3 helm; His Bio-neural implants were ready. The image faded, leaving Warule’s image intensifier staring once more at coarse granite and pool of discoloured water.

When Buseyt spoke again, this time in more measured tones, it came to Warule as if he were submerged beneath that thin film of water and in another world. Flat, undisturbed, a shade of nothing; “Ignatov is pinned down in those ruins two hundred metres ahead. Machine gun nests, a trench, heavy machine weapon fire.” the Sergeant’s words came broken and halting. Despite the digital translation, all of them well knew the crushing sense of anticipation inherent in his tone. The sense of eagerness mixed with fear. After what seemed like an eternity he spoke again, but this time the words rushed forth like a torrent, bursting to come out, “We attack from above. For Angron. For the Emperor.”

A pause.

A drip of water.

The hollow echo of his breath faded into silence, and it hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity.

“Activation code...”

The world that existed around Warule collapsed, and the man that was the Astartes did not hear that final half muttered utterance. A torrent of images cascaded through his mind, a bursting flash of memories and experience which flowed through him, fleeting, never giving him respite or chance to reflect: Of the blood red skies of Lalonde, Brother Gasker lying in his arms his life blood draining away, Commander Dreyt falling to the Reavers, The howls of his brothers caught in the Maelstrom of Iskar slain without pause, Of blood, The training camps of Bodt a thousand white glowing gauntlets held to the sky fists clenched and the galaxy their prize. The images faded to the background, decades of war, of death and destruction, condensed into a heartbeat. There and gone like the flash of bolter muzzle.

With a scream of exaltation the faded world of greys fell away from him and the veils which cloaked his vision were discarded as he burst through the surface of that sterility. To Warule it did not matter that special biological pre-cursors had been activated, that carefully targeted hormones and chemical programs were being released into his brain. That reservoirs of adrenalin and more exotic components were being dumped directly into his bloodstream.

It did not matter. At that moment it felt like lightning had struck him. As if tens of thousands of volts of electricity were arcing through his body, as his muscular frame arched and threatened to tear itself loose from his skin of armour and launch itself through the ceiling. Twin hearts hammered in his heaving chest like pistons, his helmet desperately struggling to pump air into his lungs fast enough as they heaved in great undulating and ragged gasps. As his teeth clamped together, threatening to splinter apart, he gripped the haft of his chainaxe; it roared to life, the scream of its serrated blades echoing the fire which coursed through his veins. His eyes bulged, dancing wildly and rolling backwards in their sockets with a crazed intensity. He barely noticed his brother marines in front of him, seemingly wrestling with their own invisible daemons as their bodies were wracked with the tremendous forces raging within. Ceramite strained at the seams as they stumbled out of the building, those too inexperienced not to have loosened the bonds on their armour joints now paying the price; wracked with pain as their hyper-extended musculature expanded and bulged within their armour.

Warule bounded after them in great strides, barely able to keep his footing as his legs drove him forward, chain-axe singing its chorus of death and destruction. A serrated blade symphony which occupied his attention entirely, precluding any moment other than the one he now lived in.

Moments later they found themselves in an open space of sand covered pavements and roads. Warule’s heart sang at what was to come next and he thundered to a halt beside his squad, sending chips of dirt tumbling through the air. Placing his arms by his sides he planted his feet into the ground and squatted. He looked up into the red-tinged hue of the sky. To Warule it looked as though scarlet clouds drifted amidst the falling blood of his colleagues. Of Gasker, of Dreyt, of every World Eater who had ever fought and fallen.

Diagnostics blinked positive and screams of exaltation sounded in his earpiece as with a thunderous roar the turbofans in his jump pack ignited. His armour shook, feeling as though it would tear itself to pieces and with an almighty and ear splitting crescendo he was launched into the sky in a corkscrewing trail of black smoke and ozone.

Towards his enemies, towards blood and destruction, towards that world which existed so fleetingly and to which he always longed to return.

Gedren Prime: Pre-Heresy Event

2009-10-25T15:15:00.001-07:00

This weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the 'Gedren Prime' event organised by Laurie & Will of the Great Crusade forum.

The background narrative was produced in collaboration with none other than Black Library writer Graham McNeil. I've written a heavily abbridged version of it below, although it can be read in its entirery here.

The Gedren system is comprised of a number of mining colonies, a result of humanities colonisation of the galaxy some ten thousand years previously. Life on these worlds is far from idyllic - a series of small empires, spread through the system, are ruled by the Fief Lords; These tyrannical individuals maintain their position through the mining of Pyrox, a substance as valuable as it is deadly. Such is the danger presented by the mining of these materials, that the Fief Lords have turned to a nearby lost oupost of the Mechanicum for assistance, and whose knowledge from the dark age of technology has allowed the production of massive clone workforces for the system.
The various Fief lords constantly vie with each other for power, armies of clones heading forth into battle at the behest of their lords, but this animosity is due to be put to rest, heralded by the arrival of a common foe....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It is the 77th year of the Great Crusade. The Emporer of mankind leads his twenty legions ever outward through the galaxy, their military domination absolute as Alien empire and lost offspring of humanity alike fall before the might of the Adeptus Astartes. Now the Crusade approaches the system of Gedren, yet another world seeded by humanity in the dim and distant past, and the thoughts of those commanding the Emporer's armies turn towards the possibility of not only a world brought into compliance without bloodshed, but perhaps even the discovery of yet another of the Emporer's lost sons' the Primarchs. But such an occurrance was not to be - a closed fist rather than an opened hand met the Imperial Diplomats, the Fief Lords of Gedren at last united under the banner of hostility. Corax, Progenitor of the Raven Guard and master of the expedition, was quick to order the invasion fleets of all twenty legions into position. Of the other Primarchs present within the fleet; Khan, Leman Russ and Malibron, there was no argument.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The military and industrial capacity of Gedren IV was impressive indeed. The world was ruled by the machinations of Fief Lord Nihl Macon, whose clone army controlled one of the largest artillery contingents in the system. Realising that such a force posed a threat to any future troop landings, Corax ordered the 12th Legion contingent, the War Hounds, to take the artillery at any cost. Such an assault favoured the inherent ferocity of the Legion, but the complex was protected by regiments of Macon's clone troopers, who would no doubt die for their lord without question...

You can now read all 3 reports of the games from the weekend, as well as a continuation of the narrative, in the Battle Reports section.

New Section: Tactics & Strategy

2009-10-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Although 'the art of Warhammer gaming' isn't going to be a large focus of the blog, nevertheless its an area I've just started touching upon and so is perhaps deserving of its own section.

So far it only has a single discussion of an army list for the Gedren Prime event but hopefully this will grow in time!

In the meantime, there are several other blogs I will recommend which feature some great information on both tactics using the Blood Angel army list, and tactics in general:
Pitched Battle - Blog with some great info on Blood Angel units and tactics.
Jawaballs - A library of BA resources and a very well established blog.
Pathfinder - Very amusing blog with tactics on various armies and units. Perhaps not that relevant, but always makes me laugh so is in this list on that basis!
Sweet Dreams - Quite a new blog, but some interesting titbits on the BA and army lists.

Finally:
Warseer, Tactica Blood Angels Thread - Put your power armour on before you enter this one, well worth a visit as there are some interesting bits of information and varied ideas found within.

Army Lists:
Gedren Prime: Dawn of War 1000pt army list

If there are any other Blogs which feature Blood Angels tactics and strategy, please let me know and I'll add them to the list!

Pre-Heresy event: Gedren Prime & Army List

2009-10-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

On October 23rd and 24th, the members of the Pre-Heresy forum 'The Great Crusade' will descend upon Aldershot, Hampshire, for the 'Gedren Prime' event. Set during the peak of the Crusade, Gedren Prime is the latest world to recieve the attention of the ever expanding Imperium, and no less than all 18 Legions are descending upon the poor inhabitants of the world!

The weekend will feature 3 games, each with unique rules and objectives. I will be using Codex: Blood Angels to represent my forces - one of the rules is that no 'special characters' are allowed. So for me, this gives me the challenge without using the normal mainstays of Dante and Lemartes!

I'm going to dip into something I haven't done thus far; that of army lists. When first coming up with the design concept of the Blog, I had a good look around some of the 40k fansites already up and running. A pretty high proportion of them were focused on tactics and army lists, obviously written by people who spent a great deal of time playing games and so knew their stuff! For someone who plays a casual game once every two weeks (if I'm lucky!), I thought I should leave this aspect of the game to the experts, as it were, and focus instead on the background and modelling of (specifically) the Great Crusade.

But, it looks like events have forced my hand and, can of Heinz-brand worms infront of me, I must reach for the opener! So without further ado, here is my army list for the first of the 3 games, known as 'Dead by Dawn' (a 1000pt game). This game features the following Caveats:
- No special or named characters.
- Normal force organisation chart.
- The entire game is set during night fighting rules.
- An objective on each players side, the claiming of which will give victory.
- The game will almost certainly be against Imperial Guard (representing the human defenders).

Chaplain		100
	Jump pack	20
D. Company (berserkers	3 free DC, 6x J. Packs,	120
x 6)

Tactical Squad x 10		190
	Flamer, M. Launcher, razorback
	(with E. Armour, Multi melta)	85
Assault Squad x 5		140
	P. Fist	25
Veteran A. Squad x 7		200
	P. Fist, Combat shield x5, p.pistol,
	p.weapon, melta gun (free Rhino)	90

	total	970

I figure that the night fighting rules will give me a big advantage. My transports will speed forward, with the jump pack troops moving up behind. Then they'll roar and charge into combat, and hopefully kill everything :)

My thoughts on tactics haven't gone beyond this so far. I've got a number of points left to spend, which at the moment I'm leaning towards spending on melta bombs to take out the armour I'm undoubtably going to encounter.

Any thoughts on the army list and/or tactics would be greatly appreciated! :)

Defending Ground: World Eater Bastion

2009-10-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Though the Compliance of Konos III was accomplished well within the time forecast, and with acceptable casualty rates, it was vital that real gains on the surface of the planet be supported by dedicated military strongholds. Members of the Mechanicum and expedition serfs descended into secured zones days or sometimes even hours after the area had been declared clear, constructing a variety of hard points, landing zones and communication centres with which to aid the rest of the invasion. These were often constructed using special machines which utilised the minerals and other materials found on the surface, following a standard template pattern.

Here we see an example of one of these strongholds, with a Heavy Support unit on sentry duty on its roof. The remains of several Lalondian Dragoon troopers hang from the parapet, their crime; dereliction of duty, their deaths serving as a warning to other members of the regiment that failure will not be tolerated.

The purpose of the stronghold is to not only provide an easily defensible refuge point for the troops inside, but also an ammunition store with supplies held safely behind a foot thick of reinforced Adamantite. In the months following the invasion such a Bastion would become a favoured option of the expedition, the open plan storage and factory areas proving far too vulnerable to the increasing number of guerrilla and remote attacks launched by members of the insurgence.

If I were to be brutally honest, I would never have bought a Bastion had it not been a requirement of the AoTE event. Even then, it was a completely token effort on my part - just a single coat of spray paint and that was it! Fortunately it's use was limited to a single game...

So anyway, I thought why not make a better job of it, and try and give it some character that marks it distinctly as being owned by the 12th Legion? If nothing else it can be used as a terrain piece or bunker in a game.

I remember reading an interesting extract about the World Eaters (unfortunately I can't remember where!) which stated that the Legion was infamous for its use of 'decimation' on Imperial Army regiments who were fighting alongside them in battle. For anyone not familiar with their Roman history, this revolved around the execution of 1 in 10 of the soldiers who fled the battle or else dishonoured themselves in some way. I wanted to model this into the Bastion, and so there are two unfortunates in the colours of the Lalondian Dragoons (an Imperial Army force I have been painting up alongside the WE) hanging from the Bastion!